It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.
It’s Labor Day in the US and Canada, so if that’s where you are, hope you’re enjoying the long weekend.
We had no travel plans, so hung out at home. Played tennis, went swimming, the kids went biking. It was nice and relaxing.
Some things last week:
The husband made sushi for dinner. Or rather, I prep all the ingredients, and he does all the rolling.
A visit to the library and a peek at the new arrivals shelves.
Korean BBQ at home. We also had some bulgogi (marinated thinly sliced beef), rice, lettuce.
It’s grape season at the farmers market.
Currently…
Reading:
Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy and The Merry Spinster by Mallory Ortberg
Watching:
Last week, there wasn’t a new episode of Hospital Playlist… sad…
But I finished watching the first season of KDrama Let’s Eat. Which always makes me hungry as they feature some tasty looking foods every episode. It’s a story about a woman who reluctantly becomes friends with her two neighbors and colleagues. She’s a foodie but can’t eat out by herself. The show has its problems, such as the “ugly” character, who is used as fodder for laughter at times.
Eating and Drinking:
For breakfast, toasted homemade sourdough bread and tea.
Cooking:
Something simple like fried noodles, or noodle soups.
Last week:
I read:
Forest of Memory – Mary Kowal Robinette
The Lamb Will Slaughter the Lion – Margaret Killjoy
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.
We made it through the first full week of school! The kids are happy to be back. And I am happy to not have to deal with making sure they’re paying attention to Zoom classes!! I’m so glad schools are open. Of course I still have to make sure they do their homework but that’s been ok so far.
Last week, there were 2 positive Covid cases in the school (although apparently the kids may not have actually been in school at the time). The school district sent an email out to all parents. And supposedly, close contacts were notified. The number hasn’t increased since then, so I guess it means that it’s ok?
Went out with some friends on Saturday for what the kids called a “mom date”. Our kids all go to school together and all started out in the same kindergarten class so we’ve been friends since then. We had lots of delicious food from this izakaya style place that also had Malaysian food. It was fun to have a night out without kids!
Some things last week:
Currently…
Reading:
Meddling Kids – Edgar Cantero
Watching:
Season 2 of Full Bloom, that delightful flower competition on HBO Max
Singapore-style peanut pancake, called min jian kueh. It uses yeast and baking soda to create a honeycomb look within the pancake.
Cooking:
Chicken stew
Last week I made chilli and we had it with baked potatoes. The kids loved it. And I wanted to do more stuff with baked potatoes this week too. So I was thinking of trying something from this round up of stuffed potatoes. It made me think of when I was studying in the UK, and one cafe at the university had all kinds of baked potatoes and stuffings/toppings.
Also, the kids decided they’re having more school lunch this week. They tried it out last week for the first time. The verdict? The hot dog was yucky but they loved the brownie. Ha.
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.
The kids started school last Wednesday. It was both exciting and bit worrying being back in school. So many kids! So many adults! But the school district has required masks to be worn by students, staff, and parents when on the campus. And they’ve staggered the lunch times so there’s less crowding in the cafeteria. The kids also get to eat in the outdoors amphitheatre now, which they were happy about.
The school district said that 95% of the teachers have been fully vaccinated so I’m just glad that we are all working together to keep our kids safe.
The kids were excited to see friends that they haven’t seen since March 2020, when the schools here closed. They’ve met up with some friends regularly but there were plenty they haven’t seen for a long time.
The air quality the last few days hasn’t been the best. It was better over the weekend, but we tried to stay indoors after school last week. I am thankful for the amazing firefighters who are working so hard to put out these fires. Hopefully the weather continues to cooperate so that the fires can get put out – it’s currently about 5% contained…
Singapore’s National Day is August 9 but because of the pandemic, the National Day Parade got postponed to last weekend. So we got to watch it on Youtube. And we had to watch and eat with Singapore food!
We had to pick up something for the kids in the neighbouring city, so we ordered lunch too. There’s panfried dumplings, xiaolongbao, snowflake gyoza, zhajiang mian. Not pictured was the deliciously spicy beef noodle soup. The photo looks a bit orangey as my patio umbrella is orange 😛
I bought myself some flowers – a reward for surviving the mad rush to get the kids ready and out to school, perhaps? I loved the vibrant green chrysanthemums and the contrast with the purple and white carnations!
Currently…
Reading:
The Disaster Tourist – Yun Ko-eun
The Wolf and the Woodsman – Ava Reid
Watching:
Every week, Hospital Playlist‘s new episode (last week’s was especially good!). Also I started watching The Good Place season 4.
Listening:
No audiobooks at the moment.
Eating and Drinking:
Had some toast for breakfast. Am now drinking coffee.
