Parking in a "no parking" zone

We had some great lacrosse games last week and had gorgeous weather and beautiful flowering trees as well. The kids won their games, we had a great day and I captured some fun pictures while we enjoyed the day together.



I caught Shanan with both of our iphones as she was surfing the web on mine (or on facebook) and listening to a message on dad's phone. She has wanted a phone for so long that once she gets her hands on one, there is no getting it back!



The trees were too beautiful not to take pictures of! I also could not help myself when combining kids with blooms - so here is my version of two beautiful images in one! He does smile most of the time, this was his serious pose - a rare moment!



These are truly a little boy's foundation: skinned knees, bruised shins, dirty scuffed converse - what a great life a little boy has!

Worm Farm - Vermicomposting in my Kitchen

I ordered the red wigglers (yes that is what they are called) last week and was thrilled to see them arrive in the mail today! I was shocked that the box was so very small since I had orderd 2000 of the creepy crawlers, I just assumed it would be a rather large box - not so!

Let the composting begin!

So, this is my plan: create 4 separate layers in different stages of decomposition (yep, we are decomposing in my kitchen) and add organic material to them one week at a time.



I picked these bins because they stack and have a recessed area where the "compost tea" can drain through (my kids were freaked out when I called it "tea" because they thought I would make them drink it! ) This liquid is like gold for a gardener - full of great nutrition and plants love it! I drilled holes in this recessed area so it would drain.



Next, I put a layer of shredded paper and then some peat/potting mix which I purchased for starting seeds. Worms love peat and dead/decaying stuff, so I put in some rotting leaves too - yum.



Then I put in the bucket of organic material that I had been collecting for several days and added it to the mix.



Time for the worms - seriously, these 2000 worms would fit in a large cereal bowl! I ended up dividing the scraps between two bins and dividing the worms in half (not the worms themselves, just the big bunch, speaking as a whole)



They were alive and wiggling and yes they are red - hence the name, Red Wigglers! I added some leaves, made everything even steven and made sure the whole mass of rotting food, wiggly worms and shredded paper and mulch were good and wet and that I could see the liquid would move from layer to layer and finally end up as a concentrated fertilizer in the bottom bin (the clear one) ready to make my plants sing happily and grow!!



This is the finished product, with holes for ventilation and all components in place. Now eat, little worms, grow big, multiply and don't make me a liar (I told my husband and kids that this would not stink and would not be gross!)



Now, I used a very tiny tool to drill the holes, a Dremel and this really was a simple project to do. If I mess this up, I will be totally humiliated! I will have a tiny funeral for all of my dead worms and they will become compost for my garden, may they rest in peace. HOWEVER, if it works, I will make my first ever you-tube video and share it with the world! This is WAY cheaper than buying the worm farms, just don't tell the worms that!

Laundry Adventures

Dear Family,

I am alive! The past week has been chaotic, but I am back on my feet, and with a few days of sleep under my belt, ready and rearin’ to get back into the swing of things! Although, truth be told, I can never sleep in until 7 am at the very latest, despite my fervent and persistent efforts to make it until lunch without stirring from my Bed of Indolence. I wake up every day at 6, look at my watch in disbelieving exasperation, and roll over- an hour later, I pick it up again, and discover that a mere 45 min to an hour have passed. At this point, lying about in a lazy manner becomes painfully dull, more so than getting up and sweeping the floor or doing laundry, so I push off the quilt and shuffle through my daily routine. Can I just say, it stinks to be on vacation and still stick to a school/working schedule out of sheer boredom? I’m not even being served 7 am breakfasts until Tuesday, and I’m waking at the crack of dawn! Sheesh. Stupid body clock. (lol)

The weather in Changzhou is just as charming as ever, consisting of dusty wind and intermittent rain- Dad says that you guys are currently enjoying pleasant weather, and I am glad of that! Here, the temperature is still wobbling between forty and sixty degrees. I’ve gotten so accustomed to it, in fact, that when I walked into Laura’s room on Monday, I thought her heater must be up to ninety, at least! She calmly replied to our incredulous inquiries that the temperature was a balmy sixty degrees, and that typically, our rooms don’t go over fifty to fifty-five. Wow, I had thought that was the outside temperature! It explains so much, though; I could never understand why, if our heater was functioning, it was that I had to wrap up in a quilt to sit down and read a book. Or why people still got numb fingers from typing on the computers at the school building if the weather was warm. *sigh*

Using the computers is a hassle most days, so I usually go every other day- that way I am always delighted with a full inbox, and can happily justify using a full hour to go through them. It’s important to get out entertainment where we can, here. Most of us have little to do besides work, read, use the computers, or do laundry. And before you scoff at the thought of washing clothing as a form of enriching entertainment, let me tell you that the process is significantly different here, and infinitely more engaging. In fact, because I am feeling like describing the process for you (mild familial torment via letters is also an accepted form of diversion), I’ll not skimp on the details.

