Home of the Carrick Family Website
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Happy Birthday Brigitte!
Wow! The first time I've had to make two pages for one month! I must have waffled a lot lately! When I get the time and inclination to battle with this software I need to figure out how I can put in the latest news at the top of the page instead of the bottom, without too much effort.
Today we went to Decathlon, a sporting goods store (duh!) to get some work-out goodies - weights, stretchy band, mat, and ball - I'm all ready for my torture session next week!
We also went to get some more plants and potting soil and actually made ourselves understood in Chinese. The store owners were actually friendly too! Our gardener came today to finish up. He piled up all the cuttings outside the gate so now our house looks like crap from the street, and the security keep stopping to look at it. I'm sure we'll get a complaint tomorrow.
We're going out tonight to a French restaurant with Andrea and LG. The kids are all staying home and dining on pizza! We might just have a glass or two or three of wine tonight seeing that we don't have to drive J
Sunday, August 23, 2009
We had so much fun last night at the French restaurant. And the food was awesome too. We went with Andrea and LG, and another couple that work with Rory - Shi-hong and her husband Tao. I am now officially terrified for gym class. LG has been to some one-on-one lessons with the instructor and he said it was torture. He eventually asked Andrea to join him so she could distract the instructor so he could get a break! The instructor would walk behind him and pinch his butt - telling him to stand up straight, suck it in, and tuck in his chins! She stood on his feet when he did sit-ups, and when he complained she made him do another set. Yikes! I am truly terrified!
Rory has gone with the girls to the DVD store. He hasn't been before and they all have a long list of DVD's that they want. I'm sure he'll come home with more than that too. I'm at home getting a head start on the laundry before the Ayi comes tomorrow and turns everything pink! I was going to make banana bread but we're out of eggs - I can't keep up with Sydney baking constantly! Hopefully they'll remember to get some on the way home.
Monday, August 24, 2009
We booked Maxine's ticket to Singapore last night. She flies out from Nanjing at midnight, arrives 5am in Singapore, stays a week, over her birthday(!!!) and returns on the 6th. For some strange reason I'm not nervous at all about sending her although I'm sure I will be at the time. She's flown so much in and out of Singapore and even talked us through the airport perfectly. She doesn't have to worry about having someone pick her up from the airport - she'll just get a taxi. And, when she comes back it's just as simple. Luckily she's able to fly as an unaccompanied minor, otherwise she wouldn't be going. So, when I write in a month or so that I've lost my 15-year old daughter somewhere in South East Asia……
I'm already writing my shopping list of things I want her to get for me. I wonder if they'll let her bring in hair color kits, bags of brown sugar, bread flour and taco seasoning?
I've organized for my Chinese lessons to start up again on Monday and Wednesday mornings, from 9 to 10, and then on Thursday afternoon from 3 to 5. At that rate I should be fluent in about a month. My tutor, Khristy, came highly recommended by another Celanese couple who've been taking lessons from her for a couple of month now. I'll have to do some seeeeeerious brushing up before Wednesday!
This morning I sorted out my scrap-booking papers into colors - something I've been avoiding for a long time. I was chatting with Sharrie on the phone which made the sorting seem a lot less tedious and go a lot faster - thanks Sharrie. No paper-cuts either - it's a miracle!
They delivered our outdoor furniture this morning. The tables are round instead of square. We we're even sitting at the actual table I wanted when the salesperson (I use that term very loosely) wrote up the order! The driver was with me at the time too, so I'm hoping he'll remember which one I actually wanted when he has to take them back tomorrow and switch them out. I don't want round tables. Why can't anything just be simple to do and done right the first time……? Waaaaah!
I know what's going to happen. The driver will return the tables tomorrow and find that the square tables are out of stock. Then I'll be left with eight chairs and no tables at all!
We took Sydney to the dentist today to get spacers in her teeth, in preparation for her expander next week. When we got there, she didn't just get the spacers, they also put on the clear brackets. Uuuugh, poor child. And this is only the beginning. I think we'll be dosing her up with Tylenol tonight - nothing like having something wedged between your teeth and stuck on your teeth.
