Afternoon tea at Duke Gardens

On a sunny afternoon last week we met up with Dad & Mom and some grad students from Indonesia for teatime at Duke Gardens - celebrating the end of the school year! We hung out in one of the newer sections of the garden, the White Garden, with its pond (and 11 ducklings), terrace, and well-coordinated flowers and bushes (all white of course). So beautiful! It was too sunny to get great pictures of the plants, but Jim took some of the group. Mom brought thermoses of tea and the students contributed some Indonesian food, like gado gado (veggie salad with peanut dressing) and fried veggie patties and tofu and lentil chips. Even Timo enjoyed chomping on the veggies. So much to enjoy and explore in these gardens. Fun times!!

Grandpa and Gemma saying hello to the ducks.

Timo got passed around a bit - and was quite content.

Our group (Jim took the photo) included Dan (left, also ISI staff), students from Indonesia, and Dad & Mom

Bananas and Books

Breakfast time: bananas for Timo - so yummy and sticky and sweet.

And a cinnamon roll for Gemma. (Thank you, Jaja, for keeping us well-stocked with weekend cinnamon rolls!) "Delicioso!" says Gemma (learning some Spanish words from Dora the Explorer).
 

...followed by reading book after book in Daddy's lap. This one in the pic was Shel Silverstein's poems of  Where the Sidewalk Ends.
 

Wait a sec, Timo, you're too young for coffee.

From Redding to RDU: Jack was here!

We had a great (though short) visit with cousin in-law Jack this week, while he was in town from Redding, CA for a work trip with a company in Cary. Jack has a really interesting and cool job, as an artist, helping enable companies to conceptualize their businesses and work on expanding & improving their services. (Or something amazing like that...I can only give my "dummy's version" of a description.) Fortunately we were able to have him over one evening for a few hours. 

Gemma took a real fancy to Jack and climbed into his lap to read books before bedtime.

Meanwhile Timo was getting his nightly, long bath in the sink and splashing huge puddles onto the counter and floor. He has lately suffered from dry skin and some kind of allergic reaction (perhaps to dryer sheets? or laundry detergent? or coconut oil used as a moisturizer?), so one of the things the pediatrician recommended was a 10-15 minute bath every night, followed by a liberal slathering of Eucerin/Auquafor. Timo loves the bath (and it's gotten easier now that he can sit up by himself) but he isn't a big fan of the Eucerin. Good news, it's working and his skin looks so much better after a week of this.

Timo loves, loves, loves to stick out his tongue and make cute noises

After the kids went to bed, we ate dinner together outside, listening to the birds singing loudly in the trees and catching up on life journeys over the last couple of years. Next time we will have cousin Susie and 5 year-old Abi with us, too - please!!! Oh, and next time, how about WE go to Redding?!

Jim's job: Foster's Market & Catering

I'm now working part-time at Foster's Market, a longtime Durham eatery that is well-known in the Triangle area and throughout the country. Since opening the Market in 1990, Sara Foster has added a second location in Chapel Hill and authored four cookbooks. Visitors come literally from far and wide in order to experience Foster's firsthand! I've met folks from New York and Philly, Arizona and San Diego, all of whom gushed about how much they loved Sara's cookbooks and were so excited to finally visit her restaurant in Durham. There are also our regulars, for whom Foster's is a part of their daily routines.

It has been fascinating to see the insides of a coffeshop/bakery/restaurant, especially one that is managed very well and serves high quality food. They make as much of it from scratch as they can: the baked goods, the mayo and all the dressings, plus house-roasted meats for sandwiches and salads. I've learned a lot and I'm thankful to work with and for good, interesting, fun people. Sara herself works nearly everyday.

Scones, muffins, quick breads, cookies, and New York style coffee cake are baked daily. My favorites are the chocolate chip peanut butter scone, the whopper (a chocolate cookie with walnuts, pecans, chocolate chips, and a dash of espresso), and the coconut macaroons.

It took some time to learn the system for taking orders: each item on the menu has a special code and an individual price, and as you can see from the green boards hanging from the ceiling, there are a LOT of items.

Foster's also sells various unique foodstuffs, such as local/organic/gourmet dressings, spreads, chips, bakery kits, chocolates, candies, baskets, beer, and wine.

Yes, the cakes and pies are baked daily, to, and they are Yummy! Cakes: chocolate, carrot, coconut, German chocolate. Pies: mixed berry, apple, pecan, french silk, lemon chess, chocolate chess. Even though I don't usually go for cheesecake, the oreo chocolate cheesecake looks amazing...I want to give it a try sometime.

One of our signatures is the plethora of salads made fresh each day using the best ingredients available. Tarragon chicken salad; roasted new potato salad; tuna salad; sesame roasted veggies; watercress with tomatoes and bleu cheese; ceasar - these are just a few on offer. All are extremely tasty!

Come for a visit and we'll make a trip to Foster's!

Cousin Love

Gemma and Asher LOVE to be together! Here they are earlier this week at Indian Trail park (down the road from Mom & Dad's), eating a snack before hitting up the huge slides and rope ladders.