Ag May ...

Oh - it's been a while.  There's so much going on at the moment, and I don't expect it to slow down for another few weeks.  So here are some snippets of the non-boring stuff that's kept me occupied. As always, some time in the kitchen. While it might look like some fun now, it took quite a bit of convincing that these gingerbread cookies were going to turn out alright because Maisy's gingerbread recipe used two eggs not one (like my recipe specified). To my dear friend, N.  Thanks so much!!! This was my attempt at fun-loving with understated elegance (which typifies N in my mind).  Unfortunately, my "creative" mind can only conjure up black when someone mentions "elegance".  And how boring would that have been for a purse and for N!!  I hope you liked the cookies as well, N. We're enjoying the beautiful weather while it lasts.    Our last minute picnic.  Hey - I'm asian - it's not a meal without rice! Our last minute Sunday ...

Imagine this. You're sitting at work, at your desk, being the desk jockey that you are.  You get a phone call from your wife.  "Are you busy, darling?  Little Miss M has something to ask you." "I'm fine to talk." A breathless, excited, can't-stand-still, little girl comes onto the phone and the words come tumbling out of her mouth.  "Daddy, Daddy - I farted in the potty!!  Which column does the fancy sticker go?" Huh?  You ask. Well, potty training, with all of its bribes are currently underway.  The bribes...uh, sorry... reward system comes by way of a bunch of stickers, some fancier than the others and a chart - "Little Miss M's Potty Chart".  The chart is broken up into three columns 1.)  Little Miss M uses a panty.  2.)  Little Miss M uses the potty.  3.)  Little Miss M pee's or poo's in the potty. Short story is that, after some real progress and success, we encountered outright resistance.  We put all the ...