Just finished eating left over beanie weanie … the ultimate comfort food.   
I made it for dinner the other night.  You know, the one with
refrigerator biscuits and cheese on top.  My boyfriend (who grew
up in Japan) says it is one of his favorite dishes now; yes, he is
easily impressed. 

After
taking his first bite, he turned to me asked me what country beanie
weanie comes from … like it was haute cuisine.   
Of course, there are sacrifices involved in a beanie weanie dinner …
I have to trade the comfort of reliving a childhood favorite for the
aftereffect the beans have on my boyfriend, but I guess it’s worth it.

We
had a busy week.  Toshi’s family came to visit from Japan. 
He hadn’t seen them for ten years.  For the first four days they
were in San Diego at a conference for his brother-in-law, but then they
came to LA for the last two days.  His parents stayed at our
house, so of course, that called for the white tornado.  I cleaned
the entire time Toshi was with them in San Diego.  I don’t speak
Japanese so I had to think of nonverbal ways to communicate my pleasure
in meeting them.  I put fresh flowers in the bedroom and bathroom,
bought new pillows and linens, loaded up on what would hopefully be
somewhat familiar foods from the Chinese supermarket, and put Japanese
candies by the bed.  Then,
once they arrived, I pulled out the huge fruit tray and green tea,
bowed continuously, and smiled pretty.

It worked.  I think
they were relieved to see that I wasn’t an obnoxious, uncouth
stereotypical American.  His mom even cried and hugged me when she
left.  And, she wrote me a letter.  I worried over this visit
for months, so I am extremely happy that it went so well and that Toshi
was able to reconnect with his family.  A lot of healing took place … but that’s a story for another day.

Sayonara for now!