a special, enclosed garden that my cats and I enjoy every day, and that helps me slow down, reflect, and enjoy each moment of each day
the lovely young woman our son is marrying on Saturday
the soothing breeze that comes up each evening, from the Carquinez Strait, to cool down our non-airconditioned home each night
Kohl's Department Store, who had just the right "foundation garments" to wear under my dress as "mother-of-the-groom" for said wedding
safe travel for our younger son, from China back to the U.S., to be Best Man at his brother's wedding
my husband, who didn't scold me for buying him a new white dress shirt just because I thought the one he already has is just a teensy bit grayish
the cutest little clutch that will be the perfect purse to carry at the wedding
my mom and dad for hosting 8 or more people at their home so that we can all enjoy the wedding without the expense of a hotel room
an invitation to tea in late June with the Westcoast Scrappers
my sister, Denise, for doing all the work (including getting the pint-sized tux) so her son, Adam, can be ring-bearer in the wedding
Crystal Light pink lemonade
my sister, Lisa, who affirmed that it was ok for me not to get my underarms waxed even though I'll be wearing a sleeveless dress for the wedding
flip-flops
my in-laws, Art and Betty, who wish so much that they could attend the wedding and send their Best Wishes to the bride and groom
pedicures
a brand-new wedding band for me that exactly matches my husband's (to replace the one that I lost a couple of years ago)
sunless bronzer by L'Oreal
my cousin, Laurel, who just moved to Benicia (how great is it to have family in town??) and who will look in on my kitty-babies while we are off to the wedding
micro-wave popcorn
gift cards because they make gift-giving SO easy
seedless watermelon -- it makes dieting so much nicer
my dad who will bless the rings of our son and new daughter-in-law
mockingbirds, hummingbirds, and squirrels, all of which my cats love to watch in the garden, and I love to TRY to photograph
family members making time to come to the wedding even though there are lots of other things going on in their lives
digital cameras, and the realization that I don't need to worry about taking photos at the wedding because Jeff Fassett of Fassett Weddings Photography will be there, wooohoooooooo!
two orange tabby cats urging me to come to bed. . . .
Showing posts with label Shanghai. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shanghai. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
Photos from China!
First good view of Shanghai (at least a small portion of this huge city!) from the 14th floor of Mike and Maya's apartment building.
Me, Michael and Uri, ground floor of the Oriental Pearl Tower.
Michael, Mike, Uri, and Xiao Rui consult a map of Shanghai.
Michal, Xiao Rui, and I in the Oriental Pearl Tower, 253 meters elevation, with Shanghai in the background.
Michael and Xiao Rui in Zhouzhuang. You'll see lots more photos of this fascinating and ancient city.
Uri outside the Oriental Pearl Tower.
Safe Landing in Shanghai
Hi All, I know many of you have been waiting patiently (or anxiously, due to the earthquakes!) for my first blog posting so, finally, here it is! Sorry, there won't be any pictures yet because I haven't taken them off my camera and onto Michael's computer (they are transferring now--verrrryyy slowly)! But I will post photos as soon as possible, maybe even within just a few hours.
Meanwhile, a little news on what I've been doing so far on my trip. I arrived in Shanghai around 7:30 p.m. (China time) on a flight delayed first by the late arrival of the plane from its previous destination and then a problem with the pressurization system that needed to be repaired before we could take off. Once we arrived in in Shanghai (4 in-flight movies, 3 episodes of Desperate Housewives, 3 episodes of Grey's Anatomy, two meals, a snack, and dozens of beverages later) I zipped through customs (nothing to declare), waited an interminable time for my luggage, and finally found my way to the exit where Michael was waiting for me with three of his friends, Mike, Uri, and Salena (who is now Michael's girlfriend), all of whom I have met before. A great reunion!
We spent the next few days in and around Shanghai. Mike and his girlfriend, Maya, have an apartment there and they put all four of us up that first night. The next two nights we spent in hotels, the first one in Shanghai, and the second one in the old city of Zhouzhuang. The fourth night we spent on a sleeper train that we took from Shanhai to Luoyang. My first sleeper train; what an experience! It was a 17 hour trip. Speaking of trains, we also rode the famous Maglev train when we left the Shanghai airport. This is the high-speed train that goes up to 300 km/hour! It's awesome! I'll try to do some internet research on it and post more info. I do know that, somehow using magnetic power, the train actually rises up off the tracks so that there is no friction - this is how it goes so fast. Fascinating.
