Happy Belated Mothers Day Everyone

Happy Mother's Day to all. (So it's late, but according to my mom - everyday is Mother's Day). And I have had that feeling a lot lately. My two teenagers are growing up!

Sarah is my independent soul. As a baby and through kindergarden, I thought she would be my homebody. Not true. She is carefully juggling flute, piano, swimming, coaching 7-8 year olds in triathlon, and about a dozen buddies who are all fighting for her attention. She prefers non-American food, grabbing a bag of dried seaweed and a chocolate soy milk for breakfast or a snack. We have started thinking about college in the broadest of terms. She still struggles on studying music or pediatrics. Always the kid lover though!

Madison also has switched from her pre-school days when she was the commando of the classroom. I have to admit this year she has really come out of her shell and is far more comfortable trying new things. She will eat SOME things that come packaged in another language (especially if it looks like a sweet), although cooked foreign food is a struggle. She also will now sit next to a stranger on the subway, even if we don't sit. She makes plans with her girl friends and heads out on Friday nights. And worst of all, in Mom terms :), she goes to dance parties! Her newest revelation is that she has finally grown into "adult" size clothes. Standing at 4'8.25" she can pull off some of the petite clothes at American Eagle and H&M.

It will be interesting to see what the next year will bring. Maybe, if I can catch them both at the same time, I will post a picture of them. That will be tricky though!

Trying New Things

I am truly sorry that I didn't pick up Mom's knack for cooking. It has always been a chore for me. It's not like I distain cooking, I just don't have any creativity when it comes to "what's for dinner?" I have tried multiple cookbooks and enjoy making new things. But when I stand in the meat department and look at the same offerings of ground beef and chicken tenders, I draw a blank. So when Tom suggested this weekend that I subscribe to e-mealz.com, I didn't know if I should be offended or excited.

Well, three meals in and my family is HAPPY! Tom said I was batting a thousand and that is after all four of us had to clean up the full bottle of olive oil that spilled in the cabinet 10 minutes before our casserole was ready.

We'll see how it goes from here. I do have to make some modifications to the plans each week as I don't have a microwave, blender, grill, or crock pot here. And I still have to go to the grocery store more often than in the States because a weeks worth of supplies won't fit in the fridge.

Ten Excuses why I don't blog

It has got to be hard to blog on a routine basis. I really admire the blogs I read on how they continue to keep theirs up. (excuse #1- I'm too busy reading other blogs and websites) It seems that time has really flown by with the girls in school. (excuse #2 - we haven't been anyplace lately)

I have to admit though that the weather is much warmer and Spring Break has arrived. (excuse #3 - I now have a garden on my patio that could bring the building down) the girls have been home this week (yes, #4, even in their teens with full access to public transportation; they still want their Mom's attention). Now Tom is scheduled to be off with us for the next ten days! (okay, can't use that as an excuse til next week!)

I can say that it has been a good month. I have started quilting with Block Lotto and have been working on a new quilt made mostly of Tom's button down shirts (#s 5,6, & 7). I am also working in the school library two days a week.

Being a Library Assistant is fun. I don't stop moving for seven hours, although most of what I do is behind the scenes- re-doing shelving; building giant Shel Silverstein Giving Trees, etc. (#8) It also gets me out of the apartment which has been extremely loud with remodeling other flats in the building! (#9)

Finally, excuse # 10 - I am just lazy!

Until next time....

I found the quilting store!

OMG! Anyone that knows me, knows I am a fabric-holic. I gave away tubs of misc. scraps and yards before moving and have been suffering the DTs since arriving here. Now going to the lanes and to the fashion district have helped, but it's not the same as going to a quilt shop and seeing quality cottons lined up by color or designer etc. But today was a new day-

I stumbled on a website for a shop in Causeway Bay - fortunately because I had the address from an old blog and they had moved. Tailor & Alteration is a sizable shop by HK standards. However, it also is a knitting, cross stitch, needle felting and other craft store - so it is jam packed.

I happily purchased four fat quarters and a couple yards and a pair of missing knitting needles. What a day - I guess I had the luck of the Irish here. Happy St. Patty's to all.

