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29 September What Are A Thousand Words Without A Picture WorthWell, not as much as with pictures, that is for sure. However, when technology threatens to keep you from writing about the antics of your toddler grand daughter, you make the best by eliminating pictures for the moment.
She is quietly playing in front of me with her toys and so sweetly chattering away as she talks to the animals in the barn and the cars in the garage and sometimes they visit one another...cars in the barn, animals in the garage. Doesn't everyone's neighborhood work like that? I may or may not get this posted...depends on how long her little attention span stays with this. I may have to exit quickly and get out the play dough.
We spent our morning playing in the "kitchen", cooking everything she could think of. I am trying to teach her how to make tuna noodle casserole, with peas so her Baba can have some. He tells me, even if Sojo makes it he wouldn't eat it. I can name a few others I have known who have the same opinion. I guess it is one of those tasty or not so tasty dishes we remember our mother making that we were not so fond of.
We went to the playground and Sojo saw her little frog friend again at the sand box near the little pink and purple play house. He jumps out as soon as he sees her come near. She, oh so cautiously approaches him...takes her little hand and moves it toward him and back...back toward him...back out again, until she almost touches him. Then, he decides to hop, hop, hop away. She runs to the edge of the sandbox and watches as hop on into the bamboo. We call it the jungle and I made up a song to the tune of "In The Jungle" you know...In the jungle, the mighty jungle the froggy sleeps to night" She loves the "weem a whoppa, weem a whoppa" and asks over and over again for me to sing it. Too funny. She says, "more weema whoppa".
Just now I hear this little one on a play phone saying over and over again, "hallo...hallo...hallo...hallo" and then, "abcd lmnop". Now, I know I may be a bit prejudice because she is my grand daughter, but this girl is one smart cookie.
Oh, and we also went to the laundramat this morning because we are still nannyless in this house. The new "may bon" ... am not sure of the spelling of that....is to start tomorrow with just cleaning, etc. and minor interacting with Sojo for a few days. That was interesting. Rows of washers and dryers that the "may bons" are using. They were very nice to me because they know I am the "grandma". Guess that warrants respect, etc. here...as it should everywhere. They showed me how to get things going and when the dryers were all being used, one said that her load should be done in 10 minutes and she would put my 2nd load in. I thought that was quite nice. I hope they are as nice to the new "may bon".
Well, I think I need to get off this computer and join this sweetie for a little bit of fun. She is having another in depth conversation with someone on the phone. I think it is Gong Gong. She know how much he is missing her.
28 September Heel-a-cop-terHere I am in Bangkok living the life of a mobile PoPo. I can't believe I hopped a plane in Tucson 2 days ago and am here enjoying daily life with my grand-daughter in Bangkok, Thailand. What a life we have these days. When our children were growing up 8 hours by car in NY and then 8 hours away by plane in AZ from their grand parents, visits and even phone calls were infrequent because of the expense. Good old hand written letters were the way we kept in contact and shared the daily life of our kids with their grand parents. How things have changed.
At home, I have Skype and blogs to keep tabs on the antics of this sweet one. Now, I watch Sojo do all the everyday things in life in person. Missing her Gong Gong so much and feeling more than a little guilty that I have this privilege and he is home working and holding down the fort in Tucson. We have been reading this book about airplanes that I found in the airport for her. It shows several different airplanes and I ask her which one is Popo on the plane...thinking she would choose the gray haired one...No...she chooses the red head with glasses. I then ask her where Popo is going and she says "Sojo". Maybe there was a bit of prompting there in the beginning, but now she says, "see Sojo". Then there is the helicopter and immediately, she says, "heel-a-cop-ter", which the empasis on "heel". Big word for a little girl. But then, that little girl is talking up a storm. She has a vivid imagination that is so much fun to watch. She was given an early birthdy present by her parents today. A little pink kitchen set. She got right into that and everything was going into the microwave to cook. I think her Mama and Baba got as much pleaure out of it as she did...especially, her Mama. Everything went into the oven, but anything cooking went into the "microwavy". That shows the progress of a modern kitchen. And, this girl is well trained...she washes her hands numerous times while cooking dinner.
