tyger tyger burning bright

tiger eye scarf
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

so the scarf's not so bright, but i'm liking the earthy burnt sienna, and will post to my mom tomorrow.

chaya venice

chaya venice
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

we kicked off dinela restaurant week with dinner at chaya restaurant. the restaurant seemed nice the food looked good but was a little uninspired. a few things were off--including raviolis tasting like frozen package stuff, and chocolate sauce reminiscent of hershey's oozing all over the profiteroles. i prefer rich to sweet desserts. the noise and crowdy atmosphere didn't lend itself to a pleasant dining experience either. regardless, i'm glad we went out and tried a new place instead of ruminating about where our weekend went.

com tam thuan kieu

com tam thuan kieu
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

once the pho fix was out of the way, i was feeling in the mood for some bun thit nuong, which is vermicelli with grilled pork. it's been a long time. i'm not sure if it's a menstrual cycle thing or not that i've been craving meat lately, because i usually don't eat much meat at all.

even though i've lived fairly close to some of the best vietnamese food in the country and have had opportunity to partake of such bounty, i haven't really explored little saigon. one of these places is com tam thuan kieu, which translates roughly to broken rice different ways. broken rice was what was kept by the peasant workers who threshed rice for themselves to eat, while the perfect grains went to market.

i scheduled a day of appointments for mike & myself this past sat, first to the dentist for a cleaning, then haircuts, so it worked out great that lunch would be somewhere in between. we ended up going for rice rather than vermicelli since i heard about the good food at com tam, and it was a restaurant i hadn't tried before.

the menu included a number of variations of broken rice with different preparations of meat, including grilled pork, beef, grilled shrimp, pork skin with rice powder, pickled veggies, fried shrimp tofu, omelet-like egg mixture.

mike had the rice with grilled shrimp and fried shrimp tofu. i had mine with beef & shrimp tofu. the beef was sweet and tender from the marinade, and the shrimp tofu had an interesting texture and good flavor. it was a little on the greasy side. interestingly, i can't take too much greasy food, and though i can be a purist with regards to some things, i prefer food without a lot of grease. some people savor the grease, but my mom raised me with healthy eating habits. that is not to say i don't like fried foods. i also grew up in a home with a fry daddy.

mike thought his dish was tasty, but is still getting over the fish sauce. i guess growing up with it, it neither seemed odd or too intense. seriously, there are fishier things than nuoc cham, which is made from fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, garlic and chilis, like this shrimp paste stuff even my mom's not too crazy about.

for years i did not realize how lucky i was to have such a great cook for a mom, and though i can't always have mom's cooking, something about eating vietnamese food is comforting. i think that is part of why vietnam, that i never knew, seemed so familiar the first time i visited.

pho hanh

pho hanh
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

the chilly rain this past week has left me wanting -- and craving warm soup. thurs, i found myself at pho hanh, one of the few vietnamese and pho places in long beach. this was my second visit to this establishment. the first time i discovered this, we were stopping by a subway on the way somewhere out of the city. not that it's that far of a drive, but sometimes we're just lazy, and it's nice to be within close proximity of a comforting bowl of pho. especially if you have the flu. there is one other pho place i know of that happens to be fairly close to home--pho hong phat--but my last experience was so so. i think they put msg in the broth, which is good but too greasy for me.

at pho hanh, i made the mistake of sitting against the side wall towards the back of the restaurant where something stinky was disturbing my senses. luckily, when they brought the pho, i couldn't smell stinky any more. i satiated my pho longings, but thought the broth was less flavorful this time-slightly sweet but lacking in the depth of flavors typical of a big bowl of pho that's been brewing for eight hours. on the way, i passed by another pho restaurant - pho thanh lich, which i've heard mention on chowhound, but could not discern if they were open or not as the windows were dark - either due to tinting or low lighting. i'll have to try that next time when i need a pho fix in town.

eye of the tiger

tiger eye scarf
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

after 3-4 repeats, the knitting was quick and could be done while watching tv or chatting, but i had to be careful not to lose stitch count.

because i wanted the scarf to be symmetrical, i made the grafted version, with 13 repeats of the pattern on each side for a total of 26 repeats. in retrospect, it did not need to be as long, as it is ending up being 7' long post blocking, which is a long scarf for a 5' woman (my mom).

oh, and there was one mistake discovered while blocking... doh!...somehow i slightly shifted the pattern on one row, but didn't notice because it didn't affect the stitch count. hopefully, my mom won't or care.

