July 8th A new day has begun,
and a new week of course, for which I had a plan to start the next part of the
upriver video series. The plan failed! I slept terribly, partly because Madame
had a good old talking in her sleep session last night. I lost count of how
many times I heard her. So, this morning a suggested a partial
Creatures, I found a caterpillar, Huan found a lizard. The lizard appears to be going through the ‘ecdysis process, or sloughing as we often call it. From Wikipedia - Lizards, like snakes, rub against objects to help remove their shed skin and then consume the shed skin for calcium and other nutrients.” So when you eat your nails and dead skin from around your body, don’t be ashamed, other creatures do it too!
It’s a while since we walked up this way, and as it is summer snowbirds were very rare today. That may also have had something to do with the fact that it was trying to rain!
A flash of colour caught our eyes, the bridge between the housing complex and this part of the park appears to have been refurbished. It was still locked at both sides though.
Up at the square, where everyone likes to ‘play’, people were standing under the shelter trying to avoid the rain. We were staying under the trees and sheltering the camera.
We kept going just a little bit further as I wanted to see if any work had been done on this next bridge. This one leads to an area of forest shown on the map as part of the park. No work has been done and there is still no easy access to the forest, or footpaths through it.
This one was taken on a whim to see if Huan liked it when we got home. She did.
Every now and then, in different spots around the town, you may see what looks like a pine tree. I don’t think they are, but I cannot tell you one way or the other. Here are today’s.
Huan found another bug for me; it was walking very slowly and perhaps would be a bird’s dinner before too long. Maybe it was an old man!
In the last couple of photos you may have noticed that it was in fact raining. It wasn’t heavy rain, even Huan didn’t put up her umbrella, and all we had to be sure of was that the camera didn’t get too wet. It is supposed to be water resistant, but you know how manufacturers label these things. Anyway, our last photo of our walk today is just that, rain on the river.
I was cooking again today, this time a Philippine dish but it could well come from anywhere in South East Asia, including where we live I suppose. Here is the recipe and my ingredients laid out ready to cook. Our tofu is already cooked.
And here is Huan’s plate. She said she had too many shrimps but the way I emptied the pan has hidden them all. She did clear her plate, as did I mine!
July 9th Today was an acting day for me; I was to play Rigsby to Huan’s Miss Jones. Yes, we were on landlord duties again, the tenant in Ledong was complaining about his air conditioner not working correctly. On arrival we had a quick look and then shot out to try and find a repair shop willing to attend in the morning. Ledong has far more than Wuzhishan but just like our little town finding workpeople can be very difficult. We did eventually find one and headed back to our apartment complex. On the way I found a cat with a wagging tail!
While the workman was in the bedroom I took a quick photo outside the front door. With the exception of what seems to be one pair of lady’s boots all these shoes belong to one person. We asked why so many and he told us he plays basketball!
Soon the job was complete, Huan used her WeChat to pay the workman and we headed off home. Being lunchtime we stopped at the new highway service station just outside Ledong. The second photo shows a lot of charging bays, presently a little overgrown, but give it time and I’m sure they will all soon be in use. Besides these there were at least ten operational bays.
It’s a small place and so far not at all busy. Lunchtime snacks were fine. I sent Huan off to the little girl’s room and then I bought her a bottle of water and myself a cold coffee. She caught me! Well, it had been over a month since the last one.
Back in Wuzhishan it was naps and lazy day time.
July 10th Before the boss could say anything I told her that we were not going anywhere near the countryside today as we wore ourselves out too much yesterday. Instead we took a bus and walk but just to come back through the town. Huan instantly found a tiny baby lizard outside our entrance, too small and too fast to focus on properly.
Off the bus we popped into the science museum for a look.
Nothing much has changed since we last visited. Many of the displays are still not working as they should. I do like the breadth of information shown although none of it is in English. Also, Huan could not really help me with the displays that were functional. This one is obvious! Just look at all that beautiful blue, isn’t it amazing?
