Trina's page of Blogginess

Today would have been my Grandpa Chow's 88th Birthday.

Our family met today at the Memorial Park where he was interred. (we've been back on several occasions already, so this wasn't the first time.)

My Grandma is so good about following the traditions passed to her by her ancestors, and she has done such a good job of teaching and passing these traditions down to her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

I hesitated asking if I could take this photo, but Grandma said it was okay. I thought it would be good to document what it is that we do for these occasions. I know the symbolism of some of the items, and am still learning what other things mean.

We always present the basics: incense, a chicken, roasted pork, three bowls of rice, and three small cups filled with whiskey. I should look up the meaning behind each of these items, but I do know that the three bowls of rice and cups of whiskey are offerings to the gods. The oranges and tangerines symbolize luck and wealth. The other items - the dim-sum and bao were some of Grandpa's favorites. We also had cookies (with birthday candles!) for his birthday. The tradition of presenting all of this food is so that the deceased can enjoy their favorite foods.

I learned about another specific part of the tradition today. I've always known that the chicken head should face forward - towards the grave. I learned today that you also pull off the bottom part of the beak of the chicken and break off the tips of the wings. My Auntie told me today that the reason why you break off the bottom of the beak is so the chicken cannot talk badly about your family. :)

After we offer the food, we burn (fake) money (so we can send them money in the afterlife), and more incense.

I really value the traditions that my Grandma has passed along to our family. I've learned that these are Old-World traditions, which are still regularly practiced in the rural Southern Villages in China where our family is from. As people move to more urban areas, they stop following many of these traditions, which I think is a shame. It seems like such an important tie to one's culture and heritage.

Labels: family

My Maternal Grandfather used to make the best Egg Foo Young. He didn't cook for us very often, so when he did, it was a real treat.

I don't make it very often, but every time I do, I wonder why I don't cook it more frequently. It's so easy, and it's so yummy. It also makes me think of him, and that always makes me happy. :)

I don't have the recipe written down (as is probably par-for-course for family recipes), so I just try to remember it off the top of my head.

Here's the recipe as I made it tonight. It turned out pretty well, so I figured it would be a good time to jot it down, while it's still fresh in my memory.

It's super easy, and really delicious.

I make it in a vegetarian style, but you could always add chopped up Chinese sausage, chicken or shrimp. :)

Grandpa Chan's Egg Foo Young

1/2 large white onion - chopped (about 1 cup)
4 stalks of celery - chopped
2 eggs - beaten
about 1-1/2 cups of chicken broth
about 1 Tb cornstarch
Vegetable Oil

Chop the celery and onion, and put them into a large bowl
Beat the eggs, then mix in with the celery and onion.

Heat a non-stick skillet (trust me, I learned the hard way) on medium/high heat. Add enough oil to coat the bottom (maybe 1 Tbsp)

Spoon the egg/celery/onion mixture into the pan by using 1/2 cup measuring cup.

Cook for about 3 minutes (I'm guessing on the timing here, but long enough for the egg to set, and be brown on the underside.)

Flip, and cook the other side.

Remove the egg pancakes, and keep them warm in a warm oven.

Add more oil, and repeat.

I had 5 pancakes total tonight.

Dilute the cornstarch in the chicken broth in a small bowl.

Pour the cornstarch/chicken broth liquid into the same pan that you've been cooking the egg pancakes in. Stir for a minute or so, until the liquid becomes a nice, thick gravy.

Pour the gravy over the egg pancakes, and serve. :)

It's super easy, and pretty quick.

Enjoy!

(and thanks, Grandpa!)

Here's a photo that I found from our Family's Chinese New Year Dinner, 2007. This was the last time that Grandpa made his Egg Foo Young for us. (he passed away in December of that year.)
Looks like he added Green Onions to the top of it. I'll have to remember that for next time I make it. I love green onions. His is also saucier than mine was tonight. Next time, I'll make more sauce, too! :)


Grandpa Chan's Egg Foo Young

...and here's another picture from that day, just 'cause it makes me happy. :)

Grandpa Chan and Tiffini, 2007

Labels: cooking, family

well, it doesn't seem like it's been more than a week since my last post...

