mid July

I've finally got back into knitting again -- thanks to this cute Ribbon Hat pattern by Brandee Fondren -- which I test knitted. I hadn't felt much like knitting or crocheting since mid April. But, now it's fun again.

Instead of knitting and crocheting, I read the complete Harry Potter series. My kids had all read the books when they came out, but I hadn't read them at all until now. The only one that I didn't like, which really isn't part of the series, is the Tales of Beetle the Bard. I generally like reading fairy tales, but the small book was simply boring.

In the last week, I was able to come up with a new crocheted daylily pattern -- which I like much better than the one I had posted earlier.

I'm working on a pair of socks for my DH -- which I need to finish soon since his birthday was earlier this month -- and a colorwork sock. The colorwork sock is from Ravelry's Sock Knitters Anonymous.

My garden is becoming a summer garden now. The tomatoes are taking over with pole beans not far behind. My broccoli is mostly done for the year. But it did produce so much that I'm beginning to get tired of broccoli even though it's really delicious and so much better than what one gets in stores. (I've frozen a lot of it.) I don't think I'll grow Brussel sprouts next year. They're just now starting to produce sprouts, and the mother plants are crowding out other plants. The peppers have started to produce peppers.

I've also planted some eggplant -- even though I have no idea what to do with eggplant. I do vaguely remember my BIL making some delicious eggplant curry. My family thinks my sudden gardening interest may have something to do with Farm Town and Farmville. My planting eggplant definitely has something to do with those Face Book games.

I have no idea why my radishes didn't do a thing. I didn't think there was any way radishes wouldn't do well.

a thermocouple

The internet saved us money Sunday. The pilot light on our gas water heater went out. So, we went to the internet, just as we did the last time that happened, and watched a couple of videos on how to relight a pilot light. This time the pilot light went out as soon as the water heater was turned on. So, we read further and discovered that the trouble might be the thermocouple.

We bought a new thermocouple (less than $10). Then after watching a thermocouple installation video a couple of times, we got it in place. The water heater works now!

My birthday was last Sunday. Here are the flowers my eldest sent. I also got some chocolates, another Dresden File book, a William Shatner book, and Bill Bryson's Made in America -- which I'm now reading. I never knew that Squanto had lived in London (mostly involuntarily) before meeting the Pilgrims.

On the knitting front, I've got two sweater patterns for sale now: Ivywild (on the Knit Picks website) and Kingsgate (on the Ravelry website). Ivywild is a very short sleeved summer yoked top. Kingsgate is a scoop-neck raglan pullover.

Ivywild is a long time in the making. I'd made a similar pullover for myself back in 2007 -- Festive. It has an i-cord edging. But, an i-cord edging proved too heavy for anything other than acrylic yarns. So, when I was redesigning Festive for a cottony yarn and for multiple sizes, I finally came upon the solution of using lace edgings.

Kingsgate was even longer in the making. I'd made Smocked out of some fingering weight yarn in 2006. I'd been thinking about redoing it in heavier yarn and in multiple sizes for a while. So, I started to knit up Kingsgate -- but didn't think the smocking would look as good in a DK weight yarn. So, I worked a different pattern on the sleeves and lower garment. Kingsgate has a double uneven rib on the center of the sleeves and on the skirt. It also has a fake waistband. Kingsgate and Smocked have the same neckline.

---- Kingsgate can be made up into Smocked with no adjustments in stitch counts for sizes S and L. For XS, M, and XL, one needs to increase (or decrease) 4 sts just after starting the lower garment to get to the multiple of 8 necessary for the smocking pattern.

On another note: My eldest has a blog on the World Cup in South Africa -- which I highly recommend.

hosta

In the last few days, we planted some hosta - 3 Twilight and 3 Halcyon - to go with some hosta already planted in our front yard. The hosta already there (green with white margins) never did well. But, they were never cared for properly. They didn't get enough water. Plus, the bed gets afternoon sun. However, the Chicago area is often cloudy. So, I hope that, with regular watering and fertilizing, the plants will thrive. :)

The other plants in the pic are daffodils and tulips.

I was wondering whether we needed to buy more but then read up on hostas and discovered that they can spread out to over a yard wide. So, I may need to rethink the placement of the plants. .....

