I started writing this last night and then my battery died....so this post is really from yesterday.

After my Chinese lesson today I went shopping with Shirley again. She has more energy then anyone I know. She was looking for a vendor that sells dishes off the back of his bike. We went to the street where she saw him last but could not find him. So....we shopped in a market in that area.

This is Shirley. She was thinking about making a lamp shade out of this little skirt.

This young shop owner was very nice and his produce was beautifully displayed.

We sampled several different fruits at this shop. One of the fruits was called Dragons Eye. Most of them had a thin shell around the outside and the inside was a cross between a large raisin and a dried apricot. All of them had a pit in the middle and some were sweeter than others.

Shirley bought a bag of several different kinds of these fruits.

More produce.....these are beans and grains....I actually recognized a few of them including oatmeal.
Now this was a very interesting place. It was right next to the produce shop and it is a Chinese medicine shop. All the things that you see here are for medicinal purposes.

This is the shop keeper. She mixed several different things that looked like roots for Shirley and then cut them up into smaller pieces with the chopper thing next to the scale. These "roots" are then cooked into a soup broth. Then you drink the soup but you do not eat the "roots".

These are some of the things that were on the counter. All of them were dried and they do not let anything go to waste. The shop owner said that the sea horses are good for your kidneys???
Like I said....they do not let anything go to waste. I am not sure what these is good for???? If you think you know what these are.....you are correct.

Green tea is very popular in Shanghai. We carry around a Starbucks cup....the Chinese carry around a water bottle of green tea. The tea leaves are loose and eventually float to the bottom of the bottle.

This is one of many tea shops in this market. I bought some jasmine tea "pearls/pellets". Remember the tea class that I attended. I ran out of "pearls" last week and I have really enjoyed this tea ....so....I restocked my supply. The shop keeper also gave me a sample of his best green tea. I will try it at home and see if I like it. Believe it or not....I miss my green tea from Costco....I am pretty sure they would not consider that "real tea" here.

PS....note the cool pants I am wearing....these are one of my purchases from yesterday's shopping excursion. They were very expensive....$2.50. I love them!!!!!! Abi wants a pair too so we are going back to the store on Saturday. You just have to love shopping in China!!

After a day of shopping adventures I went to a "girls night out" in building 7. It was very fun and I met several people that live in my building....who knew!!! It is very hard to meet people in these buildings. It is not like you see families playing in their front yards and say hello....No one has a front yard. So unless you happen to meet someone in the lobby when you are coming or going......you really don't know your neighbors.

I had an incredibly fun adventure today. A friend from the Community Center invited me to go with her to the back streets of Shanghai where they sell fabrics and other sewing supplies. This street is where the locals buy fabrics. My friend Shirley is Chinese American and speaks Mandarin very well. She said that the locals recognize that she is an expat because she has an accent. She said to them it is like having a southern or eastern accent in the US. She however can still "blend in" to the local crowds unlike me with blond hair and long legs. This is the street where we shopped. Notice the bike rider....that is the street. The vendors have stores on the ground floor of their homes and extend their shop floors out into the street. I think most of the shop owners live above their stores. They put tarps up to protect the fabric from the sun.
We found cotton, linen, silk, wool, zippers, buttons, Velcro, thread, interfacing, quilt batting, and pillow stuffing. We also found several stores that sold clothing.

This shop sells blankets, sheets, pillows, and they also had stuffing for pillows. We found several shops that sold pillow stuffing.....this may not seem like a big deal but I have been looking all over Shanghai for this type of batting. It is sold by the kilo and did you know that it takes about 2 kilos to fill a bed pillow? I am sure you are interested in that little factoid. Ask me why I know this.....They asked me how many kilos I wanted to buy and I had no idea. Thankfully they showed me a pillow and said it was filled with 2 kilos. I love visuals!!!
This is a picture of the main street in the fabric area. The "fabric road" is a small alley off this street.