You saw the view up the steps; well this is the view from the top.
Walking through the town we found more pooches. Nobody knew whose this one was.
This restaurant used to bring back memories for us, at least for two or three years after we moved down here. In 2007 it was a milk tea place (the old fashioned type) and we stopped for a drink there. That was where Huan met someone who told her where there were apartment on sale, including the one that we then bought and live in now.
I had an ulterior motive, or two, or more, for today’s walk. The first had been the science museum, a failure for me. The second had been an old four legged friend, he was missing, another failure. The third was a success though, buy some cake to go with our afternoon coffees, the Baijiahui snacks were terrible. Here I am doing the business.
Walking back home another ulterior motive failed, the one day I wanted to buy a baguette is the one day that they didn’t have any! Despondent we headed through the outside market where at least I met another old friend. You may have seen him in the movies! (Clue, he’s an alien.) Ten years ago, before they moved to this location, he had tried to follow me home. Even though his eyes are just about gone now, he still remembers me.
While waiting for Huan to finish gossiping I sat on the wall near the road. Let’s finish with a photo from there, where perhaps I could have done with a bigger leaf.
Although we didn’t go anywhere out of the ordinary we both enjoyed our relaxed walk for the day. Naps were still absolutely necessary of course. Once again it was my turn in the kitchen; that was why I had wanted the baguette. As it happened, Huan had some flat bread in the freezer, with chives in it and that worked just as well. This was the dinner. We had no saffron, I was too lazy to make beurre manié so just used corn flour instead. Both of us like parsley so I added some of that. We had three different types of mushrooms and although it is not called for, we added some very thinly sliced garlic sausage to each of our bowls. If I have any advice for you it is to make sure that you make enough, we could have done with a little more. (I didn’t really follow the quantities for the ingredients because it serves more than two.)
July 11th I was the boss today, well at least in my own mind I was. Last night I told Huan that no walks would be on the cards for today except an admin one to the bank. She understood. Checking the PC weather everything looked fine, no rain today. As soon as we stepped outside of our building Huan had to go back upstairs to fetch umbrellas, the heavens were already crying. Skinks don’t mind wet weather and we found one just after the fire station.
Passing the road down to the river the rain eased off enough for a landscape snap.
And then not so much further on we were surprised to see a lizard out, that is very unusual during the rain showers and even afterwards unless the sun is nice and hot. It wasn’t today.
Coming back from the bank I thought you might like to see a different view of the square where a lot of the snowbird activities take place. It was quiet today; the season and the weather were to blame for that. We counted less than half a dozen people playing.
Now then, how about this for a lizard? We do often spot golden coloured ones, silver or chrome coloured ones too, on people’s cars. This is a new one for us though. I wonder if Huan will let me buy one for our car…
Someone must have been a little envious of me withdrawing money today because she took it on herself to do exactly the same. Doesn’t she look happy?
We have often tried to show you the little swallows that nest under all the shop overhangs and such like, usually without success. Their faces are always just too dark. I managed to get this one looking right at me and for a change you can actually see its eyes.
Back home, after lunch and naps, we had a little more admin. This was Taobao style admin looking for parts to repair the extractor fan cover in the kitchen. It seems that as you get older not only do your own parts start failing but parts of your house do too. Sometimes I wish we still had a salary coming in, or at least a pension that rose in line with inflation. Speaking of pensions, I still have not heard anything from Aviva, even after reminding them last week.
July 12th Isn’t it amazing how you can like routine stuff? We go to the market every Saturday, for salad stuff through the summer, sometimes for stew stuff in the winter. Strangely, we never get bored of it. As usual, the camera was at hand and also as usual the granny finger was ready and willing. I thought Huan had found a lizard here, she thought it was a cicada. It turned out to be neither; instead it was some kind of beetle.
In the market I found some rabbits which didn’t interest the boss at all. She was very taken by the chicks in the cage behind. They were ostrich babies and you could have one for ¥300.00.
