Patsy's Post

Today, in my short trawl through my favourite blogs, I found Patsy's post.

And it made me think, long and hard, about love and finding love and growing in love and living in love and, well, about all the aspects of love.

Patsy referenced a movie she'd just watched and liked this quote:

That's just it. I don't know that Paolo's the love of my life, but I've decided to give him the chance to be. Maybe true love is a decision. You know, a decision to take a chance with somebody. To give to somebody. Without worrying whether they'll give anything back. Or if they're gonna hurt you, or if they really are the one. Maybe love isn't something that happens to you. Maybe it's something you have to choose.

I know I've been very silent here since Steve and I started our life together. Some of you may be wondering if everything is OK between us. I'm glad to say it's more than OK, it's wonderful in every sense.

I'm not saying it's perfect, goodness knows we have our ups and downs like everyone. We have our differences in opinion. It hasn't been an entirely smooth ride, I'm not breaking any confidences by saying this and I know Steve reads my blog, still. Tempers do flare, without a doubt, and we argue sometimes, too. But we have weathered all the little bumps with a great sense of humour, an understanding and an acceptance of all we are and always will be. As individuals and to each other.

I often reflect on the the slim thread of fate that brought us together, a thread that could so easily have broken before anything happened. I reflect, too, on our decisions and how they could have been different, or influenced, or even rejected by one or the other. Getting to the place of our future together was also fraught with obstacles and was not an easy journey. But we got there in the end and I still smile when I remember our trip to Santa Fe in March 2008. What started as an opportunity to spend a few days together ended up with us joined together for life.

Most of all, this imperfect woman reflects on the imperfect man I'm married to, and whom I will grow old with, and I thank my lucky stars that we're together. I still wake up during the night and look over at him, and smile. My heart is at peace. My present and my future are filled with affection and respect. Love binds, but love also frees.

At our wedding ceremony, the minister closed with this:

Apache Blessing:

Now you will feel less rain for each of you will be shelter for the other. Now you will feel less cold, for each of you will be warmth for the other. Now there is less loneliness, for each of you are companion to the other. Now you are two individual persons, yet there is a joined life before you. May beauty surround you both in the journey ahead and through all the years. May happiness be your companion and may your days together be good and long upon the earth. Treat yourselves and each other with respect, and remind yourselves often of what brought you together. Give the highest priority to the tenderness, gentleness and kindness, which your connection deserves. When frustration, difficulty and fear assail your relationship, as they threaten all relationships at one time or another, remember to focus on what is right between you, not only the part which seems wrong. In this way, you can ride out the storms when clouds hide the face of the sun in your lives; remembering that even if you lose sight of it for a moment, the sun is still there. And if each of you takes responsibility for the quality of your life together, it will be marked by abundance and delight. Go now to your dwelling place, to enter into the days of your togetherness, and may your days be good and long together.

I loved the words, the ideology. We're living it now and to this, I say:

Hell, yeah!

Belated Food Post

We hot-potted to our hearts' content last weekend, in celebration of a very wonderful man, my best friend's dad. I love spending time with my adopted family, not that they had any choice in adopting me, I adopted all of them :)

Hot pot is a wonderful meal option whereby you cook your own food - and food for others if you're so inclined - in a large boiling stockpot (or two) at the table. What you see there is about a quarter of the food we gorged upon.

Not for the faint-hearted though, those prawns resting on a bed of ice were still alive, despite having bamboo skewers up their arses!

Music, Beautiful Music

We are being inundated with excellent live musical choices here right now.

Booked so far:

18 February
Eric Clapton

5 March
Elvis Costello

11 March
Michael Buble

and then....gasp...

