bunting: 1. thin cloth for making flags, streamers, etc. 2. flags, or strips of cloth in the colors of the flag, used in holiday decorations 3. (of American origin) a baby’s garment of soft, warm cloth made into a hooded blanket that exposes only the face.

(Above is McCalls pattern 2219, which I did see available for just over $3 on ebay and etsy.)

I have about 12 boot sized boxes of patterns that I have collected over the years.  Among those are some out-of-print baby patterns from the days of my little ones.  It has been a delight to go through them with new hopes for the first time in years.  About 15 years, to be more exact, since that is the age of our youngest child.   I am still sewing for my children on a regular basis, but there is something about a baby project.   So a couple of weeks ago, I decided to make a baby bunting for the coming grandchild.

Since making polar fleece ponchos over the last few years, I have had a stash of fairly large remnants due to the circular cut out of the ponchos.  I have made convertible mittens, a baby bib, and mini mittens for babies.  I was still able to find several pieces of one design, and, with minimal patching, work them up into a unisex baby bunting.  I even found an old red zipper in my supplies, so didn’t have to go out to purchase anything for this project.

———————————-(wrong side out view of front bottom)———————————–

The patch work was only used for the front body section and, now that it is done, looks like it was meant to be that way.  The pattern was cut to create a box-like roomy area for the feet, as well as have attached, fold-ever mittens.  The lined hood has clean lines and no exposed seams to make it uncomfortable for tender baby skin.  The pattern and sewing directions for the hood  have folds and shapes that make it  a challenge to picture how it will go together, but if the directions are followed, it all goes smoothly.  These efforts to create a fitted garment should make it stay on well.  I used red ribbon for the ties, but don’t know if that will hold up in the wash very well.  They are easy enough to re-thread with something else if need be.

If you click to enlarge the picture, it should be easier to see the fold-over mitten at the end of the sleeve angled so as to be up to the right of the hood (your left).  Polar fleece makes it possible to skip some of the double hem folding, but it can be a good idea to zigzag the edges in various places so they won’t be too bulky.  I did this at the openings for the mittens.

And here is our cooperative teddy bear, once again modeling for us.  This bunting is for up to an 18 month size baby (whatever that means), so the little bear is swimming in it.   Now, we are just waiting for the baby.

As I have become exposed to different cultures during my life, I have gained understanding of how my culture influences me.  More importantly, I have gained insight into how some people confuse culture with truth and attempt to be dogmatic about things that can legitimately have variation.  And yet, I have also seen that there are certain aspects of the human condition that transcend culture.  The desire for love and peace, the joy of sharing smiles, and the longing for purpose are some main themes.

This poem put to song, that my Chinese tutor found for my studies, is a wistful example of the yearning and search for peace.  The olive tree is historically recognized as symbolizing peace， and the singer is willing to go far and wide to find it.  The melody is melancholy; the journey is not yet fulfilled for this person.

橄欖樹 – Chyi Yu (The Olive Tree)

橄欖樹  The Olive Tree
不要問我從那裡來
bu2 yao4 wen4 wo3 cong2 na4 li4 lai2
Don’t ask me where I come from

我的故鄉在遠方
wo3 de. gu4 xiang1 zai4 yuan3 fang1
My homeland is a far off place

為甚麼流浪   流浪遠方     流浪
wei4 shen2 me. liu2 lang4    liu2 lang4 yuan3 fang1    liu2 lang4
Why do I wander, wander in a distant land, wander

為了天空飛翔的小鳥
wei4 le. tian1 kong1 fei1 xiang2 de. xiao3 niao3
Because of the little bird gliding through the sky

為了山間輕流的小溪
wei4 le. shan1 jian1 qing1 liu2 de. xiao3 xi1
Because of the brook bubbling through the mountains

為了寬闊的草原     流浪遠方    流浪
wei4 le. kuan1 kuo4 de. cao3 yuan2     liu2 lang4 yuan3 fang1    liu2 lang4
Because of the wide open grasslands, wander in a distant land, wander

還有        還有
hai2 you3     hai2 you3
There is still more, still more

為了夢中的橄欖樹        橄欖樹
wei4 le. meng3 zhong1 de. gan3 lan3 shu4         gan3 lan3 shu4
Because of the dream of the olive tree, the olive tree

不要問我從那裡來                                  Don’t ask me where I come from
我的故鄉在遠方                                      My homeland is a far off place
為甚麼流浪    為甚麼流浪遠方             Why do I wander, why wander in a distant land
為了我夢中的橄欖樹                              Because of the dream of the olive tree
不要問我從那裡來                                  Don’t ask me where I come from
我的故鄉在遠方                                      My homeland is a far off place
為甚麼流浪    流浪遠方   流浪              Why do I wander, wander in a distant land, wander

Southwest Idaho may have a relatively short warm growing season, but, with a little planning, the cooler seasons can be used to grow vegetables that don’t actually grow well in the dry, hot summer months.  Now is a good time to begin that planning.  That way good weather days can be used for preparation and the whole process can be more fun and relaxing.

