Spring is in the Air

You'd think, one day, I may just grow my own iris. I haven't planted them in the past two placed we've lived.  That's just not right. I adore them!

My daffs are blooming, so I've made the place look a little springy inside also.

I love these little fellows.

The basement  is coming along just dandy. (Don't look too closely at the smaller "before" pic. HOARDER!) I don't care to admit to how much junk I threw out or gave away. Why in the world do some of us do this? Lawdy me. I got it from my mom. Hope my kids don't catch it from me!

While we had wonderfully warm weather yesterday, there was a nip in the air today. The hub was given a wonderful gift of Chinese tea when he was in Beijing last week. It is perfect for these cooler afternoons.

Today we've had this spring forward time change, which is always a challenge.  I don't much like it.

Frost on the Pumpkins

The temps got down into the 30s ƒ last night. We're going right into winter around here! Wait! What happened to the fall?

The kid and hub carved the pumpkins last night. Look at the size of these babies! I still love the traditional wonky jack-o-lanterns. I think the kid almost froze to death. Don't think he is quite ready to say goodbye to the warm weather.

At least the hub was dressed appropriately. Burr doggy!

I broke open one of the bing-chas today. I was dying to taste it. Now that the weather has turned quite nippy, it's the perfect time for tea sipping.The wrapping was impeccable and I hated to undo the beautiful folds. But I did anyway.

How funky is this?

I first steeped it in one of my "pu'er designated" yixing tea pots. These are very small pots made from a certain clay found in China. You're supposed to use different pots for different teas, so that is just what I do.

I then transferred it to another pot where I could add water. I don't like a strong tea.

Raphael's grandfather's demitasse cups are perfect for Chinese tea. Not too much, not too little. At first, I caught a hint of licorice. I'm not a licorice person, so I was weary to taste it. It's actually very good. Very earthy.

Medicinal? I'll let you know if I get the sudden urge to run a marathon! I did, however, put a leaf on my cuts from last week. (I was pulling the blinds up to let the sun in, and the enitre thing fell on me. I put my hand out to keep it from falling on my helper--Bella--and it gashed my hand.) Thought since it looked red today, I'd give the tea a whirl, like the video said. Could be the next best thing after aloe? Or my thumb could fall off.

Overall, I like it very much! So, I'm happy to give one away, now that I know it's not like drinking dirt. teehe.

The Great Bing-Cha (tea cake) Giveaway

The hub always brings wonderful teas back from China. Last year, he was given a special bing-cha (tea cake) of Pu'er tea as a gift. This trip, he was given two more. These are rather large bricks, if you will, of compressed tea. I am including a scraper to go along with it. I think one will last for years! The tea is supposed to get better with age and they are to be stored in its own paper--not in a baggie. I have yet to crack one open, so I don't have any idea of the taste.

I have mine on plate racks as decoration at the moment.

These tea cakes are made from ancient tea trees in the Yunnan Provence of South China. It is said to have medicinal properties that help with digestion, reduce cholesterol, and perhaps even increases metabolism. Hey, perhaps I better pop open one! Quick!

I found these wonderful videos below for you to watch if you want to.






So, all you have to do is leave a comment. You don't have to have a blog to enter. I will pick a name some time next week.

If you're a tea drinker, I think you will love having one of these to try, straight from Beijing.

This, That and the Other

Has everyone been watching the Olympics??? In honor of them, I've pulled out some things the hub has brought home from China. This ink stamp was given to him by the Chinese government earlier this year in honor of the upcoming Olympics. I saw a little clip on Han Meilin, the artist who did the logo of "Dancing Beijing" and the FUWA (good luck dolls). It's absolutely fascinating to see how much meaning is in one little logo. He said the committee first gave him the sign for Beijing to work with. With that, he moved it around and added more depth to the drawing incorporating "person" and "culture." He felt it very important to hold on to the ancient Chinese culture that seems to be getting lost.

It has the hub's name carved on the bottom (not sure what "hub" translates to in Chinese {smile}.

I have not been able to watch a lot of the events, but I have been catching a lot of the swimming and volley ball. I guess they are shown at later times--like when I'm crawling into bed. How 'bout our Michael Phelps? Ra ra ra! The kid, hub and I just about went berserk a couple of nights' back when the relay team beat out the French for the Gold (sorry Raphi). But that will teach them to taunt us! I have enjoyed watching every moment I can sneak in. I can't wait to sit down every night and see what we're up to.

On Monday, I received a wonderful surprise from Mary Jane, my sil. I am just amazed she remembered how much I love Cath Kidston! I was able to sit for a spell and look through it this morning before I started my chores of cleaning and straightening the house up. (It's practically been ignored all summer.) Thank you MJ, I love it! It even feels good, like an old cookbook, ya know?

