splendid china

is coming soon- we are back- and it is brother Larry's birthday today - so first a photo of his "birthday cake(s)" from Hong Kong where we celebrated on our final night of the recent China trip-

well - it won't ever make my list of most wished for birthday treats but it WAS a different way to celebrate!

and here is another- the view from our room- overlooking the Hong Kong harbor!

and since it is Larry's birthday there are two other events to celebrate- all "birthed" on the same anniversary-

the blog is now three years old today! thanks for reading along -

and the kitties are eight today! where did that time go? you can see they are hard at work - even though I did not take this photo today- they are in the same places doing the same thing this afternoon- LOL- can you say "creature of habit"? but then who isn't?

enjoy your day and we will be back shortly with lots of posts on China- off the beaten path...

and just to whet your appetite - the first day that Larry joined the trip we went to Daxu - so let's get started with Daxu pics-

Chairman Mao souvenirs for sale-

the "famous" little red book-  in many languages-

I had asked to go to this town when I found a blurb about it online but our guide said she hadn't been in over two years- so it was clearly off the beaten path- exactly what I wanted- and while some improvements had been made - this was exemplary of a old village from the era before China went rushing into its future in the last several decades-

lots more to come---- check back over the next few weeks as the story unfolds- interspersed with reviews of the three plays we have scheduled in the next ten days and several big social occasions - including Schwa and Next and a visit from Poul and Lene (from Denmark) along with meeting a new baby Andrea Sofia at a sushi making dinner at Ross & Dario's --- why slow down?