Bilingualism

It is a sad day when you realize that your 22 month-old daughter's Chinese is better than yours.

Zoo Again

My Dad is in town for the weekend, so we took a trip to the zoo to see the new Pandas who are on loan from China (which is a big political hoo ha). The exhibit was a bit disappointing because we were shuffled through so fast. I barely saw one Panda bottom before the guard was hollering - move along!

This was the second time we have been to the Taipei zoo. We went last February after we arrived home with baby G. Look at what a difference a year makes! She has gotten so big.


Pictures from today are here and from last February's trip are here.

Auntie Rebecca

My nephew was born on Friday! His Mom and Dad would probably not want his pictures posted all over the internet, so a little bitty baby ear is all I will show of his cuteness.

Tonight as I prayed with Gioia before she went to sleep, we went through all of the things we were thankful for - Tu (her bunny), Mom, Dad, clothes, food, fish, birds.... and then she said "baby!" I said "That's right! Thank you Lord for your new baby cousin." To which she responded with wide eyes: "Present!"

We have been talking a lot this weekend about the new baby and how we need to send him a present, so it makes sense. But it was very cute nonetheless.

We all wish we were able to there to meet Baby J in person. Hopefully soon!

Thank You Friend

After we put Gioia down for the night, she often talks to herself as she goes to sleep. Normally she repeats words or phrases that she learned during the day over and over. Last night she fell asleep saying: "Xie xie peng you. Zuo mian bao le." Which means, thank you friend for making the bread.

You see, each day at Montessori, one child is the master bread maker. He or she puts on a special chef's hat and is in charge of making bread (rolls?) for the other kids. When the bread is done, they all sit down together and eat. Its so very socialist. Love it.

Thank you friend. For the bread.

Tapiei License Plates

These two scooters were parked side by side.

Park Troubles

Most of the time Gioia is a super sweet kid. However, she has been struggling lately with strangers. Franky, she is a bit rude sometimes. Today at the park, she wanted nothing to do with the other children. Screamed at them when they joined her on the slide. Refused to say hi or play.

I don't want her to grow up to be "that kid." It is hard to watch. Perhaps it is just a phase. She is a smart kiddo, though, so I think she knows what she is doing. If this behavior persists, we are going to have to start taking her home as soon as she acts up like that. Not fun for anyone, but something needs to be done.



On a related note, Chris tried to introduce the concept of "turns" on the playground toys today. It went over like a ton of bricks.

In contrast to this slightly dour post, I leave you with a shot of what you get when you ask Miss G to smile. Not quite there yet, methinks.

Tomatoes

Remember the tomatoes that I planted way back in August? They finally, finally bore fruit. It was a meager harvest, for sure. But a good one. I held Gioia up to the hanging basket, and she picked them one by one. We carefully washed each cherry tomato and ate them immediately afterward: one for me, four for Gioia. She was a fan.

Seven months of waiting. It was worth it. Hopefully this summer's plantings will be more bountiful. I just need to start the seeds on time...

Stuffed Rat, Anyone?

This was definitely the weirdest thing I saw in Paris: a window display full of stuffed, dead rats. They were the real deal, assembled in macabre death scenes. Rows of rats hung from traps in a disturbingly orderly fashion. A group of rats was huddled together at the bottom of the window display, colluding to overthrow their dark masters.

It was a pest control shop with a very strange sense of humor. Although maybe this kind of advertising works in Paris. Perhaps people really hate their rats there.

Moutarde

Did you know that there was a store in Paris dedicated to mustard? Truffle flavored mustard, white wine flavored mustard, traditional mustard... I could go on for a while.

I saw it first on the travel channel which plays in Taiwan. When I was in London, one of my colleagues said, "You know there is this mustard store..." Then at dinner Friday night a completely different collegue from our Paris office said, "And of course there is the mustard store."

It was fate. I had to go see this famous store for myself. It was a very cool experience, aside from the scary moment when the sales lady asked if my purchases were gifts (in French) and I responded with a frightened, bewildered stare. I haven't tried the mustard yet, but several jars are packed away in my suitcase, ready for the trip home to Taipei.

Louvre

I spent a few hours at the Louvre yesterday. I didn't want to stay too long and overwhelm myself, so I only did parts of two wings - mostly the paintings and sculpture. In general, I prefer Dutch and German works to the more effusive Italian and French paintings. That said, this little French cherub was one of my favorites of the day.

I spent a long time trying to find a famous Vermeer which supposedly lurks in the museum's massive corridors. But I was sadly unsuccessful. I did, however, have a nice time in the Napoleonic apartments. So rococo. So fun.

Paris

I have never wanted to go to France. I am 33 years old, have traveled the world, yet I had never been to Paris. I was so. very. mistaken.

I didn't know. I simply didn't know. How beautiful it is. How this city would break my heart in so many unimaginable ways.


No one has been rude to me yet. Not a single person. I have been traipsing around all day saying, "Bonjour! Merci, and Alors!" Me!? Cranky pants little old me. Can you imagine?


I could eat it all up with a humongous spoon. It is divine.

Tomorrow I will visit the flea market, see some of the Louvre, and search out a famous mustard store. How can it not be a good day?

More pictures from Paris are here.

Liberty

Liberty of London - my most favorite store on earth. I forgot to bring the address with me today, so I wandered a bit around Piccadilly trying to remember the way. At one point, I stopped into Starbucks, buying an excuse to ask for directions disguised as a coffee. But the baristas were no help. Liberty? Never heard of it.

Which, of course, is pure blasphemy. We were only two blocks away from the most beautiful store in the whole world, and these girls had no idea.


I found it on my own, wandering down semi-familiar streets, turning a corner and sighing with relief to see the familiar tudor roof and sign. The entrance is crowded with fresh flowers, all gorgeous and quaint. If I lived here, I would take bunches home for my kitchen. Every day.

I bought soaps and lovely ribbons. Cool colorful socks for my husband, and makeup for my face. And of course, fabric. Beautiful tana lawn fabric to become a summer dress for G.

Ah, Liberty. How I love you so.

Mind the Gap

I am in London for a few days for work. This was my day to acclimate to the time zone before meetings tomorrow. After arriving in the wee hours, I took a brief nap and then headed into the city to do some shopping. It was a stereotypical London day: wet, cold, dark. And I loved it.

I called Chris while I was sitting in the pub with a little glass of draft cider (v good) and a bowl of veg chili (n good). I said that I was going to get on the Underground and head to Piccadilly next. To which he replied: "Rebecca, it's the tube. People call it the tube there."

Oh yes. The Tewbe.

Perhaps my husband is realizing he is actually glad to not be here as I embarrass myself in this great big city. As long as I keep my mouth shut, I think I can blend in. I am wearing black shoes, after all. But the second I open my mouth, I am doomed.

A Humble Dishcloth

I signed up for a simple dishcloth swap recently. Again, I dug into stash for this project. The yarn is 50% hemp/50% cotton, which makes it ideal for scrubbing dishes. The hemp knit fabric gets softer as you wash it. Some say that it wears very similar to linen.

I used the Ballband Dishcloth pattern from Mason Dixon Knitting. The pattern calls for two colors to show off the slipped stitches, but I think it looks lovely in monochrome ecru.


I am traveling to Europe this week for work. I hope to pick up some nice soap there to send along with this humble dishcloth to my swap partner in America.

A Sweater Day

It was an unusually cold day in Taipei, so we broke out the sweater I made for Miss G a while back. It is cotton, not wool, but even cotton is too hot for most Taiwan days.

I love the bright yellow/ orange color against Gioia's skin. I am proud of this handknit. It was a good one.