Tuesday, August 25th, 2009
Syd's at home today. Her teeth, gums and mouth are really sore so we're taking it easy today. I emailed her teachers this morning to let them know that she wouldn't be there today and they were nice enough to reply immediately, to tell me what they would be working on in class so she could do it at home.
The PTA meeting this morning was………interesting. Four moms had little kids there - probably all under one year old. I can understand that if you had to leave the room whenever your child starts howling or performing that you'd never get anything done. But, when no-one can hear what's being said, and everyone else is "baby-sitting" your wandering child that is covered head-to-toe in melted chocolate chip cookie then it's time to goooooo! People were constantly having to quickly snatch up their cookies and cup of coffee, and duck sticky fingers. One little tyrant headed my way once, and while no-one was looking, hopefully, I pulled a horrible face at him. That was the last time he came around my side of the chairs! Good thing he did, I think I would have pinched him if he hadn't! I think for most people they were just glad the meeting was over. We did discuss, at length, whether to include a bite-size piece of chocolate with the bookmarks that the PTA gives each child on their birthday! Uuugh! There were comments about promoting "unhealthy" eating, about what type of candy it was, perhaps the younger kids could have a chewy candy because chocolate was too messy, and the older kids have the chocolate. Then we had the discussion about food allergies. Then someone proposed we send a note home to each parent asking them if we can give their child a bite-sized Dove chocolate on their birthday. OMG! A suggestion was made that fun stickers be given instead of chocolates - she obviously doesn't have a 12-grader! Do they really think those older kids want those cheesy laminated "Happy Birthday from the PTA" bookmarks anyway???? And I'm sitting there thinking that they expect someone to volunteer for this position! Eeeesh!
Next on the agenda was t-shirt sales - the PTA's big fundraiser. Apparently they expect them to sell well! There was heated discussion about what color they should be, why not sell lanyards, caps and pants as well, whether to include the date in the design, who should be coming up with the design….why not have a competition and let all the students submit a design. Bearing in mind this is a Kindergarten through 12th grade school I somehow don't think there would ever be consensus on which design to use!
So, I didn't volunteer for that either! Actually, I didn't volunteer for anything I figured it was probably safer to let all the ideas come out into the open and simmer down. And once everyone's figured out what they're doing, I'll gladly help!
After coming home first to check on Syd, I went to beading for a few hours and met some more people! Most of them were German but they were kind enough to speak English for the few of us. There's quite a range of talents so I'm sure I'll pick up some tips and ideas, and possibly be able to share a few too. Jitka, the host, was kind enough to give me a bunch of business cards for all the beading & supply shops around Nanjing, Suzhou, and Shanghai. It looks like I can get most things here with the exception of good quality tools, which I picked up in the States over summer anyway.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
We went out for Chinese Mexican last night to a restaurant called Tacos. The "margaritas" were good, even though they were made with a glass full of tequila and a splash of orange juice! The fajitas came with some watery salsa stuff that I didn't try, and MAYONNAISE instead of sour cream. No rice, beans, lettuce, tomatoes or cheese! Aaaaaai karumba! We won't be going back there! Waaaaaah! No Tex-Mex for 6 months!
I had my first Chinese lesson in China today. Khristy (yes, yet another way of spelling Christy/Christie/Kristy that I have to remember!) is my tutor. She a graduate student studying Chinese language, from what I can understand J
I did a bunch of revision with her today so she could figure out what I know, or from her perspective, what I don't know. Got the next lesson tomorrow already!
Lunch out today, again! New restaurant - French this time. The food wasn't as good as the other French restaurant we went to last week! I had to force down that Lemon Tart! The company was good though. We had a good giggle at the menu option for "Tart of the moment".
One of the ladies is leaving to go back to Houston tomorrow and another will be leaving in October, also going to Houston. It seems there's always someone coming or going. We told them to enjoy some good Tex-Mex for us…..
