Yesterday was productive .....

In the morning I attended the second day of the jewelry making class and completed two necklaces, two pairs of earrings and 1/2 of a bracelet. It was really fun to see the creations that the other students made.

Everyday in Shanghai is an adventure...and nothing is a simple as we think it will be...

When my jewelry class was over I offered to take our teacher to the metro station. When we came out of the Community Center our driver was gone. I thought I had communicated to him that he should "take lunch" (that is how they refer to "eat lunch" here) at 11:30 so he would have plenty of time to do this while I was in class and he would be back when the class was over at 1:00. I had no idea where he could be........and......I quickly discovered that I left my cell phone at home in the charger. Okay...Don't panic!!!! The Community Center office was closed because we had just locked the doors when we left. My teacher also left her cell phone at home in her charger. No....problem.....we will just use the phone at the guards gate. Then I was thinking.....who do I call? I don't have the drivers number because it is programed into my cell phone and I do not have it memorized. (Note: cell phone numbers in China are 11 digits long. Residential numbers are eight digits long and I have only memorized my cell number and Abi's cell number because they are very similar.) Okay....DON'T PANIC!!!!! There were three guards at the gate and through a bunch of hand motions and many Chinese words that I did not understand......we soon learned that the phone at the gate is not a real "phone". I am guessing it just calls the office or something?? There was one other car in the parking lock......another driver.....with a cell phone..... We again hand gestured phone and he let us borrow his phone. I called Abi's cell number.....no answer.....by sheer luck I remembered our home number and got Delia. Abi and Tim were out....Abi's phone is also in the charger on the counter. (What is this? National "leave your phone in the charger" day???) I have no idea what Tim's cell number is......
We went back into the Community Center and luckily there was another class in the commons area. The other teacher had the combination to the office and let us back into the area where the phone was located. Great.....who am I going to call???? I suddenly remembered that I had written Mr Zhangs number on a small piece of paper......could it be in my purse??? YES!!!!!! I called Mr. Zhang and he said something in Chinese and I felt that he understood that I was ready to go. So.....we returned to the parking lot to wait.... After about 10 minutes he arrived......he motioned to his stomach and I understood he was hungry. Poor guy....he had been waiting to "take lunch" and was starving. I guess my communication was not as clear as I thought. We dropped Sandy at the Metro station and went back to our apartment. At this point I still don't know if Mr. Zhang had lunch or if I interrupted his lunch when I called him. In the Chinese culture....lunch is a very important thing. In fact when they great each other they ask something that means....have you eaten? They have a different greeting for morning and afternoon but both have the same meaning.....have you eaten....are you comfortable? Yikes!! This guy has only been with us two days and I have already starved him.

Jane arrived at our apartment just as I arrived and through her wonderful translation I was able to clear up the lunch thing with Mr. Zhang.

Tim, Abi, Jane and I spent the afternoon at the fabric market. There are several different fabric markets in Shanghai and they all have a little bit different personality. All of them work about the same way however. The vendors have small "booths" piled with fabrics and some samples of their work. If you are lucky you can try on a sample coat or jacket that you like. (Side note: Most likely it will be too small because "Westerners" are larger than most of the locals. This is not really a surprise and this is why we need to have a relationship with a Tailor. We can not buy ready made clothes because we are not 5 foot tall or weigh 80 pounds.) When you find something that you like, you choose fabric, and negotiate the price. Some of the vendors speak a little bit of English but it was very helpful to have Jane with us to negotiate prices and communicate details. She could also tell them that we live in Shanghai and that qualifies us for better prices and the possibility of return business for them. So....Abi and I each ordered a coat, Tim ordered two suits and two dress shirts, and I ordered a new duvet with matching pillows for our bed. If they are done well.....we have just established a relationship with four tailors and our next visit to the market will be much easier!!!! By the way.....this was my third trip to the fabric market......all previous visits were long and non productive because it is very overwhelming. The market is in a three storey building that has hundreds of booths. Get the picture?

Who knows what today's adventure will be.....Our driver has the day off...(He will probably be eating non stop today to store up energy for his next day with me)......it is pouring rain so finding a taxi will be nearly impossible but I am sure we will venture out anyway. What the heck??!!!

We have a new driver named Mr. Zhang. Our first driver returned to his previous job at the television station yesterday. Mr. Zhang does not speak English so we are a team of hand gestures and smiles. To make our communication a little easier I purchased a set of taxi cards from one of the supermarkets. The taxi cards are held together by a large key ring and contain fifty or more business card size papers with names of different stores, restaurants, business buildings, malls, points of interest etc.... The cards have English and Chinese addresses for all the business. I think these are going to become our life line in communication with our driver for a while. I had Jane translate to him yesterday what our "normal" routine would be each day. The challenge comes when our schedule changes from "normal" which is just about everyday. The big success for today was getting where I needed to go, getting Abi to a friends house, and picking up Tim at a different time than "normal". I learned the Chinese words for left, right, and straight from Mr. Zhang. I am practically fluent now.....

Today was a very fun day for me. I am taking a two day jewelry making class at the Community Center. My classmates are mostly from the Netherlands and I just love their accents. We spent the first part of the morning getting instructions from our teacher and then she took us to a bead and pearl market. Oh my gosh!!!!! It was like being in a candy store. You can buy beads to make jewelry yourself....you can buy jewelry already made....or you can choose beads and have someone at the market put them together for you. I participated in all three activities. The jewelry was fabulous and so were the beads and the pearls. Tomorrow morning we will return to the Community Center to string our beads into jewelry. I just can't wait!!!

Abi is at a friends house this evening, Tim is on his way home from work, and Delia is cooking our dinner......life is pretty darned good!!!!

PS...the world is just getting smaller and smaller. My jewelry teacher (Sandy) is from Eugene Oregon....Go Figure!!! We had a nice visit on the way to the pearl market. She and her husband have lived in Shanghai for 5 years and her husband happened to be one of the speakers at the church we visited last Sunday.

The Spofford family has a Chinese name. Tim is now Mr She (of course that is not the Chinese spelling but that is how it sounds) and Abi is She ab ee and I am She Bow La. Abi and I needed to have name cards printed so we needed to have a Chinese name. The sir name is first followed by the given name. Usually the children (child) have the same sir name as their father but the wife can have a different sir name. Jane suggested that we all have the same sir name to show that we are a family.

I learned how to write the Chinese character for "she" today. Wow!!! they have a lot of rules about how you create a character. First you start with the outside "lines", then every line has to be made from left to right and then from top to bottom. I am still practicing.....

A friend asked me about the currency in China. The currency is called RMB and yuan. The locals call it qui. The bills come in 100, 50, 20, 10, 5 and 1. There are many fake 100 and 50 bills floating around so you have to be careful when you get change from street vendors and taxi drivers. I was the lucky winner of a fake 50 given to me by a taxi driver. That was our introduction to fake money and now we know what to look for and we avoid paying for small items with larger bills that require a lot of change. There are also coins. The 1 qui looks like a quarter and the rest of the coins I do not use much so I don't really know a lot about those. The exchange rate is between 8 and 7.5 to one dollar.

