And so......

Okay, I was silent here again.

I was busy, I think.

While I was quiet here I went to the Giants game one Friday night, for the Pancreatic Cancer Society fundraiser.

The Giants lost, big time. They were getting no hit until the late innings. Pathetic.

Also, I've been reading some more. I really really enjoyed the last one that I read from John Grisham.

Good news. My green tea truffle that I entered for our church's Chocolate Extravaganza fundraiser won first place in the candy category! Can you belive that?

I practiced it first. I brought a sample to my co-workers. One of them is a great cook. She makes wonderful chocolate barks and other snacks. She said it was okay. Another co-worker said the flavor was okay, although the green tea flavor was weak. Of course she's Asian and she, like me, craves for the bold green tea flavor. However, my audience was probably not into the bold green tea presence in a chocolate truffle.

So I made my basic chocolate truffle and added chopped up candied ginger then sprinkled it with green tea. I instagrammed it here.

I believed the reason why I was chosen by the tasters was that my entry was a bit different from the usual brownie, or caramel flavor. I'm so happy I tell you. It's ironic that someone who has no kitchen know how gets to win a cooking contest :).

In another news, I finally got to the movies again. Today we saw San Andreas. It's an okay movie. That is all I have to say.

Birds, birds, birds!

I've been collecting photographs of doors, windows, and signs. Lately, I've been expanding my field of collection to birds. I have not been quite successful in the wild, on the few times that I went for bird watching. However, I found that the shore bird exhibit at Monterey Bay Aquarium provides the best venue for bird photography. Here's a few shots from there.

Tough Times

May I vent?

Again you say?

Yeah, again!

I know quite a few people who are dealing with difficult issues. Of course I know we all have crosses to carry. Some have heavier than others. As I observe around me, I feel a tad guilty that my cross is lighter than most people. I feel so blessed. And guilty. What have I done to carry a lighter cross?

The crosses that people around me are carrying:

Death of husband, then father and now brother is fighting the big C - all these in a span of 1.5 years.

Prolonged divorce proceedings that is wreaking havoc to health.

A cancer diagnosis for family member.

Sorry, I'm just having a bad day. All around me I feel people's sadness. I have been having some aches and pains too, part of growing old I suppose. Since the death of my niece in February, I feel like I'm in a fog. Somehow it's still not sinking in - fully and completely - that she's not going to show up on my doorstep.

All right, enough of this.

Let's go get excited about the GS Warriors basketball team who are in the NBA finals after 40 years. Geez, the winnings were nonexistent for a long period. This is hopefully their year to hoist the cup or trophy.

Another thing that's keeping me busy is reading. I have been devouring some paperback lately. Time is limited so I don't get to read as much as I really want to. I do my reading during lunch at work and if I don't finish the book during the week which I normally don't I take the book home with me and finish it on the weekends.

The last three that I finished reading are:

FRENCH SILK by Sandra Brown

THE SIGMA PROTOCOL by Robert Ludlum

THE FACE by Dean Koontz

I'm currently so engrossed with a James Patterson novel. For the life of me I cannot remember the title right now.

Have you heard of the following tv shows?

THE TYRANT

THE STRAIN

UNDER THE DOME

These are my summer guilty pleasures and I cannot wait for them to come on pretty soon.

I wish I have HBO because I really really love Game of Thrones.

Till next time.