The Touch!

I have worked a whole day on painting moulding. When we looked for moulding for the bottom edge of upper cabinets, I almost exhausted all the moulding in Lowe's. Surely it did not have many groovy ones. I almost gave up before I found this relative less striking pattern - reed bundle with maple leaves. We both just loved it. Well the store only had 3 pieces and couple pieces short of what we needed. We bought all of them. Since, we had checked the store every time we went to local lowe's to no avail. Finally I had to stop by another lowe's store on the way to work. Well I was lucky to find the last couple pieces.

I started experiement with different combination among brown, red and blue for faux painting. We love the blue as base, brown for shadow and red on leaves. The turnout is just amazing, Sammy thinks that David Hicks would give A+ if he lived today. It is beautifully rustic! Ideas have evolved along with the progress of renovation. It has been taken ourselves by surprise.

Mod on the floor, rustic above the celling and Zen in between. We have had every elements we desir before even realized them.

The moudling is just the magic touch!

Night After Snowing

Our new acquired aesthetic movement ebonized buffet, Customed made hippie lamp left by former owner, our friend John's painting "Safeguard" with the background of Sammy's hand painted strip pattern wall.















My steps in the snow leading to the front door















Our house sourrended by snow in the night



























My neighor's house across the street

When The Toaster Popped

One morning, We got up early to start another day without kitchen. We finally demolished the kitchen completely. A mini temporary one was set up in the bathroom next to the kitchen since it is the only place to have tap water. We stacked up toaster, microwave and mobile oven wherever we can in the tiny bathroom.Sammy's mom and BC bought the oven for us when they visited here. It is surely very helpful. Thanks Pat and BC! We actually can find way to cook very decent meals with what we have.

Back to that morning. We were in hurry. As usual, Sammy had the bagels in the toaster and left them alone before popping. He went back to pick them up a while after the pop. Well the bagels were gone by then. It did not take long before our bagels were found floating in the toilet. No effort was needed to have it in but was a bit dirty job to have them out. Now we know well of minding our bagel when having them toasted right behind the toilet.



That night, I felt that I had to cook some Chinese outside on the grill after eating out because of demolition and sawdust. It was a bit cold but pleasant night. I realized flakes starting flowing around. I reacted to cover my food on the stove. Sawdust come to my mind before the flakes melted on my hands. it felt soft and smooth. It was simply beautiful to touch and feel this magic surrounding - snowing while cooking. I know that we will have this wonderful feeling everytime we cook in our new kitchen when our hard work is complete and vision turns into reality. I can not wait while I have been enjoying work in progress before wait is over.

What A Marvel!

Chic Mod Water Cube and Rustic Bird's Nest. Here they are

Main Stadium and the Acquatic Center for Bejing Olympics. It surely has gone through a full cycle in so short time. I was never able to imagine that Chinese could dream this big when I was kid. I was anxiously looking forward to the American dream when I stepped of my homeland and into a totally new one. I just can not be happier that Chinese finally can have dream big and for the better. I hope that the upcoming Bejing games will stage not only the modern marvels that Chinese is capable of but also humanity accumulated throught her 5000 year civilization that is yet to rediscover.

Happy Holidays For Now

I had been always greeting my friends and relatives Merry Christmas and Happy New Year during the holiday season. Just simply natural thing to say.

A quite while ago, I had this co-worker from South Carolina. One day we chatted about my upcoming trip to CA during Christmas time and might visit my mother's friend there. Suddenly he said to me why your Chinese celebrates Christmas anyway. That is Jesus' birthday. It surely seemed to me that it was odd for him to have Christian Chinese or Chinese just was not qualified to celebrate period. I thought that he was just crazy as he looked(He might not agree). But I never quite figured out why then.

A while ago, WalMart tried to embrace Gay and Lesbian communty for whatever purpose is. That certainly did not look right to those religion fanatics. They launched a boycott against WalMart. Finally WalMart retreated a bit and agreed on saying "Christmas Sale" instead of "Holiday Sale", "Merry Christmas" instead of "Happy Holidays". Obviously those fanatics think that they own the domain of Jesus' birthday. I am not sure that Jesus would agree.

It is just odd it can go. They claim that they own it and have to force others to use it. Well I do not have any problem to let those freaks have it. I am much than happy to greet my relative and friends happy Holidays for now. The spirit is still the same for me. We feel grateful to be able to love and be loved.

