Blatherings 2004 Archive

ruth's new book, hashimoto, handwritten entry

Debbie Ohi — Fri, 31 Dec 2004 16:46:21 +0000

Ruth's new book, "Me and My Sister", is available for pre-ordering through Amazon.ca! It's the second book that she's illustrated AND written. I have such a cool sister. Hey, has anyone seen the One Man Lord of the Rings yet? Earlier this week, Jeff and I went to Hashimoto with our friends Mark, Andrew and Jenny. Andrew & Jenny are in town visiting from California. We tend to only go to this upscale kaiseki restaurant about once a year as an extra-special outing because of its price (choice between $100 and $150 meal option, not including alcohol) and location (a remote strip mall in Mississauga), but it's always worth it. Chef-owner Masaki Hashimoto decides on the menu; you just sit there and eat whatever he makes. :-) Andrew kept notes on his Palm about what we were served. He says he missed some details, but we were basically served the following (we opted for the $100 option): - Crab with sudachi in lemon - Pompano & sheephead (ishidai...a type of fish, not from a real sheep) sashimi - Clear soup with monkfish & yuzu (citrus) - Baked persimmon (kakidenga) filled with black codfish, sweet miso, walnuts, eggplant, sweet yam potato. Garnish: smoked salmon, ginko nuts - Winter bamboo, minced chicken, snow peas, ume, carrot. - Burdock tai buckwheat rolls - Sweet rice with chestnut. White miso soup with watercress, shiitake and okra. - Homemade coffee jelly, homemade vanilla ice cream, wild berries. My favourite course was the fourth dish, a baked persimmon filled with blacked codfish, deep-fried walnuts, eggplant, and sweet yam potato. Tender gingko nuts were elegantly speared on pine needles, with a few small cubes of unbelieveably good smoked salmon on the side. After we ate the filling, we ate the persimmon as well. Every serving was exquisitely presented without pretension, and the server (sometimes the chef's wife, sometimes his son) would describe each dish after setting out the plates. Our group was the only table at the restaurant that evening; there was only one other customer, and he sat at the bar. The restaurant itself only has three tables; I wonder if they would have still opened if we had to cancel? We also had sakura-flavoured Okunomatsu sake, which was served chilled. We didn't know the price until we got the bill; the owner's wife asked if we'd like some sake, and we said yes. Instead of bringing the sake in the usual small porcelain containers, she instead brought out the elaborate decorated box, pulled out the container and opened it in front of us. As she poured it, she described how the sake was made in one part of Japan, the special process it was put through to give it its special flavour. We smiled and listened and the same thought was going through all our minds: How much was this bottle of sake going to cost?!? It seemed tacky to ask at that point since we had already committed, so we just went ahead and enjoyed it. It was VERY smooth and did have a unique fragrance; I've never had chilled sake before and enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. At the end of the meal, we found out from the bill that the sake cost $100. Ouch, but we all agreed it was worth it. One of the things I love about Hashimoto's is that I inevitably get to try at least one or two things I've never had before. In this case, it was the sake, coffee jelly and the pompano & sheephead (ishidai) sashimi. I may not like everything that's served (though this time, I enjoyed everything without reservation), but it's always an adventure. I love the anticipation of wondering about what's going to be served next, admiring the colours and arrangement of each dish before starting to eat. This is not a restaurant for the cautious or unadventurous eater, nor is it for someone who's in the mood for simple sustenance, doesn't care about the atmosphere or presentation. Our server noticed some of our party trying to read the Japanese written on the plates beneath one of the courses, example. He translated for us, then told us that the poems were written by the owner's mother as she was hiking through the mountains in Japan. Yes, it was just a small detail, but it was just one of many such details that enhanced the experience for us. And here's the last handwritten Blathering of the year (click here for a bigger image). Happy New Year, everyone!

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tsunami

Debbie Ohi — Thu, 30 Dec 2004 17:40:54 +0000

Amanda and Zoë reading one of Ruth's
books earlier this year.