We received our first piece of mail from America yesterday afternoon!!! The postal service really works.

The weather today was wonderful. We woke up to fog but it quickly cleared and the sun came out!!! I went on a walking tour in downtown Shanghai with a group from the Community Center. The highlight of the tour was a street market, the "sighting" of two new lunch restaurants, and visiting a friend's apartment. She has lived here for three years and their home is filled with fun artifacts and art work from many counties that they have visited while living in Shanghai. I was totally inspired by this and I am looking forward to our next holiday.....I think we will go to Thailand.

Yesterday I had another interesting experience. Go Figure!! I went to an antique market in downtown Puxi to browse and explore. The market is a group of streets (maybe more like alleys) that cross over each other. There are many small shops on both sides of the street and the shops extend out into the street displaying their merchandise on tables and in some cases on the ground. When I went "browsing" I was not aware that yesterday was a very important day for shop owners. It was the first shopping day after the Chinese New Year. I arrived at the market just as most of the shops were opening. The first shop owner said I was his first customer of the day and he would make me a good deal because I would bring him good luck. What? I did not understand what I had to do with his luck but...whatever!!! I told him I was just looking and went to the next shop. This time I went into the shop to "browse". The owner spoke English and again said I was his first customer and he would "make me a good deal" because I would bring him good luck. What??? I thought....wow...they all have the same "line". This shop owner tried very hard to sell me a set of small vases......saying that they were very rare and would sell other places for a very high price but he did not care about his profit today because I would bring him good luck. He was very very insistent....standing at the door so I could not leave...saying "I give you a very good deal today", "I want you to be happy". He also told me that he spent much money on fireworks during the Holiday so he would have good luck and all his luck for the year was dependant upon me!!! Yikes!!! That is a lot of pressure on a person who just wants to browse. After a long discussion about "browsing" and "yes the vases are very nice" and "I do not want to buy them today" (I had no clue if they were from the Ming Dynasty or if they were "Made in China" yesterday) I was finally able to leave his shop and lets just say he was not happy with me. I really did not want him to have bad luck for the year but I was JUST BROWSING!!! After I left his store I called our relocations friend and asked him...."What is up with the shop owners today?" He said they believe the first customer of the new year can bring them luck for the rest of the year ....so.... they really want to make a sale to that customer.....even if it is not profitable to them. He said...."don't buy anything if you don't want it BUT it is a great day to get a good deal". So.....I probably passed up a set of vases that could have been our retirement fund but ...... Who knew?? I left the market immediately and walked to Starbucks for refuge. I just did not want to feel responsible for how lucky or unlucky the year midht be!!! Too much pressure.

Today was a big success. I am learning to celebrate each little step as we continue our transition to a new culture and living in a big city. I hired a local university student for the next couple of months to help me with "stuff". She will be coming three days a week and I have lists of things that I need her help with. Her English name is Jane and she started today. She is a very lovely girl and very smart. She speaks Chinese, English, and German.....boy....do I feel like a slacker!!! She grew up in Shanghai and is in her last term of university. Her schedule is flexible because she will spend this term writing her exit paper. So....today the first thing we did was translate all the buttons on our TV and DVD remote controls, telephones, washer and dryer, and rice cooker. Oh my gosh!!! I am so happy. You can not believe how frustrating it is to try and run the washing machine, or change the DVD settings when all the instructions are in a different language. I am technically challenged in the first place and then when you add another language into the mix it is just impossible. AND now.....even though I am still technically challenged...at least I know where all of the buttons that I don't know how to use are located.

Two other big accomplishments for the day......I know how to mail a letter and a package through the China postal system AND I have new "local knowledge" about the fabric market and how it works. .......Small successes......big feeling of accomplishment!

The last part of my day was spent with our driver and Ayi scoping out yet another Supermarket. This market is called Metro and is a German owned store. You have to have a membership (sort of like Costco I guess) but in order to get a membership you have to show your passport (I never have it when I need it) and a letter from your "company". I am still not sure what the letter should say but they said it was required. Lucky for us.... they let me have a "visitor" pass because our driver had his membership card. So.....here we were....The driver that speaks Chinese and broken English, The Ayi that speaks English with a Filipino accent, and the Lady with the "visitors pass" that has no clue where to find anything. It could have been a scene from the three stooges. Delia wanted canned pineapple...King thought she said apples and could not figure out why she was looking in the canned food isle...and I was looking for corn chips and tortillas which are not common items in a Chinese market and therefore do not translate from English to Chinese. Then.....I was trying to explain to King how you eat corn chips and what you do with tortillas. It was all very comical. The good news.....we bought a lot of food so we will not have to go back any time soon. Maybe by then I can find out what the "letter" has to say so I can be an official "member".

Today we visited a church in Puxi. The English services are at 2 and 4 in the afternoon. I must admit I really like sleeping in on Sunday morning and then going to church in the afternoon. The service lasted 1 hour and 45 minutes (but who was counting?) and it was a combination of praise music and testimonies. I loved the praise music and was able to connect to a couple of the testimonies. We will visit the Church in Pudong again next week as Abi has not been to that church before.

I read an article on the Fox News web site today that said Chinese officials had arrested three people just after Christmas this year in outer Mongolia for "gathering without a permit". According to the article they were gathered together for bible study. I am very thankful that we have the opportunity to worship in Shanghai. There are so many things that I took for granted in the US.

Here are some pictures of our trip to West Lake

Sunset at West Lake

Abi in the gardens

View of the lake and mountains

Abi in her Chinese Princess clothes

Pagoda tour boat

Tim and Deb at the Tea House

View of the lake and the city

Abi and Tim with the Six Harmonies Pagoda in the back ground.

We have returned from our first "outside Shanghai" traveling adventure. It was not exactly what we expected and we are glad that we went.

Our trip started out a little frustrating as we arrived at the lake and had a hard time finding our hotel. The description said it was "over looking the lake". When we finally found the hotel our driver said "not exactly on the lake"....... I wanted to say "NO KIDDING!!!!" It was "over looking the lake" after you looked over and through about five city blocks of high rise buildings. Now let me explain....we thought we were going off to a quiet lake with mountains and beautiful gardens and walking and hiking paths. None of the pictures or descriptions mentioned that the lake is on the edge (literally on the edge) of a city of 6 million people. I am not joking!!!! So.....we left the "big city" 17 million people to go to the quiet "little city" of only 6 million people. Let me set the stage for you......people everywhere, traffic, more traffic, disappointment about our hotel, and a few glimpses of a lake as we drove through all the traffic.

