It tastes like it's related to the melon family. Yum!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Dragon Fruit
We buy most of our product at an Asian-run farmer's market store (it's open year-round, not just on Saturdays in the summer). There is always something for sale that I've never eaten before, and the workers are more than happy to share recipes if you ask. On Monday they had dragon fruit for $.99!
It tastes like it's related to the melon family. Yum!
It tastes like it's related to the melon family. Yum!
Monday, May 25, 2009
The spouse is away...
John went to MN last Friday to celebrate with his cousin, J.J., and J.J.'s (now) wife, Soo. I'm so glad he could go. The last time we saw his grandmother was almost two years ago, so it was definitely time for him to give her a hug! Plus he has missed his family a lot.
While he's been gone, I've tried to keep myself busy. Here are ten things I've done since he left:
1) Spent six hours on trying to find the hole in our air mattress. I've tried the soap suds trick, the toilet paper trick, and the colored-water trick. Any new ideas?
2) Left every dirty dish in the sink. Yes, I have not had to do dishes once since John left. I have rinsed every dish well, so there isn't any food sitting in them. But really, you just don't cook much when you're used to two and there's only one! (Sorry if that really grossed you out, but I just had to include it.)
3) Completed Handle with Care, Jodi Picoult's latest book.
4) Made 10 cards!
5)Watched the movie P.S. I Love You. Pretty good movie - but it was a bad idea to watch a movie about a wife whose husband dies and the grief process that follows. I didn't know that was what it was about when I started watching!
6) Taken three 2-hour naps.
7) Accidentally left the milk carton on the kitchen table after breakfast this morning. And this was after I had the dream that John left the ice cream pail out all night and I got really mad at him. Yes, the milk has been poured down the sink and the sink thoroughly rinsed out.
8) Spent an hour in Sears. All the stationery & cards were 75% off, so I had to take advantage of that!
9) Talked to my mom via Skype multiple times :)
10) Planned our summer garden.
Like I said earlier, I'm glad John got to go to MN. But I'm ready for you to come home, honey!
While he's been gone, I've tried to keep myself busy. Here are ten things I've done since he left:
1) Spent six hours on trying to find the hole in our air mattress. I've tried the soap suds trick, the toilet paper trick, and the colored-water trick. Any new ideas?
2) Left every dirty dish in the sink. Yes, I have not had to do dishes once since John left. I have rinsed every dish well, so there isn't any food sitting in them. But really, you just don't cook much when you're used to two and there's only one! (Sorry if that really grossed you out, but I just had to include it.)
3) Completed Handle with Care, Jodi Picoult's latest book.
4) Made 10 cards!
5)Watched the movie P.S. I Love You. Pretty good movie - but it was a bad idea to watch a movie about a wife whose husband dies and the grief process that follows. I didn't know that was what it was about when I started watching!
6) Taken three 2-hour naps.
7) Accidentally left the milk carton on the kitchen table after breakfast this morning. And this was after I had the dream that John left the ice cream pail out all night and I got really mad at him. Yes, the milk has been poured down the sink and the sink thoroughly rinsed out.
8) Spent an hour in Sears. All the stationery & cards were 75% off, so I had to take advantage of that!
9) Talked to my mom via Skype multiple times :)
10) Planned our summer garden.
Like I said earlier, I'm glad John got to go to MN. But I'm ready for you to come home, honey!
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Friends and Fun
Two Wednesdays ago, our good friends from college, Emily and Greg, came to visit us. Greg and John were college roommates all four years. It was great to have them here!
The first few days were spent with John showing them the sights while I was working. They visited Granville Island, Queen Elizabeth Park, Fort Langley, and even Derby Reach for some croquet! After work on Friday, we all went and did some tasting of last year's local harvest and then off to White Rock for fish and chips. The fish and chips were so delicious that we forgot to take a picture until they were all gone!
The weather was such a blessing while they were here - rain the night they arrived and the night before they left. This made White Rock even better, as normally it's chilly from the wind!
Saturday morning we took off for Whistler and made some stops along the way.
When we went to see the bobsled track in Whistler, we discovered we had it all to ourselves! The official advertising bobsled for 2010 and two bobsleds from the Calgary Olympics were outside, so we hopped in. Check out those agressive bobsledders!
