Uniforms For Workers In China

 This beautiful young woman was a hostess at our first dinner in Beijing on Friday night. What became clear to me after many more days is that everyone has a uniform. Even if you are sweeping the streets, you wear a uniform that includes a face mask to protect you from dust and dirt. Some are very elaborate such as this restaurant hostess and some are very plain. Whether we were in a jade, pearl or carpet factory, everyone had a uniform of some sort. The hotels were the same. It works for the Chinese. 

Transportation In China

 This is a pretty typical picture of the roads of China. There are cars, including BMW, Audi, Cadillac, Lexus, Toyota and Buick. Bicycle carts like this one and walking are still a major part of getting from one place to another. Traffic is crazy. Why more people aren't killed every day is a miracle. Sometimes there are more bikes (both motorized and pedal) on the street than cars. Riders seem to have no fear. They charged into the oncoming path of our huge bus all the time. We only saw two accidents the entire trip. Pretty amazing for all the time we spent on the road. 

Lunch With A Chinese Family In Beijing

 We traveled by rickshaw to a special section of Beijing where we had lunch with a Chinese family. The woman in the center of the photo is the mother. Her daughter is to the right. They were very proud of the fact that they have their own kitchen and bathroom. They made special dishes for me that didn't contain MSG. The food was delicious. The Chinese government chose them to host lunches for tourists. This is considered a great honor plus they make money from it. The husband is an artist. He produces delicate paintings on three sided bottles and sells them to lunch visitors. Here's a picture of the bottle Kerry bought. The bottle is three-sided. The painting is only on the circular core, but appears to be on all sides. It's really amazing. I don't know how he does it. 

 The guides are what make or break the tour. Here is Ann (they all take western names) at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing on the first day of sightseeing. She was the best guide we had the entire trip. She carried the little green umbrella so we could find her. Her husband is a cardiologist in the military. She has been a guide for many years. Talked alot about the cultural revolution when the country's leadership urged people to destroy Chinese relics so the history would be destroyed as well. Schools were closed too. This meant that Ann didn't get a good education when she was younger so had to start at the university later. Great lady. I have her e-mail so we can keep in touch. She got a very large tip from our group, Bus RC-4. We were also known as the rowdy group because we drank more TsingTao beer than any other group on the tour. When you can't drink the water and the wine is awful (it's called Great Wall red wine) what else can one do. 

We Are Back From China; What A Great Trip

 
This little boy represents a very big social policy. Couples in the city are only permitted one child. If you live in rural China you can have two. Consequently you see few children in the parks. It's sad to be in a park and not hear the ring of children's laughter, but at the same time the children who are there are loved by the entire family. Our guide said they would be a spoiled generation. She has a 17 year old son who went to Australia for high school. Then he hopes to emigrate to the U.S. The restriction on children was necessary to to help grow the economy. The price for having one too many children...you lose your job. Pretty drastic in a country where many of the residents work for the government. Much more to come. The 16 hour time difference has gotten to me. Off to bed. 

We Are Off To China

Well, it's finally here. Tomorrow morning we leave for San Francisco Airport at 7 a.m. At 2 p.m. we will board China Air for Beijing. We leave at 2 p.m. on Thursday and arrive in Beijing on Friday at 5:30 p.m. The flight is only 12 hours. This is one of those mathematical things that I don't get. It's a mystery compounded by the International Date Line. I did get a new battery for my watch so I could keep track of time. On the day we return, we leave Beijing at 3 p.m. on Friday and arrive in San Francisco the same day at 10 a.m. This is the one time I can call myself a time traveler. Only I'm going backward not forward. I bought a small notebook to make notes and Kerry and I will take lots of pictures. So we are off on a grand adventure. See you soon.

My Grandmother's Garden

I was named for my grandmother, Kathleen. She was a wonderful woman who believed that meat was bad for you and that chocolate covered cherries were an important source of nutrients. She lived to be nearly 90 and it was osteoporosis that killed her, not bad cholesterol. She fell, cracked a vertebrae, got pneumonia and died. I loved her dearly and to this day I miss her.