But, I enjoy replanting. Our most recent replanting adventure was a miscellaneous shrub that was being crowded out by an evergreen tree on one side and shrubs on the other. We thought there was just one plant there, but there turned out to be 5. I was worried that it might be a weed. So, we went to Lowes and scoped out the garden shop. It turned out to be Rose of Sharon -- which will be perfect for where we ended up planting it (before we even knew what it was). It's a handsome plant!

We also bought a cage for one of our tomato plants (the Better Boy). The tomato doesn't even reach the bottom rung of the cage. But, from past experience (in NC), it will soon be there and more. It has its first blossoms.

The radishes are starting to get to be a decent size now. The apple tree has several small apples. The broccoli is almost ready to eat.

My filbert nut trees are doing ok. One is doing really well. The other was broken off near the soil line. So, I put a milk jug around the 2 of them for protection. The coyote that roams our neighborhood has taken care of most of the chipmunks and squirrels. But, there are still a few around to cause damage.

I haven't been doing much knitting or crocheting. But, I have got some reading done. I'm now on my next-to-last Harry Potter book. (The kids have already read them.) I'm reading the American version. When I'm done, I'll probably start on the British version (which my daughter brought out for me on her last visit.)

my mom

My mom passed away this past Saturday. She was 93. She'd been living with us for the past 4 years.

Here's a picture of her visiting us back in 2005 when we lived in Kent. We lived in Thanet near Botany Bay and so took a lot of walks along the beach. She really enjoyed the walks.

She had quite a life. She was born on a farm in Iowa and taught country school after graduating from Teacher's College.

Then, when World War II started, she decided to leave Iowa. She traveled to Colorado with a girlfriend and worked as a civilian employee of the Air Force. She didn't know anyone there, but she did meet her future in-laws. She met my dad after he returned from the war.

One of her goals was to visit all 50 states -- which she did. She also traveled to several foreign countries -- Mexico and Canada, of course, -- and also England, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia, France, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Italy, Poland, Egypt, and Malta. Of all the places she'd been, Colorado was always her favorite.

She never ever "got" jokes. We'd tell her a joke, and then she'd ask "and then what happened?" I was never sure whether she didn't get the joke or was just joking on her own. But, she did like to joke around a little -- sometimes pretending she didn't know who you were.

a garden!

We have a garden now. It's the first time in quite a few years that I've had a place to grow vegetables. In fact, it's my first real garden since we left NC.

We had a nice garden in NC. In the spring, we grew broccoli. In the summer, we grew tomatoes, strawberries, beans, cucumbers, potatoes, and even okra. I never had any success in Ohio. And, after that, the only things I grew were herbs.

Now, I have a raised garden -- built by the people who take care of our lawn. They designed it to be in the shape of a leaf. The base of the leaf is to the right. It has Brussel sprouts and broccoli in it now (plus snapdragons and Dianthus). I've seeded some lettuce and radishes, as well. Later we'll add tomatoes and hot peppers.

edited: When they became available in the local stores, I planted peppers (1 habanaro and 1 jalapeño) and tomatoes (1 Husky cherry, 1 Better Boy, and 2 Roma).

They also fixed the drainage problem in the back of the yard. During heavy rains and snow melts, we had a little stream running through the yard. They put in an underground drainage system and then reseeded. So, finally, we'll have a lawn back there instead of a swampy area.

The replacement Filbert nut trees from Arbor Day are doing well. They're starting to leaf out.

It's been a beautiful spring here. We've even had a few 80 degree days to melt all the snow away.

almost forgot.... We bought a Red Haven peach tree this spring. (Last year we bought a Winesap apple tree.) We also bought a raspberry bush and a blackberry bush. We may "have" to buy a blueberry bush. I think the one we bought last year didn't make it through last summer.

I enjoyed the small (6-tree) apple orchard that came with the house we rented in Lidingö. I wish I knew what variety they were. But, the one Winesap apple we got last year was even tastier.

Fruit and vegetables (except for bell peppers) are so much better when home grown. Plus I enjoy growing things.

