June 25, 2010

a few good tendencies



taken with polaroid180 on 664 film

hi, friends.
how've you been doing recently?
i'm sorry that i almost relapsed into a lazy blogger.
my mood swang a lot lately, and i've tried not to be cluttered.
just plenty of rest and careful concentration on everyday have been needed.

as i've been such, i thought that adopting some good changes or tendencis will probably help to hold me up both mentally and physically.
here's a small list of those taking place around the table recently.

1, cut down sugar as much as possible
2, add moderate spiciness
3, use plenty of vinegar especially for appetizers
4, consumption of warm drinks and food

i think i usually have had a rather healthy diet, but especially in this season, i need to adopt the way strengthened a bit.
and recently i found the article about ayurveda.
as i've been following the rule of ying and yang for a long time, ayurveda, new for me, have something drawing me because of its unique and original character.
i'm not a fad at all, but i just believe those natural rules or the way of engaging in my own life.
i strongly believed that food makes people.
i sometimes eat and drink in the way of living to eat, but have been hoping eating to live.

so now, i've been saying " see you later" to doughnuts. ;))
stay cool and vigorous, friends! :))


dear doughnuts,
you're pretty, but now's not the time for you.
could you wait patiently for me, please?
sincerely,
tomily

June 16, 2010

something about the table.


taken with polaroid sx-70 on 600 film

here's the list of what i love around the table.

1, the table which is collecting light by the window is bringing brightness to the unlit room.

2, my cats are sitting on the chairs and peeking mischievously over the table. (and sniffing food as if they are determining whether it's delicious or not.)

3, taking pictures anything on the table. especially with my pretty polaroid cameras.

4, reading papers, writing something, spreading maps over for a next trip, listening to the radio, crocheting for coming winter and of course blogging.

5, lingering and chatting with my husband with sipping a cup of coffee after breakfast on weekends. in that situation all the family members ( 2 of us and 2 cats) are together around the table somehow.

6, many scratches my cats carved on. annoying but still lovely.


there're a lot of love around the table.
the table at home are weaving so many love for family, i believe. :))

enjoy your life with your table!

June 10, 2010

i provide you a catalogue of pretzels.

note; this is a very private catalogue.

taken with nikon fe2 on portra 400nc

a bretzel i met at frankfurt airport, germany in last may. ( i noticed that germans call a bretzel but a pretzel.)
the one, which is the original and has a coarse salt sprinkles on the surface, in the picture was eaten by my husband, and i ate the different one, a raisin bretzel.
they were eaten just after we reached there for a transit to rome, italy from chicago, the u.s.
mine was soft like a raisin roll.
it was actually not my type, but i was so excited with the incident i ate a pretzel in the country of its origin and where it's called as a "bretzel".
i asked him to offer me a small bite of his original one.
i loved that.
loved that very much.
a big wave of envy and regret for having chosen a raisin one attacked me. ;P
i almost drowned before i reach our last destination, rome.

btw, isn't a cup of cappuccino so lovely?
it had a white heart on the surface and that made me feel a love for germany so much.



taken with nikon fe2 on lomography 100.

also eaten at frankfurt airport on my way back to the u.s. on the same trip as above.
i must've thought that i had to make up for my regret that i experienced above.
ok, i admit that i'm a kind of person who holds a grudge especially about food. ;P



taken with mamiya m645 on portra 160nc

i hope you remember this picture.
i've already talked about this pretzesl platter sometimes before. (about a month ago or so)
this is my most favorite one served at restaurants in the u.s.
brewery restaurants usually bake good pretzels.
so, this was served at one of my favorite brewery restaurants, 'bridgeport brewery" in portland, or.
they really do a good job on this pretzel platter.




taken with mamiya m645 on portra 400nc

there's an unique brew pub in portland, or.
my husband and i have loved that place for a long time since we used to live there.
whenever we visit portland, we go there.

what makes this brew pub unique and makes us feel love it?
i don't know where i should start with, but firstly there're a lot of tables and chairs here and there, both inside and outside.
workers there don't walk around the place to ask orders, but we walk to the long counter along which there are taps.
the menu was written on a big chalk board.
if you want, you can order some light and easy meal, but you don't have to.
after you got something you need, you sit at the table wherever you want and can stay as long as you want.
if you need another glass of beer, or start to feel hungry, you walk to the counter and make an order.
you can repeat that as many time as you want.
as the place has such free atmosphere, guys are playing a chess game at a table, a couple is chatting intimately at a table by the corner, a group whose member might or might not have known each other is playing darts, a family is having their casual dinner, a big group is having a party in the room which is located at the corner and has a door they can isolate the place from public.
outside, a lot of people who brought their lovely dogs are relaxed.
and all of them are doing that of course with sipping glasses of beer.
lovely place, isn't it?

oh, i just wanted to mention about a bowl of pretzels offered at this place for just a dollar or so.
eating pretzels with drinking beer especially at this cozy place is so much fun!

