Buckwheat Honey Blueberry Corn Muffins

I've been baking a lot the last year with Maiya, but mostly stuff from a box. But as I've said before, I don't cook, and something always goes wrong when I try to guess about recipes. Recently she started getting out her cooking/baking stuff when she helps me bake stuff. So here's what happened last week on my day off:

Opened box of blueberry muffin mix.
Dumped it in.
Poured a cup of milk.
Took a phone call.
Came back.
"Mommy, look i poured the milk in by myself!"
"Oh! Let me take a look."
Sure is watery looking.
Check box.
Oh! Supposed to be 1/4 cup milk, not 1 cup.
Hmm. How to fix. How to fix.
Oh! Get another box, double the batch.
That might help.
Grab box from pantry.
Open it. Maiya pours it in.
Hmm, why is it yellow?
Check box, it's cornbread mix, not blueberry!
Ack!
Ok, well, Maiya stirs with her little whisk.
See what happens.
Hmm, still pretty thin.
Check cupboard, no more box mixes, but buckwheat pancake mix.
Hell, pour some in.
Add honey. Add some frozen blueberries.
Uh oh. One box says 10-12 minutes, the other says 13-15 minutes.
What to do. What to do.
Setting timer. Maiya has a fit, wants to do it herself.
We fight over the timer, it accidentally gets set at 15 minutes.
15 minutes later, ack again! I meant to set it at 10!
Oops they are browned on top, and burned on the bottom.
And instead of 5-6 muffins, we have 16 big ones and 12 small ones.
So we eat the tops and toss the bottoms.

Letty & Paul's Dodgerversary

Last Sunday we went to celebrate Letty and Paul's 2nd anniversary at a Dodger game! See their wedding reception at Dodger Stadium Club back in 2006. It was Maiya's first time to see a Dodger game, and my first time in over 13 years. We got to see Manny Ramirez, the new guy, hit a pretty amazing homerun on his 2nd day with the Dodgers winning 9-3. Overall, it was a very fun game, lots of excitement and we enjoyed the Dodger dogs, frozen lemonade and hanging out with Letty, Paul and their family and friends.

The Happy Couple!Sharing snacks and water with Daddy

Hector, Erika, Mr. & Mrs. Ayala watch the game

Grateful to be on the shady side of the reserve section

Jenni & Maiya posing a little

It's time to go home now!

Happy A-Day to Letty & Paul and thanks for inviting us to your celebration!

Twice around the block

In addition to going to the Dodger game last Sunday afternoon, we had an even busier evening. After the Dodger game, we went to Devin's 3rd bday party at the airport park for dinner. Maiya had an angry meltdown because we had to leave just before the cake part, and she was screaming about the injustice of having to leave without the cake. So, to somewhat calm her down before leaving her with Uncle Bill all evening, Tony took her for a ride on their new vintage bike. She was so happy, I dare you to find the dried saltiness around her red puffy eyes.

After the bike ride, we left her with Uncle Bill, who had rented a Dora DVD for her. That kept her going for 6 hours while we went out to the Ford Amphitheater for the Tia Chucha Cultural Center fundraiser. Nobuko performed, as well as Charles Wright (Express Yourself), and we also got to see Olmeca and Upground. It was a pretty awesome night of performances. I think my favorite was Upground, a bunch of young guys from East Los, as they called it. I think someone told me that they all went to Roosevelt, where my mom went to high school in Boyle Heights. When we got back at 11:30 pm, Maiya and Uncle Bill were on the couch, still watching Dora, for the 3rd time that night. Say "Adios, Dora!"

Last Obon in Gardena

Whew! We made it through Obon season. Including the Venice Community Center Carnival and counting Nishi's 2 days twice, we ended up going to obon 8 times this summer. Tony had suggested that we go to them all, but I think 8 is enough to make an impression on a 3 1/2 year old that these represent part of our JA culture, and part of our K-O family tradition to dance a little, play some games, and eat a lot.