We were able to change our reservation to a different hotel and on the way to the new hotel Tim asked me if I brought my passport. Nope! He did not either and was pretty sure we could not check into our hotel without a passport. A PASSPORT....why would we need a passport?.....this is a domestic trip not an international trip. Well....guess what? We needed our passports. They really don't care that we have ID in the form of drivers licence from the United States. The hotel staff were very nice but...no passport...no room. They said they would get in trouble with the authorities if they checked us in without our passport. I am guessing that you really want to stay on the good side of the authorities in China. Note to self: always carry your passport when traveling even if it is only 2 hours away. So........here we are just a little on the frazzled side of the emotional spectrum. After much discussion we learned that they did have to have the actual passport if we could give them our passport and visa numbers. Lucky for us Delia was at our apartment and could look up the numbers for us. We got a room!!!!!

The rest of the trip was relaxing and the lake is very beautiful. We took a boat ride on the lake and walked through the gardens. The lake has a long history that has been passed from one Dynasty to another and I would tell you more about it but I could not understand a word that the boat guide said. We are all ready for language lessons.

It is hard to describe what it feels like to be out in the community here. We are a curiousity to most people. We are watched, pointed at, staired at, and today Abi and I were followed into a store by several teen girls. We were shopping in a "womens garment district" with Tim (poor guy!!) and we found a small clothing store that Abi wanted to look in. So.....we went in. Tim sat on the step outside the store while Abi tried on a jumper. Shortly after we went into the store three girls came in. They wanted to see what we were shopping for.....that was it....curiosity. While everyone is very nice it is a little unnerving at times to be watched by so many people.

We can still hear an ocasional firecracker in the distance but I think the fireworks have slowed considerably.

We thought we had seen the best of the fireworks on the Eve of the New Year. Well...... tonight was just as spectacular as the first night. I woke up at about 11:15pm to a bunch of firecrackers and flashing lights. I thought it would stop in a few minutes and I could go back to sleep......no chance of that. The rumble just got louder and louder until I gave up and got up. From our window I could see fireworks all other the city and as far in the distance (way past the third bridge) as we can see. It is a very clear night so the visibility is amazing. By this time no one was sleeping so Tim and Abi joined me in the living room. The fireworks continued to increase in numbers and volume right up to midnight. Unbelievable is the only word that I can come up with to describe the night sky.

The fireworks have died down now but continue to be very noisy. They really like firecrackers in Shanghai. I am going back to bed now and I hope to get a little bit of sleep. We are off on another adventure tomorrow (or should I say today) and we are leaving at 8:00am. We are going to Hangzhou (pronounced Hong Joe) which is a small city about 2.5 hours from Shanghai. It is best known for the lake that is just outside the city and is supposed to be very beautiful. It will be nice to get out of the city. More on that tomorrow........ Good night

We have never lived in a big city and therefore we have never lived in a high rise building. This morning I was wondering about our neighbors. Who are our neighbors? The people that live on the floor above and below us? Or...the people in the building next to ours that live on the same floor as we do? Hmmmm.

Our apartment building (and the identical one next to us) is full of very large windows. The windows are wonderful for the views and every room in our house has a floor to ceiling window including two of the bathrooms. The window in one of the bathrooms is in the shower. By "in the shower" I mean that the back of the shower is a window. When we moved in we (very cleverly) purchased a shower curtain to hang in that window. Great....we have waterproof privacy and it looks good too!

At night time it is really easy to forget that there are people living right next to us. It is dark outside and we like to leave the curtains open so we can see the view. Well....so do our neighbors. Okay....I have to admit that I have been curious about the neighbors furnishings, what kind of plants they have and Abi and I saw a very cute little boy playing with his toys one day. The truth is.....we live in a fish bowl. Not only can I see what our neighbors are watching on TV but they can also see what we are having for dinner. So.........we spend a lot of time in our living room with the lights off. The other night Tim said to me....."Is that guy taking a shower?" Oh my gosh.....he sure was....... and we could see more of him then we wanted to see. The terrifying discovery was that he also had a nice looking waterproof shower curtain hanging in his window. Aaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!! We went out that very next day and purchased a new very dark shower curtain to hang in our window. Note to self....just because you can't see them does not mean they can't see you. That's life in the big city.

PS.......the fireworks continue......

Today was very relaxing. Tim was up early this morning to play golf while Abi and I got a little "beauty" rest. Abi worked on her Chemistry homework and then we had a morning marathon of movies and worked on our jig saw puzzle. We have discovered that the "local" rate for DVDs is 5RMB as opposed to 10RMB that we have been paying. 5 RMB is equal to about 62 cents. We are feeling a little smug now that we are in on the "secret". We found a DVD store in our neighborhood and will probably become regular customers. Many of the television shows that we would like to watch are not available here. I really miss HGTV.

We have been looking for an electric scooter for Abi so we did a little looking today. All of us (including our driver) took a test ride and found them to be very fun. We are still in the "investigating" stage and will look again tomorrow. Our driver was very helpful today as he interpreted for us with the scooter store owner.

Delia fixed us a very nice dinner this evening and Abi and I are both learning many new recipes. We have also been introduced to some interesting fruits and vegetables. One of the fruits is a gigantic grapefruit. That is not the "official" name but that is what it looks and tastes like. They are about the size of a small watermelon and look like an orange. Abi is becoming more adventurous with the fruits but she is still avoiding the veggies.

After dinner we all went for a walk in the "hood" and stopped to have a massage. We each had a 60 minute Chinese Acupressure body massage. It was heaven!!!! They charge 60RMB for this massage and that is about $7.50. I think I may have a massage every day we live here!!!

Tomorrow we are off on another adventure. There is a market about 1 hour drive from our apartment that several people have told us about. It is a street market with a variety of items for sale including furniture, rugs, and pottery. Another day......another adventure!!!!

PS....the fireworks continue.....

This afternoon we went downtown to see the Lion Dance that is a traditional part of the Chinese New Year Celebration. We were all very excited about this adventure because we actually told the taxi driver where we wanted to go and he understood us!!!! We celebrate all of our small successes.

This morning we walked around our neighborhood so we could start becoming familiar with our new surroundings. I took Tim and Abi to the market that I found the other day and we spent some time looking around at all the different foods. I am fascinated by the "deli" section of this store. There are many different "meats" that I do not recognize and many "parts" of meat that I do. I will tell you that nothing goes to waste here. Everything gets eaten....and I mean everything!!!!

Last night was an amazing experience. We watched the Chinese New Year begin from the 50th floor of our apartment building. One of my new Mahjong buddies invited several families to their home to welcome in the New Year. The fireworks were unbelievable!!!!! I can not even find the words to describe the scene. The fireworks started around 6:00pm and continued through out the night with the biggest display at midnight.

Tonight we are again seeing many many fireworks all around the city. The night is clear and we can see three bridges and beyond. I took theses photos this evening when we returned from the YuYuan Garden.

