Tag: postaday

At our friends’

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"Chicken Pen" Austin, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/120 sec, ISO400
 “Chicken Pen” Austin, 2016

こんばんは！Hello, howzit?

Today we went to our friends’ house for a dinner party. As always, we enjoyed delicious food and drink and had a great time chatting with friends. It was cool to hang out in their backyard because not only was the weather perfect, but they have an awesome “Austin-style” yard with chickens, garden beds, and a sweet barbeque grill! And the mosquito coils were burning, so there was a nice natsukashii scent in the air.

"Cutey" Austin, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/100 sec, ISO640
 “Cutey” Austin, 2016

At one point in the evening, a friend had us sample some Chile Piquin (Chile del Monte) that his father grew in his garden. The peppers were very hot! 🔥 I love spicy foods, and I would rate these as a 6 on the spicy level (1-10). Good heat, and it lasted for a while – maybe 10 minutes. I had never tasted this type of pepper before, but it is definitely on my list of peppers to grow for next Spring.

"Local Brew" Austin, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/140 sec, ISO400
 “Local Brew” Austin, 2016

Of course we needed something cold to drink, so plenty of local Austin beer was drunk. Hey, it was a party after all! 🍻

I hope you had a nice weekend.

おやすみなさい！

– B Barron Fujimoto

Deck Tomatoes

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"Deck Tomatoes" Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.5, 1/40 sec, ISO3200
 “Deck Tomatoes” Cedar Park, 2016

こんばんは！How’s it going?

Today’s photo is of some cherry tomatoes 🍅 that we grew on our backyard deck. Every spring we plant tomatoes and peppers 🌶 in our garden, but this year we also filled a couple of large pots with soil and grew a tomato plant and a jalapeño plant. The plants flourished and we harvested lots of goodies! Especially the peppers.

We have a pretty good-sized yard, with three container gardens into which we plant other veggies and herbs, but they are somewhat inconvenient because there are so many mosquitos flying around. I usually have to put on long pants and long sleeves (jacket) and frantically gather peppers while doing a little dance to keep the mosquitos away. It’s terrifying to be leaning in, cutting peppers and hearing multiple mosquitos buzzing around my ears!

So, we’ve been enjoying having the container plants on the deck. The deck is about 10 feet above the ground, so there are a lot less mosquitos, and it’s only a few feet away from the back door, so cutting some jalapeños or gathering tomatoes just takes a few seconds. I can monitor how dry the soil gets from the comfort of our breakfast room and watering them is as easy as dumping a jug of water in each pot. Also I can enjoy watching the peppers grow and ripen day by day. 😊

"Easy Access" Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/6.4, 1/100 sec, ISO3200
 “Easy Access” Cedar Park, 2016

Next year I think we’ll plant more on the deck. I love spicy 🔥 food, so having fresh hot peppers at-the-ready is awesome!

I hope you had a nice day, and see you tomorrow!

おやすみなさい！ – B Barron Fujimoto

Squeamish

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"Squeamish" Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/75 sec, ISO3200
 “Squeamish” Cedar Park, 2016

こんばんは！How’s it going?

Tonight’s photo is of cowardly me covering the operating table in a scene of a Japanese drama I am watching. Season 2 of Doctor X shows a little bit more gross stuff, so I need to be even more vigilant! Love the show, but hate the blood. 😱

I hope you had a nice day! Especially wishing my Mom a Happy Birthday! 🎂

おやすみなさい！

– B Barron Fujimoto

Concert Night

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"Band Concert" Leander, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.6, 1/50 sec, ISO3200
 “Band Concert” Leander, 2016

こんばんは！How’s it going?

Tonight Koa performed with his middle school band as a warm-up for their big performance in December. Their school band was chosen to participate in the Midwest Clinic, which takes place in Chicago. They’ll be performing several pieces, so tonight was a good chance for a dress rehearsal. 🎶

Koa is in the percussion section, and plays several different instruments. Tonight he even played the gong! In the photo above, he’s in the top left corner next to it. He said the gong tonight was “horrible”… they used the high school auditorium’s gong which Koa thought was much worse than his middle school’s gong.

But besides that, he said the percussion section did pretty good! I’m proud of him because he shows a lot of dedication to playing percussion and says he enjoys performing. It’s nice to have the opportunity to take part in such an awesome band program. His school’s band is one of the best (if not the best) in the state of Texas. We’re really fortunate that both our kids participated in band! 😄

I hope you had a nice Thursday!

おやすみなさい！

– B Barron Fujimoto

Late October

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"Unicorn" Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/40 sec, ISO3200
 “Unicorn” Cedar Park, 2016

こんばんは！Hello, how’s it going?

It’s already nearing the end of October, can you believe it? This month has flown past. Seems like just yesterday the month started, but now Halloween is almost here. 👻 As you can see from the photo, Koa is already prepared with his unicorn costume. Not sure what made him want this particular outfit this year, but I think it’s pretty cool and unique.

As for myself, I wasn’t planning on dressing up, but a couple of friends will be coming over for Halloween 🎃 to hang out, and they are planning on wearing costumes, so I need to figure something out. But my mind is a blank, once again. Hmmm… I need to brainstorm a bit, don’t I?

Tonight we watched game 1 of the World Series ⚾️ between the Cubs and Indians. I am rooting for Cleveland this year, mainly because a good friend of mine is a big fan. And they had a big win this evening! I’m sure the Cubs will battle back, though. It’s got the makings of a great series.

I hope you had a nice Tuesday!

おやすみなさい！

– B Barron Fujimoto

Vote

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"Early Voter" Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO1250
 “Early Voter” Cedar Park, 2016

こんばんは！How’s it going?

Today in Texas was the start of early voting for the general election so I went to my local voting location to cast my vote(s). I didn’t know how many people would also be voting early, but when I got to the library there was a pretty substantial line of people. I didn’t have to wait too long, though… maybe 20 minutes, and then the actual voting went pretty quickly. I guess if you vote early, your mind is pretty much made up, isn’t it? So I imagine everyone today just wanted to get it done quickly.

I’m not passionate about politics, but I do believe that voting is something that we need to do as citizens. We shouldn’t take our freedoms for granted, and voting is the simplest way to contribute to our democracy. Even if you live in a state which is always strongly red or blue, you still should vote! 🇺🇸

I won’t say which candidate I cast my vote for, but I’ll just mention a few issues that I care about:

  • Separation of church and state
  • Freedom of speech
  • Rational, thoughtful, intelligent, compassionate, fact-based decision-making

Whatever you think is important, if you want to express yourself as an American, you should go cast your vote for the candidate who best represents your ideals.

おやすみなさい！

– B Barron Fujimoto