the one thing that was annoying was the grafting. i did it twice, but the kitchener grafting did not appear invisible. i've used this technique on socks before, and it was great. i don't know if it was user error both times or the pattern that made it pucker up on the back side. i tried using a darning needle to loosen up, and it looks normal on sections of it. if i were to do it again, i might add a couple lines of stockinette at the ends where they join. finishing is becoming my least favorite part about knitting.

i really enjoyed this pattern and have decided i love lace knitting. probably has to do with my innate tendencies towards texture and pattern emerging from order.

rather than being a literal representation, the pattern requires some imagination to visualize the tiger eyes, which is nice. they also resemble peacock feathers. though i love fresh flowers, i'm not a flowery kind of person, so am reluctant about flower designs. i guess it all depends on the design. this one's for my mom, but i would wear one in grey or sky blue myself.

tony's little italy pizza

tony's little italy pizza
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

as a part of ramping up on trying new places in LA, i have joined a food group - pleasure palate. our first tasting led us to a little place in placentia serving deep dish chicago style pizza--something only described to me and loved by mike, who is from chicago, before this experience.

this pizza takes about 30 min to cook, but i thought was worth the wait. the tomato sauce was sweeter than most, and there was about two inches of crust & mostly cheese. I found the pizza tasty and enjoyable, and cheese is always good, but felt there weren't more strong flavors. one thing i had hoped for was more flavor to the crust, which is a prominent part of this style of pizza. this is of course, my first experience, and coming from someone who loves thin crust pizza. still, one thing i remember about the pizza i had at di fara's in new york was that you could taste the crust.

another thing i noticed was the lack of "stuff" in the pizza. the cheese was rather nondescript, so it helps to have other ingredients add some flavor, but they--mushrooms, peppers, etc.---were sparse.

it wasn't mind-blowing pizza, but a good introduction to chicago style pizza, which i'll have to try more of. oh, this definitely fills you up. eating one slice is more like eating a stack of two. i still feel two hours later like i have a brick of cheese in my stomach. not necessarily bad, but food coma-inspiring.

apple cinnamon muffins

in the kitchen
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

i woke with a craving for apple cinnamon muffins, which i haven't baked since college. we didn't have enough eggs for scrambling, and have a chicago pizza pie tasting trip planned for lunch so didn't want anything too heavy for breakfast. the distinct crunchiness of apples and cinnamon sugar was calling me. since the muffins require only basic ingredients, i figured it would be easy enough.

a recipe on the internet served as starter for my baking efforts. after the initial lovely smell of cinnamon wafting through the apartment came smoke from the muffins overflowing and dripping butter, cinnamon & sugar onto the bottom of the oven. note to self, do not fill to top of cup even though recipe indicates so.

they turned out quite tasty, but i didn't use as much butter for the topping as i thought two sticks of butter seemed excessive and only used a little more then one stick. i think next time i'll substitute some whole wheat flour for white and brown sugar for white.

seared sea scallops

in the kitchen
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

i love scallops, and they are a premium at nice restaurants. after a couple unsuccessful attempts at searing them at home, i was determined this time to get it right. the problem is that i start sauteeing them in the pan, and they either are too wet and don't really sear, or the oil/butter keeps them from really sticking to the pan and searing, and by the time that evaporates, they are cooked. they're best crunchy on the outside and soft, slightly raw on the inside, like a burger (which for me is best rare).

i realized after previous attempts that i didn't need a lot of oil/butter, and need to really towel them so there's no extra liquid steaming or braising them. in the past, i've also cooked them with a saffron cream sauce, but decided to keep the scallops seared and separate. i made the saffron cream sauce with some mushrooms & red bell peppers. typical of me, i thought i had picked up some half & half, but discovered that the thought never went into action, so had to improvise. not sure it it was weird, but i used a combination of evaporated milk, milk & cheese to make the sauce, which turned out quite rich due to the cheese. mike quite enjoyed it.

addictions

addictions
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

as difficult as it is to qualify the so-called happiness i get from working on puzzles in a spiritual context, i can't seem to tear myself away. prone to obsessive behavior, i easily get sucked into whatever problem-solving apparatus presents itself to my attention. i found babble a long time ago, and forced myself to stop, but i mentioned it recently to my aunt, and upon thinking about it, found myself looking at the site again.

