The sun is shining (for now). I’ve completed a few household chores. It’s time to look West, um, I mean online.

We all know that the online world is the perfect platform for up-to-the-minute updates on all things, large and small.

As a nod to this ticker of words, images, audio and video, I’m proud to report that our blueberries are growing in our yard.

The sun has been out, off and on, since we planted them in February. So, too, has the wet weather.

The actual round berries that we love to eat have not arrived.

But there are leaves – which is progress, compared to the more stick-like structure they had a few months ago.

The photograph above is of the Bluecrop Northern Highbrush. The photograph below is of the Darrow Northern Highbrush.

Yes, we bought them at Costco months ago – with smoothies and pure fun in mind.

I’ll post more updates as developments occur.

My wife and I thought we had misplaced our camera. When I looked for it, I came across these designs from China.

My wife had brought them after she and her sister spotted them at a store in China.

She found our camera. I’m glad I realized she had these designs - nice, colorful, simple. They’re great lightweight items to take from place to place.

I realized again that during my traveling days, I kept an eye out for small keepsakes.

They’re lightweight and easy to slip into a backpack or other type of bag. At times, I would come home with larger souvenirs, such as a dragon kite from China.

But small items are ideal because they wouldn’t get crushed when I tossed my bag into a car, bus or train.

I’d also lug around a 35 mm Konica camera to help me remember the sights on the road. Yes, I toted numerous plastic cans worth of film.

The interesting note about the Santa Cruz logos in this post is that I actually earned my bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Santa Cruz.

But I never really opted for the skating and surfing life that so many people in Santa Cruz enjoy – and  I mean as often as they can.

On one day, though, at some skate shop, I picked up these two logo stickers – and about a decade after buying them, I located them in, yes, a box.

When I was in middle school, surfing and skateboard clothing became the true fashion statement for trend-conscious young people.

I know using logic isn’t always the best thing – and people sometimes skip using logic – but here’s one twist to that clothing trend that included the yellow-and-red Santa Cruz logo showing up on long-sleeved shirts and stickers.

Yes, there were checkered slip-on shoes made by Vans.

My classmates and I lived in a valley – one that once had numerous cherry trees dotting the land. Later, that area became known as the Silicon Valley.

In fact, for two years, I went to the high school that Apple co-founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak attended.

Mr. Fulcher and Mr. Crump, who taught World Civilization, told us, the students, that the two were so smart even back then that they (or at least one of them) once managed to turn on the automatic sprinklers in the grass field during some type of outdoor event.

Anyway, the distance from my middle school to Santa Cruz and a gateway to the Pacific Ocean was about an hour by car (Remember: In California, distances are often given not in miles but in the time it takes in a car).

I suppose Sean Penn was an influential figure, in an unexpected way, even back then.

And when in Santa Cruz, dine at Tacos Morenos – small, fun, tasty, real, family owned.

I’ve also been fortunate enough to drive on Route 66 after I finished a travel writing assignment in the Mid-Atlantic region years ago.

Yes, it’s the road that Depeche Mode made famous in the song, at least for my generation.

In terms of history, and people’s fascination with Route 66, my classmate at Santa Cruz (the university), Mike, wrote his senior thesis about the road.

As I recall, he took time to travel Route 66 and talk with longtime residents about what they remembered about its importance. Then, he blended their stories in with America’s love of car culture.

Keep in mind that Mike grew up in Southern California – and he loved riding his bicycle wherever he could.

And while I was researching and writing about the Mid-Atlantic states for that travel writing gig, I stopped off at the country’s first pretzel shop which was founded in 1861 - the Sturgis Pretzel Bakery in Pennsylvania.

Good times. Really.

It’s history that you most likely never would have thought about unless you picked up a travel book or physically walked inside the bakery.

And I bought – and saved – a key chain.

Pretzels apparently have a great history in the world, according to the bakery’s Web site.

The bakery has noted that many thought the pretzel symbolized prosperity, good luck and a wholesome life.

Three other historic notes or observations from the company.

One:

During The Battle of 1510 in Vienna, the Turks tunneled under Vienna’s city walls. Pretzel bakers were busy at work and detected the invasion. They gathered make-shift weapons and roused the city to defend itself. In return for shielding all of Europe, the Austrian Emperor honored the pretzel bakers with a coat of arms.