18 March
Eagles

Set List:

How Long
Busy Being Fabulous
I Don’t Want To Hear Anymore
Guilty of the Crime
Hotel California
Peaceful Easy Feeling
I Can't Tell You Why
Witchy Woman
Lyin' Eyes
The Boys of Summer
In the City
The Long Run
No More Walks in the Wood
Waiting in the Weeds
No More Cloudy Days
Love Will Keep Us Alive
Take It to the Limit
Long Road out of Eden
Somebody
Walk Away
One of These Nights
Life's Been Good
Dirty Laundry
Funk #49
Heartache Tonight
Life in the Fast Lane
Encore:
Take It Easy
Rocky Mountain Way
Desperado

oh boy oh boy oh boy, there's going to be some singing and grooving that night :)

Thanksgiving No. 3

Well, Thanksgiving just past was our third together. I pushed the boat out and did the whole Thanksgivingy thing again (I had a break last year).

I imported, at great expense, an organic bird, fresh from the green farms of Amish country. The organic, free-range, no hormone, everything natural really does make for a tasty bird for eating. They've developed good muscles, felt sun and rain on their feathers, gobbled around good time for a while, just generally been turkeys, before ending up on my table.

I decided this year, to shoot for a 'fusion' Thanksgiving and threw in some Scottish special effects:

Scottish smoked salmon to start

Black pudding which was supposed to go with the roasted brussels sprouts, but I left on the side as our honoured guest, my galpal, didn't really fancy eating blood with her dinner

Haggis, served as part of our trio of stuffings, or 'stuffing, three ways' as is so gastronomically correct these days. And for my wonderful husband, yes, Stove Top was available.

We also had creamy mashed potatoes, orange glazed baby carrots, caramelised baked pear with red onions (thank you, Martha Stewart, for this one), gravy, cranberry sauce.....the usual culprits.

Followed, somewhat painfully even after a respectable time lapse, by pecan pie (thank you Renu for supplying this) and vanilla ice cream (mmmm Häagen-Dazs).

Thanks was given, quietly and individually, mainly because I forgot, after all those hours in the kitchen, that that was part of the 'deal'. Oh well, I'm thankful to many and much - and you all know who you are and for what.

There will be NO more turkey until next year, forget Christmas - actually I quite fancy the more traditional continental goose for Christmas...hmmmm. This year, not a scrap went to waste, what with hungry relatives, dogs, neighbourhood cats, ourselves and our dinner guest.

Not right then and there, you understand, when we're talking about a 14-pounder, but over the next few days ;)

Best buds

*oops, please excuse the hole in the dog-proofing system for the sofa*

The Magnificent Michael Bublé

.... is coming to Hong Kong

on his Crazy Love Tour, on March 11

and I have just managed to score

tickets in the front centre section

only five rows from the stage!

My cup runneth over right now.

52nd Anniversary

Hard to believe but I'm only two weeks away from celebrating the 52nd anniversary of my arrival!

We thought long and hard about what to do to mark the occasion.....dinner in Hong Kong....short trip somewhere like Bangkok, Tokyo, Singapore....and have settled on a quick excursion over to Macau to catch the new show, The House of Dancing Water, as I really want to see it. A confirmed 'O' fan, I'm eager to see how this measures up.

this will be the view from our seats - I can now see why they are so pricey!

The plan is to go over on Friday afternoon, see the show that evening (managed to secure hard-to-get best seats), relax the next day, do some sightseeing, maybe dabble a little in the casino, definitely fit in some spa time, eat some good Macanese food, overnight again and return on Sunday afternoon. We've chosen the Hard Rock Hotel as it looks like fun.

Update - duh me, I forgot they're holding the Macau Grand Prix on the very days we will be there. Rule out the sightseeing, the main roads will be turned into a racing circuit from 6am to 6pm - never mind, the spa and slot machines will keep us entertained....plus there are loads of food options out where we'll be. When the hotel GM told me it was a busy weekend but he could still take care of me, little did I realise!

Blue on blue on blue

I want to be back there right now, floating in the pool ......

12 more days....

and it can't come fast enough.....

.....we are ready!

Especially for some spa treats

Then on to two nights in Bangkok, in a bed like this....

Vacation Days Ahead

Finally, some time away for Steve and I.

Mid-August - leave is secured, flights booked and hotels arranged.

Five days at the Banyan Tree Samui and two days in Bangkok on the way home.




Aaaaaaaah, I can smell the fresh sea breezes already.

