Sunday, October 21, 2012

So this is 40.

At the end of August I turned 40 years of age, it is a landmark age so I've been meaning to jot down a word or two about how I feel. But end of August also brought a new job, a trip to Colorado to visit D. family, and not a lot of free time. Despite some inquiries about whether I am dreading being 40 and growing older there is no dread. These lyrics from Massive Attack seem to pretty much sum up how I feel: 

"I feel like a thousand years have passed
I'm younger than I used to beI feel like the world is my home at last
I know everyone that I meet"
Sly. Massive Attack


To be honest physically the changes that have occurred are pretty minor and not all negative, those half-a-dozen or so gray hairs are not anything to loose sleep about. No, I don't look like a fresh faced 20 something, but I am not exactly the matronly old lady I was expecting to see in the mirror at my age. And really that is what it comes down to is the expectations we have of certain ages. 40 as far as I can seems to be portrayed by either the frumpy housewife or the over-sexed cougar who is trying just a little to hard to hold onto youth. Now I certainly see people who fall into those stereo-types (& if they are happy good on them) but age isn't as ridgedly defined as it once was, even if media has a bit of catching up to do. Looking through the web I stumbled on this article on stylish women in their 40's and looking at the photos I wouldn't have thought any of them were older than 30, which just shows how good I am at telling age, but also how hard age is to define as we get older. Maybe we really are just as old as we feel, act and think. Anyway, I am excited for the next decade!


Friday, August 17, 2012

Japanese Garden




feeding the Koi
I generally work Saturdays, so when I got it off last week D. and I used it as an excuse to head over to the Japanese Garden at the Arboretum. It is one of my favorite gardens in Seattle, partially because I like feeding the Koi (and turtles). It is a stunning garden, and the neighboring arboretum is also quite lovely. They also have a tea house where they occasionally do tea ceremonies and tea classes, unfortunately never when I have time off. One of these day!

After we had strolled and lounged around the parks for most of the day, we decided we were ravenous and tried out Jae's Asian Bistro . It was lovely to sit out side in the patio and the food was great! (In fact I want some more now!)


Tea House
Yum!

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Long time ago in an Ape Cave far, far away

I have been meaning to write something on here for months... in fact this particular post is actually about a trip I took in early May. Sad I know. But I've procrastinated long enough, so here is my tale of my journey to the APE CAVES!

First of a bit of background on the caves, they are lava tubes near Mount St. Helens, in fact they are the longest continuous lava tube in the continental United States at 3,975 m, and in fact one of the longest in the world. The cave got its name from the cub scout troop who first explored them in 1950, the Mount St. Helens Apes. (It was discovered by a logger, who had the misfortune of falling in a sink hole while in his truck.) The have some interesting geology, you can read about it a HERE. Oh and the site also has a reputations for sasquatch sightings, in fact one legend has it that it was near here that there was a confrontation between miners and sasquatch in 1924. (another reason to call them the Ape caves!)

We headed out to the caves on a particularly warm and sunny May day, since really what is a better way to spend such a day than in a cold dripping dank cave! The drive from Seattle was about 3 hours so when we saw the first sign to the Ape Caves we were rather disappointed to see a sign that stated closed. I decided that we could at least continue to the caves and if they were indeed closed, just hike about above ground. Lucky for us they were open, though their was a sign up that stated that you shouldn't enter if you had been spelunking in other caves due to possible contamination of a bacteria that had been killing bats. None of us had, so we figured we posed no threat. (In case you were wondering there were no bats in the cave). 

The Entrance to the Ape Caves
The Entrance to the cave really is just a gaping hole in the ground, though there is a stair way that leads you down to the bottom. Once there, you can either go to the lower tunnel, which is a relatively short and easy trail, or head to the more challenging upper trail which is about 1 1/2 miles long. We chose the upper trail. Though it starts out pretty easy going, I would not recommend it to anyone out of shape or children. We made sure to have plenty of lighting, I had my head lamp and a back up flashlight and D. and N. each had flashlights plus back ups. 

N. in the beginning part of the cav


One result from going pretty early in the season, was other than a couple people at the entrance, we had the cave completely to ourselves. When we all stood still you could just hear the dripping of the water (everything is very damp) and occasionally a gust of cold wind blowing down the tunnel. It was pretty eery, especially considering even with our lights it was quite dark. 

the path gets narrower.


