Sunday, February 13, 2011

a LOVEly month


It is February, a month of love.

I have been wanting to meet all my neighbors (and there are 11 doors in our unit) but kept delaying it. For Christmas, I was going to make cookies to pass around. Never did it. So now I have a second chance- homemade biscotti for Valentine's Day.   I really just want to let them know Jesus loves them more than anyone else ever could and what's a better month than February to do that!

My little girl helped with the process. We had a blast spilling flour and watching eggs drip off the counter! She called butter "cheese" and ate flour, saying "YUCK!" She's not yet two so everything is new in her world! But in the end, They came out fabulous! I forget how easy biscotti is to make and should do it more often.  There are countless recipes online and I encourage you to hit the search engine and find a recipe that best suits you!  Mine called for anise extract but I had done that once and no too many people liked that flavor. This time we used vanilla extract. Not a bad substitute.



We actually leave for a visit back to Taiwan on the 14th, so we passed them out on Sunday afternoon. I had so much fun knocking on doors and surprising them with a colorful bag of biscotti. People were so quick to share about their lives and so grateful for the treat.

An hour later, we got a knock on our door and the neighbor handed us a card, saying that was so nice of us. After he left, we opened the card. It was a thank you card from Hallmark and had a very thoughtful note inside how much it meant to him and a gift card to Applebee's was tucked in! I am overwhelmed with that and can't wait for the next opportunity to spend time with our neighbors.

As far as recipes go, there are a million out there but one I'd check out is here on Lindsay's blog.She uses vanilla paste, Amaretto, and vanilla creamer!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Thursday, February 3, 2011

新年快樂- Happy New Year



Today is the official start of the Chinese New Year this year. It’s based on the lunar calendar so it falls on a different date every year, anywhere from late January until mid-February.  We were privileged to be a part of six celebrations in Taiwan. We saw incredible festivals decorated with a different animal every year which repeats itself every twelve years.

In Taipei(), the capital city of Taiwan, a city with a population over 2,000,000, people gather at the Chiang Kai-shek memorial during the holiday for fireworks, food and to check out the animal-shaped lantern displays. It is simply breath-taking!  I remember being PACKED in the sea of people and I had to push and squeeze through the sea of people just to move a few feet! Then is started raining with nowhere to run!  It is always a memorable experience.
In Taiwan, everyone would asked what year you were born so they can figure out what your zodiac sign is. They all have different characteristics. Which year were you born?
  

1924
1936
1948
1960
1972
1984
1996

1925
1937
1949
1961
1973
1985
1997

1926
1938
1950
1962
1974
1986
1998

1927
1939
1951
1963
1975
1987
1999

1928
1940
1952
1964
1976
1988
2000

1929
1941
1953
1965
1977
1989
2001

1930
1942
1954
1966
1978
1990
2002

1931
1943
1955
1967
1979
1991
2003

1932
1944
1956
1968
1980
1992
2004

1933
1945
1957
1969
1981
1993
2005

1934
1946
1958
1970
1982
1994
2006

1935
1947
1959
1971
1983
1995
2007

Check out this website for a detailed account on each animal’s characteristics. It’s fascinating!


 Something still so enchanting to me is the tradition of placing red papers with written blessings on the top and sides of the front door.  They do this to protect themselves from the “dragon” that comes during midnight of New Year’s Eve.  Doesn’t that sound familiar to the story of the death angel in Egypt long, long ago?
God instructed the people of Israel to place the blood of a spotless lamb and smear it on the sides and top of the door frames of the houses”   and  the blood on your doorposts will serve as a sign, marking the houses where you are staying. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. This plague of death will not touch you when I strike the land of Egypt.” You can read about it in Exodus 11-12. 



We love the people of Taiwan and are so thrilled to be able to go back for a visit this month for a few weeks!