What Are You Carrying? Rainy Autumn Edition (11/2018)

[MatthewR]

Welcome back to the forum favorite, "What Are You Carrying", where we ask our wonderful Bihnion friends what they're carrying, reading, and a host of other questions!

Without further ado, let's get into it!

1. What bag/accessories are you carrying (items + colors, pics always welcome)?
2. What are you reading?
3. What are you playing or watching (movies, theatre, video games, etc.)?
4. What are you listening to?
5. What are you cooking/baking/drinking?
6. What are you making/creating/doing?
7. Where have you gone lately? -or- What travel destinations are on the horizon for you?

Bonus Question: Since it's the season of giving, what is your favorite charity?

[PaulT00]

1. What bag/accessories are you carrying
My perennial Aubergine/Wasabi Aeronaut 30. Want to see if I can use my new Guide's Edition Synapse 25 (in Mars Red) for the same use case, but the world won't slow down long enough to let me test pack it at the moment.
2. What are you reading?
Just finished The Furthest Station and Lies Sleeping, the most recent two books in Ben Aaronovitch's "Rivers of London" sequence. Before that it was Charles Stross' latest "Laundry Files" novel, The Labyrinth Index.
3. What are you playing or watching (movies, theatre, video games, etc.)?
Random stuff on Netflix, mostly; our DVR broke a couple of months ago, wasn't repairable (still under warranty!) and we haven't replaced it yet.
4. What are you listening to?
J-M Jarre's latest, Equinoxe Infinity, and selected tracks from his recent Planet Jarre compilation album. The track Opening which is also on the compilation in a different version as Coachella Opening comes highly recommended if you like that sort of thing...
5. What are you cooking/baking/drinking?
Mostly stuff which doesn't require too much effort, because life has been a bit complicated recently. Food has been stuff out of the freezer, drinking has been tea (a nice breakfast blend involving Assam and Ceylon teas), and alcohol mostly of the juniper-flavoured variety diluted with ginger ale. (purists look away now!)
6. What are you making/creating/doing?
Right this minute, trying to put together my December schedule (TB Forums are great for displacement activity) which includes various social events, visits to London for work, time off, shopping trips, bank holidays etc etc etc. In among all that lot I've got two work projects on the go, plus the ongoing decluttering / gradual redecorating / sorting out at home. Sometime before Christmas I'm hoping to organise a new gas fire for our main lounge, because the old one decided it had had enough a couple of months back. We have central heating, but it just won't feel like Christmas without a garland and some twinkly fairy lights over a glowing fireplace!
7. Where have you gone lately? -or- What travel destinations are on the horizon for you?
London, London and London. And possibly also - London. For work. Sigh.

As far as my favourite charity is concerned, that would be the PDSA - the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals, a veterinary charity in the UK.

[Traveltech]

In the spirit of Paul’s TB displacement activity, ill play!

1. What bag/accessories are you carrying (items + colors, pics always welcome)?
Aubergine SE is always with me, whether in my gym bag (CP), my grandma bag (Luminary) or by itself.
2. What are you reading?
The Rain Watcher by Tatiana de Rosnay
3. What are you playing or watching (movies, theatre, video games, etc.)?
The Man in the High Castle
4. What are you listening to?
The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin (audiobook)
5. What are you cooking/baking/drinking? 6. What are you making/creating/doing?
We’re hosting our annual Friendsgiving party this weekend so we’re eating leftovers to clear the fridge for all the food we’ll prepare on Friday. I’m making gratitude place cards, table decor and an a/v presentation celebrating our friends
7. Where have you gone lately? -or- What travel destinations are on the horizon for you?
We’ll do a lot of state hopping over the holidays.
2019 is shaping up to be a great year. We’ll raft the Grand Canyon in June and head on safari in September.
Bonus Question: Since it's the season of giving, what is your favorite charity?
David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. They do amazing work with orphaned elephants. We hope to visit two of our fostered elephants when we’re in Kenya.

[bartleby]

1. What bag/accessories are you carrying?
My Smart Alec in Navy. My first TB bag and my daily workhorse. Fantastic to carry my EDC plus whatever I need from gym clothes to groceries and bread. I use the Freudian Slip to organize my Macbook Air, its accessories and the other stuff I need for work. The upper modular pocket is always installed for all the bits and pieces. Great bag, never fails me!

2. What are you reading?
Just started "The book of why - The new science of cause and effect" by Judea Pearl and Dana Mackenzie. Since I am working in medicine this is a very important topic but also regarding the climate change and the controversies that come along with it. So far a challenging but rewarding read.

3. What are you playing or watching (movies, theatre, video games, etc.)?
Was recently just completely blown away by "Bohemian Rhapsody". Ok, so it's a very melodramatic movie. But hey, it's all about Queen and Freddy Mercury what do you expect? Highly recommended!

