Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/25 sec, ISO6400 “Cat’s Life” Cedar Park, 2016
こんばんは！How’s it going?
I’m always amazed that the cats can be comfortable enough to sleep just about anywhere. In the photo above, Anko is taking a nap on top of Lani’s crate. Even though there is a thin blanket on top, the wire crate can’t be that comfortable, can it? 🐱
But the cats’ favorite place to lounge is on the handlebars of our exercise bike. Sometimes both of them get up there and take naps together. I guess that perch is in the prime location, right in the middle of the living room so they can have a view of the kitchen, the breakfast area, the aquarium, and their room. And maybe they feel safe up there since Lani cannot bother them! 🐶
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/60 sec, ISO6400 “Sleepy Yuzu” Cedar Park, 2016
I hope you had a nice Monday, and we’ll see you tomorrow!
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/8, 1/170 sec, ISO640 “Evening Treat” Cedar Park, 2016
こんばんは！How’s it going?
I read something the other day that I thought was cool. It went something like, “It’s not a setback, it’s a plot twist.” I haven’t had many setbacks in my life, but it’s fun to think of your life as a story, isn’t it?
I know that the quote is meant to help someone who is hurt or grieving, but even when a good thing happens to you, it is a major event in your own plot and it may be worthwhile to spend some time thinking about it.
Or find things to be thankful for.
Or building upon what happened and learning from it.
The protagonists in stories are affected by these major plot events and it shapes what they do and how they think. As protagonists in our own stories, it might be healthy to take a look at our own script as it is being written and evaluate it from time to time.
Maybe this is a naive way of thinking, but it’s fun to ponder these things sometimes.
Today’s photo is of the sunset as seen from our house. I really love the clouds around Austin these past several days.
I hope you had a refreshing weekend, and let’s have a great week, wherever the plot takes you.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/8, 1/3000 sec, ISO200 “Reach for the Sky” Austin, 2016
こんばんは！Did you have a nice Saturday?
Today’s photo is of the clouds and cranes in downtown Austin. I had a few free hours this morning while Bay was in Japanese school, so I hung out at the Whole Foods Market patio. There were some nice views of the clouds today as you can see! ☁
This evening we hosted a birthday party for a good friend of ours. It was mostly just a potluck for the ladies, but one of the husbands also came over so it was nice to hang out and chat (in English). The food was delicious, with fresh fish for sushi, mussels, salads, fancy cured meats and paté, karaage, roast beef, cheese, wine, beer, margaritas, and of course a birthday cheesecake. Needless to say, I ate waaay too much! But you gotta live life to the fullest, right? 😄
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/8, 1/5800 sec, ISO400 “Summer Sky” Cedar Park, 2016
こんばんは！
Another work week has gone by… it has been a tough one for me. There were some changes at my work, and although they didn’t affect me directly, there are many colleagues I am fond of who are affected… So my thoughts were with them and wondering how they are doing. 😟
That made it difficult to concentrate on work (and there is a lot that needs to get done), but I found that once I immersed myself in the task at hand, I could shift my mind from the troubling thoughts, at least for a little while.
At any rate, work is work, and it’s not the end-of-the-world so I’m sure everyone will be ok. But still, it could be a big life disruption.
Today’s photos are of one of my favorite subjects: clouds ⛅! Although school has started, we still have a month of summer left, so the summer sky is still present. I love it.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/8, 1/1000 sec, ISO400 “Monochrome Clouds” Cedar Park, 2016
I hope you had a nice Friday, and let’s have a good weekend, shall we?
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4.5, 1/25 sec, ISO3200 “Nasubi Donburi” Cedar Park, 2016
こんばんは！How are you today?
Tonight, Mariko prepared another out-of-this-world dinner: spicy miso-flavored eggplant 🍆 and pork 🐷 stir-fried and served over rice 🍚. As you might expect, it was so yummy. 😀
Can you see the chopsticks in the photo? These are Japanese-style chopsticks, or “hashi”. They differ from Chinese-style or Korean-style in the shape and material. Japanese-style usually come to a point, while Chinese-style are longer, and stay thicker and have a blunt end. Korean-style, I am not familiar with, but I’ve used stainless-steel chopsticks, which are kind of flat, but come to a pointed end.
