Bruno enjoying our walkway
Since it was such a beautiful day, we went for a drive. Because it was a fairly last minute decision, we didn’t plan it out. Instead, we just drove around Lake Sammamish.
We didn’t stop to take pictures of the lake, but I did take a quick photo of the distant hills.
These flowers are in our complex.
I’d love to grow the pink ones in our yard someday when we buy a house.
I thought it would be fun to post a few snippets of my week, captured in photos.
making okonomiyaki for the first time
avocado tree getting taller
new growth – two brand new leaves!
my next KonMarie project
beautiful condolence card from our vet
a bit overwhelmed with all the kids’ books!
trying to find good books for Cin-Ru
what my puzzle should have looked like
how it looked when I finally gave up
trying a new pizza place
karahi paneer veggie pizza – yum!
This is a fun way to post. Maybe I’ll have to try it again in the future!
As part of my Chinese studies, I have started watching a Taiwanese television show titled “The Patisserie With No Name.” I stumbled across this show and was delighted to discover that not only does it have English subtitles, it has Mandarin subtitles! This means I can listen, test my comprehension, and look up words if I wasn’t able to catch what was said (this happens a lot because I have a hard time following speakers at native speed).
In tonight’s episode, I heard some familiar words but wasn’t sure what they meant when used together. I know what each of these words means individually but have never heard them used as a phrase. 吃吃看吧 – After digging around in the dictionary, I discovered it basically means “give it a taste!” when offering someone a new-to-them dish. So I searched google.tw to see if it’s a commonly used phrase and found a blog I have to follow and learn how to read. This recent post looks like a review of a pastry shop in Taipei. I am drooling!
Tomorrow I head to the store to buy the ingredients for making feta cheese!
These directions are seriously intimidating… heat milk with indirect heat. Hold exactly at 86 degrees for an hour. Stir. Allow to set for another half hour, maintaining 86 degree temperature. Eek! Well, we shall see what happens!
To help keep me busy while we wait and wait and wait for the court process, I thought it would be fun to pick a project for the month of May. There are several I could have picked from, most of which consist of finishing knitting and quilting projects that are in various stages of completion. But I thought it would be more fun to do something related to cooking – making cheese.
My mother-in-law bought me a cheesemaking kit for Christmas and I am so excited to get started!
I have two cheesemaking books. One is for dairy cheeses…
And the other is for vegan cheeses…
This weekend I will flip through both books, decide what type of cheese I want to attempt, and make a shopping list in preparation for grocery shopping on Monday. I can’t wait!
Happy 13th birthday, Cin-Ru!! I hope she had a wonderful birthday today with her friends. 13 years old. Wow! I can’t believe she’s officially a teenager.
The above photo is when Cin-Ru modeled her new shirt. This was part of her birthday care package and I believe it was a hit.
I’m so glad that we were able to celebrate early with Cin-Ru, even though we couldn’t be there in person. Next year we’ll celebrate as a family. I can’t wait!
Last week was a crazy week with some highs and some lows. I am holding out hope that this upcoming week will be much better!
We had to say goodbye to our beautiful kitty today. She was 15 years old and we’ve been her minions for the past seven years.
I’ll mostly miss her night time cuddles. She loved bedtime, immediately demanding cuddles after I crawled into bed.
Bye bye, my beautiful Fiona. Thanks for gracing our lives these past seven years. I’m glad you’re finally at peace.
Today I made Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins. They were so good that I had to take an additional walk this evening so that I could eat another. Definitely a keeper!
I am so excited!!! We received news this morning that our paperwork has officially been submitted to court in Taiwan!!!! There are still a few small steps along the way, but this is the last major one before travel. I hope the judge has mercy and pushes us through quickly!! And if not, I hope God helps me develop even more patience. We’re in COURT!!!!!!!!!!!