Today we took the Ferry across the river to Puxi. We walked a short distance to the shopping area around Yu Yuan Gardens. In the center of the Gardens is a temple where people were going to pray to the many Gods of Buddha. We wondered around the streets (with about 17 million other people) and shopped at the gardens. Our big purchase of the day.......slippers. We found beautiful embroidered silky slippers for 10 yuan a pair. That is about $1.25. We shamelessly eat lunch at McDonald's (they had ice in their soda!!!) and looked very American. We also walked down some of the "back streets" and experienced Chinese culture very up close and personal. Abi described our day as "interesting, exciting, new, and a little scary. I asked her what was scary about it and she said.....the crowds...."there were lots of people bumping into us and we sort of stand out in the crowd". We are experiencing being the minority for the first time in our lives. It is a real growth opportunity for all of us. All in all it was a great day!!!!!

Yesterday afternoon I was invited to play more Mahjong with the ladies in our apartment building. It was so much fun. I actually played two games and had a great time. But of course the best part was the company!!!!

Tim and I spent today in Puxi (the other side of the river) with our escort from the Community Center. We found some wonderful shopping places and actually purchased our first piece of furniture. We went to many little home decor shop, a rug market, and a large flower market. All of these would have taken me years to find on my own. I can't wait to go back to them and spend hours just browsing.

All is well again at the Spoffords. Tim and Abi are off work and school for the next week. Tomorrow is Chinese New Year Eve. We are looking forward to the fireworks that will start at midnight and continue for three days.

I gathered all my strength this morning and decided to go to the Community Center to learn to play Mahjong. The truth was I really needed to be with people that are experiencing some of the same things we are AND there was a very good chance they would all speak English.

It was a good decision.....I met some more "expats" and saw some others that I met at the Coffee Connection. Some of them even live in our building. The game was really secondary to visiting with people. These ladies are a wealth of knowledge and a I felt my courage coming back.

I found out it really does not mater which "type" of water I order.....there seems to be a consensus that all of it actually comes out of a hose in the back of a little garage somewhere in Shanghai. Some thought it was filtered through a coffee filter others thought it was probably filtered through an old nylon sock or a condom. I am telling you these ladies are funny!!!!!

While I was at the Center I was greeted by Ana (director of the Newcomers Program) with a hug and a cute heart shaped box of candies. She is such a nice person and very energetic. I was renewed by her energy and enjoyed visiting with her.

About a week ago Tim and I decided to sign up for the Community Centers Newcomer Program instead of going with the company that HP suggested. Part of this program includes a "get to know your neighborhood" day. This day is customized to each client so it includes their specific interests. So.....Tim is off work tomorrow because of the Chinese New Year holiday and we are going to go shopping in some of the local "artsy" markets with an escort from the Center. She will teach us how to negotiate and help us find things that I have not been able to find. I can't wait!!!!!

Another part of the Newcomer Program is a computer questionnaire that both Tim and I have to fill out. It is sort of a personality profile. A counselor that specializes in "people in transition" will look at our answers and then help us understand how we can best cope with all the changes that we are experiencing. I find this very fascinating.

Other sessions of the program deal with "working effectively with your Ayi and Driver", "What does the trailing spouse do now", "How to help your children transition", Understanding the Chinese culture", "Doing business in China", and several other interesting topics. Abi will also have classes that deal with "teenager stuff".

Today I am just feeling mellow. I am curled up on our chaise watching the ships moving up and down the river. Today is a three bridge day and we really have an amazing view.

I may go to the Community Center today and learn how to play Mahjong. The lady that gave me the lead on an Ayi teaches people how to play every Thursday morning and then they go to lunch. It sounds like fun but I am not sure I have the energy to "be nice" today. The counselor at Abi's school said that "some days you will just need to take a break from Shanghai and that’s okay and healthy". Today might be a good day for that.

Viewer desecration is suggested for the following blog entry. It may contain language not suitable for young children and Pasters.

I promised to share the good and the bad....so here it is. Yesterday was a day from Hell. This is an insert from an email that I sent to my good friend Julie. I think it describes my day pretty well.

Today was a day from hell and I have nothing nice to say. Tomorrow I am going to stay in our house and hide from the world. I am so damned tired of trying to communicate with people.

I lost our ayi at the supermarket today and the store was packed wall to wall with people...that is not a joke. I did not even have a cart and I could not get through the crowds. Our driver is so hell bent on helping me that he is making me crazy, I went to a hair salon today that told me yesterday my stylist would speak English. I knew more Mandarin then she knew English and that is about 2 words. My hair sucks (I hate that word but today I am going to type it anyway) and I will never be able to buy clothes here because I am not 5 foot tall and weight 90 pounds. I could not even buy a water cooler today with out getting 4 people involved in the "translation" and when I got home I called to order water to put in the cooler and I could not communicate which "type" of water I wanted. JUST GIVE ME THE _____ WATER ALL READY!!!!!!

Okay...so I am going to look for the positive in the day.....

I will not have to have another hair cut while we live here because it will take two years to grow back

I found the Ayi

I don't have to take the bus because we have a "never stop talking" driver.

I went for a walk

We get to open our Valentine cards tonight from our wonderful Sunday School class.

Well it sounds like Tim and Abi are home so I need to run...

Love ya,
Deb

Well there it is..... The communication frustrations were more than I could cope with yesterday. I came home, hid in our bathroom and cried for about an hour. I hid because I did not want our Ayi to think she was working for a "crazy women".

After I stopped "bubbling" (Abi's term) I pulled myself together and went for a walk around our neighborhood. I found a new market, and a little flower shop, and enjoyed the fresh smoggy air.

When Tim and Abi got home they brought me roses for Valentines day and we had a nice dinner in our apartment. They sympathetic about my day and the tears that accompanied the recall of activities and frustrations. Then Abi said "Mom you just have to "Suck it up". We all laughed about that comment and it lighten the mood.

I looked at my last entry and I could not believe it has been so many days since I have written.

Let me fill you in on the happenings in China. We interviewed several ladies and hired an Ayi (means Auntie in Chinese) and a University student to help us while we are in Shanghai. The Ayi is new to Shanghai also....she came to Shanghai about the same day we arrived. Her name is Delia and she is from the Phillapines by way of Singapore and is very experienced and compitant. She has our house whipped into shape and is cooking dinner for us each night. She unpacked Abi's suitcases and organized all her "stuff". Abi no longer has to do her own laundry so obviosly Delia is a big hit with Abi.

The University student will start after Chiniese New Year. She is a local girl and was a tour guide during her summer break. She is in her last term of school and has a flexible schedule while she writes her exit paper. I think she will be a great resource for shopping, barganing, translating, and showing us some of the "local" places of interest.

