I had to take a picture of this sign.......
That's it for now. Hope you all are well and keeping busy!
Love and hugs....Cindy
One of my favorite things to do here is reading the signs, t-shirts and such that have English writing on it. Why? Because sometimes they are hilarious or a puzzle. The t-shirts are the worse. It seems they just take English words and put them on a shirt. I asked a young man in the MTR (subway) if I can read his shirt. He reluctantly consented and then blushed from head to toe! Of course, the shirt made no sense. I had to take a picture of this sign....... Interesting....a terminating machine. Is this China's way of reducing the masses? Is the "one child" policy failing? Any way I have decided to stay away from this machine. Actually, this sign was in a bank's ATM section. Go figure what they were trying to say. I will post more signs as I come across them. Yes! McDonald's delivers! At least if you walked to McDonald's you would have burned a bit of the 1,000's of calories you consume here. Now you can stay at home and get fatter. Now I could make up a lot of jokes here about how the doctors were checking to see if John has a brain, or maybe something about the latest fashion glasses for the goofy, or something about how this is what happens when you combine a china shop with sunglasses shop but the truth is John was testing a gadget that massages your head. He said it was relaxing but the price makes you tense up. It was $3000. yuans. That's about $477.00 US dollars. Yikes! I'll end this blog with this beautiful picture of an orchid plant. In the mall when John had his head squeezed I found a beautiful garden area decorated with many orchid plants. Real ones! No fakes here. In fact, the malls here are decorated so nicely they put the one back in Tampa to shame. Of course, it is usually very expensive to buy in them but nice to visit. That's it for now. Hope you all are well and keeping busy! Love and hugs....Cindy
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Shopping! I have begun to hate shopping. In the states you get in your car, you travel thru traffic to the store, drive around to find the closest and safest parking spot, walk in the store and fill up your cart. They load it all in a free shopping bag, you haul it out to your car, place in trunk and on your way home! Well, not so here. There are small stores on each corner but not all the stores carry what you want. Some of the stuff has questionable origins and look old. Or you can travel via Metro or bus to the name brand stores and find just about anything you want, even some imported stuff from USA. But now you have to load up bags (bring your own or you pay for them) and carry them home, which could be in an hour long bus ride or slightly shorter on the Metro. Then a 10 minute walk to our apartment. Of course, our arms can carry only so much! And too many times we have forgotten that. We bought a little red bag with wheels that has been so helpful in carrying the heavy stuff but even then the arms get tired hauling it around. I think we have become known as the "2 old foreigners with the red bag". I say that because one young lady I met said her friend saw us before, too. How would she know if they weren't talking about us already? This is one of the places we do our shopping for fresh vegetables. And boy do they have them! For at least a couple of blocks the streets are lined with farmers selling their stuff. Some still have the dirt on them. It is mostly pretty cheap, too. We pay half for vegetables and fruits than we paid in the states, except for grapefruits. They are expensive right now. I miss the free ones I got back in Tampa. There are also spices galore which make the place smell strong. Sometimes the place smells good, but if you come late in the day the squashed rotting fruit in the aisle and the open market of fish and meats can get funky smelling. Notice the next picture... Fish head soup anyone? Yes, there are buckets with live fish in them. Pick one out and they kill it right there for you. Just around the corner are butchers waiting for you to choose your meat and they chop up what you want out of it. A bloody mess since the tables look like they are made out of plywood. I don't usually hang around this area. The smell is bad. I did find this cute little bunny at the market. No, it wasn't being sold to eat. The owner was hugging it and let me pet it while she fed it some lettuce. It might perhaps be rabbit stew one day but not today! Well, I guess I don't really hate shopping just trying to get all the stuff home. Since we can carry only so much and our refrigerator is so small, we also have to make more trips during the week. Good thing we are retired and have the time. I hope you all are well and enjoying the life you have. What a privilege to be alive! Love and hugs...Cindy Finally! A day out and about and of course it is always a good day when John finds his ice cream. Funny thing is after John ordered his cone the shop keeper had to take his picture with ice cream in hand. Does he look like a celebrity to you? Just across from where John is standing was a cart that sold the following products.... Yummy wouldn't you say? Not sure what all the meats are and what flavors it is but I am not touching it! One of my favorite parts of my area is the public areas around here. This merry-go-round is never running but the parents put their children on the ride and push it. They also set up an area where the little skaters can practice. There are so many kids around here! They pretty much just stare at me but I love it when I get a smile. I miss my grandkids.... The following picture is why we were without water for an hour or two. I couldn't believe how fast they got the problem fixed! I also saw an accident on the highway in front of our building involving a car and a paneled truck that tipped over. The authorities had the whole mess cleared and gone in 45 minutes. Wow! Well, I am hoping to be back on the streets more regular now that John and I are fully recovered. At least until the next bug gets us. China has a lot to see and I hope to scope out this city before exploring beyond. Funny thing about this city is there are no old buildings, no temples to be seen, no big Buddhas yet you know you are in China. The people are so willing to help and talk with us. I can't wait to be able to carry on a conversation without saying, "I'm sorry. I don't understand what you're saying."
