Six months later..... Ten Things I Learned in China

I see now that I can't make this blog only about crafting-- since my last blog, I've had a promotion at work that keeps me extra busy, a "cancer scare" that involved major surgery but was, thankfully, not cancer, and a three week trip to Beijing to see my brand-new grandson, third child of my daughter Rebecca and her husband, Dan.  The bottom line:  I just haven't spent as much time as I'd like on crafts, though I do enjoy it. So, while I will still post about my craft projects when they occur, I'm going to open this up to writing about everyday thoughts and activities, and hope that someone finds inspiration or edification, or at least has a good laugh!  Today, I want to include Ten Things I Learned in China:

 1.  I miss my daughter Rebecca and family more than I realized in their 7 years in China, even though I see them at least once a year.
 2.  I never plan to live in a big city again (I spent four years in Brooklyn in the seventies).  I crave peace and quiet, even at the expense of cultural offerings and fine restaurants (although I appreciate both), and I found shopping in Beijing among the crowds in the various markets very difficult.  I did, however, have one of the best dining experiences of my life at the Temple Restaurant in Beijing, at prices one would not imagine in the States.
 3.  We think of China as a "Communist" country, but economically it is a capitalist's dream, and I suspect that a large portion of the city's residents work under the table.  There are a LOT of well-to-do people in Beijing.
 4.  I love Chinese dumplings (jiaozi).
 5.  There are fabulous things to see in the Beijing area- the Great Wall of China, beautiful public parks, 500 year-old temples, modern architecture and art, remnants of the old courtyard (hutong) neighborhoods of old Beijing, and much more-- you just have to be willing to be elbow to elbow with 20 million other people to see them!
 6.  Being a pedestrian in Beijing is an extreme sport.  I doubt there is a place on earth with a worse traffic pattern and driving ethic. The subway, though, was very modern and fairly pleasant, despite the crowds.
 7.  Americans are, as a whole, very much more private than Chinese people, who think nothing of touching your children without permission and telling you the various ways you are not parenting properly. My son-in-law wondered aloud to a Chinese friend how old a woman in a park doing Tai Chi might be. His friend called out to her and asked--and she answered!
 8.  I do not exercise enough.  The steps on the Great Wall almost killed me.  Every morning, thousands of people in Beijing hit the public parks to exercise in groups- Tai Chi, dancing, walking, etc.  I think that Chinese people stay healthy into their later years because of this, and because the elderly go out every day to shop and visit with friends in the parks- one perk of big city living.
 9.   I am still afraid of high open spaces- my experience of the Great Wall was amazing, but brief :-)  I did well until I hit a long, narrow stretch where the wind was blowing briskly, and after a short debate with myself, decided that I was happy with my experience to that point.  I don't have to worry too much about high places in Florida!
10.  I need to eat more fruits and vegetables.  I thought I was doing pretty well in this department, since I don't eat red meat and tend toward vegetarian meals, until I went to Beijing.  Each meal involves multiple vegetable choices, often with a bit of meat for flavoring, and fruit is a common snack/dessert.

One thing I already knew, but was reminded to be thankful for, is that I am a fortunate woman, in more ways than I can count.  Thanks are due to my husband, Greg, for holding down the fort while I was away, and to Becca and Dan for being such gracious hosts, even when I grumbled for my American comforts.  It was more than worth giving up my soft mattress to see them and Olivia, Katherine, and Gabriel!

Hiatus

I could not believe, when I looked at my blog tonight, how long it has been since I last posted.  I had a hectic but fabulous Christmas, and was able to celebrate with my three children, my son-in-law, and their three kids.  With one of the girls living in China, it's a rare treat to have them all here at the same time, and to make it even sweeter, my 88 year old mother made the trip from Kentucky!  After they left, I celebrated my birthday before going back to work.  Getting back into the work routine seemed harder than usual after this vacation, and now that I have two weeks back at work under my belt, it is (way past) time to get back to some arts and crafts.  To be honest, I did spend quite a bit of time making a couple of small accordion- folded photobooks as gifts after the holidays, and have been busy putting together some photo collages, so I haven't exactly been craft-free :-)

Here is my entry for this week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge, which was simply to make a card that was longer and/or narrower than the usual A2 size.  I decided to stamp a simple card, as stamping is the thing that  I feel least confident about when it comes to cardmaking.  I used a leaf stamp from A Stamp In The Hand Co., with pigment inks from Color Box (Chianti) stamped over Tsukineko Brilliance (Galaxy Gold).

I thought it would make the perfect "thinking of you" card to send to a friend, with a lemon verbena teabag inside!

I also plan to make some cards with the photos I took on my birthday trip to the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary (an Audubon Society preserve).  I thought they might make nice gifts in sets of four.  Greg gave my a new, longer lens for my camera after that trip, so now I am anxious to go back and see what I can "catch".

I was a magical place.  Right now, however, my bed is sounding like a pretty good place to go.  Until next time, I hope you have fun with your creativity.  Thanks for stopping by!

Addendum:  Next day, I made another card, this one which meets the long card criteria, and also qualifies for The Friday Mashup http://www.fridaymashup.com/ where the call is for a birthday card with brads, .

Happy cardmaking!