01/29/12; CNY; Saturday Dinner; Sweet Potato

Aloha!

I hope everyone had a great last week of the first month of the new year!

Why you would chose to come back and participate in the recounting of my life of the last 7 days is a wonder to me - maybe I am entertaining or have something interesting to say. As I mentioned before in a previous post, I am doing this mainly to have a journal of my accomplishments of the week prior to writing this post. I need to... I HAVE to - because I get involved in my life, and sometimes - okay, many times - can't remember what it was I did on a particular day only a few fleeting hours ago.

I finished the Gingerbread House Quilt and Doll pattern based on my Gingerbreadtown collection for Michael Miller Fabrics. I'll post everything shortly - once it is a fait accompli - and have released it all to the public... I'm not teasing! I promise... there's just too much to post all at once.

I finished another round of corrections on my novel SHAG - a task which I thought was finalized 3 years ago but alas, things are never completely done. Once I have confirmation that the book is corrected, I'll post info about it. SHAG shall live again!

Also, as you are aware, I started blogging again. It's something I think is a great outlet for someone like me, who doesn't have the time to separate himself from time and space and enter the realm of a fictional world on a regular basis - and let me tell you - reality is scarier than any fiction I could ever come up with!

Most everything that I am depicting pictorially happened in the last few days. Yesterday I went to the Chinese New Year celebration in Kahului - mulled around for a while, bought a few sweets for dessert, and completed my weekly run into town.

There's always someone hidden under that sheepskin!

My "Koi with Lotus and Waves" design made into a small laptop quilt. I like it paired with the red!

Lions, and lions, and dragons, oh my!

Doesn't it look as if he's sizing her up for a meal?

I'm cleaning the house to within an inch of its life in preparation of my sister's visit... cooked a lovely meal for myself (a weekly reward) and watched PSYCHO - geez! I'd forgotten how incredible the movie is and hope more filmmakers chose to do their pieces in black and white - it add such a harsh brutality when there's just black, white, and as many shades of grey that light can create!

Charcoal-grilled Wild Scallops wrapped in Black Forest Bacon with a Cardamon-Fresh Ginger infused Soy and Balsamic Vinegar reduction

Grilled Tofu with Soy-Sesame-Scallion Sauce (I'm getting my grillin' down! Look at those gorgeous grill marks!)

My last thought for today is: do you or did you have any idea that a sweet potato flowers? I didn't until this morning... before I left for quilt market in October I stuck a sweet potato in some dirt outside as opposed to chucking it in the trash bin. Upon my return it had sprouted... and today - it bloomed!

Sweet potato blossom

I'm going to post mid-week as well. These posts will be bits and pieces of things that have transpired over the last year to hopefully, in a few months, get this blog and all of you (myself included) up to date!

Best,

Mark

Buddha's Hand 2

Here are a couple of photos of the flower and immature fruit on my tree. The flower is typical of a citrus flower, but the center of the flower (the green portion) seems to be the start of the fruit. The scent is citrusy, delicate floral perfume and

tropical - if that makes any sense at all :/

Since this fruit was on the tree when I purchased it, I hope it manages to hang on with the trip home from the grower and the change in climate but I am hopeful the new flower will produce a fruit that will reach maturity!

Dark Shadows 2012

There are few times that I am giddy like a little child, and this is one of them. The Tim Burton-Johnny Depp-Colleen Atwood-Danny Elfman collaborations are brilliant milestones in my life, and a great source of inspiration (my novel SHAG is a prime example, in which I practically pay homage to Tim. My dream would be to have TB direct the film version and Johnny to do a motion capture performance of Monsieur D'LeFolb).

I'm weak, so I had to post the newly released photo stills from the May 11 release of DARK SHADOWS! Can't wait!!!!

01/21/2012

This week, the third week of January and 2012, proved to be a very productive one with versital results.