Gardena was very crowded with very long lines. But, the booths were pretty efficient, and the long lines moved surprisingly fast. We got the teriyaki chicken bowl, which was small, but very good. Snow cones were just ok. Corn was pretty good. Tony enjoyed the beef, and Grandpa Larry got the sushi. For once, I didn't get chili and rice. I did stand in the longest line, which went out to the street, and that was the Dango booth, but I ran into an old friend Glenn, so catching up with him made the line go faster. Gardena was different in that it was in an actual residential neighborhood, and there were tons of families with babys and small children. No stage, but it was probably the longest street for dancing that we've seen and a huge outdoor bingo.

As I mentioned before, I do have a new appreciation for all the volunteer time that goes into running these events. I saw Gail, who we worked with on the Aloha Mural 10 years ago, working at 3 different food booths, Venice Carnival, Venice Buddhist Church, and West LA obon. That's some extreme dedication. And, from what I can see, there is enough young energy to continue obons into the future. Even for me, who's been going to obons for 15 years, I finally took my turn selling snow cones, and you'll see me out there again next year. It's been a great summer, catching up with old community friends, and joining to celebrate our ancestors with a modern day flair. Anyways, this ends my summer of obon observations, but I'll stop here with a little poem for my girl:

Gardena Obon
Playing games with Daddy

Sharing snow cone with Grandpa Larry

Dancing bon odori with my Mama
Jumping in the bouncer!

Adoption celebration!

Here are Maiya at her best friend L's adoption party a few Sundays ago. Maiya and L have known each other since they were 9 months old and grew up together at their childcare. L left first to go to preschool, but we found that both Maiya and L would talk about each other constantly, so we have been doing occasional play dates since then at the park, and at their downtown loft, which we pass everyday on our way home from work. L and her sister (also) L were adopted by their 2 daddies recently and we were happy to go to their adoption celebration party. When J and B spoke at the party about their growing family (they are also foster parents for a 4 month old baby girl), it was such a touching and beautiful moment.

Higashi Obon is hot!

When I tell people that we have spent our summer going to obons, they always ask which is the best. There is no way to answer that question, but to say that they are all so different. One may have great entertainment, but so-so food. Another may have great community spirit. Another has great teriyaki chicken but lousy shaved ice. They are each special for different reasons.

After Lauren's adoption party, Maiya and I walked down the street to the Higashi Obon.

It was a hot Sunday afternoon with a warm breeze, and our only daytime obon. Many open in mid-late afternoon and peak around dinner time and during the bon odori dancing. Higashi, which has a terrific entertainment stage all weekend, started at noon and runs until nighttime. So, when we went, it was slow, mostly because it was hot and everyone was either indoors with the air conditioning, or under cover of the many easy-ups provided. So, it seemed very empty with no lines, which actually was great, since we didn't have to wait in any long lines.

My first purchase was at the Bombu and Kitsune Taiko somen booth. I was happy to support since I was part of Bombu during its first year when I took a taiko class at Higashi 5 years ago. In fact, that reminds me that I performed disasterously with Bombo at Higashi's obon back in 2003.

I have to say, and Maiya might agree, that Higashi had by far the best snow cones of all the obons we've been to. They had the widest array of flavors, including things like Kiwi and Mango. Maiya walked up and ordered the "rainbow." The girl may not know many Disney characters, but she knows how to order a snow cone. I had a blueberry raspberry and mango, and it was fantastic. When Maiya's snow cone melted into a bowl of sticky purplish-black thick gooey liquid with parking lot dust, she put the bowl up to her face, drank it up and said, "Mommy, I drink like Japanese!"

We were there for the Hawaiian dancers, having missed the preschool kids performing, by just a few minutes. Here they are doing a Maori dance, which was featured in the movie, "The Whale Rider," according to the emcee. Later, when we were on the other side of the temple at the Farmer's Market, I got the most delicious cantaloupe ever for $1. I heard June Kuramoto playing koto on the loudspeaker and thought it was a CD, but then when we went back, I realized she was live up onstage playing so beautifully. Maiya was drawn to the music and we sat down right in front on the curb.

