by emily on March 12, 2010
I love the friendliness and quietness of South Dakota! We were getting some new vinyl for Grandma’s Creta’s bathroom which is being remodeled, when I noticed this sign.
The hardware store is big, like many other places. We were the only customers in there the whole time. Just give a little shout and the friendly men will help you with whatever you need to find.
Lots and lots of home-building/remodeling materials. It makes me excited to build a house when we get back to the US.
Tags: help, home, interesting
by emily on March 11, 2010
It’s the last frost post, I promise!
Tags: cows, frost
Posted in Animals 1 day, 17 hours ago at 8:00 AM. Add a comment
by emily on March 10, 2010
Tags: frost, South Dakota, Weather
by emily on February 24, 2010
I finally got out of bed early enough to catch the frost hanging onto the branches before the sun melted it away.
Tags: frost, trees
by emily on February 23, 2010
We were driving down this road near the house when Jon spotted a bald eagle. We went back to the house and grabbed my camera and 300-mm lens. He flew off, and we followed.
Tags: bald eagle, Photography, South Dakota
Posted in Animals 2 weeks, 3 days ago at 6:27 AM. 1 comment
by emily on February 16, 2010
Last night, Jon and I were driving his dad’s big pickup truck down the empty highway underneath a sky full of stars, listening to country music.
I couldn’t help but think of what we might have been doing in Shanghai. We’d be squished in the back of a taxi, veering around hundreds of other taxis underneath the city lights and skyscrapers, listening to the blaring of horns and some loud Chinese yabbering on the radio.
I’m pretty sure that not many people have “homes” both in a city of 22 million and outside of a town of 200. Each of our homes has upsides and downsides.
Tags: home
by emily on February 12, 2010
Emus, Tasmainian Devils, Lorikeets, etc.
Tags: Australia
by emily on February 10, 2010
Too cute! You can make your own stick people here.
Tags: stick family
Posted in Family 1 month ago at 8:00 AM. 3 comments
by emily on February 9, 2010
We drove from Brisbane to the Gold Coast (Surfer’s Paradise.) Dan and I took a dip in the ocean and then he dipped Alex’s feet in. He didn’t really like it and pulled his feet up. We also held hands with Wendy’s mom and walked out a little so the waves could splash up to her knees.
We ate at the Kurrawa Surf Club. It was awesome to sit outside, have a beer and enjoy the view!
I was holding a sleepy Alex while Wendy ate (and the girls at the next table oohh and ahhed all over).
He was not so thrilled when I shifted positions on him. (Notice his little finger.)
Tags: Australia, beach, dan & wendy & alex
by emily on February 4, 2010
Tags: Australia, dan & wendy & alex, kangaroos
by emily on February 3, 2010
Cuddling a Koala was the only thing that I REALLY wanted to do in Brisbane (other than seeing the Smiths.) I was super hot and sweaty, but Dan did a decent job of getting a photo anyway! He was really cuddly, just like a teddy bear.
Tags: Australia, Brisbane, dan & wendy & alex, koala, travel
Posted in Animals 1 month, 1 week ago at 8:00 AM. 1 comment
by emily on February 2, 2010
Monday I was in Australia.
Today I am in Asia.
Tomorrow I will be in America.
Gotta love how easy international travel is.
I was visiting Dan, Wendy and their new baby Alex in Brisbane. I’ll be posting more photos of that soon.
Last week, Jon’s grandma Creta broke her hip. The next night, his mom Jenni was knocked down by a door caught by a massive gust of wind. She broke her collarbone, fractured five ribs, and punctured a tiny hole in her lung. I’m going home tomorrow to help out, and Jon will come next week.
Tags: alex, dan & wendy
Posted in travel 1 month, 1 week ago at 10:20 AM. 1 comment
by emily on January 31, 2010
Lost Heaven is a well-known restaurant that serves food from the Yunnan province. We’d never been so I suggested we go there.
