Something else for a change

We actually do other things in addition to eating, as surprising as that may sound when looking at this blog. When Ed isn't trying to save the internet or repairing our doorbell, he actually makes for a great conversational partner. And when I'm not juggling deadlines or cleaning the cat's litter box, I play with letters and call it schoolwork.



Over the last few weeks, this schoolwork required me to have a romantic affair with Mrs Eaves, a typeface that I needed to portray for my typographic design class. We're a great couple, Mrs Eaves and I. Aren't her curves just delightful?

Love your neighbor

Just hours after I had published this photo yesterday — a dream of a sandwich, made with some French bread that our neighbor Amy, an aspiring baking school student, gave us — someone knocked at our window (our doorbell isn't working at the moment, and its repair is quickly turning into an epic battle between man and machine, but more on that later...). Outside stood Amy and loaded four lovely loaves onto my arms, assuring me that she really couldn't eat all this bread by herself and that she had already given some to the lady at the burrito place up the street.



I'm not ever going to say no to good bread, especially out here where it can be hard to find (yes, I'm a bread snob, blame my German upbringing!). Funny enough, I had also just been thinking about what I should make for dinner. That question elegantly solved itself: 4 kinds of fresh bread, butter, cheese, hardboiled egg, tomatoes. Done.

Amy is hoping to find a job at a bakery once her school is over in August. Shouldn't be too hard for her, and until then Ed and I will enjoy the fruits of her education. She mentioned that they'll start on pastries in a few weeks. You won't hear us complain!

Just another nice weekend

We went down to Palo Alto this Saturday for some spring clothes shopping. Ed made me try on every single colorful print at Macy's, since I've grown a little tired lately of wearing my usual black/grey/blue/white, but I'm somehow incapable of picking out anything else myself. (What is it with all the clothes talk here lately??)

We had lunch outside at the Stanford mall—nothing beats a great salad and a glass of white wine on a beautiful, warm, early Saturday afternoon!

The rest of the weekend was spent playing pool, running errands, cooking good things, and chatting with friends. And oh, Ed learned a few new things. Like, that our clothes drying rack and the step stool live in a little tiny room called "The Closet", alongside the vacuum cleaner, extra folding chairs, and our camping gear. Baby steps...

I lied

But I swear I didn't mean to.

Minutes after publishing the post about Saint Patrick's Day, saying that I don't own anything green, I realized that I actually bought a fancy green top a couple of months ago. It's not quite Irish green, but I wasn't picky and wore it out that night.

Public admission of guilt made.

Spring is here!

I left the house without a jacket two days in a row this week: spring is finally here! We noticed trees being in bloom for a few weeks now (their delicious smell at night is such a wonderful treat to me, every year again), but the weather has been cold and unpredictable still. This past week it finally changed, with temperatures up to 70 degrees.

Ed and I took advantage of this much longed for sunshine and warmth, and had breakfast outside on Saturday morning, at a streetside cafe in Rockridge. It was snowing petals and the croissants were perfect.

We weren't the only ones in the mood to celebrate the beginning of spring. Kerry and Isaac had invited everyone over for the year's first BBQ in their backyard. Food, drink, and company were splendid and we sat outside way past 8pm. Lovely, just lovely...

Kiss me, I'm German

When I first came to the United States, I was confused to see with how much devotion we celebrate "foreign" holidays like Saint Patrick's Day or Cinco de Mayo. Fast forward a few years, and I have learned that you don't need to be Irish or Catholic to enjoy a reason for having some beer after work. What I haven't fully memorized yet is the tradition to wear something green on Saint Patrick's Day. Once a year, every year, I realize that I do not own a single piece of green clothing. Which will then promptly escape my mind again, until next year...

Waiting for Bart

It's extremely convenient to live across the street from a Bart station. It takes us about 2 minutes from our front door to the platform. Plus about a minute or two to finish a smoke (= Ed), another minute to buy a ticket (if necessary), and sometimes a few extra seconds to catch my stride after tripping in the turnstile (in an attempt to beat Ed to making it through the gate first — a little competition never hurt a marriage). And then we wait. For 17 minutes or so. Because we are unable to remember to look up the arrival time of the next train before leaving the house. So we're standing on the platform, watching pigeons and tiny mice gnawing on bones, when we could have sat on the couch or finished a glass of wine. But we don't mind. It's still very convenient, and we chat about how our day was.

Still crazy...

