Day 354 - Lila

Thought of the day: Our house guests left today for a trip to Colorado Springs. We were left with a house that was strangely quiet and two girls again demanding our full attention. It was good to have the guests around as they offered generous help with our household chores. Even better, the girls always had company at home and they had probably played more games and puzzles in the past few days than ever before.  It would be good to have the guests back in two days and have the blessing of their company for a few more days!

Photo of the day:

Lila fooling around in her room before bed time.

Day 350 - Dinner

Thought of the day: Today I played a game called "24" with Jasmine.  She loved it.  It's a fun mental math game that really gets you to exercise the brain for additions, subtractions, multiplications and divisions. The game has different levels and Jasmine is currently playing at the easiest level while I play at the most difficult level. Jasmine enjoys getting through her challenges faster than me. We make a rule for the winner to gradually move up on the levels and for the loser to gradually move down.  Since Jasmine is so into this game, it won't surprise me if she will eventually pass me on the difficulty level. The question is only when.

Photo of the day:

Dinner in my favorite restaurant called "home". As in the past few Wednesdays, Jasmine stayed home with me to work on subjects including math, science, music, Chinese. Playing games and taking several "recesses" helped her stay focused and engaged. We spent a happy yet productive day together.

Day 345 - Chicago River

Thought of the day: I think I am in love with this city. The people, interesting; The street scenes, entertaining; The architecture, fascinating; The evening lights, dazzling. It’s a heaven for photographers of all kinds - portrait, architecture, street, night, and even wedding photographers can all find something to point their lenses at. After getting used to a place as quiet as Boulder, the vibrant night scenes of Chicago are particularly striking to me. The neon sign of Chicago Theater, the live broadcast of 7 News that can be viewed from outside of the tall glass walls, the watery reflections of skyscrapers on Chicago River, the magnificent night view of the entire city from the top of Skydeck of Willis (formerly known as Sears) Tower - all of these created an indelible memory not only on my camera, but also in my mind. I think one of the many benefits of living in a town like Boulder is that I can be completely in awe of a big city like Chicago whenever I have a chance to visit. Boulder provides a solid home base for me to explore and appreciate the magnificence of the rest of the world - it’s as indispensable as the rice in a Chinese meal or the bread in a western fare. At this moment I’m enjoying Chicago, thoroughly and without reservation, as I know that I will be happy when I get home too.

Photo of the day:

Night reflections on Chicago River.

Day 331 - Restaurant

Thought of the day: Sadly, we haven’t camped for a single time this summer. With the weather getting colder, the chance of going camping this season is getting slimmer as the light is getting softer every day. Camping trips in the summer are like ski vacations in the winter - missing them is like missing some of the essence of summer. Sure, we have done a lot of other interesting activities, but I wish we had given a higher priority to camping.

Photo of the day:

One thing we have done a lot during the summer is eating out.  There are a lot of good restaurants in Boulder to choose from, including this Mexican restaurant where we spent the evening at.  It had a great ambiance and good food.

Day 325 - Les Misérables

Thought of the day: We went to the famed musical Les Misérables in Denver today. Since we don't come to the city very often, the night scenes of Denver left quite a dazzling impression on me. So many cars, so many lights, so many people - I felt like a country bumpkin enjoying a rare night out in the city. Of course, Boulder is not exactly the countryside, but it's infinitely calmer and quieter. It would not surprise me if the clocks ticked slightly slower in Boulder than in the city. The show was amazing and had an overpowering effect especially towards the end. I don't believe there was a single pair of dry eyes leaving the theater.  All in all, it was an interesting evening and was definitely worth the 45 minute drive each way.

Photo of the day:

At the end of the show, the main actor came out to receive a round of wild applause and standing ovation.

Day 237 - Moonlight

Thought of the day: Today we took a tour of the caldera on a catamaran.  We swam in the hot springs and a few beaches, took in the view of cliffs of various colors, and set sail on the ocean for a while with a silent motor. It was interesting to spend some time on a boat, as the experience on the water was completely different from the experience on the land. When the boat was sailing smoothly and the wind was blowing on my face, it felt as if I had wings and all other thoughts drained out of the mind.  I can see why some people love, or are even addicted to, sailing. I was happy on the boat for a couple of hours but I was even happier when I got back on the land. Perhaps I need the solid ground under my feet more than the exhilaration and unpredictability of flying.

Photo of the day:

If the day time in Oia seems unreal already, the night time is simply out of this world.  With the cooler summer air at night, people come into the street for dinner only after it's dark - often after 9pm. Tonight is our last night in Greece. The lights are already on everywhere. From our veranda, we can see a full moon casting an elongated strip of silky, golden light on the ocean and touching the boats docked in the harbor ever so lightly. The image is unforgettable and we're going to miss it. In fact, I already am.

Day 203 - Wet

Thought of the day: I caught something over the weekend and it was getting worse, so today I took a day of bed rest.  I seem to be more prone to illness lately which made me wonder if the lack of sleep can make the immune system less effective.  So I probed around a bit and, unsurprisingly, every article that turned up linked sleep to the immune system.  So it's not just an old wife's tale, it's proven by research that good night sleeps promote immune response and when you're ill, the immune system makes you feel sleepier than usual so you will rest.  Our body works amazingly well when you give it the respect that it deserves.  It's really something, isn't it?  OK, time for bed!

Photo of the day:

It was wet and cold - a perfect day for resting.

Day 139 - Car Light

Thought of the day: Doing this blog gives me a challenge, and pleasure, of finding and capturing the beauties of life every day.  On lucky days, a beautiful scene would just present itself at an opportune moment and I can just grab the camera and shoot.  On other days, I need to go out of the way to look for something interesting to shoot.  Today was one of those "other" days.  There were actually quite a few memorable moments throughout the day - horses on an idyllic pasture, a brightly dressed child on a misty, green meadow, stunning sunset silhouette of cottonwoods - but unfortunately I could only capture them with my eyes but not the camera for practical reasons.  So, when it was getting late and I still didn't have a single photo on my camera, I decided to go for a jog and shoot in the dark - a challenging task for me as the light was the biggest source of inspiration for my photos.  But luckily, even with the natural lights gone, we humans created enough artificial lights to keep ourselves safe and comfy at night that I was able to accomplish my task for the day.

Photo of the day:

Cars, street, and trees with blossoms of early Spring.