Jello :o)

Jello makes me smile.

I have fond memories of making red jello with Mommy.  It’s one of the few things I remember doing in my early childhood spent in the U.S. before moving to Japan.  I so vividly remember how the pink powder turned a startling crimson red when pouring in the boiling hot water; how I snuck in a few good licks of that pink powder right out of the packaging (pure yum!); how it was oddly soothing to stir the wooden spoon around in the red mixture, making swirls and swishes, smelling the heavenly scent of artificial cherry.

I decided to revisit this memory recently.  And yes, it was just as good as I remembered it!  :)

Budding at the Farm

Today was a sunny but chilly day.  There wasn’t a lot going on at the UCSC farm– yet– but there were harbingers of a fruitful season to come.

Belated V-day Sweetness

"Sensei" (Teacher)

Today I received a brownie from one of my Japanese TAs.  Poor her, she was sick on Valentine’s Day and yesterday (a victim of the school-wide epidemic that is on its 3rd week now and counting), so she was finally able to give her brownies to everyone upon her return today.  She labeled every brownie with the name of the person she was giving it to with icing.

Mine was a burnt corner piece.  Does that mean I’m not as important as her friends who got the chewy center pieces?  Yes.  Is it totally awesome that she even bothered to dedicate a corner to her teacher?  Absolutely.