Yesterday was a Japanese national holiday, Ocean Day. The Japanese tend to flock to the beaches to celebrate. It was a perfect day to go to the beach, not too hot with a gentle breeze. Did we go to the beach??? We didn’t!
Sunday I heard that our church had completed a new building near Kawagoe and that they were having an open house. Rick and I decided to go and see what the newest church building in Japan looked like. We arrived shortly after the young singing group, Bless 4, had started their concert. It was a fun concert and we enjoyed listening to them sing in English, Japanese and some songs that combined both. The only thing I could actually sing along to was “Stand By Me.” Most of the Japanese were singing along to that one, too.
After the concert we walked around their beautiful new building. We met the members of Bless 4 in the stairwell and they were anxious to shake our hands and speak to us in English. Rick said that from what he understood that they had all attended BYU. Did I mention that we were the only foreigners in attendance besides the missionaries? I am sure they wondered what had caused us to come out from Tokyo (another 3 train journey).
The building was typical of others we have seen in Asia. The ground floor includes a foyer and then an open car park, the second floor has classrooms and the third floor is a chapel/multipurpose function room with a small kitchen and a few small classrooms. The fourth floor of the Kawagoe building is unfinished and for future expansion.
It was a great day to get out of the city, enjoy a concert and meet some very friendly people. Here are some photos:
I am obsessed with cupcakes, in case you hadn’t noticed. I don’t actually eat very many of them. I can’t even remember if I have made any since I returned to Tokyo. Well… until today. When I was in London we went to the Hummingbird Bakery one Saturday for cupcakes (see previous post). I crowned them the best cupcakes in London. So when Allyson, Izzie and I went to Selfridges (my favorite department store in the world) we wandered down to the bookshop and I bought my own copy of this:
Last week, I was reading the reviews for this cookbook on Amazon and there were some really negative ones. One of the biggest complaints was that recipes weren’t turning out right. Those critics attributed the failures to the unconventional methods used. I think the critics may have looked at the method, decided to use their own and thus the reason for the failed recipes.
Maddie and I made the chocolate ones while I was in London and they turned out really well. We followed the method exactly. Today Rick and I are invited to a barbecue and I volunteered to bring a dessert. I decided on the Black Bottom Cupcakes from the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook. I followed the directions just as they were written. In fact, I was quite concerned because the chocolate cake part of the recipe does not call for eggs and it calls for vinegar. I even thought about adding eggs, thinking it was a mistake. However, I resisted the urge to rely on my experience and method and followed the recipe. The only change I made was to double it. I must make big cupcakes because when Maddie and I made the chocolate ones the recipe said it makes 12 and I only got 8. Today instead of 24 I got 19. The bigger cupcakes required a longer baking time. I baked them until a skewer inserted in the middle came out clean.
Oh, and just so you know we are not taking 19 to the barbecue we are taking 16. I had to try half of one unfrosted to make sure they worth the 600 yen ($6) package of cream cheese called for in the frosting, then Rick and I each had one with the frosting. They are delicious!
I am declaring my search for the best cupcake completed. I have so many yummy cupcake recipes and I need to visit some good art museums instead.
If you are interested in the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook be sure to use their methods and I everything will turn out just right.
When I was growing up one of my favorite books was The Secret Garden. I lived in London for four years and never knew that there was a secret garden right in Regent’s Park (it’s true name is St John’s Lodge Gardens). It was just a few blocks from where I lived. Last month, after we dropped Maddie off for her last day of school, Ally, Izzie and I walked down St John’s Wood High Street and into Regent’s Park. It is a huge beautiful park with large open fields, many garden areas and ponds. Izzie loved watching all the dogs play fetch with their owners. We walked and talked and finally got to the garden. It is just beautiful. The entrance path to the garden is bordered with flowers that actually have fragrance. Here are some photos of the garden.
Entrance to the Secret Garden
Garden Arbor
Fountain
Izzie in the Garden
After the Secret Garden we walked to Queen Mary’s Rose Garden. The roses were in full bloom and they have fragrance, too. It’s too bad the fragrance has been bred right out of the roses we buy in shops and bring home. Here are some photos of the roses.
It was a beautiful day in London. Oh I love London! I suppose if I ever stop loving it I will be dead. Samuel Johnson said, “When a man is tired of London he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.”
One day, many years ago, I looked out my kitchen window to see a couple I recognized parked in front of the empty lot next door. I ran out to say hello to Larry and Peggy. I am sure they were surprised to see a crazy woman running up to their car. I was acquainted with them from our time in Saudi Arabia. I actually knew their son Andrew better than I knew them. I often chatted with Andrew on the school bus in Saudi.
Larry and Peggy didn’t build on the lot next door, but they moved in not far from my house. Peggy and I became great friends and the two of us formed the perfect carpool. We would talk and decide each morning who would drop off in the morning and who would pickup in the afternoon. If one of us had to drive both ways it wasn’t a big deal and we didn’t keep track, it just worked perfectly.
Whenever I told Peggy something I made my children do she would say “Mean parent lesson # _____!”
Then the inevitable happened (when husbands work in the oil business). We got transferred to California. Peggy and I talked periodically when she called on my birthday or other times. She was always the one who reached out. In 23 months we were back living in Kingwood and I was back with my friend and carpool partner. Then it was Peggy’s turn to move first to California and then back to Saudi Arabia. It was while she was in Saudi that I lost contact with her.
I have tried on and off for several years to find her. Often I would get close, but never seemed to get enough information to contact her. Just a few days ago my son, Andrew, sent me an email saying he thought he had found her on Facebook. I went to my Facebook account and typed in the name he sent and sure enough there was my friend smiling at me once again. I sent a friend request immediately and she replied. I am so happy to have found my “long lost friend!”
