Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2, 1/100 sec, ISO1000 “Fresh Bread” Cedar Park, 2016
こんばんは！Good evening!
Today Mariko made some amazing food… as you can see from the photo above she did some baking. The rolls looks amazing, don’t they? And she also baked a loaf of bread for kids’ sandwiches. The bread tastes so good, and Mariko uses fresh ingredients and of course there are no preservatives.. the best bread ever!
And for dinner, she prepared the kids’ favorite… Pasta Carbonara. Plus figs wrapped in prosciutto, and a wonderful salad of grilled romaine lettuce and baby tomatoes. I helped by grilling the greens. 😆 As I have mentioned in previous posts, Mariko treats us so well with all the delicious food.
Ironically, today I started a water-fast so I couldn’t taste any of the goodies. I think normally it would be really difficult to resist, but fasting gives you a sense of empowerment over food. Still, with today’s dinner I did feel a bit of temptation, but I will look forward to eating when my fast ends, although I am not sure how long I will go for this time.
In other news, today was the first day of school for the kids and it was pretty much back to the routine as if summer break never happened. Life is just moving very quickly it seems.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/7.1, 1/640 sec, ISO200 “Storm Over the Park” Round Rock, 2016
こんばんは！Hello!
Today’s post has an ominous title, but it’s really not so bad. Tomorrow our kids go back to school so today marks the end of their Summer Vacation. This time, the beginning of school seems a little more relaxed due to the fact that they are going to the same schools as they did last year so there aren’t any orientations to attend. In contrast, last year was a little more stressful since Bay was starting High School and Koa moved up to Middle School. It feels like things are getting easier… or maybe I am just a little more relaxed about life.
When I look around me these days, it seems like I am the most calm and relaxed person. ☺️ I sometimes worry that maybe it’s because I don’t care so deeply about things? But that’s not true… I feel like there are some things that I am genuinely concerned about, but there’s a lot of stuff that I feel doesn’t really deserve to get stressed over. For instance, my kids’ school. It’s not that I don’t care… it’s because I am confident that our kids are smart and good-hearted, and will be able to succeed in whatever they decide to do. I just want to make sure they aren’t denied the opportunity to figure out what path they want to take.
But back to Endings. Today was also the end of the 2016 Summer Olympics. We watched quite a bit of it these past two weeks and it seems like it just started… and it’s already ending?! But every ending opens the way up for new things. We’re looking forward to the next Olympics, and of course we’re excited about the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo! 🇯🇵 It would be cool to see some events there and root for the USA. 🇺🇸
Today’s photo was taken at Old Settler’s Park in Round Rock. It was a stormy day and you can see the Dell Diamond in the distance, and a remote-controlled airplane above. Bay and I were at the park looking for a specific type of Pokémon called Machop which we heard could be found in abundance there. And it was true. We found several of them there, plus walked a lot, got a couple mosquito bites, a bit of drizzly rain, and took the photos above and below.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/8, 1/350 sec, ISO400 “Texas Flood” Cedar Park, 2016
こんばんは！Hello!
I am typing this by candle-light because we are having a blackout in our neighborhood. We’ve been having a lot of rain all day, but the power decided to go out now when there isn’t any rain falling. Go figure. I wonder if there was an accident and someone ran into a power line? It’s been about half an hour now which is longer than usual… hope it comes back soon.
But it’s also nice to just have the candles (and laptop/cellphone lights) too. And it is quiet!
Today was yet another Pokémon GO!-filled day, walking around in the drizzling weather with all the other people out and about. It was so fun! I made a lot of progress in my collection and we found a great place to catch a lot of good pokémon. I think we may go back tomorrow to get some more.
Today’s photo is of one of the parks we visited today. You can see that the water level has crested over the banks of the lake and now the trails are partially covered. Can you make out the bench that is in the water? The rain didn’t keep the locals from enjoying the day, though. Lots of people out at the park doing all sorts of activities – picnicking, fishing, SUPing, kayaking, biking, catching pokémon, etc. Life is good!
Today’s photo is of the delicious salads my friend Mikey and I enjoyed for lunch at Salata. When we get together, Salata is one of the top choices! I think it’s still a little odd that a salad can be so delicious.
Like many people, I grew up eating a lot of meat, and salad was just something that you ate before the main course. But now I believe that we are conditioned by Big Food into eating that way… I guess for my entire life we’ve had ads and food industry-influenced government telling us what foods are “good” for us, how much of it we need to eat, and when we need to eat.
It’s difficult to see things any other way if that’s all you’ve been exposed to. Other lifestyles can seem weird, unhealthy, or just plain wrong. That’s why I think you need to shake things up… for instance traveling to different countries or living abroad can really open your mind. Learning about other cultures and actually being immersed in them makes you question a lot of things.
I tend to look at people who have traveled extensively, or lived abroad, differently than those who have lived in the same place their whole lives. I really feel like they have a broader way of looking at the world. Of course this is not always the case, but there’s something to be said of first-hand experience and forming opinions based on direct experience, rather than forming a worldview based on mainstream news.