Learning Geography and Plate Tectonics

It's amazing what you learn in times of natural disaster. I guess we are all on a need to know basis with so much in this world. First, I have to say that Hong Kong had absolutely no impact from yesterday's earthquake in Japan. It's hard to see on the map above, but HK is wrapped around on the southern tip of China and protected by the Northern mainland. It's kind of like how Savannah is in a natural buffer from hurricanes. As a matter of fact, we have very limited tide changes here on a regular basis.

Like Haiti last year, this was a horrific disaster that is still affecting coastlines world wide. Being in Japan at Christmas time gives us a little sense of scale to the magnitude of the wall of water that has devastated the countryside, but we can only count our blessings that we are safe.

Keep thinking of those in its path, but know that we are okay.


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Things you don't see every day

I was headed home to Discovery Bay today with Mom and Dad. We were taking a rather slow day of sight seeing when we came across the Greenpeace Rainbow Warrior at the slip next to the ferry we were taking! Check out the live webcam.

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I've locked my keys in the closet

How do you explain this one to the locksmith? It is, however, logical in Hong Kong. In every apartment every door has a keyed lock. I had asked my realtor about this when we came last year. It is done so that you can restrict access to parts of your flat from the hired help. (Again reason number #497 on why we don't have a helper) Why should you hire someone - and let them live with you - if you can't trust to clean your house?! But back to the point, my storage/coat closet accidentally got locked during a clean out yesterday. Now Tom and I can not get to the set of keys that opens all of the doors and more importantly, our coats. The good news is I hadn't put my purse away last night. The bad news is I can't read a phone book to find the locksmith.....

My Door Girl judges me by our toilet paper

Florence is the sweetest Cantonese lady I have met. She truly takes an interest in what we are doing, where we are going, etc. However, this week we ran out of TP and I had to bring some home. (Typically that is something I have delivered out of convenience). Little did I know that my selection would become the topic of conversation in the lobby waiting for the "lift". It seems us Americans spent a lot on this disposable product in her eyes. She really wanted to know how much I spent on eight rolls of Andrex! (kimberly Clark product packaged as Cottonelle in the States). I guess the Chinese don't value the same things we do!

Red letter holiday

We've made the best of being on the other world for the holidays. And I have to admit we didn't have much to work with. First of all, no one would be visiting from the States. And with an impending accreditation visit, Tom could not get the time off to make a good quality visit back. Second, there is no snow in Hong Kong. Matter of fact, there aren't even temperatures below 50 consistently. Third, I brought nothing Christmas from home -- not even stockings!

So with none of the comforts of home, we set out to make due. First we have always had a real tree, or none at all. An American Douglas Fir could have been purchased, but really who wants to spend that much money on a resource that should not be exported! So artificial would be our new tradition and, of course, we should celebrate the plastic-ness with a different Christmas color (like RED)!


With a few beads, string, and paper, I had probably the cheeriest flat in the block. Not to mention a quilt in the making thanks to a stash of fat quarters shipped from Mom.


It's been fun having it all up, even if Sarah said it "didn't smell like Christmas." But now the New Year has started and it has all come down again. Too bad I couldn't convince Tom that it needed to stay up until Chinese New Year!

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Happy New Year!

Well, I can't believe it. Another year has passed. Who sped up our calendars to make time fly so quickly? I certainly didn't ask for it - especially now with our girls. I let them stay out last night to see the "ball drop" from the beach at Discovery Bay. Tom and I of course held the chairs down in the living room. Here's the funny part - we had the better view!

In Hong Kong, the celebration is held in TST, across the harbor from Hong Kong Island where the buildings actually come to life. The fireworks are all pyro technics that are on each of the buildings of the sky line. Pretty cool stuff.

So what's in store for 2011? I can't even predict. This time last year, we were letting the cat out of the bag about this adventure. Now we are six and a half months in and really don't know what to expect as the year unfolds. We are excited though that we get to see and share our experience with our families. Chinese New Year will bring Noni and Poppy and Easter will have a visit from Lala and Pop.

I think my biggest mistake in 2010 was not flooding this blog with more posts. To everyone out there (or should I say anyone) I am sorry. It is my resolution to do more this year.

