Construction things are hopping around here, this latter part of the week: finish electrical, finish roofing, finish stucco, a bit of painting, and at long last (!) our kitchen cabinets. :)

Here is a sneak peek of one of the doors, along with a lovely bouquet of flowers from my dear husband.

Steven finished priming the front porch tonight. Whew. It’s nice to be directly working on the project!

I have the best husband in the world. He surprised me with a two-month-anniversary dinner out on the town. Steven is such a servant, always thinking of special things to encourage me. : )

Our cuisine of choice? Ethiopian of course. Yes, that’s like the Ethiopian man who spoke to Phillip, or even further back, like the Queen of Sheba who visited King Solomon.

This spot is one of the best for Ethiopian food in our area. They had an traditional American style seating with tables and chairs, but later, we saw some stools and tall skinny basket tables for the authentic experience. We’ll have to try that next time!

Steven first ordered us Sambussa, basically thick spicy lentil stew covered in puff pastry. It had a hot chili sauce to dip it in, and it was delicious! Serven Clan, yes, the lentils were really this good.

“SAMBUSSA: Thin dough shells stuffed with lentils, onion, hot green & herbs. This meatless dish is lightly deep fried in vegetable oil to a golden perfection”

Next we had some spiced Ethiopian tea. It came as a hot cinnamon water, then you added the tea bag, of which my husband was attempting to decipher the Ge’ez writing while it was steeping!

The platter of exoticly spiced meats (lamb, beef, chicken), savory collard greens, a lemony green salad and freshly made cheese, was presented on a large sour pancake like bread called injera.

The bread itself was SO good, you could eat it just by itself. It is made from the smallest grain in the world, Teff, and has a pleasant fermented taste. You would grab a piece of injera, wrap it around some meats or veggies from the platter, and pop it in your mouth, sans knife, fork, or spoon.

The tradition is for the host to serve his guests their first bite, preparing a delectable morsel in injera and popping it into their mouth. So of course, my sweet husband did this for me, and introduced me to the happy cuisine of Ethiopia.

Happy New Year!

Our first “Adventure Saturday”: Hiking on Mt. Diablo after visiting relatives

Lights on and rolling down the highway, Christmas carols playing!

Steven took Rebecca on her first lightrail ride while traveling towards downtown. This is much easier than driving and parking!