Found 2 neckaces, 2 CDS, a tie-dyed t-shirt and a cute new restaurant

The restaurant is at 50th and Bryant, right next to the Malt Shop. It's called the Blackbird Cafe. It's yet another of those charming little neighborhood bistros that have been popping up all over. Like the Grand Cafe, Cafe Ena and God knows how many more, Blackbird serves a limited menu of imaginative, tasty dishes attractively presented in a charming one of a kind space, with maybe a coffee bar off to the side.

Blackbird's coffee bar is also a wine bar, and it's front and center in the airy little storefront along with a handful of tiny tables. However, there are larger, more private tables towards the back of the bigger-than-it-looks restaurant, with one particularly romantic table location back by the antique fireplace. The lunch menu is mainly sandwiches. I had a really delicious turkey sandwich with provolone cheese and pinenuts on some kind of special bread they call a "Pullman Loaf," homemade fries and a bottomless glass of iced hibiscus tea. Yum. Came to about $10 plus tip. Some sandwiches are also available at dinner time, along with some fairly expensive but interesting entrees. Dinner looks like it would be about $25 per person, more with wine. So it's not exactly cheap, but certainly a good alternative to lunch at the Malt Shop.

The other items came from yard sales.

Gotta get me some lights

Misunderestimated the amount of daylight left and ended up pedaling home from work in the pitch dark last night. Holey moley, that SWLRT trail is dark!! Once it hits the Minneapolis border there gets to be more ambient light, and here and there the city has even erected a lamp post or two. But through the wilds of Hopkins and St. Louis Park - nothing! I just have a couple of little don't-hit-me LED lights, nothing you can really see by. The front light on the handlebar stem did create a little smudge of whiteness on the pavement just ahead of me, enough so I could get along (except when temporarily blinded by an oncoming serious night-biker with a 10,000 watt blue-white floodlight on their handlebars). Even scarier than those guys were the occasional biker with no lights at all. I couldn't even see them coming towards me, just heard them go by. That's just plain nuts.

Once I got to the city and left the trail I could see fine by ambient city light. However, I got the feeling that cars couldn't really see me, despite a couple of reflectors and lights fore and aft. More than once, cars starting up from stop signs nearly hit me. I need more reflectors, a couple more blinkers (maybe on the side) and a headlamp that can illuminate the bike trail.