I even pulled out my CK tea towels for a little shot. And then the day began with the door bell. We had a visit from our insurance agency to look through the house and measure the property. What's up with that? They had to do the same at Riverside. I think it's kind of creepy, myself. It's not like we're refinancing or anything. At any rate, they did what they had to do and then the door bell rang again and it was the dryer guy. My dryer died earlier this week. It was some part for the gas valve that went ca-put. Joy.

But, the funnest project going on is getting the teenager out of the house. He's leaving for university TOMORROW!! Take a look at his room! Do you think he's done anything? Poor guy is going to have a rude awakening (don't I always say that?). I've already told him anything left behind and not put away and labeled for saving is going. Boom, gone. I can't wait. This room is going to be transformed into a beautiful bedroom. I'm dying to get into it next week (rubbing hands together). I have visions of pink walls and frilly yellow bedclothes. KIDDING! That's what I tell him, anyway. hehe. I'm bad, I know. Ew, I get the creepy crawlies just thinking about going in there next week and blasting through everything. Ew. Lord only knows what I will find. The kid will be happy to have a bathroom again. He has refused to share a bath with the teenager since we've lived here. haha. I don't blame him, really. The guy is just downright filthy!

For Jeanie, I hope your birthday was full of happiness and glee. Again, I hope to catch up with everyone soon.

Would You Like a Storm with That Tea?

The hub made it home safely from China last night with more Chinese gifts in tow. The Chinese seem to be the most generous people. He and his coworker were given these beautiful tea trays and yixling tea pot. (If you click on the link where the tray is from, you will be able to listen to some soothing Chinese music but won't be able to get the English translation. It's worth clicking!) This tray has a slide underneath where all the access water goes. Too cool.

I have been looking around the internet trying to learn this new way of serving tea. It's absolutely fascinating. From what I gather, the "style" or custom with the yixling tea pots is called Kung Fu. While I did have my "tea" this morning, I only had it about half right. Still, it was really fun and the tea is amazing. The hub found a nice box of oolong that contains these tiny little packages.

Since I didn't have any small cups, I used my demitasse that I picked up in Bremen, Germany last year. It was perfect. I had several pots all by my lonesome and when the kid arrived home, I even made him a pot.

While surfing, I even found a video. While this video washes and washes and washes the cups and pot, more sites say to only wash the pot and cups with the boiling water once, then add the tea and rinse the tea and cups and then you are set to drink the third pot. Isn't it captivating?

This is what the leaves look like after they have brewed several pots! Wow!

After about my third pot (mind you, these are tiny pots), we had some terrible storms roll through. I even took the cats to the basement while mom and I sat in her living room (that is all underground) for about an hour. The kids were in lock-down mode at dismissal time and they had to wait an extra 45 minutes until they released them. We had tornado warnings for about an hour all around us. Thank goodness, I don't think any actually touched down; but the rain was torrential. These pictures are taken about half an hour after the storms came through. (Sorry about the blurr at the top. Bet you don't miss this Dianne!) The ponds were completely overflowing as were the streets!

My brother Johnny continues to make a little more progress. His blood pressure was better today; and although he still had a temperature, it was mild. His nurse says he is still asleep 99% of the time but acknowledges her when she says his name. I keep thinking about going up but think I will wait until he is alert and perhaps I can help him along at that point. I am playing it by ear day by day. I have coverage set up for mom in case I need to fly up this weekend as the hub and boys are heading North for Ukrainian Christmas. I am staying home to watch over mom. As I've said before, I don't I feel comfortable leaving her alone overnight any longer.

Again, thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers. It's working!!

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Dead Fish

I'm happy the hub is home. One of my three lucky fish in the travel area of our house died. No wonder. Bella sticks her nose in there every day and drinks water from the bowl. Poor little fellow. I'll have to go and replace him tomorrow to keep the Feng Shui mojo going right.

Speaking of China , relatively, the hub made it home safely. He was given a lovely gift from one of his colleagues there. He's so sweet, he gave it to me to hold my ATCs in. Awwww. It's a beautiful box, made for business cards I suppose, with lovely angels on the front. I had never heard of The Flying Apsaras of Dunhuang. Of course I looked it up and this is what I found:

Feitian in Dunhuang

In the flourishing age of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), mural art achieved such a high level that feitian embodied the national characteristics in Dunhuang, Gansu Province.

The Sui and early Tang emperors (581-755) were obsessed with feitian: They constructed mechanical devices in their palaces so feitian could raise curtains to recreate the Buddhist paradise. During this period the art of feitian at Dunhuang reached its zenith. It was also a period of China's greatest control and involvement in the Silk Road trade which snaked through Dunhuang. Early Tang-era caves depict feitian in large numbers and various postures and moods. Many were depicted as heavenly musicians or as dancers. The features of the early Tang feitian became more refined and more Chinese: The figure is lighter and the drapery, more subtle, although the color intensity remains the same.

