The Senakams | Corgi + 3

Chimpanzee and bulldog

I know how much you all love and adore the Bryson and Picasso duo, I do too. That's why it's so hard for me to tell you that there's actually another duo out there that's *almost* as entertaining to watch as these two.

They're known as "Ah Bun and Ah Jim" in HK, a TV show imported from Japan, also known as "Pan the Chimpanzee and James the Bulldog". I found this through a friend on Facebook. Below is just a snippet of their amazing "talents". For more episodes, click here. (sorry it's in Thai, but you can call Jacques for interpretation service, his may even offer you his friends-and-family special rate).

Enjoy!

Bryson meets Xena the Warrior Princess

A couple weeks ago, Bryson met a new puppy friend, Xena (yes, as in Xena the Warrior Princess, you can tell what her parents' ambition for her are). Xena is a super-adorable 5-week-old mixed puppy, who literally fell into the lap of my friend Van's family. They weren't prepared to have a dog at all, let alone a needy little puppy. But they took one look at her and fell in love promptly (just look at that face, awww...) How could you not? But still, it takes a pretty big heart (and tons of patience) to take in such a young and helpless pup. Thanks goodness she's learning fast, just look at the intense sitting lesson below...

Bryson demonstrates a sit as Xena's mommy gently coerce her to do the same

Bryson: See! You got it! It's not so hard, eh? Here's your reward... oops, I mean mine, you'll get yours later

Just look at that focus and determination on her face: "MUST... learn....... SIT!!"

Bryson and Picasso go to Napa Valley

Picasso is staying with us again as his parents went on vacation, and the buddies are ready for another adventure- this time they have their minds set on a more grown-up trip- so off we went to Napa Valley, Calistoga to be exact, "Sideways"-style.

The deal is Jacques got a last-minute offer from work to spend a free night at Calistoga Ranch, one of the Top 50 Resorts in the country. Seeing that their rooms average a whopping $1000/night, plus the fact that it's less than a two-hour drive from us, we can't help but drop everything and take the boys there to have a taste of the Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.

(For more photos, click here)

Calistoga Ranch, we have ARRIVED! Where's the Welcoming Committee?

 
Left: Right: Golf cart ride to our private lodge (Bryson: Please don't hold me like a baby in public)
Right: Quiet lake on the property (that's the restaurant house near the center and our lodge is one of the houses on the left)

Our One-bedroom lodge: with the sleeping unit to the left, connected to the living unit to the right by a patio with its own tree

The brothers checking out the living unit: wow, this is nice, can we move here?

 
Left: Chilling on our private patio, if it were not 90+ degrees that day, we would try out the cool indoor-outdoor fireplace
Right: Check out this bed! It's soooooo comfy... maybe you guys could try the dog beds

 
Left: Bryson checking out our own outdoor shower- "I'm not into public nudity, thanks"
Right: Wine barrels littering the grounds, reminding you where you are

Alfresco dining vs stealing from the breakfast table: hard to say which is more attractive

This is all very nice, but I'm kinda missing my daddy and mommy...

No trip to the wine country is complete without visits to a couple of wineries. Here we are at Clos Pegase. Bryson's verdict: Yuck! Look at all the grapes behind me, don't people know they're toxic to dogs?! (Our verdict: their pinot noir is quite nice)

Are we back in Europe? No, it's Castello di Amarosa, another new and gimmicky winery that seems to be popping up everywhere around Napa Valley. While I'm sure it draws in tons of curious tourists (we can't deny we were drawn in to take a peek as well), these places are really turning Napa into a DisneyWorld of sorts. I guess there's a reason why native Napa Valley residents hate outsiders so much...

Do we have to go home? We really don't mind staying a couple more days...

Just eat it- it's good for you

We Cantonese are famous (or notorious, however you look at it) for throwing exotic (or bizarre, again depends on your perspective) ingredients into elaborate recipes of slow-cooked soup, each purportedly harbors magical medicinal properties that guarantees health and longevity.

My mom has always been a self-proclaimed authority in this area (as most Chinese moms are), and on my recent trip to Seattle, has imparted the wisdom of "fish maw" ("Flower gel" as a direct translation) on me.

"What part of the fish it this and what is it supposed to do?" I asked, as my mom handed me a box filled with this questionable-looking, gelatinous material to take back to San Francisco. She rattled off on its collagen content, how it's good for women, how expensive it is, and inevitably, the vague conclusion that just about sums up all questionable contents in Cantonese cuisine: "just eat it, it's good for you".

So what does one do when one's mom tell her "just eat it, it's good for you"? You look up what it is on wikipedia, and you find some way to eat it. The one way that seems to involve the least amount of work is throwing it in a slow-cooked soup. It's almost fool-proof- all you need is a few choice ingredients- in this case, I threw in whatever I can find in my fridge (as depicted above): dried red dates, dried scallops, a big hunka pork, Gei Chee (Chinese wolfberry), and Wai San (some kind of dried yam), and of course, the plastic-sac-like fish maw.

