Jin Dui

This has lots of names - a flower by any other name is just as sweet!  :o)  THIS is my most favorite sweet thing to eat! In this case it is a Chinese pastry made from rice flour, coated with sesame seeds, deep fried where the outside is crisp and the inside is chewy!  Generally I get the kind that has the sweet lotus paste, but there are other pastes that are sweet, too. YUM!

WHEN was the last time I ate this, you ask????  About nine years ago!  Every time I go to Portland or back to San Diego, it is on my list of things to eat but some how I get side tracked and never make it to the appropriate places to eat.

NOW I am going to see if there is some place that you can purchase these on-line and have them sent door to door - FAST.

They are also called Onde-Onde in Indonesia, Goma Dango in Japan, and Butsi in the Philippines.  If you see one, buy it. You, too, will be transported to heaven.

New Year, New Life

I am hoping that 2012 will be bringing new friends and new opportunities for enjoyment for us all.  This past year seems to have flown by, yet during the year it was pain in slow motion.

I lost my husband in December to prostate cancer.  He was a tall, strong, mountain of a man and when the cancer made him weaker and more dependent on me, he felt it was time to go, so he just did.  He did not want to live in that condition another six months, being dependent and weak, and wanted to go home to see his family who passed before him.

One great gift he gave me is the sharing of his children and grandchildren so that I am now a grandmother to two beautiful little girls, and step mom to two wonderful kids. I prefer to say I am a mother by marriage. The circle of love continues.  There may soon be  another child on the way this year, making it three grandchildren! It is a lasting gift of love for which I will be ever grateful.

I find another gift he gave me is becoming part of a larger family of loved ones...his first wife Amy had several brothers and one sister, all of whom are my own now...and my husband came from an equally large family so I am able to be held up in love and peace and comfort during such a sad time in all our lives by each of them.

And last, but not least, are our animals.  They are like our children & keep me on my toes every day.  You just can't be lazing around when your doggies need to take a walk. What a blessing they are.

Life goes on, and we who live those lives have an obligation to go with it and do the best we can to "keep on keeping on". 

May you all share a wonderful 2012 with your families and loved ones.