Making Yogurt

It really is quite amazing how simple it is to make your own yogurt.  Ever since my good friend Linda has bought me a yogurt-making machine, I haven't been buying any at the store at all!  Even Charlie eat it with me:

I think I may have posted some of these photos already.  Linda gave me a yogurt starter:

And this cute little yogurt maker.  Although I'm not sure if the timer on this works properly.  When the timer says 8 hours, the machine is still cooking even after 9 or 10 hours!  

So most of the time I just leave it and let it do its thing overnight.  And by morning, I put the bowl into the fridge and then, ta da! We have yogurt!

It normally turns out a bit watery and you can strain it, but I do like it with quite a bit of that whey.  I accidentally left it in the maker for a whole day and the yogurt was still edible/didn't go sour.  Or at least I didn't get sick after eating it.  Ha ha!

Charlie has gotten into the habit of eating the yogurt with granola in the morning as well.  It does come out a bit tangier than the ones in the supermarket but he doesn't mind it too much:

And after a couple of yogurt-making sessions, I eventually bought a new thermometer to help ease the process.  Here's my setup on the stove.  Ha ha!

So I boil 4 cups of milk until it reaches the temperature of 160F.  My thermometer will beep when it does that.  And then, I take the milk off the stove and set a timer to 30 minutes and that's about the time the temperature comes down to 110F.  I put the thermometer back in the milk and when it does reach 110F, I dump some of the previous yogurt (that now acts as the starter), stir it up a little bit, and then dump the whole thing into the yogurt maker glass container.  Turn it on and set it to "cook" for about 10 hours. Easy peasy! Everyone is getting a yogurt maker this Christmas. LOL!!!

Archery update

The Saturday before last, we went to the park for our archery lesson and there was no one there!  I'm guessing it was because of the rain, as the ground was wet.  It didn't rain too much at our place unfortunately.  We really need it!

It's so nice to have our own gear as we can still just set up on the archery range.   We even have our personal bow holder :-D

Bobby is looking very elegant and professional indeed as our official bow holder.  He he!

The only bad thing about shooting at the open range is if you miss the target, you have to go behind it and try and find the arrow(s)!

Can you believe it... lucky shot!  Daddy somehow managed to hit the "X' or the bullseye on his 2nd try:

And oh, I think someone owes me a lobster dinner.  Bobby said something like "if you can shoot 2 arrows in the yellow,... lobster dinner!".  And when I did do that, it was "Oh wait, you're suppose to do that consecutively."  And I thought I did that too.  Maybe I'll just go out and buy a couple of fresh lobsters and throw them in the pot at home this week.  Ha!

We have one more official archery lesson this week and then, we'll see what happens.  Charlie really still does enjoy it and shooting just on Saturdays doesn't seem to be enough for him.  And in the meantime, Bobby doesn't think the kids are learning anything during the lesson.  We are still getting used to the bow and I feel they still need some instruction.  So hopefully Daddy has some money saved up somewhere in the budgie :-P

Here's a video of Graham shooting at 12 meters (we started at 9m) last week at the lesson.  He was able to hit the target perhaps only about half of the time.  And before that, at 9 meters, he actually shot it on the "X"!  It's crazy how the difference of 3 meters can make.  And he is also now using a finger sling so the bow can rock gently with the balanced weight after he releases the arrow.  

Still needs some work but it's some good progress!  Charlie has yet to use a finger sling but at least now we have adjusted the pull weight on the bow so it's a bit easier for him to pull the bow. He's been complaining about how his left shoulder hurts.  

Paris Olympics 2024... here we come! Ha ha! :-P

Seashells

Graham and Charlie have been digging up so many shells during our trips to the beach.  Charlie got a super huge one recently. So cool!

I figured we could drill some holes in some of the flatter ones and hang them like a wind chime (minus the chime of course, since Daddy doesn't like those too much).  But look what happened to my drill bit. The tip is burnt! Oops!

Here's our little setup - a piece of plank over the large "Green" bin.  Very professional.  Ha ha!

And unfortunately with the burnt and possibly now blunt bit, these shells are breaking apart before the hole can be made.  Nooooo...!!!