4. What are you listening to?
I just discovered GoGoPenguin, a trio from Manchester. They have a new album out since a couple of months which is great. They mix Jazz, Electronic, Rock and Minimal Music to a very unique and modern sound. Also a great live experience!
And from the more down to earth department: on one of my last flights to the US they had Wynonna and the Big Noise on the entertainment system and immediately I became a huge fan. What a voice! Great guitars!!

5. What are you cooking/baking/drinking?
Cooking: Winter is just around the corner so everything with kale (with sausages a typical winter dish in Germany)
Baking: Apple crumble
Drinking: Morning: Tea, During the day: Coffee, Evening: Pinot Noir

6. What are you making/creating/doing?
As every year I am trying to finish a couple of projects to get my head free for the new year. But I am afraid that I will not be very successful with this attempt...

7. Where have you gone lately? -or- What travel destinations are on the horizon for you?
No plans yet for the next couple of weeks. Further down the road: Canary Islands in March or April and then Chicago in July (my favorite city in the US!).

Bonus Question:
My favorite charity is Working Bikes in Chicago. They collect discarded bicycles, refurbish them and donate them to developing countries and other people who need a bike but cannot afford it. Since I love biking I know what a difference a bicycle can make. As they say it on the website: It can be a tool of empowerment!

[BWeaves]

1. What bag/accessories are you carrying (items + colors, pics always welcome)?

Everyday purse = Sidekick in 1050 aubergine and 525 Cloud and Mars Red.
Everyday shopping = Large Zip Top Tote bags in all colors.

2. What are you reading? Rereading GEB Godel Escher and Bach

3. What are you playing or watching (movies, theatre, video games, etc.)? Just got Crazy Rich Asians DVD

4. What are you listening to? Anything BUT X-mas music.

5. What are you cooking/baking/drinking? Veggies.

6. What are you making/creating/doing? Weaving some handspun silk and merino wool into a Mobius strip shawl.

7. Where have you gone lately? All over Europe.
-or- What travel destinations are on the horizon for you? I don't know. I need to recover from the last trip.

Bonus Question: Since it's the season of giving, what is your favorite charity? Me. (Ducks and hides.)

[Lia]

[B]
2. What are you reading?
Just finished The Furthest Station and Lies Sleeping, the most recent two books in Ben Aaronovitch's "Rivers of London"

I pre-ordered Lies Sleeping audiobook and finished it last week, then listened to it again this week. I love that series so much! When I was in London last summer, I spent a day collecting selfies in front of places in the book.

[PaulT00]

I pre-ordered Lies Sleeping audiobook and finished it last week, then listened to it again this week. I love that series so much! When I was in London last summer, I spent a day collecting selfies in front of places in the book.

Until late 2009 I was working in London during the week, and staying in London 3 or 4 nights every week; I used to rent a (very small!) flat just around the corner from the Brunswick Centre, and my route to work meant I walked through Russell Square every morning and evening - although usually on the other side from the notional location of the Folly!

[sarepants]

I love reading these responses =)


1. What bag/accessories are you carrying (items + colors, pics always welcome)?
DLBP (in Nordic Halcyon) with my laptop Cache, various keystraps/pouches for lip balm and pens and such, Rhodia A5 paper pad, etc. I prefer the backpack for carrying a laptop so the weight is balanced on my person.

2. What are you reading?
The Book of Wonders (short stories) by Douglas Trevor.

3. What are you playing or watching (movies, theatre, video games, etc.)?
A bunch of Netflix food series.

4. What are you listening to?
Just the sound of my furnace whooshing through the ducts.

5. What are you cooking/baking/drinking?
Coffee at the moment. But made two thick-cut pork chops last night: seared each side on the stovetop and finished in the oven.

6. What are you making/creating/doing?
Reading and writing for work - early childhood research.

7. Where have you gone lately? -or- What travel destinations are on the horizon for you?
Some local traveling by car for the recent Thanksgiving holiday.

Bonus Question: Since it's the season of giving, what is your favorite charity?
My local humane society. (I would love to get a rescue dog at some point, but for now I'll try to help the critters in need.)

