In any event, Ian was in Vancouver for the IGLFA (international gay & lesbian football association) world cup soccer tournament the other week. San Francisco is gorgeous, don't get me wrong, but I must admit that the Pacific Northwest is absolutely unparalleled in terms of its natural beauty - both in the summertime when the sun shines until 10:30pm in a cloudless sky, and equally when it's grey and drizzly.
The incredible land and sea endowment of the University of British Columbia:
Ian's residence was next to the UBC plant sciences center ... I love greenhouses and all the plants
Downtown Vancouver: our friend Pedro (who plays on the New York Ramblers soccer team) was also playing with Ian for Samurai Japan in the tournament
Ingredients for a "gaysian" on a t-shirt :-p .... my favorite is "anti aging face" !
They also took a trip up to Whistler and rode the newly-opened Whistler-Blackcomb Peak to Peak gondola (I believe it's the longest in the world?)
Whistler village in the background
Look at the number of wheels required to pull along all that cable ....
In other news, I ordered some more great tea from my friend Greg's online shop, Norbu Tea (www.norbutea.com). He carries some great quality artisan teas at very accessible prices, and I've been having fun exploring more. I put an order in for a larger bag of Mi Lan Dan Cong (the honey orchid fragrance oolong) because I loved it last time, but Greg also sent a sample of some very expensive fenghuang (phoenix) oolong as well
Like the Mi Lan, this one is also from Chaozhou (Chiu-jiao, in Cantonese), along the coast east of Hong Kong
Old growth trees make for a beautiful dry leaf
After the initial wash, leaves showing a unique white/beige trim around the edges
Taste of this tea was wonderful - like a much more full and rounded-body Phoenix oolong, minus the very obvious honey flavor of the Mi Lan Dan Cong. Aftertaste lingered for a long time, and was bright and floral without any bitterness. Like other Phoenix oolongs, the leaves don't open up much which, apparently, is representative of tea from old-growth trees.
We also made a trip down to Red Blossom Tea Co. here in San Francisco's chinatown to taste some of their latest Spring 2011 gao-shan (high mountain) Taiwanese oolongs. Immediately, I decided on the Lishan. I have tried Spring 2010 Alishan, Winter 2010 Alishan, Spring 2011 Alishan, and now Spring 2011 Lishan as well. At first I didn't think that I would be able to taste the difference, but I can now say that I think I prefer spring to winter teas. They are brighter, more floral, and I think show the differentiating characteristics of the tea better. This past spring's lishan was very creamy, floral, and had full flavor even from the first infusion
great leaf quality
Like the new tea tray? it looks nice in the living room on the side table :-p
Finally, I've been meaning to do another garden update ... here's a quick look at the morning glories (あさがお) whose seeds I took directly from the plants that are growing in my grandparents' garden in Miyako, Iwate Prefecture in northeastern Japan. In just one month they climbed the entire bamboo trellis I set up, and have begun to flower this morning. I love how they close back up in the afternoon.
This is pretty incredible ... I never thought I could get such color! I've never seen a white base with violet stripes/splashes and a blush of pink. It's such a surprise to see these flowers open up
The more common, but equally stunning, violet color as well. I wonder what other colors we'll get?
We set up a balcony planter type thing a while back when Bryan was in town visiting, so I will eventually get started on growing california poppies and other herbs in that. I also need to transplant the passionfruit vine since in just one week it has grown over 1 foot and needs more support. So much to do! Maybe Tuesday (my day off) will be a gardening day?
Off to work!
Can we trade lives for a day??? Yours sounds fascinating!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.glamkittenslitterbox.com/
Twitter: @GlamKitten88