Miss Linguist

Le Pièce de Résistance

2012-02-01T21:35:00.005-06:00

I'm glad to report that I have finally finished that great masterpiece of heart-breaking genius, testing the mastery of knitting and crochet skills, trying the limits of human patience and diligence...Penelope Scarf, you are my Everest.

I restarted this scarf three times in the round. This version is knitted flat. The finished scarf is about 9 ft. long, and by it's weight, it will surely stretch longer, meaning at least once around the neck is obligatory, lest tails drag on the floor. It is also about 10 in. wide, including the black crocheted border.

I couldn't resist modeling for the film shot, although it's not super comfy to wear it like this, especially in 42 degree weather over here on Feb. 1(!).

The worst part is, now that I'm done with this, I don't really know what I want to do next.
-吴碧芙

Owl's Well...

2012-01-28T16:42:00.002-06:00

I went to meet an old Iowa friend in Omaha a few weekends ago. There at Anthropologie, there was a great array of owl cookie jars, presumably retro remakes. However, they had a hefty price tag of almost $100 each. I mean, they weren't THAT awesome, but it was still hard to leave without the cute one that had mostly green glaze on it. I just thought to wait, until it goes on sale, or until it goes out of style and people want to get rid of it and sell it to me for cheap.

But last weekend, while out shopping for other things, I came upon a brighter, more colorful, and at a less prohibitive cost...right here in my own city. See how cute?

-吴碧芙

Coming Undone

2012-01-10T15:44:00.004-06:00

Knitting this scarf has become a Sisyphean ordeal. At first I assumed that the pattern's 80 stitches (in the round) would yield a scarf too thin for my taste, so I cast on 120 stitches. After putting in 1.5 feet's worth of work on it, I decided that 12 in. wide was too wide, especially in the round--the doubled fabric made the scarf very bulky.

I frogged (knitspeak for unraveling massive amounts of stitches) the whole thing and started over with 88 stitches. After 2 feet of work and about 5 months of the scarf hibernating within my stash (knitspeak for massive amounts of yarn, none of which is assigned to a project), my husband asked me what ever had happened to my Penelope scarf.

The film starring Christina Ricci greatly influenced my need to find a pattern and make the scarf for myself. The unique, stained glass-esque scarf plays a big role in the movie. Christina Ricci's character "Penelope," born with the curse of a pig's nose, is kept cloistered in her parents' mansion, until she decides to run away, wearing the scarf to hide her nose from the public. I first saw the movie on the plane home from China, so it was bound to be associated with good feelings for me.

After the inquiry from my husband, I pulled the scarf out of my stash about a week ago, to start working on it again. However, this was the 88-stitch version, and after a few rows, it still seemed too wide. I decided to frog it again and eventually cast on 72 stitches. I was determined to finish the 72-stitch version. So I spent most of last week working on it, and last night it measured 1.5 feet. I mean, it's knit in the round, so not only was it wide, but also doubly thick fabric. When knitting in the round, one must do double the knitting for the same length or scarf. Also irking, the colored hexagons in the movie scarf are smaller, but let's not be too picky when there are very few free patterns available (that mention the movie specifically) for this project.

A new Ravelry search for "stained glass" yielded a pattern I hadn't seen before. I started the small version this morning and frogged the original for the last time this afternoon. "Stained glass" has smaller colored circles and is knit flat. I enjoy knitting it, and feel like all the work is actually adding to the length of the scarf rather quickly.

Perhaps it is fitting that the name is also connected to Penelope the wife of Odysseus, who, while waiting for Odysseus to return home (which took 20 years total), staved off her persistent suitors by weaving a shroud. She said she would choose a suitor when she finished the shroud, but at night she would unravel the work, so as to postpone her choice, over the course of THREE years. That's commitment...both to a husband and a project.

-吴碧芙

Flippin' Mittens

2011-12-09T21:37:00.008-06:00

First, and most exciting, I got a shiny new job at at children's specialty hospital and rehabilitation center in town! It's a nice, clean, friendly workplace, with a large selection of therapy materials & toys and an emphasis on evidence-based practice. Yesterday I worked from 7:30am to 5pm. I'm following another SLP, whose Friday case load, I will be taking over.

One of the most striking things is that I'm introduced to parents and coworkers as "the new speech therapist," compared to my previous title, "my student." My badge even says "Beth W., Speech Language Pathologist." (It's weird that nobody at my new job knows my old name, and it makes it difficult when I forget and initial "BR" by mistake.) It's hard to leave the perception of being a "student" behind and to realize that I'm responsible for having the tools necessary to treat or find out how to treat a wide variety of disorders. Luckily, the therapist that I'm following provided some words of wisdom on treating children with language disorders: "No matter what you give them, it will always be more than they had before."

This week I put down my current herringbone scarf in order to work on mittens. Honestly, I no longer remember what prompted me to make mittens, but I started them on a cold day after investing in a new bright green, wool winter coat. Furthermore, I'm not interested in trying to knit gloves at the moment.

The trouble with mittens is the same trouble one would have with gloves: They are not so amazing if you need to answer a touch-screen phone, or text, or take a picture, or use the internet, or... However, the beauty of being a knitter is the ability to make custom items, in the colors you want, size you want, style you want, fiber you want (wool, alpaca, musk ox...), and added features you want. These are knitted with Lamb's Pride bulky wool/mohair in stockinette and 2x2 rib edging, with a moss stitch cuff.

-吴碧芙

My So Called Jewel Scarf

2011-11-19T20:36:00.002-06:00

My newest finished project is "My So Called Scarf," which actually uses the offset herringbone stitch. It's a hard stitch to figure out, but once learned, the scarf is a fast knit. This is the best video for learning the stitch: http://www.loopknits.com/2007/12/11/herringbone-neck-warmer/

The diagonal effect is part of the magic of Patons Classic Wool variegated yarns. The wrong side of the work looks like a bunch of purl stitches.

-吴碧芙

Vegetable Couscous with Moroccan Pesto

2011-10-11T17:59:00.003-05:00

We are having a kind of "cook the book" week with a Food Network Magazine Great Easy Meals cookbook, which we received as a wedding gift. We've made two delicious meals on Sunday and Monday nights. Today, we thought to take a picture and let people know what kinds of truly great and easy recipes this book has in it.

Today's meal has vegetables, including carrots, zucchini, mustard greens, onions, green olives, and tomatoes. The vegetables are spiced with cinnamon stick and raisins, among other things. All is served on a bed of giant couscous. A pesto made of flat parsley, garlic, cilantro, and cashews. Mustard greens are our new favorite ingredient.

-吴碧芙

Reception Pics

2011-10-08T19:42:00.002-05:00

-吴碧芙

"I Got Married (if you can believe that)"

2011-10-03T14:38:00.007-05:00

We got married on a beautiful day in October in a small ceremony with our close family and friends in attendance. The weather was cool, but sunny. The leaves on the trees had turned to a range of yellows and reds. Vows and rings were exchanged. The congregation sang "How can I keep from singing?" Everyone in attendance posed for a picture in the sanctuary before we greeted all of the guests, and we took pictures until the reception.

The guests enjoyed a social hour with local seasonal beers, red and white wines, fresh fruit and caprese hors d'oeuvers, and mixed nuts/pretzels/party mix snacks, all hand-picked by the bride and groom. A salad course of romaine lettuce with pear and olives was served, followed by a main course of late summer vegetable succotash. Small cakes were placed as centerpieces on each table--white cake or champagne cake with cream cheese filling & buttercream frosting.

From the whole day, the only amateur photography I could find so far includes a few iPad pictures (first), which were shot in low resolution, so some of the details are not very clear, and a few from my uncle (second). My foster brother's wife helped with my hair and make-up--the hairstyle is a cascade or waterfall braid around the crown of my head. I opted for the veil for the wedding and the shawl for the reception.

(The title is a nod to Jim's Journal.)
-吴碧芙

Double Happiness

2011-09-15T21:24:00.007-05:00

The Chinese character for "double happiness" (literally "joy joy") looks like two people holding hands.

The people are wearing long robes or dresses and TV antennae on their heads. This is how I describe most Chinese characters that I recognize:
1) xue - "study": A student standing on one leg with a headband and three crazy tufts of hair (学）
2) cha - "tea": A house with a cross and fireplace inside and leaves on top of the roof (茶)
3) zhong - "middle": A rectangle sliced down the middle (中)
4) guo - "country": A drawing or painting of roads like a map (国)
5) nü - "female": A curvaceous person running (女)
6) nan - "male": A person with a big, quartered head and only one arm (男)
7) mei - "beautiful": A caterpillar (美)
This system is probably part of the reason why my knowledge of Chinese writing and ability to learn new characters are quite limited.

At any rate, I bought a "double happiness" pendant a while back, and I have been trying to figure out how to attach it to a heavy chain or beaded necklace without looking weird, and without having to attach it permanently. In this design, the pendant is completely removable.

The necklace is made of three connected strands, which are embellished all the way around, so that the pendant can be removed and the clasp placed at the back of the neck for a plain beaded look. (click to enlarge)

-吴碧芙

Adventures in Sock Knitting

2011-09-13T20:17:00.003-05:00

I never thought I would actually make socks for men's size 13-14. I finished Sock 2 over a three-day weekend trip to Illinois. I knit from the beginning of the gusset to the cuff in two of the three days.

The gusset and leg portions of both socks seemed like they would never end. The magic of knitting socks is the triumph when one finishes the first sock--the success that it fits and looks nice--drives one forward to duplicate the same masterpiece for the other foot.

Knitting the second sock proves that the first sock was not a fluke and brings out the reality that the knitter is capable and that the knitter has skill, instead of a single strike of luck.

Knitting socks is an achievable goal. After telling yourself, "I could never knit a men's size 13-14 sock, let alone two; And how much yarn would that take, anyway?" finishing one of the socks feels like accomplishing the impossible, and beginning work on the second suddenly is within the realm of possibility.

Socks take a long time, and they're tedious at many points. Yet, when I finish a pair of socks, I don't know what to with myself. All tied up in sock knitting is the satisfaction of finishing the first and the anticipation of starting the second. It seems like such a large project (actually two large projects) that it seems like you will never have to think about the project that will come after. Until both socks are done too soon. I must say, I'm feeling ambivalent.

(And although I had 4 skeins of this yarn, it only took 2.5 skeins, with just enough left over for a "hers" pair that matches.)

-吴碧芙

I figure it out...

2011-08-29T13:44:00.008-05:00

...So you don't have to.

I decided to make socks in men's size 13, using the toe-up construction. I've had some yarn set aside for this project for over a year, a very nice Patons Kroy Jacquards called "Country Jacquard" of browns, blue, and grey & white. Here is the formula:

1. Knit a gauge swatch in the round or observe the gauge on a sock previously knit using the same needles, yarn type, and stitch pattern as you intend to use.

2. Measure foot circumference. Look-up number of stitches needed in a chart, such as the one in Charlene Schurch's More Sensational Knitted Socks. Note that an online Sock-u-lator originally told me to cast-on 90 stitches, but Schurch's chart said 72 stitches. I cast-on 72 stitches, and the sock fits quite well.

3. Choose a toe from Tiptop Toes on Knitty, which includes good directions and pictures for three types of toe-up toes. I tried the Short Row toe, but eventually frogged in favor of the Figure Eight toe. Note: When the pattern says "k1, make 1" or "make 1, k1," I did "kfb (knit front and back)" instead, since I find make 1 to result in larger holes than I prefer. I also disregarded the dpn business and just did kfb at the beginning and end of two circulars.

4. Knit the length of the foot to "the front of the ankle." It is about 2/3 of the total length of the foot from toe tip to the back of the heel. This video is useful.

5. Knit the gusset increases and heel "patch" from Fleegle. Note that when the pattern says "k2, increase 1" or "increase 1, k2," I knit "k1, kfb" and "kfb, k1" instead.

6. Knit the leg of the sock as long as you desire.

7. Bind off using Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind off. Toe-up socks need a good stretchy bind off at the cuff, and this one is easy to follow. Note that you should "keep things loose" somewhat, otherwise you will have problems passing the stitches over one another.

-吴碧芙

Lovable Socks

2011-08-11T20:50:00.001-05:00

With more time on my hands, I decided to take on another round of socks. This time I used my favorite top-down basic pattern, with XO cable added on the outside of each sock. I worked the pattern myself by parsing a single XO cable from a scarf pattern and knitting it on the right or left edge accordingly.

They are a gift, so I only modeled them for pictures. I also apparently can only make socks for people with the same size feet as mine, but I'm planning to add more sizes soon.

-吴碧芙

Owl done...

2011-07-20T21:34:00.004-05:00

I have been looking for an owl cookie jar, having seen them basically everywhere except in stores lately: (1) in a collection of American Bisque cookie jars in the Waverly Bakery, (2) on the show Modern Family, (3) American Bisque, again, in a patient's apartment (right there on top of her fridge). These owls have been taunting me. Vintage owl cookie jars sell on Ebay for $40-$180, and the non-freaky, non-ugly ones happen to be more expensive.

