easter bunnies and tienmu trail

This week an exciting box came from Nana and Grandpa B with some Easter goodies in it. Each kid got a little bunny, and it was very important to Jonas that we take a picture of the bunnies:



In other news, weeks of rainy clouds finally blew away one morning in a refreshing spring breeze, and I took the opportunity to go for my first walk up the Tienmu Trail by our house. It is only a couple of kilometres and takes you up to the Chinese Culture University at the top of Yangming Mountain. The signs:



In order to get to the actual trail, you have to climb about a thousand one hundred thirty four (not really, but it's a lot, and that is Jonas' favorite number) steps. The steps:



I like moss:



An historical item. When the Japanese occupied Taiwan for 50 years (starting in 1895), they built aqueducts to supply water to Taipei. According to the Taipei City Government, the Grass Mountain Waterworks, completed in 1928, "could deliver 28,800 cubic meters of water per day, meeting the needs of 150,000 people." Here is the main line of the aqueduct of that project, still in use today:



As with any nature hike in Taiwan, you get lots of non-nature spectacles, as well. Here is a kitchen-sort of thing. Is it a restuarant? A public use kitchen? I have no idea. But it has a nice view.



More non-nature things (that nature appears to be reclaiming):





A little house and yard along the trailside:



Watch out for macaques at dawn and dusk! Unfortunately, I was there at mid-morning and did not happen upon any.



Despite not seeing any macaques, I did get to breathe some nice, fresh air. It smells like lilies, moss and wet earth up there. Dreamy. And here is the view from near the top:

Curious sightings by a curious woman

When the sun is shining and it is warm outside, it just doesn't matter if your feet don't touch the ground at the bus stop.



Have dog, will travel.



These nails are poking out of a wall, right at eye level. It didn't look to me like it would be too hard to not see them and accidentally get yourself poked in the eye!



This is a clothing store that wasn't open yet when I snapped this picture.

taxi and park photos

It's always interesting to see how a taxi driver personalizes his cab by hanging stuff from the rearview mirror or decorating the dashboard.


This one had a decal on the backseat window.


At the park, Ada and Jonas made a rock birthday cake shaped like a fish. They stuck leaves in the top as candles.


These Taiwanese kids really wanted to play with the two blondies.

eating

Aren't you jealous of our lunch? Steamed Shanghai pork dumplings (shao long bao), braised tofu, and fresh sweet potato greens. We all eat heartily when we have this meal.

Last night, the kids and I tried out a new restaurant. It is new to us, anyways. Our favorite fried dumpling (guo tie) stand is closed, so we heard about another one. As soon as we entered the tiny place and found a table, somebody came over to help us fill out the order form, which is written in Chinese. Then he asked us where we are from, how old the kids are, where is Baba, etc. By the time our order was done, the entire restaurant knew all about us, as well as the whereabouts of Peter - I noticed everybody was listening intently.

Halfway through the dinner, an older couple came in and were charmed by Ada - she kept showing them how old she was and trying to talk to them. They started in with all the questions, too, and I kind of wished that somebody at the next table could answer them for us so we could finally eat!

Here is the cutie herself. How could you not be charmed by her?

Chinese New Year

It's Chinese New Year again. It's hard to believe that exactly one year ago, on our way to a caravan trip in Australia and Tasmania, we had no idea we'd be living in Holland the following month. Things move quickly in our household!

This is the first time we have ever been in Taiwan for Chinese New Year, since we always take advantage of Peter's big vacation time to explore somewhere new to us in the eastern hemisphere. Our first year in Taiwan, we went to Palau, then we went to Thailand, followed by two great years of caravan-camping in New Zealand and Australia.

After six weeks of visiting across the U.S. over Christmas and the western New Year, we just wanted to stay put and sleep in our own beds this year, even if it means a week or so of stores being closed, taxis doubling their fare and most people being gone on vacation. And we discovered last night that it also means all-night firecrackers!

When we moved in 3 weeks ago, the landlord promised this cherry blossom would bloom in time for Chinese New Year. He was sure right.



Ada's Chinese New Year dragon mask. She made it at school.



Jonas made this fish print at school. It says, "Happy New Year" on it. One day, he came home and told me about the dead fish that his teacher gave him to paint black, then press paper onto it. I'm glad that such a horrifying-sounding project turned out this nicely.



The famed red envelope (hong bao). Children get these money-filled envelopes at Chinese New Year from friends and relatives.

Laundry Morning in the Front Yard

Many years ago, if somebody told me I'd be living in Taipei one day, I would have pictured a busy, dirty city, not this. Not these serene, birdsong mornings.

The dryer is broken, so until we get a new one, we are left to use the old-fashioned method. The weather has been pristine this week, with clear blue skies and gentle winds that dry the clothes in under an hour.

Jonas enjoys helping out and is pretty swift and careful about getting the clothes off the line. He's also good at folding pants, which is the only part of the laundry that he's willing to fold.

PS...a note for the grandparents: if you'd like to print a photo from Flickr, you must be a Flickr member, and then you can click on "Order Prints" above the photo on Flickr. You can also download the photo for your own files by clicking on "All Sizes" above the photo, and then you can click on the Download link above the photo.

A Good Day for Jonas

Jonas at the pool at Grandpa and Grandma G's last summer:

Tonight at dinner, Jonas said, "I feel really blessed right now."

Me: "Really? Why?"

He, with angelic smile on face: "Because this drinking yogurt tastes so yummy."

This was a good day to be Jonas. He made 2/15th of the amount of money he needs in order to purchase a Power Ranger super morpher sword thing that he dreams of, night and day. He had a blissful 4-hour playdate with Clara, the sweet girl in his class who lives up the street (and speaks English, a major bonus). And he got chocolate-flavored dental polish at the dentist. It is like the inverse of Alexander and the Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, a story which, with exception to today, matches Jonas' days a little more accurately lately.

Later at dinner, I was telling some silly story, and he chuckled at me and said, "mom, you are SO funny. You should be in the circus."

Little Lady Big Cart

I'm just testing my first photo upload. I took this a couple of years ago; I used to see this teensy woman regularly in our old neighborhood. She always walked with her cart.

welcome

Welcome back, everybody, from the old Formosa Diaries. I had to change my blog name and blog software for a few reasons. For one, there are a couple of other Formosa Diaries blogs out there now (I'm flattered). My biggest problem, though, is that I can't remember how to access my old FD account - it's been awhile.

I'm starting up with the blogging again because I recently spent six weeks in the U.S. and was struck by how little my friends and family know about our daily life here. Several people told me how much they enjoyed checking in on our family and seeing what it's like to be American in Taiwan. So this blog is really mainly for the doting grandparents and cousins and close friends back home.

I do miss my old photography, too. I don't pretend to know anything about the art of photography - I only enjoy the process of taking pictures and sharing what I have seen. The best part of it for me is how much more I see when I am intending to share my photos. It opens my eyes and I find so much more in my environment to enjoy.

One note about the new name: Bright Sun Mountain. We now live in a sweet, little stone house on the edge of Yangming Mountain north of Taipei. Yangming in Mandarin literally means "sunshine bright", as far as my old Chinese training informs me.

I always welcome (and thrive on!) positive comments.