So Tom and I went to Chen Yang Li in Bow for dinner. We usually go there at least twice a month — they have the best Beijing duck, a great sushi bar and very friendly staff who always make us feel like we’re their most important customers.

Between sushi and dessert, the waitress stopped to chat and asked us if we were dating. When we told her we’d been married for twelve years, she asked us what we did to keep our marriage so fresh.

We’ve always known that our relationship isn’t quite normal… when we celebrated our anniversary a few weeks ago, we talked about how easy those twelve years have been… how unusual it is for two people to spend that much time living under the same roof without ever having had a fight.

Tonight, our waitress went on and on about how we’re always talking… and smiling… and how she hoped that when she’d been married for twelve years, she and her husband would be as happy.

What a thrill it was to learn that other people see what we feel.

About Bubble Gum Day

About Groundhog Day

Punxsutawney Phil has been at it for 122 years and says that winter will official end on March 16.

Count ’em… Tom and I have been married for 12 years. Do you have any idea how many times two people can laugh in 4,383 days? Some people complain about marriage giving them gray hair… or high blood pressure. My marriage has given me smile lines — lots of them — and I cherish each and every one of them.

I went Googling a few months ago looking for hot sauce recipes and kept coming across comments from people who were raving about Inner Beauty Hot Sauce. You’ll find numerous recipes on the web, some claiming to be the original, with all of them getting a broad range of reviews as to whether they’re authentic.

If you’re into making your own hot sauce, I’m not sure it matters which one you try… but the only thing that turned me off was that it calls for mangos. Number one, I’ve never been all that fond of mangos. Number two, I live in a small town and mangos just aren’t something we can buy at the local grocery store — not to mention the fact that for a few months of the year, we have access to wonderful local produce… like the apple orchard down the road that has a few peach trees.

So I decided to swap out the mangos for peaches. It’s absolutely awesome. If you like mustard-based hot sauces, it’s definitely worth trying a few recipes and experimenting. You might want to be a little cautious, though… the recipe I used called for ten habaneros — I learned that six is plenty.

Almost forgot… The Swede posted a wonderful photo of himself on our other blog. He’s the father of our Leonberger puppy, Dakota. What a magnificent animal!

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And days o’ lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my jo,
For auld lang syne,
We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

And surely ye’ll be your pint-stowp!
And surely I’ll be mine!
And we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

For auld lang syne, my jo,
For auld lang syne,
We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

We twa hae run about the braes,
And pu’d the gowans fine;
But we’ve wander’d mony a weary foot,
Sin auld lang syne.

For auld lang syne, my jo,
For auld lang syne,
We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

We twa hae paidl’d i’ the burn,
Frae morning sun till dine;
But seas between us braid hae roar’d
Sin auld lang syne.

For auld lang syne, my jo,
For auld lang syne,
We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere!
And gie’s a hand o’ thine!
And we’ll tak a right gude-willy waught,
For auld lang syne.

For auld lang syne, my jo,
For auld lang syne,
We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

References:
Auld Lang Syne

Another great Christmas day is almost done. Ma Bell’s flight arrived 30 minutes early. We had a wonderful dinner of grilled shrimp and prime rib. We enjoyed a night of playing Euchre (Tom and I lost). We have three very tired but happy dogs.

Life is good!

I got home from Edmonton, Alberta around 3:00AM this morning, new Leonberger puppy in tow. He was absolutely amazing on both flights, capturing the hearts of everyone who saw him and bringing smiles to the faces of weary travelers whose flights had been delayed.

His first encounter with Kisa and Larkin was cautious, but encouraging. By the end of the day, he was going out of his way trying to get them to play with him. Kisa’s not quite convinced yet, but Larkin managed to get up enough energy to spar for a minute or two.

His unofficial name is Dakota. No pictures of our own yet, but our breeder sent me a lovely shot taken on his last day in Canada.