lifestyle

Saturday, July 09, 2011









My daughter Carin is expecting her second baby. Being Carin's mom, I am always looking out for things that I can do to benefit her and my next grand kid.

I was told that condensed chicken soup would be a very good supplement to an expecting mom and her baby. My sister-in-law has the right steamer and she taught me how to properly make the condense chicken soup. I wrote down her instructions in the first picture and the second picture shows her special steamer.

A whole chicken makes only one bowl of the condensed soup; Carin takes the soup in the morning when she gets up. My understanding is that she only will need to take this condensed soup three to four times to provide extra nutrition to help her baby develop before the due date.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

It's always fun to be with Betty. Whenever I am in CA, Betty and I will get together to chit chat and find something new to do; it also helps that Betty likes to bring her camera with her to record special moments.

We had our usual lunch at the Cupertino Village shopping center a few days ago; after lunch we walked around and there were bougainvillea in full bloom on the walls. The color of the bougainvillea was so bright and so vibrant that it almost blind our eyes. I felt like that I was in the sea of flowers.

Here is a collage of photos that Betty took of me with the flowers. How do you like it?

Tuesday, March 30, 2010




My in-laws have plenty of traditions. When Jean, my granddaughter, reached 4 months old, her paternal grandma held a celebration with family members; she ordered a special cookie necklace for Jean. These cookies on the necklace were baked solid and hard; the symbolism was to induce the teething of the baby and to absorb the saliva from teething.

I was not familiar with such ceremony, thus it was fascinating to me.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010




My husband Fuming and I are very fortunate to have two granddaughters, they are absolutely the cutest babies in the world.

Melissa is now 1-1/2 years old; she now talks and walks, isn't she a smart kid? Jean is 4 months old and she likes to smile; her smile is beautiful.

Melissa and Jean are very important part of our lives.

Thursday, February 11, 2010







Betty brought me three calendars for the Year of Tiger: one for me, one for my son John and another one for my daughter Carin.

The calendar is very well made. In addition to the front and back covers, each month has a different painting of a tiger with description of the tiger's desirable trait. It's a treat to see 14 beautiful tiger paintings that grace the calendar. The first photo is a photo of the front cover, the second photo is the painting for January and the third photo is the back cover.

Are these paintings lovely?

Sunday, January 31, 2010







Betty and I did not stay in Locke for very long. It was an interesting place but really not much left to see. Our next stop was the Jelly Belly Factory. Before I talk about the Jelly Belly tour, I'd like to record some of the special experience that was new to me: We drove through central valley to get to Locke and then Jelly Belly Factory. Central Valley in CA is known for having heavy "Tule Fog" that settles close to the ground. It was no exception on that day, the tule fog was thick and heavy; driving was somewhat dangerous. Around Locke area, Betty pointed out to me that we were driving on the leeve on the Sacramento Delta that help to block flooding. However, during heavy rain, the area still could be flooded. Now, the Jelly Belly Factory. It was a place full of fun and sweet smell, I enjoyed it thoroughly. We watched the entire process of how the Jelly beans were made from start to finish; at each stage we were given samples of the partially finished jelly beans for tasting. Then at the end, we were given a bag of Jelly Belly to take home. The best part of the tour: it's free. I highly recommend that you take this tour when you get a chance to go to California.


Wednesday, January 27, 2010





I went to the US to stay with my son and his family for a month again. Baby Melissa is happy and healthy, what a joy to watch a baby grow.

Betty and I went on an interesting trip. One of the stops is Locke, CA, a place where the Chinese settled in the old days. Chinese parents consider education the most important thing in their children's lives; needless to say the first thing they built was a school.

All the buildings there are very old and not in good shape. Locke is designated as a historical site but it is definitely not a tourist spot. There are very few Chinese actually live there anymore.

It is definitely a town of memory but not much to look forward to in the future..