quotes

It is better, I think, to grab at the stars than to sit flustered because you know you cannot reach them... At least he who reaches will get a good stretch, a good view, and perhaps even a low-hanging apple for his efforts.
R. A. Salvatore, Sojourn

sick

blue silky blanket, rocking chair

cuddles and kisses and stroking of hair

i don't feel good but I'M NOT SICK

i have four children. like most mothers, i imagine that you dread for your children to get sick. today my youngest is ill. he woke up last night with a fever. we rocked until he went back to sleep and then he woke up at 7 had tylenol and went back to sleep until past 11. he woke up, eyes rimmed with red, body so hot. we rocked.

we had cheeseburgers for dinner, his favourite. he insisted he was eating. he just sat there looking at his food, wanting to eat but not able. finally i carried him away. so this is all i am posting because i must go and rock, and rock, and rock

a few days in hong kong

we have been trying to get our visas completed since we arrived here. thursday we took the kids out of school and went to hong kong to finally get our z visas. we planned on spending the night since we would pick the visas up on friday.

the morning ferry from shekou to hong kong

a little nap before arrival

we checked into our hotel and then headed over to the visa office. we then found out we needed more documentation. we headed back to the hotel to make a plan. it was decided that i would travel back to shekou pick up the documentation, make some copies of larry's work contract, get some extra cash and then go back to the visa office while everyone else headed to disneyland.

i took a taxi to the border crossing and walked across. i just love stepping over the big yellow line that leaves hong kong and places you in mainland china - just a step. i got in the car with the driver only to find no house keys or cell phone in my purse. i had taken my phone out in hong kong due to the fact it doesn't work there. i had checked that i had my keys but they were not in my bag. at the house the driver and i run around trying all the windows to no avail. we finally climb into the back yard - something the kids do daily. the yard is below street level and i really felt old and decrepit making my way down the wall. my driver found a window we could get into and he ever so kindly climbed in and opened the door. i jogged up the stairs and something rattled in my pocket - my keys!! i didn't have the nerve to tell the driver i had them the whole time. he already thinks i am a ditzy westerner, and so what if i am, does everyone need to know?

so i did all i needed headed back to hong kong, ferry was cancelled so went back over the border. it is probably faster anyway. paid my 400 hk dollar fare and turned in my visa info. which i successfully picked up the next day. all the while my family was heartbroken and missing me at disneyland. here is the proof:

i think there is a tear in number 1 daughter's eye.

we must take our picture with marie -for mom. we'll smile even though our hearts are breaking.

i will just pull this out as a little gift for my mom.

i think your mom went that way!


you remind us of our mom, may we have a photo.

too bad they had such a hard time being away from me.

sharing my childhood

one of the things i have enjoyed sharing with my children is literature. is there ever enough time to read all that is good, uplifting, thought-provoking, etc? as a child i had access to many children's classics and one of my fondest memories is sitting by the banks of a small creek that was set a bit behind our home while living in scotland and reading The Wind in the Willows by kenneth grahme. While in hong kong the other day i happened upon an abridged version with artwork by inga moore. i thought i would share the cover of this book with you so you can see some of this beautiful art that so wonderfully captures the magic of this book. i cannot wait to share this with my children!

i am trying to post some pics and such today, but as i cannot locate the cord to my camera this may be tricky. wish me luck.

kid happenings :

remy has a birthday this week. hitting the big twelve. what a milestone! it definitely feels like we are turning the corner and moving into a new phase. sunday was his last sunday in primary sharing time. it is off to young men's. i cannot believe it.

bronwyn and gwendolyn spent their weekend with their new neighborhood friends. a bevy of girls ranging from 4 to 10. they scooter up and down the road, have water fights with the boys across the street, much to the street guards dismay. picnic in the park. they spent all saturday afternoon out and about and at 6 they were still raring to go. i love it!

parrish has some friends on the street aswell. there is tyler and then emma and leslie, twins.
we hosted emma and leslie this weekend. spent time in the park and playing with the doll houses at home. parrish calls this house his new house. i wonder when it will just become home.

check back later for pictures

just thought i would share something fun to kill 2 minutes of down time.

http://www.maninthedark.com/

poetry

i visited my dear blog friend charity today, she shared her poetry, she is a wonderful writer. she also shared a sweet, and innocent poem about those first youthful experiences of love found here.



so in the spirit of love and charity i thought i would post a poem that has always made me catch my breath.

A White Rose

John Boyle O'Reilly (1844-1890)

The red rose whispers of passion,

And the white rose breathes of love;

O the red rose is a falcon,

And the white rose is a dove.

