回來美國囉~

回到美國兩個多星期了
感覺好棒
自由自主的感覺
能夠和朋友鄰居的相聚敘舊
每天短褲T恤拖鞋輕鬆出門
不會有人把我當成"阿姨"對待
不會看到路上有人吐痰或尿尿
過馬路也不用擔心車不讓你
也不用提防店員冷不防的惡劣態度

日日藍天白雲綠樹清風
呼吸百分百全方位的自由與輕鬆感
啊!真有點不想回上海了
嘻嘻
給果爸知道的話他會很緊張
我也是很想念果果的
雖然這兩星期來天天都是100F的酷熱天
不過這種乾熱比上海的大蒸籠好受的多

忙著在有限時間內把房子內外小小整修一番
每天三顧home improvement stores
買貨搬貨退貨
跟contractors討價還價
忙著在短時間內做各種顏色尺寸樣式的決定
發現remodeling也不是很好玩
新點子與後悔感隨時交錯出現
when reality kicks in, 真的很多時候就隨便它而不再堅持理想跟自己過不去了
感謝有朋友們的協助
不然很多瑣事靠我自已一人是完成不了的
他們的幫忙非常重要
當然更感謝老公辛苦上班賺錢
希望最終展現的成果是值得的

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Toy, toy, more toy....

We never track down how much money we have spent on Squarky's toys in the past years since we brought him home. If we ever did, I believe it would be an unbelievable horrifying number
So I am glad we never track

There is also another number which I am glad we never track
It is the number of the toys that Squarky has terminated, or , more correctly, "digested".
If we ever did, I believe Squarky would have been crowned "K9-Hannibal" and we were supposed to be on the run with him from FBI's hunt down right now.

The number One type of toy that Squarky insanely obsesses with is squeaky stuffed animal.

This picture, which was taken in June year 2003, three months after we brought him home, shows the very first "funeral" I held for the very first group of these "casualties". After that, no funerals could be possibily held as Squarky had advanced to "digest" most of these victims

From then, Squarky's digestive adventure started to take off. Fabric, plastic, rubber.... all have had appeared in his poop. Not that I intend to boost and encourage this. This was something that had happened.

After the surgery ordeal this year, we set out an iron fist to remove toys that don't resist his love bites and set a clear boundry as to what toys he can keep in his toy box to play freely whenever he wants and what toys are kept away and only get to play under our close supervision. We are glad that Squarky seems to content with the new rule .

The toy shown in the center is called "Bad Cuz" made by JW Pet company. Bad Cuz with the fido football on the right are the new additions to Squarky's toy collections. Squarky loves these two toys. The pink tennis-size ball on the left is to contrast the size of Bad Cuz and the fido football. And yes, Bad Cuz and the fido football are both super sized and Squarky likes this way.

JW Pet company does make good fido toys that are fun and tough. So far, their toys remain indestructible from Squarky's point of view.

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Let's cool off in Shanghai style

The other night, Tim suggested that we go for a walk along the Bund after dinner.

It is said that a river gives life to a city. Huangpu river is the life water to Shanghai. It is the largest river in Shanghai which divides the metropolis into two regions - westside (Puxi) and eastside (Pudong). "The Bund" is then a common name used to call the area along the western bank of Huangpu river. It is one of the must-see tourist destination in Shanghai where many historical buildings built from the "International Settlement" era dated back 19th century were preserved.

(Buildings along the Bund feature a variety of architectural styles - Gothic, Art-Deco, Baroque... you name it!)

Why not, I said. All it took was a fairly short walk to the ferry terminal and there we were, the hustling, bustling Bund, in just about 10 minutes or so. What a luxury to live where we live.

The Bund was full of all kinds of activites in spite of it wasn't a weekend night. While we strolled through scattered crowd, we came to spot this - a few men stood idly and threw relaxedly a "spare tire" show. This fashion is a popular men's way to cool off in any steaming, sticky hot day or night around the city. Although, it wasn't the first time we see this for somehow, the scene looked intensively hilarious that night.

So we took this picture (the mane right behind Tim was also doing it). Sorry, gentlemen! By the wa, I just figure out that we can click on the picture to get larger view. Tim said this is something he may think about to try at least once before we move away. I am not sure if he dare to try. Yet, he has found an good excuse to pump up his "spare tire" with more potato chips. Hahahaha!

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