while my teaching collegues return to the classroom tomorrow, i will be here redoubling my efforts at serious leisure. i know they'd want me to.
also today i met the grandson of the first president of south korea and chatted with him at length. from now on when i need plants i am ONLY going to buy them from Hi Duk Lee. because he is smart, interesting, friendly, has zillions of succulents and has traveled to 90 countries, but loves the USA the best. you can read more about him HERE. if you live locally check him out. my nice neighbor susan who knows absolutely everything about everything told me about his wonderful inexpensive succulents. and i always do what susan tells me!
fabulous article HERE about mover and shaker Hi Duk Lee. i do love meeting interesting peeps when i'm out and about in LA!
an excerpt from the LA Times article:
He created a bit of Korea at his home in the hills above Los Feliz. His living room holds a crown from the Shilla dynasty. On his walls are Korean paintings. He has sliding Korean doors and a set of books detailing the history of the Lee Dynasty, which ruled Korea for five centuries and from which he is descended. There also are enormous wall-sized photographs of Lee and his family at various lakes and mountains in South Korea.
"I tell my children that my house is a Lee family immigrant museum," he says. In his front yard, Lee has built a pond in the shape of Korea. "This side is North Korea. This is South Korea," he says. Then pointing down to a small green bridge that straddles the pond and leads from the sidewalk to his doorstep, he says: "I built the bridge myself. It's the DMZ."
Trader Joe’s owes you some commission! Of course I went right out and bought a bottle, even though I make it at home…sometimes you want someone ELSE to make it for you.
Mary Ann, you’re such an inspiration to me to so many ways. You’re one of my top art heroes, and I’m always sad when I see you’ve been at places like the Filling Station in KC and I did NOT get to run into you! I live 5 blocks away. 🙂
I just bought some Iced Coffee already mixed at Albertson’s. I haven’t tasted it yet. But it has to be better than the Iced Latte I got at Starbucks in the store…I ordered a French Vanilla which is 3 pumps of Hazelnut, 3 pumps of Vanilla. I got a regular vanilla which is the worst tasting stuff, has a very strange after-taste. Ugh. $4 down the drain.
Love the look of the Visual Journal…yummy colors and lettering. You’re flying down this alternate way of life and living large! Hooray for you.
I wish I lived where succulents thrived, but they just cringe in this brutal desert. I love them but have to stick to cacti.
fonda,
my sister has used PW recipe before to make the cold brew. im too lazy. the tjs version is very dark & rich. its concentrated too. so 1 part coffee to 2 parts milk/cream. i put splenda in mine. yum!
erin,
does not come in decaf versions. too bad.
Oh My. I didn’t know you could buy the cold coffee already ready!!! Here’s a kick-ass recipe for making your own from Pioneer Woman. It’s awesome!
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/06/perfect-iced-coffee/
And the leftovers make for great paper staining…………..
I’m with you Erin…does TJ have decaf? Otherwise, I’m content making a FrenchPress full of coffe, sweetening it with Stevia and then chilling to make iced coffee with coconut milk later. As a tea drinker, I am content with the occasional iced coffee along with the 3pm-ish espresso my dh makes. This is balanced with a lot of iced tea in the summer.
If I lived in the west it would be stones and succulents for me too. I’ve learned from living round the world not to fight the native climate unless you are a Devoted Gardener which am not.
I just might have to get me a set of those makers! (I just retired in June (art) and am embarking on some serious leisure time myself. I’m going to Paris next month and am reading your Paris posts for ideas and inspiration.)
Is there anything as wonderful as being at home when everyone else goes back to school? The first year I didn’t teach, that back-to-school day was like a miracle for me – I didn’t have to go back, I was safe and free! And I knew that was the important thing, and that how to make a living would reveal itself (and it did – in many weird and wonderful ways over the last 35 years). I continue to be so happy and thrilled for you and this magical year you’re indulging in!
BTW does the coffee come in decaf?
Erin in Morro Bay
Boy, that iced coffee looks mighty good!!
You are my Serious Leisure Goddess! I can only hope to someday follow in your footsteps, but I aim to make you proud! 🙂 (love cold coffee… with tons of half & half)
– Tina
you keep us in the know on all the best stuff that there is to know. I mean if I don’t hear it here, then forget about it; not important. If I lived in LA and I was a gardener I would most certainly visit Mr. Hi Duk Lee no questions asked, i just head out in my trusty steed and follow the trail of crumbs and seeds that I am quite sure you’ve left in your wake. Lovin the journal pages and excited to see what you whip up for no.14, gonna be awesome, I can feel it.
Congratulations on the completion of the Visual Journal 13 – and the sourcing of great succulents. You are living right, my friend.
You take your relaxing seriously! And I see you’re liking those Copic markers, too. Such fun you have. I got a quick pang of jealousy at your Trader Joe’s cold brew coffee concentrate! We don’t have Trader Joe’s anywhere near here… Mr. Lee is a fascinating person – I was in awe that he built a pond in the shape of Korea and has a bridge over the DMZ!
I saw this coffee today while at TJ’s and almost bought some. Now that I know you approve of it, I will have to indulge.