mourningdove

In which Hormat plants flowers and makes apple-blossom tea at the old hobbit cottage and Mr. and Mrs. Gosha taste-test the beef filling for Aziza’s saffron dumplings…

Operation Baguette

Last year, I think a bird must have pooped out a wheat berry in the path right *next* to my garden beds (not *in* them for some reason), and against all odds, like a Biblical parable, it sprang up and bore fruit. My mama raised me right enough that I know a head of wheatContinue reading “Operation Baguette”

Letter of Recommendation: Korean Camping Vlogs

So, there’s this whole bizarre and strangely addictive little sub-genre of Korean lifestyle blogs where people go camping overnight. Generally, this is the script: You watch them (most frequently a pretty young woman who’s had a noticeable amount of plastic surgery) set up a tent (frequently one of these amazing inflatable multi-room tents, like aContinue reading “Letter of Recommendation: Korean Camping Vlogs”

In which Gosha takes a bath, helps Aziza with the fire, and steals some strawberries….

youtube.com/watch

Narrowboat Life

There is this amazing network of canals left over from England’s industrial era, and some folks putter around them on super-skinny houseboats called “narrowboats”: I don’t know the exact width, but I’d guess something like 8 feet? Skinny enough to fit through all of the canals at any rate. This charming couple, Kris and Andrew,Continue reading “Narrowboat Life”

Drama Queen/I have Notes For…Doom at Your Service

This show is better than I wanted it to be. I’m not into twoo wuv shows in general, in particular ones whose main plot driver is terminal illness. So, I honestly have no idea why I started watching Doom at Your Service several months back: I suspect it was because I really liked Seo In-gukContinue reading “Drama Queen/I have Notes For…Doom at Your Service”

Uni Iroikas: Tomo Kishida’s Sakiori Project

Sakiori is the Japanese art of making new cloth from torn strips of worn-out clothing. I’ve done a couple of knitted sakiori projects before, like making Christmas tree skirts and table runners out of old sheets. I was looking for some inspiration for what to do with a set of silk pajamas that was splittingContinue reading “Uni Iroikas: Tomo Kishida’s Sakiori Project”

Japan Through the Kitchen Window

This is a great series that NHK (Japan’s official government broadcaster, kind of like PBS in the States) puts on for foreign viewers. This episode is a lovely one about Teshima Island locals’ 40-year campaign to rid their island of industrial waste, with the help of an art festival and home-stays: youtube.com/watch

ESC #36

I ran out of Irish recipes in the old Try file, so for St Patrick’s Day this year, we did a Breton-inspired menu: keeping it in the Celtic family at least…. The Kig Ha Farz was…interesting. I think this recipe from David Lebovitz would have yielded a lighter and fluffier “farz” or buckwheat dumpling. YouContinue reading “ESC #36”

Savannah and Pin Point

I just finished a weekend in Savannah and surrounds, and while I don’t feel I know enough to make a definitive “Weekend in…” post on the city, I can make a few suggestions. Savannah is the Boston of the South, very colonial and conservative, owing in no small part to Sherman delivering the city asContinue reading “Savannah and Pin Point”