Two:

It’s speculated that the term ‘Tying the Knot’ originated in Switzerland in 1614 when royal couples wished for happiness with a pretzel forming the nuptial knot.

Three:

The Palantine Germans, later known as the Pennsylvania Dutch, brought pretzels to America in 1710. German children wore the pretzels around their necks on New Year’s for good luck.

And I thought tofu had a fascinating history.

Yes, traveling the road has given me many memories that fortunately have stayed with me all these years.

For that, I’m grateful.

When you’re on the road, keep an eye out for the small.

I began visiting China in the 1990s – at a time when online photo storage systems had not yet exploded for the masses. So, most of my photos are stored the old-fashioned way in envelopes tucked in boxes in my parents’ garage.

I thought I’d share pictures of Qingdao, China from my visit in 2000 – especially this Bavarian-inspired building that the German governor once used when German troops occupied the area.

Why share images that are nearly a decade old?

Images – no matter when they are published, shown publicly or viewed privately – always tell a story and show people a slice of what life was, or is, like.

And for me, China remains a fascinating and, at times, complicated place.

Also, I think there’s still a perception among some that China is filled with soaring modern glass boxes, boxy plain-looking buildings from Mao’s era or structures with upturned eaves. To an extent, that is true.

This German mansion was built between 1903 and 1908 at a hefty price tag of $210,000. Its 30 rooms took up 13,245 square feet and housed a German-made grand piano from 1876.

As I noted in my travel article about Qingdao for the San Jose Mercury News, the mansion was so grand that even Kaiser Wilhelm became upset and the German governor lost his job.

I’m actually glad I had time to dig around in my China boxes to post these images.

They bring back some great memories.

If you like Tsingtao Beer, grab a bottle and look at the label. You’ll see an image of the pagoda on Zhanqiao pier.

Below and above are images of a church in Qingdao, the No. 2 Tsingtao Brewery and another example of European architecture in Qingdao.

The twin-tower Catholic Church in the city was finished in 1934.

And the other yellow-and-maroon building pictured below is, to the best of my recollection, a medieval Christian Church – complete with a tower and German-made J.F. Weule machinery that operated three clocks.

As I estimate it, this church is about a century old.

It’s easy to think that globalism only happened in the 2000s, when the words outsourcing, offshoring and comparative advantage gained popularity among business and policy leaders worldwide.

Really, though, the idea of globalism has been around for centuries.

And as I’ve talked about before, German and British businessmen started Tsingtao Beer because occupying troops were, well, thirsty and wanted a taste of home.

When I visited the No. 2 factory, I realized that it used – at that time – technology and machinery from Germany.

Yes, my images and trip to Qingdao are dated. The city has changed, as I’ve noted.

But there are landmarks in that city – and worldwide – that are worth visiting to get a sense of a place and the history that has swept over us.

In the grand scheme of world news, visiting a park really isn’t that significant.

But the weather was a bit warmer and so my family and I stopped off at a park in the Seattle suburbs for a sushi picnic and to play Stomp Rocket, bounce a basketball and to walk around a wetland area.

Of course, my condolences and best wishes go to the people of Haiti and Chile, given the earthquakes that struck there.

On our walk on a path in the wetland area, my family and I spotted ducks, soaring trees and a creek sending water from one point to another.

Life can get busy. But I’m glad that we had a chance to enjoy the outdoors.

Simple moments, as we know, are often the best.

The battery for our digital camera was running low on power. So, I’m also glad that I was able to snap some simple pictures before we left.

I’ll get to adding longer posts soon. But I just wanted to note some colors and shapes that I’ve always enjoyed seeing in Seattle.

I’ve always liked how the red and blue match and even if the afternoon sunlight washed out the blue numbers against the red wall.

And there’s the curve to the building as well as the gray pole’s height, the green street sign cutting across and white-and-blue sign in the background.

If you’re familiar with Seattle, it’s the intersection of Rainier Avenue South and South Dearborn Street.

Going west on Dearborn can take you to the International District, downtown and to the city’s sports stadiums. Going south on Rainier can take you to Columbia City, Beacon Hill and Seward Park.