Thanks *so* much for the Blatherchat and Livejournal support in response to yesterday's Blathering, everyone. I was feeling somewhat freaked about the incident; reading your posts helped. Makes me more determined to take a self-defense course next year. I had resolved to do so this year, but an elbow sprain and resulting tendinitis setback early on nixed that idea. By the way, I've resolved not to make any New Year's Resolutions this year except for the resolution not to make resolutions. I also know I still owe some of you Special Prizes for posting resolutions last year; you will get them eventually, I promise. And no, that's not an official resolution. :-) --- I've been following the coverage of the tsunami disaster. 116,000 dead so far. The number is beyond comprehension for me. Even one death is tragic, forever affecting the lives of the people who cared about that one person...trying to imagine the number of loved ones affected by this tragedy is heartbreaking. Amanda, Scott, and Zoë went to the Canadian Red Cross yesterday to donate funds to tsunami relief. From Amanda: "We are encouraging everyone we know to do the same. $1, $5, $10. It all adds up!" For any who wish to help, here's a partial list of organizations posted on the CNN site. Also, Amazon.com currently enables users to donate directly to the American Red Cross to help in the evacuation of survivors and distribution of first aid (thanks to Mary Ellen Wessels for the heads up). As some of you know, Arthur C. Clarke lives in Sri Lanka, one of the areas affected by the tsunami. The sf author and family are fine; here's a letter he posted yesterday.

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Too paranoid?

Debbie Ohi — Thu, 30 Dec 2004 06:38:48 +0000

I've never been attacked or mugged, but I've heard enough stories in the media that I generally try to be smart about personal safety without obsessing about it. I avoid walking through empty alleys and areas in the city at night if I'm alone, for example, and try to stay aware of my surroundings. After what happened earlier this evening, however, I'm torn between feeling incredibly naive/unprepared and the fear that I'm way too paranoid. Around 10:30 pm, I was heading home after spending some time at my sister's place. I'm lucky enough to live very close to a subway station (at least until we move :-)). Usually I take the direct route out of the subway station onto the street. Because of the cold, this time I decided to take a slightly longer but warmer route that took me through part of an underground passage connecting two shopping malls. I found myself walking behind a man (medium build, looked like he was in his mid-30s, scruffy hair and clothing) carrying a large rucksack; two other people were a ways ahead of him. I barely registered the fact when the couple went through the doors ahead, but definitely noticed the man just ahead of me stopping as soon as the couple had disappeared, and turning around to face me. "Are you familiar with the downtown area?" he asked. Thinking he was just going to ask for directions, I cautiously replied, "Sort of. Why?" He then launched into a long and rambling story about how he had just arrived in the city and wasn't familiar with the area and that he was planning to visit some relatives in Ottawa but found out he needed to take a bus bla bla bla. The "bla bla bla" was me tuning out of his conversation because I suddenly realized that the guy had dropped his rucksack and was walking slowly towards me, fumbling in his pocket and pulling out some id to show me (perhaps to prove he wasn't homeless?). I slowly started backing away and interrupted his story to ask politely but firmly what he wanted. Instead of telling me the point of his story, he continued his rambling but kept moving closer to me as well as glancing up and down the empty hallway. The combination of the last two factors set off alarm bells in my head and I belatedly realized that I had put myself in a position where IF I screamed for help, it was unlikely anyone was going to hear me. I immediately interrupted him again and said, "I'm sorry, but I can't help you if you don't tell me what you want" and with heart pounding, walked quickly around and past him, ready to break into a run if I heard him coming after me. "Fine!" he yelled after me angrily. "Just forget it, then!" A moment later I was up on the street, wondering if I was being overly paranoid. In retrospect, I realize I should have asked him right away to stop moving towards me. I should also have looked more closely at his id to get his name (though that would have meant moving within arm's reach, which I wanted to avoid). And instead of going past him, I should have simply retraced my steps and gone immediately back to the main subway station, where I knew there were people. But most importantly, I should have not been a wimp about the cold and taken the safe route instead of the warm one. But y'know, at the same time, I also feel guilty. What if the stranger's actions were perfectly innocent and he really did need help? To you women out there: What would you have done in my situation? (other than not putting yourself in that situation)

