... and Brodie

On June 25, 2025, Brodie passed away peacefully at home.

He is finally back at home now and that makes me feel a little better.

I don't know what to say ... but I just miss him a lot.

Cheery Cherry Cookies

Date: 13 November 2024
Bakers: Keizo

I liked these cookies a lot! They were quite good (and I have since made them 2 more times). The problem has been that they spread out more than I like. It would be better with a thicker cookie. I also feel like I cut up the cherries too much or there was not enough cherries. The subsequent attempts to bake these ones were worse (they spread out more) .... as a note, they were chilled in the fridge, so I'm thinking that they should be chilled (I will make them again at some point without chilling to see if they work out better).

I did gave some to a neighbour, who throughly enjoyed them.  This was because we have too many cookies in the house, and I had to slow down my baking ...

Verdict:

Will Make Again? Yes!!
Kid Approved? Edible

In the bowl (for future reference)

 

Coolling

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Any Holiday Sprinkle Cookies

Date: 10 October 2024
Bakers: Keizo, Evan

These cookies were decent, but very 'plain'.  They were thin and crunchy.  Creating 'coloured sugar' was the highlight of the cookie. Instead of red and green, there was a request for 'rainbow' which required many containers for mixing of the sugar.

The cookies also are school friendly, so its likely that they would be made again ... kids enjoyed the rainbow sugar ... but I feel like a solid colour would be better.

Verdict:

Will Make Again? Yes, they are school friendly
Kid Approved? So-So

Rainbow Sugar!

Rolled out, but not really round ..

Sugar coated dough

Finished Product

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"No-Peppermint" Peppermint Cream Sandwich Cookies

 

Date: 26 October 2024

Bakers: Keizo, Evan, Avery

As per request from one of the bakers, we omitted the peppermint extract from the cream.  As a result, the cookies tasted very plain. The cream itself just tasted - like nothing.  The texture of the cream was pretty good and I was pretty happy with that.

The cookie itself was softer than I had expected, but still had a bit of a crunch (maybe cook it longer next time). The kids had fun rolling out the dough and cutting out the shapes. Putting the cream on the cookies was also a hit.    

Verdict:

Will Make Again? Probably because need to add the peppermint extract to see how it tastes
Kid Approved? Yes

Evan rolling out the dough

Requested colours for the filling

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Update: Our backyard neighbour blew many of leaves off of our property ... so we gave her a number of these.  They apparently were quite good and very 'Oreo' like which was well received.

Golden M&M's Bars

Date: 25 October 2024

Bakers: Keizo

These 'Golden M&M Bars' were really M&M-y. There was a lot of M&Ms in them, 1.75 cups of M&Ms.  Not just M&Ms but an additional 1 cup of 'white baking chips' (White chocolate chips).  That's a LOT of chocolate. Converting this to grams is ~255 g of M&Ms and ~175 g of white chocolate chips for a whopping total of ~430 g in a 13" x 9" pan ... that is almost HALF A KILO!

I only own a glass baking dish so it didn't seem to bake correctly.  I took it out and waited for it to cool and then cut it. The squares were still pretty raw. So, I put them back into the oven to baked for another 20 minutes (checking every 5 to see if it was less raw) which at that point it was over baked and hard as a rock ... I guess if I ever make this again, I would either get a new pan or bake it 5 - 10? minutes longer in a glass dish.

Verdict:

If you like M&Ms, then you will love this. If you are looking for a cake-y / brownie like bar with some M&Ms and not a mouthful of M&Ms with each bite, stay away. The white chocolate didn't really add anything either.

Will Make Again? No
Kid Approved? Yes (of course, its has so many M&Ms)

That's a lotta M&Ms

Adding even more M&Ms

Yup still raw

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Peppermint Stick Cookies

Date: October 21, 2024
Bakers: Keizo, Evan

First recipe! We have never baked any other type of cookie except for standard chocolate chip cookies and some thumbprint cookies.

The colour didn't really work out like I wanted it to ... but Lauren and Kelly mentioned a 'different food' colouring that is gel based instead of your standard food colouring (Which apparently we had in our cupboard).

Overall this wasn't too bad to make.  The handling and the 'twisting' of the sticks will require more practice.  The cookies were tasty and had a good subtle mint flavour.

Verdict:

Will Make Again? Yes - Must try new food colouring
Kid Approved? No - But they do not like mint

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Tucker ...

Tucker Tobias Marui passed away peacefully November 8, 2024.

His brothers loved him and always tried to make him feel better

He was always the test shots in place of kids that could not sit still

And was always happy to help with the ridiculous Christmas shoots

Tucker was known for his ability to pee in the house (yes it does not help that we just moved into a new house) and playing 'tough guy' in the middle of the night.  He also played hide and seek around the apartment sleeping in the coziest of places.

We will miss you Tucker.  May you rest in peace and able to see the brightest of rainbows and hear the quietest of noises in the middle of night.

2024 Baking Challenge!

On vacation during Birthgivingfest week, I went to Costco with Crystal to do some shopping. And I found this:

I flipped through it and it seems there were some things I would like to try.  Plus, I like to bake.  It helps teach my usual assistant how to read numbers and some basic math concepts (greater than / less than). I like cookies ... a lot.  