It's funny - when I'm out and about, I'm constantly thinking about things that I can write about. Sometimes my random thoughts only make it to my Facebook status, sometimes I remember to take a photo, and sometimes my thoughts make it all the way to my blog.

There are several things I've been meaning to write about - I've had a lot of fun outings lately - but alas, I didn't find the time to sit down and blog about them.

I did, however, take several photos over the past couple of weeks to share. Wish I had more. Somehow, I managed to spend 4 days visiting friends in Seattle without ever thinking of taking a photos! drat.

Nonetheless, here are a few things that I have done lately...



Andrew and I went to the Contemporary Jewish Museum a few weeks back to see the Maurice Sendak Exhibit. It was really fantastic. I was only familiar with "Where the Wild Things Are", but Andrew was very knowledgeable on several books and artwork. We had a great time examining several beautiful original illustrations.



A few days later, I made my way down to San Jose to have a long-overdue visit with my dear friend, Kimi. We had a late lunch (yummy dumplings) then went back to the school so I could have a quick visit with her two boys before I had to leave. It was SO nice seeing all of them!


Uncle Wes with "Bad Boy"

Last Thursday, I went to Stockton for the afternoon with my Sister and her boyfriend. We went to visit my Grandma, and to take her out to lunch and run some errands. The first thing we saw when we pulled up to the house was my Uncle Wes and his new motorcycle (named "Bad Boy"). I've never seen a motorcycle quite like this one. So pretty! I was too intimidated by Bad Boy to even sit in the seat!



We had a yummy dim sum lunch at China Palace, our favorite Chinese restaurant in Stockton. Delish!



While we were out and about, Grandma took us to Winco - a grocery store in Stockton, which is apparently a chain, although we don't have any in the Bay Area. I've been hearing about Winco for years from all of my Grandparents who lived in Stockton, but I had never been. Now, I know what I've been missing! They really do have amazing prices - many things (like cereal) were less than half the price of what they would be at another grocery store - especially in SF. Really great deals, good quality merchandise - I'll be back!


Tiff and Graham at the fantastically inexpensive bulk food bins



That evening, we drove to Sacrament to see a performance of "Rent". The tour closed this past Sunday (3 days after we saw it) and it was the last production of the show after nearly 20 years. Two of the original stars from the Broadway production were on this tour (Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp, playing Mark and Roger). It was pretty amazing to have the opportunity to see them, and hear the voices that I've listened to on the Broadway soundtrack for so long.



And finally, a cute photo of Noe giving her Daddy some kitten love while he was working on his laptop. :)

Labels: A day in the life, family, theater

My sister, and her boyfriend, Graham, have both been away from home for almost a year. They left on the first of February of last year, and moved to Las Vegas for work (temporarily) then my sister had another job on the road, which she just returned from earlier this week.

Because of this, they were both away on Christmas. Our immediate family decided to wait until they got home for the 6 of us to celebrate Christmas together. My parents even kept up their Christmas tree, and all of their decorations (inside and out) just for them! (my parents are usually sticklers to putting all the Christmas decorations away before the first of the year, so this was a pretty big deal for them! You can be that they'll start putting it all away tomorrow!)

So, we finally had our family Christmas together this afternoon. :)


Chow Christmas in January!

After we opened all of the gifts, we went out for the traditional Christmas-in-January meal: Baja Cactus on Main Street, Milpitas! Yum!


Dinner at Baja Cactus!

My main present to my sister and Graham was a painting that I've been working on for the past couple of weeks. They just moved into a new home late last year, and are finally having a chance to really live there and settle in. I've been promising a painting to my sister for years (yes, years....) and really wanted to be able to give her one for her new place.


My latest painting

It's a fairly large painting. I forgot to measure it, but I'd say it's around 48" long, and probably about 30" high. It's 3 panels - my first triptic. :)

The two birds in the painting are meant to be her two cockatiels - Crissy and Bonsai. Crissy will turn 30(!) years old next month - we've had her since she was 6 weeks old! Dick and I took care of the birds at our house for the past year while my sister was away. It was nice bonding with them again.