For a 3 year old, Obon is really about the games, which I think I've mentioned before. At 50 cents a pop, they definitely had the best games, with no lines. My only complaint, again, would be the use of candy as a consolation prize when the kid doesn't win a plastic prize. Maiya did pretty well at the tic-tac-toe softball toss, so look for her on a softball field in years to come. I did pick up a pretty delicious chicken teriyaki plate for Tony on the way home. All in all, a very enjoyable time. Less enjoyable was the post-obon hot summer meltdown that occurred on our way back to the cooler westside, just prior to a mama-welcomed car seat nap.

How Daddy Spent His $66

Maiya: Daddy, mommy said no more buying bikes!
Daddy: But it's for us!
Maiya: Ohhhh. (Big smile.)
A few days later, here is Tony's latest ebay purchase. $66 plus $47 shipping.
Tony & Maiya spent the day getting new tires for this bike while I stayed home and cleaned house, did dishes, cleaned the floors, laundry, watered the garden, cleaned off the table, went through old tax papers, organized stuff and filed paperwork the entire day. Right now, they're at Uncle Bill's, having ridden the bike around together. I think we now have 6 bikes, not counting Maiya's 2 little bikes. I hope this is the last bike. This afternoon Tony was on ebay looking at tandem bikes. Oy vey.

Summer of Obon (WLA)

The Summer of Obon continues... here we are last Saturday night at the WLA Obon. From what I understand, it has really grown a lot in the last few years. It was sooo crowded. Long lines, good food, hard to find a place to sit (we had to take turns sharing 3 chairs), and tight spaces for walking, especially during the taiko performance. What I liked about their taiko group is that it was a mix of young people, but seemed like a lot of seniors, the most I've ever seen at once. We went with Scott, Emily & Tula. Note Maiya sporting her new jinbei, a gift from Grandma Machi (check back to the pix from the Nishi Obon a few weeks ago when we discovered Maiya's one size fits all happi coat from when she was a baby no longer fits).

Welcome to WLA Obon!
A little bit of shave ice...

Waiting in line for the bouncy machine...

Waiting in line for Blueberry Imagawayaki...

A little bit of bon odori...

A little bit of love...

Walking back to the car... we really enjoyed ourselves!

Goofing Around at Venice Obon

It seems it's been a long time since we went to the Venice Obon, having been to 2 more this past weekend. We went with Mike, Laura, Amani & Leela.

THE FOOD: We were pretty hungry. Most of the food was ok to me, although our friend Scott who grew up there said that yeah, the snow cones are a problem (hard ice), but that they have the best teriyaki chicken anywhere. And pretty much everyone tells me not to get the chili rice anywhere since it's canned (although let me know if you know of one that is homemade and I'm there), but it's obon, and that's what I do, eat chili rice. And the won tons were pretty tasty, but needed more salt. Tony said that the udon was really tasty. Maiya had a hot dog, and we both had corn.

THE GAMES: For Maiya these days, it's ALL about the snowcones and the game prizes. She actually gets mad if it's a game you actually have to win, much preferring the "everybody wins something" games. Although I'm going to start checking in advance if the prize in those games are candy. Anyways, right off the bat she won this rainbow slinky, but of course you know they had to stretch it, fight over it and get it all twisted up before the night was even over.

THE DANCING: We did enjoy the dancing for a bit. Lily, Kent, Lisa, Kai, Miya, Julie & Matt were there, watching the dancing, camped out with their blanket, cooler and beach chairs. We joined in the Tokyo Ondo (I think that's what it's called.) For once I felt like I was able to keep up, and not feel like an utter fool. For me, it's good to watch the good, casual dancers. Sometimes it's easier to follow and less demoralizing to follow the non-professionals in happi coats and t-shirts, rather than the graceful ones in kimonos. Maiya and Amani were running around and getting in the dancers' ways, so I had to multi-task trying to keep up, and also shepherding them back into the right line. After one dance, it was time to get the kiddies home.

Ok, getting late. Time to go.

Where did my $72 go?

On Sunday, when I left my house, I had $72 in cash with me. When I returned home, my little change purse was empty. I couldn't believe where the money went. So, I mentally went through my day and made a list, to see if I could account for the $72. I did, and here it is.