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cartoons and photo graffiti

Debbie Ohi — Wed, 29 Dec 2004 06:08:23 +0000

Finally got around to updating My Life In A Nutshell. Click on the image to go to the main page. Also posted an entry for this week's "Illustration Friday." This week's topic was "magic":

And another handwritten Blathering (see big version here):

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handwritten

Debbie Ohi — Mon, 27 Dec 2004 15:26:51 +0000

I've decided to do a handwritten entry today, so click the image below to see an enlarged version:

For those without easy access to graphics: Today's entry is basically a stream-of-consciousness blathering about nothing in particular, and way too many graphics.

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post-Christmas

Debbie Ohi — Mon, 27 Dec 2004 03:06:03 +0000

I'm sitting in Jeff's home office, which I'm sharing until we move in a couple of weeks. It's nearly 8 pm and pretty dead outside in downtown Toronto. White Christmas lights drape the trees in Metro Square, and I can see the lights of the Paramount Imax/Chapters corner beckoning. I'm half-considering going to see a movie tonight, but I'm more tempted to stay inside where it's warm and cozy, curl up on the couch with a good book (Ruth bought me Jonathan Stroud's The Golem's Eye) and a cup of licorice tea. A Christmas compilation CD is playing on my laptop (thanks, Parki!) and I find myself a bit melancholy this evening, looking out the window and knowing that no matter what house we end up buying, we'll never be able to have a view of the city like the one we have now.

At the same time, I'm looking forward to the change of a residential neighbourhood, a bigger home office, maybe even a small garden where I can inadvertently torture innocent herbs and occasional flower. I had a good Christmas, enjoyed familyholidaystuff. I've uploaded a few photos to Flickr, and you can also click on the photos today for more info. I'm enjoying reading over blog reports of other people's holiday weekends, finding out about different family rituals. I am way behind in e-mail, by the way, thanks for your patience. Hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend!

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Happy holidays!

Debbie Ohi — Fri, 24 Dec 2004 01:49:20 +0000

Off to do holidayfamilystuff. Have a safe and happy holiday season, everyone!

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doodles, UT xmas, first whistle lesson

Debbie Ohi — Thu, 23 Dec 2004 15:11:15 +0000

The first two pictures in today's Blathering are part of The Flying Fire Hydrant collection, which are basically Corel Painter experiments I've been sending to my friend Rand over the past year as my Christmas present to him last year; he had made the mistake of expressing interest in seeing these experimental doodles earlier on :-). Originally I had tried to do this every weekday but it ended up as several times a week instead. A few days ago, I printed up all the pictures I've been sending him and sent them to him so he'll have a hardcopy record. It was a selfish gift since I likely enjoyed it more than he did (some of the pieces I sent him were VERY experimental), plus it motivated me to be more adventurous in trying different styles instead of sticking with the safe and familiar. I've had great fun playing around with Corel Painter this past year, especially as my tendinitis improved and I was able to properly use my Wacom Artpad. The first image was created using the "Reed Pen" and gouache brushes with the "Multiply layers" turned on. The second was done with a "Croquil Pen" brush. You can click on any image to see a bigger version. I find that trying different brushes inspire me to experiment with all kinds of styles. I've been posting some of my experiments in my Flickr Doodles Page, if anyone's interested. You can always find the link by clicking on "PHOTOS" in the lefthand navigation menu on any Blatherings page. While browsing the Flickr Illustration group, I came across a weekly collaboration project called Illustration Friday, which challenges artists (of all different levels of experience) to post an image with a particular theme. The picture I posted for the topic "Home" is at the bottom of the page. I find the project lots of fun, and the images don't tend to take me more than a couple of minutes to draw.

