tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87249972772386509872024-03-05T18:32:28.892-07:00Notes from Beyond(Beyond Beadery, that is)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03319551586327425833noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724997277238650987.post-67459879732032539182012-12-19T09:30:00.000-07:002012-12-19T09:30:03.360-07:00CaramelloRolo Turtles!Here's a variation on yesterday's Minty Candies (still waiting for someone to come up with a name for those!).<br />
This one is my all-time favorite! I don't know why I only make these around Christmas time ... nothing about them particularly screams "Holidays!". I'll make it a point to make some in February. And March.<br />
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You'll pretty much follow the same protocol as yesterday's project - heat the oven to 250°, line a baking sheet with foil or parchment, blah, blah, blah.<br />
<br />
This time, however, instead of Kisses and M&Ms, you'll need Rolos and Pecan halves.<br />
You *can* used Hershey's Caramel Kisses, but they don't melt nearly as nicely as the Rolos do.<br />
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Line 'em up on their pretzel like good little toy soldiers<br />
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mmmmmmmm ... Rolos.<br />
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... and put 'em in the oven. Set your timer for 3 minutes, and bring 'em out when they're just getting melty and shiny.<br />
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Now place a lovely Pecan half right on top of each Rolo. Squish it down pretty good - you want a little caramel oozing out through the chocolate.<br />
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DANG, they're soooo good!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03319551586327425833noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724997277238650987.post-35678561570215434742012-12-18T10:05:00.001-07:002012-12-18T10:05:21.487-07:00Sweet & Salty Minty GoodnessReady for another quick & easy Holiday treat?<br />
Let's make some of those Minty Things.<br />
Sweet & Salty & Minty & Squishy & Crunchy - it's a great combination of textures and flavors!<br />
<br />
I don't know if they have a name - I'm open for suggestions!<br />
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Here's what you need to get started.<br />
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"Waffle" pretzels<br />
M&Ms - get the red & green Christmas ones.<br />
Hesrhey's Kisses - I'm using the Peppermint ones here, but I also like the "Hugs".<br />
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That's it!<br />
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Preheat the oven to 250°.<br />
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Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper, and spread out the Waffle Pretzels in a single layer.</div>
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Here's the hardest part: Unwrapping all those Kisses!<br />
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Next you'll want to decapitate them. This makes it much easier to press the M&M down without making a mess ... although this step isn't truly necessary.<br />
Pinch off the tip of each Kiss, using your fingers. I suppose you could use a knife if you like.<br />
Save the tiny little tips and melt them into your hot chocolate. . . or make Chocolate Tip Cookies! Ah, who am I kidding - I know you're just going to nibble on them while you're unwrapping the kisses.<br />
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Center a Kiss on top of each pretzel ...</div>
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<br />
... and slide them into your warm oven.<br />
OK, you only want to bake them until they're *just* getting squishy! The timing will vary, depending on your oven and the type of chocolate you're using.<br />
I suggest you set the timer for 2 minutes and check them. . . I usually keep mine in for *just* under 3 minutes.<br />
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They'll start to slump and get shiny, like this:<br />
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Now quickly put an M&M on top of each one. Don't press them down too hard, or squishiness will ensue!<br />
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Place them in the fridge for 10 minutes or so to firm them up.<br />
Mmmmm, minty goodness.<br />
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I really like these with the Brown-and-White Zebra-Striped Kisses as well!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03319551586327425833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724997277238650987.post-49664075351221176572012-12-15T16:07:00.000-07:002012-12-15T16:19:20.197-07:00Awww, Nuts'Tis the Season for nuts!<br />
Yesterday I made 8 pounds of Sugared Pecans.<br />
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These make great gifts for the holidays! Throw some in a cellophane bag and tie them up with curling ribbon. I give them to the UPS man, the lady at the Post Office, the Vet, the Hairdresser. Well, if I HAD a hairdresser, I'd give her some.<br />
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Let's do this!<br />
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Here's what we need to get started:<br />
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4 cups raw pecan halves</div>
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1 large egg white</div>
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1 teaspoon water</div>
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1/2 cup sugar</div>
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1 teaspoon kosher salt</div>
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1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon</div>
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Preheat your oven to 275°. Or 225°. Or 250°. </div>
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Really, it's not that important. Point is, you want to roast 'em low and slow.</div>
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Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.</div>
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Drop the egg white into a large stainless steel bowl and whisk it till it's good and frothy.</div>
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Add the water, sugar, salt, & cinnamon and keep whisking until it's thick and merengue-y.</div>
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Add the pecans and toss them gently until they're covered in gooey goodness.</div>
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Dump the pecans onto your baking sheet and spread them into a single layer.</div>
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Bake 'em for about 45 minutes, gently stirring every 15 minutes or so, until the merengue is golden brown.</div>
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Let them sit awhile and cool down, then remove them from the baking pan using a metal spatula. Once they've cooled off, they'll crisp up deliciously....</div>
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Now make another batch, because once you try one ... or three ... or a handful, you may not want to give them away!</div>
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<i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Party-Nuts-Recipes-Sensational-Gathering/dp/1558322434/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355613459&sr=8-1&keywords=party+nuts" target="_blank">This recipe is from Party Nuts! by Sally Sampson</a></i></div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03319551586327425833noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724997277238650987.post-34450023064320674262012-02-18T12:49:00.000-07:002012-02-18T12:49:27.279-07:00Heartful PurgingToday I purged my mailing list.<br />
I had more than 7,000 names on my list. No business this small needs 7,000 names and addresses on file.<br />
<br />
People that haven't ordered in over 5 years - you're outta here. I eliminated well over 1,000 names. Ruthlessly, fearlessly, heartlessly.<br />
<br />
No, wait. Not heartlessly.<br />
<br />
Anonymous names, people who ordered once or twice back in 2005 - bye, see ya, no problem. If you order again, you'll be back in my computer.<br />
<br />
But it pained my heart to eliminate many, many names.<br />
<br />
Names that have been on file since the mid '90s.<br />
Names that stood out in my mind because, I dunno, maybe they sounded like someone I went to high school with.<br />
Names of long-time customers who ordered 40, 50, 60 times over the years.<br />
<br />
Those hurt the most.<br />
<br />
Why hasn't she placed an order with us for so long? Did she get tired of beading, and is now knitting or rubber stamping or scrap-booking? Did she find another source that she liked better? Did arthritis cripple her fingers, making it impossible to hold a beading needle?<br />
<br />
Or - please - no - did she die?<br />
<br />
I confess that I've left the names and addresses of a few of my customers who have passed away, be it last year, or 15 years ago. I keep their names on file. It makes me smile when I come across these gone-but-not-forgotten customers, kind of a bittersweet tribute to their memory.<br />
<br />
Remember this: You mean something to someone, whether you know it or not.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03319551586327425833noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724997277238650987.post-39357737763186964302012-01-04T17:39:00.000-07:002012-01-04T17:39:35.828-07:00Creepy / CoolBig John gifted Mark with a 12" toy plastic skeleton.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSq3X9CPIvr_5tsAidjAroNhJCUBla22U7VowrgX1Wo1YkiOlv83nqaHW-cGJcuYffYSxpKW5AXwiNN_NuP4nCilqULCxpt8uaXTA36gCDDR9SzwkrMFk-ihPgVROX57Og8T0vZJK7xmM/s1600/Unknown.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSq3X9CPIvr_5tsAidjAroNhJCUBla22U7VowrgX1Wo1YkiOlv83nqaHW-cGJcuYffYSxpKW5AXwiNN_NuP4nCilqULCxpt8uaXTA36gCDDR9SzwkrMFk-ihPgVROX57Og8T0vZJK7xmM/s1600/Unknown.jpeg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Yes, my husband plays with dolls. Creepy dolls.<br />
