Vegan Sushi

Today was the very first time ever to make our own sushi. As always, we had no idea what we were doing, but did it anyway. That's the best way to learn, right?



We had looked up the instructions in a Japanese cook book (thank you, J) and decided to start with the thin rolled ones with the seaweed on the outside. They looked easier than the thicker ones. We were wrong. Our first tries were less than perfect.



We opted to switch to the thicker ones, which turned out better for us. Now the sushi actually looked like sushi.



It didn't take long before we attracted volunteer taste testers.



We rolled, and we rolled, and we rolled, and we rolled, and ended up with two big plates full of sushi.



For filling, we used any combination of cucumber, match stick carrots, pickled sweet peppers, pickled gourd and musrooms, and avocado.



Next time, we want to make the ones with rice on the outside, but for today, we figured that the ones we made were good first accomplishment.



To accompany our sushi, we had home made ginger tea. I have been drinking it to help me fight the last remainders of a cold. Not sure whether it works, but it's an enjoyable drink and was amazingly simple to make.



Yes, this was a great snow storm activity.

White World

A Winter Storm Warning remains in effect until 7 am EST Monday.

Snow will become heavy at times this morning into the afternoon. Sleet may mix with the snow at times... especially across Grafton and Carroll counties. Gusty winds will also result in blowing and drifting snow in the afternoon and evening hours.

Total snow and sleet accumulations are expected to range from 6 to 14 inches... with the highest amounts in Coos County and the lowest amounts in southern portions of Grafton and Carroll counties. The snow and sleet will taper off later tonight.

Driving will become difficult this morning... and deteriorate as the day wears on. If you have travel plans for today or tonight... consider postponing or canceling your trip.




I am not going ANYWHERE today. Tara and I have decided that this will be the perfect day to learn how to make vegan sushi. We have been wanting to do that for a while, but life always interferes. Last night, we got all the ingredients we need. Today, we'll make our first attempt. How hard can it be? (Thinks back to all the other times she has said that and found out :p)

Cees had to work today, but they canceled. Too bad, he didn't listen to the messages on our phone BEFORE they made it over to McDonalds... On the other hand, now he got a great and healthy early morning workout by helping to dig out the car ^^



Time to start the sushi rice. Maybe I'll even get some go studying in today! I can hope, right?

Gearing Up for Nor'Easter

How do you spell that anyway?

After an almost snowless December last year, Mother Nature is making sure that we won't have any of that this year. We will have a white Christmas for sure. We had a weekend snow storm, a Thursday snow storm, and now another doozy coming our way.

Luckily, I did most of my grocery shopping yesterday. So I don't have to fight with people who need milk and bread RIGHT now. Last night, I did make another quick store trip last night for cat litter though, because nothing spells misery as being stuck in a snow storm without kitty litter.

Today I already cleaned two litter boxes, and will spend time cleaning bunny cage and refilling bird feeders. Because the squirrels managed to empty one of those feeders:



I still don't know how the heck they did that, but they were very happy about their accomplishment but they sent me a thank-you card, and told me it was so much easier to eat those seeds on the ground instead of in the air.



Last night I got pulled over AGAIN for a head light that was out. Yes, happened two weeks ago too. I had it replaced the next day, and felt all good about it. One of my friends said 'You might want to keep an eye on your other head light, they often go out around the same time.' I said 'Oh good idea', but really thought 'Yeah, whatever.' I mean, what are the chances of both going out around the same time?

I can add a data point in favor of her statement now :p



The police officer did a double take when he looked at the passenger seat. 'That is not a gun, is it?' I could reassure him 'No, don't worry, it is just a big wooden sword.' Not sure whether that reassured him, or made him eye me a bit more warily.

Today will be quiet day at home, getting ready for the storm. At least we have a blooming amaryllis, to give some colour to our white world.

First Checkup

Today, the kittens had their very first checkup.



We put the kennel out yesterday, to have them get used to it before we actually needed to take them. They all checked it out, and then fell asleep inside it.



They did well in the car and at the vet. They got weighed and checked, and they were declared healthy. Darkness is the smallest, and he has a heart murmur, but she didn't sound too worried about that. Heck, Tara and me have one too, so I guess he fits well in our family.



They got their first shots, protecting against distemper. They also got dewormed and we got something against fleas. Sylvia was very interested in the whole process, but made sure to observe it from the safety of my lap. The kittens just hoped someone would leave the door open, so that they could escape from this boring room. They did fine with their shots though.

I think it was a good first vet visit for them.

This afternoon, it started snowing yet again. I looked at it, and made sure to get to go club fast. I figured if I had to be stuck somewhere, I'd rather be stuck at go club than at home ^^

Wasn't too bad, maybe 2 or 3 inches altogether, but I wasn't going to take any chances about missing go club :p

Contact Lenses and Immature Teens

Yet another milestone.

Tim had his very first ever appointment to get contact lenses. He found out that it is not necessarily easy to stick something on your eye ball, which I remember from when I got contact lenses. We will go back in a few weeks to try again, because this did not quite work out. They will give him different lenses to try.