On our drive home, we came across all kinds of cars parked along the side of the Sea to Sky Highway. What was everyone looking at?
As you can tell, some tourists got EXTREMELY close! We stayed far away and used our zoom. That night Emily & Greg took us out for sushi at Tojo's. What a fun treat! We all shared vegetable tempura and three kinds of sushi rolls. It was all tasty, but I really had to think about something other than the raw fish I was chewing when I ate the spicy tuna roll! John loved it. Isn't the presentation absolutely beautiful?
Our last day together was spent in Washington. We took a tour of the Boeing Everett Factory, which was quite amazing to see. The building is the largest (by volume) building in the world. It was incredible to be inside and to see all these jets being built in the same "room" (if you can even call it that). Afterwards we headed down to Pike's Place, ate lunch at the cheese store, and wandered around.
Greg got his coffee drink of choice at the original Starbucks, too. It was really neat inside - wood floors, old wood shelves, and equipment that required the workers to determine how much of anything and everything went into each cup. Not the normal press-the-button-to-release kind of machines! (Greg explained this to us.)
Our time together closed with a Mariners vs. LA Angels of Anaheim baseball game. Safeco Field was pretty neat. The roof had to be closed due to the rain, but the fresh air still moved in and out through the open sides. Don't you just love the grass pattern on the field?
Thanks so much for coming to visit us, Greg and Emily!
The first few days were spent with John showing them the sights while I was working. They visited Granville Island, Queen Elizabeth Park, Fort Langley, and even Derby Reach for some croquet! After work on Friday, we all went and did some tasting of last year's local harvest and then off to White Rock for fish and chips. The fish and chips were so delicious that we forgot to take a picture until they were all gone!
The weather was such a blessing while they were here - rain the night they arrived and the night before they left. This made White Rock even better, as normally it's chilly from the wind!
Saturday morning we took off for Whistler and made some stops along the way.
When we went to see the bobsled track in Whistler, we discovered we had it all to ourselves! The official advertising bobsled for 2010 and two bobsleds from the Calgary Olympics were outside, so we hopped in. Check out those agressive bobsledders!
On our drive home, we came across all kinds of cars parked along the side of the Sea to Sky Highway. What was everyone looking at?
As you can tell, some tourists got EXTREMELY close! We stayed far away and used our zoom. That night Emily & Greg took us out for sushi at Tojo's. What a fun treat! We all shared vegetable tempura and three kinds of sushi rolls. It was all tasty, but I really had to think about something other than the raw fish I was chewing when I ate the spicy tuna roll! John loved it. Isn't the presentation absolutely beautiful?
Our last day together was spent in Washington. We took a tour of the Boeing Everett Factory, which was quite amazing to see. The building is the largest (by volume) building in the world. It was incredible to be inside and to see all these jets being built in the same "room" (if you can even call it that). Afterwards we headed down to Pike's Place, ate lunch at the cheese store, and wandered around.
Greg got his coffee drink of choice at the original Starbucks, too. It was really neat inside - wood floors, old wood shelves, and equipment that required the workers to determine how much of anything and everything went into each cup. Not the normal press-the-button-to-release kind of machines! (Greg explained this to us.)
Our time together closed with a Mariners vs. LA Angels of Anaheim baseball game. Safeco Field was pretty neat. The roof had to be closed due to the rain, but the fresh air still moved in and out through the open sides. Don't you just love the grass pattern on the field?
Thanks so much for coming to visit us, Greg and Emily!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
Work
So I wrote about getting a new job over a week ago, but I never gave any information about it (thanks for asking, Millie!). This summer I'll be teaching ESL at TWU. They have a great program there that prepares students for future attendance at an English-speaking university. My students are at the beginning stages of their English, and they'll be taking their Listening & Speaking classes with me. The first week has gone well.
John is also working this summer! He has a handful of part-time jobs. He is T.A.ing a course on the Dead Sea Scrolls in May and June. Not only is all of his book knowledge utilized for that job but also his computer smarts, as the course is through the internet. He is doing syntactical analysis (similar to sentence diagramming) of some biblical Dead Sea Scrolls for a second job. The third is taking Dead Sea Scrolls that have never been typed into a computer document and doing just that with them!
