Today is my 8 year blogiversary!  My life is very different now than 8 years ago but I am happy and have a good life. I maintain this blog because it enriches my life. I love the way that it motivates me to do things that I love–cooking for loved ones and making food cute and attractive.

I will share my 8 most memorable posts.

8. Sado Island Travel and Bento Lunch: This meal is memorable because my Dad ate the radishes I bought especially to make this meal.

7. Snoopy Mashed Potatoes: At the time, I did not share what was most memorable about this meal. My husband had dinner with my nephews and myself. I guess that I made individual meals for each of us. We ate this meal on our large wrap around porch. My nephew had this one and commented that it was too cute to eat. My husband then mashed it with a fork and said that the nephew could then eat it.

6. May Day Basket for Neighbor: I made this basket for my neighbors on May Day many years ago. I fondly remember those neighbors and this bread basket I made to show my appreciation for their being wonderful neighbors.

5. Horse Themed Lunch: I made this for my supervisor at the time. She requested a horse themed lunch but there was a mishap and the horses shifted so they looked like they were having “fun”. We had a lot of laughs over this lunch!

4. 3rd Flower Show Entry: When I see this post, I am reminded that I am resilient and/or that I need to create art in times of stress to soothe myself. I made this for a craft entry at a flower show and won a blue ribbon for all artistic crafts. The amazing thing was I did this weeks before my life drastically changed. I was preparing to move out of a house that I loved and was in the middle of a divorce. Yet I took the time to create a little edible bird seed angel tree topper with a hazelnut head and corn silk hair.

3. Vegetarian Easter Dinner: My friend Mayumi’s 7 year old daughter Anna made this meal memorable. She loved helping me cook and serve and she was more skilled with making the Bunny bread than I am. It was a joy to spend time cooking with Anna.

2. Girls Day Hinamatsuri Dinner: The memory of this meal is bittersweet since I enjoyed it with my 20 year old niece shortly before she moved back home. She now does not live as close to me. These were a more successful rendition of a meal that we created and shared years ago.

1. My Grandmothers Funeral: This is my favorite blog post of all time. I am happy with my effort with the meals and eulogy at a difficult time. I am glad that I shared it here. Sometimes I look at the post and read the eulogy.