curious foreigner

2012-02-14T18:42:00.000-08:00

These leather accessories are hard to resist.

Pictures are products of a.b.k. custom leather craft.

2012-02-14T07:59:00.000-08:00

For Valentine's day this year my husband surprised me with a ride on the Duffy! He kept the plan secret all the way til we walked up to the boat. We finally opened the champagne that my parents-in-law give us after we got married! We had so much fun listening to music, eating strawberry and drinking champagne. Even though it was windy outside, the windows on the boat kept us perfectly warm and cozy, while still gave in some ocean breeze.

We wild guessed the cost of having a ocean front home and joked that one day we will become gazillionaires too. Whatever it is that we will go through in life, I'm just feel so fortunate that we have each other. It was our first Valentine's Day celebration together as a married couple, and I couldn't be happier!

2012-02-13T14:17:00.000-08:00

Fairy gardening continues...

2012-02-13T10:23:00.000-08:00

These Madewell boots are my favorites at the moment:)

2012-02-09T12:57:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited that my Serissa has bloomed. For a little tiny plant it's doing pretty well! I'm pretty obsessed with miniature flower trees. They work so well in fairy gardens. Can't wait for them to become mature trees!

2012-02-07T15:25:00.000-08:00

Aside from a pair of shoes I got as a Christmas gift, I haven't purchased a single article of clothing for over five months. I somehow lost interest in clothes when I picked up fairy gardening, and it was a exchange that served me better. When I'm gardening all I need is some used clothes that don't mind getting dirty and a good pair of rain boots. It also prompted me to finally get rid of another 16 handbags, 20 or so pairs of shoes and bags of clothes that I no longer wear. It felt really nice to shed things that weighed me down, and gave me a feeling that I was moving on with life. Now that I have a clean slate, maybe it's about time to build a newer and better wardrobe? I think so! It starts with this cute vintage bag. I looked for it for a long time but never could find in the exact style and color until a few days ago. It's perfect in every way, even better because it only costed $25 and I know I will wear it til it falls apart!

2012-02-07T13:53:00.000-08:00

The first flowers of my new Cherry Blossom tree. This variety is called Pink Cloud. I guess the real test would be seeing if it makes through the hot summer in Southern California weather!

Single bloom Serissa. The tiny little flower makes my heart skip a beat... it's how much I like them! I also have a purple one but too small, only three inches tall and no flowers yet. It takes years before they grow into anything, but I'm hopeful!

2012-02-02T12:37:00.000-08:00

It's only noon but my morning was crazy enough. Besides spilling half a can of paint in my backyard, I also almost ran over a wild running rabbit on my way to the nursery, had to swerve over to avoid it. The frightened little bunny then decided to do the only thing it knew: to freeze in the middle of the street! I thought I had hit it so I got out of my car to see if it was alright, luckily I didn't and it ran off the traffic into a nearby shopping plaza. Hopefully it will go into a residential area where there's no heavy traffic!

Here's some furniture updates while I get my nerve back in order! New to me but very very old furniture. A table and four chairs for $100 bucks. All the paint on the chairs are flaking off, I already painted one chair in pink, it's waiting to be distressed BUT, why does everything I paint look so tacky? I think I kind of like the chairs as is, any thoughts?

2012-01-29T21:17:00.000-08:00

A visit to the Russian submarine...

and the Queen Mary.

It was a trip back in time.

2012-01-27T15:53:00.000-08:00

Here I am still talking about my Christmas present. Among the many many gifts I received from my parents-in-laws this year, there was a gigantic box that sat out in my living room for several weeks all the way up til Christmas morning. Finally I got the chance to open it, and it turned out to be a incomplete miniature farm, modeled after his real farm house, crafted from scratch by my father-in-law.

Not only it was exquisitely crafted, it came with a tiny water pump that could turn into a small fountain at the back of the garden. There were farm animals, a bench with fishing rot by the lake, a little house, and a backyard to the little house with wooden fence, and of course a dog named Rudy and a oil lantern on the front porch.

It's one thing to go out and buy a gift, another to spend hours making one! I spent a long time deciding whether I should make it into a shade garden or a sun garden, finally yesterday I decided that since I could see it more often in the backyard than the front yard, I would make it a shade garden. The part I had to fill in was very easy, I added a gazebo, a gate, and plants. I might go back and change a few plants and add some patio furniture, but the over all layout is set. Fairy gardening is so much fun, have you ever been tempted to make one yourself?

2012-01-26T13:03:00.000-08:00

The weather is fantastic today! I got up in the morning and went to the beach to have breakfast with Kelly and Alfie. I ordered Belgian waffles for myself and a hamburger patty for the kids. In two months I'd been living in my new house, in a new neighborhood with my new husband for a year now, time goes by fast, and don't I say that a lot!

I've been thinking of working and going to school again lately. I suddenly have the idea of opening my own shop of some sort. The idea of sitting 8 hours a day talking til my throat burns out giving piano lessons to little kids doesn't appeal to me anymore. It seems like a lot of fun to have, say, a clothing boutique of my own? When the weather is nice I tend to dream, but I can still dream right?

2012-01-22T21:22:00.000-08:00

Ok, things are serious if someone like me has come up with a plan. So here it is, a plan, for the living room, with the piano and a seating area peacefully co-exist without being on each other's throat.

For now the desk and chairs are all out. My new plan includes a sofa and arm chair from pottery barn, a new coffee table, and some other small stuff. Decorating the house is fun, when the work is all over and done with...

2012-01-20T16:49:00.000-08:00

Here comes the sad truth, after paying a pretty penny for a set of French antique settee and chairs, waiting patiently for weeks for it to be imported into the US, arranging it, rearranging it for day after day after week after week, my house has finally told me that it is not going to work.

I truly believe that when it comes to purchasing a home, the house select its owners too. It also select it's style and furnishings, and when something doesn't work, it simply just doesn't work! The slightly perfectionist tendency in me has caused me to constantly obsessing over rearranging the chairs so that it would be "perfect," and since I have not been able to find a good way to place the chairs "perfectly", it caused discomfort that's hard to describe in words except a sensation of constant headache. Ok, everybody's got their corks, right?

I bought this Mobler chair on ebay last year, it has been to every room of the house except the piano room, today I hauled out all the French chairs and place this little chair in the room, and viola! It is just perfect! It's simple and clean, and what... I don't feel a headache coming on? That means it's good, it's all good! That means we are going to try for a Danish modern look, let's hope better luck the second time around!

2012-01-20T09:52:00.000-08:00

There are a few childhood favorite dishes that I love til this day. Shredded potato served cold is one of them. I'm so grateful about living far away from my home town yet Chinese food is so readily available. What are some of your childhood favorite dishes?

2012-01-19T12:32:00.000-08:00

I haven't made any new fairy garden lately because the real garden requires some attention. I've been working very little lately and doing a lot of gardening instead and I am happier than ever. Somehow gardening fills me like nothing else. There's something about breaking a good sweat, getting my hands dirty in the soil, and being in the open fresh air that fills me like nothing else.

2012-01-18T13:34:00.000-08:00

Ever since my walnut tree collapsed, the side corner of my house had been looking like a jungle. I finally got a few plants planted at the old spot today. It feels nice to get things done around the house!

A camellia tree, two carnations, a french lavender, and something I don't know the names of... it still looks kind of shabby, but no worries, the important thing is to put the plants at the right spot with the right sun requirements, and leave them enough space to grow. I think we are well on our way to having a beautiful front yard again!

Here's my to do list:

1. pave brick pathway in concrete.
2. fix side walk.
3. plant cherry blossom tree.
4. scoop up old gravel, replace with new ones.
5. put in pathway lights.
6. replace iceberg roses under the window.
7. add cement urn planters on the brick posts.

That's about all I can think of for now, and it seems like an awful lot of work. Hopefully I will check off this list soon!

2012-01-17T23:51:00.000-08:00

I wonder why I never dreamed about him at all even though I think about him everyday.

2012-01-17T14:28:00.000-08:00

Two miniature roses on my plant list: Cafe ole and Pinstripe. Image from heirloom roses.

