"the finest tend to be sourced from dairy cows"

So today we went for our mandatory physical exam at the local health department which is a requirement for renewing our visa. (as in 'permission to live here', not 'plastic money'.)

They take photos, take blood, take x-rays, take ECGs, test for color-blindness, etc, etc. I guess it would be silly to let someone live here if they were color-blind? Anyways, the whole gamut of testing goes on and on. One of them is ultrasound. Yes.... goop, wand, abdomen, ultrasound.

In the ultrasound the technician informed me that I have a 7mm gallstone.

Upon arriving home, I had to google my newfound medical condition.

Here's what wikipedia says.....


Gallstones are a valuable by-product of meat processing, fetching up to US$10–per–gram in their use as a purported antipyretic and antidote in the folk remedies of some cultures, in particular, in China. The finest gallstones tend to be sourced from old dairy cows, which are called (yellow thing of oxen) in Chinese. Those obtained from dogs, called Gou-Bao (treasure of dogs) in Chinese, are also used today. Much as in the manner of diamond mines, slaughterhouses carefully scrutinize offal department workers for gallstone theft.[19]


Valuable.

We went to our friend's house for the day. Having a meal together turned into spending 8 hours together. :) He invited his friends and relatives to come over too.
Our kids got served all kinds of interesting foods. It was noisy and wild, but at least they kept giving our kids candy.



This little friend was only a few weeks older than Emily, so they really enjoyed playing together. Emily is coming right along with this language!



Eliana says there's no need to learn to walk. This is the life.







The very picture of adoration! :)

Zac's B-day Party

Zac turned 2 today!! He wasn't quite sure what to make of all the attention. About a dozen friends came over, and brought him everything from puzzles to diapers. :)




Sporting our family's traditional birthday hat, and feeling a little uncertain about all the people staring at him, we couldn't get a smile.



We tried to demonstrate how to blow out candles, but the more he thought about it, the less he wanted to try it. So we helped out. The 3 year old sister and the one year old sisters were curious onlookers. Their turn next month!



A big piece of cake and 4 cups of milk later, he's quite happy. Isn't he adorable?