What a good little eater this girl is. She eats her meals so nicely and isn't picky at all. She eats her meat, veggies, fruits, etc. She is so good about understanding that she cannot eat certain things...well, her parents make her such nice treats without the thiings she can't eat that she doesn't even realize she can't have certain things. Her Mama makes muffins and pancakes...two of her very favorite things without eggs and milk...there is a powdered thing that you add water to and it is a subsititute for eggs and she uses either soy milk or rice milk. When it comes to milk to drink...Sojo was not one to be tricked. She knew darn well that rice milk or soy milk were not the real thing and would quickly tell them, "cow". Like she was saying, "are you trying to kid me here, this does not come from a cow". One day her Baba said, "would you like some 'candy milk'?" Now who would not like "candy milk"? The vanilla soy milk has a slight sweetness to it so she bought into the "candy milk" right away. And, it is so cute to hear her request, "candy milk, please".
We have been to 3 playgrounds. One just around the corner from the apartment. Two at the school. One is the "little" playground for the pre-schoolers and kinders and the other she calls the "bus playground" because it has this "fire engine" on springs that she can get into and drive. She loves them all, but the "bus playground" is her favorite. The one right in the complex is perfect for her. Little playhouses, sandbox, slides, etc. The swimming pool is right out from the apartment and has a large pool and then a kiddie pool. This child will not be 2 for another 10-11 days and she is swimming like a dolphin. And when I say that, I mean it. She flips her little hips, just like a dolphin kick. Face in the water, legs kicking and little body moving just like a dolphin. She knows to come up for air, but doesn't quite have the body strength to get up out of the water yet. A little more time and I see her swimming across the pool. Amazing for one so young. Michael Phelps? I hope you are ready for some little girl to break your record someday. She is fearless.
I seem to be technically challenged and cannot seem to be able to download my pictures of all this fun. I am posting a couple I stole from Tara's blog. If I can figure out my techical problems, I will post more later.
Tomorrow, Sojo and I are on our own...Do you think PoPo may be tired tomorrow?
Now I can't even find the ones I stole from Tara...I will post as soon as I figure our my technical complications.
16 September Happy Moon FestivalHow could I forget my favorite treat from China? NOT! We bought some of these on our first trip to China, thinking there were something really special and yummy. NOT! Well, at least the ones we had were not. I think they have bean curd in them. And, a big apology to the friends that we presented a box of them too. If we just got a bad box of them or the wrong kind, I apologize. If someone knows of a really good type, please let me know. This is a picture of the ever popular Chinese treat -- the Moon Cake, which is the ultimate treat during the Moon Festival, which is the 15th of the 8th month. I am wondering if our own special little "moon cake"
Whatever this child does, she enjoys with a heart filled with anticipation, exhilaration, and pure joy. Happy Moon Festival dear Sojo. Wish we were there to read you a little story and tell you about the Moon Festival History...a part of your heritage and culture. Bless you little moon cake...we love you to the moon and back. 12 September The Many Faces of An AngelYep...that would be our Sojo...our grand daughter...our pride and joy...our sweet taste of heaven...our funny little princess...the one who fills us up with a love that overflows onto all we do. This is the way we imagine Sojo's day when we see pictures....
Enjoy dear Sojo. 05 September A Little Cooking BlogI became addicted to blogs while we were all waiting for Sojo to come on the scene. The Chinese Adoption family is quite large and encircles the globe. T's blog about Sojo is of course, the one I am first to look for, but there are still a few that I frequent. One that I especially like is Baby Shanahan. Her mother, Lisa has the blog Maisie for sweet little Maisie and she has one for Bento that I love. She also has one for Cooking. I decided to try one of her recipes and it was delicious. It is called Curried Israeli Couscous. I have had this bag of Israeli Couscous for sometime and finally made it. I made a couple of small changes to the recipe that Lisa put on her blog, but it was still so yummy. Check out her blog for it and either try her recipe or make the changes I made: I added garlic ... like 3 cloves of minced. I also added a can of drained garbanzo beans. I used left over corn off the cob that we had the night before. This is a yummy and oh so nutritious dish. I even got creative and took a pic of it.
