Recent happenings

As per usual, always something going on around here!  

I'm not sure if this birdie was just "camping out" for a few hours because I haven't seen it since this particular morning! Weird...

That birdhouse is brand new so I guess there's no "fluff" in it yet to keep warm. That's probably why that birdie hasn't stuck around. I suppose if it's snowy and cold like this, I'd like to camp out somewhere warm!

I know those tracks to the right are Bobby's.  But what about those smaller ones going across the driveway? Hmmm....

Here's a fun project - trying to get the old stubby candles out of a candelabra.  I figured the best way to do it was actually to light the candle and dump out all the wax while it's melting.  And it worked! Now, I just have to do it 2 more times:

I'm finally done with putting up the shelves for downstairs.  Yay!!

Looks so nice but nope, don't pan to the left side of the room. Noooo...!!

Yes, still a mess but it's coming a long slowly but surely.  Or at least that's what I keep telling myself. Ha ha!

Last week, we were able to get to our golf club to help out with the project of making tie knot blankets.  Even Bobby participated.  I'm so proud of him!

There was a Art Gallery Night at Charlie's school recently.  Actually on the same night as the tie knot blanket project. Glad we were able to get to school on time to pick up his art piece.  Charlie said with this one, he was inspired by Bob Ross. Yes, happy little trees! :-)

It has been one year since our septic tank was cleaned out.  I'm glad Bobby was on top of this task of calling the company that the previous owner had used. The person over the phone said it normally gets emptied it out in about 2 years, but the guy that showed up said the tank was almost full!  So it was a good thing we had them come by.  And I'm shocked that Bobby was actually outside talking to this guy while the septic tank was being emptied.  Ohhh, that smell...!!

Looks like this is the only gardening I'm doing these days. Succulents!

A lot of my indoor plants are not doing well.  I think I'm actually overwatering them.  So I'm sticking to succulents and using our little Groot planters as well :-)

We are definitely not getting a lot of sun out here these days:

And if you're like Graham wearing glasses, you're not getting a good visual when you walk back into the house after being in the cold outside.  Foggy glasses... LOL!!

During every Chinese New Year, we always attempt to have noodles.  Long noodles for long life, as they say in the Chinese culture:

I normally try and buy some fresh noodles, but this year - I decided on just Japanese Ramen with instant miso paste broth (just add hot water), some pre-made (frozen) pot stickers, and even some Korean Kimchi on the side.  I wonder what my grandmother would be saying in her grave.  Ha!  I did add the usual sliced cucumbers and minced garlic with vinegar.  The combination of all of these actually worked!  And I'm loving the Japanese bowls that was gifted by our friends from California :-)

I'm so glad the boys have been able to try a few more traditional Chinese tidbits.  I bought this from the Malaysian restaurant that's not too far from us:

Here are some cornflake biscuits.  I've made these before a long time ago, but I remembered mine were a bit sweeter.  These were still super yummy and crunchy.  They did not last the day!

And these are called Kueh Kapit or Love Letters.  These are folded vs there are ones that are rolled:

These are SO delicate that you have to just put the entire thing in your mouth. They basically just disintegrate if you try to bit into them.  Another good childhood memory :-)

Baking Cinnamon swirl muffins

Funny story - I had Graham and Charlie send thank you notes to our friends that we went to visit in Lima, OH recently.  Well, in Graham's note, he wanted to get the recipe of the cake that we had eaten at their home.  And a few weeks later, look what appeared at our door step. Ha!

Looks like the boys will be able to eat looks of cake! 

I told the boys we could make it over the weekend, but Graham was so excited he couldn't wait.  He decided to make the cinnamon swirls last Thursday.  And he baked muffins instead of a cake.  I can't believe the mix needed 5 eggs!!

Well, it turned out great!  Perhaps a little bit overdone if I had to picky but Graham was so proud and happy that he baked the muffins all by himself :-)

I sent these photos to my friend, although not knowing that their daughter had passed away that same day.  They had talked about their daughter during our visit - her battle with cancer.  It was almost a weird coincidence that Graham decided to bake on that same particular day. My heart goes out to them and their family.  

I suppose every time we bake these cakes/muffins now, it makes me think about how precious and short life can be!  Definitely have to cherish every moment! XOX

Lamp shade repair project

There were multiple unfortunate incidents from our move, including this one - a lamp shade. I guess I didn't think to actually protect it more during the move (this was actually another purchase from a charity store). Anyhow, there are some cracks on it and it's quite obvious! :-(

Weirdly enough, I had been saving a strip of some leftover window privacy screen from the boys' bathroom.  Bobby would technically call it "hoarding", but if I can use it/repurpose it - then it doesn't count as hoarding, does it?? :-P

I cut up whatever flowers and leaves I could salvage from it:

And made up some other flowers and also a hummingbird with leftover scraps:

I think it turned out really well:

Speaking of hummingbirds, our new owner at our old home in CA sent me a photo.  One of the hummingbirds have built a nest right in a hanging light fixture!!

Isn't that so cute! I guess the hummingbirds are feeling comfortable with the new owners.  Makes me so happy :-)

This lamp shade looks better than I had expected! :-)

You can still see the cracks and tears up-close but I think it looks a lot better than what it was before:

I had put the lamp downstairs for Bobby to use, but I think it is too cold downstairs.  The glue started to come off and so I had to re-spray some more adhesive on it. Hopefully the privacy screen will stick better now. And perhaps I will leave the lamp + lamp shade upstairs for all of us to enjoy instead :-)

Happy Chinese New Year

It is the Year of the Rabbit!  This year's Chinese New Year really snuck up on me.  It was in February last year but since the new year is based on a lunar calendar, it always changes!  But thankfully in my wave of panic, I was able to find our Chinese decorations from last year.  Phew!!

