Monday

The morning fog burned off and the sky was blue today, which is a big deal for the SF residents on the west side.  For about three weeks, we didn't see the sun.  I was reaching my breaking point...

So I changed my plan and after running some errands, Dash and I spent all day outside in the yard...

With some snacks, both for me and him.  See what he is staring at? 

No, he is not drunk.  I was.  No, I'm just kidding...

There is nothing better than taking a nap on the grass...

What? 

Chips right out of the oven. Cut corn tortillas in triangles, coat with some canola oil, and bake in the oven at 425 degrees for about 12 minutes... 

The boy's after school snack is ready... 

Now, time for dinner prep...brown all sides of the marinated meat and finish it in the oven with some veggies.  For this marinade, I mixed it with some soy sauce, honey, red wine, fresh lime and orange juice, pressed garlic, and crushed red peppers...

Okay, now let the oven do the job.  Roast for 10 minutes at 425 degrees, take out the meat, cover it with tin foil and let it rest.  Continue roasting the veggies until done...

Yum, the meat was juicy and perfectly cooked.  I did a good job today :-)  Hope you had a good day too...

Camping in the Woods Prints

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

going into the woods is meditating...

Sew & Tell

I'm always a big fan of sack style totes.  And this one that Nari made is totally my taste.  She used heavy cotton so she didn't have to line it.  It's simple and easy, but she put a little twist to show her creativity.  Along with her choice of fabric, the egg shaped cut-out makes the ordinary tote more modern and artistic.

Now let's talk about Victoria's messenger bag.  She used linen in flax color (my all time favorite) for the exterior and the cute robot print.  Oh, don't we all miss those whimsy half linen/cotton prints from Japan?  I love the red trim against the linen's natural color.  I think it is one of the best color combos. 

Don't you love those red stitches around the buttons?

Oh hey, speaking of Japanese linen/cotton, here is one of them.  Pink ballerinas!  This dress is made by Kathy.  She is such a meticulous sewer.  She always pays so much attentions to detail.  Look at the details on the trims and pockets!  The dress was just a step away from being finished when she stopped by, but I'm sure her daughter made her classmates jealous when she wore it for her first day of school.  Yup, school is in session again.  Congrats to the SF parents.  We survived :-)

It looks like Kanako's wardrobe is getting larger.  Everything she makes is so light and airy.  Again, she is all about Japanese aesthetics.   She made it with a black pencil stripe chevron print.  Just with two buttons on the shoulders, this is an easy peasy shift dress.  It could be dressed up and down depending on how she accessorises it.  Here, she is casually dressed down and looking pretty cute.

 

Thank you much, everyone!  Happy sewing!

Indigo and Village of Miyama

So I just received more indigo prints yesterday (pics coming later) so here are some indigo images I meant to share a while ago...

The images were taken inside this rustic studio located in a rural village of Miyama, about an hour and half outside the city of Kyoto, Japan.  I visited there last Thanksgiving.  Yep, I missed to post about the trip, but while you guys were eating turkeys, we were eating sushi, really :-)  It was a very short trip and mostly to take care of some family businesses but we managed to take a day trip to this beautiful green village.  Shame on me, I had never visited there when I was living in Kyoto.  It was packed with history, and it was simply beautiful! 

About the half of the houses in this village were 300-400 years old, and the village itself has been designated as a national historic preservation...

The village is nationally known for thatched roof houses, and currently 29 out of 68 houses still are keeping its traditional style roof.  I heard that it is costly and needs a lot of work to take care of that, but the village is doing an excellent job to keep its national treasure...

Each house usually consists of a few compounds...

In the old days this area was abundant with those fuzzy plants (on the left hand side in the photo), a material for the roof.  But, nowadays it is hard to collect enough to replace one roof...

When the roof starts to grow moss, it is time to replace it with new thatching...

These pictures in the museum show how to replace it.  As with any traditional artwork,  there are fewer and fewer artisans who will pass this skill on to the next generation...

Every household is required by a law to own a fire hose gun extinguisher in the yard.  Once a year, they hose the roof to wet it in order to prevent a fire...

One house is open to the public as a museum (a little fee required and an English pamphlet available).  An inside view of the roof.  No nails have been used...

A few steps inside the front door is the kitchen...

The living room area.  Serve yourself a cup of tea after the tour...

The boy is sitting in the living room, and behind him is a dinning room or second living space, I suppose...

The bathtub...

As always, people were shorter in the old days...

A urinal, located outside...

Yeah, you guessed it right.  One of the most primitive toilets in the world.  The huge barrel is placed under the square hole.  Do not worry, these parts are not original :-)  They have been reproduced for the museum.  The museum is full of antiques from the Edo Period which ran from 1602 - 1868.  I got so excited to see some letters signed the date of that era...

Japan has a television show just like "Antiques Roadshow."  I wonder how much they are worth :-)

Every household grows vegetables in their yard...

And they sell their produce at an unattended roadside kiosk.  You pick what you want and put some change in a can.  They trust you :-)  Those daikons were $1 per pair.  We bought the pair and ate it as a salad...

The farmers market is open all day long...

The locals operate a food stand.  My dad and the boy were in the crowd buying some croquettes.  Perfect snacks...

The village's rich history, culture, and rustic settings are obviously attracting a lot of people. This small village is a big success in building a self-sustaining community...

A group of people sketching and painting the landscape...

Arts and crafts are part of the village life.  A ceramic exhibition was going on...

This is where we had lunch.  Soba noodles in a hundred year old house...

Everything in this village was retro :-)  Mail boxes in Japan look pretty much like the ones in the States, but this village has an old style...

As every other city, town, and village, there is always Jizo to watch over folks.  I feel humble everytime I see it...

It was November, and there were signs of fall everywhere in the village...

I just loved this huge pot with orange branches...

So we enjoyed the very slow peaceful day.  It was a bit early for the fall leaves, but imagine these mountains in red, yellow, and orange.  It would be gorgeous.  So if you have a chance to visit Kyoto, I highly recommend this village.