Taiwanese Kitties

2008

Spotted around town

Window shopping in NYC

I don't love to shop, but I do love this shop--especially their ivory hands and faces.

Evil Design

Magic Secrets of the Stone Mind & the Plastic Soul--MCA of Evil Design's exhibit at the APW Art Gallery.
This little guy glows in the dark:

Kronos Quartet

There are few songs I love more than Kronos Quartet's "El Llorar" (from their Nuevo album), but they took it to a whole new level Thursday night at Prospect Prospect Park with their New York premiere of Bryce Dessner's "Aheym"!

Take me out to the ballgame!

St. Louis is famous for the Cardinals, but head east to Sauget, Illinois, and you're in Gateway Grizzlies territory.
The 2003 Frontier League Champions took on the Evansville Otters on a balmy evening in late June in the first of a three game series and Seth and I were there with my mom and dad to cheer them on:
Sw-innngg Batter!

We opted to sit in the premium seats since the hot tub section was sold out:
I wonder if the new Busch Stadium has one.

And Mom didn't have to bring a book to read when the game got a little bit dull (like she did at the Cardinal's games when my sis and I were little) since there were all kinds of fun things happening around us: raffles, frozen T-shirt contests, an announcer who yelled "boring" every time the pitcher tried to pick off anyone trying to steal first base, and a dance routine during the seventh inning stretch:Move over Fredbird, it's Izzy Grizzly!

RECIPE BOX

Mix-and-match Salad
-lettuce, I like romaine or red leaf
-apples, pears or oranges
-walnuts, pecans, or slivered almonds
-raisins, dried cherries, or craisons
-feta, blue cheese, or whatever you please
-roasted garlic, or not

dressing
This is my own creation--I must admit, I've never bothered to figure out the proper proportions. For vinaigrette it's recommended that you use three parts oil to one part vinegar, so that's what I do, then adjust the measurements of the rest of the ingredients to taste:
- toasted sesame oil
- balsamic vinegar
- dark sorghum molasses
- mustard, I like the kinds with seeds for this recipe
- salt
- a spritz of lemon juice (optional)

Collections: Coconut Monkeys and Art Pops

One of the things I love about visiting my mom is spotting the new treasures she's collected since the last time I visited. I, too, love to collect, but I'll write about that another day. Somehow, my sis is missing the "collector's gene." She's a bit of a minimalist. My dad's also a collector, but of things you file away (stamps) or put away when not in use (fishing lures). My mom's collections are much more obvious: candlesticks, dishes, picture frames...the list goes on and on, oh, and coconut monkeys:

The one in the center is her latest and most favorite addition. It has googly eyes and buck teeth and it's pretty darn cute. She keeps the coconut monkeys in the backyard shed along with old salt and pepper shakers, gardening supplies, lots of weird and wonderful odds and ends and the materials she uses to make mosaics:
Here's the shed:It's a fun place to hang out in and explore...at least when it's not 100-degrees outside and even hotter inside.

And here's one of the many beautiful mosaics my mom makes. I can't wait for her to make me one once I move into a home with a yard. She calls them Art Pops:

Rock-Rock-Rockaway Beach!

Happy (belated) Fourth of July!

Spotted along the Great River Road, Alton, IL