Have a Wonderful and Prosperous New Year -

Technologically Deprived

We have had a wonderful six days in Japan-without WiFi! Now we are sitting in the Delta SkyClub in Tokyo waiting for our flight. It didn't take the girls long to find the free access Macs and are on Facebook as I type. As for my status, it will have to wait. The app I use only iPad has locked me out because of my unusual location!

I'll be back on to post more when I have a Keyboard, powercord, pictures, etc.


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Turkey a la Hong Kong

We are learning to lean on each other during the holidays. For Thanksgiving, Tom invited 12 faculty members/spouses to a pot luck at our place. Not a bad plan. The weather was gorgeous, so we convened on the terrace outside our block. As hostess, I provided the turkey, gravy, and all the partyware. Everyone else was to bring a dish to share.

Now the partyware was far more challenging that one would expect. I "Googled" party supply stores and came up with one that I thought would have just what we needed. One bus ride, one thirty minute ferry ride, one subway ride (3-stops), and a four block walk - I arrived at the address. No Party Store! Could not even find the stairs to go up to get to the upper floors. So I resorted to the grocery store. (Both of them) Half of the supplies from one, half from the other.

That was fine though, because I had to go to both to take care of the turkey. The usual store offered Butterballs, cooking included, for a mere $850 HK. (That's $110 US - a bit much considering we don't like their rotisserie chickens) I was able to find a 16 lb. at Fusion for a much better price. This only brought on the next issue with living in an apartment that has a fridge the size of most Americans' wine/beer fridge.

How to defrost a Turkey in Hong Kong-
Ice comes in 2kg bags. It takes 6 to pack down an igloo cooler with a 16lb. bird. Everyday I bought two more bags and topped off the red plastic tub on my balcony. By day four, I had a somewhat still icy bird that wasn't ready to be cooked so I opened the lid.

The next morning I got up and put the bird in the sink while I prepped everything else. With veggies cut and herbs soaking in the melted butter, I shoved my hand in the carcass and pulled out the bag. Hmm.... it was open and the neck was all I could identify. After 5 minutes of examination, I assumed that was all. Perhaps giblets were omitted, I thought to myself.
I stuffed the bird with veggies and set it in the pan drenched with "extra butter". Into the very carefully measured oven it went for its four hour roast.

It was after cleaning the kitchen and picking up the courtesy "instruction" card included in your Butterball turkey that I realized the giblets were in a SECOND bag that had been covered in the neck cavity with the bird's skin. Oh well, we have two hours before dinner and we would just have to wait.

Needless to say, for my second bird ever, it turned out awesome. I have to thank the Perfect Turkey recipe for a fabulous bird - even with the extras! And a special thanks goes to Tom, who swears now that carving the bird ruins the whole gastronomic experience.

I got a hug tonight

So I have always strived to make our home as welcoming as Mom always did. The era of Mama Kim has just come to Hong Kong. Sarah has had a few of her friends over this fall. They have all been intrigued by what's in the Americans' fridge and how our tea is different than theirs. But tonight we have come to a new milestone- I got a HUG for popcorn, brownies, and Jiffy cornbread. Just as in the States, Sarah has found a group of sweet, sincere girls that love me too!

The Kitchen is Closed

An amazing stage has happened in our life. One that as parents I didn't plan on for another year or two. It is Friday night and no one is at home! It is customary to "go to the plaza" on Friday nights. Young and Old alike leave their homes and converge on the 15 or so restaurants at our primary shopping area. So the girls take off in their own directions at about 6:15 and we have three hours of empty nesting.

It's a little different than in the States, where we grew up on HS football games and pizza after. There are no cars involved first of all (which means no teenage drivers or mom chauffeurs). That would be the plus. For the girls, mostly its about going and "hanging out" and eating Subway no less. For the grown ups, we'll go to the Australian pub when Tom gets home and have a bite. Too bad it's drizzling, no eating alfresco tonight.

Haves and Have Nots

I have been working on my "green thumb" today. Tom had started looking for tomato seeds shortly after we arrived. It's true that homegrown (or Davis grown) are the best. A co-worker hooked us up and the sprouting started in 15 yogurt cups in mid-July. Now that the Typhoon season is about to the end, and our plants are really starting to take shape, it was time to take the next step.