A week ago, we were in the mall, on official wedding business, when something caught my eye in Macy's. At first, I just saw a rather cute owl-shaped serving tray...then some salt & pepper shakers...then a piggy bank...then a COOKIE JAR! On top of that, there was some kind of sale starting a few days later, and they would pre-sell it to me, to be picked-up on the sale start date.

Now, if you have an owl cookie jar, what kind of cookies would you put in it? I thought so too, but owl-shaped cookie cutters are (1) generally only vaguely owl-shaped, and (2) probably only available at specialty stores and online. An exhaustive search revealed some very cute options: one person used frosting to decorate cookies that she cut out with a tulip-shaped cookie cutter, but I can't find a tulip cookie cutter either. Other options are focused on shaping the dough. As soon as I saw one of those options, I remembered my Grama making them when I was little. Seeing the picture of them took me back to my exact feelings about the cookies when I first saw them: I refused to eat them because they had one cashew, standing for the owl's beak. I was convinced that the cashew meant that the whole cookie would taste like nuts.

The cookies are actually made with vanilla and chocolate dough, rolled into a cylinder and sliced. The eyes are peanut butter chips, although I considered using light-colored M&Ms. The beak, as I mentioned, is a whole cashew.

Having finished my last exam on Saturday (hopefully, provided I pass), this is how I celebrated the end of my academic obligations and my birthday, free of exam stress.

-吴碧芙

Official Graduation

2011-07-11T21:12:00.002-05:00

My official graduation was anti-climactic. I finished my internship and moved north. The day after the end of my internship, I received a letter that contained the results of my comprehensive exams. The letter stated that I had passed the written portion of the exams, but that I was "required to email 3 instructors for phone interviews regarding 2 topics of the exams."

So when the last instructor agreed to fill-out the paperwork saying that I passed, during the last phone interview, I suppose that around that moment I officially graduated, having completed all of my academic obligations. The department must complete some paperwork, papers must be signed, and then my diploma will appear in the mail someday soon.

And so, on the day of my official graduation, last Thursday, I had a cupcake...

-吴碧芙

3-Day, 15-Hour Hot Mess

2011-06-08T21:59:00.004-05:00

One of those academic obligations of my symbolic graduation is comprehensive exams, which ended today. A 3-day, 15-18 total hour ordeal, in which we all try to prove that we know enough to be competent clinicians. The heat of these past days, the lack of sleep, and the stress on both mind and body have taken their toll.

Hopefully all of the studying and hours of stress have paid off...

Symbolic Commencement

2011-05-15T16:17:00.002-05:00

...In no way signifies the successful fulfillment of my academic obligations. But it was fun to get dressed up and walk across the stage with some of my classmates and over 1,000 strangers, from every program offered at the university.

The difference between this MA commencement and my previous one was that this university uses hoods.

-吴碧芙

Self-striping

2011-03-30T22:22:00.002-05:00

These are my first socks with the amazing self-striping variety of sock yarn. I keep buying colors I like, thinking they will stripe, and they turn out to be variegated. This yarn, however, had a repeating pattern that was easy to solve and line up when making a pair of socks.

I was determined to make socks that match, identical socks, not fraternal. My plan would have worked, too, if it wasn't for a little extra white, green, and blue on the toe. The heel and gusset match up almost perfectly, with one skinny pink line along the edge of each heel flap. As my knitting friend say, no one will notice because it's down in your shoe anyway.

-吴碧芙

Sock it Up (Part 2)

2011-02-01T13:15:00.002-06:00

I finished my second pair of socks! I made the first pair over a year ago. I started the first sock of this pair on Jan. 16, 2011, and I finished the second sock today. The first sock took about 2 weeks to finish, and the second took 4 days. Thanks to a snow day, I had time to bust out the last few inches and the toe. The pattern has a short-row heel, which is quite nice, and check out the beautiful gusset. (click to embiggen)

I'm a little disappointed that my genius plan to make matching socks was thwarted, since it appears that this yarn has random color changes. Note how the cuffs and toes nearly match, but the rest of the socks are completely different. Now I'm back to attaching I-cord to all those felted potholders I'm making.

-吴碧芙

Sock it up!

2011-01-17T10:30:00.003-06:00

I got the sock yarn that I had been eying for some time, called "clover colors" from Patons. I cast on with US #1 needles, made a gauge swatch in the round, and did the math to find out how many stitches to cast on for my actual sock. I finished ribbing for the cuff, but I wasn't interested in any of the sock patterns I'd found.

I was looking for something else when I saw a simple sock with one cable on each side, a pattern written by Yarn Harlot, Stephanie Pearl McPhee. After looking a little more, I finally settled on Aquaphobia Socks from www.knitfreak.com. The designer wrote that the pattern is intended for variegated yarns to prevent color pooling, which disturbs some knitters. Luckily, the pattern is written for US #1 needles, with exactly the number of stitches I had already cast on.

There is a baby cable (repeating 6-stitch, 4-row pattern) on the sides of the sock. The front and back sections are done in a slip-knit pattern, which makes a strong, heavy, stiff cloth. So far, I'm quite pleased with myself for how far I've gotten and how the yarn looks with this pattern.

-吴碧芙

Bagels in the Snow

2010-12-20T20:17:00.008-06:00

**This post is being guest-written by Bagel Dan
A few weeks ago we decided to experiment with homemade bagels (results noted in an earlier post). The outcome was delicious to say the least. Well, we're back in Iowa again, and the request was made for me to flex my bagel biceps and whip up some tasty treats.

Our previous attempt was with a festive, fall flavored Pumpkin bagel that fit well with the season. The results were tasty and the product was eaten quick. This time around, though, we decided to create more of a variety. The first request was for Cinnamon Raisin - a true classic indeed. The dough was made using a good quality, high-gluten bread flour, pure vanilla and a premium Vietnamese cinnamon. A short rise, quick proof and nimble fingers produced an absolutely amazing bagel with a well-developed structure, chewy exterior and out-of-this world cinnamon flavor that hits the senses on multiple levels.

**Though unconventional to some, I suggest pairing it with your favorite peanut butter

Next up was a batch of plain bagels - a simple yet often maligned baked good. A good plain bagel should be chewy, evenly browned with a nice exterior. When done well, there's nothing like 'em - and this certainly didn't disappoint. All of the bagels in this batch started life plain, but 2 ended up studded with sesame seeds and three went through an everything wash. What came out of the oven, were some of the most stunning, picture-perfect specimens that I've seen this far west of the jersey turnpike.

So, until we can afford to make regular trips out east, these ones will have to do, but I don't think anyone will be complaining too loudly :)

Potholder in Giant

2010-11-16T16:04:00.004-06:00

Felted potholders are my new potential favorite fast gift. This is my first attempt in preparation for Christmas gifts. I knitted an attached I-cord around the edge and an unattached I-cord for the loop. The loop was a crocheted chain in the pattern, but I like living on the edge, so I improvised.

Purl Bee says this is supposed to end up being 9.5 in. wide. I feel like even if it were 9.5 in., it would still be big for a potholder. Maybe this one would be appropriate for giants, but I'm planning to use it as a Dutch oven trivet instead. I'll frog the matching potholder and make a pair of smaller ones.

-吴碧芙

Mad Hatting Again

2010-11-01T18:34:00.003-05:00

I made another 70's ski hat over my weekend trip to Pittsburgh. This one is made out of Brown Sheep Superwash (amethyst) and Cascade Superwash Paints, which was left over from my shawl. It is the first useful thing I've made that is machine washable. The variegation makes a nice effect.

-吴碧芙

One Fish, Two Fish

2010-10-19T13:57:00.003-05:00

I'm making a baby blanket to donate to the Binky Patrol. My knitting guru suggested finding a technique that I wanted to learn, since a baby blanket is like a little sampler and makes for good practice. Furthermore, if you don't like the technique, the baby blanket is small and it's over quickly.

I decided to make this cute fish blanket. The technique I wanted to learn was reading knitting charts, since the fish pattern I liked was charted. I tried, but I couldn't read the chart. The writer wrote the chart so that I couldn't understand what the stitches were, and she didn't give stitch names, only descriptions. It also reminded me of cross-stitch, which is too much of an exercise in strict, controlled, dizzy counting than I prefer.

Utterly frustrated, I found a written pattern for fish. The problem with that was that the pattern was only written from head to fin, and I wanted to connect my fish in a long row, instead of sewing all the individual fish together at the end. It took a lot of finding-out skills and trial-and-error skills to determine how to read the pattern from bottom to top, increasing the decreases and decreasing the increases. I also had to make sure the correct increases and decreases were chosen, so that they slanted the correct way and looked similar to the original fish.

The green is the original fish, and the purple is my modified "backwards & upside down" pattern.

-吴碧芙

The Impossible Dream

2010-10-17T20:57:00.003-05:00

There are times, especially here, when you think, why can't I find a good bagel? Bruegger's is, at the closest, 2 hrs. away in Omaha. Local places just don't have as high of bagel standards as I do, likely because nobody around here has really had a true, chewy, crunchy, don't-have-to-toast-it, slathered-with-cream-cheese-oozing bagel. The closest we come around here, is bread dough shaped into a donut/bagel shape.

However, 文大猊's mom found a recipe for pumpkin bagels in a magazine, and we tried our hand at bagel-making when we visited this weekend. One batch was made by hand and one batch in the bread machine. Each batch made nine bagels. After the bagels were shaped and well-rested, they were boiled in water and molasses, brushed with egg white wash, and sent to the oven for 20 min.

The result is what can only be described as Pure Heaven. Slathered with a maple-walnut cream cheese (also made from scratch), the bagels were perfect--crunchy on the crust and chewy in the middle. The pumpkin and spices made for an interesting flavor combination.

It was the highlight of my weekend, and was not as difficult as the huge bagel conglomerates would lead one to believe. It's even better when one of the home bakers previously worked for a huge bagel conglomerate, and he can share some of the secrets of the trade.

-吴碧芙

New Knits

2010-10-17T20:28:00.005-05:00

I finally finished the second shawl, having given the first away to a friend. It turned out, but I had to order a whole new skein of yarn from Des Moines in order to finish the last 2 inches.

Having finished one project, I decided to try and finish the hat and scarf my cousin asked for ten months ago. The scarf took almost this entire time, but the hat, with my full attention on it, took only 1 week, even with a lining. The grey and dark brown is wool/mohair, rust is wool/alpaca, and tan is wool/soy. The mohair tends to make things itchy in my experience. It's Whitney's 70's Ski Hat, and it has an interesting technique.

The hat is lined with a merino/cashmere blend yarn (Knit Picks Capra Yarn, Color: Timber). Hopefully, it will be warm and non-itchy.

-吴碧芙

Di San Xian

2010-10-17T20:20:00.002-05:00

I got some free bell peppers from my friend who works with a person who has a garden. Whenever her coworker brings vegetables, my friend brings fresh vegetables for me...because I'm a vegetarian. It works out nicely. One week she brought a cucumber and 2 zucchinis, all as big as my forearm. Then, shopping in SF, I found an Asian eggplant. I knew I had to make "three fresh things" or "three treasures of the earth," a dish that I ate almost weekly in China at the Banyan Tree restaurant.

As I told my friend, who lives in China, about this little excursion, she informed me that the Banyan Tree has been gone for almost as long as I have. Even if I lived in China, I would still have to make my own di san xian. However, luckily before I left, some other teachers were able to receive the revelation of the recipe, and translated the ingredients and directions into English from the laoban (the boss) at the Banyan Tree. However, I'm still bummed that I can't go back to China to eat all of the delicacies and risk my life by eating food in their sketchy facility.

-吴碧芙

Can't take my eyes off you...

2010-09-11T17:28:00.002-05:00

Somewhere between me organizing the shelving unit and starting school, Roscoe found a favorite spot on top of the microwave, next to my red tea basket. I suppose at one moment he looked down, bent over all the way, and noticed some sparkly numbers on the microwave.

When I noticed him noticing the numbers, he was so mesmotized (mesmerized+hypnotized) that I could not gain his attention...for FOUR minutes. (I know this because I was also watching the numbers while trying to get his attention. Also, it is an exceptionally long time for a bird, especially for Roscoe.) Even when I took five pictures, I could not distract him. I thought he was having some kind of attack. I thought the change of the numbers would frighten him...and yet he gazed.

"And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,
And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted - nevermore!" --Edgar Allen Poe

-吴碧芙

Cracking the Tea Code

2010-09-02T18:49:00.003-05:00

One year ago, my aunt brought out her "tea wallet," which is a little travel accessory for tea bags. We discussed how we might duplicate the design. One year later, nobody has offered a prototype, until today. I searched the internet, and found a variety of designs for "tea wallets," some of which are for sale on Etsy. There are very few of these "tri-fold" designs, but I did find a tutorial for making one. Then I logically changed a few details to make the design a little easier and more intuitive for me.