In Shanghai we visited the People's Square, a famous shopping center where we saw lots of other foreigners. We also went to the Oriental Pearl Tower where we ascended in an elevator 267 meters high and had a 360 degree view of Shanghai. This tower reminded me of the Stratosphere in Las Vegas.
There's LOTS more to tell but I need my photos to help jog my failing memory! We have packed a lot into the last few days. Now we are at Michael's apartment on campus at the University of Technology in Luoyang City.
Regarding the earthquake (and the hundreds of aftershocks), there has really not been any affect on Shanghai or here in Luoyang except, of course, the usual watching the news, reading the papers, sympathy for the affected people, and the horror of watching the death toll rise every day. We're too far away here for it to be much more "personal." The only English-speaking channel on t.v. has been running continuous earthquake coverage and we've watched a fair amount of that. Horrible stories of entire schools collapsing and burying the students, factories that went down on an entire workforce of people and, more recently, relief workers being buried by mudslides caused by aftershocks. Yesterday we had just climbed into the back seat of a taxi when our driver started blowing his horn. Turned out it was a three-minute period of "silence" all across the country where all emergency sirens were activated and everyone on the road blew their car horns in recognition of the dead.
I'm going to see what I can do now to get my photos uploaded. Hopefully, today I will be able to post some! Feel free to leave comments, especially if you have any questions!! More soon!!
Meanwhile, a little news on what I've been doing so far on my trip. I arrived in Shanghai around 7:30 p.m. (China time) on a flight delayed first by the late arrival of the plane from its previous destination and then a problem with the pressurization system that needed to be repaired before we could take off. Once we arrived in in Shanghai (4 in-flight movies, 3 episodes of Desperate Housewives, 3 episodes of Grey's Anatomy, two meals, a snack, and dozens of beverages later) I zipped through customs (nothing to declare), waited an interminable time for my luggage, and finally found my way to the exit where Michael was waiting for me with three of his friends, Mike, Uri, and Salena (who is now Michael's girlfriend), all of whom I have met before. A great reunion!
We spent the next few days in and around Shanghai. Mike and his girlfriend, Maya, have an apartment there and they put all four of us up that first night. The next two nights we spent in hotels, the first one in Shanghai, and the second one in the old city of Zhouzhuang. The fourth night we spent on a sleeper train that we took from Shanhai to Luoyang. My first sleeper train; what an experience! It was a 17 hour trip. Speaking of trains, we also rode the famous Maglev train when we left the Shanghai airport. This is the high-speed train that goes up to 300 km/hour! It's awesome! I'll try to do some internet research on it and post more info. I do know that, somehow using magnetic power, the train actually rises up off the tracks so that there is no friction - this is how it goes so fast. Fascinating.
In Shanghai we visited the People's Square, a famous shopping center where we saw lots of other foreigners. We also went to the Oriental Pearl Tower where we ascended in an elevator 267 meters high and had a 360 degree view of Shanghai. This tower reminded me of the Stratosphere in Las Vegas.
There's LOTS more to tell but I need my photos to help jog my failing memory! We have packed a lot into the last few days. Now we are at Michael's apartment on campus at the University of Technology in Luoyang City.
Regarding the earthquake (and the hundreds of aftershocks), there has really not been any affect on Shanghai or here in Luoyang except, of course, the usual watching the news, reading the papers, sympathy for the affected people, and the horror of watching the death toll rise every day. We're too far away here for it to be much more "personal." The only English-speaking channel on t.v. has been running continuous earthquake coverage and we've watched a fair amount of that. Horrible stories of entire schools collapsing and burying the students, factories that went down on an entire workforce of people and, more recently, relief workers being buried by mudslides caused by aftershocks. Yesterday we had just climbed into the back seat of a taxi when our driver started blowing his horn. Turned out it was a three-minute period of "silence" all across the country where all emergency sirens were activated and everyone on the road blew their car horns in recognition of the dead.
I'm going to see what I can do now to get my photos uploaded. Hopefully, today I will be able to post some! Feel free to leave comments, especially if you have any questions!! More soon!!
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