our last day

we have very much enjoyed this much needed respite to the beautiful island of kaui. many adventures were had by one and all. to be wirtten about when the sea and surf do not call and there is time.

the hat

paradise part 2

paradise

kauai2

kauai

brutal winter

over the years i have lived and traveled in some diverse and interesting places. some have been check marks on a page. others changed me in one way or another and wound a tendril into my life that continued long past my time there.

nothing has pulled me like china. a place filled with juxtaposition, old and new, incredible beauty and true ugliness, kindness and cruelty.

there is nothing quite like china. the sight of traditional buildings contrasting huge sky scrapers. the smile of a villager. the crowds of people pedaling bikes through the streets of bejing. a view of the great wall. a glimpse of a beggar on the street. a look into a hovel where an unknown family lives. the taste of a scallion pancake from a street vendor. the smell of china. it is at once completely compelling and utterly baffling.

i feel bound to china. the connection that started when i stepped foot on the great wall at jinshanling has deepened with time. ruby and hazel have connected me further.

it is chinese new year, the year of the rat. in china as families gather together for the spring festival to celebrate the year of the rat, this winter is different. this winter has been brutal. snow has fallen for days and weeks in the southern provinces. places that are not prepared and rarely see temperatures less than 60. cities are struggling with lack of power, water and food. buildings collapse and railways teem with people who cannot travel. roads are closed covered with ice. i feel for the ordinary citizens of china who are facing great hardship.

my heart breaks most for the babies and kids in orphanages who are enduring conditions that are unfathomable. institutions that are bleak by any standards, now without power,water, food and diapers. places where babies are going hungry, getting frostbite and chilblains. i have had to stop reading about the impact the storm is having on the orphans of china. i feel sad and helpless.

so i donate to half the sky, and love without boundaries- both charities that serve orphanages. knowing that it is a drop in the bucket. but it is a drop none the less for a place that has wound its way into my heart.

annual chinese new year photos

each year i dress the kids up in thier chinese dresses and take photos of them. this year it took a while to convince hazel to take off the leopard dress and change into her silk, but i finally managed to do it. there are several events to attend in celebration of the year of the rat so there may be more photos. welcome the year of the rat!

little feet

in the days before children, i invested in a good bed. since i spend a lot of the time meant for sleep shepherding new little souls into the world, having a cozy bed is important to me. in the old days some mornings i would come home from work exhausted, close all the curtains and sink into lovely garnet hill sheets, and drift off to sleep for hours and hours. wake up , have a nice cup of coffee and take chester for a walk before returning to laze on the couch and read, knit or watch a movie. baby those days are long gone.

i never pictured myself as the family bed type. i like sharing my bed, and have done so with some lovely carhart wearing men over the years. sharing my bed with a toddler was never in my plans. ah, but never say never.

ruby slept in my bed rarely, when she was teething or sick. it was short lived and she returned to her bed without fuss. to this day she remains an excellent sleeper .

hazel is another type of creature all together. aside from the first 2 nights in china, she has never been a great sleeper. and aside from the first two nights in china, she has always slept in my bed. i never planned that, but it was a matter of survival. the first seven months were literal hell. with my work, i thought i knew what sleep deprivation was like. nope. she woke anywhere from 2 to 10 times a night. i usually stopped counting after the third wake up. most weeks i got more sleep at work.

so i have grown used to the little grunts and snorts that she makes, gotten used to the piles of blankies and “guys” -stuffed animals of all ilk. she kicks and hogs the bed . her feet reach out to make sure that i am there on numerous occasions in the night. we’ve been talking about how one day she’ll have her own bed. i’m sure i’ll look back on these times with fondness. but i look forward to the return of my solo nighttime space- with time and space for for invited guests . but until then i am glad that these days she sleeps all night in my cozy bede on my garnet hill sheets.