2012-01-17T14:06:00.000-08:00

I think this is called appleblossom rose bud, it's a type of geraniums not commonly seen in nurseries. I wish there are more of them in my garden this year!

2012-01-15T23:12:00.000-08:00

It's always fun to check out exciting new places when they are not overly packed with people. My husband and I walked around a little shopping district near the beach, visited a new nursery, rearranged our living room, and had sushi at a new restaurant. With blink of an eye, it's middle of January already, life goes by fast!

2012-01-13T13:53:00.000-08:00

I love this potting bench plan. Maybe if I can find a local carpenter...

2012-01-11T22:38:00.000-08:00

This is the first larger plant I got for the front yard. After visiting several different nurseries, I pulled this one out from behind a bunch of camellias. It didn't have a label so I don't know the exact name of this camellia, but maybe it's Linda Brothers? It looked different from all the other camellia that I've seen at nurseries so far. It sort of looked like a small peony and has a very pale shade of pink. Unusual? I think so!

2012-01-09T00:34:00.000-08:00

The great thing about living in a relatively new neighborhood is that you have lots to discover. I've found another great breakfast restaurant near me today that has good food minus the pretentiousness and long wait time that trendy restaurants have. Weekend seems to fly by all too quickly. I planted two bare root Peace rose trees in containers for my front porch, moved a few mini roses from containers to the ground, clipped off leaves with black spots, pulled weeds, applied some organic fertilizer... work in the garden is never done, but it was all great fun!

Over the last week I got a new pink bleeding heart, a gardenia, and a waxy bush type of plant called coprosma. Since our walnut tree collapsed, I bought walnuts from the supermarket to feed the squirrels that used to frequent our tree. I just left them in the bird feeder and they disappear after a few hours! So, it's pretty much looking like a abandoned land where the tree used to be, I'm redesigning the corner, and since I completely have no idea what I'm doing, I've been collecting ideas and frequenting local nurseries. Gardening has been the most satisfying hobby I've ever done!

2012-01-07T18:40:00.000-08:00

Roses from last year. Things are so bare in my garden right now, January is kind of depressing in the gardening front!

2012-01-06T17:19:00.000-08:00

No no, don't worry, I'm not addicted, NOT ADDICTED AT ALL!

2012-01-06T07:35:00.000-08:00

Baked my very first cake EVER last night! I had no idea that baking takes so much time, since I started nearly at 8pm, I had a cake right around midnight. Learning how to bake isn't on my new year resolution, but it's something I wanted to learn but never got to before. I think it's well worth the effort. As with everything, the more I practice, it will become a lot easier. I've got some grand baking plans brewing, now, who will eat the cake? I don't really eat desserts!

2012-01-05T16:14:00.000-08:00

So, I quickly transformed my fairy garden into a... Alice in Wonderland fairy garden, now I need some flamingo birds!

2012-01-05T07:51:00.000-08:00

2012-01-04T17:43:00.000-08:00

I snapped a few pictures before the sun went down. More coming tomorrow:)

2012-01-03T07:31:00.000-08:00

I made Agedashi tofu last night, it was very delicious and my husband loved it as well. I cooked more this year than my entire life combined, it's a lot of work but I like the idea of becoming American's next top chef!

2012-01-02T05:45:00.000-08:00

I can't help feeling nostalgic about the end of 2011 and the coming of a new year. This had been a incredibly big year for me in so many ways with all the sadness and joy that it brought. Life doesn't always prepare you for what is about to happen, that I am learning.

2011-12-31T16:06:00.000-08:00

Meet my new baby, a fifteen year old contoneaster Bonsai. The seller was a grandpa that cared a great deal about his plant and spent quite a few minutes teaching me how to take care of it in the summer and winter time.

2011-12-29T16:12:00.001-08:00

If I don't spend some time in the garden, I feel as though the day is incomplete.

2011-12-28T16:09:00.000-08:00

Work in progress in the fairy garden...

2011-12-28T05:03:00.001-08:00

I want!!!

2011-12-26T20:58:00.001-08:00

Got a glimpse of the bird feeder's customer:)

2011-12-26T08:02:00.000-08:00

I had a wonderful Christmas time with my family. We spent the entire morning unwrapping gifts, took the doggies to the park and then cooked Chinese hot pot instead of the traditional American Christmas dinner. My husband hid all my presents in his car just in case I couldn't resist the urge to dig through the whole house for presents before the holiday arrives. This year, one of my favorite presents was the salt and pepper grinder by Perfex. I absolutely love them! My husband told me that the sales lady's son got them as his wedding gift in 1964 and still uses them today. Maybe they will last me 50 years too?

2011-12-21T17:23:00.000-08:00

There are some things you can't live without, like a cute bird feeder with a umbrella top!

2011-12-21T14:31:00.000-08:00

Fiefie is a cute little gardner:)

My band of fairy gardens... it's a growing monster.

My latest creation is always my favorite!

2011-12-19T20:46:00.000-08:00

Homemade Okonomiyaki. Yummy!

2011-12-19T12:19:00.000-08:00

What's been happening at the fairy garden?

At this point, between all the making and remaking, I lost count of how many I've made. But definitely over ten, a few more on the way...

2011-12-18T21:35:00.000-08:00

I love this table, it can be custom made into the size that fit your home. From here.

2011-12-14T20:19:00.000-08:00

Pictures of home sweet home. I had a really fun day with my husband and mother-in-law unwrapping Christmas gifts, drinking wine and eating cheese. It was a blast!

2011-12-13T02:39:00.000-08:00

I finally spent some regular hours practicing last week and finished learning the second half of Islamey, this made me feel a little less guilty about fairy gardening since it is a completely frivolous hobby and I can't think of it benefiting anything or anyone but my own entertainment. I'm planning out a few new pieces to learn, one of which is the Prokofiev sonata and the other is the Shostakovitch prelude and fugue, I'm putting my focus on Russian music for the next few months. In my personal experience, nothing is more difficult to learn than the Beethoven sonatas. Somehow his composition is just too hard for me to grasp, everything else that I play seem to come through much easier... I hope I won't have to play another one anytime soon. Sometimes I ask myself what is the point of keep learning, but after all it is a lot of fun to explore new pieces.

2011-12-08T16:41:00.000-08:00

Fairy garden #7... in progress:)

And a sneak preview of fairy garden #8, I think I got my fix of fairy gardens after this one. This REALLY is the last one, maybe.

2011-12-06T14:45:00.000-08:00

Fairy garden #1 has been remodeled... again. Every time I saw it, it made me cringe, so I had to redo it. I like it a little better this time.

Last night I added little birds to the mini carriage, saving it for the next fairy garden project!

Completed fairy garden #6, took a while, but it's worth it.

2011-12-05T22:28:00.000-08:00

I'd been looking forward all day to be able to sit down, sip a glass of wine while sharing some popcorn with Kelly and Alfie, and super-gluing together some broken fairy garden decoration. It's been really windy lately, this morning I took in all the tiny small parts inside the house. It's always a good idea to glue things down in case the wind or our gardener blew them away:)

2011-12-02T15:14:00.000-08:00

My husband spent many trips to the Home Depot store and then many hours in the garage making a large wooden box for me as a fairy garden container. I've been working on it here and there, and now it's almost done. Now I just need some grass...

2011-12-02T12:45:00.000-08:00

I can't believe December has rolled around! This has been one crazy year with one thing after another, what will come next year? Who knows. I will admit that it has been quite a stressful couple of months. The night I lost Bobby, I thought the whole night was just ruined and I was never going to get through the night, but now two whole months had passed, I somehow managed through a muddle of stress. My health has taken a nose dive, the house is in shambles, but I hope things are all going to get better from now on.

2011-11-28T23:31:00.000-08:00

This past Thanks Giving, while at home cooking turkey, smelling the Cinnamon coming from the kitchen and eating sweet cranberry sauce, I couldn't stop thinking about the dogs who still desperately in need of a good home at the animal shelters. Speaking of giving thanks, I can't think of anyone more deserving than our pet companions that give so much love to us and turn a house into a real heart warming home.