When I sat on her lap, which was not large due to her girth, you could rest your head on her boobs and feel truly blessed by the comfort of them. She bore five children, only two lived to maturity. Some died at childbirth and one died in World War II. They called her Kit. She giggled when she had a bit of whiskey. And she went to confession every week just as a good Irish Catholic woman should.

She had a green thumb unrivaled by anyone in the family. There were four things I remember about her garden. One, the apple tree which provided fruit for her apple sauce and apple butter. The secret to her recipe was lots of sugar and cinnamon. Sugar could cure just about anything. Second were her lilac bushes. They covered two sides of the yard with their beautiful colors and fragrance. Third, lilly of the valley. They are tiny little white bells suspended from green stems that are so fragrant. And then there were the peonies. They are lush, colorful blooms that last for a long time. I can remember the exact spot that each of these filled in her garden. Although the peonies were in the front yard.

I planted two lilac bushes when we first moved to Lincoln. I killed one with the heat and barely save the other one. Peonies are out of the question here because it's just too hot in the summer. We've planted two apple trees so I can make my own apple sauce and butter.

But the most important find at my favorite nursery is Lilly of the Valley. I've never seen them before. They need shade to partial shade. I have just the spot so bought some. I planted 20 of them and hope they will spread. Even though my sense of smell is limited, I think I'll be able to smell these. Even if I can't I will have fulfilled a dream of re-creating part of Grandma Kit's garden. The photo is of the Lilly of the Valley.

Memories are so important.

Planning for China

Not too much going on these days. We've had lots of rain and then lots of sun. Kerry is busy doing his homework for his drawing and watercolor classes. While he's doing that I've been making lists of things we need to take to China. Everything on the list so far is drug related. The list starts out with "tylenol, pain patches and Immodium A-D". I have no idea if we will need these things but we will have them. Oh, and toilet paper. Apparently some bathrooms don't have it. It's hard for me to imagine what it will be like there. I've seen pictures, watched movies and listened to the news but I don't think any of that will prepare me for the real thing. People who have been there say the shopping is terrific. You always bargain. One fellow I talked to said he and his wife bought fake Rolex watches for $2.50/watch. The starting price was $20.
I'm bringing along my binoculars and a book on Birds of China. It would be great to add to my life list. Well, I'm off to shop for a new backpack and some more black stretch jeans. Gotta love the stretchiness.

I Feel Funny With This Thing Around My Neck

 
The dog is Katie, a border collie of exceptional talent; I don't know the young woman's name. Katie belongs to my friend Doug. I think Doug wishes he knew that young woman much, much better. Katie and the hairdresser got along very well. Katie stayed with us last fall while Doug went to Burning Man in Nevada. I love pictures of Katie so Doug always sends me lots. I just wanted to share. 

Super Bowl and Chocolate Martinis

This was our third Super Bowl party in Lincoln. That makes it a tradition. Kerry makes his special (the secret ingrediant is ketchup) chili and rice. I made cornbread. It's great on top of the chili plus we had lots of assorted foods. But the highlight is always the chocolate martinis. Usually our friend Einar brings them. This weekend, however, he had to go to Chico to have a "come to Jesus" meeting with his college-age son. So I was on my own. 5 cups of vodka, 6 cups of chocolate liquer, Hersheys chocolate syrup and some kahlua to make up for the lack of chocolate liquer. I made it at 9 a.m. It's really gross to measure out that much liquor that early in the day. I was still working on my coffee and banana.

