A collection of thoughts, and site for you to check out - 20 January 2009

Well, not a day for anything we NEED to do. In fact, everyone, even AJ slept in to 0700 this morning. We even needed the sleep, that's for sure.

After a "wonderfully monotonous" breakfast buffet, we got around and Beth, Amie, and I hopped a taxi, and we headed back to Shamian Island. WHY ON EARTH WOULD WE DO THAT??? because Beth wanted too! Actually, we had heard there was a non-profit organization called A Gift from China that sold handmade Chinese products and they donated all profits to orphan charities and assistance outfits. So, I relented and we went, I mean, all it cost was a $2.90 taxi ride.

Well we got there, and it was amazing. We had spent the previous day shopping the stores full of the same stuff that is inexpensive, cheap and of questionable quality... basic tourist junk. (sorry, we bought some stuff from here....so forget this before we give you your gifts!!) Just kidding, we would never give you junk! Anyway back to a Gift from China. In this store, there was things like paintings, hand sewn dolls, art work actually made by craftsman and not machines, and overall it was a refreshing quality! So we shopped there, in a24 by 60 foot store front, without being attacked by the "saleswomen/salesmen", and this by itself was amazing.

I cant tell you what we purchased, that would ruin your surprises.. but I think you should at least check it out. It was really neat. We got a chance to talk to the director of the organization, Jaqui Shurr, and it was really cool, she was visiting the store with others from her office in Hong Kong. What a refreshing visit, I am glad I went, and I think you would be glad to visit the website and see what they are all about. Check out, www.agiftfromchina.co.uk you will be impressed.

Enough about shopping. When we returned, we had a great afternoon, I stayed at the room with AJ and we napped, until housekeeping rang the bell, :( then we played on the floor with an empty water bottle more than anything else. Beth and JP went to the Tea Shop for a tea ceremony and of course, a tea purchase. Jordan took off with some of the other kids and went to a Chinese bowling alley tonight, so Beth AJ and i headed down the street to a Chinese restaurant for dinner.

Dinner was lets say... very Cantonese. Now at home, most of us eat Mandarin/sezchaun type food. Our local guide, Amy, explained that the Cantonese people are different when it comes to their food. So, we got seated, and found out that the menu was amazingly enough, in CHINESE! Wow, no pictures or guide to help us here! So I went with the waiter and "picked" what we were going to eat. I selected steamed chicken, beef sauteed with vegetables, steamed vegetables, and white rice. While waiting for our food, we were very apprehensive about what I had actually ordered.

First dish... 1/2 Steamed chicken, served... COLD, with the skin, the fat, medium rare, and of course... Mr. Chickens head. At least his eyes were closed! Well, we dug in and tried it. I actually got down 3 or 4 pieces before I had to stop. Beth had one piece, AJ had a couple....and we were done. something about cold semi raw chicken with the fat sliding down your throat that just did not work for me! Next dish had a better promise. Beef and Vegetables sauteed....Well, it arrived. And first bite was better, not the best, but better than Slimy the Chicken. So we all ate a bit, but it was very heavy in oil, and some of the vegetables were rather spicy. Meat had a good flavor, but contained the bones, the arteries, etc... We ate what we could and waited for what was next.... a selection of veggies that I selected and of course, steamed rice.

I probably need to remind you at this point about the Dr who was in charge of my care at hospital in Beijing. His discharge orders outlined the medicine and behavior i was to follow. No lifting, seek medical attention if fever or jaundice increased, and NO SPICY/FATTY FOODS. Hmmmm, you know... he was a smart man. I could feel the knot in my stomach forming. I call it the popcorn ache, because both time I had wonderful buttery popcorn at home after my surgery, I had a gut ache afterwards for hours. So, at this point of our dinner, I had the popcorn ache action going.

Well, we waited, drank tea, waited, drank tea... nothing ever happened. the waiter came, called the kitchen, said "few minutes", came later, checked again. Finally, we had enough, we had been there for over and hour, and almost 25 minutes since our last dish. Finally I waived down the waiter.... and asked for a check and to cancel the remaining order. He figured our bill, we walked the 6 blocks back home and of course, stopped at McDonald's to get some food we recognized. Back in the room, Slimy decided he needed to reemerge from whence he came, so I obliged and threw him up promptly. It must have been the right thing to do, I sure felt better and I sent him on his way, no complaints.

Now, I had a Big Mac and Fries as did Beth. Well, I donated mine to JP when he returned from bowling. And that brings us up to the present. We are ready for AJ to take a slow turn towards the barn and start the wind down.

That is the day today. Not much but interesting. Next time i write to you, we will be governed by a new president in the United States. Only about 3 1/2 hours from now. The hype surrounding this new president is amazing. For some reason, the public that is getting the attention all thinks that President Obama is the "savior" to rebuild America. I just pray that he honors God, honors his people and is true to what is right and honest. Please remember, no matter who you voted for, God placed the man in office that he chose to be there, and we need to uplift him, his family and our nation in prayer.

Thank you President Bush for your sacrifice over the past 8 years! God Bless you Sir!

God Bless you all, goodnight.