Lacking proper cutting, measuring, and sewing tools, I created a prototype, which a better, faster seamstress, with more advanced tools, might be able to perfect (cough...Mom...cough). When the wallet is folded and fastened, the button looks entirely off-center, urgh.

But the most important thing is that it's functional. (Am I right, or am I right?) The pockets hold 6 tea bags, and there are 5 inner pockets for sweeteners, or other condiments. The 5 inner pockets exist between the two layers. There are actually six spaces, but I sewed the ribbon into one of the pockets.

-吴碧芙

Something Green

2010-08-20T19:43:00.005-05:00

Over the break, I started the Sheer One-Piece Shawl from the book Modular Knits by Iris Schreier. I carried it around during the birthday extravaganza and all over Iowa. I finished it today, and it turned out rather cute and green.

It is made in one continuous piece, starting with the middle diamond, adding a diamond on each side, and adding the smaller triangles on each end.

Now I am project-less again, and will be forced to work on the rust-colored scarf. If I finish the scarf, I will be adding a rust-colored hat.

-吴碧芙

Exposure

2010-08-15T18:18:00.002-05:00

"The C.J. Albrecht wing features the Bremer County native's equipment, relics, and taxidermy from his career as a world-renowned taxidermist at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.

"A world-traveled explorer and naturalist, Albrecht led expeditions to the Arctic, Siberia, and Ethiopia. He built this addition and donated items he used and gathered during his travels for some of the best known museums in the country."

My mom took me to the Bremer County Historical Society when I was little. I was traumatized by the heads, but I suspected that it was actually only one head that I had dreamed into more. Unbelievably, my memory of the original event was accurate.

We were back at the museum as a part of the family history tour, which included the old cemeteries where ancestors were buried, the home place of a great-grandma, and the historical society, where the log cabin from the family farm is on display.

However, I used the opportunity to also prove that my memory was correct. Although I don't find the photo scary, being there to take the photo triggered an anxiety attack that neared "10" on the continuum of severity, and I could not enter the room. Everyone was inside the room and looking around at the time the photo was taken, and you can see the backs of all of my relatives.

-吴碧芙

Multidirectional

2010-07-28T17:00:00.002-05:00

Now I have the time to finish my knitting projects. The multidirectional scarf is all the rage on Ravelry and in local knitting covens. I started my first one on International Knitting in Public Day, when I met the knitting group for lunch, knitting, and yarn shopping. This color is called "Harvest" from Patons.

I've been knitting before class, during class breaks, and during clinic downtime (when I had clinic last month). My classmates asked I would knit for profit because they reasoned that hand knits are cheaper. My answer to that is: Hand knitting might be cheaper, if you use synthetic or ugly yarn that no one wants and you don't pay for labor. However, I did decide to knit a scarf for one of my classmates, which I finished today. I've been calling it Raspberry Lemonade because of the color. The yarn is Yarn Bee "Tangerine."

-吴碧芙

"Another Monday, Two Months Later"

2010-07-12T14:19:00.003-05:00

Well, it's been a long time because I'm in the middle of a string of three 4-week-long classes. During the first two (CAPD and dysphagia), I also had clinic, which took up a lot of extra time, what with all the driving, planning, and clients. It was busy and crazy, and I'm glad I did it, but I'm glad it's over. Today I started a new class, Cranio-Facial Anomalies.

In celebration, over the weekend, we watched The Fall, ate Mexican food, and went to church. Our church has a summer initiative to encourage people to take a walk together after the service. We decided to go along as the group walked to Perkin's. It was certainly nice to talk to new people. I'm reminded of one of my favorite Rod McKuen poems, "Another Monday, Two Months Later," which I have severely abridged and butchered below:

"Now I have the time
to see bad movies
and read bad books
aloud to you.
I can now waste time
on you and on myself.

"I've always wanted
to watch flowers open
all the way,
however long the process took.

"I'd hoped that I might
take you traveling
down the block
or to wherever,
now I have the time."

Now I have the time to finally replace the handkerchief that I lost in the snow (or drastically misplaced) sometime during the spring semester. The original was one of the first handkerchiefs I had embroidered, with a vine and red flowers on the corner. It was always in my coat pocket and then one day...it wasn't. I wanted to include birds, so I designed one with a birdhouse and flowers. I decided that the birds did not need legs after all. In the future, we will create birds that hover.

Now I have the time to make mighty muffins in the afternoon and to wash the dishes. I have always wanted to read a textbook in my big brown chair and enjoy learning things, while drinking tea and daydreaming about vampires.

-吴碧芙

Grill-out...Veg-Style

2010-06-07T19:34:00.007-05:00

The best things to grill are things that aren't supposed to be grilled at all. Anyone can grill meat, but we set ourselves apart by grilling things like pizza. I know what you're thinking: Won't it fall through the grate? The answer is amazingly 'no.'

The crust was cooked first, both sides. Then, sauce and toppings were added, white sauce (left) and red sauce (right). Both have Gorgonzola cheese, artichokes, and green onions. The white pizza had tomatoes and zucchini. The red pizza had green olives and arugula. The cheese goes under the toppings, to assure that it will melt properly. The result is a blistery, bubbly grilled pizza.

Compliments of a man-genius, it was like what pizza tastes like in Heaven.
-吴碧芙

China Case Scenario Handbook

2010-05-26T13:13:00.009-05:00

My mom called early this morning. I hadn't really woken up, and I thought she was calling me because it was an emergency. When I finally understood what was going on, it was this: She was talking to a student who would be going to China, and the student wanted to know what to pack in preparation for the trip. Then, I thought it would be fun to post a retrospective about what was useful when I was living and traveling in China.

For living in China, my worst-case-scenario handbook of a brain came in useful. Apart from the obvious stuff, I took food that I knew I wouldn't be able to find and food that would be easy to prepare (e.g. required just water or just one added ingredient):

Peanut butter
Coconut oil
Stevia liquid
Granola bars
Packaged crackers with cheese (you know they come with 6 in a package in different combinations)
Lipton rice/noodles and sauce (select varieties--some need milk and butter)
Guayaki mate tea (of which I still have the original package half-full)
Flavored tea (Tazo Lotus/Zen, Stash Chai, Stash Peach Flavored)
Minute Tapioca
Almond flavoring
Cinnamon
Sunscreen (which I replaced in Hong Kong when it ran out)
Deodorant (I hear that Chinese antiperspirant/deodorant isn't formulated for people of non-Asian decent, I never tried it)
Books (like novels-I assumed English books would be hard to come by-for the most part I was right, but we stocked up in HK and passed things around)
Macaroni and Cheese (which can be made without the butter-we could find milk, but butter was a little more challenging and expensive)

I have some weird tastes, and probably want things that other people wouldn't, but this is my personal list to combat homesickness and to make sure I had something to eat if I didn't find food that I liked right away. I should've also brought dry lentils and vanilla, but I thought I would be close enough to India that these would be readily available in Southern China. For the things I didn't bring, I would write the Chinese characters and pinyin on a note pad before going out. Sometimes I would research the use of a spice in Chinese medicine, and take the written name to a Chinese medicine pharmacy. This was how I acquired two nutmeg seeds, and I was so excited, when the pharmacy workers let me smell them in the jar to make sure they were the right thing, that they gave them to me for free.

Now, in traveling, I found some other things to be useful. See photos, numbers correlate.

Bandana - My hair is not black. When I went somewhere outside the university, especially if it was a place where there weren't a lot of laowais (foreigners), I would get yelled at, petty cabs would stop in front of me so I couldn't cross the street, people would stop me on the street to try and sell me things...I found that wearing a bandana (usually brown) would make walking around more bearable. I don't know if it was because the color didn't stand out as much as my hair color did, or if it was that people thought I was Jewish and respected me more (the Jewish theory comes from Peter Hessler's Rivertown, which is a great book about living and interacting in China).
Bag - Someone told me not to take a purse to China. That was dumb advice. When I got a cell phone, I had nowhere to carry it, so I tied a bandana between my belt loops to hold my cell when I went into the city. I had to order a bag while in China. The bag I have is called Pacsafe. I ordered it from China and received it just in time to go traveling to Xi'an, but I ended up using it everywhere. The strap is reinforced and has a feature that allows you to take it off clip it to a chair or table if you're sitting somewhere. The top zipper is covered and there is a clip for the zipper pull when the zipper is shut that makes it hard to open. The bag body is reinforced with wire netting between the outer and inner layers. There had been stories of people standing on buses holding bags, only to discover when they got off the bus that the bottom of the bag had been cut out, the contents gone, or that they ended up holding only the bag's strap with the bag body and contents gone. My Pacsafe is pretty much cut-proof. Also, carrying it across my body and under my coat made it hands-free and difficult to grab.
Hiking sandals - I ordered some Chacos while in China. Most of the laowais I knew had them. They are sturdy, and not slip-ons. They can be washed in a washing machine (although, if you're walking around China, you may not want to wash them with clothes), and they dry quickly. I wore them traveling in warm places and generally for teaching and walking around our city.
Wide scarf - I bought my green scarf in our city, and I wore it everywhere. If I forgot my bandana, I would cover my hair with it. If I was cold, I would spread it out and use it as a shawl. I bought them as gifts because I like the one I have so much.
Money belt/pouch - Don't keep money, ID, or passport in a bag. I have one that goes around my neck and hangs on my stomach under my shirt. I don't prefer the belts because they are hot and you have to reach into your pants to get anything, which is somewhat immodest. One of my colleagues had a similar pouch to mine, but the string attached was very long, so he put it around his neck AND in his pants. I found no problems keeping things safe by my stomach, though.
Hand-sanitizer - We called it "sauce," and we would pass it around when we first sat down to eat together at restaurants or after getting off the bus. I've heard that hand-sanitizer doesn't really work, but it makes you feel better when you're about to eat and you just got off the bus where people were blowing their noses into their hands.
Facial cleansing cloths - There are some travel packs of pre-moistened facial cloths. I took some from the US thinking they might come in handy. On the way to Xi'an, my colleagues and I stayed in a "hotel." The cost was 30 yuan, which was about $4 at the time. Three of us shared a bed in a room that didn't have a sink. There was a bathroom down the hall, into which we peered on arrival and we immediately decided that we would not use the bathroom under any circumstances. It looked like it had never met cleaning products before. We brushed our teeth using an outside hose, and decided we didn't need to wash our faces. I had these facial cleansing cloths, so I used one, and what came off my face was black dirt, soot, and pollution. So we all used the cloths that night.
Pepto-Bismol chewable tabs and travel baby wipes - Pepto is good for minor discomfort from eating something weird. Baby wipes have a number of cleansing uses, and they are nice to have if you experience (erm...) intestinal pyrotechnics.
Crystallized ginger - I used this for motion sickness. Dramamine makes me too drowsy. Ginger that is preserved like this doesn't spoil and packs a punch that takes care of that sick feeling or takes your mind off it.
Pocket dictionary - Not a phrasebook. If you don't know much about Chinese, reading a phrase from a phrasebook will be unintelligible to native speakers. However, if you can look up keywords about what you want, I think it's better. I bought my small dictionary in China. It was 3"x 6"x 1" and included English-Chinese, Chinese-English, with pinyin and characters. The print was very small, but it was useful. One time I was trying to ask a seller if she had a certain product. I took my dictionary out and showed the word, but she said it was too small, so I recopied it in my notepad. Another time, I had a great conversation with a carving artist, from whom I ordered numerous name chops (stamps), just by using my Chinese and filling in blanks with key words from my dictionary. On subsequent visits, he used his son's cell phone, which had a Chinese character to English translation ap. He was patient in conversation and would always ask me to have tea after placing or picking up an order. Ah, Southern China Hospitality...
Trail mix or granola bars - Trail mix was a delicacy, since we didn't even have many of the ingredients. I mixed peanuts, sub-par raisins, and M&Ms to make trail mix a few times, but it wasn't the same. On Ten-Ten holiday, the holiday for hiking, we hiked to a Buddhist temple in the hills. One of my distinguished colleagues had a bag of Trader Joe's trail mix, and it was heavenly. Granola bars were nonexistent in our city, so I stocked up in Beijing and HK. Both are good carry-along snacks.

Has anything been invaluable for you while on vacation (domestic or abroad)?
-吴碧芙

Bangled, tangled, spangled and spaghettied!

2010-05-10T18:21:00.007-05:00

Today was our mother-daughter getaway to IC. Highlights included Java House Tahitian coffee, lunch at the Co-op, and crazy new sock yarn.

I went back to my old stylist with the intent of getting a reverse perm--straight instead of curly. I'm hoping for a summer of less frizz, being able to run my fingers through my hair without losing my ring, and less general flipping out. We have before, during and after shots. (Click to embiggen.)