Happy Holidays to everyone that makes my life meaningful!

We Are Still Working On

My friend Kathy from Earthlink asked me to show her some pictures of our house in process. Well we are still working on it. The kitchen design is on Sammy's blog(click the "Sammy's" link on the right). Here they are

Something always carries me!

Winter Shelter For My Plants

Finally He can have glasses

Sammy always dreamed of wearing glasses. I wish that he could have wear glasses for me. Now finally he have one of his own now since he is diagnosed as far sighted. How exciting !&^$%#$% Here it is his debut with this groovy glasses

When Forty Really Becomes New Thirty

I always thought that it comes across as a kind of consolation than congratulation when you are told that forty is your new thirty at your 40th birthday. When I was young, I just could not wait for growing older, bigger and stronger. However to the contrary, most of us try hard to seize youth if we could when we cross 40th mark. After all, I passed my 40th mark more than a year ago.

I could not help but realize more and more wrinkle lines crawling on my face once it was all shining smooth. Well I never freaked out when I passed that mark. But I was not able to grasp what I really felt then. I guess that it was more like the flavor of Chinese five spice. I had looking-forward and fear equally, some more or some less.

We fear something we know and other thing we even do not know. We fear fading of our physical appealing, fear reducing of physical capacity, fear losing of life excitment, ....... even fear getting closer of death. I realize that aging gracefully is beautiful in mind but hard in reality.

It is an old Chinese wisdom that you have made it already when you turn into 30 if you are gonna go somewhere. You should settle in for what you have at the turn of 40. Nowaday, we are living much longer life. But we might still have our old mind set.

One day When I did my routine driving across the same beautiful field, wild flowers, trees and mountain range with simply blue sky, my horizon loomed right in front of me and become extending beyond. I suddenly felt fear less as when I was a kid. I come to realize that fear or less lies in our perception toward the future, present and surrounding.

When we appreciate our life cycle just like the rotation of the Nature, Spring evolving into Summer, Fall turning to Winter,

When we can not wait for another adventure tomorrow before today becomes yesterday,

When we open our mind for posibilities new and exciting,

When we live in present and look forward into future

We are graceful as we age.

Mind your mind As mind your head!

When I applied for a graduate school in US, this professor in Montana State helped me a great deal in the application process. We communicated through letters and telegraph(not kidding)for more than a year. Finally he provided me with TA(Teaching Assistant Position)with my academic competency and English proficiency. This sponsorship enabled me to come to study in America. I am very grateful for his help until today.

That was the same person that gave me first glimpse of religion impact in American life. I grew up right in the middle of Great Culture Revelution. Of course we was taught that no god can save us but ourselves(Actually, this line is from a famous song written during Pairs Commune). It sounded very atheistic. Ironically enough, Mao was worshiped by the billion willingly or unwillingly. Religion was very remote and unthinkable for me.

When I started my school, this professor constantly invited us to his church and I went to several times. And he asked me and other Chinese graduate students to his bible study every week. I could not remember how many times I ever went. Not that many. Surely I and other Chinese felt the invisible pressure since he was the director of the graduate program. I resented that and stopped being part of his church activities.

Until one day, a member of his church told one of my Chinese friend that we had lived so miserably without realization until we become christian. They surely had a misssion to save our poor Chinese souls. Until this day, I am reluctant to doubt my professor's sincerity. However, this experience certainly did not give me any easy feeling for Christianity. He surely opened his heart to help me and others.

We have frequently heard the church preaching to be selfless and open heart. They are all admirable. Spirituality is a part of most every living human being's life. Religion becomes a shelter for many of them just as the Nature is for me. When you are giving, the best return is your spiritual satisfication. However, it seems for me that a great deal of Christian institutions use charity as a weapon to convert others intentionally or unintentionally.

Spirituality should be the puriest field of each individual being. I want to keep it for me to nuture and cultivate. My life has been profoundly influenced by Buddism and Taoism since I am Chinese and grew up in China. But I am still able to be atheist. No any other country is so obessed with the ownership like us in American. However so many have been so ready to surrend their most valuable asset -their minds to others who can not be more ordinary just as themselves. That is why so many bigots and ignornce exist in our country.

I am not anti-religion since it is nothing more than a way of living for many. We feel so fortunate to have somse of our dear friends who are devoted Christians. They not only open their hearts but also open their mind since they possess their own minds. Life will be nicely simple and less confusing when we mind our own mind just as mind our heads!