i heart traveling and rhinos

Wow, there is much blog catching-up to be done. I think it'll have to be done in several parts. Obviously, I'm back. And boy was it a whirlwind.

Let's see... I left March 27th and found myself in San Francisco, visiting ms. mnt. She was soooo nice and fed me (yum, Mel's diner) and stocked her fridge with carbs and let me play office in her apartment while she was doing important lawyer work. I was quite enamored with ms. mnt's place, so nice and sunny when it wasn't raining. Here's the view out the back:
Next, I hopped a plane to Hawaii. First stop, Honolulu. I stayed with ms. f, ever-fab Taiwan roommate, and her super-fun super-cute married friends j & k and their cutey son a. j's sister j-also came and got me at the airport, bearing an yummy edible candy lei, and then drove me around and fed me. Mmm, teriyaki crepes at Mocha Java... thanks, j-also! Unfortunately, it POURED for much of my stay in Honolulu. As in, the continuation of record rain for Oahu. Crazy. Flooding, etc. Yuck. However, it did stop raining long enough for me to get to the Honolulu Academy (one of the nicest museums I've been to in a while, by the way), where ms. f. works, and to go on the AMAZING tour of Shangri-La.

Shangri-La is one of those unbelieveable places that you just have to go and see to believe. Pictures don't do even do it justice (and you can't take photos inside, so go check the link above!) but here are a few:

And yes, that is Diamond Head in the background. That building is her "play house". Can you say WOW? I'm not sure that if I was the richest woman in the world, I would have built a house and filled it floor-to-ceiling with Islamic Art, but I'd probably get a house in Hawaii. As a side note, the rain was so bad that Diamond Head was inaccessible due to landslides while I was there. Not that I wanted to go hiking in the rain anyway.

I must've been pretty jet-lagged, 'cause I really just did not take many pictures while I was in Honolulu. I didn't even get a shot of me and ms. f!! I will have to make up for it by borrowing some shots from other sites so you don't get too bored. I have to mention, though I enjoyed the Life in the Pacific show and the Asian galleries (esp. ms. f's show, holla), I LOVED David Kuraoka's ceramics & bronzes. Link to the show. Organic and beautiful. A couple of shots, not taken by me:

Quick Honolulu food round up:

The Pavilion Cafe at the Academy. I had the Nicoise salad with seared ahi, yum. I would've gone for the mahi-mahi soba noodle salad, but ms. f got it and I thought after two years of ordering the same dish while we were abroad together it might be nice to branch out a bit.

Big City Diner. Um, kimchee fried rice, salad, and garlic fries. And holy crap, those garlic fries. As in awesome fries drizzled all over with garlic oil and chopped roasted garlic. Garlic fries... Here's a shot, courtesy of my new fave food blog, 'Ono Kine Grindz... I have a feeling I may be borrowing a couple more shots from this blog... and reading it compulsively...

Goma Tei Ramen Restaurant, at the Ward Centre. Gyoza and spicy cold noodles. Yum. And of course, the brilliant 'onokinegrindz has got me covered here too:
Kaka'ako Kitchen, the previously-mentioned Mocha Java Cafe, and the best meal of all, at the u house (parents of j and j-also, grandparents of a)... I'm so going back just to eat there again. With the rain and whatnot, we did a bit of shopping and a lot of hanging out. I haven't taken pictures of my shopping loot yet, but I'll get to that later. Mostly I was psyched to meet ms. f's surrogate hawai'i family, and to visit. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU again to everyone that put me up and fed me!

The last food stop I was "required" to make was to Leonard's- on the way to the airport, no less. Not real fancy-like, that Leonard's, but holy malasadas. I couldn't even take my own pictures, I was too hypnotized by the warm fried-dough-like pastries... one last thanks to 'onokinegrindz for these pictures, and a description and recipe too!:

I'm going to close out this entry with a shot of the gross gross brown water that we didn't go in once the rain finally stopped on my last day on Oahu. Ew, run-off. AND an adorable shot of k sleeping (sorry, k) while a and j play in the sand. a wouldn't walk on the sand but he looked awfully cute in his little surf shorts and he did get into scooping the sand up and dumping it over his shoulder (right onto sleeping daddy, of course)...