A little grafting, some scraps of deerskin, a bunch of trinkets lying around the house, copious amounts of Epoxy, and more than a few bursts of expletives, and . . .<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCK5_OoMbHPmgk4CfFJE-ZeGPQvxeXYlm7xm8wdR0uHXfEpBKPUOznm92hu6xHu-PXtvz2LTWU1kO1K-rV1WXbt1BtsHFJyiWWINMHCSAhPDPpDBu4SHZVDnfd3V2T2Iep2C2V1sDsFRs/s1600/dragon_warrior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="395" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCK5_OoMbHPmgk4CfFJE-ZeGPQvxeXYlm7xm8wdR0uHXfEpBKPUOznm92hu6xHu-PXtvz2LTWU1kO1K-rV1WXbt1BtsHFJyiWWINMHCSAhPDPpDBu4SHZVDnfd3V2T2Iep2C2V1sDsFRs/s400/dragon_warrior.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>. . . the Dragon Warrior is born.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZenmv0IMXXNEqw3eiMqKVgQcpvx2GWcz4AQJ0SNEr6e7cwYhtGP77ZyXQQJ_RrRu0SasVL0V9R3ADwYaId6SzYW7nv9ZWNCUW01xAkiw_1dQIB6V9iwuHrlIze9RNY3dATww_Up2tybM/s1600/dragon_warrior_detail2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZenmv0IMXXNEqw3eiMqKVgQcpvx2GWcz4AQJ0SNEr6e7cwYhtGP77ZyXQQJ_RrRu0SasVL0V9R3ADwYaId6SzYW7nv9ZWNCUW01xAkiw_1dQIB6V9iwuHrlIze9RNY3dATww_Up2tybM/s400/dragon_warrior_detail2.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He carries a deerskin sheath for his sword</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjLy899ODE1oTt0kCSuGDDE4rvH_kINV3_CVW2R7WmTMoaR-x6JamvzPVYTSF-422KIsKlhKD88dhi_Nv7-zp0q8l19tWKftYwRNEZp_0m356wn2rV1EutAeGzOS-f86WClX79P9Tym7I/s1600/dragon_warrior_detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjLy899ODE1oTt0kCSuGDDE4rvH_kINV3_CVW2R7WmTMoaR-x6JamvzPVYTSF-422KIsKlhKD88dhi_Nv7-zp0q8l19tWKftYwRNEZp_0m356wn2rV1EutAeGzOS-f86WClX79P9Tym7I/s400/dragon_warrior_detail.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the canteen is about 1" in diameter</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji6_LMtmYwq-2S5sD9jOePowXU2KVyqeAPxsqlP64lolPr4Kk-hdtr14sYGrFfXlhBxmKWWnolmteNzqsYR6QUWRKKMCHAkDZxvRgMWMqV9hTVNhaf0EHRgd_P2oLlGAX-c1fJ2aRUlGY/s1600/dragon_warrior_closeup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji6_LMtmYwq-2S5sD9jOePowXU2KVyqeAPxsqlP64lolPr4Kk-hdtr14sYGrFfXlhBxmKWWnolmteNzqsYR6QUWRKKMCHAkDZxvRgMWMqV9hTVNhaf0EHRgd_P2oLlGAX-c1fJ2aRUlGY/s400/dragon_warrior_closeup.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and his vintage crystal-encrusted, leather-wrapped shield is about 2.5" in diameter</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwAZ9FQLHZb_9m450GncH7nUIc64SoByAULIcA4eu3_SU8KsYFQRBHOdeNPwFFy3pXZZdlcgDoP6Jz0VvkxsR0LwUAkr7JodkVhxznlIdQZ4lN8JHsvoOhJsONTgeIDTb5uwt_MIIs8y0/s1600/dragon_warrior2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwAZ9FQLHZb_9m450GncH7nUIc64SoByAULIcA4eu3_SU8KsYFQRBHOdeNPwFFy3pXZZdlcgDoP6Jz0VvkxsR0LwUAkr7JodkVhxznlIdQZ4lN8JHsvoOhJsONTgeIDTb5uwt_MIIs8y0/s640/dragon_warrior2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">even a skeleton dragon warrior needs a puppy!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhhmTLIYBNq-Hhu8blmeqRrzwSztsBy8ai69vogmfPBHqhlbnz3AYOqbH63l6hagbBe1gAxWh88vXHF5C0WM9riGzeRf_Ypv0WZ1Uhtne3NkG-BbPmmoOsDvwITyIP2iZl8eZRFWmm0Qg/s1600/dragon-puppy%2521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhhmTLIYBNq-Hhu8blmeqRrzwSztsBy8ai69vogmfPBHqhlbnz3AYOqbH63l6hagbBe1gAxWh88vXHF5C0WM9riGzeRf_Ypv0WZ1Uhtne3NkG-BbPmmoOsDvwITyIP2iZl8eZRFWmm0Qg/s640/dragon-puppy%2521.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oooo's a good puppy-boy? Ooo is? </td></tr>
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03319551586327425833noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724997277238650987.post-42130921780800034372011-12-30T21:44:00.001-07:002011-12-30T21:48:12.193-07:00Swarovski Crystal Pearl SaleHappy New Year to You and Yours!<br />
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</div>I'm re-doing my <a href="http://www.beyondbeadery.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_ID=857" target="_blank">Swarovski Elements Crystal Pearls</a> display and repackaging every last little pearl.<br />
<br />
Hmmmmmmm. . .<br />
The more I sell NOW, the fewer I'll have to repackage. I just hate undoing what has already been done! Soooo much easier to just start from scratch with a fresh new batch o' pearls!<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Won't you help me?</div><div><br />
</div><div>So for just a couple of days, I'm taking <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">30% off</span></b> all <a href="http://www.beyondbeadery.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_ID=857" target="_blank">Swarovski Crystal Pearls</a>. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfQxazYn38353hPimzkuPxAwykchnwAhyphenhyphenpxdaY02xBgeO8gp-agyhH1hlxLToBE4iN9ZtQFFA1ZACCYZByLH-NBq9tjGmLblpisevcejzisnlR3xovjmKiwuJTGONKZyLL5lgI7wUQ65M/s1600/crystal+lavender+pearls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfQxazYn38353hPimzkuPxAwykchnwAhyphenhyphenpxdaY02xBgeO8gp-agyhH1hlxLToBE4iN9ZtQFFA1ZACCYZByLH-NBq9tjGmLblpisevcejzisnlR3xovjmKiwuJTGONKZyLL5lgI7wUQ65M/s640/crystal+lavender+pearls.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div>No minimum, aside from our standard $10 order minimum. You can do $10, easy-peasy! I know you can!</div><div><br />
</div><div><i>• Supplies are limited to stock on hand - no backorders! </i></div><div><i>• This offer expires at midnight on January 1, 2012</i>. </div><div> <i>Wait . . . or is that midnight on January 2, 2012? </i></div><div><i> Ahhh, you know what I mean - you have until the end of January 1st.</i></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03319551586327425833noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724997277238650987.post-3313043729800096242011-12-18T12:03:00.000-07:002011-12-18T12:03:51.728-07:00Street Barbers and DentistsWe're still on the streets of Kashgar in Western China.<br />
There's a whole block of dentist's offices<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9sfmhqGzKX8cprnO4MEGL7VbAKNTJeQ32UEPOL55kVQwuwCwFkBGs-bZdWtVSKK1j806Zt1ojRYtQDnL8mPsA5Vvo_ZrlWLKUPCMkE4Z186rj5vAF1qp6XB4cmFCFXMJObjI_mzlPUJw/s1600/Kashgar_dentist.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="473" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9sfmhqGzKX8cprnO4MEGL7VbAKNTJeQ32UEPOL55kVQwuwCwFkBGs-bZdWtVSKK1j806Zt1ojRYtQDnL8mPsA5Vvo_ZrlWLKUPCMkE4Z186rj5vAF1qp6XB4cmFCFXMJObjI_mzlPUJw/s640/Kashgar_dentist.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">and barbers set up right on the sidewalk.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkuaTmEPQwgFxMC0vJ5e5tCYCSAYS0w3G3lcI2dzZp4rW5022P-J8JI7yBl_IX5t-odS3cMEo7ZMt2CqmTc7FUPcQZ3dA4Eo7MdY41fsVAtDt6x7dI_jJA4kl6NPQs5H1zUfcuM1bCHzo/s1600/barbers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkuaTmEPQwgFxMC0vJ5e5tCYCSAYS0w3G3lcI2dzZp4rW5022P-J8JI7yBl_IX5t-odS3cMEo7ZMt2CqmTc7FUPcQZ3dA4Eo7MdY41fsVAtDt6x7dI_jJA4kl6NPQs5H1zUfcuM1bCHzo/s400/barbers.jpg" width="322" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjBMNFH5A7FWfoOAjafgRb8nYdrIGKvjF6kDWA7WZ-lRefgtQm3hn9TabzxRGIKTDs29WvJLQtaQEMMfo1ZQZExXBybeCNIreI0HY-Jvpt-7F1If2V4b2L6CLKPgxe2dEfNbvTxvHtpZg/s1600/barber_lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjBMNFH5A7FWfoOAjafgRb8nYdrIGKvjF6kDWA7WZ-lRefgtQm3hn9TabzxRGIKTDs29WvJLQtaQEMMfo1ZQZExXBybeCNIreI0HY-Jvpt-7F1If2V4b2L6CLKPgxe2dEfNbvTxvHtpZg/s640/barber_lg.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwC5fcHkWEKqN3ySYQ5tRsQbEUehMOIf00xZob7_KyTTuekHw_KVm7Ynbk8nbbgMCc4JeM8gCviVbtra3Tvb2BnrnwSG70S2nhWPspN3qM3MhKaQoYyfVmCnyS-A3Wx72UCLXBE3G1-Tg/s1600/barber2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwC5fcHkWEKqN3ySYQ5tRsQbEUehMOIf00xZob7_KyTTuekHw_KVm7Ynbk8nbbgMCc4JeM8gCviVbtra3Tvb2BnrnwSG70S2nhWPspN3qM3MhKaQoYyfVmCnyS-A3Wx72UCLXBE3G1-Tg/s400/barber2.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br />
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03319551586327425833noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724997277238650987.post-42510435769897481102011-12-13T08:00:00.003-07:002011-12-13T08:00:01.834-07:00Let's Make a Batch of Smoky Almonds!Mmmmm, Smokehouse Almonds. Got a few minutes? Let's make our own.<br />
Yeah, it's that easy.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghexNxytKqvNU6P-_A-y_-8W8CSPTNQbQmBTH2RSEblIOplXy8w3_l-Im9rQbn76spttxda63yLq5zwQfBump4KMLoofcWWmV-Ftep6XbNRHb9HbcC7YYJdUKkKIj2Ts4N9gzzINotpq0/s1600/smoky_almonds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghexNxytKqvNU6P-_A-y_-8W8CSPTNQbQmBTH2RSEblIOplXy8w3_l-Im9rQbn76spttxda63yLq5zwQfBump4KMLoofcWWmV-Ftep6XbNRHb9HbcC7YYJdUKkKIj2Ts4N9gzzINotpq0/s640/smoky_almonds.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Start by preheating the oven to 300°, and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Or you can spray it with nonstick cooking spray if you don't keep parchment paper on hand.<br />
<br />
Break one egg white in a deep mixing bowl. You can save the leftover yolk to make, I dunno, Hollandaise Sauce or Lemon Curd or Custard.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ9phnurHfLZ7xqQhFX8fXx8LfgpN-cCmXnUFAgF81kNIVK61KcwtOVDkWZf55P3P2YpWqpDLfe5XvnE50k8NFI8oCC1NRHIdM3TVSWrAQOLP9_zHDYtZvzJh8mm_DD3E9TKbirIj51Ys/s1600/eggwhites.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ9phnurHfLZ7xqQhFX8fXx8LfgpN-cCmXnUFAgF81kNIVK61KcwtOVDkWZf55P3P2YpWqpDLfe5XvnE50k8NFI8oCC1NRHIdM3TVSWrAQOLP9_zHDYtZvzJh8mm_DD3E9TKbirIj51Ys/s320/eggwhites.jpg" width="292" /></a></div>Whisk it up till it's nice and foamy.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwCDFxlpdj5gtHI500fZ5Q0kNXNfWYwdm1iBAFzsJPKQ-uEbNKah47BeVnj7HX4Se9Csy84cDg-vslOq4x1jWJC2FOOHkvb7iKFH1Ae6kzxYTNsbch2GDcHD9Gi-Gb0Z8vgTKaB3r10bY/s1600/eggbeater.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwCDFxlpdj5gtHI500fZ5Q0kNXNfWYwdm1iBAFzsJPKQ-uEbNKah47BeVnj7HX4Se9Csy84cDg-vslOq4x1jWJC2FOOHkvb7iKFH1Ae6kzxYTNsbch2GDcHD9Gi-Gb0Z8vgTKaB3r10bY/s400/eggbeater.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>I have a thing for my old-fashioned, hand-crankin' egg beater, but you can use a whisk like a normal, modern human.<br />
<br />
When you've got a good little foam going on, add a coupla teaspoons of Garlic Powder, a coupla teaspoons of Celery Salt, about 1/2 teaspoon of Kosher salt, and a tablespoon of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_smoke" target="_blank">Liquid Smoke</a>.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_smoke" target="_blank">Liquid Smoke</a> . . . what a weird concept. What IS that stuff, anyway? It sounds so creepy and artificial - but in reality, the ingredients are Smoke and Water. That's it.<br />
<br />
And for those of us without a smoker, which I imagine is most of us, it's what's we need to do the deed.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">None of these measurements are set in stone - I usually add a little more of each ingredient because I like . . . more. More is good. Too much of everything is just enough.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><br />
Stir it up and throw in 3 cups of raw almonds.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhD2j47KKI-Y3kkYCtE30oXI29kPRV1nY39BUFXwumGP2Mn3vxCGlgbcZVUEEHIkhnEl3N9dU0q9Hw1HjWnh1Erkc12KufLk8y1gS_QzkdGSfV6BV_qHRApwj_891_wTuSQmktYGz91J4/s1600/stiritup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhD2j47KKI-Y3kkYCtE30oXI29kPRV1nY39BUFXwumGP2Mn3vxCGlgbcZVUEEHIkhnEl3N9dU0q9Hw1HjWnh1Erkc12KufLk8y1gS_QzkdGSfV6BV_qHRApwj_891_wTuSQmktYGz91J4/s400/stiritup.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Mixy-mixy-mixy.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7umcQ3XLCKVAiMNnHF5r7A68BJgcl9KqPevTvNvJsHdFY13lI0U1rQlgxM2TzlcP7Guz46N2ACcdmTRTD2sWa3EmDiiHaPeOCaSdbJU2SlhbEoywhqYUUUc57v3XP0gWIWhQiWfCKpDk/s1600/mixy_mixy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7umcQ3XLCKVAiMNnHF5r7A68BJgcl9KqPevTvNvJsHdFY13lI0U1rQlgxM2TzlcP7Guz46N2ACcdmTRTD2sWa3EmDiiHaPeOCaSdbJU2SlhbEoywhqYUUUc57v3XP0gWIWhQiWfCKpDk/s400/mixy_mixy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Stir it all up until it's evenly coated with ooey-gooey goodness.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-dTxgIRn9bE7xh9Az7KsYHr0KaGCHV1JEvQPKoP2fYQC5LJRE9NZYmTW6CZzqrmbb2Fxy-ZeaDVjdnqyu6XqxjI3mKsd90V4-W2RcvCDcnCToEgy0isOmPbujmlG4kQbVDX2bGaczC8A/s1600/ooeygooey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="514" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-dTxgIRn9bE7xh9Az7KsYHr0KaGCHV1JEvQPKoP2fYQC5LJRE9NZYmTW6CZzqrmbb2Fxy-ZeaDVjdnqyu6XqxjI3mKsd90V4-W2RcvCDcnCToEgy0isOmPbujmlG4kQbVDX2bGaczC8A/s640/ooeygooey.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Spread them onto your cookie sheet and bake them for 30-40 minutes, giving them a loving stir-around every 10 minutes.<br />
<br />
That's it! Easy-peasy, right?<br />
<br />
Eat.<br />
You're welcome.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03319551586327425833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724997277238650987.post-15253090058252575212011-12-11T20:54:00.000-07:002011-12-11T20:54:03.964-07:00GingerDead Men!6 pounds of Smoky Almonds<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPNrrCLcz3b9Hh_lVYybYucBrxMjKNlLu278G3ZzN_vO4GVRr2whpfe5M0tSIzSNq2n_h4gHyxga7iKJF7aNX8ZNdV5_KMILbyZzCp_kBYxKkANid2cNoZNNGGzyujtakBkneVTN_IJvI/s1600/smoky_almonds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPNrrCLcz3b9Hh_lVYybYucBrxMjKNlLu278G3ZzN_vO4GVRr2whpfe5M0tSIzSNq2n_h4gHyxga7iKJF7aNX8ZNdV5_KMILbyZzCp_kBYxKkANid2cNoZNNGGzyujtakBkneVTN_IJvI/s400/smoky_almonds.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
