M's Archive

A slow life mini vlog. You are living too busy if you don’t have time to look at the clouds. Passionflower even makes bees sleepy. To take advantage of the harsh sun, I tried the sun-dried cherry tomato making for the first time. After 4 days of drying under the sun, I realized the humidity wasn’t helping so decided to eat it already. It was still super delicious with concentrated flavor and sweetness, smelling like candy. Made pasta using it with sardines for dinner. Very very good. Also trying to see if I can grow baby lettuce indoors since store bought lettuces are untrustworthy right now. Outside is too hot to grow for lettuce in summer. Also, peach is in season. I made some jam with it although eating fresh is the best way right now. And, cats are being cats as usual.

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​ Fort Macon State Park, NC. I hiked 3 mile trail on this relatively cooler July day. It’s been too hot to do outdoor activities this summer, so you just have to go when a nice day suddenly arrives. I like to walk through this tunnel that is formed by the beach shrubs and trees. There is definitely a magical feeling when I’m in here. The ecology of this place  shows resilience and resistance to the harsh conditions of the seaside. Very beautiful and inspiring. The trail goes along the sandy beach side, then you will walk  back on the other side of the island overlooking the marshes. Some interesting plants observations: I saw Beebalm (Monarda) growing along the beach. Literally in the sand. Amazing how versatile this species is. Lots of American Beautyberry growing underneath the tree canopy. They looked healthy and happy compared to the one I planted in my open sunny yard. Apparently, Mulberry tree grows on the sandy island like this also. There are very old huge red mulberry...

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I bought these shoes when I went to Rome, Italy in 1994. In the Ferragamo store, I saw these on the clearance rack. No wonder no one was buying it, the size was rare very small under size 5 (22.5cm). Yes, I have very small feet, and finding my size is difficult so I don’t usually enjoy shoe shopping. Although it was over my spending budget, of course I bought them because they fit. I was only 21 years old and YOLOing life or didn’t know how to spend money. Japanese people loved high end brands back then around the economic bubble time. We admired all kinds of fashion brands even though we were not rich. Everyone was obsessed. So I guess that’s why I bought them. I didn’t have much chance to wear though. My life didn’t turn out to be that fancy, lol. Today what I want is a mini farm homestead, not the nice shoes or handbags. But anyways, I kept these shoes. Because they never gone bad. Just look at them, this artisan made quality is real. Synthetic leather shoes never last this long. Re...

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Humans just made a historical progress by reaching the far side of the moon. The technology they developed is absolutely amazing... but more than anything, I cannot fathom the courage and determination that the four astronauts had for this mission. The moon has been used as a symbol in spirituality from the ancient time. Its look is always changing from our point of view going through the cycle. It's mysterious. It has many meanings and gives us insights. Artemis II flew to the other side  of the moon exploring the total darkness for the first time in the human history. This experience teaches us something beyond the technology and science.  What I observed and learned is that the moon is literally a representation of Yin and Yang. It always stays in the 50/50 light and dark. For the light to exist there must be the shadow existed. This opposite contrary forces can be found everywhere in the nature and even our daily fife. The two opposite conditions are meant to exist togethe...