I went to a class on Persian rugs that was very informative and interesting. The class was held at the Community Center and a local rug vendor brought many rugs to show us examples. I am excited to do a little shopping with all my new found knowledge. :)

The Community Center of Shanghai hosted a coffee this morning and invited a very interesting women to share the traditions of Chinese New Year. The actual date of the New Year changes from year to year because it follows a lunar cycle instead of the traditional calendar. This year it will begin on the evening of the 17th (New Years Eve) and continue for three days. Three days is the official holiday but most companies give their employees the entire week off work. Employees are expected to make up the extra two days by working two Saturdays.

It is tradition for everyone to return to their parents home no mater how far that may be. On New Years Eve it is customary to have a large family dinner. Chicken must be part of the dinner and will be served whole...this includes the head. (Side Note: In a business setting, old tradition was to have chicken at an employee dinner and if the head of the chicken was facing you it meant that you were being fired. YIKES!!) The New Year begins at midnight so it is important to stay up all night to welcome a fresh beginning. Fireworks begin at midnight and continue through the following two days.

Red banners are hung on the outside entry of your home. One on the left side of the door, one on the right side of the door and one over the top of the door. The banners have Chinese characters written on them that mean Good Health, Much Happiness, Peace, Good Fortune and Safety. Some homes will also hang a gold and red fish which signifies "abundance" or "more than enough".

Red is considered a very lucky color so many of the decorations of the Holiday are red. On New Years Day (18th) new clothing is worn to symbolize a fresh start and much of the clothing will be red. It is good to avoid wearing black or white during this season.

Small red envelops are given to children and to unmarried adults by their parents and close family members. It is good for the money to be new bills and the cash must be in even numbers and must not have the number 4 associated with it. For example you would give someone bad luck if you gave them 40 RMB or 33 RMB. Having good luck in this culture is very very important.

Another tradition when hosting friends and family at your home during the holiday is to pass the "tray of Togetherness". This tray has 8 compartments each compartment will hold a food item (usually candied) that is symbolic. Dried coconut means unity of family, Lotus Root = continuous luck or happiness, Lotus seed = will bring many sons, Candied Melon = keeps you healthy and strong, Tangerine = luck, Peanuts = long life, Watermelon seed = wealth, Candies that look like gold nuggets = continuous prosperity. If you go to someones house it is good to take a gift. One such gift is pineapple cake which says...may you have lots of happiness.

2007 is the year of the Pig and the year of opportunity. This is "Tim's year" because he was born under the sign of the boar/pig. The pig is wealthy, lucky and fun. He/she is blessed with patience and understanding, is fair, loyal and loving.

We have been reading about the characteristics of each of the the animals under the lunar calendar. It is truly amazing how much they fit each of our family members.

We received our shipment from the US yesterday and it only took the movers 1 1/2 hours to deliver, unpack, and take away the empty boxes. It is so nice to have a few familiar things from home. Tim took today off from work and spent the day with me at the apartment. All day we had workers in and out of the apartment to fix, clean, repair, and deliver things. Our dryer was installed above the washing machine. It is very "cute" and will hold about 3 pairs of socks at one time. Hopefully this one will work better than the one in our temporary apartment.

We discovered yesterday that we do not have a dishwasher. Somehow we missed this detail when we were looking for a residence. Most of the other homes we looked at had dishwashers so I guess it never occurred to us to look for this appliance. Oh....well....I told Abi that is why we had her. She was not amused. :)

Before we left the US we purchased three memory foam mattress pads. The beds that we have experienced in Shanghai are very hard so we thought this would be a great idea. The movers offered to open these and put them on the beds for us. This was the hardest job they had all day. The mattress pads are compressed to fit in a small box. When you open the box you are supposed to unfold them and let them expand over a 24 hour period. Unfolding them was the real challenge. It took two workers and myself to unfold them; each of us pulling as hard as we could to peel the folds apart. None of us could understand a word the other was say but we just kept talking and pulling and talking and eventually got the job done.

Today was a zero bridge day. We could hardly see the ground through the fog. Tim put his telescope together this afternoon and it was very exciting to see the fog close-up. He was not amused. Do you think it was something I said???

My email has not been working correctly since we arrived in Shanghai. Apparently many messages that I sent were not received and messages that were sent to me were not received. So.....if you sent me a message and I did not respond....it was because I did not get the message. I was on the phone this afternoon (this is the second time I had to call them) with my "server" and I believe they have fixed the problem. It was something about my messages being forwarded through another address and some messages could get through and others could not. After they fixed this problem I received several messages that had not downloaded before. I set up a temporary address at debbiespofford@gmail.com but I believe that my old address deb@deborahspofford.com is working now. I will check both so you can send messages to either one.

The past two days I spent shopping for basic household items. I was hoping to find a store like Target or Fred Meyer for the basic things but these do not exist in Shanghai. The supermarkets have a small variety of basic items but I describe them as sub-Super Wal-Mart style. Several expats suggested IKEA. At least I am familiar with this store and the general layout. I had to get help finding the dishes but fortunately a nice young man in the kitchen cabinet area spoke perfect English. I am finding that the young people want to practice their English and are excited to be able to help. (Side note: A nice gentleman asked me how to pronounce three words today. He wanted to know how to pronounce the name of the hotel in the Jinmao Tower and the definition of the word deluxe. I was so happy to speak English and have someone need my help instead of the other way around!!!!) Back to shopping.....after one trip to IKEA and several trips to Carrafour and Lotus I think we can live in our new apartment for a few days.

Observation: Sheet sets are sold with two pillow cases that look like shams, one flat sheet, and one duvet cover. I think this is a European thing.

Good news for today!!!! Our household goods arrived in China and will be delivered to our apartment tomorrow morning. This is several days earlier than we expected. We hope to be completely be moved in by Friday or Saturday. It will be nice to be in one place and get settled.

Our drivers English has improved 10 fold since we arrived. (I wish I could say the same thing about my Mandarin) He helped translate today for me at China Mobil. For some reason my new cell phone had a very interesting and funny sound. Instead of ringing or playing music for the caller, it had someone talking in Chinese and then a pig oinking sound. I think it might have been saying "Happy New Year" because this is the Year of the Pig. But for all I know it could have been saying "you have just called a pig, please wait until she answers" . It was really very funny but I decided that I did not want this greeting long term. So....I tried to explain to the nice cell phone people that I wanted to change the pig noise. Can you imagine why they did not understand this? Thankfully, I went and got our driver and he explained what I wanted. After much laughter....the man took my cell phone number, punched it into a computer and changed the pig noise to a very boring buzzing sound. Hmmmm maybe I should have kept the pig.