Oh yeah, and I found some new shoes at the second-hand store. All shoes are $15 there, but these were never worn, and they are my favorite brand, in the style I've been wanting to order, albeit from last season. Still completely amazing at a great price!

-吴碧芙

Bleeding Heart

2010-05-05T08:49:00.003-05:00

So we went with Prototype A. I added some embellishment in the form of little red mixed Czech glass beads. The beads on the left looked like the bleeding heart flowers, which is how the design got its name.

It's finals week. More later. Thanks for voting.
-吴碧芙

Vote for your favorite design...

2010-05-02T16:42:00.002-05:00

I got a new dress, which has some colors I don't usually wear. But I like it, so I'm going to make a necklace to match. I thought I knew what to do, but in thinking about focal beads, I'm seeking advice.

Please argue why you prefer Prototype A or Prototype B in your comments. The dress swatch is along the bottom of each picture.
Prototype A (rose focal):

Prototype B (Siam focal):

Results to follow...
-吴碧芙

Pimp My Space

2010-04-26T19:54:00.004-05:00

Just before Easter, I made a major purchase. I wanted a "real" chair, since most of my furniture is made out of wire or can be screwed together with an L-wrench. So I got a giant chair that one can stretch out on and relax. I promised myself, and 文大猊 concurred, that it's worth the investment because I'm going to keep it forever. Anyway, it's more useful than a tatoo...Am I right, or am I right? (click to enlarge any picture)

The chair, however, posed a problem for my tiny apartment. Namely, it started getting a little claustrophobic. Note the two feet between the chair and the couch. I was a bull in a china shop trying to walk around my apartment. Note that the birdcage is in the right corner (covered for the night).
Before:

The table is now in the bottom right corner. Note all the space between the brown chair and table. After:

The rest of the room wasn't much better. Note the two feet between the table and the chair. Before:

The table is in the bottom right corner outside of the frame. Note the room by the door and the space in the middle and bottom right.

I think there is enough space to move the couch up to watch TV with boyfriends. The birds are a little unsure, but what cockatiel doesn't love being more the center of attention? Plus, the new cage location is a good staging area for flights to exotic locations, like the curtain rod, and the top of the big wire shelving unit.

-吴碧芙

IdeaFest: The Re-enactment

2010-04-07T22:28:00.005-05:00

"Hi, Can I tell you about my project? I did a research review on the topic of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) as an intervention for childhood apraxia of speech. AAC includes sign language, using a computer to talk, or anything that is used for communication, besides natural voice. Childhood apraxia of speech is a developmental disorder that affects the ability of the message to travel from the brain to the muscles to move the articulators, resulting in unintelligible speech.

"For my review I searched a variety of databases for both AAC and childhood apraxia of speech. I found five articles that fit my inclusion criteria. Among all of the articles, there were only a few participants with childhood apraxia of speech, so it was difficult to draw conclusions. I found two systematic reviews that looked at AAC as an intervention for participants with developmental disabilities or autism.

"Although I did not find enough evidence to support AAC as an intervention for childhood apraxia of speech, I did find that the research shows that AAC intervention does not hinder natural speech development. In some cases, AAC improved speech by providing a consistent example of words or phrases. AAC also reduced frustration and negative behaviors and increased communication for some of the participants. More research needs to be done on this topic. Do you have any questions?"

Camera-phone photo courtesy of my poster neighbor and co-grad assistant, who reviewed neuromuscular electrical stimulation for treatment of dysphagia for her topic.

-吴碧芙

Go Further Raw Weekend

2010-03-28T19:26:00.007-05:00

This weekend, we decided to have a theme based on the movie Go Further, which we watched a few weeks ago. It's a documentary with Woody Harrelson, who rides a bike behind a bio-fuel bus down the California coast. In the documentary, he explains the benefits of eating raw, organiz, vegan food and talks about industrial hemp. Saturday's lunch was raw wraps with Vegenaise (mayonnaise made without eggs and without dairy) and kombucha to drink. All of the veggies were wrapped in lettuce leaves. It was the first time either of us had tried Vegenaise, and we were impressed.

Dinner was raw zucchini pasta caprese. I used a peeler to shred the zucchini into thin strips.

After marinating the tomatoes and feta in oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, and basil, we tossed everything with the zucchini pasta and garnished with flat parsley.

The caprese was delicious! Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the raw cashew chocolate mousse we tried.

Overall, it was a great raw weekend, and the weather was beautiful.
-吴碧芙

Spring Break on the Cheap

2010-03-11T11:00:00.006-06:00

So instead of going someplace exotic and warm with booze and table-dancing, we have decided to have a different kind of adventure in Eastern Iowa. We went to the Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium in Dubuque on Tuesday, since both of my parents had the day off. The museum explained the history of the river and had exhibits of the animals found in the river. We were amazed at the Giant Catfish, which totally looked like it would swim over and start talking to us. There was also an interactive lizard exhibit. We crawled under and popped up among the lizards. The small lizards started running toward us.

Yesterday we went to Iowa City. It was a satisfying day, since we finished all of the IC essentials: lunch at Masala, buying Iowa apparel, coffee at the Java House, picking up dozens of Bruegger's Bagels, dinner at Givanni's, Chinese takeout from Taste of China for the next day's lunch... 文大猊 got the street tour of my old apartment buildings, and important sites.

One of the many highlights was getting my hair cut. When I lived in IC, I used to go to this really edgy alternative place for my haircuts, which was pretty expensive. My mom and aunt ended up going to my hair designer Joann a few times after I left. I called the salon to get an appointment on Tuesday. I said, "I used to go to Joann, but I understand she has since moved away." They said, "Oh, actually, she moved back." So I went to get my hair cut, and caught up with Joann, who seems to have added a few piercings and tattoos since I last saw her. She knows how to cut my wavy hair so that it hangs right, and she knows how to take out the heavy parts without ruining the cut.

I forgot my digital camera cord in Verm. These are all camera phone pics. More to follow...
-吴碧芙

Weekend

2010-02-07T19:50:00.004-06:00

We have started clinic, on top of classes and work duties. I have two clients, but one keeps canceling, so I haven't had a first session with that one. Luckily, the client I have started with is really wonderful, and I couldn't ask for a better first clinical experience.

One of my friends is a new grad student in the department this semester. She drives from Yankton, but is gracious enough to pick me up, so I don't have to walk, or, worse, waste gas driving, the one mile to campus. Her favorite color is purple, and in my gratitude for a ride, I made her a lanyard for clinic. (Actually, she doesn't want anything for picking me up, but she also needed a lanyard, and she didn't want me to make one for free.)

This weekend we had a workshop for gamelan (check out the "audio postcard" on the linked page to hear our director and members talk about the music) at the National Music Museum on campus. I joined the group this semester, having been invited by my supervisor, who is a long-time member of the gamelan ensemble. I usually play the saron, and for this weekend, we worked on interlocking melodies, where two sarons play on different beats, creating a melody between them. Our Javanese gamelan instructor came from Minneapolis for a whole weekend to teach about the music and culture of Indonesia. It was relaxing and informative, and I didn't even miss doing my homework.

-吴碧芙

Hello, Kitty...

2010-01-21T20:28:00.005-06:00

Tonight we were visited by a very friendly kitty. As I went out to get some groceries, when I opened the door, the cat was right there. When I came back, with my hands full of groceries, I opened the door, and the cat ran in and explored the place. He was purring and rubbing happy scent all over the place.

The birds were safely almost ready for bed, but they were a little alarmed initially at the little dart of black when I opened the door. The cat was so friendly. I'm assuming/hoping he belongs to one of my neighbors, and his owner is waiting for him to come back. Sorry, we can't keep him. It was one of my childhood fantasies that we would find a dog or cat, after weeks of advertising, the owner would not be found, and my parents would let me keep it.

It's the first week of classes, I needed a visit from Angel Kitty, just for a moment.
-吴碧芙

Follow that Bird: Roscoe and Kavi's Big Adventure

2010-01-14T15:51:00.005-06:00

Over the break we got in our travel cage, and we got in our giant bird's auto-travel cage. We rode for a long time, and then we finally arrived at Grampa's house.

Many giant bird cousins and relatives came to see us. We sat on the backs of their chairs while they played games and played with string:

We went in the auto-travel cage again, and I was excited to go home, but instead we stopped at Auntie's house. It was very cold outside, so we needed to sleep there. We saw more giant birds, and we met Auntie's cat. The cat was very large, energetic, and loud: [stock photo]

Now we are home, and happy to be back in the big cage and looking out the window from inside.

-Kavi

Snow

2010-01-06T19:02:00.002-06:00

Over the break my aunt, uncle, and cousin were here from the East Coast. I had a knitting race with my cousin, in order to find out whether Continental was faster than English knitting. Continental won; I finished 30 stitches in the same amount of time it took her to do 20 stitches. They also brought snowshoes. Since my knowledge of snowshoes extends only to an episode of Winnie the Pooh in which Roo finds two tennis rackets and thinks they're snowshoes, I tried them out. It was fun, but cold.

-吴碧芙

Two Bags Fulled

2010-01-05T19:14:00.002-06:00

My new Winter Break project was to try my hand a making a felted/fulled bag. I found a pattern for a small bag (Black Sheep: Sophie Bag), which took just one skein of Cascade 220. It was a minor financial commitment that I didn't mind taking a chance with.

The pattern started with knitting a rectangle bottom, with stitches picked up on all edges to be knitted in the round.

After being washed inside a zipper pillow protector, on the hot wash/cold rinse cycle, I stretched them around grocery bag-wrapped cardboard cutouts and various boxes of dried goods I found in the pantry. When they dried, they looked pretty cool. I added a loop (crocheted chain, felted, and sewn on) and buttons to keep them closed.

Before Finals Week, I pondered whether there was a felted bag pattern that could be made for a quick gift. I think this is definitely the one. It was pretty quick and cute. It didn't turn out as small as I expected it would.

-吴碧芙

Lookie Cookie

2009-12-27T16:06:00.002-06:00

This afternoon we finally frosted the Christmas cookies. We made a few very pretty snowflakes.

We have a cute vintage bird cutter, which I made into cockatiels.

Some had more fun than others...

-吴碧芙

Wild Socks

2009-12-25T22:42:00.002-06:00

I finished my second sock today. The second sock is the one on the right, which is not so stretched out yet. I also took out the toe of the first sock, and made it longer, so now both socks fit.

It wasn't supposed to get done so quickly. Now I don't know what to do with myself over this break. It hasn't really sunken in yet either. I made two socks, which are really cool, and turned out like they were supposed to. They match the Wild Flower necklace, too.

-吴碧芙

Wild Flowers

2009-12-24T22:56:00.003-06:00

In celebration of making it through the crazy semester, I remade and added some beads to one of my previous designs for a slip necklace.

I finished my last take-home exam last Thursday. Since then, I still haven't felt like I'm supposed to be relaxing. The birds and I came back to NE Iowa on Tuesday. Since then, I've been working on my second sock. I finished the heel and gusset, and now it's a straight shot until I get to the toe.

We are waiting for our big dump of snow. So far we scraped the old ice and slush off the driveway. It rained a little, but the snow hasn't come yet.

-吴碧芙

Garden Path

2009-12-11T17:38:00.003-06:00

The following is a new design I made for my aunt, whose name I had for the Christmas exchange this year. I thought it turned out well. This design is a good way to use those flower button beads. (click to enlarge)

Someday soon, I will have time to finish knitting my second sock, read novels, and go dancing.
-吴碧芙

It was snowing...

2009-12-08T23:00:00.003-06:00

...and it was going to snow.

Today we are having a blizzard. It's been snowing and blowing all day. This is the view from my doorstep at 11:00pm Tuesday night. The snow is knee high, and my door is imprinted in it.

It's almost the end of the semester. Hopefully someone will come dig me out before my 8:00am class.

Update: I got out of my apartment, got the car out, drove down the street and got stuck a block away from home. My logic was that it would be better to drive because the streets would be cleared before the sidewalks. Anyway, two of my neighbors and a guy who lived nearby came to push and shovel me out. I parked right there on the side o f the road and walked to class.

-吴碧芙

Vegetarianniversary!

2009-11-01T20:40:00.004-06:00

This Halloween marked my 15th year of being a vegetarian. We celebrated with an Indian feast of Baingan Bharta and Malai Kofta, at the restaurant where we had our first real date. Then at home, we enjoyed cleaning out pumpkin guts and roasting the seeds. I found The Legend of Billy Jack on Netflix streaming video, so we decided on a hippy film, instead of The Exorcism of Emily Rose, which we thought would give us nightmares.

I was so excited about Billy Jack, having seen it only once, over 10 years ago. The basic premise of the movie is there is a town in Arizona, near a reservation where there is an alternative school. People from the town are racist and distrustful of the pacifist students and director of the school. When the students go into the town, the townspeople humiliate them and treat them badly. Enter Billy Jack, who knows martial arts, is initiated in sacred Indian rites, is not a pacifist, and cares mostly about the students and preventing corruption in the town. Anyway, Billy Jack makes a mess of the place with his martial arts skills and makes everyone get along. There are two feelings the film leaves you with: (1) I wish I could go to an alternative pacifist school and learn how to weave and ride horses, and (2) I wish I could beat people up like Billy Jack.