We had a bottle of wine and some drinks at the bar on the top floor. There was a nice roof top bar that would be amazing in the summer. (We all are wearing the new glasses we’d gotten that day.)
Hanna mentioned something about singing, and we decided to go to karaoke around 2 AM. Really, it is a totally Chinese cultural experience! Here they are rocking out to Queen.
Tags: bar, hanna & henrik, Lost Heaven
Posted in friends 1 month, 1 week ago at 8:00 AM. 1 comment
by emily on January 30, 2010
Hanna and Henrik stayed with us for a week in January, after three weeks in New Zealand for their honeymoon. All of these photos are from their travel blog. Here is their Shanghai entry.
Hanna’s post about the week:
Having a wonderful time with Jon and Emily. Daily schedule:
Wake up
Eating
Shopping
Eating
Shopping
Eating
Drinking
Sleeping
= Vacation i Shanghai.
They went on a shopping tour I lead, along with 3 people from Spain.
We’re really stylin’ at the glasses market.
Jon finally bought a remote control helicopter like he’s wanted for 2 years (which is now broken.)
Tags: hanna & henrik, Shopping, shopping tours
Posted in friends 1 month, 1 week ago at 10:41 AM. 3 comments
by emily on January 25, 2010
I bought a new toy for Boots in the US. It’s just a ball that can be filled with food. As she plays with it, the kibble falls out one piece at a time.
Tags: Boots
Posted in Boots 1 month, 2 weeks ago at 8:00 AM. Add a comment
by emily on January 24, 2010
Now you see meat hanging outside all of the time. These were on our roof. I don’t think it’s cold enough to keep meat fresh.
Tags: Food, meat, roof
by emily on January 23, 2010
In America, we have drive-thrus. We can get any type of food, do our banking, or pick up a prescription at the drive-thru. The concept hasn’t been heard of here.
Instead, we have things delivered. McDonald’s included. You see the McDonald’s guys on bikes everywhere (petal bikes, not scooters. McDonald’s must be cheap.) I read how to do this a while ago, and Claire and I decided to test it out.
We called the number…. ordered… and 16 minutes later a guy was at her door with our order! We were amazed.
Tags: claire, delivery, mc Donalds
by emily on January 22, 2010
Supposedly, it is lucky to drop a few goldfish from the top of the bridge into the water below. I don’t think it can be so lucky for the fish as you must drop them from the highest point!
Tags: couch surfers, franz & vivi, water town, zhujiajiao
Posted in China 1 month, 2 weeks ago at 8:00 AM. 1 comment
by emily on January 21, 2010
Tags: people, water town, zhujiajiao
Posted in China 1 month, 2 weeks ago at 8:00 AM. Add a comment
by emily on January 20, 2010
Franz and Vivi from Germany couch-surfed with us (well, Jon was in the US) in December. Franz had studied Chinese here for a while, and had been to Zhujiajiao. It’s the closest water town to Shanghai. He wanted Vivi to see it and they invited me along. I hadn’t been to any of the water towns yet.
Getting there and back was a bit of a hassle. On the way, we took a taxi almost the whole way. It took 1 hour and 34 minutes to get there, and cost 178 RMB.
On the way back, we took a taxi to the nearest subway station (She Shan) which took 38 minutes and cost 68 RMB, and then took the subway back into town. I think that the subway also took well over an hour (but only cost 6 RMB.)
Tours online start at about $100 per person, so I guess it was good to do on our own! The only annoyance was that at lunch they tried to keep us from ordering off of the local menu… they wanted us to order all of the expensive stuff (which was the only food translated into English.)
Tags: couch surfers, franz & vivi, water town, zhujiajiao
Posted in China 1 month, 3 weeks ago at 4:55 PM. Add a comment
by emily on January 10, 2010
I’ve never noticed this store before, but it is right in the People’s Square metro station, by exit 7. I was waiting to meet someone and noticed it. Check out the cute little “hats” the little “men” are wearing.
