Pet & Plant Street

We have made the short trip to Pet and Plant street a couple of times since we arrived here in Suzhou because as any of you who know Stan can attest...the man loves plants. He comes by it quite honestly.....his mom is also a lover of all things green and she converted Stan's dad and they have created (read: worked their tails off for 7+ years) the most amazing back yard ever with ponds and bogs and plants and plants and more plants..... but I digress. Back to pet and plant street.

It is literally a street where there are probably close to 40 or 50 shops selling plants and more than that selling animals. I use the term "shop" very loosely as many are just a small room (imagine a flea market environment and you are close). Anyway-we made the trip (10 short minutes by taxi and 20 by e-bike) right before Xan began school about a month ago and I've had these pics just sitting on my computer waiting for me to share them with you. The plant part of pet and plant street is very lovely and lush but the pet part is a different story. There are literally hundreds of different animals that are for purchase and the conditions are certainly less than optimal. Those animal protection folks would go nuts but it does make for an interesting morning and some pretty good pictures too. So here is a random sampling of what we saw that morning....in no particular order. (thanks for the photo advice today from my friend Danielle on getting them to up load quicker....thus resulting in more blog posts--- hopefully)

A cage full of pigeons.

Tiny baskets for the crickets you can purchase.

There are TONS of turtles....all sizes, all colors, etc. One of the delicacies here is turtle soup and there is literally a whole turtle floating in top of the bowl when it arrives at the table. I haven't partaken but Stan has and he says it's actually not bad. I think these smaller turtles are for pets.....at least I hope so.

Yep....this is a bag full o' turtles.

Just because I could.....here is a picture of a shop owner cleaning her toenails.

This sweet little girl watched us very intently.

I was glad she let me photograph her without posing.......I loved this picture.

More cricket cages.....this is only about 3-4 inches square.

and if you want a bit more style for your cricket this one is for you

Here are some of the hundreds of crickets.....it was loud and I can't imagine wanting one for a pet. Obviously the locals can and do.......lots of them for sale and all kinds of accessories.

Xan was checking them out.

Here are some of the smaller plants.

Again...because I could...high heels are literally worn every day by all kinds of workers....doesn't matter what you do or if they even match your outfit. I'm shamed in my comfy flip flops or tennis shoes by these ladies walking the streets and working in their heels.

This is for Stan's mom.....Yep that is trumpet vine. Want some??

This large, lovely plant is now a member of the Everitt greenhouse. He had it delivered to our apartment that same afternoon with about 5 other smaller plants. It really is beautiful.

Stan is just loving life here.....he gets very happy when he is around lots of green things.

This is a very common stance for people here in China to do work. They squat and will sit forever doing tasks or just chatting with each other. The older folks do it too....the men will squat and play dice games on the sidewalk. I don't know how they do it.

This cutie pie stopped to admire the very large, ugly cement lions that we did not have delivered to our apartment that afternoon. (I do have my limits)

Just some pretty flowers-

Some kind of nasty worm....there was a shop with tons of these bins full of them. I'm not sure what they are for....not sure I want to know.

This guy was one of several in the bird section that had a great seat to watch the shoppers go by. He was quiet but there were lots that weren't.

More birds...

and because he can.......a man working without a shirt on. [Side note: unfortunately this is not the least dressed that I've seen a man working. I drove by a construction site one day and saw two men in their tighty whitey's and hardhats and shoes. I promise! It was almost traumatizing if I hadn't gotten so tickled.]

Fish.....lots and lots of fish.

Some of the dogs....most were the small breeds but we did see a few large dogs.

More fish...

Just a sad puppy.

Trying to fit in with the locals.......ok- not so much.

A basket of eggs that were near the pigeons......this picture doesn't do them justice. They were a beautiful almost see through white color. Very unusual...again not sure if they eat them or what.

That's about it for now. Would love to give anyone a personal tour of Pet and Plant street so if you're in the area be sure to call us.

Chat with ya later-

Living like the locals

Ok...Ok....I hear you. I know that 2 months is way too long to go between blog posts and I could go into all the excuses I have..... like the month long trip to United States which was wonderful, returning to China to receive, unpack and put away our shipment of personal belongings-also wonderful, and then updating our homestudy for adoption #2- LOTS of paperwork that I wasn't expecting but will be wonderful when the goal is reached and our next little one is in my arms. (I won't get all mushy on you already but just know that the very thought of holding her is what got me through the small mountain of paperwork required to let the US govt know that we are now living in China and still wish to adopt and that we still have a suitable home and that we still have a stable enough relationship to bring another child into our family.........can you detect just a hint of sarcasm.. :) But I won't go into all those excuses, that would be tacky- I'll just get started.

