A man who made me laugh AND cry today

I spent most of the day glued to my monitor because of a writer whom I've recently become aware of.  His name is Gene Weingarten.  He is a writer for the Washington Post and recently won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for a piercing article he wrote on parents who fatally leave their children in a hot car (Washington Post article).  He also did an interesting experiment on our (in)ability to perceive beauty in the every-day while mired in the hustle bustle of the every-day (Joshua Bell experiment).

Those two articles alone provided me with hours worth of reading and sidebar researching.  He had me crying in some places and laughing in others.

In the "laughing" catagory, may I serve up for your viewing pleasure:  The Westinghouse Diet.  I found that while trucking through Eric Shansby's website which does the editorial cartoons for Weingarten's humorist column.

It too left me in tears....

but only because I was laughing so hard that I could barely stand it.  :)

Everything is blooming!

Looking around my place, I can't help but notice that all my plants are enjoying the summer sunshine and are rewarding me with the fruits of their labour.

First, the wild strawberry plant that I picked up at the local Farmers Market two weekends ago has given me its second little delectable red candy.  If only I was a field mouse, then the strawberry would have lasted longer... :)

Next up, my "Tomato 100" plant that has been sprouting for a month finally saw its first little tomato turn the colour I've been waiting for!  I've got 7 cherry tomatoes on the way with a few more growing under the tiny yellow flowers.  Originally, this seedling started off 5" high but has since grown to over 7' tall!

And lastly, my beloved gardenias.  I've had this potted bunch for three years now.  It has been particularly good to me this past year as it flowered in winter and continued on through spring and now summer!  I love when both the standard and bush bloom at the same time... and my living room is filled with the heady fragrance of this beautiful, fleeting flower.

My plants have not been the only things that have been productive in this house.  I've been busy sewing and crafting. I'll post those shortly.

Breaking bread

These last few days have been filled with food and friends/family.  It has led me to think about how intertwined those two things are and what it does for me as a person, and for the community at large.  Bringing people together through food is not a new topic.  Countless movies speak to that theme, and yet I wonder how often do we recognise its significance in our daily lives?

Over the weekend, I had my neighbours over for a potluck dinner and also invited a good friend to join us.  It was great sharing stories, laughs and anecdotes, and finding out more about them and the commonality that brings us to the table or to this city or even country.  The following day, I had lunch with my mother at this little Korean eatery after visiting this big Korean grocery store.  At this particular meal, we reminisced on our travels to Korea together and the kinds of food we encountered and how much I wanted to skate on the ice rink at the Lotte World shopping mall.  We were bonding and building bridges.  I hadn't seen my mother in over two weeks since I went to pick up my dying cat after having been away for five days on a motorcycle tour.  Yes, this was our way of mending fences... A meal has a way of doing that sometimes, non?

So here are some side dish goodies that we got at the Hanahreum Asian Mart (in Coquitlam):

(Left to Right, Top to Bottom)

sweet n spicy cuttlefish; potatoes in a sweet savory sauce; cucumber crab salad; sweet n spicy mini crabs; radish in a tangy vinagrette; seaweed salad

In case you didn't believe me about the sweet n spicy mini crabs that you EAT shell, claws and ALL.... here is a close-up.  After getting over the "ick" factor, this side dish is pretty tasty.  Just be careful that the inside of your mouth doesn't get nicked by those little claws!

Catch a tiger by its tail...

It's the tail end of summer and I'm determined to hold on tight.  This has been an incredible summer filled with change and unexpected surprises with tons of opportunity for growth and new things.  I've been challenged to the point of tears and also elated at blossoming possibilities.  All must be taken in stride.  This blog will be my way of sorting through all of it while unleashing my creativity that was held captive for 4.5 years.

A few days ago, I celebrated my 33rd birthday.  Wow!  What a big number.  I had the pleasure of spending the entire day with friends whom I consider family, and some new friends as well.  It was one of my best birthdays in recent memory and I have them to thank for it.  Thank you!!  :)

Today, the sun is shining again and it's Saturday... so that means the Farmers Market is open!  My neighbourhood has a market every Saturday from May - Oct.  However, because of my previous job, I was never able to attend.  Last week was the first time I went down there.  There was misty rain that day and I caught them just before they closed but it was lovely all the same.  It was the first rain in weeks and I relished the opportunity to put my wellies on and stomp around.

But today.. today it is gorgeous outside and I have friends coming over for a BBQ potluck!  So I'm going down to the market for some fresh, local produce.  I can't wait to discover what delightful goodies the artisan bakers and cheese makers will bring today.  There is something tremendously satisfying about going to the Farmers' Market -- colours, sights, sounds, smells, community.  I will come back with tasty goodies for tonight!