Pre-Christmas Kayak Trip

Zac, Sarah and I were lucky enough to have a beautiful day - mid 60's and a little windy, but the current was with us so it was an easy paddle from Postell Creek around East Beach to the ocean. Only negative was the 4 layers of clothes did nothing for my figure.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Here's hoping you have a

Healthy and Happy Holiday
with lots of family and friends present.

4 Big Reasons Why I am Doing a Happy Dance

1. Zac and new girlfriend, Sarah, are on their way down for the holidays!

2. I just finished my pre-Christmas cooking - All the dishes that can be made ahead and frozen are DONE. Yeast Oatmeal rolls, Banana Nut Bread, Squash Casserole, Mash Potato Casserole, Mac and Cheese and of course 2 types of cookies. I still have 4 last minute dishes/desserts to make on Christmas Eve but the messy stuff is done! Turkey and Brisket is being done by Southern Soul....

3. I think I have almost "jumped thru all the hoops" that my China NUDT university has put in my path. I was required to get a health exam using an approved Chinese form, which is a normal physical along with blood tests, Chest x-ray, and EKG. All those are now DONE -BUT were rejected because they were missing the all important and required "stamp". After lots of pondering between the doctors and nurses we decided that maybe China would be happy with the pages being notarized. We will see...

4. I finally got my flight tickets changed. I had purchased tickets to go to Changsha, China the beginning of February so I could travel around with Cynthia during China's Spring Festival. BUT NUDT wouldn't let me arrive then (even though I had a Multi-entry passport good till May 2011) for reasons only they understand.... It took me 90 minutes ON HOLD with DELTA to make the changes along with an extra 250 bucks. I am now arriving 2 weeks later, which is when we start work. No traveling or time to adjust for jet lag or getting settled in-- just start working. But the tickets are purchased and packing has begun and hopefully all the frustrations have ended.

Lazy Susan Food

Wonder where that name came from - but I betcha the Chinese invented the spinning food server. Thank goodness - We would have spent our entire mealtime passing the multitude of dishes if it wasn't for the huge lazy Susan at almost every meal.

And it tasted as good as it looked. Unfortunately it is not even close to Chinese food that you can find in America.

Xian

Xian was our second destination and another labor intensive site- the Terra Cotta Warriors. Amazing! This was my 3rd visit and it still takes my breath away.

Good Fortune Peach

Labor Intensive. Farming in China is generally done on a small scale and by hand -not with big machines. Then to my surprise they even add more work by masking this “good fortune” character on each peach.

Beijing 2010

We landed in Beijing after the long and full flight on Air China. The Marriot where we stayed for the next 3 nights had surprisingly soft mattresses (I was actually sort of disappointed that not one of our hotels had the typical hard mattresses that my school provided me with for my 2 years in China – I sort of wanted a little sympathy/empathy for what I endured)

1st day in Beijing was a busy day that included Tiananmen Square, a Hutong tour and Pandas. 2nd day was filled with the Great Wall, Jade Factory tour, Summer Palace and ended with a quick look at the impressive Olympic Birds Nest and the Water Cube. Janice gets the award in our group of 3 for climbing the highest on the great wall. Living in FLAT south Georgia seems to handicap me when I encounter hills and heights such as the Great Wall. The grandparents of our large family group did great climbing but to their advantage they live in San Francisco.

Good Omen

This first day of our travels I saw this outside the airplane window – I figured that a rainbow around the shadow of our plane would be a good omen for our 2 week ChinaSpree Trip. It was! China was fantastic as usual but the group that we traveled with made it even more so. Our group consisted of 19 people with 11 from one family that was made up of 3 generations. I have to tell you that when we saw this big family we were a little worried about effect they would have on the dynamics of the whole group. It was a totally positive – plus 2 of them were doctors, which was sort of like having a security blanket along for any “just in cases”. Ming our tour guide was great at accommodating all of our different ages and demands. She taught hand games to the kids, made sure that Donna’s vegetarian needs were met and even helped me get train tickets to Hangzhou when I left the group at the end of the tour. She even answered all of our questions – even the embarrassing ones.

