Shanghai River Cruise and Hangzhou, China

Shanghai would not be complete without a night time river cruise.  The glittering skyscrapers display a  spectacular display of lights.  My eyes never rested.  Huangpu River, a branch of the lower Yangtze River, has an outstanding display of architecture flanking its banks.  The famous Oriental Pearl TV Tower, which is the tallest TV tower in Asia and the third highest in the world, is breathtaking.  The two suspension bridges on each side of the tower appear to arch over the tower and if you let you mind play, you will think you are seeing two dragons playing with a ball.

From Shanghai we took a day trip by train to Hangzhou.  The train ride in itself was an adventure.   The speed of the train was about 200 MPH and I do not believe that the train ever touched the tracks.  The seats were oh so comfy and stretched out like a recliner.  All too soon, the train pulled into the station.  Hangzhou, known for its scenery, is home to the famous West Lake, located in the western area of Hangzhou city.  West Lake is not only famous for its landscape, but it is also associated with many scholars, national heroes, and martyrs.  It is the epitome of Chinese culture.   In this scenic area, one can see the Six Harmonies Pagoda as well as the tomb of the famous General Yue Fei, who is considered a national hero.  The Temple of the Soul’s Retreat lies to the northwest and is noted as one of the most famous Buddhist Temples of China.  The temple can be traced back to 317 – 420 AD when according to legend, an Indian monk came to the area where he was inspired by the spiritual nature of the scenery. 

Tom and I could not resist a boat ride on the lake.  The lake is so tranquil and we could see a silhouette of the city high rises on the northeast horizon and mountains near and far surround the lake on three other sides.  Visitors can bike around the lake, walk or, as we did, take a short boat ride.  And, the three stone pagodas, acting like beacons and built over 800 years ago, are the centerpiece of the scenic spot called “Three Pools Mirroring the Moon”.    You can see the pagodas in the pictures as well at the building that holds the Legend of Lady or Madame White Snake.  The basic legend is that of a young scholar who falls in love with a beautiful woman, unaware that she is a thousand-year old white snake that has taken on human form.  A monk supposedly intervenes and cast the white snake into a deep well at Leifeng Pagoda.  Our friend Wing told us the story and I cannot match his story telling so I have just given a short version.

Next, we will travel to Hainan Island and Chengdu

Catching up and China

Lots of things have happened since my last post here.  Firstly, perhaps the most dramatic change in my life, besides two children getting married and the addition of a new grandson this year, I retired.  Yes, I got tired of the hustle and bustle and the midnight maintenance windows and not having time to do diddly squat.  The weddings were in June and July (yes, a month apart) and little Wesley arrived in on Mother's Day.  Lots going on in 2012.  And, August 17, I hung up my Rock and Roll shoes after 24 3/4 years working for a telecommunications company in Atlanta.  My time there was great, I loved the people, especially my beautiful and gorgeous sister (well, she is my sister in my heart) India.  I miss her but I just met her at Costco yesterday, so all is well.  We will continue to meet and have our little lunch journies.  Yesterday, when she called, even though I am 30 minutes from Costco and my hair was wet from just getting out of the shower, I through it up in a ponytail and met her there.  Love my sis! 

So, anyway.  here is the first excerpt from a series of articles that I am writing on my visit to China.  I kept pinching myself while on the airplane to China.  No, not to stay awake but to say to myself, "I cannot believe that this girl from Larkinsville, Alabama is on her way to China.  Oh, yes!  And, I loved China.  Loved loved it!  And, I want to add that being retired, I am having to fight hard to do all of the things that I want to do.  Paint, write, wow!  I have completed several paintings since August so all is not lost.  And, for all of you retirees out there, keep the exercise up! 

My husband’s business travels takes him to many interesting places and when he asked if I wanted travel to China, I was elated.  I could just see Ingrid Bergman marching the Chinese children across The Great Wall as they sang “This Old Man”. (Ref. the movie “The Sixth Inn of Happiness”).   Too, I have always been fascinated with “The Last Emperor”.

 

I quickly spread the word among family and friends that I was going to China.  Their reaction was perhaps what one might expect.   Comments ranged from, “Really, China?” to “China is a communist country, right?”  Well, well well!

Friends and neighbors, I would hope that one day you would have the opportunity to visit China.  And, if you do, toss out any pre-conceived notions that you might have.  Keep an open mind and do not listen to others.  I want to tell you about my incredible journey.

Shanghai

We left Atlanta and some fourteen hours later, landed in Tokyo where we had access to an airlines Sky Lounge with food, laptops, Wi Fi.  That helped to erase the weariness of the long flight.  Shortly, we boarded our flight to Shanghai.  We landed around midnight which did not allow for much sightseeing between the airport and the hotel.  One thing that I did notice was that the highway was lit on both sides by street lights which was pretty cool.

