Why so much junk mail at work??

This is from one day. ONE day.

Peter Lik

While Max and I were in New York walking around the other weekend, we happened into the Peter Lik gallery in SoHo. I had never heard of him before but, WOW, the colours are amazing. These two are my favorites:





If only I were rich enough to actually own them!

When you think your cat is a dog

Got an email from my Mom yesterday about my brother:

On a funny note, I called Marc to see how he was doing. He was training the cat. He can't stand her meowing, so when she meows, he won't feed her until she stops. When I called, he had been trying to feed her for almost an hour. As soon as he get the food out, she starts meowing and then he stops and won't give it to her. Is her crazy or what? I think all this training might work for a dog, but not a cat.

Kristina and Bruce

My bestfriend is engaged! She and Bruce have been together for some time... since March of 2005 I think so this is BIG news.

Congratulations guys!

Evolving

A work in progress

Another fun weekend

Although we were in town this weekend, it was BUSY. On Friday we had friends over for dinner - plus a 9-year-old overnight guest! We played Wii and went to the park. I got dragged onto the slide several times even though I'm definitely too big for that. Then we watched Treasure Planet.

Saturday morning I made pancakes while Max played Mario Kart with our young friend.

Our neighbor's children came over for awhile so then we had three kids in the house! It was crazy and fun. Then our neighbor's came by with their 3-day-old baby... so cute. I got to hold her for a little while as she slept. After everyone left, Max and I took a nap. :) Saturday night we went to a friend's birthday party out in Maryland.

Yesterday we went to see my friend Amanda and meet her new puppy, Ajax:

He's such a cutie! And definitely a good boy. He'll be staying over next week while his Mommy goes on vacation. Should be fun!

National Dance Day

As a fan of So You Think You Can Dance, I heard about National Dance Day from Nigel Lithgow.

NATIONAL DANCE DAY, a grassroots initiative that encourages the nation, young and old, to move! Individuals, families, organizations and communities from across the nation come together through their creative expression in dance. Any style of dance is welcome and imagination is recommended in order to get the most out of this celebratory day.

To continue to generate national awareness for dance, a medium of expression and storytelling which, through shows like So You Think You Can Dance, has proven its value in bringing individuals from all walks of life together through a positive platform that has no boundaries and cultivates imagination and passion. Most importantly, the day is intended to promote health and wellness nationwide.

Learn more about it from the Dizzy Feet Foundation.

Ladies Night

Went to dinner with some friends last night at P.F. Chang's. It was my first time eating there and thanks to my friend Slav who gave me a giftcard for my birthday, dinner was free for me! Service was only okay - would have expected better for a Wednesday night but the food was good. We shared the spring rolls and crispy green bean:

For dinner I had the VIP DUCK - A tender half duck served Cantonese-style and glazed with a sweet soy plum sauce. Served with flatbread, scallions and cucumbers.

Thanks Ladies for a great night!

Laugh Medicine

Open Mic: FREE Comedy SHOW
8:00pm to 10:00pm
The second and fourth Thursday of the month.

Pizzeria Venti
301 John Carlyle St
Alexandria, VA 22314
One block off of Duke Street
(703) 299-9820

Hosted By:
Adaylah Banks

New York

Max and I spent the weekend in New York City. On Friday we had dinner at Dos Caminos as part of Restaurant Week.

Saturday we walked around Soho (despite the 90+ temperatures). I had a bagel and cream cheese for from Dean & Deluca on Broadway - that place is heaven! Max had a small red velvet cupcake from a street cart, followed by a gyro from a street fair (on Bleecker St. from Broadway - 6th Avenue). He bargained in Mandarin for me to get three pairs of earrings for $20.

Also walked through the crowds on Canal Street. Crazy

Saturday night was Angela & Alan's wedding at the Tibeca Rooftop. What an amazing space! Perfect for a New York wedding.

Sunday we had a light breakfast at Jacques Torres Chocolate. Took the Acela train back to DC.