Did a bit of Christmas celebrating with Allison and Jodi yesterday at the Frog & Firkin, where we did our Christmas gift exchange. Thanks, Allison and Jodi, for the lovely gifts! I got some chocolates, teas, a jingle bell snowman ornament and HMV gift certificate from Jodi; Allison gave me a firefly notepad, a sampler CD of Tolkien-inspired songs she's been putting together, and a blue plastic envelope containing a wonderful personalized calendar full of photos that she and I have taken over the past year. Afterward, Jodi went home; Allison and I decided to go see "Kinsey", which we both enjoyed. Also had my first whistle lesson yesterday! Wow, I learned so much in an hour. Karen Light had me play through one of the tunes I've learned (I chose the Swallow Tail reel), then told me what things she can tell I already know, what things she's going to help me work on. She explained some of the different whistle-playing styles, said that she teaches in the style of Mary Bergin, but that in the end I should play in whatever style with which I'm most comfortable. I learned about where to tongue during whistle tunes, two different types of "cuts" (kind of ornamentation), how to do a roll (another kind), where to take a breath during a tune. Also found out that I've been misprouncing the word "Comhaltas"; it should be pronounced as Coltis.

My posting for this
week's Illustration Friday.
Topic: "Home."

She also strongly suggested I get a hand-held tape recorder to tape lessons. Some of the people at the Tranzac session suggested I begin recording sessions, so this has made up my mind. However, I have no idea what type to get; I'd like to spend as little money as possible but I'd also like a handheld recorder that has decent enough quality that I can pick out a tune. Size is also an issue; ideally, I'd like it to be as small as possible. Any suggestions? By the way, several of you have expressed interested in the "Black Book" for sale at my Tranzac session. Once I get my own copy, I'll write up a brief description so you can decide whether to buy one or not. I'll also have to check whether it's available to those not attending the session.

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12 Days Of...

Debbie Ohi — Tue, 21 Dec 2004 21:43:06 +0000

Today's Blathering is a collaboration for Wordgoddess. Topic: "12 Days of..."

12 Days of...

12 people you were grateful were in your life this past year Jeff. My sister and her family. My dad. Luisa. Parki. Allison. Jodi. Rand. Cathy. 11 things from the past year you'd put into a time capsule Irish session at OVFF. Visit to Arizona & Nevada, esp. Briar Patch Inn. Wrapping up my Waiting for Frodo comic and reading the Farewell Guestbook. Hey, just noticed that people are STILL signing it! How very cool. A cottage sunrise. Cottage stargazing with Jeff. My first GAfilk! Enjoyed it so much that I am compelled to go back. Only a few weeks away, woohoo! Can't wait. Our trip to Austria. Going to the Christine Lavin & Tom Paxton concert with Allison. OVFF brunch with Rand. Orkut scrapbook wars with Jeff Bohnhoff. Snuggles and hugs. 10 of the best books you've read and/or movies you've seen from the past year MOVIES: Return of the King (Extended Version), The Incredibles, Finding Neverland, Hero, Shrek 2, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. BOOKS: The Amulet of Samarkand - by Jonathan Stroud, Good Poems - by Garrison Keillor, Jasper Fforde Eyre Affair books (I'm on the third!). (Note: ARGH, I can't remember the books I read earlier in the year...) 9 gifts you'd like to receive (be selfish) Creative stuff made by the giver, like: poetry, music, stories, arts, crafts. Incredibles/Ednastuff. Interesting teas and soaps. Bookmarks. Amazon wish list stuff 8 things from the past year you could have done without Tendinitis. Freezing rain. Sprained elbow. Detached retina. Laser surgery to fix the previous (ok, I couldn't have done without it but I'd rather have done without it, if you get my drift). Stress / blues. Heartache. Real Life. 7 little things you've done to make the world a better place Stopping to help lost-looking tourists. Donated to Goodwill. Expanded the Filk FAQ to help newbies. Given money to buskers. Whenever I encountered unusually good customer service, told them so. Tried to be more polite with bad customer service. Tried to keep my temper. 6 things you'd like the New Year to bring A house. Tendinitis to completely heal, or heal enough that I can type normally. Be able to write as much as I'd like to (will depend on previous). A healthy, happy baby (for my sister-in-law, not for me :-)). Fresh start to old friendships. Being able to actively participate in Irish sessions. 5 people you'd like to plan to get in contact with again during the next year Ok, I found this impossible to answer since I honestly couldn't think of anyone. There are people I wish I had more contact with. 4 people online you'd like to get to know better Erin, Robyn, Holly, Crawford. 3 habits you'd like to break in the new year Insomnia, skipping my physio exercises, checking e-mail before doing anything else in the morning. 2 things you learned about yourself this year I'm not as much of a hermit as I thought I was. I have more courage than I thought I did. 1 thing that surprised you the most about this past year I had figured this year was going to be the first Normal Year we've had in ages, a chance to finally settle into a routine. Didn't happen. Some badstuff (sprained elbow, detached retina) but also lots of goodstuff (Irish sessionstuff, condo-selling).