one more thing about this brew pub. (i know that i've talked too much about this place though i just wanted to introduce my favorite pretzels ;P)
as the name of the place is "lucky labrador", there're lots of pictures and information about lab inside, even their window has a stained glass which has an image of lab :), and outside you see lots of real labs here and there :))

i totally forgot to mention, their beer is soooo good as well as their place!






here's another favorite pretzel from portland, or.
pretzels in the top image came from the pretty old show case whose cracked glass makes it prettier in the bottom image. (oh, can you see pretzels in the bottom image? they're in bottom row, a second heap from left.)
i don't know if this german bakery, whose name is "fressen", has their own actual location somewhere in the town, but i think they basically sell their items at the famous portland farmer's market held in saturdays from early spring through late fall.
whenever i'm luckily in portland on saturday, i go to the market and visit this bakery the first.
they sell out their goods fairly fast, because,i guess, they don't bake and bring lots and many people know theirs are something.
the price is kind of pricy, but they're quite worth to be paid such.
i've been admiring this pretzel the most of all pretzels in the world.




taken with hasselblad 500c on polaroid 669, the image transferred on a piece of cloth



all of my family member including those who live in japan love this snack, chocolate coated pretzels.
and i myself really love to take pictures of them at the occasions i have them with tea or coffee around 3 or 4 o'clock by myself at home.
i love their good looking; a dark brown color and a chubby shape.
they always induce me to take photos again and again.
as a result, i have a lot of pictures taken with different cameras and films ;)




taken with some old camera, i forgot which camera i used, sorry.

fyi, there is a white version of chocolate coated pretzels.
the flavor is probably yogurt and has a bit tartness.
they are also pretty, although they're not as yummy as brown ones.




taken with olympus compact digital camera, i don't remember the name of this guy.

a very ugly and funny picture.
my husband was holding a chocolate pretzel at san francisco airport some time before.
he needed that during our trip going back to japan for a short stay.
a chocolate pretzel looks dusted with white particles in this picture because they were rubbed each other in a plastic bag packed tightly in my luggage.
that's ugly, isn't it?

what makes my husband love this snack soooo much is the subtle balance of the saltiness of pretzel and the sweetness of chocolate.
all family members testified for that.






taken with contax-rts on superia 400

some of you who have good instinct have already guessed right after seeing 2 pictures above, i bought some pretzels at frankfurt airport and brought them back and put them into freezer before i ate them 5~6 months later after the trip.
the reason why i kept them in the freezer for that long time is that i had been enjoying the existence of the real german bretzels there.
i had been so content with the fact they had been there.
do you think i'm crazy?
i'm afraid i'm crazy.




taken with hasselblad 500c on ilford 3200, developed and printed by me.

thank you, thank those who have seen and read all weird pictures and stories above.
this is the final one.
most weird and the most becoming picture at the end of the catalogue.
i took this very late at night when i was drinking a glass of wine with my husband at home.
i love to drink with pretzels.
it really goes well with both beer and wine.
but you have to be careful about dehydration. ;P
fyi, i prefer "rold gold" 's pretzels than "snyders" '. ( both are most major pretzel brands in the u.s..)

i'm not sure if this picture can be seen as a serious art work or just a joke, anyway i want to make an end for this project with this picture as a token of admiration for all kinds of pretzels i've loved till now.
love you, pretzels. ( please count all the today's pictures and words as a love letter to pretzels :)) )

June 7, 2010

i should've sat at my table to eat a burrito.

taken with polaroid sx-70 on 600 film

yesterday, i had a terrible experience from having eaten a burrito.
my husband and i went to a mexican chain restaurant.
it's not exactly a restaurant because we order something at the counter and pay for it in advance, then we have to wait with a small box that notice you your order is ready when it lights.
but i'd rather call that a restaurant than a fast food store, because all the ingredients are fresh and our order are made just after we make an order. (not prepared before)
i went there for the first time.
i think that restaurant is pretty popular throughout the u.s., but it was really for the first time to go there for me.
even though i've lived in the u.s. for more than 10 years, my experience for dining in popular american restaurants/fast food chain stores is so poor.
when i count how many times i've been in popular dining places roughly, i think i can count that with only one hand for each places.
2~3 times for Mcdonalds, also 2~3 times for Taco Bell, never for Applebee's or .....
oh, it's so nonsense to try to recall these experience.
'cause i don't remember many names ;P

anyway, i went to some mexican place for lunch yesterday.
as i haven't known what they have on their menu, or how big one order is, i ordered something i can eat.
i ordered a burrito which contained shrimp, refried beens, rice, avocados, pico de gallo ( tomato, onion and chiles mixture).
i thought it's the healthiest choice in the menu.

after the small box lit, i got my order.
my husband had the same one as mine except one ingredients, not shrimp but lobster.
i was afraid that if i could eat up a whole burrito after on bite.
i noticed that the tortilla had a rich flavor ( i think the dough for the tortilla might contain generous amount of oil), and its size is huge even though the burrito itself is not that huge.
as i was afraid, once i reached to the fillings of shrimp, avocados, and so on, i felt i could manage somehow.
and i did manage that though it was tough. ;P

i finished my burrito just before noon.
to tell the truth, i was 150% full.
i felt so miserable and i kept on feeling like that for next 6~7 hours.
i've not been good at enjoying being full since i was a child.
i've preferred to be 70% or less full, and i even sometimes skipped my dinner.
feeling hungry has made me feel peaceful.

