Eastern Qing Dynasty Tombs

Mid-Autumn Festival:  the first full moon of the autumn (according to the Chinese lunar calendar) and a national holiday, this year occurred last Thursday, Sept. 19. So the government decreed an extended holiday--Thursday and Friday off, but Friday is made up on the following Sunday.  (Kevin took a vacation day for Sunday).

 We used the holiday to go to the eastern Qing Tombs in the mountainous area north of Tianjin, in the same general area as the Great Wall.  Although we've had several free weekends since coming back after summer, the weather was too hot and humid to want to go out and do something like this.
Now the weather is moving into Fall, and much more to my liking!

 Here, the emperors, empresses, and favored concubines were buried from the late 1500's up

to the last empress in the early 1900's.

 Above ground:  a beehive-looking mound.  Below ground, the tombs of the concubines.

 Descending to the tomb of one of the favorite concubines of one emperor.  She had been from the western region of China and was instrumental in helping unite that area with China.

 The grounds were undergoing replanting--new mums everywhere.

And a discreet toilet.

With the renovations going on, the plantings are going to be beautiful,

but meanwhile, we had to walk over and around piles of dirt, and broken rocks.

 In the "underground palace" built for each emperor's tomb:  a vaulted ceiling of rock.

 Carvings of the things the dead would need:  food!  Some of the religious items were
definitely Buddhist, but others were not familiar.
Still, obviously there was a belief in an afterlife.
By many of the coffins there rested offerings of bottles of water or different fruits.

 Heavy stone doors swung on massive hinges to close off the tomb area.

 Concubines had small beehive-tops.  This emperor had a massive "beehive" atop his tomb!

 A carved "tree of life"?

 Similar layout to the Forbidden City, but not as big.

 The tomb of the last empress, Cixi.  Her coffin is encased in a glass covering (as were the others). As we visited, we suddenly realized we were alone--no other visitors--and every word we spoke echoed and re-echoed for 5 or 6 seconds.

Kevin was the first to try singing a tone and timing how long it lasted.

Then, he sang 3 notes of a chord--and all three notes could be heard for several seconds.

You could sing harmony with yourself!

So we sang a round (Row, Row, Row your boat--interesting how we couldn't quickly think of a better song!), and listened to the echoes filling in behind our voices, sounding like a choir.

I think this will be a favorite memory--singing harmony in the tomb of the last Empress of China!

We would have stayed and played with the acoustics more, but another tour group began filtering in and our exclusive time in the tomb ended.

I loved the evergreens (junipers and cedars).  

It would have been nice if the day had been a clearer day.

Still, some local person (probably one of the ticket-takers at a minor empress's area) 

had their wash hung out. 

From the valley, a road had been constructed to the tomb area.  

The center, a smooth marble walkway was only for the emperor.

The rocky cobblestone was for everyone else.  

After spending the morning touring, and eating a vastly overpriced lunch

we wanted to use the restroom.  Sure!  

Out through the kitchen, then into the backyard...

...by the wall with the broken glass bottles on top...

...and there we found what we affectionately call a squatty potty, the standard

Chinese bathroom facility.

They are always filthy and smelly.  But at least you don't have to

touch anything--that is if you have good balance,

and aren't trying to hold a purse or backpack.  And it's BYOT--bring your own tissue.

On the way back to the door leading into the kitchen,

I noticed the kitchen window. 

Apparently no exhaust fan at this place!

Ewww! And we ate there!

(It was good food though).

Just one more experience in China.

Something I Never thought I'd do...

A couple of weeks ago, the landlady stopped by for a quick look at some problems we've been having and to just see how her apartment is doing.  It's only the second time she's been here, as she lives in Los Angeles.

She was happy with how clean everything was.  

Since we hadn't been able to ask for extras when renegotiating our lease this year, (because HR, in their wisdom, made our contract for TWO years, despite our request to have it only be one year), and we are paying top-dollar for this apartment, I thought to ask for a few things, like, Can we paint the bedrooms?  I offered to do the painting if she paid for the paint, which can run up to $100 a gallon, and she readily agreed.

I'm getting used to the bargaining game, and knew that since she agreed so quickly, she would have also agreed to hiring someone to do the painting.

Oh well, I don't mind painting, and by doing it myself, 

I could make sure the paint didn't get watered down, which is standard operating procedure here.  

Her only worry:  don't choose extreme colors!  

So last Saturday, Kevin and I were off to the Dawujin ("Big Hardware") to look at paint.

Wow--that was more than a bit confusing!

Fortunately, a friend had already bought some paint and had experience in this--and she was only a phone call away.  There are gradations of quality in the paint, but not in the finish--everything is flat. No satin, semi-gloss, etc.  We ended up buying PPG (Pittsburgh Paint), $55 a gallon, American paint, latex.  No mention of what finish it was, but my friend said it ended up being like eggshell--not completely flat.

I'm just hoping for a paint that won't wash off when I try to clean off a smashed mosquito!

As I was painting, I had to be careful, because the previous paint would begin to bubble up and lift off the wall.  The first time it happened, I didn't realize it and with a pass of the roller, suddenly whole swatches of paint were coming OFF the wall.  After that, when I saw that begin to happen, I'd roll very softly, or let it set for a few minutes then go back over it.  