Something tells me I'm gonna be paying for all this dining out tomorrow morning…….this might be the last posting for a while. I might never make it back up the hill after gym tomorrow morning!
Thursday, August 27th, 2009
Big storms last night. Lots of lightening and rolling thunder. It's always comes when Rory goes to Shanghai! I'd put the lilies that Rory had given me outside on the table since the pollen had started to fall off them. Well, the whole glass vase of flowers got blown off the table and smashed all over the tile patio. That was before the wind really picked up or the rain started. In fact I'd only just seen one flash of lightening out the window when I heard the big smash. Of course it poured rain afterwards so the glass got spread all over the place. We'll have to remember to wear shoes out there for the next while till we get all the glass cleaned up really well out of the grout lines.
It's hard to believe we've been here for just over a month already! I keep thinking it's been just a few weeks but we arrived on the July 22nd. I'm learning Chinese characters as well as speaking it now. I have a 2 hour lesson on Monday, 1 hour on Wednesday, and 2 hours again on Thursday. At the end of two hours my brain is fried and everything starts sounding and looking the same!
I went to gym this morning. It was actually really good - not half as bad as everyone told me it would be! Although, I'm sure I'll feel it tomorrow! Jing is a really good instructor. She took her time to show me exactly how I should be doing the exercises and what muscles I should feel burning (I felt them all!) She does come around to poke and prod to make sure you're sucking in and tucking in! Not sure which classes I'll be doing. She does Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday mornings at our neighboring compound and then Tuesday and Thursday morning and Wednesday evenings here. Some classes are with the ball, some are with the stretchy cord, some are cardio. I'll have to figure it out since my Chinese lessons start at early and will overlap the gym lessons.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Okay - I'm feelin' the pain now! I rolled over in bed last night and just about died! I'm staying in my pj's the whole day. I'm not going back upstairs!
Sydney came home yesterday with a sore throat and feeling crappy. This morning she woke up feeling really grotty with a fever. So I got her an appointment at the doctors this afternoon. The doctor's rooms are actually in the "shopping arcade" of a hotel. You don't actually enter through the hotel, but around the back through the arcade. Anyway, we got there and were promptly ushered outside, across the parking lot of the hotel, down to a padlocked area that housed all the outside holiday ornaments, broken furniture, unused kitchen shelving etc. Basically a junk yard! In the middle was a big hole filled with green water and mosquitoes and various other floating things. I didn't get too close! Well, inside this padlocked area, off in a corner, was a small white tent/awning. Inside that was a portable air-conditioner, clinic bed, and two chairs, a box of tissues, oh, and a bed pan! Delightful! On the concrete floor were used tissues, broken glass, dead beetles, and numerous other critters. We waited and waited and waited. I eventually called the doctors rooms to ask what was taking so long, and about 30 seconds later the doctor comes rushing over. Something tells me they'd forgotten about us! Well, she took temperatures - 4 times, checked throat, check chest & lungs and did an "immediate results" flu test. The test result was negative. But, she said they're not always accurate. So why bother??? She then informed us that she was required to ask us that we go to the Military hospital, since Sydney was running a fever, where she may be required to stay in quarantine for 7 days. Uuuuuugh, nooooo! I don't think so. I didn't tell her that though. I just nodded, and ummed and ahh'd. After a while she packed up her supplies and we returned to the actual doctors rooms where she gave us the flu medicine. The packaging is in Chinese so I can't read the instructions…..I just got out of there as fast as I could, which wasn't all that fast since I can barely move after gym! No, we're not going to the Military hospital and no we're not keeping her quarantined in her room for seven days! Geez! It'll be a miracle if we didn't contract some mosquito borne illness or tetanus while we were there! Hey, at least the doctor could speak English! I will never complain about uncomfortable waiting room chairs again, I will ever complain about the Disney movies that run endlessly in pediatrician's waiting rooms, and I will be forever thankful for the paper that the nurses roll over the beds, and the availability of a flushing toilet!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
It's a wonderful, relaxing, cool, rainy day. I made some cranberry, orange and macadamia bread and used the extra filling to make some muffins, along with the left-over blueberries I had in the fridge. So the house smells wonderful too!