Love and hugs....Cindy I just had to add another curious thing about China. But this story is for my women friends only. So all you guys...just skip this blog!
The Chinese are very curious people especially when it comes to Americans. On our outing yesterday we bumped into some Americans we have made friends with here. A family of 4, mom, dad, daughter and son. Very nice people. They were heading in the same direction and going to a large shopping center we had not been to yet. The purpose? To buy the daughter a bra. You see...here, if you are bigger than a lemon, you probably won't find a bra off the rack. Well, one of the stores sells bras more for the grapefruit/melons group. I, of course, had to check this out. We split up in the store. John and the son went shopping for jeans and us girls for bras. It turns out they did have some bigger sizes but the choices was small. Two kinds in 2 colors. Not bad looking ones. Very sturdy and well made. The price was over my budget. They were over $50.00 (US) each. No thank you, I think I'll make do with what I have. The daughter on the other hand had a great need so they plunged into the fitting room with bras in hand. Now what happened next has had me laughing for hours. The shop attendants were very helpful and would not leave her alone to try on the bra. Finally they confessed....they wanted to see what American boobs looked like! Not kidding! This poor dear teenage girl was shocked but her mother and I were rolling with laughter. I think the fact that this family is black may have aroused their curiousity a bit more than usual. Well, she did not give them a peep show but ordered them out of the room for privacy. That's the story and I had permission from my young friend to blog this. Oh, and she now has a beautiful, expensive new bra. Love and hugs...Cindy We are back to normal! I can stand food again and John's back bothers him. Yep, normal. Today was clean up day. Disinfectant was flying from ceiling to floor. Especially in the bathroom! Yesterday, just to get out of the house, we took a trip to the local store. I had fun picking out what to show you. Here are a few things I thought was interesting..... This is called dragon fruit. I don't think I have tried it yet but I thought the pile of it was so pretty. Purple...my color. Not sure what this thing is called but it looked menacing. Like a weapon of some sort. I need a Chinese friend to show me what to do with these things! Rice anyone? Why do they have so many containers? I looked them over and I think they are different kinds. Just slight differences between them. Freaks me to see the shoppers, especially children running their hands thru the rice as if it is a play toy...yuck. Where have those hands been? This is a row of dried spices, herbs and such. Looks like sticks to me. Wish I knew what they were for. I might actually cook something that taste like Chinese food! Now this is the part of the store that I avoid. A whole row of dried fish and other unrecognizable stuff. See the next picture. Is it dried snake? More spices in a row. And finally ....the best for last....... Well, that is my tour of the strange and amusing things at our local store. I am sure some of you all are asking what is so strange about that, right? But for me...it is different. Thanks for visiting with me. Feel free to leave a comment if you wish.
Love and hugs...Cindy Well, it seems I probably had a stomach flu because poor John got it, too. Of course, he swears he was going to die from it. He didn't and we are both on the mend. My stomach is still very sore and sensitive to food but at least I can eat. I was starving! John is 2 days behind me in recovering but he seems to be doing better than I did. I was told this virus was passed around about a month ago. So I guess we couldn't be left out. Yes, it is a chicken's foot. I was desiring for chicken soup so I went to the local store and bought a package with half a chicken in it. When I opened it, curled up under the body, was this foot! I put it in the pot to boil with the rest of the bones but i assure you I didn't eat it. I still don't see the charm in it. I was just thankful the chicken's head wasn't there, too! We have had some rainy days this past few days. It is nice to hear thunder. The lightning isn't as serious as Tampa. It doesn't flash next to you but more like crosses the sky. I still show a healthy respect for it. Hopefully I'll be back on the streets in a day or two. I don't have much left to talk about here in my home. I am thankful that it is comfortable and pleasant to be at home. We have been provided for very nicely. Just my size! Love and hugs...Cindy Ugh! I am sick again. This time with food poisoning. Funny thing, my sister in Atlanta was sick with it last week. It has really stopped me in my tracks. The only way not to hurt was to lie perfectly still. I also munched on burnt bread to flush out any toxins I might have developed. John wanted to rush me to the doctors but from my experience it is just a waiting game. I did do research to make sure my symptoms weren't the bad, bad food poisoning. Oh well, I was warned to expect this. Most of my friends who have made a move to a foreign land told me "you WILL get it". Today (24 hours later) I am feeling better. Welcome to my kitchen. I thought my kitchen in Tampa was small but this one takes the cake. The floor space is 3 ft by 3 1/2 ft. John and I have a hard time being in there at the same time. But it is easy to care for. Everything at my fingertips. The next picture shows where the refrigerator and pantry is. That little white thing is my washing machine. It