My mind is bubbling with ideas for blog posts and I thought I'd just jump back into sharing our daily life here in the Middle Kingdom.

We've done several things this week that certainly wouldn't have been activities we would have done before living here. There are so many day to day things that seem so different at first but then you get accustomed to them and actually begin to realize what a good idea some of them are. You begin to realize that the locals really do know a thing or two about living here. For example, the Chinese people do not want to have dark skin....at all....I mean they are serious about this. The skin creams they buy even have "bleaching" or "whitening" elements in them to help keep their skin pale. We've been told that the reason for this is if you have dark skin then you are looked upon as "poor" because you've probably been working outside as a farmer or laborer.....neither of which gains you much clout in society. You will see women with umbrellas all the time...some more decorative than others {read tacky}....but lots and lots of umbrellas everywhere and the sun is shining as bright as can be. Well, like I said, this seemed odd to us at first but we too adopted this practice this past week. We found that protecting ourselves from the beaming sun actually helped to keep us a bit cooler (novel idea huh?) and we want all the help we can get in that department. It is very hot and humid here in Suzhou. (in fact Stan just told me that it is 94 degrees and feels like 101 and it is 8pm) Here is Xan modeling her sun covering fashion for us.

We were on our way this particular afternoon to find a tailor that Stan had been made aware of by his Chinese tutor/teacher. We were armed with an address, some money, and our umbrellas and off we went for an Everitt family adventure. After a couple of phone calls to Stan's secretary to talk to the cab driver and give more instructions (apparently the address we had didn't make sense to him) we were dropped off right in front of this little shop. I stress little here because the place was seriously no larger than most of our living rooms. The walls were lined with all kinds of fabrics and a few mannequins modeling some of their craftsmanship scattered near the window and a salesclerk who spoke a bit of English and was extremely willing to help us with our selections. We went with the thought that we would just look around and get some ideas but we quickly got caught up in the "coolness" of the whole experience and before we knew it Stan had ordered 2 suits and a dress shirt all to be tailored for him. We chose the fabrics and the shop attendant made a quick phone call and about 2 minutes later 2 more people walked in. The woman who appeared sat down and wrote down every number the man blurted out while wrapping his tape measure every which way around Stan. They asked if we were in a hurry for these garments and Stan replied, "No, not at all." Ok they said....these will be ready next Tuesday then (8 days later). WOW...I wonder what they could do if we were in a hurry. :) The prices were incredibly awesome too and I'll let you know about the quality of the finished product next week after we pick them up.

Here are a few pics I snapped with our phones during his first date with the tailor.

Another wonderful little activity that we've adapted to quite nicely here in China is the availability and affordability of massages. Stan has even gotten a membership at the massage parlor that is located at a little shopping center here in our apartment complex. That sounds so sleezy...massage parlor....but I don't know what else to call it. It really isn't sleezy at all. Anyway, my point is that Stan frequents the establishment and actually has an employee that he prefers. They don't go by their names, only numbers- seriously, their name tags just have a number. Stan is fond of #16 and she apparently likes him too. He goes in for a massage about once or twice a week and this last time that he went in she was telling him that his "internal body temperature" was off. Yeah...your guess is as good as ours as to how she knew that from rubbing his back but she did and he didn't argue with her. She then removed this small stone from a rope necklace she was wearing and began rubbing his back with it. He said it felt like she was lightly scraping him but it wasn't painful or anything. She finished her scraping and then finished up with his massage. He came home and was telling me about this and then took his shirt off. Let's just say my mouth flew open and I didn't know what to think. Here is what I saw.

Now mind you, this was only about 20 minutes afterwards. He said it wasn't sore or tender to the touch at all but it sure looked awful. Apparently this is called gua sha (pronounced gwa shaw) and the Chinese believe that is removes toxins from your body ???? Ummm.....OK.

Today (3 days later) it still very much looks like he has been attacked the hickey fairy who thought it would be funny to mark him with some secret writings about his internal body temperature.....which by the way he says feels much more "normal" now. I'm sure #16 will be pleased.

Well I did it, jumped right back into the blogging world and I gotta say it's good to be back. I've got lots more to share so I'll be back soon.

Chat with ya later-

It's the Big Things

So......today is my 13th anniversary and I'm pretty sure it's the "big things" I do for Stan that keep him around. For instance, he has been in China now for 2 months and has been really wanting this particular "thing". I have been on a mission to gather the necessary supplies for this "thing" and last night I completed my project. It took trips to 3 different places to obtain all I needed and I just know that I will now most certainly be all the envy of my new friends.

