Cheese making-July 14, 2007

Konami and I made some mozzarella and goat cheese a couple of weeks ago and it was a lot of fun, so Konami invited us all back to her house Saturday night to make mozzarella. We made about six pounds of it and ate it fresh in a salad with tomatoes and basil. I still have lots left to use, what should I make with it?

Texas, July 9-11

We went to Texas for work. I wish I could say I saw some Texas sites or landmarks, but we didn't leave the "compound" where our conference was held. Our fist night, we took a cab to a restaurant and this is what I saw of the Texas country side:

July 4, 2007-Alameda Parade

The community garden participated in the parade, so I went too. It was a four-mile route and took two hours! It was very hot, but fun. Our "float" was a mini-cooper dressed up like a ladybug. I put some flowers on my scooter and went on the scooter.

Meet Camille!

This is Camille:



I got Camille on Sunday, June 17th, from Mary, a woman who rescues feral cats. Camille had been living with her sister under a house and Mary took her to the vet to be spayed and realized that Camille was tame-able. So, Mary fostered Camille and got her used to living with humans, along with Camille's sister. I came across the craigslist post on Camille's sister, but Mom thought that the sister looked anti-social and Mom said I should see what Camille is like. Well, I fell in love with Camille! She was a little shy at first, but then she calmed down and let me pet her and started purring and being affectionate. By the way, her sister never calmed down and acted like the stereotypical feral cat.

Now Camille and I share my apartment and she is affectionate and follows me around and sleeps at the foot of my bed. You would never guess that she was once a feral cat, except that her ear has been nicked by the vet when she was spayed (they do that to feral cats so that they know which ones have already been fixed).

May 16, 2007-Pictures of my Plot in the Community Garden

May 13, 2007- Soo is Visiting

Soo is here visiting till graduation and she and I worked on the balcony and planted lots of flowers.

May 6, 2007-Bring Back The Natives

Today people with native California plant gardens opened their yards to Bring Back the Natives Garden Tour. I took my scooter around the East Bay and saw some gorgeous gardens. It let me see what people with Money in Berkeley do in their spare time (gardening and touring).

April 29, 2007-Overpass Collapse

I think that by now everyone has heard about the gas truck accident that caused the highway overpass to collapse. Here are some photos, though, that Tom took on his last weekend here.

Aprl 28, 2007-La Dolce Vita

Yesterday they delivered my new scooter. Well, I was thinking it would be easy to ride, no problem, but it's super scary. I ended up going to the cemetery to practice and felt a little more confident after that little trip. I took it to Berkeley last night and it was very fun! Yes, still a little nerve wracking, but lots of fun.

April 24, 2007-New Fish Aquarium

I have had my four goldfish for more than a year and decided to get them a new fish tank. The new aquarium is 5 gallons (the old one was 2 gallons) and has a better filter. So far, the goldfish seem happy-ish about the new home, but the light getting turned on freaks them out and they go into a frenzy every time I do it.

April 22, 2007--Breakfast at the Thai Buddhist Temple

Before Tom and I took Bev to the airport we all went out to breakfast. The Thai Temple serves breakfast/lunch on Sundays and it is very good. We all had a curry and pad thai and mango sticky rice for dessert. At the Thai Temple you can't use real money, you have to change your money for tokens and then you exchange the tokens for food. It is probably the best place to get Thai food in the Bay Area.

April 21, 2007--After our facial and massage

Bev and I went to Piedmont Springs today and she had a facial and I had a massage. Very nice. Then we took BART to San Francisco and browsed in the shops while it rained.

April 21, 2007--Excuse me, maam...

Bev is visiting and we went for a coffee run this morning and we went in our pajamas. When I got to Starbucks, the barrista let me know that my pajama bottoms had a hole in them.

April 9, 2007-Oakland A's Come Home

Today the A's had their first (disappointing) home game. Tom and I had beer and hot dogs and watched the game. We have a few hotties on the team this year, including Travis Buck:



Travis Buck is the left fielder and he is from Richland! Buck hit the only RBI for Oakland last night which was the only bright spot in the dismal game--love those Eastern Washington boys.

Tour of Golden Gate Park

April 8, 2007

What is a trip to San Francisco without going to the Golden Gate Park? Maura and I took advantage of the lovely weather to go to the park and see the orchid show at the Conservatory of Flowers. Tom gave me “The Orchid Thief” for my birthday, so I was very excited to see the orchids. Here are some of my favorites:





Here is a cute picture of Maura:

Sprouting Seedlings! April 8, 2007

The seedlings that I started inside are starting to sprout. Here are some pictures of the cilantro.

Maura is Visiting, April 6-9th

Maura is here! I haven't seen Maura since I was a sophomore in college, so that's about 8 years ago. We've been getting caught up on our lives and going to various places in San Francisco and Oakland (Target! Metreon!).

March 26, 2007-Time Start Gardening!

March 26, 2007

Today I started working on a plot at the Bay-Eagle Community Garden in Alameda. This all came about because one of my coworkers has been tending this plot for years, but she wanted someone to share the plot with her and she offered me an 8’ x 4’ raised bed. I’ve wanted to garden for years and was excited about the possibility.

Konami, my coworker, suggested I start by amending the soil, so I mixed in to the existing soil some compost, humus, and top soil. Now, I’m going to let it sit for a couple weeks. I did plan a couple of left over flowers that I couldn’t fit on my balcony and one of the community gardeners gave me a couple brandy wine tomato plants which I also planted.

After the garden, I went to Vine and Thompson for coffee and to read “Second Nature” by Michael Pollan. Vine and Thompson is a beautiful nursery in Alameda with a coffee and pastry shop in the nursery. Here are some pictures of the nursery.

2-26 Another photo

Tom and I went hiking in the Redwood Regional Park last weekend. We thought that this signpost was not very helpful.

2-26 Photos from the last couple months

Taken at Lake Merritt on January 1st.




Tom and I went to the Palace of Fine Art in San Francisco on January 7th. It was the site of the World's Fair and now it is a museum.