Its been an interesting couple of weeks. Kids getting married, engaged, and buying houses left and right. Major health issues or losses directly or indirectly affecting kids and parents… a half a globe away from us. Then, here: Greg still recovering. The girls’ first soccer tournament in Taiwan. A friend here having a baby yesterday. The fun of preparing for Greg’s mom’s visit in 3 days. And a lot of discussion about us returning to Idaho very soon. I haven’t suffered any particular tension from all of this, so much as the complications of too many threads of thought. So I’ve been thinking about shopping!
I can’t explain why, but shopping is fun. And while dealing with all of the adjustments of living here, it has definitely been one thing that makes up for some of the trouble. I know it’s not “necessary,” but I’m not complaining that it’s an option…
Today I am cataloging a few of the fun things I have found. Some things have to remain secrets for now. The challenge is to type about it while I eat freshly fried doughnuts that Greg and Carlie are making. 🙂
First, the title picture is a fun jewelry box that is supposed to be covered in leather and hand painted. I have no way to confirm this, but it is beautiful. It is about 8 inches high, 6 inches deep, 12 inches wide. It opens up as seen in the photo below.
The next item is a vase already seen by those who have visited. The circular bottom has a diameter of roughly 4-5 inches.
This is a bracelet made of knotted
cords and jade pieces.
Next, left to right and top to bottom, you will see:
-Japanese saki decanters, which I use to serve soy sauce
-fish shaped saucers that work well for m&ms
-petite bowls for individual dipping sauces
-Greg’s special bowl
-rice bowls that go with the set of dishes we have here
-fun chopsticks that I know how to use
Natalie and Carlie are modeling soft, versatile, reversible capes. These 2 happen to be Beth’s and Heidi’s.
Natalie has been enjoying wearing her’s this way:
And here is a piece of silk actually made into something! (Heidi’s C’mas gift)
Shopping is Taipei has been fun and I hope to do a little more before we leave. However, I have to keep in mind that we have shipping limits for the trip home. Life can be inconvenient.
PS – Here are some pictures of Carlie and Natalie playing soccer yesterday:
For those of you who care about such things, the field is astroturf. Natalie is shooting below. She made 2 goals during the day. Go Natalie!
She also played goal keeper some.
Carlie looks impressive here!
She managed to get in the opposing teams way a lot –
Move past one, then another.
Finally, this morning, doughnuts and coffee.
