!!last!!

last day of november! it's also the your last care meeting of the year. you went despite you're tired from the trip... you drove to another sister who lives nearby and then together you embarked on the south bound journey, at least it spares you from driving.

 in helmond, the sister serves up a variety array of indonesian snacks despite of her immobility and recent recovery from a knee surgery, bless her!

just a few of you but you had a great time, it's great doing life with one another this way, worshiping, sharing, caring and of course the the table overflow with food...

christmas.window.shopping

last year you stood outside the window display of harrods and admired the christmas window display in london.

 while london has harrods and a few other major department stores, this year you stand in front of stockmann, the helsinki counterpart for harrods and admiring the christmas window display...

 while the merchandised items on display may be different but it's the same commercial tactic

 to encourage consumers to buy during the festive season

though you disagree with the commercial atmosphere on the birthday of Jesus, you do find the lego construction quite attractive... that said, it's pure window shopping ^^...

p/s: scheduled post, when this got posted you're already back to lowland and probably too tired of this week travel.

hakaniemi.market

you finished your workshop around 2pm by the time you left the client's office and return to your hotel the sky is getting dark.

 you reached hakaniemi market square a little over 3.30pm but the sky is dark. that's winter time for scandinavian countries....

 the market has two floors, with the upper floor selling crafts, souvenir and books, you walk up the escalator and found yourself welcomed by marimekko christmas tree and it has a small stall but with a lot of dining ware selection and clothing too.

 the colorful fabric or textile that thrills you everytime you see them...

 a stall that selling scent chips, this is a new way to fragrance your home without the oil and water...

 a lovely yarn shops with a lot of yarns of different quality but they are not cheap...

 an interesting old book stall which you can only appreciate the rustic look but  not able to read any of the books

when you are done with the upper floor, you came down to the ground floor where there's a floral shop with some vibrant color to bring up your day and many butchers, fish mongers and cheese stalls all about to close...

you when to a bakery, got yourself a blueberry pastry and the girl at the bakery gave you a piece of gingerbread cookie, it's delicious and it snaps big time and crunchy too.  just in time to fuel you as you walk out to the cold again.

kamppi.chapel

a small little woody chapel in the city center....

you walked passed yesterday and didn't even notice its existence

and you went out to look for it today

and inside is a small little chapel where people can sit and enjoy the moment of silence

you starting to notice that the finns and the japanese are quite similar as you look at the cushion stones at the corner

and a bible with a cross, at least this place feels like a worship sanctuary that you're familiar with

whilst outside, the chapel is situation next to the entrance of the underground parking, just along side a big shopping mall and a busy square. yet it's amazing to find a little oasis in the midst of all these.
salute to the architects who design this architecture where it showcases the admiralty to nature, exists and yet exclude from the bustling busy world.
this is also an award wining architecture.

destination::helsinki

you're jet-setting again! a place that you should come in september but postponed until this week.  a kingdom of daylight in the summer to a land of grey and darkness in the winter, still it doesn't bother you and you have been enjoying your first day of stay.

 a quite and light lunch with your colleague in the city center and after that while he returned to hotel for work, you stay on and explore the city center....

 you remember stockmann from about 20 years ago when you finished your study in united kingdom and on your way home, you stopover helsinki for a few days....
the Christmas lights are now on and the city looks festive despite the sky get dark at 3pm....

 you chanced to the edge of helsinki design district, the shops offer a lot of original design but not at a tourist friendly price

 and needless to say this signature poppy flower print that speaks for marimekko.  there are a number of outlets just within the city center

you walk further along aleksanterinkatu and you're at the senate square once again. you remember the last time you stood here was august 1995, it's great to revisit this place again after almost two decades.

::weekend::special::

the most looking forward meal of the week....

 is when you can really take it slowly.... slowly whisk up your breakfast, slowly lay the table and enjoy the meal slowly with one another...

this was your saturday breakfast, with some store bought pancakes and lots of fruits (mango, pear, melon), nuts and honey...

simple and bliss! 

you know it's just monday but you can't help but already looking for the next one to come ^^

unusual.sunday

you baked another slow rise, no knead bread....

 this time you tweak the recipe as your friend suggests and added some canned corn and corn meal

 this result in a rather cakey bread, you like it in a way as you got the best of both world, the crusty outer layer and a soft, cakey and fluffy texture. it goes well with the home made dutch pea soup too! it's the time and season for a more heavier meal to keep yourselves warm in the wintry autumnal days....

this was your lunch and then you went to the sunday service and follow by a memorial service. the father of a dear sister recently return to the Lord, you just want to go for the memorial service even it's two hours drive to give her some moral support and that you came home past midnight.
it has been a very intense weekend, and certainly an unusual sunday, you may be tired physically but you're empowered and strengthen spiritually.

