Now You See Me, Now You Don't

RD and I are constant companions.  We often take the bus to the city and back during the week. It is not uncommon to see us holding hands as we walk.  If I am lucky, he would join me to the mall on weekends.  Typically, we would pass by the library and the shops to browse before heading to the butcher and the grocery to get our week's supplies. 

There was this one weekend that RD and I went out as normal and while we were at Coles, RD got a message from MyGirl.  Apparently, one of MyGirl's friends had seen us pass by and sent her this Snapchat message.

omg just saw your mum and brother and they were holding hands

my heart  ❤❤

I sent a copy of the Snapchat image to the family and in true 'you gotta love her' fashion, London Eye replied to say that she could not see me in the picture.  

💫 -- that's the dizzy symbol for London Eye

I love you, London Eye!

I Want To Hold Your Hand

I found this video so cute that I posted it in FB.

Eldest Sis added the comment, "Just like you." 

I replied with this picture which I grabbed from MyGirl.

Over the years, MyGirl has taken so many pictures of me and MacGyver holding hands while walking that she has created a folder to store them.  Naturally, when she saw my FB post, her aunt's comment and the above pictures, she pulled out the big guns and posted four more pictures in reply.  

I replied to her barrage of pictures saying I thought she had proven her point.

Apparently she still had one more up her sleeve.  She posted this one she had taken last July during our vacation.  She said this was the one most relevant to the FB post (because it was taken on the beach).

I thought she had ran out of ammunition but I soon found out that MacGyver and I are easy targets.  

No Pressure Pressure Flan

I recently ordered an Instant Pot from Amazon UK.  I am still getting to know this amazing new gadget but it is no secret that I am beginning to love it.  And depending on what comes out of the IP, the rest of the family love it too.

My family loves this dessert. I try not to make it too often because it is quite rich and calorie-laden. Prior to discovering an IP version, it took a lot of effort to make. I like this recipe since it uses whole eggs and making it in the IP is a breeze. Many versions only use the egg yolks but that leaves me a lot of egg whites that usually end up becoming meringue. Depending on your point of view, that could be a good thing or a bad thing.

No Pressure Pressure Cooked Flan

Caramel:½ cup white sugar2 tbsp water

Custard:
4 large eggs
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or lemon zest

Combine caramel ingredients in a microwave-safe container. 
Microwave for 3 to 4 minutes until light amber in colour.  Check every 30 seconds after the 2-minute mark and stop once caramel looks done.  Better to stop cooking earlier rather than later.  Try not to overcook the caramel.
Do not allow to turn dark as the syrup may have a burnt taste.
Swirl the container to distribute the caramel evenly on the bottom.  
Be careful as the container and the caramel will be hot.
Set aside to allow caramel to harden.

Whisk together custard ingredients in a medium bowl. 
Strain mixture into prepared container to remove any bubbles.
Cover the custard, if desired. 

Place trivet inside Instant Pot and pour 2 cups of water into the bottom of IP.Carefully place custard container on top of trivet.
Close IP and set to seal.
Cook at high pressure for 15 minutes if using a single large dish (10 minutes if using 4 ramekins).
Once cooking cycle has completed, allow natural pressure release for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, open the valve and release any remaining pressure.
Very carefully take out the trivet and custard dish from the IP.
Allow custard to cool uncovered.
Refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight.

To serve, loosen custard from side of pan and invert onto deep-sided serving dish.

Note :  To make the flan using sugar, regular milk and cream, replace condensed milk and evaporated milk with ½ c sugar, 1 ¾ c milk and 1 ¼ c cream.  Bring cream and milk to a boil.. Whisk together eggs, sugar and vanilla in a bowl. Add milk mixture slowly into the egg mixture. Mix to combine.  Strain into prepared container as above.

New Expectations

One of my team members got married last April.  In July, she told me she was two months pregnant and was expecting a baby in February 2019.

Last week, I asked if she was reading anything in relation to her pregnancy. "What To Expect When You're Expecting" was very helpful during my first pregnancy. I was willing to get her a copy if she wanted one.

When I mentioned it to her, she seemed surprised, "A book?"

  

"Yes, it has chapters that tell you what to expect as you go through the nine months of pregnancy."

She said, "Oh ...a pregnancy tracker.  They've got apps for that now.  I have one in my phone."

Welcome to the 21st century!

Everything is in your phone nowadays.

Pac-Man Lives

You never really know when a blast from your past will hit you.