How do you fancy one of these? I have mixed feelings about them these days. In my younger years I would have loved one, now I am not so sure. What do you think the driver is doing at the back in the second photo? He is stashing vegetables; in this case it looked like ginger. I’m sure the rats and other assorted wildlife will be most pleased.
This is a photography site for tourists that we first saw a few weeks ago. Unfortunately on that occasion, and every one since until today, there was always some kind of market vehicle parked in the way. It’s not a bad idea although I think I would have sited it so that you could see either downriver or upriver through the ‘doorway’ and not across the river.
You can probably see from the previous photograph that to get the whole of the little wall and doorway in shot you have to stand the other side of the foliage. I did the honours for Huan.
She wanted me to go back there afterwards but I was too lazy. You have this instead.
On our way in we had to stop by the Taobao cabinets and pick up the first parts for our kitchen cooker hood repairs. After lunch and a nap I was dutifully put to work. The first photo shows me getting on with it; the second two show the result. Now we await the next delivery.
July 13th Yet again my plans went awry! No finger pointing though, we both slept pretty badly last night. Huan was mumbling to herself but I could not make out the words. As for me I seemed to be dreaming about Aviva most of the night! So, we had no video today, instead we took a walk to the nearby countryside. First a very well equipped fisherman.
Our route was amended on the fly; parts of where we went were waterlogged from last night’s rain. My boots would have been fine but Huan’s sneakers not so much. This photo is just an example, not a ‘no through road’. P.S. We don’t mind rain during the night.
Suddenly my artistic bent got the better of me and I ‘saw’ a picture in my mind. Instead of putting Huan in it, which would have made it considerably better, I got Huan to take it, first showing her what I wanted. It worked well. Every little bit will help her compositional skills.
As always in the local countryside, the views were great.
With the sandy detour around the village being waterlogged and off limits we went to where Huan was guaranteed to see a turkey, or maybe even two. I like the second photo!
I did take a couple more landscapes before Huan found a lizard. I have to say that I couldn’t see it all, not even through the EVF. This is a heavily cropped photo!
This is one that in retrospect I should have taken a video of. This little machine does it all. It has a bucket on the front to scoop up the ‘ingredients’ which it lifts up and then by opening a door in the bottom of the bucket deposits said ingredients into the mixer. That of course then does the job of mixing before the concrete is then used on site. In this case the site was not far away, only about 200m down the road.
Back to Huan who I thought was trying to show me a lizard. Eventually I understood she meant on the floor and not on the bottom of the tree! Sometimes I can be a dummy!
Let’s finish off today’s walk with lots of views. Hope you like them.
July 14th “What shall we do today Ma’am?” “Shopping you dummy!” That was after I crawled out of bed very early this morning and took a snap through the living room window.
Baijiahui could not provide everything we needed so we headed off to our other market to buy some beans. I took a photo of the boss on the way but it came out very badly. I am in fact under pain of death should I post it! Instead we will show you a profusion of piggy meat, hanging around, waiting to dry out.
On our way back in there was another Taobao delivery so after lunch the labour overseer got me to work again. My job today was to install the new struts for the cooker hood.
I’m afraid to say that I failed. This photo shows what we should have received.
The perils of shopping on Taobao came into effect next. This picture shows the old fixing on the right and the supplied new one on the left. As you can see the new one is not the same as either what we were expecting or the one we already had.
Needless to say the supplier was either unable, or unwilling to help out. The old fixings are now sitting in a jar on the balcony being cleaned as best as they can be. I will leave them until tomorrow when I will try once again to be a good workman.
Chef duties called again today, this was the recipe. It says that it serves four, don’t believe it. Maybe free range eggs are bigger elsewhere, I don’t know. It was a little dry but other than that it was fine. Our baker no longer makes baguettes so we had to have normal baps, with some tomato and cucumber of course.
No photos, it just looks like quite a dry omelette. It’s worth giving it a try and if you do so more than once then try and modify it second time around.
And on that note we will sign off for another week. See you next time.
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