christmas

We had a calm and happy Christmas! Didn't do much... just took a day and a half off, and enjoyed spending time with each other at home.

And what did we cook up for Christmas? Sukiyaki! I found a brand new cast iron sukiyaki pot (with a wood lid) for a really good price a few months ago, and was glad to finally start using it. I shall post some pictures of the pot and the dinner later.

John got me a net book. My laptop had been acting up lately, so I was quite happy about the new computer. I am, however, still trying to get used to it.

My friend Daena drew a picture of Ginger for me. It was amazing.

My parents were generous and gave me a generous gift. They are so nice to me. Did I mention they were generous?

And apparently *someone* will give me a late Christmas gift some time soon. :D

I love how people around me are happy and content this time of the year. Yay for holidays!

jasper and the cone

Jasper went under a surgery yesterday to have his glands removed. In order to prevent him from licking himself too much, the vet had us put a little cone on him.




He was not quite sure why the cone was on him, and he didn't really like it over his head, so he tried to get it off a few times.




He was still groggy in these photos (taken right after we came home from the vet's office, so his eyes were slightly "dreamy") but he's acting pretty like his usual self by the time we went to bed.

The dogs have been nice to him, especially a-gui. a-gui was really curious about Jasper wearing the cone, but he knew not to bother him too much.

Jasper will have his stitches out in two weeks.

first coffee tasting - basic class at caffe d'bolla

We had our first Coffee Tasting Class (Basic) last Thursday the 2nd. John had been working on structuring and preparing for the class for a while, and he just had to pick a day to start a class. Despite the short notice, 5 of the 6 seats were filled, and it was truly a fun and information-packed session.







We will have more classes coming up, and each class will cover something different. I may also even (help) teach a class or two. It's going to be a lot of fun!

dress up the piece of cake

I've been making different cakes for the shop. While I do use the techniques I learned from my cake decorating classes to "dress up" a cake, there are times when I just want to keep it light simple.


This is what I've been doing, to keep the piece of cake simple, but still sorta cute.

And I'm really loving the strawberry and chocolate cakes these days.

thanksgiving nom nom

We had a quiet and happy Thanksgiving this year. Didn't do much, but just chilled with the dogs and watched Jasper pretend he was a dog.

We had my sister over, and made a simple dinner.


Of course we had to start with some wine when we began cooking.


Food.


Maple ham, corn bread stuffing with cranberry sausages, sweet potatoes with glazed pecans and marshmallows, and green beans with bacon.


And homemade bread.

After dinner we had some yummy dessert wine, along with some matcha-azuki cake rolls I made.

Nom nom nom.