Next stop, the Big Island, turtles, and even fattier food. Yummy yummy yummy...

A shameless plug before getting down to business...

This is my "auction of the week" at ebay, and it has no bids. Sad. Want to go bid on it? Please?

Oy, if at all possible, the days have been going by even faster than the last time I posted, which was ALMOST TWO WEEKS AGO. Thank you again for all the kind words about my grandmother. They are now considering moving her out of the ICU, but she is still unable to recognize anyone. My folks will arrive back stateside in a few days. The last month has honestly been a total BLUR. I'm hoping that lots of R & R, sunshine, and low-stress visiting with friends will help.

In the meantime, I've been trying to get caught up/ahead as frantically as possible. It's kind of neat that I can at least go into my flickr account and sort of see by the pictures what I've been doing. Now if only I could write more regularly... Anyway, I see from my pictures that I've been getting set for shows, and subsequently trying out some new types of stuff to offer... Voila, one of the recycled sweater cuff prototypes:
Some sort-of organic pod-like necklaces:And of course, there is always the never-ending spinning thing...
Also, though I've made minis of these up in the past as samples, I never got around to making them "full-sized" until recently... they're called "yarn melanges" ('cause I'm all fancy, you know) and they're basically these great mixes of all these yarns that I've been stashing that I want to see all blended together. I'm working on knitting something up with some different ones, but here're some little pictures... (these are available at the rhino etsy shop, by the way- wink, wink): In more personal news, we have not been cooking anything particularly new or exciting, nor have we been doing much eating out, for that matter. We DID get yummy Japanese food at our perennial favorite Ittyo (Porter Sq. Exchange) after a nice paper browsing trip at Paper Source, where of course I did not control myself and came home with (duh) paper, including this yummy sheet (amongst others):

We also did manage to get out to brunch with mr. aw & ms. kk at the noisy but soooo good B-Side Lounge. Check out the brunch menu. And yes, I had the breakfast fajitas AND bacon. And I seriously considered having the sweet potato biscuits too. I couldn't convince mr. d to stop at Petsi Pies on the way home for chicken pot pie, but it ended up being okay 'cause they were closed anyway.

Finally, lest you think I forgot about St. Patrick's Day, I did not. There was no green beer or parading, but I didn't let the chance to dress ms. daisy up pass me by. Here she is, finally tolerating something on her head. Awww.

spin spin spin spin spin...

that's pretty much all I've been doing... well, that and being sick for most of the latter part of last week. so besides the spinning, I updated traveling rhinos with the yarn that was spun. very exciting (and self-promoting), no? you have to admit, it is kinda pretty...
and I honestly have nothing else to say right now. mom & dad rhino leave for asia in about four hours, so I'm going to go nap for a bit. go buy some yarn, why don't you?

Hang in there, folks, it's going to be a long one...

Sorry for the long silence... a lot has been going on so I hope you'll bear with me... I'll try to include lots of pictures so you don't get too bored :)

It's been over two weeks, so where were we...V-Day was nice. mr. d & I went to yummy yummy Fugakyu (we hit up the Sudbury one) and ate crazy maki rolls 'til we were stuffed. Then we had ice cream. And fell asleep.

Here's a yarn I spun from wool dyed by the lovely Heather. Nothing to do with V-Day but I spun it between then and now. Looks super 80s to me :), we will see if I can let go of it or not...

It was also vacation for mr. d last week so we went up to Maine for a few days to visit with zay and mom d. While in The County, we hid this:

One of two received from the uber-talented Josh Simpson's Infinity Project. Go submit a proposal!!! Besides being a really cool idea, you get a second one of these AMAZING planets to keep for yourself! 'Cause chances are his bigger stuff is not in your price range. If it is, please pick one up for me while you're shopping, 'cause you can afford to :)

Here's the one I kept for me:

You can't tell from the pics, but this one is actually quite a bit smaller than the first one. Here's a shot of me freezing my behind off during the "hiding"...