Today marks the 9-year anniversary of the day Ed and I first met. I had no idea back then that that dreary Hamburg afternoon would forever change my life, and be remembered for years to come...

(This photo is from a friend's birthday party at the rollerskating rink a few weeks ago. Which I'm only pointing out to explain those outfits.)

Looks like the cat survived.

Cause and Effect?

Discovered during a walk through our neighborhood.

Lo and behold!

Ed caught a fish.

A real fish.

It's bigger than our dinner plates. Which clearly makes it large enough to eat.

Now please excuse me while I figure out what to do with the store-bought perch fillet I took out of the freezer this morning in anticipation of the usual yield of Ed going fishing...

12.75 lbs

Popstickle at the vet.

He's entirely healthy. He apparently thinks that throwing up at 4 A.M. every morning is an entertaining way for us to wake up.

Goodbye, Michael...

One of those things that I didn't expect to make me sad.

Happy Birthday, Popstickle!

Since Popstickle is a stray, we have no idea when his birthday is. When we had to take him to the vet a year ago for an infected wound on his leg, the vet estimated him to be about 8 years old and put that day's date minus eight years down as his birthday -- June 24, 2000. And hence, this is the day that we celebrate Popstickle's birthday.

As fate would have it, Popstickle will have to see the vet again in the next few days. But that won't keep him from celebrating in style. I'm putting some MGD in the fridge, Ed ist getting the Donuts. Happy Birthday, P.!

That's what happens...

...when you use a pot much too small for your popcorn cravings. Happy weekend everyone!

Everything tastes better outside

Spontaneous barbecues are the best...

Puccini meets SF Giants: Tosca at the Ballpark

Going to the opera for free, wearing a leather or ski jacket, respectively? It's all possible, or it was, rather: Last night, at a Simulcast of Tosca from the San Francisco Opera at AT&T Park, home of the SF Giants.

Thousands of San Franciscans came and enjoyed Picnic, Puccini and a gorgeous evening sky. Music and video came in High Definition live from the War Memorial Opera House, and we kept thinking that our Tosca night was even better than that of the opera house visitors: No opera seat in the world is as soft as a Major League Baseball lawn, and there's no flock of seagulls at the opera, majestically orbitting the scene at the dramatically most perfect moment. We sat in Barry Bond's sweat, drank Italian red wine and were mesmerized by the arresting fate of Tosca, Cavaradossi and Baron Scarpia.

During curtain call the singers sent special greetings to the stadium and displayed variuos SF Giants gear while taking their bows. Must have looked a little odd to the guests at the opera house, but was applauded frenetically at the ballpark. Bravissimo!

All pictures here

Mosse & Mossi still alive

My Mom pointed out to me today that there were some issues with this blog. I assumed she meant the lack of activity in the last, well, six months. But no, apparently it was as bad as an outage of the entire site for a while. Which clearly shows how much Ed and I neglected this blog lately.

But hey! Good news! We're still around, alive and healthy, and married life is GREAT, as this photo clearly shows.

I'll try to write more again here, and possibly train the cat to do some reporting.

More Flickr goodness

I opened a second Flickr account for my slightly less private/cutesy/snapshot-y pictures. You'll find shots of my wedding work, along with bookbinding, printing and typography paraphernalia. I'll also add any future graphic design work there.

My orchid is blooming!

I love orchids, but the one or two specimens that I've owned so far died a quick and unpleasant death. Not enough light, too much light, a lack or abundance of water, bugs -- I have no idea, and thus I refrained from purchasing any more orchids. Now I'm hopeful though, as this one has been blooming on our kitchen table for over three months (I'm not joking!). Friends gave it to me as a present in August of last year, in full bloom, and I had little hope that it would live to see 2009. It lost its flowers a few weeks after its arrival, and when I found tiny red mites on its bare branches a couple of months later, I mentally said my farewells.

In a whiff of optimism and after some internet research though, I misted it with a mixture of water and peppermint soap. The mites were completely gone within a few days, and haven't returned to date. Some time at the beginning of this year I spotted new shoots along with flower buds on the branches I had cut back before. And since about mid-February I am so happy every day to see the four blossoms that don't seem to age at all. As if the orchid went to sleep and forgot about the blossoms...

I believe it is a Phalaenopsis; to water it, I hold the pot under running, lukewarm water for 15 seconds every two weeks or so, and wipe off any water splashes from the leaves afterwards. Seems like that's just what the doctor ordered!