China's Got Talent

We were walking around Green Lake the other day, and about every 20 feet or so, there was a group of aspiring artists (some good, some not so good) playing their instruments, singing and even dancing to their heart's content. There were some incredibly beautiful tunes played by people who had obvious talent. Some of the women dancing were so elegant it was amazing to watch. But here and there, were some people who might have over-estimated their talents. However, they were out there, with their speakers set up and singing loud enough for the moon to hear. And though some of the sounds reminded me of the cries that one of our kittens makes when they are stuck under the deck, I just had to respect them for trying. And you know what, they were happy - smiling widely as they belted out crazy notes, strummed the wrong chord and forgot lyrics. I was humbled at the joy these people were finding just giving it a shot. It didn't appear to me that anyone was nervous, or wondering what people were thinking of them...they were just finding true creative freedom in music, dance & song. What a beautiful thing.

functionality

I have always been a function over fashion person for the most part and living in China has solidified that philosophy. Cases in point: I posted a picture of myself in capris (big mistake), I am seriously considering buying some crocs (to elissa’s horror) and I must admit, no matter how silly it looks, the scooter poncho below is pure genius! Liss is actually making great strides in the functionality area too as evidenced by her smashing foot attire. Cheers to all the Minnesotans who have been ridiculed for wearing socks with Jerusalem cruisers.

Man, I Love Cats

We are settling in and getting used to China all over again and it’s so good to be back! We have already started to connect with friends again picking up where we left off last summer and it feels really good. You may know that our incredible friend has allowed us to stay in her house for the first 6 months and we feel truly blessed. She has been so kind and generous. What you most likely do not know is that she has a cat who just had five more cats for a total of six cats. Man, I love cats and I’m really good with them. Liss is too as was evidenced by our first morning here in china running around in slippers trying to corral the mama and “the one that got away”. We “sppspsp’ed” til dizzy, “here kitty’ed” til hoarse, and “ttskk ttskk’ed” til spitless. I finally snagged the little one only to have him scratch me at the brink of the garage and dart off when I dropped him. Man, I love cats.

Anyway, sorry for the delay in our first blog, but blogspot has been off limits most of this past week - if you want to know why, just look back in your China history books about 20 years or so. My friend Jeremy is actually posting this blog, so thank you Jeremy. We should be back online soon.