A Museum and Mighty Machines on Zhong Jie

When Lena was here last she told Mom about a museum that she thought Mom would enjoy so we decided to check it out on Monday morning.  If I was a responsible blogger I would now go into great detail about the history of this place and perhaps even the name of it.  But I'm not.  So I won't.  To be honest, I didn't get to see enough of the museum to tell you anything except that it was once the home of a great (I guess) Chinese general.  From what I did see he appeared to be a very important figure in the formation of northeast China in the last one hundred years.  You may notice a few pictures in that the kids and I aren't in any of the photos.  This is because they were incredibly bored and I had enough of trying to get them interested so we left and went for a stroll.  Mom and Tian Ye had a wonderful time looking around though, so everyone left happy.

Ryan did okay with this lady...

until she tried to take his picture.

We tried to figure out using the translator on the iPod where exactly Shenyang was located on this map of Northeast China.

While Mom and Tian Ye were enjoying the museum, Nicholas, Ryan and I walked to a convenience store and got some snacks.  We could have eaten in the van but it was so nice out we decided to sit and watch these gentlemen.  I have seen people doing this before but didn't know what exactly it was all about.  They use a large paint brush dipped in water to write Chinese characters on walkways.  I asked Tian Ye about it later and he said that they are very difficult characters and he couldn't read them.  I think that perhaps they are writing in Traditional Chinese instead of Simplified which is common now, so only a few (very smart!) people are able to understand them.

One man let Nicholas try out his brush.

I think they are learning by osmosis here. 

By the time Mom and Tian Ye emerged it was time for some lunch.  Since no one else cared where we went and I was craving their plum chicken and sushi rolls, we decided to go to the Japanese restaurant we ate at for Tian Ye's birthday.  It was fantastic, as usual.

What a couple of clowns!

Ryan sure knows how to relax.  See why I love this place?  Aside from the food...

which is divine!

This adorable guy was waiting at the traffic lights.

I love the fact that a grown man has red, Disney Mickey Mouse seat covers in his cool, black car.

Since my boys love diggers and they have Zhong Jie (Middle Street) completely ripped apart, we thought that would be the perfect place to take them after supper last night.  Ryan could hardly contain his excitement and was dragging us from machine to machine and one end of the street to the other.  It was great fun.

Some of the workers were quite interested in Ryan and how much he love the machinery.  They had to get their own pictures.  Notice that Ryan didn't shy away from them.

Mom told us to stand in front of this excavator for a picture.  Nick tried to run but...

I got him. 

Hooray for the machines!

It ended up being a late night so we decided that Tuesday would be an easy day.  I had my Chinese lesson this morning anyway.  At the end of lesson Rachel gave me the news that she pretty sure she has been hired for a new job in another city so I will be losing her as my teacher.  I will miss her but I am happy that she will be working in a position more closely related to her degree in biology.

While I had my lesson Mom and the boys played baseball outside (Thanks for the bat, Darlene!) then went for a picnic.

This afternoon Ryan and I walked to Carrefour then I had my massage with Lena.  While Mom had hers I babysat Caroline who has returned from her trip home.  She is walking now so she keeps a person busy!  This evening after supper Mom and I walked again to Carrefour looking for some dress shoes or boots.  Despite looking at three different stores, we were unable to find anything that actually fit properly.  Oh well, there is still time.  Tomorrow morning Sue the Seamstress is supposed to be arriving here at nine to give Mom her new, custom made clothing.  I hope everything fits okay because Thursday is her last day here.  It's hard to believe her month in Shenyang is up.  She will be back though!

I guess that's it for tonight.  I will try to get a blog done tomorrow evening with pics of the new threads!  Goodnight all!