I Love Fall Birthdays!

To prepare for the expat trick-or-treating in our area, we did some decorating.

I haven't seen any "real" pumpkins, but these are good substitutes.

I'm hoping they will still make good pumpkin pies and soups.

 It's always fun to decorate!  Ellie painted Darth Vader (anyone sense

a Star Wars obsession at our house?), and I made a wreath out of

a hanger and some silk leaf vines I found at a market.

 Sorry this is a bit out of focus--I should have put down my bags

before trying to shoot the picture.  But the iPhone does pretty well.

 The family asked what I wanted to do for my birthday,

and since we were already going to be in town for the branch party

I thought it would be fun to return to the Ancient Culture Street 

and look for some artwork to spice up the apartment.  We looked at shop after

shop, and finally found something we really liked.  Now I have the four 

prints, I just have to get them framed

 (and there are pretty inexpensive frame shops in the area).

 And we ended the day looking at my cake (we'd had too many treats at the party--

more sweets just didn't sound good by then). 

 It was a total surprise, put together by one of the missionary couples.

I have to say that it was beautiful--when we finally ate it on Sunday night,

we found that it held true to Chinese form.  It looks good on the

outside but the inside isn't so wonderful.  How can you make

cake with no sugar???

 And what's better than being serenaded?

And I had happy birthday wishes from family and friends here

as well as in the USA.  I feel pretty lucky indeed!

(And it just so happens that I was wearing red, which to the Chinese, signifies luck. 

 That's why all Chinese weddings

have red dresses, and they rent red cars, and tie red ribbons

to everything.  Lucky, lucky, lucky!)

34 years and counting...

For the first time in many, many years, Kevin and I did not spend our anniversary 

at a temple.  Over the years we've been to the Laie, Switzerland,

Chicago, and Nauvoo temples, and of course, Idaho Falls --where we were married.

Last night, we went to a recommended Italian restaurant

to celebrate.  And we took A & E with us because I didn't want

to fix something for them (and Ellie has been wanting some

decent spaghetti.)

 The food was excellent.

The atmosphere? Somewhere between gauche and 

over-done?  It was actually all done in white, with

blue lighting.  It looked like a supper club from a Fred Astaire movie.

Indeed, all the signs said it was a "Super Club".

 Despite the color blue being an appetite suppressant,

we enjoyed our meal and spending time together.

(A & E pretended their half of the table was separate from ours,

 to avoid intruding on our date.)

This morning, the girls were out of school--again--(parent-teacher conference time)

and we went back to the Walking Street for shoe shopping.

I wanted a picture of the huge tree that looks like a banyan tree--

except it is actually a construction with Virginia Creeper

all over it.  At least some of its leaves will be turning red.

Not many colorful leaves here--no hardwoods.

Some things familiar, and some not...

As I was going through my recipe file on the computer (how I miss my cookbooks!)

I saw Darcy's recipe for buttermilk syrup.   I realized we have all the ingredients we needed for it.

This is what is left of a batch after our Sunday evening pancake dinner.

Need I say, it was a hit?   We did have to make one substitution--soured (with vinegar) milk,

instead of buttermilk, but it was still delicious and tasted like home.

Another "home" recipe was Jamie's granola.  Breakfast cereals are pricey.

We get tired of eggs for breakfast.

Yeah for granola!  (And it's been a nice snack food too!)

By the way, that is our $50 toaster.  I know!  You could get a similar quality

for $10 at Walmart in the USA (and it would be made in China),

but here, we've only found two models for sale, and it didn't matter

which store we went to, it was still $50.  It had better last for 3 years!

 And now, to the unusual.  We have really been enjoying the yogurt variety here.

The consistency and flavor is very similar to what we enjoyed

in France.  Not so sweet.

And we've found some interesting combinations.  

This label is from one of those.  I bought it for the pineapple.

I didn't notice, until eating it, that grain is also pictured. 

 There were actually soft wheat berries in it!  And it was very good.

 We haven't yet tried the pumpkin/mango one sitting in the fridge.

And I just had to buy and try the snake oil hand lotion.  

It's very thick--reminds me of lanolin--but smells very good.

I wonder, is it REALLY snake oil?

(Weren't traveling snake oil salesmen the ultimate quacks?  back in the 1800's? 

 I'd always assumed there was no such thing.)  

And, if you were wondering--because you have an inquiring mind--the

product behind the lotion is the tissue "box".  

Seems that cellophane packages work just as well

and make less garbage.  Fine with me!

A Day in Tanggu...

We're finding out that there are neighborhoods, or boroughs, in our city, somewhat

like living in Brooklyn or the Bronx in New York City.

Right next to us is Tanggu  (variously spelled Tang Gu)--the area on

the other side of the tracks, and next to the river.  

As with the rest of China, part is beautiful with well-kept landscaping,

then there is the other part.