After 3 hours in a slow cook pot, I have to say that it does taste pretty good. And guess what, I could feel that my ovaries are stronger already.

My Baby Sister's Baby Shower

"Surprise!", or at least that was the idea behind it...

You see, I've been planning this baby shower for my sister with my mom for the past couple months, but I've told my sister that I was just doing the remote planning but couldn't be there (they live in Seattle). Everything went as planned, I packed up all the goodies for the shower (filled a large suitcase), hopped onto the plane, got picked up at the airport by my accomplices (my parents), got to their place before she got back, even diverted her plan to go shopping to come straight home (not an easy task).

I was pretty smug that we're about to pull off the Surprise of the Century, but, my sister proved to be more astute than I give her credit for... As soon as she stepped through the door as expected, my mom went up and covered her eyes and asked her to guess who has come for her shower as rehearsed. I heard from my cover my sister's voice saying, "what, is Ivy here?". I was like, "Huh? How on earth did you figure??" "It's your shoes, dummy.... who else I know wears weird shoes like that?!" Damn, with all the painstaking planning, I forgot to hide my shoes and blew my cover... Lesson here? I should never work as a spy.

Anyway, spoiled surprise aside, the shower was a blast. Here's how the day went:

 
Left: My 8-month pregnant sister and her 5-month pregnant friend (man, that pregnancy glow does look nice)
RIght: Sisters! And Brother-in-law, of course

Don't ask me what she's doing here... maybe practicing giving birth and praying to the labor goddess for protection at the same time...

I got the idea from my Planner-Extraordinaire friend Aimee for this game, just a little friendly competition of "Paint a Bib or Onsie" for the new baby. It was an instant hit with all the guests especially the kids (although maybe not so much with the parents who have to rub the paint off of their face/hands...)

 

 

 
I think the hormone is getting to her...

Favor boxes that I slaved over, which coordinated perfectly with the invites.

Check out the photo album for complete coverage of the day.

Picasso's Sleepover

It took me a while to organize the rest of the pictures of Picasso's sleepover with us a couple weeks ago, hope you agree it's worth the wait...

Check out our Photo Album for more.

Birthday brunch with the girls

We had a girlfriends' birthday brunch last weekend at this funky place in the Mission District called Foreign Cinema.

It's a defunct-cinema-turned-industrial-chic restaurant featuring sophisticated Californian dishes. True to the nature of the original establishment, there is a movie screen in the courtyard that screens silent indie movies.

I have to say that when we first drove by, we weren't sure if we should get out of the car. The neighborhood is just... a tad bit... well, ghetto. Let's say after we found parking around the corner, it took some persuasion for me to leave Giselle there alone (oh, forgot to mention, my Audi is Giselle now, you know, German and kinda lithe and sexy).

The front of the restaurant doesn't inspire a lot of confidence either- it really just looks like a defunct cinema. There are homeless people pushing their carts just around the corner. But once you push through those doors, you're greeted by a cool breeze from the courtyard filled with swaying bamboos and a smiling hostess (with acid green hair, no less).The decor is modern and inviting, and I happened to sit under a sky light which bathes the room with a bright and cheerful glow, but also left me feeling a little fried at the end of brunch (it could also be the bellini though).

The food was tasty and the service friendly (you can see our server doubling as our photographer in this picture). We tried a bunch of standard brunch fares, including something that looks like soy sauce over poached eggs (it's really balsamic vinegar) and tastes reassuringly more sophisticated than it looks. The French toast also really stood out as something to remember. With birthday candles blown, gifts exchanged, champagne glasses emptied, followed by some retail therapy, the perfect low-key birthday celebration with your gal pals is complete. (I do have the best gal pals in the world, what can I say...)

Oh, and in case you're concerned, Giselle is just fine after being left on the street corner for a couple of hours. So, never judge a book by its cover. We'll come back to Foreign Cinema again for sure (maybe with covered garage parking next time).

Look! Bryson's on the Jumbotron!

Finally, after months of anticipation, the annual SF Giants Dog Day of Summer is upon us!

We've been waiting for this day since before we even had a dog (it crossed our mind to borrow someone's dog just so we can join in before we had Bryson). It's a super fun day for human and pooches where they get to watch the game, catch fly balls and eat hot dogs together, and even participate in a parade around the field and say hi to the players just before the game. How cool is that?

Say cheese!

It's a beautiful day for a parade, and Bryson thoroughly enjoys being in the lime light. But his clumsy mommy can't quite juggle keeping Bryson in the frame of the video camera and watching my step. So when someone yelled "Look! Bryson's on the Jumbotron!", I turned around, tripped magnificently, barely caught a glimpse of Jumbo Bryson with that Jumble grin on the Jumbo screen, gaped in awe, and completely forgot to take a picture of it. So sorry to disappoint you, but you won't find a picture of Bryson on Jumbotron here... (but trust me, it was awesome!!!)

Bryson says hi to Aisha Bonds, Barry Bond's daughter. And that's Barry Bond's wife Liz at the back (poor woman...)