I haven't painted in so long. I'm always amazed once I start a new project, just how much I love the process of painting! Now that I've got my studio set up in our backyard, I'm determined to get out there and paint more often! It feels so great to be painting again!

Labels: family, painting

My sister just came back after having been away for almost a year! She
came by today to say "hi" and to pick up her birdies (who have been
staying with us while she was gone).

5 minutes before she came, Bruce and the girls came over for a visit!
It's a big, impromptu party!

We all went to hang out in the backyard for a while to catch up. Big
fun!

Labels: family

Merry Christmas from my parent's house!!

Labels: family, holidays

I'm back in Stockton, spending time with my Grandma. Here's tonight's
dinner. Yum!

Labels: family

I'm spending a couple of days with my Grandma - keeping her company,
and trying to help out around the house.

I brought my computer and scanner along with me, hoping to have time
to scan a lot of old family photos at high resolution.

I'm going through a box full of photos from the last 60+ years. Pretty
amazing. Some of them I had scanned about 15 years ago for my Multi-
Media Family Tree project. At the time, scanners and computers were
much slower and I didn't have the time or drive capacity to scan them
at high res. So now, I'm going back and rescanning as many as I can.

I just found a little packet of wallet sized photos that my Grandpa
kept in his wallet. I never knew he had this.

In it are photos spanning back to 1947. He had photos of his Mother,
his Great Grandmother, his wedding to my Grandma, a portrait of her,
his kids (as kids in the 50s), each of his Grandchildren, his Great
Granddaughter, and a family portrait from 1982.

I'm pretty overwhelmed learning that Grandpa kept these photos with
him all the time.

How is it I keep finding reasons to love my Grandpa even more than I
already did?

Labels: family

I've been meaning to post this picture for a few days.
When I was in Stockton last week, my cousin, Bruce, drove up with his three daughters (who I refer to as my nieces, which I understand can be a bit confusing).

Chico is the latest member of their family.

You see, Youngest (Bruce likes to keep the names of his daughters private, so he refers to them as Eldest, Middle and Youngest) has been wanting a pet dog for a while. Unfortunately, Bruce's current position requires him to travel a lot, and the family agreed early on that they would not be able to get a new pet until after this position ends (next summer). Poor Youngest - she has had a pet dog and a pet rat, but she wasn't quite old enough at the time to really enjoy them. Now that she's older, she's ready to have a pet, but will have to wait a bit longer.

The compromise:
Chico!

Chico is a stuffed-animal life-sized dog that Youngest convinced her Mom to buy. He's adorable, and apparently, goes everywhere with them (which is why I had the pleasure of meeting Chico in Stockton). Chico is always waiting by the front door when the family comes home, and he rides in the back seat, with his head between the two youngest girls when they go out for a drive. He even has his own collar! He's clean, cute, obedient and always happy! What more could you want from a pet?

I told Bruce that he only needs to really worry if we ever see Youngest taking Chico for a walk around the neighborhood. ;)

Labels: family

I believe I am correct in saying that my Grandmother is the person in Stockton who people in the Chinese community call to ask questions about traditional rituals regarding births, weddings and funerals. My Grandma is a wealth of information, and these traditions are very important to her.

My family and I are learning about many of these traditions, trying our best to follow all of them. Some I knew about, and many I didn't.

I know that these traditions may be different for different families. These are the traditions that my Grandmother and my family will follow in honor to mourn the death of my Grandfather:

For the next 30 days, we will not wear anything with the colors red, or pink. We also must not wear anything with floral prints.

We will not attend any kind of celebrations for the next month: no parties, weddings, or social gatherings.

For the 3-days of funeral-related events, we will not wear watches or jewelry. (wedding bands are acceptable.)

I spent the day in Stockon today. My cousin and my niece (my cousin's eldest daughter) assisted our Great Aunties in assembling the red and white envelopes. The white envelop contained a piece of hard candy as well as some denomination of money. (in our case, a quarter.) The red envelope contains money as well.