1. I approach the machine. It looks like a typical washing machine, despite the Chinese characters instead of English labels, but it is as different as a canteen from a vase. The functions are similar, but the similarity ends quickly. The washer has only a power cord connecting it to the wall, no water hoses or vents are involved. There is a spigot protruding from the wall, with a blue plastic hose clamped on with a wire, from which the water for washing is obtained. The machine has two hatches, one for the washing, the other for spinning. There are three dials (which cannot be read, only guessed at): wash timer, drain/fill/?, and spin timer.
2. I lift my pile of clothing, and dump it all into the larger bin. There is no need to sort clothing, as it will all be washed with cold water, and will not be in long enough to allow color seepage.
3. I check the middle dial, and make sure it is set to ‘fill’. The last time I left it on ‘drain’, and tried to fill it, the water spilled out of the drainage hose beneath and made a filthy mess on the tile. I guess I know why the laundry area is set in a depression rather than even ground, eh?
4. It is set on fill. I scoot the entire thing over to the spigot, and turn on the water. As the hose delivers the liquid, I dump an amount of laundry detergent into the tub. I have no idea how much of this I’m supposed to use (the instructions are in Chinese), but I do enjoy the thrills of watching bubbles form on the surface of the increasingly grey water.
5. The clothes are covered in water, so I turn off the spigot and close the hatch. I scoot the whole thing closer to the squatter (harder when it’s full of water), and set the wash timer. Its max setting is fifteen minutes, so I have time to do a set or two of Tai chi (I can’t wait to show you guys!).
6. After watching the whole thing jerk around like a pinball for a quarter of an hour, it’s time to drain off the dirty water. This is accomplished by shoving the drainage hose underneath into the shower/squatter and twisting the middle dial. This provides me with the dual satisfaction of watching dirty water go gurgling down the drain, and of watching the clothes inside become visible under the scummy water and heaps of bubbles (maybe too much detergent, this time?).
7. This process (minus the detergent) is repeated for rinsing purposes.
8. Finally, the clothes are ready for the spinner. I pull out soggy handfuls, and slop them into the smaller compartment. It takes at least three goes to do an entire load, considering the inconveniently small spinner, but hey- it’s all about the journey, right? The spinner goes for five minutes each, during which the washer makes several attempts to either do a disco dance or tiptoe away. Finally, all the clothes are spun and ready to dry!
9. I lift an article of clothing, and put it on a hanger. I then reach for a long pole, at the end of which a pair of prongs has been fastened. I set the loaded hanger in the fork of the prongs, then lift it four feet above my head to the double poles running from one wall to the next- these will hold the clothes until they have dried sufficiently to wear. I maneuver the pole carefully, and set the hanger hook over the nearest pole.
10. Repeat x 20-30 times.

As you can see, this brings a great deal of color and fulfillment to my life. J

A lot of things here are different, but cool- like customs! Did you know, it’s considered highly offensive to go about in public with cleavage showing? Not even their movie stars do it! How cool would that be if we didn’t have to deal with that at home? No more gross-outs at Walmart…ahh… On the other hand, look up baby clothing online. Check out the pants. Enough said.

Dust is ever present here, and the dust bunnies reproduce faster than bacteria! I swept the floor this morning, and found a fist-sized clump. Six hours later I swept, and found another fist sized clump. It never ends!

DVDs- there are a lot of them. I wish I knew what was pirated and what wasn’t, then I could buy that boxed collector’s set of Miyazaki movies for two bucks…

Sooo…yeah. Haven’t gotten that aforementioned box yet, but it’s the weekend, so maybe they can’t give it to me yet- I’ll ask tomorrow. Write me, guys! I love you all!

Love, Calissa

Flying the Homemade Box Kite

Over the President's Day weekend this year Barry had a hankering for kite flying and decided that building a kite with the boys would be a fun family activity. They set about finding a pattern, gathering supplies, measuring, cutting and filling the house with the potent scent of rubber cement (on a day that was too cold to open windows - can you say "high as a kite?")

The kite was completed as the long weekend ended, but they had to wait for a day with just the right wind, and no rain, to fly this very large kite. It waited patiently, standing in the office, reminding us daily that we had not taken it out for its maiden flight.

The weekend finally arrived with grey puffy clouds, laden with much rain, but waiting as if they knew this was a big day for the kite and for the kids. The clouds waited until the successful kite flying expedition had ended and everyone had been able to fly the kite before throwing melted snowballs at everyone and everything.

The kite flew spectacularly and made its makers proud.

This is Jeffrey's idea of sweeping the kitchen floor.

SNOW?? in March?

Well, it has happened again. Spring in Arkansas is beginning to show a nasty cold trend. For the last several years, we have had these freak storms that bring ice and snow after we have begun to enjoy warmth and sunshine - just long enough to put away the winter clothing! We had to break it out again just in time for Spring Break!

We had forecasts for 4-8 inches of snow. Scoffing at the weatherman, wondering what he was on, we enjoyed our 70 degree weather and played outside.

