Happy New Year's Eve......

The year is almost over and we are ready to celebrate the New Year. I guess some of us are ready, really I am not. My boys have their own places to go to celebrate. One is working till past midnight today, I guess he is celebrating at the pub where he works.

My niece's two children might be in Edmonton on their way back to Yellowknife tomorrow and may call me to celebrate tonight with them. If not, I don't mind celebrating by myself.

I usually watch the fireworks from my balcony but there is this tower that is 35 floors they are building and I will find out tonight if that darn tower will block my view of the fireworks. I don't really mind as long as I still have a good view of the river valley which is all the time rather than the  twice a year when there is the fireworks.

Whatever your plans are for tonight, drink responsibly and take a cab home or bus it.

I wonder how many of us will make resolutions for the New Year .....I know I won't as it is hard to follow it. I will just make simple goals in life.

Let us all be thankful that most of us had a good year and for those who did not, it will change and life moves on. 

One year ago....

Last night I was a bit uneasy and did not know why. Even when I was in bed, I kept tossing and turning. Then this morning, it hit me. A very close of mine who I consider like a second mother died a year ago.

I had even mentioned to a friend how I really miss her and sometimes would pick up the phone and then realized I can`t call her.

We had such good times, eating out and just being together. I remember her when we went to see Josh Groban with my free tickets.

Then I mentioned that Il Divo would be performing in Edmonton but sadly she was not around to see it.

I hope you are at peace wherever you are. God bless P.

 

 



Boxing Day.....

For Canadians, British and other countries which celebrate Boxing Day....take the time to enjoy it before going back to work.

This is Black Friday for us Canadians, this is the day where there are all kinds of sale and the malls are packed with shoppers. I only tried to go out on this day once and I have never done it again and I will never go out again on this day. I feel it is not worth the savings, having to line up and get squeezed.

For some, they wait for this day to get their shopping done....a tad late but it does not bother the recipients of the presents.

So I am just going to watch tv and relax. I don't have to go back to work until Jan 2, 2013 so I will enjoy the break.

There will be turkey leftovers so I do not have to worry about preparing anything for a day or two until I get sick of having turkey.

Happy Boxing Day......

Merry Christmas, everyone....

To all my friends and relatives all over the world, I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. I hope you are with your loved ones and enjoying this happy day.

 

 



Christmas Eve.....

It's Christmas eve, and the celebration starts. For me it would be a quiet one. When we were kids, this is the most exciting part of the Christmas season.

We usually head to my maternal grandparents place which is like a compount with three homes and this is where we congregate tor this holiday.

We had midnight meal prepared by the aunts and this is when we are allowed to open our presents. When my kids were younger I followed this tradition but also made our own.

This time, the kids are now adults and we celebrate on Christmas day and they receive their presents, if they have been good....yes, even at their age I still do this.

On our last day at work, we had our Christmas celebration and had Chinese exchange gift which I really do not like. I would like to buy for a particular person and try to find out what is the perfect gift for her/him.

But I should not complain as I got a present which is a good addition to my collection.

I have this collection and this is a good addition.

 

These two Port Meirion serving knife and fork, I am glad to get and lucky that nobody stole from me during thd Chinese gift exchange.

 

This is a gift from a friend of mine. A collection of rock salt, one with rosemary, one with chile slices and one with black peppercorns. As I have posted here before I have all kinds of salt and another great addition. Thank you, C.

 

I will be busy starting to get ready for the Christmas dinner preparation.

Happy Christmas Eve.

 

 

One of my favourite Christmas song.



Christmas menu....

We were planning to change our menu, my son wanted to try steak and lobster and I wanted a whole salmon baked in the oven, then thought of crown roast of pork. Last Friday night after looking at what the weather will be like for the next 3 days, I decided to leave and go to Save- on - Foods to do my grocery shopping at 9:30 pm. I am so glad I did as the roads turned nasty the next day.

While in the store, I decided to just do the standard menu as I was thinking there will be leftover for sure and I do not have to cook on Boxing Day. So it is turkey and all the trimmings. I am trying a new dessert which I saw on line and it looks yummy and easy to make. I hope it turns out well.

The weather is nasty, cold and snow. Christmas eve will be cold but no snow and it is almost the same for Christmas day. Now I am just relaxing and making sure I have everything.

