Daily Prompt: In the Summertime

Butchart Gardens, Vancouver Island, BC, Canada (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Theoretically, summer will return to the polar-vortex-battered Northern Hemisphere. What are you looking forward to doing this summer? If you’re in the Southern Hemisphere, what are your fondest memories of Summer past?

Unlike many parts of the Canada and the U.S., our winter was a relatively warm one with few days of actual snowfall (it’s the spring that’s actually been a bit chilly).

Snow is such a novelty in temperate Vancouver that it’s

Where in the World is Guernsey?

Guernsey Farmhouse  by Guernsey Kestrel (CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0)

To date, my WordPress blog has received visitors from over 70 countries. Some hail from Japan, Peru, Mauritius, Brazil, Sweden, South Korea, Kuwait, Argentina, Malta, Trinidad and Tobago, Russia, Saudi Arabia, India, Australia, and Armenia. Although I am acquainted with the names of many of them, Guernsey certainly stands out as an exception.

A Salute to the Irish on St. Patrick’s Day

Wikipedia Saint Patrick’s Day (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Here’s my salute to the Irish on St. Patrick’s Day. For giving us a reason to wear and go green, one of my favourite colours.

For gracing us with tasty dinner choices that include Irish Stew and Shepherd’s Pie. For having one of the most lush, verdant places to live in–the Emerald Isle–and visit. For having one of the highest percentage of redheads in the world, and enabling my experimentation with henna.

For the entrancing theatrical Riverdance, and hauntingly beautiful songs like O Danny Boy and Carrickfergus. For poets like William Butler Yeats, Oliver Goldsmith, and Jonathan Swift, whose works

The Cedar Connection Totem

A closeup of the rear of the Cedar Connection, a First Nations totem along the corridor to the Domestic Terminal of the Vancouver International Airport (YVR) in Richmond, BC. Taken a few years ago when we rode the new Canada line of Skytrain that connected Vancouver to Richmond and the YVR.

On The Bucket List: Australia

Adventuring in Australia is on the bucket list because it exemplifies and fulfills the saying, “Go big, or go home.” Australia is brimming with natural and man-made wonders; these are six of the “must-see” places and creatures on my list. Consider it a sneak peek at my travel itinerary.

Eastern Rosella (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Beautiful birds. Australia is a birder’s delight. Some of the most colourful and interesting avians hail from Australia, including cockatoos (Galah, Yellow Black-Tailed, Gang-Gang, and Major Mitchell’s being some of the more esoteric breeds you’ll have a hard time finding outside of the continent), parrots (the Rosellas), finches (Zebra, Gouldian, Red-Browed, Australian, and Blue-Faced Parrot), kookaburras, and the “big birds” — ostriches, emus, and cassowaries. I am lucky to see a small fraction of these Australian birds here in Vancouver (at the Bloedel Floral Conservatory). 

Daily Prompt: Ingredients

Measured Ingredients by Emily Barney, CC-BY-NC-2.0

What’s the one item in your kitchen you can’t possibly cook without? A spice, your grandma’s measuring cup, instant ramen — what’s your magic ingredient, and why?

To quote that inestimable goose, Mr. Ping, and adoptive father of Master Po the Panda in Kung Fu Panda, “there is no secret ingredient” (with the inflection on the “is” 🙂 ).

Imagination is the magic ingredient in my kitchen. A willingness (and patience) to push the boundaries of taste is essential in the culinary arts. You can’t bottle it, buy it, or patent it.

Imagination puts a spin on the conventional. It is the difference between saying, “I’m going to spice up my vegetable soup by adding enoki mushrooms and garbanzo beans”, “I’m going to make a bed of risotto with coconut sauce, shallots, and shiitake mushrooms” or “I’m going to use mango salad dressing on my sweet-and-sour pork and veggies” instead of

Bigger and Better for Consumers, But Not Necessarily for IKEA?

IKEA Logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Quaint, quirky, and utilitarian-in-a-far-from-cosmetic-but-creative-and-distinctive-design; that’s how I would describe most of my purchases from IKEA. My most memorable IKEA acquisition would have to be the Barnslig red-and-blue hard foam bedpost booties (which are, unfortunately, no longer sold at IKEA). These practical, if a little juvenile looking, shoes have saved my tender tootsies from many a walk-by whacking. 

Daily Prompt: Forever Young

Scott Fountain Detail by Maia C, CC-BY-NC-ND-2.0

If there were a real Fountain of Youth, would I drink the water? It depends. Would staying young in body demand some sort of concurrent sacrifice? Would there be any ill effects? Would there be a hefty emotional or financial price to pay?

If I were only one of a few in the world who could successfully drink of this fountain, this mean that I would have to watch the inevitable aging of everyone else I know who cannot partake in neoteny?

What if I am homely, or deranged? Eternal youthfulness is not synonymous with

Daily Prompt: The Transporter

Chicken curry by Pinoy, CC-BY-3.0

A taste that transports me back to my childhood is curry. I grew up absolutely relishing yellow Malaysian curry–which, once it started cooking slowly, could be inhaled in all its spiced glory from anywhere in the house. “We’re having curry!” was a familiar triumphant cry at the dinner table.

This dish was made in our household with crushed dried (and de-seeded) red chili peppers, curry powder, a dash of turmeric and cardamom, julienned ginger, cinnamon, a generous amount of coconut milk, lots of garlic, thick-sliced slightly pre-cooked potatoes,