Side Note: I have to publically thank the kids on the tour for teaching the ins and outs of the new iPad game that I had become addicted to “Plants and Zombies”. They taught me the strategies that would get me pass certain hard levels of this surprisingly devious game. Thanks a Bunch!

New Old House and Address for Zac

Recently, Zac made the move from Wells, Vermont to Salem, New York. The above house was built in 1900 and is a duplex. I am happy because it has working electricity and indoor plumbing. It needs a lot of cosmetic work but Zac is now pretty experienced in that area. The house is located just a short walk from his job at Salem Art Works. Financing and all other of that legal stuff is in the works and hopefully he will be moving in by the end of May.

Hurry …….Bikini Weather……Please

A couple of weeks ago I did “every 3 month visit to Zac”. As you can see he had grown a thick beard for the winter. Zac says he will shave his beard when he sees his first girl in a bikini. I am afraid I am going to have to wait a little longer until Salem, New York has Bikini weather. Last winter he grew it to keep his scarf from slipping off in the winter. He says that beards are like Velcro.

I Thought It Looked Familiar

I knew that "Pandora" in Avatar looked familiar but in Zhangjiajie, China the mountains didn't float. I was watching the Today Show and they said that Avatar used the mountains of Zhangjiajie as models for their film. The Chinese have even changed the name of one of the peaks to "Hallelujah Mountain". Cynthia and I went there in the Summer of 2008. These mountains and the Tulous were my favorite part of the trip. Photos on side bar July 08.

Side Note: One of the best foods I ate in this area was a local dish of Kudzu root. Honest, it was delicious. This might be a way to get rid of the weeds by our southern highways - start eating Kudzu root for dinner.

Star-Struck

OMG 61 years old and I was star – struck. I thought that those embarrassing, tongue tied moments left you when you finished your teen years. Guess not. I met Nevada Barr! You know that imaginary list of people that you would like to meet – well Nevada was on my list (along with Queen Latifah, Steve Wozniak, Tom Cruise, Matt Damon, Whoopi Goldberg, Bill Bryson, and Ellen DeGeneres just to name a few). At Saturday’s Table of Contents dinner I actually got to meet one of my listees and had my picture taken with her. Wow!

Anyway, I started reading Nevada’s “Anna Pigeon” novels many years ago. Endangered Species, which was set in Georgia’s nearby National Park Cumberland Island, was the one that hooked me and I have been a fan of her books since. If you haven’t read any of her books – try one. You might get hooked too.

........And who are on YOUR list?

Slumber Party

Sharing a girls weekend with your best friends. Not many things better than that.

And If You Believe This...

I have some nice land to sell in Okefenokee.... Have some fun at this web site. Photofunia It's free too. All you need is a decent head shot. I guess I should have been brooding in the bottom head shot - but I have a hard time with producing that look.

Use What You Have

Coastal Georgia uses shells in their walls and here at Rosie’s Café in the middle of nowhere in Arizona they use rocks. I think I like the variety of colors when using rocks vs shells.

Wow

Not the best light to take photos – I would have loved to have been here during sunset or sunrise but it was still breathtaking even in the dull mid day lighting.

Yes Snow

When you think of desert you think of HOT – not snow. But it is perfectly normal…. Carla and her husband had to have a photo to prove to a few back home in Brazil that snow is possible in the desert.

Flying Eagle

The Skywalk location was name by the Hualapai Indians as Home of the Eagle because of the flying eagle rock shape. Can you see the shape of it that Carla is imitating?

Grand Canyon Skywalk

A “Boo Hiss” to the Hualapai Indian tribe for not allowing cameras out on the skywalk and a “yeah” to David Jin for designing and building it. It was really neat walking on air with my paper shoe booties but it was very disappointing not being able to take pictures. They did have photographers out there but the cheapest photo you could buy was 30 dollars. Rip Off. I gave my camera to Scott our guide to take a picture from afar. I’m the one waving with the pink scarf.