Early morning on Christmas eve, I will go out just to get fresh buns from the bakery and maybe some kind of pie.

I am watching a lot of movies and then it is time to do the dinner preparation.

Enjoy the last two days before it really gets busy Christmas Day.

A sad time........

With Christmas just around the corner, we are so busy trying to get things done. But in the last week, it had been a sad time for everyone. I am sure everyone has been affected by what happened in Newtown.

Even though we are far from the tragedy, it still affects us. It is harder to celebrate the holiday when there is sadness all around.

We should remember the 26 people and hope that this will bring something good. I know a lot of people all over the world are saying prayers for the family so they may be able to move on.

Twenty children who were taken at a very young age, who knows what could they have become. It is nice to watch the support in all forms given to the town by strangers who just want to help and I am sure it is appreciated by everyone in Newtown

I am sure there will be a lot of discussion about mental health, guns and safety of schools. I hope there will be changes and that everyone will feel safe anywhere.

God bless the 20 children and the heroes....the teachers who saved a lot of lives.

Table decor....and others...

For every holiday, we decorate our homes and part of that is the tables. When I was in San Jose, the dining table was decorated but mostly with autumn colours.

My little sister's dining table at Thanksgiving.

 

This is my coffee table and I have displayed my coin and teaspoon collection, though I have not decorated it for Christmas yet.

 

This is the electric fireplace that my brother-in-law liked when we were out on Black Friday and bought it at about 40% discount, It looks classy and lovely at night and it gives out heat.

 

My cousin's table where she puts her Christmas give aways, mostly home made presents.

 

I am sure everyone is aspiring to do the best Christmas decoration in their home this holiday season.

 

 



Rogers wireless.....

The worst service provider and I mean the worst!!! My son was trying to pay his phone bill and they were asking for his postal code....so he gave it to them and they told him it was not what was listed on their record.

They never ask for that before and they just plainly told him, we can't help you. So I tried to see if I could just make sure it was the correct code they have in their system. Oh they can't give me that information. So I told them I paid his bill before and you gave me information and you took the payment.

But they have this attitude. And why can't they find his account just by his name and phone number and his address. He even showed them his ID which clearly shows his postal code. What a bunch of idiots. He is not paying for someone else so if you have his identification in front of you.....is that not enough?

I have heard a lot of negative things about them and I used to be one of their customers and I had also a really bad experience with them. So if anyone is considering going to them.....DON'T. Save yourself the grief. Worst....ever.....Rogers can be the biggest, but definitely the WORST!!!

Jackson Rancheria Casino Resort...

We decided to go to this casino as my sister has not been here before. It was about 2 hour drive from San Jose and a nice, leisurely drive.

We passed by a lot of wineries and fruit farms and even stopped at a roadside fruit store with lots of other baking, jams for sale. I bought persimmons as I really like them.

Arriving at the casino resort, we tried to see if our room was ready and it was and we checked and went to the casino after having a light lunch, sort of. We had lunch at Margaret's Cafe and Bakery and had the rib eye chicken fried steak which is their specialty. I had posted it here before.

After we had to get our memebership card and was given $5.00 to start with. I won over $120.00 on the same slot but different location.

I did not take a lot of pictures as my battery was dying. It was ok and the service is friendly and the whole place is clean. I am used to non-smoking casino and this was not but it is a dry resort.

 

Entrance to the casino taken from our room on the third floor.

 

Showpiece at the entrance to the resort.



Two sisters......

We have always been close even when we were younger. We tell each other all kinds of stuff and we always have fun when we are together.

Now that she is further away, we probably see each other once a year. Hopefully it could be twice a year.

When I visited, we cooked things we like to eat and go out and look for bargains. She is good at making sure I don't overspend and we have an agreement on what is a good deal and what is not. Things we should wait to buy and ones that we should just buy there and then.

I can't wait tovisit her again...Thanks a lot lil sis.

Two sisters on our way to shoppping.

 

Admiring the roses at the Heritage Rose Garden. I guess that dress must have been a uniform for me since I am wearing it in two different days.

 

Well, it is Friday, I am going to put up a few Christmas decor in my place to make it feel Christmassy. Time to start planning what cookies to bake and Christmas Eve and Christmas Day menu.

 

I have finished my Christmas shopping. To all you folks, get busy and go shopping, do not wait for the last few days.

 

Enjoy the weekend!!!