At least we got some of them hung.  Happy Charlie! :-)

Anything to keep this kid busy right now.  Charlie was suppose to start Distance Learning last Wednesday but now it looks like it should (hopefully!) start this Thursday.  So far with just 3 days of school last week, there were 11 confirmed Covid cases and about 100 people affected.  And looks like there are a few additional cases this week and it's only Tuesday night!  Yikes!  

Fingers crossed for Graham going back in-person for 6th Grade.  It seems he has been very good at social distancing at school, although that probably means he's not really socializing and making new friends.  He did also say that he was holding his breath while rinsing off after swim in the locker room/showers.  Ha!  That was totally too funny but I'm glad he has been thinking about his surroundings when his mask is off! 

Surf time

We were finally able to schedule our surf lesson!  It's taken almost over a month since we couldn't quite find the right time and/or our instructor was out of town.  In a way, it actually worked out because my left knee is finally just feeling better.

We practiced a few of our "pop-ups" and then, we make Graham go first.  I don't know but that wave looks pretty big in this photo:

Graham gets carried out on the board and then the coach aligns him for the right wave:

Attempt #1:

Attempt #2:

And then Graham actually gets on the board!  This is his 3rd successful attempt and he was just as ecstatic! And so cute when he even did that Hawaiian "Aloha" hand signal with his left hand.  The coach told him to do that.  Lol! And I've just come to find out that it's called the "shaka" sign - which is also known as "hang loose":

Charlie decided to call it a day after 1 attempt on the board.  I tried a few times on the board and failed miserably.  Needless to say, I had some not-so-graceful tumbles and crashes into the water. Man, salt water really does taste really salty!!! And I thought the waves were quite brutal and it's amazing how it feels like you are so far away from the shore when you aren't really.  The water just gets deep (or at least feels really deep) so quickly.  And the lesson learned today is don't put the weight on the front of the board unless you want to get wiped-out!

Daddy finally joined us for a little bit when it was all said and done, which means it's clean-up time and dinner time!

I'm so glad we didn't sell the minivan.  We have been eating at the back of the minivan a lot more lately because of the Covid pandemic.  It's easy to just call in for take-out and park somewhere.  Can't beat the ocean view!  And can't beat eating Nutella S'mores pizza first before eating the regular Cheese pizza:

Graham opted for some pasta and pesto.  I think it's probably the only green thing that he actually eats!

I wonder what Bobby is telling Graham here.  Love this silhouette:

Another fun day at the beach!  I think I'm going to buy our own surf board and just try again on our own.  I want to be able to stand on that board before ever leaving California.  Ha ha! :-)

San Diego/San Juan Capistrano (July 19 - 21)

I can't believe it has taken me this long to post about this trip.  It was back in July!  We actually went to visit some friends in Rancho Santa Fe, which is just about 30 minutes north of San Diego.  It took us about 2+ hours to get there.  This particular family had moved from our town over a year ago now.  Their son and Charlie were in the same Kindergarten class and I would visit with the mom occasionally when we first moved to California.

Graham and Charlie had such a good time catching up with their friends:

I think Graham and Charlie really enjoyed all their toys and also the big backyard!  Can someone say "Zip line"??!

How cool is that! And we actually ended up going back the next day (after our 7-hour long playdate!) because I had accidentally left my sunglasses at their home.  We not only got to see my mom-friend again but also, the boys got to play on the zip line again!  Also, we were directed to a market that has the best tortilla chips ever!

It looks like we can't get these chips around here.  Might be another road trip when we get a chance! In the meantime, it's nap time while we drive to Dana Point:

Hmm... wait, where are we going?

Oh wait, no - we're off to see the San Juan Capistrano Mission.  We're parked but it's time to play first:

We're at Los Rios, which is a historic district in the city of San Juan Capistrano. Some buildings are dated back to 1794 and is officially the oldest continually occupied neighborhood in the state of CA!

Hats on! It's a warm one today:

We cross the railroad to get to the Mission.  We have to remember that it's an active rail track:

No way... Mission is closed today - on a Tuesday?!  So we are just busy looking around the gift shop.  Almost went home with one of these, but picked out a nice mug instead:

Trying to get some shade while waiting for the traffic light.  Charlie is so funny here - leaning up against Bobby:

It says "Old Mr. Tree circa 1800".  Woah!