During our October holiday, as other expat families flew to exotic locations in

Vietnam, Thailand, Bali, or even to Korea,

we decided to explore the Walking Street area of Tanggu,

complete with the bronze bull which reminds me of

the statue at Wall Street.  Fortunately, no occupiers here,

just a nice, wide area to enjoy the sunshine and browse the stores on either

side.  And those stores range from VERY upscale department stores 

(don't touch the merchandise because it's PRICEY! Hundreds of dollars!),

to back-alley shops where the proprietors live in a hut right next to their wares. 

Their merchandise is cheap--and they love to bargain.  My conscience, however,

 keeps me from being too aggressive with lowering the price.

Then we came to the river.

 

 There is a small cruise ship docked, open for tours.  I have no idea

if it still sails or not.  The smaller river cruise boats going

up and down the river lent a touristy atmosphere to the scene.

 And although it was pretty hazy, we could still feel the warmth of the sunshine.

 People had their wares displayed on the marble (slippery when wet!) platform.  

I've seen more marble sidewalks here in town than EVER before.  

Must be a cheap material here.

 (And I don't think you need a vendor's license here--people just lay out things on the sidewalk.  Ellie has mentioned that when our stuff gets here, she thinks she will have too much--

she's getting used to doing with less.  I told her we could 

always just lay things out over by the Tesco grocery store

and join the group of other vendors.  Of course, we don't have any black market 

videos to sell...).

These people had shells, pearl jewelry, etc.  We passed.

 Then, at the riverfront, but looking back at Tanggu--there's the Papa John's!

 And we walked through an alley, trying to find a specific store,

and found this shark display instead.

 Most floral "beds" around town are done like this--they aren't flower

beds at all, just groupings of individual flower pots.

As a gardener, I realized, someone has to water EACH of those pots

every day!  Well, that gives one person a job!

Then we went to the other Tanggu--to the flower, fish and bird market

to get the replacement parakeet.

For some reason, I always feel like I have to wash my hands

 (and my feet if I've been wearing sandals) when

coming home from shopping anywhere.

 We could have bought pheasants.

 Or a hawk.  And if you are squeamish, don't look too closely

at what is in the bottom of his cage.

 Alice really wanted to see how much the owls were--

she's always wanted a Hedwig.  

But we didn't even ask.   We just wanted the parakeet. 

I'm afraid we chose poorly.  We needed a female, 

and wanted her to be young and teachable,

but she is still pretty ornery. 

Maybe it has to do with how she was transported home.

I've seen goldfish in a baggie, but didn't realize that a net baggie works for parakeets.  Kind of.

So, even if we didn't go somewhere exotic

we had some interesting experiences.

International Day at TIS

One of the fun things about the school Alice and Ellie go to is

the willingness to educate beyond using textbooks.

This past Friday was International Day, which went beyond everyone

dressing up in outfits that reflected their heritage--or the heritage

of another country if they wished.  Next year, I want to wear my Indian sari! 

They also had food from many countries.

The Korean moms had enough food to feed an army--sweet rice balls,

sliced pork or beef dishes, transparent noodle dish, fruit, kimbap,

pumpkin soup, fried vegetables, and so on.  And everything was delicious.

Then the Japanese moms had squid and tiny pork sandwiches, and some

kind of meat on a stick, and so on.  The Americans (which includes any

other Europeans--British, South African, Australian, Swedish) were in

charge of desserts--everyone knows we do sugar best.

But people from all the other cultures donated cookies.

We had tables and tables full of cookies, bars, brownies, pumpkin tarts, etc., etc!

The school has an enrollment of about 400 (K-12), and with all the parents,

grandparents, and younger siblings, the food lines lasted about 90 minutes.

And the food held out to the end.

Then came the entertainment.

 A & E took part in a tai chi jin--tai chi with a sword (wooden)!

 They got to wear cute white outfits--

 and perform to a traditional Chinese song.

 As we sat watching, I was talking with this cute Korean girl

sitting next to me.  

 And afterwards, this little girl consented to letting me

take a picture of her dress--a traditional Korean one.

Many of the moms wore dresses like this, but I hesitated asking

them for a picture.  The traditional Chinese dress is so

form-fitting, it doesn't look very comfortable

(or flattering for my body type).

But this one looks doable.

And that evening, just horsing around.

Food for thought...

Asian Pears.

Being from the inland part of the U.S., and being unadventurous when purchasing fruit,

 I haven't had much contact with unusual fruits.

Until now.

And I've discovered that there are quite a few different kinds of asian pears.

Some are very sweet.  Others, crunchy and dense--almost like an apple. 

Round, light yellow, brown, green--all pears.

 Then a week ago, our driver bought us some new ones while we were in Tianjin.

About the same size as a clementine (or mandarin (!) orange),

and kind of looks like a big crab apple.

But it's a pear.  With a pineapple-like flavor.

 And--changing the subject--I finally finished the Easter 

cross-stitch I began back in late winter.   When I started it, I didn't think I'd get it done

until next spring, but I've had more time than I knew I'd have back then.

