fun funny fungus

Friday lunch pictures.

Thursday was cloudy and windy but no rain. Olivia got to go on her field trip to the blue zoo and kite flying in Chao Yang park. We were grateful for her answered prayer.

Friday had elements of fun, funny, and fungus.

First the fun. Mary’s preschool assembly. An artistic interpretation of the book My Many Colored Days. I cried. Mary was so cute…
kicking up her heels.

Then out to the track and pool to celebrate Upper Elementary School Field day with Ben and Kyle. They enjoyed most painting themselves red- their house color.

Next the fungus, black fungus and other delicious things for lunch. I love Cantonese dim sum.

Then the funny. Wednesday I started writing my morning pages, an assignment in the book I’m reading The Artist’s Way, by Julia Cameron. In her discussion of the positive changes that occur in peoples’ lives as the start keeping morning pages she says “we frequently retrieve the parts of ourselves that we have lost.” She talks about how her students lose weight, quit smoking, change their hairstyles. So coincidentally, Wednesday, I got a call from a lady named Jessica at Beijing Kids Magazine. My friend Barbara had nominated me for a studio make-over. It was one of those do- you- know- a- tired mom things.

So Friday, after the school activities, we took the little ones back home and Rob drove me in to Beijing. We found the photography studio in a pleasant, middle-class apartment complex. The owners are a Russian man named Mishka and a Chinese woman, his wife. They have a beautiful, round cheeked little girl, named Sophie and keep a rabbit and two ducks on their front steps. Meili, from Hawaii, the make-up artist went for the “glamorous look.” Sometimes its just funny to find yourself in unexpected situations.

When we lived in Guangzhou, we loved to eat at a restaurant called Dong Bei Ren, which means East North people. It's cheap, home-style noodles, dumplings, and breads. It's a chain so we couldn’t wait to find one here. It took us months. Rob happened upon one last October. I had asked Xiao Chen and Lao Tien to stay late Friday, so we took the chance to have dinner at the Dong Bei Ren and wander about the neighborhood.

Saturday is always a bit of a frustration. There’s not much structure and I feel like I can’t see what I’ve accomplished. So in the midst of my frustration, I took Grant out to swing on the swings and had one of those just-take-a-breath-and- enjoy-it moments. All my big kids and their neighborhood friends were out on the little soccer field, with who knew there were that many light sabers in River Garden, playing a full-court game of The Empire Strikes Back. I had to laugh at how quickly a generation passes by.

Sunday I confirmed that Blogger was really being blocked in China, so I was probably more productive in other areas.

Monday I got kids ready for school, went to the bus, played with the little ones at the clubhouse, bought flowers for a baby shower, ate too much of Julene Martindale’s delicious bread and doughnuts at the baby shower, found that Blogger was still down, practiced singing and made dinner simultaneously instead, took the kids swimming, called my mom, had dinner together, family home evening, then bed time.

Today, Tuesday, I felt so blessed to have friends. Emma Bagwell’s mom called to tell me that dance is cancelled, in case I hadn’t seen. I hadn’t. And Alison told me how to download a virtual private network so I could access Blogger. I am grateful for friends.