Author Archives: Joe

Five Quotes from Harvey Milk

Photo Found Here Harvey Bernard Milk  May 22, 1930 – November 27, 1978 “All men are created equal. Now matter how hard they try, they can never erase those words. That is what America is about.”  “I know that you cannot live on hope alone, but without it, life is not worth living. And you…AndContinue reading “Five Quotes from Harvey Milk”

The Birds…Two Days Later and Under a Watchful Eye

This is a continuation of a post I entered two days ago regarding these cute little birds that have taken to nest on my front porch. It’s amazing how they’ve grown in just two days…it’s the first time I looked in on them since the previous post, which I believe is right after they hatched.Continue reading “The Birds…Two Days Later and Under a Watchful Eye”

Things That Can be Carried on a Bike (#440)…and a bread recipe

A dough rising bucket and two loaves of freshly baked whole wheat oatmeal-flax bread (recipe below). Whole Wheat Oatmeal-Flax Bread Makes 2 or 3 loaves 6 cups whole wheat flour, divided 2 cups oatmeal, plus additional for coating ½ cup flax seed 2 tablespoons vital wheat gluten 4 cups water, divided 2 tablespoons instant yeast,Continue reading “Things That Can be Carried on a Bike (#440)…and a bread recipe”

Crispy Spice-Fried Fish (recipe and pics)

To prepare chicken or fish like this is so easy and delicious that if you haven’t in the past you’ll be wondering why. I used salmon and ate it in fish tacos for dinner, but the fish is delicious on its own or as an accompaniment to rice pilaf or a salad. I used southwesternContinue reading “Crispy Spice-Fried Fish (recipe and pics)”

Things That Can be Carried on a Bike (#439)

6 live vegetable plants, 6 herb plants, a 12ft. garden hose, an 18ft wire fence, 5 tomato cages, 4 lbs of dog food, a bottle of red wine, and $67.24 in groceries. Urban Simplicity.

Beautiful and Incredible–but Slightly Inconvenient–Nesting

Okay…firstly, this is incredible. A tiny little bird family on my front porch. But the reason I say it is inconvenient is its location…on a faux bamboo shade to shield the sun from my house on a hot day..today it was 89F/32C. I noticed the bird’s nest starting to take shape a few weeks agoContinue reading “Beautiful and Incredible–but Slightly Inconvenient–Nesting”

Five Things I Saw Today

Today was supposed to offer great weather–and it did–so I knew I was going to do a lot of garden work…but I didn’t feel like it so I procrastinated. After having breakfast with my son and two of my sisters I grabbed a camera and went for a brief bike ride. These are a fewContinue reading “Five Things I Saw Today”

Bike to Work

I knew that May was National Bike Month but was not aware that today–May 18th–was National Bike-To-Work-Day. It’s likely that to many who read this blog this is irrelevant information as you may ride to work on many days already (sort of like preaching to the choir), but I thought I’d say it anyhow…Happy bike-to-work-day!

Park Lane Crab Cakes

We made these crab cakes while at work today and I thought I’d post a recipe. When I came home and searched my computer for the recipe I was surprised (a little) that the only one on my hard drive–and one I had forgotten I had–was the crab cake recipe from the original Park LaneContinue reading “Park Lane Crab Cakes”

Pug in Your Face

I’ve posted pictures of my pugs before but I thought I’d share these (who couldn’t love those flat-faced bulging-eyed faces). That’s Maxwell above and the bottom three are Franklin. All these little guys want is my love (and they have it). I can have the crappiest day at work and come home to their unconditionalContinue reading “Pug in Your Face”

Things That Can be Carried on a Bike (#436 & #437)

#436…A small nylon bag containing various tools, a canvas bag containing–among other things–3 books and an extra camera, a live blackberry bush. #437…A book, a Fender Stratocaster guitar,and a double order of Chinese take-out food. Urban Simplicity.

A Question for Other Bloggers

Before I pose the question I have to offer a little background. In the past year or so visits to my little blog have steadily risen to around 600 a day. At this point I am speaking specifically of the Blogger version of Urban Simplicity, not the WordPress version, which of course is it’s mirrorContinue reading “A Question for Other Bloggers”

A View From my Handlebars

Buffalo, the city in which I was born and currently reside, is not a large city (we rank 70 out of 275 in the size of American cities, according to this page), but it’s a lovely city and a great place to live and work. But we still have traffic jams and rush hour, notContinue reading “A View From my Handlebars”

Three Photos and a Few Words

I took the above photo just a few minutes prior to typing these words. It is about 9:00pm and without question a truly idyllic spring evening here in Western New York. It is so beautiful I felt the need to share it the best I can via this electronic media. There is not a cloudContinue reading “Three Photos and a Few Words”

Twenty Minute Pasta with Beans and Greens Recipe

This recipe–as I say about all the recipes that I post on this blog–is really easy to make, nutritious, and super delicious. And it only takes twenty minutes (or less) to prepare, granting you have your beans cooked and have good knife skills (in other words, if you can chop things fast). The only meatContinue reading “Twenty Minute Pasta with Beans and Greens Recipe”