Last week, I finished my first sock. The important thing is that it actually fits, and it's totally cute. I started the second sock right away, but have been spending more time beading instead of knitting. The sock took me about two months to finish, so maybe in another two months, I'll have a pair...hopefully sooner.

Lastly, I made a necklace for my friend, which I'm calling "peace dove." It's obviously based on my last creation "peacock." Crazily, I'm trying to think of a way to make a "cockatiel," which would be cool, but not that useful, since I never wear yellow or orange. I've been wearing grey a lot more lately though.

One of my friends has an aunt who does beading. She had made a series of bracelets to be worn together with a monarch butterfly theme. One bracelet was yellow, black, and white, for the larva. The next was all lime green, for the pupa. The next was orange, black, and white, for the butterfly. The last was blue and white, for the sky. It's a clever idea, which I would like to adapt with colors of birds in my current designs.

-吴碧芙

Peacock and a Picture Story

2009-10-25T21:22:00.005-05:00

For a while, I've been envisioning a beading project, called "the peacock" because I wanted a mix-match of blues and greens. I wanted it to be secure, without a clasp, and without exposed metal parts. I got some pointers from MJ in CR, and 文大猊 took me to the crazy "I-didn't-know-they-had-a-bead-for-that" bead shop in SF. This is where I found the aqua-colored leaf beads, the two blue twisty beads in front, a mix of peacock colors, and the focal bead. The rest was done with four colors of seed beads, wire, and crimps.

We caught the Corn Maze on the second to last day it was open. I've never done one before, but this one covers 8 acres, and the theme this year was monarch butterflies. The maze had a butterfly shape in the center, which could be seen on the map and aerial view. It was difficult. It was muddy. We couldn't imagine participating in the "Haunted Maze" which would take place after dark that night with flashlights. We couldn't imagine taking kids there and setting them loose, since there were a few moments where we two adults were afraid that we were lost in the corn.

There is a group on Flickr that posts picture stories in 4-picture sequences. I used them in my classes in China, and I decided that a picture story would be a good way to present the maze adventure. (Click to enlarge)

Maize Maze: A Picture Story

-吴碧芙

Rainbows and Fairies

2009-10-18T22:16:00.003-05:00

When I was little, my Grama had a prism hanging in the western window. In the afternoons, the rainbows would be projected all over the floor, and I would try to stand on them, or hold them in my hands. When I had my own apartment in Iowa City, I went downtown and bought a prism, which has been with me from IC to Phoenix, and finally to SD.

I hung my prism in my only window, southern, and I find it makes the best rainbows in the fall and winter. As I sat talking on Saturday, I realized that one was projected onto my hand, like a little light of Tinkerbell, so we tried to capture it in a picture.

Rainbows are a common theme lately. While visiting my parents, I went to a yarn shop with my mom and found a really bright and exciting sock yarn. This finally gave me the necessary motivation to actually knit a sock. I had some difficulty with the gusset, but I'm finally on the home stretch, with only half of the foot and the toe left to finish.

Finally, I finished the scarf that I had been working on since Thanksgiving. Everyone who saw me working on it at that gathering, will be happy to see the finished product. I gave it to 文大猊, who was surprised and excited to have a new scarf in personalized colors, which I picked out a few weeks after meeting him.

Be well,
-吴碧芙

Love Nest

2009-09-03T21:58:00.007-05:00

I spent about 2 weeks in Iowa with my family. The birds got to stay with Grampa, which was fun for all three, I think.

I remember in some of my school breaks, my mom and I have done sewing projects. On Winter Break during my freshman year of college, we made a quilt with a faux fur backing, which served me well all through college and grad school and which I still have with me in my apartment.

Over this break, I wanted to try a smaller project, having seen a bird hut on the internet. I measured and cut a pattern out of newspaper. I chose some scrap fabric. We guessed and discussed how everything would fit together. Mom did the sewing and decorative details. We put hearts on the sides, and trimmed it with excess orange bias tape.

I hung it in the cage for a few days. Generally birds are afraid of new things and bright colors, but I think since Kavi and Roscoe have each other, they are less skittish around new toys, etc. I didn't have a long enough perch, though. The perch would need to extend out of the doorway, so they would be able to climb inside.

When I finally found a perch that would extend out of the house, and got everything set up, Kavi was still unsure, but Roscoe was not at all too shy to try it out. He slept inside the whole night (I could tell from the droppings), and Kavi slept on the uncovered end of the new perch. Roscoe was nice enough to pose for a photo, but I don't think he has spent any more time inside since the first night.

So photogenic...

Besides that, I started grad school. Kavi was a good kitty, and perched on my lap while I studied tonight. I have five classes, and all five meet on Wednesday. Wednesday being the first day of class, it was like being thrown into the fire. So far, I've learned about how hard and terrible grad school is going to be.

-吴碧芙

Don't miss it, don't even be late...

2009-08-22T21:36:00.006-05:00

I've been enjoying some much-needed time away before school visiting the great state of Iowa. Today we decided to take a family day trip to the Iowa State Fair. We visited the Varied Industries Building, where I was tempted to buy a Hawkeye cookie cutter, but decided against it on account of the price tag. I was a big nerd and got a free pair of ear plugs and my name written in Braille (color dots added for visibility).

We tried Iowa Soy Oil and Corn Cob Syrup, and I went to look at textile arts with my mom on the second level. There were amazing quilts, with the most intricate patterns. I also enjoyed looking at knitting and crochet.

The big fair food this year is "cookies in a cup." Not wanting to miss anything important from the fair, we all split a cup. The cookies were good. The cup was unremarkable. "Cookies in a cup" lived up to its name.

In the Family Food Center, we saw all of the winning entries for cake decorating, cookies, bread, and canning. A slice of each of the winning breads was placed on a plate and behind glass. I've never seen so many single pieces of different kinds of bread, but it was interesting.

Lunch included a somewhat frustrating search for cheese on a stick and a deep fried pickle on a stick. We eventually found the cheese, but we never found the elusive pickle. For the main course, my brother and I each got a veggie corn dog, and I tried deep fried macaroni and cheese (both shown below).

After checking out the dollhouse exhibit, viewing all kinds of crazy-looking chickens, goats, and cows, and seeing the "big boar" (weighing 1,117 lbs.), we headed for home.

-吴碧芙

A Scientifical Study of Giant Birds by Roscoe

2009-08-07T18:27:00.005-05:00

I want to write about our recent findings in the field of giant birds. For about a year, I've lived with my companion Kavi, and we have a giant bird who helps us. Kavi observes the giant birds and explains his findings about their behaviour. My work focuses on gathering information about breed and coloring. From my observations it is obvious to me that our giant bird is a giant green Conure, although Kavi doesn't agree. I have seen strong evidence for my hypothesis:
Exhibit A: Brilliant green fathers

Exhibit B: Another instance of green feathers

It's hard to say why these feathers change depending on the day. That's why Kavi says we can't tell which breed it is, based on feathers that are changeable. For a long time we didn't know if it was a girl or a boy. Eventually we found out that it's a boy, because he has a mate, and they are obviously of a dimorphic breed, with the female (left) having less brilliant coloring than the male (right):

The last observation is about head and face feathers. The male's head feathers are bright, like his other feathers, but the female has cheek feathers, that match her head feathers, obviously for camoflaging her in the nest.

Good luck foraging!
Roscoe

Catching Up

2009-08-02T23:38:00.007-05:00

This weekend was a mini-vacation, as 文大猊 and I made the trek to Eastern Iowa for the hometown celebration. Highlights included the 5k run/walk early Saturday morning, riding in the parade with my high school classmates, playing and exploring at the Farm with my cousins, my 10-yr high school reunion, and introducing 大猊 to the extended family.

The first event was the 5k. Our team was 大猊, my aunt, and myself. We each got a number and a medal.

The parade included a few entries worth mentioning: my reunion wagon, the Beastmaster with a ferret in his pouch, and the first-place entry (below).

The first place float in the parade was a giant rotating Jesus Taco, from one of the local churches.

In the afternoon, we went to the Farm, caught the kittens, played the game Pit, and explored the Farm, including the creek, the hen house, the Ancestor Room, and the small attic.

The reunion was Saturday night, and went off without a hitch. We left Sunday morning, but not without my aunts, cousins, and uncle coming to say one last goodbye to 大鲵 and two emergency haircuts--the first from my mom and the second from my aunt who is a trained professional.

-吴碧芙

Sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows...

2009-07-23T10:55:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was my birthday. It was a wonderful day, although mostly like a normal Wednesday: I had class in the morning and evening, went to the gym, and visited 文大猊 after class. When I got to his apartment, he had the most elegant spread, including our favorite sandwich, funfetti cake with rainbow chip frosting, and Asian sesame eggplant (the first Asian eggplant of the season from my friend's garden).

The big surprise was the bouquet of blue cornflowers, mostly because I thought they were impossible to get. I guess 文大猊 has good guanxi because he found out that these flowers are available for special orders in local shops for only a few weeks every summer, and he had the foresight to order early enough for my birthday. It was beautiful and perfect!

We marveled at the intricacy of the blossoms, the brilliant color, and the wild curves of the stems and greens.

-吴碧芙

Home Improvement

2009-07-12T22:31:00.006-05:00

Since the big, scary "digital switch," I've suffered from the extreme lack of channels. At best, I could watch skittery NBC and the "all Olympics all the time" channel. The wonders of the internet triumph again, as 文大猊 found a couple of plans for a homemade antenna. He fashioned a prototype for me, and another for himself, out of wire hangers, wood, wire, and odds and ends.

Another amazing improvement via the 文 Design Studio is a shelf for above the sink. If you compare this to the original photo, you will see that I can now maximize my 18 inches of counter space, with no precarious plates. If I cover the sink with the cutting board, there's some extra usable space.

In fact, this morning I lined up a toaster, coffee maker, and 3-cup food processor on the cutting board, with enough room for the plates and coffee cups on the counter. Plus, now there's room to keep my favorite things on the counter with a spice rack underneath.

-吴碧芙

The Cake Stands Alone

2009-07-06T16:32:00.003-05:00

This 4th of July weekend, my parents and brother came to visit. We ate local, played board games, watched "Dorm Life" on Hulu (which you should also do), and had a nice dinner for my parents' anniversary. The city had a really nice fireworks display, which we could watch right outside their hotel.

I had another big celebration to prepare for, and my mom brought me cake pans along with the mold for a checkerboard cake. We decided to make strawberry and lemon cake with vanilla frosting. Filling the mold was a bit tricky and interesting. After filling it with alternating colors, the mold is removed before baking. I decided to make a two-layer cake, since no more layers would fit in my tiny oven.

In the end, I got two layers and 12 cupcakes. It was a delicious birthday cake, but as you can see, the checkerboard kind of blobbed out. (Click to enlarge.)

So delicious, in fact, that there is only one piece left...

Just kidding. We only ate 1/6 of the cake, or two of the twelve pieces. I put the rest, along with the cupcakes, in the freezer. Although, ten frozen pieces of cake are still ten pieces of cake.

-吴碧芙

Wedding and Rainbows

2009-06-23T07:59:00.004-05:00

We spent the weekend in Minneapolis at a wedding, where 文大猊 was the Best man in a wedding. I decided to pick up River Town again, and I read it while he performed his duties. I also hung out with his friends, esp. those weren't in the wedding party. 文大猊, being in the wedding party, was supposed to ride in the stretch Hummer to a park to take pictures after the ceremony. We took a cab to the wedding, and then I rode with them in the Hummer. There was a "gathering" of sorts at the park, with pimped rides, hip-hop music, and guys who looked like they might beat us up. It all turned out ok, though.

From the wedding and pictures, we arrived at the reception. Highlights included 文大猊's speech, little cakes for centerpieces, and amusing ourselves and other guests by trying to learn the Electric Slide on the spot.

While driving from the rehearsal to the hotel on Friday, we saw a full double rainbow.

On Sunday, we headed back, after some stops at Trader Joe's and IKEA, which are luxuries we can't enjoy in SD.

-吴碧芙

We moved

2009-06-01T09:42:00.005-05:00

I moved on Friday and Saturday. 文大猊 came over and helped clean like a maniac. The old apartment is completely clean and beautiful, which leaves me wishing I had cleaned more often when I lived there, so I could've enjoyed it myself. The new apartment is cute, but tiny. I took a picture of the kitchen. There is a 2-ft. cupboard to the left and the fridge to the right, but this is basically what I've got. I put in some helpful labels. It was while we were trying to make some breakfast.

The bathroom is equally miniaturized, so, for now, I have my toothbrush in the kitchen. We were making bagel sandwiches and veggie bacon.