In front of this house was a small fruit and vegetable stand.

This is a local restaurant. This is a busy place during wufan (lunch time).

This is the local butcher.

This is a bakery. The glass case is full of things that look like cookies and breads.

The first fabric shop we found was on the main street. It was about 12' x 10' and stuffed full of interesting things including some traditional Chinese clothing. The shop owner was a really cute old man and he was wearing shorts that were made with some of the fabric he sold. They were a patchwork of several different blue plaid fabrics. The fabric is "old Chinese" and it is very thick and stiff. Some of them are hand woven and are very old. I fell in love with the shorts and decided that Tim and Tucker each needed a pair. You should have heard Tim and Abi laughing as I showed them my priceless find. I actually bought three pair just in case we wanted to give one pair as a gift. Tim asked which pair was his and I said the one you like best.....he said (as he was still laughing) I don't like any of them.

Now don't you just love these shorts? They will be great pajama pants and I know Tim and Tucker will be begging me for more of these fashion jewels.

Tim modeling his new shorts. Now all he needs is a pair of sandals to wear with the white socks and he will be one of the locals.

Speaking of the locals.....while we were shopping today I saw many people walking around in their pajamas....at 3:30 in the afternoon. They were out doing their shopping, visiting with their neighbors, and conducting their daily business....in their pajamas. This is a sight that is very common but it still surprises me. In the winter they wore quilted pajamas and now that the weather is warmer their pajamas are lightweight cotton. Wearing your pajamas during the day is a perfectly acceptable behavior in this culture. Maybe we should adopt this behavior in the US. I bet Tim will be wearing his new pajama shorts to the office tomorrow......NOT!!!!

Abi was gone most of the weekend so Tim and I went out to dinner Saturday night and rode our scooters all around Puxi on Sunday. We still get may stares when we are on our scooters but we are getting much better at crossing the big intersections so we don't look like armatures. The secret....wait for a crowd of riders and do what they do. There is some safety in numbers and I always try to get in the middle of the pack. It is not unusual for the "pack" to have 20 or more riders at an intersection. Although the traffic seems very chaotic we are starting to see that there is a rhythm to the chaos. The bike and moped riders cross the street at the end of a red light. I am not sure exactly when they decide it is time to go but they all seem to know. We waited for the green light once thinking that we were doing the "right thing" and it was not a good thing. So.....now we do not look at the lights and "go with the flow". On Sunday we went through a covered cave like twisty road with a pack of riders....it was like something out of a James Bond movie....I felt very "spy like" and very "know the cool local roads to drive on". Before the "cool cave thing" we accidentally got on The Bund. O0ps!! No moped or bike traffic on The Bund. Luckily right as we saw the police we could turn left and exit. I am not sure what the punishment is for riding in a "bike free" zone but I am not too anxious to find out.

Guess what? My blog is now off the China sensor list. For the last two weeks we have been able to see the web site in Shanghai.

The weather is warming up and starting to get muggy during the day. So far the evenings cool down and they are very pleasant.

Xiao Zhang is working out very well. She learns very quickly and we are really pleased with her work. I taught her how to make crepes on Sunday and after I made 1 1/2 crepes she took over and finished the rest. I was very impressed!!! Anyone that can make crepes can make cookies....we will try that again this week. Her ironing skills are improving; I gave her some more instructions today and I think by the end of the week she will be a pro. She has also organized just about every closet and drawer in the house. Hmmmm...I wonder if she would like to come to the US for a while? The language issue is still a challenge but we are working through that. Making a shopping list is the biggest challenge. We have a book that has lists of food words in English and Chinese. It is helpful but does not always have all the words we need. So....then I draw pictures and hope it gets the meaning across. This does not always work.....last week I wanted pizza crusts and she bought two frozen pizzas. My drawing of a pizza "crust" had toppings on it so I can see why this was confusing. And instead of spaghetti sauce we got spaghetti O's. Too funny!!!

