When we were at the Saddle Cantina with Bill last weekend, a little old man came in and made the rounds from table to table. He had several dozen of these ornaments hanging from a stick. Most were very traditional Chinese style. I bought these two from him. Bill tried to teach me to say, "Buy 2, get one free." but it didn't work on him. Afterwards, I wished that I had bought more.
This is a jiaozi roller, that is, a dumpling roller. I used one when we made jiaozi at the Li's house (see This is the Way We Bao Jiazi). I am planning to make a lemon meringue pie, so I went to the kwai store today to buy a rolling pin. I was sure I had seen them there in the past, but after looking for several minutes I hadn't found one, so I went up to the young man who was minding the store and asked if he spoke any English. He gave me a blank stare and indicated that he didn't. So I said, "Wo yao jiaozi zhuan" and made rolling actions with my hands to show that I wanted to roll jiaozis (only it was really pie crust I wanted to roll). "Aha." he said and made a bee line for a small box in the back corner. There they were! I asked him what they are really called, and he said something like "gong de gong". I thanked him. I walked out of the store looking like the cat who had swallowed the cream. Another small victory in world of communicating in Mandarin.
Juzi...mandarin oranges. These little oranges are absolutely the most delicious oranges ever....in my opinion. These days I can buy a kilo at the little outdoor market by the kwai store for 10 rmb...about a $1.50. For the most part, they have no seeds, peel cleanly and easily and taste great...did I say that before? I took the picture to show that they are freshly picked as evidenced by the leaves. This plate sits on my washing machine which I use for a kitchen counter. That's tub through the transparent plastic lid.
Cathy's toaster oven she loaned me over Christmas vacation. On top is the apple crisp I made...the best I can remember. Also made brownies, bars, and chocolate chip cookies and heated up the quiche from Comptoirs de France...a toaster oven is perfect for that job.
When I first moved in 4.5 months ago I didn't have a waste basket so I improvised with this Comptoirs de France bag (no, not the one the quiche came in). I keep it under the sink and it has held up so far, so I guess I'll keep using it.
On the left, my "fancy" waste basket. I bought it at a flower shop at Pinnacle Plaza on sale for $3. I think maybe it's true purpose is to hold magazines or dried flower arrangements. It's painted wood.
Dry air...the winter air in Beijing is extremely dry. Humidifiers are expensive. But Dave has solved the problem. He washes clothes often while I'm at work. The moisture from the clothes combined with pleasant fragrance of Tide detergent go a long way toward improving the air quality in the apartment . It's a bit of a mixed blessing though, since I don't think the clothes are a particularly pretty sight and sometime prove to be an obstacle course. Still...I vote for the clothes.
When we were at the Saddle Cantina with Bill last weekend, a little old man came in and made the rounds from table to table. He had several dozen of these ornaments hanging from a stick. Most were very traditional Chinese style. I bought these two from him. Bill tried to teach me to say, "Buy 2, get one free." but it didn't work on him. Afterwards, I wished that I had bought more.
This is a jiaozi roller, that is, a dumpling roller. I used one when we made jiaozi at the Li's house (see This is the Way We Bao Jiazi). I am planning to make a lemon meringue pie, so I went to the kwai store today to buy a rolling pin. I was sure I had seen them there in the past, but after looking for several minutes I hadn't found one, so I went up to the young man who was minding the store and asked if he spoke any English. He gave me a blank stare and indicated that he didn't. So I said, "Wo yao jiaozi zhuan" and made rolling actions with my hands to show that I wanted to roll jiaozis (only it was really pie crust I wanted to roll). "Aha." he said and made a bee line for a small box in the back corner. There they were! I asked him what they are really called, and he said something like "gong de gong". I thanked him. I walked out of the store looking like the cat who had swallowed the cream. Another small victory in world of communicating in Mandarin. 
Juzi...mandarin oranges. These little oranges are absolutely the most delicious oranges ever....in my opinion. These days I can buy a kilo at the little outdoor market by the kwai store for 10 rmb...about a $1.50. For the most part, they have no seeds, peel cleanly and easily and taste great...did I say that before? I took the picture to show that they are freshly picked as evidenced by the leaves. This plate sits on my washing machine which I use for a kitchen counter. That's tub through the transparent plastic lid.
Cathy's toaster oven she loaned me over Christmas vacation. On top is the apple crisp I made...the best I can remember. Also made brownies, bars, and chocolate chip cookies and heated up the quiche from Comptoirs de France...a toaster oven is perfect for that job.
When I first moved in 4.5 months ago I didn't have a waste basket so I improvised with this Comptoirs de France bag (no, not the one the quiche came in). I keep it under the sink and it has held up so far, so I guess I'll keep using it.
On the left, my "fancy" waste basket. I bought it at a flower shop at Pinnacle Plaza on sale for $3. I think maybe it's true purpose is to hold magazines or dried flower arrangements. It's painted wood.
Dry air...the winter air in Beijing is extremely dry. Humidifiers are expensive. But Dave has solved the problem. He washes clothes often while I'm at work. The moisture from the clothes combined with pleasant fragrance of Tide detergent go a long way toward improving the air quality in the apartment . It's a bit of a mixed blessing though, since I don't think the clothes are a particularly pretty sight and sometime prove to be an obstacle course. Still...I vote for the clothes. 