The birds are doing well in the new place. I think they are a little weirded out because I arranged it like the old place, but it's a little smaller and the kitchen and bathroom are in different places.

-吴碧芙

A Well-Stocked Cupboard

2009-05-13T20:19:00.003-05:00

This weekend was the first time in a long time that we have been homework-free, and the weather was beautiful. So we had a classy picnic. We took the Wildflower Sweet Potato sandwiches and magazines and books. It was a really beautiful day in the park by a small stream.

We had a great time on Saturday night making apple pie. I asked MK in DM to send the recipe, since he makes the best apple pie, which isn't too sweet. We had a bit of overflow with the filling, so we also made some pretty intense apple crisp too.

It was pretty delicious.

Tonight I decided to use up some pumpkin from the freezer to make muffins. I let Kavi sit on top of the refrigerator, and he was pretty happy there. Then when I opened the cupboard, he flew straight up to the top shelf. It was the first time he'd ever considered going into the cupboard. I don't keep anything on the top shelf because I'm normal-person-sized. He whistled a lot up there, probably checking out the awesome acoustic properties. This is my "bare ingredients" cupboard.

-吴碧芙

Memory

2009-05-06T20:32:00.002-05:00

Long before I thought of going to China, I heard a story about our family friend Herb. (Of course, Herb had many stories.) He had been a missionary in China. After returning to the States, a few years later, he was cleaning out his garage, when he stopped and said, "I smell China." It was as if the scent had traveled from China and landed in Minnesota.

That moment where a scent meets a deep memory or an emotion is wonderful. In Anatomy I learned that olfactory experiences are processed in the same place in the brain as memory, and differently from other senses. But scent sometimes transports me to a place I can't explain, something from childhood, something from which I only remember a feeling, and not a place or person.

I often wonder what will trigger that reaction of "smelling China" for me. Many things come to mind, like burning garbage and exhaust fumes. The good and more subtle come to mind too, like the Bread Diary, the deep, cool, wood and incense of a temple, or the stinging oil used during a leg massage.

Pineapples remind me of China too. The vendors would have it cut and ready in plastic bags with toothpicks to make it easy to take and eat. I cut up a pineapple tonight and immediately took out the garbage.

I was overcome with the scent of lilacs. The hedge between our apartment property and a large, barren field, the hedge I've seen many times before, is actually a long row of lilac bushes, more than 40 feet long, in white, lavender, and dark purple.

I haven't lived in a place with lilacs in 4 years.

-吴碧芙

Sandwich Cred

2009-05-03T22:27:00.006-05:00

Cred is something people can respect you for. If your beard makes people at a food co-op look at you a little differently, a nod of respect, you've got Hippie Cred. If your nose ring helps make the scary, skinning, all-dressed-in-black-stuff-that-laces-up woman feel like talking to you on the plane to Omaha, you might have some Goth Cred. If you can make a wonderful sandwich two weeks in a row, you might be well on your way to Sandwich Cred.

As I was sitting studying on the couch, there was some banging around in the kitchen. Then, the most delicious aroma began to circulate. It was a mixture of sweetness and the tang of boiled wine. It was the first step in my favorite sandwich. 文大男 had looked up the ingredient list and the recipes for the ingredients that couldn't be bought. This is the fig confit with rosemary.

The confit reduced and was pureed in the food processor. Fennel, an ingredient I had forgotten about, was marinated in a lemon juice sauce. The sweet potatoes were roasted in the oven. Then we were ready to start building the sandwich, starting with spreading confit on the bottom bread. (文大男 agreed to be the hand model for these pics.)

Potatoes, mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, arugula, and spring greens were added in order.

The last bit of love was the balsalmic vinaigrette.

It was the absolute recreation of the sandwich I thought I would never taste again! Oozing with goodness, the depth of the flavors tingling through every bite. Sweet, savory, a little sour...the true test of a good palate.

-吴碧芙

大男-wich

2009-04-30T23:27:00.003-05:00

Last weekend was filled with excitement as I embarked on the fabulous world of my Aural Rehabilitation case study. In reality, it was a project that I dreaded and had to drag myself kicking and screaming to complete. I did work on it over the weekend...kind of...when I wasn't feeling sorry for myself and napping. It was another study date, with study snacks and study food, albeit a bit more upscale than our old dorm room fare.

文大男 made walnut pesto and bought the fancy ciabatta loaf. He got coop-fresh unpasteurized cheddar cheese, fresh spring greens, and tomatoes. Artichoke hearts. Need I say more? (click photo for super detail)

It was deliculous! (delicious + ridiculous) It reminded me of my favorite sandwich, served by the Wildflower in Phoenix and Sedona. The Roasted Sweet Potato Sandwich includes roasted sweet potatoes, fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, arugula, fig confit, and balsamic vinaigrette.

-吴碧芙

Weird Food

2009-04-24T19:10:00.002-05:00

I've often thought that garlic ice cream would be good. There's something about the bite of the garlic with sweetness of the ice cream that sounds interesting. However, since coming back from China, ice cream has been less interesting to me--along with ice water, ice cream is just too cold, and it doesn't give me an overwhelming feeling of bliss, like it used to.

A while ago, I heard about a chocolate bar flavor on NPR. I saw it, and, I must admit, made an impulse buy at the checkout of World Market. I tried it a little apprehensively, but it turned out to be just wonderful. It was on clearance, so I suppose other customers don't listen to NPR and/or aren't as brave.

If you've tried Mayan cocoa or brownies, with cayenne and cinnamon, you might understand the concept behind curry and chocolate. The curry is milder than the cayenne, though, and hits a little lower on the palate. The coconut gives a nice texture. One small piece is satisfying, so the bar has lasted me this whole week, and I still have 1/4 left.

What weird foods or combinations strike your fancy?

-吴碧芙

Fancy Feasting

2009-04-20T21:04:00.009-05:00

I feel a change in the tide. Although it's still cold outside, it feels like those Iowa City springs when I would eat cucumbers with salt for dinner, while my roommate and I admired the sky, aglow at sunset. In grad school, I walked some slightly brisk nights, with a tomato in my pocket, for a barbecue with some vegetarian friends. That was how I found out that asparagus is, in fact, palatable. My friend would barbecue it and brush it with Italian dressing.

As another sign of spring, last week I decided to try going to the gym downtown. This new gym, which so far has made my most obscure muscles ache, caters to a more sophisticated crowd than the free student fitness center and includes classes ranging from belly dancing to "Michelle Obama Arms." It's nice to get back into the swing of things.

When I say I want something 文大男 uses some magic and makes it happen. Remembering barbecues in grad school, I suggested a barbecue date. He owns an actual, real barbecue machine...uh, I mean grill...which makes him "very man," as we might say in China. We had Quorn chicken on the grill with BBQ sauce. I made Turkish marinated chickpea salad (middle), and he made some barley salad with onion, cucumbers, and artichoke hearts. (click to enlarge)

This weekend was our very productive "study date." Along with the date came your usual study foods, such as pizza, crackers and cheese, and fruit salad that I had a hankering for. The fruit salad had grapes, cantaloupe, strawberries, kiwi, and mango.

It looked like a rainbow, so we had to take a picture.

-吴碧芙

Yes I Can!

2009-04-17T15:34:00.002-05:00

It's been a few crazy weeks of homework and trying to organize my life. I had to decide on a grad. school by Wednesday. I had kind of made my decision, all except the final step of putting my signature on the paper and handing it in. Since it's now written in stone, the Internet can also know that I'm staying put for next year. I'll be in the same apartment complex, but I got an opening for a one-bedroom apartment. I'll be moving a few doors down at the end of May.

With the decision behind me, I feel a little more relaxed and more able to enjoy the grueling weeks ahead as the semester winds to a close.

Kavi likes to climb. In fact, I think he prefers it to flying. I made a video of him climbing from the floor to the couch. I think you can really see the decision-making process in his mind, as he eventually decides to go for it. Blogger is not cooperating again, so I'm providing a link.
"Yes I Can!" Video

-吴碧芙

Kitchen Witch

2009-04-07T19:07:00.004-05:00

Perhaps in some ways uglier than my mom's kitchen witch, the one I sniped on ebay finally arrived. I hung her up over the sink. Since then, my cooking has been going well. This weekend I made veggie chili that 文大男 said was absolutely amazing. I added the secret ingredient: Lard (just kidding).

My mom's had little felt feet and a dark blue dress. Her face was grey with a long nose. The new-fashioned ones have cute names like Tiddly Tabitha and pretty faces, with kitchen gadgets hot glued to their dresses. I was deathly afraid of witches as a kid, but not of the kitchen witch, although I thought it was kind of weird to hang it over the sink like that.

-吴碧芙

Cue the Halleluia Chorus

2009-03-30T21:15:00.005-05:00

This time I tried hand mixing, turned the oven up about 10 degrees, used a bigger scoop, and made sure my pan was cool. Mine look different because I also added blended oatmeal, but they spread and baked evenly, at least on one of my pans. The other pan yielded the less spread, dark bottomed cookies, even though they were better than Trials 1 and 2.

Although I'd like to try again, I think I better take a cookie detox first.

For those who wondered if "Big Cow" might be insulting: It was between that and Da Niao (Big Bird). I'm assured by my distinguished colleague that Da Niu is a real name--the Chinese equivalent of Aloisius, in that, yes, it's a name, but old, rare, and kind of weird.

-MsLin

Secret Cookies

2009-03-29T21:07:00.005-05:00

I went to DBF for a personal lesson in cookie making. From the softness of the butter to the size of the cookie scoop, I tried to notice things that he did differently from me. Not much that seemed relevant was different. I observed every moment, and noted, in my mind, what he did. He didn't do the hokey pokey, burn incense, or pray to the cookie gods. Yet, the result was way better than mine. Compare:

So, I may have to face the music on this one: cookies are not something that I can make really well. Yes, I made a new batch when I got home tonight. I even mixed it by hand, but it doesn't look like his dough, so I'm already sure it won't be as good.

Today, after much suspense, I successfully sniped a kitchen witch on Ebay. As the time ticked down to 30 sec, I placed my bid and won. It is ugly like my mom's, and it has a green dress. I'm hoping that this will solve my cookie problems.

We also gave DBF a Chinese name: 文大牛, which means Big Cow (Da Niu) Wen. :)

-MsLin

If at first you don't succeed...

2009-03-22T10:42:00.002-05:00

DBF has the best cookie recipe. He's made some for me, and they are the perfect amount of chewy, with a flavor of store-bought ready-to-bake dough cookies, without the store-bought preservative flavor. So, I asked for the recipe, including the secret ingredient, which he has developed. He emailed me the recipe, and I tried to make it yesterday. They turned out horribly (left cookie). After 8 min., I saw that the edges were crispy and the middles were raw. The end result was a cookie with a gooey center and lacy dark edges. They were inedible. He's out-of-town, so I called to ask what I could've done wrong. After some conversation and internet inquiries for "cookie problems," we finally arrived at the truth of the matter, which was that he had typed "1 tsp. soda," but the actual ingredient is "1 tsp. baking powder."

I tried the right recipe this morning. They didn't turn out like his, but a vast improvement (right cookie). And now we know what happens if you use baking soda instead of baking powder. I feel like I should get a girl scout badge for this little experiment.

-MsLin

Whirling around DC

2009-03-16T14:16:00.003-05:00

Last week was Spring Break, and I spent it in DC visiting my old roommate. I was only there for 5 days, but I saw a lot. Of course, I could definitely go back and see all new things. We took a walk around the memorials and the capitol. I had a tour of the capitol and heard the lecture at the Supreme Court. I saw the Constitution at the National Archives.

The weather was beautiful and warm. A couple of days I didn't even need a coat. Here I am walking to the Jefferson Memorial.

The FDR Memorial is pretty interesting, divided into sections that represent his four terms in office, with plenty of photo opportunities. I did the obligatory pose while petting Fala. (click pic for larger image)

I was definitely the Country Mouse. I didn't even wear my own shoes or carry my own handbag around the city. We made sushi one night, made Thai noodles another, went out for fresh guacamole made table-side, went out for Greek tapas, and drank wine with bread and cheese (lemon Stilton was the ultimate) every night before dinner.

-MsLin

Love is in the Air

2009-03-04T12:40:00.004-06:00

The days are getting longer, and the birds seem to have noticed the scent of spring. They have started vying for the attention of any available female birds, and finding none, started vying for the attention of any available female of any species. Finding my attention divided (or tri-vided, as the case may be), they started vying for each other's attention. Finding themselves to be uncomfortable with that prospect, they cycle back to looking for female birds. Roscoe, in particular, has been updating his eharmony profile, starting with "talents: able to whistle loudly in high pitches and flap wings at the same time." He started doing this while Kavi was sitting on my knee on the couch, and he was alone on top of the cage.