My subscription to Fine Gardening magazine has the added benefit of a 6 month spread calendar that I use for making notes.   Its handy for clear thinking to be able to see several months on the same page.  I’m sure you could achieve the same effect by printing some free calendar pages and taping them together.

January, I go through my seed supplies, order seeds, use my garden charts to plan my planting, and make a tentative schedule for getting things done during the late winter/spring season.  This includes when to begin various seeds.  The packages tend to be overly pessimistic about some plants’ frost tolerance, so I use the experience of watching when my volunteers from last year’s seeds sprout to gauge planting times.  Sometimes the instructions seem optimistic about how long it will take for things like peppers to grow to a size suitable for transplanting, so I begin them a week or two earlier.  It may be because it is just hard for me to keep it warm enough in my greenhouse in early spring for them to feel like growing.  Maybe its because I see the seedlings in the garden nurseries and am always trying to get mine just as big.

February is time to get serious about cleaning and organizing the greenhouse, if I haven’t already.  I’ll check my grow lights, in case I need replacements.  I’ll start buying bags of seed starting soil. (see more about seed starting by clicking here) Mid to late February, I will be planting things like peppers, small flower seeds, and tiny herb seeds that take forever to even sprout.  I’ll see if my spray nozzle in the greenhouse is still functional AND spraying with a fine enough mist for tender seedlings.

In March, things start to get more exciting, as I can actually plant peas, lettuce, California poppies, sweet peas, radishes, and spinach outside.  If the beds have been prepared the previous fall, it might even be possible to plant them in February and they will come up when they are ready.  I always love the burst of lettuce volunteers that signals the garden is really coming to life.

The advent of April means tomato and leek seeds can be planted indoors.  Also, some various flower seeds, like petunias, thunbergia, zinnia, and nasturtium.  (I still need to go through and plan my flowers better.)  Outside plantings can be made of the cole crops, such as broccoli and cabbage.  In fact, early broccoli is often aphid free for me.  However, don’t forget to take precautions against cutworms.  Other things that can usually be planted:  onions, carrots, dill, beets.  Don’t forget a second and third planting of lettuce over the course of the month.  Volunteers that are seen coming up can be transplanted, too.

Potatoes can be planted in early May.  A second planting of carrots might be nice.  I will also start the last of my seeds indoors, things that really only take about 4 weeks to be ready to plant out.  Sometimes I plant things like cucumbers and melons in pots just because I’m impatient, but they often do best just planted directly sometime during the end of May, depending on the weather.

The very end of May and beginning of June are finally the time for all the warm weather crops to be direct planted.  Things like squashes, green beans, and corn won’t sprout until the soil is warm enough anyway, but will simply rot in the ground, so there is no use trying to do that early.  One last planting of lettuce can be made in time to mature before the temperatures go too high.  Peas will likely be blooming by now.

At this point, the planting is done until some mid-summer plantings for fall harvest.   Weeding, watering, and insect control provide a chance to watch the plants grow and enjoy the outdoors before the super hot months at the end of summer.  And, of course, there will be a succession of things ready to pick and eat.

I have a couple of things every year that don’t do well, despite my best efforts.  It is typically something different each season, so I try again the next year.  I am constantly learning, the weather is never exactly the same, life events interrupt inopportunely.  But I keep plugging along, growing my garden in the moments that I have, because it gives me a little taste of heaven.

Pardon my excitement!  Up until a month ago I hadn’t run more than 5 miles at once, and I had only reached that distance around August of this year after nearly 30 years of not being able to run more than a mile at once because of iliotibial band pain.  Yesterday I ran in the 6.1 mile Boise YMCA Christmas Run.  It all began with switching to running barefoot this summer.

I was able to run two shorter races completely barefoot before arctic temperatures made some minimalist footwear a wise choice. As with all shoes, there has been some adjusting to avoid many blisters, but continuing to work on good barefoot form helps even with that.  Still, I ended up needing one piece of duct tape on a toe for the race.