holds about a half a load of what my washing machine did in Tampa. The blue dot on the back wall is our water heater. It is one of those that instantly heats up, no tank. And my refrigerator is also about half the size. I have started a magnet collection from here. One from LA and one from Hong Kong. Well, that is just a little tour of our accommodations. I know, kind of boring but what else can I do being stuck at home!! Miss you all...Love and hugs, Cindy Since I have been stuck at home I have been able to watch the construction next door more often. This struck us with terror. That crane is at least 20 stories high. Yesterday, a man was sitting on the end of it and another man was walking out to meet him by climbing along the OUTSIDE of it with no safety harness! I couldn't watch. I was afraid he was going to make a mistake and fall to his death. I don't like circuses either. This is how I dry my clothes. No driers here. At least not in the smaller homes. I could hang them on the roof top where they have clothes lines but not sure if they will still be there when I return. Also the air isn't always fresh here. The bars on the windows make a great place to hang things on. I also use a dehumidifier and a fan. Works great! Plus the house smells like fresh laundry. I think it adds a bit of lint to the air but that is workable. The pink curtains are going as soon as I can find replacements. Yes, we have a set of bunk beds in the second room. No mattress yet but will have them before our visitors come. It came with the house. Still a great place to hang wet clothes. Who is this guy and why is he holding my foot? Well before my injury, John and I had a foot massage. Man oh man! What a massage! They start on your shoulders while your feet are soaking and they work on your neck, shoulders, arms, and back before they even touch your feet. Then they give you a reflexology massage. OUCH! But I am sure it did me some good. The workers at the place were so excited we were there (the celebrity Americans) that they asked to take pictures of us with them. I asked if I could take a picture, too. Now here is the best part....it cost $7.00! That was for over an hour massage! I am going back as soon as I can walk without crutches!! Love you guys!!! Why am I so excited about a beautiful sunset? Because here we don't get them often. The sky is usually hazy or cloudy and the sun sets in a puddle of dirty fog. But not tonight! I was glued to the window from our apt and watched practically every minute of it. I love sunsets and Florida had the most beautiful ones on a daily basis. So I am sharing this one in China with you all. Enjoy! OOOOOHHHHH!! AAAAAHHHHH! Oh, as far a John, he went to the doctor today and found out that he has acute Bronchitis. The doctor loaded him up with new medications and told him to eat no protein until he is over this. I wonder why no protein? Whatever the reason we are sticking to it because he wants to get well, like yesterday! My knee is better everyday. I went to the local store on my crutches and was stared at more than usual. Oh well, I am getting used to it. Enjoy my sunset..... Cindy What is this, you say? This is part of the view out of our livingroom window. We live on the 13th floor of an apartment complex that has many shops on the gound and second floors. Most are empty since this area is fairly new. That green thing at the top of the picture is the MTR or train track. It is underground as well but this link is above. It is strange being 13 floors up. I have spent 55 years on ground level. In my home I looked out and saw tree trunks now I see tree tops. I like to stand at the windows and watch the people, cars, buses all like busy ants heading to where ever. This is the view from the 2nd bedroom. Sorry for the dirty windows. I haven't been able to clean them yet. You are looking at the MTR station by our apt. about 1/3 down on the left side. Those shabby looking buildings below it are the homes for the workers. Sad. It is an eye sore but I feel worse for the workers. The big construction top right is an apartment building going up. They use bamboo for scaffolding and cover it with green cloth/paper(?). Yes, we have hills/mountains around us. This is the view from our bedroom to the left. The sun comes up over this hill, right into our bedroom. I can't wait to get thicker curtains! The roadway underneath is a small part of a hugh intersection that converges together right under our window about 2 football fields away. I would show you that but then it would give to much away. I haven't explored the neighborhood where the trees are but it is on my list. Now the last picture..... You are looking at our daily entertainment. We have watched this building project everyday for a month. It was just in the ground clearing stage when we arrived. It is located outside out livingroom window in the area above the first picture, above the MTR track. It is amazing how fast they are working. Of cource, they start at 7 am and work past dark. I have seen them there until 10 pm. The bad thing lately is the BIG, BRIGHT SPOTLIGHT they have pointed right at our window....all night long! It is our night light for the whole apt! I am also going to put up thicker drapes or something in the livingroom soon! Well that's it for the outside tour of our home. A world a part from the house on Norfolk St. for sure but at least I am not homeless anymore! And if home is where the heart is then I must have 2 hearts, one in Tampa and one here. 'Tho miles a part, you're all still in my heart. Love and hugs....Cindy |
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