scrabble & boggle are two of my favorite word games so it is no surprise that i am addicted to this hybrid of the two. each day presents a new puzzle, so there doesn't appear to be hope for this new affliction until i regain some control and escape or replace this with sudoku, another one-time addiction.

baby's bootees

week2_0041
Originally uploaded by maddox_paul.

caroline's wearing the bootees i made her. ok. so maybe all that finishing was worth it.

calendar

calendar
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

who would have guessed that my photos would make people cry? not me. parents, especially ours, are really difficult to shop for since they don't need anything, so i thought giving our parents something personal and maybe handmade would be best appreciated but really underestimated the response.

i put together two separate calendars, one for my mom and one for mike's parents. when we gave mike's parents theirs, they really enjoyed going through the photos, which included various ones of all of us as a group and individually over the last year. each month had photos of us taken during that month. mike's sister amy teared up when she asked me if she could get one too. i suppose she just had a baby, so the hormones were making her especially emotional, but appreciated the interest nonetheless.

then, when i gave my mom one, my grandfather kept looking at it, and asked for one. he, too got teary-eyed. i think he is going through a lot right now, and was feeling very nostalgic. i'm glad i can give them something special. i used to think that i had to make something elaborate for it to be special, but these calendars are easy with iphoto. it's staying on my list for next year.

emergence

that consciousness manifests from trillions of neurons that either fire or don't fire has intrigued me for some time now. in a previous life, i had dreams of becoming a neuroscientist. though i aspire to be an artist, the line between art & science grows ever narrower these days.

there is a word and a science for studying the way complex systems arise out of simple pieces of that make up the system--emergence. i first learned of the term from mike referring to how things in proximity have an influence on each other, but the idea is not new to me. women living together will synchronize their menstrual cycles. i've had two friends synchronize their cycles with mine--does that mean i have strong pheromones?

i am reading and finding interesting one of two books on the topic, Sync: How Order Emerges from Chaos in the Universe, Nature, and Daily Life. the other is Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software. what do fireflies in asia, women's monthly cycles, cities, google and the human brain have in common? a lot apparently. already i am excitedly planning an interactive piece exploring this with mike. i'd like to start with a simulation that can take on a life of its own. aside from programming and other technical challenges, we have to figure out how to put together 1000 leds (at the minimum) that are individually programmable and not cost prohibitive. of course, we, like the scientists in the book, will start with "syncing" two. processing seems to be the perfect environment for preliminary tests.

but first, i must solder more leds for my my other project. since i have made little progress on the photograph of my father, i have decided to give myself a deadline of completing the soldering for all the resistors by the end of the month. that's some odd 12,000 resistors give or take a few. it doesn't seem completely unreasonable, but i calculated that i would need to solder about 480 a day to reach that goal. one must have loft goals.

oh, and there is an excellent podcast from august of a radio lab show from WNYC on emergence.

family dinner 010808

family dinner 010808
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

this may well be the last dinner at what will be my grandparents' former home if things go as planned, and my grandfather enters a nursing home. from what i understand, it's like a b&b for seniors who can't live on their own and won't be filled with sick elderly people wandering the halls like the place he was in before. it doesn't sound horrible, but i have sympathy for him considering the loneliness that lies ahead for someone suffering from depression. solitude can be a blessing. i hope he will be strong.

because my grandfather has done the minimum to regain mobility, and can't take care of himself, and my grandmother cannot take care of him, the only option seems to be for him to live in a place where he can get the adequate care. it's my grandmother's prerogative, and she has decided she will not move into the home with him. instead, she is going to be moving in with my aunt anh indefinitely, since she doesn't require 24 hr care. my grandfather, who has been depressed, is very bitter about the lack of control and in his eyes respect for his wishes, and it makes me sad. i can understand their separate reasons for their choices and actions, but to see two people who have been together for so long and through so much to end unhappily is heartbreaking.

they are not dying, and could live for many years longer if they have the will and barring any other calamities, but this is a huge change that will reverberate through the family.

tiger eye scarf

tiger eye scarf
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

i tried three or four different yarns with this pattern, most of which were hand-dyed variegated and competed with the pattern. one of the yarns, a baby alpaca laceweight, was making my eyes hurt trying to make out the stitches. finally settled on this blue sky alpacas baby alpaca sportweight. it's a good color for my mom, is soft and hopefully warm, even though hole-y.