Tomorrow I am off on another adventure. I am going to explore a shopping area in the city where they sell sewing notions, ribbon, and fabric....can't wait!!

Drivers in Shanghai have a habit of honking their horns....often....loudly.....and repeatedly....not just a little "beep" but "beep..beep....beep....beep....beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeppppppp!!!!! This was one of the first things that we noticed when we arrived in China. It was a little unnerving especially when they honk at pedestrians. Some times they honk at the car in front of a line that is sitting at a red light. I can never figure out what they think will be accomplished by this type of honking.....It's a red light!!! Nobody is moving!....and it's not like the guy in the front of the line has control over when the light will turn green. The honking here though is not "road rage" honking because no one seems to care if they are honked at. They just continue to do their thing and do not give the honker a mean look or any sort of hand gestures that you might see in the US. I guess we have sort of gotten used to the honking now because I don't jump out of my seat anymore when we get honked at. Thank goodness Mr. Zhang keeps his honking to a minimum. But.....apparently the city of Shanghai is cleaning up their act because the noise from all this honking is very annoying. It was announced in the newspaper yesterday that police will be giving tickets for "excessive honking". The Shanghai Daily says "from June 1, drivers of cars, mopeds and bikes will be banned from blaring horns". The fine can be up to Y200. The article also says that police cars are banned from using their sirens during the day.....except in emergencies. Hello!!! When else would they use the siren? It goes on to say that police officers caught breaking the rules by abusing sirens will also receive a ticket. I bet you are wondering the same thing I am wondering....exactly who is going to give the ticket to the police officer? Evidently there are not enough of these "siren abusing police officers" because....another quote...."given the limited number of traffic police officers on the street, they will focus efforts on hostile noise-makers behind the wheel. The highest penalties will be given to drivers who press their horns for a long time, creating prolonged loud noise out of "impatience and bad manners". The traffic police officers are required to "gather evidence". They must see the driver using the horn as well as hear the horn honking.
Believe it or not....the streets were much quieter today. I guess the drivers were practicing for June 1st. I am very happy that the "siren abusing police officers" will be on the watch for "impatience and bad mannered" drivers and the annoying honking will be reduced!!!!

Not much going on today so I will give you some more info about China for you to ponder.

Almost all young professionals in China (20 somethings and younger) are only children. This is the first generation of adults since the "one child" law/rule was inforced. They are in no hurry to get married and in most cases live with their parents after attending University if their parents live in the same city. The mothers continue to cook, clean, and do the laundry for the adult child. After they are married it is very common for them to live with at least one set of parents and in many cases both sets of parents live in the same home. One of our young friends said that many of his friends do not want to have a child......ever. If they have a child the grandparents assume most of the responsibility of raising and caring for the grandchild.

If the married couple is from a rural area but live in a city, they send their baby to the province where their parents live. Many parents only see their child one time during the year when they travel back to their home during Chinese New Year.

There are more boys than girls in China. The ratio of boys to girls at my friends college was 7 to 1. She rather liked this ratio. I don't blame her!!!

The values, attitudes, beliefs, and standard of living have changed dramatically from the parents generation to this young adult generation.

My Dad is home from the hospital and feeling good. My sister arrived in Portland today so she will be there to help my mom keep him resting for the next couple of days.....although it might take more than two of them to keep him in bed. Thanks again for your prayers.

I spent the morning in Chinese lessons and then with a friend at the fabric market. I was in search of sashing fabric to finish one of my quilts. I think I will return tomorrow because only one of the fabrics passed the audition and I need two. I did however manage to find several other fabrics for "future" quilts. I was inspired by my friend to learn Chinese "fabric" words so I can communicate with the vendors. I think I will have a list of words for my teacher on Wednesday....she will be surprised because she thinks we are going to learn about setting up a meeting with someone....not nearly as fun as "fabric" words. But...the lesson after next is all about shopping and eating. Two of my favorite past times. Can't wait!!!

