Sorry for the lack of posts... Recently my microwave oven snapped, crackled and popped for the last time... (it was older than Alex , I believe).

I went looking around for a new machine and was tempted by one of these new-fangled steam/grill/convection/microwave things but I just didn't want to spend so much when all I really wanted was a convection microwave that would be my second cookie baking machine when my glorified toaster oven of a convection oven wasn't enough. I can only bake a 1/2 dozen standard size or a dozen 1.5 inch (barely bigger than bite-size) cookies at a time. A batch of cookies would take the better part of the afternoon.

I went to Fortress, Broadway and Tai Lin and finally, Best Denki and found prices ranged all the way up to HK$4880 - more than $600 US. I found an older model Whirlpool for less than HK$2000 and it's big enough to bake a tray of cookies, although the tray that came with the machine is round... It can also grill (broil) and the usual microwave functions: defrost, reheat, etc.

I made time to bake cookies and then some! The cookies I baked in both ovens and finished the cookie dough in record time! Then, I was craving puff pastry so made an apple tart and sausage rolls for snack time.









Alex's friend Jeremy has been staying at our place the past couple of nights due to an unexpected school suspension due to an influenza outbreak here. After SARS and with bird flu looming, the gov't didn't want to take any chances. So Primary schools and Kindergartens have been suspended until the end of the month, but not Secondary schools, so Maggie still has classes. Alex does have work to do though (actually, quite a bit) so hopefully the school year won't be extended. He's missing a total of 6 days so we have work in every subject to do. (Notice the papers on the coffee table in the photo of the boys playing Wii.) We're hoping to be back in the U.S. in mid-June.

San San came over for a sleepover and the girls wanted to show off their technique on their Ripstik so here's a little video. You wouldn't know it since Maggie is wearing shorts and t-shirt, but it was cold outside so the kids went skating in the carpark. The rest of the time was spent playing DDR, NDS and other games, including Mastermind...

Nagoya, Kyoto, Kobe - Christmas 2007

 

Happy New Year! We celebrated Christmas in Japan this year - went to Nagoya, Kyoto and Kobe. Enjoyed a relaxing trip while walking around the city streets and staying in ryokans on tatami mats and futons.

   

In Nagoya we went to Noritake Garden (home of fine china), walked around Nagoya Castle, went up to the viewing platform of Nagoya Tower (100 m), went to the Pokemon Store but amazingly didn't buy much, shopped a little, ate sushi and noodles (of course)...

   

Rode the shinkansen to Kyoto and relaxed in the double adjoining rooms at a little ryokan walking distance from the station called Nagomi Yado Towa. One of the little gifts they presented were crunchy baked cinnamon cookies called yatsuhashi. I were so delicious I had to buy some to bring home! After trying out the bath (too hot for me so after dinner I ran my own bath in our room), we had a lovely kaiseki dinner in our room and went out walking in the dark for soft serve ice cream - yummy but not nearly as good as Hokkaido (the last couple of years we were there for Christmas). Paul has photos of the dinner dishes on his camera. Hope to get those on the computer soon.

There was breakfast at the inn every morning including freshly made tofu, fish, egg, rice and veggies.

We found Christmas mass in Japanese at the head chapel in Kyoto diocese and after walked around visiting shrines and temples until the kids were complaining. We walked along part of the famous Philosopher's Path and then up above one temple to see the view of the city. We meandered down a different way, found ourselves in a quiet neighborhood, stopped at a little shop for a drink and snack and took a taxi back toward the main station where we were staying. 

Melodie went kimono and yukata shopping before we went back to the inn to rest before dinner. Christmas dinner was a Japanese BLT with the B replaced by E(gg) for Melodie, tonkatsu sandwich for me and noodles for Paul and the kids. 

The next day we rode the shinkansen to Kobe, checked into the hotel and went swimming! No time for sightseeing in Kobe since we were leaving the next morning, but we had a delicious Kobe beef teppanyaki dinner and Paul and I went out for a drinks after, enjoying a nice view of the city and bay from our hotel up on the hillside. 

The only thing bad about going to Japan is the time spent traveling. We left HKG in the afternoon and arrived after dark and on the return it was the same so you kind of waste two days traveling. 

 More photos here!.

Happy Holidays from Hong Kong - Tsim Sha Tsui in front of Ocean Terminal

Maggie and her new toy!

Another weekend... Saturday morning we went to put our handprints in a clay tile that will be used on one of the outside walls of our new school building. There was a buzz of excitement as people were trying to figure out the best way to put their handprints on the tiles. This has been a pretty good fundraiser for our new school with over two million HKD raised, but we're still trying to raise another 80 million to cover the bank loan and then we'll be able to move into the school debt free! The total cost of the new school is around 300 million. Elementary will move first, actually in less than a month - that's the left wing. The two gyms, chapel, play area and cafeteria are in the middle with the right wing being Secondary. There will also be some apartments on the top floor for some of the teachers. Maggie won't move until December and she'll start the new year in a new building.





After that, Maggie went to tap class, then Ocean Park with some of her friends while Paul went to the office and then Alex and I met him for lunch, grocery shopping and back home where we had our first hotpot dinner of the season, even though it's not quite cold enough out - we had the air con on...

Sunday morning we got to Skype with cousin Catie - ah, the wonders of technology.

Happy 7th birthday Alex! Had some friends over for a little party at the end of August - so I'm a month late with this post, sorry! The kids had fun just hanging out together, playing DS, watching the TV, etc.

Hey, I found out there's a moniker for that convenient-style of camping, i.e. no need to lug your tent and sleeping bags, that I've done with the kids San Mateo County, CA at Costanoa. It's called "glamping" as in "glamorous camping." Just run a search and you'll find plenty of results. We didn't get to go this summer, but there's a post from July here on this very blog. This photo is from our first trip there - look how little Alex was!



Here's a link to a story - but I don't think we'll be taking $10k a week trips any time soon?!?!