But I send you a cream-white rosebud

With a flush on its petal tips;

For the love that is purest and sweetest

Has a kiss of desire on the lips.

comfort food

conversation with number 2 son this morning.

what would you like for breakfast?

tacos

we can have tacos for dinner. how about pancakes?

no, i want tacos because the sun is out.

truth be told we have had some unorthodox things for breakfast before. ice cream sundaes, strawberry pie, cold pizza. i don't think i want to make tacos this morning though.

what do you like to eat, and at what time?

i like to drink hot chocolate; it makes me feel calm and cozy. even when you cannot survive without your air conditioner, i like to have a hot chocolate with whipped cream on top. i am not so crazy about the marshmallow part except for the fact that it is aesthetically pleasing. maybe it reminds me of fall evenings, football games, childhood, making snowmen?

so tacos for dinner tonight and maybe he can have tacos for breakfast tomorrow!

here is a little jack johnson with a bit of his own comfort food. i personally would forgo the bananas and throw in a handful of nuts. number 2 daughter would like blueberries.

quotes

If we all did the things we are capable of,we would astound ourselves.

Thomas Edison

stressed

just got all the school going ones at my house out the door. very crazy this morning since i was up
late with parrish who was sick and so slept in. this is pretty much how i felt.

i can only hope that once out the door they will arrive at school and breathe a sigh of relief and forget that this is what their mother was like this morning. hopefully i can find a few minutes to feel like this today





but probably not. i dream of going to get my hair washed and all that comes with it. it is such an amazing experience. you lie down and they wash your hair and massage your scalp, followed by a neck, shoulder, arm, and back massage. after they dry and style your hair. so relaxing. the truth is i have 45 minutes to get ready to go look at furniture - mainly shelving, bookshelves, and the like. but for all you stressed and working moms out there here is my kids dream mom. well, maybe it is my dream.

make your own. http://www.cpbintegrated.com/theherofactory/

the return of the neglectful one

i love you all and thank you so much for coming back after my absence. i am now successfully ensconced in expat-ville. it is really nice for my children as there are many children to play with, many of which they were already friends with. the house is large and everyone is loving there space. larry is back to traveling after a month of being home. this of course is usually the biggest change of all for us. we have gotten so accostumed to him being a visitor. it is nice to have him home though and i like having some support.

i will be posting some pictures this week. one is of the movers bringing my refrigerator into the house. there was great debate on how was the best way to do this. it was so funny. there always seems to be great lengthy discussions before decisions. the chinese must think we are strange with our way of quickly summing up the situation and acting.

celebrating my return and the fact that I AM ALIVE. - for those of you who were in fear.

moving day

i am off now. to supervise the arrival of boxes, etc.

happy, happy, joy, joy, joy!!

updates to follow

Catching Up

Well, I took a bit of an unexpected break. Now I have so much catching up to do. I will try to catch up on all of your events as quickly as I can. Hopefully you have not completely given up on me. We have had a week off of school and work. Instead of braving the crowds we opted to stay home and relax a bit. Even so Larry has still had emails and phone calls. The kids have enjoyed their time though. Larry's office had a spring festival (what the new year celebration is called) party. When you arrived at the party you are given raffle tickets - they call this lucky draw here. Every time your number was called you would get a red envelope ( they had wal-mart gift cards in them), and be required to drink a shot of rice wine. People would wander between the tables toasting the new year. Happily no one seemed to mind my glass of water instead of wine. In between the lucky draws there was karaoke. Larry, and three others were basically bullied into performing. It was hilarious. Not a singer in the lot. Completely ruined "Uptown Girl" . It was a fun evening though. You can't beat forced inebriation and karaoke.

New Year's Day was quiet. We watched the lion dance, and played monopoly. Later in the day I took a walk and thought I would share with you a photo of two families who have obviously just bought property in the area.

too funny! the Obama and the Palin families are going to be my neighbors. in South America you would always see stars being used to advertise things. my favorite was Sarah Michelle Gellar's big toothy grin on top of a dentists office. I did laugh very hard when I saw this realty sign though.

Monday I am finally moving into my house! I promised myself that this move I would not have a long hotel wait until I was able to be settled. As you can see I lied. I am so excited though. I can't wait to get started, and feel really settled. Now I have to interview maids and do all that stuff. Yahoo!

chinese new year

We are well into the first month of the year. Preparations are under way for the Chinese new year. the year of the ox. Remy is very excited as he was born in the year of the ox. Red lanterns are being hung and red envelopes selling out in the store. We will have a week off of school. The 26th is the official first day of new year. There are three days off but many are given a whole week. Some spring festival pictures and new year explanations follow.

