Mandarin Mondays: 石林

On Sunday, we took a little site seeing trip to see the Stone Forest (Shílín, 石林). Here are a couple of pictures of this cool place that is about an hour and a half outside of the city.

Family Fridays (a few days late): The Grandparents are Here!!!

I haven't posted for a few days because the Grandparents are here! They did arrive safe and sound on Friday though, and we've been having lots of fun ever since. Shortly after they arrived, they were reading books to the grandsons again. The night they arrived turned into an early Christmas celebration. The boys got tons of Thomas things at once. They were so excited about all their new Thomas clothes they wanted to wear them all at once. Aaron even donned an extra pair of underwear on the outside of his pants for good measure.

DIY Christmas Gift Ideas: I Love Grandma Button Apron

The year of Aaron's first Christmas, I made these simple aprons for grandma gifts. They are pretty similar to these tote bags. I simply used an apron that I already had as a pattern and cut two pieces of fabric for the body. I sewed the right sides together, leaving a small opening for turning, turned it right-side-out and top-stitched around the apron. I made simple ties and a head strap out of lace, ribbon, or fabric pieces sewn together, again using the apron I already had a a guide for the length. I sewed these onto the body of the apron after it was completed, but you could also position them before you sew the body and sew them into the seams (like with the straps on this baby carrier). To decorate, I printed out the phrase "I Love Grandma" (or "mom," or "great grandma," etc.) on fabric transfer paper (remember to do it in reverse) and ironed it on.  Last, I sewed on three buttons in the shape of a heart for decoration. These were well received handmade gifts that were fairly quick to make.

Mandarin Mondays: 洗手间

We're so excited that my parents are coming for a visit really soon. They'll be here on Friday! They are spending a couple of days first touring famous sites on their own, so we sent them some phrases we thought would be useful to know. Nate made a pronunciation guide for each one trying to approximate how you would normally read it in English as much as possible. Since Chinese pinyin uses English letters as a phonetic guide (but certain letters are often pronounced quite differently) this will give you a better idea how these words are supposed to sound. We thought we'd share it with everyone in case you'll be traveling soon and want to impress someone or teach your mouth some new tricks. If you are ever coming for a visit or planning to tour China, at least learn the first one. Even if you don't like their bathrooms (xǐshǒujiān, 洗手间) because of the squatty potties, it's better than the sidewalk. You'll thank me later.

Useful Mandarin Phrases

"Where is the bathroom?"
she show jen zai na lee
洗手间在那里

"Where is this place?"
jigga dee fang zai na lee
这个地方在那里

"Excuse me, can I ask you a question?"
ching when
请问

"How much does this cost?"
doe-a shaow ch-yen
多少钱

"That is too expensive!"
tai g-way la
太贵了

"Can you make it cheaper?"
pi-yen e di-yen
便宜一点

"I want the police!"
woa yaow jing cha
我要警察

The last one was by special request; I've never had to use it.

DIY Christmas Gift Ideas: I Love Grandma Button Tote

The year of Aaron's first Christmas, I made these cute tote bags as gifts for the grandparents. They could also be used as reusable shopping bags, for people you know who would like a green gift. I kept these really simple. I just sewed a rectangle together on three sides, boxed the bottom a little to give it more shape, sewed a simple finished hem on the top, and added ribbon or fabric straps. Then I printed out the phrase "I Love Grandma" (or Grandpa) in fabric transfer paper (remember to do it in reverse) and ironed it on.  Last, I sewed on three buttons in the shape of a heart for decoration. These were well received handmade gifts that were fairly quick to make.

Family Fridays: Christmas Photo Shoot

We did our family photo shoot for Christmas pictures this past Sunday. Here are the highlights of just the boys. More pictures to come.

Brothers!

Awww, hugs.

Both sitting nicely.

Andrew is about to run off.

Seems we can't have a photo shoot without at least one of these.

After he calmed down and then ate a piece of candy, he was happier.

Aaron in his bamboo hat.

DIY Slab Pumpkin Pie

I wanted to bake a pumpkin pie that would last us a little while, so I made a large rectangular pie. This makes a delicious 9x13 pumpkin pie, so you have plenty to share or enjoy for several days. Although it didn't last as long as I had planned, because it was really good. If you don't want a rectangular pie you could use two regular pie pans.