The makings of an art installation

City of Alexandria Department of Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities

Today at lunch I went to listen to the Joe Rathbone Band, they were playing in John Carlyle Circle. They were good! And it wasn't too hot out, which was nice. While I was there, someone from the City of Alexandria gave me the list of events for August, so I thought I would share it with you.

Summer trip to Canada

It was an action packed week with the family! On Sunday, my parents took us to Stratford to see The Tempest (with Christopher Plummer).

On Monday, my Dad took us ona tour of some of the Niagara wineries. We went to Puddicombe Estate Farms and Winery, Kittling Ridge Wine Estates and Spirits, Magnotta Winery, and Legends Estate Winery. I tried lots of ice wine - delicious!

On Tuesday, I baked a Rhubarb Upside Down Cake.

On Wednesday, we had dim sum with my brother and sister at Harvest Moon Chinese Cuisine. Then we went to see my sister's new house.

On Thursday we went shopping and then to Webster's Falls for a picnic lunch.

On Friday, my brother and his girlfriend took us swimming at McMaster University's athletic center. We had lunch with my parents and then all of us drove to Port Dover.

The week went by quickly!

Urbanspoon

Capelet

I knit this up over the weekend:



It's for me to wear in the office when my shoulders get cold... which usually happens in the summer when I dress for outside instead of inside.

Funky mushrooms

Gipsy Kings

Last night Max and I went to Wolf Trap to see the Gipsy Kings. We got the tickets for free from a neighbor and it included access to the Encore Circle - free drinks and free food! It was such a great night. We had alot of fun and really enjoyed the music.

Baptized

Cold Sleep Permanent Afternoon

by Ray Hsu

A long-awaited new release from Ray Hsu.

Cold Sleep Permanent Afternoon, the follow-up to Ray Hsu’s award-winning first collection, Anthropy, is the second book in a prospective trilogy that explores the “grammar of personhood.”

Whereas Anthropy approached the human condition through the prism of first-, second- and third-person perspectives, Cold Sleep Permanent Afternoon uses the grammatical concepts of singular and plural as grid-lines to chart contemporary life and concerns both harrowing and humane. Extending from this principal division, Hsu explores the borders between civic engagement and domesticity, dissent and accord, freedom and restriction—each of these are tested against another and framed by the tension between the collective and the individual. With Cold Sleep Permanent Afternoon, Ray Hsu presents our landscape in stark light, confronting the human drama that is manifesting within our lives, and investigating how we make sense of ourselves and the world we have wrought.

Ray is a friend of mine from the University of Toronto. We both studied English and were neighbors for several years.

East Moon Asian Bistro

Last night, Max and I went out to dinner with our friend Slav. Tried out a new restaurant in the Kingstowne area, East Moon Asian Bistro. They just opened last month.

Max and Slav had sushi to start. They seemed to like it very much. I had the strawberry! :)



For dinner I had the crispy duck which was fantastic. Slav had the pad thai which he enjoyed. Max had a chicken cutlet like dinner which was also very tasty.



Plus the price is right! Half the entrees were under $10. And Slav got to try a new Japanese soda, Ramune. It's very interesting - there's a marble in it. Oh, and my fortune cookie:

Do the right thing because it is right. Have the courage to face it.

Happy Canada Day!

"Canadians have been so busy explaining to the Americans that we aren't British, and to the British that we aren't Americans that we haven't had time to become Canadians." - Helen Gordon McPherson

"Canadians are generally indistinguishable from Americans, and the surest way of telling the two apart is to make the observation to a Canadian." - Richard Staines

"Americans are benevolently ignorant about Canada, while Canadians are malevolently well informed about the United States." - J. Bartlet Brebner

"When I'm in Canada, I feel this is what the world should be like." - Jane Fonda

"Canada has never been a melting-pot; more like a tossed salad." - Arnold Edinborough

"I read and learned and fretted more about Canada after I left than I ever did while I was home. I absorbed anything I could on topics that ranged from folklore to history to political manifestos... I ranted and raved and seethed about things beyond my control. In short I acted like a Canadian." - Will Ferguson