Happy Chinese New Year

Happy Year of the Tiger to all my Chinese friends. Bellagio decorates for every Chinese New Year. I often think of all of my ZUFE students and I still practice with my chopsticks and meager Chinese language skills.

A Bouquet of Canoes

This sculpture is in front of the new Aria Hotel in Las Vegas. Canoes don’t come to my mind when I am in Las Vegas because the slots, lights and shows seem so far removed from nature. I really liked the shapes and colors and it definitely gave me pause.

Vegas....

My sister Barb isn’t one of those “Whales” they talk about in Vegas – she classifies herself as a “Fat Guppy”. Whatever she is, she gets “comps” from the MGM/Mirage group. Her latest “comps” were a suite and meals from NY NY Casino along with limo rides to and from the airport. I (supplied with a “Barb Comp-ed Plane ticket”) went along for ride. Our windows were about 5 rows down on the right corner of the Empire Tower. Instead of giving my money to the NY NY slots on Thursday I decided to give my money to one of the local tour companies, Big Horn Tours. I took the Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon, Skywalk Hummer tour. It was a lot of fun. I was lucky enough to be grouped with a nice couple from Brazil. Photos are here….

Once in a Blue Moon

A "Blue Moon" on New Years Eve - I am hoping that it is a good sign of a great year to come for all of us. I am guessing there will be lots of changes but they will end up being good after some personal adjustments which is always a little stressful.

After eating our fill of oysters at the neighborhood oyster roast, Zac and I walked down to the beach to take a picture of the "blue moon" It was a great way to end 2009. Happy New Year Everyone

Back-Ordered for 10 Years

For a long time I have asked Zac to use his welding skills and make me an unusual coat rack for my Christmas present. Now many years later I have finally gotten my Christmas wish. His sculptures always seem to amuse me with their unexpected components. The coat rack is no exception. The top section is curved, symmetrical, and finely finished. The base is sort of an eggshaped, unsmoothed block of cement. I love it.

Favorite Rides

Penny’s favorite ride was the Jungle Cruise. I usually like Thunder Mountain the best but not this time. Penny made the Indy Speedway ride so entertaining with her driving skills I couldn’t stop laughing as I drove and videotaped behind her. Even though the top speed was 7.5 mph she still managed to over-steer the car and continually run into the steering guide.

Penny's First Trip to DisneyWorld

We left for Orlando after school on Tuesday and spent the night in a hotel so we could spend the whole day (12 hours) at the park. Lines were not too long because it was the Wednesday right before most schools got out for the holidays. We only used the fast pass twice and never waited more than 10 minutes in any line. This was Penny’s first trip to a big amusement park so we took lots of pictures. We did all the traditional things like eat a frozen banana, get our picture taken with a character, and survive 15 minutes worth of the mind numbing “It’s a Small Word After-all” song and ride. If you need a reminder of that song (sort of like picking a scab) go here

Finished Project

It was worth the mess. It looks so much better than my dated and peeling off wallpaper that was in there before.

Extra Seating...

When Penny and I got home from Disney World I was surprised to find a toilet and bathroom sink in my dinning room. It did eventually get put back when Zac finished my bathroom “beadboard” project but it sure was disconcerting to see a toilet in my dining room for those 4-5 days.

Christmas 09

Good Christmas vacation, I had a full house for 3 weeks with both Zac and Penny visiting. Penny’s Christmas present was a trip to Disney’s Magic Kingdom and Zac present to me was working on a lot of home projects I had been storing up. “The Hood” traditional Christmas dinner at my house went smoothly with somewhere between 18-20 people showing up. I was having too fun visiting to count. Sadly, we were missing the Wilson family (visiting SC) and Zac’s Nicole (sick cat)

Zac says the beard is good for winter because it is likc velcro in that it holds up his scarf when it is cold.