Being grateful | august 2020

Crab cakes that my sister gave me.

Compared to July, August was a more quiet month. There was one big happy event for my family which I will save for last on this post.

SUNDAY FAMILY VISIT

One of my favorite memories of this month was the visit to my sister’s house with Mr Sweetie. He came with me to see the new house that my sister and brother-in-law just bought, and to wish my nephew “Happy 17th Birthday”. We did not stay for lunch for social distancing although I ordered Red Lobster from DoorDash for delivery for the entire family as one of my nephew’s birthday presents. They had it for dinner after we left. I am also happy that while Mr Sweetie was chatting with my sister and bro in law, I got to play with my 4 year old nephew with the golf set that I got him. Before we left, my sister gave me so much food that Mr Sweetie said it looked like we went grocery shopping! She gave me breaded prawns, breads and crab cakes which I fried and ate with poached eggs and toasted bread for breakfast while WFH. Then on our way home, we stopped at a little Hawaiian eatery and ordered BBQ chicken (his) and spam musubi (mine) for dinner that evening.

THIS AND THAT………….

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Just some random things in August:

• Heat wave and Air conditioner — We had a record-breaking heat wave for about a week this month. Where we live is often mild and cold that people never own air conditioners or fans! However, in the last three years, the weather has gotten warmer. (Climate change?) Mr Sweetie gave in and on August 15, part of our date night was driving to Best Buy in Concord to pick up an air conditioner! We finally slept better that night!
• Coronavirus haircut — I did it. I cut my own hair before picking up an air conditioner that Saturday. It was so random. I could not stand how long my hair has gotten and I could not go to a salon. So I took a pair of scissors and started cutting my hair! It is not even. I know that you can tell (LOL!) but I felt better as my hair has gotten very long! I cut about 3 inches!
• Starbread, BFF and Zoom friends — Mr Sweetie bought me a box of Starbread which I shared with BFF. In turn she gave me pastries as well. We enjoyed our Monday pastry exchanges which gave us excuse for a short but sweet meet up. I also got to see my friends on Zoom — Jim, Arielle, Jax, Kimi, and Jannette. One of the good things that comes out of this pandemic is being able to reconnect with my friends and family. Always so nice to see them.
• Chinatown Ghost Town — I drove by Oakland Chinatown one morning at almost 8 am. I could not believe my eyes how deserted it was! This always bustling market place and community was like a ghost town with hardly anyone on the streets and the stores all closed!
• San Francisco Public Library — My favorite library reopened for curbside pick up! Yay! I got to return the books that I borrowed in March and got to pick up some new ones that I reserved online. We are so fortunate that SFPL libraries are Fabulously Fine Free! And we can borrow up to 50 books at a time! If you want to see what I have been reading (which are mostly cozy mysteries with sprinklings of literature and YA novels), please check out my Instagram which is @cozybaylife.
• A beautiful mural — I hardly walk around in San Francisco anymore or anywhere but I had to get re-certified for first aid. I saw this beautiful mural on Market Street. When everything seems stark and desolate, more than ever, I try to look for beauty and simple joys around me.

DELIVERY DATE NIGHTS AND MOVIES

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Even though some places are already allowing outdoor dining, we are still not comfortable to eat out. We continue to get our Saturday dinner meals delivered either via Grubhub or Doordash. It is always fun to try new places delivered right on our doorstep (literally!) while supporting local and neighborhood restaurants. I post about food on my other Instagram account which is @msfoodloversf if you want to check it out.

• Salt and pepper chicken, garlic noodles, sweet and sour chicken and rice/noodle fried rice from Qi Dumpling Lounge (Oakland) — Mr Sweetie was not won over but I appreciate that the dishes tasted lighter and not greasy.
• Rotisserie chicken, mac&cheese, mashed potatoes, buttered corn, tortillas, chips and salsa from El Pollo Loco — Oh, boy! I still remember how stuffed we got. This restaurant is a chain but we very much enjoyed our meal. I guess we tried to trick ourselves by saying that it was healthy because it was chicken. LOL!
• Another food coma Mexican food. I cannot remember where Mr Sweetie ordered it from. I had prawn taco while he had a chicken burrito. We also shared a loaded nacho which was good but not a good idea! LOL! Too much for the tummy!
• Ilavahawaiianbbq — Yes, we do! We lava our meal of bbq chicken (his), salmon (mine), fried prawns (ours), spam musubi (definitely mine!) and macaroni salad (ours).
• Sushi + burrito = Sumo Roll (Berkeley) + pies from Nation’s Burgers — Mr Sweetie is sneaky but I do not mind. He also ordered pies. Sushi and pies are the best combo!

Movies we enjoyed mostly while eating dinner or snacking: Tucker Returns (1941), Night of the Living Dead (1990), The Corpse Vanishes (1942) and nighty cozy episodes of Bunnicula which is a cartoon!

I do not like horror movies but the classics are cool! They are fun and not scary at all. Creature Features is our Saturday night tradition. It is such a wacky show that features a lot of “horror” B movies or classics about aliens, monsters, zombies, etc. We watch the first 10 minutes and most of the time we move on to watching other shows because a lot of times the movies are just plain silly and horrible! Ha! Ha!

NEWS FROM THE KITCHEN

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I have been pretty prolific in the kitchen and I cannot believe once again how much cooking I did this month!

• Chicken Adobo
• Ravioli
• Chicken Katsu
• Dumpling Gochujang Soup (Korean red pepper paste)
• Loco Moco
• Filipino Macaroni Chicken Soup
• Tuna Sisig
• Tofu Katsu
• Sticky Lemon Cake

GOD IS OUR HEALER

Mr Sweetie went through another non-invasive surgery which was the last part of the required medical procedure. It was successful and fully restored him back to health. Once again, the Lord is faithful to our family. (This was the happy event that I was referring to.)

WHAT I AM GRATEFUL FOR

My heart is full of gratitude for the gifts of healing and health, the blessings of family togetherness, friendships and BFF, abundant feasts, my little garden, the blessings of simple joys such as books and public libraries… Despite the pandemic, this month was full of blessings.

Goodbye, August! Hello, September.