once i got going and completed the repeats four or five times, the momentum remained consistent without requiring a lot of undivided attention, and i'm almost halfway through. the scarf can be knit as two halves and grafted if you want the pattern to be symmetrical on both ends, or you can knit the pattern to length. i'm going to do the former, as i think it will be nicer. i may try this pattern in the laceweight again after i finish this, since i am more familiar with it. i'm enjoying knitting these lace-y patterns that are initially an effort to start but fun to see emerge.

oh the places we'll dine

oh the places we'll dine
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

recent travels have reignited my love of trying new things. we've become lax about seeking out new food experiences in the far corners of LA county and beyond. a new year spells new adventures, so i used google maps to "map" out some prospective good eats culled from the recommendations on chowhound, a great board/website for foodies like myself that has proven successful in new york and montreal.

many of the restos are from the thread Ultimate Restaurants Los Angeles 2006 (didn't find one for 2007), but i've taken liberties to add from other threads, and will continue to add to it. oh, and mike gave me (the poster child) a gps for my car for xmas, AND figured out how to get the listings from google maps into the gps system, and set his up so that it says (in homer fashion) "mmmmm....beer" when in close proximity to one of the places. can't wait to add this list to mine.

if you're interested in where i'll be dining in '08, click here for access to my map (made public).

interestingly, i didn't find a comprehensive list from the board for long beach eateries so created a map of the beloved places i've been to in the area. i agreed with some, but wasn't terribly impressed with others. i can't promise you a slice of heaven, but you might find that one of these places has something to warm the heart of your mouth. click here for that one.

most i have eaten at three times minimum, but a few, such as l'opera, frenchy's bistro, father's office (best burger made perfectly rare with goat cheese, carmelized onions among other things), i've only been to once, but they impressed me enough to warrant return visits. oh, and don't pass this list to just anyone. some of these are true hidden gems, not requiring reservations or wait time, for the inner foodie (if you're willing to brave LA traffic and multiple freeways for good dim sum or experimental japanese, i guess you qualify).

bon apetit!

jaywalker finis!

knitting fo
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

a repeat of two rows, these jaywalkers were an easy knit, yet look "fancy" enough with the zig zag pattern. this was the perfect project for knitting whilst watching tv or socializing at the snb meeting. i blocked these on my recently acquired sock blockers.

it's odd, but the first one, i knit a little loose, so went down a needle size as i got close to the ankle and continued in the smaller size through the foot to get gauge. the second sock ended up being tighter, so i didn't need to go down in needle size. they appear to fit the shape of my leg really well, but looks can be deceiving as i learned. my one peeve is that the socks don't stay up. they slip and bunch around my legs when i get up and walk around. i'll have to look into fixing these so they stay up and making sure future socks don't end up like this. oddly, after wearing my first pair of knitted socks (these are my second) they too started slipping. i thought wool was suppose to be elastic and snap back into shape? well, i'll have to incorporate some elastic then.

otherwise, i like the color, though i'd like to start knitting more neutrals. so happy & ready to move on to more sock knitting adventures.

fast & furious

knitting fo
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

i wanted to knit myself another hat to take to montreal. after perusing through several books and patterns, i settled on this one, called "clara" from hip knit hats. the pattern is interesting looking, but not so complicated that it couldn't be finished on the plane ride over. since we were stuck in miami for an additional 4 hours between flights, finishing was no problemo. i even started to worry that i had not brought enough knitting projects to work on. yikes!

i really like the color and texture. i don't know if it will be a favorite hat as the top came out a little pointier than in the photo. my favorite hat is still a knitted black cashmere one with braids on either side i received as a gift from my friend edlyn, who saw me eye-ing it at banana republic in 2000. i may have to try to recreate that one or something similar in a different color.

the never-ending scarf

knitting fo
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

not sure why, but this scarf seemed to take forever. a pattern that is so simple in fact that it bored me to tears at times, thus sat unknitted for long periods of time. i've looked at it for so long, i can't even tell if i like the color any more. towards the end, i did throw myself into a knitting frenzy, determined to finish the darn thing, and inadvertently knit it too long. it comes out to around 10' after blocking. so silly of me.

it made a great tv watching project, and was the second knitted item that i actually blocked, and the first that really needed it. the pattern causes the sides to curl up. i couldn't completely remove the curl, but flattened it into a sufficiently flat scarf shape. i think i will wear it tomorrow,

the ubiquitous resolutions for 2008

i like making lists and looking ahead as much as i do looking back. seems that living in the present should make it on the list, but it hasn't. after all, the other two are fodder for art projects for years to come.

