Morning Ride to the Sculpture Garden

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/1600 sec, ISO200
 “Gotcha Bird with Fish” Cedar Park, 2021

Today I woke up early and went for a 7:30 a.m. bicycle ride to check out the Sculpture Garden at the Cedar Park Recreation Center. They say it’s not about the destination, but the journey… but sometimes it’s really both! The sculptures on display at this time are really cool, and I especially liked the piece in the photo above entitled “Gotcha Bird with Fish” by Siri Dehipitiya. Isn’t it awesome?!

Speaking of birds, the “journey” over to the sculpture garden took me past the small ponds adjacent to the park, and I spotted a beautiful Great Egret just chilin’ in the morning sun. Super cool.

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/6.4, 1/1800 sec, ISO200
 “Great Egret” Cedar Park, 2021

Although it was only about 41°F / 5°C, the ride was super fun and relaxing because of the light traffic (being an early Sunday morning). I don’t usually ride this early but I think I should make it a habit. It’s a special way to start the weekend day.

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4.5, 1/600 sec, ISO200
 “Morning Mango” Cedar Park, 2021

Please take a look at this morning’s ride if you have some free time:

Prepping for Summer Veggies

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/60 sec, ISO500
 “New Crop Prep” Cedar Park, 2021

Perhaps in reaction to the terrible ice storm and damage to the yard we experienced a few weeks ago, I spent some time getting ready for this summer’s veggie crops. And by using the work “crops”, I am being VERY generous. Usually we just have several pepper plants and maybe a tomato plant, plus various herbs. This year, I have a few Scotch Bonnet plants that survived the winter and are growing nicely already. I also have some habañero and Italian parsley that are thriving.

I addition to these holdovers from last year, I (so far) added a jalapeño plant, Japanese eggplant, and zucchini squash. And lastly, we have a sweet potato that has developed shoots, so that will be going in the ground soon too.

I don’t have much of a green thumb, but gardening is something fun to learn and can be delicious too!

Homemade and Fast Food

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/40 sec, ISO800
 “Fresh Bagels” Cedar Park, 2021

Today we had both homemade food (bagels that Mariko baked) and fast food fried chicken (to celebrate one of Koa’s school achievements). Both were yummy, but I felt good after eating the bagel, and less so after the chicken and fries. 😀 Balance is good, though… right?

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/40 sec, ISO800
 “Raising Cane’s” Cedar Park, 2021

I hope you had a good day! またね～

Easy Cooking with Hello Fresh

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/60 sec, ISO500
 “Cooking with Koa” Cedar Park, 2021

Tonight we enjoyed a Hello Fresh “Pork Sausage Rigatoni in a Creamy Sauce” dinner. It was our first time trying Hello Fresh and we were very satisfied. The ingredients that arrived were indeed fresh, the prep was easy, and the finished product was delicious.

What was nice is that Koa (16) made most of it, with just a bit of help from Mariko and I. We have two more Hello Fresh meals in the fridge so I am curious to see if these will be even better than the rigatoni dinner.

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/50 sec, ISO800
 “Sausage and Rigatoni” Cedar Park, 2021

I hope you had a great day! またね～

Bicycle Ride to Relax

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“Sunset Glow” Cedar Park, 2021

Bicycles are kind of magical. They can be fun, push you to your limits, scary, and relaxing. People use them to commute, for exercise, to travel, for competition, and to simply go for joyrides. Sounds like a dream, right? I wish we lived in a world without cars… just bicycles, trains, and ships. And motorbikes. 😄

Anyways, here’s a video of a ride I took after work. A nice way to unwind and get some fresh air:

Tea Light

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/35 sec, ISO800
 “Tea Light” Cedar Park, 2021

I’ve been enjoying tea light candles for the past week or so. I like that they are unscented but provide a nice bit of ambience, even to a bright work area. I also have a scented candle, but it’s so overpowering that I rarely use it. The only problem is that the tea lights don’t last too long. 🙁