We're missing having a pet...

This move has been the hardest on Alice--at least as far as I can tell.  She was very attached to our dog Lily, hugging her as she fell asleep, talking to her when she had a problem, appreciating a little friend who was always there.

So it wasn't more than a week after our arrival when the questions began:  Can we get a pet of some kind?

What about a gerbil?  Or a rabbit?  A hamster?  A DOG????

In my travels around the city, I had come across a pet market--it happens to be part of the plant market as well, 

and it was the plants that I went looking for.

So, on a Saturday, we went to see it, and

 it was about as good as going to a zoo.

There were all kinds of puppies just wanting to be picked up and cuddled--but the shop keepers wouldn't let anyone not

 intending to buy to touch them.

There were cats and kittens, rabbits, hamsters, chickens, turtles--big and little, snakes, lizards--even a komodo dragon, baby alligators and tropical fish of every kind.

All the animals and reptiles were in small cages, and the fish were in dishpans on the ground.

Very chaotic but interesting!

And then we found the bird section.

 Whatever kind of bird you wanted, it was there.

Including the sparrows that looked like they'd just been captured, as

well as the magpies.  (Yes, there are magpies here in China.)

You can buy parrots and macaws, parakeets, love birds, canaries, ducks, geese, pheasants,...

And you can buy the food for them--

not some little pet store canister, but in bulk.  

Now the girls have their hearts set on getting a pair of parakeets. 

We're still thinking about this one.