Hello from Vancouver.
I arrived in Washington on Tuesday afternoon. Because of the time difference between Shanghai and Vancouver, I arrived in Vancouver 10 minutes before I left Shanghai. That is truly time travel...right?? I got to do Tuesday twice!!! My parents picked me up at the airport and we immediately went to lunch at a Mexican restaurant. Ah.....comfort food!!! After a shower and a long Buddy (our basset hound) petting session I went to Fred Meyer and bought my favorite brand of yogurt, cereal, Cinnamon bread, milk, and a bunch of bananas. Ah...simple pleasures!!!

I can not describe how wonderful it is to be back!!! It is like seeing everything familiar but with a new perspective. The blue sky, the green spaces, the cool weather all make me so happy. The plants in our yard have grown like crazy and it is fun to see all the flowers blooming. I feel like hugging each plant as I walk around our yard.

Things I have been doing the past few days:

• Coffee, dinner, and lunches with friends - I am going to gain 10lbs while I am here
• Petting Buddy- he has me well trained...he slept in my room last night....before we left for China...he slept in the garage...
• Napping on the patio in the lounger
• Doctor appointments
• Hunting and Gathering - this has taken me to Costco, Target, Fred Meyer, Craft Warehouse, JoAnns Fabrics, the quilt store, Nordstroms, Athletes Corner...etc.
• Going to the Credit Union
• Waking up at 4:45am - guess that must be jet lag
• Talking to Tim and Abi on the phone - missing them already
• Wondering if I am in a dream and if China is real or if Vancouver is real

My reason for coming back to Washington was to help Tucker get settled back into WWU. He is moving into an apartment this year and out of the dorms. I was planning to go to Bellingham on Sunday after Church but....my plans have changed. Tucker has secured an apartment and a job. He will be working at Trader Joes that opens at the end of September. He can not get into his apartment until Sept 11th so no need for him to stay in Bellingham and no need for me to go to Bellingham. He drove home last night....so....two Spoffords in Shanghai, two Spoffords in Vancouver. Tucker and I will spend some time "hunting and gathering" for a few apartment items. His needs are few because his Grandma and Grandpa loaded him up with lots of essentials from the 5th wheel they are selling.

Tomorrow is Sunday.... am looking forward to going to church....can't wait to stand in our sanctuary and soak up all the wonderful feelings of worshiping with our church family.

Still on the list for my time in Shanghai....maple bars from Albertsons, monkey bread from City Bakery, and many many more friends to visit!!!

Funny thing happened on my way home from Shanghai...
As you know I have been trying to learn Chinese and have been struggling with the frustrations of communicating with others because of language challenges. I did some Chinese homework on the plane and thought it will be nice to not worry about the "language thing" for a few weeks. I flew into San Francisco and had a two hour lay over before my flight into Portland. I went to buy a breakfast sandwich from a "fast food" place and guess what...the servers were speaking Spanish. I almost burst out laughing....I think the joke was on me!!!

If you need to reach me while I am in Vancouver my phone number is 909-3382