10 pounds of Sugared Cinnamon Pecans<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJLdA5-624ejX5czU_qJPSwqV7X0HJqrL5NiCn3Hvit2nMC_7PK-Bge9Rgj9adCzQrqtIqpt3BsbkyKq4y6TsDPOCj1UghSEsRCgVIMpaoHlwzR5x1U7YZXxG31Ut8OhumkfqHyjXy_b0/s1600/SugaredPecans.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJLdA5-624ejX5czU_qJPSwqV7X0HJqrL5NiCn3Hvit2nMC_7PK-Bge9Rgj9adCzQrqtIqpt3BsbkyKq4y6TsDPOCj1UghSEsRCgVIMpaoHlwzR5x1U7YZXxG31Ut8OhumkfqHyjXy_b0/s400/SugaredPecans.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
and a coupla dozen GingerDead Men!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1rjZ88jNtfCD_r8en38DbPSyxQzaCaYM6kQKDPz7wHzC11D6S_EQuX12_8WiZDolsov4RF3xDHXqUdtF4Ui4BcNMQy_rXiBdV2dq8yNi7Fs-0RNw70PG6r9IP2elsF2eDi9B-Ff7JE5k/s1600/gingeredeadmen%2521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="475" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1rjZ88jNtfCD_r8en38DbPSyxQzaCaYM6kQKDPz7wHzC11D6S_EQuX12_8WiZDolsov4RF3xDHXqUdtF4Ui4BcNMQy_rXiBdV2dq8yNi7Fs-0RNw70PG6r9IP2elsF2eDi9B-Ff7JE5k/s640/gingeredeadmen%2521.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03319551586327425833noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724997277238650987.post-45479510070817972982011-12-11T11:45:00.000-07:002011-12-11T11:45:35.908-07:00Early Winter Sunset<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">One evening last week . . .</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-ybgGwGDJrO5ZAB1yzw87nX-AexUFDDdyQHeQEg1lwBu3xbn-HtBw0QGYEunnRjtsgyufra1frVmYRrzGaDcJmds0gcj5U14tFw7LdYmtoPayJFFxTJfsXmLN7yzlqXGUDbexLJXMHDQ/s1600/evening_sky.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-ybgGwGDJrO5ZAB1yzw87nX-AexUFDDdyQHeQEg1lwBu3xbn-HtBw0QGYEunnRjtsgyufra1frVmYRrzGaDcJmds0gcj5U14tFw7LdYmtoPayJFFxTJfsXmLN7yzlqXGUDbexLJXMHDQ/s400/evening_sky.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicwi0ae0xvMfoYTDCLXtGoWK0Ha-nqZaryL-sYN9FkGLjtYfZjMxv7YtCcaaLpGp7v5a79DH1L99JtDgAgjdAh6wJWSuxjAk6mYn900Q83j7AZMWAHkgHmN7P4Zpb2heboIjb3XPcPrVU/s1600/evening_sky2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicwi0ae0xvMfoYTDCLXtGoWK0Ha-nqZaryL-sYN9FkGLjtYfZjMxv7YtCcaaLpGp7v5a79DH1L99JtDgAgjdAh6wJWSuxjAk6mYn900Q83j7AZMWAHkgHmN7P4Zpb2heboIjb3XPcPrVU/s640/evening_sky2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">. . . and the very next evening . . . </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgepcFFuOJv9i8vvVjwmDNC8-Zupp-FNmUdudxVSFX6UUZ8rkNIJQcKWiIkYV5HblAfcDDPPanUYZsNS34sQJVbJEFCXoqNf9ABtAxhKIO1AJUrfGh4cOpxrfpgJEd_XWRKACuWSR2Qi3Q/s1600/Rollinsville_sunset.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgepcFFuOJv9i8vvVjwmDNC8-Zupp-FNmUdudxVSFX6UUZ8rkNIJQcKWiIkYV5HblAfcDDPPanUYZsNS34sQJVbJEFCXoqNf9ABtAxhKIO1AJUrfGh4cOpxrfpgJEd_XWRKACuWSR2Qi3Q/s640/Rollinsville_sunset.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmfdzxrCm6I7rXzz0J-wLpLDM8EG7CragAu5ImiNvXJw8WccYdr8OG3nl1mn8cNr-e3o6wnAHHwg8wzzGkCujuqFldRo-KjOvtAXbbYU_Mc8iXbWl_WtJBjaE2ftqpq2L8VV18P20nWto/s1600/Rollinsville_sunset2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmfdzxrCm6I7rXzz0J-wLpLDM8EG7CragAu5ImiNvXJw8WccYdr8OG3nl1mn8cNr-e3o6wnAHHwg8wzzGkCujuqFldRo-KjOvtAXbbYU_Mc8iXbWl_WtJBjaE2ftqpq2L8VV18P20nWto/s640/Rollinsville_sunset2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAGzHxpyrtBcilXlk1HM_woZziljTy2UgZ_UMAKvMXehgO4elYqRnWgzfu_HQQLvADHft3w556Dhk5RK_MfC3bJoeO-BGNcd8muHE3S3mOQRYUdCrzsFBt1JO265R8Q3eePDYxUGrz9Go/s1600/Rollinsville_sunset3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAGzHxpyrtBcilXlk1HM_woZziljTy2UgZ_UMAKvMXehgO4elYqRnWgzfu_HQQLvADHft3w556Dhk5RK_MfC3bJoeO-BGNcd8muHE3S3mOQRYUdCrzsFBt1JO265R8Q3eePDYxUGrz9Go/s640/Rollinsville_sunset3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF2nYnp349_h4YckVWh04-NUmqyeoMOWPw3GXQhYWDF4DF8SqMzSVklNdWgQPOCNVHiz8WUaJ8aEcoVqW-T9KYQA0htWa4VjQoLlc_rYpKlfdZQngD8fk9BRt4cOzKPJV99U-gPnSnUW4/s1600/Rollinsville_sunset4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF2nYnp349_h4YckVWh04-NUmqyeoMOWPw3GXQhYWDF4DF8SqMzSVklNdWgQPOCNVHiz8WUaJ8aEcoVqW-T9KYQA0htWa4VjQoLlc_rYpKlfdZQngD8fk9BRt4cOzKPJV99U-gPnSnUW4/s320/Rollinsville_sunset4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The sky is on fire!</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03319551586327425833noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724997277238650987.post-9387019014173698772011-11-30T09:04:00.002-07:002011-11-30T14:45:01.881-07:00More impressions from Western China<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Well, I have been a busy bunny this month and have been remiss in reporting my observations from my trip across China!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So here's just a few more pictures from Kashgar.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Kashgar is home to one of the largest statues of Mao Zedong in the world. As you can imagine, in the heart of China's largest autonomous region of predominantly Uyghur people, this statue is not particularly well-loved.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWF-3CHuvuiG-nJZ3uuIgCPtd1dm622OzYDhsNDLaKD_q1RywPasYb1IRJ6TT_9HZUJGEI3RYZWr1ZUnkVuez8cMEP82Ca6z4ndYtkPMO_AIrTZj8JViUTZxaAmCF31Y6nYNYA-rRYJbI/s1600/Big_Mao2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWF-3CHuvuiG-nJZ3uuIgCPtd1dm622OzYDhsNDLaKD_q1RywPasYb1IRJ6TT_9HZUJGEI3RYZWr1ZUnkVuez8cMEP82Ca6z4ndYtkPMO_AIrTZj8JViUTZxaAmCF31Y6nYNYA-rRYJbI/s400/Big_Mao2.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the massively awkward Chairman towers over Kashgar</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1eduLYUS5zaUixDgUYOsSN0s3dXHZr4WmwA_C3_2aCDuh1lzRBW8JY8fnaK9c7AOmuI9JDqhdhcOqVzDNP8XcruP83IOg1N3-0hEekXBjGGNYJuq3pJV2HhgNwXSxVOC82wHvNnyIGkk/s1600/bikewoman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1eduLYUS5zaUixDgUYOsSN0s3dXHZr4WmwA_C3_2aCDuh1lzRBW8JY8fnaK9c7AOmuI9JDqhdhcOqVzDNP8XcruP83IOg1N3-0hEekXBjGGNYJuq3pJV2HhgNwXSxVOC82wHvNnyIGkk/s400/bikewoman.jpg" width="263" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div> I loved this couple! The man was all smiles, pointing to my camera and gesturing for me to take a picture of him and his wife. As soon as I was ready to shoot, he would stand straight, solemn, and stoic, refusing to smile . . . then he'd giggle like a little boy when I showed him the pictures!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja9LRBFECcGwbxW8aRUro_h8fNcVyFC16XWuQQosO1qLZv4f2BSl1lvXwTq3hVagLigjhbbk63nzPrKeZ01JziTDFcqybNz3XaieEB2mmvyHOVF29xRf09i50upb07ILkIF4htMVu-T94/s1600/Kashgar_couple.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja9LRBFECcGwbxW8aRUro_h8fNcVyFC16XWuQQosO1qLZv4f2BSl1lvXwTq3hVagLigjhbbk63nzPrKeZ01JziTDFcqybNz3XaieEB2mmvyHOVF29xRf09i50upb07ILkIF4htMVu-T94/s400/Kashgar_couple.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjplAnU51K2GcPFVNfTpDSWhfs6NrkY0lEVCzwDxBQlenJP7_VRwSVQ-nUXvG-FnljS-TRy6zNFCDBwlgmIXBIm2_NvW3Ne5Qug511sTrJYktF0YtKf2_44viZopGe3_wDzf5ltAHdMAHw/s1600/Kashgar_girl2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjplAnU51K2GcPFVNfTpDSWhfs6NrkY0lEVCzwDxBQlenJP7_VRwSVQ-nUXvG-FnljS-TRy6zNFCDBwlgmIXBIm2_NvW3Ne5Qug511sTrJYktF0YtKf2_44viZopGe3_wDzf5ltAHdMAHw/s640/Kashgar_girl2.jpg" width="434" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I know I already posted a picture of this little beauty earlier, but I was just so captivated by her sweet, shy smile!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK7Qwh9nJFw2_Ht8mnRacVhIszJ9YD1AvQD3PuwfkX1Pi26FQHQ2xKLim3QdT9IS4LRPKxmWNoJDJSIe2BWGi2QAUt_ZzLP9ItCpEfyPAWy-kziohOX74VAAxInWDMltf4JDadw3L0PlE/s1600/old_man.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
<img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK7Qwh9nJFw2_Ht8mnRacVhIszJ9YD1AvQD3PuwfkX1Pi26FQHQ2xKLim3QdT9IS4LRPKxmWNoJDJSIe2BWGi2QAUt_ZzLP9ItCpEfyPAWy-kziohOX74VAAxInWDMltf4JDadw3L0PlE/s400/old_man.jpg" width="259" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWihWmfWOkQ5oo7ZOy82Xr9apLUNzS9hkMyMOfxqZ2PwpLd7l-qJd0ylwsL3lZx4s4UB8QZhqHMs4anXnTgQ-LZsEzIgWXo5RNbtv7DKdqXz7PTmIGMoUSR1TGswZ8fdid2MVW9a9egNE/s1600/Kashgar_woman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWihWmfWOkQ5oo7ZOy82Xr9apLUNzS9hkMyMOfxqZ2PwpLd7l-qJd0ylwsL3lZx4s4UB8QZhqHMs4anXnTgQ-LZsEzIgWXo5RNbtv7DKdqXz7PTmIGMoUSR1TGswZ8fdid2MVW9a9egNE/s640/Kashgar_woman.jpg" width="360" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEktBXiVKxvJc7bbTBIqm1IiDjLmwm8cSooPombiiLN6hSt4pBsrFeNk4F-43JJX0vJqqBc2eZNZiieEijn9DQ1TYjnx_QOWhXJJPyHXEHFJAunsN9eZEykP7UjxecnCa_FsHjP91ZGWs/s1600/old_town_Kashgar3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEktBXiVKxvJc7bbTBIqm1IiDjLmwm8cSooPombiiLN6hSt4pBsrFeNk4F-43JJX0vJqqBc2eZNZiieEijn9DQ1TYjnx_QOWhXJJPyHXEHFJAunsN9eZEykP7UjxecnCa_FsHjP91ZGWs/s400/old_town_Kashgar3.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga2YkkvFILqWmtEc1vkxDZMgR7VIFJPrn7irOv9yUne7PQw6lTXO_uYyRvVZGhmptDOHZZVMkE7xNiltcBj0XRPsppwmaQocGrcE6sJyd15jx9LyNgjhSSXw5vXuM-e0uxsSuevr-BZfs/s1600/old_town_Kashgar5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga2YkkvFILqWmtEc1vkxDZMgR7VIFJPrn7irOv9yUne7PQw6lTXO_uYyRvVZGhmptDOHZZVMkE7xNiltcBj0XRPsppwmaQocGrcE6sJyd15jx9LyNgjhSSXw5vXuM-e0uxsSuevr-BZfs/s320/old_town_Kashgar5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilgTNd67YqK2V2KAxlKpG3ow6lrP2hytSb_qZ_5IqVuZjZX5_my7mvE7WNkxv4_YKVOqzyWbLc_aXkpp8tABTdmq57oHk5Yx-zfU-NvXCsDcPerebYk_yYLVBmM5Y2t4eJr85POAvjdRA/s1600/Kashgar_boys2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilgTNd67YqK2V2KAxlKpG3ow6lrP2hytSb_qZ_5IqVuZjZX5_my7mvE7WNkxv4_YKVOqzyWbLc_aXkpp8tABTdmq57oHk5Yx-zfU-NvXCsDcPerebYk_yYLVBmM5Y2t4eJr85POAvjdRA/s400/Kashgar_boys2.jpg" width="258" /></a></div><br />
<span id="goog_595822044"></span><span id="goog_595822045"></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03319551586327425833noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724997277238650987.post-12513649015851024582011-11-09T07:44:00.001-07:002011-12-31T19:53:59.766-07:00Still more Kashgar memories<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">We slowly wind our way through Old Town Kashgar, stopping here and there to buy scarves and hats and sample meat-stuffed naan.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXgmJ0TTclsLnmbhOfiDRbLRnIN6-xvicjXKOQOs-qwQpGUwMEDMKvTwwleHHLG9KDheAfWPFo1s94ATLoiaVcEJwV9cnHgG6Gx6gXYxO8rqCPI-rkfo3agqXhBIDIrxb5t747dmVWMIY/s1600/538.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXgmJ0TTclsLnmbhOfiDRbLRnIN6-xvicjXKOQOs-qwQpGUwMEDMKvTwwleHHLG9KDheAfWPFo1s94ATLoiaVcEJwV9cnHgG6Gx6gXYxO8rqCPI-rkfo3agqXhBIDIrxb5t747dmVWMIY/s320/538.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXgmJ0TTclsLnmbhOfiDRbLRnIN6-xvicjXKOQOs-qwQpGUwMEDMKvTwwleHHLG9KDheAfWPFo1s94ATLoiaVcEJwV9cnHgG6Gx6gXYxO8rqCPI-rkfo3agqXhBIDIrxb5t747dmVWMIY/s1600/538.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black;"></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYUvsCvQmIIxT6npxnaoTxm9VT9A4qlqhwHopqd9-aG5l3tv1e6_Ta6AimMn2Q509utyu6iq3nzbzcA0-l3RGHBlymtQtfrFo9NwZNwzEciqryoyQsrHKwzd0MoJ7XqS3hwQHHfVycHm0/s1600/Uighur_bakers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYUvsCvQmIIxT6npxnaoTxm9VT9A4qlqhwHopqd9-aG5l3tv1e6_Ta6AimMn2Q509utyu6iq3nzbzcA0-l3RGHBlymtQtfrFo9NwZNwzEciqryoyQsrHKwzd0MoJ7XqS3hwQHHfVycHm0/s320/Uighur_bakers.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfxiS0-VtGhyW37r7fMxcErOcTJejv3GThspULQMgH3UGLG2h2QosFD3KSAk-KHEKPjNdRejXb158t2sM-soClaX3FSQGScM9-iZisMEJAP1aCPH7qKqqu34zevbJVl1kFUMsZCXtYz8g/s1600/Uighur_baker.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfxiS0-VtGhyW37r7fMxcErOcTJejv3GThspULQMgH3UGLG2h2QosFD3KSAk-KHEKPjNdRejXb158t2sM-soClaX3FSQGScM9-iZisMEJAP1aCPH7qKqqu34zevbJVl1kFUMsZCXtYz8g/s320/Uighur_baker.