i ate a salad for my dinner yesterday, really somehow.
i felt that i could or should have skip dinner, but i needed something refreshes my mouth.
because i felt something wrong with the burrito i ate for lunch, i went to the website of the store, and checked the nutritional info after the dinner.

oh my gosh, it was terrible.
really, really terrible.
i felt more miserable to know how much damn calorie it had!!!
yeah, i had a slight hunch that something would be wrong if i ate a whole burrito up.
though i felt that way, still felt optimistic and expected nothing wrong would happen, then i made a damn effort to eat that up!
i was wrong.
i was totally wrong!!
i shouldn't have manage to eat all up anyhow!!
the number of the calorie was as huge as the tortilla!!!
i almost fainted when the giganormous number showed up on the bright screen of the lap top.

ok, that's enough.
i'd better forget the incident.
i went to the gym and ran for an hour on the treadmill this morning.
i hope that's going to make up some.
some for my weight.
some for my feeling.


well, i came across this picture from the pile of polaroids hours ago.
this is the picture of a home made greek style burrito i fixed some time before.
a table spoon of hummus smeared tortilla rolled up lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, olives and low-fat cottage cheese.
a small cup of coarse ground mustard is on the side.
i'm sure this is much much healthier than the one i had yesterday.
ok, that's enough, again.



today's love letter?
for whom? ;P

June 4, 2010

who is the queen around the table for a photographer?


taken with mamiya rb67 on polaroid 664 film

i don't have much to say today.
so, which do you think is the best photogenic around the table?

i love taking pictures of these pretty nominees with a black and white film.
they are really worth being shot on that, aren't they?

have a wonderful weekend, friends!

June 2, 2010

tables at a nice cafe

taken with contax-rts

when do you go to a cafe?
well, i mean "in what situation" do you go to a cafe?
when you are out and have to have lunch, so go there incidentally?
when you have a meeting on your business with your client or vendor?
or when you meet up with your close friend?

as for me, because i'm a housewife, i have no clients nor vendors.
and, i probably shouldn't tell this in a loud voice, but i don't have many friend who i meet up with at a cafe. ;P (oh, don't worry about that,please! i'm very happy to be alone with my two cats in my home. i think i've loved to be alone as much as i'm with a few close friends since i was a child.)
so, i rather go there when i just want to adore their furniture, pretty and well-used dishes, mugs and silverware, the table which has a mess made by someone already left.
i just love to sit there and look around all through the cafe.

of course, i order something to eat and drink, but i'm not sure if i really like the food at a cafe.
sometimes it's difficult to find something i can or want to eat, once in a while the food contains a lot of sugar and oil, and most of the time the dishes are lack of greens. (especially here in the u.s.)
so, i'm really not sure if i like the food at a cafe.
i think i prefer the food i fix by myself, maybe.

but, but...
think about the occasion like this.
you woke up rather early in the morning on saturday.
you've already finished your breakfast and some essential chores, and the sun is whispering you " you'd better do something fun."
so, you start to think about what to do on this pretty day.
you may be better to move your body vigorously, but you're not just in the mood to do so.
and you want to go somewhere possibly gives you some good stimulus and inspiration, but you aren't unfortunately able to come up with any good idea.
then.
what do you think of going to your favorite cafe?
you don't want to waste your pretty saturday just stuck in your home, right?
just going out of home and going somewhere you can see people is very good for you.
if you want, you can pick up your favorite camera and carry with you.
taking some pictures of something that gives you tiny happiness must be so much pleasure. :))

i have 2~3 favorite cafes in my town, not much selections.
so i took kind of same pictures always, but they slightly change depend on the season and the weather.
brightness inside a cafe and the color and the thickness of clothes people wear changes, don't they?
and this is one of ways how i enjoy 4 seasons and all weather in this small town. :))


dear my favorite cafes,
thank you for entertaining me always.
i've loved you so much just because you are always there.
thank you and love you :D
sincerely yours,
tomily

June 1, 2010

i'v been very mad about breakfast.

taken with contax-rts, planar f1.4/50mm

i admit that i've been mad about breakfast.
anytime.
even when i have a high fever.
even when i have a hangover.

the picture is the one which i had on the morning i felt very bad.
i can't believe that i ate a croissant which has a rich butter flavor on that terrible morning.
i'm sure that i bought this beautiful croissant at my favorite co-op which sells croissants from a local french bakery.
i must've been so excited with the croissant the night before.
and i wasn't able to give up that even though i noticed i felt very bad that morning.

so if i'm asked how deep i love breakfast, i'll answer this.
" i love breakfast as much as i dare eat a croissant on the morning i felt terribly bad."
isn't that enough to express my love for breakfast, is it? :))

friends, enjoy your breakfast :)
breakfast is good for you!
i promise :))


dear breakfast,
i wish if my all 3 meals a day were you.
love you always.
sincerely yours,
tomily