Happy Kazimierz Pulaski Day

Today is Pulaski day in Illinois. (It's celebrated on the first Monday in March. Somehow, I missed that it's a holiday here until this year.)

While living in New Jersey, we drove over the Pulaski Skyway a few times. It was an exciting adventure each time. ;) --for those who've driven over the skyway

This is the first year for my participation in Ravelympics. I had the great idea that I would finish the Panama shawl I'd been working on. (It had been sitting idle for a while.) But, a few days before the end of the Olympics, I realized that there was no way I was going to finish in time. I still had a whole skein of yarn (440 yds) to go.

So, I decided to publish a crocheted flower pattern. I had worked up a pattern for a pansy a while back but didn't want to publish such a short pattern. So, I worked up and published patterns for that and 2 other flowers (one of which is at the right) -- just before the closing ceremonies of the games. I assume that I received a medal for publishing the pattern but have no idea how and where. But, the important part is that it's at least published.

This year, I'm keeping up on the Monthly Dishcloth KAL on Yahoo! (The background for the flower is the back of the mid-February dishcloth.) I've promised myself not to start the March dishcloth until the shawl is done.

I'm also halfway through knitting a summer sweater for myself. (---a couple other reasons for not getting the shawl done.)

There's still a lot of snow on the ground here. Our yard is blanketed in snow -- with some drifts (courtesy the city) around 5' high. This is the third year in a row that the area has gotten over 50" of snow for the season (which has happened only once before in over a hundred years) and the seventh snowiest winter on record. This is our third winter here and, it seems to us, the mildest. On the other hand, the snow did melt off during each of the previous winters for a few days. This winter has had a continuous blanketing of snow. But, at least, it hasn't been as bad as in some parts of the country.

a miscellaneous comment: Killer whales are dolphins, not whales.

snow

We got about a foot's worth of snow here (north of Chicago) yesterday. A large February snow is unusual for Chicago. It took my DH a couple of hours to use our snowblower to clear the driveway and walks last night. That's the trouble with living in a corner lot.

The streets, even the side streets, have been cleared by the city. They didn't start clearing the side streets until late last night.

It's the first major snowfall in about a month. We've been getting less snow than usual this season. I figure that the president took the snow we should be getting with him to his new address. ;)

Evidently, there was an earthquake west of Chicago early this morning (around 4 am). We didn't feel a thing. Of course, I can sleep through anything. However, nothing seems to have moved in the house.

On the wildlife front, I had to laugh after the last snowfall we had. There was a squirrel trying to jump on top of the railing on the deck. He couldn't make it because there was about 6" of snow on top of the railing. A few days before, we saw a couple of foxes walking across the back yard. They were beautiful -- and looked well fed.

I have 3 patterns for sale now at Knit Picks. To the right is one of them -- Feather Lace. It's the second sock I ever designed. The first one was just a basic sock. Both were created because I have trouble finding socks to fit my narrow feet and high arches. Another one is Crossing Paths. Both are in multiple widths from small to large. And finally, there is a pair of socks that I made for my DH for Christmas -- Mock Argyle.

Wow!!!

I'm so happy! I've just had a sock pattern accepted by Knit Picks in their Indy Designer Program!! It's the sock that I designed for my husband for Christmas.

Plus, I have a design coming out in Charlene Schurch and Beth Parrot's new book, Sock Club: Join the Knitting Adventure. Here's a picture of the sock when it was in its infancy. It's called Zigs and Zags.

I'm currently knitting a couple of lace shawls -- an Escher-style design by Kalinumba and Moni's Panama shawl -- and also a test-knit sweater.

We had a great Christmas. Everyone enjoyed Christmas dinner -- including the cat -- who's washing up after the meal.

a squirrel

a picture of a squirrel at the corner of the back porch..... In the back is a row of evergreens lining the back of our property. The squirrels (and, in summer, the chipmunks also) act as though they own the place.

This year, I've finished up gifts early -- at least for me. I almost forgot to knit my DH something... But, I'm all done now.

The snow is deeper now than when the picture was taken (last week). But, it's not clear how long it will last. We're on the border line between snow and freezing rain.

dishcloths

This year it seems that I've been doing different kinds of projects in spurts. I hadn't knit any dishcloths since February -- except for the 2 k1b ones in October, including a honeycomb one -- and those were just to try out patterns. In the last week, I've knit 6 of them -- all Maile's designs.