The path also quickly got more and more challenging, the path narrowed and often times you would have to climb over large piles of boulders. Occasionally it was hard to tell which way to go. At one point N. struggled through a small crevasse only to discover an easier path just on the other side (lucky for us he went first!). As mentioned before it was very damp, as in constant cold slimy drips from the ceiling, but in places there were what I'll just describe as cave ponds. The biggest you had to shuffle around on a rather narrow ledge and was probably a foot or two deep.





cave pond





tight fit!
 However the most challenging aspect was the Wall. The Wall had been described in several things I read prior to going up, so I was a bit hesitant as to whether I'd make it up it, not good at pull ups! It was indeed a challenge at it is really an 8ft wall made of sharp, slimy rock with only one place for a foot hold and not much as far as hand holds. I scuffed up my elbows pretty badly even through my jacket, but made it! There was a strange white eyeless spider climbing with me, and I figured he was my moral support! (wish I had gotten a photo, but he disappeared once I dug my camera back out)

D. climbs the wall


The Wall is somewhere around 3/4ths of the way in to the tunnel. Not much further is a hole in the ceiling, this is NOT the exit (don't try and climb out), but nice to see the sun nonetheless. I had a hard time knowing distance and time in the cave, but it wasn't too far past this that you saw the light of the exit. I am happy to say they supply you with a nice (if somewhat rickety) ladder/metal staircase to get out!

The place where we exited was quite lovely too, with an abundance of chipmonks, pika and some pretty birds that seemed to glide and hop more than fly (Clark's Nutcracker??). I am not sure what happened to the photos I took, maybe I was just distracted by all the critters! Though it is only a 1 1/2 miles, it was quite tiring and I think it tooks up at least 2 hours to get to the end. To get back to the car we took the surface route, which was quite beautiful and still snowy.


we made it through!
Light at the end of the tunnel














If you ever have a chance to do these caves yourself I highly recommend it! Just remember come prepared, bring warm gear & rain coat (it's about 45 F all year) and flashlights. I highly recommend a head lamp as you can have your hands free. Also the ground is sharp, I tend to wear thin soles no matter what (think I wore my converse), but I was definitely happy to walk back on the soft trail... so maybe opt for some shoes with decent soles. Oh and gloves, as I said the basalt can be sharp and on top of that it is slimy from the moisture and possibly mold/fungi/who knows what. Oh and as for the Sasquatch... on our way back there was a large crash like a large animal breaking through the brush or a tree branch falling. We thought nothing of it but just a few yards later there was an other one closer to us, as if something were following. D. thinks he saw something large and brown moving off into the trees, now it was most likely an elk... BUT you never know! ;)


the trail back.



Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Vampire Masquerade Ball

A couple of weekends ago I took a trip down to Portland, OR for their annual Vampire Masquerade Ball, this being the 10th year and my first. I was a bit worried it would be hokey, but had quite the blast and was quite blown away at the attention to detail of the people who put it on, especially Lady Raven. There was a midnight waltz with live music by several members the Portland Baroque Orchestra, trapeze artists, various vendors and free food, including a chocolate fountain. D. and Jamie came along and I couldn't have chosen better travel companions. Jamie and I attempted to waltz, but it ended up a bit more improvisation as she knows Viennese and I have a rough memory of the box step.
D, me & Jamie at the end of the night

Despite originally having chosen completely different outfits, we both ended up in silk velvet 1930's dresses, great minds think alike I guess! Even D. danced, which I haven't seen him do in 10 years! There were some great outfits there that night and I am hoping they add a photogallery to the website soon as I didn't take that many photos as I was too busy dancing*. (you can see some more that I took on Flickr).

*Jamie actually took a great one of me and D. dancing but unfortunately I can't find it right now.

Friday, March 16, 2012

Window shopping

Earlier this evening I went to the dress rehearsal of the ballet, it was great fun and I love the more modern pieces. Also on the bus ride home a jolly drunk sang me a catchy song about a gold fish that he had composed at 3 years old. It was quite amusing, especially when the guy next to him wanted to sing too and there was almost a sing off. There is really nothing like public transport! But that is not what this post is about... nope it is about me wasting time window shopping on the internet! So here are are a few of my (current) favorite things!

First of: Modcloth (I've never bought anything from them, but they do have pretty dresses). For example these:


 Unfortunately the ones I like are always out of stock, which I suppose is good for me pocket book.

