my kinda tourist thingy

we are not cut out for the hard core tourist stuff, we realize. forget the temples and famous sights and de rigueur photo opps. HOM and i spend a delightful afternoon amidst the dappling sunlit avenues of the french quarter and wander into an art exhibition several rug shops and accidentally into the insta-famous cafe selling teddy bear ice cream. not much to show but much to remember.

(the real) bucket list

a qipao from shanghai.

pretty much every girl's vintage dream.

even though this is an energetic modern young female tailor who promises to ship the finished product to me and not the fabled old man who only speaks in incomprehensible dialect. she promises me a garment in xiangyunsha silk and i promise her to return for more if she delivers.

recording my thanks to HOM for his cheerful long-suffering presence over multiple fittings.

hangzhou

 

west lake is really quite gorgeous and i almost want to return in the autumn and the winter.

but we are middle-aged wimps and almost fall into our coffee with relief at the end of the half-day tour.

shanghai (again)

revisiting an old lady and finding charms yet:

• the qipao tailors this time (if i had a bucket list this would be so on it, i murmur to HOM)
• the old and the new effortlessly juxtaposed at least from the didi rides we are in
• food remains quintessentially acceptable even for picky eater me
• and is much better priced than recent comparators (CA and BC)
• i'm back in the land of the automatic flushing loo! and luckin! and general public safety!
• and in comparison to other spots in china, they actually obey do not smoke expectations

this could become my favorite getaway city. 

also, waiting on tenterhooks for my new qipao.

kingdom of characters - jing tsu (2022)

sweeping powerful epic fascinating inspiring and quite simply jolly satisfying account of the metamorphosis of the chinese language over the past century as it was dragged kicking struggling reluctantly and resentfully into the twenty-first century.

it is amazing to realize how far behind it was back when putonghua was not even a thing and how much the chinese ecosystem has leap-frogged the rest of the field today.

the old memories 2

random thoughts from scanning old photos:

• time was when after a wedding one would receive a keepsake envelope of photographs of the happy couple the banquet table and select candids
• time was also when after an event one poor bugger would go around like a human excel with a list for you to fill up which photos you wanted to purchase order those photos collect your monies sort out your orders a couple of weeks later and deliver them to you. possibly the most unsung hero of our youth
• remember the big notice boards with sheets of numbered photographs for you to decide which to order? 

am i glad we are in the digital age.

less ded

the ol' reliable appetite is back. it is a wonderful thing to be able to enjoy one's food, i tell you. the preacher is right that there is nothing better than to rejoice in the here and now and in food and drink that our good God gives.

in other news, a 5 per cent weight loss over four days has reduced me to looking like a haggard hound.