blog

The End and the Beginning Met Us
On the first Wednesday morning of the Year of the Rabbit, I received news that my Puo Puo (maternal grandmother) had a massive stroke the night before. The stroke left her brain and body irreparable. My mother and her siblings who live in the metro Vancouver area, as well as Puo Puo’s grandchildren and great grandchildren were fortunate enough to

By the Bedside of Splendour
When our darkest beauties and darkest repulsions,When our history and present moments, Aspirations and negotiations,When all of these open fully and empty into the hungry earth and absorbing skies—The end and the beginning meet us. Why can vacancy feel so full?Silence be so loud?The cessation of breath burn? May we follow, follow, followThis scattering to the ends, ends, ends,

JIAO ZI (CHINESE DUMPLINGS) with Watercress, Celery, and Shiitake
I first shared this recipe two Lunar New Years ago, but because so many have continued to ask for it, and since we are celebrating the Lunar New Year season later this month, it feels fitting to include it again. Here’s a version that my maternal father’s line, have been making (and eating) for as long as we can all

Year of the Water Rabbit Forecasts (2023)
Sooner or later, as we grow older, we eventually come to appreciate that no news is good news. As we near the end of the Water Tiger year, and prepare to welcome (with relief) the Water Rabbit, we can finally find a quiet spot in the corner, experience reprieve, and reimagine what life can be like. The next Lunar New

January 2023: An exit of the Tiger and the entrance of the Rabbit
It’s utterly freezing as I write this in my studio. Winter is humbling. Yet, it’s a season I hold a perennial love affair with; the light is cherished, and the darkness invites closeness. The Yin season is a place where sunken hearts can rest, and when the land rises again, the hearts lift as well. To let the quiet voice

You Are Raising A Teapot
One of the gifts I received this year during the holidays was a handmade, traditional Chinese terracotta teapot (cha hu) from my mother, who was in Taiwan to visit family earlier this month. While there, she visited 鶯歌 (Yingge District, a river community in southwestern New Taipei City), renowned for its production of porcelain, art studios, and tea houses. Many mother-daughter relations

The End and the Beginning Met Us
On the first Wednesday morning of the Year of the Rabbit, I received news that my Puo Puo (maternal grandmother) had a massive stroke the night before. The stroke left her brain and body irreparable. My mother and her siblings who live in the metro Vancouver area, as well as Puo Puo’s grandchildren and great grandchildren were fortunate enough to

By the Bedside of Splendour
When our darkest beauties and darkest repulsions,When our history and present moments, Aspirations and negotiations,When all of these open fully and empty into the hungry earth and absorbing skies—The end and the beginning meet us. Why can vacancy feel so full?Silence be so loud?The cessation of breath burn? May we follow, follow, followThis scattering to the ends, ends, ends,

JIAO ZI (CHINESE DUMPLINGS) with Watercress, Celery, and Shiitake
I first shared this recipe two Lunar New Years ago, but because so many have continued to ask for it, and since we are celebrating the Lunar New Year season later this month, it feels fitting to include it again. Here’s a version that my maternal father’s line, have been making (and eating) for as long as we can all

Year of the Water Rabbit Forecasts (2023)
Sooner or later, as we grow older, we eventually come to appreciate that no news is good news. As we near the end of the Water Tiger year, and prepare to welcome (with relief) the Water Rabbit, we can finally find a quiet spot in the corner, experience reprieve, and reimagine what life can be like. The next Lunar New

January 2023: An exit of the Tiger and the entrance of the Rabbit
It’s utterly freezing as I write this in my studio. Winter is humbling. Yet, it’s a season I hold a perennial love affair with; the light is cherished, and the darkness invites closeness. The Yin season is a place where sunken hearts can rest, and when the land rises again, the hearts lift as well. To let the quiet voice

You Are Raising A Teapot
One of the gifts I received this year during the holidays was a handmade, traditional Chinese terracotta teapot (cha hu) from my mother, who was in Taiwan to visit family earlier this month. While there, she visited 鶯歌 (Yingge District, a river community in southwestern New Taipei City), renowned for its production of porcelain, art studios, and tea houses. Many mother-daughter relations