When I went to visit the animal shelter last time, I was struck by the extraordinary eyes of a three months old pit bull puppy. He had beautiful blue eyes, pink chubby paws and a little white dot on the tip of his tail. He looked like a real angel, he reached out his paws to grab me, crying to beg me to let him out. Since I was there just to look, I couldn't really take him home. Later I wondered why I didn't go and ask for a visit so he could at least come out and play. When I came back to see the puppy the second time, he didn't come up to me, instead he was curled up at the back of his cage, looking very down and broken hearted that no one had come to his rescue.

Here are some of the many many beautiful doggies from Orange County Animal Shelter at 561 The City Drive Orange, CA 92868

(714) 935-6848

There are many simple ways you can do to help a puppy to be adopted such as posting their profile on your facebook page and spread the words around to family and friends. Sometimes the best ways to receive love is to open up our hearts to a little darling in need. You will find that the love they can give back to you is a hundred fold more!

ROCCO
Pet ID: A1136419
Sex: N
Age: 10 Months
Color: WHITE - BLACK
Breed: AMER BULLDOG - MIX
Kennel: 292

CHEWY
Pet ID: A1135483
Sex: F
Age: 4 Years
Color: BROWN
Breed: PUG - BEAGLE
Kennel: 291

MANNY
Pet ID: A1136481
Sex: M
Age: 4 Months
Color: BLACK - TAN
Breed: MIN PINSCHER - MIX
Kennel: 330

CHRISS

Pet ID: A1137306

Sex: F

Age: 6 Years

Color: GRAY

Breed: SCHNAUZER MIN - MIX

Kennel: 365

2011-11-27T14:20:00.000-08:00

Dim sum for breakfast and Christmas tree shopping afterwards. Since Christmas tree is an American tradition and I didn't grow up with it, it was such a novelty for me when I first came to live here. Putting up a Christmas tree in my very own home has been a dream for years, it's a dream come true, in a trivial kind of way. For me this is happiness, so I'm going to enjoy this moment:)

2011-11-25T10:59:00.000-08:00

The night before Thanks Giving, my husband and I were reading upstairs in our own rooms. Around midnight, we suddenly heard a noise sounded like something had slide over the fence. I thought it must be a burglar, we turned off all the lights to look outside, Kelly got scared too and followed us closely instead of laying in her bed by her lonesome. We were too afraid to go out, so we locked the doors and went to bed. The next morning we got up to check the backyard when the neighbor called me across the fence to come outside and have a look. And this is what that mysterious noise was...

Apparently, the tree root had rotted so much that there was barely any root left to grab a hold to the ground, so it collapsed and crushed our neighbor's car. We joked around that it must be the squirrel jumping up and down a little too much because there was certainly no wind or rain that night. Our neighbors got positively excited, all took out their dslr cameras to record this exciting moment in the neighborhood, I'm betting some money that we'd finally make our 15 minutes of fame at the neighborhood newsletter.

So, the first thing that popped into my head to solve the problem was to call Louis, our fix-it-all gardener, to come in and saw the tree apart and change the roof and plumbing while he's at it too. While that didn't seem like too good of an idea, we decided that we might just be able to lift up the tree, plant it a little deeper into the ground and scotch tape it, and then it will be just fine. We toyed with the idea for a little bit, then decided that our neighbors might just not like it so much, finally, maybe we should call some tree expert to take the tree apart so we can have some nice firewood.

Yesterday was Thanks Giving, our neighbors were nice enough to let us deal with it today. Since the tree blocked out their front entrance, they had to dug a walk way through some bushes to let their guest in for their holiday party, one of the owner's friend said to us, "you know, it's always on Christmas or Thanks Giving that this sort of things happen!" Our neighbors were really nice about it, or maybe they are settled with the fact that their new neighbors are just young and stupid!

This year I wasn't planning for a full on Thanks Giving dinner, but it just happened that my mom bought pre-made dinner for us. I still had to cook a turkey and make cranberry sauce, but it was the easiest Thanks Giving dinner ever, all I had to do was stuff the turkey to the oven and relax. I think cooking some but not all of the dishes is the way to go!

Since this is my third time cooking a turkey, I've gotten a few tips that seem to work well.

1. Rub the turkey skin with generous amount of butter (come on, it's a holiday, you can think about diet and health later), stuff it with a mixture of apple, onion, cranberry, carrots, rosemary, cinnamon, seasoned with all spice, salt and pepper. Cook the turkey in the oven at 500˚F for 30 minutes or whenever the skin begin to look crispy and golden.

2. After that cover the turkey with a aluminum foil cap and set the oven for 350˚F for 2 1/2 - 3 more hours or however it requires to reach 200 degrees on the thermometer.

This way the skin is crispy but the meat stays juicy and tender.

Did you have a nice Thanks Giving day?

2011-11-22T20:56:00.000-08:00

Sometimes life is just stuck in memory lane...

2011-11-18T16:59:00.000-08:00

A few days before Bobby died, I was wearing an old beige trench coat whenever I went out, and sometimes I just left it on the sofa when I came home. For a couple of days it was left on the sofa arm and by the time I got to it, I noticed that a button was missing. I knew immediately it was Bobby's doing because he loved chewing buttons off clothes. I searched in and around the house, under the sofa, tv stand, bookshelf... but I couldn't find the missing button. I remember searching on the internet trying to find a match, but it was hard to find the exact same shade of color since this was an old coat. This afternoon I went upstairs, and when I came back down, it was laying right there on the white wooden floor. I immediately picked it up, wondering where could Alfie have found it when I searched everywhere and it never showed up! It put a smile on my face, it was some connection to the days I spent with Bobby, and that was very comforting!

2011-11-15T10:25:00.000-08:00

A few fairy gardens in progress! I added more climbing plants to the trellis, and now I just have to wait for the tree to grow big, why didn't I get a slightly bigger tree? I don't know!

Fairy garden #3. I took out the house and other things to make it more roomy.

Fairy garden #4. A metal plant holder transformed.

tadah!

And the fairy garden #5, in progress because it has no fairies yet!

2011-11-13T16:28:00.000-08:00

Remember fairy garden #1? Well, I didn't have the patience for the tree to grow very big. It was too much to stare at the bare garden all the time so I'm in the middle of remaking it. I'm also re-doing the fairy garden #3, more pictures to come later:)

We took Kelly and Alfie out for lunch and a walk in the park, they certainly loved their hot dog and chicken meal!

2011-11-09T13:23:00.000-08:00

2011-11-07T10:24:00.000-08:00

Bobby's Tale - Love

I call him Bobby, Baba, Boy, or Boy Boy, or, on a day when I feel particularly funny, Mr. Bobinsky! Soon after I adopted him I found out that he was a mischievous sweetheart. Sometimes I stayed in one room of the house, looking at him through the door in another room, he would stare at me straight for a long time. At first I couldn't figure out why he was doing that, then when I moved a bit and was able to see his tail, I realize that he was wagging his tail really hard the entire time to show me that he was happy. That was him, always happy and sweet, all the time. After that I realized that whenever Bobby saw me, even just a little head perking out, he was always wagging his tail. It brightened my heart like nothing else.

Every few weeks or so I gave him a bath, I could never forget how he looked so small and bony with such sad and large eyes after being soaked with water. He felt afraid and special at the same time, it was the only time I would completely pay attention to him without the little white dog bothering him. After the torturous shower was over, I dried him with a large towel, rubbed his belly and used a blow dryer and comb to dry his hair, and he liked it! Those moments when I took care of him, I really grew to like him too.

Periodically in my life, I would have frightening nightmares. It started when I first left home to live in a boarding music school in Beijing at 15 years old. Away from family all year round except summer and winter vacation, I lost sleep night after night, and had bad dreams when I did finally sleep. The problem stayed with me for years after. I'd dream about blood, dying, and woke up soaking in sweat. One such night I dreamed of being stuck inside a castle like slaughter house. It was dimly lit by candles, I looked down, the stone floor was covered with blood, and when I looked up, human body parts hang off the high ceiling. Frightened, I ran out to the door, within blink of an eye, I was back in there again. I woke up, sat up in the dark alone. Bobby had snuggled up to Kelly in a dog bed in another room. The door was open, I whispered his name, and a second later I heard a small rumbling and he showed up. It sent a comfort that no words could describe. That night I let Bobby sleep on the bed next to me, it took away my fear, and from then on, my bad dreams disappeared.

