Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Walk & Dine

Why not take advantage of the sunny weather while it lasts?
We packed hot tea and the chocolate cake we made the night before 
and headed to Discovery Park. 
It feels really good to walk in nature, even though there is not much greenery around.



























We reached the beach after the damp path in shades for a while.
It's worth it!



























Divine Mt. Rainier, a.k.a. Tahoma.
It reminds me of Mt. Fuji, the highest mountain in Japan.



























At night we headed to a pintxos restaurant called "Harvest Vine"
in Madison Valley.
The sister restaurant "Txori" has a stylish urban look but this one has more homey warm atmosphere, which I like.
We sat at the counter and saw how dishes were cooked right in front of us.
I really like eating little bit of everything, so pintxos is perfect for me!
Now I would like to write a bit about the highlights.
What impressed me was the mushrooms cooked by the chef who pays great deals of attention to texture.
He told me they were softened in the oven first then cooked in the pan.
(As a mushroom lover maybe I should try it.)
And I couldn't imagine how venison would taste but I was surprised by the delicate texture and the lightness.  
In the end we got stuffed and very satisfied with the food.
Here are some pictures - dry-cured duck ham. Just beautiful!




























Juicy pork belly - I like the contrast with the crispiness.










Sunday, December 27, 2009

Christmas

It's sunny! My husband and I decided to take a walk in Green Lake Park. 
It has been a while since I was there with my brother last summer. 
There are many people enjoying walking, jogging, some with their dogs.












Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Visiting a friend at home

She also likes craft making and she showed me 
her Christmas tree decorated with her hand made ornaments.
Here is one of them which she designed herself.





























Her husband is learning Japanese characters ("Kanji").
For some reason he seems interested in negative meaning characters like darkness, death, crime, evilness etc.





























She gave me some plants and pot with soil so I can grow mine. 
I hope the roots will come out soon.



Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Fun Weekend

I joined a fabric dying class, which I was looking forward to.
Exploring techniques, experimenting with colours...
possibility is infinite.
I prefer not to control completely to allow unexpected effects on the fabric.

The drying process after washing out the dye.



Oops, it turned out too bright!




This is much more like my palette.
I really enjoyed using soy wax resist.
Yes, soybeans are good not only for eating!



Kirigami, Japanese paper cutting art, is used for stencil.
What do I do with those fabrics? This leads to another project.



Festive Season

After Thanksgiving, we entered pre-Christmas season.
Today I found Christmas decorations in the Pike Place Market, 
one of the oldest farmers' market in America. 
I sometimes go there for the lively atmosphere.



















Sunset creates beautiful shadows.















Monday, November 23, 2009

Trip to a thrift shop

I went to a thrift shop to look for material for my fabric dying class. 


I use Google maps to get around everyday. 
For example, there are four thrift shops in the Capitol Hill neighbourhood.
































Serendipity - can you see the lovely mushrooms?




Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Strange things

Why is it peanut butter, when it's mostly jams?
It shows the status of peanut butter in America. 




"Mikan" is called "Satsuma" here- it was apparently imported to America via Satsuma Province, Japan.


Monday, November 9, 2009

Sunny moments & American flags

Seattle has an oceanic climate, just like the UK. 
It's not rare that we have different weather patterns in a day. But the summer is very pleasant with cool temperature!















Sunday, November 8, 2009

Sea-creatures Sunday














Off to Uwajimaya, our local Japanese supermarket






Malaysian style crab, cooked with evaporated milk and garlic.