Category: News (Page 23 of 29)

A few months ago a friend gave me a copy of the photo journal,  A Year of Mornings – 3191 Miles Apart.  It is a collaboration of Maria Alexandra Vettese and Stephanie Congdon Barnes.  Maria lives in Portland, Maine and Stephanie lives in Portland Oregon.  They posted photos from their mornings on a blog for a year.  Although there is an entire nation between them, it is interesting to note the similarities in their photographs; sometimes in the subjects and at other times in the composition.  Since this first project, they have also done the same thing in the evening.  Their new book is 3191: Evenings.

The idea behind their blog and subsequent books intrigues me, but not in a way that makes me want to duplicate it.  (Although it could be a fun family project with photos coming in from six different locations.  Well.. as of Friday it’s now down to five locations with Kristina’s move from Boston to Kingwood, Texas).  Back to the intriguing idea…I live in an interesting place, Tokyo, and when I am not at home I am usually visiting someplace interesting.  If I am looking for something to photograph and post everyday it will cause me to pay more attention to the world around me.  One of my biggest concerns is how much of life I miss by rushing right through it.  On some days the photo might be the topic of a post and at other times it may just appear with no explanation at all.  The main idea is to notice the things around me.

So with this in mind, I took my camera on my morning walk and this is what I got:

If you stand on a corner near my house and look at the Tokyo Temple it appears like the Angel Moroni is actually on Mori Tower, a building about a mile away.  It’s an interesting view.  And yes, the views in Tokyo are still cluttered with power lines everywhere.  Maybe one day I will photograph the view from my living room window….

Many of you may not realize that I am an adrenline junkie.  We have several in the family.  During our recent family reunion in St. George, Utah we did a zipline tour with Paragon Sports.  The only family members not participating were Rick, Andrew (the babysitters), David, Izzie, Jan and Holli (too little).  You can watch a video of us here Zipline Tour Be sure to watch for Havana (age 5) at 4:10.  She is tiny and probably our biggest adrenaline junkie.

It has been a busy month.  I just got back from the US.  I spent the first week in Utah visiting my mom. staying with my sister, visiting my niece in Pocatello and seeing my baby, Alex, bless his baby.

"Idaho"

Nicole and Presley

Presley's Dog, Lola

Presley is Awesome at Hangman

Cody's license plate. Seriously! A Baked Potato!

Jan

My baby and His Baby Jan

Rick and Jan

On November 2 we flew to Houston and took a taxi to the Hyatt downtown.  We attended a Shell workshop for two days and then met up with James in his office.  He picked us up at the hotel and we went home with him.  Rick was able to stay until Saturday and I stayed for a week.  We had fun playing, eating out and visiting.

Holli

Dewberry Farm

David's Birthday Gift

Making Brownies with Havana

Aimee

Caitlyn and I

Lainey

I love spending time with Rick and my family more than anything, but it’s always good to be home.  Rick did a little duty free shopping on his Singapore Air flight and I got a cool new watch.  I love it!

My New Watch

Holli Danese

Vanalee left Tokyo on August 18 to fly to Houston to help following the birth of grandaughter number 7 and grandchild number 8.  Holli Danese was born on August 11.  She is a sweet, cuddly baby and Ruth gave grandma lots of cuddling time.  Ruth really doesn’t need much help after she has a baby.  By the time I got there she was up and running.  We went shopping, bowling, to gymnastics and lots of other fun places.

One day at the mall the saleswoman asked Havana her name and she said, “My name is Havana and I am a gymnast and I am going to the Olympics!”  The woman’s reaction was less than stellar…it went something like this, “Uhhh yeah sure.”  So Grandma said, “No seriously she is!  She is an incredible gymnast!”  I couldn’t allow that woman to burst her bubble and she is actually very good.

The Target that Ruth goes to has giant red balls on the sidewalk near the entrance and the kids love to jump on them.  This is what Havana does…she looks like a gymnast doesn’t she?

"Bammy, take my picture!"

Another evening while shopping at the mall we wandered into a mostly empty Gap store.  We all ended up in the dressing room while Ruth tried on some clothes.  The kids were getting a bit bored so I pulled out my camera and started to take photos of them.  I had taken several photos when a Gap employee came in and told me that photography was not allowed.  So… just remember that it is not okay to go into a Gap and take pictures of your children in their already purchased Gap clothes.  I know that there are good reasons for the rule it just seemed a bit silly since we were the only ones in there.

The Photo Shoot

The search for the greatest cupcake continued.  The Texas kids were not happy that the search had ended before we had checked out Crave Cupcakes near the Galleria in Houston.

