Root Canal: Update

So I mustered up all my courage and went to the dentist, resigned to the fact that I was going to have to have to have a root canal in my front tooth. As Hubs is out of town, I kept talking to myself (no, not out loud), saying over and over again, "it's going to be okay; deep breaths, deep breaths."

I plunked myself down and prepared for the worst. So I was surprised when my dentist said, "We don't have to drill today. I am going to put a 'protective coating' on your tooth. Don't worry, it will be fine." I like my dentist very much; I liked her even more after she told me this.

Seriously though, a 'protective coating,' - is that like a force field? How come I've never had a 'protective coating' put on when in the US? And why did she wait until now to use this 'protective coating?' And why didn't she put it on all my teeth?

But sure enough, it feels better. No root canal this week (knock wood).

Should I Be Worried?

That this DOLE label reads "plant quarantine?"
Why couldn't it read "fruity and delicious, grown by organic farmers in Oregon?"
Seriously. What in the heck does a plant quarantine sticker mean?
And why are they selling them?
Just one more thing to put on my 'do not eat' list.

Other items include: anything red (they like using Sudan red here), fish from anywhere but the deep ocean, anything that can't be peeled or cooked and anything that looks like it has MSG, which basically leaves me with my tub of Skippy Peanut butter (from the US) and raspberry jam (from Switzerland) - which is exactly what I had for dinner as Hubs is away this week.

Happy Mothers' Day

Thanks to my darling little girl (and my dashing husband), I get to celebrate Mothers' Day (hard to believe it is my second one!) - so what did we do?

Well, first we woke up at the break of dawn (thanks to Chase's new tooth) - no problem, we had to be up early anyway as we were being picked up at 8:30 a.m. for a China-tastic berry picking excursion with 9 other families.

En route to berry picking, we passed a truck filled with seaweed. One word - YUM.













We finally arrived at the strawberry fields (greenhouse)...














Inside the greenhouse...














Chase found a little spot all her own and started playing in the dirt...














She would look up occasionally to ensure we were still there...













And then it was back to the dirt...














She did, however, manage to find a couple (pre-selected) berries...














And then the paparazzi found Chase...













From there, we had to cool off a little. Luckily, there was a little driving range nearby. Good thing Chase already has her own set of small, brightly colored plastic clubs of her own.

She knew just what to do; yeah, she pretty much schooled her peers.














Our little pro...



















The competition...













Chase found time between shots to show off her squatting skills...



















And inspect the golf balls...














And then there was the group photo - complete with a custom banner...













And then it was off to lunch (it was at a Chinese hillside village turned restaurant)...














And after lunch, we found out it was actually a birthday party (note the ritz crackers on top of the cake)...














One word: YUM

So what did we learn? One can never be too overdressed for strawberry picking in China.

Ho Di Play Date

So we quite enjoyed our time at little Ho Di's home, although he did cry every time Chase tried to play with him. He's a little shy and I think Chase is the-only-white-child he has ever encountered.

I was thinking about it today - how strange it must be for a child to see a white person for the first time. We must be downright scary looking.

We're going to try it again next week - if he keeps crying, I may elect to remove him from our playdate schedule.

Token White Girl

Gymboree was crazy today; there were 12 kids in Chase's music class.
I must admit, I really have a hard time telling the kids apart.

The good news: we have been asked to join an arts and crafts playgroup; the founder wants it to be more "international," so we will be the token white people.

I am actually elated, as I am finding that Chase needs more activity. The Hello Kitty window decals will only keep her busy for so long. When we're at home, she keeps looking at me as if to say, "when are we going to 'Go Dog Go,' Mama?" But I guess I deserve this, after all we did so much movin' and shakin' last year.

I fear I might even be putting on weight as we have not been travelling as much as we used to. Forget about Jenny Craig, the best way to keep slim is to travel with a small child. Our trip to Beijing, scheduled for the end of the month, can't come soon enough (Great Wall here we come!).

All for now. I hear my sleeping beauty waking. Time to visit her little friend, Ho Di.