Tim has gone to get a hot candle ear treatment tonight. Remember the paper cone, the candle, and the strange instruments? That's the one!!! It will be interesting to see if it works for him. I am a true believer now. Tim will finish his day with a telephone meeting that starts at 10:00 this evening......then....the lucky guy will start his day tomorrow at 6:00am with another telephone conference. This is what happens when you live on the other side of the world but still need to attend meetings that happen on US time.

Interesting little factoid....I heard that there are 130 new families coming to Concordia next year. The British school had 230 new families arrive this year and most of the other International schools are full. This is becoming a big problem in Shanghai. There are so many expat families moving here that the schools can not keep up with the demand. I know families with kids in three different schools because one school could not accommodate the needs of the whole family.

The window washers finished our building and moved to the one next door. If you look carefully you can see three of them about three windows from the top. They are really fast....I think it has taken them about 30 minutes to work their way to the bottom. The building has 54 floors.

Thank you for your prayers. My dad is doing much better today. They have removed the tube and his lung has re-inflated. If the x-ray looks good tomorrow he can go home. Yippee!!!

Abi's prom was last night so we had a house full of kids. They met here before the dance to take pictures in the Chinese gardens. It was really fun for us to see the kids all dressed up and to meet some of their parents.

I can't believe this is our baby.

Check out these beautiful shoes.

The gang on the bridge. What a stunning group!!!

All the girls. Wow!!!

007 girls. This is Abi and her friend Grace.

The proud parents.

The gardens have many interesting places for pictures. What a wonderful night!

Please pray for my Dad and Mom this week.
My Dad was taken to the hospital by ambulance this morning. What they originally thought was a heart attack was in fact a collapsed lung. He is in a lot of pain but seems to be in good spirits. They are waiting to remove a tube and see if the lung will inflate on it's own. Thanks for your prayers.

I think I failed as a cookie baking teacher. This afternoon I asked XiaoZhang to bake the rest of the cookie dough that we had left from yesterday. Tim was coming home early today so I thought it would be nice to have warm cookies waiting for him. (Ahh...isn't that nice) When Tim got home we went into the kitchen to have a cookie and were a little surprised. The cookies looked like hockey pucks....same color...same hard texture......no.....let me say same very very hard texture. I told Tim that I asked XZhang to put them in at 4:00 so they would still be warm when he got home. Tim's comment as he was breaking his teeth on his cookie was...."I think she put them in at 2:00". We started laughing so hard that tears were rolling down our cheeks. We did not want XZhang to know we were laughing about the cookies so we hid in the living room while we tried to get control of our laughter but then Tim said ..."We could through them out the window for the birds but I think from the 36th floor they might kill someone below". I think he was right....and his comment put me right back into tear rolling laughter. Who knew chocolate chip cookies could be so entertaining?

Today was a three bridge day. Beautiful view and lots of traffic on the river.

I taught Xiao Zhang how to make chocolate chip cookies. Our driver is fascinated with cookies....although he has never accepted our offer to try one. I asked Xiao Zhang if she wanted to try one and she also was hesitant. She did finally eat one but I don't think she liked it. After eating 5 cookies tonight I was thinking that it would be good if I did not like them....So here we are again....East meets West.... Fish soup vs Chocolate Chip Cookies

Our house is quiet tonight....Abi is at the hair salon ( more on that later) and Tim is at a dinner meeting. Poor guy!! And....I just came back from swimming. I am sitting in our living room in my Pj's watching the city. There is always something to watch...it is like having a gigantic TV screen with a live reality show on 24-7....only I think it is better because we can make up our own stories about what is happening and don't have to listen to any whining or fighting. Yesterday there was a police car stopped in the middle of the rode. After a while it left...then later it came back. There was a crowd of security men and other people in suits all standing around....then the policeman got out of his car....removed someone from the crowd, put him in the back of his car and took him away. Now just think of all the stories that you can make up to go with that scene.....