My husband is my coach, and as such worked up a three week training plan when I, inspired by a casual comment from my cross country running daughter, decided to try the 6.1 mile race.  A couple days of hill repeats on a nearby road, a couple days of increased distance up to seven miles, some stationary biking with intervals, then a week of rest and I was as prepared as I was going to be.

I am directionally challenged, so studied the race course over several days.  When I had participated in the Lake Cascade sprint triathlon in August, I had ended up by myself through much of the race.  Its a weird feeling.   But for this Christmas run, that ended up not being a problem at all.  I was constantly surrounded by people, being passed, passing others.  Many people wore costumes and many were elves.  I couldn’t tell if I was passing the same elf over and over, or finding new ones.  It was all quite jolly, and I generally called out a merry “ho ho ho” when passing signs that instructed runners to do so. 

Besides increased distance, the course threatened me with a 1.5 mile up-hill section and a .5 mile steep downhill on gravel.  I was thrilled to find that I could run the whole hill at an average pace of 10-11 minute miles. I know the barefoot form helped immensely with that. I could just tell that as I passed people I was not trying as hard as they were.   Because it was my first race at this distance, my coach told me not to push it, especially up the hill, so I chose a steady pace that I could maintain. I really didn’t want to end up walking, which many others resorted to.

For the down hill, the bending of the knees combined with basically no added sole height of my Moc3′s gave me both stability and spring to my step. My biggest concern was not slipping.  I decided to let gravity do it’s thing and enjoy the motion!  It was my best downhill experience so far and I’m sure I was grinning.

I did start to feel some fatigue in the last two miles, but this was moderated by my recently healed husband coming alongside to run part way with me.  He dropped to the side as I entered the final length.  Right about then, two 40some ladies tried to pass me.  All thoughts I had previously had about having given “my all” vanished from my head.  I increased my pace to regain my lead.  They passed me again.  I broke into a full sprint, cut and swerved around a line of six walkers taking up most of the street (what were they thinking?!) and beat those girls across the finish line.  I appear to be incorrigibly competitive, at the end of the race anyway.

I forgot to look at the clock or check my watch until sometime after a volunteer had gathering my race tag.  I didn’t win any age group awards this time around (hubby says the good runners run the longer races), so had to wait until the results were posted today to know the all-important statistics.    Good news, though.  I was 287th out of about 696 runners in the long race.  I was 12th of 37 in my age group, the winners having times like 41, 43, and 46 minutes.  I would have placed very comparably in any age group with my overall time of 51:20.2.  Knowing from my watch that I reached the three mile mark with about 10 minute miles (near the top of the hill), that means I ran the rest of the race in close to 21 minutes!  Seven minute mile pace!  Cool!

The steam rising from the pond taunted me as I began my run in the sub-freezing temperatures.  At 14 degrees Fahrenheit, any steam escaping my nose was immediately crystallized to (delicately, I’m sure) encircle my nostrils.  The sun was just barely coming over the horizon at 8 AM.

It was my day to increase my run to seven miles.  The basically one mile loop around the Wilson Springs fishing ponds is less than five minutes from my house.  I don’t have to deal with traffic while running there; plus, others can come along with me and run or walk at their own paces, but we still see each other frequently.

I wore my Soft Star Moc3 running moccasins this morning.  I had been running completely barefoot most of the summer during my training, reaching a five mile distance without any footwear, working up to participating in a barefoot 5K in October. When the winter weather came, I found my feet got both numb and painful if the temperature went below 32 degrees.  Advice from Maple Grove Barefoot Guy was greatly appreciated and I donned my winter running shoes with less guilt.   Barefoot Bob gave me hope about spring transitions.

At first, I REALLY didn’t like the loss of barefoot feedback while running, but the comfort of warmth has compensated for much of that.  AND I was pleased to find that even with ski socks from smartwool.com, the Moc3′s were allowing for good ground feel. My tootsies were not too hot and not at all chilled, yet the soles of the shoes were thin enough that I still had to watch carefully where I put my foot, enforcing good barefoot running habits.