When I moved to my new house, I let my mom took care of both Kelly and Bobby while I got the house ready and furnished. Since my husband was never used to living with any pets, I decided to take one dog in at a time. One day I went to take Kelly to the new house with me. I grabbed her leash, her bed, toys and some food. Bobby seemed to realize that I wasn't going to take him with me. Usually, when this kind of injustice occurred, he would cry on top of his lungs, but that day he was silent, he didn't make a sound at all when we went out the door. I drove away feeling quite uneasy. According to my mom, that day Bobby fell to the floor, he didn't move or bark all night, he didn't bark when other dogs walked passed her house, or ate anything when she tried to give him food. Maybe he thought Kelly was being taken away forever because her bed was taken too, maybe he thought he was abandoned. I went back to get him a few days later, and decided that I was never going to do anything to break his heart again.

We had so much fun together at the new house. We threw parties and Bobby was always the center of attention because everyone loved him. My husband and I took them hiking, to the dog park, walked long walks, played fetch, cooked salmon and cheese dinners, they slept on real children's bed with mattress, duvet, pillows and ate lots of treats. Two days before he died, I grabbed my purse and took him and Kelly for a long walk, we went around the neighborhood and through a park until we reached a shopping plaza. I bought coffee and sat with them there for a little bit. That day Bobby jumped on short brick walls and bathed in the sun. He loved being outside and he loved to play, and this happiness spilled all over me. I thought to myself, how could life be any better?

He followed me everywhere at home, that include me taking a trip at night to the laundry room, or putting together furniture in my blue room, or sitting with me on the sofa while fell asleep from reading. If I had closed a door on him and opened it a moment later, he would be right there tilting his head, wagging his tail waiting for me. Since he was gone, home have not been the same, and I have not been the same. I often wondered if I could believe in the afterlife. If when I opened the door to heaven, will I see him waiting for me right by the door, tilting his little head and wagging his happy tail?

2011-11-06T11:13:00.000-08:00

Mini garden #3. The first time I saw mini gardens I thought they were pretty tacky, but now I'm hooked!

2011-11-04T12:17:00.000-07:00

Alfie and I made a trip to our local nursery today. There is nothing in the world that recharge me than being inside a beautiful nursery or garden! It was raining in the morning so I walked around in rain boots, it seems that Alfie is more intrigued by rain than afraid of it, I bet if I get him rain coats he would go for walks with me even under the rain. I saw a lot of humming birds at the nursery, it's like a little paradise in heaven!

I had no idea there was such a thing as a miniature sized pomegranate tree. So you can imagine my excitement and surprise when I saw one today. A small plant like this is quite inexpensive compare to many other miniature trees, so I got one today hoping I will be able to use it for one of my future fairy garden projects.

After a bit of light pruning on the base, they now look like real trees with a big fat trunk. It will keep growing to about twice the height, but that's going to take years. Isn't it just beautiful?

Here is another tree that I have, it's a miniature fuchsia tree, so delicate and pretty!

Alfie just thinks they smell nice.

2011-11-03T23:07:00.000-07:00

I can always relate to art with a theme of nature. By Rober Bissell.

2011-11-03T15:41:00.000-07:00

Working on a cardigan again, hopefully I will have it done before the weather really turns cold!

When I went to the backyard today, a fairy showed up at the fairy garden;)

2011-11-02T12:56:00.000-07:00

It's as if I am attracted to stray dogs in the neighborhood, every other day when I go for a walk, I find one of them!

2011-11-02T08:12:00.000-07:00

I love second hand bookstores, but then again, who doesn't?

2011-11-01T16:15:00.000-07:00

Fairy garden #2... still under construction! I'm waiting for the baby tear to grow and cover the entire ground, also the tree to get much bigger. The climbing plant on the trellis is a type of mini fuchsia, in time it will grow to cover the entire trellis, and bloom pretty red flowers! I can't wait til when they get to be a year or two old!

2011-11-01T13:36:00.000-07:00

A fairy came to live in the fairy garden!

2011-10-29T21:42:00.000-07:00

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

"Sometimes we're on a collision course, and we just don't know it. Whether it's by accident or by design, there's not a thing we can do about it."

A woman in Paris was on her way to go shopping, but she had forgotten her coat - went back to get it. When she had gotten her coat, the phone had rung, so she'd stopped to answer it; talked for a couple of minutes.

While the woman was on the phone, Daisy was rehearsing for a performance at the Paris Opera House.
And while she was rehearsing, the woman, off the phone now, had gone outside to get a taxi.

Now a taxi driver had dropped off a fare earlier and had stopped to get a cup of coffee.

And all the while, Daisy was rehearsing.

And this cab driver, who dropped off the earlier fare; who'd stopped to get the cup of coffee, had picked up the lady who was going to shopping, and had missed getting an earlier cab.

The taxi had to stop for a man crossing the street, who had left for work five minutes later than he normally did, because he forgot to set off his alarm.

While that man, late for work, was crossing the street, Daisy had finished rehearsing, and was taking a shower.

And while Daisy was showering, the taxi was waiting outside a boutique for the woman to pick up a package, which hadn't been wrapped yet, because the girl who was supposed to wrap it had broken up with her boyfriend the night before, and forgot.

When the package was wrapped, the woman, who was back in the cab, was blocked by a delivery truck, all the while Daisy was getting dressed.

The delivery truck pulled away and the taxi was able to move, while Daisy, the last to be dressed, waited for one of her friends, who had broken a shoelace.

While the taxi was stopped, waiting for a traffic light, Daisy and her friend came out the back of the theater. And if only one thing had happened differently:

if that shoelace hadn't broken; or that delivery truck had moved moments earlier; or that package had been wrapped and ready, because the girl hadn't broken up with her boyfriend; or that man had set his alarm and got up five minutes earlier; or that taxi driver hadn't stopped for a cup of coffee; or that woman had remembered her coat, and got into an earlier cab,

Daisy and her friend would've crossed the street, and the taxi would've driven by.

But life being what it is - a series of intersecting lives and incidents, out of anyone's control - that taxi did not go by, and that driver was momentarily distracted, and that taxi hit Daisy, and her leg was crushed."

2011-10-29T15:24:00.000-07:00

I thought for a long time what to do with this wall space in the tv room, finally decided to put a little writing desk there. It really is a vanity table because it has a gorgeous three fold mirror, but since I'm superstitious about Feng Shui and it's no good to place mirror facing the window, I talked to myself into believing that I didn't like the mirrors there. Anyhow, I think a little lamp can be called for on top of it, and it's the perfect space for writing if I don't want to head upstairs for my blue room. ( And please excuse the messy pictures scattered around.)

2011-10-27T22:17:00.000-07:00

From here.

I'm trying to figure out what type of curtains to hung for my breakfast nook windows. Half way through decorating my house I realized that my taste is really for the older things. I'm a little ashamed to admit this, but I love lace, and I love floral prints, and pretty much anything with a lot of frivolous details. I know it's corny but I can't help it!

Speaking of lace, how about a bit of old world charm to make your day?

from here.

and here.

2011-10-25T21:30:00.000-07:00

I can almost forgive you for eating poop, almost...

2011-10-25T15:42:00.000-07:00

Birdcage converted into a mini plant holder. In a few weeks I will be able to tell you if this method works for the plants, in the mean time, this is how I did it. Line the bottom of birdcage with peat moss, then a layer of potting soil mix, select your favorite succulents and carefully plant them inside. Top the soil with another layer of peat moss, then water. I had to tilt the bird cage to let the water drain, my main concern with a bird cage is water not able to drain well, but we'll see about that.

Speaking of bird cage, I found this black one at the flea market. I spent a couple of evening painting it blue.