Monday I ordered big pots and lots of soil; and it all was delivered straight to the flat on Friday. Today I got to assemble! I even used Tom's little saw to cut the bamboo sections for my trellises. Madison had to help me with a bit - apparently packing peanuts go in the have not category in Discovery Bay so we cut up sheet foam to add a little more volume to the soil. The good news- We have one lowly flower bud found!

Full moon and festivals (part 1)

This week is the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival. It is celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth month of the Chinese lunar calendar. It is also one of the top four holidays celebrated by the locals. So, I have been trying to do some research on the customs surrounding this heavily merchandised season.

What's on the street:

Posters advertising moon cakes abound. You will find them on the walls up and down the escalators of the subway stations; on the backs of the seats in subways; and giant billboards around the city. Most are quite elegant an the images are fairly traditional.


Street vendors are selling "lanterns" for the home and for kids. Of course some of these lanterns look like light up toys kids get at the laser light shows and the night parade at Disney. You will also find tons of glow sticks and the like.


The stores are all decorated with elaborate lanterns as well. Some of these can measure three feet in diameter and are quite spectacular.

It's been quite fascinating learning about this holiday and I will share more in the next post.

Sarah's first Master's Class

Sarah is in her first Master's class today at the Flute Centre. She is performing as a demonstrator with Susan Milan, Professor of flute from The Royal College of Music in London. There are about thirty kids here and Sarah is the only non-Asian. Fortunately, she gets to second so she's getting the advantage of listening to tips on the piece from the first victim!

The class is working on a piece that they will compete against each other and other schools with in March at the Hong Kong Music Festival. While she desperately misses American competition and the youth orchestra, I know that this is a totally unique opportunity.

The "haves" and "have nots"

So many questions come up about the differences in food, clothing etc. I could probably write daily on the topic alone. Seeing how efficient I am at the first blog, maybe his will just be a post within the original for now.

Probably the oddest (but maybe smart) thing is that our water system is split between clean water and grey for the toilets. What makes it odd is that periodically we'll get a message that "there is no toilet service today" or " no potable water today for tank cleaning". So I have to plan my schedule accordingly....

So being a homeowner for so many years prior to this adventure, I can't say when the last time we were without ALL of our toilets at one time. Even when it is one John out, it would have been someone within the household's fault. Really, what are they trying to do to us?

Of course, no one in the house is affected by this inconveniences but me. You know - the one who is at home and should be doing the laundry I avoided all weekend. Oh well we can wear those socks inside out tomorrow.

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Lucky qi (7s)

Wow who would have thought that within the month we would be learning TWO different languages! I am so happy that the girls have their Mac Books now and are starting to function on them. And I received my iPad this week that Tom and the girls bought for my birthday. Now with the newest technologies, we are learning one of the oldest languages.

This morning I listened to Sarah's recording of herself speaking Chinese, while playing with Garageband - modifying the voice and speed. Now tonight, Madison and I have been trying out a character writing software app on the very cool big touch screen. And yes, the character above means seven!

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E-Mazing

This came from today's school newsletter. Sarah's classmates ran the whole thing! FYI- Edwin has MD and is to be out for the remainder of the term. You can maybe spot the girls in the group photo below. Hint: Maddy is wearing a white shirt and orange shorts. Sarah has her hair in braids and is wearing a plaid shirt.

Today showed just how strongly we can all come together and get behind someone we care about! Families baked 100s of cakes, generous donations were made and the school came out in a riot of orange. What started out as a small idea from some of his close friends to support their pal has turned into a giant affirmation from the whole DC community. Over $75,000 was raised in this first round of support.

Three of Edwin's close friends Zac Sang (10YDS), Angus Prosser (10SBR) and Max Carrey (10YDS), who were amongst the initial group who came up with the idea, were amazed at the response. "I was blown away by the generosity shown by everyone." Angus said. Max said "It was amazing to be part of helping a friend in this way." Edwin would like to thank everyone who has contributed. "I am extremely grateful for your efforts, support and generosity" he said in typically humble Edwin style.

All of us wish Edwin the best on his brave an difficult journey over the coming months as he undergoes a series of operations to straighten his spine.