The path starts off as asphalt next to the parking lot, but there is a constant scattering of gravel, along with proof of duck traffic.  I wished I had brought something to cover my face, although every other inch of me was covered or double covered.  My average 9:12 minute mile pace warmed up my legs and fingers after two miles, but I couldn’t tell if my face was warmer or just lacking feeling.  I reached up to rub it once in a while to verify it was still there.  I have lost nearly 20 pounds since last April and get colder more easily now.  I briefly wondered if I could borrow the weight back for insulation during the winter…

My running was fairly silent.  As I rounded various corners, the ducks found my sudden presence startling.  They would rise en mass with a rush of wings that resonated deeply over the open water.    I offered my reassurances, but they remained unconvinced.  Observing the effort it took for their heavy, boat like bodies to take to the air, I felt comparatively light and aerodynamic  as a runner.

The path winds by a field with horses on the right, then about 3/4 of the way around a dirt road branches off to the right, skirting some of the less heated ponds and making the loop a solid one mile, if not slightly more.  This frozen tundra runs along behind a few houses.  The ground is uneven and hides some larger stones.  When I tried to run in the flatter ruts, the tall grasses whipped in my face, giving me the full safari experience.  No, wait, there weren’t any lions or elephants.  But there are scraggly trees in front of the glowing orange globe of the sun.

After banking around a large outer pond that is partly iced over, the path joins the asphalt again and turns over a bridge.  The fallen trees criss-crossing the deep, splashing brook appear impenetrable.  If I didn’t know better, I would have no idea of the parking lot and well traveled roads just a couple hundred feet beyond.

As the circle is completed, morning breaks out in full glory over the water.

If one must run in 14 degrees, this is a nice place to do it.

Dear Grandbaby,  I am so full of ideas for you.  The new life that God has created in you is such a gift and my heart is bursting with love waiting to smother hug you.  We don’t know if you are a boy or girl yet, so I’m just practicing lots of things.  One recent project is these little mittens which are sized to last until you are about 2 years old.  (I’ll make some out of “girl fabrics”, too)  I got the pattern from the book: Oliver + S Little Things to Sew: 20 Classic Accessories and Toys for Children.  I already made a very soft polar fleece bib using one of the book’s patterns.

The directions in the book are good, but I’m adding a few things I did to help me, just in case you want to make them for a doll or a teddy bear someday.    First, one of the keys to making mittens is to pin the pieces for both mittens at the very start to make sure that both a right and left are being made.  Once the sewing begins, it is difficult for me to visualize which one I am working on!  Next, I have noticed the seams are less bulky if the 3/8 inch allowances are zig-zagged.

You will probably find it easier to use pins with balls on the ends.  I use some extra long ones that were sold for use with quilts.  Otherwise, the pins tend to get lost in the soft pile of the fleece.  With the ball ends, time isn’t lost trying to grab hold of them.  However, you will want to spend some time finger pressing the seams open after sewing them, before you go on to the next step.  That will help everything to lay better and sew together more smoothly.

In the left hand picture below, you can see the process of the thumb seam.  Then, on the right one stair-stepped below, notice that only one side of the mitten is sewn.  It is much simpler to put the wrist elastic casing on before making the tiny circle of the cuff.

For the casing, I have used both store bought single fold bias tape or made my own.  I bought my first bias tape makers for this project.  The size for the various bias tape makers seems to refer to the finished width of the tape.  Such a small amount of casing is needed for your little wrists, that it is a good way to use up odds and ends of cotton fabrics.

The directions said to draw a line before pinning the casing in place, but as much fun as it is to write on fabric, I had trouble getting something to show up on the polar fleece.  I decided to just use the measuring tape as I went along.  For the first pair of mittens, I tried just sewing the elastic in when I sewed the other side seam, but it made a lump that I thought would be bothersome for your tender skin.  I also noticed that keeping the elastic totally on the outside makes it much more adjustable.

It wasn’t too difficult to sew the other side seam while keeping the casing open.  Then, elastic was inserted using the time honored tradition of safety pins.  Probably the hardest part of the whole project was getting the ends of elastic together and under the needle of the machine to sew.  I’m wondering about doing that part by hand next time, especially if the elastic needs to be tightened up to get the mittens to stay  on.  I don’t want them too snugly around your wrists, but a lost mitten is always sad.

Lastly, a pseudo satin stitch was recommended for edging the cuff.  The polar fleece tended to bunch and stretch when the zig-zag stitch was done that close to the edge, so on one pair I used some narrow satin ribbon to stabilize it.  This should be very soft for you.

Once again, Mr. Bear has agreed to model for me, even though 6 month to 24 month size mittens give away his diminutive size, looking more like boxing gloves on his graceful figure.  He chose the plaid pair, as it contrasted better with his fur coat. Sadly, he does not have thumbs.

