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| Dinner Prepared by Daughter |
Guess who stayed up all night to watch the live broadcast of the Tokyo Olympics, last night?! If you guessed Bless and Daughter, you'd be right! LOL! The live broadcast started at 4:00 a.m., our time! Sensible people would have simply watched the recorded rebroadcast on Friday evening, but, we are not necessarily that sensible! LOL. We watched the first two hours of the broadcast, until about half of the athletes had entered the stadium. When we saw the delegation from Sri Lanka enter the stadium, we both gave a big cheer! But, by 6:00 a.m., we were getting tired and decided it was time to go to bed! We would watch the rest of it, later. We had breakfast before we went to bed!
I woke up around 11:30 a.m.; daughter slept in a bit longer.
I had a fairly relaxed day. After my morning tea, I washed the dishes from last night, tidied the kitchen a bit, read blogs, etc. In the early evening, I picked more green beans from the garden and three more zucchini. Later, we watched the rest of the Opening Ceremonies. I watched the whole thing from the start, but, daughter spent the first part of it in the kitchen, busy preparing our dinner (pictured above), which she planned based on what we had at home and coming up with substitutions as needed.
Daughter cooked us a lovely Japanese meal: Japanese cream stew (which is actually a creamy soup with meat and vegetables), teriyaki chicken, tsukudani (a dish traditionally made with dried sardines, but, since we didn't have any, she substituted dried anchovies, instead), green bean goma-ae (green beans with sesame paste), edamame with soy and sesame sauce, pickled zucchini (in lieu of cucumber!), tsukemono (pickled mixed vegetables - she used radishes, carrots, and zucchini), and rice, of course.
After dinner, I washed more dishes! Some went into the dishwasher, but, I washed all the pots and pans by hand. Dinner was delicious, but, I told daughter, the next time she cooks, she has to make a one-pot meal! LOL!
We were able to share some of the dinner with M, too (he politely declined the dish with the anchovies). Today, he set up the window AC unit for us. Since I had to move the bed to get access to the window, I swept and vacuumed my bedroom (swept it first, but, then, decided to vacuum, as well). Then, I changed the bed sheets and remade the bed. We don't need the AC right now, but, it is nice to have it in place for when it does get hot.
Today, Los Angeles County reported that there were 3,058 new Covid cases! Those numbers are starting to get scary! In the meantime, my "noisy" neighbors, next door (the ones with at least two white rabbits), seem to be preparing for a big party, this weekend! They've set up two tents in their yard and I saw a stack of folding tables and chairs waiting to be set up! Somehow, I don't think we'll see a lot of face masks or social distancing!
Today, I am grateful for:
- Daughter preparing a really delicious dinner
- M putting up the window AC for us
- Garden produce
- M putting up the window AC for us
- Garden produce
- Being able to watch the Olympics coverage
- Leftovers
- Leftovers
Today's joyful activity was watching the Olympics Opening Ceremony with daughter.
Plans for tomorrow include watching what there is to see of the Olympics, doing some laundry, and maybe tidying the family room a bit.
How was your Friday? What are your plans for Saturday?
I love your plates, and the meal looks delicious. Well done to your daughter.
ReplyDeleteThe UK Covid numbers are rising again. It's scary but the plus side is that the new cases remain low in this area.
I hope the party next door doesn't cause you any problems and you aren't disturbed by the noise.
Thank you, Eileen; the plates are what my daughter bought at the Japanese shop we went to on Monday. She is planning to take them up with her. :)
DeleteI'm glad the new case numbers are still low in your area.
Next door party preparations are in full swing! This morning, they tested their amplifiers! I fully expect the music to go on until well past midnight. Our City's noise ordinance states no loud noises after 10:00 p.m., but, these neighbors don't care. One year, one of my other neighbors called the police on them, but, the police have other more urgent matters to deal with, especially these days. Oh, well, it's not like we go to sleep that early, anyway. :)
Sounds like my neighbours! Full-blown disco, shouting, whooping till 1.45am last Sat/Sun. Totally ignorant IMO - and no prior warning either.
