Remember last fall…how can we forget…the endless smoke, the masks, the indoor recesses, reading the smoke index….what ghastly memories!

Well, two days ago smoke descended upon Kuala Lumpur. The culprit….Malaysian Palm Oil companies. Seems Palm Oil is a gigantic business but it takes a lot, A LOT, of palm trees to produce the amount of palm oil the world thinks it needs. Palm oil is used in cereals, margarine, sweets, baked goods, cosmetics, laundry soap and as a bio-fuel. To make room for the planting of palm trees, the companies used to slash burn the jungles here in Malaysia. There are laws now prohibiting this practice…so, like all good profit-seeking companies, they find a way around it….they go to nearby Indonesia and the Island of Sumatra to burn and plant. On Sumatra, the soil has this peat base…you can imagine what happens when that catches fire…it smolders for weeks. The winds this time of year blow from Sumatra right to Malaysia. The smoke index was up to 700 yesterday. Our summer school was cancelled as well as all the public schools. We were issued a super-duper face mask. Our eyes are burning and the Wenatchee inversion memories are flying back at us. Hoping for rain, favorable winds, and an end to the slash burning.

Smoke from Sumatra.

Cough, cough, wheeze.

Precautions!!!

Bad memories….could have used this when we visited the durian!!!

Decided to go shopping yesterday…there are more malls here than you can shake a stick at. Some of them with well over 400 stores. (Kuala Lumpur is a city of over 6 million people and is the fourth largest shopping city in the world) Heidi was on a mission to find the perfect purse. At one mall we came across some beautiful Burberry and Coach purses for only $20.00. Such a deal I say. Heidi was tempted but whispered something about knockoffs and some legal mumbo jumbo. Ended up at another mall and she found it, the perfect purse for only $40.00. The same purse goes for $140.00 back home. She felt quite proud of herself and I must say…the purse looks quite nice on her!!!

The happy shopper.

The perfect purse!!

Close-up of that awesome purse.

If all goes well, we get to move into our Condo on Wednesday. We also found out our shipment from the US, with all our dishes, sheets, bed, supplies, etc. etc. will not arrive until July 27. Definitely was put on the slow boat to China. Once it arrives in port, it has to pass through customs and then will be delivered….We’re talking August before we have all our items. So off we went to IKEA…called “Ick Eee Ah” here in Malaysia. It was so funny to us….two Americans shopping in a Swedish store in the middle of Malaysia. We stocked up on some furniture (dining room table, chairs, night stands, desk and chair, lamps, some plates, cups, utensils, linens, sheets, etc.) We paid a minimal fee for them to deliver and to PUT EVERYTHING TOGETHER for us. I would have spent twice as much for them to assemble everything….Have you ever tried following IKEA directions??? Another note on shopping…Heidi has done an excellent job keeping her self-esteem intact. While looking at fashions at a large H & M store, a salesperson came up to Heidi and said, “Those are only in Malaysian sizes.” Heidi translated for me, “She is saying, We don’t have sizes for you fat Americans.” We left the store without buying anything.

I have been working up my courage to drive. We pick up our car Wednesday. For those of you who believe in prayer, please keep us at the top of your list, as well as all the KL pedestrians, motorcyclists, and innocent drivers who are unaware that we will be on the road.