And actually, now that I think about it, if you know where this is, there's a pretty good chance you could go and get that planet for yourself because I don't imagine anyone else is dumb enough to go out there until it gets warmer.

Speaking of warmer, I am planning on a super-fun (and long-awaited) trip to SF & Hawaii to visit ms. c, ms soon to be mrs. c, ms. f and #1! I'll get to mooch off my friends and eat yummy food, and be WARM! Finally, a use for my thirty-five bathing suits. This news accompanied by a photo of the cool lights in the trees at LLBean.

Finally: if you've read this far, thanks. I have to explain to those who care enough to read this much that I tend to disappear from email (and blogging) when I get overwhelmed. Personal hiding reaction to stress. In this case, when mr. d and I got back from Maine, we found out that my grandmother had fallen into a coma. She is now conscious but recovering very slowly. She can't speak or walk yet, nor is recovery certain, and my parents are getting ready to fly to Taiwan to see her. Depending on what happens during their visit, I will probably go myself sooner or later. It's hard not to feel helpless and stressed, especially when you're over 9,000 miles away. Day to day on this, but I am working on not withdrawing so much when things get crazy. Thanks for bearing with me. xoxo, #2

FOOD! BBM4 posting, finally...

YUMMY! And not at all ruined by the fact that I took an extra three weeks to post about it...
From lovely Dani, in lovely upstate NY... good thing I know myself well enough to make sure I took photos as soon as I opened the box... brownie bites, sugar cookies, sesame bar, nutty chocolate, dark & milk chocolate bars, wafer cookies, raspberry linzer cookie, potato chips, plus cute vintage Frosted Flakes notebook & notepad, and a cookbook too! Thanks Dani, everything was wonderful! Arrived just in time for Valentine's Day, too! Here are a few closer shots: I was even nice enough to share with others... well, some of it anyway... I just had a thought (again, only took me three weeks)... was there a CD in here? Because I didn't see one when I unpacked? Did it somehow go missing? Hmm, a mystery...

Foiled, again...

...by my server, of course. Traitor. Well, I got about half of the necessary updates finished, including most of these, and will finish the rest on Thursday, probably:

Tomorrow I will give myself a bit of a break so I don't break my computer out of frustration, and reorganize. Loads of handspun. If you see something you like that doesn't have an add to cart button, just send an email or leave a comment. Thanks. I'll be back when I'm not annoyed with my computer anymore. Smooches.

Time warps and site updates.

Seriously, I feel like days disappear at a time. Where did the weekend go? Well, there was YUMMY Korean BBQ at the very on the down low, you only know if it if you're really down with Asian food in the 'burbs New Jang Su, then awesome milk & bittersweet chocolate ice cream at Ranc's... Sunday = sleeping in & Superbowl. Yesterday, a lot of aimless driving trying to get places and looking for shelving solutions with mrs. s once arriving at those places. Definitely no working on wavy... Very solidly stuck at 1/10th finished right now. Note my cute Clover kacha-kacha at row 44 and the only 7s I own, annoying Susan Bates metal needles. I haven't used metal needles in months, and I remembered why about two rows in. Since I also dislike small needles to a certain extent and plan on not using them for many months after this is done, I could not justify buying new bamboo 7s.

I DID manage to get a bit of spinning done...
and I FINALLY watched the Netflix DVDs that I'd had sitting around for ages. I like Season 5. Lots of drama for Rory & Lorelai. And I'm almost caught up enough to feel like I can watch the new episodes. I am trying to hold out, though, because we all know how much I need a new TV show to watch.

That's it. Exciting, no? Biggest news: I have chained myself to the computer today getting updates to the site ready. No, really. I've made some decisions about updating and whatnot so that I won't go crazy and won't avoid site updates until I feel guilty and resentful. That's the plan, anyway. So if you haven't heard from me in a while or are expecting communication, today's the day. 'Cause I'm here, glued to the computer and I'll need to procrastinate on the site by replying to old emails.