Cooking:
I just placed a Weee! order – it’s an online store specialising in Asian and Latino groceries. So I hope to make some bak kut teh, a Singapore dish that’s essentially a pork soup with herbs and spices. It’s eaten with rice and vegetables. And youtiao or fried dough sticks.
Last week:
I read:
Last Words from Montmarte – Qiu Miaojin
Oh well, guess I only finished one book last week. I’ve got so many going though…
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.
Oof, I missed posting last week. No excuses, Monday just went by and I forgot about it…
But we did have a fun week. The husband took the week off and while we didn’t have plans to really travel anywhere, we wandered around the Bay Area, doing a bit of hiking, some back to school shopping (the kids needed shoes!), and lots of eating.
Watermelon margarita at Pacific Catch
I had Korean BBQ on my mind after last week’s episode of Hospital Playlist. So we bought a grill plate from HMart, as well as lots of different things for grilling. HMart is a big Korean supermarket chain in the US. They had all kinds of different cuts of sliced meats for grilling! We got some sliced pork belly, beef, and premarinated bulgogi. Also kabocha squash, leeks, and portobello. And yes, we grilled the pineapples too.
All types of banchan (side dishes) at HMart in San Jose. It was so busy! Hopefully they will open a branch closer to us….
Also, it’s going to Mid-Autumn Festival next month (it’s according to the lunar calendar). And so it’s the time to buy your mooncakes. We like the ones from Kee Wah, a Hong Kong bakery that’s also in parts of the US.
Udon Mugizo in Mountain View. The udon is freshly made at the restaurant. So delicious! And their tempura is lovely and crisp and not oily.
Mountain View has many lovely places to eat at. This is from Maison Alyzee. I have to say that the coffee eclair was beautiful and full of coffee flavour but the chocolate one was only ok. It wasn’t chocolatey enough!
Something not food-related…finally! This is at Books Inc in Mountain View.
The water really was green…
All these photos above were taken at Point Lobos Preserve, which is near Carmel. It’s a beautiful place with lots of wildlife to see. We spotted otters, seals, pelicans and lots of sea birds. If you ever plan on going to Point Lobos, go early, even on weekdays. We got there around 930 and there were still lots to park in, but when we left around 2, the lot was full and people had to park outside the park. It’s quite a walk in!
Also, we went when it was low tide, so the boys had a great time spotting the crabs and the hermit crabs and all the little things in the tide pools.
Currently…
Watching:
Hospital Playlist, The Good Life
Listening:
Music only.
Eating and Drinking:
Had some baguette for breakfast. With my usual tea
Cooking:
School starts on Wednesday, so I’ll have to start thinking about school lunches as well. Usually the kids bring some sandwiches and fruit. Or something like chicken nuggets and carrot sticks. Or mini pizzas. Things I can just warm up during breakfast time.
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.
The kids asked for watermelon and of course we had to get a giant one from Costco. So delicious and sweet!
A new addition to our home library. It’s the throw I finally finished. I started it to use up yarn scraps. Then left it aside for months, because I got a bit tired of making those squares. Last week, I decided that instead of adding the proper number of squares that the pattern requires, I would just put it together with the number I already had. So it’s smaller than planned, but hey, it covers my kid when he’s sitting and reading, so that works!
We tried a new udon place in Mountain View. I had a mentai (pollack roe) cream udon. Delicious!
Bay Area bookstore Books Inc has a summer book bingo for kids. If you get a blackout, you get a $10 gift card and a chance to pick some books from their “swag boxes” ie ARCs. So the kids got these books.
They also used their gift cards to buy these books
I ended up getting a book for myself, and the husband got a comic.
And we picked up some pastries for breakfast at Paris Baguette.
Currently…
Reading:
The Secret Life of Groceries by Benjamin Lorr
Dreadnought by April Daniels
Watching:
There wasn’t an episode of Hospital Playlist last week! Usually a new episode is released every Thursday but they skipped a week!
Meanwhile, I’ve been watching the latest season of Making The Cut on Amazon Video.
Listening:
Nothing at the moment
Eating and Drinking:
A mocha twisted danish from Paris Baguette
Cooking:
Some kind of fried fish, with the cod that I bought. I had already used it to cook a garlicky butter cod. But I might want to fry it with panko this time.
I also want to cook up the last piece of pork belly that I got. I may just slice it up and pan fry it in the cast iron pan.
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.
We went into the city on Sunday to help the husband clear his office. His company is reducing their office space and he’s been working from home since last March. But he still had a lot of things to get rid of!
We did also squeeze in a quick lunch at Gott’s Roadside at the Ferry Building. They have a large outdoor area to eat at (we’re still not doing indoor dining).
There were some tourists around as we saw a few double decker open-deck buses around with quite a full upper deck. But it looks like the cable cars aren’t in operation at the moment. Quite a few people were around the waterfront because there was a Giants game later in the afternoon.