It's called Safari Bisque (all the colors were only in English).  It took the staff (3 of them) about a half hour to get the gallon mixed.  It wasn't really their fault--the machine put in one of the colors and not the others.

But they finally delivered a gallon that looked like the right color.

The woodwork is white.  The previous color was an yellowish off-white which made the curtains 

(stripped turquoise and gray and NOT my favorite) really stand out.

I think the walls could have been even darker, but the grayer beige really tones down

the curtains, and looks so peaceful. (And it certainly isn't extreme!)

So now the marks on the wall are gone that were caused by Someone bouncing a

basketball against the wall.  

 ***  ***

Something we tried recently:  jiao zi (dumplings) with the same filling I put in sour cream chicken enchiladas--

a mixture of chicken, cheese, sauce and green chilies.

Guess what?

Delicious!

With a red enchilada sauce, or even, dare I say it? catsup, to dip in, and we had a great meal.

I bought the wrappers for 50 cents at a street market (enough for 3 meals), and 

now I know I could put all kinds of good things inside--

chopped pepperoni & pizza sauce, hamburger, and so on.

Summer Fun!

It's been a great summer so far--lots of visiting with grandchildren.  To New York to see the newest addition, Levi, who was born 2 days before we arrived. How's that for correctly scheduling my airline flight way back in March?

Time spent with Levi's older brother, seeing the sights of NYC, including sidewalk graffiti (aka "chalk")

And from one side of the country to the other to visit another grandson on his 1st birthday.

 Outdoor party with pinata and some ultimate frisbee, while Collin enjoyed toddling around.  

But speaking of the ultimate frisbee... Elizabeth's hand didn't do so well.

With a quick trip to an Urgent Care, ("no broken bone, but a hairline fracture won't show up for a couple of weeks") we were on our way, but her hand has hurt the entire summer, and has a funny bump on the outside bone.   (Maybe she just didn't want to do any viola practicing???)

 Logan, Utah.  Love the Pizza Pie Cafe, and we didn't even over-eat.  (Learned my lesson last time!)

There's never enough time!  All too soon we were off to another part of our summer adventure.

Raising Babies in Brooklyn

 Snapshot of a poster in the New York subway... but whoever thought this up didn't know the resourcefulness of some parents. We know a pair of courageous souls who are not  raising just one child, but recently added a second son!

 And when Grandma and Grandpa come to visit, the sleeping quarters get tight in their Brooklyn apartment, but the additional bed just became another place to play.  Kudos to Aunt Ellie for her idea about which toys to bring.  Big hit!

 We visited the Museum of Natural History.  I don't think N. was impressed that we were seeing dinosaur bones and even some of the displays from Night at the Museum movie. Someday it'll impress him.  Maybe.

It was more impressive that thousands of people were there because school was out.

Stroller or shoulder-top?  I think N. liked being taller than any one else. 

"Kiss baby?"  Until little brother can play, this is the best way to interact, and N.

asks this a lot.

 Grandpa loves nothing so much as a good project!  New bookcases from IKEA.  

Thank heavens for that store!  Another project was hanging a privacy curtain, dividing off a bedroom from the living room.  Getting space-saving furniture is certainly cheaper than renting a bigger apartment.

 Fourth of July, and the Goodyear blimp moves into place, I'm assuming, for the evening fireworks over the Hudson River. (Notice the Statue of Liberty in the center).  Funny thing about the fireworks.  They are paid for by New York City, but best visible from the New Jersey shore of the Hudson River.  And invisible from Brooklyn.  We went to Sunset Park, ate Mexican food from a sidewalk vendor, and hung out with all the other people.  The two languages heard most?  Spanish and Chinese.  I almost wondered if I had really left China!

On the way home, we bought a bucket of ice cream and root beer for a real American

4th of July treat.

Earlier in the day, we walked through Green-Wood Cemetery.  The above is a monument to

the Revolutionary War heroes.  And this hill area was a battle area in the early days of the War.

 On our way through the lovely walkways, to visit more of our Green-Wood relatives. 

 I think we've now identified about 50 who "live" (or are buried) here.

 Playing with Grandpa!

Lower Manhattan skyline, looking from Brooklyn.
Such an interesting place for raising children!

First Day of School 2013 (August 15)!  I'm still not used to saying goodbye at the elevator

door.  Even after two years of apartment-dwelling, it's somewhat of a surprise walk out 

my front door and still not be outside.  A. is a junior this year.  

We have begun our 2nd-to-last year of having children in school (a state of being that began in 1983! 

 Isn't that, like, 30 years straight?)

[I'm purposely not counting college here]

After a few weeks of tender loving care, most of my patio plants have revived.  

Loss was right around 1/3 of all plants.  Not bad for being gone for 7 weeks with the ayi watering them.

And after nasty pollution days through most of August, we've had some days of crystal-clear blue skies.

Marvelous!

***

Thought I'd just throw in some other pictures from the summer

 She had a great time at EFY in Rexburg--and the girl she connected with most was from...

Des Moines, Iowa!  (and her dad is a mechanical engineer, but doesn't work for JD)

Helping with Meg.

 At the Idaho Falls LDS Temple

 Jenny's Lake, Wyoming

Teton Mountain Range, Wyoming.  

Idaho sunsets were SO beautiful this year.  Maybe it was the smoke in the air from

central Idaho forest fires, but the colors each night were vivid and bright.

I guess good things can come from bad!