My giant head.

Before I get to rambling, here're a few items that I sent to ebay (still experimenting with keeping some stuff there)... click on the pictures to go to the listings if you're interested (such shameless self-promotion, I know)... :

"south beach" and "fairy tale" (and don't get me started, I know "fairy tale" is not a place or food and thus does not fit into my general naming scheme, but I couldn't think of a place and I am saving the few candy names I haven't used for a bigger piece)

So, I just finished knitting a neckwarmer for mr. d. As I was finishing up, I realized, hmm, I never measure these things. I just continually hold them up to my head and neck as I get to the part where I think I'm getting "close". And this realization of how I "measure" got me to thinking about the subject of this entry.

Some of my friends know this, but I thought this would be interesting for those who don't know as much random crap about me: I have a disproportionately large head. Now, everyone I discuss this with SAYS that my head doesn't SEEM unnaturally large, but there is proof. mr. d, who is about 5' 8" and sort of stockily-built, not big but pretty broad-shouldered, well, his head is smaller than mine. This was a point of contention for awhile until finally one day we got a tape measure and measured. Yup, my head is bigger. For those of you who don't know, I am not quite 5' 2" and though I seem to keep gaining weight, I am your average small-boned female Asian build. MY HEAD IS ABOUT ONE INCH LARGER THAN MY MUCH LARGER THAN ME HUSBAND'S HEAD. And no, his head is not freakishly small.

To further emphasize my point, mr. l was over when we measured, and he is taller and bigger than mr. d. I would say that the average person meeting mr. l on the street would probably hesitate to mess with him (correct me if I'm wrong here, people who know). And I think mr. l himself would say that his head is not small. ms. f says so too, and she knows. AND MY HEAD IS A MERE ONE-HALF OF AN INCH SMALLER THAN MR. L'S HEAD. See? Disproportionately large. I'm going to start drawing myself as a lollipop.

Don't worry, I don't have a complex. Yet. Though I know my roommates senior year in college will tell some story about how I came home freaking out one day after we had our heads measured for our caps and spent the next 12 hours feverishly questioning all the other seniors I came across in my attempts to find someone with a noggin as big as mine. No, I don't have a complex. I do have a problem finding knit hats that are flattering, though. Any suggestions? 'Cause I think winter is going to be a while longer here.

Cure for an upset stomach.

Yup, that's right. I am tired and my stomach hurts, so clearly this was the logical choice. Yum. Anyway, I am supposed to be updating the site right now, but I DON'T FEEL LIKE IT. I don't care if I HAVEN'T FELT LIKE IT FOR WEEKS, I'm putting it off for one more day. At least. Okay, fine, I'll do SOMETHING tomorrow.

Now, instead of updating silly websites, I am going to work on wavy. Mine's in green (the lime heather, #9461 to be exact), of course. And yes, I bought a row counter. Despite my dislike for patterns (and, counting, now that I think about it), Clover's little row counter (kacha-kacha!!!) won me over almost immediately, 'cause, well, it's CUTE.

I would have pictures of things that weren't chocolate if I weren't tired and lazy. And if the sun would come out more than once a week for half an hour. Crap, I may not have photos for months... Oh well. Here's a scan of one of the ATCs I made for Amy's Valentine ATC Swap instead.

Okay, I'm off to cozy up with my Cascade 220, pattern & row counter. No promises that I won't fall asleep a few rows in, though...

Fried pickles, Greek salad & a side of UGH, please.

So, in my ongoing attempt to eat healthier, I convinced my companions, mr. d and the lovely mrs. w, to order baskets of fried pickles AND jalapeno poppers at Beerworks tonight. Then mrs. w added on lobster quesadillas, we all added fries with our entrees, and it was all over. I guess the half of the Greek salad that I had might've added a little bit of fiber. Too bad all the grease and fried batter blocked any of the healthy stuff from being absorbed into my system.