The designs in the picture are: Angles, Rip Tide, Just Fancy, Diamonds Plus, Shield, and Tango Lace. I used size 7 needles and Peaches & Creme yarn -- a skein of Olive for 2 of the cloths, Potpourri for another 2, and Shrimp for the final 2. They're all just over 7" wide and long -- which meant that one skein worked for 2 cloths with a little bit left over.

I had trouble with Just Fancy. I couldn't wrap my mind out of how to do the stitch in Row 6. So, I finally figured out another way, I think, of getting 2 sts from 3. First I k2tog'ed. Then I moved the second of the 2 sts in the k2tog back to the left hand needle -- as shown in the picture. Then I knit that st and the next through back loop.

I'm also knitting one of Kalinumba's lace shawls -- which is why I felt the need to knit something with larger needles. And I'm looking forward to Moni's shawl KAL starting on Christmas and MMario's shawl KAL starting on New Year's.

We're having the first measurable snowfall of the season today. The others have been just dustings. Then tomorrow, an extremely low low-pressure system is supposed to come through. The local weathermen say that it is supposed to produce extremely strong winds and is the lowest one to come through the area since 1975 and the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

I'll have to see how it ranks with Colorado winds. It's not uncommon for Chinook winds in Colorado to get to a hundred miles per hour -- gaining speed as they race down the front range of the Rockies. (And, as I've probably said here before, Chicago isn't called the Windy City because of its winds -- but because of its politicians.)

We had a really nice Thanksgiving. Our DS1 visited us from California. Our DS2 was here as well -- from DeKalb. It was nice having the 2 of them here. They put up some of our Christmas lights. The lights look nice -- if I do say so myself.

People in the neighborhood seem to have more lights this year than last. Also, a lot of people in the neighborhood put up their lights the Saturday before Thanksgiving.

a third sweater finished

I've now finished the dog sweater I've been working on. The link is for details of how I made the sweater. I'd like to post a pic here but have decided against it. I tried the sweater on my cat just before it was finished. It was, of course, big for her. But, it did look nice and made me decide to go with single crochet around the leg openings instead of ribbing.

I probably could have taken her picture in the sweater, but I promised her I wouldn't. At best, I'd have a picture of an annoyed cat -- ears slightly back. At worst, I'd have an action picture of a cat jumping out of a sweater. She jumped out of the sweater almost immediately after I tried it on her yesterday and then disappeared until I told her that I wouldn't do that to her again.

On another note, my mom turns 93 tomorrow!

two sweaters finished

My Washburne raglan and BSJ are now finished. I like how both of them turned out. Plus both of them were fun to do.

Here is a picture of the raglan taken in dim light. -- And, it didn't snow the day after I finished it. -- It took 7 1/2 skeins of Vanna's Choice yarn on size 10 needles for a 48" chest size. (Each sleeve took just over 1 skein.)



It turned out that I didn't need to purchase a second skein of Bernat Satin Sport aran to finish the BSJ. I had enough already. I finished it up with a k2tog bo instead of the recommended one and used a 3-needle bo to "sew" the sleeve together (starting at the neck and finishing at the cuff in order to add some ribbing without breaking yarn). The last bit was the collar.



The Möbius cowl is still coming along nicely. I thought I was just about ready to begin the edging until I reread the directions and discovered that the edging starts after 5" on each side of the center instead of 5" across. On the bright side, it looks as if this will finish off both skeins of Hand & Hand instead of just one.

And I've started on the dog sweater -- in Vanna's Choice yarn and size 9 needles. It's just over half done now. I started out with a pattern but am now just winging it.

sweater update

Monday, I was again reminded that I'm terrible at remembering shades of color. I went to the store on Monday to get another skein of yarn for the Washburne raglan and another skein of yarn for a BSJ. As I was waiting in the checkout line, it occurred to me that I'd gotten the wrong color for the raglan. So, I went back and got the correct one. Then after I got home, I discovered that I also had the wrong shade for the BSJ. I wanted aran and got white. So, I went back the next day and got the correct color. It's not as if I had just started the projects. I was over half finished with both.