This is a time when families get together to celebrate. It is also a special time to remember members of their family who have died. On new year's eve they eat dumplings and the person with the coin in their dumpling is said to have good fortune for the year. This reminds me of the baby in the king cake ( from my mardi gras days ). food is also prepared for those who have passed on.

The days leading up to the festival are used to decorate, and get their hair cut, and clean their homes top to bottom - to sweep away any bad luck from the old year. It is bad luck though to do this on new years day. On new years eve all the lights in the home are kept on until midnight; then there are fireworks to scare away evil spirits. On new years day children receive red envelopes with money or candy. It is a good time to forget old arguments. People greet each other by saying 'Kung Hei Fat Choy!', which means Happy New Year!

Parrish and I found these apples at the store. They all had different sayings on them.

christmas to remember

sorry to all five of my readers for the absence. we have had a christmas and new year to remember.

remy cut his arm and had to have four stitches on the 23rd. the kids were being rowdy and knocked over a lamp with a glass dome. it was almost six and the clinic closes at six, after this time you must pay a hefty fee. we got there in time and i held remy's hand without throwing up this time. this is his second set of stitches. eleven the first time.



christmas eve we spent with friends a few appetizers at some one's home and then on to the restaurant. the kids were given silly string by the hostess and proceeded to spray it all over themselves and the restaurant steps. there were nine kids, so it was quite a little scene. we had a lot of rubbernecking. a guard from the restaurant area came over and was really in the kids faces yelling at them and complaining. the hostess came out and fought with him. it is times like these i wish i knew the language. dinner was nice and i was surprised at how many people were out celebrating. i also realize that many of them did not know what they were celebrating.

santa brought all the children except remy a scooter, remy got a skateboard - i foresee more clinic trips. bronwyn and gwendolyn sped about all day and the next, racing down ramps and feeling the wind in their hair and then it happened.


bronwyn fell and split her lip open. blood gushing everywhere. for those of you who don't know my daughter she has a tendency to be a bit dramatic. i finally got her calmed down and my hubby comes by and says - OH MY! i had to be very firm with her to get her calm again. we walked to the clinic - 6 again - not wanting to wait for the driver. i stepped into the clinic they whisked bronwyn off and i began to cry. the staff rushed to me with cups of water and tissue. how pitiful am i? hearing a cry of Portuguese coming from the exam room i pull myself together and go to hold her hand. it is as i feared; she needs a plastic surgeon, and one is not available here. the nurse cleans the wound and we wait to see if someone in hong kong will see us this evening. my driver rushes into the exam room and pats bronwyn with a worried look on his face. so sweet.

when all was arranged i ran home to pack an overnight bag and get our passports. we made it to the ferry terminal only to find that it had been cancelled. we called the driver back and then made our way to the border crossing. we walk through and make our way to a taxi. thankfully they take RMB since i do not have enough HK$'s to pay. she sleeps in the taxi and i watch out the window as the hong kong scenery rushes by. the hospital is very nice and within 30 minutes of arriving the doctor is there and at midnight we are having stitches. it takes four injections to deaden the area. in between each she babbles away in portuguese. some of it i didn't even understand, but it was mostly pleadings to stop and how she couldn't do this. when that was done and knowing that was the worst of it my body just relaxed a bit and i got nauseous and threw up. i hate my body sometimes. the doctor called a nurse for me and she sat with me while bronwyn finished. bronwyn did a really good job and was very brave. we stayed the night and left early the next day, taking the 1:15 ferry home.

i have to say that i am quite thankful though. everyone is well and except for 10 stitches we have nothing to complain about. we even spent a day at windows of the world - a theme park with world landmarks in miniature - bronwyn's lip was still swollen but by the end of the day she seemed to forget about it. we spent new year's eve in macau - an island that was, until 1999, a portuguese colony. now it is a las vegas style gambling town. we counted down the new year by attending a cirque de soleil show - zaia. at the end the cast and crew came out and we counted down together and sang auld lang syne.
love you all, thanks for sticking with me.

what christmas means to me

tuesday - tell - all

What Christmas means to me.

The memories of childhood Christmases fill my mind, as I watch my own children and hope their memories are as sweet as mine. My first memory is of my mom locked in her room. What was she doing in there? Finishing up those last minute wrappings and sewing the final seams of a doll. The next memorable Christmas is also my favorite. I received a pink ruffled parasol I had been coveting and a large stack of books.

