Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/100 sec, ISO2000 “Classic Combo” Cedar Park, 2017
こんばんは。How was your weekend?
Tonight Mariko cooked a classic combination dinner of chahan (Japanese fried rice) and gyoza. It was delicious! I mentioned in another post that I have gotten better at cooking the gyoza, but the ones Mariko made tasted better. I guess it’s true what my Mom says: “Things taste better when other people cook.” 😁
Our dog, being a dog, always hangs around the dinner table while we eat, hoping for a handout (or dropped food) but our cats also like to lounge at the table as well:
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/100 sec, ISO1250 “Do I Have to Move?” Cedar Park, 2017
One of our previous cats, Amo, loved to eat human food so we had to protect our table, but our current cats, Yuzu and Anko are just curious enough to give it a sniff if it’s convenient. I guess they are a little lazy too. 🐱
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO1250 “JFC” Cedar Park, 2017
こんばんは。How’s it going?
Tonight we enjoyed one of our favorite meals: karaage. Koa loves it and requested this dinner since he hasn’t had a chance to get in his JFC (Japanese Fried Chicken) fix while Mariko was away in Japan. Needless to say, it was delicious!
Today I applied some color to a sketch that I did a couple weeks ago. It’s an alleyway at the Kasbah of the Udayas in Rabat, Morocco. I used a reference photo that I took when we were there last month. It’s a simple scene, and the blue is pretty intense, but if you’ve ever seen it in person, you will agree that the color is amazing. The more I look at this painting, the more the blue wall looks like the sea.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO1600 “Kasbah Watercolor” Cedar Park, 2017
I’m enjoying sketching and watercolors a lot. Plus my fountain pen interest has settled into a nice groove. Meaning, I am enjoying using my LAMY Safari to write in a daily journal every night, and my Pilot Kakuno is used for general purpose writing, and captioning my watercolors too!
To see all the sketches I’ve been working on, you can check out the Flickr album “My Sketching Journey”, or my Instagram account barron.sketches which I created just for posting sketches, watercolors, and stationery items.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO1600 “Poke Donburi” Cedar Park, 2017
こんばんは。Did you have a good Friday?
With the return of Mariko and Bay, Koa and I will end our “Bachelor summer”, which means we also are ending our Bachelor diets, which are not healthy at all… We’ve been craving the good food that Mariko provides for us, and tonight we enjoyed a simple but delicious poke donburi (rice bowl). 🐟🍚 It was such a treat!
I’m looking forward to miso soup too, especially because Mariko said she brought back some really good miso. I can’t wait. And karaage, and tofu, and vegetables, etc. etc. etc.
And even the ice cream got a nice upgrade when they came back from Japan. Cookie toppings in the shape of pandas! 🐼🍪🍨
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO1000 “Ice Cream Treat” Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.6, 1/100 sec, ISO2000 “Gyoza Dinner” Cedar Park, 2017
こんばんは。How’s it going?
Tonight’s post will be a bit scattered, but whatever. I’m not writing to win any awards. 😁
For dinner, Koa and I had gyoza, which I am getting pretty good at preparing. We usually buy pre-made, frozen gyoza and so I just have to heat them up… not really cooking, just preparing. Anyway, the method I use it so arrange them into a circle in the skillet, with the flat side down. Next, add some vegetable oil and sesame oil to the bottom and fry over medium-high heat. After a few minutes, I add in about 1/3 cup of water, then cover the pan with a lid and steam for another 4 or 5 minutes over medium heat. Then, remove the cover and cook until the liquid disappears.
Finally, I take a large plate (that is wider than the gyoza circle), place it over the gyoza, then flip the pan, plate, and gyoza over. That way, the crispy golden part is facing up for serving.
Serve with a dipping sauce of ponzu and rayu, and bowls of white rice and you have a nice meal! I only wish we had miso soup to go with it…
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/8, 1/3000 sec, ISO200 “Today’s Clouds” Cedar Park, 2017
Lately there have been some pretty cool cloud formations in the sky, so of course, I had to take photos of them. I think the clouds in Texas can get pretty huge and impressive and I am always amazed at the natural beauty. I still don’t fully understand how clouds form, and frankly, I’d rather not know and keep the mystery alive. 🙂☁️
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.6, 1/100 sec, ISO2500 “Looking for Grey” Cedar Park, 2017
Lastly, I did a little bit of research on how to create a nice grey color using the paints I currently have in my watercolor palette and I think I found a good combination. It’s basically pthalo blue mixed with a bit of orange, and a touch of red. It’s easy to make it warmer or cooler just by varying the ratio. I also produced a nice grey using the prima blue that came with the watercolor set I bought.
Next, I want to try to make some dark colors for shadows. I am not sure I can produce that with the colors I have now, but I read that pthalo green is needed to make the color I want. We’ll see!
Today I dropped off my wife and 15-year-old son at the airport for their month-long trip to Japan. Then, I worked the day at the office before meeting my visiting brother and 13-year-old son at Pinballz for some fun arcade games. It was great playing pinball and some old consoles like Tempest! Had a great time and enjoyed a nice beer as well.
After that, it was time for dinner and my brother wanted some southern food, so we went to Mouton’s Southern Bistro. I’ve wanted to try this restaurant for several years now, so this was a good chance. The food was delicious and the portions were generous as you can see below! So stuffed… ☺