We stayed in the fabulous Shangri-La Hotel East Pudong.  Upon our late arrival, we were greeted at the door with “Ni hao.”  After a good nights rest, I opened the curtains to a breathtaking view of the Shanghai Pudong skyline that towers over the Huangpu River.  We could see the Oriental Pearl Radio and TV Tower from our room.  It was the tallest structure in China until the Shanghai World Financial center was built.  At night the tower is lit in different LED sequences.

The wives of my husband’s business associates took me on a tour of the city.   Old City of Shanghai still has parts of the city wall which was built in 1554 in order to protect the town from raids by pirates.  The City God Temple is located in the center of the Old city.  Old city had to be my favorite of the day. 

We visited a local arts and crafts district where artisans displayed everything from Chinese paintings to beautiful QiPao pronounced “Chee Pow” which is the traditional Chinese dress. 

 I might add that the hospitality of these two ladies was beyond anything that I have experienced ever.  Their English was better than my Chinese and that is not saying a lot.  Thank goodness for the app that translates English to Chinese and Chinese to English.  Lunch was an incredible feast where my skills with chopsticks were put to the test.  By the time I left China, I could pick up an English pea with a chopstick.   We ate a fabulous lunch of fish soup and , of course, drank lots of tea. 

Stay tuned, Shanghai at night, coming next.

The Larkinsville Shuffle

So, as many of you may or may not know, I am from a small town in Northeast Alabama called Larkinsville.  Larkinsville is near Scottsboro.  So, I was watching Dancing with the Stars out of sheer boredom the other night.  I made a comment that someone couldn't dance that was performing on the show.  So, Mr. Smarty Pants remarked, "you are one to talk, Ms. Larkinsville Shuffle.
" What?," I asked.
"You always dance the Larkinsville shuffle," he said as he made a hasty retreat downstairs back to whatever he was watching or doing.
Duh! 
 So, I have had  crazy lyrics going through my head about "The Larkinsville Shuffle". So, in an attempt to get this out of my head,  I decided to do a dump from brain to paper hopefully never to hear this again.

Larkinsville Shuffle?  WTH?
.

The Larkinsville Shuffle

Hey, hey, hey
Do the Larkinsville Shuffle
Come on Baby Get on the Floor
Take your time, take it real slow
Shake it now Baby, Twist it to the floor
Hey, Hey, Hey
Do the Larkinsville Shuffle
How low can you go...
Yeah, yeah, yea
Do the Larkinsville Shuffle...

Slide, Slide, SLide
Get on your Pony and Ride, Ride Ride
Do the Larkinsville Shuffle
Move it real slow
Whoa, whoa whoa
Do the Larkinsville Shuffle
Ah, Ah ah ha
twirl it now baby, twirl it some more, mo mo mo
SLide it to the left, slide it to the right
hitch hike baby, with all your might...
Yeah, yeah yeah
Do the Larkinsville Shuffle...
Whoa Whoa Whoa
Let's do it once more,,,,more more

Yee haw!!

The Bridge

So quite the controversy over whether or not to save a bridge.  Some might think of it as an eye sore.  Especially, as this bridge seems to block a lot of the view of the Tennessee River.  However, those that love history, love saving things, etc. want to save the bridge.  They do not want it torn down and sold as scrap metal.  And, some folks just don't give a tinkers damn either way.

But, me?  Well, I had a dream about that old weather beaten bridge.  I was driving from Atlanta to the Boro coming down the mountain..highway whatever and I always look forward to seeing the Tennessee River.  But, it was dark and I did not expect to see much.  The closer I got, I saw it. The NEW bridge.  Yes, it was about 10 PM.  And, the lights started at one end of the bridge and they lit up all over that bridge.  These lights sent shivers of diamonds into the Tennessee River.  I mean the River was sparkling like all of Elizabeth Taylor's jewels rolled into one.   And, that old bridge looked like a version of the Eiffel Tower.  And, as I neared the "new" way into the city, I saw dozens of cars parked everywhere.  And, low and behold.  There was an elevator that was slowly going to the top of that bridge.  To the very top.  I got dizzy in my dream just thinking about that.  The lights were on in that little platform like elevator and I saw a beautiful girl.  Oh, you know where I am going.  So, she got out of the elevator onto the platform (yes, the town had built a standing platform on top of the bridge) and I saw her standing there.  Then, the elevator went back down and up again.  I pulled over on the shoulder of the road and watched.  The girl and her beau got back into car/elevator and road back down and hand in hand, they walked over to a little chapel.  And, there they said their wedding vows.  Yes, they met on top of the bridge.  You know, Cary Grant got left at the Empire State Building and so did Tom Hanks and God only knows who else.  As they were on top of the platform, guess what began to play?  The Tennessee Waltz and the Rhett Butler looking handsome guy took her into his arms and they danced a bit.

Wow!  What a dream.  And, yes.  Before I awoke, I made a date to meet at the top of that bridge sometime in the future.  We shall see!!

Have You Seen Her

What is the name of the song that goes something like this, "have you seen her, I see her face everywhere I go, tell me, have  you seen her?"  And, then it goes on, "why oh why did she have to go?"

