Made in the USA: Fiesta

When a server brought the lettuce wrap to our table at a Thai restaurant in Phoenix area, I noticed a familiar bowl containing the minced chicken mixture: a little green Fiesta bowl. These bowls are in my kitchen all the time. The bowls, officially called Fruit Bowls, are perfect size for feeding dry cat food for individual cats. The depth of the bowl is just right for them. My cats did not like any ordinary cat bowls from pet shops as cat bowls tend to be steep and deep. Going back to the restaurant episode, it felt a little odd eating out of what my brain recognizes as a cat bowl.

Since the introduction in 1930s by The Homer Laughlin China Company, Fiesta dinnerware has been loved by generations of Americans. The company continues to manufacture durable but appealing dinnerware in the Ohio Valley.

My kitchen cabinets can use some colors. It is probably time to get some colorful Fiesta plates for the humans as well.

Squirrel!

This is a video of a squirrel trying a nut in a dog's fur coat.

Music Video Bookmarks: Wheeler Brothers, Story Books, The Ghost Wolves

Wheeler Brothers Website


Story Books Website


The Ghost Wolves Website

Platypus Videos

English is my second language, and I am still learning something new about the language everyday. One of the significant differences between Japanese and English is that Japanese does not have plural form of words; Japanese speakers use exact numbers of objects or use adjectives (such as words for several, many, a few, and some) to express the approximate quantity. Basically, in Japanese, people mention 'how many' only when it matters. English has a lot more rules for plural nouns. It would have been quite simple if all we had to was to affix 's' or 'es' to the end of the word. Some words do not have distinction between singular and plural while other words have odd plural forms.

Some, but not all, words with 'us' on the end gets 'i' for plural. Plural for platypus was amongst such strange and confusing plural forms. Is it platypuses or platypi? Dictionary.com shows both of them as plural for platypus but lists 'platypuses' first. Same for octopus. A version with 'i' is more widely accepted for cactus, fungus, and radius. Plural for goose is geese, but plural for mongoose is mongooses. This is nerve-racking.

For platypuses, or platypi (by the way, spell check on blogger does not like platypi), this odd rule suite well to the strange creatures. They are egg-laying mammals with venom. They are like the biggest rule breakers in animal kingdom. The rebels.

The word platypus comes from Greek word meaning "flat-footed." This is actually the most puzzling part; out of all the strange features this mammal has, why did anyone focus on their feet? How about their duck bills? The scientific name Ornithorhynchus anatinus comes from "bird-spout" and "duck-like."

Act Wild for Platypus


Platypus Parts

Kangaroo Video: How to Catch a Baby Kangaroo

The first time I saw the following video, I laughed harder than I should have. I wonder if this technique would work on other marsupials.

How to catch a kangaroo



I will be carrying a pillow case when I travel across Australia. Just in case.

Made in the USA: The Frye Company

It is hard to determine exactly how long, but I have had a pretty strong obsession on boots for a long time. I love boots of all types: varying heights, with heels, without heels, combat boots, western style, or whatever, as long as the boots are tastefully designed.

The first time I saw a pair of Frye boots in a department store, I knew I had to own them. I waited for the end of the season sale in case my favorite pair is on sale. It never happened. Turned out that it is one of the most popular styles which has a small chance of discontinuation as long as the brand thrives. It will never be on sale. Darn.

The following winter, I purchased a pair of Frye Harness 12R boots in brown.

The boots are made of thick leather and are very heavy; these are not recommended for people who love lightweight boots. These boots complement many different types of outfits for years to come. I would consider getting another pair in black.

The brand is now owned by a company based in Hong Kong, and some boots and accessories are made outside the US. Harness 12R is still made in the USA. I hope it stays that way.

Made in the USA & Go Local: Handmade Soaps from Food4YourSkinOnline, ironwood Ranch, and South Austin People

Arizona has art and craft fairs in spring, fall,and winter. The summer here is so hot that people don't even have yard sales during the summer heat. Finding arts and crafts made by local residents is fascinating; the artists are usually present at the booth, and they are generally very excited to talk about their work. The nosy curious person like me truly enjoy talking to whoever creates interesting things.

Although trying something new and creating things are activities that fuel my life, there are certain things I would rather buy from someone else. Soap is one of those things. Soap making sounds fun especially after reading the novel Fight Club (just kidding), but I would not know what to do with lots of soaps unless I can sell them. I also like switching scent of soap, so making a batch with one scent and using that for a long time would probably bore me. Luckily, there are many soap makers in Arizona who I can by soaps from whenever I need them.