Next up and in a different style: VirginBlak
They are a Korean mens wear store, but a lot of the clothes are rather androgynous and slim cut so good for women too. Their style is probably closer to my daily style than pretty dresses. I actually bought the top from them (though it hasn't arrived yet). I almost got the pants (I want some checked pants) but wasn't sure about sizing.
 



And now on to etsy for jewelry (my friend Jill introduced me to these guys, one of these days I'll break down!): Screwpulous Jewelry (HaremRoyal)

This piece is just amazing!:
All the pieces are stunning and they state that: "The materials are sourced from ethical outlets, keeping things as eco friendly as possible. All of the organic materials are either recycled or come from reliable, legal sources or they are antique. It was ensured that no animals were harmed for the sake of the jewelry." Which is good as I'd rather not have something killed just for fashion.


And lastly: Face Lace. These are lace-like face appliqués by Phyllis Cohen, they'd be so fun for a fancy dress ball or just going out! Unfortunately they aren't on sale yet and I am not sure if they are shipping to the US. Here are a couple of my favorites:


















For now maybe I can try duplicating with eyeliner and a very steady hand (though I have a feeling that will be a disaster!).


The witching hour has come and I ought to step away from this glowing screen, so good night!

Monday, March 12, 2012

Lazy Sunday

Today the clocks sprung forward, but not I. No springing for this lazy lass, instead indulged in utter sloth. (I did go grocery shopping & for a short walk. Would have walked further, but feared the wind would blow me away). I am hoping to kill the early signs of a cold with copious amounts of tea, food and lots of naps. Time will tell if it works!

Trader Joe's Silent Movie Monday
waiting for the movie to start.
For now I thought I'd post a short update on life since my last  post, or some of it at least. Mainly I have been incessantly checking my emails to find out if I have gotten in to any of the grad schools to which I applied, so far the verdict is... check again later. *sigh*  Last month in February, the lads and I went to one of Trader Joe's Silent Movie Mondays at the Paramount. First off that place has the most beautiful bathrooms ever (sorry no photo). Actually the whole place is quite stunning and beautiful setting for a silent movie. Also this is one of the few events in Seattle where the average age is probably over 50. Anyway the movie was Wings starring Clara Bow, the music accompaniment was on the historic Mighty Wurlitzer organ by the very talented Jim Riggs.

The silent movie night start back up in April, not sure what the theme is, but will try and make it out again!

D & N Silent Movie MondayParamount Theater



Oh and if you have been curious about my sugar free experience: I am off the wagon, though I am trying to keep it on the lower end (ideally around 40 or so grams a day). Though I did lose weight, my skin did not noticeably improve. I think the flushing was a little less, but that is hard to tell and it certainly didn't clear up while I was sugar free, in fact it is clearer right now. Still I think keeping my sugar intake at a more reasonable level will be a benefit in the long term and not only for my waist line. Also the very expensive skin cream sample (copper peptide stuff) was nice, but not any better than some drugstore brand, which is good as it means I don't feel the urge to run out and spend $80 on a tiny tube of it!

Also picked up an issue of Zipper Magazine at Kinokuniya book store. I'll claim I bought it to improve my Japanese reading, but really I just look at the pictures. It came with a ridiculously cute (& pink) bag... I had hoped it was a t-shirt, but obviously my Japanese needs a lot of help! Speaking of street snaps one of favorite sites to peruse is: fashionsnap.com 
(it is in Japanese, but you can use Google to translate or just realize that at the bottom 次のページ will navigate you to earlier pages. 次の (tsugi no) = next). One of these days I'll post some of my favorites, for now I'll just say I love all the fun patterned tights! I wore mine yesterday and received a lot of comments, mainly good though a few were a bit out there (but hey I work in Pioneer Square, a lot of people there are a bit out there!)

That's all for now, need more tea! (& maybe a snack...)
こんばんわ!

Friday, February 10, 2012

Norwegian Wood and Ludus Sanctus


new shoes!
Tuesday, D. and  I went to go see SIFF's showing of Norwegian Wood. Visually it was just stunning and it followed Murakami's book pretty closely. D. had been a bit hesitant to watch it enjoyed it as well. I thought the acting was very well done and was happy that the dialogue was minimal as I could follow along a little with out having to read subtitles. (Or I should say I was happy I could follow anything at all, my Japanese is pretty shabby). Anyway also bad at reviewing movies! If you liked the book by Murakami or just like visually lush movies I highly recommend it! Oh and I wore my new Jeffrey Campbell wedges which I am very happy with.  The only downside to the experience was the movie theater was FREEZING! We were both shivering by the end of it, despite wearing our coats and in my case gloves.