So, back to the salad… I am grateful that my friend Mikey suggested this lunch. It was a new experience for me, something I would never have considered, but one that I found I enjoy quite a bit! What else should I try?
I mentioned in a previous post that I had fasted (drinking only water, black coffee, and tea) for multiple days, 72-hours being the longest stretch without calories. That experience opened my eyes up to how we’ve been taught to depend on our 3 meals a day, and how it is not necessary to follow this lifestyle. It’s actually quite easy to skip a meal or two, and there are health benefits to extended water-fasts. But we’ve been taught that we need to eat. Constantly. That hunger is bad… we’ve also been taught that hunger=starvation. But hunger is not starvation at all.
Most of us have plenty of fat to keep us out of starvation for weeks. It sounds crazy, doesn’t it? But when you have done an extended fast, you realize that we don’t actually need to eat as much as we are told we need to. During a long fast, you actually lose the craving for junk/unhealthy foods and you can look at that craving from a detached point of view. Big Food has designed our diets to keep us craving high-fat, high-salt, and sugary foods. A water-fast will give you greater clarity about this. And you will recognize that there is a lifestyle where in which you are not dependent on Big Food’s guidelines.
Talk about a different point of view!!! I know most people will think it is crazy to go without food for 3 days, but have they tried it? I think if you do, you will have a broader view of eating, and how strong we can be mentally.
Wow, that was a bit of a ramble, wasn’t it? Anyways, I encourage anyone to look into water-fasting, and try to broaden your minds too! It’s seriously one of the best things I have ever done for myself in my life.
If you’ve read this far… thank you thank you thank you! 😄
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.6, 1/100 sec, ISO1600 “Socks n Crocs” Cedar Park, 2016
こんばんは！Hi, how’s it going today?
This week is the final week of summer vacation for the kids as the school year starts on Monday. It seems like it has come so quickly! To me, it’s been a short summer and the recent rain 🌧 and grey skies here in Texas have changed the tone of August. We are still only in the middle of the month, so I know we have at least a month and a half of hot sun left, but the feeling to me is that summer is over… 😢
Hopefully the rains will end soon and the sun will reappear! I am not an overcast-weather lover… I need the sun and bright days to keep my spirits high. 🌞 I guess I am fortunate to live in a place where we enjoy lots of sun. I could not hear to live in the north. Even the “June gloom” of Southern California was almost too much for me! (I spent the first 26 years of my life in SoCal)
Today’s photo is of Koa, and his regrettable fashion decision. He calls it “socks n crocs” but he doesn’t mind it so much. I don’t either, actually. It’s kind of funny! However, most would say it’s a fashion no-no. 😜
I hope you had a nice Thursday! Can it be almost Friday already? Craziness!
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5, 1/105 sec, ISO400 “Playing the Game” Cedar Park, 2016
こんばんは!
Today I picked up my 12-year-old son from his middle school Band Camp and on the way home we stopped at the nearby park to play Pokémon GO! again. He’s pretty good at the game (he’s spent lots of time building up his Pokémon collection and character) so he wanted to take over a gym.
What was interesting to me was that while we were walking to the location, two of his classmates rode up on their bikes and they of course were also playing. When Koa saw them in the distance, he was saying… let’s go… I don’t need to play. It was funny! He is so shy sometimes. But the classmates were friendly and wanted to see Koa’s pokémon. As we expected, Koa didn’t have much trouble taking the gym, and he also let me put one of my pokémon there just for fun.
And then while the four of us were talking, a big SUV drove up and parked by us. Of course, the lady driving was also playing and wanted to take down the gym. How funny! But I suppose this kind of thing happens everywhere.
Anyways, I thought it was pretty interesting. Just a couple months ago, things like this never happened… but life changes quickly, doesn’t it?
I hope you had a nice Wednesday. The weekend is quickly approaching! 😀
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5, 1/7 sec, ISO3200 “Nikon AW” Cedar Park, 2016
こんばんは！Good evening!
Today’s photo is of a 1986 Nikon AW (All-weather) film camera which we have used for underwater photos a long time ago. I believe my wife got this camera back in the mid-’90s (before we met) but the history of it is still kind of murky since she doesn’t even remember buying it. It could have been a previous boyfriend’s camera… who knows?
At any rate, I thought it was a cool camera, so I kind of adopted it. 😊 It’s ugly and chunky and heavy, but it has a mutant rangefinder aesthetic which I find oddly attractive. It also feels great to hold, and when you carry it by the hand-strap, its weight makes you feel like you are carrying a deadly weapon. How’s that for personal safety!? 😆
Unfortunately, when I ran a roll of film through it a few years ago, none of the pictures were exposed correctly. I’m not sure if the motor is messed up, but I was so disappointed when I received the negatives, that I put the camera away for good. Plus, I had a new digital waterproof camera, so that pretty much marked the end of the Nikon. 📷
Maybe someday I’ll see if I can troubleshoot what is wrong with it, but I have so many other cameras, I honestly think the chances of that happening are close to zero.
But, it did have a great life, and we used it on a few vacations. If I didn’t have that camera, we would have missed many shots. Here are a couple of the photos from snorkeling in the Bahamas way back in the year 2000. Ancient history!