God has really blessed us this summer with employment.
John is also working this summer! He has a handful of part-time jobs. He is T.A.ing a course on the Dead Sea Scrolls in May and June. Not only is all of his book knowledge utilized for that job but also his computer smarts, as the course is through the internet. He is doing syntactical analysis (similar to sentence diagramming) of some biblical Dead Sea Scrolls for a second job. The third is taking Dead Sea Scrolls that have never been typed into a computer document and doing just that with them!
God has really blessed us this summer with employment.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
A Whirlwind
Here's a summary of my Tuesday 5:30 a.m.-Wednesday 5:30 p.m. :
Wake up - go to work - make pan bread - cook brown rice - make a bunch of other things - start making candied pecans - oil fire on the stove - day chef uses fire extinguisher - health inspector comes - restaurant is closed due to fire extinguisher toxic residue - clean - scrub - clean - scrub - clean some more - drive home - find out John's been given 10 more hours of work each week - give up on ever getting a teaching job - go to bed - wake up - go for a walk/jog with John - go to work - health inspector still not allowing the restaurant to open - clean - get a phone call from John - teaching job offered - need to know by the afternoon - starts on Friday - scrub - wash every plate, bowl, Japanese platter, glass, mug, fork, spoon, knife, salt and pepper shaker in the restaurant - talk to head chef - given the okay - take the job - clean some more - drive home - take a shower - drive to TWU - pick up teaching materials - prepare for Friday's classes.
What a crazy 36-hour whirlwind!
P.S. The restaurant was finally okayed to open at 3 p.m. this afternoon. We worked like crazy to clean that place up. If anyone is thinking about eating at the Langley Earl's, now is the time! It is spotless.
P.P.S. Anybody just see the Vancouver Canucks lose in overtime? :(
Wake up - go to work - make pan bread - cook brown rice - make a bunch of other things - start making candied pecans - oil fire on the stove - day chef uses fire extinguisher - health inspector comes - restaurant is closed due to fire extinguisher toxic residue - clean - scrub - clean - scrub - clean some more - drive home - find out John's been given 10 more hours of work each week - give up on ever getting a teaching job - go to bed - wake up - go for a walk/jog with John - go to work - health inspector still not allowing the restaurant to open - clean - get a phone call from John - teaching job offered - need to know by the afternoon - starts on Friday - scrub - wash every plate, bowl, Japanese platter, glass, mug, fork, spoon, knife, salt and pepper shaker in the restaurant - talk to head chef - given the okay - take the job - clean some more - drive home - take a shower - drive to TWU - pick up teaching materials - prepare for Friday's classes.
What a crazy 36-hour whirlwind!
P.S. The restaurant was finally okayed to open at 3 p.m. this afternoon. We worked like crazy to clean that place up. If anyone is thinking about eating at the Langley Earl's, now is the time! It is spotless.
P.P.S. Anybody just see the Vancouver Canucks lose in overtime? :(
Dishwashing
Anything look odd in this picture?
Two right hands! John and I both have wounds on our left hands, and since we don't have a dishwasher, it was time for teamwork!
Two right hands! John and I both have wounds on our left hands, and since we don't have a dishwasher, it was time for teamwork!
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Commercials
A lot of the TV shows north of the border are the same as south of it. TV commercials, however, are different. On Superbowl night we were disappointed to watch the same old commercials that had been on for weeks. I think there were maybe three new "Superbowl-ish" commercials. So we missed those possibly great commercials, but we know you've missed some good ones too! Here's one that we saw a few days after we arrived:
Our other favorites are for Coast Capital Credit Union. In order to fully understand them, you need a little information. There are very few free bank accounts available in B.C. The best bank account we could find was an account that allowed four transactions every month for a monthly fee of $4. After those four transactions, it was something like $2 for each additional one. Right before we made our decision, we stopped at Coast Capital and found out they had free accounts! Now with that information...
Our other favorites are for Coast Capital Credit Union. In order to fully understand them, you need a little information. There are very few free bank accounts available in B.C. The best bank account we could find was an account that allowed four transactions every month for a monthly fee of $4. After those four transactions, it was something like $2 for each additional one. Right before we made our decision, we stopped at Coast Capital and found out they had free accounts! Now with that information...
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