 And I've found out that the Chinese are BIG on cross-stitch.

There are shops with huge kits (the size of big screens TVS!)

of art work.  Now those WOULD take years to do.

But I learned something.

They use a special marking pen (washable ink),

and draw in all the grid marks.
 Revelation!

That means you could start anywhere,
and check accuracy quickly and easily!

I didn't want to go find the special pen (1. call the driver, 2. go to the walking street,

3. find the shop, 4. try to communicate that I only wanted to buy the pen,

5. end up having to buy a kit or be told they are not allowed to sell the pens 

before 6. coming home--no wonder

sometimes it is easier to just "make do"),

so I did the markings with a pencil.

I'm already loving it!

Ancient Culture Street

Where to go in Tianjin to spend a couple of hours while Ellie is playing ultimate frisbee with her friends at the school?  We asked around, and the consensus:  Ancient Culture Street.

A series of art shops, trinkets, and this and that.

 The one thing I REALLY wanted to buy was a cheap fan to stick in my purse.  Now that it is cooler outside, all the stores have turned off the air conditioning, so it is stuffy and hot.  

A fan is the perfect way to "bring my own" AC.

 (See. I really was there, though I don't know why I always close my eyes.)

We also went into a mall, just to check out the Carrefour store.  I

was hoping for some good French chocolate, but

it was all just regular Chinese goods. 

And see those bars?  They keep the shopping carts from

leaving the store.  (And all the stores have them.)

So when I buy groceries, I have to leave the cart at the door,

grab as many sacks as I can carry and go find the driver, all the while hoping

that the remaining items will be there when I get back for the second load.

It makes me not want to buy much!  (Isn't that counter-productive?)

 The gates to these streets area really cool.   Makes me feel like I'm in China or something.

We walked across the He Hei River (or the Hei He River-- I can never keep it straight)

going towards the Italian section of town.

 We didn't do much exploring--we'd run out of time--but I understand there's an excellent

plate of spaghetti there at some restaurant.  

Okay.  Funny story.  We've eaten out a fair amount over the past two months, 

mostly Western-style eateries.  Elizabeth often orders spaghetti.

She has yet to eat something even remotely resembling the stuff she loves, 

except when we eat at home--because I can buy Hunt's spaghetti sauce (in a can) at the stores.

At the restaurants, there's been stuff with Chinese sausage (ugh).

Or sauce filled with tiny, chopped green peppers--jalapeno, not bell. (HOT!!!)

So, it would be nice to find someplace that does spaghetti right.

 And there's even an old church.  I don't know if it is still used for services 

or if it was taken over for other things, like being a museum.

In Tianjin, there is a Catholic church, a Christian Fellowship (non-denominational),

and a Mormon congregation.  All the teachers at the international school attend the Christian

Fellowship.  The John Deere families from Mexico attend the Catholic church.

And we drive the 50 kilometers to meet with other

members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

And I'm just fine with that!

Vendors in China, or, Things we've learned while shopping...

     During the recent October holiday, we spent a lot of time out and about, exploring the city, sightseeing, and shopping.  The Chinese are very innovative.  

You can sell just about anything from a bicycle, or the back of a van.

Including cooked yams.  Notice the contrast between this guy's rickety wagon and the sleek cars parked behind.  This contrast is seen everywhere--one person driving a Mercedes next to a person on a rusty bike.  I have seen more Rolls Royce's, Lamborghini's, Mercedes, Bentley's, Porsche's, and even a few Hummers, in the past two months than I have seen in my lifetime.  And I have seen people living in little huts in alleys with the two worlds are only a block or so apart.  China's communist capitalism is bringing their country out of poverty and into modernity, but it isn't working for everyone.  There are 400 million "wealthy" people here (middle class & higher), and 1 billion poor.  

I can say that I would not want to be one of the 1 billion!

This vendor has calligraphy brushes, for writing (Chinese characters).  

Most shop keepers and vendors work 365 days a year.

And these guys had a food booth.  I loved how the guy in red was enjoying whatever sauce he was cooking with.  We didn't buy anything from them.

But we did buy some cotton candy--made on the back of a bicycle!  

It was good, if you can call pure sugar "good".

But here was the biggest surprise of all.  

Each display area (8-foot-square) was watched over by a different clerk (or maybe one clerk for a few areas).  When we first came to this shopping area, we were amazed with how big it was, with so many shoes on display.  As we walked through, we began to realize we were seeing mostly the same things, over and over again.  If we picked up a shoe or boot to look at it, instantly a young woman would appear at our side to tell us the price and try to entice us with a more expensive product.

In a store like this, I'm not sure if they own their own area or just get a commission on what they sell.

It is that same way in all the department stores we've been in, including Walmart and Home Depot.  

As soon as we show interest in any product, someone appears.   Often they say that this one is not good

and we should look at that one (which happens to be much more money).

At first we thought they were looking out for our best interests.

We're not so naive now.