Bok Choy, anyone?

This morning the Newcomer's group that I joined back in January took a field trip to the Little India wet market. The leader's son, Aaron, just graduated college as a chef so he met us there to educate us on all the local fruits and vegetables and how to cook them. Some day I would love to go back and look at the rest of the stalls as today we concentrated only on the produce - I will skip the meat stalls, though, as the smell is a little overwhelming! It was very interesting and I'm looking forward to trying some of the local produce.

************

Egg noodles, anyone? These are used in stir fries. There were also bean sprouts (kind of hidden behind the lady on the left) and tofu. You can also purchase fried tofu - seems like that defeats some of the purpose of tofu but on the other hand anything fried tends to taste better!
This man was cutting up jack fruit. We all tried a piece and I wasn't too impressed. It's more of a melon-y flavor than sweet. We were told that it's better dried as the flavor is more concentrated so I'll try it that way first before I completely write it off. We also sampled some rose apple which was bland - not bad, though. The bright pink fruit behind the jack fruit is dragon fruit - it looks like a white kiwi inside but has a very bland flavor. Here is one of the fruit stalls - notice that there are a lot of recognizable fruits as well! There are mango's in the box by the lady with the pink shirt.

Aaron is explaining to our group the different vegetables and what they are used for. One that I want to try soon is called baby bok choy. I will have to post a picture because I'm not sure how to describe it. You steam it and than add an oyster sauce and dried shallots (type of red onion) to the top. I had it at a hawker's center once and really liked it...now it's time to try making it myself!
**************
I'm not sure if I already posted about a provisioner so if I have please forgive me. I had a man call me last week who is known as a "provisioner." He calls each morning, except Sunday, and asks if there is anything you need. He can deliver anything you can buy in a supermarket to your home - usually before 6pm that same day. He has been a life saver to me as he can usually get hard to find items - like Pillsbury crescent rolls:) I haven't used him every day but there have been times when I haven't been able to make it to the grocery store so I've had him bring milk, oj, spices, Coke, beef bouillon, applesauce (which I can't find), and Kosher salt. I also found an online butcher the other day where I was able to order brisket - a cut of meat that is hard to find here. Most things from back home are available here - you just need to know how to find them! We have pork ribs in the slow cooker for supper tonight:) YUM! Add some real mashed potatoes, fresh green beans, and bakery bread and you have a good KC meal! Incidentally, slow cookers are very popular here - most likely because they save you from heating up the kitchen with the stove.
**********************
This one is for Dad R - I can hear a thunder storm moving in:) Days that there is rain it's so humid that you find yourself taking a shower 3 times a day!

***********************
One Last Note of Interest:

For those of you who have been following the news there have been several earthquakes in Indonesia (Sumatra, which is directly to the West of Singapore) this past week. It's possible that they are gearing up for another big one like the one in 2004 that caused the Indian Ocean tsunami. Singapore has been proclaimed by geologists as one of the safest places in the world, tectonically (safer, even, than Central Illinois should a big quake occur along the New Madrid fault line.) Since Singapore is a relatively young nation most high rise buildings have been built to withstand the tremors that we do feel from the bigger earthquakes. We haven't felt any of the past week's tremors.

If you are interested I posted a link below that will give you more information on Singapore and earthquakes.

http://app.nea.gov.sg/cms/htdocs/article.asp?pid=1199

Oh! How could I forget the POOL?!?

The darker water in the forefront of the picture is a child's wading pool. The main pool is behind it.

Kenton is getting ready to go underwater! They have really started to turn into little fish - we are glad that they have overcome their fear of the water finally.
"Take a picture of me going under water, mommy!" She was too fast so I caught her coming up:)
And of course we can't forget about my little buddy!

Another Snapshot of Our Lives

With the following pictures please keep in mind that pictures haven't been hung yet or walls painted. Katie - this shows what some creative picture taking can do with the mess that is still there:)

This first picture is of Kaitlyn's room. This is also our GUEST room for when all our GUESTS come to visit (hint, hint!)

Here is our office and where we e-mail and Skype to you from. Keep in mind that I kind of just shoved things onto shelves and in drawers and under the desk so it's a little messy yet! The lamp was left here by the previous tenants and I just realized that the shade is tipped - now it's going to bug me that I can't just reach in there and fix it! How do you like our new computer monitor? Ryan won it at his company supper so we hooked the Wii up to it and will eventually hook up our computer as well - you will all be in HD when we Skype so look your best! :) Joan - do you see my "Angel of a Friend?"

This is our front door. The door that is hiding off to the right of the picture goes into the kitchen which is the door that service men use, the provisioner, and the maid - if we had one! This area is enclosed by a metal gate so we can leave all our shoes, stroller and wagon in this area as well.

Woodgrove Condo, where we live, is pictured directly behind the Woodgrove St. sign. Our apartment is hidden by the palm trees...

Note the plunger in the corner...when I first sent this picture to my family several people pointed it out. So I decided I better mention it first this time least you think we are tacky people! It is covering a drain hole and our Realtor advised us that it's there for a reason - maybe when it rains heavily the drain backs up??? I guess we will find out soon enough:) This balcony is off our of living room and the office also has windows that overlook it.