 

 



Thank you, thank you and more thank yous.....

This is for my sister and hubby....thank you for your hospitality, all the exciting short trips and all the yummy meals, wonderful breakfasts and a lovely Thanksgiving meal.

And of course all the shopping trips, my brother-in-law I feel knows the kind of shoes/boots I like. And my sister for not letting me buy any dress over $15.00 but at times if I beg enough, she will let me get one.

My first night was really exciting as she gave me my belated birthday presents, the number of which corresponds to my years,so I will just show a picture.

There were all kinds of stuff from reading glasses, make up, creams, hair products, manicure/pedicure set, candies, soap, purse and wallet and so much more. A big thank you, Jeff and to Annette, my sister's mother-in -law and my adoptive MIL.

 

My birthday presents...getting old but what a nice surprise.

Thank you again, lil sis.



San Jose Heritage Rose Garden...

I love roses and even when I live in a highrise, I sometimes plant roses in the summertime. So before my holiday in San Jose, I checked out what else I can see that I have not seen/visited yet. I found this and we went to see it one day.

November is not the best time to visit a rose garden but I just wanted to see if it was nice and big and lots of different varieties of roses. The blooms at this time were not as beautiful but still there were some that were still lovely, so I took some pictures.

A variety of rose named after me.....

 

 

 

 

Even though it is not the season, they were still beautiful and I love them.

 

 

 

 

 



San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles....

This is the one place I was excited about to see while in San Jose. So we went to see and it is located in downtown San Jose.

I have made a small quilt before and I am really interested in the different designs and how they coordinate the fabrics with the design.

There was an entrance fee of $8.00 per person which is not bad but after we got in and saw the displays.....what a great disappointment. I am sure there must be only 25 on display and textiles was not really much. I would not recommend this one. Give this one a pass....go somewhere else.

I did take pictures especially when I found out the number of quilts on display was not a lot. I think if they charge only $5.00, there will be more people who would see it or display more quilts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Those are probably half of the display, maybe whne I run of things to post, I will post more pictures and that will the whole display.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



More food......

These are more of what I tried or cook while I was visiting my sister. As usual there are foods I ate that I did not take pictures of mainly because I always forget or remember just after I had a few bites.

 

Oysters with asiago cheese, there were six oysters but remembered to take pictures after I had eaten two. I had to rearranged them to look good. I had this at Hawgs. Really good.

 

 

Beef Kabobs at the House of Kabobs in Sunnyvale...my last lunch in San Jose. Another excellent meal and the service was good and friendly.

 

 

Water chestnuts and bacon with spicy/sweet sauce. Yummy!!!

 

 

Cassava cake, one of three desserts for Thanksgiving dinner.



Fruit picking....

I love picking fruits and vegetables and since we do not have a lot of fruit trees in my city, I get excited when I see trees with lots of fruits. I would tell my sister that I will steal fruits from neighbours yards.

So one day while I was in San Jose, I went to visit my cousin who has lemon tree in her backyard and proceeded to pick. I had so much fun....did not pick a lot but enough to just enjoy the experience. Just like my sister, it does not take much to make me happy.

Once we got home, my sister asked me to bake lemon loaf, lemon muffins and macadamia white chocolate cookies.

 

 

 That's me picking a lemon...

bj's - Livermore

When one is on , you want to try to eat at different restaurants especially the ones you do not have at home.

Just before the US Thanksgiving, my sister and her hubby and I wanted to check out the new Paragon Outlet at Livermore. It was crowded and we did not stay long. We were getting hungry and decided to try bj's in Livermore.

The place was crowded and the menu looks good. We just ordered appetizers and drinks. I ordered calamari, sister order the lettuce wraps and my borther-in-law ordered chicken wings.

I love calamari and would order it if I hear the place had good calamari. Well, when the calamari arrived, it was mostly tentacles. Unfortunately, we did not take pictures. I have never had this kind, there were probably only 5 or 6 at the most of squid rings. We kind of complained but they said that is how the calamaris come.

If I am not mistaken, a squid only has a set of tentacles and out of it you can have maybe 6 or 7 rings so I do not understand the explanation at all. We ate it but was not too happy. In most restaurants, you may get 3 tentacles and the rest are rings. Go figure.....

Not going back there......a big disappointment!!!! Will not recommend it to friends who are going on vacation in California.