We experienced some unseasonal rain this weekend, and the chilly breeze was a reminder of Autumn’s arrival. By the way, do you know what the difference is between Fall and Autumn? I had to Wiki it to be sure, and according to Wiki, there is no difference, just like there is no difference between “noon” and 12pm. I like the word ‘Autumn’ so much more though, as its connotation feels more appropriately in sync with what this season is about….aubergines, cinnamon, fallen leaves, caramel apples, pumpkins, spices, and the list goes on…
Summer for us is all about the great outdoors, but we are ready to bid farewell to the heat and sunshine as Autumn prepares to settle in. Summer dresses are replaced by knits and leggings. Strawberries and peaches are fading out as grapes and pears make their way onto the market stands. Comfort food and apple cider becomes more appealing than salads and juices. Our pace is slowing down, intentionally, and we’re really liking it! Being Chinese, however, there’s no better indication of Autumn than to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival.
This past weekend, we enjoyed a whole lot of doing nothing. As Alan remarked, it’s been a really long time since we had a weekend free of planned activities. In fact, he thought I was pulling his leg when he asked what our plans were for the weekend, and my response was a simple “nothing”. In the end, we enjoyed a real unstructured weekend with our families, visiting our nephew Ivan, attending the Mid-Autumn Festival event in Chinatown with my dad, and spoiling ourselves with a scrumptious brunch at Town in San Carlos.
We discovered a children’s bookstore name The Reading Bug in downtown San Carlos, and immediately fell in love with its forest-themed interior, filled with all kinds of wonderful children books. We must have spent 2 hours in there, just reading, browsing, and indulging! I grew up spending a LOT of time in libraries and bookstores, so it makes me really happy to see how much my daughter enjoys books as well!
There are a few summer rituals that Bridgette does not want to bid farewell to just yet, like frozen yogurt and ice cream…
Tonight, a few of my cousins asked us to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival together with dinner at Cooking Papa Foster City. Since it also happened to be my dad’s “western” birthdate, we had two occasions to celebrate! I picked Bridgette up from school early and gave her full autonomy in picking a birthday card and cake for her grandpa. After walking up and down the card aisle at Target, she felt absolutely sure that her “Gung Gung” would adore this card:
Particularly after she enhanced it with some of her favorite stickers…
As for the cake, she explained that Gung Gung probably likes a lot of different colors, so she picked a “Black Forest” cake decked out with rainbow sprinkles and cherries.
Gung Gung was, in fact, delightfully happy with Bridgette’s choices. Despite the fact that pink wasn’t quite his favorite color, nor does he eat any cake with fillings inside, he was overjoyed that Bridgette handpicked everything for him with a whole lot of TLC!
Guess who got to blow out the candles?
We came home tonight to introduce Bridgette to the tradition of eating moon cakes and playing with lanterns for Mid-Autumn Festival. When we were in Chinatown over the weekend, Bridgette got to pick out her own lantern, and she chose this pink koi fish whom she named “Grisella, my chinese fish.”
Happy Autumn, Happy Fall!
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