There's a few shops and restaurants along this street in Los Rios:

Oh wait, the train is coming! And there is a little gate that comes down:

Okay, time to look for some food.  We found an "Elephant ear" instead!

And then we found some apple beignets.  We would have sat at the restaurant but it was closing. At 3pm?! Sheesh!

The beignets were not quite the same as the ones you would get in New Orleans, but they were pretty yummy no less with the caramel sauce.  Yummm...

Okay, off to Dana Point to find our hotel!  Thankfully it's not too far.  Once we settled down a bit, the boys and I went to find the beach while Daddy had to work a bit.  I can't remember what this little façade was about now: 

We have no idea exactly where we are going.. .just follow the logs:

We see some sand and a lifeguard tower.  Found the beach!

Got to take a we-fie first, minus daddy :-/

Not a lot of sand here.  So strange!  Must have had an erosion issue here.  That seems to be an issue along some of the California coastline now:

It is super rocky at the bottom:

Hmmm... Graham thinks it's a great idea to roll down the hill.  You should have seen his rash-guard/shirt after. Yikes...!

Charlie is trying to make a little rock tower:

These boys love the beach:

Time to walk back to the hotel! Glad Daddy brought us some towels before going out to pick up some dinner:

Dinner! Glad there's some extra space in this hotel room:

The next day, we are finally off to see the San Juan Capistrano Mission.  But first, photo op :-)

I'm so glad we are finally able to visit this Mission.  I believe these bells signify the El Camino Real. Yup, looks like the name means "The Royal Road" and it marks the 700 mile historic California Mission Trail that connects 21 missions, 4 military forts, and several pueblos/towns from San Diego all the way to San Francisco!

We're looking for some fish in the pond:

This place is so pretty:

And massive!  It's crazy to think this mission was founded in 1776.  That was so long ago!  And unfortunately, it did not survive very well after a couple of earthquakes: 

Mommy and boys selfie:

 I wonder if that was an entryway before:

There's Daddy for our family we-fie!

Looks like the Mission has events planned here.  What a space!

I always find it amazing how much smaller people were back then.  Look how short these doorways are:

But look, these people were already into built-in shelving even back in the 1800s!!!

Hi Graham!  I am still inside one of the rooms as Graham is already outside in a hallway ready for the next thing:

We enter "Serra's Chapel" where it has been documented that Junipero Serra celebrated Mass.  There's a pipe organ towards the back, on the 2nd floor:

The ceiling is so cool!

Oh, and the "Golden Altar" or retablo is amazing.  I don't know why I don't have a close up of this.  It is gleaming gold as the sun from the windows is shining through:

So this altar is actually older than the Mission itself.  It was originally carved in Barcelona, Spain in the 1690s and then installed in the Chapel in 1922.  It came in 396 pieces in 10 boxes and it took 18 months to put back together as it didn't come with any instructions.  Ha ha!  They actually had to raise the roof because it was taller than the original building.  And now that I'm reading more on it, the retablo was actually resurfaced with bronze leaves in 1993. As the gold chipped off, much of the clay backing was revealed and it was then coated with gold paint that eventually started to tarnish.

Here are some bells of the Mission in the Secret Garden.  Too bad we didn't hear them although I'm not sure if they ring them anymore:

The familiar long hallways that we keep seeing in all the missions we have visited:

It's crazy to think that every single brick here was made by hand and then all laid by hand.  Every arch too... that's a lot of work!

Towards the back, there's a seating area and then this HUGE cactus tree!  Woah!!!

Okay, time to head out.  Graham and Charlie actually have a swim lesson later this afternoon so we had already checked out of our hotel room and are all ready to head back home.  But just before that, I spot some more of these tiled steps.  Makes me wonder what we really could have done with our front stoop:

Obviously too late now, but at least I don't have to worry about anyone falling over the new steps.

What a fun trip!  So glad we were able to visit our friends and then also see the Mission. I'll have to see what else is on our to-do list for California :-)