Our master bedroom - we have our own private balcony although we've never used it! In fact the white metal gates covering the sliding glass doors are locked and I haven't taken the time to figure out which key fits it yet! The previous tenants left us a nice little wooden chair to sit on, even. The desk and mirror are built in and couldn't be changed - the wicker chair and the lamp also came with the place. We were fortunate to be left a grand total of three lamps:) I just noticed that there is also a TV stand that was left here that is at the foot of the bed. Since we don't have a use for this I'm not sure what we are going to do with it yet...any ideas? (Storage room is full and if we pitch it we may be held accountable.)

Kenton and Ethan's room sports a bunk bed that is tall enough for a dresser to fit under. We figure that when E is out of the crib we will sell the crib and dresser and put a little toddler bed under there and make it into a fort. Maybe he'll actually stay in his bed that way???

We have wardrobes here instead of closets. Trust me when I say that a closet has so much more space than a wardrobe! Our world map was kicked out of the office due to a lack of wall space and found a home in the boys' room. Incidentally - Ethan doesn't sleep in this room. He's still in a pack n play in our room which begs the question - "WHY do we have a crib?"

The wardrobe in this room is not built in and was also left by the previous tenant. We transformed it into a toy cabinet as it's in the office. Oops, Katie! Guess I didn't get EVERYthing hidden well!

Another view of Kaitlyn's room to prove to our future GUESTS that you get your own private balcony! What is NOT shown is how BIG your own private balcony is! You also get your OWN private bathroom:) So, who's up for coming first???

E and the Wii

Ethan likes to do EVERYthing that his big brother does! The other day I found him with a door stopper in one hand swinging it around like the Wii controller! Kenton was setting up his next game and I think that Ethan thought HE was the one making the screen do it's thing:)

A Typical Sunday

I found this picture so thought I'd post it to let you know that we feel your pain! We haven't completely forgotten what the cold feels like:)

***********************

Several people have asked lately how our Sunday's have been going here without a "church" to attend - what our typical routine is. Here is how our typical Sundays go:


We wake up around 7 - 8am and eat breakfast together. The twins take showers afterwards and Ethan gets a bath just like we did back home. After everyone is squeaky clean:) and in our church clothes we start Sunday School. We like to be started by 9:30 just for consistency. The last week's lesson is reviewed, roll call taken (Ryan insists on this which the twins think is funny), memory verse stated then we begin the week's lesson. Usually we let the twins take turns reading it aloud with Ryan stopping them occasionally to drive a point home or ask questions. The lesson tends to stick better this way! After we are done reading they do the work book page and we each take a turn picking out songs to sing together until we have gone around the table twice. Once our piano is hooked up (it's electric) our morning service will go on a little longer as we will be able to sing together better. After Sunday School - around 10 - 10:30 we begin our service. We have either listened to CD's that have been sent to us or we download a sermon from Bro. Mike Fritz's website. We are finished by 11 - 11:30 which is 9 - 9:30pm Saturday evening back home so we can have a "fellowship" time. This is usually accomplished via Skype. We have participated in singings, Bible studies, or have talked with brothers and sisters after a singing back in KC. Lunch is usually around 12:30 or so consisting of sandwiches, fruit, veggies, and chips - a lot like back home minus the sweets!


Our afternoons tend to be quiet - we have taken walks, taken the kids swimming, taken naps, played games together, or read books together. Supper is around 6pm after which we fall back into our "school night" bedtime routine - translation - early!

We are promised that where "two or three are gathered" He will be there. We have felt His presence in our little "church" but we do miss the fellowship of back home!

"Behold, O Jesus, we implore Thee,

Thy flock assembled now before Thee,

That we may, Lord, Thy blessings find!

O raise Thy hand in heav'nly blessing,

Thy Spirit true our hearts possession,

Which makes us humble, meek and kind.

Thy peace shall flow upon our meeting;

The kiss of faith shall be our greeting,

When we are gathered by Thy side!

Should only two or three assemble

In Jesus' Name, yet meek and humble,

His peace and love in us abide."

Zion's Harp #219

I Need a Little Help...

Whoever can tell me what the above sketch means wins a prize! I have three dials on my oven - the first one is the timer, the second one is the temperature (in Celsius, of course!), and the third one contains the above four options. I made the sketch for our Realtor to see if she can possibly help me...

Good Luck!

Ryan goes to the Doctor...

The following is Ryan's take on going to a local doctor. Back in January I joined an online group for our neighborhood and yesterday morning when he called into work sick I posted a message asking for a recommendation of a local doctor so we didn't have to make a 30 minute drive to the city. Within an hour I had 7 messages and 2 phone calls in response! By today I've had maybe 20 different people respond and they all pretty much recommended the same doctor - Dr. Lee. Ryan walked in yesterday (without an appointment) and here is his experience:

**********

I walk into the Doctor's office, fill out a very short form, sit down for 3 minutes, and they call my name.

I open the door to the room, and the doctor greets me, asks a few questions, does an exam, and draws my blood for my blood type (on the spot, at my request), passes his diagnosis through a little window to his assistant, she fills my prescription, and gives me a receipt to submit for insurance.

All of this in about 15 minutes... Wow!
In the US, I would not have even seen the doctor for at least 15 minutes, then they would have swabbed my throat for Strep, sent their assistant back in 20 minutes later to draw my blood, told me I didn't have strep, so I wouldn't need antibiotics, but that I should follow up with my primary doc the following week, for another $65, and if I was lucky enough to convince them that I needed antibiotics, I would have had to drive to Walgreens, drop off the script, gone home, returned to Walgreens 1 hour later, and then I would get a bill that says something about a surgery, and is trying to charge $365 from a doctor I have never heard of 4 months later...

***********