The next day, it happened just like the weatherman said, which made us wonder if WE were on something! Snow began falling after an afternoon of rain. Then it turned to snow and we knew we had to be dreaming! Large fluffy flakes covered the ground and piled up rather quickly and before long we had a good 4 inches - surprise surprise!

So, the question was - would we have church? After all - life shuts down when it snows here! Rogers Ward has the reputation to uphold of NEVER canceling church. The reputation stands. We had church, but everyone else canceled...except the Young Adult ward which started at 2:30 and where Barry was assigned to speak! No rest for retired Bishops!

We had Sacrament Meeting and the snow had begun to fall again - we now had probably 8 inches and during the meeting the decision was made to just have that one meeting. So we had a good long restful Sunday at home with the kids! Fun!

Teaching - A Success!

Dear Family,

I have gotten my ten hours of sleep and am now ready to thrill you will all the exciting details of the school! But first, let me just say- WOW, DAD! You’re a High Councilor? Congratulations! (my condolences for the resumed meetings) And I’m glad you could ‘talk shop’ with the Chicago people- and get some info for me as well. Green Dam? I understand the dam part, but what about the green? @_@’

Anywho, yesterday was absolutely fantastic. I taught a group of six second graders for forty minutes, and helped them make Easter Bunny Baskets out of paper bags and construction paper, which was made more fun by my BMC, self defense (“What can we do with this bag? Can we make a puppet?!” “Yes, Teacha!” “My puppet is hungry! It’s going to EAT YOU! Say, ‘Don’t eat me, puppet!’” “Don’t eata me, puppet!” laughter). We finished the craft, and so they will all be able to participate in the ILP Easter Egg Hunt next week. I can hardly wait! Laura is excited, too. She told us that when she thinks about the Easter Egg Hunt, she is happier than she has ever been and cries with joy. Since this pronouncement was delivered in an even, conversational tone, I don’t know whether or not she’s joking…

In other news, squatters are dangerous to the unwary. Someone got locked in theirs for a grand total of three hours! Imagine that, being locked in a closet with only a toilet, showerhead, and wet floor for three hours. And the fragrance of a squatter in the middle of the day…well, let’s just call it ‘pungent’. At least she wasn’t showering, or she could have caught pneumonia. Later, her washing machine sprung a leak and sprayed the walls and floor with dirty water. And after that, the shower started leaking! She has the worst luck with water-related dorm things. I’m glad that hasn’t happened to Johanna and I (knock on wood). Things with our laundry aren’t all sunshine and roses, however. I used our washer for the first time last week, and found that it is a Very Bad Thing to leave anything paper in a pocket while using it. Unfortunately, this realization only made its appearance after I had pulled the first pair of black pants out, and discovered them covered in a film of gray with liberal multicolored sprinkles of paper. I was confused as to what I had done for a moment, but upon closer inspection of some of the larger fragments, I found Chinese characters and a piece of a roller coaster. I had left the Dinosaur Park brochure in the pocket of my jeans! With a heavy heart, I lifted the rest of my sodden garments to the light. Yep, all sported the same fuzzy coating. There was no time to re-wash them, so I spent an entire evening picking paper off pants. Fun stuff.

I really love Andy’s weekend cooking! He is a real chef, and his best work happens when there aren’t 700 people to cook for at a time- plus, he pays attention to what we like, and since we’re the only people here on the weekends besides the guards and construction people (who he doesn’t have to cook for), we get fantastic meals! Like last night, for instance. We had the standard bowls of rice, cooked broccoli (squee!), chicken legs (yay!), and last but not least, boiled-then-chilled lettuce with Caesar salad seasoning. Everything was a bit salty, but after a week with very little salt, you learn to appreciate it. I especially liked the broccoli and chicken legs- every weekday meal has either eggs or parts of chicken involved, but the legs alone are never served, and Andy made the skin crispy and the meat fall off the bone. I’m sure he was a bit surprised by the ferocity with which we fell on his food, but at least we left him clean dishes and allegations that he was the best chef in the world before leaving the cafeteria.

And while we’re talking about food, I have decided that when I get back, I’m having pizza. Cheese pizza. With extra cheese, because dairy is a rarely seen animal here.

There’s a girl here who brought a million Disney movies on an external hard drive, so we are able to watch a bunch of fun stuff- last night, I watched the 2004 Fantasia and The Three Caballieros (sp?), and today I’m going to watch Iron Man and Confessions of a Shopaholic. On the last, I read the book and was impressed by the foolishness of the main character- it’ll be interesting to see how it translates to the silver screen (laptop screen, lol).

Hm. Well, that was yesterday. Today promised to be sunny and not cold, so we’re making plans to go shopping after lunch. I hope William doesn’t come, we drew names for the ‘Secret Penyou (friend)’ thing, and I picked him! He is constantly hungry, so I guess I’ll leave meat buns at his door or something. Maybe a chicken? My secret penyou left me a lemon-flavored drink, which was delicious. <3

Well, it’s time for me to buckle down and do my homework before lunch- loved the letters, Mom and Dad! I love you all! Calissa