I have two large containers of flour and I don't know which one is all-purpose flour and which is bread flour. You'd think there'd be a significant difference but there isn't. And the muffins didn't have a noticeably different texture either and I used what I thought was the bread flour. I'll just have to make another batch mid-week and use the "other flour" and see how they turn out!
Rory is outside making the most of the cooler weather, putting together our patio tables. The curtain man came this morning to measure for a blind for over our French door. As luck would have it, that's where the sun comes streaming in when we "try" to watch TV in the evenings.
The house is coming together - we've just got a few shelves to put in a cupboard to make better use of the space and then we'll be set. Rory's already asking to have everyone over next weekend - all 29! I suggested we use the neighbor's house and have all the teenage girls babysit the little ones there. There's a bunch of kids - about 8 below the age of 10, and then 6 over 10. I'd rather them be running around next door where we can see them from our patio, than inside my house!
Maxine has gone shopping downtown with her friends for the first time. Our driver dropped them off this morning and they'll catch a taxi back. Sydney is taking it easy, feeling a little better, and catching up on homework. I still have to do my Chinese homework - better get a move on!
Saturday, August 29, 2009
The weather today was wonderful - cool, with even the whisper of a chill in the air when the wind picked up! Awesome.
We had the Nanjing International Club barbeque this afternoon. They held it at the school since they've got plenty of space. Luckily they did because later in afternoon it rained. They had all the cafeteria seats set out so we could dine in style! Looked kind of like a German restaurant with long bench seats - kind of appropriate since it was the German Restaurant that did the catering! Straight after the bbq, Sydney had a birthday party and it started at the school, playing waffle ball. But, with the rain, they all ended up playing in the puddles! It seems the kids are dropping like flies - two more girls from Syd's class woke up with fevers today, and Andrea's son too. Syd seems to be a lot better today, a little congested, and a sore throat. No seven-day quarantine for her!
Monday, August 31, 2009
Why are mornings so stressful? No matter how much preparation we do the night before we always seem to end up with something missing the next morning. For some reason, this morning it was my fault that Maxine left her phone at school on Friday, it was everybody's fault that Sydney couldn't find her student ID, it was my fault that Sydney couldn't find her shoes, it was my fault that the dentist hadn't called to say they had her braces ready, it was my fault there were no water bottles (okay, maybe that one was my fault!) It really makes you want to get up in the morning. And this was a "good" morning! So much for those commercials with the happy, fully-dressed, fresh-faced family sitting, voluntarily, around the breakfast table that is laden with stacks of freshly made pancakes, fresh milk, boxes of cereal, fresh fruit, and a big cup of coffee while the morning sun streams gloriously through the windows. I've tried. Really hard. It doesn't work. Each family member is usually in some state of undress so "voluntary" is not an option - they're usually tearing through the house searching for the lost sock, lost shoe, lost headband, arguing over who gets to wear the favorite shirt today, arguing over who gets to wear the clean PE shirt because some left their dirty one scrunched up in the bottom of their backpack, etc, etc, etc. The breakfast table, these days, will be lucky to have an array of cereals with fresh milk, it's usually toast with an array of toppings, or if I've had time the day before, muffins. No time for pancakes on school mornings - I'm not getting up any earlier than 6am! If I'm lucky there's a cup of coffee in progress. And the sun…..we consider ourselves very lucky if we ever get to see the sun! This morning it was fog, fairly appropriate considering the "Monday morning mood" of the household. And so the week begins……
Chinese lesson again this morning….man, at the end of two hours my brain is fried, I'm dying of thirst, and I need to pee! The time goes really quick because we're covering so much information but that last 10 minutes seems to last forever!
I'm working on downloading some pictures of our house for the web-site. I'll put them in September's gallery so be sure to check back in the next few days.
