Christmas Eve 2010

Had an interesting multi-cultural dinner tonight: Chinese (BBQ & Teriyaki pork), Italian (pasta), Thai (salad), Canadian (deer sausage). Brett has gone out to visit friends in the neighbourhood. Real tree, presents wrapped, very content. Off to Lethbridge after breakfast tomorrow. Brett will be going to the University of Lethbridge next year, studying English and Social Studies - he wants to be an English teacher. Merry Christmas!

China and more

I certainly don't get around to posting much. It's now October and I haven't posted all summer and especially since our trip to China! So I better start there. My sister Dawn and her daughter Quinlan (6) and I traveled to China May 18 - June 4 to pick up Lindsay (2), Dawn's new daughter! What an awesome adventure! We started in Beijing and chilled for a couple of days to get over jet lag and get ready for the real fun. We went to the city of Shenzhen in Guangdog province. Dawn has a really good blog here. This is the wild handoff video. This is fun in the hotel eating noodles. And this is the best when we're back in the Beijing hotel and settled and some shots from their home in Winnipeg - watch this. The following is what I posted on Dawn's site. I'm copying it here as it is a list (I am a list-maker!) of a lot of the things we did.

Lindsay's Lucky

Often, when someone hears that you have adopted a child, they say, "Oh that child is lucky" because they are going to Canada etc. But Dawn usually responds, "No, I am the lucky one" to have two beautiful children. Well, I have to say that Quinlan and Lindsay are very very lucky to have a wonderful, intelligent, thoughtful, adventurous, and very caring mom, Dawn. I am very proud of her and thank her for her inspiration and the opportunity to share in this journey.

We all did a lot on this trip.

Of course, the absolute best thing is what a spark Lindsay is. She is happy, engaged, curious, sly, playful, cuddly, willful, left and right handed, strong, still smells and fells like a baby, and is now another great part of the Sutherland family.

Other things that we did:
- safari park in Guangzhou was a surprising highlight (50+ tigers, 10+ animated panda bears, 20+ giraffes, an elephant troupe, koalas, rhinoceros, etc.) Great drive-though savanah.
- bought a cello for Quinlan
- went to an amusement park in Beijing (slogan is "because Disneyland is too far")
- shopping at pearl market twice
- lots of travel on subway. Map here http://www.chinahighlights.com/image/city/beijing/beijing-subway-map-2010.jpg
- new shopping area south of Tian'amen square at Qianmen station, was both Champs-Élysées-like (in a China kind of way), and also had a maze of Chinese-style shopping behind the main street
- many parks, including: Beihai (ho-hi) near Forbidden City , Ditan (Temple of Earth) near Dali Lhama temple, Purple Bamboo Park near Beijing Zoo, Summer Palace is magnificent and this time we saw it in the Summer, took a Dragon boat across the lake and had many Popsicles. Beijing map here http://www.chinaodysseytours.com/maps/photo/beijing-map-overview.gif
- Dawn still didn't get to the Forbidden City. It is not stroller-friendly or kid-friendly.
- bought a Lion and a Dragon marionette
- saw an awesome acrobat show
- climbed the steep section of the Great Wall http://kinabaloo.com/juyongguan_great_wall.html
- had to use UV-umbrellas for the first few days in Beijing
- could see the mountains from our hotel room in Beijing on one day
- ate lots of noodles, pizza, bacon and egg breakfasts, dumplings, etc.
- drank quite a lot of beer since it is almost as cheap as water and tastes better than water kept slightly cool in the hotel room fridge.
- ordered ice from room-service once
- met lots of nice people
- spent 3 hours on the tarmak leaving Beijing for Vancouver as they had to replace a part on the plane
- smiled and laughed a lot
- thought about how lucky we are


Another nice thing is that in September mom visited Dawn for 2 weeks in Winnipeg and then visited us in Calgary. Mom and I took a road trip to Jasper and it was beautiful weather and very nice to spend some time together. Mom will be 78 this year and lives in Toronto. We see each other probably twice a year. She's doing fine and has Glen and Jill near her. But it's a bit hard not to be closer, so it was really nice just to live together for 2 weeks. She loved Jasper.

