Back in Shanghai
Back in Shanghai, I got a lunch in with my friend Julie and her daughter Cortney who was making a stop before heading off to Thailand for 4 months on a Colgate college trip. Din Tai Feng, one of our favorite dumpling spots at Xintiandi. It was a beautiful day and I biked over. Julie had brought us goodies back from America: maple syrup - liquid gold around here, Speedo goggles for Storey, tights from Target, all kinds of treats! So good to have her back. Cortney is a beautiful, fun girl like her mom. As Ridley said, "That was a long lunch!" 
OK. I think this will actually be the last of the lane renovation photos! Here is was before we left for Harbin. Pavers were actually being laid.
Upon our return, the women were dancing in the lane! American 50's music blaring in the lane, these women are practicing line dancing every afternoon while the community room is finishing up its beautification.
There was reason to dance in the street. Here is our new lane. . . 
Our front door.
Corrugated formed concrete pavers with concrete and rock drainage areas. It is really lovely.
The potted plants have made their way back out, adding beauty to the rebeautified lane!
The cars will probably arrive soon. Yellow lines indicating parking spaces have been added.
The master planter, our neighbor who does all the potted plants around, had this area made with soil for a lovely corner.
Before heading back to school, the girls and I headed to a club around the corner and paid a very hefty price for an afternoon at the pool. Paige and I did Storey's warm up work out with her. Oh my. It took an hour, and Storey absolutely blew us away on every event. Back in school, she just swam 1850 meters for her Friday swim practice!
The pool was constantly busy with people swimming laps. There were signs all around for no spitting, and buckets were placed at the end of the lanes for spitting, if required! The life guard came and went - mostly gone - into his adjacent room for smoking breaks. The smoke wafted into the pool area. Mmmm. Chlorine, smoke - great pool smells. We took long showers, a sauna, trying to get all we could from our afternoon at the club.
A Changle Lu streeet scene taken from a taxi window. I was taking Paige to an event at school, and this traveling BBQ
stand was set up just a block from our house. The raw meat is sitting right next to the BBQ, and the chopping block is next to that - in front of the men enjoying the skewers. A fun sight.
Friday night traffic on Changle Lu is bumper to bumper for blocks. We got to enjoy this scene for awhile! Of course Paige was mortified by my picture taking out the window. The taxi driver got a good laugh out of it.
Paige had her last x-ray for the confirmation that she is perfect, and while waiting for the doctor, we looked out onto stunning Shanghai. We never stop marveling that we are here.
The intersection below. It actually seems tame from up here. Paige and I rode our bikes here. The streets seemed a little trickier to negotiate when we were down there in the midst!
Caught up with vacation! We have one more week of school and then off to Hong Kong on Saturday for Chinese New Year. We are hoping to avoid some of the noise we have heard goes on for the entire week of New Year celebration here. We'll see.
OK. I think this will actually be the last of the lane renovation photos! Here is was before we left for Harbin. Pavers were actually being laid.
Upon our return, the women were dancing in the lane! American 50's music blaring in the lane, these women are practicing line dancing every afternoon while the community room is finishing up its beautification.
There was reason to dance in the street. Here is our new lane. . . 
Our front door.
Corrugated formed concrete pavers with concrete and rock drainage areas. It is really lovely.
The potted plants have made their way back out, adding beauty to the rebeautified lane!
The cars will probably arrive soon. Yellow lines indicating parking spaces have been added.
The master planter, our neighbor who does all the potted plants around, had this area made with soil for a lovely corner.
Before heading back to school, the girls and I headed to a club around the corner and paid a very hefty price for an afternoon at the pool. Paige and I did Storey's warm up work out with her. Oh my. It took an hour, and Storey absolutely blew us away on every event. Back in school, she just swam 1850 meters for her Friday swim practice!
The pool was constantly busy with people swimming laps. There were signs all around for no spitting, and buckets were placed at the end of the lanes for spitting, if required! The life guard came and went - mostly gone - into his adjacent room for smoking breaks. The smoke wafted into the pool area. Mmmm. Chlorine, smoke - great pool smells. We took long showers, a sauna, trying to get all we could from our afternoon at the club.
A Changle Lu streeet scene taken from a taxi window. I was taking Paige to an event at school, and this traveling BBQ stand was set up just a block from our house. The raw meat is sitting right next to the BBQ, and the chopping block is next to that - in front of the men enjoying the skewers. A fun sight.
Friday night traffic on Changle Lu is bumper to bumper for blocks. We got to enjoy this scene for awhile! Of course Paige was mortified by my picture taking out the window. The taxi driver got a good laugh out of it.
Paige had her last x-ray for the confirmation that she is perfect, and while waiting for the doctor, we looked out onto stunning Shanghai. We never stop marveling that we are here.
The intersection below. It actually seems tame from up here. Paige and I rode our bikes here. The streets seemed a little trickier to negotiate when we were down there in the midst!
Caught up with vacation! We have one more week of school and then off to Hong Kong on Saturday for Chinese New Year. We are hoping to avoid some of the noise we have heard goes on for the entire week of New Year celebration here. We'll see.
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