work to live.
a daily philosophy and journal of thoughts, musings and discoveries…
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BITTER?
I finally got around to finishing making the bitters. It’s been sitting there for over a month and was overdue for the next step. I boiled some simple syrup using water and brown sugar, and mixed it in with the spiced vodka. It has a beautiful amber tone and tastes just as it should, refreshing. Served on the rocks, it’s perfect to go with the sunny weather. Chin Chin!
ZOOMS+CLICKS OF THE WEEK: EXOTIC FLORA
WTL Contributors – J&T Lam
A very exotic and Freddie Kruger looking plant called the Mexican Hand… It’s pretty captivating and unusual. Have you seen anything like it?
CRAFTED: KNITTER HACKATHON
A couple of weeks ago, I started a hacking project on my knitting machine based on Becky Stern’s video. It would allow me to program patterns into my knitting machine directly from my computer with digital imagery. This way I wouldn’t have to figure out a manual graph pattern or enter each stitch, one by one, into the machine. I was really excited.
ZOOMS+CLICKS: PHILLY ART
WTL Contributors – J&T Lam
J&T in Philly taking in art – from street murals to the Barnes Museum to the Rodin Museum with the Thinker and the Gates from Hell inspired by Dante’s Inferno.
ZOOMS+CLICKS OF THE WEEK: BOSTON
WTL Contributors – J&T Lam
J&T were in Boston last week. Here are some photos of the Boston bombing memorial site. I thought I’d end the post with Boston tulips that T took, for something more uplifting and hopeful.
HEATHERED HILLSIDE
I love it when it starts to feel like summer. We’ve had warm and sunny weather lately and the dry rocky terrain of the hill where yoyo and I walk is now spotted with violet heather. It makes everything so pretty and cheerful.
ZOOMS+CLICKS OF THE WEEK: KABUKI
WTL Contributors – J&T Lam
Beautiful and dramatic photos of a kabuki performance at the Cherry Blossom Parade.
HAPPY WEEKEND!
Happy weekend everyone! We’ve been having summer-like weather here in SF and it has put everything in vacation mode. Even though I’ll be midterm grading this weekend, I’m looking forward to time with my camera, nice walks with yoyo, and finishing up hacking my knitting machine. (more on that in a later post)
SHAPED WEAVING?
The one limitation that I don’t like about weaving is it’s flatness and angular shapes. I’m a sculptural person at heart. So, lately I’ve been thinking about how great it would be to have a 3D loom. I did some research and couldn’t find any. If they can figure out a 3D printer, why can’t someone figure out how to make a 3D loom – working both planes? Anyway, I shall have to do some experimenting but here is a test that got me thinking…
ZOOMS+CLICKS OF THE WEEK: CHERRY BLOSSOM PARADE
WTL Contributors – J&T Lam
More colorful photos from J&T from last week’s Cherry Blossom Festival, which culminated in a Parade. I really love the traditional costumes, and the anime guys and gals are always fun. But the Japanese tattoo designs are really what caught my eye. Unlike most tattoos which resemble bad body graffiti, the Japanese tattoos are thoughtfully planned and beautifully harmonious. I especially love the floral designs. I’m not a tattoo type of gal, but looking at it made me really want a Japanese tattoo – - maybe in another life…
WHAT’S COOKIN’? MUSHROOM PATE
So I was telling you about my new Homemade – Summer cookbook by Yvette Van Boven. Here is the 3rd recipe that I’ve made – a mushroom pate. I really love pate, but since cutting down on eating meat, this seems like a nice replacement. I was a bit skeptical, but it came out really delicious.
WHAT’S COOKIN’? BITTMAN’S PASTA
It’s hard to imagine making homemade pasta. I don’t have a pasta machine or anything fancy like that. But Mark Bittman’s handkerchief pasta recipe couldn’t be easier. (*click on the link to watch the video) It doesn’t require a pasta rolling machine and only uses 3 ingredients – flour, eggs and water. You can make it in minutes and it’s delicious. Here, I’ve topped it with parmesan and kale sauteed in olive oil, garlic and pepper flakes. yummy…Bon Appetite!
ORANGE BITTERS
Last week I went over to Omnivore Books to pick up a new summer cookbook. Omnivore is a small, one room neighborhood bookstore in San Francisco that carries only cookbooks and books about food. I’m very particular about my cookbooks and I don’t like laborious recipes that require lots and lots of exotic ingredients. (That’s why I love Donna Hay – I think I own about four of her cookbooks – although she’s better with savory than sweets).
ZOOMS+CLICKS OF THE WEEK: CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL (WK 2)
WTL Contributors – J&T Lam
Cherry Blossom Festival week two…mochi making performance, saki drinking, music and food.
ZOOMS+CLICKS: CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL (PART 2)
WTL Contributors – J&T Lam
Here are some pictures of Miss Cherry Blossom (big tiara) and her court…
ZOOMS+CLICKS: CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL (part 1)
WTL Contributors – J&T Lam
The annual Cherry Blossom Festival in Japantown, this weekend and next.
ZOOMS+CLICKS OF THE WEEK: STRANGE FRUIT
WTL Contributors – J&T Lam
Look what was found inside the papaya…is it pregnant, a twin or GMO? The weirdest thing I have seen…
SPRING FLORA
Spring has finally arrived in San Francisco and the plants (and weeds) are sprouting. It’s so nice to have sunny days again. My little potted lemon tree which has been leafless and barren for years has finally sprouted leaves. I’m hopeful of getting a few small lemons this year. The hibiscus is also flowering.
VOILA! THE REVEAL.
I finished weaving and here is what the finished camera strap looks like. Like I said, the weaving goes much faster than the set up.
STEP 3: TIE UP AND START WEAVING!
I tied up the peddles for a twill weave and finally, the loom is ready for weaving! See what I mean by lots of set up and preparation? I’m sparing you the part where the beam wheel belt was bent and I had to disassemble it to fix it with my handy(wo)man tool kit. Once I started weaving though, that was all behind me : ) Here’s my test weaving in progress…
STEP TWO: BEAM, THREAD, SLAY
After a very busy last couple of weeks and being sick, I finally had the weekend to myself to catch up on life. And I finally got working on my loom which has been beckoning since I got it home. There is a reason why I haven’t woven on a loom in a LONG time…it’s not only tedious and time consuming, but also VERY physical. There are lots of steps to setting up the loom for weaving and SO many places to make a mistake. It forces you to really be patient – reworking something a few times is not unusual if you want it to go right when you are weaving. The set up takes more time than the actual weaving but once the loom is dressed, the rewards come – but you really have to work for it!
STEP 1: WIND A WARP
This weekend I wound a test warp for my new loom – 3″ wide and 10 epi. The next step is to dress the loom with it. To be continued…
TULIPMANIA
It’s tulip season and I’ve had them in the house a lot lately. They cheer up any room, however, they don’t live very long – some longer than others – so be picky with where you buy them. The yellow ones were extra hardy, so it was sad to see them go.
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