Mr. King 金念祖

Mr. King was born in 1909 and he lost his left arm when he was 35 years old. He managed to live a full live using only one arm. He was a diplomat and was stationed in Afganistan, Macau, Indonesia and Vietnam during some volitle time period starting around WWII. He loved playing sports and swimming as a youngster. After he lost his left arm, he biked using one arm and walked fast as transportation and exercise. He married his wife according to his parents' wishes and the couple stayed together for 75 years until she died 3 years ago. They had 1 son and 6 daughters. Now he lives in a nursing home and still walkes around with one cane. He goes to the bathroom and dresses himself every day. He worked as an English teacher and newspaper editor in Indonesia and he really enjoyed being a teacher. He is a very disciplined man. He doesn't eat much for dinner. He said when he was a diplomat, he used to eat a small bowl of rice congee before he went to any dinner party so that he would not eat too much at the feast. Now his favorite food is warm Chinese soup. He used to read Chinese newspaper every day and clipped many articles on diplomacy and war strategies to keep in his scrapbooks. He gave up most of his scrapbooks when he moved into the nursing home. He has 12 grandchildren and 8 great great children. However, his brothers, sisters, colleagues, friends, students and even one of his daughter all passed away. Of course, his wife's passing has the most impact on him. That's the story I wrote for the newspaper today. I wonder if he ever keeps a diary.

A Lucky Find

Before ordering from Amazon I found Julius Caesar at El Toro library bookstore.

This is not just any second-hand book. According to the stamps on the book, this is a book from Del Cerro School GATE program. I paid $1 for it.

This one is a parallel text edition which I like personally.

A search on Amazon shows even a brand new one cost less than $3.

I still considered this book a lucky find: there's a very personal link here.  

Kindergarden time

Wow, time flies fast. This is a picture taken at Del Cerro. I used to volunteer in the classroom. Looking at many relics of elemantary school still around my house, I must have enjoyed all those cutting, folding,  gluing, counting and reading-aloud.

Lovely Eggheads

I like these sculptures on UC Davis campus. The first one is Bookhead, placed near the library. The second one is Eye on Mrak. The third one is See no evil/hear no evil near the law school.  There are two more sculptures in this series: Yin and Yan, Stargazer. These sculptures are playful and eye-catching. They are made by former UC Davis professor Robert Arneson. A reproduction of Yin and Yan was placed in San Freancisco. When I first saw the Yin and Yan sculpture, I was intrigued, but not necessarily impressed. Later, I saw more and started to like them. They really enhance the landscape and give the campus a distinct character. Here's another picture to show the scale of the sculpture:

Let's eat @ OC Fair

Chopsticks become mainstream. 

Romantic table for two.

                         

Theater night dinner.

Birthday Party for Dorathy?

Cake decorated for your eyes only.

A perfect cake for Forth of July.

My mouth is watering. 

Only in Southern California.

Let's have some real food. 

Renegade Craft Fair

Handmade bags from recycled materials and unusual fabric. 

A giant yarn ball at the Urban Craft Center booth.

I like the quilted tent cover of  Urban Craft Center. 

Watch yarn spinning from wool and amaze at the felted bacon, egg and toast. 

So many talented artists desplay their works in prints, cards, buttons, magnets and T-shirts. 

A wood workshop inside this bus.

Chinatown metro station stands out in the downtown landscape.

Paper sculpture

Creative paper sculpture seen at Tiffany's window on Rodeo Drive. Using watercolor on paper gives a  casual effect.

American Robin

I spied an American Robin this morning when I was walking on the treadmill.
It's short and stout with brick red round belly and tiny orange beak.
The head is black and back is dark grey.
 This robin would no doubt be considered obese with such a full belly.
It sits on top of a tree branch outside the fitness center window and grooms its feather leisurely.

Then it suddenly dives down fast from the branch for some delicious bugs or worms.

In and out

Secret dream

I was going through all the postcards I received over the years. This one is a delight. It's from Debra Prewitt in Colorado.

Praying

Yard work

I moved this Aeonium Cyclops from a pot to a sunny spot in the backyard.

This is one of the most low-maintenance plants in my yard.

I planted some of the broken branches in other pots.

While I was working in the yard, I found the jade plant blooming.

First time in 20 years.

No wonder Chinese consider this a sign of good luck.  

Most of the plants in our yard survive on their own.

Some are considered weeds or wild plants.

Others bring surprise harvest for us.

Happy New Year

Year end is the time when I organized a year worth of pictures.

This time I fixed a couple picture online at Picnix

In the middle of this post, Acer laptop crashed.

These are photos from the 2010 holiday concert.