Happy New Year

2020 The Year of the Mouse

Today is the official Chinese lunar New Year. Last week we went on a lovely trip to the mountains, to enjoy the outdoors and to get away from our apartment.  Most local people do this sort of thing after the New Year.  We did it first, to avoid the crowds and now it is time to settle into living in Taipei.

The last few days I have attempted cooking. My food has mostly been a disaster because I haven't been able to control the temperature on the gas burners.  In addition to only having high flames, the burners turn off after about 20 seconds.  This  makes for an irritating cooking experience and lousy food.  Last night, for New Years Eve, I made one pot spaghetti and it tried me to no end.

This morning I got a text from Jennifer saying she would be by to bring us clean sheets, which she does at the two week mark.  I texted back that while she was here would she teach me how to use the stove?  I didn't have the nerve to tell her outright that I thought something was wrong, because she has dealt with so many problems here.

When she arrived she went directly to the stove and agreed with me that something was wrong.  She called her repair man who came to take a look.

He started by checking out the burners.  His first diagnosis was a cockroach had clogged up one of the holes. I can't believe I was happy to hear a cockroach was causing a problem.

He looked more closely and abandoned the cockroach theory.

He then decided the left hand burner should be replaced.

Oh dear, now  he thinks the entire stove top needs to be replaced.

By now, we are all hungry and wanting to cook dinner.  It is New Years Day and restaurants are closed. But look at our kitchen.

Fortunately, the lovely man tells us he can get a replacement in 14 minutes! And on New Years Day!

Chia, while our repair man leaves to get a new stove top, assembles dinner.  She makes rice in the rice cooker, steams a fish in an electric steamer, heats up her homemade vegetable soup in the microwave, and steams some veg in the same steamer that cooked the fish.

Thanks to Chia we had a gourmet meal with Irish whisky and beer.  I forgot to mention she has a cold, and Taylor has locked himself in the bedroom because he is also sick.  David and I are the only ones in the family who are currently healthy.

We were sitting down to eat when the repairman came back with the new stove top.

Can you imagine getting a repairman, let alone a new appliance, on a holiday in the US?

He was finished with installation while we were still eating.  A job well done.

And now, as they say, we are cooking with gas.  And I hope this is the end of the apartment saga.

Happy New Year

We live around the corner from this display.

Walk through the tunnel and to the left, and you will arrive at our apartment.  Come on over.  Everyone else has been here.