Our new Ayi started on Monday....she is a good worker but I am again reminded of how different our two cultures are. Just when I think I am starting to understand...I find out that I really don't. Just when I think I can communicate a little bit and be understood or understand someone else.....I find that I still have a very long way to go. Two steps forward....three back. So I am looking for those small successes each day to get me to the next day. So here is my small success for the day....I was watching Xiao Zhang struggle over ironing a shirt today. She said that she learned how to iron in school....but I know that she did not go to the Thelma Fitch School of Ironing. (for those of you that do not know....Thelma is my mom) My mom is the premiere ironing Queen. I was missing her a lot today because I know that she would have been a great teacher for Xiao Zhang. Side note....how do you describe "spray starch" to someone that does not speak the same language? The professional laundries in Shanghai do not use starch on their shirts.....and for those of you that know Tim (Mister I like my shirts with lots of Starch Guy) this is sort of a problem. We found a can of spray starch at the import store and that is what we have been using at home. I hope they still have some because our can is just about empty. Okay back to the Xiao Zhang story....My small success for today was this....In my best Chinese I said....."My mom is very good at ironing. She was my teacher". Ta Dah!!! She actually understood what I said. My mom may have another student when she comes to visit us in China. Actually....I think she could open an Ayi ironing school and make some good money.

More Ayi stories....our plan was to have Xiao Zhang cook with me every other night and we would make Western style food....then.....she would cook Chinese food on the other nights. We are really trying to have an open mind with the whole food thing and try some new things. Well....that lasted one night. Mind closed....only eating Western style food and that is final!!!!!!! "Real" Chinese food is not like what they serve at PF Changs. If it was....I would be happy to eat Chinese every day.

Xiao Zhang and I went to Metro (China's version of Costco) yesterday to do some shopping. We each took our lists and raced around the store putting things in a common shopping cart. At the end of our shopping spree we headed toward the check out and XZhang pulled a fish out of the cart to show me. The fish was in a plastic bag. She told me earlier that she was going to make fish soup. I told her that we do not like fish except for salmon and shrimp. That was the second time I told her that we didn't like fish.....But....I thought....okay....have an open mind....so we left the fish in the cart and went to pay. While we were standing in line I noticed that something was moving in the cart behind us. When I looked to see what it was....guess what....5 fish in a plastic bag just like the one in our cart. The fish were flopping all around. I think my eyes about popped out of my head. The "5 fish cart lady" said something to me about the fish and then reached down and poked a big hole in the bag. Then she made some hand motions that communicated that they were flopping around because they needed air. I thought fish needed water.....but what do I know. So....in a flash I realized that the fish in our cart was also still alive and that it probably came out of the Haungpu river. Let me tell you....the Haungpu river is just NASTY!!! There is no way I would ever knowingly eat anything that came out of that river. So.....on the way home from the store....I told XZhang that we don't like fish....please make the soup with chicken. Okay...good no more fish. But...later I went into the kitchen and there it was again....the fish....in a bowl...with lemon slices and other stuff. Oh my gosh...the fish will not go away. Again.....I say...."We do not like fish...please use chicken....I would love for you to take that fish home with you"!!! I never saw the fish again.....and the soup was made with what we think was chicken. End of Chinese food in the Spofford household. Call us closed minded...I can live with that.

Abi is home from the hair salon. She is going to the Prom on Saturday and she wanted to see if her "hair guys" could "up do" her hair. The "hair guys" work in the salon 1/2 block from our house and they dote on her like crazy. They are all young and I think fight over who gets to wash her hair. She is such a princess. The "up do" was not a huge success but the process will be unforgettable. I went to the same salon on Monday with Tim and Abi. I just had to see what all the hair shampoo fuss was about. Wow!!! I can see why they like going there. A "shampoo" includes a neck massage, head massage, and an arm massage. They put shampoo in your hair while it is still dry and while you are sitting upright in the chair. They slowly add water from a squeeze bottle and lather the shampoo while massaging your head. This was an hour and 15 minute process and I loved it!!!