The disposable, wooden chopsticks are ironically kind of the opposite. Japanese-style are generally squarish, and the Chinese-style come to more of a point, though still blunt. Oh, and natives usually don’t rub wooden chopsticks to remove splinters. I think it’s because people who have good chopstick skills, are more precise at handling the food, particularly releasing the food in their mouths.. You don’t really slide chopsticks against your lips, or poke the food deeply or stab straight on, so splinters never really have a chance to come into play.
In our house, we only have Japanese-style (since Mariko is Japanese!) but when I was growing up, we had both Japanese and Chinese-style chopsticks in the kitchen drawer. It makes sense since we have both bloods running through our veins! 🇯🇵 🇨🇳
I never really gave it too much thought before, but the other day, Koa and I were eating at a new ramen 🍜 restaurant, and since ramen is Japanese (actually a Japanese soup dish that uses Chinese-style noodles) I am used to eating it with Japanese-style chopsticks. When we were given Chinese-style chopsticks to eat with, I immediately noticed that they didn’t feel right for ramen. I already knew the restaurant was not Japanese, but the chopsticks were a dead give-away. (The ramen wasn’t bad, but didn’t taste authentic, with the char siu being a sweeter Chinese-style taste, and baby bok choy greens added)
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/80 sec, ISO3200 “Home Setup” Cedar Park, 2016
こんばんは！How’s it going?
Today was a “work-at-home”, or WAH, day for me. (I love that… WAHHH!! 😭) I bring my work laptop 💻 home and usually just use that do work on, but if I have to use any Adobe products, I’ll move stuff over via Dropbox and work on my home desktop computer 🖥 so I can take advantage of the big monitor.
For a few months now, I’ve been using a wireless mouse 🖱 from Logitech and it is wonderful! I resisted switching from wired to wireless for a long time because I thought I would be changing batteries all the time and the wireless signal would be glitchy. But that is not the case at all.
I LOVE the fact that without the wire, I can pretty much position the mouse anywhere on the table with ease. This helps out a lot when the cats decide to sit in front of the monitor, where the mouse usually lives. Cat.. mouse.. funny huh? 😺 🐭
Anyways, the other benefit of the wireless mouse is that it reduces the clutter on my desk. I don’t have to look at that ugly black wire against the clean white desktop. It’s so tidy now!! 😀
Just last week I decided to get a wireless mouse for my work computer as well, so I ordered a cheap mouse from Amazon. It was only $10, but the reviews were very good so I didn’t hesitate in purchasing it. I’m completely satisfied with this mouse and am wondering why I didn’t do it earlier. It’s just one of those questions that will never be answered I guess. 😂
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/20 sec, ISO3200 “Work Setup” Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5, 1/75 sec, ISO3200 “Fajita Dinner” Cedar Park, 2016
こんばんは！How’s it going?
Today I ended my fast with some snacks at work and then a wonderful dinner at home.
When I got home, my wife asked me to make a margarita for her, so I made two! One for her and one for me. 😊 It’s a simple recipe, one part fresh lime juice, one part Cointreau, and two parts Tequila. Shaken with ice in a shaker, then served on the rocks. Delicious! 🍸
While we enjoyed our drinks, it was time to prepare the meal, which was beef fajita tacos. 🌮 My wife bought 1¼ lbs. of marinated beef at our local carcineria, which I grilled on the backyard barbecue. Meanwhile, green and red bell peppers and onions were sauteed, beans were heated up, and a pot of rice was cooked.
We had both flour and corn tortillas, Salvadoran sour cream, cilantro, tomato, avocado, and hot sauce. It was yummy! But of course I probably ate a bit too much. It’s easy to do with such delicious food. 🍴 And coming off a fast, even a short one, makes the food extra tasty!
Below are a couple more photos of the meal: a close-up of one of the tacos, my wife setting up the food photo, 📸 and the yummy sour cream.
“Fajita Taco” Cedar Park, 2016
“Setting up the Shot” Cedar Park, 2016
“Crema Centroamericana” Cedar Park, 2016
I hope you had a nice Tuesday!
おやすみなさい！
– B
Like this:
LikeLoading…
My camera & photos
I use a Fujifilm X-series camera for most of the photos on this site and my Instagram. Why not pick one up for yourself?