Looking forward to nibbling on your fingers when I help you put your mittens on.

Love, (Grandma) Lulu

Sewing pins kept in their original plastic box containers is handy enough for storage, but after a few times of picking them out of there, my fingertips begin to feel as if they are undergoing some sort of electric shock treatment.  There are many cute pin cushion ideas out there, yet one thing has held me back.  Dust.  I have one pin cushion that someone gave me and I have watched it collect dust.  Well, not just sat there and watched minute by minute, but I can see the development of the dust layer every time I go into my sewing room.  Fabric can’t be simply wiped down like wood furniture and I don’t fancy regular vacuuming of my pin cushion.  Don’t call me OCD.  I refuse to give in to labels that messy people make up for those of us who strive for order!

Last week, I began a serious scouting for what I might have in the house to solve my problem.  I found this lovely covered tea mug that my husband had brought me from China.  With his permission, I began it’s transformation.

Since it is opaque, I didn’t have to be concerned about the finished look of the bottom.  I just cut a wide circle of some washable red velvet, stuffed it with scraps of polar fleece and stuffed it as tightly as I could down into the mug.  I think I will try using plain old polyester fill next time, since the polar fleece seems to have become too compact in a few places, making it harder to insert pins.  I didn’t want to use any harder substance like rice or sand that might damage the smoothness of the pins.  I would also probably try to position the cushion just a bit lower in the mug, but not low enough that it was hard to reach in for the pins.  I had fun filling the mug with a bunch of my pall point pins, then checked to see if the lid still fit.  Success!  It looks like an exotic drink with sprinkles on top. 

Since one of the goals is to be able to keep types of pins separate, I labeled the inside of the lid with permanent marker.  I thought of taping the original label in there, but there are still some pins in the box, so I kept that label there.

I will be on the look-out for another covered container, like a tin or glass dish.  If it is glass, I will need to come up with a neater finish for the bottom of the pin cushion.  I think just gathering it, then slip stitching a small circle of fabric will suffice.  If the tin needs to be weighted for stability, I’ll put some dried beans in the bottom.  I expect there are similar mugs sold at places like Cost Plus, but I’ve been trying to only use things I can find at home, not make special purchases for this project.  I love it when practical solutions turn out beautiful.

Before last week, it had never occurred to me to make a bib out of polar fleece.  But, with nieces announcing babies coming, I was having fun thinking of gifts.  One book that I found:

had patterns for cute little mittens, so I dug out my polar fleece scraps.  Between that and other reading regarding homemade diaper options, it suddenly dawned on me that polar fleece might make a soft, cuddly bib using a pattern from this same book.  The fabric is water repellent and strong.  And Voila!  Here we have it-

I suppose I could have come up with my own bib pattern, but I don’t have any little bodies around to measure, and while the bear makes a good model, the proportions are probably not close enough to design from.   Also, I appreciated the thought that went into this pattern, with the wider area across the shoulders and a side closure.

I will add a few tips for sewing:  The polar fleece is trickier to get the bias tape around and the double layer at the bottom with the pocket would have been impossible without doing a zigzag over the seam allowance to flatten it.

I made my own bias tape and find that it is useful to iron one side of it slightly over the other, putting the wider half on the underside while sewing, so that I don’t have to worry about it catching on the underside while I’m sewing.  My strips were 1 and 1/4 inch wide before I did any pressing, but if I do another on fleece, I might make the bias tape a smidge wider.  A friend suggested putting some flannel on the front to add some absorptive qualities, but I didn’t want to cover up the smiling spiders on this one.  I have some solid colors of polar fleece that I might use with that idea.

The bib is so soft, I almost wish I needed one!  Here in Idaho, it can be chilly for 8 months of the year, so maybe there is a market for “winter bibs?”

Today I ran my second barefoot race, the 5K Barber to Boise run.  In spite of a somewhat bruised left foot from dancing (in shoes) last weekend, I ran without any pain.  I did end up with an unopened blood blister on a toe of my right foot, as well as a very small opened blister on another toe.  The left foot formed what seems to be a half calloused blister in the same place I got one at the Nampa Harvest Classic 2 mile run.

I am finding that I tend to run faster in races and that the courses are on smoother pavement than most of what I train on, so I think I need to vary my training course to include smooth asphalt.  Also, I think I  need to run more with other people and do more speed work, because apparently I cannot help putting in a good kick at the end.  This time, I told myself the whole race to just keep a faster pace and not have energy to sprint, but, alas, there seems to always be someone to try to pass right at the end.  I tell myself that it’s silly to be competitive at age 50, but when the moment comes there is only one thing on my mind – going faster.

