use real butter

My parents and grandma arrived last night. We took them down to NBC Seafood in Monterey Park for dinner. I wish I had brought the elph with me because there was a good 15 minute discussion between the three of them over what to order. They pored over three sets of menus and interrogated the waiter three times as to how various dishes were prepared. Finally, the waiter came back with two buckets. One had a live red snapper, and the other had a live lobster. My parents gave the snapper a nod and then told him the lobster was too big and to get a smaller one.

Lobsters must be between 1 and 1.5 pounds because anything larger is too old and the meat is no longer tender or sweet.

In my Dad’s speak – Kid, are you listening to me? This is how you order a lobster. You want it to be between one and one and a half pounds. Are you listening to me? If it’s two pounds, it is NG (no good). It will taste like eeeeyech.

This morning I ushered them into the backyard to take some pictures. I wish I had rekindled my interest in photography before Kris died. We did take some studio pictures about 4 years ago for Mom’s birthday, and I’m really glad we took one together. But it’s something I wish I had more of now that I don’t have her. Not that I ever expected to be without her. I can’t be sure if I’m operating out of fear or love or both now.

I must admit that my favorite potato is the yukon gold. Not for baking (baked potatoes, they’re not so special to me), no, but for just about everything else! The lovely, sweet and nutty, golden, firm-fleshed, yukon gold goes well in frittata, potatoes au gratin (with a good strong gruyere), hashed browns, roasted potatoes, mashed potatoes, soups, stews, and the list goes on. I love the yukon gold. It is a little nugget of earthy goodness.

…and I love my skillet. Thanks C, for the recommendation. The flavor just gets better with use.

The doctor’s solution for my shoulder is to medicate more. Advil – take 4, 3 times a day. Weeeee! I took four advil an hour ago and honestly, I can’t feel my shoulder at all. Wow. drugs. Wow!

Time equals 22 hours and counting. Mom and Dad arrive tomorrow night with Grandma. We even keep 3 pairs of fleece slippers for them when they visit our house. This is what good Chinese daughters/granddaughters do.

Tonight, we took a sampling of the leftover desserts to Melinda’s place and then to Squid’s house. We never spend enough time with these friends, but it’s always so enjoyable when we do. We are very sad to be leaving these people – some of our oldest friends in Pasadena (not in terms of age, but in terms of how long we have been friends). Wow, could it have been that long? I have known Melinda about as long as I’ve known Jeremy (over 12 years!) and I’ve known Squid for about 11 years. I need to set aside QT with these peeps.