These days, unity seems to be a buzzword in the political sphere but do we really understand what it means? I am not sure but let me speak from experience; most of it is from my time that I’ve spent with Mike so far.

Today is not an anniversary of ours but it marks a new beginning. He has worked hard to get to this point, constantly facing trepidation and embracing hope for a better life. All this while, we’ve been cheered on by many (you know who you are!). For me, it was an uncomplicated job to stand by and be supportive – better him than me, I often thought.

When we vowed to face life together as a couple, I have to be honest that I had no idea how much of a unit we would become. How we would become a single entity despite being two different persons. If you met us separately, you wouldn’t place me and Mike as a couple – he’s a social butterfly, full of funny and smart bits; I’m a lot more reserved and have a drier wit. Time has truly let us rub off on each other – people think that I’m more chatty these days and that he listens better.

Even though this one day marks his achievements on paper, what has meant more to me was being fortunate enough to witness his growth as a person, a friend and a husband.

Here’s to the next turn in the road for us because I wouldn’t be on it with anyone else.

p.s. This picture was taken in June when he walked for his graduation – yesterday he graduated from his PA program.

Before summer leaves us, I thought it would be fun to go to a drive-in theater. There is one not too far from where we live so we decided that we would go. We watched a double bill feature – Pineapple Express and Stepbrothers. Both were hilarious and we had a great time!

We arrived shortly before the gates opened and did not have to wait long to get in. All we needed was a blanket, some pillows, sodas, snacks and an AM radio. I was hoping that they still used those old style drive-in speakers but they didn’t. Instead, we had to attach a speaker wire to our car radio antenna.  The sound was clear enough but there was some disturbance form another wave length. A little distracting at times but I was too nostalgic about the whole thing to bother.

I don’t know if we will be able to go to the drive-in before the season ends but I think it will be such a fun summer activity and hope to enjoy it while these places still exist.

We have 3 Ambassador Zucchini plants and so far, we have harvested 6 zucchini/squash/courgettes of about 4-6″ long. I like to harvest them at that size because they are still tender and tasty. These are my first zucchini plants and I think the bush habit of these are great for a smaller space.

Two weeks ago, I thought my tomato plant was going to give up its ghost and join my previous sad tomato plants but look what I found today – my first Sweet 100 cherry tomatoes. Next year, I’m trying this contraption – Wall O’ Water Plant Protector.

This week, we moved into different offices and mine has a bunch of huge holes in the wall. I could really use this pretty wall-hanging by Marimekko.  It is the right width and length for the number of holes I need to hide.

For those of you who enjoyed Gary Hustwit’s typography film Helvetica, he is releasing a new documentary about industrial design in 2009. It’s called Objectifed. I think this print is brilliant.

Read here for more information.

Aren’t these moon chimes pretty against the dark wood siding of the house in the picture? I love the contrast. I would get them for Scarlett but I am not sure where they would go. Until I figure that out, I thought I would share them with you.

When asked what I wanted to eat for my birthday last week, I immediately said “Chili crabs”. My mum makes the best chili crabs and I’d be a fool to pass up a chance to have her make it for me. I was not greedy and only wanted crabs but somehow the menu grew and became an 8-course meal. A lucky number indeed!

There was chili crab, curry crab, cereal prawns (thanks to C who sent cereal seasoning from SG), stir fried yu choy, black bean mussels, seared scallops, tofu fish cake and 饅頭 (man tou/steamed buns).

My sis in law baked me a delicious blueberry birthday cake. It was perfect chiffon cake, impeccably frosted and decorated.

I definitely counted my blessings and look forward to a wonderful year ahead!

Q: How do you know a man and his grill have been apart for too long?

A: He grills for you every minute he can, now that they have been reunited.

I have been wanting these stock tank planters for a long time but I never knew where we would put them. On some days, I just stare at my backyard, as if waiting for a spot to magically open up for me so I could run out and bring them home. I tried hard to avoid the urge to plop them down randomly in the middle of my backyard (which is what I did with a collapsible growbed because I couldn’t let another growing season go by without planting a raised bed) but now, I’m so glad that I waited for the right time and the right spot to place these. The front yard is a perfect place for them.

We found the right size tanks at a farm supply store (thanks Megan!) a while ago but I took a day off from work and we drove out to pick them up. We had to hire a van since they wouldn’t fit in Angpow; we also had to bring home an obscene amount of compost and peat. But oh that lovely black gold! Armed with the right drill, making holes on the tanks went pretty quickly for Mike. It took us some time to mix the compost and peat evenly and then came the real task – to decide what to plant in each tank.

Here’s what we have so far: one tank for ornamentals, one for edibles and one for herbs.

More pictures here at Flickr

We went on a walk last Monday when I took some time off from work and found these two ducks hanging out on a log by the lake. Usually we don’t have our camera on hand but we were trying out a new lens that we had rented. I am not sure if Mike or I took this picture but I wanted to share it with you.