My few plants that are doing well - here's our lucky Chinese bamboo:

With MLK Day being a holiday, we decided to head out to Chinatown for a quick visit:

Found the Nine Dragon Wall, which supposedly is a miniature version of the one that they have in China (at the Forbidden City). And this cute blow-up rabbit :-D

Yes, it is colder than I had expected today. And it's drizzly too!

Here is just a small section of Chinatown:

I believe this is the old section:

Love the intricate tile design on this wall and ceiling of this building!

We find a place for Dim Sum.  YUMMM!!

I'm glad Charlie is my foodie partner.  He likes most of the same things I like :-D

We decided to try out this place for some Japanese dessert.  They unfortunately didn't turn out like we thought they would :-/

And we thought these would be filled with chocolate, but instead a chocolate batter was used:

Nevertheless, a fun day at Chinatown! I was hoping to buy some more traditional Chinese clothing but they didn't really have much of a collection in any of the stores.  Perhaps we will have to go to the newer part of Chinatown.  Next time!

For Chinese New Year this year, I wanted to try and make some egg tarts.  First, trying to take the rings off my finger. I forgot to take them off the night before as most of the time, my knuckles are quite swollen the next morning. OUCH!

I bought some disposable egg tart trays:

Only using egg yolks and mixing it with evaporated milk and condensed milk. Took me 2 trips to find those ingredients!

Okay... looking pretty good:

I bought round cutters and this wooden thing to help flatten it in the mold:

Well, after all that effort - looks like my dough is not cooking all the way through.  Booo!!!

I guess it didn't help when the custard overflowed while baking.  Noooooo...!!

We ended up eating the custard off with a spoon. Can't waste all those eggs!  So far we haven't been impacted with the raising price of eggs.  Probably just a matter of time!

And while all this commotion is happening in the kitchen, I told the boys to clear up the dining room and living room. Okay, not too shabby :-D

And as for the next assignment, we have been invited to a friend's house to celebrate Chinese New Year.  I have been tasked to bring an appetizer.  I decided to make some egg rolls.  It's been a while, so here goes!

Instead of ground pork, I decided to use ground turkey.  We will be wrapping dumplings with ground pork later in the week, so I didn't want to overdo it. And since Graham doesn't like anything green, I also thought I'd try chopping some water chestnut and mixing that in - to give it that nice crunch.

And with a new air fryer from Christmas, why not try that too! But after cutting up into a few egg rolls after air-frying (I couldn't quite figure out at what temperature to cook them at and for how long), it came to my realization that the egg roll wrapper was not cooking all the way. Oh no!

This is getting pretty tedious!  I'm not going to deal with 2 failures in one day!  Thankfully, I had a half bottle of vegetable oil.  So into the hot oil the egg rolls go.  I guess there's nothing like frying food the traditional way:

I tried to oil-fry the previous ones that I had air-fried, but nope - that did NOT work! Thankfully I had just enough to bring to the party:

And I'm so happy to share that the egg rolls were a hit at the dinner party! Yay!!!  It was great meeting some new friends, all whom had lived overseas as well.  Lots of stories to share :-)

And looks like it's Dumpling Sunday!

Technically, on the very first day of Chinese New Year, we are suppose to have a vegetarian meal.  But that will not flow so well with Graham, so hope our ancestors are forgiving on this new generation. Ha ha!

And Graham decided to skew off the traditional way of wrapping and made a couple of ravioli-shaped dumplings. Hopefully my grandmother is not rolling over in her grave. Ha ha!!

Well, all in all, the boys are definitely getting better at wrapping dumplings:

I asked if they would continue the tradition when they get older, and there was some hesitation.  Hmmm, so I guess only time will tell!

Bobby loves to eat his dumplings with lots of garlic.  And he loves using this garlic grinder:

I guess I should have taken a photo of his portion of garlic, but here is my portion.  No kissing tonight! LOL!!

Happy Chinese New Year everyone!!

Graham and Charlie are still using chopstick trainers.  I hope they graduate to regular chopsticks eventually some day!

Another good batch of dumplings! 

And we didn't lose a single one in the pot this time. Yay!  Sometimes, when the boys are wrapping the dumplings, they are not sealing the dumplings properly - which means water is able to get into it/to the meat. And when that happens, the dumpling pretty much disintegrates while being boiled.

Time to wish Mommy and Daddy "Gong Xi Fa Cai":

The boys are always happy to receive these ang pow/red packets.  Obviously, because they are filled with money:

Charlie is already talking about buying different baits and hoping to still go fishing in this cold weather.  Brrrr...!!

By the way, I didn't have the heart to throw out all those egg rolls that didn't work out.  So I peeled them all off and save the meat:

It made for a good mix for fried rice yesterday! :-D

One of these days, I'm going to figure out that egg tart!!!I attempted to make a 2nd batch of egg tarts since I had some leftover dough.  And nope, still a big failure!!

I even tried using a muffin tin.  It did seem that the dough was browning and cooking a bit more.  At this point, I'm guessing it's the dough recipe??!

This past week, while shopping in a Japanese supermarket, I noticed that there were lots of restaurants inside.  So we decided to check that out this past weekend.  We are definitely getting our fix of Asian food this week:

There was a really long line at one of the Japanese noodle restaurants, so we'll just have to try that next time.  I did buy some noodles for our own home meal, so probably try and do that this weekend. Long noodles for long life, as they say in Chinese :-)

May the Year of the Rabbit bring prosperity, good health, and fortune to all!!