In the meantime, he is supposed to practice keeping his eye open and touching it.

To celebrate this milestone, I took Cees and Tim out for supper in our local Irish pub. It always is a good place to be, and they have excellent food. Their chocolate strawberry torte was to die for. Their tea still has room for improvement though, but what can you expect from the Irish anyway tea-wise?

Cees and Tim were very grownup and mature, and did a contest to see who could put more sugar in their coke and NOT throw up over the table. When we ran out of the little packets of sugar, Cees was not ready to admit defeat, and added two Splenda, six Equal, and four Sweet-n-Low. He was a bit disappointed when we ran out.

But!

A bath room visit gave him the perfect excuse to steal sugar from other people's tables. Or maybe he found it in the bath room. I was careful not to ask. I don't think I wanted to know. In my universe, he crawled underneath tables and reached up a sneaky hand to get a bunch of packages without people noticing. That's what all 16yo's do , right?

In case you were counting, he ended up with 19 packets of sweetener in his coke, turning it into disgusting liquid sugar. In his opinion, it was a nectar from the gods. In my opinion, it was syrupy chemicals.

It is nice to take teenagers out for supper and get more mature behaviour than when I take the little ones out. Or do I?

2018 update: Tim never was able to tolerate the contact lenses, so ended up wearing glasses after all. I am glad we tried it though, he would always have wondered whether he could have. I think now that he is in his twenties he might be able to tolerate contacts easier, but he has zero interest in them, which makes it a moot point anyway.
Cees ended up enlisting in the army for four years so he could go to college, so there is hope for you parents of immature teens. This will pass :D

2019 update: Cees is in college still and we have only two immature teens left :D

Name Calling

Erik to Sylvia 'You are a poopy ass!'
Sylvia 'MAMA!!!!!!!!!!! He is calling me a poopy ass!'
Me 'So what? See what happens when you call me a poopy ass.'
Syvla 'Mama! You are a poopy ass!'
Me, with a pleasant smile 'Well, thank you!'
Sylvia, annoyed at me for modeling correct behaviour instead of getting Erik into trouble 'Well! You appreciate it, but I don't!'



The use of 'appreciate' cracked me up, she had a hard time pronouncing it, but was very determined that that was the word to use in this situation.

Scratching Post

When we got the kittens, Tara decided she wanted to make them a scratching pole. She spent many hours web surfing for ideas, and finally found one she liked.



She did all the work by herself, with only minimal cutting help from me for the big cardboard tubes we used. The kittens were very interested in the process.



After a few days of hard work, she presented the finished product.



The kittens were thrilled! A place where they can watch out of the window.



Or sleep nicely together.



Or of course, hang out leisurely after a long and hard day of pouncing.



I was pretty impressed with the job Tara did on this, and the scratching pole is a daily favorite of the kittens.

More Passport Fun

Finally got the darned passport applications in. We went to a smaller passport office this time, and things went much smoother.



Now let's hope the passports make it in time.

Yesterday, I played in a go tournament in Massachusetts. Was fun. I even won second place in dan division, but that was only because it was such a tiny tournament.

Passport Application Fun

My two older girls have been invited for a family visit to the Netherlands, so they need new passport. Both do own old passports, but Tara doesn't quite look like this anymore.



Neither does Jane look like the picture on her passport.



Two days ago, we went to the passport office to pick up forms and ask what we needed. So we filled out the forms, and grabbed their old passports. Today, we went to the passport office. We waited waited waited till they finally opened, and then found out that even although they did have old passports, they still need birth certificates too. I guess they aren't convinced that they really have been born. I mean, they could just be a figment of their imagination, right?

We didn't have time to go home again and back to the passport office, so we will make a new try tomorrow. At least we got passport pictures made today, so we are one step closer to actually getting the application filed.

Wish us luck.

Sinterklaas Sugar High

Tonight we celebrate the Dutch holiday of Sinterklaas.



For a few days, the kids have been putting out their shoes at night and singing Sinterklaas songs, and would find candy in their shoes in the morning. Sylvia was so excited about this, that she would greet me in the morning with 'Did Sinterklaas pute any candy in my shoe, mama????'.



At first, Sylvia wasn't sure about the singing. But after teaching her 'Sinterklaas Kapoentje' she was more enthusiastic about it. I think she felt self conscious that she didn't know the words to those Sinterklaas songs.



Tonight, we do the gift giving part of Sinterklaas, when he crosses the Atlantic Ocean on his horse and leaves presents in front of our door. Why yes, his horse is an excellent swimmer. Tara said she was happy we were one of the few people in America to celebrate this holiday, and I have to agree with her.



Kids are super excited, and were even more bouncy when we served a cake to celebrate. Since they really needed more sugar, right?



Last night, I found this cake in my freezer, and I want to clean out my freezer soon, so it was just lucky coincidence that we could celebrate with cake. Just in case anyone thought I was organized enough to actually bake, don't worry.

It is not the most perfect cake ever either, but my kids didn't seem to mind.