Some of you are probably thinking that I might be referring to Stan's Skittle addiction but don't worry he found those on his first day here. I'm sure we would have had to totally renegotiate our package in order to accommodate an import fee for skittles if he hadn't.

Anyway- I chronicled this little project with a few photos so go ahead.....scroll on down and check out his anniversary present and try to contain your jealousy.

Keep goin......you are going to love this!!

No....your eyes are not deceiving you! That is a nice glass of sweet, iced tea. The pitcher was my last necessary item and that was obtained last night (after looking at several stores for one....they just don't use them here or something)

Now at home I would prefer some decaffeinated Luzianne family size tea bags but I just haven't been able to spot those (hmmmmmm). I decided to trust the good ol' yellow box and Mr Lipton and we were happy to discover that although there is a bit of difference in taste of the "yellow label" tea it wasn't bad....in fact, it was quite tasty.

I knew we weren't in the States anymore when I couldn't purchase sugar in anything larger than these little bags. They probably hold about 2 lbs or so......guess I'll be purchasing those in large quantities once my bakeware arrives and knowing we can now have sweet tea anytime we want.

Now I'm sure that this post isn't near as exciting to all of you as it was for my husband but let me tell you....when he took a sip of that refreshing goodness I might as well have handed him the keys to a new Land Rover. The man was happy I tell ya!! So.....mission accomplished and Happy Anniversary Stan......hope I can keep making you smile for many more years to come.

PS...I would like to go on the record that I can indeed retain my "southern lady" membership because really....anyone worth her salt better be able to make sweet tea for her man regardless of her geographic location.

Chat with ya later.

Our Wednesday

Today was a bit busy for us but fun......I tried to take a few pics along the way to help you feel included, I like for everyone to feel included....it's just my nature. :)

We started the day at a new playgroup and made fast friends with some ladies from England, Ireland and South Africa. They all had children a bit younger than Xan but she was very excited to be with other kids and just play. The indoor play area was really nice and I even did one of the things I thought I'd never do......allow her into a ball pit. (gasp!!). Oh well.....when in Rome. We finished up playing, enjoyed a quick lunch together and then pointed our strollers in all different directions---it was naptime for most of the little ones.

Here are some of our new friends.....Colleen and her twin 3yo boys Aiden and Edward (Eddie). They are from England but had spent several years in North Carolina just before moving to China.(her husband works for Caterpillar). She said my accent made her all "warm and fuzzy" b/c she loved NC and hadn't wanted to leave.

Next on our agenda for the day was some shopping for a few basics for our apartment. We get to move in on Thursday and since we don't have a vehicle I thought it best to begin making some of the multiple trips required to get all that we will need. Today's goal: basic bedding and a few items for the kitchen. We went to a place called Carefour (just think superwalmart but bigger and with a bazillion employees). Xan graciously napped in the stroller and I was doing ok until I got to the sheets and then I required some major assistance from my iphone as well as the attendants working that aisle (yeah...there were 4 on that aisle alone.....the staffing here is definately abundant). I have a language translator on my phone that is won-der-ful!!


I finally got my decisions made and was trying to get everything into my buggy when I realized that we had attracted quite a little crowd. No kidding, there were 7 people including 2 sets of grandparents with their g-babies, and 3 others that were following us and just staring. I was a little unnerved at first and then just decided hey......I'd probably stare at someone in walmart in the US that was trying to buy live snakes so ....have at it folks.... glad we could make you smile today. By the way....you can't buy sheet sets in china...nope....you buy 3 piece sets that include a flat sheet, a pillow case and a duvet cover....no fitted sheet or top sheet. Then you buy a "summer quilt" that goes into the duvet cover. This is the setup that we have here at the hotel and it's actually kinda nice. It's warm but not hot and light weight enough to still be cool. Let's just hope that my sizing is correct......our beds are 1.8 and 1.5. I typed that into my iphone calculator and the ladies showed me a some items so I guess we'll see tomorrow how we did.

After checking out, realizing you have to purchase your bags (even plastic thin ones), lugging an entire buggy of stuff up a moving escalator (made for buggies), while carrying a stroller and holding onto Xan.......my precious little one mentions to me that she needs to potty. Well.......whatcha gonna do? I wheeled that buggy right on into the bathroom and immediately Xan said, "Mommy....don't say Praise the Lord". This cracked me up b/c ever since we arrived if we used a public restroom and it was western style (as opposed to a sqatty potty) then I'd say..."Praise the Lord". heehee. This one was obviously not a "prasie the Lord" kinda setup. She made me laugh ....then she laughed with me...she squatted....I held her ......& we were off again.

