Loopie - Joop

It's my god-d aughter's birthday tomorrow.  A n nika   Jia -Lin Lutkin  ( 嘉琳) will be  turning two, wishing her health, happiness and peace. Although your godparents can't be with you in person, we are always praying for you.  May you be an instrument of God and always walk in the light.

Have you heard Adele's 25?  It is amazing. The last time I raved about an album was Sia's.  Adele is more mainstream, so I'm sure more people will agree with me.  Her voice is just to die for.  Get it on iTunes, stream it from spotify, I guarantee you'll love it.

Again, a long overdue post. Amidst all the frenzied chucking and packing and unpacking to come, it is time to move on to a new phase.  Yep, we are moving.  We have lived in our cosy apartment for the last 4 years and it has been enjoyable.  From this weekend, we will begin life in our new apartment at a new locale.  It's a neighbourhood which I'm not entirely familiar with, so it would be an adventure checking out the shops and food options.  Trying hard not to worry too much about the traffic situation.  Unpacking all the boxes will be a headache and mini nightmare as well... Actually I shouldn't even complain since these are really first-world problems.  There are bigger and worse problems out there! Will post some photos when I'm free, but i'm excited.  I hope we'll enjoy the next 5 years in the house, currently christened Leelee.

Yes, yes, this is long overdue... I apologise for my tardiness. We spent a week in Jeju a few months ago.  The amount of fresh seafood there is UNBELIEVABLE!  Coupled with good grilled beef kalbi and some fantastic makgeolli, we were in heaven! For a week! Makes me want to coo Belinda Carlisle's song... We arrived in Incheon in the afternoon and took a train to Gimpo airport for our domestic flight to Jeju.  It was really short, like 45 mins max,  Then the shuttle bus took us to the car rental office, where we grappled with the Korean GPS After some mime and some patience later, we were off to Jeju city in our rented car. Here are some highlights...

For those who can't be in Japan this cherry blossom season...

Lobster Bisque Durk Charcuterie Pan-Roasted Snapper Grilled 'Silver Fern Farms' Ribeye Cauliflower mac and cheese Grilled asparagus Paris Brest Strawberry Semifreddo

An elderly Chinese man had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walk from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the man bringing home only one and a half pots of water. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do. After 2 years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the man one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house." The old man smiled, "Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?" "That's because I...