A somewhat typical Saturday . . .

 

 

 

 

Saturdays are my days to sleep in. No alarm needed and the kids leave me alone. My husband gets breakfast and today, he surprised me with something I enjoy quite a bit. I'm a pampered princess on Saturdays!

But once I get out of bed, the day gets rolling. Today, I cleaned our bedroom, which actually isn't that big of a deal. The room is so small that it holds the bed, two nightstands and two wardrobes. There is no extra space to be found. However, whatever space we have gets covered in dust. Our city is in a very arid area and the dust is a very fine greyish sand that seeps in through every nook and cranny. Our windows aren't sealproof so each week, I have to wipe the place down.

We are blessed with a larger apartment than most, but it is still small on North American standards. It is 861 square feet, but fortunately, most of that space is in the living room.

I got laundry started while I was cleaning the room. I did four loads today and all four loads are hanging up in the living room. The heat hasn't been turned on yet (city controlled . . . November 1 - March 15), so on these cooler days, it takes a bit longer for the clothes to dry. I don't mind them hanging up, though . . . the fabric softener in them makes the place smell great!

I made pizza for dinner. I usually buy a flatbread called naan (somewhat similar to Indian nan), but I never made it out of the apartment do get any. I looked up a recipe for pizza crust with no yeast and it was really easy to make! Simmered up some tomato paste (a bit thicker than sauce) with Italian spices, salt and a wee bit of sugar and put it on the crust. Tossed on a bunch of cheese and baked it.

When it was done, the four of us sat down together, expressed our thanks for our meal (grace) and simultaneously took a bite. We were all surprised at how much it tasted like "real pizza." Here in China, the few times we've had pizza, it just hasn't tasted like "home." We pretty much inhaled the whole thing and Art and the kids started making requests for what toppings they wanted next time. They asked if we could have this every Saturday night. I think a new tradition is in the making!