Hmmm, not a major improvement! I always have some decorating ideas but when it comes to fruition it never seem to make a huge difference. Oh well! No bird should be locked in cages, so this is going to be another plant holder:)

Alfie follows me around everywhere.

2011-10-25T09:40:00.000-07:00

Bobby's Tale - The Rascal

After I first got Bobby, I decided that Kelly and Bobby should be separated for a while when I was not home until they get used to each other better. So, Kelly got the living room, Bobby got the kitchen, and a door was closed between them. After a few days I thought, ok, this might be the time to risk it and put them together in one room. I was very busy then, going to school and working took a lot of time. One day when I came home, Kelly was in perfect condition, but this happened.

Exhausted, angry and shocked, I chased Bobby around the house with a magazine stick, he had fast legs and ran all over the place. Finally him and Kelly hid under the desk in the back of my piano room. Bobby being slightly bigger than Kelly, he turned out to be the one hiding behind her. I looked at the trouble maker and suddenly sat down on the floor and laughed.

Last winter when the weather started to get cold, I bought a red hooded jacket for Kelly, she loved new clothes and especially loved to wear it when I walked her in the early mornings when it was still pretty cold. After a few days I realized that I should get one for Bobby too, so the next trip to the pet store, I took the both of them and picked a green hoodie in the same style but a slightly larger size for him. He looked just handsome in it!

Around that time Bobby got ear infection, when I took him to the vet's office, I let him wear the green jacket. Everybody at the vet liked him, he looked like a little kid, and behaved really well. After we finished the examination, I let him sit on the floor while I paid the bill at the counter. In a matter of few minutes I lifted up the leash and there was no Bobby on the other end, I turned around and looked down, Bobby had chewed off the leash and he was free! Everyone laughed at how funny he was, including the other customers, me, and the receptionist. So with no leash, I lifted him up and held him in my arms and carried him to the car. On our way home, I purchased yet another leash.

Bobby loved to play, and he invented many games, one of which was to run after Kelly from one end of the house to another when someone "dared" to walk pass our street. Kelly would jump on the bed to get access to the window, Bobby knew he wasn't allowed, so he barked on the floor. Often times if I wasn't in the room and he forgot the rules, he would jump on the bed too, but the second I stepped in, he immediately jumped off, wiggled his tail and pretended like he didn't do anything wrong.

That night when we came home from the vet's office, I let him wore the jacket around the house, and I went into my piano room to study. When I came out, I saw him sitting on my bed with the most awful look on his face and he didn't jump off as soon as I came in the room. He just sat there and froze. I knew something was wrong, as I walked over to look, he had peed on my bed!!! I didn't scold him this time, it was my fault, and I felt sorry for him. He probably didn't know he could move or pee like normal wearing a jacket and was holding it in for a long time. I took him off the bed and cleaned up the mess, it was another night staying up late waiting for the laundry cycle to end and then another to start. From then on, no more clothes for Bobby, not that I didn't want to dress him up, but I didn't think he enjoyed wearing anything.

There was no question that Bobby liked to explore the house and find stuff to chew. Between him and Kelly, at times they went through $20 worth of chew bones in a matter of a couple days. On top of that, he jumped on table tops rummaging through perfume bottles and papers and find tasty chewy things. His philosophy? As long as mommy wasn't watching, she would NEVER know! He chewed my high heel pumps, tassel off my loafers, button off my cashmere cardigans, pillow from a full set of bedding, expensive leather handbags, CDs, razer blades, you name it, he even chew on my blouse while I was wearing it whenever I lifted him up and carried him in my arms ( I have to admit, that was freaking adorable though!) . But the worst time of them all, a brand new pair of Ray Ban reading glasses. As usual, I kept them on the night stand thinking Bobby wouldn't get to it, I forgot that he had extremely mobile paws, he could reach almost anything with them. When I came home, the glasses were not on the night stand, it was on my bed all chewed up. I must had my jaw dropped and lost my mind for a second, coming out of the shock, I jumped up and started chasing him around the house to spank him, frightened, Bobby went hiding under the bed. I couldn't reach him, so I called Jeff. He was on the way to see me on that day, and I told him to take Bobby back to the pound as soon as he gets here. The 30 minutes it took for him to get to my house, I had already calmed down. I went to the bedroom and called him out, he slowly crawled out, peeking out only the nose, seeing that I wasn't going to spank him again, he came out, wiggling his long hairy tail, licked my feet and walked around the house and started sniffling and playing with Kelly again. Then, the idea of sending him back to the cold and harsh shelter to die became unimaginable to me. Jeff got to my house all prepared to take him back to the shelter only to find me hovering all over him refusing to let Bobby go. After a lot of back and forth, he finally said, "ok, I see how it is. If I took him today, we'd just be back to the shelter an hour later to pick him up. AND I bet the shelter is going to charge us another $80 bucks for adoption fee." I burst out laughing and that was the end of that.

Over time, all these behavioral problems waned off. Whatever problem remained with him, I accepted him as the way he was. After all, how much "chewed up stuff" is worth a best friend forever? If I could have him back for anything in the world I would. He could chew up anything in the house and I wouldn't give a dime. Pulling on the leash for example, I got used to it, in fact, it always made me laugh because it just felt so comical and he always seemed so silly and happy. After Bobby was gone, I missed terribly the little bundle of energy pulling on the leash and just loved to run and run and run.

2011-10-24T10:46:00.000-07:00

We took the dogs to the dog park yesterday. It was the first time we took Alfie. Last time we were here with Kelly and Bobby, they walked through the gate and immediately lost sight of where we were even though we were not far away. They stood by each other and looked really worried until I finally walked over close enough for them to see me well. Bobby used to ran across the park from time to time, but that seemed to put an end to it, the entire time he and Kelly hid under the bench where Jeff and I sat and refused to go an inch away from us.

Kelly was her old self, sat by me the entire time except a few attempts to jump off the bench and stood at two feet away for a few minutes, Alfie was swooned by a beautiful white mini poodle girl at the dog park. He thought she was sooooo fine, he followed her the entire time that she was at the park. The owner even got a little annoyed that he wouldn't leave her alone. Finally they left, Alfie followed her all the way to the gate, and watched her leave. As soon as she was gone, Alfie spotted another beautiful white mini poodle at the park, and followed her everywhere for a while!

Well, at least we now know his type, he loves white colored mini poodles!

2011-10-23T16:50:00.000-07:00

A vintage bunny moved into our backyard today. His ears are chipped but I don't mind because he is pushing a little cart with carved flowers on the side, and he is wearing a coat with pockets and a scarf! His name is Gary the gardener:)

2011-10-23T10:46:00.000-07:00

Earlier this year I went on a trip with my husband to San Francisco. In order to cut down the cost, we stayed with a older couple who have become Jeff's good friends since his college days. They welcomed us into their home in San Francisco, and later during the weekend, invited us to their vacation home in a forest near a little town further up north called Mendocino. At the time I was very impressed with the shops, restaurants and museums in the city, but living in the woods proved to be difficult for a city girl like me. First of all, the restroom was a shack outside the little cabin that we stayed in. The idea of using a compost toilet didn't agree with me at all, and shower was a problem too. There was a indoor restroom in the main house but a five minute walking distance, in the middle of night in the woods, a five minute walk in complete pitch dark with who knows what was out there was not something I wanted to attempt. To top it off, the last night we spent in the cabin, as I lifted the blankets, a swarm of large ants had invaded our bed. In almost the middle of night, Jeff and his friend carried our mattress to another larger cabin that used to be a spacious high ceiling artist studio but newly renovated, again with no restroom. Our host lit the fireplace for us before taking off for the night. Jeff and I slept in that large room with huge curtain less windows as the fire wood flickered and crackled, and of course, there was no need for curtain because the only ones who were watching were probably just a bear or fox or two!