I loved finishing on the Boise Bronco Stadium track.  When I reached that last 1/8 mile on the track, I entered a lovely dreamworld of racing and was rewarded by oohs and ahhs of spectators as I crossed the finish line.  I have paid some price, not only in blisters, but in my bruised foot having returned tenderness, but only after the race and when walking.  The blisters are making it hard to walk completely normally, too, so I think I’ll be spending more time in the pool and on the spinning bike this week to give it a rest.

With all of these complications, and with B2B drawing a lot more runners,  I had no thoughts of placing.  Greg estimated 1000 entrants in the 5K.  No results are online yet, but the mass behind me at the starting line was scary long.  I was quite happy to find out that my average 8:43 minute mile pace garnered me first in my age group (50-54), 37th among women, and 97th overall.  Woot!  I have a lovely mug and bag.

I had SO MUCH FUN running.  It just felt SO GOOD!  I also had fun when participants at the starting line asked me about my bare feet.  Runners that I passed commented, and some seemed to be a bit put out that some old lady without shoes could be passing them, but most were impressed or interested.  I haven’t been quite well the last two days, so I rested on Greg’s shoulder for a while after the race, but I was awake for prizes.

Greg got 10th overall and first in his age group, too, in spite of wearing shoes.  Old, worn out 10 year old shoes, to be sure.  He had to beat Natalie’s latest race time (scroll all the way down near the bottom to BUGTOWN CANYON COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP) and finish before any of the girls in the race, per usual.  Goals met.  His time was 18:57. He quips that he and I tied because we both won first prize for our age group.  I can go with that.

Here is the latest Chinese song that I have learned as part of my Chinese studies.  I used this youtube version to study, which is a duet with Jackie Chan and Sarah Chen.

So Transparent Is My Heart

I also recorded myself singing both parts just for the fun of it.  I’ll put that after the translation that I worked on with my excellent Chinese teacher.

(Female)
明明白白我的心                            I open up my heart (to you)
渴望一份真感情                            I long for someone’s deep, true love
曾經為愛傷透了心                        My heart has been left bleeding once
為甚麼甜蜜的夢容易醒                Why must I wake so easily from sweet dreams?

(Male)
妳有一雙溫柔的眼睛                     You have warm, gentle eyes
妳有善解人意的心靈                     Your spirit keenly understands others’ souls
如果妳願意                                      If you are willing
請讓我靠近                                      Please let me draw near
妳的心事有我願意聽                     You have me at your side to listen to your heart

(Female)
星光燦爛風兒輕                             Under the beautiful starry sky, soft breezes flow
最是寂寞女兒心                             My heart is as lonely as a woman’s heart can be
告別舊日戀情                                 As I say good-bye to old love
把那創傷撫平                                 The wound is healed and I find peace
不再流淚到天明                             I will never again shed tears until the morning light

(Male)
我明明白白妳的心                         I understand your heart
渴望一份真感情                             Thirsty for sincere love

(Female)
曾經為愛傷透了心                        My heart was once pierced through
為甚麼甜蜜的夢容易醒                Why must one wake from such sweet dreams?

明明白白我的心                             My heart is laid open for you to read
渴望一份真感情                             I yearn for genuine love
曾經為愛傷透了心                         My heart was once pierced through
為甚麼甜蜜的夢容易醒                 Why must one wake from such sweet dreams?

(Male)
妳有一雙溫柔的眼睛                   You have such gentle eyes
妳有善解人意的心靈                   You understand others’ souls
如果妳願意                                    If you are willing
請讓我靠近                                    Let me come near
妳的心事有我願意聽                   I am here to listen to your heart

(Female)
星光燦爛風兒輕                        Under the beautiful starry sky, soft breezes flow
最是寂寞女兒心                        My heart is as lonely as a woman’s heart can be
告別舊日戀情                             As I say good-bye to old love
把那創傷撫平                             The wound is healed and I find peace
不再流淚到天明                         I will never again shed tears until the morning light.

Here is me singing it while I read the Chinese characters:

明明白白我的心

You may have noticed that some of the translation varied even though the Chinese characters stayed the same.  This is because I thought certain phrases held too much meaning to put in one translated sentence, so I just used a different version the next time the phrase was used.  I hope you have fun hearing and understanding a Chinese song!