Crave Cupcakes

Crave Cupcakes is a very sleek shop.  It is possible to look through the large glass cupcake display case and watch the flock of “frosters” at work.  Each crave cupcake it topped with their fondant logo, an electric mixer.

Crave Cupcake's Fondant Logo

This is what happens when you take a boy on a cupcake outing! He kicked the box getting out of the car.

Chocolatey Goodness!

Yummy!

Take a big bite!

The Winner!

Havana and David both chose the strawberry, but David decided he was more interested in the waterwall, at the park we stopped at, than eating his cupcake.  Lucky for us (James, Ruth and I),  we split his later and it was really good.  A delicate vanilla cupcake with small pieces of fresh strawberry.  The pink frosting had a delicious subtle strawberry flavor.  Yummy cupcakes!  The search is over because I really like home baked better.  Well, it’s over unless Leigh and Andrew have a cupcake spot in Sugar Grove they want me to visit.

After school one day we made candy sushi.  Candy sushi is made using rice krispy treats, fruit roll ups and various other candy (laffy taffy gummy worms etc) Here we are making it, eating it and posing with it:

Rick arrived on August 26 and the next day we flew to North Carolina to see Andrew and Leigh.

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:

The Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Kawagoe Chapel

Window Detail

Side View

Goodie Bags- rice crackers and sweets

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.

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!”

Monday we ended up going to Providence to get Kristina’s friend, Rachel, at the airport.  We visited a cupcake shop in Federal Hill called Nancy’s Fancies.  We tried three cupcakes and they were all great.  (Lemon Meringue, Boston Creme Pie, and Coconut Dream…the Chocolate/Chocolate with oreo crumbs and a gummy worm, AKA Dirty, was for Rachel).  Nancy’s is unique in that they fill and ice the cupcakes while you watch.  This made them taste especially fresh, no dry frosting here.  Kristina thinks they win the taste test for homemade goodness.

 

Yesterday we made our way to Boston’s North End to try Lulu’s cupcakes.  Lulu’s was not open and there was not even a sign posting their hours.  We opted instead for treats at Modern Pastry instead.  We shared a delicious Raspberry Twist and a Cannoli.   

In Kingston, on the way to Cape Cod, we saw the Sugar Plum Bakery and stopped to check out their cupcakes.  We tried Cannoli and Peanut Butter Chocolate.  These were yummy, too.  Total sugar overload!

 

Today we went to Sweet  at Harvard Square.  This is the place to go if you want “posh” cupcakes.  We were a bit cupcaked out so we chose two of their mini cupcakes, carrot and red velvet.  When I say posh think carrot cupcake topped with a sliver of edible gold leaf!  Their cupcakes were beautiful and also very tasty.

So in the global search…I don’t even know who would win!

The search continues…I am in London and have had the opportunity to try two of the local cupcake bakeries.  Saturday we all headed down to South Kensington to go to the Science Museum.  We got off the tube at Gloucester Road to eat lunch.  We ended up at Byron’s a new hamburger restaurant in London.  After some yummy burgers and fries we walked along Cromwell Road.  Just before we got to the Science Museum Maddie noticed a new exhibit, The Butterfly Garden, and decided she wanted to go there.  We saw some beautiful butterflies and played on a cool playground.  Here are some photos from the garden and playground.  Izzie is a big kid trapped in a tiny body.

 

We decided to skip the Science Museum and the crowds and headed over to the Hummingbird Bakery on Old Brompton Road.  Cupcakes are not their only speciality;  they have beautiful cakes, muffins, brownies and other treats.  The Hummingbird Bakery is owned by a graduate of the American School in London.  He grew to love American style sweets while he attended school there (must be all those American mums baking for bake sales and school parties).  We chose 6 cupcakes to take home, two red velvet, two different chocolate, one vanilla and carrot cake.  Hummingird Bakery really knows how to make cupcakes.  See photos below:

Today after we got Maddie from school we drove to Primrose Hill and went to the Primrose Bakery for cupcakes.  It’s a cute little retro-style shop and has some treats besides cupcakes, but cupcakes dominate the selection.  Ally and I chose lime coconut, Maddie got chocolate and Izzie got a mini- chocolate cupcake.  The cupcakes were good but not fabulous like the ones we had on Saturday.  The frosting was dry.  We tried to decide if they had been baked fresh today or if they were left from yesterday.  Izzie did enjoy hers. 

The winner in my global search so far is Hummingbird Bakery.  Stay tuned for the Boston results coming soon.