"The natural beauty of Canada is extraordinary." - President Barack Obama

"In history class, in seventh grade (or as we like to say in Canada, grade seven) we learned the story of the American Revolution — from the British perspective. Turns out you were all a bunch of ungrateful tax cheats. And you weren’t very nice to the Loyalists. What I miss most about Canada is getting the truth about the United States."— Malcom Gladwell

Laloo's ® Goat's Milk Ice Cream

For dessert tonight I tried Laloo's ® Goat's Milk Ice Cream. LaLoo's was featured on a show on the Cooking Channel.

At Laloo's they believe that the quality of food and enjoyment of life unite. They let their goats play on 350 acres of rolling hills in Sonoma County, California, where they graze on green grass and thistle berry in the warm Pacific breeze. It's the good life. And the good life makes magical ice cream that's naturally low fat, lactose friendly^TM and spoon-licking delicious to the last scoop. They make innovative products using goat's milk that are yummy, nutritious, fun and sustainably produced while making small but continuous positive influences on the planet and social culture.

There was only a very brief very slight taste of goat at the end of the tasting - and I think I only noticed it because I was trying to see if it was there. I had the Vanilla Snowflake flavor. It was delicious - and very creamy. If you want to try it out, I bought mine at Whole Foods.

Pass Wall Street reform

Congress this week is expected to cast final votes on Wall Street reform -- legislation that isn't just the toughest financial reforms since the Great Depression, but also the strongest consumer protections in history.

These votes in the House and Senate will come down to the wire. And special interests -- who have already spent more than $1 million per member of Congress lobbying on this issue -- are going into overdrive to kill the bill.

Will you join me and stand with President Obama in fighting for Wall Street reform today?

http://my.barackobama.com/WallStreetReformFinalVote-auto

If you love someone...

... don't put conditions on your love.

Baby items for a friend

Baby booties

Ewok sweater in progress

Clara Long: a memorial

From the Hamilton Spectator:

LONG, Clara On June 17, 2010 at St. Peter's Hospital at the age of 80 years. Clara leaves behind her loving husband Norman, their two sons Mark and David as well as their families. Following her wishes, cremation has taken place. Online condolences may be made at www.tbdfuneralchapel.com.

Clara was my babysitter when I was really young. For years, she babysat my sister and brother and me at her house in Hamilton, Ontario. My brother spent the most time with her because he wasn't in school yet. I remember playing games of cards and Scrabble with her, watching the end of Young & the Restless before the cartoons came on after school, grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup with macaroni, watching Clara make her own cigarettes by hand, the elaborate outfits that she crocheted for my sister's and my cabbage patch dolls, her dog She-na, her hand-crank washing machine, the limit she set on the number of squares of toilet paper we could use in the bathroom, the way she said "yous guys," playing "store" in her long back yard, the rhubarb that she grew at the end of her backyard, going to her daughter's funeral while I was still in grade school, her grandson Sean, and that she liked to read Steven King. I remember her quite fondly.

The last time I saw her was in February at St. Peter's Hospital in Hamilton, Ontario. My brother and sister and I went together to see her in the hospital. I gave her a scarf I had knitted. The time before that was at my sister's wedding in October 2006. She won the flowers from our table. According to my Mom, Clara died of cancer complications.

Clara was born in Hamilton, Ontario of Hungarian decent. She finished highschool in grade 10 and went to work in a string factory somewhere on Cannon Street. Clara's crocheting started from bringing home all that string she made in the factory. That is also where Clara met Norm. They just celebrated their 59th anniversary.

Birthday celebration

Yesterday was my birthday. I got a haircut, for the first time in ages. At Frizzles, they serve wine! For dinner we went to Food Matters.

Today we drove down to Fredericksburg and had lunch at Eileen's Cafe and Bakery.

After we drove to the Mattaponi Winery for a wine tasting. Next stop was the Lake Anna Winery. What a great day!