Sunday Afternoon 7/31/2016

Darby never showed up last Sunday, at least not on Kaua’i . . . thank goodness. The storm moved off to the north after bringing a lot of rain to Oahu, but all we ended up getting were some cooler temperatures for the day, which were much appreciated. However, Darby’s movement to the north of Kaua’i then blocked the tradewinds, giving us three miserably hot days, and last week’s efforts around here were mostly spent trying to stay comfortable. It’s still warm, but the trades are back and things are more like they should be, weather-wise.

YaYu heads back to school tomorrow to begin her junior year. I almost can’t believe I am writing those words, because it seems like it was just a couple of months ago we were in China to meet our feisty little girl and bring her home. She’s got a lot on her plate this year, with one college math course, three AP courses, two language classes (Spanish and Japanese) and a required Hawaiian history class. She’ll also be participating in cross country, swimming and track & field throughout the year as well as serving as President of her school’s Key Club chapter, and volunteering each week with Big Brothers/Big Sisters and the National Honor Society. She’ll continue taking Mandarin classes on the weekends in order to prepare for the AP exam in the spring. I get exhausted just thinking about it all, but am confident she’s going to knock it out of the park. I remained stunned though by how crushing high school has become these days.

No changes are coming up for me with the advent of a new month. I added Parmesan cheese back on my ‘allowed foods’ list, had small amounts a couple of times last month without any problems, so it will stay. Exercise is sort of doomed right now as we move into around two months of peak heat and humidity, but as always, Brett and I will try to fit in walks whenever we catch a break.

This afternoon I am:

• Reading: Well, last week I opened Karin Fossum’s The Murder of Harriet Krohn, but then didn’t pick it up again until last night. No reason other than the heat at the beginning of the week seemed to suck even the energy to hold a book out of me.
• Listening to: It’s been a quiet morning here other than having to listen to a few loud chickens once in a while. Otherwise I’m listening to the breeze rustle through the palm trees. In a little while though that will be drowned out by the sound of the washer and dryer going through their usual Sunday routine.
• Watching: Tonight I’m watching another episode of Lewis on PBS – I love this show! I’m eagerly awaiting the new episodes that are coming this fall, although it will be the final season. All of us watched The Great British Baking Show on Friday evening and don’t want it to end, and last night we binge watched Pioneer Quest and finished all of it. WenYu and I are in the middle of Season 5 of Downton Abbey.
• Cooking/baking: WenYu is filling in for someone at work today, so we didn’t fix anything special for breakfast – everyone fended for themselves. I’ve got pulled pork going in the slow cooker for dinner tonight, and there’ll be enough of that left over for sandwiches tomorrow, especially for YaYu’s first school lunch of the year. No baking today – I got up early and made a peach cobbler the other day and there’s still some left.
• Happy I accomplished last week: I didn’t melt and I managed to get dinner on the table every evening.
• Looking forward to next week: With YaYu back in school all day, and WenYu at work, Brett’s and my schedule will open up a bit so we’re planning to get down to the beach at least once, weather permitting, but hopefully more than that. We’ll also be sending WenYu’s linens off to Massachusetts, the first of many steps in getting her ready to go in just a few more weeks.
• Thinking of good things that happened: WenYu and her roommate connected this past week and they’ve been chatting back and forth. Her roommate is from Santa Ana, California, and like WenYu, loves to eat, so I think they’ll be a good match. They were assigned an awesome room in their dorm, one of the larger ones, and it has a nice view. Peaches are still available at Costco and still delicious. We spent less than $20 at the farmers’ market, and put $3.50 into the change/$1 bill jar.
• Thankful for: One of the things I love about the house we’re renting now, and am so thankful for, is the large lanai at the front of the house. With no outdoor space at our previous home, we felt especially hot and trapped whenever temperatures soared. These days we have a lovely outdoor space, and can enjoy cool breezes and nice views when we want to escape the heat inside the house. There’s also room out on the lanai for our grill, and it’s under cover so that we can use it rain or shine. We’ve got our eyes open for a small table and chairs so we can eventually eat outside as well, but so far haven’t found anything we’re crazy about.
• Bonus question: What does your most recent text message say? ‘YEAH!’ Meiling is teaching herself to cook, and on Friday she and I were texting back and forth about a recipe she was planning to make for her boyfriend for dinner, a pork and apple stir-fry that she loved growing up. A big issue turned out to be what to substitute for the 1/3 cup of wine that’s called for in the recipe, so we discussed that and she decided to go with apple cider. I got a message from her late Friday night that her dinner had turned out perfectly, so ‘YEAH!’ was my answer.

That’s a wrap from Chez Aloha for this Sunday! What’s going on with you this afternoon/evening? What good things happened for you?