Last week…

Lots happened! My 5-year-old graduated from preschool! The preschool is a new one, it only opened last February and I remember that last year there were only three graduates. This year there were 15. And it was so cute to see them all in their caps and gowns. They sang songs and performed and even gave mini speeches. The kids were also previously filmed at school explaining what they want to be when they grow up. Finnian’s dream is to be a pilot!

Also, this weekend it was Take Back Your Shelves Readathon, a weekend event organized by JMill Wanders. With so much happening this weekend though, I didn’t really manage to do very much so far. But hey, there’s the rest of today. But you know what, with preschool closed, it’s just more work for me….

Anyway, on Saturday, we attended a friend’s birthday party in the park. The kids had lots of fun running around the park, at the playground and whacking the piñata. It really was going to be one of those classic movie moments where the dads end up having to stomp on the piñata because that thing would not break! Luckily it finally did and the kids were pleased with all the loot they got.

And also, our backyard was finally done up! When we first bought our place six years ago, it was a brand new house from the developer, the backyard was completely undone, and we didn’t really have that much money to do it up nicely. So we had a bit of work done, some concrete put down, lots of wood chips scattered. And now we actually have more of the space leveled out, a path leads around to the front of the house, we have a planter put in at the side, and also a Japanese maple tree and a lemon tree. I’m planning to put in some herbs and vegetables (currently all in random pots) in the planter, and some succulents around. So that is something I will be working on in the next week.

On Sunday, we headed to the airport to say goodbye to my mother-in-law who has stayed with us for some two months. It’s been great having an extra pair of hands around!

 

Also, poke finally happened in my city. Took a while but we got a poke bowl place nearby! Yum.

 

Currently…

 

Reading:

Half a Lifelong Romance – Eileen Chang

Eileen Chang is a legend in Chinese literature. So it was surprising to me to learn recently that she actually lived for 40 years in the US, and even wrote stories in English, that unfortunately weren’t appreciated by the English-language audience (although at that time her Chinese-language works were doing well in Hong Kong and Taiwan). Also it seems that she became very reclusive in her final years, and sadly in 1995, aged 74, she was found dead in her apartment by her landlord, several days after her death.

The Fireman – Joe Hill

Woohoo! I am so looking forward to reading it.

 

 

 

Listening:

Yup, still listening to Poehler

Eating:

 

Drinking:

It’s been a hot weekend, so I’ve been drinking watermelon barley tea from Lupicia. It’s so refreshing and it’s cold-brewed.

Cooking:

Stirfried beansprouts with tofu, maybe with teriyaki chicken and rice

Pasta with zucchini and sausage

 

 

Browsing:

On Lucky Peach, the Peacock Chef of China! He’s cooked at least 12 peacocks a month for 12 years so far…. Also, before you go ‘ bah, crazy Chinese…”

The Chinese were not the only ancient civilization to see peacocks as food. The ancient Romans ate peacock, tongues, brain, and all. Taillevent left a terse reference in his fourteenth-century cookbook—“Also like swan; eaten with a little salt”—though never explained how to cook one (or how to cook a swan, for that matter). In post-medieval Europe, the Tudors used to remove the feathers and skin intact, roast the bird and then put it all back together for their banquets. In 1971, the Shah of Iran served roast peacocks to Haile Selassie, Orson Welles, Prince Philip and a cast of government leaders at a bash to celebrate Persian civilization.

The Diverse Books Tag was the idea of Naz at Read Diverse Books, and it’s been fun reading all the lists and discovering many new-to-me or recently-new-to-me bloggers, like The Reading Desk, The Poco Book Reader, The Shrinkette

In other #DiverseBookBloggers news, a directory has been created. (via Bina of If You Can Read This)

This list of unconventional princess stories from Literary Lindsey – where were these books when I was a little girl?

Literature in a Time of War (Lit Hub) – a reading list

One of my favourite essays recently was this one about the Japanese translator of Stoner. It was interesting to learn that in Japan, translators are given much higher status, that some readers will seek out certain translators. Anyway, it is a great read and it’s a short essay anyway, so go shoo, go read it (Lit Hub). Also note to myself, READ STONER ALREADY.

Last week:

I read:

The song poet – Kai Kalia Yang  (review to come)
The Summer Guest – Alison Anderson (review to come)
The Partner Track – Helen Wan

I posted:

Diverse Books Tag

Weekend Cooking: Peach-apricot pie

The Partner Track by Helen Wan

What are you reading this week?