K: Liberation Week and a Note on the Knives

This past week was a holiday week. Imagine the equivalent of a cross between the Fourth of July (minus the fireworks, plus crowds) and Thanksgiving (minus the turkey, plus crowds). October Holiday is a celebration of the Liberation by the Communists in 1949 to form the new People's Republic of China, and it's the only weeklong holiday in the fall semester. While we don't necessarily celebrate the liberation by the Communists, we certainly celebrate the liberation of students and teachers from classes for a week. In the past, we spent the holiday making trips to the desert (see the banner picture) and Hohhot in Inner Mongolia, but this time we stayed at home and spent time with friends, N got and is recovering from a cold, and we worked at that very comfortable work/rest holiday pace. The weather has been gloomy so we've spent most of the days inside or poking around the city, but one day we did make a trip out to the mountains northwest of the city for some hiking.    

I realized after posting pictures of the apartment last time that I really need to comment on the knives. Most of you may know that N is the cook in the family, not because I can't or won't cook... coming from a heritage of Lancaster County, PA goodness and growing up with southern comfort cooking, I've picked up a thing or two... but as long as I've known him, N has loved cooking (and kitchen gadgets) so I've taken that as a gift and gotten out of the way. That said, our last apartment came equipped with a block of knives, so we just had them sharpened and called it good. This apartment didn't have any such convenience so having the opportunity to choose our own block sent us hunting for that perfect set. We knew we had found them by the brand name: Good Husband. The set included a "knife for cutting bones", a "more used chef knife", a couple of smaller knives, a pair of kitchen shears, a sharpener and a "watermelon knife". I don't know about needing a knife especially for cutting watermelons, but having a block of knives that affirms my good husband's presence in the kitchen might be as good as it gets.