In Southern Arizona, my favorite local soaps come from Food4YourSkinOnline. The soap maker sells soap and other skin care products at art fairs as well as at her online store. The soaps have fantastic scents and lather nicely.

Photo from Food4YourSkinOnline

Ironwood Ranch makes superb goat milk soaps. They are easy to find as they are st St. Philips market in Tucson on most Saturdays. Because of the combination of goat milk and essential oils, the soaps have distinctive fragrance. Their soaps are great for body wash.

When I was living in Texas, I only used soaps from South Austin People. I miss their lemongrass and ginger soap and Texas pecan eucalyptus soap! As much as I miss them, I insist on buying soap locally.

Photo from South Austin People

I definitely recommend buying soaps in person since some scents are really unpredictable from the names. There are more local soap makes than people think. Go local!

Made in the USA: Lodge

Lodge has been manufacturing cast iron cookware for over 100 years. Their products are not just for kitchen use; every camping gear store I have visited have at least one Lodge cookware in the store.

Lodge Cast Iron Dutch Oven

About a year ago, I tasted a great pistachio cherry bread and got a recipe for the bread. The recipe requires a heavy-duty cast iron Dutch Oven, so I purchased a Lodge Dutch oven. I don't know why, but I have not been motivated enough to bake the bread since the recipes not requiring a heavy Dutch oven are easier to make. How can I stop being lazy and bake that tasty pistachio cherry bread?

Lodge Cactus Baking Pan

This cactus baking pan is on my wish list. Living in Arizona, this pan should have plenty of chances to show off what it is designed to do: make cute cactus corn bread, scones, or whatever. The only reason it is not yet in my kitchen is I have to get rid of things I don't need to make some room for new kitchen toys. Time to donate unused items to a thrift store.

Bucket List: Stay at Machiya Inns in Kyoto, Japan

When I was still living in Japan as a student, I visited Kyoto twice. The first time was as a part of school trip with my high school classmates. The second trip to Kyoto was with a friend of mine, and it was a frugal but fun trip. We stayed at a hostel for about $20 per night per person which is incredibly cheap in Kyoto, and we were the only Japanese guests there. Other guests were all foreigners from America, Canada, Italy, China, to name a few. Kyoto's history and beauty attracts backpackers from all over the world.

Until about five years ago, I did not know about Machiyas, traditional wooden townhouses in Kyoto, have been renovated and used as inns. These guest houses offer cheaper nightly rates than many hotels in the area. According to websites, these places seem to operate kind of like hostels. I am not familiar to hostels in other countries, but the hostels I have stayed in Japan all had dorm rooms (men and women are separate) and individual rooms.

 

Photos from Guest House Waraku-An

Kyoto has numerous traditional upscale ryokans and high-end hotels. Those types of places are gorgeous but often lack uniqueness. Machiya inns will be the focal point of my next trip to kyoto, whenever that is.

For a list of Machiya and other guest houses in Kyoto area, check out this website. Most tourism-related sites have English pages.

Made in the USA: Paige Denim

My short height and curvy bottom make shopping for jeans ridiculously challenging. If the legs feel right, it is too big around the waist. For a long time, I had been jealous of tall skinny people with flat butts who can buy jeans off a store shelf and wear them without alteration. Thanks to many clothing companies producing jeans for curvy figure made with stretchy materials, people in all sorts of shapes can find a perfect pair.

Finding my first Paige Denim jeans changed the way I dress. Their jeans are incredibly comfy, and now I am wearing jeans all the time. Even their skinny jeans are comfortable. Actually, I could not fit in any other skinny jeans and never owned skinny jeans before. What makes buying Paige Denim products better is they are manufactured in the USA.

Photo from zappos.com

Like many denim manufacturers' products nowadays, Paige Denim jeans are not cheap. I check Nordstrom Rack and other discount stores whenever I am nearby so that I can snag a pair for about half the MSRP.

For the list of other denim jeans made in America, check out Made in USA Challenge.

DIY: Industrial Pipe Rods

There are numerous DIY knock offs I found via Pinterest and other sites. I am not sure if I will ever try any of those, but it is fun just looking at the projects. A blog post 'That Looks Familiar: DIY West Elm Industrial Pipe Rods' is one of them. I have shutters on all the windows, so I must find other ways to use these great industrial looking rods.

