Chilly mornings, busy kitchen and a strawberry patch

I think it's finally spring where we are. Afternoons and evenings are warm with a nice breeze and I find myself spending a lot of time in the backyard with the dogs. They sunbathe or wait until I throw a ball and I get an itch to grab a book, throw down a blanket and get lost in an imaginative story for a couple of hours.

Mornings though have been chilly. In fact, I am in sweats right now and almost want to turn on the space heater I have next to my computer desk. Even though the weather certainly doesn't call for space heaters, Yangkyu and I are seekers of warmth. We turn down the A/C when staying at hotels (they feel like arctic zones!) and always make sure to pack a hoodie even during the summer.

Birds chirp loudly. I haven't noticed them until I was talking with a friend who commented how loud and close they sounded. Ever since then, I feel like the singing of the birds is the only thing I hear.

Our kitchen has been busy, testing out new recipes. We recently had cauliflower tacos and also fudgy vegan brownie cookies. The cauliflower tacos were... well perhaps they could have tasted better if I used regular mushrooms instead of shiitake but I wasn't too crazy about the texture. I specifically don't like beans because of that mushy yet grainy (having a difficult time trying to describe but failing miserably here) feel in my mouth. The brownie cookies were better and the only thing I regret is not having chopped up the dates better and having used cacao instead of cocoa powder (I didn't have cocoa on hand).

The clean up is always a hassle but the more I find myself doing it, the less annoying it becomes. Perhaps it's a matter of conditioning your body and making things a routine to overcome the laziness.

Yangkyu and I have wonderful dreams to travel. I said, "Let's travel to one destination, every year, from next year until we're at least 60. That means 20 new places." He thought it was a great and promising idea. 

We hope to start with Japan. We want to see the cities and the islands. We recently heard of Ishigaki, a smaller island off of Okinawa and would love to see it in person. During free times, which aren't often as Yangkyu is preparing for his finals, I see him studying basic travel phrases in Japanese. He's quite terrible at it but tries, which counts as pretty awesome in my books.

We started our spring garden. I see some of the seedlings have popped up but most are still dormant, which makes me a little nervous. 

Our strawberry patch is thriving though and I am so very glad. We are naming the strawberry patch after Bartles.

This time last year, he was battling a very stubborn UTI. In just two months we would say good bye to him. Thinking back to what happened a year ago feels like watching my own story on TV. I know what's going to happen though and it's gut wrenching at times. 

I think there might be some rain and thunder in the forecast today. The pups are soundly asleep and my stomach is quietly letting me know that it's hungry.

And so here goes another Thursday at Winding Ridge Lane.