Our Little Spring Fling

Yesterday, in honor of the first day of Spring, as well as to introduce the young'uns to something very similar to the tastes of Thailand which we are currently studying in homechool, we stopped by a tiny little shop we discovered in our area. Kim's Asian Market is a delightful little place that reminds me a bit of a combination of the street vendors I've read and heard about in Asian countries combined with a sort of Asian convenience store. There are several aisles with a rather sparce collection of asian ingredients, as well as a few gift items and authentic bamboo steamers.

The first thing you see when entering this little market is the the owner behind a counter which has been spread with a colorful array of fresh vegetables which she is busy dipping into as she prepares the selections of culinary delights her customers have ordered "to go". It is fascinating to watch her work while chatting it up with the handful of ladies who hail from various Asian countries.

While we waited for our Spring Rolls, I browsed the aisles for ingredients I knew I couldn't find elsewhere for next weeks Thai meal. My confusion must have been apparent as one of Kim's guests soon joined me, checked my list, asked me questions and guided me to the needed items. This lady, of Chinese descent born in Thailand was a huge help, and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know her. At her suggestion I ended up adding two more items to my basket. Fortunately, the prices in this little market were amazingly affordable, so Pa's wallet didn't suffer for the additions.

Once our order was complete, I continued to chat with the helpful lady as well as another who was visiting while we checked out. I was thrilled to accept this kind ladies invitation to take her phone number so we could chat at a later date. My only concern is whether I will be able to understand her very thick regional "accent" over the phone. It's different when you are speaking in person and can include facial expressions and body language in the conversation. Somehow, I expect we will manage :)

We then headed out to the truck where the four of us enjoyed the Spring Rolls before heading on to the Grocery Outlet where I was tickled to find large bags of Ginger Root which I needed for two of the dishes, and a sauce I plan on making next week. As we continued wandering through the store we were surprised when we ran into my new friend's husband, who had just arrived to pick her up as we were leaving Kim's Market. He thought it was wonderful that we were planning to include a culinary lesson in our Thai studies, and he and Pa had a fine time discussing regional differences in food in Thailand, etc.

This morning the kids are enjoying their Saturday morning shows. Saturdays are the only day they watch TV so they look forward to it. Last week they missed their Saturday movie night, so they're really looking forward to that this evening as well and, as a bonus, I should be able to include a movie review in my next entry.

Happy first weekend of Spring!