Currently…
Reading:
Yolk by Mary HK Choi
Watching:
Last night, we watched Space Jam on HBO Max. It had LeBron James and all the Looney Tunes. The kids thought it was hilarious.
Listening:
Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s The Pluto Files
Eating and Drinking:
I made a lemon cake and just had that with a mug of tea
Cooking:
I have no idea.
Last week:
I read:
My Beer Year – Lucy Burningham
An interesting enough look into the world of beer. The writer works towards getting a beer certification (she gets to be called a Cicerone). So she studies, attends beer festivals, visits breweries, spends two weeks in Belgium learning about beer.
Miss Meteor – Tehlor Kay Mejia and Anna-Marie McLemore
I picked this up after reading about it on Reading the End. I ADORED this one!
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.
My sister ordered some cookies for my birthday last weekend. It arrived on Thursday and were enjoyed by all. There were some fun flavours like birthday cake and a toffee/coffee cookie.
The kids went to a friend’s birthday party. And had a blast playing video games, eating pizza, hanging out. The parents hung out in the backyard. Instead of a birthday cake, there were birthday mochi doughnuts. This is a Smores one.
Yelp recommended this new Asian eatery. It’s interestingly a sushi joint on one side, and the other has rice bowls – Korean and Thai. There’s also a Korean deli section full of various banchan. We picked up some kimbap (Korean-style sushi rolls), some rice bowls, and banchan. I had the spicy pork rice bowl.
The banchan were anchovies and fish cake.
Currently…
Reading:
Watching: Making The Cut on Amazon Prime. It’s a fashion reality show, the first series was quite fun where they jetted off to different countries. But this season of course that couldn’t happen. So they’re on a big fancy estate in LA.
Listening: Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s The Pluto Files
Eating: For breakfast, pancakes leftover from yesterday’s breakfast.
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.
It was my birthday weekend and we went out to a seafood restaurant in San Jose for lunch.
Soft shell crab sliders
Sushi
My favorite thing to eat here – uni pasta. So rich and creamy!
The kids wanted clams.
Instead of a birthday cake, I had an assortment of petite cakes from Alexanders Patisserie in Mountain View. From top left: London Fog (Earl Grey chocolate mousse, blackberry centre, on a salted chocolate sable), Tahiti (very vanilla-y with a yummy buttery sable), Empress (chocolate, hazelnut, dulce de leche caramel. Maybe a bit too much caramel for me), Opera (lots of coffee flavour).
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.
If you’re in the US and have the day off today, hope you’ve been enjoying the long weekend!
We watched fireworks from around the neighbourhood from our house. Technically fireworks are illegally in my city but the neighbouring cities all sell fireworks so obviously people are still buying them.
And we had a nice backyard bbq and a backyard hangout, reading books, listening to music.
In case you missed it, last week, I posted my “It’s Monday” post on Wednesday, as we’d been away in Mammoth Lakes and Yosemite that week. So check out my post for some photos of this beautiful area!
Some things last week:
We’d been having nice weather last week! Very nice and cool mornings!
Matcha and sakura softserve in a taiyaki (fish) cone of sorts
Taking a walk around the lake
Currently…
Reading:
Surprisingly, I’m reading a physical book. And it’s a book I actually own instead of a library book as usual!
Watching: Clarkson’s Farm on Amazon Prime. I’ve enjoyed watching Top Gear/The Grand Tour for years, but I wasn’t so sure about watching something with just Jeremy Clarkson and without the other two (Richard Hammond and James May). Clarkson isn’t exactly the easiest person to watch. On the other hand, I’ve happily watched James Mays’ Oh Cook! (yes! He has a cooking show, where he faffs about in the kitchen and surprises himself by being able to cook some things) and Our Man in Japan.
Clarkson’s Farm is really a show about farming. Clarkson had bought a farm in Oxfordshire in 2008 and then decided to farm it himself. He of course buys himself a Lamborghini tractor (no joke), starts plowing and sowing and all that, and also has chickens and sheep. He does have the help of a shepherd, land agent, and a farm worker, also the help of random other people like a veteran sheep farmer and someone who seems to build stone walls?
It’s really entertaining. But also, a sobering look at how hard it is for farmers. Too much rain. Not enough rain. Then the pandemic hits them in episode 5 and the value of the sheep drops drastically.
Listening: No books, just music.
Eating: Homemade walnut bread for breakfast
Drinking: Tea
Cooking:
We still have some bbq leftovers for today, so I don’t need to make dinner. Hooray! I’ll figure out the rest of the week another time….
Last week:
I read: Wicked and the Wallflower (Bareknuckle Bastards #1) – Sarah Maclean
The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue – Mackenzi Lee
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.