One of the interesting things about Shanghai is the laundry. Everywhere you go in the city you will see laundry hanging out the windows of apartments. We have seen some very creative clothes lines. You will even see laundry hanging over iron fences and in the trees in the middle of downtown. We think we have discovered why this is such a common thing. Tim put a load of laundry in the dryer this morning before he left for work. This evening when I came back to the apartment the clothes were still very wet. Apparently the dryers here are really just “tumblers”. A lady told me today that she finally gave up trying to use their dryer and joined the rest of Shanghai in their environmentally friendly drying methods. So.....tonight the Spofford laundry is also hanging on the balcony of our apartment.

We spent the majority of the day at our new apartment. The view today was the best ever!!! We devised a rating system to describe the view. Today was a 3 bridge + day. On really foggy days we can not see any bridges and on very clear days we can see 3 bridges. Today we could see all three bridges and beyond. The river was traffic free most of the morning and then at about 1:00 in the afternoon "rush hour" started. We could not believe how many ships suddenly appeared. All of them full of gravel and other cargo. Most of them going up stream and it looked like a ship parade. We are easily entertained these days and spent many hours watching the river.

Decorations are appearing all over the city in honor of Chinese New Year. On Tuesday I will learn more about the significance of these decorations. The Community Center is offering a class to explain the traditions of the New Year.

Tonight we found a restaurant that offered American style food.....AND....it actually tasted like American food. I have never enjoyed a cup of vegetable soup more in my life. Food is a weird thing.....it seems like such an insignificant thing......and yet it defines our culture. When this changes and you are introduced to new textures and spices you recognize just how unique our tastes really are. I used to think of American food as a hodge podge mixture of many cultures but we definitely have our own "flavor".

The hotel that we are staying at offers an international breakfast every morning. It is so interesting to watch what people have for breakfast. Many people here eat Congee. This is a hot cereal that looks like soupy goopy rice. They do not put brown sugar or raisins in this like we would in oatmeal. Instead they add small pieces of bread, peanuts, relish, and many other condiments that I do not recognize. I have to say that there is no way I could eat that for breakfast. Give me pancakes with syrup and I am happy!!! :)

I updated my blog account today and now all the text on the home page is Chinese.....I'm sure I will figure out how to change this later, but it is frustrating at the moment.

We were told that our household goods shipped yesterday so our boxes will be delivered next Friday or Saturday. Yippee!!! Then we can move into our permanent residence and get settled.

I took a city tour on Friday and I was the only person on the tour. So the good news is .....I got a private tour......the bad news is.....I did not meet anyone on the tour and I had to eat lunch by myself while the guide and bus driver eat lunch in a different room (this was a cultural thing that I don't understand yet).

The silk factory was very interesting and I climbed to the top of the LuPu bridge. This is one of the bridges that we can see from our window. It has 363 steps to the top...not that I was counting :) The guide shared this little fact with me about mid way up the arch.

Here are some more random thoughts about our first week in China... My brain has gone into hibernation and I can not write a comprehensive sentence

• I would really enjoy an icy diet Pepsi and a good pizza
• Having a driver while in the middle of a traffic jam is a good thing....
• You can play spider solitare on your computer while in the middle of a traffic jam
• I miss my Independence
• I am very happy we found the Community Center
• Our friend, Steve Sheild was right....this transition is going to be harder than I thought
• People we meet are friendly and curious about us
• We are a minority for the first time in our lives
• Cultural differences are very interesting and at times hard to understand
• I wish I could magically learn Chinese so I could communicate.....I have so many questions I would like to ask people I meet
• Living in a big city is exciting
• I miss Target
• Basic things take great effort and energy
• This is a very good opportunity for growth personal development

This is a test...

Yesterday was Abi's 16th birthday and we woke her up with singing (not a very pleasant sound as Tim and I would be one of those "you have got to be kidding" talents on American Idol) and a dozen pink roses.

Two girls at her school decorated her locker with balloons and wrapping paper and Abi ordered pizza that she shared with the other students.

We ended the day with a dinner of noodles and dessert at the top of the Grand Hyatt. Eating long noodles on your birthday is a Chinese tradition to symbolize a long and lucky life. The Hyatt is one of the main attractions in Shanghai. It has the largest atrium in the world. The atrium is 30 stories tall and starts on the 56th floor. It is the 4th tallest building in the world but will soon be passed in height by the building next to it that is under construction. That is a little useless factoid for the day.

Today was a much better day for Abi. Her school is having sprit week and today was skittle day. Everyone was to dress in bright colors (like skittles) and Abi was dressed in bright pink (imagine that) from head to toe. She got out of school at 11:30 today and was very happy. She wanted to go to the “underground” shopping area and look for a new handbag and watch. The “underground” is a little weird and funny at the same time. As soon as you approach the subway area several people come to you and want to show you the “market”. So….you follow them to the “market” which is a bunch of small shops in a shopping mall. These shops are unique because they all have secret doors that lead to another room that is twice the size of the store front. Today we discovered that there is yet another layer to these stores. In one of the shops they actually dismantled a display, removed part of the shelving, slide the wall back and revealed the “back back” room. We had to duck under part of the shelving to get into this room. If you can get over the creepy factor it is really very funny.

Many people on the Concordia staff are from the Pacific Northwest and we visited with one of them today that has a home in Depot Bay, Oregon. She was very helpful and told us many things about transitioning to a new culture. She said most people experience a “sensory overload” and their brains just shut down for a little while. By “shut down” I mean it moves slower and you just can’t process things as fast. The good news is that this is temporary. I thought this was very interesting and it gives me a great excuse to have a “slow brain” for a while.

Tonight we had dinner at a Japanese restaurant. The food was very good and the service was really fun. We had 5 girls waiting on our table and they were so cute and funny. They hovered around our table the entire time we were in the restaurant. During dinner we were trying to get Abi’s new cell phone to turn on. So…our waitresses all wanted to help us figure out how to turn on Abi’s phone. They were so cute all huddled around the phone, all talking to us at the same time both in Chinese and a little bit of English. They were laughing and talking and laughing and talking. Finally Abi figured out how to turn on the phone and they all cheered. We were all laughing so hard other people were starting to stare. We took a picture of two of the girls with Abi and her phone and they made the Asian sign with their fingers as we took the pictures. That made us start laughing all over again.

Tim has to go to work tomorrow…so I am going to be on my own for coffee. My big job for tomorrow is to sit at our new apartment while the “IT” guys connect our wireless internet and wait for some plants to be delivered. I purchase two five foot topiaries from a man that sells plants out of a basket on the back of his bicycle. The topiaries are potted in very nice black clay pots and cost 300RMB for both plants. That is about $36. You just have to love shopping in China!!!!

Tim and I went to Starbucks again today after we dropped Abi at school. When we ordered our drinks they gave us a red silk stuffed pig. Chinese New Year (also called Spring Festival) is in about two weeks and we learned that the year 2007 is the year of the pig. Everywhere we go we see pigs. Most of the pigs are gold or red. The strange thing about these pigs is that they are headless. ???