Tags: interesting, random
by emily on January 9, 2010
I’ve gotten into the whole Bathhouse thing. First, I went to one with Casey and Helen, and we spent an all-too-quick 5 hours there. (Helen needed to do research for this article previously, so knew the whole routine.) The next week, I went to another one with Claire and we spent 6 hours there. This week, I took Hanna and Henrik and we spent about 7 hours there. Today, we soaked in the baths, got a body scrub, then an olive oil “body beauty treatment” and cucumber face mask, showered, got a shoulder massage, took a little nap, ate a few dumplings at the restaurant, then got a head massage. It cost about 350 RMB.
New Star is the one I like best so far. It’s actually Korean (there’s even dog meat on the menu) and they have some interesting things, like sweat-lodge type things that have special crystals in them. It’s no-smoking, which is the best, and also headphones in the room where you can lay and watch TV and get a foot massage. It’s much more relaxing that Xiao Nan Guo.
I feel kind of like a puddle when I get done. Very loose and relaxed. Ahhhhh……
Claire and I in the pajamas they give you to wear around. At New Star, the floors are heated so there is no need to wear slippers!
Tags: bathhouse, claire
by emily on January 8, 2010
Last week, CAT (China Advanced Toastmasters) help Yingdan Liu put on a training. It’s a Toastmasters program called From Speaker to Trainer. You can see more photos here and read Yingdan’s comments about the training here – part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4.
Tags: China Advanced Toastmasters, training, Yingdan Liu
by emily on January 7, 2010
I always carry my camera around with me for moments like this – when something interesting is happening on the street! This was about a month ago before Suzy and I did a tour. Look at the purple and orange rooms in the torn-down house!
Tags: construction
by emily on January 6, 2010
The boys got a little crazy off-roading with their sidecars.
Jon S. thinks Oh S*#$!
Oops.
It took Li a couple hours to fix his bike.
Tags: Jon S, sidecar motorcycle
by emily on January 5, 2010
Here are a lot of Jon’s photos from the sidecar trip he took with Steve and Jon in November. They had a lot of fun!!
Tags: jon, Jon S, sidecar motorcycle, steve
by emily on January 4, 2010
On Friday, I gave my friends KC and Erica a photography lesson. We discussion composition at my house, looked at a few examples from my photos, and then all went out to Anfu Lu to see what we could find to shoot. There is always something – you just have to look for it!! I realized that I could also probably do “sculptures around Shanghai”, “Shanghai Dogs” and “Shanghai’s Dirty Laundry” for photo books too. Plus a book of textures.
Tags: 52 Weeks 52 Streets, Anfu Lu, Photography
by emily on December 31, 2009
This year I am going to do a photography book. It will be “52 Weeks, 52 Streets.” (or something similar.) Each week, I’m going to take photos of a small street in Shanghai. I just went out and did Anhua Lu. Next will be Anfu Lu or Anren Lu. I’ll go down the alphabet and concentrate on streets in the Jing’An, Old Town and French Concession areas. At the end of the year I should have a nice coffee-table book!
Tags: 52 Streets, 52 Weeks
Posted in Photography 2 months, 1 week ago at 8:00 AM. 1 comment
by emily on December 30, 2009
This is one of the most interesting things to watch! The dragons dance all around, jump up on their hind legs, and are fed and get eyes painted on. Very interesting!
Tags: ceremony, dragon dance, interesting
Posted in Shanghai 2 months, 1 week ago at 8:00 AM. 1 comment
by emily on December 29, 2009
Our little tree – Boots and I shopped a lot while Jon was away so we’d have lots of things to put under the tree!
Boots is a really good shopper, but I had to wrap them for her. You know… the whole “I don’t have opposable thumbs” deal.
Tags: Christmas
Posted in Boots 2 months, 1 week ago at 10:54 PM. 1 comment
The hardware store is big, like many other places. We were the only customers in there the whole time. Just give a little shout and the friendly men will help you with whatever you need to find.
Lots and lots of home-building/remodeling materials. It makes me excited to build a house when we get back to the US.