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we're moving!

Debbie Ohi — Mon, 20 Dec 2004 14:57:28 +0000

One of our nephews at the Ontario Science
Center on the weekend.

A while back I mentioned that something exciting was happening in our lives but that I couldn't talk about it yet. Well, it's official: Jeff and I are moving! Final address still to be determined, though it will still be in Toronto. We just sold our condo, and the closing date is Feb. 1st. We'll be putting most of our stuff in storage and moving to a temporary living space in January (thanks, Ginny!) while we look for a house. I have no idea how long it will take.

Mini-grocery store at the KidPark.

Last month I mentioned that we were getting my office repainted. Well...it was somewhat more complicated than that, really. Those who have seen my small office know how cluttered it was, pretty much every flat surface covered with books and papers and musical instruments. Ironic, really...I originally started renting office space outside of home because my home office was too small. Yay, lots and lots of storage space! Then the whole Inkspot thing happened, and I ended up moving to Philly and working in a corporate space for six months. Ok, I worked in a cubicle, but I didn't have to worry about storage space there either. Then back home; no wonder I've felt somewhat claustrophobic in that room since returning. Can't blame my real estate agent for turning a sickly shade of green when she peeked in the first time after we told her we wanted to sell. To her credit, she did not run screaming. "This middle room might be a bit of a problem," she said carefully, obviously trying to be polite.

Jeff and a nephew near the end of our
Science Center visit. Both were pretty tired. :-)

Anyway, we took her advice and cleared my office out. And I mean REALLY cleared it out...took down the shelves, the built-in desk, the filing cabinet, EVERYTHING. Jeff sanded and replastered, and we hired a painter, got the carpet stretched and cleaned. Several people have commented on how much bigger the room looks now. And you can see out the windows! We put most of my office contents in a storage locker blocks away. There's quite a lot of unspoken baggage loading down that simple sentence above. Like experiencing a setback in my tendinitis because of all the sorting, packing and cleaning despite the fact that Jeff did all the heavy work. Like the stress in not having an office anymore, though Jeff has been kind enough to let me share his home office space. Like other life stresses going on at the same time. Anyway, more about the condo-selling experience in future Blatherings; I've been learning a LOT about the whole "fluffing" process. :-)

h
Jeff's sister and brother.

Several friends and family members have asked what areas in Toronto we're interested in. Truth is, we're pretty flexible right now (in terms of types/personalities of neighbourhoods, though obviously there are areas we won't be able to afford), though I'm sure we'll narrow down the search quickly as we start looking. Meanwhile, if you have any interesting neighbourhoods in Toronto to recommend, please do let me know. We're looking for a 3-bedroom detached house in a fairly quiet area within 15-20 minutes' walk of a subway station, with non-street parking (parking pad is fine), two full bathrooms, preferably with a finished basement that I can turn into my office / music studio / workshop. Wish us luck. :-) Today's Blatherphotos are from the weekend, when Jeff and I spent time with his brother and sister and their families. Click on any photo to see a bigger version.

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