Farmer's Market (15 minutes, $28)
$11.00 - 3 baskets of blueberries, blackberries, raspberries
$2.60 - bundle of grapes
$2.40 - 2 grapefruits
$12.00 - 2 bouquets of gerbera flowers (gift)

Higashi Obon (2 hours, $44)
$3 somen
$3 rainbow snow cone for Maiya
$3 blue raspberry/mango snowcone for me
$2 cupcake for Maiya
$5 mixed rice takeout
$4 Farmer's market (bag of zucchini, box of strawberries, cantaloupe)
$0 White Elephant sale
$7 teriyaki chicken plate
$3 games
$4 raffle tickets
$10 Obon tshirt for Maiya

My Name is...

Ok, please indulge me for a proud parent moment that I have to share. Maiya wrote her name, for the first time last week!

Tony's dad has been in the hospital, so we had asked her if she wanted to make Grandpa L. a drawing. She did, on a small piece of paper, and afterwards she turned it over and was busy at work. She looked up and said, "I am writing my name." Huh? Both Tony and I peered over to look at what she was doing and she had written a teeny tiny little perfect M. "Ohhhh!!" we said as we looked at each other with our eyes big with surprise. I knew she could do an M, and I have seen her do T's and P's, but until now, to our knowledge, she has only ever traced her name at preschool. And so we sat back and waited quietly and patiently for the rest, without our help. One letter at a time, and with as much concentration, she looked up when she finished and said, "Maiya. M. a. Biiig Y. a."

Yes, my sweet little big girl, growing up way too fast. You wrote your name.
.

Cupcake Crayons - Part 2

Although no one seemed to be all that interested in this project, especially Tony, here it is, right before all the broken crayon pieces went into the oven.

Here they are, after melting in the oven. They look a little bit like Reese's Peanut Butter cups, especially the brown one.

Here is MG, drawing with her new crayons. They were kind of cool. Because of their width, they go on in big strokes, or with changing colors, if you use the sharp sides of the edges. In a way, they look a little like pastels, because they tend to cover a bigger surface.

MG wanted everyone to know her favorites were the red ones.

Funola with Crayola - Part 1

Can you tell what we're doing? Just another green recycling crafty project, saving some broken down used crayons from the landfill!

We started a few weeks ago on my day off. Some people wonder how I find the time to blog, much less spend a morning with Maiya peeling the wrappers off of broken crayons. Believe me, it was very time-consuming, and no less than 3 baskets of unfolded laundry sat on the living room floor, as well as a sink overflowing with dishes. It's really all about priority. I love busy, obsessive, mindless work.

Stay tuned for photos of the finished product!

Nishi Obon weekend

This year was me and Maiya's first time to the Nishi Obon. Tony went years ago to help set up when he worked at A3M. Maiya's preschool class sang some songs and the older girls did some very cute odori dancing on the entertainment stage. Tony and Uncle Bill went to Far East Cafe earlier for lunch, and then Maiya and I stopped at JANM for about 10 minutes and saw as she calls him "Manju Man" do a quick demo and then we got to decorate a kiddie apron for Maiya. We got to Nishi, just in time, the kids were already on stage taking pictures.

In addition to Uncle Bill, Grandma Machi and Grandpa Walt also came to see Maiya's class sing. Here she is finagling Grandma Machi into another "everyone wins" game that I had already done with her. We also went on Sunday, as I took a shift at the Snow Cone booth. From now on, whenever I buy snow cones, I will try to have exact change ready, and know my order when my turn comes, especially when there is a long line of people waiting for their shave ice.

See my cross-posting about the Obon on the Little Tokyo blog.

Breakfast @ Tony's

We've enjoyed doing brunches at our house from time-to-time. Tony cooks a mean breakfast, and when I say mean, I mean, yummy. Here's another recent brunch at our house with Uncle Bill, my parents, and my brother Darin's family. My mom brings her famous Fruit Platter, which everyone loves.

Here's a cute picture of Maiya and cousin Kevin (one month apart), sharing the same seat and enjoying the same food, except hours later, for a late lunch of leftovers. Trying to catch up on the back blog... more to do, but we're getting there.