So I showed it Crystal - who shook her head and said something along the lines of, "You aren't going to use that ... it'll going to be a waste of money."  Challenge accepted.  So, she is willing to support (enable?) me by picking up whatever is necessary while grocery shopping (I'm assuming lots of flour, eggs, and sugar).

So this happened ....

... Raptors won.  They actually won.  What is even more awesome? My brother Kenji flew down for the game!  Yes, the first overnight guest here since I moved to California!

Even crazier? Coach Nick Nurse threw us his locker room championship t-shirt they give out to all of the players!

Official Welcome Sign

Gave Kenji the 1-cent tour of Apple (Its not very good)

At the Apple Visitor Centre
Since no visitors allowed at Apple Park (the Spaceship)
So this is the no-cent tour

At Oracle Arena

Superfan In Attendance

BARRY BONDS!

Half Time

RAPTORS WON!!

There is the Larry O'Brien Trophy

Post game celebration

Matt & Jack!  (That's Kenji's Hand)

Masai!

Coach Nurse with a couple of t-shirts

And we got one!!!!

2017: The Year of the Surgery

... 2017 was quite the year.  But not in a good way.  2016 was "Championship Year," 2017 will be known is the "Year of Surgery."

Brodie had torn his ACL in his left knee (awhile ago).  And he has been re-tearing it over and over.  We finally decided to speak with a surgeon to get our options.  The first surgery was done in February.  It was an 8-week rehab.  So, to make it more awesome, we moved our mattress from the bedroom into the living and lived it up studio apartment style!  Who needs a 1-bedroom ...

The surgery was a success.  He was toe touching a couple of days after.  And using his leg to hold up himself the day after that. He seemed to be a fast healer.

A couple of days after the surgery

Takin' it easy

One week later

... But, the weekend before his surgery, we went out to play at the park. Well, he torn his other ACL.  We talked to the surgeon and discussed the option of having both legs done at once. The recommendation was not to do it because he is pretty big (45 lbs). So, we scheduled his right knee surgery in early May. So it looks like we were going to live the studio apartment life for another 8-weeks! The rehab for this surgery was far easier then the first one.  Not just toe touching, but using his leg the day after the surgery.  We had a talk with him and told him no more for the rest of the year ...

The other leg!

So, that brings us to probably most stressful days of the year. On July 17th, we believe Brodie 'did something' and hurt his back.  Maybe he jumped off of the bed or went down the stairs. Over the course of the day, he got worse and worse. It appeared he was having issues with his new bionic legs.  In the evening, Crystal and I decided to take him to the emergency vet. (Thanks Matt & Adrianne!!! No Thanks Uber driver jerks). The vet determined he was in pain in his back.  She said, "It may be a slipped disc and we should be able to use conservative management." We got some pills for his back pain.  

Overnight he didn't seem to get very comfortable and he pretty much kept Crystal and myself up all night.  In the morning for his walk, he seemed to degenerate further.  He was having more problems walks (more slowly) and had a lot of problems getting up the stairs. In the afternoon, Crystal called our vet to arrange an appointment for a check-up. The vet suspected it may have been a pinched nerve and asked her to give him his anti-inflammatory. He could no longer get up.  His back legs no longer worked.  I immediately left work and headed home to take Brodie to the emergency room again. (Thanks Chenzhi!)

Since the progression was so sudden, they had assumed it was a burst disc and time was of the essence to save his mobility. So there was a CT scan and emergency surgery. The surgeon discussed what she had seen in the CT scan and said, he needs major back surgery. It was the disc under his L1 vertebrae and it exploded sending material all down his spinal cord.  Luckily the surgeon stayed late to perform the surgery. The outlook for a recovery could not be determined so we had to wait.  The morning after the surgery we did get some positive news where he was moving his legs. However, we are very cautiously optimistic that he will regain functionality of his legs. We got to see him in the afternoon, and he seemed to be in good spirits. He was able to move around on his front legs and you could see a slight wag in his tail.  We picked him up the next day. This was a 12-week recovery. So yes, studio apartment again - we just put the bed back into the bedroom a few days ago! We purchased a play pen for him and he was confined to it 24/7. We put it in front the window so at least he could look outside.  After about 6 weeks, we allowed the playpen to be open if we were home (and awake) so he could walk around.

I want to give a big thanks to Sage Medical Centre in Campbell. If Dr. Vitale and the rest of the staff did not stay late, Brodie probably would not be walking today.

Brodie isn't really sitting right

The day after the surgery

Its was a pretty large incision

Play pen in front of the window

We moved the pen beside the bed once he was able to be let out

Now, not to be left out, we had Tucker's teeth checked in November ... and yes, you guessed it. Dental surgery! He had 35 of 38 of his teeth removed.  His teeth were so bad and apparently he was in such pain.  That would probably explain anger (maybe).

Yup, 3 left!

Check out that one tooth!

So bright and healthy!!

But the end of the year, Brodie was walking and Tucker was eating and using his 'teeth' the best he could. As of right now, both boys are happy, healthy, and both have their personalities back (yes, Tucker seems to be still angry).

Here's to a happy and healthy 2018!  With no surgery for anyone!



*There will be a non-surgery recap in a few weeks (maybe).  But 2017 wasn't all bad news ... there were some good times!