::forgiveness::

while forgiveness is an taboo and the world emphasis on an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, you spent your saturday afternoon in the church attending the workers' meeting and instead of the normal agenda, the afternoon turned out to be a session of asking forgiveness or forgive one another.
not that you have much unforgiveness towards others but you're really touched by the atmosphere and truly amazed how your God works.  how nice if the world is also like this....

when you're done with the meeting, you're greeted by this beautiful early sunset in late november and your heart is filled with joy and peace, truly that's the peace and contentment that the world cannot give.

psalm 32: 1-2 blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit

moskovische.tulband

you baked a tulband or a bundt cake

 you followed a dutch recipe and the cake has no baking powder added and rely on the meringue

it's your first attempt, despite it looks great but the outcome is a little rubbery which you didn't enjoy at all...

la.bao.story

this is your la bao story...
a week ago, you took the trouble to braise char siew and prepare the starter dough for the chinese steam bao three days in advance. every day you provided your tender loving care to ensure the yeast works and the dough rise...

 yet you failed big time on your first attempt. it could be your fault that you added wholemeal flour to the dough on the final day and turn the dough hard like stone. even after much rescue by adding water, as much as you wish you could turn the situation around and continue with the warping and steaming, you ended up with a batch of flat, ugly looking bao.

on a second attempt, you didn't even bother to do the starting dough, not with the failed experience, you just went ahead with a regular recipe, still using wholemeal flour and you got a batch of big and fluffy bao.
two distinctly different methods and you achieved your bao with the simple recipe. you're absolutely happy with your second attempt!!

::market::

tuesday is your regular market day, it's not even a big market, just a small one in your neighborhood. however, you kinda enjoy your weekly routine nowadays. yes, it's less excited and not jet-set, but you've learn not to complain when you can sleep late and wake up later than usual, and go to your zumba fitness four time a week, working from home most days and only need to be at client's site or office once a week.
you like to go to the market on tuesday lunch hour, while you literally just visit one stall but you got all your excitement about the fruits they offer.  needless to say, fruits in the winter months are not as excited as spring and summer but you still feel thankful as there's supply of dragon fruits and many other fruits like persimmon, quince, prickly pear and more at an affordable price.  you could easily source all your fruits and veg for the entire week in one stall.
that said, you've not turn into a housewife, work is winding down but you're starting with another client, so life goes on....

red.knit

finally you finished your knit.

 it's taken much longer than you expected it to be....

but at least it's in time as the wintry weather finally arrives....
and you can't put this to use ^^

vietnamese.food

you drove to rotterdam to join two friends for dinner.

your beef spring roll, quite bland and almost tasteless

his shrimp spring roll, apparently tasteless too

your vietnamese pho, the signature dish for every vietnamese restaurant, yet this is artificial flavoring devour bowl that you didn't enjoyed at all, the beef balls taste so artificial too. food is mediocre in your opinion.

the condiments for the pho, the mint and the coriander leaves are not fresh at all....

honestly speaking the highlight for you is the dessert, vietnamese coffee ice cream. the rest of the dishes, starter or main didn't meet the expectation. perhaps you have tasted the better vietnamese eatery in den haag.

autumn.scene

::crafting::

some lovely creative idea for Christmas crafting maybe?  especially when you're not intending to bake any Christmas cookies, these crafting come really handy.... 

the concept is similar to making cookies, except these are not edible and take a longer time to complete....

that said, the wet dough need to be dried either by low temperature in the oven or just let them dry naturally over the gentle heat from the warming system, either way, they must be dry....

a wilder idea to combine cotton ear buds with the dough, turning it into a lamb or sheep! 

and the finishing product is so much whiter when  it's completely dry...

this is a great idea for advent and possibly good for kids too during the holiday seasons

happy friday!