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">We eat fresh sesame seed Uighur bagels as they're pulled hot out of wood-fired clay ovens on the sidewalk.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge_-XscdN_3JFEAepZNpxPjk3amwlPefN7Bu07TPqgCvcyhWx9lUusRO6WSeLenQyFyk28W3CuA7tUc-INR-LDR5iUZAeltifcbz80FkYKb3D3119aLMvkc4Z3LQ_9JIgYBhYLA9FW-GY/s1600/Bagel_woman2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge_-XscdN_3JFEAepZNpxPjk3amwlPefN7Bu07TPqgCvcyhWx9lUusRO6WSeLenQyFyk28W3CuA7tUc-INR-LDR5iUZAeltifcbz80FkYKb3D3119aLMvkc4Z3LQ_9JIgYBhYLA9FW-GY/s320/Bagel_woman2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">hot bagels!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhAXE8BsdpnFhuyOwfWa6_eQksMkmzx8d3urolBxCsUqnr_oc-jOLy1FCC7fAEB2lf2pUloObwir3Fxe5A3ktX1XY4l69QqW1ylX8BNdTprMbQohKn5JBsV41c-ov0N5C7Djb9S5-1m_0/s1600/Bagel_woman3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhAXE8BsdpnFhuyOwfWa6_eQksMkmzx8d3urolBxCsUqnr_oc-jOLy1FCC7fAEB2lf2pUloObwir3Fxe5A3ktX1XY4l69QqW1ylX8BNdTprMbQohKn5JBsV41c-ov0N5C7Djb9S5-1m_0/s320/Bagel_woman3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We stop at a cart selling Houma melons and watermelon, 1 yuan a slice - that's about 16¢ - and gorge ourselves on the sweetest watermelon, slice after slice after slice, the juice running down our chins and spitting the seeds into the street, before we notice that we're smack-dab in the middle of a three-way road, cars and motorbikes and donkey carts and traffic whizzing past us on all sides, which just makes us giggle and makes the watermelon taste all the sweeter.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiukjZfqAPp2laZpRg4VLHtivin13EZmDoug_mRUyKooHit4mquClkr-BSkT8nRTzV1a2NJmZqlloue8YFnsdbxbtDLtnlMhuPgVpZeeUJJ6XgY3sA_vZClggtf3bEBQNaFlT2Nyt96we8/s1600/watermelon%2521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiukjZfqAPp2laZpRg4VLHtivin13EZmDoug_mRUyKooHit4mquClkr-BSkT8nRTzV1a2NJmZqlloue8YFnsdbxbtDLtnlMhuPgVpZeeUJJ6XgY3sA_vZClggtf3bEBQNaFlT2Nyt96we8/s400/watermelon%2521.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Betcey and Steven in a watermelon frenzy</td></tr>
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<span id="goog_607970840"></span><span id="goog_607970841"></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03319551586327425833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724997277238650987.post-47978883596416725762011-11-08T01:38:00.000-07:002011-11-08T01:38:25.060-07:00Old Town KashgarThe streets of Kashgar are alive with cars, taxis, donkey carts, motor scooters, and electric bicycles. They pay no heed traffic lanes or directions, and it's not unusual to see mothers with 2 or 3 children - babies, even - zipping in and out of traffic on their scooters.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAZClCc4sQRYGyVS21kYX2tqnlkJ9L2JJSi3uI2nykLk7w6oHNDZko_HL5B9_ybivRkiLLmNlgiPbzy-acfKxzIB3ZBi8JjBLs80ESu9l9LNKRrUbMTo62RYr17c0vH8-9t6hq0Rv4x44/s1600/bike_women.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAZClCc4sQRYGyVS21kYX2tqnlkJ9L2JJSi3uI2nykLk7w6oHNDZko_HL5B9_ybivRkiLLmNlgiPbzy-acfKxzIB3ZBi8JjBLs80ESu9l9LNKRrUbMTo62RYr17c0vH8-9t6hq0Rv4x44/s320/bike_women.jpg" width="282" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkeRxtl1cB-JDVlerteSQYV1BMJldMmjpoCy9p-tjhac64RJIge5tO_eoLC2_LQ_z3DpwH3omYbYBCayk3swPdbrhzcMRsUtPJcUYYmAlXdWyR6oQqfqLVi8tu8_fWuHhRm-9FBKbBf-0/s1600/Kashgar1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkeRxtl1cB-JDVlerteSQYV1BMJldMmjpoCy9p-tjhac64RJIge5tO_eoLC2_LQ_z3DpwH3omYbYBCayk3swPdbrhzcMRsUtPJcUYYmAlXdWyR6oQqfqLVi8tu8_fWuHhRm-9FBKbBf-0/s320/Kashgar1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqUQX4255MEG7UAl2nuUwGOq-XJGxe4LsAjz3mOyavku-T1w39Rk53vNtRt9uxa-X9jOxhROXn-i8ZbWmGD6_teqiHarl1I5fbvS6e4HevHPmGfgZ28cyCnYhZajYWchPVurR_pwzdBQA/s1600/Kashgar_taxi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqUQX4255MEG7UAl2nuUwGOq-XJGxe4LsAjz3mOyavku-T1w39Rk53vNtRt9uxa-X9jOxhROXn-i8ZbWmGD6_teqiHarl1I5fbvS6e4HevHPmGfgZ28cyCnYhZajYWchPVurR_pwzdBQA/s400/Kashgar_taxi.jpg" width="288" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The people we've seen are as interested in us as we are in them - this is an area that gets very few tourists.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We were spontaneously invited into a home where women were sewing clothes in bright silk brocades, padded with sheep's wool for winter warmth.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoupQE9V_xAuFQIiGQ02HKt_faZAF6cmiNwzKOUujEs1xnj2-BIFaIfGwbAC4MEYD5TSuwNLmFti9ZjXcWX2W6crajdpZZzWTgk3Eu_3VTJH5VHdVYS9-Kg-A8XRoqcaE9TCBxBBTj4Ms/s1600/Kashgar_seamstress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="351" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoupQE9V_xAuFQIiGQ02HKt_faZAF6cmiNwzKOUujEs1xnj2-BIFaIfGwbAC4MEYD5TSuwNLmFti9ZjXcWX2W6crajdpZZzWTgk3Eu_3VTJH5VHdVYS9-Kg-A8XRoqcaE9TCBxBBTj4Ms/s400/Kashgar_seamstress.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgboOUarvz23uVsTl27IWgV1SqrBB9a6kPBHUbVg0I_s1Avqee-DKXNdMIqsOfNWdVRTuNf0rabjfYKjShypHek097iWriHYXRYij909YdMVKw7Vd2katevf-QMcU2WyyEbe9l9y6KHS0c/s1600/Uighur_woman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgboOUarvz23uVsTl27IWgV1SqrBB9a6kPBHUbVg0I_s1Avqee-DKXNdMIqsOfNWdVRTuNf0rabjfYKjShypHek097iWriHYXRYij909YdMVKw7Vd2katevf-QMcU2WyyEbe9l9y6KHS0c/s400/Uighur_woman.jpg" width="312" /></a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizoTfJvu6iYNIG1oiD4XFHE3GMFFYVAFLUmL2N2fEiSqBLyGPf2K9xrGlQXFdsnhm7pavsqqRrd6D49smJ6HEPAIwvOo4BbQiF8mXASwhqz8AX4w8RGXxnxA1MgL3w4BW8gh-fQOwo1Fc/s1600/Uighur_girl_yarn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizoTfJvu6iYNIG1oiD4XFHE3GMFFYVAFLUmL2N2fEiSqBLyGPf2K9xrGlQXFdsnhm7pavsqqRrd6D49smJ6HEPAIwvOo4BbQiF8mXASwhqz8AX4w8RGXxnxA1MgL3w4BW8gh-fQOwo1Fc/s400/Uighur_girl_yarn.jpg" width="292" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This young girl was winding yarn around her feet to form into skeins</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDw4mlgbPI5FYMbWqPFSBf09o4wHeNl4_O4msFZa1SbLWA91_0d-OcKMzAw3cTRZOJs0Co2ZSjW4-63_sKBABpAXGczl4TCOrtKWXFH0kN83JUKj1YwtvyJoKty8gaGx5PdGDkGbFYGPU/s1600/Uyghur_girl4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDw4mlgbPI5FYMbWqPFSBf09o4wHeNl4_O4msFZa1SbLWA91_0d-OcKMzAw3cTRZOJs0Co2ZSjW4-63_sKBABpAXGczl4TCOrtKWXFH0kN83JUKj1YwtvyJoKty8gaGx5PdGDkGbFYGPU/s400/Uyghur_girl4.jpg" width="361" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">such a winsome beauty!</td></tr>
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<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Children run up to us yelling "Hello! Hello!" - no doubt, the only English they know - then run away giggling.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr5fPB94sTVo_e4NBapcAAHMdt7ir1qLLoMMZy8QFGDunuxWWDGbUytHOtXOeZc6Is7TJYeGmw5TMVnr4RLg4tZmLHjufBztkv1wib6lUJbTqVIn3y5DcDmIraTB2f9Vx6fQD2b0-ho0A/s1600/Kashgar_girl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr5fPB94sTVo_e4NBapcAAHMdt7ir1qLLoMMZy8QFGDunuxWWDGbUytHOtXOeZc6Is7TJYeGmw5TMVnr4RLg4tZmLHjufBztkv1wib6lUJbTqVIn3y5DcDmIraTB2f9Vx6fQD2b0-ho0A/s640/Kashgar_girl.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeAs7FAxtyvpSaedeNya4Pjk-eoYDz-6Idg8tLHZyYDiWS4TXVun42dNk_jZR0JVnQnFzZeahZR_2SNlJf51ImtW2N3scAyMqQMLjZ01DpsIQbPnelWvDmc6nZbgVwcbN9CJpPr1fIOJA/s1600/Kashgar_boys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeAs7FAxtyvpSaedeNya4Pjk-eoYDz-6Idg8tLHZyYDiWS4TXVun42dNk_jZR0JVnQnFzZeahZR_2SNlJf51ImtW2N3scAyMqQMLjZ01DpsIQbPnelWvDmc6nZbgVwcbN9CJpPr1fIOJA/s320/Kashgar_boys.jpg" width="281" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Old men follow us down the street and point to our cameras, posing for pictures and smiling proudly when we show them their images.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBXtpNTJeuSWuwK_PKxYWN-SwcajEIIw4lnaZWm2j0ClLHbidWCU1foop4b4uMRr3f1cgGjNCXEXsD_F1p59aMThp1ilaMlnlGsxAMpRi1xvCiRpjkDHFrZWnWTKaJSJEsREmpRjbXIH4/s1600/Kashgar_man%2521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBXtpNTJeuSWuwK_PKxYWN-SwcajEIIw4lnaZWm2j0ClLHbidWCU1foop4b4uMRr3f1cgGjNCXEXsD_F1p59aMThp1ilaMlnlGsxAMpRi1xvCiRpjkDHFrZWnWTKaJSJEsREmpRjbXIH4/s400/Kashgar_man%2521.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzl3AXXjDfw4XMAjUNT3PJXjamhyphenhyphenwBDW1rr24hoYPotSfNGlQxe05S3no2UcavbQG0gSBktOtmZfHCTUqcb6-xHODPQfDSLoRhRZrsNK3dID31qdPiGJ6wwIL-4z0_SupeOyca8BoCfRU/s1600/Kashgar_man.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzl3AXXjDfw4XMAjUNT3PJXjamhyphenhyphenwBDW1rr24hoYPotSfNGlQxe05S3no2UcavbQG0gSBktOtmZfHCTUqcb6-xHODPQfDSLoRhRZrsNK3dID31qdPiGJ6wwIL-4z0_SupeOyca8BoCfRU/s400/Kashgar_man.jpg" width="302" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWEW-KaCpu8bcLtjknOxa0fqB7MAceNUEfxF3dTbYDTJ6g4wNHybPqP9GqIOMt4db-4HGCogs7c84S7kv00b_XWBKjWoh8rBHgg2sRmuNsfd2nZMuavjNq6H5t7bfk8IFN8Y8bZf7wBo8/s1600/Kashgar_man4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWEW-KaCpu8bcLtjknOxa0fqB7MAceNUEfxF3dTbYDTJ6g4wNHybPqP9GqIOMt4db-4HGCogs7c84S7kv00b_XWBKjWoh8rBHgg2sRmuNsfd2nZMuavjNq6H5t7bfk8IFN8Y8bZf7wBo8/s200/Kashgar_man4.jpg" width="170" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM11hXOIAd6TrPJeBo9V401XxpEvPRXYu6hmXc1ZyrFkgTMIikLNNWT8BFecIcshSVKOiZmrxkA3Lj2plIVgq00GaEece1ODmSxab_oD9M5fJsgluCB6-IF4XVXYUCBjOeWt6GcdxE2zo/s1600/Kashgar_man1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM11hXOIAd6TrPJeBo9V401XxpEvPRXYu6hmXc1ZyrFkgTMIikLNNWT8BFecIcshSVKOiZmrxkA3Lj2plIVgq00GaEece1ODmSxab_oD9M5fJsgluCB6-IF4XVXYUCBjOeWt6GcdxE2zo/s320/Kashgar_man1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I loved this green-eyed man - kinda looks a little bit like Paul Newman, doesn't he?<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis3_gFKpclPnq-03amqzQaXSkcSP8Aqtb-YaY61ad929wC2n80-5eAgrq0VBxMT9aQGOxGsyJ21iRb6y9YkXp788cz7tvr1EXXIn54_O-s7e5o1kBBsAUe_u4lVlWVtUdCSAzo7vFIfuQ/s1600/Unknown.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis3_gFKpclPnq-03amqzQaXSkcSP8Aqtb-YaY61ad929wC2n80-5eAgrq0VBxMT9aQGOxGsyJ21iRb6y9YkXp788cz7tvr1EXXIn54_O-s7e5o1kBBsAUe_u4lVlWVtUdCSAzo7vFIfuQ/s200/Unknown.jpeg" width="160" /></a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03319551586327425833noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724997277238650987.post-88310405900818264222011-11-06T17:48:00.001-07:002011-11-07T08:32:12.093-07:00Kashgar!Kashgar!<br />
Volatile and beautiful and exotic and noisy and scary. Truly, it's as if we have arrived in another world.<br />
We're greeted at the airport by police carrying AK-47s.<br />
Actually, I wouldn't know an AK-47 from a Winchester rifle, but whatever - they were scary-looking machine guns.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt6pgoH8W8HyqCj_EkD-shyphenhyphenMlD2znkyTaO2MUmijLixwoTNSj9YpVNDO6qH50IuutfP3tY_LFE0bUuIxQrXCOt7vpOSyMCVjdrjtUTAtN_jsl9nMHAMh6W29VPqQMZt2KJz90_tdtINXY/s1600/xinjiang-violence.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt6pgoH8W8HyqCj_EkD-shyphenhyphenMlD2znkyTaO2MUmijLixwoTNSj9YpVNDO6qH50IuutfP3tY_LFE0bUuIxQrXCOt7vpOSyMCVjdrjtUTAtN_jsl9nMHAMh6W29VPqQMZt2KJz90_tdtINXY/s400/xinjiang-violence.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">picture from mwcnews.net . . . I did NOT want to be taking pictures of cops with guns!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div>Only a month before our visit, Kashgar was the site of rioting and violent attacks. There was - and is - ongoing unrest between the local Uighur and Han Chinese populations.</div><div><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7540636.stm" target="_blank">Here's</a> a brief and simplified explanation of the situation.</div><div><br />