Finally, for this post, I am turning 50 next week! Yikes! And Brett's football team went undefeated this year and will be in the playoffs beginning next week. And Barry, Brett and I are going to Europe (London, Paris, Munich, Venice, Rome) for 2 weeks in March. Well, you'll have to wait for the next post. In the meantime, here's a photo from Brett's 16th birthday at the Calgary Tower.

What is my best trait?

OK, more stupid Facebook quizes

What Muppet Character am I?

Janice

Well, aren't you just the coolest cat on the block? You ooze confidence and are very comfortable with who you are. A trend setter without trying to be, you often have a look and attitude that people want to copy. Because of your mellow demeanor, you fit in with everyone, and you fit in well. You don't try to put yourself in the spotlight, but the spotlight can sometimes find you, which is something you handle well.

While this is what I might want to be, I'm not sure that I am. -Lynn

What Element am I?

Gold

You are true blue. You have the vibrant qualities of Helium but you are not superficial. Your qualities are real and very deep. You are loyal, trustworthy, ethical, all of the things a Boy Scout would be. You are of great value to those around you simply because you care and are there for them when they truly need help. Who can say something bad about you? Except those who are jealous.

Janice in combination with Gold, would be what I strive to be. -Lynn

What is my best trait?

Compassion

You don't judge others' faults but rather have compassion on them and what they are going through. Your first instinct when you see someone in need is to comfort them and show them how much you care. You are gracious, and love flows out of you naturally. Even in situations where most people would back away, you are right there for people with your arms wide open. You feel empathy for those who suffer, and this might be because of your kind nature or maybe even because you can relate; whatever the reason, you help heal wounds and are a shoulder to cry on.

This is not that true of me, I don't think, as, while I do support everyone's right and need to be themselves, I am not that sympathetic to people who make bad choices. -Lynn

What Greek God are You?

Athena

You are most like Athena, the goddess of the City, War, and of High Intelligence. You are very smart and think things out clearly. You are the type of person who does not stoop to anyone's level, for you are at your own. You are kind to those closest to you, somewhat vain toward those who are ignorant. You protect what you personally care about, first and foremost, those around you and secondly the place in which you live. Nothing can get past you and you always have the answer to a problem. Your weapon of choice: Spear and Shield

This fits. -Lynn

OK, enough goofiness for now. Nice fun distraction.

Back from Mexico

Back again from 1 week in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Stayed in a somewhat stranger place this time - the Royal DeCameron Complex - in Bucerias, Nayarit, which is about 20Km north of PV. it has 600 rooms, 6 pools, 3 buffets, 5 a la carte restaurants, etc. it is BIG. It was pretty nice, but the food was not great and the waves on the beach broke too close to the shore so you could only body surf for a very short run, like 10 feet. On the positive side, every room had a balcony and air conditioning and the nightly shows were better than the place we stayed at last year. Personally, I'd pick last year's place over this (Occidental Allegro in Neuvo Vallarta), but I think that we'll try something different next year.

Beautiful Clouds

Wow, it has been a long time since I've posted to this Blog! For now, just a couple of updates. I'll try to get back to this a bit and post more, 'cause there's lots to capture.

First just a link to the most awesome website with 365 days of images of clouds. Spectacular! Cloud 365 Project

Another fun thing is that Vancouver just hosted the Olympics. They were great to watch. I even participated in a way as I was selected to carry the torch. I ran on February 17 in Bow Island, Alberta, a town of 1200 between Medicine Hat and Lethbridge. It was a real honour and brought smiles to many people.

Also, just last week, sister Dawn, was approved for another adoption from China. I created this blog the last time we went to pick up Quinlan who was 14 months then and is 6 now. This was pre-blog and is currently on a web host that could go away. But here it is for now Quinlan Peng Ping Sutherland

VrStorm is doing great! Working with some strong people. Trying to get a startup company going. Really engaged and productive.