Tobi in front of her art

dancer
Today, I went to see my friend Tobi's visual art and performance night, Ludus Sactus, at Capital Hill Art Walk. Tobi shared the walls with another artist Rae Diamond. I wish I would have gotten a close up of some of Tobi's pieces as you can't see them to well in the photo. There was also a performance of harmonic singing and gamelan with traditional classical Indian dance. There were several little kids in attendance, as it was held in a funky kids clothing store, I was really impressed at how generally well behaved they were. They did seem to like the part of the dance where he was the Monkey King! The dancer (who's name I did not catch) was quite expressive and it was interesting seeing the story danced out. At one point he was an old man and his whole face and body transformed, I was too busy watching to take a photo. He gave us a quick walk through of what the different gestures meant and a brief translation of the song, which helped.  The singer and musicians were also quite talented, I just tend to focus on dance as I understand that more!







Sunday, February 5, 2012

PNB Don Quixote

before the ballet


Friday I had the chance to go to opening night of Don Quixote at Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) with my friend Jamie (She had an extra ticket, yay!). The costuming and sets were amazing and I loved both Tom Skerritt, as Don Quixote, and Allen Galli, as Sancho Panza. The dancing was quite good, though I must admit I am not a big fan of "gratuitous dancing" which tends to be predominate in a lot of classical story ballets. Basically, those parts where everyone stands around and watches the principle dancers show of how many fouette turns they can do or high they can jump, etc. (Granted these tend to be big crowd pleasers and bring in the money for the ballet company so they can put on the more modern ballets that I prefer.) The biggest weakness was Carla Korbes as Kitri, admittedly a hard dancing role and this was her first time dancing it. My favorite part was Act 2, probably because I liked the dream sequences with cupid and also Don Quixote's battle with the very Hieronymus Bosch inspired demons. I wish they had been on for longer! Oh and the strange cactus people! (note the trailer for the ballet is not of the PNB dancers, though the choreography and sets are the same, I think the clip is from the Dutch National Ballet)

love conquers all
Another fun part of going to the ballet is the excuse to dress up. The dress is a 1950's wiggle dress and I've been waiting for a good excuse to wear it. I only had 1/2 an hour to get ready after work (including quick shower) so my make-up consisted of red lips and I didn't have time to iron (linen is very wrinkle prone!) I don't think the shoes really went with the outfit, and the fact that the back strap would not stay up with the tights on made walking more of a challenge than I cared for. Need some sky-high silver heels. We tried to take some photos with Jamie's iphone at the ballet, but they turned out rather bad so not posting them! Oh yeah and Godzilla stayed home, my strange cat thinks he's her friend so he tends to hang by the heater.





Below is Natalia Osipova dancing as Kitri, she's absolutely amazing! (maybe unfair to compare Carla to her)












Wednesday, February 1, 2012

2 weeks sugar-free

(stock photo of sugar cubes)
It is week 2 of my sugar free diet experiment (or close enough), and despite my initial misgivings today I'm a believer! The best part is the unexpected benefit of having lost several pounds and even better I appear to have gone down a clothing size. Considering I have not been dieting, at least not in the sense of reducing calories, I'm amazed. As for my skin it is harder to tell. It doesn't look bad right now, but it tends to fluctuate so I can't say it is the lack of sugar in my diet. There is also the fact that I have been concurrently testing out the free sample I received of Blue Copper Firming Elastic Repair by Osmotic (gah what a mouthful). The lady at Nordstroms told me it was a miracle skin cream, one can only hope! I have however stopped using my retin-A (mainly because I ran out). I took a photo of my skin yesterday and will compare it to a photo in 2 weeks and see if there are improvements. I still won't really know whether it was the cream or the lack of sugar (or maybe a combo) but if it keeps getting better from here then I know something is working!

Oh and sugar seems to be making news, especially after an article in Nature. Here a article from the SF Chronicle: UCSF scientists declare war on sugar in food. Well I am not 100% sure that sugar is the root of all evil, moderation I think is usually the key. Still I am now more aware of how much hidden sugar is in foods and I think most people end up eating way more than they realize.