</div><div>So, upon our arrival, we were a little . . . <i>unsure</i> of what to expect. It was a very quiet ride from the airport to our hotel. I'm sure we were all wondering if this part of the journey was a good idea.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVAxxv_alv_insd8t7K9EKuvyTeUby3xFD_SWnwzrfsLr9X45I4xi6UkbvyrWQb747UDUzZ6edr_wm_nMwiFdq7EJS-VumUKF6PE2cmuGwkczVcDImbpyybq6tDjiY61Onj53zo6bP0TY/s1600/Kashgar_street3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVAxxv_alv_insd8t7K9EKuvyTeUby3xFD_SWnwzrfsLr9X45I4xi6UkbvyrWQb747UDUzZ6edr_wm_nMwiFdq7EJS-VumUKF6PE2cmuGwkczVcDImbpyybq6tDjiY61Onj53zo6bP0TY/s320/Kashgar_street3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcNK4obX8Lfk3nF9sOGEA0mxnkNTTG3wqOmx-1oaOQ6M6ZlHzsJy2etjHRrKog6THORY-uUwpcfXn803TrMA7pNF6KupTD4Y4SQzRi5XuLAreQqFBdfmFQTzHg00TjM0biYmYXRYZ30no/s1600/Kashgar_street2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcNK4obX8Lfk3nF9sOGEA0mxnkNTTG3wqOmx-1oaOQ6M6ZlHzsJy2etjHRrKog6THORY-uUwpcfXn803TrMA7pNF6KupTD4Y4SQzRi5XuLAreQqFBdfmFQTzHg00TjM0biYmYXRYZ30no/s400/Kashgar_street2.jpg" width="382" /></a></div><br />
</div><div>It was, indeed. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Kashgar turned out to be one of my favorite parts of our 3 weeks in China.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge5zvvUxoXYYSINg4FYVMcfn9MpJ_GSbmLul4qWC_PDjv8756f83ZNWhd39640Na6dijjkc6JKx5QhkMq5FSoE06M_cGJQt6BJOQorAXIEdx8NKFkX736GrHxH92PqWWNllauTE-BE2fQ/s1600/Uyghur_women5.2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge5zvvUxoXYYSINg4FYVMcfn9MpJ_GSbmLul4qWC_PDjv8756f83ZNWhd39640Na6dijjkc6JKx5QhkMq5FSoE06M_cGJQt6BJOQorAXIEdx8NKFkX736GrHxH92PqWWNllauTE-BE2fQ/s640/Uyghur_women5.2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj6tzWS6t6sG0GSbK7pxj_OyWOKhz8sCsfCY2v4gZNMxHv8yitHUA-mMHILdLavv-ucZ2jXC5Dzr_pytsl-4wuBk7kYNWES5UsnDHmXm-Je5hQB7t17aiqORzNEyBzt66M8AjSIT-Xl_0/s1600/Kashgar2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="459" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj6tzWS6t6sG0GSbK7pxj_OyWOKhz8sCsfCY2v4gZNMxHv8yitHUA-mMHILdLavv-ucZ2jXC5Dzr_pytsl-4wuBk7kYNWES5UsnDHmXm-Je5hQB7t17aiqORzNEyBzt66M8AjSIT-Xl_0/s640/Kashgar2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>More on that tomorrow!<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #228822; font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px;"><br />
</span></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03319551586327425833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724997277238650987.post-61660399242293612112011-11-06T08:40:00.000-07:002011-11-06T08:40:21.824-07:00Flying to Kashgar<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Flying over the magnificent Tien Shen mountain range in the very farthest reaches of Western China.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcaJ3hT0uZhHsB76RCgQ7pJNGBmtKNTIgix8QOpn0xrfdi7Eql3xOTvHM1qGhW8omM293Rqzg1PS_wXMrUsT666sC2b-1cKsd_X11NOe6ivrJi3h1x2_dgize-UCPzk3nZbQATTNDEPS8/s1600/TienShan_Mountains.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcaJ3hT0uZhHsB76RCgQ7pJNGBmtKNTIgix8QOpn0xrfdi7Eql3xOTvHM1qGhW8omM293Rqzg1PS_wXMrUsT666sC2b-1cKsd_X11NOe6ivrJi3h1x2_dgize-UCPzk3nZbQATTNDEPS8/s320/TienShan_Mountains.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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Kashgar!<br />
The very name brings to mind adventure, mystery, exotic foods, bustling marketplaces, ancient architecture, donkey carts, and old men with long beards and elaborately embroidered hats.<br />
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And so it was all that and more . . . more on that tomorrow!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03319551586327425833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724997277238650987.post-15652357277925625642011-11-05T10:11:00.000-06:002011-11-05T10:11:25.325-06:00The Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves are a complex of 77 grottos dating from the 5th to the 9th centuries in a remote area of the Taklamakan Desert of Western China.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPqHXQ-82FBNSVeSg2pvKPhcnPbFSwR7AmLRQbLsMM99e11pcVFsE-_d7WHgFV3mrlSvbktZABKFmQQ9ew2i-EBx9TJDx11e_cd-7jsClnCyN8FAxPQoOXbNjA-D-Kl97nTxLpVemxmug/s1600/10000Buddha.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPqHXQ-82FBNSVeSg2pvKPhcnPbFSwR7AmLRQbLsMM99e11pcVFsE-_d7WHgFV3mrlSvbktZABKFmQQ9ew2i-EBx9TJDx11e_cd-7jsClnCyN8FAxPQoOXbNjA-D-Kl97nTxLpVemxmug/s320/10000Buddha.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Each cave is decorated with murals of hundreds and hundreds of Buddhas covering the walls and ceilings. Some paintings are naive, others artistically stunning. </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyeEebq2njKimVII-hSNO452hq59hT6ULgnZ-1mDbTEMhYR87vALHld7qnCg7noS9fkiARdW7g_9MB4F3n6OR8m3pgqyyNxv_O0hHhQVwf4LBdcB2EZaVvHkSQIJYOYnyZSZq1VM69lg0/s1600/Turpan-bezeklik-pinturas-d01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyeEebq2njKimVII-hSNO452hq59hT6ULgnZ-1mDbTEMhYR87vALHld7qnCg7noS9fkiARdW7g_9MB4F3n6OR8m3pgqyyNxv_O0hHhQVwf4LBdcB2EZaVvHkSQIJYOYnyZSZq1VM69lg0/s400/Turpan-bezeklik-pinturas-d01.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(No photography is allowed inside the caves, so this is a picture I pulled from Wikipedia)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Sadly, the vast majority of the murals were damaged beyond repair, first by local Muslims who gouged out all of the eyes, later by European explorers, who removed many of the frescoes and sent them to museums in Germany. These large pieces were destroyed by the bombings in Berlin in WW2 . . . so they are lost to the world.</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG4nzeVSHePuackoZwUWc-KerIcD9iBv0AtLm6LxrsK281H_-qgIKsSwr2mGWmuEFTCr80kHGURyvTrxHgpqfCIsKIsgJT01oJ1HYtemtf9Bajfr5Lg6eKedhBjg4mIrRmxwvTj6o16Y4/s1600/camel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG4nzeVSHePuackoZwUWc-KerIcD9iBv0AtLm6LxrsK281H_-qgIKsSwr2mGWmuEFTCr80kHGURyvTrxHgpqfCIsKIsgJT01oJ1HYtemtf9Bajfr5Lg6eKedhBjg4mIrRmxwvTj6o16Y4/s320/camel.jpg" width="273" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Camels!!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv7T2vzhQTEkz5mIWLea-9i1vr1Yr9E4fCE-FWX9fqJzehdmPMEPDbpji7pDS78Qx9-S0egJX_I02L5YwAUPwFKvH5LdJKVuKLA6PB-K_l3KXSM4ZcGJqftX3SnnEEBvdNcY4msjzM6xY/s1600/Bezeklik3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv7T2vzhQTEkz5mIWLea-9i1vr1Yr9E4fCE-FWX9fqJzehdmPMEPDbpji7pDS78Qx9-S0egJX_I02L5YwAUPwFKvH5LdJKVuKLA6PB-K_l3KXSM4ZcGJqftX3SnnEEBvdNcY4msjzM6xY/s320/Bezeklik3.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I have no idea what these signs are trying to tell us!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs7kW5R_pYziN51_WHPvBNuLK6XSVf5UsVehylPW0cgfWA59U2kgZs9mPRvFAr9oJdlDwZNz1F89x5jD7_V6w-anuEla3iZk3HIdApTjyUcznF4awpLgSF1C2NZ8qBqXRZ9v0VE4avrhU/s1600/signs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs7kW5R_pYziN51_WHPvBNuLK6XSVf5UsVehylPW0cgfWA59U2kgZs9mPRvFAr9oJdlDwZNz1F89x5jD7_V6w-anuEla3iZk3HIdApTjyUcznF4awpLgSF1C2NZ8qBqXRZ9v0VE4avrhU/s320/signs.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03319551586327425833noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724997277238650987.post-56634570283576917082011-11-03T08:31:00.001-06:002012-12-18T14:36:19.467-07:00The Ancient City of GaochangThe ancient city of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaochang" target="_blank">Gaochang</a>, in Xinjiang Province of Central Asia, was built in the 1st century BC.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrCU3OzvoAMuWl5tyezOPsTLLO9z53G7JuK2Os3Goyn2kiy0FNSNwmh85x85oDXmZVmuqQ0OKE0liQAxR7FC0gBmgkR9skEu2OY-owfdq1LHkOMqFkObiohz8rvgJifm-Gt0eO2K6YKJo/s1600/ancient_city_walls2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrCU3OzvoAMuWl5tyezOPsTLLO9z53G7JuK2Os3Goyn2kiy0FNSNwmh85x85oDXmZVmuqQ0OKE0liQAxR7FC0gBmgkR9skEu2OY-owfdq1LHkOMqFkObiohz8rvgJifm-Gt0eO2K6YKJo/s400/ancient_city_walls2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can click on any of these images for a larger view!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It was an important site along the Silk Road as a political, economic, and cultural center, connecting China with Central Asia and Europe.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJqrY8WjKYRPI4-fm5CgeBPHTf5F5hBuU-d21Tx0ufDFFbl97q_NvRbvzoY1TEybKTiKDJ-xeIC-iXoagTe9NBpwMllZVqDHCskjtxrqfe-r7iGn0UxYzPuD7oBKSkQm_kLf318aCAKt8/s1600/Carol_Gaochang.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJqrY8WjKYRPI4-fm5CgeBPHTf5F5hBuU-d21Tx0ufDFFbl97q_NvRbvzoY1TEybKTiKDJ-xeIC-iXoagTe9NBpwMllZVqDHCskjtxrqfe-r7iGn0UxYzPuD7oBKSkQm_kLf318aCAKt8/s400/Carol_Gaochang.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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We rode in a donkey cart to the far edges of the ruins - Lazy American tourists!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeR-HqSm83PnrNBjj4v-wproXxvGpCSoTw1jJjNyKHpj7NMq-6Y9M_hsMZNFjVtBaBZ-ivBJ2A8ihn49cjA-KVwtCnAzNs0e3HzyNzuDEuniBH4OWgeiU5ckOXqVGZbG67GWu1QABeQEw/s1600/donkey_cart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeR-HqSm83PnrNBjj4v-wproXxvGpCSoTw1jJjNyKHpj7NMq-6Y9M_hsMZNFjVtBaBZ-ivBJ2A8ihn49cjA-KVwtCnAzNs0e3HzyNzuDEuniBH4OWgeiU5ckOXqVGZbG67GWu1QABeQEw/s320/donkey_cart.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOd7Z5MPEIS5UlQvX4Kgv5McbfgmPQQhC-4nsUW3w9bHULsQlYEYxlwF6RCd6bMRb3HQs3lP-ED9ZTE5Dxo1mN1DRnLP6j3BV4percq15wvdbJc20pbBRE5q5SjwKdAAHOvS7UX93vq4w/s1600/donkey_ride.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOd7Z5MPEIS5UlQvX4Kgv5McbfgmPQQhC-4nsUW3w9bHULsQlYEYxlwF6RCd6bMRb3HQs3lP-ED9ZTE5Dxo1mN1DRnLP6j3BV4percq15wvdbJc20pbBRE5q5SjwKdAAHOvS7UX93vq4w/s320/donkey_ride.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgExaDiaKOq4uAkAIbZFYznyNO-i_TEDLS5TK8f4Fv-cTLXbFRhfA-JR2ebGcDaONvXe1y2n6j02I5g7KF_H-V6kmBfKi62lF0_gfF-7dpUgYm6yiCXQnZpm1jxQZg7jinuujP7XhdjoiM/s1600/GaochangBaby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgExaDiaKOq4uAkAIbZFYznyNO-i_TEDLS5TK8f4Fv-cTLXbFRhfA-JR2ebGcDaONvXe1y2n6j02I5g7KF_H-V6kmBfKi62lF0_gfF-7dpUgYm6yiCXQnZpm1jxQZg7jinuujP7XhdjoiM/s320/GaochangBaby.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">our donkey cart driver and her son</td></tr>
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Inside the walls of the city was this lone musician, creating a hauntingly beautiful soundtrack to our visit.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTdGkDprvdmRd4GyF61TVSN2IycDl8j76VOpcdCFahcQdeCxyscjKgdzNTQNS6P63MeCVTpx96bpaVAPul-rmcLGOABmwXv71lo6bnEBwD0kFBGlvpUCcgOyUvBZug8fUQwR_9ov4BSqo/s1600/Gaochang_musician_lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTdGkDprvdmRd4GyF61TVSN2IycDl8j76VOpcdCFahcQdeCxyscjKgdzNTQNS6P63MeCVTpx96bpaVAPul-rmcLGOABmwXv71lo6bnEBwD0kFBGlvpUCcgOyUvBZug8fUQwR_9ov4BSqo/s640/Gaochang_musician_lg.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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A few of the buildings have been restored, like this prayer center.<br />
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I was captivated by the writing that covered the entire surface of the building . . . until it was pointed out to me that it was only modern graffitti!<br />
