Wednesday

I spent all morning and part of the afternoon trying to get my embroidery sewing machine to work. Last week it worked great....this week we are having a battle of wills. It is winning.

This afternoon I went to the Chinese school and taught English. Again I was overwhelmed by the excitement of the students. Before my second class started....there was a "song sort of thing" that played over the loud speaker. All the kids closed their eyes, got very quiet and massaged their temples, eyes and cheeks to the rhythm of the music. It was the most interesting thing. When they started this activity I thought they were praying....then I figured out that it was a relaxation exercise and I was impressed how fast the kids settled down after recess. I want to learn how to do this. I think it would be a good wrinkle reducing technique......I am telling you none of these kids have wrinkles....ha ha. I will not go back to the school for two weeks...next week they have a field trip and the following week they have mid term exams.

Yesterday after my jewelry class I went looking for a couple of small furniture accessories and some fall decorations. I found a few fun things and had a great time exploring the flower market and furniture alley.

This is "The ladder". Our driver can not figure out why I would want a ladder. She also had a fit when I asked about an old bench at one of the furniture stores.....She said.."Madam, why do you want that old thing....it is so common". Ah....one mans "common" is another mans treasure!!! I did not get the bench because it was priced like a "treasure".

I found some "fall looking" candles at the flower market. They are green with orange leaves stamped in them. I put them on our bench last night and stunk up the whole apartment. They were very fragrant and it was not good. They sort of smell like watermelon???? I thought I was going to through them out today but the smell went away....thank goodness!!!

I could not find any interesting candle holders for the "smelly" candles so I got some wooden Asian vase stands. They make great candle holders. I also found some better pumpkins. These do not look as "plastic" as the ones I bought a couple of weeks ago.

This is the bird house candle holder that Tim and Abi gave me for my birthday.....I brought the twiggy beaded wreath from the US in September.

That is the extent of our "Fall" environment in Shanghai.

I finally finished my "experiment" quilt this week. I added some Chinese coins, beads, and buttons in random places and then sewed several tassels to the bottom edge. The wall that the quilt is hanging on still needs a short bench to sit under the quilt.....I guess the bench I want is a "common" thing so I hope I can find one for a "common" price.

Things to look forward too.....

Yesterday our driver asked me if I liked crab. I thought it was strange that she asked because I had just come back from a walk and had noticed lots of crab for sale on the street. This is something that I have not seen before. Jan explained that there is a lake outside of Shanghai that is famous for it's crab. And guess what???.....it is crab season!!!! Several months ago Tim's work group planned another "outing". Now I understand why they choose the activity....they (we...spouses were invited this time) are going "crabbing" at the famous lake on Saturday. I wonder what parts of a crab are generally eaten in China? Yikes.....I don't really want to think about that tonight.......