As we walked around the old streets of the town, I couldn’t resist taking a picture of this little girl. She was playing in front of this well-like structure, and with her kimono jacket, almost looked like she was from a different era. Her mother, inside the store front, called to her to smile but she mostly looked unfazed as she does here or scowled.

San Shia, Taiwan.

January, 2010.

This is another incense basin, taken from inside the temple facing outwards towards the courtyard square. Perhaps the wind was blowing, as the incense sticks all seem to be blurry with movement, with only the ashes in focus.

We had visited this temple in San Shia and were given a private tour by my uncle’s friend, whose father was the key artist in designing the various stone carvings throughout the temple. Not visible here is the amazing detail and painstaking thought given to each panel’s and pillar’s carvings — its stories and meaning only known to a few insiders, such as the artist’s son.

San Shia, Taiwan.

January, 2010.

To celebrate my cousin, Nathan’s, 25th birthday. (In conjunction with Chinese New Year!)

Fremont, CA.

February 14, 2010.

Chinese New Year called for a family gathering. My aunt’s prepartion of fresh ling cod covered in a bed of scallions was perfect — slightly gruesome anecdote: she told us that the fish was so fresh that it was still moving for an hour even after being chopped in half (the other half on ice at the market).

We eat fish during new year’s eve dinner as part of tradition to “have extra” in the year to come.

Fremont, CA.

February 13, 2010.

There is a comic book store at the bottom of our apartment building in Taipei. These stores dot the city, mostly in residential areas, and serve pretty much as comic book libraries from which you can borrow comics and magazines or rent them to read while in the store. The owner of this shop is also a lover of cats. A couple well-behaved cats roamed the store amongst the readers, and this one sat perched on the front desk next to a couple unshelved books. He told us that he had rescued all of his cats off the street.

Taipei, Taiwan.

January, 2010.

The Japanese-style sand garden (also known as a “zen garden”) in front of our hot springs hotel.

Ming Liou Resort, Jin San, Taiwan.

January 4, 2010.

A close-up of a large basin of burning incense at a temple in San Shia, about an hour from Taipei.

San Shia, Taiwan.

January 2010.

New York, NY.

February 6, 2010.

I made oatmeal cookies a few weeks ago using fresh walnuts. These are pretty much the only cookies my mom and I made at home growing up. Note the somewhat ridiculous eco-friendly premium parchment paper – a sign of living two blocks from Whole Foods and far from a normal supermarket.

San Francisco, CA.

January, 2010.