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Sweetness continues

A Valentine's Day novelty that I missed seeing, eating, and reading this month was boxes of conversation hearts, an American candy staple that kids and grown ups exchange in February. When I found that our friend, Gerard, was coming from Austin to Hsinchu on business this week, I asked his wife, Becky, to please send some boxes over for us with him, which they kindly did. Last night after play practice, I passed them out to my awesome Taiwan teenagers. I thought they would enjoy the short English phrases and get a taste of this tradition. Thank you, Becky and Gerard!
If you're surprised that I'm still posting Valentines things, you may conclude that I'm possibly (1) completely bored and have nothing better to do, or (2) clinging on to a somewhat insignificant holiday because I never really got it out of my system yet this year, or (3) tired of the three English television shows that air over and over that I'm sick of watching, or (4) all of the above, then you could be right.
I realize that I never posted a picture of the kitchen in our Taiwan apartment when I blogged about it previously, so take a look. Notice that we don't have a dishwasher but a dish dryer instead. (It's the overhead appliance with the see-through door.) All my dishes have to be hand washed, which doesn't bother me too much most of the time. My oven is the silver countertop unit (beneath the white portable microwave in the corner) that I bought at Costco since they aren't standard in kitchens here. To see the rest of our casita, click HERE, for those who might have missed this post and also have nothing better to do. If you're lucky, I might even surprise you sometime and add pictures of our laundry room and what I call the pantry.
My in-laws gave me this beautiful Valentine. Kelly didn't get one for me this year for the first time ever, but he was sick that Monday and didn't really know where to buy a card here. He did suggest that I make one for him to give to me, which I agreed to, but never did. Who knows, I might still create one when I feel like it. I'm presently suffering from a severe case of zero motivation. It's a good thing that we both know we love each other.
A few days after February 14, I bought myself these pretty red flowers from Costco and since I left my abundant collection of vases in Texas, I was resourceful and used this black shiny make-shift vase from my crockpot and actually love the transformation. Maybe I'll start a new trend where crockpot vases become the new rage!
My sister, Julie, made a delicious cheesecake when I was in California at Aunt Polly's house for a family dinner, the night before Uncle Wally's funeral. The cheesecake was amazing, but there were a houseful of guinea pigs who wanted to taste it, so I just nabbed a sliver. I have been craving it ever since then, so I made some this week, even without access to a springform pan, and was pleased that it turned out quite well and everyone devoured it.

Comments

Dianne said…
The cheesecake looks delicious! Great job with that small oven. I totally missed out on those candy hearts this year, all I could find were the yucky sweet tart ones, I guess I need to go to Texas.
Funny your sweetie mentioned to make your card and he'll deliver, hope he's feeling better. Still waiting to see your hair, unless I missed it. Pretty talented.
Have a great week!
Bobbi said…
How do you get a cheesecake to turn out that well when you don't have a springform pan?! I loved getting to see your kitchen. And how do people live without an oven? Happy belated Valentine's. We haven't gotten each other cards for years and are fine without them. (We kiss a lot instead ;-)

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