nihao...a month late

I just got my photos from China uploaded onto Flickr. I've had them uploaded on my work computer since I got back (mid-November), but I have no Flickr/Blogger access from there. I had to wait until I got my super-ghetto card reader (aka my old camera, since my mac doesn't recognize my new camera) hooked up.

I went to Hong Kong, Shanghai, and mainland China for work. 


Shanghai, the main market area at night. In the rain. It took us about 2 hours to get home since no cabs were available.


Moon Lake in Ningbo.


Me again at Moon Lake in Ningbo, about 3 hours from Shanghai.


Hong Kong


The pedestrian street in TST in Hong Kong


View from our hotel on the Kowloon side of Hong Kong


My kickin' balcony at our Hong Kong hotel

A year of 101 Things

A year ago I started my 101 Things Project. There were tasks that I thought I would complete immediately, but instead are still not finished. The best (worst?) example of this is #27- Identify 101 Things that make me happy- Wordle form. I started this Day 1, and at Day 365, I am stuck with only 97 things! Surely there are four other things in this world that make me happy? Other completed tasks took me by surprise- I realized several days after attending the State Fair that it was, indeed, #93 on my list.


at the State Fair

Some items are proving more difficult to finish than others- #23 Read 21 books off the Big Read List. I've expanded the list of eligible books to include some other top reading lists, and I've still only read three books! I've started and abandoned an E.M. Forster book and several by the Brontës. I just can't seem to get into any of them. Maybe that is why I am re-reading the Harry Potter series for the umpteenth time... On the other hand, I've exhausted the supply of Agatha Christie books at my local library and now must reserve books from other libraries to complete #48 Finish all/35 Agatha Christie books available through IMCPL. (Originally this was "all" but I changed it to 35. I've read 18 so far this year.)

Some I've finished in ways other than my original intention. #97 Travel to at least three other states was intended to be for vacation travel only. Instead, I traveled to Nevada and Minnesota for work and then Florida for vacation, hitting my total of three other states. Subsequent trips to Tennessee and West Virginia helped finish this item in the way I had hoped. #94 Travel to one foreign country will be completed in a month's time due to a work trip to China, but I meant for this to be a vacation to Cancun, Costa Rica or Europe. I'm still hoping to visit one of those before the end of the 1001 days.


trip to Florida

All in all, I've completed 29 items. If you count up the total number of tasks to finish (ie read five biographies, try ten new restaurants, etc), I am at 21%. Not bad for a bit over a third of the way through the 1001 days!

it's nellie time

more of New Nellie!








and one of Bristow, for good measure

cannons in closeup

Cannon details at Castillo de San Marco, St. Augustine, Florida.

st. augustine in pictures

Beach at Fort Matanzas


From the top of Castillo de San Marco


Castillo de San Marco


Drawbridge at Castillo de San Marco


Beachcombers, St. Augustine


Beach at St. Aug

postcards on the edge- of the hallway

My mom picked up these wire ornament frames from Pottery Barn- for less than a dollar apiece! I wish she had bought even more, there are so many things to do with them!



The silver wire frame holds a 4x6 photo. They originally came with a red velvet ribbon, meant to hang on the Christmas tree as an ornament. However, I immediately had other plans for them.




I took some 1.5" (ish) green satin ribbon from my stash, and threaded it through the top wire loop of one frame, behind the photo, through the bottom wire loop and then through the top wire loop of the next frame, and so on. I made a little loopy at the top so I could hang it on a nail, and secured the ribbon with a few hidden stitches in matching thread.



See how the ribbon covers up part of the wire frame? Behind the ribbon I used some yarn to tie the frame together. This might not be necessary if your ribbon is wired or thick enough, but with three frames chained together, I wanted to make sure they stayed together.



Instead of using photos, I used three postcards I bought when I went to France eight years ago. I love the idea of changing these out seasonally for other postcards, photographs, or even Christmas or birthday cards.

Other ideas:
-Place a festive photo in it and tuck or tie onto an existing wreath
-Glue patterned scrapbook paper onto the back of photos, and use ribbon to tie from a chandelier
-turn the frames sideways and tie the frames together or string onto ribbon for a garland (they are pretty lightweight)