Exploring and Cooking up a Storm

Today we again left the house early heading this time directly to the B&Q. It is raining, so the drivers are very contentious to make sure we are close to the store and they hold umbrellas over us the whole way. (I laugh to myself because it is as if they think we may melt if rain hits us. I guess they do not realize that at home we would run into the store, regardless of the weather, from a much farther distance, dressed just the same, but minus the umbrellas. It is sweet though how protective they are of the children and me). As soon as we enter the B&Q I realize that what they meant by a home store is really a Home Depot or Lowes. It is hard to explain to them that we need to now leave the store and get back in the car, as I was looking for throw pillows and accessories for the house (all the effort to get into the store, now only to leave moments after arriving).
After B&Q we head over to the Carefour in the other local district. One of the drivers is trying to talk to me in English about the next store and the rain. I am not sure if he is saying that we will try and park in a garage, or whether he is asking if I want to cancel the trip due to the rain. Again, I am amazed with the issue of the rain. I cannot figure out why they are so concerned about a little rain--maybe it is because my coat does not have a hood like the boys. I try to explain I must go to the store as I am hopeful we are able to find pull ups in Danny's size (he is still struggling with finishing up potty training). The past couple times I have gone to the store they only have the girl's ones in his size. The Carefour in the other district is a larger store and I hope they will carry more product. We continue on and they are able to pull into a garage and we can avoid the rain all together.
As we travel through the store I am able to get some of the incidentals that I still need--i.e.--basket for my potatoes, another wastebasket, an alarm clock (thankfully our cell phones have alarm clocks in them and this is what we have been using so far). We get to the pull up section and they again do not have his size. I am able to ask the ladies in the aisle (they have workers in almost every aisle, sometimes more than one person--this aisle has 3 girls whose responsibility is assist you. I figure this is a throw back to when everything was state owned and China provided a job to everyone in their populous country--on this note, there are always people at every store, restaurant etc. whose sole job is to open the door and greet you. Another interesting sight is the people standing at attention at the entrance to an office parking lot--they all stand on little boxes--i.e.--there are steps to get up to the top of the little box, sometimes even with little movies theater ropes around them, and if they are really lucky they get a glass box that surrounds them--I often wonder as we drive by seeing these people all over town how long they must stand there at abrupt attention). The ladies in the aisle tell me they do not have anymore in his size, and direct me to the Chinese brand. In an act of desperation, because the next Carefour is at least 40 minutes away, I take the ones offered. We check out and I again forgot to bring our bags. (In China, they are really trying to cut down on plastic bags, so the actual law says you must bring your own or purchase the stores reusable bags) I am grateful they let me put the items in the baskets I am buying, as I already have plenty of bags at home. They must think I am an unaware foreigner.
After getting home and getting lunch (Josh pulls the same move as last night, but this time over cheetos--he has to be getting hungry at this point), I put the boys down for a nap. This afternoon I have devoted to cooking, so I get started. First I am trying to make a chicken stock (as this is imported and very expensive otherwise) and then also homemade spaghetti sauce for tonight's meal (also imported if I do not make it--plus it is canned and I do not care for the taste compared to the jarred sauce at home). I have made the sauce before we came, but always using canned tomatoes as the base. Today, it will be truly from scratch. I am dropping the tomatoes into boiling water to remove their skins and then cutting them up myself to create the base of the sauce. I was able to bring over a Sam's quantity of tomato paste to help thicken the sauce. While I am cooking the person meant to deliver my new stand mixer keeps calling on my cell phone and saying they are close. I think they must be completely lost because hours pass with no mixer. I am able to finish both my recipes before the boys wake up. Just as the deliverer calls to say they are in the lobby, the boys wake up. I race upstairs and get them up and then return downstairs to find that the person has not arrived. (I entered the code required to allow them into the building, but no one is coming up the elevator--this is just outside our front door, so I had just opened it with the boys to greet the delivers when they got off on our floor) About 15 minutes later Dustin arrives and still no mixer, plus he says that no one is in the lobby at all. Finally, the person calls on our house phone and I am able to let them into the building. I am really excited about the mixer as I love to bake (a hard thing to do in this country as finding the ingredients are proving difficult). I am thrilled to find out that we were correct that the mixer is actually four things in one--a mixer, blender, food processor and juicer (It was a little unclear at Bestbuy whether the model we bought had them included or you had to buy the attachments separate--remember only one person spoke broken English and the other workers were telling him what the machine did and what came with it). Another aspect I am really excited about is that it is European and therefore, instructions come in English (as well as every other European language you could think of--the manuals are huge for just two pages of real instruction).
Everyone enjoys the pasta (even Josh--I knew he would be famished by dinner) and the boys and I head to the play room while Dustin works for a little longer. Today was long but satisfying and we are looking forward to the weekend, when we can relax around the house and enjoy one another's company.