So here are the photos. The group of three (Kerry, Katie and Mary) are artists who are showing with Kerry in a gallery at the college. The rest are friends and the food table. We have Tivo so I'm going to go back and watch the commercials. We did watch half time. I want biceps like Mick Jagger. The kids screaming in the pit could be his grandchildren. I hope I'm that fit at 65. I'll need another knew to be like that. Now Keith Richard is another thing. He looks like he died a while ago and was brought back for the Super Bowl. Who would have thought that the Rolling Stones would ever appear at a Super Bowl and in Detroit no less. Anyway, here are the photos.

On Golden Pond...Sorta

 
Here's Kerry out in his boat on the upper pond. He's fixing the pump that brings pond water to our irrigation system. It stopped working when a snail crawled into the orifice. Took us quite a while to figure this out. We tried all the high tech stuff first. When in doubt look for critters to plug up things.

It's nearly sunset. The green stuff on the top of the pond is parrot feather. Don't ever dump your aquarium into a moving stream. Parrot feather is that stuff that makes your aquarium look great, but it's almost impossible to get rid of once it's in a stream or pond. The upper pond gets most of it. The lower pond just gets cattails. Nice to look at, but they are pond killers. They can literally take over a pond and wipe it out. That's your pond lesson for the weekend. Tomorrow we have a Super Bowl Party. I'm making chocolate martinis. Yum. 

Outside My Office Window

 
This is a Gerbera Daisy. It's what I see when I look out my office window. They are hardy creatures that bloom all year. My bulbs are poking their heads out and the trees have fat little buds on them. Spring is not far away. 

And You Thought Your Job Was Rough....

This photo from the Imperial Valley Press puts a face on immigration from Mexico. The people shown here live across the border in Mexicali. Everyday they get up at 2 a.m. to get to Calexico to get a job picking. Picking starts at sunrise but first they have to get bussed to the field. The bus pulls a porta-potty. They make $8.84 an hour with no benefits. In this photo they are picking cabbage. There are fewer and fewer immigrants to pick because the work is hard and it pays little. Pickers are advising their kids to do something else. The pickers don't speak English so this is about the best they can do, but still it's better than in Mexico.

Our Anniversary

January 27th was our five-year anniversary. Kerry is such a warm, wonderful person. We went to one of our favorite restaurants on Friday night, Ruth's Chris Steak House. We'd been to the one in Jacksonville, Florida after our golfing trip to Charleston, S.C. And I've been to one in Houston many years ago. But now there is a new one in nearby Roseville. We have our standard order. We each get a filet mignon medium rare. I get the petite one, which I never finish and he gets the regular size, which he never finishes. Then we share a one pound potato with all the trimmings. Last, but not least, we have the creamed spinach. It is to die for. They will not give out the recipe. But suffice to say, it barely counts as a vegetable. To honor our anniversary the restaurant treated us to dessert, creme brulee and bread pudding with a whisky sauce. Then Kerry treated me to another wonderful piece of jewelry. It's a white gold band with five sapphires (for five years) and six diamonds. The stones are in a channel setting. It's beautiful. The waitress gave Kerry a big thumbs up for knowing how important jewelry is to women. Another wonderful year together has started.

Today Is My Birthday

I was born in the evening so technically I am not another year older yet. I have about an hour to go. As a kid I couldn't wait to be a year older. Something new and wonderful might happen when you were 9 not 8. But then you reach a certain age and you start to think that birthday's aren't such milestones afterall. I'd rather think of my life as a continuum of events, some good and some not so good. Alright, there were a few awful ones, but for the most part I feel good about my life. At this age it's not so much about what you can accomplish each day as about what you can enjoy. I spent most of today, except for the urine test, planting bulbs. Many of mine are already peaking their little heads out of the soil. This year I want to do a map of where bulbs are on the property. The first year it didn't matter because there weren't any bulbs, but now I don't want to dig them up.

Ah yes, the urine test. Maybe this is a sign that I am getting older. You remember birthdays now by the medical tests you have. I've had a bladder infection for about three weeks. Antibiotics have not cured it so I had the test. At least the woman at the lab wished me a happy birthday.