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The city was decimated and abandoned in the 14th century due to warfare between the Uighurs and Mongolian aristocrats.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLZ4wde7_jd1bMDRp0AOxNjld_IOtJA6MesMQlk5bg0-hgcSYi1jSCwgiqQy79jyDU1Y3qOCmpSlgNFErHuRbywi3TDjiaVJpVeWpZ2S-QORuFofxYXHYkw-SIeHWbmaD2nW3BnvPzhWw/s1600/no_pitting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLZ4wde7_jd1bMDRp0AOxNjld_IOtJA6MesMQlk5bg0-hgcSYi1jSCwgiqQy79jyDU1Y3qOCmpSlgNFErHuRbywi3TDjiaVJpVeWpZ2S-QORuFofxYXHYkw-SIeHWbmaD2nW3BnvPzhWw/s640/no_pitting.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"no pitting" . . . I think they mean "no pissing" on the walls.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH7BSiOkjl4292_ObW88GCcdIF01LpMxOwXP0KWFLMNNQfcBelp7Qs7A8UmwUg2Nj6A-t7_c_-7_V2JiRlhko39-kNZoUjh2icFThW-WSjtOKts28Qzrm-LLzbVGiC7RVZzcPoLNLO2IA/s1600/babyboy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH7BSiOkjl4292_ObW88GCcdIF01LpMxOwXP0KWFLMNNQfcBelp7Qs7A8UmwUg2Nj6A-t7_c_-7_V2JiRlhko39-kNZoUjh2icFThW-WSjtOKts28Qzrm-LLzbVGiC7RVZzcPoLNLO2IA/s640/babyboy.jpg" width="430" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peace out!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03319551586327425833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724997277238650987.post-68217929990075201132011-11-02T09:10:00.000-06:002011-11-02T09:10:13.970-06:00An Oasis in the desert of Central AsiaTurpan is the second-lowest place on Planet Earth - only the Dead Sea is lower.<br />
This is a true oasis in the desert, where countless varieties of grapes are grown, along with figs, dates, pomegranates, and melons.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjQHtq-1c6UEtFF1EBxcHiIIB19lz0JKIY_Zlngdz-yiEXqgKOHruYekgDSAaZasYguLACLqvAcpzDmMy8CSWN0W0hg8fORCVkZne9Qg99ru13zbibCziRv2geL5vo-bl7bYuBGa5hzrQ/s1600/grapes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjQHtq-1c6UEtFF1EBxcHiIIB19lz0JKIY_Zlngdz-yiEXqgKOHruYekgDSAaZasYguLACLqvAcpzDmMy8CSWN0W0hg8fORCVkZne9Qg99ru13zbibCziRv2geL5vo-bl7bYuBGa5hzrQ/s320/grapes.jpg" width="300" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO8Vv4L7EPJYHvK4dP0Cqq_w-ylHLdNvEWKKqJOLMC7qUCqJbC3cQ9dfU9E5ycvqoDDxu7uavyfrnMt3ih91u1oyXRplBR3ks2bqr9cni8Iy5cfYhF6MY1P5VjxAt2XEene9tkrNpG3cg/s1600/grape_arbor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO8Vv4L7EPJYHvK4dP0Cqq_w-ylHLdNvEWKKqJOLMC7qUCqJbC3cQ9dfU9E5ycvqoDDxu7uavyfrnMt3ih91u1oyXRplBR3ks2bqr9cni8Iy5cfYhF6MY1P5VjxAt2XEene9tkrNpG3cg/s400/grape_arbor.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi483kjON9Z61xBLXZTsPjUpoLpiJAq2OZlSi7ZgglsnHrX6RZYWEKiIK9kS68nPAqrDc2PGmcncoeooOuwa_fBAV60qm8xFIpGj4EH2LlS4MasM_opmKWtdsWJ__N1NVkeOq5vY5x_Nio/s1600/grape_house.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi483kjON9Z61xBLXZTsPjUpoLpiJAq2OZlSi7ZgglsnHrX6RZYWEKiIK9kS68nPAqrDc2PGmcncoeooOuwa_fBAV60qm8xFIpGj4EH2LlS4MasM_opmKWtdsWJ__N1NVkeOq5vY5x_Nio/s640/grape_house.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the grape-drying houses that cover the countryside in Turpan.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDZ_sWzsIvrLlgM8JoRX2XhyphenhyphenP0GiblkGA-MB7Fs7iR3s7NoikY1G7O-Sj-dlkTTuH0zy0YdiSb23I_ssUqNliu8t93fDke-JrLPOdZ2iAhkSUI7ye-9D9Hdlyw2tGbSOyR6ONqaUB46eI/s1600/grapes_sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDZ_sWzsIvrLlgM8JoRX2XhyphenhyphenP0GiblkGA-MB7Fs7iR3s7NoikY1G7O-Sj-dlkTTuH0zy0YdiSb23I_ssUqNliu8t93fDke-JrLPOdZ2iAhkSUI7ye-9D9Hdlyw2tGbSOyR6ONqaUB46eI/s400/grapes_sm.jpg" width="322" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQg8pFeDzKoNGO6JuzmRIO-slSb0zPjETrJTZ77hpdnY2WSoe-ERAmPJ5PeQfdIcCT3O6YvyEYgWmnD9TR1np0QnPOckON4sXghAJFUKiWYwyRZZrs58-rwghHI01mfELDQeO6_ApGB_8/s1600/grape_drying2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="display: inline !important; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQg8pFeDzKoNGO6JuzmRIO-slSb0zPjETrJTZ77hpdnY2WSoe-ERAmPJ5PeQfdIcCT3O6YvyEYgWmnD9TR1np0QnPOckON4sXghAJFUKiWYwyRZZrs58-rwghHI01mfELDQeO6_ApGB_8/s400/grape_drying2.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Raisins on the vine</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7V-ArUhSAA_n0e4pqGaBeKvhCDL50t9YVveMqHvM2jR0S1Q-J3T3ccuo8wKPbnKkDRbWD-9zxmx1m0N3b6k3u12I101egpOUTA9gcUQyzc6CL-ZgMUrZohyw7vNF8u4R48fn2crTWQdE/s1600/raisins_vine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7V-ArUhSAA_n0e4pqGaBeKvhCDL50t9YVveMqHvM2jR0S1Q-J3T3ccuo8wKPbnKkDRbWD-9zxmx1m0N3b6k3u12I101egpOUTA9gcUQyzc6CL-ZgMUrZohyw7vNF8u4R48fn2crTWQdE/s320/raisins_vine.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Turpan's most famous grape is the Sultana - the sweetest, most delicious grapes (and raisins!) I've ever tasted!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2m6Gse9liFCs5pCMcBa8zv7GzCCVUmBpdeoD8hw-cpRZw6LEB_0upSAnC61zMoTmhwP8niKsQsf1-q8a8yjLB75ymfi39AiFKkKN8DynMa4BfRAM0kkr6uHT2KQOcrNuhS4sRe0zE2Ng/s1600/raisins%2521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2m6Gse9liFCs5pCMcBa8zv7GzCCVUmBpdeoD8hw-cpRZw6LEB_0upSAnC61zMoTmhwP8niKsQsf1-q8a8yjLB75ymfi39AiFKkKN8DynMa4BfRAM0kkr6uHT2KQOcrNuhS4sRe0zE2Ng/s320/raisins%2521.jpg" width="303" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Different varieties of raisin at one of of the marketplaces<br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivUAql-71WdMK_xgXqSncruP_ueP_g56jB6fxZW7DL3xRF2wQQNOKhO3YcU-5cvbKWhOtEdqfsKsmZoBrzTaesBkrnBEoCOgLD3_V2lQiUYT6iqFZLtM86L6UJ-9AKAzOVK-RVb3GNhAU/s1600/raisins%2521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivUAql-71WdMK_xgXqSncruP_ueP_g56jB6fxZW7DL3xRF2wQQNOKhO3YcU-5cvbKWhOtEdqfsKsmZoBrzTaesBkrnBEoCOgLD3_V2lQiUYT6iqFZLtM86L6UJ-9AKAzOVK-RVb3GNhAU/s320/raisins%2521.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dried apricots, raisins, dates, and nuts. Nom nom!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<span id="goog_1125616144"></span><span id="goog_1125616145"></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03319551586327425833noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724997277238650987.post-18886955301639791292011-10-29T20:02:00.001-06:002011-10-29T20:04:29.639-06:00Seussian CloudsWhat a special sight greeted me at day's end the other night!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9ljlwKkKFGdJ9G-wh-4FB9DUk3T2ufFLd7zpb7MsVpljWqcTSOS0PrbWUkhavnnwP27eckpvpGaPnFm8HUpfXKZli3HLQLmVgqEga81ScFPry4_yC4j-xupiYdewJawyz58MB4eD2Oyk/s1600/seuss_clouds1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9ljlwKkKFGdJ9G-wh-4FB9DUk3T2ufFLd7zpb7MsVpljWqcTSOS0PrbWUkhavnnwP27eckpvpGaPnFm8HUpfXKZli3HLQLmVgqEga81ScFPry4_yC4j-xupiYdewJawyz58MB4eD2Oyk/s320/seuss_clouds1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">click on the picture for a larger view!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
These unusual <a href="http://www.weathervortex.com/wave-clouds.htm">Kelvin-Helmholtz wave clouds</a> are formed when two different layers of air move past one another at different speeds. They're rarely seen because they usually only last for a minute or two before dissolving.<br />
In fact, in the minute or so it took me to grab my camera, they had already unfurled from tight curls to these gently undulating waves.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil-HnTwp2d788lo6O4hyD99Hfhd2Uxu5nwxBv1T9GdG3g3x7OT0lI8LeqPro-1OzFNVvJUDfyKVJYw7iGvsuvdPSEqDug8Ljpi_T5O_xOSe5bOQ6oG53rIWmjDFHh_5H0OpBnc4bUvAZo/s1600/seuss_clouds2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil-HnTwp2d788lo6O4hyD99Hfhd2Uxu5nwxBv1T9GdG3g3x7OT0lI8LeqPro-1OzFNVvJUDfyKVJYw7iGvsuvdPSEqDug8Ljpi_T5O_xOSe5bOQ6oG53rIWmjDFHh_5H0OpBnc4bUvAZo/s320/seuss_clouds2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I think they look like Dr. Seuss birds, don't you?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I wonder if these swirly clouds were the inspiration behind Van Gogh's Starry Night?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVU_02iPbv2S0wBCI2XjcdnlrFU1zf8GJnGVADp8rfDJ-_leAD94GD1ysI1jBNFwXwn8x3x2nNVhzjmp7iBD1RafopUPVTU6Qwb6Hx218YPOdWskThjtPGHZkJo4MRSRSUtryG2mujQxc/s1600/751px-VanGogh-starry_night_ballance1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVU_02iPbv2S0wBCI2XjcdnlrFU1zf8GJnGVADp8rfDJ-_leAD94GD1ysI1jBNFwXwn8x3x2nNVhzjmp7iBD1RafopUPVTU6Qwb6Hx218YPOdWskThjtPGHZkJo4MRSRSUtryG2mujQxc/s320/751px-VanGogh-starry_night_ballance1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03319551586327425833noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724997277238650987.post-88219110929093330812011-10-29T11:02:00.000-06:002011-10-29T11:02:39.863-06:00Desert MummiesThe Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Museum houses a collection of mummies, beautifully and naturally preserved by the dry desert climate and salty deposits of a long-ago dried up salt lake.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG3Qn0IyPJzEVpxFhYdEa3HAa3CRilKj_7TavAYEIS5ZQ790a-oCJTAblLZin3p7f3XWC2St8ir9d9g2gvTpHHjIoqc8xNleJmYAgqHCkmp7287V-inZxwsxdKK-4m1tstcimiDo_3KUo/s1600/mummy3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG3Qn0IyPJzEVpxFhYdEa3HAa3CRilKj_7TavAYEIS5ZQ790a-oCJTAblLZin3p7f3XWC2St8ir9d9g2gvTpHHjIoqc8xNleJmYAgqHCkmp7287V-inZxwsxdKK-4m1tstcimiDo_3KUo/s320/mummy3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">yellow face paint is still crisp and vivid</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">These mummies, dated at approximately 1800 BC, have stirred up quite a controversy with the Chinese government when genetic testing in 2005 revealed them to be Caucasian, not Mongoloid - proving that Caucasians roamed China's Tarim deserts about 1,000 years before East Asian people arrived.</div><div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9N_i6yI5pObV8180nsXUbfpMKT4P7phRG2sWCoR3hvmGF3-joQJF9aLeB6_y2hESzs4gFwaW_UrIhypmsKUgKMxbtUBE84v8NvcuRw1hDkn4vt99GT2hM9romCeRRtHB5u4vv5Z5xyJs/s1600/mummy1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9N_i6yI5pObV8180nsXUbfpMKT4P7phRG2sWCoR3hvmGF3-joQJF9aLeB6_y2hESzs4gFwaW_UrIhypmsKUgKMxbtUBE84v8NvcuRw1hDkn4vt99GT2hM9romCeRRtHB5u4vv5Z5xyJs/s320/mummy1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY_adc-fn5aAza-G6HyBJgwnlzpNuLOcLu0kWnnGERur9yxl9VcY2WzTvIAfXT2FWEKn3xHcrUFzd_5psHpzcG3iLBMit8uVHWv7SJfJYcRupRANcMxpfKzyGeJbrMEAdTpXsf5xLMojU/s1600/mummy2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY_adc-fn5aAza-G6HyBJgwnlzpNuLOcLu0kWnnGERur9yxl9VcY2WzTvIAfXT2FWEKn3xHcrUFzd_5psHpzcG3iLBMit8uVHWv7SJfJYcRupRANcMxpfKzyGeJbrMEAdTpXsf5xLMojU/s320/mummy2.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">long blonde braids</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03319551586327425833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724997277238650987.post-22198443963181219082011-10-19T22:56:00.001-06:002011-10-20T08:21:06.645-06:00There's Gold in Them Thar Hills<div style="text-align: center;">I've still got plenty of notes and pictures to share from my visit to China, but I wanted to show you what I came home to.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnoc6kGBmrc1tttREDvHe0VIms2YXCLXRorTAz7JJeG8_jy9nElInzcpcNRGTnpFdYx6MftQ_rTq9IMMP08Jt5YxmVfyoiGJy3RuuvodVm32WQr6QuyrYt5JBMmImlgH4RddZvOxWgQNo/s1600/late_september_view1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnoc6kGBmrc1tttREDvHe0VIms2YXCLXRorTAz7JJeG8_jy9nElInzcpcNRGTnpFdYx6MftQ_rTq9IMMP08Jt5YxmVfyoiGJy3RuuvodVm32WQr6QuyrYt5JBMmImlgH4RddZvOxWgQNo/s320/late_september_view1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the view from my back door. Jealous? </td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;">Traveling the world is a wonderful experience. </div><div style="text-align: center;">But coming home to Colorado - damn.<br />