The kind of life experiences, though at the time seemed difficult in some ways or other, had only made me laugh in retrospect. While we stayed in the woods, our hosts prepared breakfasts for us in the house every morning. It was a deliciously prepared simple meal consisted of coffee, various kinds of fresh fruits, toast, juice, and various cheese spread accompanied by the sight of humming birds outside the window and a spectacular view of a pine forest that didn't quite show the end as far as the eyes could see. For lunch, our hostess made us smoked salmon sandwiches and fruits packed in a bag and ate with us on the beach while our eyes absorbed all the beauty that a deep blue sea could offer. We walked around the little beach town during the day, while I thought of my occasional dreams of becoming an artist or writer, or any kind of profession that would allow me to be tucked away in a remote little town immersed in nature and live in peace and quiet.

Lately I've been wanting to go back there again, it can get tiring to live in the city sometimes amidst all the pollution and traffic. There is something about trees and ocean that charge me like nothing else. Will I ever be able to live out at a quiet seaside city? Who knows, maybe one day!

2011-10-22T10:55:00.000-07:00

Hello Saturday! Here comes my first fairy garden!

The mini tree is going to grow taller than the trellis in a year or two if I keep it alive. It has tiny pretty white flowers but I don't know its name!

The vine is going to grow bigger too and climb up the trellis. Maybe I will add some bistro chairs later?

2011-10-22T09:31:00.000-07:00

Dream house, I mean, dream fairy house! More from here.

Miniature garden furniture, from here.

And finally, you can't have a fairy garden without knowing how to attract real fairy to it, right? This place shows you how to attract fairies, this is what they say about how to summon a fairy. Have fun;)

Sit where the cat sits.
Cross your toes.
Close your eyes.
And smell a rose.

Then say under your breath:
"I believe in Fairies, sure as death.
Gadflykins! Gladtrypins!
Gutterpuss and Cass!
Come to me fairily
Each lad and lass!"

2011-10-21T23:18:00.000-07:00

I've been so wrapped up in my own problems lately I neglected taking care of Kelly. Last night I noticed that one corner of her mouth became bald and badly inflamed and she kept rubbing it with her paws. I helped rescuing a little poodle dog two weeks ago who's got a highly contagious type of mange, so I was really afraid that perhaps she caught it through me. Today I immediate made a appointment with a local vet and since Alfie needed to remove stitches from neutering, I took him as well. It turned out to be just a skin infection for Kelly, we got medications for her and a health check up for Alfie.

No Kelly's picture today because the hair on the infected side of her face was shaved off. She looked like a chihuahua on the left and a Maltese on the right. The vet had grooming service, so I asked them to bath and groom Alfie, in the mean time while we wait for him to get ready, I took Kelly for some Chicken nugget shopping, and then walked around in my favorite nursery to look and "smell" the flowers. The great thing about dogs is that they are not self conscious about a bad hair cut, she had so much fun exploring the nursery. We checked out whichever plant she was interested and she helped me picked out plants for my very first fairy garden. I think she was proud like a little girl scout!

When I picked up Alfie from the vet after his hair cut, it almost gave me a heart attack how much he resembled Bobby... except that, Alfie has got such sentimental eyes. He is not the burst of energy like Bobby was, but he's got his quiet ways.

Tonight after dinner I started working on my fairy garden. I asked Alfie to stay with me in the backyard but he disappeared into the house. I thought he didn't want to stay with me at first, but a few seconds later he came back out with his chew bone. Ahh, I got it, he brought out his chew bone so he could have something to do while keeping me company. Alfie Alfie, you are much too sweet!

2011-10-21T18:11:00.000-07:00

My friend found this on youtube, I had to post it on here. Watch til the end, it's so funny! Donald duck, Mickey mouse, Tom and Jerry, these were my favorite cartoon characters as early as my memory could go! When I was a little kid, if I missed an episode on tv I'd throw a fit rolling on the floor and demand that my mom call the tv station and have it play back, of course it never happened.

2011-10-21T09:21:00.000-07:00

November

November was a movie I saw with a classmate back when I was a college student years ago at a independent theater in Pasadena. Back then seeing a late night movie after 10pm didn't seem as extraordinary as it does now. I had only saw it once but it always had a place tugged at the back of my mind.

It is essentially a movie about the process of dying, if you've read books by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, it has a similar idea. I've become obsessed with the topic of death and dying lately. I wondered if there is really such a thing as religion and afterlife.

At times it feels almost inappropriate that a dog's passing caused me to do some serious soul searching while many significant family members of mine passing away didn't. I don't think I've ever received so much sunshine and happiness from any human as Bobby did give me. He was unique in such a way that, in spite of me looking through every animal shelter in drivable distance, checking out every dog that had a slight resemblance to him, none could compare. The fact that he is gone left a gaping hole in my life that nothing else could fill.

2011-10-19T17:23:00.000-07:00

My next project is probably going to be a fairy garden.

2011-10-18T12:38:00.000-07:00

Alfie really loves to sit, he also loves to dig holes in the backyard. He's not as athletic as Bobby, somehow it seems that his back legs don't coordinate too well but he loves to play tug of war just like Bobby. I've got little holes here and there in the garden. The first night he got to my house, he stole Kelly's chew bone and dug a hole in the backyard and hid it. I think he is saving it for a "rainy day." I must admit, he's got far superior financial senses than a lot of humans.

When Bobby first died I went into a panic mode, and desperately sought for a similar dog on the internet. I have to admit, it was quite hard to resist not to buy a puppy in the same breed that has so much resemblance to our beloved baby. I putted down half of a deposit for a new puppy that looked like the baby version of Bobby from a out of state breeder, but after finding out that the puppy's tail was docked I changed my mind. Apparently there's a whole world out there that requires the puppies' tails to be docked, ears clipped, and de-clawed and it is all considered as "common practice." It sort of reminded me of the common practice of women foot binding in ancient China. So strange what some consider to be beautiful and standard is so ugly and deeply disturbing to the rest of us. Now those good deposit money just went into thin air, instead of waiting for a new litter from the same breeder I decided that I was going to adopt one from the animal shelter after all. It finally felt like the right thing to do. I just couldn't see any good sense in having a breeder "make" a new puppy while there are thousands of perfectly wholesome and good dogs out there desperately in need of a home.

On a side note, I made omelets this morning using some of the left over meat from the weekend BBQ, I rarely make them, but this time it actually looked like a real omelet!

Last week I finally made it out to Pottery Barn for a floor lamp. Shopping for household stuff is always a pain because it takes so much time and you have to drive out from place to place to shop around. It is almost never a good idea to order online unless you've seen it in person already. The lamp I originally wanted looked so good in pictures but not so much in the shop, so I got this one instead.

2011-10-14T09:27:00.000-07:00

I've been looking around trying to find a good ceiling light for my breakfast nook, this one from Barn Light electric is pretty perfect.

This is another option for the tv room floor lamp. I have a couple of gift certificates from Pottery Barn that's been sitting around for a while, maybe I will finally go and get this lamp.

2011-10-13T18:39:00.000-07:00

I met a lady who is older and wiser than me today, and saw her small but incredible garden, it was very inspiring and comforting. Today was the first day that I did not cry for Bobby since he was gone. I felt a ray of sunshine in my heart and gained back the urge to work and study again without having to try too hard. I'm happy for this change. Such is life, I suppose there is a time for everything.

2011-10-12T15:15:00.000-07:00

This week I finally started to realize that I'm not the single person in the world who's ever lost a beloved pet and a best friend. I started planning some new projects around the house and decided that I should pull myself together and stop sulking. So, let's talk about chairs.

I purchased this old piece of settee a while after we moved into our house. It was not bought from a fancy antique store, more like a old furniture shop, and it was inexpensive. If you looked up close, the paint was pretty hideous, and I wasn't sure what was underneath it, somehow I thought it might be some type of raisin or fiberboard. Then I started poking around it, and dropped a tiny bit of paint stripper here and there just because I was curious.

At first I saw a layer of thin gold color, which I thought was very pretty. It made me wonder if the settee was gilded? Then there was a layer of redish paint, and a cakey white coat at the bottom. I'm guessing that the gold might be it's original color but it was at some point poorly refinished and then reupholstered.

