Odds and Ends

It's Tuesday morning and I finally see the sun. Our last visit over the first of the year was cold as it is now. Lately, the cold has been combined with rain and wind. I'm having a quiet morning eating carrot bread (white bread with shredded carrot in it) spread thickly with butter (difficult to achieve much finesse with a spoon) with a bowl of tea (no mugs -- only big bowls and small bowls). The kitchen is furnished with a basic set of dishes. 4 dinner plates, 4 salad plates, 1 wok, 1 pot, 1 Dutch oven, 1 rice cooker, 1 toaster, 1 coffee maker, 1 microwave, 1 knife, 1 pancake turner. Instead of tea cups or mugs, I have 4 small tea bowls without handles. There are no butter knives or western-style metal spoons. Rather, there are 4 Chinese ceramic spoons and 4 sets of chopsticks.

Among the odds and ends tucked into our suitcases was a large spoon Eric had left in the dishwasher and 1 glass drinking beaker. I had rolled my eyes at tucking the single sad spoon into my suitcase but now, I am grateful for it. Right now I am using it as a multi-tool of sorts. Butter knife, whisk, fork, spoon.

I brought an odd assortment of items from my pantry back in Atlanta. Maple syrup, a bottle of my favorite salad dressing, baking powder, a nearly full bottle of vanilla extract, some miscellaneous spices. I don't really know why I brought the box of kosher salt. I also tucked in a couple of pans I had bought at a discount place in Atlanta. I hadn't thought about food preparation when the movers came to pack up everything, so I neglected to hold any pans or utensils back and had them all put in the ocean shipment. We've been to a nearby grocery here and also to Carrefour (so-called French Wal-Mart). There are many other things I wish I knew to tuck into my bag before I got here. I haven't yet found a baking aisle with supplies like flour and baking soda. I suppose that I'll figure out where all this stuff is in time. In the meantime, excellent bakeries are plentiful and cheap here.

Also found in our luggage, leg supports for our bed frame. Which is in storage along with the bed. On an unrelated note, Eric got back some odd change when we were shopping.














Look closely at the first picture. These coins, despite being about the same size, are not the same. On the right is a 1 cent Chinese coin. Oddly enough, the other coin is Jamaican. Makes you wonder how a Jamaican coin managed to make it over here in China. Speaking of money, I got a 1 cent bill the other day. You heard me. Paper pennies.


[Oops. Correction: this is a 10 cent bill, not a 1 cent bill.]