Laowai

This is our 5th week here in our new home. We learn something new each day and feel a little more settled all the time. I don’t miss my family any less though.

Brian is off on his first overnight trip for work – in England. He’s been taking lots of day trips but this time he’s gone two nights and three long days. We miss him too.

Monday we tried some more baking: oatmeal raisin cookies. They turned out pretty good, but things are a little off. I was reassured this morning when another mom from the US said that she has the same problems. It’s because the butter is slightly different, the flour has a slightly different gluten content, the ovens work a little differently, etc., etc. I guess I’ll just keep trying and experimenting.

Here are my almost finished curtains. I made the curtains I bought from IKEA into two curtains because I only needed half the height. I still need to finish the hems.

We had a lovely time with our new friend Julie today. She just moved here from Chicago too. Her husband works with Brian. She’s a smiley, fun, sweetheart. It’s been so nice to have someone to talk about all the new challenges with. And Bea absolutely adores her – smothers her in fact. We had lunch and then blew bubbles.

Julie has a nice little dog named Whitaker who goes into stores and restaurants and everywhere with us. Bea adores him too. She gets a huge kick out of holding onto Whitaker’s leash.

We watched the ducks in the lake for a few minutes. It was warm and everyone was out basking in the sunshine.