Went to the Dr. to check out the tick bite. I was told that he couldn't really diagnose or confirm a tick bite four days after it happened and with the area scabbed over, but he said he trusted my instincts and educated opinion based on the info I gleened off of the Web; it was healing nicely, so obviously my body was taking care of it on its own... Therefore he wanted to let it take its natural course (no probing the wound to see if indeed the tick head was still lodged in my inner thigh). Luckily Lyme disease doesn't exist here on Maui BUT there is a bacterial fever that could arise within 3 weeks of the bite... so I'm on my guard for any of the symptoms which are very alike Lyme disease.

When I lived in Pukalani I tried growing nasturtiums to no avail. They were infested with a small bug that attacked the newly sprouting leaves and the buds of the flowers. Being one of my favorite flowers, liking them for their citrusy blaze of color and their culinary attributes, I was not daunted in my attempt to try and grown them here in Haiku... well, they love it here and both varieties - the crawling or vines and the bushy, vareigated leaf - are doing very well. This past week I was gifted with an abundance of gloriously colored flowers. How many could I eat in my salads? Not as many as I thought... so I hopped online and found a wonderful recipe for a compund butter of chopped nastrutium flowers, fresh lemon juice and zest mixed into creamy sweet butter. The flavored butter log now sits in the freezer awaiting some lucky grilled chicken breast, Maui Cattle Co. steak or fresh catch of the day.

I complete a new design for my favorite holiday - Halloween - and it's signed, sealed and on its way to being delivered to the NYO. It's a complete panel project, and if it workes out to my expectations, I might have just yet again set precidence for a standard in the industry. We also finalized my collection - Paradize Cove - for February release. It has mermaids, dolphins, flamingos, a multi-colored stripe which reminds me of an electronic synthesized polygraph-like image called Siren Song, scallop shells, a floral and palm trees. We're all very happy with the results...

Finally got the 300+ CD collection (32 CDs per container and I have a total of 12 - you do the math, LOL - and I need more...) assorted and put away in the storage containers I recently purcahsed. This created a bit of a mess, and I'm glad to be moving on so I can start to get the house organized for Dana's trip in mid-February (we're at T minus 3 weeks).

Of course, I'll churn a batch of ice cream for her visit... don't tell her but I've decided to take liberty with her request for Chocolate Chip Mint (Chocolate Mochi-Chocolate Chip Wasabi-Fresh Mint)... should be yummy - haven't gone wrong yet - except there's been requests for no more Kim Chee-Chocolate Stout-Banana Bread Ice Cream - mostly I think the name turns people off...

Friday night I treated myself like a human being with a life and took myself out to dinner and a concert. Tried Saigon Cafe - Vietnamese food. They call it a Maui gem - I think the place came into being when the island was formed - stepping through the door is like stepping through a portal back in time. The place is complete with Formica table tops, gruff, surly waiter - attentive yet aloof - and fantastic food. I'll definitely go again.

After that it was to the MACC for an outdoor concert - HAPA by Moonlight. Of course (and I say of course because I was hoping they'd play my favorite song, which brings tears to my eyes for the intensity of the music alone ) they opened with it, and they played my sister Dana's favorite - so it was a great evening. I've vowed to do one event per month. February is Keali'i Reichel - and nothing on the roster thus far until May when they have the Maui Brewing Festival... I'll get my lone ticket as soon as they release them this month.

Today I have promised myself to sit and proof SHAG and get the corrections to the publisher and see where that leads me in the process of redoing the book block and reprinting of the novel. I've a hankering to do some more writing - I haven't done any in a while and it's interesting - at least for me - how this stuff kind of builds up... I feel like I need a good emotional release and spewing of frustration - let's kill someone in one of the collection of short horror stories I'm working on and get it all out of my system, LOL.

I plan on starting a new group this coming week. More cleaning and organizing. I've managed to keep the office under control for 3 weeks now and I feel like I can keep the dicipline up... it is easier with up keep than with letting it go and cleaning a huge mess...

Thus far...

Oh yeah, and I bought a dwarf Buddah's Hand citrus tree.

