some pictures

still hacking away at the house. but at least it's been warm and sunny for a fucking change. 

i liked this stamp.

the damson plum is starting to bloom.

today i took old lady peel outside to smell the flowers. she had a nice time and has fallen asleep because it was too exciting for a 16 year old cat (even though i held her the whole time).

sakura, paddy o'llama and sushi

kimbro dropped by yesterday. there were sakura.

paddy o'llama arrived WOO

and leff picked up some rolls from umami ! spicy salmon, rainbow,

veggie with tempura green beans

and chicken katsu rolls to be specific!

this is the freshest, most delicious sushi that i have had since moving to the dread northwest.  so! good!

all dressed and some new growth

finally got some of the ruffles all dressed chips today.

they don't look that different in the bag but, wow, they are pretty great! tangy and sweet and sour like bbq and salt and vinegar and ketchup chips all smashed together. i'm kinda irritated that my canadian roomie, bf  and assorted canuk friends never introduced me to these. (i mean, smarties are great and i appreciated the heads up regarding ketchup chips. still. still.)

padre and my step mom will be in canada soon so i will ask them for some actual canadian all dressed chips so i can compare them to this american version.

in other news, the baby ferns that died during the drought last summer are coming back!

i am so glad because i'm getting tired of planting things.

fuck this place fuck this rain just fuck it

enough. bored of this shit. so. fucking. done.

when the sun was out (briefly) and the chill wind did blow (of course), i saw a lenticular dog sticker.

there is a foil ghost in our fridge that is full of coffee.

sakura everywhere you look

the cherry blossoms are full blown

and i got a cherry blossom frappacino.

it wasn't too bad. basically tasted like a strawberry milkshake but with a bit of matcha bitterness.

when i got home, there was an anthology of japanese lit waiting for me!

done with the tacky

yesterday i went to seattle/the tacky for the very last time. (barring a life or death emergency or a penalty of several thousand dollars if i am not on the other side of the sound, of course.)  

there is no way i'm going to miss this shit.

i got to take an 80's mall style ferry home.  it was just as thrilling as it looked.

i wonder where the orange julius was on that thing.

neko atsume cupcakes

it is gross outside and we are done with winter (even though it isn't finished with us) so, even though i had to find the box that in which the food dye was packed, i made some neko atsume cupcakes today to bring some cheer to me and leff.

they were made in the same way as the moriarty cake from last month but, in case don't want to click, the cats were made by creating chocolate outlines

that were then filled with layers of colored whipped cream. here they are in the freezer.

after making some white cupcakes that i filled with diced chocolate covered strawberries, i peeled and stuck on pumpkin,

pickles,

pepper,

mack,

ginger,

bolt,

and gozer.

not pictured individually are marshmallow, shadow, smokey, socks and tabitha although you can see them in the group shots!

i *am* feeling a little better now. i think it's impossible to be grumpy when looking at cute neko faces.

the caviar of easter eggs

while trawling through the smithsonian's flickr page today, i came across donald erdman's field book. wow, does that contain some wonderfully vibrant and whimsical drawings of fish! 

and you know how i do when it's close to easter, yeah? uh huh, eggs. fish.....fish eggs. the caviar of easter eggs. and that is how i ended up with six specimens. 

fish out of water!

here are eulamia,

epinephelus,

wrasse,

lutjanus sp ,

lethrinus nebulosus

and, my favorite,  hemiramphus

all based on erdman's fantastic drawings.

need more decorated eggs? click on the links below!

past easter eggs: 1, 2 

and easterween if you need even more eggs: 1, 2

your 2016 sakura photos

louise and i visited the cherry trees this morning.

i wore my new shoes and everything.