I remember spending hours playing Pac-Man.

I can't really remember if I was any good at it.

I spotted Pac-Man on these windows along one of the buildings in Sydney.

I thought that was pretty cool.

Then I found a Pac-Man cap while I was window shopping.

Cute!

In case you want to spend a few minutes catching ghosts and chomping fruits, 

here's a link to play Pac-Man Doodle.

Pan de Azucar

I borrowed a Filipino cookbook from the library and wanted to try the pan de sal recipe straightaway.  The recipe had a half cup of sugar.  I thought it was quite strange that the pan de sal recipe had more  sugar than salt but I wanted to test the recipe before I dismissed the volume of sugar.

When I tried it out, I was amazed at the bread that came out of the oven.  It was the BEST pan de sal I ever baked.  I shared the recipe with my siblings, my Filipino officemates and with GI.  I am hoping they get as excited about this bread as I do.

Who would have thought that the secret of good pan de sal was actually sugar?

Pan de Sal  (makes 20)

1/2 c lukewarm water
2 1/4 t active dry yeast
1 t sugar
1 c water
3 T oil
1/2 c sugar
1 T salt
5 c flour
3 T breadcrumbs 

Place lukewarm water in a bowl.
Add yeast and 1 t sugar.
Let sit for 15 minutes until bubbly.
Add the rest of the water, oil, 1/2 c of sugar, salt and flour a little at a time.
Mix thoroughly and knead the dough on a floured surface until smooth and pliable.
Place kneaded dough in a lightly greased bowl.  Cover and let rise until doubled (about 2 hours).
When dough has doubled, punch down and divide into four.
Roll dough into logs and divide into five pieces each.
Roll sliced pieces of dough in breadcrumbs then place on a lightly greased baking sheet.
Let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour until double in size.
Bake the rolls for about 20 minutes in preheated oven at 325F or160C until lightly browned.  

Fee, Fie, Faux Pho

I wanted to try to make pho for MyGirl and found a pressure cooker recipe for Pho Ga (Chicken Pho).  It was simple enough to follow and it was done in a jiffy.   

When I called eating time, I mentioned to MyGirl that I had given GI the soup bowl set so we had to settle for the bowls we had at home.   The regular Corelle bowls we have seemed a tad small for pho so I jokingly pulled out a glass mixing bowl for RD to use.  The joke was on me because he happily accepted and used the bowl for dinner.  MyGirl got a smaller Pyrex container but was still looking for decent soup bowls and soup spoons so she asked for permission to retrieve the soup bowls from her brother.

MyGirl was excited when the pressure cooker was opened to reveal our dinner.  However, upon tasting it, she admitted that although the pho was good, the pressure cooker version falls short of the restaurant quality pho that simmers for about eight hours.

She was pretty satisfied by my pho efforts even if she christened our dinner 'faux pho.'    

Pressure Cooker Pho Ga

 BROTH

1 1/2 k chicken thigh / drumstick (or 2 k whole chicken)2 medium onions, peeled and halved1 T ginger, cut into long strips1 small bunch fresh cilantro1 garlic clove, crushed1 T brown sugar4 cloves1/2 cinnamon stick1 star anise (or 1 T coriander seeds)8 c cold water2 T fish sauce1/2 t salt2 T vegetable oil

NOODLESmedium banh pho (70g - 80g per person) 

GARNISHES ON NOODLES1/2 small white onion, thinly slicedfresh cilantro leaves1 -2 stalks green onion, finely choppedfreshly ground black pepperhard boiled quail eggs, optional 

PHO HERBS PLATTER ON THE SIDEbean sprouts (40 g per person)
1 lime, cut into 6 wedges
mint, thai chili pepper, thai basil, hoisin sauce, sriracha (optional 

Place cloves, cinnamon stick and star anise (or coriander seeds) in the pressure cooker.
Heat up pressure cooker over medium heat [instapot : SAUTE]
After about 2 minutes, when the fragrance is released from the spices, remove spices and set aside.

With pressure cooker over medium heat [instapot : HOT], place 2 T vegetable oil and coat bottom of the pot.

Carefully place halved onions (flat side down) and the ginger into the pressure cooker.

Allow onions and ginger to char without touching them (about 5 mins). 

At the four minute mark, add the crushed garlic.

Pour in 1/2 cup of water to fully deglaze the bottom of the pot with  a wooden spoon.

Add the toasted spices, sugar, cilantro, fish sauce and salt.