The envelopes are given to people who will come to the house to pay their respect. They must eat the candy before they leave - the sweetness of the candy is meant to take away the bitterness of the death. The money is meant to be spent on something sweet as well. It must be spent, and not saved.

We had quite an assembly line going between the 6 of us, and assembled about 750 envelops in total. They will also be distributed at the funeral.

I am proud that my Grandmother continues these traditions, and honored that she is passing them along to each of us.

Labels: family

March 7, 1922 - November 18, 2009


Chuck Chow

The world lost a great man today.
My Grandpa, Chuck Chow, passed away peacefully late this morning, surrounded by his loved ones, at the age of 87.

My Grandpa lived an extraordinary life - it was very full, very fulfilled, and full of love.


Grandpa celebrating his 87th Birthday with his children, his wife, and his Great-Granddaughters

I'm not sure if my Memory or knowledge of his life is entirely accurate, but this is how I remember it:

Chuck Chow was born on March 7, 1922. He was adopted by a family in a small Chinese Village in Southern China who did not have a son. He was raised by his mother, his Grandmother and his Great Grandmother. He went to school, and worked in the rice fields of his village.

He was the first person to leave his village in the early 1940s at the age of 16 or 17. He came to the United States after having found someone in California who he paid to "sponsor" him by claiming he was related. He changed his surname to that of his sponsor.

He moved to Stockton, California, and quickly found a job to earn money. He wasn't in the country very long before he found he was drafted to serve in the US Army during World War II. He was trained in Hawaii, then went to fight in the war. One of his commanders warned him to stay near him so that his own squadron wouldn't accidentally fire at him, mistaking him for Japanese.


Chuck Chow serving in World War II

After the war, he was stationed in Tokyo, Japan to work at the Imperial Palace.

When he finished his service in the military, he returned to California, then travelled back to his old village in Southern China where he took part in an arranged marriage to my Grandmother, May. She was only 16. He was 23. They had never met before they were married.


Chuck and May Chow, 1947

Chuck and May moved to Stockton together where they raised 4 children: Henry, Billy, Lani and Wesley.


Chow Family, 1953


Chow Family visiting Disneyland, 1961

My Grandfather worked as a butcher at the local Central Mart Grocery Store. He retired in the late 80s. He stayed in touch with, and always sent back money to his family's village in China.

My Grandparents were very active in the Chinese Community in Stockton, and was especially active within the Chow Association.


Proud Grandpa with Tiffini and Bruce, 1969

My Grandfather was a world traveler, and loved going to new places and learning about different cultures. My Grandparents took their first trip back to China, and their villages in Southern China in the early 80s. They took all of their children to their villages in 1987, then took another trip with their children, and 3 of their Grandchildren (including me and my sister) in 1992. When we were there, we were able to see the village that my Grandfather grew up in: the fields he worked in, the small room where he went to school, and even the tiny room in which he was born. We saw the new school building which he had helped fund, as well as the new village gate. We also met his mother, and were able to celebrate her 90th birthday with her, their village, and all of the neighboring villages.


Wesley, Chuck and Henry in front of Grandpa's Village Gate, 1987


Chow Family in China, 1992

Last year, in March of 2008, at the age of 86, my Grandparents were able to go on a trip with their two youngest Grandchildren, now in their 20s, to share their villages with them as well. My Grandfather loved the trip, was incredibly active, and walked the entire time.

My Grandfather shared his life with all of us by showing us where he came from, and the sacrifices he made for all of us by being brave enough to move the United States at age 16 to truly live the American Dream. I am eternally grateful for the opportunities that he has opened up for all of us.

My earliest memory of my Grandfather was probably when I was 3 or 4 years old. My family was living in Modesto, CA, and my Grandfather was visiting from Stockton. I remember that he brought two pairs of training chopsticks with him to teach my sister and I how to properly use them. One pair was pink, the other was blue. They were made of plastic, and had tiny little Chinese figurines on top of each stick. I remember his patience with me as he tried to explain the proper technique to a 4-year old.

