A look back to see an absent friend

For those that know, no captions required.

The “BEST”

The old adage: “One man’s meat is another man’s poison.”  As we each expound the various subjective virtues of one tea over another .. It is exactly that; an individual subjective preference (or rejection) of said tea.

My two favorites are now in the land of Unobtainium (less stock on hand)…. So ..2 Days, about 10 hrs of tea tasting with a goal of finding a Pu-Erh tea.   Near the end of day two (Sunday).. Mrs. Yang quietly made a pot and served it up, nothing said just filling the cups and moving on.  it was love at first sip. I could not contain my excitement and declared an unsurpassed tea was being presented to us (8 folks in total)  Needless to say we extended our say for a few more rounds.

Leaving the store Mrs. Yang gave me gift of the only box she had, with a promise of more to come.

Unbiased by packaging this “Non-Pressed” tea with 10 years of maturing flavor is quite simply the best tea I have had the pleasure to drink.

Hong Kong .. In and Out

Time fly's when your having fun. Sunday and Monday in HK were, despite the cold temps (8-10), very pleasant, clear skies and clean air!!!!.

Lots of news on the home front .. but more on that later ….

Hong Kong–China–Singapore

Changes in the tea business .. Retail sales slump .. shop closures etc .. and the rise in prices with high end products being offed … a strange mix to ponder.  Lee Hong a friend of 7+ years with her “boyfriend”  He studied Tea in university and now works in the retail / teaching store in DongguanSaturday about noon and I am the only customer. This store is downsized by 75% from my last visit and has some of the highest price teas (Pu-erh Only) I’ve see. also a collection of very expensive Tea Pots.Some high price pots, prices are a function of being attributed to a master craftsman. (if you trust the printed cards) These two are 25,000 RMB eachThis one is “only” 13,500 RMBThis Pu-Erh cake not only comes in a very ornate box with lock, It has a zippered jacket, all for: 6,800RMB

Tea Room Art – Hokusai

Two new additions to my tea room. Very reminiscent of Hohusai’s Tsunami  (1760–1849) Katsushika Hokusai, The Great Wave off Kanagawa, provides inspiration to many.

Archeology 101 and beyond

Re-Embanking on a previously abandoned dig of my youth … The Large Samoan construction mafia occupy my side-yard .. Archeology, the precursor to an anticipated construction project.Having dug for the day, they live to dig another day .. hopefully they will manage to lay as well as dig. 

Tangible progress, as day fades to night. Plans for more concrete progress ensue.Perfect Progress .. Thursday afternoon .. the finishers are finished

“THERE are fairies at the bottom of our garden!

It's not so very, very far away;

You pass the gardener's shed and you just keep straight ahead” – more accurately the site of our future gardener’s shed.

Now my Thanksgiving holiday plans are “set” .. off to the lumber yard. Time to erect a Folly

For those in inclement Northern Latitudes

No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,
No comfortable feel in any member -
No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,
No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds -
November! ~ Thomas Hood

Robbie heading home:

Parting Shot

Underwater, in more ways than one

Pygmy Seahorse, Robbie continues her SCUBA safari.
 
From my friend Rick in Thailand:
“Here in Chiang Mai there was some flooding around the town but I didn't have any trouble right at my house... (good thing) But it made travel to work adventurous a couple of days and one day I left early from work  just to be sure I could get home. I live on the west side of a river that runs North and South through town and where I work is on the east side of the river.  A couple of the major ways across the river were flooded and not passable for a couple of days but I was able to take alternate ways which unfortunately everyone else had to do the same so traffic, which is always pretty congested due to Thailand's poor infrastructure was even worse for those days.  But all that happened a little over a few weeks ago and since then there hasn't been much rain in our part of the country.  But around Bangkok and a few other Providences it's a different story as this has been some of the worst in recent history. “

“I just received these pics this morning. They are from the High Tech Industrial Park just north of BKK where I used to travel to Pemstar.  These buildings shown are Hana Microelectronics, the CM my company uses today..... I'm at the Chiang Mai facility but they have a couple in and near the BKK area.”

Stuff and more Stuff

Robbie is now in Anilao .. couple more weeks and she will head home.

I’ve managed to add another notch on my hammer .. The “Oak and Birch” is officially open or closed for business.

A full restoration is well underway on the 106 year old Sewing machine case work.  As a centenarian, time and usage have left their mark. Disassembly to component parts, some judicial cleaning and repairs, should see us good for another hundred years.

Old fasteners: . back in the day when “slotted” screw heads were the only offering.Finishing this drawer, draws the the finish nearer

Stuff …

Scientists are nibbling at our foundations, can we achieve speed in excess of: 299,792,458 m/s. I would say that its relatively easy, what is not, is to travel faster than an ever evolving list of “Things To Do”

Andrew stopped by for a few hours on Saturday. In town for a wedding (not his) then back to Texas on Monday .. major score for me .. Pair of Oakley Livestrong Jawbones .

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Robbie is off globe hopping .. LA to Manila to Singapore to Jakarta to Manila to Anilao to Manila to LA .. About a month of SCUBA .. some pics:…..

Let’s see if the upcoming long weekend can make a dent in that list of projects. If you resonate to these terms you know the plan ahead: Threshold, Jamb, Head Jamb, Stop, Hanging and Casing.

A stitch in time saves nine.

Three FedEx packages, 46.6kg. What could it be?
Clue #1: Least said soonest mended.
Clue #2: It’s the Singer not the song.
Clue #3: A Greek Tragedy, Euripides Eumendides
Friday Sept. 23rd.  Update:……..
All is now revealed … What is behind Door #3 …..
An 1899 Model 27 K / 28 K, cordless, wireless, HPTSM

Human Powered Treadle Sewing Machine. Manufactured by: Singer Manufacturing Company, between 1899 and 1913.The ultimate in “Going Green” and getting Off the Grid.

Life’s a Birch

Red Birch, “heartwood” of the Yellow Birch tree. A visually pleasing hard wood, a little tricky to work, but with sharp tools and patience you can win the day. (patience is not my long suit) Surface finishing is the tedious part, but that’s a few days away.

A new load of lumber, filled with promise: You just cannot have enough clamps. (hint for Christmas booty) Many hands make light work, thx Sean. My favorite part of the project .. letting the glue dry .. Oh and look, its 5 past Tea-Time