Place chicken in the pot.

Add rest of the water making sure that the chicken is 90% submerged into the liquid.

Close the lid and pressure cook at high pressure for 10 minutes, then natural pressure release for 20 minutes.  After 20 minutes, turn knob to VENTING position to release remaining pressure.

While chicken is cooking, prepare the garnish.

Thinly slice 1/2 white onion and place in a bowl of cold water for 15 minutes..

Chop the cilantro leaves and slice the green onions.

When the pressure cooker starts natural releasing, place the noodles in a large mixing bowl and pour boiling water to fully submerge for 18-20 minutes.  Stir and loosen.  Drain and run through cold water when noodles are cooked through.

Transfer chicken to a large mixing bowl.  Slice into serving pieces or debone, as desired. 

Strain the chicken broth through a fine mesh and skim off the fat from the surface of the broth.

Bring the chicken broth back to a boil over medium heat [instapot : SAUTE]

Season as needed.

To serve, place cooked banh pho and chicken pieces into large bowl.

Garnish with white onion slices, chopped green onion, fresh cilantro leaves, quail eggs (opt) and freshly ground black pepper.

Pour in boiling chicken broth and serve piping hot.

The herbs platter serves as optional additions to add complexity to the soup.

Winter Woolies

I took this picture mid-June as winter was just starting. 

Even the sign posts along the streets are feeling cold.

Handy Dandy Lions

The other week, I was walking home and noticed there were a lot of these small cotton-ball like flowers on the ground.  I didn't know what they were called but I have always been fascinated by them because they are really quite pretty.

I took a couple of shots of the flowers as I passed them on the road.

I even noticed one that had little yellow flowers which was somewhat unusual as far as I was concerned.

I remembered that this was the design on the beautiful blue rug in my cousin's living room.

She even had place mats with the same design.

(Check out that beautiful, yummy cake!  Trust me, it was worth the extra calories.)

Then it dawned on me that WE have place mats with this same flower!

We've had our place mats for ages and yet I didn't know what the design on them were called.  

"MyGirl,what are these flowers called?"  I asked MyGirl as we sat at the dining table.

"Dandelions," she replied in a matter-of-fact manner.

"Aren't dandelions yellow?"

"Yes, Mom, but the white flowers are the dandelion seeds," she explained as she googled 'dandelions' to prove that her information was accurate.

She was right.  It's true, the small white flowers are indeed dandelions.

Now I know ... I have been fascinated by dandelions without knowing I was fascinated by dandelions.

Two Fancy Loos

During my travels, I discovered that me and my siblings not only share the same blood type, but we also share the same bladder type.  I could always count on them to say 'I need a bathroom before we go' when I needed to go myself.  So we would make a bee-line to the nearest toilet before proceeding to our next museum or our next destination.  

We visited quite a number of museums.  As expected, aside from checking out the various displays at the museums, we ended up checking out the toilets. Usually the pit stops were purely a matter of going in and out so that we could return  to viewing the exhibits the museums had to offer.  But one particular toilet seemed to be a museum display in itself.  I stopped to take a couple of pictures.

Fancy Loo #1 was found in the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. 

Check out those tiles and the window.

This was the logo on the floor outside the toilet.

Having taken some pictures of a fancy toilet, I didn't hesitate to stop and take some photos when I encountered another interesting toilet. It was not the artwork that impressed me, it was the multi-purpose fixture over the sink.  

Fancy Loo #2 was found back in Australia.  

This Dyson Airblade Tap lets out water and air.  

Water to wash your hands and air to dry them.

I should have known the bathroom was fancy the moment I approached it.

The Time Has Come

It came! It came!

Yes I know.  I sound like Sid from Toy Story when the rocket he ordered arrived in the mail.  I can’t help it. I am so excited that the clock I ordered arrived in record time.

It's a dream come true and I honestly did not expect this dream to become a reality.

The dream started when I was a teenager after visiting the house of a family friend in the U.S.  They had a magnificent grandfather clock. The grandfather clock rang on the hour to announce the time. I said to myself, when I grow up, I'd like to have a grandfather clock in my house.  

As the years passed, I realised a grandfather clock was a tad extreme and impractical.  Grandfather clocks are big and heavy, noisy and quite expensive.  So I downgraded my dream to a cuckoo clock.  A cuckoo clock is more practical, I thought.  It is smaller but gets the same job done. I often checked out stores with specialty clocks in the malls while in Manila.  The cuckoo clocks were really quite expensive and once again I pushed the clock dream aside.