I'm chuckling to myself as I recall another story from just a couple of years ago. My sister and I tried to visit my Grandparents every few months to take them out to lunch, and them run some errands (usually at Costco) afterward. We almost always had dim sum for lunch together. There was one time a couple of years ago when my Grandfather noticed that I was holding my chopsticks incorrectly. He had to teach me all over again the proper technique! :)

Whenever my sister and I would come for our weekday visits, we were able to observe one of my favorite and most endearing habits of my Grandfather: Every weekday at 3:00, he would drive to the Mall to meet his friends. They would go to McDonald's, order a senior discount coffee, sit down, and people watch together. He did this for years. Sometimes, I would call my Grandparents house in the afternoon, my Grandmother would answer, and she would always say that my Grandpa was "at the Mall". The memory of this still makes me smile.


Grandpa, Tiffie and Grandma ordering Dim Sum, 2008

My Grandfather lead a very full life - he was very active - socially, mentally and physically for more than 86 years. He really only slowed down due to his medical problems over the last few months.

My Grandfather was married to my Grandma for more than 62 years. On their 60th Anniversary, the entire family (that's 20 of us in total!) went to Las Vegas for a few days to celebrate together. What a great time it was. It makes me so happy knowing that we were all able to do that together.


Grandpa and Grandma celebrating their 60th Wedding Anniversary
April, 2007

My Grandfather was a great man. He shaped the lives of his wife, children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. He allowed us all the ability to lead great lives full of opportunity and love.

Just a few months ago, at the end of August of this year, the entire gathered together to have a professional portrait taken. The last time we had a full-family portrait was in 1982 - we were long over-due. My Grandparent's children and grandchildren all chipped in to have the portraits taken as a gift to Grandma and Grandpa. I cannot express how glad we all are that we were able to have this done while Grandpa was still here with us.


The entire Chow Family (minus Cousin Bruce), August 2009

I am eternally grateful to have been able to have had my Grandpa in my life for over 39 years. He is tremendously loved, and will be forever missed.

Goodbye, Grandpa. I will always love you.

Labels: family

We've been in Chapel Hill, visiting Dick's family since Saturday evening. After all of the running around we did in NYC and Cullowhee, it was really nice coming here to just relax and visit.

Most of our plans this week revolved around getting together with family and eating. :) As always, we've had some great meals of great Southern Food and lots of Sweet Tea.

Dick's sister, Kathy, recently adopted two little kitties: Cricket and Maggie. They are adorable, and so much fun!


Trina and Peter with Maggie and Cricket

The weather has been gorgeous while we've been here. It's been in the mid-70s over the last two days! On Monday, Dick and I checked out a 9-hole golf course just outside of Chapel Hill. It was beautiful! We rented some clubs, and spent the afternoon playing golf. It was a beautiful course, and lots of fun to play! It was also very quiet - no one else was playing near us, so we never had to wait, and were never rushed at all. Very fun.


Dick playing golf

As I mentioned, we spent a lot of time with Kathy's new kitties, so I took several photos of them. :)


Cricket and Maggie hanging out on my lap


Dick meditating with cats

Today, we ate at "Ye Olde Waffle Shoppe", then walked around the UNC Chapel Hill Campus a bit.


Dick at The Old Well

It's been a wonderful vacation, but it's time to go home tomorrow morning. It's been such a nice, and varied trip! Hard to believe we've been away for so long. It'll be nice to be back home.

Labels: family, travel

You may remember my post from August when we learned that Dick's childhood home was for sale. The house is in Cullowhee, NC, which is obviously quite far from San Francisco.

When we found out that we were going to be in Cullowhee, we checked to see if the listing was still up. It wasn't. :( We were a little bummed that we came so close to having a chance to see it.

Whenever we're in Cullowhee, we always drive around and go see Dick's old home. I know he's considered knocking on the door once or twice, but never did.

We drove by Thursday morning, and were surprised to see the "For Sale" sign still posted!