The feitian of the middle Tang Dynasty (755-845) neither had wings nor rode on clouds -- it flew gently and danced in a carefree manner with a long scarf. The trends of feminization and refinement of feitian continued throughout the mid Tang. Feitian became increasingly detailed, losing much of its color intensity.

There are more than 4,500 fei tian in the Dunhuang caves distributed throughout more than 270 of the remaining 492 caves. Feitian in these caves are depicted as young girls with slim figures and plump faces, an unstrained manner and gentle mood. Interestingly, feitian in Dunhuang are bare without wings or feathers. Instead, a moving scene depicting a group of girls flying and dancing freely in the sky can be found here. Some girls are seen weaving through the clouds and rivers, carrying fruits; others are playing musical instruments. The Buddhist picture of feitian is a vivid representation of ancient people longing for freedom.

After reading about the flying apsaras, I knew I had found the mystery behind two of our Chinese rugs. The one I have here in our study actually has the feitian flying about. I always wondered about them. I thought they were angels and is why I was drawn to it. We have a smaller version in our family room. Now, I have the complete story behind them. Fascinating.


And, while still on the subject of China; several weeks back, the hub had another colleague visiting from Beijing. We went to a bbq at one of the office's co-worker's house who was nice enough to invite everyone out. My house is completely out of commission, obviously. Everyone in the hub's office is so nice. A great bunch of folks. It was a wonderful time. I'm always so reluctant to go to these functions as I am so terribly shy, almost to the point of phobic. But, as always, with a little push, I go and have the most wonderful time. It was a great day. The next evening, we took Allen (his American name) to a big dinner at Maggiano's, a great Italian restaurant where they serve family style. We thought he would get a kick out of that. We were even able to coax the teenager to meet us there so we had the entire family with us. It may be the last time were are able to entertain as a family. Soon, he will be gone. Sniff sniff. Anyway, Allen had brought a nice gift for the hub. It's a beautiful souvenir pen set from the upcoming Chinese Olympics next summer. (Yes, everyone is pushing me to go. Do I think I could handle that long on an airplane??? Uh uh.) We'll see.

The guys are here (yes!) putting in cabinets. I can't wait for them to leave so I can peek in and see at least some of my cabinets in the kitchen. They've been in the garage all summer long. I am so excited. Of course, I will keep you posted.

And, before I forget, a big thank you to all who have expressed concern regarding my mother. You all are angels to keep her in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you, dearly. She's doing great!

China

The hub came back with all kinds of gifts that were given to him while in China. He spoke at many gatherings and these were the thank you gifts he received. Amazingly gracious people, the Chinese.


The first items I will be showing you are combs. When he handed me the box and I opened it, I sat, mouth open (and looking stupid, I'm sure) amazed at the detail in these special little pieces. I have never seen anything like them before and I will treasure them forever. (The teenager already has his eye on one for his goatee--I don't think so, Scooter!) A small explanation came with them saying "combing hair with this kind of comb will ease your headache and sleeplessness, refresh your mind and will make you see and hear well." Well, I'm all for that, but I don't think one of these little diddies will go through my mass of hair--maybe my eyebrows! They are just gorgeous, aren't' they? Each one is numbered and came with a small wooden square with (I think) an explanation of the meaning of each piece. I will have to let our friend Jennifer translate them for us. I need to find a display case for them so I can put them out. They are just too special to leave closed up in a box, don't you think? Hmmm, just how to do it, though. Go visit their website. The music is enchanting. Changzhou Combs, Beijing, China.




The other thank-you gift was a little banged up by the time it made it home. For some reason, the hub handed it over to a colleague to carry home and it wasn't wrapped properly. I'm going to try my best to fix these poor guys up, but the attention to detail on these sculptures are amazing. I'll never get them back to looking 100%. Oy. The one on the left was give to the hub, I think this is a scholar which fits the hub to a tee. The one of the right was a gift to Jennifer, not quite sure of the significance there, hehe. Poor guy is missing his hand. I mean, the pieces that fell off--fingers, horns, etc--are so intricate, I don't even know where to start. Grrrrr. You can find out more about these unusual pieces at Zhang Clay Figurines, China. I truly have my work cut out for me in fixing them up.

These last pieces, the hub bought specifically for me. Aren't they sweet? I love the child-like faces. I'm not sure what these are made out of, probably clay also, just a different type than the more intricate ones above. I have them sitting by my waterfall in the kitchen.