Outside of Starbucks this morning a group of about 15 people were doing Tai Chi. The women wore beautiful velvet coats in deep purple, green and red. They were very graceful and it was really fun to watch. At one point they picked up swords and used them in their routine.

Our big accomplishment for the day was purchasing two sim cards and one new cell phone. I could write a whole book on this experience. Our friend Mr Wu helped translate for us and we finally worked through the long process.

Tim hung out at the apartment most of the afternoon while several deliveries were made and our satellite was installed. The sun was shining today and the sky was very clear. The view was spectacular.

I spent the afternoon with Abi. She had a tough day at school today. We expected to have a few of these days and we are happy to have this one over. Tomorrow she only has a half day of school and it I'm sure it will be a better day.

First Day of School

Today was Abi's first day of school. She was excited and nervous as we drove to her school this morning. When we arrived we were greeted by the wonderful admissions director. She took Abi's picture and had her fill out some forms. Abi got her schedule and then we went upstairs to meet with the Geometry teacher. He was running late so we went back downstairs to meet the IT guy. He gave Abi her new computer and a very quick tutorial about the Concordia computer system. Then we went to buy uniform tops and put money on the computer system for lunches. Poor Abi had six people helping her with uniform shirts all giving their opinions on colors and sizes. By this time she was feeling a little overwhelmed and a little teary. Of course that was all I needed to start my tears rolling. After getting a slight grip on our emotions we went back upstairs to get a revised schedule and a locker assignment. The scheduling at this school is a little challenging because they have 7 different days in a cycle and each day has a different set of classes. We left Abi with a very nice lady from the high school office. She was going to introduce Abi to a student that would walk her to all of her classes. Abi was very brave and I cried all the way back to the car. You would have thought it was her first day of kindergarten.

Tim and I found a Starbucks, ordered coffee and I had a good (long over due) cry. I am sure I looked like an idiot but who cares I don't know anyone here yet!!!!!! While we were having coffee a couple asked where we were from and started a conversation with us. I think I may have made my first friend today. :)

Before we left the States I read about a Community Center in Pudong that offers support to expats in Shanghai. They also offer a variety of classes and they have a coffee group!!!! The couple in Starbucks told us where it was located and we went to find it. We have passed it several times on our way to Abi's school and did not even know.....Go figure!!! We found many very nice people all willing to help us with many things. I have already emailed with two of them and we are planning to take a class at the center for newcomers to China.

Our big "business" accomplishment for the day was to finish our paperwork at the Entry-Exit Authority and to meet with our China tax consultant. Our tax consultant was very nice and went to school in PA in the US. Wow!!! Income tax is very high in China.

Tonight we had an adventurous dinner. Chinese food (surprise!) at a resturant in the neighborhood. Abi is experimenting with new foods and I am very impressed with her new found willingness to try things. I have eaten many things in the last few days that I can not identify. Some times ignorance is bliss.

Abi and Tim are practicing mandarin as I am writing this and it is really hilarious!!! Our driver was tutoring us in Chinese on the way home from school today. He also thought we were hilarious.

I loaded my new quilt design program on my computer yesterday and I am really enjoying working through the tutorial.

We tried two times yesterday to buy cell phones without success. Shall we say communication break down!!! Mr. Wu is going with us tomorrow so we can get phones for Abi and I. It is really weird how much I miss my phone.

People People everywhere there are people!!!

Do you notice anything different about this sign?







Sights from the food market in Shanghai

Many interesting things in the Deli

Today was a day of great entertainment and mild frustration. We started our day at a the Super Brand Mall. In the basement of many of the malls in Shanghai are grocery markets. We had a short list of items that we wanted to purchase and we planned to go to two different markets so we could price shop and compare the "environment" of each store. On our list was diet Pepsi, a curling iron, hair straitener, blow dryer, (our small electric appliances do not work here because of the power differences) and a few snack items and school supplies.

The other items on our agenda were to take Abi to see her school and to have lunch at a little restaurant in the neighborhood where her school is located. Our driver picked us up at 10:00 and we were off. The first market was very fun to explore and Abi and I were entertained by the food items that we saw. So entertained in fact that we found it necessary to take pictures. We already stand out a little bit in the crowd and taking pictures in the grocery store just added to our "oddness" which of course made us laugh. The store was so crowded that we could hardly get a cart through the isles. Tim was very patiecent while we looked for all the girl stuff we needed. The market must have had 25 different styles of hair dryers but only one curling iron and one straightener. And...no diet Pepsi. Can you imagine? The store was very large and it took us much longer to explore than we thought so by the time we left we were starving.

Our lunch was very good, Tim ordered shrimp wonton soup, I had pan fried dumplings, and Abi had noodles with beef. The restaurant is in a large expat area and we saw many Caucasians for the first time in days. It was sort of weird....

Then to Abi's school..... by this time we were directing our driver because we got the feeling that he did not really know where he was going. Our driver speaks a little bit of English and that has been helpful. We directed him to the other market and again spent longer than we thought we would. The store was very very crowded and it was a zoo. And...they did not have a single straightener or curling iron. AAAHHHH.....I thought this would be so easy. Tim was happy though because we found diet Pepsi.

We decided to stop at one more market on the way back to our hotel. We had passed it on the way to the restaurant and we assumed that our driver would go back the way we came and we would have no problem finding it. The distance from Abi's school to our hotel is 15 - 20 minutes. About 90 minutes later we were no where near the market and we had to direct the driver again so he could find our hotel. By this time we are wondering if having a driver that speaks English is better than having a driver that knows how to get places..... The jury is still out on this one.

In the end we went back to the store we first visited and purchased the straightner and curling iron. We were all very ready to be out of the car and away from the crowds.

Abi and Tim trying out a chaise at the Furniture Market

Our first day in China in was filled with shopping and decisions. We spent some time early this morning at our apartment. The work that was going to be done over the past month just began today. Oh well....we are not in any hurry I guess. To our surprise all the workmen were smoking in our apartment as they worked. Yuk!! This was a little shocking having just come from Washington where there are strict "no smoking" laws. This is going to be a hard adjustment for us.

There were several pieces for furniture that we needed to choose today in order to have them delivered before Chinese New Year. The next two weeks are very busy in China as everyone prepares for the holiday. We went to a furniture market that was five stories and at least 100 stores per floor. It was a little overwhelming but fun to see the style of home decor that is popular in Asia. Most of the designs are very contemporary. We took a break for lunch and then went back to the market to make our final decisions. We choose living room furniture...sofa and two large chairs, a bed for Abi, and two chaise lounges to sit in the window for reading and viewing the river. We then went back to the apartment to choose fabrics for drapes and several upholstered pieces. It is actually cheaper to reupholster furniture here than to purchase new. I like this very much. As you know I love bringing all the pieces together to make a cohesive environment. All in all it was a fun and productive day.



