deep gray sea
our little family
Photos, tall tales, handicrafts, obsessions and little vignettes from my family and other animals.
good reads 2009
December 13, 2009 This last year was pretty intense and technical for me professionally. I mostly read for pleasure or watched anime in odd moments to sort of turn my brain off. But hey, even people with their brains turned off need quality entertainment, right? In keeping with my year-end tradition, here are noteworthy fiction, non-fiction, manga and anime titles that I've read or watched during 2009. read more...
good reads 2008
December 29, 2008 Seems like a good tradition to share some of the great books and other mind-filling content I've run across this year. Here are my favorite fiction, non-fiction, manga and anime titles that I've read or watched during 2008. All have links to Amazon, but many can also be found at the library. read more...
big snow 2008
December 26, 2008 Bing Crosby attacks Seattle! All you hardy winter folk in Finland and Wisconsin will laugh, but a couple weeks of snow in a hilly city like Seattle is no picnic. Articulated buses jackknife in the middle of the road. Snowplows squarsh it all down so you can spin around faster. And I'm not kidding - they don't salt the roads because the salt might get into Puget Sound (a large body of salt water connected to the Pacific Ocean). A few snapshots from our winter wonderland this year. read more...
1280x800 anime wallpapers
August 4, 2008 Reader M wrote and requested anime wallpapers in a more convenient snack-size serving. Happy to oblige. Some of these will be familiar, others are new here. read more...
good reads of 2007
December 30, 2007 I'm a big reader. Here are my favorite fiction, design, business, and manga titles that I've read over the last year. read more...
remembering Poppy
September 27, 2007 Remembering Poppy, our sweetest little kitty friend.
We were first introduced to Poppy when she leaped on me from a low tree branch at the breeder's. She came home with us that night,
mewing all the way from her box on Cheri's lap.
read more...
xxxHolic manga wallpapers
December 23, 2006 Another great manga series by CLAMP is xxxHolic (called simply "Holic" by most readers). This series crosses over with Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle, also by CLAMP. The wallpapers here were created from scans that I've cleaned them up. I removed text, eliminated gaps, and repainted as needed, but mostly tried to stay faithful to the originals. I'm more of a technician and a fan than an artist here. All are at 2560 x 1024 dual-screen resolution. learn more...
Tsubasa (and friends) wallpapers
July 9, 2006 Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle by CLAMP is my favorite manga. The Tsubasa and other wallpapers here were created from scans of book covers, magazines or other illustrations. I've cleaned them up, removed text, eliminated page gaps, and repainted as needed, but mostly tried to stay faithful to the originals. All are at 2560 x 1024 resolution for dual screens. learn more...
more anime and manga wallpapers
March 29, 2006 Here's another batch of dual-screen anime wallpapers, all at 2560 x 1024 resolution. I scanned most of these from magazines or manga, then cropped and retouched in Photoshop. Seems to be my hobby lately. Thanks to all the kind people who dropped a line to say you enjoyed my earlier wallpapers - I think you might like some of these even better. learn more...
anime wallpapers
February 28, 2006 I'm a pretty serious anime (animation) and manga (graphic novel) fan lately. I enjoy looking at these images while I work - maybe you'll like them too. I work on dual-monitor systems, so all wallpaper images on this page are 2560 x 1024. Nothing all that fancy or creative on my part, just scans from kind websites or magazines cleaned up and brightened a little bit. Enjoy! learn more...
treehouse
October 15, 2005 I just stumbled across this fun picture of Miles in our treehouse and Pal down below keeping an eye on him. see more...
plant a tree
March 12, 2005 We planted several fruit trees at our other house, but the one we loved the best was a Prunus salicina 'Elephant Heart', more commonly known as an Elephant Heart Plum. The tree was a cloud of pure white blossoms in Spring, filled out during Summer, and towards the end of the season delivered the most sweet, delicious plums we've ever eaten. Here is how we planted our new little Elephant Heart Plum tree. see more...
miniature soldiers
August 25, 2004 Miles and his friends are serious fanciers of miniature military figures. Ancient Rome, Warhammer 40,000, Lord of the Rings, they take them all seriously, customize and paint them with great care. see more...
a day at the zoo
May 20, 2004 Our little family took a vacation trip to San Diego earlier this Spring. It was sunny and warm, and we all enjoyed the break. We tore ourselves away from the pool long enough for a fun day trip to the zoo. Miles brought along his camera. see more...
papyrus art by kids
May 16, 2004 Cheri volunteers in the Shoreline schools as an art teacher. One of the projects her kids did last year was to make Egyptian paintings on papyrus. They made their own papyrus too. I thought they looked very impressive and scanned a bunch of them. see more...