1. manage my time and make better use of my time
i have some bad habits. among other things, i am addicted to the internet and get distracted doing things around the house that are not necessarily high priority in the scheme of my life on my days home that should be spent working on art. my top priorities are make art & make money. those two things are often at odds with each other but are not mutually exclusive, and though there is no need to be a total stickler and exclude the pleasurable things that don't fall into either of those categories, there needs to be some efficiency and management of my time.

2. spend more time making art
this is a corollary to the previous resolution and goes without saying. there are those who believe that anything can be art. if i were creative and/or clever enough, i can turn any ordinary or mundane action into art.

3. pay off debts and manage finances better
this is a difficult one for sure. i still haven't figured it out. i did at one point pay off most of my debts, but having been unemployed or at least working and not getting paid for a good part of last year has put me back into debt. i know. i could and should work full time, but that would make the working on art difficult. oi.

4. be more organized
i can be, and i must be. there's a lot to organize, and that too takes time.

5. work with what i have
now here's something that's just plain common sense. i have a problem with getting my mind set on having things a certain way, which often means finding the exact material or process to bring into existence that idea/thing in my head. again, this requires some ingenuity and cleverness on my part as well as letting go of preconceived ideas about outcomes. i don't have to build a boat from scratch that actually functions as a boat, and i don't have to have the perfect yarn for a pattern.

6. get rid of clutter and things that cause clutter
serious cleaning must be done. our house, our garage & our storage space runneth over. must let go, and must not take home anything i don't need. not easy when anything has potential for some future project. i am hoarding hair, skin & nail clippings in viles in the bathroom after all.

7. finish things
seems easy enough. difficult when one is spread thin across way too many projects or tackle ridiculously difficult projects which require lots of new skills. one must aim high or course, but must recognize and accept one's limitations and either overcome or circumvent them. i did end the year by finally finishing the never-ending chevron scarf & my jaywalker socks.

so that is it. working out supposedly is on many people's list of resolutions, and though i certainly could use more exercise, i guess it doesn't make it into the top 7. i'll have to live with my pooch and flabbiness, but will try to take more walks.

a nice dilemma & other reflections

Body of Evidence I
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

granted, i make what i deem to be "progress" in adding to and improving upon my body of work every year, yet i am extremely disappointed in myself that another year passes, and i am not ready to apply for grad school, which i feel a strong need for. this has been true for years now. i can't remember who, because i've bemoaned this to a number of people, but someone, maybe it was jerry, told me, "you never feel ready, to apply to grad school."

mike thinks i should just do it, and he will be even more annoyed that i don't even try this year. i only have three worthwhile completed pieces for my portfolio (i think). the other few that are in progress are substantial, and i'm excited about them and about finishing them, but they only exist as renderings in my portfolio and a sizable pile of leds on the work table. this is why i don't feel ready. actually, i have many ideas for many projects, but none of those count, because they are only patterns of neurons firing in my noggin' and a few sketches at this point.

well, to prove that i'm not a total neurotic pessimist, i do have great news. my body of evidence i piece is in a show in st. charles, missouri at the foundry art centre, and apparently, i received the solo award for it. what a wonderful surprise. i almost didn't even bother submitting to the show because i was kind of busy and not feeling very positive about the piece after a couple of rejections. so glad mike encouraged me to do it, and i listened to him.

i get to decide whether to accept award money, which i desperately need, or a solo show at the gallery some time in 2010, which is a ways off. difficult decision. the money would be great to put back into new work and pay off expenses for past projects. unlike most careers, being an artist means you spend time and money making things for some indeterminate time in hopes that one day, enough people will buy your work so you can continue to make more work and not starve or give up.

i am not all about the money either. an opportunity to have a solo show is rare. i've only had a few pieces in juried shows. how long does an artist peddle her wares before someone with a prominent venue allows her space to show not just one piece but a body of work to a large audience of people, some of whom may find some connection to the work? i haven't yet made up my mind, but i am enjoying that this is the difficult choice i am thinking about and basking in the glow of recognition and reassurance that i'm not just doing this for me.

