Trader Joe’s and Roasted Seaweed



While in California a few weeks ago I went to Trader Joe’s  for the first time (and naturally forgot my camera).  It’s always interesting to walk into a place you’ve heard about but never visited and see how it lines up with what you imagined.

I loved their cut flower section.  The selection in Newport Beach was gorgeous.  I wandered around and picked up a few things here and there for us to try.

When I was down in Escondido, this is what I went back for:


When I was a missionary years ago I lived and worked with many Korean people and grew to love them very much.  For lunch we would often eat seaweed and rice.  The seaweed was paper thin, small enough to eat a sheet in one big bite, and we would wrap it around a bit of rice with our toothpicks.  Call me crazy, but I remember it as one of the best meals I’ve ever enjoyed.  Simple but delicious.  I’ve never been able to find seaweed since that is as thin and tastes the same as what I remember eating.  Until now.


I’m excited to have found one of my favorite snacks again.  At 99 cents per package, I brought 20 of them home with me to savor over the coming year.  My two oldest boys also love the taste of it and beg for it daily but the rest of the family grimaces when we get it out.  Even my husband, who loves sushi, wants nothing to do with it.


That’s fine with me.  It merely means I get more!

Have you ever been to Trader Joe’s?  If you have, what’s your favorite thing to buy there?

Hopeful Homemaker

Cherry Harvest



We collected all the cherries off our trees recently and harvested… half a cup.  Two years ago we were harvesting dozens of gallon sized buckets but weather for the last two years has prevented good pollination.


Still, there’s nothing like fresh cherries straight from the tree in your backyard and we’re grateful at least to have a taste.


It’s a half empty/half full question.


We settled on half full.  There were enough for each of us to enjoy ice cream with a home grown cherry on top.

Life is good.

Jennifer

A Year of Habits, no. 28



It’s mid-July.  The sky has been a clear blue for several days as the temperatures have, at last, reached high enough that it’s definitely summer.  What is it about perfect summer days that almost make you think it will last forever?

It’s been a productive week at the Harrison house.  It was probably our least scheduled week of the year and we took advantage of it.  We moved half of our children to different bedrooms, going through all clothing and personal items in the process.  Our toy room is now a bedroom, a bedroom has become a toy room, and another bedroom turned upside down as well.  It’s been a lot of work but I’m happy that we’ve gone through all the toys, all the stuff, and pared things down to what I sincerely hope will be  a manageable amount.

I want to live more simply.  In a ruthless frame of mind I cleaned out the linen and game closets, took loads of things to the thrift store, set aside other things for a yard sale.  My goal is to go through everything in our house in the next two weeks; last week was a good start.

We had some fun as well:  trips to the pool, playing in the yard, quiet afternoons reading good books, smores with friends, movie nights, time tickling the little ones, talks with friends, staying up late to watch the full moon.

The lavender is harvested and hanging to dry.  I did a lot of weeding.  We’re eating produce from our gardens.  I made 20 pints of strawberry jam.  I’m still eating well.  I look back at the week and marvel at all we accomplished.  Then comes the thought,  “so this is life outside the car!”

Yesterday I celebrated my birthday.  My husband worked himself weary and made it a wonderful day and a couple of friends made it special with a surprise trip for dessert.  The house is cleaner than it’s been in a long time and I even spent a few minutes at the sewing machine.  We went swimming as a family and my husband and I enjoyed our favorite take out while we watched a movie together.  This wonderful group I call my family is awfully fun to be around.  My three year old melted my heart at bedtime when she sweetly said, “Goodnight.  I love you so much, birthday girl!”

Another week peeks at me from around the bend.  There is much to do but I’m optimistic it will all turn out well.

Life is good.

Jennifer

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