Always an Adventure...

Gingerbread is one of those trademark scents of Christmas. I found some molasses at Carrefour (a big chain store from France) a while ago, and bought it with Christmas in mind. The time has finally come, and yesterday I baked up a storm. I made about 7-8 dozen cookies, and there are only about 8 left after 24 hours. Granted I did take them to a party, but they seem to be a hit! Thy were soft and chewy, which is how cookies should ALWAYS be. I'm posting this recipe on here for anyone who wants to try and also so that I can look back at my blog to find it next year when I want to make them again (haha) since I'll probably lose the paper I wrote it on. So, Merry Christmas all, and enjoy some gingerbread if you get a chance! Ingredients (makes about 4 dozen, I doubled it): 1 cup white sugar 3/4 cup butter/margarine 1/4 cup molasses 1 egg 2 c flour Spices: ginger 1-2tsp, cinnamon 1 tsp, nutmeg 0.5 tsp 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp salt Directions : Mix together sugar, butter, eggs, and mo...

When I was in Canada this summer, I came across a little container of fake snow in a museum gift shop. (Pictured next to my cool Christmas decorations). It seemed like a fun thing, and since it's Christmas this week, I can finally use it!  I tried it out last night, and was really pleased! It's a powder that reacts with water and expands to 100 times its original size (so I could make 2 gallons of snow with the amount I bought) and its look and texture are suprisingly similar to real snow!  It's not cold, but is cool to touch and feels slightly wet. You can't make shapes out of it but you can squish it between your fingers and it will resume its original shape.  It was fun to bring to class.  Some of my students could have played with it all afternoon!  Apparently it's also used for decorations and indoor snowboarding places. It was worth my... however much I paid for it! It's been a lot of fun having Christmas  parties, songs, and gift exchanges so far.  Tomorr...

On November 30, our English Bible Study hosted an (American) Thanksgiving dinner. I know it's not the Canadian date, but you gotta celebrate when you can get the turkey! After much debate on where to get our turkey, the best option wasn't Costco (since we couldn't find an oven large enough to roast a frozen turkey), but from the Taiwan Turkey Association, which I didn't even know existed! Anyways, the price included everything you see in this picture and more. They mail the cooked turkey to you and you reheat it by roasting it on a spit. It also came with the charcoal, fire starters, matches, and even paper plates. Even though it wasn't exactly "Western flavor" it was quite good, and most of the people who came enjoyed it since they'd never eaten turkey before! We had a short program with singing before dinner, and over 70 people attended the dinner! Afterward we watched a movie (Evan Almighty) and had a great discussion/prayer time at the end. It wa...

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags ? I’m terrible at wrapping presents, so I’ll take the easy way out whenever possible. I really like gift boxes too! 2. Real or fake tree? I miss real trees, and going tree hunting with Tammy back in high school. Unfortunately, it’s just not plausible here in this tropical climate. 3. When do you put up a tree? Sometime in December, depending on my schedule. 4. When do you take it down? Lately, when I decorate for Chinese New Year! 5. Do you like eggnog? Oh my goodness, yes! I could drink it all year round! I also make a pretty good homemade eggnog. 6. Favorite gift received as a child? Probably one of the board games our whole family would play together during the holidays 7. Hardest person to buy for ? All the boys… 8. Easiest person to buy for? My sister, I don’t know why, but I always find tons of stuff for her. I’ve also been finding a lot of stuff for little Emily this year! 9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, I have a beautiful handmade woo...

Last Thursday I went to the OPERA with some friends.  It was my first time at the opera, and I felt ever so cultured to be going.... The opera was about the life of George Leslie Mackay, who was the first protestant missionary to Taiwan. Incidentally, he was also Canadian! Here's the Wikipedia articl e about him if you want to know more. One of the unique things about this show is that it's the first western style opera ever performed in Taiwanese! I think that's a big accomplishment in many of ways. First of all the Taiwanese language kind of takes a backseat to Mandarin in Taiwan, especially among the educated. In schools they speak and write Chinese. Taiwanese doesn't even really have a proper written system. It was transcribed by missionaries, and can be somewhat represented by Chinese characters, but it is mainly spoken by older people in Taiwan, as well as the working class, and by some young people in certain areas  young people in southern Taiwan. Interest has b...