2007 the year in review

Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

it's hard not to fall into the habit of being goal-oriented, especially having been molded into project manager mode by work and otherwise, and along with that, having "milestones." however cliche it sounds, i believe it is the journey and not the destination--that destination could just as well be death. still, having some reassurance along the way that you are going somewhere good makes the type A person in me feel better. in the spirit of new year reflection, i am looking back to remind myself that although the year seemed to fly by so quickly, i made things happen. accomplishments, in no particular order:

* turned bowls, lidded dishes & containers, a trapped ring, pens, a knitting needle, among other things
* learned to use and used power tools, including a table saw, a jointer, a planar, router, orbital & edge sanders, band saw, to make a push stick, mallet, sanding block & toolbox
* knit socks, lace, scarves & baby booties
* soldered ~ 10,000 leds
* finished two art pieces
* assembled the beginnings of a portfolio
* had pieces accepted to juried shows in Irvine, Long Beach & St. Charles
* won the Solo Award for a juried show
* visited New York, San Francisco & Montreal
* ate salsify noodles for the first time
* made tom yum gai and cupcakes for the first time
* learned to machine sew
* learned Processing a programming environment
* learned MaxMSP
* did a decent job updating my blog

sweet caroline

shaub xmas 2007
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

apparently, we underestimated the holiday traffic, even at 5am on december 24, at the airport, and missed our check in, which had to be 45 minutes prior to departure. luckily, the nice woman at the counter found us new flights and didn't charge us extra even though we had discount tickets that were nonrefundable nonchangeable.

while we were flying to miami en route to montreal, amy's--mike's sister--water broke. we arrived late monday night/early tuesday morning to learn that she was in labor and would have the baby soon. amy had a xmas baby--caroline.

we visited them the following day at the hospital and met mike's new niece for the first time. she had strawberry blond hair like paul. they were able to come home the following afternoon. being a newborn, caroline slept most of the time we were there, even whilst nursing. i think there were two times when she had her eyes, which were a dark blue grey, open.

she's quite adorable and not fussy at all--the most peaceful sleeper. with all the excitement, i had a chance to do some cooking for the family. on one of the days, we picked up some challah bread from a deli, and i made some darn good thick-sliced french toast for dinner, which everyone enjoyed.

it was nearing the end of our trip, and amy felt like we were house-bound and not getting any experience of montreal, although we were glad to spend the time with everyone, including the baby. i did a little research on chowhound for a lunch place and google to find a couple things to do. many of the nice french restaurants were not open for lunch or were closed through the holidays until early jan. we narrowed our options down to lemeac and laloux. amy thought laloux was better, so that's where we went.

or so we thought. paul came with us, which was great, not just for company, but as we found out, the resto was not open for lunch, even though the website clearly had a lunch menu, so we went to lemeac, which was plenty delicious. mike had a cheese omelet and frites from the brunch menu. i had seared scallops with mushrooms, kale & creamed potatoes. paul had this black cod with cherry tomatoes. all the food was great. we ended by sharing some profiteroles with vanilla bean ice cream instead of the typical custard and covered with chocolate sauce an almonds. yum!

after lunch, paul dropped us off at the metro, where we proceeded to the biodome, an enclosed dome with 5 different ecosystems. it was fun seeing the little animals, although the monkeys were not cooperating with my picture taking in the low light no flash conditions. some areas looked empty, like the laurentian forest, but we did see a beaver cam with napping beaver. the porcupine with his big coat of quills was even more uncooperative as a photo subject than the playful monkeys.

on the way back, we visited the "underground city", which sounded exciting but was more mall-like than anticipated, and stopped to get bagels from st. viatueur, one of the recommended places. the bagels, cooked in a wood oven, are crunchier and sweeter than the ones we are familiar with here.

during our visit, we also took a tour of paul's & amy's new lab, including looking at the fancy microscopes & various mixing machines. i had some trouble following how the confocal microscope worked, but was curious about what kind of photos you could make with it. i did take some photos of my apparently dry skinned finger through one of the regular microscopes.

it was a nice trip, but we are glad to be home. click here for the photolog of the trip. i swear it's way more interesting than my musings.

nguyen xmas 07

oh xmas tree
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

we gathered as usual at my grandparents' for xmas on december 22 for lots of food & family. my contribution to dinner was braised potatoes, which went over well. the large family made the gift exchange chaotic. i was busily unwrapping my own so wasn't able to get as many photos. we had two desserts, including a buche noel & a decadent cake made of cream puffs, custard & whipped cream. yum!

it was nice to see my grandfather stay with us through the gift exchange. co yien, my grandfather's brother's girlfriend, is an awesome cook, and had made these pate choux, flaky pastries with meat fillings. i would have loved to have taken more than the two, but we were about to go out of town, so didn't want to take home what i couldn't eat. all in all a great night.

see the photolog.