Christmas is filled with these memories. Memories of family. Finding the perfect gift for the family member whose name I had drawn. I got my mom three years in a row. Sleeping with my sisters and waking up at three. Opening our stockings while waiting for our parents to wake. My dad's ho ho ho as he came down the stairs. Memories of Christmas lamps - a story for another time - and snowmen.

We never forgot what the real meaning of Christmas was though. Every Christmas eve we would sing carols and read the Christmas story from the book of Luke. Then we were trundled off to bed after leaving cookies and milk for Santa.

Now I am building new Christmas memories and traditions with my children. Our memories will be full of warm tropical picnics on the beach. Santa in his speedo. Hotel Christmases. Chinese ornaments. But we will carry on our own Christmas eve telling of the Christ's birth. We will sing our carols and remember Christmas is not the gifts or the lights, but the celebration of the Saviour's love for us.

I AM ALIVE.

I went out tonight on my own. Now I have done this before, but tonight it was particularly dark, and I had to cross a busy road. There were about three other people crossing at the same time. We all took our chances and crossed halfway then almost got mowed down by a turning car. We all crunched together quickly as the car turned. the woman beside me was saying nasty things, thank goodness I couldn't understand. We made our way to the other side only to hear the ringing of bicycle bells. I just stood still while they went around me. How embarrassing would it be to be taken out by a bike? They really should have lights.

So i must say sorry for my absence. Things got a little crazy but I'm back again.

Christmas is in full swing here. I have been surprised at the commercialism here, since this is not a very big holiday here. Evidently many of the young Chinese like to decorate for Christmas, and in the last few years it has really caught on. There has been a noticeable increase in traffic and my trip to the grocery last week was extra crowded. There are lights and decorations everywhere. Friday was the last day of school and we have finally taken the time to decorate the tree after the last days of winter concerts and school parties.

here are a few headlines from my area:

these two women, caged and catlike, sat outside a shopping mall to call for people to shop eating cat meat. I have a friend who visited the local wet market and there was a bucket of cats, yum. some of the restaurants are reportedly serving cat now since the weather has cooled. Supposedly cat meat makes you warm.

Santa rides an ostrich - local zoo. What else can I say! In Finland he rides a goat, so why not and ostrich?

46 injured in popular Hong Kong shopping area. Two 750ml bottles of acid were dropped from above. No suspects were found. I will never understand what drives people to commit these types of acts.

I promise to return.

tuesday-tell-all.

what is your favorite christmas carol? why?


It Came Upon A Midnight Clear

It came upon the midnight clear,
That glorious song of old,
From angels bending near the earth,
To touch their harps of gold:
"Peace on the earth, goodwill to men
From heavens all gracious King!"
The world in solemn stillness lay
To hear the angels sing.

Still through the cloven skies they come,

With peaceful wings unfurled;

And still their heavenly music floats

O'er all the weary world:

Above its sad and lowly plains

They bend on hovering wing,

And ever o'er its Babel sounds

The blessed angels sing.


O ye beneath life's crushing load,

Whose forms are bending low,

Who toil along the climbing way

With painful steps and slow;

Look now, for glad and golden hours

Come swiftly on the wing;

Oh rest beside the weary road

And hear the angels sing.

For lo! the days are hastening on,
By prophets seen of old,
When with the ever-circling years
Shall come the time foretold,
When the new heaven and earth shall own
The Prince of Peace, their King,
And the whole world send back the song
Which now the angels sing.


this is my favorite. it seems to encompass all. then and now. the beauty of that first christmas and the hope of what is yet to come.


what is your favorite?

#5 nablopomo

if i was remy i would be writing a poem about how

THIS STINKS!

why am i putting myself through the pressure of posting everyday.

the truth is that today i am too tired.

larry is putting the only two home tonight to bed .

he even did toothbrush duty.

so i am going for a soak in a hot tub.

then straight to bed.

LATER.

nablolpomo # 4

i did go today to the four dragon store and the stationery mall. i did take my camera, but i took no pictures. never fear though as i must return tomorrow. i bought a christmas tree but - silly me - did not check it before bringing it home and it doesn't fit together. so pictures tomorrow. i bought some decorative plates and a jim shore santa for less than 10 dollars. in front of the stationery mall they had a lot of food vendors. i must try some octopus on a stick!

here is my cloisonne i commissioned from a local artist. i always stop and admire his work. when ordering this piece i failed to notice the child is wearing those pants that are open in the back. i suppose then it is more authentic.

here are the plates i bought today. they are square and quite intricate. the photos don't really do them justice. i quite like them.