When we moved to Australia my clock dreams were somewhat dormant.  Looking for a clock was not something in my mind at all. I was still fascinated with clocks and would often pass by QVB to check out the clocks there.  One of the things I like about work is that our office is located diagonally across Town Hall where the clock in the tower plays the Westminster chime every hour.  Getting to hear the chimes ring always gives me great joy.  

During this last trip to Europe, my clock dream got reignited and redefined when I stayed at my aunt's place.  She has two clocks in the hallway.  There is an old weight driven clock hanging on the wall and a second clock (with the date and day of the week) on the floor.  When I arrived, the clock with the weight on the wall had the wrong time.  I thought it was broken and was being kept for sentimental reasons.  My cousin explained that my aunt was the only one who touches that wall clock.  The next day, I asked my aunt about the wall clock.  "Oh, you just have to pull this one," she said as she moved the weight up and reset the time on the clock.  After that, the wall clock was keeping perfect time and would ring once every hour on the hour while I was there. 

I didn't know such clocks existed.  A clock that rings once every hour...what a concept.  What a beautiful concept!  Obviously I had not done my research. And clearly, I had not really taken my clock dream seriously.  I decided it was high time to change.

My SIL's SIL Sue had found a cuckoo clock at Vinnie's the other year so I knew it was not impossible to find one here in Australia.  I decided since I had managed to keep my expenses down during my  Europe trip, I would check Gumtree and eBay for second hand clocks.  I figured if I didn't actively look for a clock, that dream would never become a reality.  I was certain that I wanted a clock that chimed but did not run on batteries. I was willing to settle for a single chime per hour if the Westminster chime only came in bigger, more expensive clocks.  It could not be too big and heavy because I wanted something that I could put up in one of the existing hooks in  our gypsum board walls.

Needless to say, when I started looking, I discovered there are a lot of chiming clocks available out there.  Unfortunately availability, practicality and affordability seemed to be mutually exclusive.  I wondered if siblings in Europe would be able to find something for me.  Chiming clocks seemed more common in Europe and I knew that both Sunshine and London Eye would be going to Manila before the end of the April.

I checked out numerous ads.  I looked at several sites. I decided on one that I was willing to pursue.  I sent out a message to both Eldest Sis (I thought the company had an office near her) and London Eye (I found the ad in eBay UK).  I asked whether it was feasible for either of them to get the clock for me.  If Eldest Sis got the clock for me, I was willing to wait until we saw each other.  If London Eye ordered it for me, I asked if she could bring it to Manila when she visited so I could get it when I arrived several months later. 

Well, London Eye said she wasn't comfortable packing a clock and she wasn't sure it would arrive if she ordered it for me.  Then Eldest Sis pointed out that the link I had sent indicated the store was in another state but encouraged me to try to get a clock as something that would make me happy. 

Having received that feedback, once again, I was on my own.  But just when I thought my clock dreams were ticking away, the local eBay flashed the clock and once I got the GO-signal from MacGyver, I was on my way to being the new owner of a brand new clock.

We set it up and it chimes beautifully!

Click here to hear the clock chime

Stamped with Love

Happy Birthday, Mother.

P.S. I kept this envelope from a Christmas card sent by 'you can guess who' 

because the stamps were so beautiful. 

Crumble Down

My cousin introduced me to her version of crumble when I went to visit her earlier this month.

She had the beginnings of the crumble in the fridge when I arrived on Thursday 05 April and she seemed to be waiting for the right time to assemble and bake it.  She cut up some apples and pears the next morning and baked the crumble.  We were scheduled to go out after lunch but she asked whether I wanted to have some crumble before we left.  

Have you ever known me to say 'no' to dessert? 

Besides, the crumble was nice and warm, how could I say 'no'?   

Well, after she got the thumbs up for dessert, she posed the question of what I wanted to have with the crumble --my choices were ice cream, yogurt or custard.  I was on vacation so I opted for the adventurous option, I chose custard. I could imagine how ice cream and yogurt would go with crumble, custard would be new to me. Little did I know that custard was the most involved choice because it didn't come out of a tub found in the fridge or freezer.  She had to measure, mix and microwave to get the custard but I must say, it was definitely a good choice.

I have made apple crumble in the past but her version was so much better.  To begin with, hers had way more crumble than what my normal recipe would have, and it was really nice that way. Plus to top it off, literally, when crumble is served with warm custard, it is really a delicious combination.   