A Few Of Your Favorite Things...

My little darling, Chase, we just wanted to tell you (for the zillionth time) how much we love you.








































At nearly 14-months of age, you most enjoy playing your xylophone, reading, drawing, painting and playing with stickers. Your Hello Kitty window decals, we've found, keep you busy for at least 10 minutes; you love patting them on and pealing them off windows.

You love all things shiny. I even put small pink, glittery bobbles on my phone, just for you (Dada doesn't believe me, he thinks I did it because I wanted a pink, glittery phone).

This morning, I caught you sucking one of the glittery sparkles off my phone; you opened your mouth and the pink sparkle winked at me.

I wonder if it tasted pink and sparkly to you - I can't really blame you for wanting to see what pink and sparkly tasted like - you used to try to taste the notes from your xylophone - as well as taste the color that came off your crayon.

Speaking of things that taste good ... you still love banana (as well as just about any fruit), as well as eggplant parm, lasagne, pumpkin bread, and Chinese food. You recently started devouring zucchini with basil and olive oil.

You are really cruising now. You love walking on your own. You also love getting your own way (shocking) and you are already letting us know when you are not happy - you find the nearest flat surface and put your head down onto your hands, looking up only briefly to make sure we are taking note of your displeasure.

I have started counting (with you) to 5, because you want everything yesterday. Counting to 5 seems to help. Curiously, you don't forget what you wanted, you hold onto the idea - I find this interesting, because I was quite sure that by the time I got to 5, you would be on to something else. Clever girl.

We love you.

Let's Go Fly A Kite!

The wind was up.
It was a "must fly" kite day.
And so we headed to Xinghai Square.
Chase was darling (as always).
Dada let her fly the kite, which made her squeal with delight.
She waved her arms up and down (any faster and she would have been airborne).
The kite, meanwhile, dipped and soared accordingly.

Dada remarked "now I remember why kite flying is fun."

But before we actually got to the kite flying part - we posed with a complete stranger (we actually pose with so many of these people that we've decided to just hand them our camera and get a picture while they're at it).














And, of course, Chase got a lot of attention (as usual).















What's a girl to do with so much attention?







































Let's not forget about the kite ...

Trip: Chinese Countryside (Spa Weekend)

We just returned from a Spa weekend in the Chinese countryside; a serious cultural experience.

First, I must say that for some reason it is really hard to get a clear understanding of what one will be doing when one goes on a group excursion here (for example: the time when Hubs thought he was going skating, he ended up snowboarding).

So when the opportunity to go on a Spa weekend with friends arose, I couldn't help but feel like I might just be happier (and more relaxed) at home.

But of course, curiosity makes it impossible for us to decline such invitations. So we packed our bags, jumped on a bus and headed for the Chinese countryside.

When we arrived (2.5 hours later), we were shown to our room (small but clean with communal shower and bathroom facilities). Our host was kind enough to try to upgrade us to another room so we could have a little more room for Chase to crawl about.

The view from our window ... (note police facility at entrance)















Chase, ready for the spa ... Only later did we find out the water would be too hot! Hubs couldn't make it in past his knee.




















Chase decided to try to store some of her valuables ...















We were given welcome packages when we arrived. Part of the welcome package was this tiny pair of swim trunks (not sure why because no one uses them)...














Well, except Chase!




















After we got settled in, we headed to lunch.
And then Dada hit the Spa, while we "rested."
Around 4 pm there was a knock on the door.
Time for fruit picking!
So we jumped in the bus, drove for 5 minutes and then set off by foot into the countryside.

































It didn't take us long to realize that fruit picking here was going to be totally different from any fruit picking we'd done before - what gave it away? We were heading for a greenhouse.















Just ouside the greenhouse was a chicken coup.
Chase loved the chickens.














And the guard dog...














Inside the greenhouse we found nectarines!












































And then we were off to "pick apples," but we had to wait for the manager of the cold storage unit to open the doors. Chase decided it was high time for a nap...














