Wintersweet

Shopping around at lunch time

2011-07-12T14:43:00.004-06:00

It is a beautiful summer day. My colleague Lisa and I decided to go shopping at Midtown plaza. We headed directly to the Natualizer store since I have been notified by email that they are having a summer clearance event. Almost everything in store is up to 70% off. This is a big temptation to ladies like us even though we probably have had enough pair of shoes already. Before we leave the office, I’ve browsed through their online catalogues and I have two pair of shoes in my mind already.

The store is not as busy as we expected, but they don’t carry the pairs I am interested which is a bit disappointing. The sales ladies are understandable enough to leave us on our own to try out any shoe we like which is very nice as I always enjoy trying on shoes in different colors and styles. Lisa bought a beautiful pair of red sandals almost instantly, and to me, after having tried on every shoe that caught my eyes, I left the store with a pair of brown leather slip-ons.

It is a good reward to myself and I will still keep an eye online to the pairs I like. I wish I could get them when they are on sale.

Where my heart goes……………..

2011-04-04T11:45:00.000-06:00

Coming back from a long trip to China, I was often asked by friends and colleagues about my feelings of the visit. All that I can tell them is:

“I had tear running down my chin the moment I landed in my home country, it felt much like a married woman back to visit her own mother. However, I felt so happy and relaxed when I came back to Canada where I started my own family here.”

Be my heart passionately with both countries that brings me inner peace and balance”

Washing Dishes

2011-01-06T14:10:00.003-06:00

Chores like washing dishes are something that cannot be avoided by a normal family like mine. I enjoy cooking but I don’t like doing dishes after a nice supper while my dear hubby eats whatever I cooked but he cannot stand a messy kitchen.

I cook almost every evening and leave the dishes for about two days so that I will have enough dirty dishes for the dish washer. I had this kind of house work schedule for over 12 years and I thought it works quite well for us until two days ago. My hubby went in kitchen to wash dishes himself right after dinner which indeed surprised me. For over a decade since I have known him, he is a devoted follower of one of the Chinese old sayings “A superior man keeps kitchen at a distance”. I start to realize how unbearable anymore for him to see dirty dishes in the sink for even one day.

It is maybe great for most of the ladies if their husband likes doing dishes often. But it is definitly not ok for me. I will be bothered badly if I see my husband working in the kitchen. Besides I don't easily trust others to wash my belongings not even my husband. So last night after dinner I told my dear hubby that "ok from now on, I will clean the kitchen every day based on the condition that you have to initiate the move first right after dinner" Since to me as long as I see him in the kitchen, I will lose my easiness wherever I am.

I admit it is hard to do dishes every evening, however it worthies every effort once you see the pleasant kitchen the next morning.

First working day in 2011 starts

2011-01-03T15:10:00.004-06:00

Thank to my dear hubby who is kind enough to drive me to work on such a dark cold morning, the first working day in 2011 did not start as hard as I expected after all.

When I stepped into my office, I was so happy to find that one of the Christmas Cactus is budding, the orchid is blooming and the Begonia has a few new leaves and branches. I was amazed about how much a plant can change in just ten days, and I was excited with so many cheerful signs.

By 9:30 o’clock, I noticed the bright blue sky showing off outside my office window. Thin layer of snow being chased off the roof, dancing pass my office window. A few pedestrians were walking briskly across the street. It is indeed an ordinary day, and I feel I am blessed to be able to enjoy it comparing to the miseries happening on other places reported on the news today.

Time flies and another year gone by. The long relaxing holiday is over and the journey of 2011 begins.

We had the first freezing rain in town

2010-12-16T09:08:00.002-06:00

Last night, on our way home we experienced first real freezing rain this winter. While my hubby kept complaining about the difficult driving conditions, I was actually enjoying watching the cars passing by. Most cars were covered with ice chips instead of water. The reflections from those ice chips glittered randomly and looked like scattered lights dancing on the move.

By the time we got home, it rained harder. I could hear the rain drops pounding on the house windows like the sound of a summer rain storm. My hubby started to worry about the icy driving conditions the next day because the temperature would for sure drop below -10 over night at this time of the year.

To our surprise, by the time we drove out of our garage this morning, there was nothing like what we thought would be. The road was covered by a thin layer of soft snow. The sky was clear with a few stars shining here and there. No wind, no ice and no cold. Beautiful Christmas lights blink along the neighborhood houses. In fact, It was such a peaceful morning that we actually enjoyed heartily.

Freezing rain came and gone like a dream. It magically did not leave any evidence to us. Nature played a little game and it was quite fun.

I made spring rolls

2010-12-14T15:04:00.001-06:00

This year, both my husband and I will have the company Christmas potluck held in the same week right before Christmas. After consulting with a few close friends about what would be proper to bring, homemade vegetable spring rolls wins the best choice.

In order to leave enough backup time in case we have trouble to acquire all the ingredients, we went shopping over the weekend. My hubby and I started making the rolls around 5pm last night, and by the time we finished wrapping up all the sheets we had, it was almost 9:30. The potluck will be on Wednesday and Friday, I decided to leave the freshly made spring rolls on the back yard deck overnight to get them frozen instantly. That way, I will have the spring rolls ready to deep fry whenever needed. It will be fresh, tasty and good looking.

Anyhow, spring rolls are ready and I am looking forward to finding out whether they would be favored at the potluck!!