Today was a busy day.  We went into Guangzhou City to the IKEA there – yeah, they have an IKEA, would you believe it?! – and we looked at ways to improve our cupboard, closet, and counter top space in our house.  They had some really good options, but the prices felt a little high compared to what we might be able to get elsewhere (if we take a Chinese friend with us).  It’s kinda funny, because in the U.S. the prices at IKEA felt low compared to a lot of others.  So we bought mostly "stuff" – aprons, potholders, plastic containers, etc. – plus a desk/table and two chairs for the girls’ room and we will do a little more looking before we get the big stuff.

For the record, Guangzhou is a HUGE city and the traffic is horrific.  Generally speaking, I think it’s best to take the metro into town rather than drive like we did today.  Tomorrow is Sunday, so we will ride the bus back in to the city to attend church.

After our 5 hour excursion today, we were starving (no, we didn’t eat at IKEA), so we came back home and then went to that little bit of heaven-on-earth called "The Garden Cafe".  It’s run by a Hawaiian lady and they have the best hamburgers, and fish sandwiches, and french fries, and lemonade and Saturday night is pizza night.  The burgers come on homemade buns.  I commented on this at dinner and then suddenly realized – wait! HOMEMADE BUNS!  They must have a way to bake them, right?  And they do pizza too – there has to be a way.  Maybe she can tell me where to get an oven…..  Well, she doesn’t make the bread at the restaurant because she doesn’t know how, but when she found out I do, she offered to get an oven for me on one of her supply trips (it will still be small, but better than what we have), and in exchange, Miss M. (our 17 yo) and I will teach her how to make bread.  She has my phone number and will call me.  She also wanted to know if I knew how to make sourdough bread.  I said yes, and rye and sweet rolls.  She offered me a job on the spot and she was serious!  I’m not sure I want a job, but I can certainly teach her how to do these things.  I know the heat and humidity here might affect some of the process, but we will do some experimenting and see how it goes.  I mentioned that she might also be able to help me get the supplies I need to make bread,  ie: wheat, rye, flour, etc. and she was eager to help me out.  Apparently, she gets a lot of requests for certain breads.  It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.  I have been praying Heavenly Father would help me be able to find a way to make these things.  Now it looks like I have a friend who understands me and I can help her.  I think we may be "Kindred Spirits". 🙂

It is interesting here at restaurants, the napkins (serviettes to you Brits and Ausies) are ususally facial tissue from a pocket pack.  It takes some getting used to, after the big things used in the U.S., but after a while you are just glad to have something, anything, to wipe your hands on. 

There was a frog on our window tonight.  We took a photo of it I will try to post.  We also seem to have a large or at least loud frog in our pond somewhere.  Every night he gives a gracking sort of bark every 25 seconds or so until the wee hours.  Our Miss S. (our 15 yo) thought it was a dog for almost a week before she found out it was a frog, that’s how loud it is and what it sounds like.  You just learn to sleep through it.

We forgot to buy chicken at the market today, so tomorrow will be a vegetarian day.  That actually sounds good right now.  We have found some small bags of puffed wheat cereal similar to Sugar Puffs in the U.S.  It’s not super cheap, but it’s ok for a treat once in a while.

Also, by the way,  my computer clock is still set on Utah time, so when you look at the times of my postings, they may not make sense all the time.  I’m still debating on whether or not to change it.  It makes it easier to know what time it is for all you "back home".  Right now for me, it’s actually nearing 10:00 PM.  Good night.  🙂