A quick taxi ride and I got everything back to the hotel room. We headed out again, but this time on foot for a stroll and to get a snack. The area of town we were headed is only about a 15 minute or so walk from our hotel and we've enjoyed getting out and doing that several times. We have our little routine.....she lounges and deejays the iphone music for us.....I push and we sing as we go. I'm sure the locals get quite a kick out of us bee bopping our way down the street while belting out "all right, all right......I got all I need....and it's all right by me." (darius rucker would be so proud)



We had worked hard and needed a little snack and some good Cold Stone Creamery sounded like it would do the trick.

We finished our outing at the local bakery and made our selections for dinner....we had decided to just have some fruit and pastries in our room since we'd been out all day. This place is DIVINE I tell you.....the flakiness will just about do you in. I don't even want to think about the calories I had this afternoon/evening between the ice cream and then pastries.


I wish you could just smell this place. yyyyuuuummmmmmmmy!!

We returned to our hotel about the time Stan was arriving and after a bath for Xan we sat down for our picnic and then time to start heading for bed. We had a really good day and although there were somethings that could have frustrated me (the audience at walmart, taking 45 minutes to determine that sheet sets don't exist, or that you don't just get bags with your purchase) I think I'm just going to look at it as a day that the LORD has made and I will be glad and rejoice in it.

Chat with ya later.....

Good, Bad and Just Different

One of the things that Stan and I discussed before coming here was the difference in things being "bad" and things being "just different". We were preparing ourselves for things we knew we would encounter in our new home and the attitude that we wanted to work on having. There are of course good things....which are just that....good. There are also bad things and some things are truly bad. However, although it is easy (or lazy) to stick things in the bad category we wanted to challenge ourselves to question our judgement and ask...."or is it just different from what we are accustomed to?" This seems to be a prevalent attitude among many of us-if it's not the way we are used to then it's bad or wrong.
So in the interest of our attitude adjustment, here are my first categorizations after 1 week here in China.

Good: Smelling and then seeing a Subway Sandwich Shop--yeah for lunchtime!
Bad: Opening Xan's bag of cheetos to discover they are steak flavored (see.... that is just bad).

Good: Discovering wonderful pastries at a local bakery (the Chinese don't bake at home so bakery was awesome!!)
Bad: Discovering that said pastries are way too cheap.

Good: Finding the neighborhood market where the locals shop.
Different: Realizing the locals don't really see a need to refrigerate large hunks of meat accompanied by a meat clever....help yourself (or did they see the need to separate it from the produce......yep...right next to the apples)

Good: Meeting new friends from all over the world.
Different: Being humbled by the fact that I only know one language....seriously these ladies were each fluent in at least 3. (and their kids in 2)

Good: An apartment with great furnishings, an oven and western style bathrooms.
Different: The crazy amount of paperwork involved. (81 page lease)

Good: The view from a 27th floor hotel room....amazing.
Bad (yes just plain BAD): Realizing the Chinese don't see that locks on windows are necessary. (I truly had a meltdown moment on this one. I had to go into the bathroom and cry b/c Xan had been playing all around this wall of windows and the "could have's" overwhelmed me and literally made me sick to my stomach) Thank you GOD for your protection!!!

Good: A job for my husband that doesn't require his presence before 9am. :)
Different: A company car and driver coming to get him and bringing him home each day.

Good: The thoroughness of the physical exams Stan and I received, compliments of the Chinese govt, in order to obtain the proper Visas allowing us to remain in country for extended time period.
Different: The rapid succession/various rooms/number of people used to complete those exams. Seriously....we each had xrays, ekgs, sonograms, blood work, and eye exams in less than 40 minutes total.

Good: Taking a taxi to "the walmart" here in Suzhou.
Different: Discovering that it was on the ground floor of a 4 story shopping mall and that the meat department contained live snakes and dried fish (smelled yummy as I know you can imagine) :)

Good: A new friend's advise on which milk to purchase.
Different: Purchasing it in chicken-stock type boxes from the non refrigerated grocery aisle. We haven't tasted it yet but I'll keep you posted.

So.....here's to continuing our attitude adjustment. I'll keep making notes on the differences and share them with you. I totally plan to include pictures when I can. I'm hoping that our internet connection at our apartment will be helpful with that process as opposed to the connection we have here at the hotel.

Talk to ya later--
Megan

Here's a picture that I'm sure the grandparents have been hoping for. This is on the playground equipment outside our apartment.