At last, after all the surface paint was removed, I saw the beautiful carved solid wood. There's something very special about natural wood that appeal to me very much. Now I'm dreaming about stripping the entire paint off of the frame, and either paint it in a natural color or gild the frame to restore to its gold color, and then give it a new clean upholstery!

2011-10-10T08:28:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I wish there is such a thing as turning back time.

2011-10-09T19:53:00.000-07:00

I'm considering of getting a few things for the house.

From here

here

and here.

2011-10-07T10:48:00.000-07:00

Bobby's Tale - The Athlete

Bobby was a athletic dog. I sometimes wondered if I could enter him in a dog competitions for something because he had excellent coordination and loved to exercise. Unlike many other dogs, Bobby had no fat, he was all lean muscle everywhere. His legs were extremely sturdy and no matter at home or outside, he never had a lazy walk, it was always just this very rthymical stride and he looked very light!

When he ran, he shot off like a bullet and then always hop for a couple jump like a light bunny with his little pointy ears flopping in the air. He was frisky, mischieveous, funny, smart, and most of all happy.

When it was time for a walk he would go to pick up his leash and dropped it right in front of me. When he got to outside, he always couldn't wait to run and so he always pulled on the leash. He would use all four arms and legs and pull with all the muscle power he had and yank me along with him. Towards the end, it just became one of those flaws that I adored because I loved him so much. Can you blame a silly little dog that LOVED being outside and running around? He knew every single dog in the neighborhood. Which house they lived in, which gate they hang out at. Some owners cut out a peep hole for their dogs on the wood fence, so he always peeked into them to see if a dog was in there. At my old house, a couple of neighborhood dogs were his play buddies. I'd let him off the leash in front of their metal wire fence. They would both ran to one end of the fence, bark once, and immediately ran to the other end and bark again, and they did this back and forth, it was a game that Bobby invented. Later one of the play buddies moved away, weeks after he was gone, Bobby still went up to their fence to see if the dog was out there. It made me sad. He loved to walk on the curb, and jump on short fat fences. He would jumped on them then jumped off then jump back on as we walked, and that was his little game.

Whenever there was a cat or squirrel, he wanted to chase after them. If he was on a leash and he couldn't, he would scream, remember Bobby didn't bark? He screamed.

Bobby was a excellent tennis ball player. He knew the word "ball" from very early on. All I had to do was whisper "ball," then he would have this surprised look like, "omg omg omg mommy is ready to play ball, gotta go find them!" And then off he ran to look for them. On a lazy day when I didn't feel like playing with him, he would drop one tennis ball in front of me, and if I didn't move, he would go and find another tennis ball, somestimes where we hang out there would be a bunch of tennis balls in front of Bobby. I also sat on the couch sometimes to throw the ball in the room, Bobby would fetch the ball and jump on the sofa to bring the ball back to me with fierce energy, often placing the ball right inside my hand, but nobody tought him that. He did it on his own. When it was serious play time, he would gauge the tennis ball with his eyes, stepping back according to how far he thought the ball would land and shot out to get it when I threw them. And what did he do if the ball got under the bookshelf or sofa? He'd reached out one paw to try to grab it, or he'd go to the room immediately behind the sofa to see if the ball came out on the other side of the wall.

Today is exactly one week since Bobby was gone. I wonder where did his little spirit go? The world seems to never have noticed that he had ever existed, but my heart is sad and lonely without him. Nothing will be the same ever again.

2011-10-06T22:18:00.000-07:00

Meet Alfie. A one year old stray from North Central Animal Shelter.

2011-10-06T10:37:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking of placing this floor lamp next to the sofa. I love the distressed white color and also the vintgae looking frame. I also tidied up the house a bit yesterday since it was beginning to look and feel like a tomb. The house hasn't been the same since Bobby's gone. I dropped off Kelly at my mom's house to have some peace and quiet, but then it just gets so empty. My house is nearly 100 years old. At night it creeks and cracks and makes creepy noises, I'd never been so scared staying home late at night.

2011-10-05T23:44:00.000-07:00

I can't shake off the horriable feeling of Bobby's death. I put my mind into a lot of other things to stop thinking about it and the horrific accident, but at the same time, grieve is the only thing that I can hold onto. If I stopped grieving for him, wouldn't he just be forgotten, wouldn't that just be awful?

2011-10-04T18:03:00.000-07:00

Bobby's Tale-- The Adoption.

These were two of the first few pictures I took of Bobby, probably from the first day or two after I got him back from the animal shelter. You can see that he was super skinny, because there was basically no meat on the bones, he didn't even have a butt cheek!

I didn't know what came over me that day when I went to the animal shelter. I had a broken old Blackberry that had a internet service worse than a go phone, and after I decided to search for an animal shelter address for the first time, it led me to the middle of a residential area. I almost gave up but tried another address and ended up finding the shelter I wanted to find. Did I suddenly gained a interest in sheltered animals? Or was Bobby calling me that day to pick him up somehow? Who knows! It was, at least I heard, a very high kill place. Pets are kept there for only five days. It was Bobby's seventh day. When I went there, my eyes immediately spotted him because he was standing up with his paws holding the metal bar and cried the loudest in there and shaked his tail very very hard. He was locked in the middle of a row of cages, very dark inside and he kind of blended in, so I didn't get to see him very well other than that he had very shinny and large eyes, and a very very big black nose, it was dry and cracking. He had this thing that never quite changed, when he was very very scared, he screams, I mean, not like a bark, but a scream, like a mad little girl on top of her lungs. Our groomer later laughed and told me when I sent him for a hair cut the first time that she had never met a dog who screamed like that, I cracked up and said, "yep, that's just him." So then I bent down to see him on that day, he reached out both paws, squeezed my hand and pulled it into the cell to lick it. He also grabbed my heart into the cell. When I got up and ready to walk down the hall a bit more, he started crying, it kind of surprised me, so I went back. I looked at his perfectly round shiny eyes and cute black nose, couldn't believe a dog like that had to be locked up in a cell. It was such a sad place that I almost cried looking at all the dogs there. It took all in all ten minutes to take down his number and go up to the office to fill out an application. Then, he was mine.

I was told that he would be ready to be picked up the next day after he was spayed. After I paid a meager $80, I grabbed my wallet with both hands and walked away, but then immediately turned back to the counter. I have this annoying habit of repeating myself many times of the same questions when I know perfectly that I am being redundant. I walked up to the cashier and asked him again, "so this procedure that's going to be done, is it safe?" He rolled his eyes, and said, "woooooo noooooo it is very dangerous, is it very dangerous?" He asked the girl behind him, and she said, "yep." I still had my wallet in both of my hands held high up to my chest and said, " O.K., thank you." And then turned around and walked out. When the emotions started to chill, I thought to myself, "oh, no, what have I done?" That night when I got into bed, I thought, "the little black dog is having a tough time right now, but he doesn't know that after this day, tomorrow he will get sunshine and lots of running on the grass!" Then I fell alseep.

The next day I shopped for a new dog bed, new food bowl, a new blanket, and putted it in the passenger seat and came to the shelter again to pick him up. I could barely contain my excitment, imagine my first time rescuing a little dog from the shelter, it was a good deed! I was directed to wait outside a mobile building where Bobby would be released to me, then I saw the vet, he had a big belly and a greasy apron on, and he looked kind of like a butcher. He said to me, "ok, let's see the paper work, hmm, yeah, ok, this little guy right? haha, very energetic! Wait here!" He went in, shut the door behind him, a while later he came out and handed me a stack of papers and a dog. I looked at him not understanding what he meant by "very energetic," but I was soon to find out. I took a couple of hard stares at the little black dog making sure it was the same one I picked yesterday, and took a look at the paper work that he handed me, on the column of Pain medication applied at this time, it said, "None." So are you telling me that you cut off his balls without giving him any pain medication???

He certainly didn't look like it. Right off the bat he was jumping up and down, smelling everything around him, pulling hard on the leash dragging me left and right with him, then I finally got a good look at him under the sun. He was much skinnier than I thought, his hair looked really dry and messy, it was not the all black and shiny coat like I imagined at all.

