time out

life hack: steal time for morning coffee* in the midst of grandparenting chaos.

*my first visit to margaret drive hawker center since they re-opened, and rather a disappointment it is too, in missing the energy and accessibility of the old one. they don't build 'em and cook 'em like they used to.

she's home!

the geriatric volvo, i mean. from the gearbox overhaul.

HOM and i survive a sweltering week on public transport by limiting our excursions. we welcome back our independence with much heartfelt relief and many overdue errands. 

time was when we zipped around town on buses without missing a beat. 

managing expectations

A and E visit us soon.

J2 asks A: where are you going?

A: singapore!

J2: what will you do there?

A: take a bus!

J2: and what else?

A: take a bus!

really, if that is all she wants to do, we can stop agonizing over when the volvo is coming home, i tell HOM.

sunday

time was when the weekly activities reached gasp-worthy levels over the weekend and we collapsed into bed on sunday nights in mindless relief tinged with a little gnawing fear of some nameless unfinished business.

HOM and i reflect today that we are grateful for almost complete shutdown once church is done. blinds drawn a/c on and bed covers down. interrupted only by the need to pee and poop E the dog.

grateful.

tech help

today HOM and i are haunted by an old chinese melody that we both recognize and that we both cannot identify and that shazam gives up at as well. but the google app allows me to hum the melody and ta-dah! the song is 母亲你在何方. how we ever did things before the modern age i do not know. 

resurrected

nine months later the case is finally settled and the stop work order is lifted and we are looking to renewed efforts in the new week.

HOM and i are amazed humbled and grateful for the manifold mercies that lead to this. at the same time unfortunately the old stresses of hustling the various players also self-resurrect. 

but if God can lead us thru the one surely he can lead us thru the other. exodus 14:14, isaiah 43:2, psalm 31:15. all OT verses. there is a pattern here.

little commentator

J2 sends us a recording of little A describing the world cup game.

他提ball ; 他跌倒； 他头痛；他坐下来。with entirely unrecognizable prosody almost unrecognizable tonality but (you gotta admit) much sharp observation.

we are torn between grandparent-ly delight and much generational horror.

preferred poison

HOM goes for his massage.

i wander the mall.

and find my favorite type of massage.

satisfying and without human contact. the way i like it.

the royale chulan

fantastic location with an impressive history complete with cast iron corinthian columns unfortunately tucked away on levels that no one usually visits. decent room decent breakfast decent gym temporarily unavailable spa but with two dinky public massage chairs. and ultimately marred by poor choices of interior decor which rob it of real polish and make the front entrance look a bit secondary. it's also too bad our expectations are contaminated by memories of that other impressively historic place.

date escape

we take a break from group activities* and scuttle off for a non-aromatic tea break

followed by an umami dinner.

oishi. i am grateful for HOM's willing conspiracy. 

*the group decides on a durian party which my olfactories have no way of surviving. to be followed by a late dinner which i will decidedly be half asleep at.

lunch

hungry and conveniently close to this place and miraculously luck out on the last table for two in the place after which we watch the waiting benches outside fill up with an unstemmable gloating feeling. 

the food is good too.

lost

HOM leaves his phone in the ride. this leaves us with a cold feeling in the heart.

by God's grace and thanks to the driver's kindness he has it back again.

what i say is, you are not losing a phone you are losing a wallet.

what i also say is, that cold feeling in the heart, it can get quite cold.

date nite, lijiang old city

we pop in before the crowd does and have the upstairs bar to ourselves and the lone guitarist singing his heart out.

after dinner on a rainy night a nice tenor and mando-canto-pop. good stuff.

of bangles 'n stuff

you'll know a woman is spoken for by the jade bangle she wears on her left wrist, the guide says. she will only take it off after in separation. i look at mine and smile at HOM. some of us will not take it off because the hand has grown coarser than the bangle!

really wet day

we take in the sights of teng chong. that is to say, the guide tries hard to help us appreciate the sights.

the sights are pretty enough but unfortunately much marred by the unceasing rain because no matter how you look at it i am just not a diehard tourist i am a city girl who needs my creature comforts and i like them dry.

if the rain continues tomorrow i might need to park meself in the van.

jingcheng dihai hot spring hotel

 

palatial set-up. breakfast delivered to the room. we lose our way looking for the elevators.

mangshi hotel (estab. 1956)

very much a grand dame in look and feel. complete with faded carpeting climb-in bathtub soap and shampoo in tiny bottles and heavy wooden furniture that gives me two new bruises within an hour. but also (much appreciated) firm mattress pillow options and bedside charging access. and, as i tell HOM, a to-die-for view from the comfort of my room. bonus: an osmanthus tree planted by zhou enlai.

doxology

40 years almost to the day from when we had the first sunday service at the current location. really? that sounds so long ago! i feel young yet. have 40 years passed?

the new building is where HOM and i meet and where we wed and bring up J1 and J2, at least for part of their fragmented childhood. it is the home to which we return from foreign assignments and, these days, from our travel adventures. it is where we are held to the most account, of all the churches and amongst all the small groups.

my heart and my soul swell as we sing, praise God from whom all blessings flow... praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!

my man the plumber

HOM changes the bathroom tap.

as in, tap leaks and mildew grows. (real) plumber quotes for new tap. HOM decides he can do better and besides it's not rocket science. HOM buys new tap and installs it. voilà!

one could start a second career soon.

unexpectedly pleasant encounter

lovely young man on the helpline trying to get me thru with my face verification function who says ah! in a most reassuringly knowing tone and then cheerfully walks me thru the steps to successfully set it up.

what i appreciate the most, i tell HOM, is that he is so clearly present with me in my agony and is so openly thinking aloud as we work through the steps that i gladly submit to his instructions and forget to don my usual crabby luddite persona for when i am flummoxed by tech. 

thank you sir!