The tool in Deanna's hand seems to be the standard food preparation tool for Luoyang. We can hear people using the "chopper" at most mealtimes. The noise you make reminds us of a woodpecker hard at work. We were having shrimp balls and green beans. Yum!

The rice cooker is without doubt the best kitchen implement in China!! If you don't own one, and you eat rice, you better hop on down to Best Buy and pick one up. The rice is perfect every time you make it!! You can use the top part (the top set of handles) as a steamer, and make your rice and veggies at the same time. When the rice is ready, the cooker shifts to "warm" and you are ready to eat. You can also see our "measuring cup" in this photo. We haven't been able to find any measuring cups, so we have made our own from a jelly jar, or jiang as its called in China.

I think we told you that we have to boil water to wash up the dishes. Here, Lee is pouring out steamy water for the chores. We have a red dishpan for washing and a nice aqua for rinsing. The soap on the windowsill is "3 in 1." You can use it to wash your dishes, wash your fruit, and wash countertops. It really works well.

Deanna is doing some research at her desk. You can see the famous dictionary on her left, right on top of the Chinese space book. The space book has stickers, and is Deanna's first Chinese book. We sure are glad to have the computer. We use it for so many things every day.

Lee spends a lot of time at his desk working on his Chinese. Here he is using the famous Chinese dictionary. On the book in front of him is his "spiffy" Christmas present...the weighted bookmarker. Also note the cup of tea with the lid to keep it warm.

We bought a stool for Deanna so that she could reach up to the clothesline on our balcony. When we put out clothes, we open the windows so that the moisture can get out of the room. Otherwise, all the windows fog up. We really like the way that our clothes smell.....fresh!

Lee looked all over town for this duster and he really likes it. Our dust is famous, coming from the Central China Loess Plateau. This is a large tract of land created from tiny windblown mineral particles. Some of these particles are glacial in origin, taking us way back in history. This dust blowing into the Yellow River and Yellow Sea is what gives them their color and their names.

Copyright 2004, Dr. Lee Williams

Last Modified: 11 February 2004

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