the ocean is a playground

i love a quiet beach; the gentle pull and push of the tide, the scurrying water-bourne natives, the grasses moving in a breeze not of the air, seeing the life which is so different to the life on the land. i have found the tidepools and crystal clear water from my childhood memories, and found new joy in playing with the tiny hermit crabs which live in them.

jellies, and fishies, and thingies, oh my!

the nice thing about having a membership to the aquarium, and living locally, is that you can go on a somewhat quite day and take your time looking at the tenants. you don't have to visit them all, maybe just a few, and there's no rush, it's okay, you can come by another day and look some more.

yep, still a jelly. they like to sit on their bonnets with their "feet" in the air.

this guy is only about the size of a thumb. i can't remember what it is, only that it sure is cute!

again, no clue, some sort of slug or other; looked like a bell flower and ghostly. i should probably get in the habit of taking a photo of the identification plate when i go there.

lucky finds and collections expanding

i really adore the table settings in japanese blogs i come across. trays, various shapes, colors in light and dark, hard and soft surfaces; wood, fabric, pottery, glass, all elements of displaying a meal. i felt like sewing a coaster for my tea kyusu to add the sense of softness and a touch of color to my teaware collection; which was starting to become lacking in both. i didn't want to overcrowd the pottery with too much color, but this linen swatch pairs very well.

i also scored three lovely pieces at a church rummage sale the other day; an oval and faceted cup, a cherry bark loose tea scoop, and a glazed stoneware bowl. it's the best five dollars i've spent in awhile.

a little wonky in shape, but it fits the hands well, and would be a great mug for smaller portions such as gyokuro tea.

inlays of smaller grained sections of bark, a classic gourd shape. i couldn't believe my luck for spotting this little treasure! sometimes larger pieces done in cherry bark can be a little much, and you loose sense of the details, but this is a perfect amount to gaze at and appreciate.

green, black, and brown glazes layered between white; it's reminiscent of marble almost. it could have been created for the japanese tea ceremony, as the shape and size is like that of other matcha tea bowls i've seen.

end of an era

my birthday was a couple of days ago, and provided me with an excuse to check out the delectable goodies from local pastry shops. i couldn't decide on one special yummy thing, so i bought several mini yummies instead. i still find it rather odd to be out of my twenties; it's always felt like such a momentous era in one's life.

jellies!

i love jellyfish! yesterday, i headed over to the monterey aquarium to see their new jellyfish exhibit. so many different ones! massive and puny, colorful and transparent, simple and exotically baroque. next time i go, i'll capture some of them in motion; so mesmerizing. that, and bring a sketchbook (though never again on the weekends; way too many visitors!).

while there, i also checked out the sea dragons. it's hard to capture these things on film, they move around quickly! they're so neat though.

the teeniest sea horse, adult size; as tall as a golden dollar.

look! it's nemo; that bad kid who never listened to his parents!