The top part of the sign – the one with the classic American car outlined in neon – slowly spins around.

It reminds me of what a friend once said years ago about the Zen quality of two friends throwing a plastic disc on an open field.

It’s just back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

In the case of this sign, it’s just round and round, round and round, round and round.

Plus, as we all know, when it’s sunny in the Seattle area, it’s good to take advantage of the day especially when it’s February.

If you’re interested in other scenes I like in the Seattle area and have photographed, have a look (and please, only if you have time): here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

I know time is important. I appreciate you visiting the blog.

In this case, everything aligned just perfectly.

The best thing I can do when an image of a Tofu Robot standing next to the Space Needle arrives on a shirt in Seattle’s International District is to tell other people about it.

Why?

I mean: Why not?

In math terms, this is what we have: tofu + robots + Space Needle = clothing.

It’s pretty simple.

I spotted these in a window display at Kinokuniya bookstore, which is located at 525 S. Weller St. in Seattle and attached to Uwajimaya, the Asian supermarket.

Think about it this way: You can buy ginger, garlic and bean curd and a Tofu Robot shirt in a matter of minutes.

The shirts range from about $20 to $24.

It might just be coincidence but two shirt colors match one area of the bookstore – which is packed with comics, pop culture items from Japan and Asia, books about Asian Americans, movies from China, magazines from Asia and architecture photo books showing people in the West how designers in Asia have envisioned their living places.

Oh, yes. The store also sells the P-Sharan SQ-35 Pinhole Camera, which can produce some artistic images.

So my family and I helped the Seattle-area economy by purchasing this Chinese dragon while we were shopping at Uwajimaya, the Asian supermarket in Seattle.

We didn’t expect to buy it.

Isn’t that always the case when you tell yourself you’re just going to get food or gas?

But Lunar New Year is here and a long, gold dragon appeared last weekend in Seattle’s Chinatown International District to ward off not-so-nice spirits and usher in luck, health and prosperity.

When I saw the gold dragon, the one photographed above, at Uwajimaya, I realized the colors were just about the same.

And besides, I’ve always liked Chinese dragons – including a rubbing of one from the Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD).

And the afternoon sun in the Seattle area was something to be happy about – especially as it filtered through a window.

My family and I will enjoy our new addition – which is a puppet – for years to come, just as my parents, sister and I have cherished the lion’s head my mom bought decades ago in San Francisco Chinatown.

And yes, my wife and I have spent money unexpectedly before.

When the sun shines overhead in February in the Seattle area, you take advantage of it.

Even if it’s not February.

The top photograph is of Bird Song Listening Station, a sculpture by artist Douglas R. Taylor and located at the Seattle Center.

From the sign near the art piece, which was unveiled in 2008 and features solar panels, part of a bicycle frame, a bicycle wheel, freewheel and derailleur:

As breezes fill the sails of the wind turbine, a small generator sends an electric current to a battery that powers the listening station. Sunshine on the pole mounted solar panels also powers the work. The bird song of the Western Finch is available when there is sufficient wind and sun energy. In autumn finch colonies feed on the seeds of London Plane trees such as those found growing on this site.

Speaking of bicycles, my friend Martin has a nice collection of the human-powered two wheelers.

I spotted the image of the person on the door of a public restroom at the Seattle Center.

If you’re interested, the topic of public restrooms – from the perspective of designers – was the subject of a video made for Dwell.

If you’re interested in stick figures who know martial arts, have a look at a widely-circulated animated clip from Xiao Xiao.

The work is good and includes Matrix-style moves. But keep in mind that it is martial arts – and it’s only animated.

The bottom photograph is an image of, well, Godzilla.

And as I type this, the sun is finally setting on the Seattle area for this Saturday.

The bird feeder in our yard is red. It contains water. But it is not a red lantern.

Speaking of colors, there once was a show called The Green Hornet, which featured Bruce Lee.

He often said: “Be like water.”

Get it?

Really, though, there is nothing to get.

Oh, yes. Speaking of colors, curry can be yellow, chili can be red and garlic stems are usually green.

And speaking of nothing, I found this dry, decomposing leaf, pictured below, in our yard. My son and I compared it to a full leaf.

My family and I were preparing our garden for warmer temperatures. The morning was sunny.