Friday, January 27, 2012

pretty things

The other day the amazing Mr. D. surprised me with this lovely 1940's dress I had been eying at Pickled Vintage's Etsy shop (recommended!) It fits almost to a tee, though I will probably take it in to have the waist slightly lowered (curse my long waist).

Now I am trying to justify a pair of Jeffrey Campbell wedges ( I doubt they'll go with the dress). They are completely impractical to my current life... but maybe changing my life to accommodate them would be a good thing! Especially since life right now has been very work centric. Need to get out!

Oh and my sugar free diet is still going, my big craving today was hot chocolate. I am not really seeing any amazing results, but will give it full month before I decide if it helped anything.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

It finally came, it's finally gone!

After a day delay the predicted snow came, the writers of the sign on the left (and in my previous entry) got their wish! It was fun for about a day, but this city is really not set up for snow and I am happy it's gone and everything is back to normal and getting about isn't a huge hassle.

In less snowy news, though white and powdery, I decided to try giving up sugar for a month. Today is day 4, I haven't been perfect... but then again my goal is mainly to cut out obvious sweets and sugar (cookies, pastries, ice cream etc.) and I have avoided those. There has certainly been temptation, probably the worst was walking past Beard Papa cream puffs after picking up groceries at Uwajimaya. I really wanted one of their éclairs. I keep telling myself it is only for a month and if this helps my skin look better it will be more than worth it. I have rosacea and sugar is supposed to be inflammatory, so hoping by avoiding it my skin will calm down (it hates this weather). Hey and maybe I'll lose a couple of pounds, which wouldn't be to bad either! If you are curious about some of the negative aspects of sugar here is an interesting article from the NY times: Is Sugar Toxic?

Pioneer Square in the snow.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Signs of Snow

The news has been buzzing with this huge snow storm that is supposedly brewing. Wandered to the top of Queen Anne for various errands including a tasty Top Pot donut and coffee. Thought maybe we would see some snow, the closest we got was the sign out side the Methodist church stating, "Let it Snow".  Maybe tonight.

Did run into a fashionable lady (I really should have asked her name!) and her to dogs on a walk. Really liked her vintage (1940's) brooch and victory curls, not to mention cute pups, Nicholas was sporting a spaniel mohawk. I really love people with a strong personal style, I am glad she let me take her snapshot.

Well should stop messing around online and get ready to go and grab pho with D.



Dapper Lady with companions Nicholas and Cordelia (in red)

Monday, January 16, 2012

The Wintery Sound


Yes, that is the spaceneedle.
I had the misfortune to spend the last few days with some form of stomach flu, not fun. However feeling mostly recovered today and a bit stir crazy I went for a short walk along one of my favorite parks in Seattle, Myrtle Edwards Park. Actually I think the part I was in is adjacent to it and belongs to the Port of Seattle. Still it has an amazing view of Puget Sound. It was trying to snow (or sleet or hail!), but there were still a lot of marine birds to be seen, even a cold wet looking heron (photo didn't really turn out). Stopped by the Happy Hooker to maybe pick up a warm beverage, but they were closed. They seem to have rather random hours so I am never sure. They sell beverages, snacks and fishing tackle. The sky was pretty spectacular, the photos don't do it justice! After a lovely, though rather nippy, stroll headed home to make veggie pho and finish the last of my grad school apps (all done!) Now I should really head off to bed as I have work tomorrow. Oh and unless it actually does start snowing, I'll be biking there via this park, such a fantastic commute!
ducks, geese, seagulls and more birds!!!
The Happy Hooker makes me happy

rosehips and dusting of snow
Alki (W.Seattle)

Friday, January 13, 2012

it's cold outside, even the trees have on their sweaters...


Lazy day adventures on a Northwest Winter day. For a while now the trees in Pioneer Square area have been donning colorful sweaters and even a few of the lamppost. I rather like how cheery they make things look. I wanted to take more photos, but my batteries died and my Daisu dollar store replacement batteries failed as well. Too bad. We had wandered up the Panama Hotel Tea House which I would have like to have gotten a few snaps of. Their tea is a bit overpriced, but the atmosphere is lovely and they have the nicest bathroom. There was also a very lovely sunset, which you can see me standing in front in my pink cords. (I think they need to be dyed darker, they have unfortunately faded and shrunk overtime). Next time spare batteries (ideally not Chinese ones bought for $1.50 for a pack of 6!).