DeleteYour meal looks very authentic, even down to the crockery :)
My neighbors, too, used to bring out the disco lights in previous parties; I wonder if they'll have one later in the night. The party started at 5:00 p.m., but, so far, they are playing fairly mellow tunes - ballads, etc.
DeleteSorry, forgot to say that the crockery was bought at Daiso (the Japanese store we went to on Monday). My daughter is planning to take them back to her apartment when she goes back.
DeleteYou have Daiso in America!? I always have a rummage when in Japan. Everything 100Y and an amazing array of stuff you never knew you needed! Is it a flat rate for everything in the USA too?
DeleteI don't know if there are any Daiso stores in other states, but, there are several in California. Daughter used to go quite frequently to the one in downtown Berkeley, near her office, before Covid. Most things at the Daiso stores here, including the crockery my daughter bought, are $1.50, but, there are also some items that cost more. I bought big flower pots that were $5 each, but, they were worth the price. Some items had price tags marked on them, others only showed the amount in yen on the package, itself; there were printed conversion charts set up every few feet on the aisles showing what the amount in yen would be in dollars.
DeleteI haven't watched any of the Olympics yet, but I am always amazed when I see the incredible athletes that participate.
ReplyDeleteIt really is amazing to watch them, isn't it? :)
DeleteSo glad you are enjoying the Olympics and what a wonderful meal your daughter prepared! I think anyone not being careful about covid right now aren't quite right in the head. It's spiraling out of control again! I hope you and your daughter have a nice weekend. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Martha. Yes, the new case numbers are back up to what they were in the spring, over here. My daughter was invited to go to the mall by a couple of her friends and she declined because she didn't want to risk it. We are having a relaxed weekend; hope you are having a good weekend, Martha.
DeleteHi Mereknits, What a shame about your neighbors. It's too bad more people don't take the situation here seriously. Friday was wonderful. I planted three Cecile Brunner roses, and fed all of the flowers and vegetables in my garden. That's great that you got your window air conditioner installed.
ReplyDeleteHi Stephenie, it's Bless! :D Sounds like you had a lovely day in the garden. Cecile Brunner roses are beautiful. Did you plant them at the cottage or at the cabin? The window a/c will come in useful later in the summer when the temps climb up to the triple digits. :)
DeleteI think you and your daughter deserve a medal for making an effort to watch as much of the opening ceremonies live as possible! What an interesting meal. Your daughter does well to create a Japanese feast for the occasion.
ReplyDeleteI hope that your next door neighbours don't get rowdy. Maybe you should get a big fan to waft any breath back over the fence to their side! It is alarming when numbers are rising and people just seem to think they can pretend it isn't a big deal.
I was at a farmer's roadside stall this morning and a man was wandering up to the mesh bags of corn to check out the quality and he was told in no uncertain terms that he was not allowed near the produce! The table had hand sanitizer and everyone wore masks although it was outdoors. I was happy with my dozen sweetcorn cobs, and glad to be able to support the farmer.
Thank you, Bushlady! Do we qualify for gold? :D The meal was very good. Actually, I'd have been happy with just the cream stew - it was practically a meal in itself, with ham, potatoes, and vegetables.
DeleteNeighbors put up more tents all along their drive way, this morning; there is only the side wall and 5 feet wide strip that I call my side yard separating their driveway from my house. I have closed all the windows on that side of the house! Actually, only the small window in my bathroom (on the other side of the house) is open, right now. Fortunately, it is a fairly mild day, with the highs only in the mid 80s. Party started at 5:00 p.m. :)
That's good that the farmer's roadside stall is making sure all the fresh produce is being kept safe from any contamination! Yum! Corn on the cob! I haven't had any, yet, this summer. Must add some to my next grocery order!
What a nice meal your daughter made with Japanese food. I hadn't thought of doing that during the Olympics but I might now.
ReplyDeleteOh my. With your neighbor's preparations, things do not sound good for your quiet and peaceful life.
I hope it doesn't get too noisy.
I enjoyed our Japanese meal. Maybe you can plan a Japanese meal to have during the closing ceremonies. :)
DeleteThese neighbors used to have parties practically every weekend! They've been fairly quiet for the past year and a half, though. The music started at 5:00 p.m. We'll see how long it goes on! :)