Potato Chips!

I got the most wonderful thing in the mail yesterday...



It's to make potato chips in the microwave!

Now, you probably don't know that I'm a chip-o-holic. I've even tried making chips in the microwave before, and this was before I had a mandolin to cut the slices. You had to lay the slices out on a plate, in a single layer, and keep flipping them over. You could only cook a few at time, and so it took forever to get through one potato. This is the beauty of the rack ~



And really, that is all you need. In the first picture, you can see the rack sitting on top. Underneath that is the yellow piece, which is a blade for cutting the slices, and the clear part on bottom is a bowl to slice them into. I was wasn't expecting much out of the slicer, but I was hopeful. I couldn't get it to work at all though, so I pulled out the mandolin instead.



Mmmmm. They are thick and crunchy like a kettle chip. Now to experiment with flavors! There are so many possibilities. I bought the set for $8 on eBay, and that included the shipping cost from China. Super cheap, and with potato chip prices being so high these days, it will pay for itself in no time.

Tapioca Noodles

This morning I tried the Tapioca noodles I bought at the Asian Market a while ago. They are so pretty dry, all crinkly and white with just a touch of color...



I looked online for information on how long to cook them, but all of the information was for thinner, stringy tapioca noodles that only needed about a minute to cook. These thicker crinkles needed closer to 6 minutes. Naturally, they plump up as you cook them and become more translucent. Not quite as pretty, but nice if you are looking for something different. Here you can see them cooked, with a little bit of sauce.



The downside? The smell they gave off while cooking was pretty unappealing. The only word that came to mind was "sweat". But, I didn't notice a smell after draining them and adding the sauce. It is a nice chewy noodle, which is my favorite type, but I think I might stick to rice noodles in the future. Though, these would look lovely in a glass canister on the counter!

Ambigram Drop

"K&R" Ambigram
"Scott" & "Kiefer" Ambigram Created to match these ambigrams.	"Kelly" & "Kiefer" Ambigram Created to match these ambigrams.
"JAC" & "RAE" Ambigram	"Miri" & "Jacob" Ambigram
"Dernehl Clothing" Ambigram	"Dernehl Clothing" Ambigram Sketch (We never finalized this font, but I wanted to share the sketch)
"Walk by Faith" "& Not by Sight" Ambigram

(Sort of) New Camera!

This weekend we got together with my parents and they hooked me up with a new(-to-me) digital camera. Yay! They recently bought a new one and are letting me use their old camera until we can save up for a new one ourselves. Money for a Canon Rebel is going to be at the top of my birthday and Christmas list this year!

I think it may be hard to get up the motivation for blogging again, since I've been out of the habit for a while now. (I don't really like to make posts without photos) But I also know there are a ton of recipes that need to be shared, meals we've made once but were never tweaked and re-worked to perfection. That will at least give me one goal to work towards. I'm not sure there will be any wonderful screen printing photos for a while, though we are feeling more and more willing to pay someone to burn a screen for me, just to get started again.

Today I used my usual model for some test shots. Every once in a while I will drape a blanket over a chair to create a little kitty-fort. He loves anything that resembles a cave.

Ambigram Drop

"Stephanie" & "Gabrielle" Ambigram	"Barrôco" & "Stewart" Ambigram
"AI" Ambigrams (Upper and lowercase versions)	"Thomas" & "Joseph" Ambigram
"Peyton" & "Parker" Ambigram	"Abby" & "Ethan" Ambigram
"DL" Ambigram Created with border based on the water crystal that forms from the word "Love".

Finish Line

I did it! Monday I actually finished Remembering the Kanji and am happy to now have 2040+ kanji stored in my memory after about 2 1/5 months of pretty diligent study.

Of course, I still can't read a darn thing, but at least now I can start to learn. I've also been thinking a lot about what I wanted to work on once I finished the book. Most people don't seem to recommend RtK2 (which teaches the sounds the kanji make), though they like the 3rd book (which goes onto more advanced kanji). All of my reading on learning languages has led me just to that... reading. I have vol. 1 and 2 of Death Note in Japanese which I can start with, and then I need to find a good book and a form a plan of attack.

Justin is starting RtK now, but is giving himself a year to get through it. I had planned for 3 or 4 months myself, but was eager to do a lot more per day than I had expected. I'm hoping that he will get bit by the kanji bug as well and doesn't end quitting after 1000 like most people seem to do.

Hearts & Things

I apologize for how boring the blog has become lately. Without photos there is not much to blog about, other than posting the ambigrams & such. (Occasionally a photo will turn out, but I think the camera can no longer handle any close up or far away views, and the vast majority of my photos are macro. It's so sad.)

I have been working on screen printing lately, but the story is always about the same. Every week I burn a new screen, it doesn't turn out, but it's better than last time so at least there is some progress. Right now I'm not actually sure what I can do to improve it next time, and they are so exhausting to work with. I can't wait to get past this stage and back to the printing!

I have been busy with ambigrams, though, and quite a few other graphics. Here is a collection of new hearts and a two random designs that were custom ordered.

Medical Symbol in Plumeria Flowers & Ivy
"BSH" Heart Design	"Moraga" & "Perez" Heart Design
"Guard with Dilligence" Heart Design
"Angelina" & "Mikah" Heart Design	"JDAL" Heart Design
"DJRB" Initials Sketch