Autumn

Birthday part 2!

Q receiving a handmade gift from one of her mommy's oldest and dearest friends.
Bags...BAGS!!!!
Q playing under the table with my friend's youngest son, Mila. This is wonderful and strange to me for a couple of reasons - first, I love that Mila's energetic personality drew Q in from minute one. Second, this table was my family's dining table from early days. Since I did not have siblings, nor did I have cousins, nieces or nephews in close range while I was growing up, I am not used to seeing children play in the same environs where I played as a child. It's a bit surreal, and a lot superb.
Q receiving presents (pigs, no less...she loves pigs!!) from my mum's partner-in-crime.
Showing off her balloons.
On the left is Nina, with whom I grew up from a very, very early age. On the right is Carol, with whom I spent a great part of my late teens and early twenties.
And, in more recent (and blog-related) times, here is our first meeting with blog friends Maia (you might have been confused by her name showing up on my blogs), Ryan, Spike, and FF. FF hails from the same Chinese province as Q. They have a lot in common, and I was SO glad to finally get them together, if only briefly.
The kiddos playing furiously on the play structure that was loaned by a good friend for the occasion.
The play structure was put to good use, as you can see!
Guests gathering around the koi pond on a lovely late-summer evening.

It was so amazing to see so many friends from so many generations, and from so many different eras of my life. Really amazing.
Feeding fish.
A little help from a friend.

Dick getting the kids all riled up!
Q was distracted by balloons while LaoLao brought out the cake.
The second shot shows a very (very!) rare moment of bashfullness in the Q, as she buries her head in mommy's shoulder when the entire crowd begins to sing to her. She really didn't expect that!
Blowing out candles.

Mike and LaoLao serving cake.

Possibly the first 2-year-old birthday when absolutely everyone - three generations-worth - ate cake.
QQ and FF sharing some bonding time.

Birthday, part 1!

Preparations for Q's birthday party...

...and more of my mum's beautiful house.


Flowers from the local farmer's market, and balloons that Daddy ordered from Houst & Sons.






My mum collects in color schemes. They are Eastern color schemes, to my Western eye (I've been in the west for nearly two decades now) but I have passed through the discomfort with the east coast that sent me west, and on to a new appreciation and love for the place where I was born, if not entirely raised.

For finger food, my mum pulled out a cookbook that has been in our family for longer than I can remember, and unearthed a recipe that my parents used to make when I was very small. Mike was recruited to put his professional spin on it, and the result...
...was transcendent. I love when family history comes full circle into the present day.
Another beautiful room, and another of my mum's gorgeous bird paintings.
Little bits of the Eastern ecosystem that, from the distance of so many years, have come to appear fanciful and exotic to my eyes.


More tidbits from the studio.
If my own workspace were anywhere near so organized and graceful, I would feature it here as well. As it is, you'll have to make do with my mum's.

Preparing for guests to arrive.



Q woke from her nap on that day to the unprecedented surprise of a few dozen balloons, scattered about the property.
She could hardly believe her fortune.