Last night I pulled my bike out into the alley behind my house.  The alley is not what you're imagining.  It's an old paved road with grass breaking through the worn concrete, and the neighbors garbage bins all in neat rows.  There are trees and yards and private back patios lining the road on either side.  I stopped my bike. I set the kickstand.  Backed up a few steps.  And put John's camera up to my eye.

Over the next twenty minutes I proceeded to take 37 shots of my bike, circling it like a shark its prey, turning it this way and that like a purveyor of fine goods.  I crawled onto it, only to capture the right angle.  And all the while my neighbor two houses down stood in her garden steeling awkward glances.  Her clippers in hand, she eventually stood up and stared.

When I repeated the incident to Beau, he merely replied, "What, you live in Ballard?"

It's not the weirdest thing I've been discovered doing in my neighborhood.  Did I ever tell you about my antique anchor, and my need to carry it down the street at 7am on a Friday?

The next big deal in the Seattle coffee world is opening their shop on my street.  Quite literally.  Since the little local coffee shop on the corner of 8th &NW Market shut its doors last Fall, I've been eyeing the scene with vested interest.  While not great in production, the previous owners had served my favorite beans (Stumptown) and I'd been willing to settle occasionally on my morning walk to the bus.  Now each day I walk by and peak past the plastic-wrapped windows.  "Coming Soon - Slate Coffee Roasters" has been pinned to the front door for months and months (and months!).  I finally decided to do a bit of research.  I read through all the articles I could find on them - friended their facebook - and eventually shot them an email.  But no response.

A few weekends back, John, Mallory and I decided to support our good friend Michael Ryan at the Northwest Barista Regionals.  When a friend of Mallory's (I recognized as a fellow volunteer at the Special Hope Benefit) began to walk past us, I gave her a big smile.  She walked over and introduced the friend with her -  the owner of Slate.  Their barista, Brandon Weaver won first place in the Brewers competition and the stir continues to grow.  I asked a few barista competitors if I should be excited about Slate or not - after glances and pauses, they said most likely, yes.  They explained that if Slate can pull off what they aim, they will be worth all the fuss.  The team they have collected looks every bit as though they just might.  Within a few days of the competition, my Facebook reply arrived. It seems, after the preliminary quiet stages of building a business, they are ready to engage the neighborhood. 

Some of you might recognize another of the barista's their team boasts:  Nik Virrey.  John and I have laughed for months over this man's mysterious appearances at every coffee event we stumble in, or out of.  We didn't know his name, but we seemed to see his face all over the city, be it the One Year Party for Milstead, the NW Barista Regionals, or outside of the Unicorn.  He also bar tends from time to time at one of John's favorite Capitol Hill bars.  But those of you from the east side will be wondering why it is you recognize his face (and long dreads).  I'll solve your mental turmoil:  Zoka. 

I've decided I'm excited.  And now, the wait continues...