Strawberry Ball assembly!

Seattle, Washington

Here's a video on how to assemble the 12-piece "strawberry ball." Enjoy!

Liberian lunch

Seattle, Washington

Today Frank and I set out on a bike ride to a new favorite taco bus across from Rainier Beach H.S. Alas, when we arrived, it was closed. Fortunately, Google provided us with a new option in its "food near me" search, and we dined on West African fare at Truuf Food: jollof and fried plaintains. The food was good, and the cook/waiter friendly. Give it a try!

Tomato palapalooza

Seattle, Washington

Yes, it's been a long, hot, dry summer in Seattle. Not good for us true Seattleites, BUT great for my tomatoes. Lots of lovely red fruit, but also some very strangely shaped ones!

Activities for passing time

Seattle, Washington

Lately I've had too much time on my hands while waiting for all kinds of stuff to happen. And then I finally happened upon the perfect combination of activities for passing some of these long hours: sewing napkins for a friend and listening to a new audio book. "Red Rising" by Pierce Brown is turning out to be a great listen and, while set on Mars, sounds all the world to me like an allegory of the history between the Irish and the English...

"Red Rising" by Pierce Brown--whoa, quite a book

McCall's M6959

Seattle, Washington

While in Japan in March/April, I bought a smattering of gorgeous Japanese fabrics. I was determined to try my hand at making a dress when I got home. A and I bought a "simple" McCall's pattern down at Pacific Fabrics, and I got to work. First, I managed to make Version B for myself, with different colors back and front. Armed with my new "expertise," I managed to do an even better job on the dress for A: she got Version A, complete with pockets that I added in. That was good fun!

"Death and the Gardener"

Seattle, Washington

"Death and the Gardener" by Georgi Gospodinov is a fantastic read. I saw a review in the New Yorker a few weeks ago and knew I must read it. 1) I LOVED his earlier book "Time Shelter," and 2) my mother passed away last summer. 

Wow. 

Although, this is barely a novel in the traditional sense, the writing and and storytelling are amazing. When Mom died, I was not interested in reading any kind of "grief book." But somehow THIS was the book that made me think deeply and clearly about my mother's passing. 

Read it.

tourISTANBUL

Istanbul, Turkey

On my way home from eight amazing days in Iraqi Kurdistan, and this morning I got to take advantage of a Turkish Airlines free bus tour. The weather was absolutely amazing (sunny, cold and windy) and just a few hours on the bus reminded me that I/we absolutely must get back to Turkey again. 

Though I am willing to wait until the mayor of Istanbul is not under lock and key.

Homemade!

Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan

My last evening in Erbil: a lovely dinner with friends, fun math projects--and homemade yogurt to admire. My friend just finished "setting" the yogurt when I arrived--made from sheep's milk from a family member's farm. Truly farm to table...

Leveling up with Tomoko Fuse

partially completed dodecagon, rose pattern

Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan 

I am just coming to the end of 9 days of visiting with friends in Erbil. In preparation for this trip I decided to "level up" my unit origami skills by buying Tomoko Fuse's most recent book and spending some time to learn some new patterns, in particular the "rose units" and the "silver star units". (Rose units have a ratio of 1:2 and Silver star units have a ratio of 1:Sqrt2.) 

4-point football (silver star units)

I really enjoyed sharing some of my origami (both old and new) with friends. A great way to pass the time with folks who don't share much language in common with me...

Arizona interlude

Tucson, Arizona

Unexpectedly, I found myself in Arizona for 5 days this week to help out with an ailing family member. After all kinds of wild weather and a new found (and deep) familiarity with the layout of the Tucson Medical Center, I am headed home. The skies were lovely, but Tucson is definitely not the place for me for more than a few days...

More book recs:

• "The Buried" by Peter Hessler (great book about the Arab Spring in Egypt)
• "Memorial Days" by Geraldine Brooks. Wow.

Books on Bikes

Seattle, Washington

My latest three reads (listens):

• "Intermezzo" by Sally Rooney (a great read)
• "Foundation" by Isaac Asimov (a class sci-fi read)
• "Mania" by Lionel Shriver (serious satire!)

Home & settled

Seattle, Washington

After the joys, adventures, and work (!) of wandering in Switzerland and Iceland, it's great to be home to a sparkling clean house (thank you, A!) and the comforts of home. My only regret? That I didn't get a tea towel in Iceland to match the one I found in Switzerland. Good to be away and good to be home!