The whole riding home I put this little guy near me on the passenger seat. He behaved really good in the car, but looked a little unsettling, not knowing where he was being taken to now. And I felt a little unsettling, not knowing what to expect, kind of felt like I just randomly picked up a homeless person and putted him in my car and took him into my private home. When I opened the door to my house, Kelly jumped up like a cat and viciously barked. I had to separate them for a little while, realizing that perhaps she didn't "really" understand that serious heart to heart conversation I had with her the night before about bring in a new dog. After realizing that the new dog was not going away, Kelly got mad.

The first night was really hard, Kelly soon went from being mad to afraid, she hid in the little space between the bed and the night stand and stuck out her fluffy head to check if Bobby was there, and only when I took him out of my bedroom, did she came out to play. Not knowing this new environment, for a couple of times, Bobby tried to bite Kelly's neck, not for real, but to scare her. That night, afraid Bobby would attack Kelly, I decided to put him in the bathroom right next to my bedroom. I had a sizable bathroom that's a little bigger than my bedroom, don't ask me why, it just was! So I putted Bobby there and closed the door, he immediately started to scream, I right away felt bad, so I let him back into the room and let him slept next to my bed. I was amazed at how sturdy he seemed, he just got spayed, had a bit of a high temperature, and yet he was very happy and excited. He couldn't take a bath for the first week because of the surgery stitches even though his hair was quite dirty. I ran my fingers on his rib cage and butt and felt nothing but bones, and felt so much sympathy for this little guy. The shelter said he was a stray, but who abondoned him? Where was he from? What had happened to his last home? How did he look like when he was a baby? If only he could tell me... The whole night I was half asleep, half awake to keep a watch out for him and Kelly, and so did the next several night. It was a little stressful, a little funny, and a lot of excitment.

Later my boyfriend came to visit me, and he name the little black dog Bobby, after Bobby Kennedy. So that's how it all started, a really plain and humble beginning, nothing exceptional, but what turned out to be the most amazing and precious 13 months I had with the most amazing little dog in the world. My home was old and crumbly, my kitchen was crammed and small, but I felt lucky because I had everything that I needed.

2011-10-03T06:01:00.001-07:00

Hi baby, are you getting all the kisses and hugs and chicken and treats in doggies heaven?

2011-10-02T21:09:00.000-07:00

After a couple of complete insomniac nights crying like a manic, I sudden slept for two hours this morning, I even ate food too. A dear friend of mine said she prayed to God for me and Bobby, and this morning I felt a great serenity. I could never understand why it ended all this suddenly, we were inconsolable but had to move on. Yesterday my husband and I ran all over the place for a casket and a garden statue to bury him. It was not easy to find a good statue and in this chaotic mess we ended up getting a water fountain with non functioning parts, Jeff took out a shovel and dug a hole by the lemon tree, while I got out towels and cleaned the blood off his face. It took a really long time because once I cleaned one side and turned him over, the other side started to bleed more blood. I looked at my baby whom I didn't event dare to spank when he misbehave to bleed so much now, I don't know how hurt he must had been. The first night after we got him home, I felt like I was buried under the ground with no air, I went out to the living room floor every hour to see and touch him, he was still warm, but with each hour he turned cold. The next morning I looked at him under the sun light he was completely cold, and I lifted the blanket under him and saw a pool of blood.

I know it is the living memory of him that we must cherish but we were drowning in regret. Why did we let him run? why didn't we run out to the street and stop the truck? Why didn't we go to the bookstore or get soap? Why didn't we do ANYTHING that could push that split of a second sooner or later? Why? He was so unlucky, he came from the shelter with nothing but a bag of bones, he gave so much love to everyone, He loved my mom, Kelly, me and Jeff, brought so much happiness and taught us so much about love. I was determined to be the person to show him the love that he didn't get in the lonely world before and give him a good life, but it all ended suddenly.We weren't given any chance!

2011-10-02T05:30:00.000-07:00

Baby you are gone, my heart is torn out. I love you more than anyone and anything in the world. Rest in peace til we see each other again. Love, mama.

2011-10-02T02:41:00.000-07:00

I had a really good day during the day yesterday because it was the day that we had our wedding shower at my husband's work place. I got dressed up around noon while Bobby followed me in and around the house, when I was finished, I picked him up and held him in my arms like a baby and we looked in the mirror and I asked, "who's mommy?" He looked in the mirror because he knew. After the shower my husband decided to come home with me, which was a couple of hours earlier than usual and work from home. I cooked chicken legs for Kelly and Bobby while he worked, and after they ate, I went to the bank, filled in on the gas, and went to Ross to pick up a small cooking pot. When I came home, my husband had already finished working and was playing fetch with Bobby in the backyard. I let Kelly out in the front yard for some fresh air, and then we decided to go for dinner. I had the most amazing felafel sandwich at our local restaurant. We went home hand in hand. As we drove by a intersection, Jeff said, "hmmm, I think we need soap, " I said, "ok, Ralphs on the right, and Fresh and Easy on the left. I kind of want to go browse at bookstore too." He said, "hmmm, I feel like going home and walk the doggies and sleep." I said Ok.

It was almost 9pm when we came home to Kelly and Bobby, and put them on the leash and walked a really long way. We always liked to check out the neighborhood houses and see how they decorate their front yard. As we turned towards our street, I was in such a good mood, I was dreaming about all the holidays coming up, and all the holiday dinner and decorations, and how much fun we'd be having this year with Kelly and Bobby all excited for cheese and treats. Jeff said, " do I have your permission to take Bobby off the leash when we get on our street?" I said ok, but at least let's get to our side of the street. It was a little past nine, there was no cars in the neighborhood, and we were two minutes from home, Bobby liked to run, so we let him. Suddenly, he ran across the street and ran back across the street again directly towards me and I saw two beaming lights of a truck and a baning sound and Bobby didn't show up in front of me. It was dark and I run to the street, he was laying on the street. Eyes wide open and he was gone. I started screaming, there was no sound but my scream that pierced the night, and I started yelling at Jeff to find a vet. He ran down the street to get his car and we drove to the vet. It was perhaps the longest 10 minutes of my life, I thought I could feel his breathing but then I couldn't anymore. When we got to the vet he didn't have a pulse or breathing, and then I went into the operating room and saw blood coming everywhere from his ears and nose. I told the vet he was still warm, but she said he had no response. We took Bobby home and laid him on the living room floor. It was the worst moment of my life.

2011-09-29T10:35:00.000-07:00

Some days are all about the shoes.

2011-09-29T08:10:00.000-07:00

A song that gives a pick me up in the morning better than any coffee I know. The most beautiful voices I know, but never again.

2011-09-27T11:06:00.000-07:00

My Saturdays through Mondays are always hectic, work plus weekend activities, meeting up with friends, and A LOT of driving. So comes Tuesday morning, I usually make myself coffee, eat a piece of toast, and messing around with the camera without feeling guilty about wasting any time.

2011-09-23T14:49:00.000-07:00

Last night I had a craving for sweets, particularly, pie. So I made a trip to my nearest chain supermarket and bought a whole lemon meringue pie. Before I even had a chance to taste it, I already knew it wouldn't be good, the inside looked plasticky and it smelt like high fructose corn syrup. I braved myself and had one bite and threw away the rest of slice on my plate. Disappointed and had no time for another trip, I settled for no desert. It is the one thing I couldn't turn up in my kitchen, I can fry, roast, poach, bake, steam just about any kind of common home made meal but I can't make a dessert. There were a lucky few times in the past when I got to eat homemade fresh pies( my mom don't make them, keep in mind pie is not really an Asian thing), and they were a different animal altogether. It was fresh, warm, delicious and in this time of year, full of autumnal charm. It could be a project for the weekend to bake a pie of some sort, but for now I dug into my library and thought I'd share this great baking book with you. The Golden Book of Desserts is the most beautiful dessert book I've seen, not just because I'm partial to a golden cover on a dessert book, but all the finished dishes are beautifully presented, and there are a great varieties of desserts to choose from, it's definitely my inspiration of the day!