And since I didn't want to work on cables while watching tv Monday evening, I started on Birgit Freyer's Wave of Color. I first tried Magic Stripes denim stripe and decided two things. First, the pattern didn't work for a yarn with such a short repeat of color. It would work much better with something like Noro sock yarn. Second, this is a really nice pattern. Mobius cowls are in style now (though they're called snoods, for some odd reason). So, I switched to a color that I'd enjoy wearing -- a tan, Hand & Hand accent sock yarn. I used this version of the Mobius cast on.



Here is the BSJ so far. Knitting-and.com (and also the wiki on Ravelry) is proving invaluable in figuring out just what to do. I'm using the suggestion to start the middle section with a new skein. The double increase I found while aimlessly web-surfing is also proving nice.

I'm now on the second sleeve of the Washburne raglan for my DS2 (and will end up using about 7 1/2 skeins of Vanna's Choice yarn). DS2 called me this morning and said he could tell that I'm about finished with the sweater. There was a light dusting of snow on the ground. ;) -- There was a heavy snow the day after I finished the sweater I made for him last year. It kept snowing more than usual for here until I finished a sweater for my mom about a month later.

Halloween

We had 165 kids come by for Halloween candy -- down by about 40 from last year. It was a nice Saturday afternoon for Trick-or-Treating. (The official hours were from 2 to 6 pm.) Maybe they had other things to do that afternoon.

The Washburne raglan is coming along nicely. It's based on Wash's sweater. I hate piecing and seaming and so decided to rework it as a raglan from the top down. I'm almost done with the sweater body. I'll have to get more yarn (Vanna's Choice chocolate). I'd forgotten that cables take more yarn than regular stockinette.

I'm slowly getting Inconceivable finished. I'm over half done now.

And, I'm getting ready to knit a couple of things for friends of my DS1. I'd been wanting to knit them (a dog sweater -- though not with fancy fur -- and a BSJ -- just because I heard it was fun) for a while but hadn't had any reason to. I'm hoping to get them done by Thanksgiving. I'm going to knit just a regular dog sweater but had been wanting to knit one ever since I saw this Tubey post -- even though I hadn't had a dog around the house since I was a teenager. Since then, all we've had were cats.

Also, I'm tempted to start a couple of lace KALs. Birgit Freyer has an interesting Mobius pattern, Waves of Color, in her Yahoo group, Knitting Delight. Moni, one of my favorite lace designers, has a triangular shawl, Windsbraut Spitzbergen, in her Yahoo group, Klabauter. Both groups have German as the main language, but the really important info (such as patterns) are also translated into English.

quilt

I've finally finished redoing a quilt for my DS2. The back to the quilt was falling apart, and the edging already had completely fallen apart. My MIL made it about 20 years ago. It was obviously made to be used -- and was made out of left-over scraps from other quilts. It's the only one of her quilts that was tied instead of quilted.

I almost forgot to mention.... Although my MIL made quite a few quilts, she had always put the quilts-in-progress away before we visited. So, I'd never seen a quilt being made before.

First, I thought that all it needed was a new back. But, cutting off all the ties and taking off the back, I discovered that it had only an old sheet for batting. So, I decided to take that off and get new batting.

I also discovered that making a quilt is more expensive than I thought it would be. I bought some Mountain Mist Ultra-Fine batting on sale and some Debbie Mumm fabric on sale (both at Jo-Ann). It came to about $40. (I was going to use an old sheet for the backing but couldn't find the one I was thinking of using. I decided that if I'm going to go to the trouble of putting all of this together, I might as well use quality fabrics.) The ties are Vanna's Choice toffee yarn. I left the top as is. I used some of the fabric (cut on a diagonal) as edging. The internet was invaluable for help in how to finish a quilt.

I thought the ties would be the easiest part. But, it took quite a bit of thought on my part to figure out how to go about it -- even though I did watch some videos on-line. I finally settled on using an old 3" long needle (that probably belonged to my grandmother), a 13" embroidery hoop (that belonged to my MIL), and a newly purchased threader to work the ties.

