One of my favorite appetizers is called Inari. We normally serve it during the Christmas holidays so it’s a real treat.
I thought it would be a little hard to find it in the St. Paul area but I was surprised that there are actually 2 places we can find them. One is the sushi deli at Cub Foods in Woodbury and the other is a restaurant called Sushi Tango, also in Woodbury.
Inari is made with an outer fried bean curd “skin” pouch that is soft and is filled with sticky rice. It is very delicious and can be made at home (if you can find the pouches – see below to order).
Inari
A very filling appetizer that can be served with other “hand” foods.
“We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.” Edith Lovejoy Pierce
People make such a fuss about the start of a new year. In reality, we open a page of our “book” every day. Each day we start with blank pages. We write what goes into this book  with our words and actions.
Resolved: To live each day as if it were my first.
I ran across an article on Technolog called “The Top Ten Tech Stories of 2011” and found it interesting so I thought I’d share it.
I wonder what 2012 will hold for us in technological advances.
Hmmmm … it still doesn’t feel like we’ve reached the “Jetsons” age (a cartoon based on a futuristic utopia). I remember watching the cartoon as a little girl and not believing that the world could ever be that far advanced.
On a recent trip to Minneapolis, my son and I stopped at the Little India store to see if we could find sumac for a recipe we were trying out. Unfortunately, they did not have it. The kind woman told us we needed to go to “the holy land.” She pointed in a direction which in my mind I took to mean east. (I’m not very good with directions though so it could have been west, north or south.)
At the counter, my son showed the cashier a picture of what sumac looked like to see if he could determine if they carried it. He told us “You  need to go to the holy land” then pointed in the same direction as the woman had pointed.
I figured we were out of luck in getting this spice. My son, a more resourceful fellow, checked his iPhone to see that there was a store 6 blocks away that is called The Holy Land.
Holy Land, Minneapolis
(I didn’t tell my son about my misunderstanding until much later in the week when I could look back and laugh at my ignorance.)
We were able to find the sumac at Holy Land. They have quite an array of Mediterranean spices and food. There is also a meat counter and a deli.
Much to my delight, one of my favorite cheeses called Kasseri (which is really hard to find) was looking straight up at me as I checked out all the cheeses. A small chunk came home with me.
While we were here, we stopped for gyro sandwiches at the deli. They were delicious and very large. The french fries were “okay.”
I’m finding that Minneapolis is quite diverse. So far we have been able to find every spice we’ve been looking for. And the neighborhood near the India Store and Holy Land have lots of different types of restaurants, ie Afghanistan, Mexican, Salvadoran, etc.
Holy Land is located at 2513 Central Avenue Northeast in Minneapolis.
“A little lie is like a little pregnancy: it doesn’t take long before everyone knows.” CS Lewis
As a little girl, I used to come up with the most extravagant lies. But if someone lied to me I was infuriated! How hypocritical of me. Â (laughing)
We do funny things in life. I guess the old adage “don’t point your finger at me because when you do there are three pointing back at you” is true sometimes. Uh, most of the time.
As an adult, I detest the very thing I was so good at as a child. Honesty is so important to me now. I would rather someone hurt me with the truth than try to protect me with a lie.
“Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.” Proverbs 12:19
It must be hard for people to “read” my face to know whether I like a gift that has been given to me. I’ve never been one to overly gush over gifts. Most times I find it uncomfortable to receive a gift. But I sure like giving them!
This year I received quite a few very thoughtful gifts, ie, the giver actually gave some thought to what they were giving  me instead of just buying what was on sale some place.
One of these types of gifts that my husband and I received this year came from his mother. It came in an envelope in the mail with no note. The only reason we knew it was from her was because she always asks us if we have been to a concert in Minnesota.
With all the house “stuff” that we’ve been having to do, we just haven’t had time to head over to Minnesota for an evening of relaxation yet.
But look at this!
Minnesota Concert Packet
This packet includes a voucher for 2 concerts, a voucher for 2 beverages and a parking ticket along with a calendar that shows when all the concerts are. And we get to choose the one we go to! It is one of the most absolute complete gifts I have ever seen! Everything is included.
I’m hoping to use these around our anniversary in March sometime.
There were many other gifts I received that rise to the level of thoughtful gifts. My husband and I are blessed to have both family and friends who continue to lavish their love on us.
I’ve performed the song “Welcome to Our World” for a few Christmases at a church while living in Seattle.
The soft melody and the meaningful words have always touched my heart. “Tears are falling, hearts are breaking” — a true reflection of what is going on in this world.
I hope you enjoy listening to the song (click below to see the video).
She’s 81 years and 5 months old. Her dementia is getting worse. She’s starting to fall out of bed and can’t remember things from one moment to the next.
So far, my friend remembers me when I talk to her on the phone. My next visit to her will be in late January/early February as she lives in Seattle.
This week I received a call from Hospice wanting my permission to evaluate her as her doctor believes that if she continues in a downward spiral she will not live more than 6 months. I gave them my permission.
This friend has given me power of attorney for financial and medical decisions in her life. For over 12 years our family has helped her. She’s not a rich woman — at least not materialistically although she would always show her thankfulness in handmade quilts, embroidered pillowcases and lots of hugs.
She has placed total trust in us. That’s a lot of responsibility and one I don’t take lightly.
A friend once told me “I can count my real friends on one hand.” Real friends are truly hard to come by. I just hope that I can live up to the trust that she has given me. I don’t want to make any wrong decisions for her. She deserves, when it’s time, to die with dignity.
The aging process is not easy … I sure hope someone is around to take care of me.
“What can you ever really know of other people’s souls? In the whole of creation only one soul’s fate is placed in your hands.” CS Lewis
It’s true, isn’t it? We only know our own soul and sometimes not even that. In certain situations our inhibitions may come down, our sensibility is lost, our decisions lack good judgment and we wonder, “Why did I do that?”
Only me. I can only answer for me. That is enough responsibility for a life time.
I enjoy Christmas. And sometimes it brings nice unexpected surprises in the mail.
Today we received a box from Harry and David Gifts. The gifts inside the large box come in pretty individual boxes with a pretty red bow holding them together.
My sister and I were once talking about how we like to give things to people that we like to get back in return. Harry and David’s is one of those types of gifts.
Harry and David
Notice the blemish on one of the pears? I hadn’t noticed it until I sent an email to the friend who sent me the package with the picture above. She pointed it out right away. When I took the rest of the pears out they too were blemished.
Blemished pears
I hadn’t planned on telling my friend about it because I didn’t want her to stress but what she told me is true “Anything from Harry & David should be perfect—that’s why they can command top dollar.”
So, we’ll see what Harry and David has to say.
Update: Harry and David is sending out some more pears. How quickly they responded. Hope the pears look better than the first batch.
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