The words to that song remind me so much of a dear friend that I once knew.  But, she is gone, gone forever.  I regret so many things.  I guess life is like that.  Full of regrets.  Things that one cannot change or bring back.

I have so many good memories of her. I wish that I could remember everything but the hands of time have snarled its way through my mind and, too, some memories have simply been over written by other memories.

 I do remember the first time that we met.  I was moving into the first floor of an apartment building. I had my VW Beetle crammed full of boxes and was just lugging another up the steps when a car careened into the graveled parking lot.  Dust flew.  She got out of the car, a Pinto, and flipped her sunglasses onto the top of her head.   For those of you to  young to remember, a Pinto was a small car.  I immediately noticed that gorgeous mane of blonde hair.  She glanced towards me, flipped her hair to one side, and gave me what I would soon learn, was her signature grin.  It was kind of a quirk grin that made me think she was sizing me up.    My first thought was, "who the heck is this goddess?"  I opened the door to my apartment and continued to unload all of the boxes that a VW could hold.   

What can I say?  This beautiful girl became one of my very best friends.  I so admired her.  She had a voluptuous body.  I may have weighed ninety-eight pounds and their was nothing special about me, but this girl had flawless skin and her grin was ...awesome.  Everything about her was perfect.  I had freckles and strived to keep them covered with make-up.  I guess my freckles came from all of those years in the cotton fields.  Anyway, this girl and I went on trips together, Sunday afternoon drives. and shared all of our little secrets.  Oh, my.  And, we did have our share of secrets.

She was a bit more country than me, I will have to admit; however, we were both farm girls.  Lots of Sundays she would go with me to my Memma's for Sunday dinner.  We were a pair.  Once, someone told me that drinking wine would make you gain weight so, I drove to South Pittsburg and bought a bottle of..I am guessing Boone's Farm.  I began to have a glass every night.  Of course, after work, she would pop into my apartment to catch up.  After several nights of watching me "drink my one glass" of wine, she decided that I was an alcoholic and made me give it up.  Didn't like it anyway and started getting breakfast at Burger Chef/King.

I knew her hurts, her pains, and just everything.  She had the cutest younger brother and a beautiful mother that would often visit.  I knew when she was upset because she had that funny little grin and a quirky little look.  And, for some reason, when she was upset, she would always give a nervous little laugh.

Vacations, Sunday afternoon drives, fits of crying over who knows what came to an end.  I moved.  And, why, I do not know, but we lost touch.  And, then I moved away to another State.  And, that was that.  But, I still thought of her and my Mom would tell me about seeing her, talking to her, etc.
Then, years later,I was visiting relatives in Alabama. We were sitting around drinking coffee and chit chatting.  Someone had turned the TV on.  I think it was just to have more noise. And, then we heard something about breaking news and a plane crash.   I watched the news saddened by the tragedy.  I remember thinking about work and hoping that no one from work was on the flight. As, by this time, we had gathered around the TV and a plane from NYC to Paris had crashed in the ocean.  It was horrible.  I just couldn't believe it.  The phone rang and it was my cousin calling to tell me that my friend that I had known all of those years ago, was on the flight as was her young son. 
Later, I recall that her sister-in-law called to tell me about a planned memorial service.  I did not attend the service.  I don't know why.  I just did not.  And, today, I regret it.
This year will be sixteen years since that event.  I think of her often and especially this past week or two.  I feel her presence and I sometimes think she is trying to tell me something. 
And, there are times, that I will be somewhere, and I will catch a glimpse of a beautiful blond with long, blond hair and I swear...I saw her.  I think I saw her.  I turned to follow and she was gone. 
Sixteen years ago this year she got on that plane with her son. 

And, I say to myself, have you seen her?  Tell me, have you seen her?  Why of why did she have to go?

Reese's PB Martini

Reese’s Peanut Butter Martini

2 1/2 ounces Reese’s Mini Peanut Butter Cup Infused Vodka, recipe below

4 ounces milk

1 teaspoon Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup

4 mini peanut butter Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, for garnish

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Infused Vodka

6 ounces good quality vodka (I used Tito’s)

1/4 cup Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

Instructions

1. To prepare the infused vodka, combine vodka and Reese’s Mini Peanut Butter Cups in a clean mason jar. Close jar tightly and store in a cool dry place for 7 days. Give it a good shake once or twice per day.
2. Once vodka has been infused, strain into a clean mason jar using a fine mesh sieve or cheese cloth. Store in a cool place or in the freezer.
3. To prepare the martini, combine infused vodka, Hershey’s chocolate syrup and milk in a cocktail shaker filled halfway with ice. Shake for 30-40 seconds and pour into two small martini glasses.
4. Garnish with Mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

Body Butter

You simply melt the shea butter and coconut oil together in a double boiler.  Add in the almond oil, or you an use Jojoba oil or olive oil.  Add essential oil of your choosing like lavendar or whatever you want (maybe orange).  Then, let solidify.  Then, whip or beat it with a mix and put into jars.

1 cup shea butter
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup almond oil (you can substitute olive oil, jojoba oil, any organic, liquid oil that is healthy.)