It's fall. The Winesap apple tree we planted in the spring bore a single apple -- which was delicious. (We hadn't expected any on a newly planted tree.) We didn't get any blueberries (probably because of how dry the summer was). And the Filbert trees didn't make it. They never leafed out at all. It's the first failure I've ever had from trees from Arbor Day. Finally, Halloween is going to be celebrated on the correct day here. (Last year, Trick or Treating was held a couple day early. -- In Columbus, Ohio, Trick or Treating was never held on Halloween for as long as we lived there.)

My big project now is a Wash (Firefly) pullover for my DS2. I'm redoing it as a raglan so that I won't have to seam -- and so there will be a shorter pattern repeat for the main pattern. I hope it doesn't start to snow the day after I give it to him. It snowed the day after I gave him a sweater last year -- a month earlier than normal.

k1b

I'm finally getting Fjordland finished to my liking. Here is a picture of the sock redone with a slightly different color scheme than before (KnitPicks grass, pine, and buckskin and two size 1 circs). I was planning on changing the heel from a short-row heel to a reverse heel-flap heel (because I have a high arch) -- but then decided to take the easy way out and work a Fleegle heel. (I made gusset increases in the background color.)

Then for the cuff, I decided to try out a sock cuff from the "Knit One Below" book that I'd recently purchased. Even though I worked the cuff over the same number of stitches as the garter stitch rounds preceding it, the cuff is looser and stretchier than any of the rest of the sock -- even than the garter stitch rounds just before the cuff. It was fun -- and I'm looking forward to making a whole sweater using the technique.

I ordered yarn from KnitPicks in case I needed some to finish the sock. I didn't. So, it looks as if I'm doing stash busting in reverse. I just about used up my leftover grass and pine sock yarn on the sock -- but got a couple of full skeins to replace them plus some of the new heather colors (which I really like the looks of).

Stitches

I went to Stitches Midwest a week ago Saturday. It was the first time I had been to Stitches, and I had a good time. Even though I didn't take any classes, I did get to meet a couple authors and see some of their creations in person. It was fun looking at and touching the huge variety of yarns.

I now have yarn for MMario's KAL in January. I got some lace yarn from Skaska Designs in Fort Collins, Colorado -- where I went to university way back when -- and where it seems to me the "Knit One, Kill Two" mysteries take place. ;)

I got a book "Knit One Below", signed by the author.

And, I also got some yarn (Colrain) from Webs for a couple of sweaters. Unfortunately, I guessed wrong on the amount of yarn needed (despite being given a card at Stitches listing usual yardages for different projects). So, I ordered more yarn from Webs the next day. The order is still pending. I wrote this too soon...
The order is still listed as "open", but today I received all the yarn I had ordered.

I've also been working on finishing the second sock of the pair for socks I test knitted. It's great at stash busting. In fact, I got to the bottom of my sock yarn bin and found some Wavelet Socks. I had knit the first one as a test knit. But, I had knit the second of the pair longer than the first -- just to use up yarn -- and had planned to reknit the first to match. Well, I finally have. Here's what they look like -- in KnitPicks Essential (now Stroll) Tweed flint and size 1 needles.

I did so well at stash busting sock yarn that I decided to order some more -- partly to finish up Fjordland to the length I wanted. I ordered from KnitPicks this past Sunday.

In knitting Fjordland, I rediscovered something that I knew from knitting dishcloths -- purl patterns turn out better when knit with a smaller needle. -- The Fjordland pattern turns out so much better when knit with size 1 needles instead of size 2. Size 1 is what I generally use for KnitPicks Essential (aka Stroll) yarn. I often go up a size when doing colorwork. But, I needed to go down a size again (back to size 1) when doing colorwork with a purl pattern.

a scarf mystery CAL

First, an update: I'm finishing up some old projects. I'm finishing up the second sock in a pair to some test knits (Great Plains and after that Fjordland from Chrissy Gardiner's book and Crevasse by Angela Johnson). I've got some tv knitting to work on -- scalloped placemats, one pictured. And I'm working off and on, on a shawl - Inconceivable by Katherine Vaughan.

So, of course, when I heard about a mystery Peacock Scarf CAL coming up, I had to sign up. Sign up deadline is September 12th. -- I haven't done much crocheting for a while.

