{{{Ginger}}} I'm sorry your spoons are running low. I'm sending tons of treatment~ma your way every day.

I feel like I could deal with this better if I could figure out how many spoons I have and how fast they run out.

Tomorrow, I am officiating a wedding where the bride, groom and myself will be standing in a creek while they recite their vows.

To throw off the trackers?

I adore you, Ginger. And I'm wishing you great gusts of energy when you need them.

The bride and groom opted to have the ceremony in their house, rather than in the water...praise be.

Cagney and Bartleby's best friend, Bob, ended up in the water when we walked through the park.

Unfortunately, Cagney was a bit of a nightmare...including almost getting kicked by a horse, arrested by the park police, eating horse poop and barking like a fiend in the car on the way there.

I just didn't get his behavior, so I sat in the way-back with him and Bob on the way home...mostly to clamp his mouth shut for the benefit of the wedding party. It turned out, though, that he wasn't barking randomly. He was actually frightened of something. I can't imagine what. After we left Bob at his house, he was as quiet as a lamb all the way to my house.

I. Just. Don't. Know.

I feel like I could deal with this better if I could figure out how many spoons I have and how fast they run out.

Oh my, if you could figure that out, I'd greatly appreciate the formula. Wish I had some spoons to spare, but I'm pooped out today. {{{ Ginger}}}

I'm sorry for the puzzling behavior, bonny. I figure if anyone can figure him out, you can. The question is, do you want to invest that much in a dog that may not ever be simpatico?

smonster, those are all fabulous! Thanks for the link.

Ginger, I'd send spoons if they'd help. Or maybe sporks. Would sporks work? You could stabbity with the last one when you ran short.

It's 3 in the morning. I have lessons tomorrow, and possibly Apache church in the evening, the most full day in a while. And I have not one but two kids on fb chat right now.

But it includes the one I've been most worried about, so I am so glad she's reached out. I hope I have the right words, as right as they can be in the circumstances.

I suspect what will go by the wayside are the chicken enchiladas I had planned for tomorrow but for which I was going to have to pick up extra ingredients.

Bonny, is it possible he's afraid of men? I once knew a dog who would never stop barking if a man was around other than the men who lived in the house. He was fine around all women.

Congratulations Daniel and Windsparrow!

I'm posting from my iPhone! I have a short-term contract with China Mobile. Starting to feel more settled. The family Tea is now safely ensconced at Biyi's parents' apartment. It's next to a primary school, which can be entertaining. Feels much more relaxing than Shanghai. Ryan is reconnecting with his grandparents, and is being (on the whole) a very good little traveller. On this trip, he's now travelled by plane, taxi, train and bus, and been very excited by each one. (If you've ever ridden in a Chinese taxi, you'll know why this would be an occasion for excitement. And hair-raising thrills and spills.) In fact, I think today may be the first time Ryan's caught a bus ever.

They now have a high-speed train between Shanghai and Hangzhou, reaching speeds of almost 300 kph. That was fun. Hangzhou itself is developing fast, but I was disappointed that almost all of the new skyscrapers have no aesthetic quality - just functional concrete blocks. (This contrasts with Shanghai, where even housing developments often make some effort. However, taxis in Hangzhou have seatbelts in the back seats, and in Shanghai they do not, so Hangzhou wins.)

So what are the enclosures at the Shanghai Zoo like? I imagine that Chinese zoos are very different than when I went to visit them in 1989. Plus I didn't go to Shanghai, more's the pity. But I recall they had a Persian cat. And I remember the tiger. hmm, I sense a feline theme to my memories...

Going way back: mostly ok but not great. There were exceptions, and oddly the primates hit both extremes. The golden snub-nosed monkeys were awesome and had a verdant and varied enclosure. The gibbons had good room and clearly enjoyed swinging on all the ropes. The old primate house, however, was distressing and depressing. You had the mandrills and De Brazza's guenons on bare concrete. One touching moment: a mandrill and guenon holding hands between the bars of their cages.)

Otherwise, most animals had sufficient space and some facilities, but nothing great. (And the sun bears had nothing to climb.) I did get the impression though that they are trying to improve things, and the animals themselves looked well-cared for.

It's moving day. I could use some sanity and more spoons.

Jesus. all the 'ma in the world.

I am prepping to move in July. What agony.