For Sale - Dick's Childhood Home

I wrote down the number of the listing agent to see if it would be possible to take a peek inside the house while we were in town. I left him a message, explaining the situation. I asked if it would be any trouble for us to see it - obviously, if it were a problem at all, we'd understand.

He was very nice - he said the house had sold, but would be closing in about a month still. The current owner still lived there, and she would be happy to have us come over at 9:30 Saturday morning.

Well, it turned out that the current owner (who is selling the house) is the same woman who had purchased it from Dick's father back in 1992. When we knocked on the door, she opened it with a smile, and asked if Dick was Richard Craddock's son. :)

Dick told him that he had lived in the house with his family from 1972 until he moved away to Chapel Hill in 1984. His Dad had stayed there until 1992.

She was very sweet - letting us walk around the house, taking photos to share with Dick's family. Dick told her stories about each of the rooms, and when the addition had been built. She showed us the different changes she had made, and told Dick how much she truly loved living there.

I took several photos (of course).


Dick standing on the new (to him) deck on the upstairs addition


This is the handwritten note that Dick's father had written and left for the new owner way back in 1992. It expains how various things in the house work. That owner had saved it all this time, and plans to pass it along to the new owners.


Dick standing in his childhood bedroom

One of the funniest moments of our visits happened when Dick was standing in the room which used to be his bedroom. The current owner's eyes lit up as she remembered something, and closed to door - on the back of the door was a decal from Duke University. It appears Dick was a Duke fan when he was a child - something he would never admit to now! :)

What a wonderful opportunity it was for Dick to have the chance to see his childhood house again. It's not something that many of us will ever have the chance to do.

Labels: dick, family, travel

One of my nieces has made her television commercial debut in a new spot for the California Academy of Sciences! Here she is with her fake TV Dad. :)

Labels: family, san francisco

I had mentioned just over a week ago that the entire Chow Family got together to take our first family portrait in over 27 years.

Our photographer and friend, Rob Vreeland, of Murphy Dog Studios sent us the first sample of the full family shot.


that's a whole lotta Chow...

I think it's beautiful! I love the composition. I love the setting. I love that he managed to get all 18 of us to look at the camera and smile all at the same time!

We're hoping to photoshop in my cousin, Bruce, who was away on business, and was unable to make it. It'll be tough to get it "just right", but we'll certainly try.

We're all very excited to see what the rest of the photos look like!

Thanks, Rob. Great job!

update

I don't have a digital scan of the last family portrait that we took way back in 1982, but I did manage to find this photo that we took of the family in 1981. My cousin, Kenneth, (who is now 28, and a doctor) was just a baby, and my cousin, Cheri, (who is now 25!) wasn't born yet.


Chow Family, 1981

Labels: family

Tammy and I picked up my parents from O'Hare airport at 2:00. We were all pretty hungry, so Tammy suggested "Paradise Pup" - a Hot Dog/Hamburger joint in Des Plaines which was featured on the Food Network. The hog dogs did not disappoint! I love a good Chicago-style hot dog! If you happen to find yourself in Des Plaines, I highly recommend it!

Tammy, Dad and Mom at Paradise Pup!

After we ate, Tammy offered to take us by the original McDonalds, which also happened to be in Des Plaines. (who knew there Des Plaines is such a hub for interesting Fast Food facts?) Unfortunately, the McDonalds Museum had closed only an hour before we arrived! Bummer! It looked cool though.


We're staying downtown tonight, and are heading out to see the Harry Potter Exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry. Very exciting!

Labels: family, friends, travel

I forgot that I meant to post some of these fun candid photos that I took yesterday after our photo shoot.

After Rob finished taking all the photos, we had a nice barbecue, and enjoyed a nice afternoon in my Aunt & Uncle's backyard.


Here's Rob! Photographer extraordinaire!


Rob and his kiddos admiring the fish pond


Fun on the trampoline!


Cousin Kenneth Flying High!


Grandma and Grandpa relaxing in the shade


Dress-up time!

Labels: family