98 Hours

I've just spent 98 hours without fresh air. I walked into the hotel on Saturday afternoon and didn't walk back out the doors until Wednesday evening.

We were holed up in Manila, at the HR Conference, where we shared a wealth of learning, one typhoon, six calorie-laden, delight-filled tea breaks, several wonderful meals and both new and renewed friendships.

And dayum, it was good to get home yesterday!

Andrew Zuckerman's Birds

I couldn't do these justice in this format, so I've provided links to better pictures of his high-definition photography:

Beautiful bird photography article and the birdbook website.

And to see more of his work, beyond the birds, go here.

On Top of the World

Steve is literally on top of the world right now, at 31,000 feet. Flights on the Detroit to Hong Kong route go up and over the top, a shorter distance than going around the planet.

Eight hours of flying time left - and he's lucky, the same flight from yesterday was 16 hours late arriving! So far he's only 30 minutes late against scheduled arrival time.

I whispered in Lupo's ear this morning that "Papa will be home tonight" and his eyes fairly sparkled. Mine are sparkling too :)

Separation

Steve left this morning, for a two-week trip to his old home town, Lansing.

There is a sad dog at home, a sad cat at home and a sad wife at work, about to be a sad wife at home with the sad dog and sad cat.

But it's really all good once we all get past the 'missing him' aspect of this. He needs to have the opportunity to see his kids, his mother, sister, nieces, grandmother, etc. Plus, absence makes the heart grow fonder!

Oh, and the other plus for me is that although I love cooking, it gets tiring every night after a 12-hour day and so I'm bringing in the instant ramen big guns for the next 15 dinners ;)

Slurp...slurp...slurp

A Panorama

Steve has found some wonderful software that pieces together multiple photos taken of an area, to produce a panorama. This picture is a combination of photos taken from our balcony and two other windows in the apartment.

Click on the pic for a slightly larger version. I can't seem to link to the original which is a HUGE file and really quite incredible.

Shanghai Beckons

We're off to a big knees-up in Shanghai on Thursday, back on Saturday. Our latest 'jewel' is having their grand opening bash. Should be fun!

Apart from attending what will no doubt be a spectacular party, we're looking forward to seeing the new Shanghai

as well as the old Shanghai

Kung Hei Fat Choy and Anal Glands

Kung Hei, Kung Hei - a very Happy New Year to one and all and best wishes for this exciting Year of the Tiger.



Poor Loo has a bad tummy and an infected anal gland so poor Steve had to take him to the vet as I'm at work and he was off today. I think he has had his eyes opened a little further (though nothing like poor Loo's eyes were as the vet's finger went up his little bot-bot) as to the responsibility and joy of being a dog's human! It's chicken and rice tonight - for Loo that is :)

(No picture, you'll be glad to hear!)

Waves

I received an email today, from a friend, sharing some awesome photos with me. They are so beautiful, I'd like to share them with you. This is the amazing work of Clark Little.

Musical Interlude(s)

We're nothing if not a little eclectic with our musical tastes.

This Saturday we're off to catch Muse on tour.


And then on the 24th of March it's Sir Tom Jones. How good of him to come all this way to entertain us on our second anniversary ;)


But one thing I can assure you, this gal won't be throwing her big panties on stage!

Doggie DNA

I've always wondered what the beautiful Lupo's parentage was, so I had a doggie DNA test done. Well, to my surprise he is:

German Shepherd - Level 1

Level 1: Over 75% of the DNA found in your dog is from the breed listed.

Actually no surprise with that one, I always knew he had a whacking great dollop of GS in him.

Irish Setter - Level 4

Level 4: Each breed listed represents between 10-19% of your dog's DNA

Huh? Really? Well yes OK he does have a very rounded head, moreso than a GS and the beautiful soft eyes of a setter.

Rottweiler - Level 5

Level 5: Each breed listed represents less than 10% of your dog's DNA

Oh my goodness! Well yes, now I know where that barrel chest comes from!

And there I was thinking he was a GS/Husky mix. Whatever his parentage, and now I see it fitting in, he is my boofle (beautiful) boy :)