Oil Pie Crust Recipe

• 2 cups flour
• ½ cup oil (vegetable, canola, sunflower, etc.)
• 6 Tbsp or more ice water
  (makes enough for a standard double crust pie, two single crust pies, or a 9x13 slab pie)

1. Mix together oil and flour with a pastry cutter.
2. Add ice water, and continue mixing until firm dough forms.
3. Let rest at least 15 minutes before rolling. 
4. Bake at 350 F for 10 minutes to avoid a soggy crust.

Homemade Pumpkin Pie Filling Recipe

• 3 cups pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin
• 1 1/2 cups (12oz) of cream, half-n-half, evaporated milk, or even plain whole milk for a light pie
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 3 whole eggs
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/4 tsp cloves

1. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl, stirring until well combined.
2. Pour into prepared pie crust shells.
3. Bake at 350 F for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until center is firm.

DIY Pumpkin Bread

My husband loves pumpkin bread, probably because his mom is famous for her great pumpkin bread she makes at Christmastime. Nate says he likes that pumpkin bread is less sweet than the scones and you have room to put butter on it. This it the recipe I used this time to make him some pumpkin bread this time. It turned out really well, nice and moist. You can use it to make great mini loaves or muffins as well with less baking time.

Homemade Pumpkin Bread or Pumpkin Muffins Recipe

Pumpkin muffins made using this recipe with
spiced glaze from scone recipe

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 cups pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup milk
• 3 large eggs
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

1. Mix all ingredients in a large mixing bowl, stirring until well combine.
2. Pour into greased pans.
3. Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes for large loaves, 25-35 minutes for small loaves or muffins.

(Makes about 1 large loaf, or 2 medium loaves, or 8 mini loaves, or 12-18 muffins depending on how full you fill your pans.)

DIY Spiced Pumpkin Cookies

I changed the scone recipe just a little to make these pumpkin cookies. They are really quick to mix up and just drop by the spoonful onto the cookiesheet.

Homemade Spiced Pumpkin Cookie Recipe

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup oil or melted butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1/8 tsp (or a pinch) cloves

1. Mix all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl until well combined.
2. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto a cookie sheet.
3. Bake at 400 F for about 15 minutes until just lightly brown
4. Remove from oven, and let cool.
5. Make spiced powdered sugar glaze.

Spiced Powdered Sugar Glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 Tbsp milk
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg

Combine spices and sugar, and add milk a Tbsp at a time until a nice consistency. Stir until smooth. Drizzle over cooled cookies. If you want to serve these for company, wait an hour or so for the glaze to harden, but I really have a hard time waiting more than a couple minutes to eat some myself. These are a great with tea, coffee, or milk.

(Makes about 2 dozen good sized cookies)

Mandarin Mondays:交通

One thing that is markedly different about living in a big city in China, instead of the suburbs or countryside of America, is transportation (jiāo tōng, 交通) around town. Kunming is relatively modern and packed with cars (chē, 车). Some foreigners even drive here, although it takes a bit of effort to get a driver's license here and a bit of an expense to purchase a vehicle. However, if you are spending most of your time within the city, you don't really "need" a car unless you just love to drive.

The option we use the most for traveling in the city is public buses (gōng jiāo chē, 公交车), which will take you all over the city for a very reasonable price. Once you learn the bus routes, it feels very comfortable to just hop on a bus and ride to your destination. My husband has even used Google maps to figure out bus routes to and from destinations. If we are going somewhere new, we can figure out ahead of time what number bus to catch, if we need to change buses, and the names of the stops we want to get off at.

Some other foreigners use small motorcycles (diàn dòng chē, 电动车). Motorcycles will probably get you to your destination as fast or faster than any car, but they're not our preferred method of transportation. Regular pedal bicycles (zì xíng chē, 自行车) are more popular and perhaps the most popular method among foreigners. They can get you to your destination on our own schedule quite quickly and have very little fees, other than an occasional very small parking fee.

I think the last option for getting around town is the simplest, although it will take you longer, and that is simply walking (zǒu, 走). We often do this to places nearby, and usually push our little boys in the stroller or use baby carriers to carry them on our backs. This is a great option for things that are close to you. It has all of the benefits of a bicycle, and you don’t have to lock your bike. It will take you longer and you'll be more tired, and obviously it is not a good option for getting all the way across the city, but for a quick run to the store, we like this option best. Walmart, fruit and vegetables markets, and a lot of restaurants are all within easy walking distance from our house.