Mid Autumn Festival and Moon Cakes, Part II

People are more concerned about fat and sugar nowadays than in the past, even for special treats for a festival.

Found on the net are pictures of some new style moon cakes. These are the fancy pastries created by bakeries during the Mid Autumn Festival. They are advertised as moon cakes, but they don't really have the feel of the traditional moon cakes. The chance is that these are less sugar, less fat and less preservative than the Canton style moon cakes as these new style pastries have shorter shelf life.

Mid Autumn Festival and Moon Cakes, Part I

Flaky outer crust with sweet bean paste inside, these moon cakes are best served while fresh. This style was considered very old fashioned but now considered a renewed variety.






Flaky outer crust with sesames, the fillings may be sweet bean paste or minced meat with salt and soy sauce. These moon cakes are usually served hot and fresh, known as the "Shanghai Style" moon cakes.

These are gift packed moon cakes with two distinctive styles. The left side are the Shanghai style and the right Canton style.

These are the "Canton" style moon cakes, the kind that is more well known and considered as the "traditional moon cake". The outer shell is soft and chewy, the fillings are sweet. The middle usually carries an egg yoke. Most of them have very long shelf life probably due to added preservatives.

A gift packed Canton style moon cakes in different sizes.

Mid Autumn Festival, the 15th day of the 8th month on the Lunar calendar, is coming on Sept. 14.


Found on the net are pictures of some old style moon cakes.

Moon cakes are the signature food of Mid Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival. Though it is considered as a festival must, most of them are very high in sugar and fat. It's better to consume in very small pieces. Over the years, the bakers played with recipes and there are less fattening and less sweet varieties of moon cakes on the market. Pictures of the new style moon cakes will be posted tomorrow.

Skateboard Couch

Skateboarding is very popular among the younger generation; it's even popular with Tyson the rabbit and Tyson the bulldog, see http://ncag.blogspot.com/search?q=tyson

Has anyone ever seen a couch made of skateboards? Here it is, a couch made of Skateboards! Betty had sat on it and it's actually quite comfortable.

San Jose Sports Hall Of Fame

Bay Area has many super sports figures; many grew up in San Jose. On the walls of the "Shark Tank", there are plaques listing those famed athletes who were raised in San Jose. Here are a selected few of the more well-known ones; there are many more names and plaques on the walls. Click the picture to get a larger image to read the contents of the plaques.







San Jose Sports Hall of Fame.












Pat Tillman gave up a career in football and joined the military, lost his life in Afghanistan.












Jack Elway, father of John Elway, football coach of San Jose State University. John Elway, Denver Branco quarterback and Superbowl winner.












Jim Plunkett, won Heisman trophy when playing for Stanford and has had a successful career in pro football.













Bill Walsh, long term coach of San Francisco Forty Niner that won three Superbowl under his coaching.














Patty Sheehan, Lady PGA pro golfer.














Peggy Fleming, Gold medal winner in Figure Skating.












Debi Thomas, Silver Medal winner of Figure Skating when she was a student at Stanford Medical School.













Amy Chow, member of team USA Gold Medal winner of Gymnastics.

American Fuzzy Lop Wins All Breed Best In Show

Carol G.'s beautiful Fuzzy Lop doe Miriam was the Best In Show on Sunday.

Lighthouse in Crescent City.

Labor Day weekend was the Crescent City show--5 open shows and 2 youth shows in one weekend. The show is never very big, but that's fine because the idea is to show rabbits, get done early and then relax in the redwood parks or at the ocean. This year the big winner was Melissa and Ed M who won BIS with their Mini Satin doe 3 times. Carol G.'s Fuzzy Lop doe Miriam won RBIS for one show on Saturday and won a BIS on Sunday.

Wet Rabbit Better Than Dead Rabbit

A wet coat after being hit by the mister.

After being blown for a minute, the two youngsters are back to normal.

It has been so hot in CA recently; the late heat wave has been around for 6 days. Heat is more dangerous to rabbits than cold; heatstroke could kill.


Misters are one of the equipment that could help cool down the temperature around the rabbits. Invariably some rabbits will get wet. Luckily the Angora wool has resistance to soaking. No matter how wet it looks on the surface of the wool, the undercoat is usually dry. It only takes a minute or two to blow the wetness away and the rabbit is as good as new.

Allen Guest Blogs From France II

Typical city street.

French city street view from my hotel room.

My hotel (on the right).

For a first-timer, I have mastered Montpellier transit! This colorful tram is an above-ground "subway", and it takes you anywhere in the city. Once you reach a point where the tram goes no further, you find a bus... and then sometimes even a bike. For $6, I can get anywhere in the city, to and from. So cool!

Raculte de Medecine, one of the oldest schools of medecine in the world. It is however only a French monument now. Montpellier, in medieval times, was "the place" to study medecine. Nostradamus studied at this school.

Arc de Triomphe of Montpellier. The Arc nearly opens the city "walls" where endless cafes, shops, fountains, la comedie, ancient buildings, tram... etc... are located.

Montpellier's most lively part of town, La Comedie, at night. Cafes, accordion players, street performers, endless shops, hotels, the opera, etc...