daily slice-of-life photo blog of a Gen-X dad
こんばんは。It’s the last day of 2018! It was a fun day today, with some ice-skating, arcade gaming, and staying up late to ring in the new year.
I hope you had a great day, and Happy New Year!
こんばんは。How’s it going?
Today was yet another traditional family activity: trimming the olive trees at my parents’ house. 😆 Usually, my brothers and I will climb the ladders and trim the trees, and the kids will clean up the ground and pack the branches and leaves into the garbage bins. This year, Koa wanted to help out on the ladder so he spent some time trimming the front yard tree which is a little smaller than the backyard tree. That’s classic Koa – wanting to give new things a try!
For lunch, my mom made submarine sandwiches, which she always makes for us when we visit. It’s one of those meals that is a can’t miss but is a challenge to fit into the meal schedule, which often gets crowded! Mariko says I need to study how my mom prepares her subs, since when I make them at home they don’t taste the same. 😄 So I took lots of photos this time! Of course after 40 years of subs, I know how to make them just like she does, so we’ve come to the conclusion that it’s just the fact that grandma Fuji made them that makes them taste better.
Another tradition is dining at CoCo curry house, and testing our tolerance for spiciness. This time, just Koa and I tested our limits, with Koa ordering a level-7 curry while I had a level-9 curry. I’ve had level-10 the past couple times, so I figured I would try something new. 😄 It wasn’t too spicy, actually, but the rest of the family’s milder-level curry was reportedly spicier than normal. Regardless of spiciness level, the curry was delicious and it was a fun dinner.
I hope you had a nice day!
またね～
When I stay at my parents’ house for the holidays it’s always interesting to see what’s on tv because I don’t watch American television shows very much. So it’s eye-opening to see what ads are being shown to the Southern Californian tv-viewing audience.
As far as ads are concerned, it’s all about new cars and new drugs. I can’t believe how many there are! Ford Sellathon, Toyatathon, Happy Honda Days, Mercedes Benz Winter Event, Chevy Families, etc. And the drug commercials – I can’t keep up with all the creative names, but the trend seems to be skincare/psoriasis this year, and diabetes is always high on the playlist.
I just finished the book A Thousand Miles to Freedom: My Escape from North Korea, and the author describes life in the totalitarian state and the brainwashing they North Korean regime inflicts on its people with its strict control of access to information. I keep thinking of the tv (which seems to be constantly on) here at my parents’ house and the words and images always streaming out of it. It’s a different kind of brainwashing, but easy to see the similarities.
こんばんは。How’s it going?
Today we took a day-trip up to the town of Ojai, California. It was about a two-hour drive, and when we arrived it was time for lunch so we headed straight for our first destination, The Nest. The food was a delicious mix of vegan and non-vegan foods, and the coffee was also yummy. We shared cauliflower tacos, brisket sandwiches, and sangria.
After lunch, we visited The Ojai Olive Oil Company, where we took a short tour and learned a lot about their olive oil operation, and olive oil in general. Very enlightening and educational! I didn’t know that the time from picking the olives to producing the actual oil happens within the span of only a few hours to retain the most flavor.
Next we made a stop at Topa Mountain Winery for a wine tasting, and then it was onto a really cool bookstore, Bart’s Books. What’s special about Bart’s is that it is the largest independently owned outdoor bookstore in the U.S.! There are so many cool books to browse through, and I found myself exploring a lot of the books from the early 1900s. How cool to read from a book that is over 100 years old!
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/8, 1/60 sec, ISO500
After a bit more shopping, it was time to head back to my parents’ house, but it was a fun day up in Ojai, California!
またね～
こんばんは。How’s it going?
Today I visited The Getty Center for the first time, which is kind of surprising since it has been around for over 20 years. I was blown away by the architecture, and also the paintings from their permanent collection. Seeing more paintings by Van Gogh, Monet, Degas, and Cezanne was pretty mind-blowing. I loved it.
We were fortunate to visit on a super-clear day (due to the gusty winds) so the already-amazing views were absolutely breath-taking. You could see downtown, the San Bernardino Mountains, Long Beach, Palos Verdes, and Catalina. It was awesome!
Admission to the Getty Museum is free, but parking in the lot is $15. I recommend arriving early at the lot because it gets super-crowded. We got there at about 9:45 am (the museum opened at 10 am) and we were able to go right to our parking space, then hop on the tram that took us up the hill to the museum. But when we left at around 1 pm there was a huge line of cars trying to get into the lot. It looked like a nightmare. So go early!
Here are a few more photos from the grounds. The Getty Center is a definite must-do if you visit Los Angeles for a few days.