[Rei]

1. What bag/accessories are you carrying (items + colors, pics always welcome)?
TB key strap :P (couldn't use my recently purchased GES25 yet)
2. What are you reading?
too (really too) many mangas/BD/webcomics
3. What are you playing or watching (movies, theatre, video games, etc.)?
MVs and Pitch Perfect 2&3 recently
4. What are you listening to?
Nigel Stanford, Alan Walker, (G)I-DLE...
5. What are you cooking/baking/drinking?
white rice and miso...
6. What are you making/creating/doing?
doodles... (with ballpen)
7. Where have you gone lately? -or- What travel destinations are on the horizon for you?
Iceland

Bonus Question: Since it's the season of giving, what is your favorite charity?
er... "Amnesty international" and "Action contre la faim"

[teresapoet]

1. What bag/accessories are you carrying (items + colors, pics always welcome)?
I recently switched from my Sidekick (Black Halcyon/Island) to a Side Effect (Black 1050 Ballistic/Ultraviolet) in anticipation of my Minimalist Wallet (Grass #4) that I’m hoping will make the SE work better for me, paired with my Pop Tote (Deep Blue).

2. What are you reading?
The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease.

3. What are you playing or watching (movies, theatre, video games, etc.)?
In addition to our daily dose of Daniel Tiger (for ponytails and sunscreen time), my daughter has recently been obsessed with the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving special and Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas

4. What are you listening to?
Right now, rain! Yay!

5. What are you cooking/baking/drinking?
Fried rice is on the menu for dinner tonight. I most recently baked Smitten Kitchen’s peanut butter cookies (the best recipe!). This year I started making and drinking fermented probiotic-rich drinks - water kefir and now milk kefir.

6. What are you making/creating/doing?
Knitting and writing poetry.

7. Where have you gone lately? -or- What travel destinations are on the horizon for you?
The week before Thanksgiving, I took a trip with my daughter across the country to Philadelphia for a Friendsgiving.

Bonus Question: Since it's the season of giving, what is your favorite charity?
I’m currently participating in the 30 Poems in November! project raising money for the Center for New Americans - a group supporting immigrant and refugee communities in Western Massachusetts.

[G42]

1. What bag/accessories are you carrying (items + colors, pics always welcome)?
Every gym day I bring my Deep Blue Pop Tote - really like this as a gym bag. Most work days, I bring a new (to me) Steel/Solar S19 to work with a ballistic Travel Cubelet inside (colour depends on my mood). And I'm now carrying a new #3 Dawn wallet!
And I use the original Small Shop Bags pretty much every day for one thing or another.
2. What are you reading?
I've been on a neuro/behavioral science kick lately, so finishing 'Happiness' by Dean Burnett, a funny UK neuroscientist... and I read The Economist most weeks
3. What are you playing or watching (movies, theatre, video games, etc.)?
Nothing - I don't own a TV and don't bother to stream... did play some retro video games at a retro arcade in LA a month or so ago, but mostly ended up playing pinball.
4. What are you listening to?
Random mixes on my iPod shuffle...mostly 80's, 90's grunge, and blues...I'm doing a bunch of spec creation in SAP right now and it's So.Boring...music is required
5. What are you cooking/baking/drinking?
Trying to 'Eat All The Food' in my freezer/fridge/pantry before I leave for two weeks for the year-end holidays... so lots of random mixes and odds & ends.
6. What are you making/creating/doing?
Working on an 'altered book' - I'm part of a circle that's passing books around. Also making jewelry for gifts.
7. Where have you gone lately? -or- What travel destinations are on the horizon for you?
Between work and personal travel, I've been to MA, RI, WA, CO, and IL in the past couple of months. Went to many historical places and hit a lot of art museums. Going homehome to MA for the two weeks of holidays... so far, nothing planned for 2019 (!). Have to get on that!
Bonus Question: Since it's the season of giving, what is your favorite charity?
Hmmm... don't know if I have a favorite. I tend to give towards spinal research, literacy, environmental, and human rights stuff... and whatever fund raiser my coworkers are canvassing for.

[backpack]

1. What bag/accessories are you carrying (items + colors, pics always welcome)?

EDC: S19 because it is much easier to carry my essential in a backpack when the weather can turn rainy/snowy on a dime. Furthermore I need my

Shopping LSB to put away all the winter layers in independent small shops and docs offices and the loverly new Zip Small Shop Bag for the purchases.


2. What are you reading?

Our Revolution, which I bought some time ago, the sequel, by the same author, has just been released, so it is timely.

3. What are you playing or watching (movies, theatre, video games, etc.)?

Watching Daniel Tiger Neighborhood because, it is so lovely to see the legacy of Mr Rodgers go on, and it is nice to have a town with a functioning and useful trolley.

I also make sure to watch as much documentaries as possible. This November, PBS World has done a good job sharing film produced by Vision Media which shares the history and lives of people from Native American ancestry.

4. What are you listening to?

Celtic songs to sing with and Latin jazz for dancing.

5. What are you cooking/baking/drinking?

Hoping to keep a permanent vegetarian lacto/ovo/vegi meat diet. Winter is usually the time when protein are calling and sometimes, that call is difficult to resist.