Jet lag caught up with Abi and I at about 4:oo this afternoon. We were also freezing so we came back to the hotel for a few minutes before walking to dinner. After dinner we all had a massage. It was heaven and painful all at the same time. The massages here are very ...... how do I say this..... I can't think of a word to describe it......so I will just say that the people giving the massage are very strong.

Random thoughts about my first visit to China:

• Excitement about visiting Asia for the first time
• Hard to sleep on the airplane
• Long lines at the airport when we arrived in Shanghai
• Man greeting us with a sign that said "Tim Spofford"
• Man with sign is our driver and does not speak English
• I do not speak mandarin
• Feel a strong desire to learn this language so I can communicate
• Traffic is crazy
• Laundry hanging everywhere
• Hotel is beautiful and very tall ... We are on the 73rd floor
• It is nice to have time with Tim even though we are busy
• Abi's school is very nice
• Tim's office is also nice and just 5 minutes from Abi's school God is good
• We could live in an expat compound
• Furniture style is very contemporary
• While living in China we should experience the culture
• Frustration with language and communication
• Great food- lunch with Wu
• Good luck/bad luck
• Church might be closed on Sunday???
• Bad luck numbers ending in 4
• Medical exam at the DMV
• Old medical equipment
• Lots of people
• Starbucks
• Fabric market- can't wait to have a coat made
• Ribbon, buttons, beads for miles
• Tea at the Garden
• Flower expanding in hot water to make tea
• Fog fog fog
• Meeting new people that Tim will be working with
• Fun dinner with other HP expats- all from Boise - go figure
• cereal and syrup are hard to find/expensive in China
• High rise apartment with room for Tucker and guests
• Need for American food
• Trip to Carrafor - meat department no good
• Found an import store close to our apartment- make note to self about location
• helicopters - Christmas presents - only found in Asia
• River walk
• Steamed dumplings
• Bikes and scooters everywhere
• How much stuff can you carry on one bike?
• Ready to go home
• Tim migraine on the plane from Shanghai to San Fran
• Glad to be home
• Happy to see kids
• Get ready for Christmas
• Put move aside for a while

Tomorrow is our last day in our house for a while. We have a great house and Buddy (our basset hound) sitter that will be living in and taking care of our home and dog. This is a great blessing because we did not have to pack up everything and put it in storage. This will also allow Tucker to come home from University during long weekends.

This week has been a lot of "lasts". Our last worship service at FUMC, our last visit with my parents, Abi's last day at school, last FYI (a Wednesday evening program at church), last bible study with our small group, last staff meetings, and tomorrow will be my last coffee with the "Java Jewels". The Java Jewels have been meeting for over 5 years now. We started our coffee group shortly after I moved to Vancouver from Richmond, Virginia. I had just met our neighbor Julie and we decided that our social needs and girl time would not be met in our immediate neighborhood. Julie had also just moved to Vancouver so we were desperate to make new friends. Through a mutual friend of mine we found another "new to Vancouver" family and we decided to meet for coffee. That coffee date turned into a weekly coffee meeting and has grown in numbers. We have had to say good bye to several friends that have move away and some that have been sucked into the black hole called full time employment. I am going to miss this group of wonderful friends. We have laughed, cried, and prayed together, solved many world problems, trained and power walked the Portland Marathon, and supported one of our own through the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. Most of us are also in the trenches of parenting teenagers and it is so good to laugh and escape the "mom" title for a few minutes each week. I am so blessed to have these smart, funny, talented, wise women in my life.

Abi's school
While Tim and I were in Shanghai we visited the school that Abi will be attending. It is an international school with students from 40 different countries. The facilities are amazing and they are in the process of building a new performing arts center and a new elementary school. Abi will have to wear a uniform for the first time in her life. She and I spent many hours last Saturday looking for khaki pants. They seem to be out of season right now and a bit difficult to find. We did manage to find several pairs of shoes while we were looking for pants. :)

Tim and I have been to China and are now back in the states getting ready for the big move. After many weeks of planning, cleaning out closets, and deciding what we should take with us, we are about to embark on a new adventure. The movers came today and packed our "stuff". We are taking very few items from our house. Our apartment is furnished and we will purchase a few household items when we get there.

We had many housing options in Shanghai and spent several days looking at houses, villas, townhouses, and apartments. In the end we decided to choose something very different from anything we have ever experienced. We will be living on the 36th floor of a 56 story high rise building. When we go out of our apartment we are right in the Shanghai culture and I am looking forward to exploring our neighborhood. Our living room looks over the Haungpu (I need to check the spelling on this) river. The view is breath taking even through the fog and smog. There are many ships moving up and down the river and it is fascinating to watch the activity. Tucker, Abi and I gave Tim a telescope for Christmas and it will have a place of honor in our front window. We are all looking forward to watching the ships.

News from the Spoffords

You never know where life will lead you but we are always ready for a new opportunity and challenge. We will me moving to China at the end of January. Yes!! I said China!!! My husband and I are leaving next week for Shanghai to find housing and a school for our daughter. What an adventure this is going to be.

Watch AM Northwest tomorrow for interesting projects with trays. You will see many ways to create unique serving trays to use for your holiday parties or to give to give away to friends and family.

Watch AM Northwest tomorrow for fabric postcard projects!! The hottest thing in the fabric arts world.

We had a wonderful summer with many friends and kids filling our home. I took our son back to school a few weeks ago and he is settled in for another school year. Our daughter is having a great school year as she begins a new adventure in culinary arts. The high schools in Vancouver offer many different magnet programs for high school students. The kids can choose from many specialized programs from IB to Law to Medical to Culinary Arts. I think this is a wonderful opportunity and our kids are blessed to have so many choices.

My husband and I took our annual backpacking trip in early May and hiked in the Escalante Canyon with our backpacking friends. Our group ranged in age from 18 - 78. The weather was fantastic and I even managed to forge a river with a lot of help from a rope and borrowed tevas. A few weeks ago we ventured out again and climbed the south side of Mount Saint Helens. What an amazing adventure. This was a very hard climb. The trail (I use the term trail very loosely here) seemed to go straight up for the last three miles. It was worth the climb however because the view was amazing and the satisfaction of reaching the top was wonderful!!


Over the summer I explored some new opportunities inside and outside of the creative industry. I had a great time learning how to operate my embroidery machine. What an incredible discovery!! I also made several quilts and learned how to machine quilt. I just love having the ability to make a quilt from start to finish. My favorite part is hand stitching the binding. I think that is because is brings the project to a close and it is a very intimate part of the quilt making process.

I am starting a 6 week Photoshop class this Saturday and I am very excited about the opportunity to increase my skill level with that program. I have also been playing with new quilt design software and have found it to be very valuable.

I am continually adding new projects to my web site so check it out. The latest are three projects using vintage linens. My mother recently gave me several vintage hankies and some vintage jewelry.....think of the possibilities!!

Happy crafting and quilting!!

Deb