I am hosting my quilting group tomorrow for lunch....Oh my gosh....I hope the fish does not decide to make another appearance!!! I better check the refrigerator.

Here is a picture of my "China" work studio. Last weekend Tim hung my design board on the wall. This is the board that Mr. Zhang helped me make a couple of weeks ago. The design board works really well. Please note how clean and tidy everything looks....this "tidiness" only lasted long enough for a picture.

My work space is very efficient....I can reach the cutting table while I am sitting at my sewing machine...My rumpus never has to leave the chair.

This is where I keep all of my fabric. So far all the fabric fits neatly in this cabinet. I missed the "fabric procurement excursion" to Korea last week but I plan to go next time the trip is organized. Three people went this time and brought about 300 yards of fabric. The weight limit for luggage is 20 kilos and my friends discovered that about 90 yards of fabric weighs 20 kilos. They have this down to a science!!! Most of the fabric they bought cost about $2 per yard. I can't wait to go!!!!! I wonder how many yards of fabric will fit in my cabinet?

This is what the space really looks like most of the time.....Where is the top of that table? Under all the mess!!! My friend in Corvallis gave me a sign to hang in my studio....it says..."I can't be creative and tidy too" I find this to be very true.

Happy Mothers Day!!!.....

especially to our mothers in Oregon and Idaho. Roses compliments of Tim.

Heart Shaped cupcakes.....compliments of Abi.

Hope you all have a great day....I know I did!!!

The window washers came today.

This morning Tim looked outside our living room and saw a bunch of ropes hanging in front of the windows. The ropes moved their way around our bay window until there were some in front of all the windows. A little while later there was a man hanging in our window. I thought he would be standing on something but he was just sitting on a little board and had a suction cup that he stuck onto the window to hold him in place. I took his picture and offered him a water bottle through the window. I was very excited because I asked him if he wanted water in Chinese. And...he understood what I said!!!! He took a drink of water, stuck the bottle in his pocket and went on working.

I continue to find interesting things about living in a high rise. One obvious one is that I can't wash the windows by myself. Thank God there are people willing to dangle from a rope so I can see through the window.

Another less obvious discovery that I made this week is that there is no place to paint something if you live on the 36th floor. At home I would just walk out the back door, set up a few boards in the yard and spray paint what ever I wanted. Since we do not have a back yard or even a balcony there is no place for this activity. I thought about going down to the green space/garden but I am pretty sure the management company would not appreciate me spraying the grass silver. And.....there were several items that I needed to paint and I could not imagine hauling them all down stairs to the ground floor. So....what does one do?

This painting job was not an artsy project it was a maintenance project. The metal shelves in our showers have rusted and so had our dish drainer in the kitchen. What I thought was going to be an easy fix ended up being a much bigger project then I expected. After living in China I should be getting used to things being bigger and more time consuming than conceivably imaginable. I thought I would just run to the home improvement store and get a can of Rustolium. The store had nothing similar to this product...so......I got a can of silver auto paint. I took all the shelves out to our trash can area, set up a box and put the "to be painted" item in the box and let the paint fly. This worked pretty well except for the paint dust that went everywhere and the strong paint oder that permeated the stair well. Oops!!! Sorry neighbors!!

The shelves look great and so does the dish drainer...I hope auto paint does not rust.....

Tim spent all week in Singapore which is famous for being a "fine" city. This statement is a play on words because the "fine" part is because you can receive a fine for many different behaviors. For instance...spitting, peeing on the sidewalk, chewing gum, not flushing the toilet....etc. The city is very clean because these fines have changed the behaviors of the residents. I wonder if this the direction China is headed....?

