september 17

the fog has finally started to roll in here in seattle. days are still record-breakingly hot for mid-september, but when i step out of my house in the morning there is a soft mist and dew over my yard that unmistakeably reminds me of fall. tomorow is the new year for me and my family. we'll be eating apples and honey all weekend. i really think there is something to be said about celebrating a new year each fall. i mean we did it every year when we went back to school, right? we've all had those nervous, excited anticipation feelings of something new, a fresh start. that's fall, isn't it? i'm excited and humbled to get to celebrate the coming of another new year.

and i'm curious, in what ways do you celebrate fall?

the real summer fruit

tomatoes are everywhere!
my csa delivery yesterday consisted of a HUGE bag of cherry and slicing tomatoes.

things i do with tomatoes:
toasted bread, sliced cheddar, sliced tomatoes, salt and pepper.
tomato sauce with zucchini, summer squash, onions and ancho peppers on top of fettuccine.
tomato, green beans and balsamic salad.
tomato and basil and mozzarella: on grilled flatbread, mixed together in a salad, popped into my mouth before i can properly mix them all together.
salsa with hot peppers from my garden, cilantro, lime and salt.
put them all in a glass vase with and call it a center piece (i hope my pictures of that turn out!)

tonight i'm going to roast them and put them alongside chicken breast.
any other ideas of what to do with tomatoes?

*******
replies:
tifanie: thank you, i'm excited for you to come back and visit, too.
lecia: your welcome, i just love the dreamy/eeriness of your photo.
jane, at swim, trinsch: i'm glad you enjoy the photos as much as i do.
ida: i agree, the film adds such a unique quality to the already beautiful ocean!
lecia and lea: thank you for your compliments on the coast post.

the montreal summary

locations around montreal.

oh, we had such a good time! the beauty of film (and blogging) is being able to go back and look at an experience weeks later. it is so nice to sort through these photos. as you can see from the top two, there were a lot of bikers and bicycles in montreal, which jon loved. the second photo is of this cool bicycle system, similar to flex cars here, a pick-up-your-transportation-at-one-spot-drop-it-off-at-another type of system system.

we also ate very well in montreal. as i showed earlier, smoked meat at schwartz' was high on the list. but we also ate poutine at this great 24 hour diner called resto la banquise for our last night in town, we treated ourselves to the famed, au pied de cochon. so delicious! for being the most talked about restaurant in the city, the whole staff was so welcoming and laid back, yet knowledgable and very good at their job. we ordered a fish soup to split, foie gras cromesquis--which were essentially a taste of foie gras breaded then fried so that the pate melted slightly and oozed just like when you bite into cherry truffles. then we each had a salad, prepared very well. we had cod cake fritters with large chunks of fish inside and homemade mayonaise that came in little wide mouth jars on the side. as the main dish, we split the plogue a champlain. i can't even begin to describe to you what that was. let's just say maple syrup, gruyere, buckwheat pancake, seared fois gras and bacon, all in a beautiful decadent pile. a thing to split for sure. finally, we had and a poached pear with vanilla ice cream and espressos on the side. the meal lasted for about 3 hours, just as a proper french-influenced 'we're treating ourselves on vacation' meal should last. oh! and the bread! huge huge loaves that they cut right in front of you with the most flavorful butter. those meals only happen once in a blue moon.

besides that fancy evening, we did a lot of walking and exploring and hanging out. there was nothing much more we wanted to do than to visit all the different neighborhoods and get a feel for the city. one day, we found a coffee shop in mile end and ate (the best and freshsest) bagels with our coffee, while reading on their terrace. another evening we got bombarded by the boul de saint laurent, "the main" they call it, which is the road that runs through the whole city. wandering around tired and hungry, we finally found a little bar on a side street that brewed it's own beer. it was called the reservoir. we skirted downtown, not too interested in skyscrapers, but did wander around old town, getting a feel for the old european buildings. instead of hiking the parc du mont royal, we explored mcgill campus. did you know a hospital can look like a castle? it can at mcgill.

ice cream, walking, coffees, bagels, french speaking, ordering food in french or english, finding our way around, maps, metros, beer and terraces--it was all so fun!

more pictures to come...

quartier latin a montreal

we've made it to montreal! that is, the blog has made it. i've already come and gone. but finally the pictures have arrived.
1. colorful mural about aids.
2. & 3. colorful street art: clothes hanging out to dry.
4. quebec library

also, i've met a new blog/flickr friend from montreal. for more montreal, go say hi to eli of aussi cool que toi.

the last of new york

more lawn chairs in times square. i just get a kick out of it!
as promised, this post is the last of new york photos. next week will be montreal on holga, montreal on 35mm and quebec city.

tomorrow is the last day to enter the giveaway!
thank you all who have already entered and given me such great feedback.

how has your summer been? i sat down and wrote a list last week of summery things i want to do before summer is over. i think i'm already getting through much of the list: i finally made my first berry crisp of the summer. i've eaten peaches and i'm going to a barbecue tonight. i just got back from the beautiful washington coast, where it actually was sunny and i walked in the waves. last weekend i went on a bike ride to the farmer's market. i have yet to pickle or jam and i still want to walk up the street and pick blacberries and roll out a pie dough. i think i've also started some new summer traditions, like zuchinni and summer squash bread. what to do with all that great colorful summer squash? grate it and make a quick bread!

what is left to do on your summer list?

oh! and i was able to go to delancey's soft opening last week. yum yum yum, that couple has style and taste!

high over the hudson

if you haven't yet, please enter the fun and free giveaway to celebrate my 100th post!



day two we walked across the brooklyn bridge. it was amazing.

these funny photos were taken with this funny camera. it is a re-make of the vivitar ultra wide and slim. japanese company, superheadz, took vivitar's plastic camera and wide angel lens creation and remade the 'white slim angel' and the 'black slim devil.' i have come to love the wide angle, but i haven't quite warmed up to all the color and focus distortions that my white angel causes. what do you think?

*the store i link to is the four corner store. it's great.

at any rate, the day was hot hot hot and muggy. but to be up high above the hudson river heading towards the big city, looking back at brooklyn...well, that was such an experience! also, the top photo is prospect park. a beautifully laid out huge park in brooklyn. we walked so much.