Skip to main content

grilling

Well Sunday's bbq didn't go quite as planned. Jason (Tompkins - new arrivals) and Phil spent awhile trying to get the charcoal to light with no success. Then Jason spent awhile by himself trying. The idea of making our own lighter fluid started being discussed. Wine? Rubbing Alcohol? Cooking oil? So I headed to a nearby store to buy BaiJiu, which is a strong drink that is commonly drunk when men want to play drinking games and get smashed.

Phil was inside leading a discussion with the rest of the folks while Jason, Maddie, and I (Maddie not so much) threw BaiJiu on the charcoals and then lit it. Wow! What a burst of flames. But to no avail. After many attempts and even adding a whole pail of shredded paper the thing would never catch. So we cooked in the kitchen. It turned out well and was really fun.

Bella and I are hanging out on the couch right now as the rest of the family sleeps. Bella just smelled my coffee and went a bit crazy. Oh, the power of good coffee.

Today Bella has a play date. There's this thing called dog socializing that almost all dog websites talk about these days. The idea is that your puppy needs to be around strangers and other dogs so that she will be social and not aggressive towards strangers or other dogs. With living in an apartment she gets plenty of human socialization but her doggy social life is lacking. So today we're going to Mara's house to play with Boaz. Boaz is about 5 months old and about the size of Bella. I don't remember what type of dog he is but he's fluffy and white. Oh, and hypoallergenic which is so weird to me.

Popular posts from this blog

moving time

Well my house looks like it did at some point when we moved here about 2 years ago. Boxes lying around, no pictures up, hammers, cleaning rags and tape sitting in random spots around the living room. It's a mess. Another move, more good-byes and mixed emotions. I'm going to miss... ..real CH food whenever I want it for dirt cheap, ..a tailor that made all my curtains and waves to me every time I walk past her shop, ..the little boy who's parents own the light bulb shop and yells, "hello!" every time we pass by, ..all the little kids that very politely say, "Ayi" (Aunt) when they pass me, ..our first friend in Chengdu who owns a local shop and buys birds as a hobby - bird guy, as we call him, ..the best dumpling makers, the steamed bread makers, the shopkeepers that deliver our milk for free and know our address by heart, ..the courtyard of our complex where Maddie can play by herself or with her friends while we keep an eye on her from our 4th floor, ....

blogging instead of studying

This morning I wondered why this place doesn't have laundry-mats. They have dry-cleaners but no public places to do laundry. I think it would be a big hit, as long as the price was affordable for regular guys. Most students do their laundry by hand in the dorm and lots of other people do the same in their homes. Maybe I've hit a goldmine. Dogs in this day and age like to be socialized. I'm not sure who first decided this but it's all over the internet dog sites. Your puppy needs to be socialized with humans and other dogs right away. Well, dogs are becoming more and more popular as pets here (and less popular to eat) but the socializing concept hasn't hit here yet. There's this one dog that I often see outside and Sukey always wants to "socialize" with him but he's so scared he just fidgets and shakes. His owner doesn't like it either because this morning after the appropriately polite amount of time of letting her dog have a panic att...

the number dilemna

I don't know how many kids I want.  I know how many kids Phil would like, 2.  Immediately, after giving birth to Lilian I looked up at Phil and said, "I don't want any more kids.  I don't want to do this again.  Two is enough."  I have not forgotten what caused me to passionately speak those words to Phil.  But, when I hold my sweet little girl I have this nagging thought that I don't want this to be the last little baby I cuddle with.   So here is what I think about to try to decide: Traveling...5 people boarding a plane, packing for 5, finding lodging for 5, feeding 5 while on vacation.  We travel a lot so this is something that really is good to consider.  Of course, the main time this will be a hassle is when 3 of the 5 are still young and need a lot of assistance from the 2 that are adults. Sleeping...where does a third sleep?  Is it possible to get 3 kids to nap at the same time?  Both of my girls sleep through the night well almost every night , do I wa...