She had gotten the recipe from a magazine but because she likes to have more crumble, she had tried different ratios over the years until she found the crumble ratio to her liking plus added almond flakes on top.  (Smart girl!)  Naturally I had to ask for the recipe.  I was sure the family would love her version of crumble as much as I did.

Within the week of my arrival, I introduced this wonderful dessert to the family.  I made half the custard recipe in a feeble attempt to reduce the calorie count of this dessert.  The crumble was gone in two days and there were only four of us at home at the time because GI was still abroad.  

Apple, Pear and Blackberry Crumble (Serves 8)

2 apples (peeled, cored, cut into 3 cm. pieces)
2 pears (peeled, cored, cut into 2 cm. pieces)
3 T sugar
1/2 T lemon juice
170 g blackberries 

Crumble: 

200 g (~ 1 1/2 c)  all purpose flour
90 g  (~ 1 c)         porridge oats*
80 g  (~1/2 c)       brown sugar
120-125 g (~ 1/2 c) butter, chilled and cubed
75 g (~ 1/2 c)       ground almonds
2 t                         cinnamon
1 t                         flaked almonds (opt)
1 T                        demerara sugar ** 

Preheat oven 200 C
Toss apples and pears with sugar, lemon juice, pinch of salt.
Stir through the blackberries.
Scatter in a 1 litre ovenproof bowl or 8 ramekins 

For crumble : Mix flour, oats, sugar, pinch of salt in a bowl.
Using fingers, rub in butter until mixture resembles breadcrumbs with a few bigger lumps. (Add 1 or 2 T of water to get additional lumps, if desired.)  Stir through nuts and cinnamon. 

Flatten out fruit as much as possible using back of spoon.
Scatter crumble on top. Sprinkle over demarara sugar (and flaked almonds if using).
Bake until golden brown. 40 minutes for large container or 25-30 minutes for ramekins.
Allow to cool at least 10 minutes before serving.
Serve with double cream, ice cream or custard, if desired. 

*Or use mix of rolled oats and quick cooking oats**Or use brown sugar if demerara sugar not available 

Custard

(serves 8) 

4 egg yolks
1 T cornflour
1/4 c sugar
600 ml low-fat milk
1 t vanilla extract 

Pour milk into a saucepan and bring to boil
Meanwhile, combine egg yolks, cornflour and sugar in a heatproof bowl and whisk until smooth.
Remove hot milk from the heat and slowly pour milk onto the egg yolk mixture in a steady stream whisking constantly.
Return the mixture to the pan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until thickened.  (If you are able to draw a well-defined line through the custard on the back of the spoon using your finger, then the custard is ready.)
Custard can be refrigerated up to three days.

Lest We Forget

We celebrate ANZAC Day today in Australia.   

Traditionally, sprigs of rosemary are worn on ANZAC Day.  The smell of rosemary is thought to improve the memory and today is a day of remembrance.  Rosemary grows wild on the Gallipoli peninsula where Australia and New Zealand Army Corps landed this day in 1915. 

For a more accurate account of history, this is what the Australian War Memorial Site has on The Anzac Day Tradition:

When war broke out in 1914 Australia had been a federated nation for only 13 years, and its government was eager to establish a reputation among the nations of the world. When Britain declared war in August 1914 Australia was automatically placed on the side of the Commonwealth. In 1915 Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of the expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli peninsula in order to open the Dardanelles to the allied navies. The ultimate objective was to capture Constantinople (now Istanbul), the capital of the Ottoman Empire, an ally of Germany.

The Australian and New Zealand forces landed on Gallipoli on 25 April, meeting fierce resistance from the Ottoman Turkish defenders. What had been planned as a bold stroke to knock Turkey out of the war quickly became a stalemate, and the campaign dragged on for eight months. At the end of 1915 the allied forces were evacuated from the peninsula, with both sides having suffered heavy casualties and endured great hardships. More than 8,000 Australian soldiers had died in the campaign. Gallipoli had a profound impact on Australians at home, and 25 April soon became the day on which Australians remembered the sacrifice of those who died in the war.

Another symbol of remembrance is the poppy.  For Australians, the poppy is traditionally worn on 11 November, Remembrance Day.  In 2018, 11 November will ward the 100th anniversary of the Armistice which ended the First World War (1914-1918). On the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month, a minute of silence is observed and dedicated to the soldiers who died fighting to protect the nation.