Photo from somethingwewhippedup.com

Tree Kangaroo Videos

Lately, most of the animal videos I have been watching are from Australia. Here are tree kangaroo videos:

Tree Kangaroo Joeys


Tree Kangaroo Rescue

Wes Anderson

For a person who get tired of things quickly, being a fan of anything or anyone for 13 years is pretty insane. It all started when I saw Royal Tenenbaums in 2001. 13 years, eight full-lengh movies (including two films prior to 2001), and several short films later, I am addicted to Wes Anderson's films more than ever. He is the only director in the US who has established his own style and reflects it in every movie. If I could, I want to merge into his movie, like walking through a magical mirror, and be a dysfunctional character (that should not be difficult for me). I'll be a crazy bunny or a grumpy sloth in Fantastic Mr. Fox or an unpaid intern in Life Aquatic.

Living in Southwest has some fun factors, but it is unbearable when a movie I want to see first hits the theaters. On average, I have to wait three weeks before the movie gets here after people in LA and NYC have seen and bragged about it all over the internet. Spoilers.

The same thing happened again. I finally saw The Grand Budapest Hotel last weekend. One thing I started doing when I go see a movie is to keep my expectations low except when the movie is created by Wes Anderson. No matter how enormous my expectations are, Wes Anderson always go far beyond it. Out of hatred I have toward anyone who spoil movies by giving away too many details, I will not talk about the movie. Besides, it doesn't matter what I, critics, or any other people think of a movie; all it matters is if each person like the movie or not. I don't care what people say, I was not fond of Titanic and English Patient. And I have been a Juliette Binoche fan since the late 1980s. I will just say one thing, it was delightful to see Ralph Fiennes in a comedy. Here is a trailer of The Grand Budapest Hotel. You can decide if this is your cup of tea:



Now I need to see this movie ten more times when it's available on Amazon.

Watch a short film by Wes Anderson: Castello Cavalcanti

Recycled Paper and Tree Free Paper

The digitization of books, magazines, forms, and other materials that used to be printed on paper has definitely reduced the need for printing paper. The amount of paper used in offices in 1990s and prior had to be terrifying. Although documents viewable on electronic devices are replacing paper copies, we still occasionally have to print on paper. Now we have many choices for what to print on.



Recycled paper has been around for a long time, but the quality and manufacturing process of recycled paper have been significantly improved over the years. Some manufacturers are using more sustainable ingredients instead of tree fiber. Here are some online stores with post-consumer recycled paper and/or tree free paper:

The Green Office
Eco Paper
Green Field Paper
Treecycle
Green Line Paper Company
EcoGreenOffice
New Leaf Paper (for printing order)

There are many other companies dedicated to manufacture or retail more sustainable paper products. Next time you need to buy printer paper, notepad, or sticky notes, look for tree free or post-consumer recycled products. Even switching a single item a year could make a difference if enough people consciously picked a sustainable product.

Reading list:
Paper Alternatives
Conservatree

Music Video Bookmarks: Zach Heckendorf, Cheyenne Mize, Dillon

Zach Heckendorf Website


Cheyenne Mize Website


Dillon Website

My Dog: The Paradox by Matthew Inman

Finding humorous things has become my daily ritual. All the dog lovers must check out a comic My Dog: The Paradox by Matthew Inman. Click the picture below to view the comic.

Illustration from theoatmeal.com

Made in the USA: Calphalon, All-Clad

One of the things I look for when I am choosing a frying pan is that it is free of plastic parts. My frying pans make frequent trips between the stove top and the oven, so the strong metal construction is essential.

I've been using Calphalon hard anodized aluminum pans for years. So far, I have nothing to complain about these pans. Calphalon makes anodized aluminum cookware with or without nonstick coating. The non-coated version does stick in the beginning, but the pan gradually get seasoned over time and requires less cooking oil later on. This is what I like about hard-anodized aluminum pans over stainless-steel pans. The latter requires a lot more oil to prevent sticking for the length of its life. Calphalon's stainless-steel sauce has been working great as long as the food being cooked is not something easily burnt.

Calphalon Hard Anodized Aluminum Nonstick Frying Pans

Calphalon Hard Anodized Aluminum Frying Pan (not nonstick)

Calphalon has other cookware product lines but I am not familiar with them. Check out their website.

All-Clad is probably more famous for a stainless-steel line and their products are also manufactured in the USA. I do not have any All-Clad products mainly because of the higher price tag and also because I prefer hard anodized pans. They do have nonstick pans but are double the price of Calphalon pans. The All-Clad owners say they love their pans, so users have to justify the price and benefit.

  All-Clad Pots and Pans

A comment on Calphalon. They make variety of products other than cookware, but many cooking utensils, bakeware, and low-end cookware I saw in stores were not made in the USA. As always, we need to check the label.

Music Video Bookmarks: Wild belle, Little Daylight, Evy Jane

Wild Belle Website


Little Daylight Website


Evy Jane Website