What fun it would be to have our little cook in the kitchen with us again. 02 September The Girl Loves AquariumsIt was almost one year ago that we traveled to Shanghai for Sojo's first birthday and had first hand sight of how she loves the ocean and what it brings to her.
Look at her, trying to get her hands on those fish. And looking and reaching as far as she can. Sojo went to Bangkok's aquarium with her Mama and Baba as her second birthday approaches. This could become a tradition. She sure has changed and look how attentive, pensive and thoughtful she is as she touches her very first sea star. Watching her explore, discover, experience, pretend, imagine, dream and be...is just the most amazing gift I could ever imagine. She is a blessing that reaches into the deepest pocket of my soul. 01 September Birds, Bees, Butterflies & The End of SummerSeasons are something hard to define when you live in the desert. Living back east, it was so much easier. Spring was defined by the end of snow and budding growth on trees, shrubs and flowers. Summer was defined by when school let out and when it started again. Meaning it was between Memorial Day and Labor Day. It was also defined by when a woman was allowed to wear white shoes or white pants. That was between those two holidays. Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day were highlights of the summer with BBQ's and picnics everywhere...in backyards, at the beach, in the woods...wherever you could find a picnic table or could place a blanket. Fall was soon after school started with the first hint of color in the trees as your biggest clue. Winter, of course, was when the thermometer hit 32 degrees or when that first flake of snow left the sky and hit the ground.
Having lived in the desert for 27 years now, and having raised 3 children where my life was dictated by the school calendar for many, many years, I still find myself defining the end of summer with the beginning of the school year. Having 2 of those adult children choosing teaching as their career, I am always aware when that begins. Summers start early here because, #1, the temps hit 100 degrees in May. #2, school ends before Memorial Day. The monsoons are a sure sign we are in the middle of summer and as they wind down, the end of August, we know that means Labor Day is upon us and the kids have already been back in school for 2 weeks. Picnics on these summer holidays are not nearly as much fun in the desert. It is too doggone hot to enjoy things outside, unless you are in a pool or it is after the sun has long gone down. We have had a glorious summer this year though. Oh, sure, we had those many, many, many days of 100+++++++ temps, but for 3 of those weeks, we were in Washington State and missed the bulk of them. Since we returned...the ++++++ has been less and the monsoons have been a relief. We have been blessed with many days of not just those bursts of thunder, lightening and downpours...we have had cloudy days (never thought I would welcome those) with real honest to goodness drizzle. Drizzle is something we seldom get until winter. A summer drizzle is a real treat. Those sudden bursts of thunder and lightening, tickle my senses and make me aware of the power of our weather. I don't take it for granted. Yes, dear son-in-law, I really do "stay out of those washes" when it rains. That is a family joke. When your son-in-law comes from Washington State, he likes to poke fun at desert rats when they talk about rain. He has seen little of it on his visits to Tucson.
And so...it is Labor Day. We are going to our son's for an afternoon BBQ, saying our final goodbye to summer (officially), though, we know that the temps will rise again as the monsoon makes its exit before fall officially arrives here in the desert.
Fall, is a real hard season to determine here. The temps fall below 100, the rains stop, most vegetation withers and fades in color. It is the best time of the year to hike and enjoy the outdoors with friends and family. Winter, is a dreary time, like most parts of the country, except maybe Southern California or Florida. The desert trees have lost most of their leaves and are barren of color. The winter rains make for dreary, cool days. I miss the sun. However, with, what is it, 300 +++ days of sun, how can I miss it much or for long.
And so...goodbye summer on the calendar...here are just a few signs of the end of summer in Tucson. Sojo...take a peak at what you might see if you visit this time of year...
What's not to love about a summer desert day.... |
That would be September 15th and here it is the 16th. Well, I am only late by one day and I believe it is a week long celebration in China. 
I am off to the beach this weekend with my new beach towel. I hope you are ready for sand castles and jumping waves.
And, of my goodness, be still my heart...check out this cute skirt she has on. The girl tickles me with her fashion statement. 
She is a hoot, that girl is and I just want to pick her up and kiss those chubby wubby little checks. |
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