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<i>(you can click on any of these pictures to see them bigger!)</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"> I've lived here off and on for 28 years, and most days, the views still take my breath away.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03319551586327425833noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724997277238650987.post-48737003246538218062011-10-13T21:07:00.000-06:002011-10-13T21:07:51.304-06:00Sparkling Uyghur Women!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Skia; font-size: 14px;">Day 7: Flight to Urumqi</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Skia; font-size: 14px;">As far as I can tell, we are the only Americans on the flight. It’s a long flight, from one side of China to the other, a good 2,000 miles.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5mI45aW8So9KNqy1DlknqUyCDv5PKvoJF0acBpbIT0bB7mTKiOl86mHXDuHXoqZq0DtliEzGyJUaN_xeE2-OVgEnBJ0voWvys_ci4WAF0VIdquWYUDxsw9Z6f3pMCVvaHo4cpzjI1rx8/s1600/urumqi_karte.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5mI45aW8So9KNqy1DlknqUyCDv5PKvoJF0acBpbIT0bB7mTKiOl86mHXDuHXoqZq0DtliEzGyJUaN_xeE2-OVgEnBJ0voWvys_ci4WAF0VIdquWYUDxsw9Z6f3pMCVvaHo4cpzjI1rx8/s320/urumqi_karte.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">I have an aisle seat, and a lively card game has been in play for the the entire duration of he flight in the seats across the aisle from me. “Lively”, as in “6 men standing in the aisle watching, laughing, smoking (!!) and bumping into me” for the past 3 hours.</div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 17.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Urumqi - the most landlocked place on Earth - is the capital city of Xinjiang Province - or, more accurately, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. </div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Xinjiang Province borders 8 countries - Russia, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, & India.</div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 17.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Urumqi is in the Taklamakan Desert in Central Asia, close to the border of Tajikistan & Khazakhstan - you know, where Borat is from.</div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">This is a predominantly Muslim area, although there are still many Han Chinese. The majority of the people here are Uyghurs. They don’t look what we think of as “Chinese” at all - and looking around at the mosques and bazaars, you’d think you were in an Arabic country.<br />
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</div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span id="goog_1796847308"></span><span id="goog_1796847309"></span></div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">The women are beautiful. I am seeing all manners of dress for women. Skintight jeans, fancy dresses, full coverage burkas . . and heels. All of the women wear high heels. Sparkly, crystal-encrusted shoes are the fashion here. I LIKE it!<br />
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</div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Most, but not all, women wear head scarves, tied in as many ways as you can imagine.<br />
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</div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">The women really like sparkle here! Today I saw a woman in a full-length black robe with a wide row of colorful embroidery and sequins trailing up her arms.</div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 17.0px;"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIN1ledea0DHiyyQv7bECSx6UPvDGEgVOI90-1E1nDFuJ2_jXFOSuvqeMppILUyW_oZoJ2qYnMxTqUxdcFCzC8D1y4AmkFB60Yydsv1WLbczSzcgQeg7qJ-W2EiXZ2qOiC1eiNjbrsHw8/s1600/Uyghur_woman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIN1ledea0DHiyyQv7bECSx6UPvDGEgVOI90-1E1nDFuJ2_jXFOSuvqeMppILUyW_oZoJ2qYnMxTqUxdcFCzC8D1y4AmkFB60Yydsv1WLbczSzcgQeg7qJ-W2EiXZ2qOiC1eiNjbrsHw8/s320/Uyghur_woman.jpg" width="116" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnhvWinY3rDtDbv10LdfPXE-CQpjcauvpE70fnUtwOtWPt1ysGr5QzKOxzV4yWKduvIk9TEyfNVA8X3bdxxEwPxqoeopcQWyH38c4-lMZdSJfwVaaBDl6wIwWwgfOkHF_eGHWh82FiMow/s1600/Uyghur_women.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnhvWinY3rDtDbv10LdfPXE-CQpjcauvpE70fnUtwOtWPt1ysGr5QzKOxzV4yWKduvIk9TEyfNVA8X3bdxxEwPxqoeopcQWyH38c4-lMZdSJfwVaaBDl6wIwWwgfOkHF_eGHWh82FiMow/s320/Uyghur_women.jpg" width="224" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Dinner was at a Uighur restaurant. Upon entering, we were led to a basin where water was poured over our hands three times. We are then given a towel to dry our hands - or as my colorfully translated guidebook says, “offering of a fowl with which to dry the hands”. <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1P9ZCu6PactPXlrfCQaAhhwOlRIBqmgYlqoXpu_sOXkuXNwkpOa1owlmkH9dSp1UzoGvOgtJFsuG2beaRBHLH-4_gKbvcjq_7naS3iNbSIwCkaJF6K2EhQfi7vGwX3bPoBLA1URP-R_E/s1600/Uyghur_girl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1P9ZCu6PactPXlrfCQaAhhwOlRIBqmgYlqoXpu_sOXkuXNwkpOa1owlmkH9dSp1UzoGvOgtJFsuG2beaRBHLH-4_gKbvcjq_7naS3iNbSIwCkaJF6K2EhQfi7vGwX3bPoBLA1URP-R_E/s320/Uyghur_girl.jpg" width="227" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU-Ff5XcbukcSMfgNdrihnBZn24Z7jWXO8qHQ5DeXqF9L-6IxX0hEIBpg16hhyLg0bIZM7rHQ_9U3koOvMvafeOAYhqIG5tuFvgouBqnqQC6pTAhGdwGc2YXa4-OGeeSpPzwTDOqwcAy4/s1600/Uyghur_girl2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU-Ff5XcbukcSMfgNdrihnBZn24Z7jWXO8qHQ5DeXqF9L-6IxX0hEIBpg16hhyLg0bIZM7rHQ_9U3koOvMvafeOAYhqIG5tuFvgouBqnqQC6pTAhGdwGc2YXa4-OGeeSpPzwTDOqwcAy4/s320/Uyghur_girl2.jpg" width="237" /></a></div><br />
Funny - so much good food, but what I remember most is the insanely delicious mint tea.<br />
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</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTA3Vs_XBEVwjo-QCV0s05DkQ0q9Q_lZJ1UHW913Mof47GJjHPGz1nGUfW0crjo45CyTJSw0K0OGlzzDsymVe-jsTgHckTKKdKkVHirltgEyq-jsuR1X1Aic0h8H1Je3fumPRnhJWqZTw/s1600/mmmmmint_tea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTA3Vs_XBEVwjo-QCV0s05DkQ0q9Q_lZJ1UHW913Mof47GJjHPGz1nGUfW0crjo45CyTJSw0K0OGlzzDsymVe-jsTgHckTKKdKkVHirltgEyq-jsuR1X1Aic0h8H1Je3fumPRnhJWqZTw/s1600/mmmmmint_tea.jpg" /></a></div><div><br />
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03319551586327425833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724997277238650987.post-51638875176047571762011-10-07T00:52:00.001-06:002011-10-07T11:56:08.881-06:00Scary Farmer's House<div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Skia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Lunch at Happy Farmer’s House</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Mutiyanu, about an hour outside of Beijing </span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Skia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Skia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Happy Farmer’s Houses are places for families to go to escape the urban life - just a place to unwind, have some country cooking, play some ping pong - a farmland park outside of the city.</span></div></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Skia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEZKoxmztOHxwgoMOwk6s9WIV6AN98c5tVeWM16HU21bp4qm4fQE_Sk4tIzySY1jFPhyphenhypheneNf_c42UAIR7X3EpKy5wBBTp7ozr-QNXKpftsd4_fqgG5YaPkBezMLpz112mnm9H824uwIHPA/s1600/HappyFarmers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEZKoxmztOHxwgoMOwk6s9WIV6AN98c5tVeWM16HU21bp4qm4fQE_Sk4tIzySY1jFPhyphenhypheneNf_c42UAIR7X3EpKy5wBBTp7ozr-QNXKpftsd4_fqgG5YaPkBezMLpz112mnm9H824uwIHPA/s320/HappyFarmers.jpg" width="317" /></span></a></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Skia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5VMtI-uqB4gxA3D8NgzwfACMUW6BTtUWd0LfFujjtsVekZQ3-lfWnob0OIeDCN6ZUqmz-szxsW93dvpd-dTXdzl06msp3rvnRgRo8eaDhJizLQmHsy60TU2fIyODJKH69LqUTg60jZSw/s320/Lily_Walter_+HappyFarmers.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="307" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Walter & Lily at Happy Farmer's House</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqx2OyqpOwRHHW1pUcHCOonIMs9Pm4ib5uaDxOu7_V0h99iPiV1OKDjYnLgfTC43-M0UwFb-Vj80I-e88qbHd7eyHSEhyphenhyphenk2CgkP3g-f1FgcBsaVOMUuoL15Y8xeBkC78vTrm7R9E8bdRI/s1600/HappyFarmers2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqx2OyqpOwRHHW1pUcHCOonIMs9Pm4ib5uaDxOu7_V0h99iPiV1OKDjYnLgfTC43-M0UwFb-Vj80I-e88qbHd7eyHSEhyphenhyphenk2CgkP3g-f1FgcBsaVOMUuoL15Y8xeBkC78vTrm7R9E8bdRI/s320/HappyFarmers2.jpg" width="269" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Cockscomb</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Skia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Skia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span><br />
<div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Skia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Happy Farmer’s House is where I discovered I’m not quite as adventurous as I’d thought I was when it comes to food.</span></span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Skia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Skia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 17px; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I have been game to try a variety of exotic foods while here - I knew, of course, that what we call “Chinese food” in America bears little resemblance to REAL Chinese food.</span></div></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Skia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 17px; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Skia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Happy Farmhouse proved that to me today.</span></div></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Skia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Lunch consisted of fried fish heads & tails, jellied dofu, black fungus, a bland cornmeal cake, a thin, watery congee, and some kind of stewed chicken - with the chicken head floating amongst the skin in a slimy gravy.</span></div></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Skia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 17px; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic9kfp_gJff8_fslCZJGL832HeKYGbMaHy5gSRJQtBAQRQI4cxaxV_zAzcEqRGAPsAbSZbeTgeFOVdeAAdbVM4KXmF2R-IHmcKFDw6xkkfx1BUpmdl6Q3jmvMMnd4mu_cDdzczodPIfcQ/s1600/images-4.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic9kfp_gJff8_fslCZJGL832HeKYGbMaHy5gSRJQtBAQRQI4cxaxV_zAzcEqRGAPsAbSZbeTgeFOVdeAAdbVM4KXmF2R-IHmcKFDw6xkkfx1BUpmdl6Q3jmvMMnd4mu_cDdzczodPIfcQ/s1600/images-4.jpeg" /></span></a></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Skia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx0Y1a7XMYNT1VM-qrwAzkR7q1uvVj1NUecV9i03oId_xQ7oE5xCftISK-uqUG4N_VC0QEBz3GT2NwuneSGkEDeaMaLPPjWjYmkBo-4MOpC-paCSEjF9YadeA7K1yncyUH2PAh1eSqBoE/s1600/scaryFarmers%2521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx0Y1a7XMYNT1VM-qrwAzkR7q1uvVj1NUecV9i03oId_xQ7oE5xCftISK-uqUG4N_VC0QEBz3GT2NwuneSGkEDeaMaLPPjWjYmkBo-4MOpC-paCSEjF9YadeA7K1yncyUH2PAh1eSqBoE/s320/scaryFarmers%2521.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><cue scary horror flick music here></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhz_hmrSS7EdJmrzILoiC35ScQkbcUgEsPDJPgfMnMKSIlFub4nXGGVs2tW-vP5dXwrneqQ8ZXfZY9XkYhOCFETgcZw9kw6CCR39PcURSl789dU_zjaw-E08yehGFwOHHG-iVq8Nxso-s/s1600/scaryfarmers2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhz_hmrSS7EdJmrzILoiC35ScQkbcUgEsPDJPgfMnMKSIlFub4nXGGVs2tW-vP5dXwrneqQ8ZXfZY9XkYhOCFETgcZw9kw6CCR39PcURSl789dU_zjaw-E08yehGFwOHHG-iVq8Nxso-s/s320/scaryfarmers2.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">another kind of cock's comb</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I tried to be gracious, and I did try a tiny bit of (almost) everything - but this is the one day I went away hungry.</span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03319551586327425833noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724997277238650987.post-75620326362480031112011-10-05T23:29:00.000-06:002011-10-05T23:29:57.513-06:00iSad<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx0iKys48vMkK6XtI6tiCvIiBCXCw-mEFmqalQsMo0xw6QER9OD661_p356gkZQR7BVheo1vzvRwDCk_z_mhEHRaswldhC-yd_41lUdhLuowuEnwxy-inpnAzjX_tlWjarVNdVjcWWvpY/s1600/t_hero.