This is a photo of a Buddha's hand fruit taken from the web. I am using it to show the fruit my tree should bear.

Week No. 2 and Still Going Strong

The second week of 2012 has come and gone. It went rather quickly and reflecting upon my accomplishments, unless I jot them down, my recent memory seems to fade, or at least condense events into smaller units of thought, and I feel like I haven't accomplished anything...

I think I was bitten by a tick! Oh my!

Harvested the Hawaiian chili peppers from my container garden and made chili pepper water - WOW! potent stuff - I'm storing it in a glass jar as I'm afraid it might just eat right through a plastic one.

Made my own poke - I shall never buy store made poke ever again as mine was so onolicious! Now I want Sam Choy's (my favorite Hawaiian chef) Poke cookbook. I'll look for that when my sister is here to visit in February and we're out shopping.

Started some new designs... got storage containers to organize my CD collection, had a brilliant idea to make my hats with two slits in the brim and make them for dogs... soliciting new accounts (one is promising), and all in all, counting my blessings and being thankful for the existence I have created.

Moon Comes Up, Moon Goes Down

The first full moon of 2012 - rising about 6:45 PM HST 01/08/ 2012

and setting approximately 8:15 AM HST 01/09/2012

The Start of a Brand New Year or If the Mayan Prophesy is True, Then I Only Have 355 Days Left

Christmas Dinner: Paella

Looking in

Looking in (closer)

Sewing area

Seated at my desk, looking left

Seated at my desk, looking out

(jelly bean on screen being cleaned up for the Halloween Candy Quilt Panel)

Exhausted from yet another day (day #5) of reorganizing and restructuring my office/studio but the work is well worth it. And I'm running into town to SPEND MONEY!!! New storage for files and CDs (I have over 300 titles), supplies, etc. and visiting Home Depot to buy wood and screws and glue to make shelving and structural thingies for supports to use as my desk and work surfaces. So I'm taking a break and thought I'd write to catch everyone up as best I can.

A little back story:

So, I thought I'd branch out and start some manufacturing for the local shops here on the island, to add to the shop I am already established in on the Big Island: Trudy's Island Arts.

The beginning of December saw to the end of almost 3 weeks of mass producing pillow cases, hats and baby blankets, with a few extra thrown in for inventory and presents for the holidays.

Two weeks before Christmas things started winding down. Preparations for my holiday party began (as Keri insisted I had to celebrate my birthday) so cleaning the house and food prep began. Pulled a muscle in my back which added an inconvenience not a deterrent, and my turning 48 (the Year of the Rabbit) turned out to be a lovely one. Food was fantastic and dessert was Dark Chocolate-Hawaiian Chili Pepper Ice Cream. Apparently, according to those who have had my frozen treats before, this was my best, but requests were not to make the Kim Chee-Chocolate Stout Banana Bread Ice Cream ever again... although the accompanying Miso-Butterscotch Sauce was awesome!

I made paella for the first time for Christmas dinner for my friend Keri and her husband Lloyd. It came out great. I was impressed myself for not having done it before but knowing what to do, and nothing was overcooked or anything. Only negative was I didn't get the toast crust on the bottom of the pan that is a requirement for perfect paella.

NYE was spent blissfully alone. Made pizzas, watched DVDs and drank three bottles of champagne. The next day, the 1st, I wished I was dead. Even my hair hurt.

Then, the 2nd started the office "move". And now it's the 7th... spending the weekend finishing up as much as possible before Monday. Then the coming week is work... start taxes, reread Shag and submit corrections for review, follow up on contacts made at Quilt Market, contact a few more retailers to get product out there, start working on the Gingerbread House Quilt pattern for release at the end of the month, start designing the Haunted Halloween Candy House quilt based on the gingerbread concept, start new designs, and (hopefully) approve the designs on fabric which are on their way to me for release end-February.

I'll spend one more day on organizing stuff but then I MUST get back to work and see if the new office configuration works as good in reality as it did on paper....