Spoiled Again (with a Thai Dinner)

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"Thai Curry" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.5, 1/125 sec, ISO1250
 “Thai Curry” Cedar Park, 2017

こんばんは。Tonight’s photos are of another delicious and beautiful dinner. I’ve said it several times before, but they kids and I are really spoiled by Mariko when it comes to the food we eat. It’s all so delicious, and Mariko enjoys cooking and trying new dishes. We are so fortunate!

My contribution to this evening’s dinner was a trip to the market to pick up some coconut milk. And of course doing the dishes, which I am happy to do. It’s a tiny price to pay for getting to eat these meals every night. 😌

"Pad Thai" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.5, 1/125 sec, ISO1000
 “Pad Thai” Cedar Park, 2017

I hope you had a wonderful Tuesday!

おやすみ

More Sketching Study

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"2017.09.18 Sketch" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.6, 1/125 sec, ISO2500
 “2017.09.18 Sketch” Cedar Park, 2017

こんばんは。How was your Monday?

Tonight I decided to do a little research into how people sketch out facial proportions, but my first attempt at following the directions turned out horrible… so I adjusted the system and I really like the results. Basically, I shortened the face a bit which is a bit more unrealistic, but it’s kind of the style of drawing that I like to see others do.

After I sketched it, I erased a lot of the guidelines and then realized that I should probably keep them for reference. Whoops! Anyways, I went back in with my ruler and measured out some of the distances. It’s not as easy to remember or calculate as the systems I found on Youtube but I am going to try to replicate it if I can.

Also, you can see in the photo that I used a compass. That was to draw the first circle, but what is more interesting is that this compass belongs to a set which I borrowed from my Dad when I was in high school and kind of kept it all these years. It is kept in an old leather case which smells so nice. Kind of old metal, lubricating oil, and felt… I don’t know, but it’s a smell that takes me back to when I was a kid.

Lastly, here’s a photo of my workspace, which I rearranged a bit by putting the scanner in the corner after we moved our printer to another room. It looks a bit cluttered, but normally the desk surface is clear. 

"Workspace" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.6, 1/120 sec, ISO6400
 “Workspace” Cedar Park, 2017

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.

おやすみ and take care!

🎶 Rod Stewart – Young Turks

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🎶 I’m not a huge Rod Stewart fan, but I’ve always loved this song. Young hearts be free tonight!

Young Turks

Billy left his home with a dollar in his pocket and a head full of dreams.
He said somehow, some way, it’s gotta get better than this.
Patti packed her bags, left a note for her momma, she was just seventeen,
There were tears in her eyes when she kissed her little sister goodbye.

They held each other tight as they drove on through the night they were so excited.
We got just one shot of life, let’s take it while we’re still not afraid.
Because life is so brief and time is a thief when you’re undecided.
And like a fistful of sand, it can slip right through your hands.

Young hearts be free tonight. Time is on your side,
Don’t let them put you down, don’t let ’em push you around,
Don’t let ’em ever change your point of view.

Paradise was closed so they headed for the coast in a blissful manner.
They took a two room apartment that was jumping ev’ry night of the week.
Happiness was found in each other’s arms as expected, yeah
Billy pierced his ears, drove a pickup like a lunatic, ooh!

Young hearts be free tonight. Time is on your side,
Don’t let them put you down, don’t let ’em push you around,
Don’t let ’em ever change your point of view.
Young hearts be free tonight.
Time is on your side.

Billy wrote a letter back home to Patti’s parents tryin’ to explain.
He said we’re both real sorry that it had to turn out this way.
But there ain’t no point in talking when there’s nobody list’ning so we just ran away
Patti gave birth to a ten pound baby boy, yeah!

Young hearts be free tonight, time is on your side.
Young hearts be free tonight, time is on your side.
Young hearts be free tonight, time in on your side.

Young hearts gotta run free, be free, live free
Time is on, time is on your side
Time, time, time, time is on your side
Is on your side
Is on your side
Is on your side
Young heart be free tonight
Tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight, yeah

Songwriters: Carmine Appice / Carmine Jr Appice / Duane Hitchings / Duane S Hitchings / Kevin Savigar / Rod Stewart
Young Turks lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Coffee for a Busy Sunday

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"Instant Coffee" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.5, 1/125 sec, ISO1250
 “Instant Coffee” Cedar Park, 2017

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Today I spent the bulk of my time working on my wife’s blog. She bought a new theme and it needed a lot of TLC to get it set up, and actually still needs a bunch of tweaking. But it’s up and running and functioning fine. I think it’s ready for her to take over and get used to using the new recipe widgets.

Thankfully I had a lot of coffee to keep me going! The photo above is of a big jar of instant coffee that my mother-in-law gave me. She knows I love coffee, and when we visit her house in Japan, I usually have one or two cups of instant each morning. So I guess she remembers that and always sends a big Nescafe back to the States for me. 😄

I don’t think instant coffee tastes so good, but it’s something I drink while on vacation so it gives me a good feeling! I’ll happily drink it anytime.

I hope you had a nice weekend and let’s have a great week!

おやすみ

Frozen Scallions

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"Making Eggs" Cedar Park, 2017
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.5, 1/125 sec, ISO1250
 “Making Eggs” Cedar Park, 2017

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Today’s photo is of the uncooked late breakfast I made for my son and his friend. My son likes to have green onions in his scrambled eggs (ever since my Mom made them for him a few years ago) and we now keep a Ziploc bag of chopped scallions in the freezer. It’s so convenient to just grab a little bit and throw into the eggs! I highly recommend doing this. 😀 Oh, and I also add a bit of heavy cream into the mix to give it a little extra richness.

This evening, my 16-year-old and I went to watch the Canelo/GGG boxing match at the movie theater. This is the second time we’ve done this and it’s pretty fun! It’s nice because the action is on the big screen and you can talk during the show! Also, the theater we went to serves beer, which is an extra plus. 🍻

But now, I’m very tired, and it’s actually 00:33 Sunday morning so I’ll say good night.

おやすみ