6. What are you making/creating/doing?

Journaling and watercolor.

7. Where have you gone lately? -or- What travel destinations are on the horizon for you?

Around town.

Bonus Question: Since it's the season of giving, what is your favorite charity?

There are so many to support who protect the environment, animals and people.

Wild Earth Guardians,The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee and Elephant Sanctuary Brazil (one beautiful elephant lady will soon be on her way from , Southern Poverty Law Center and the ACLU are some of the names that stand out.

[aedifica]

1. What bag/accessories are you carrying (items + colors, pics always welcome)?
For travel: Forest/UV Aeronaut 45 or Original Halcyon/Wasabi Western Flyer, plus another bag as personal item
For school: Original Halcyon/UV Pilot
Around town: SCB (Cloud/Viridian) or Co-Pilot (usually Original Halcyon/Wasabi)

2. What are you reading?
The Crown of Dalemark, by Diana Wynne Jones
a lot of Avengers fanfic
Corporate Finance by Stephen Ross (for school, of course)

3. What are you playing or watching (movies, theatre, video games, etc.)?
I actually watched a movie this week for the first time in I don't know how long. It was The Avengers--because of the fanfic I mentioned in the previous answer. (I'm way behind on that series and want to catch up, but instead I re-watched the first one.)

4. What are you listening to?
Baroque Brass by the St. Louis Brass Quintet. I like how baroque music has so many things going on in it, and I like brass music because I was/am/will be a brass player as a hobby (trombone and cornet) and this album combines those interests excellently.

5. What are you cooking/baking/drinking?
Tuna salad with goat cheese in it. That sounds unappetizing now that I see it written out, but it's very tasty the way I make it.

6. What are you making/creating/doing?
I just finished one knitting project (it has only been an hour since I finished blocking it!) and I'm not sure what I'll make next. I might go back to knitting squares for an afghan, because I want a new afghan for my couch.

7. Where have you gone lately? -or- What travel destinations are on the horizon for you?
Lately: Colorado to see family for Thanksgiving.
Upcoming: maybe a short trip to Minnesota, I'm not sure yet.

Bonus Question: Since it's the season of giving, what is your favorite charity?
*Greater Boston Food Bank
*EMPath. They work with women in poverty to help them and their families get out of poverty.
*Southern Poverty Law Center
*Health Care For All, because when I was on state health insurance a few years ago and had trouble finding my way through the bureaucracy, HCFA's help line was so helpful I actually cried from relief.

[flaneuse]

1. What bag/accessories are you carrying (items + colors, pics always welcome)?

My EDC right now is my beloved small gray cafe bag.

2. What are you reading?
Becoming, by Michelle Obama

3. What are you playing or watching (movies, theatre, video games, etc.)?
Currently nothing .

4. What are you listening to?
Steven Page’s Heal Thyself Pt 1: Instinct, and my favorite radio station WETA

5. What are you cooking/baking/drinking?
Lots of hot tea, water with lemon, and my winter cocktail, Manhattans. Plus any great craft brews I run across

6. What are you making/creating/doing?
Always knitting! Working on a Guthrie sweater and a Birkin sweater, both by Boyland Knitworks. And always a sock

7. Where have you gone lately? -or- What travel destinations are on the horizon for you?
Last weekend, Philly. Had a great time!! So many wonderful museums and art. Florida next weekend for the month of December, then moving to Romania after that.

[terayon]

I love these threads - I get so many ideas for books and music.

1. What bag/accessories are you carrying (items + colors, pics always welcome)?

Cloud/Island S25, with an Island 210 Travel Cubelet with my EDC stuff, a Grass 210 Travel Cubelet with my Hobonichi and pens (two Sailors and two TWSBIs), an Iberian medium Yarn Stuff Sack with a hat on the needles, and various OPs.

2. What are you reading?

The All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness.

3. What are you playing or watching (movies, theatre, video games, etc.)?

The Vietnam War by Ken Burns & Lynn Novick on Netflix.

4. What are you listening to?

All of my songs rated 4 or 5 stars, on shuffle, and CBC Music streams.

5. What are you cooking/baking/drinking?’

Just got an Instant Pot, so I’ll be trying some new recipes.

6. What are you making/creating/doing?

Christmas presents! Currently a Norwegian Star Hat, and then another hat, and then a kids’ hood, and that’ll be that.

7. Where have you gone lately? -or- What travel destinations are on the horizon for you?

I just got back from a conference in Vancouver - I managed to one-bag in my S25 - and had a great week visiting with friends and my brothers.

Bonus Question: Since it's the season of giving, what is your favorite charity?

Winnipeg Harvest, our local food bank, and Wolseley Family Place, a local family-support organization.