The weather this weekend was surprising okay despite my predicting that it would be gray. No, there was blue skies and sun, which lifted my mood and made me want to venture outside. There was even a light dusting of snow between Friday night and Saturday morning thanks to the lake effect from nearby Great Salt Lake.

It was however, chilly. The temperatures were well below normal – in the teens and 20’s-degree Fahrenheit – and it’s not just here but it looks like this phenomenon is happening across the country.

I had to put on quite a few gears just to go for my normal sunny day 2.5-mile walk. I even joked that I probably need to don on an entire sheep just to survive this cold because to go for my walk, I have to put on my newly-bought woolen hat, which is made of 50% wool and my handmade crochet scowl (100% wool). I wanted to put on my handmade crochet fingerless-gloves, which is made from the same material as the scowl but changed my mind at the last moment. I also have to pocket an electric hand-warmer just in case.

I went for another walk on Sunday following a brunch at my mom’s friends house, which was conveniently located next to the park. We had lots of goodies like lo-mein, Chinese congee (porridge), potstickers, and my favorite garlic bread.

I was pretty much silent throughout the meal as the “adults” talked as loud as they wanted. There were many times when I wanted to offer my opinion but held my tongue because I didn’t want to shout over everybody. It’s rude to shout, you know.

The only time anyone spoke to me was when they needed me to do something like programming their thermostat. I was surprised with two children – one child and one college-age – no one knew how to set up a thermostat. Instead, they did the lazy thing and placed a temporary lock on a temperature. I heard that’s the quickest way to break a thermostat and the heating/cooling system, emphasis on I heard.

After having a delicious pillowy cake for dessert at the brunch, my mom and aunt and I went to Chinatown where they bought some cake flour imported from Taiwan. They wanted to try to recreate that cake.

A few hours later, as I was writing this post, my mom burst in and said my aunt made a Swiss roll using the newly-bought flour and requested I make her one, too. “If you want a Swiss roll, you best tell your sister to make it.”

As much as I want to try to make a Swiss roll, I don’t want to make it to judged like on a food contest. I’m in no mood to be judged. I’m certainly in no mood to be told wrong every step of the way despite having a recipe right before me. My mom likes to do that and that’s why I told her, if she wants it, tell her sister to make it.