After a few hours of painting the studio, 
it was time to celebrate Chinese New Year...



On Saturday Mr. Feltmaker and my pal Liz helped paint the studio...sort of last minute.  Why?  Because it's bad luck to work for four days during the New Year, of course.  While we were painting, my new landlords came up and invited us to a New Year dinner-if you know us, you know we can't resist these invites.



Here's a pic of my landlords (art teachers by day).  The one on the left did all the cooking.

She made 10 different dishes for the 4 of us.  We were stuffed.

After dinner we assembled chains of Chinese lanterns.  Check out the panty-hose flowers on the right (I get a free lesson after I get settled).



Then Mr. F had to climb up on the fence to hang them (see him there off to the left).  That's my dark studio on the second floor behind the tree.



Then it was time for fireworks.  Did you know Microsoft was in the fireworks business???  They didn't either.



We let the Microsoft fireworks off up on the roof.  We also shot off some Roman Candles.  The rest of the town is still celebrating and will be for the next week or so.  Fireworks off and on from 7 AM til about 3 AM.  I k



Happy New Year!

Happy Valentine's Day!



Love, Us

Got an email from a friend and I had to share....

The forward read: "painted cats"

Apparently people pay money to have their cats painted-----15 grand per paint job. For some reason Demi Moore popped into my mind.

 This one scared the crap out of me:

And just when you thought it couldn't get any worse...

But this one is my personal favorite:

These two were made for each other.


There were many more, but I thought I'd give you the high-lights.  

In other news, I went to sign the lease for my studio tonight-It only took 2 hours!!!  I have no idea how simple things can take so long in this country.  I'm so happy it's settled though.  I also had my second Tai Chi lesson this morning.  Actually, it's just as much of a Ch!ne$e lesson as tai chi because my teacher only speaks about 6 English words.  "Very Good," "Follow me," and that's about it, so I guess that's 4 English words.  My teacher is super cool though and even wears silk pajamas to class.  Don't worry, I'll get a picture.

For a new studio...



Yep, she just can't take it anymore----this waking up in one room and shuffling into the next to start work just ain't happinin' anymore.  You know it's serious when I use the word "ain't."  
So, I started looking for a studio about a week and a half ago.  And as my dumb luck would have it, the first door I knocked on was in my budget.  Actually, I don't even think she had plans to rent the room!
One or two blocks from our apartment is a small art school-mainly for children, but some of my pals take classes there (see pic).  They teach drawing and painting, enameled tiles, and (drum-roll) panty-hose flowers (I'll show you a picture someday).  Anyway, I saw a sign upstairs in the window, but had no idea what it said.  So I went in to see what the story was.  Thankfully, she had a small pocket translator in which I could type "rent" ma, pointing to upstairs.  ("Ma" denotes a question)  She showed me upstairs and I nearly passed out it was so perfect.  Then she wanted to know what I wanted the space for.  After I explained I was into the arts too, I was "in."  How lucky?  And in the one and only "art district" too!  I'm so excited I'm jumping out of my skin.

My pal Hunter came over to check out the lease/translate and then he took me to a used furniture store.....this place put the U in used.  I have to go back and get a picture.  We found some big work tables for $10 each-pretty good.  We move in this Sunday----Rocker already has his bag packed.



Sooo not amused by my humor, but he loves his new bed.

More to come...

I got some change back from a purchase a few days ago...




When I glanced down at it, I saw scribbles...and then did a double take when it registered that it was English.

"If you give up,
take my hand"

Now, I am of the type who thinks they get this stuff for a reason. After all, it's not everyday that you get English writing on foreign money.   Mr. Feltmaker, on the other hand, is all about logic.  For example on Sunday, we were in Hong Kong at a bookstore.  I was perusing this "Colorstrology" book.  Each page was a birthday with your special color and then it told stuff about your personality, blah blah blah.  So I read it aloud to Mr. F, totally sold that this thing is right on the money.  And when I finish he says, "let me see that!"  He finds his page, reads aloud, finishes.  I am totally convinced now, saying "this part was true..and that part."  He snickers, "that was June 28th!" (his birthday, 9-29).  Me: Pfh!  He (unlike myself obviously) believes that these things are general as you could read any horoscope and be able to relate.  

P.S. This is a 1 Yuan  bill = 12.5 cents

Have a good weekend everyone!

Today I attempted to learn how to make button knots...




Things were going along fine and then I pulled it off the red thing....




What happened?  
I only repeated the last two steps three times before I realized there were more steps on the other side of the folded paper.  Did I really think I could just pull the two ends and POOF! a perfect knot appear?!?!?  After several attempts, we finally ended up with a successful knot.  I say "we" because clearly at the end it was a team effort.

Have Propane, Will Travel...





I took this picture awhile back and forgot to share it.  I was sitting on a ledge next to the street and this dude really wanted to cook up some breakfast for me.  Unfortunately, I passed and instead asked if I could take his picture.  There are many folks around here who can carry and operate their whole business from the back of their bicycle.  It never ceases to amaze me so I thought you might enjoy it too.

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This morning I took a class on Israeli cooking.  So tasty.  Slices of eggplant wrapped around meat, broccoli salad with tahini sauce, carrot with cilantro salad, cabbage with apples and honey cake.  So tasty indeed.

Just went to find the Rock out in the living room----he had his Kong, a sock, and his sock monkey all in his little nest of a basket.

Yesterday we kicked off the morning without power only to find that it would be that way until 6 pm.  No warning.  Thanks.  It was a long day, no internet and constant forgetting with instant reminders every time you flipped a switch.

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Today’s excitement was when our new next door neighbor, Robert, knocked on the door to tell us he was locked out.  Now, the last time this happened, the woman went out to our balcony and yelled at the top of her lungs until her husband woke from his nappy to let her in.  And her exasperated self muttering an “Oh $#!*” as she turned and headed for the door.

Did I ever tell you that there are supposedly 70-some Brazilian pilots and their families living in our apartment complex?  Apparently our neighbor is one of them.  He was very friendly, came in with his slippers, cup of coffee, introduced himself and then asked if he could go out on our balcony because he locked himself out.  We said, “sure, no problem” (we’ve been here before).   He replies smiling (read in your best Brazilian accent),

“Don’t worry, I’m a pilot.  If I fall, I will fly!”

Confused, the next thing we know, he is setting his coffee cup on the ledge, kicking his slippers off, and UP OVER THE RAILING!!!  Did I ever tell you we live on the 13^th floor?  "It's much faster this way," he says!  Me, afraid of heights, stood there like an idiot paralyzed.  But don’tcha think he could have come back through the front door to get his slippers and coffee cup?  Oh no, he had to hang off the outside of the railing, toes on a 4 inch ledge and ask us to hand them to him. I still frozen, Mr. F was on post at the front door with the coffee cup had to scurry back out to the balcony. Rocker stood guard on the balcony (I hope he didn't learn anything). Did I tell you the housekeeper was here too?  Watching and helping-she gave him his slippers....because I was crouched under the table at this point. Sitting here now, I'm wondering, what happens when he needs a cup of sugar?

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FYI:  The !nternet has been in bad shape as of late.  A few reasons for this, the eq is one, but it is also getting to be that time of year. High level of f!ltering type stuff. So Skype isn't working and email is shoddy.  2 of my least favorite things.  :-(