 
Introducing... Wonder Dog! Rescuing the troubled and helping the poor

 
Left: The Don't-Mess-with-Us Gang; Right: who knows you can ride a cable car inside the park?

Bryson: Look, daddy, they turned an amazing 4-6-3 double play! Did you see that? Jacques: Son, I'm proud of you.

So 6th inning rolls around, the Giants sucked, Bryson looked tired, and I needed to grab a bottle of water. Jacques kept stalling, saying that we shouldn't leave yet, and tried to persuade me that I wasn't thirsty, blah blah blah... and then it hit me, something was up... I looked around, and saw this birthday message above from my lovely family on the Jumbotron! OK, I'll admit it, that was pretty awesome. (I love you too!!)

A little birthday present...

Happy birthday to me,
Happy birthday to me,
Happy birthday Dear Mee-eeeeee...
Happy birthday to me!!!

Yes, my hubby bought me an Audi A3 for my birthday! :D We've actually been shopping for a car since Bryson has defaced the backseat of my company car (it looks like Chewbacca has moved in), and our other car is turning 14 this year (my beloved first car, a 1993 Nissan Altima).

We decided that we need a wagon, so Bryson can have a comfortable pad in the back while the front of the car can remain semi-civilized. We also didn't want a big car (enough parking drama with my Chrysler 300), and we want something with decent power and handling while maintaining good gas mileage- the A3 purportedly gives you 25/32 mpg, which makes us less guilty for not choosing the Prius. And what girl doesn't need a little luxury from time to time? The A3 fits the bill perfectly.

And having driven it for a couple days, I have to admit that the sales man was right, it does put a smile on your face... or maybe that's just me getting delirious from sniffing too much of those dangerous VOCs aka "new car smell". :) :) :)

756!

He did it! With #756, Barry Bonds is now officially the new all-time MLB home run record holder!

Great, now the speech is made, tears been shed, and the firework and fanfare blown over, we can go back and wallow in our misery being last in NL West. *sigh*

Emeryville Canine Boarding Kindergarten

Picasso has officially begun his summer school program at the Emeryville Canine Boarding Kindergarten with Bryson (that's canine-talk for his parents had to leave town for a few days and he's staying with us)

The first night was kinda rough, he doesn't know whether he's supposed to sleep or to wait for his parents to come pick him up. But the second day comes around, we think he's gotten into the rhythm.

Here are some snapshots of a typical school day:

An invigorating morning walk around the block (this is the Emeryville City Hall)

And before you know it, it's snack time...

...followed by a mid-morning nap

Play time at the park is essential for a healthy body and mind

Who loves the Emeryville Canine Boarding Kindergarten? Me! me! me!!!

A Corgi's Life in Corporate America

Look at these sales figure, there goes my bone-us this year... And where the heck is last month's expense report? I swear I can sniff it in this pile.

All that squinting in front of the computer is ruining my eyesight, I think I need glasses... And where did my lunch time go? How can I possibly finish this bone in 5 minutes?! (woof....woof........ woof....)

One thing you quickly learn to survive in corporate America is no matter how busy you are, always pencil in time for fresh air and a nice, long bubble bath at the end of each and every day

The Real Shanghai 1930's

As you know, we visited my 92 year-old grandpa in Toronto last month, but I haven't really mentioned what we did there.

It's been more than a year since my grandma had passed away, and finally, my grandpa reluctantly acknowledged that it's time to clear our her belongings, as well as almost 90 years worth of photos, letters, and stuff that one accumulates throughout life.

I can't claim to have helped with the dirty work, but according to my parents, they've recovered timeless treasures like children books that my grandpa read when he was a kid (covered in 80+ year-old doodles), numerous photos of family members and accquaintances long-forgotten, and even a pristine copy of my grandparents' wedding invitation.

My grandpa was a meticulous historian, and with that, we have volumes and volumes of photos. Some of them are now digitally preserved, and we have stuck them in our photo album here so we could pass them along some day.

Here are some of my favorites:

Left: My grandparents while in college, ahhh, young love... Right: My grandma with the trendiest perm in the heyday of Shanghai, the 1930's, when it was known as the "Paris of the Orient". Must be glamorous to be my grandma then

Left: Wedding Day, June 24, 1939. According to my grandpa, it took him much persuasion for my grandma's affluent Shanghainese family to accept him as a country boy from the South, even though he's proved himself as an established Army General. Right: My Grandma the renegade-(wanna-be)

Left: My grandpa's military day- we've heard his many stories working undercover for the Allies during WWII, even though they' may be *slightly* embellished, I'd like to think that someone in my family had a heroic and colorful past. Right: My grandma and her 2 youngest sons, aka my dad (the chubby toddler) and my uncle in Szechuan. The robe my dad was wearing here is now hanging in a shadow box in my living room.

Left: My dad, his older brother and sister and the family dog, who must be very mellow to live with these toddlers using him as a footstool. Right: The 3 brothers, each in true character of their own