The Secret Lagoon (or Old Pool)

Selfoss, Iceland

On our last full day in Iceland, Frank and I finally made it to one of Iceland's famous geothermal pools: Gamla Laugin (The Old Pool) which has been re-branded as the "The Secret Lagoon." It's a far less fancy place than the Blue Lagoon or one of the other geothermal spas and lies just 40 minutes by car from Selfoss. Basically, there's just one big outdoor pool with burbling hot pools along one edge of the place. But you get the feel of the thing and it was a gorgeous afternoon for such an activity. I'd definitely recommend it for something a bit less over-the-top!

Bicycles of Iceland

Selfoss, Iceland

Based on a close examination of hundreds of kilometers of the Iceland Ring Road, I don't expect to return to Iceland for a biking adventure any time soon. I need a serious road shoulder, at the very least. However, I noted with envy the dedicated bikes lines throughout Reykjavík. And then, of course, these fantastic less rideable bikes...

How to choose?

Selfoss, Iceland

I'm not even a knitter anymore but this yarn store in Selfoss drew me in, and I HAD to buy some traditional Icelandic wool, if at least for a friend. But how to choose the color/colors?

From the shopkeeper I learned that this very loosely spun wool is to be knit with two--or three strands--and not single-ply. So, I bought two greens and made my escape!

Woman, Rebel, Captain

Eyrarbakki, Iceland

Several nights in Selfoss made me examine the map around Selfoss more carefully, and what did I discover? That Selfoss lies only a few kilometers away from Eyrarbakki and Stokkseyri--the two towns which figure prominently in the great book I just finished listening to: "Woman, Rebel, Captain" by Margaret Willson. If you're travelling to Iceland (or even if you're not), this is a fascinating portrait of an amazing woman who lived in the late 1700's and early 1800's. Don't miss it!

Swiss engineering: wow

Bettmeralp, Switzerland

To begin yesterday's hike, we rode the Moosfluh gondola to the top where I learned that it was engineered to withstand a 10 meter (30 foot!) shift in elevation over the coming years. As the Aletsch Glacier recedes to the north, the mountain ridge next to the glacier is becoming more unstable and starting to shift downwards as the pressure from the glacier lessens (perhaps too simply put), so the Swiss are busy planning ahead. All around the gondola station we could see surveying tripods. But most impressively, this new station was planned to withstand a giant elevation shift. In fact, that part of the ridge shifted down by one meter (3 feet) just last year. These secondary effects of climate change are the kinds of things I had not even imagined. And it's hugely impressive that structures themselves can be engineered to adapt. Wow.

Tuesday and the fish go into the lake

Bettmeralp, Switzerland

It's one of the joyful and fascinating things about travelling that one discovers that there are completely different ways of doing things in different parts of the world. Today, as I strolled around Bettmersee (a decent-sized artificial lake above Bettmeralp) in the pouring rain, I remembered that today is Tuesday. According to V, that's the day when the fish are put into the lake--for folks with licenses to fish out over the coming week. I suppose that's the way it works in other artificial fishing locations, but something about the idea that "Tuesday is when the fish go into the lake" strikes me as a perfect metaphor for the organization and efficiency that is Switzerland. 

But definitely not a good morning to take advantage of the new batch of fish in the lake.

Kaffee und kuchen: Days 1-3

Cremeschnitte

Bettmeralp, Switzerland

It's now Day 4 of my Swiss Alps adventure and the rain is now pouring down. BUT the first three days were spent wandering happily between Fischeralp and Riederalp in the sun, clouds, and occasional rain. And on each of those three days, we stopped for "kaffee und kuchen." Sprinkled throughout the area are delightful "hitta" at which one can sit out in the sun and enjoy coffee and cake--or a variety of food/beer etc. So three stops, one on each day, with coffee and cake--in the gorgeous and ever changing weather. Bliss.

Blaubeerkuchen

Rüblikuchen

"Rösti" for dinner

Bettmeralp, Switzerland

After a trip up the mountain on the gondola to Moosfluh, we spent another day hiking down and across the mountain to Villa Cassel and then back via Riederalp to Bettmeralp. It was eight miles before we got back to the apartment, and I could hardly walk for all the descending. And what shall we have for a post-hike dinner.? V declared we should try a "rösti," a Swiss version of  what I would call a hash brown pancake. With raclette cheese and an egg, of course. A fine "mountain food" way to end a glorious day.