My final big project is to try to put a new back onto a quilt my MIL made about 20 years ago. The top (squares of double-knit fabric) looks good, but the back is falling apart. So, with the help of Diane Wold's book on quilting (We knew each other in Carolina.) and the quiltville chat Yahoo group, I'm going to try to refinish the back and edges.

China - Day 14

Monday, July 27
a 37-hour day

This was our last day in China. DD's flight was in the morning. Our flight wasn't until late afternoon -- which meant that even though we'd cross the International Date Line, we didn't go forward to Tuesday before going back to Monday. Though, it is possible we may have gone back to Sunday before returning to Monday again. DS2 thinks it's most likely that we went forward to Tuesday before crossing the date line. ... It's academic since we slept most of the way back, and DD's flight didn't cross the Date Line. For us, midnight in Beijing to midnight in Chicago was 37 hours.

We had some time to wait before going to the airport and so went to the pedestrian street near the hotel. There were a lot of kiosks on the street. And yes, there are some US-based chains in China. We even tried them out. Papa John's in Shanghai was excellent. But, Pizza Hut in Beijing wasn't. KFC in Beijing was one of the best we'd been to anywhere. We ate at a different KFC than in the picture. That one was too crowded. (We needed to occasional break from Chinese food. And those three were the only times we went to non-Chinese restaurants.) In the evening, kiosks along this street sell unusual foods such as star fish.

And speaking of food, some usual foods in China are unusual to us. We bought some blueberry-flavored Pringles at an airport. A person in our group bought what he thought was a lime frozen ice pop but was actually pea-soup flavored.

... I see from my previous posts that I hadn't included any pics of lions -- which is odd since people on the tour were kidding me that I was trying to take a pic of every lion statue in China. So, here's one. It's from the Ghost City on the Yangtze. And, yes, there is a carved ball inside the lion's mouth. That's fairly common.

We learned a little Chinese. "hello" = ni hao. "thank you" = xei xei (shay shay). The symbol for China is a box with a vertical line through it. Entrance is a lower case lambda followed by a box. Exit is double lower case omega followed by a box. The family and I didn't figure out the symbol for sun (a ladder with 3 rungs or 2 boxes stacked atop each other) until we had a Firefly marathon. And, at least in southern China, a common greeting translates to "have you eaten" -- due to food shortages in the Great Leap Forward.

Our visit to China was great. It was sad when it was time to leave.

Edited to add a couple more pics. ... The first is a picture of water buffalo - taken outside of Wuhan - on our way to where we'd try to view the eclipse. There is a water buffalo grazing to the front of the picture. There are several more in the mid distance.

And here is a picture of a traffic light in Chongqing. We saw traffic lights like these in many of the larger cities. There were countdowns for both green and red lights.

China - Day 13

Sunday, July 26
Ming Dynasty Tombs
the Great Wall of China

Our last full day in China was another day packed with things to see and do. Our first stop was a cloisonne showroom. Cloisonne patterns are formed by soldering copper wire on top of a copper object. Glazes are then added and the object fired and polished several times. Here is a picture of glaze being added to a vase.

Our next stop was the Ming Dynasty Tombs. There are quite a few large statues on the Sacred (or Spirit) Way leading to the tomb area. Different animals as well as officials guard the path. Here is a pic of an elephant resting from his guard duty. We supposed that guards were needed because the path is straight instead of angled. We also learned that lions are mythological creatures -- or, at least, the lions prominent in Chinese statuary. (This was the only place I saw any birds in China. In fact, there were bird feeders on the grounds. We didn't see any pigeons at all in our stay in China.)

Next was the highlight of the trip, a visit to the Great Wall of China. I was prepared to be underwhelmed by the wall. But, it was even more imposing than I had imagined. Here is a pic of the wall near the Badaling Gate.

On the way back to our hotel, we stopped along the highway so we could get out and take pictures of the Bird's Nest, the Beijing National Stadium. It must have been a popular place to stop -- since there was someone there selling kites.

That evening we had a dinner of Peking Duck at the Beijing Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant. The dinner was underwhelming after all the excellent food we had in China.