Sunday, January 11, 2009

. . .And a Hairy New Year??!!















On New Years day we went to the National Palace Museum, a treasure-trove of Chinese artifacts so old it boggles the mind. Unfortunately, thousands of our Chinese brothers and sisters had the same idea that very day and what added to the frenzy--free admission! Sophie was bent on seeing a Chinese mummy, (as some of you know she is an "ancient expert," dealing mainly in mummies and dinosaurs) however after trying to maneuver our way through the crowds with two toddlets in tow, we were unsuccessful in finding any preserved bodies (or at least an ancient jade burial suit) so instead took the kids quickly through the children's museum exhibit. Poor Sophie, she was extremely disappointed and tried to console herself with the idea that we would take a family trip to Egypt instead to visit the mummies.

Afterwards, Dooby requested "dump-o-lings" so we swung by a neighborhood noodle restaurant for lunch. They have their chefs on display in the doorway using knives to shave noodles from freshly-made dough into a beef and tomato broth. Good stuff. It was delicious, so I was surprised at Shaun's apparent distaste. After downing our meal and getting ready to leave, I noticed a scary-looking clump of long wet black hair, reminiscent of "The Ring," surrounded by a napkin on one of our plates. What??? Apparently Shauny baby had discovered more than he bargained for when digging through the noodles with his chopsticks. After promptly removing the sodden clump of hair, he looked on as I obliviously fed our sweet children the noodles which had mingled and danced with hair in the broth. Shaun pointed out that we've probably unknowingly consumed worse things in our food during our 6 years in China. I'm sure he's right. I'm doubtful, however, that I'll ever want to go back to this particular eating establishment. It was a hairy experience, but I'm happy to report we survived.

Little girl-baby is considered to be full-term at this point (37 weeks) but is staying put for the time being. Everyone is always asking Shaun if he will give her a Chinese name, so today he thought of a great one--it even goes along with the letter "S." Sze Ling Hedquist.

1 comment:

GustoBones said...

AAAAAHHH, that is a "HAIRY" experience. That is sooooo GROSS! I am glad that you survived though! Hope you survive these last 3 weeks of pregnancy too!!