Kerry and I will celebrate our anniversary and my birthday on Friday. He's the planner so I don't know what we are doing. We like to get trees to celebrate important days. Last year we got a fig and a Fuji apple. The fig had a sun stroke and died in the July heat. The Fuji is doing well. I went to the nursery that has bare root trees. Those are the best to buy because they take root and grow quicker. I think we are going to replace the fig, add a few more fujis and pick another fruit as well. They had pear trees which I think would be yummy.

Only 55 minutes to go until my real birthdate and birthtime. My brother and his wife sent me some books on China both fiction and non-fiction. With a 12-hour flight each way I'll have lots of time to read. They always pick out good presents.
I think I'll close while I'm still a year younger.

Introducing My New Phone

The screen on my 18-month-old Motorola phone was slowly being obliterated by a pinkish color. Eventually I wasn't going to be able to see the screen. Went to my Cingular store and was told that I was entitled to a new phone. I have the same number but my phone is a shiny new Nokia flip phone. I love it.

Some Thoughts In The New Year

Haven't written much so far this year. Kerry and I have both been sick since the day after Christmas. He's finished his antibiotics; I still have three days to go. I'm just glad we got this over with before our China trip.

New subject: My brother Richard has a friend named Stan who has a blog. Stan probably writes the most thought provoking entries of anyone I know who blogs. His topic recently was are you a "baker" or a "cook" in your approach to life. If you think about it, bakers have to follow the recipe quite closely. They need to be more detail oriented. Cooks, on the other hand, can play around with a recipe. These are the people who say that a recipe of theirs never turns out the same way twice. I've decided that I'm a "cook". I made corn bread yesterday, which really showed me that I'm not a baker. I sorta measured the ingredients. "Sorta" would never enter into the vocabulary of a baker.

New subject: The subtitle of this blog is "The simple life is best". With each passing day I believe that more and more. One of my great delights this morning was checking my garden to see signs of bulbs emerging. I found lots of them. Also pulled a few weeds. Then I walked out to the road to get the New York Times. On the way back I checked out our fig tree that we may have killed last summer due to 100+ temperatures. I noted the level of water in the irrigation ditch; it's higher because it rained last night. Then I spent quite a while watching the lower pond. As I suspected, the muskrat is back. Drat. Those little guys are impossible to get rid of, and they love to dig tunnels in the banks of our ponds. Last year one side of the pond started to give way thanks to this furry little creature. Our neighbor Steve came with his dozer and mended the breach before we lost too much water. Steve has moved on. The drug police found a meth lab in his wood shop. That put a quick end to his life on Fruitvale Road.

For those of you who have known me for a long time you are probably amazed that I have come to enjoy the simple life. Ten, fifteen years ago I couldn't get enough activity stuffed into one day.

Last subject: Got a card from a cat-loving friend with the following on it: "Cats are intended to teach us that not everything in nature has a function.

"W" would never have looked at Gerhardt Schroeder this way!

 
Just shows he has no idea how to treat women in power. 

Our First Golden Retriever, Molly

 
I found a bunch of photos stored on a zip file. Among them was this wonderful picture of Molly taken when we lived in Alameda. Even when she slept her tennis ball was not far away. This is her yoga master expression...very wise and very patient. I sure do miss both Molly and Emily. She died in October 12, 2000.  

It's a Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood

Our Life In The Country
It's warm and sunny here today. This is the second straight day in a row that we have seen the sun. California always has at least two seasons going at one time. The only exception to that is mid-summer when you know it's miserably hot and everything in the garden is gasping for moisture and shade. Right now we have winter going (it gets dark early, the birds are eating lots of seed and suet each day and the temperature drops 20 degrees at night) and spring (all the grass is green, tomatoes are still ripening and my geraniums and gerbera daisies are blooming.) I still need to plant some more bulbs. And at night the crickets make such a racket. It won't be long before the trees will start to bloom. In California, even Mother nature leads a fast-paced existence.