All that food is making me sleepy. BIG shop update planned for tomorrow and Saturday, plus dinner party and swap to work on. mr. d is swamped too, tomorrow is the end of the quarter and of course that means grades need to be turned in next week... (yawn)

Here's a little preview of what I'll be updating with in the shop(s)... etsy too!...

Huh? Where am I? Who are you?

Color me in complete shock. Where did the first half of January go? Where did the rest of December go, for that matter? I have to say, I've definitely been feeling the aftershock of the holidays. There was a lot of driving and quite a bit of drama this year. No dirty laundry here, though. Suffice it to say that I think I was exhausted long after mr. d's short vacation had already ended. And I am still avoiding.

If you have called or emailed me in the last three weeks and I still haven't replied, I'm sorry! I have probably written you an email back in my head or avoided listening to voicemail altogether because I am struggling with the following:

1. Updating store and uploading store stock. Lots of both to do, and my brand-new laptop developed a still-growing vertical line on the screen over the holidays. Besides being annoying, they have to take it back to fix it.

2. Subsequently, I am frantically uploading as much as possible to online servers and backing up everything else. I am contemplating typepad so I can organize and salvage links & bookmarks... I like to make things extra complicated, you know :)

3. Filing taxes for the first time as a business. Aah. As might be expected of me, I am simultaneously avoiding and freaking out about this. (Sigh.)

4. Other things I can't talk about here yet. Soon enough.

Anyway, 1 through 3 are practically enough to knock me out on their own. Especially 3. Any advice?

On the bright side, once the laptop is gone (between 1 and 5 pm tomorrow) I will be limited in what I can do so I will have lots of time to create and reply to emails and make phone calls. Expect to be called upon to play, people. I have to avoid taxes, and actually getting out of this town might be a good idea too... maybe we can find some time to decorate cakes?

I am ready to play nicely now.

Well, I am less cranky now. Thanks for not taking it personally. Here are some pictures of the lovely white tree that I made mr. d run around all over with me looking for. Now there's an awkward sentence. The tree, plus a peek at the wrapped presents from the weekend (there are about twenty five more from today's cranky wrapping session-- might YOUR gift be in this pile?):
So, this is not something I ever imagined wanting, but I saw heidi's post of one of her gazillion trees and was inspired... of course I wanted mine heavier on the green and orange, 'cause that's the way I am... and it's actually not done yet, 'cause I have a whole 'nother box of ornaments that are waiting for me to make hangers for them... it makes me happy anyway.

I have been avoiding the site because it makes me cranky, but I will get back to it tomorrow. Maybe even for a bit before I go back to bed. Weather forecast says 6" to 10" of snow tomorrow! If there's a snow day and mr. d doesn't have to go to school, we're going to put up the big tree AND the OTHER little one... off to make a Christmas CD, eling

Grr.

I am cranky and tired and cold. (Growl.) Solution: going to hide in bedroom with powerful area heater and many, many Christmas gifts. I will wrap lovely & cute gifts with pretty paper until I am not growly any more.

December?

When did it freaking become December? Ugh. It was a quiet weekend, full of, well, not much excitement. We did watch Kung Fu Hustle, though, which I'd been wanting to see for ages.

I have decided that Stephen Chow is up there in the category of "strangely attractive despite generally odd appearance". Joining him there is Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters). Anyone else have any other additions? Okay, actually, Stephen Chow doesn't look bad in this particular photo but if you've seen the movie, or Shaolin Soccer (also AWESOME), for that matter, then you get it.

I digress. I forgot, we also decorated my happy white Christmas tree (pictures soon) and I wrapped about a gazillion presents (okay, it was only about 30 something). This post is way too random. I think it may be a result of generally sleeping from 6 or 7 am to 11 am. I'm working on it, I swear. Actually, maybe I should go finish some other stuff so I can be in bed sleeping by 4. ttfn, ek

PS. I totally have NOT started working on my beautiful yarn below yet (:()