Blogger has been tetchy about uploading vids, so I'm linking to my YouTube this time:
"Roscoe the Stud" Vid It's a little dark, but you get the idea.

-MsLin

Hearts and Crafts

2009-02-14T08:02:00.004-06:00

Valentine's rolled around again, and this year, I decided to make wrapping paper and other stuff out of magazine pages. I wrapped a little non-Valentine's gift in some really nice perfume ads. I wanted to make an origami bow, but decided to make a heart instead.

I'm not a big Valentine's person, with hideous bears holding heart-shaped pillows, heart-shaped boxes of chocolate, red roses, and spoony couples. On one hand, if you are unattached, all of the Valentine's junk is there to rub it in your face. On the other hand, if you are attached, all of that stuff seems cliche, and the holiday seems completely made up and redundant if you already have a unique anniversary. Even with these strong anti-Valentine's convictions, it falls on a Saturday this year, so I'm going out. Of course, there are errands and homework to do first.

-吴碧芙

Bring on the Spice

2009-02-08T19:10:00.009-06:00

Since moving, I haven't been impressed with the selection of Chinese food in SD. SD "spicy" is Asian "mild" at best. I just missed some things, especially Chinese hot pot. On Saturday, we checked out the secret Chinese store, where we found lots of goodies, including "real deal" chili oil, frozen lotus baozi, sachima, tofu skin balls, and spicy hot pot mix.

After a veggie stop at a regular grocery store, we were ready to cook. A little gas burner, enameled iron pot, water, spice mix, and veggies made this Chinese fondue. Between coughs and with our eyes watering, we commented on how wonderful it was...and how spicy. Compare to the Chinese Hot Pot in a previous entry.

The really BIG find was prickly ash or numbing pepper. At the secret Chinese store, I decided to ask the owner because we hadn't found it by just wondering around. She didn't speak Chinese, but she took me all over the store and showed me black and white peppercorns, frozen Thai peppers, and finally (what looked like) numbing pepper in a bag. I added some to the hot pot, and it was definitely the right thing. (click images for larger views)

-吴碧芙

The Cat Came Back

2009-02-01T21:49:00.007-06:00

On Saturday, I took a Date to the fine arts center on campus, where there is a photography exhibit going on right now called "Dreams of a Fortune Teller." I didn't know what to expect, but it was really good. The artist collected antique fortune telling artifacts from all over the world, and arranged them in 400 different photos, each photo with a fortune written below it. (Actually, I don't know if all 400 photos were actually displayed, but there were a lot.) The viewer is supposed to only read the fortune under the photo that they are drawn to. We looked at all of the photos, and kept in mind which ones we were drawn to, and then we went back and read our fortunes. It was really unique and fun, but neither of us were impressed with our fortunes.

Finding Rainbows

2009-01-14T19:46:00.007-06:00

After a short holiday hiatus, with too many emotional twists and turns to mention on the open Web, I'm starting my first blog of the year. I'm a little older, a little wiser, and I'm looking for small signs of hope and happiness.

After one of my many blunders two weeks ago, I was driving down the highway at night. As I looked over at the moon, I saw something rare and amazing. I've seen sun dogs before, but this was "moon dogs." On a cold night, with a full moon, where there are crystals in the air, the light around the moon takes on the shape of an elongated diamond. Arcs of light appear on both sides. The arcs are the most visible portions of a halo that forms around the moon. I didn't have my camera with me, but this website has a pretty good picture.

I went to my parents' this weekend. I needed to go back to the familiar, to see what hasn't changed. As I drove home this afternoon, I saw a small rainbow projected among and within the clouds.

Please take the poll. It's a new and interesting Google gadget I'm trying out.

-MsLin

Seating for Two

2008-12-16T17:34:00.004-06:00

Well, when I moved to SD, I thought to myself: I'll scrimp and save. I don't need to buy a big bed when there's a single bed in my parents' basement. I don't need more than one comfortable chair when I don't have a roommate or any friends in SD, who might want to sit down while visiting me.

It turned out that I did meet a friend who wanted to sit down while visiting me. Since I only had one chair, he decided to sit on my exercise ball, and to sit next to him, I decided to sit on my footstool. This situation being less than ideal, I decided to invest in seating for two.

I found a sale item on Target.com, and asked my brother to talk me into or out of ordering it. In the end I ordered it because it seemed like a small thing that would be easy to disassemble and move, and because it was my favorite color and on sale.

My apartment manager said that they don't accept packages for tenants, so I figured it would be a dilemma to be around to receive the package. But last Monday, when I returned from class, this big box sat inside my apartment. It was big enough to hold the notorious "leg lamp" from A Christmas Story. I'm still thinking of making a fort out of the box.

It was difficult to assemble...That's all I'm going to say about that.

It ended up working out ok, though. It's a very green little couch, with two black ottomans that slide under the seat.

I think it's cute, but nobody else has seen it or sat on it. The birds like to hop around on it, but we're being careful not to get spills and droppings on it. Target.com reviewers said it's prone to water spotting.

-吴碧芙

Mad Hatting Skills

2008-12-07T16:29:00.002-06:00

I learned to knit because I needed a hat. My first project might have been a hat, if I hadn't thought that it would be too complicated for myself as a beginner. The yarn is Lamb's Pride again in colors "clematis" and "sea foam." I wanted the hat to kind of match the scarf, apart from the color, so my friend sent a ribbed hat pattern she found on someone's blog.

Perhaps the coolest is the decreases, which causes some of the ribs to come to a point in the back.

This blog is becoming too showcase-y.

-吴碧芙

Re-Finished

2008-11-23T12:05:00.003-06:00

I finished my first scarf, wore it, and decided I wanted to make it longer. I thought I would want to wrap it around multiple times in the SD winter. On Friday I was finally able to go to the yarn shop in Sioux Falls to get the seafoam color to add to the ends. So I finished it again, much to the disappointment of Kavi and Roscoe, who thought it was a comfy perch. It's about 8 feet long. The yarn is Lamb's Pride (from Nebraska sheep) bulky weight, which has wool and mohair.

I learned Continental style, which is much faster, and easier on the hands. I cast on a new scarf right away, this one in "cafe au lait," "sand dollar," and "blue magic" worsted weight Lamb's Pride with smaller needles. This is step two in the knitters' evil plan to get me to knit socks against my will.

-吴碧芙

Fire Dragon Fruit

2008-11-14T23:51:00.002-06:00

My parents are on tour. Coming back from Texas, they took a turn over to my place, bringing me a "fruit truck." The most wonderful and exotic fruits, which they remembered I liked from when they visited me in China. I have lots of pomelos now. I have a yali pear and fragrant pears.

One of the most exciting was the fire dragon fruit. In China the meat was white with little black seeds, but the taste is the same. Last Easter, I tried to use the bright skin to dye Easter eggs, but they turned out light grey and ugly.

I was squealing as I cut open one of them for breakfast this morning. The birds probably thought I was crazy, but that wouldn't be anything new for them.

-吴碧芙

Blow, blow thou, Winter Wind!

2008-11-07T23:24:00.004-06:00

Xue le! (It snowed!)

Western SD got a lot of snow this week. We got this much, but I'm not complaining. This is the first snow I've seen since Jan. 2007. The wind is cold, and I haven't finished my scarf yet. I can't start my hat until I finish my scarf, but today I thought I better just give up and buy one. The wind blew into my ears and felt like a knife. At times the wind was so strong while I was walking home that I couldn't bare to face it, and it was difficult to stand straight. It's very very cold!

-吴碧芙

在南大口塔有柚子!! (South Dakota has pomelos!!)

2008-11-03T19:11:00.008-06:00

红色的柚子!! (Red pomelos!!) I went to HyVee to get some Election Day food (read: beer...just kidding). I usually check for pomelos, not really expecting, but hoping, to see some. Today I saw some! I wanted to buy out the store, but I just bought two.

For those who are pomelo newbies: The first time I had a pomelo in China, I was visiting a colleague who had some students visiting her. They handed me a section of pomelo, and I ate it as it was. I pleasantly said how good it was, when in fact, I thought it was terribly tough and like eating leather. The problem was that I didn't open the white "skin" that covers each section. On the picture, you can see one portion which is pink and shiny, while the other portion is white and veiny. You want to eat sections from which the white veiny part has been peeled off. With my colleague and students, I was relieved when I watched someone else eat a section, peeling off the skin. I started eating a few sections at every meal, and pomelos became my favorite fruit. I thought it would be quite some time before I could eat one again, but SD went beyond my expectations.

-吴碧芙

Stress and Flowers

2008-10-26T01:02:00.003-05:00

Last week was one of the busiest of this semester. The biggest thing was that I had the GRE on Saturday. So, between studying for my Audiology exam and trying to cover some extra hours at work, I tried to prepare for the GRE. There was a nice surprise on Friday, when my family sent me a fall bouquet.

Saturday morning I decided to order an omlette from the greasy diner down the road. I asked them for one without meat and without mushrooms, but neither of these was completely honored. There were two chunks of ham and tons of mushrooms to pick out. I cut up a melon and took that along for a quick healthy lunch.

As I got on the road to the testing center in Sioux Falls, I found that three trucks were trying to transport plane parts using our on-ramp. Nothing was moving. I thought I would be late. Hilarity ensued as I thought, "Hey, I'll go south for a bit, find an overpass, and change directions." However, the next overpass is about 15 miles down the road. By the time I illegally turned around in an 'only authorized maintenance vehicle' driveway, the planes were long gone.

I was shaking when I finally found the testing center. I was on my game though, and in the analytical writing section, I wrote about art from the Chinese Cultural Revolution and "BodyWorld." For the latter, I wrote that the popularity of the exhibit "reveals society's fascination with the macabre." I'll have to wait for the writing scores, but the verbal and quantatative are given immediately. I improved my score by 25% over 5 years ago. Yeah! Take that, 5 Years Ago Me!!

After that, I went shopping. I found Lambic Framboise (Belgian raspberry beer) at World Market and bought all they had except one bottle. I got a few bath things and essentials. I wanted to take myself out for good Chinese food, but none of the restaurants looked so delicious.

That was my week. Thanks for reading!
- 吴碧芙

Kavi the Flirt

2008-10-15T09:54:00.003-05:00

When Kavi is happy, he holds his wings a little away from his body, purrs, talks, and knocks his bead against things. Although this vid is not as interesting, Kavi is so cute. I never see Roscoe doing head bobs. He prefers hopping and screeching in Kavi's ears, but I think those are signs that he's feeling good.

My friend taught me how to knit on Saturday. I learned knit and pearl, pulled it out a few times, and finally decided to make a ribbed scarf. It's about 6 inches long by now. She taught me English knit, but I'll probably switch to Continental because of crochet interference. Knitting is magic to me because I don't yet completely understand how all of these motions end up making a piece that looks like this:

We had "drunken knitting" at a pizza place last night. The lack of Fat Tire discouraged me from actually drinking beer, but everyone was amazed that I'm such a quick study.

-吴碧芙

Martha Mags

2008-10-10T23:25:00.003-05:00

I decided to make some magnets today, mostly a repair and improvement mission. I saw these on Martha (on one of the few times I watched the show) a few years ago. I made some of them then, but I didn't use a strong glue, so they were a little fragile. I got some E6000 glue this time, which I'm hoping will work better.

It involves gluing a paper circle to a flat gem and then gluing a strong magnet to the paper. The result is a high-profile, highly adorable and personalized magnet. I used some scrapbooking paper, which I got with my aunt. Heavy-ish paper works well because the glue might soak through the regular stuff. For these, I actually don't know if the magnets are strong enough to handle the weight of the gems, or if the glue is strong enough to hold everything together. If this works, you may be finding a set of these in your Christmas stocking.

This is Homecoming weekend. I have to work on Saturday, but it should be busy and fun. People keep telling me that it's going to be crazy, and that I shouldn't try to go grocery shopping this weekend. Having lived in IC and China, I have my doubts that I'll be overwhelmed by the amount of people, but I might be surprised.

-吴碧芙

All signs point to normal...

2008-10-06T17:26:00.002-05:00

I go to McDonald's every other Monday morning (...for the past three weeks). Today I ordered the wrong thing: a McGriddle instead of a biscuit. I ended up getting a plain biscuit to replace the McGriddle portion. Who makes a breakfast sandwich out of two pancakes with some kind of syrup-like sugary substance baked into them? Not that a biscuit is any better, but at least it's not sugary.

Today in my Intro. class, we did audiometry, otoscopy, and tympanography on each other. I got a nice little tidy printout of my tympanogram.

Tympanography measures, through air pressure, the flexibility of the ear drum. The ear drum will not move as much if you have fluid in your middle ear or if you have other middle ear problems. I don't know how to read them, but basically, they shouldn't look flat. I think the point was to try it out and know what it feels like, not to really learn how to do it.

My hearing on the audiometer showed sensorineural hearing loss, but there were a number of factors that made the test invalid, like noise in the room and possible misplacement of bone conduction thingies.

