and now, something new

 I had dumplings tonight

    I know,  many of you have had dumplings.  But these were special.

    Julia's friend Yin made them from scratch, with help from Nam, another friend.

    We visited Yin and husband  Antoine and two delightful children Zoe and Adam and had a bunch of dumplings.

    These were pork dumplings.  She made the dough, mixed the meat with a variety of spices, and Yin and Nam rolled them, stuffed them and then they were boiled.  They actually get boiled twice....after the water boils the first time, more water is added and the dumplings are ready when the water boils again.

    It was delicious.

    Of course, we had wine also.   And dessert.  And I semi successfully used chopsticks.

    This was on top of afternoon tea with Elizabeth, so I am pretty stuffed, much like the dumplings.

    In the past week I have dined with people from Sweden, Germany, England, Iran, Turkey, Australia,  Spain, and France,  It is like a little United Nations, except we all get along.

    So much for today, which was dreary and a coolish mid 50s temperature wise.  No rain, but it was cloudy most of the day,

    Road trip tomorrow, so it better be nice.

Peace and Love

Stuffing the dumpling

Rolling the dough

early is right

 I am getting an early start tonight

    It's taco night at Julia's an d some friends are coming over to enjoy food, fellowship, and wine.

    So I figured I better do my blog early.

    Today was a perfect day, weatherize, yesterday.

    Let me explain.

    The forecast was for 60s, lots of sunshine, a beautiful day.

    My plan was to hit the market in Vevey, rent a bike and ride up to Castle Chillon, stop at Starbucks on the way back for a coffee and enjoy the sunshine.

    No sun.  It was cloudy and looked like rain.  Damp, cold, you can't see the mountains across the lake.

    So I just went to the market.  That was a mistake.

    I bought some raspberries because they looked delicious.  And some deer sausage.  And a cream sugar pie.  Jackie used to make one like this and I have to admit Jackie's was better.  I also bought a cucumber for 2 Franc.  Yes,....2!  A Franc is about $1.  It's a small cucumber!

    I had to buy some Mexican rice at the grocery  for the taco dinner, so after that I went to Starbucks.  In my best French I ordered a venti  vanilla latte.  I ordered the same drink the same way four days ago.  It was delicious.

    Well..,....sometime you lose a little in the translation and the masks.  Telll me what you think of my drink when. you see the picture.

    We spent the afternoon getting ready for tonight.  It should be a lot of fun.  Everyone  has had the shots, so we feel pretty safe.

Peace and Love

There are four lanes like this, filled with all sorts of items

These could fit in your hand....about the size of a softball.

Ring a ding ding!

School down the street from Julia

Don't let this scare you...it is made out of sticks, seeds, and other natural materials

Evidently I ordered a venti green tea latte........I bet that was a first for them!  It was not as bad as it looks.

This was a project in downtown Vevey.  As I understand it, they asked people to come and pose.  Pictures were taken and then displayed.  It was actually very neat to look at.

Jackie's pie is better.

whew!!!!

 This was a long day today

    Julia cleaned out a cabinet or two while I took care of the yard stuff.

    I took down birdhouses, feeders, lights, stars, and a strange collection of yard decorations that are coming back to he US.

    To be certain there were no issues with them, I washed each item in warm sudsy water, then I placed them on a table to dry.  It took almost 3 hours to do all of them.

    Ever wash out a planter?  Kind of messy.

    Then we made a trip to take in recyclables.  Here is is strange part.  One place you can recycle only plastic bottles,  At another place you can recycle plastic  items that are not plastic bottles.  I don't get why all the plastic can't be recycled in one place

    We also took a couple of bags of paper, which seems to pile up.

    Really, we did a lot of work today.

    This afternoon we went to Epesses, a small village west of Corseaux.

    The funny thing about it is it is a village built alongside a lone lane road.  Traffic lights control who is going, but for sure it is only one lane.

    They have lots of vintners there and it is harvest season.  So among the cars were several tractors hauling grapes.  It was quite a neat little village.

    We sat and had a glass of wine.  Actually, I had two.  It was very good wine.  I b ought two bottles to bring home.  When I went fr a second glass, the young man behind the counter would not accept my money.  He said it was a gift from him to me.

    I don't know if it is because I tried to speak French or because I bought two bottles.  Either way, it was very nice.

     We met Stuart for supper and I had perch.  I love the perch!  During a discussion b between the owner, Stuart, and Julia, it was determined I maybe cooking my perch too long, which is why they are tough and chewy.  At the restaurant they use  butter and salt, that is it.  The perch are flaky and delicate and delicious.  The owner added if I wanted the recipe he would be glad to give it to me.....for a price.

    Lesson learned.  I will try his way when I get home.  Without a recipe

    And now, some photos from the day.

Peace and Love

View from the park

Cat lover in the house

Even the window grates were cats!

Each window had a different arrangement on this house

Thursday's sunset

view from the park

Yummy!!!!!

the little tramp

 We went to a museum today

    Charlie Chaplin lived in the area from 1952 until he died in 1977.  His home is now a museum, and I have wanted to go ever since it opened a few years ago.

    Chaplin had made some enemies in the United States.  Politicians accused him of being a Communist and the FBI had him under surveillance because of his political beliefs.  As he was preparing to return to the US in 1952, he was told he would not be granted entry into the country.  So he moved to Switzerland, settling in a little village area above Vevey.

    Almost every display has a video of one of his works playing.  Watching them now, I realize how great he was.  He did falls, leaps, jumps, and all kinds of physical comedy with the. greatest of ease.

    Some pictures from the day.....and an apple surprise!

    By the way....had Chinese for lunch and it was very good......chicken in curry sauce with fried rice and chicken soup.  We joined two of Julia's friends for lunch, and it was a good time.

John....they are even promoting Frankenstein here!!

We met this fellow visitor, he looked familiar but I could not place him.

Good way to keep track of ideas

This guy was vandalizing a restroom wall...but I stopped him.  Told I'm he wasn't being very smart.

Charlie showing the proper way to enter a tub

Charlie and fourth wife Oona watching movies

Charlie loved a good circus act

Laurel and Hardy were here too

We looked inside a model of his studio

Charlie hiding under a table

Another studio view....Paulette Goddard is on the right.  I believe she was wife #3.

In the video, Charlie is hooked up to a machine that spins an ear of corn around, allowing him to eat the corn quickly.....but the machine goes berserk.  The woman on the phone is really a dummy.  Seriously.  She is not real.

When is an apple not an apple?

When it's orange.  Really....labled as an orange apple.  It was amazing!