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx0iKys48vMkK6XtI6tiCvIiBCXCw-mEFmqalQsMo0xw6QER9OD661_p356gkZQR7BVheo1vzvRwDCk_z_mhEHRaswldhC-yd_41lUdhLuowuEnwxy-inpnAzjX_tlWjarVNdVjcWWvpY/s320/t_hero.png" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">"Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">the round pegs in the square holes... </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">the ones who see things differently -- </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 14px;">they're not fond of rules... </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 14px;">but the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things... </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 14px;">we see genius, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 14px;">because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">are the ones who do.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 14px;">"</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">Steve Jobs</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">1955-2011</div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-JCf5IB0Z6oCDX4bRDmDfOu3bLrg8jdBeq0lAhEkoSJAg8Y1JmbZfsXqm22P-k7CGQynhgtJ_xiB9MSk4jU31J1azBumh1fEt5S_emIB9B1tcm9-jSpZ23epFK_PsvV7RWBMEHit2iSs/s1600/Unknown.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-JCf5IB0Z6oCDX4bRDmDfOu3bLrg8jdBeq0lAhEkoSJAg8Y1JmbZfsXqm22P-k7CGQynhgtJ_xiB9MSk4jU31J1azBumh1fEt5S_emIB9B1tcm9-jSpZ23epFK_PsvV7RWBMEHit2iSs/s1600/Unknown.jpeg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 14px;">and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. </span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. </span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. </span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. </span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on." </span></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnyVcOKK8oqhywPFxGh4YhfG5bBnxj0Rrg8t_GzrHYjW40o8kp8mejP45sHUOF2MyVRhEiXb5Bchgf_oNkNUwb-JSTNfSw1eYccCuEsIYka9GvIA4XAAAcmfwX9xvj6ubVF3w4VHGQgHQ/s1600/309565_2487913238940_1285971285_3103843_289189245_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnyVcOKK8oqhywPFxGh4YhfG5bBnxj0Rrg8t_GzrHYjW40o8kp8mejP45sHUOF2MyVRhEiXb5Bchgf_oNkNUwb-JSTNfSw1eYccCuEsIYka9GvIA4XAAAcmfwX9xvj6ubVF3w4VHGQgHQ/s1600/309565_2487913238940_1285971285_3103843_289189245_n.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03319551586327425833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8724997277238650987.post-17399742937146508812011-10-04T08:50:00.000-06:002011-10-04T08:50:01.771-06:00These Toilets are the Pits<div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"></div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Skia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">Poster inside toilet stall in Shanghai</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsj1C8vcsLnuG6vJVAqiew8SvauzrxXTVAnblbkwZwk74BQAJhF3lelz9XQ6E06JtDr1WACrdnoWa7G86NPE6JFlQhGckXZ5zi6L6PiP5_jUlrIvCurLiVNbkngjMoV7vSto-wc_fSMdk/s1600/a_throw%2521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsj1C8vcsLnuG6vJVAqiew8SvauzrxXTVAnblbkwZwk74BQAJhF3lelz9XQ6E06JtDr1WACrdnoWa7G86NPE6JFlQhGckXZ5zi6L6PiP5_jUlrIvCurLiVNbkngjMoV7vSto-wc_fSMdk/s320/a_throw%2521.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 17.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Skia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">I get the paper</div><div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Skia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">up and aim at the wastebasket.</div><div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Skia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">A throw! The</div><div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Skia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">paper lifted</div><div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Skia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">up after being </div><div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Skia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">released. Ha,</div><div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Skia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">a nice shoot with a goal!</div><div style="font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Skia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">I am a strong</div><div style="text-align: center;">man in civilization</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2TFp9pnZ_E4DxS_nU0mzT1kYqtD3US_xfkP9A_rJu94ChkfvTm2s7T9PwGP1sxaiAdn-LEsxSNH4dq8xg0x2_Cq9leoNB5_Q8JEhkKJ8j1EvfWgfYUk8CcYT9VX6CpWbgaL4gy_N3U8E/s1600/Unknown.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2TFp9pnZ_E4DxS_nU0mzT1kYqtD3US_xfkP9A_rJu94ChkfvTm2s7T9PwGP1sxaiAdn-LEsxSNH4dq8xg0x2_Cq9leoNB5_Q8JEhkKJ8j1EvfWgfYUk8CcYT9VX6CpWbgaL4gy_N3U8E/s1600/Unknown.jpeg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">In China almost all of the toilets are pit toilets.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><div style="text-align: center;">In the fancier hotels and airports, you may find the occasional “western” toilet, but for the most part, resign yourself to squat. If you have bad knees, well, you’re shit out of luck (pun intended). </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaw4-x5AlG4dE6c8HE5PHkqQrlEjsQJkYlEKfUQ9R_2l_RWSRBr1SADiLELE4iKsWv0WvTU5uO_8j_NlVy8XhjTbbOFVQ7Di-Ay2298t_5TJIAIcXa65TiG5sJzG4LesIyg0gTFPxtBeM/s1600/images-2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaw4-x5AlG4dE6c8HE5PHkqQrlEjsQJkYlEKfUQ9R_2l_RWSRBr1SADiLELE4iKsWv0WvTU5uO_8j_NlVy8XhjTbbOFVQ7Di-Ay2298t_5TJIAIcXa65TiG5sJzG4LesIyg0gTFPxtBeM/s1600/images-2.jpeg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>The plumbing in China is shitty (there I go again!), so you can’t flush toilet paper - you have to throw it in the trash can next to the squatter.<br />
This, as you can imagine, makes the bathrooms most aromatic.<br />
You never have to look for a toilet - just follow your nose.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><div style="text-align: center;">So the simple act of relieving oneself becomes, for those of us raised in the States,<br />
an exercise in strength, stamina, and agility.<br />
<br />
</div></div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><div style="text-align: center;">Very few public toilets have toilet paper, so bring a pack of Puffs or wet wipes.</div></div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 17.0px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><div style="text-align: center;">First, approach the toilet with trepidation, opening all the stall doors to find the least offensive one. Don’t try to hold your breath to ward off the stench - you don’t want to get dizzy and pass out and fall IN the toilet. Better to accept the smell, and give thanks for your shiny, white porcelain throne back home.</div></div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><div style="text-align: center;">One experienced traveler recommends a smidge of Vicks Vap-o-Rub under the nose to block the smell.<br />
<br />
</div></div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 17.0px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFjfoDgnKLbBwyeZWb2GzIaqPHvQAsXO1uB3n-zNjjm6oNliyBPJaiSdY3I1aHsOnGMNh2QNF7Wd6cYIQzH7G2RzyZ9MMOaffDG5B2NdkYsEBUUg0PMORiyht9qkLpH5LEXfJJQpML-IA/s1600/images-3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFjfoDgnKLbBwyeZWb2GzIaqPHvQAsXO1uB3n-zNjjm6oNliyBPJaiSdY3I1aHsOnGMNh2QNF7Wd6cYIQzH7G2RzyZ9MMOaffDG5B2NdkYsEBUUg0PMORiyht9qkLpH5LEXfJJQpML-IA/s1600/images-3.jpeg" /></a></div><br />
</div></div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><div style="text-align: center;">If you’re lucky, your stall will have a lock on the door.<br />
No, wait - if you're lucky, your stall will HAVE a door!<br />
If you’re even luckier, there will be a hook to hang your purse. </div></div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 17.0px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><div style="text-align: center;">Roll up your pants legs a bit, or they’ll be soaked in the urine left on the floor from the other Western tourists who were too scared to squat properly, missing the pit altogether.<br />
Don’t be one of them - get in there and do it right.<br />
You came to China to be immersed in the life and culture here, didn’t you?</div></div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 17.0px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
Feet go on either side of the pit, obviously. </div></div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><div style="text-align: center;">Drop your pants, taking care not to let them touch the floor, bend your knees, squat, and let ‘er flow.</div></div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 17.0px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><div style="text-align: center;">This is where you'll be happy you’ve practiced your Kegels - if you can control your flow to something between a trickle and a gushing fountain, you won’t have to deal with backsplash.<br />
Much.</div></div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 17.0px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><div style="text-align: center;">Now, still squatting, grab your tissue (you DID take your tissue out of your purse before you hung it up, right?), steady your balance, and finish up.<br />
Don’t forget - don’t throw your tissue into the squatter!</div></div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 17.0px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><div style="text-align: center;">Now go wash your hands - every bathroom has a sink,<br />
but in the 2-1/2 weeks I’ve been here so far, only 2 or 3 have had soap.<br />
And then shake your hands and wipe them on your pants, because none of them have towels or hand dryers. </div></div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 17.0px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><div style="text-align: center;">Here’s another tip for the Western woman traveling in China - you, too, can pee standing up.</div></div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 17.0px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></div><div style="color: red; font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">I brought a handy dandy little device called <a href="http://www.amazon.com/pStyle-Lavender/dp/B002AA8GDG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1316605950&sr=8-2">P-Style</a> </span><span style="color: black;"> - I call it my Port-o-Peenie.</span></div></div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><div style="text-align: center;">It’s a hard plastic tunnel-funnel thingy that . . . well, use your imagination.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQvPIPRt5IrQQnPdp5atpKjcfJhhzuZjvc-jKM5ZgjuP59JEvUB7FwjCdY1q9s7Bvf86SjP_qHAT5NHjMwk6VNP0PRI-E-E3jbiPm88JkmX7Yrtc-Ki9AwqtHHZ8O4nJr8Cgq0CRR3MJg/s1600/417C9WMWZXL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQvPIPRt5IrQQnPdp5atpKjcfJhhzuZjvc-jKM5ZgjuP59JEvUB7FwjCdY1q9s7Bvf86SjP_qHAT5NHjMwk6VNP0PRI-E-E3jbiPm88JkmX7Yrtc-Ki9AwqtHHZ8O4nJr8Cgq0CRR3MJg/s1600/417C9WMWZXL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Suffice it to say that I fear no pit toilets - I can take it like a man. Heh. </div></div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 17.0px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
<br />
</div></div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><div style="text-align: center;">Still can’t write my name in the snow, though.</div></div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 17.0px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></div><div style="font: 14.0px Skia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 17.0px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03319551586327425833noreply@blogger.com9