During the First World War, red poppies were among the first flowers that grew in the battlefields of northern France and Belgium. Canadian doctor Lt. Col. John McCrae wrote a poem in the spring of 1915 entitled "In Flanders Fields" shortly after losing his young friend and former student Lt. Alexis Helmer of Ottawa (killed on 2 May).  Since then, the poppy has been adopted as a symbol of remembrance

London Eye brought me to the Victoria & Albert Museum last 2 April.  As we were running out of time, she asked me if there was any particular display I had wanted to see before we left.  I asked her to show me the poppies.  During the weekend, as she was showing me around, she had mentioned what had been done in front of the Tower of London in 2014.  The moat was filled with ceramic poppies to represent the number of lives that were lost during the war.  She said that the V&A Museum had purchased 16 poppies to commemorate the 16 V&A staff that had died during WWI. 

Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red

July to November 2014 

Sixteen Ceramic Poppies from

Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red

(Paul Cummins; Designed 2012; made 2013-2013)

These poppies formed part of a temporary installation at the Tower of London in 2014, marking 100 years since Britain entered the First World War.  Each of the 888,246 flowers comprising the commemoration represented a British or Commonwealth military life lost.  The ceramic artist Paul Cummins drew inspiration for the installation's title and concept from a poem that he discovered by an unknown soldier killed in Flanders.

The poppies were hand-made in Derby, Stoke-on-Trent and Warwickshire under Cummins' direction.  Thousands of volunteers 'planted' them progressively in the Tower's dry moat, in a scheme devised by the stage designer Tom Piper MBE.  Over five million people visited the installation, drawn by the dramatic sea of red, to reflect on the scale of lives lost.  Afterwards, all the poppies were sold and proceeds from their sale were given to Service charities.

Of the vast number who died in the War, 16 were V&A staff.  Their names are recorded in the Cromwell Road entrance on a memorial tablet by sculptor Eric Gill.  The Museum bought 16 poppies, every one subtly different, to honour the sacrifice of each individual.

It Was Wicked!

Wicked was awesome!

No photos allowed during the show.

But we approached the stage after the show.

I took these two photos of the orchestra pit.

I think I see their Oscar awards.

 I got London Eye to take a picture of me against the Oz map backdrop as we were leaving.

Wicked selfie!

(You can tell we enjoyed the show.)

Hamilton was playing around the corner.

But according to London Eye, the tickets to Hamilton were like gold dust.

We were happy with Wicked.  It was the first time for both of us.

Love with Owl your Heart

I found this in my drafts folder from 2016.

(I didn’t buy any of these items but the linen was tempting.)

Owl of a sudden, 

I noticed owls everywhere.

 Here are a couple of owls I found when I was out in the mall.

Owl Take These Two

It is not a secret that I have this thing for owls. I wouldn’t call it Love because I don’t like all of the owl stuff I see.  There have been many times that I have just taken pictures of the cute owl things I’ve seen on the store shelves.  

However when I saw these two babies marked down at 50% off, I couldn’t resist.

I picked them up and when I got to the counter I said, “Owl take these two, please.”  

(I’m kidding, of course,)

Twinning

Call me crazy but I really find it so cute when the kids are wearing similar shirts.

When they were younger, I could get away with dressing them up so they would match.  As they grew older, each of them had their personal preferences.  Plus I promised I would not make them wear matching shirts once they were taller than me. (And they really didn't have to wait too long for that to happen.)  So I was thrilled to find these old photos.

I had green shirts that matched the ones the kids are wearing in the last two photos but the question is whether I've got pictures to prove it.  These days, the only chance for matching shirts would be if we all happen to be wearing black, white or grey.

Just Do It ...Correctly!

I got some t-shirts for the boys when I was in Manila a couple of years ago. They've been in storage since then because the boys considered them too sportsy.

When RD and I started our morning runs, I brought out one of the shirts for him. After he wore the shirt several times, I said I thought the bigger one would fit him better.  True enough, it did.  So I ended up with the smaller shirt.

I knew RD was wearing his shirt today so I put mine on and took a selfie with him while he was at his PC.

I looked at the picture and complained, "It's not right!"

"What are you trying to do anyway, Mom?" he asked. 

"I wanted to take a picture of us with matching shirts," I explained, showing him the shirt I was wearing.

"MOM, if you want to show the shirt, you have to stand up.  Here, I'll show you," he said as he positioned us by the stairs and took the shot.

He took a second picture with him leaning over so we could get the shirt logos in the shot.