When the manager finally arrived, we were informed the apples were 6 months old, but they were green apples (no pesticide). As they were kept in a cold storage unit they would be good to eat anytime within the year (hmmm... very different from my fruit picking experience where one actually picks fruit from the tree and eats it on the day it is picked).















Here is Dada picking apples...














The next morning, most of the group headed off to a hike. As we didn't have a proper baby backpack, we decided to go for a small walk into the hills behind the Spa.




























Here's a view from the top. It was really lovely.














And then we went to lunch, jumped into the bus and headed home.

Frozen Seaweed

I delight in cleaning out the fridge (not be confused with actually cleaning the fridge).

I delight in throwing away old food - I don't know why. I consider it one of life's simple pleasures.

So I decided it was time to clean out the fridge this morning.

As I now share the fridge with Flora, I didn't really know what to expect. Thankfully there were no chicken heads. But I did come across things I never thought I'd find in my fridge - or freezer. Frozen crab, seeweed and something I couldn't identify. I think it was dumpling dough?

Anyway - now my fridge is clean - er. Hmmm, what's next?
Maybe Chase's closet?

So what does this all mean? Watch out world (and Hubs), I've started Spring cleaning.

Six Pack Of Chicken Heads

I was at the market the other day and came across a six pack of chicken heads.

I don't get queasy easily - good thing because there are many unusual items for sale here - but I have to say that the sight of pre-packaged chicken heads made my stomach turn. But then I started wondering, how does one prepare chicken heads? Are they best for soup? Where's the meat? I mean, what's the point of eating something with so little meat?

So I asked a friend tonight how one prepares chicken heads. She said she wasn't really sure but she had one at a Chinese BBQ - on a skewer.

Good thing BBQ season is right around the corner - now I know what I'm putting on my kebabs!

Tailor Update

So I made what must be the 5th trip to the tailor today - he can't quite seem to get the pants right. First they were SO tight. Then he said he said he took them out, but I didn't see a difference. When I got them back yesterday they were big in strange places.

SO frustrating.

Four Mondays

"I've had four Mondays in a row," Hubs informed me last night.

With another big holiday on its way, the Government has issued "guidance" that businesses are to be open on Saturday, Sunday and Monday as usual, but closed Tuesday through Tuesday (which means people get the following weekend "off" - Hurrah?).

Now that's a noodle I can't seem to untangle. How can it possibly make sense to make people work eight days in a row - and over weekends - in exchange for days off?

To Catch A Fish

So I asked my language teacher about how to select fish at the market (there are so many kinds and I am not familiar with any of them).

She explained that the Chinese classify their fish by the number of bones; they believe the fish that has the greatest number of bones also has the greatest flavor, because the meat is precious.

She also explained that there are fish from the river and fish from the sea, and that the fish from the sea has a strong fish flavor, so the Chinese prefer the fish from the river.

Eau De Sewage

The one down side of living where we live - in the specific apartment we selected - is the scent (some times it is stronger than others) of raw sewage. It seems to come up through the bathroom drain pipes - odd, because we live on the 6th floor. Maybe if we lived on a higher floor, it would not stink as much.

We've already plugged the main drain (despite Hub's concern that the gas will collect and eventually explode) - but it seems to be working itself into the room through the shower, bath and sink drain now.

So I complained to Flora (my Aiyi's new English name). I told her I wanted the building management to fix this problem. She sat down with a pen and paper and drew a map of Dalian, explaining that when the wind comes from the South (when it comes in from the Yellow Sea), it smells bad and when the wind blows North, it smells nice.

Apparently the wind is the problem - not exactly something the building management can solve.

Just Relax...

The dentist said to me as she started drilling into my front tooth - without first using Novocain.

Just as I started to believe she wasn't going to hurt me, she got close to the nerve and I could feel the pain. "Oh, I know, I know," she said to me. "Don't worry, it's okay."

Seriously? Sure, it's okay because she's the one with the drill and I'm the one in the chair with white knuckles.

"Her Smile Lights Up The Room"

The above is a lovely quote from a friend; she also took this photo.