The 'Lab' in the Garden Café

The "Mom" of my air layered quince

Cherry blossom - lab's success story

Maintaining lovingly the café always comes with few heartbreaks. I have experienced loss of some of my beloved plants thru various reasons, ranging from climate extremes, neglect, lack of info on how to provide proper care. A few years ago, I was delighted to be able to propagate my quince thru air layering. among the three air layered, it looks like only one might survives  

(；´ﾟДﾟ)ゞ

Looking at my old photos I realized that I have probably performed plenty of experiments in the café/garden. Some were successful - survived, some perished eventually.  I have read from gardeners' forums that all seasoned gardeners have experienced death of established plants under their care. I mourn the loss of my plant babies and eventually move on, hoping to learn from my journey and pray for more luck.

One of my early experiments, that perished...

With all the losses and few victories in my gardening journey, I came to realize that the café conceals a laboratory, where my experimentations are being done to ensure my plants' survival. The lab is not an intimidating place, it's a space where my hope for my plants' healing manifests. Two of the success stories from the lab that I can share - the cherry plant that I bought online, with the lab's help, it survived the transport shock. The lavender (the last photo) that was left out during autumn and winter, it survived freezing temperatures and heavy rain. 

The main goal of the "lab" for now is to hardened my Japanese Maple seedlings before placing them in their own pot, to avoid sharing the same fate of this unfortunate fella (photo above),  while this gentleman in the photo below ensures the safety of my plant babies from pesky squirrels.  

My "lab" in the café

The future goal, I would love to have my dear Princess get involved in the lab/ garden / café, I wish that all of her beautiful memories from the café would inspire her to be a creative and smart lady.

The survivor

Reissue

Visiting this cafe was the main highlight of the day; I pictured myself clearly - me in a charming coffee house, admiring my coffee that was designed by a master latte artist!

There's plenty of coffee places around Metro Vancouver that does latte art, but I haven't encountered who does beautiful frothy sculptures, being in Tokyo where's there a handful of cafe that specialized in latte art, it should be an experienced that I shouldn't miss!

You have arrived!

Reissue Cafe is known for its beautiful masterpieces on their coffee, bring a picture or any image in your mind and few extra hundred ¥; the artist will painstakingly turn your cup of joe into a work of art.  Reissue is located on top of another establishment along the quieter street in Harajuku; once inside I was greeted with a very laidback vibe, I would have probably mistaken it as someone's else house if there's no extra tables around. We were still full from our hearty brunch earlier so we decided to pass from their food in their menu, we are looking forward to the latte art.

My dear husband 🐻ordered to have our baby Concha's photo that we got from his breeder, mine the 3D design - the pink Sugar cubs' character - 'Latte'.

Concha at 3 weeks
Photo credit to Cowboy Up Kennel

Concha on coffee ;)

Unfortunately our orders didn't arrived together, I was hoping that I could get a photo of both orders while the chocolate ink on the froth was still sharp, so pardon my photo of Concha on coffee, the chocolate has (verrry) slightly dispersed. As soon I received the 3D art, I snapped the photo of them side by side right away!

Sugar cubs' Latte and my forever pup Concha

Latte and Concha

Both were beautifully rendered, both tasted great! If I was not pregnant at that time, I would be ordering my second cup of coffee to request for another latte art and for more photos too, I guess sometimes, I can't have too much of the good thing...
They say that having a cup of coffee in a quiet day is one of greatest pleasure in life; having coffee rendered by an artist take this statement to the next level!

My Concha...sweet, sweet Concha!

Disclaimer: Contains canine nudity (Ｕ^ω^)

We just welcomed a new family member; he is a very affectionate, handsome black Labrador Retriever puppy. We decided to call him Concha from the popular sweet bun from Latin America.

My first pro photo shoot by Georgia Corbett

A vision board from the past!

I've been in love with Concha's breed for so long. It blossomed when I stumbled on a Franklin Mint ad featuring a porcelain plate with an illustration of two black Labrador Retriever puppies, one of the puppy seems to be chewing a toy duck, in an old Reader's Digest magazine. The pups' faces on the plate were captivating; those soulful and loving gazes convinced me that this is the breed for me.

Labrador Retriever was my chosen subject in one of my projects during my time in the art school, I put all of my love on rendering it, earning me the highest grade from my art instructor.

Concha's breed gravitates towards bodies of water, very affectionate, and is very food-oriented! --- sounds like me! From then on, the dream of welcoming a black Labrador Retriever in my life started with a promise to my future pooch that I would do the best I could to provide a loving forever home, a dog could have.

That day arrived one week after my husband's birthday; he flew back in Alberta to pick him up from the breeder after setting up an appointment with them a few months prior.

Bye Alberta!

Life with our Concha is not always easy, It requires hands-on training, tons of patience to make sure Concha grows into a healthy, happy, and well-behaved dog. Our schedules and space adjusted to accommodate his needs, from waking up earlier for his first 'potty of the day, puppy-proofing our home, not being upset when he chews on our possessions, being understanding when 'accidents' happen, and welcoming all the adjustments as his needs and quirks continuously change.

We also have several rewarding moments in our lives, such as every time we witness Concha's progress, and whenever we receive (plenty of) compliments on how well-behaved and beautiful he is; our hearts brimming with pride. He is enriching our lives in so many ways by constantly teaching us to appreciate being in the moment and experiencing being loved and cared for by a pet; we teach him tricks, and he loves us back unconditionally.

Concha the Sweetbun

Pamola Bakery's Concha

Its not the first time I have mentioned the sweet buns that stole my heart - Concha and the Japanese equivalent - Melon pan; my favourite Japanese bakery in Vancouver add mochi in their Melon pan, adding a rich sticky filling in its pillowy texture!

My husband introduced me to Concha, a sweet bun crowned beautifully with a crusty mixture of flour, sugar, and shortening, one of the best buns to dip in hot chocolate or coffee that makes me look forward to breakfast. The same feeling our Concha has for us every morning, greeting us happy with his tail wagging and rolling on his back asking for belly rubs - every day my Concha steals my heart.

Melonpan with mochi filled chocolate cream 💓

To record all of our joyful Concha times as much as we could, an Instagram account was set up just for him.

Concha asking for belly rubs ;)