Note on the Oct. 3rd vid: Kavi (on our right) is saying "Kavi" and doing the dog call whistle. He does a little of "The Iowa Fight Song" at the very end. Roscoe (on our left) is doing the wolf-whistle almost the whole time.

-吴碧芙

Kavi Sings

2008-10-03T20:09:00.005-05:00

Today I had a paper due and an exam. After that I did a file review for homework in another class. All these tasks meant that I didn't get home until 5:00 pm today. When I was in China, I tried to try something new every day. Life in any new place, where you don't know many people and you don't know all the good places, can get a little boring and depressing. My something new today was to go check out the fitness center, which is located in this cute little stadium they have here. I got a good EFX workout while reading Bitch. The fitness center is free to students, and everyone knows how much I love my EFX.

When I came back, I needed a shower. Since I had noticed that Kavi's voice seems to get better with moist air, I let the birds sit on the counter, but they eventually flew up and perched on the curtain rod.

Kavi's voice goes in and out, sometimes he sounds like he has something stuck in his throat and can only make popping peep noises. Other times, his voice is low and scratchy. Occasionally, he says, "Hi Kavi," in his usual high and pure chirpy voice. Since he's been with me, he hasn't done any whistling, presumeably because he can't, or it hurts his throat. I whistle his favorite songs to him anyway.

When I got out of the shower, I heard the old chirpy voice say, "Hi Kavi...I love you...Pretty Birdy...Kavi whistle...C'mon." He started whistling, just like he used to, and I ran to get a quick vid. Kavi is on the right side of the picture. You can hear Kavi saying his name, making kissing noises, and whistling the Iowa Fight Song toward the end of the vid. Roscoe is also whistling, which is strange for him, as he usually screeches or makes vocal calls. I haven't been this excited since baby Bucket used the litter box.

This video is also available on YouTube under "Kavi Sings" for the blogospherely challenged.

-吴碧芙

Roscoe Pitches a Tent

2008-09-16T12:23:00.002-05:00

I've been trying to capture this video for the past few days, with good lighting, and without distracting the star of the show. This is one of Roscoe's favorite games, and he will hide under the paper for a few minutes at a time, singing, before climbing out again.

I had an interview today, which went well, I think. I'm going to observe the job on Thursday, to see if I think I will like it.

-吴碧芙

What's there to do around here?

2008-09-11T21:57:00.003-05:00

I've had classes for almost two weeks. My Tuesdays and Thursdays are free, and I haven't yet found a job, but I have some exciting prospects. Still, these days I'm finding my life more boring with a lot of time to think. Last week the weather was quite cold, so I decided to make a scarf, which I finished on Monday. Today I made a necklace, having finally acquired some daisy beads.

Today I studied at a coffee shop for about 3 hours. I came home and decided to use some of the beads I bought with my aunt just before I moved. It was my first attempt with a three-stranded necklace, but my crimp beads weren't big enough to allow six wires, so it's two strands.

The birds are well. I wish I had it on video, but I couldn't get it fast enough. Roscoe went down to the bottom of the cage and started chewing the paper. Then he started rolling up the top sheet. He jumped off the paper, onto the next sheet, and allowed the top paper to unroll on top of him, covering him completely. Kavi and I looked at each other, but Roscoe was happy, whistling from under the paper, and popping his head up every once in a while, causing the paper to pop up with him. I finally lifted the paper up and let him out.

-MsLin

Two Birdies

2008-09-04T09:48:00.006-05:00

Well, I moved to SD on Saturday and started classes yesterday. Classes seem good, but undergrad classes have a lot of work in them. I got Kavi back, along with his friend Roscoe. Both are sweet, but Roscoe is kind of a stinker. His mischief is cute, though. I let them out whenever I'm home. They have clipped wings, but Roscoe flies with no problem, I guess he just figures he has to try a little harder, but it works. They mimic each other and like to be in the same room at least. When Roscoe flew into my bedroom and didn't know where he was, he screamed and Kavi screamed back, although that was the only time I've heard Kavi scream these days. Kavi might have an infection, and he's been quiet but affectionate lately.

Kavi (left) and Roscoe

This morning I let them stay on the counter in the bathroom while I was getting ready. Roscoe checked out the sink, but then they both sat on the counter, and Kavi preened Roscoe. I thought I would check out the video feature on blogger and let you see how cute they are. If the video doesn't work, I'm including a still.

Roscoe wants Kavi to preen him all the time, but Roscoe doesn't like to be petted by people. Kavi will take a pet from anyone. It's what one might call the "chain of preening."

I don't have internet or TV at my apartment. I'm at the library now with plans to buy my books after this. I've already met a few people on campus through the International Student Group. One of the international students is a returning student like me, so we have some of the same classes.

-MsLin

I'm never...

2008-08-23T16:47:00.003-05:00

There are many times when I say, "I'm never..." but the trend seems to be that I always end up doing the thing I thought I would never do. Like going to China to teach English, and eating a river snail, and being a vegetarian. Add to the list: Owning a car that isn't a Chevy. Two weeks ago, my dad and I decided to look for a car for me because SD is 5 hours away, which is just long enough that anyone who would come pick me up would have to stay overnight before driving home. SD is also, I hear, crazy cold in the winter, so a car will be better for errands and emergency runs to Sioux City when I can't bear it any longer.

We did some research on consumer reports and Edmund's. I had driven a few cars, but we found a 2005 Elantra with low mileage, which seemed kind of perfect. The 2005 Elantra is the used car "best bet," and it's considered to be pretty reliable. Besides...look how pretty!

Perhaps you remember when I wantonly threw out my favorite shoes in China. It was really sad, but I got some new shoes, which are better, if only because the soles aren't falling off. Actually, I think these shoes are a bit more awesomer because they have different colors of brown and stylish stitching on the toe area.

New car, new shoes, new school...and coming soon: two birdies!

-吴碧芙

Stepping Out

2008-08-16T18:54:00.003-05:00

My old roommate and I were busting up Iowa City this weekend. Things have changed, but things are also the same. There is a feeling to IC, which can't be described. It seemed that almost everything was the same, including some of the people we saw, people who have been walking the streets probably every day since we were in school. Shock highlights included the empty store front where Baldy's used to be, flood damage, and many new buildings.

We, of course, had dinner at Masala, and spent the rest of the night at, of course, Dublin Underground. The evening included us, ex's, ex-band members, and a few surprises. When we got hungry, we skipped out to Marco's Grilled Cheese cart and George's Gyros cart. We took over the jukebox, and played the less-known alternative and indie songs. In the morning we had breakfast at, of course, the Java House, where they make a Tahitian Coffee that can't be beat. We walked around checking out downtown, and we eventually went to the Co-op to get those few hard-to-find items (Coconut oil was on sale).

After the Co-op, I met my friend and her four-year-old for lunch at a Mexican restaurant. Then, I went to the best HyVee ever, where I used to work. They had gerbs, buy one get one free, and I couldn't resist.

I miss IC...It was good as escapism, at least for two days...Now I'll be going back to Starbucks coffee and beer to drown my sorrows.

-MsLin

TAC (Thursday After Class)

2008-07-09T18:11:00.003-05:00

Looking through my China photos, I found the pictures from our last group barbecue. We used to go every Thursday after class, around 9pm, to have barbecue at the university's East Gate, where there was also a smoothie stand and the small restaurants that we frequented. Everyone would meet for beer and things barbecued on sticks, ordered with the instruction yidian la ("a little spicy"). This stand appeared in the evening and was completely open to the air. The blades of the fans were missing, and instead metal wires with plastic bags attached to the ends spun on the fan apparatus to keep the flies away from the food. The grill was next to the stand, also open to the air, with an exhaust fan to the side of it, in order to draw the smoke away from the customers.

I liked that there were enough vegetarian food choices in the stands, including tofu skin that was wonderful with the spice mixture on it.

My food (above) from top to bottom (kind of): tofu skin, sprouted garlic shoots (green), mantou (bread rolls), cilantro wrapped in tofu skin, green peppers (underneath).

The owner always remembered who ordered what, and how much they owed, so we could pay at the end of the evening if we wanted. We sat at metal folding tables and plastic patio chairs under a tarp, and wait for the food we chose to be delivered to the table.

Last Thursday I was traveling. This Thursday I will miss the weekly barbecue and all of my friends from China.

-吴佩芙

The Leaning Tower of Lianzhou

2008-07-01T02:31:00.006-05:00

The two cousins accompanied me to Lianzhou and we stayed with their older sister. The evening of the first day we ate snacks by the river. This was where I tried a snail, which is a local specialty. I ate one, and it was ok, but sucking on the snail and biting off the head to eat seemed more disturbing than the idea of eating snail in the first place, so I didn't try it again, but at least I tried it once.

The second famous attraction in Lianzhou is the leaning tower. It seems to have been built with some kind of Buddhism in mind, but the exact reason is not completely clear. It leans slightly because of a problem with the foundation years after it was built.

At the top levels the stairways and passages get shorter and narrower, but high on the top-most level there is one of the best views of the city.

After returning from Lianzhou to Guangzhou, I stayed for two nights with Cousin James, who has an apartment there. We had dinner with his girlfriend on both nights and we spent Monday looking around the city, where I bought an English book for the trip back to the US, and we had the best foot massage ever for 40 RMB.

I took the early bus today, back to Shantou where I had to start again with bartering for a cab after just stepping off the bus. Now I'm at my apartment and getting ready for the inspection and check-out procedure tomorrow before flying home on Thursday!!

-吴佩芙

A Time for Spelunking

2008-07-01T01:44:00.009-05:00

I just returned from a visit with the cousins to Lianzhou, which is a small city in Guangdong Province. I went from Shantou to Guangzhou first. Despite the "theifs and racketeers" my student warned me about, I found Guangzhou to be a nice city, although a little large. I waited for the first cousin at the mall, and then we met the other cousin at the bus station, where we hopped the 5-hour fast bus to Lianzhou.

Every city has it's own claims to fame, and Lianzhou has the Subterranean River. It is a huge cave with amazing rock formations, so far down into the ground that the cousins joked that if you went much further, you could go to America.

Just looking down from the entrance, as we waited for a guide, was pretty amazing. It's called the "Big Mouth Cave," because the cousins explained the opening of the cave looks like a big mouth. Their four-year-old niece was a little frightened by the size of it. It's true, though, that it looked like the mouth of Monstro (the whale who swallowed Pinocchio).

The bottom left formation is called a "lotus flower," and the pieces really look like the petals of a flower. We walked up and down staircases for 40 min. and the tour ended with a 20 min. boat ride on the small cave river.

-吴佩芙

I'm no longer afraid of spiders...

2008-06-23T21:00:00.005-05:00

...except the kinds that eat birds, which my distinguished colleague reminds me are prevalent in the mountains and hills of this area. However, I have a few jumping spiders in my apartment, whom I have asked to jump under something so that I can't see them anymore. So we live happily in this way. Sometimes I jump when I see one, but the jump is followed by the thought: It's just a spider! Thank goodness!

We have geckos here too, more than in Arizona, but I don't mind those either. If I see one scurrying across the floor, the same thought goes through my mind: It's just a gecko. And I call it "Baby bi hu (house lizard, 壁虎）" and talk to it in Chinese. I usually pick it up and put it out on the front balcony.

In China, small harmless spiders are a small harmless worry when there are 2-inch roaches threatening to squeeze through the cracks and streak across the room when you turn on the lights. Roaches give me the heebie-jeebies (a word that I taught my students during a slang warm-up this semester). Even thinking about them makes me jump and have formications.

A few weeks ago, as I was walking to ACC to work out I saw a glitter of gold on the ground. This was the first day of sun after a few days of rain. I looked down to see a iridescent beetle, stuck on his back and flailing to flip over. I grabbed a leaf and turned him over. It was the most beautiful natural thing I had ever seen, mixed specks of gold on a background of emerald green that sparkled in the sun like a gem. I grabbed a piece of paper with the intent to wrap him up, go work out, and then take him home to take a picture. However, a slow and steady escape artist, he worked through the folds in a few minutes and flew away before I could put him back inside. I lamented that I wasn't able to take a picture, and would probably never see another more stunning insect ever again.

Today I went to exercise early, and on my way back, I saw the iridescent beetle again, on the ground. This time I wrapped him in a towel, but as I was arranging this, a man who swept the streets took an interest and came over to see. He picked up the beetle off my towel and started shaking it around. I thought he was going to crush it. "No, wo yao! Ack! No, no, no.." He said something like "Bu yao dinxin" and put it back on the towel. I have no idea what he said, maybe "You don't want to touch it," or "You don't want a beetle," or "You don't want to capture it." As I rewrapped it and started walking home, the sweeper laughed and shook his head: Crazy laowai!

Well, I did get my picture, and the beetle is still alive on the balcony, although I'm hoping he will fly away before the cleaners come today.

-吴佩芙