The Olympics are going to be held in Beijing next summer and there have be several articles in the Shanghai Daily about improving the "habits" of the local community in Beijing. The first article showed a picture of four people dressed in penguin costumes standing in a line at the airport. They are promoting the idea of queuing. The penguins are traveling all over the city to help people learn how to stand in a line and wait their turn. There was another article in the paper today that said people are being fined 50 yuan if they are caught spitting. The city has established five inspection teams to patrol the city looking for spitters. So....if you were looking forward to visiting China so you could cut in line and spit on the street....you are too late.

Here is another fun sign....This was in the airport in Hianan. It says "Please don't collide the glass." Hmmm...I don't think I have ever seen anyone collide glass before. We love finding these signs. Abi and I always get a giggle when we take a taxis here. They play an English recording that says. "welcome to take my taxi" .... For a while we thought this was just the way the taxi companies communicated but on our napkins on Shanghai Air it was printed...."Welcome to take our airplane" No mater how many times we hear this it still cracks us up. But then we are easily amused these days.
I interviewed four Ayi's today. We went to lunch after the first three thinking that I was going to have to start the search all over again. But....while we were at lunch one of the agents called and said she had a second candidate that she wanted me to interview. Bingo!!! I hired her this afternoon. Her name is Xiao Zhang. Xiao means "young" and her surname is Zhang....same as our driver Mr. Zhang. I guess this is really not that unusual in China because there are not very many surnames. I think this comes from the days of the "clans" where an entire village would have the same last name. Xiao Zhang is Chinese, 26 years old, has a 4 year old son and lives in Shanghai. She speaks a little bit of English and seems very eager to learn new things. She will start on Monday. I better go practice my Chinese......

Today was a busy day....started with a two hour Chinese lesson that was very trying because my brain thought it was still laying on the beach in Sanya.....then I played "pick up stuff" at the frame store, grocery store, and the home improvement store....followed by a "take away" lunch from East West that I eat at my desk while I searched for Ayi's. I am highly motivated to find a new Ayi after doing laundry, grocery shopping, and cooking dinner today. I set up three interviews for tomorrow and I hope by tomorrow evening we will have a new Ayi. All of these candidates are Chinese and do not speak English. Good news though.....Jane is coming tomorrow to translate for me!!!! I should be able to practice my Chinese though because my lesson today was all about rooms in the house. So....I can show them around the house and say things like..."this is our bedroom" (zhe shi women de woshi) and "That is our sitting room (aka family room)" (na shi women jia de keting). The most practical thing from my lesson today....I can now say "Where is the toilet"? Remember the motto.....Celebrate the small successes!!!

Abi just came back from the hair salon. She goes there often in the evenings to get her hair washed, dried and straightened. The wash includes a head massage and costs about $2.20. I think I might go with her next time. I hear it is an interesting experience....they wash your hair while you are sitting up in the chair and put the shampoo in your hair while it is dry. I am curious!!

Here are some more pictures from Hianan Island. This is one of the pools at the hotel. We spent a lot of time swimming here.

Abi and Tim going jet skying. They left the beach with Tim in the drivers seat and they returned with Abi in the drivers seat. I think really misses her car.

More of the beach. The water is very beautiful and clear.

Flowers from the island.

Water lily in one of the pools.


Abi getting ready to go parasailing.


Tim and Deb going to dinner.

Tim's parasailing experience ended in the water. Oops!! The winch that pulls the sail back to the boat broke and Tim went right into the water. He was a really good sport and when they fixed the winch Tim went up again.

Happy parasailers!!

That's me....I was the first one up....and very happy the winch did not brake for me!!!!

Abi on her way up.

Abi at the swim up bar.....We had lunch here several days last week.

All dressed up for dinner with Tim.

Lunch in the pool

Off and running.

Our hotel was the last one on the beach so we could go for long walks without the crowds.

Abi and Tim having dinner on the beach. It started to rain this evening so we all squished together under the umbrella.