Kirst Afloat

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Bonus Day: The Weather is Wonderful!

The weather yesterday was a gift.  Partially sunny and warm, with some wind (to blow some of the pollution which has been hanging over Hong Kong away).  I decided that we should head to the beach (as long as it wasn't too crowded and we could park).  Claire and James thought that this was a most wonderful idea.  So we packed up a couple of bags and headed off.  It was a bit late when we left, about 1:30.  (If it's nice today--it's forecasted to be better than yesterday--we will head back to the beach at some point this morning.)

There were about 50 like-minded people at the beach.  Not too many went into the water.  My kids decided to brave it at one point.  It was COLD!  They went in a few time although I limited them to waist depth water only.  They had a blast digging, building and (in Claire's case) burying themselves.  I also ended up blowing bubbles for 45 minutes at the end of the day.  (It was a flashback to my Brown days when I was the "Bubble Lady" outside of Pembroke #4.) 

   

             

What Freaks Me Out about the Beaches in Hong Kong

 

The beaches we love in Hong Kong tend to be those that  you need a boat to access.  They tend to be less crowded and the water is cleaner.  This is because the ones we love do not have housing near them. 

When we first moved here, most of the sewage was dumped directly into the ocean.  Yuck!  The Hong Kong government is beginning to address this problem but the sewage treatment to date is not yet at the standard of other first world countries.

These signs are from Clearwater Bay Second Beach.  I drive by this beach at least twice every day.  I've probably gone to this beach less than 10 times in the past 12 years.  When we do go, it tends to be in the off season.

Information about Sewerage Treatment in Hong Kong:

Hong Kong Sewerage Strategy

Harbour Area Treatment Scheme

Environment and water to Hong Kong

Singing James

Follow the link to see James singing Lunar New Year songs (and doing a fan dance) with his class.  The video is posted on youku (the Chinese YouTube).

http://u.youku.com/user_show/uid_%e7%be%8e%e5%85%89%e4%b8%ad%e5%9b%bd

Kung Hei Fat Choi/Gong Xi Fa Cai!

  

Happy Lunar New Year!

It's a chilly, dreary day here in Hong Kong (which is typical during CNY).  Claire has a birthday party to attend at Bamboo Grove in Wanchai and Tom is going into the office to write his ebook.  That leaves James and I at loose ends...we'll need to hang out in the city, I suppose. No idea what we'll do...don't know what will actually be open.  My original plan was to take both kids to see Bolt in 3D this morning but, with Claire's party, none of the times work for us.  (If we wanted to watch it in Cantonese, we'd be all set!)

All Go-Gurt is not created equal

A question for the people at Yoplait:  Why is the US version of Go-Gurt full of artificial flavorings and colors? 

When we grocery shop back in the US, my kids are often disappointed by the Go-Gurt offerings.  I refuse to buy the "yogurt" that is marketed to kids in the States.  It typically is a flavor (Cotton Candy, for example) and color (bright blue) that does not naturally occur.  Unless I can find a product such as Yokids by Stonyfield Farms (which isn't always easy to find in a rural location like ours), we are out of luck.  

Yoplait Australia produces delicious (and natural) Go-Gurt which both of my children love.  The only flavours that I've seen (imported into Hong Kong at least) are Strawberry and Fruit Salad (two flavours, four tubes of each packaged together) and Raspberry and Apricot (again, separate flavours).  No scary food colourings or flavours:

Flavours available in Australia: Strawberry, Fruit Salad, Raspberry, Apricot, Blueberry, Lime

 Ingredients in the Australian Product

The flavors available in the US are: Berry Blue Blast, Chill Out Cherry, Cool Cotton Candy, Paradise Punch, Red Raspberry, Strawberry Splash Split, Strawberry Banana, Strawberry Milkshake, Banana Split, Strawberry Kiwi Kick, Watermelon Meltdown, Burstin' Melon Berry, Crazy Berry Bolt, Extreme Red Rush, Monster Watermelon, Berry Blue

Ingredients in one flavor of the US Products  (Why can't I find this information on the Yoplait US website???)  Why does US Go-gurt contain high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavorings and colors?  And why do US children get "great, fun flavor"?

I cannot understand the complete crap that is marketed as "wholesome goodness" for children (and adults) in the US. 

 

My kids were THRILLED that I (finally) found Go-Gurt (the Australian variety) back on the shelves of at least one supermarket today.  It's been ages!  (If it was available in GREAT today, I'm sure Park N Shop also has it in stock.)

More Photos from "A Little Princess"

I discovered photos taken during the production of "A Little Princess" on the Faust website. (Click on the "A Little Princess album link.)  I'm not able to copy them, but do check them out.  My favorite is on the third page.  It's the whole cast together and Claire looks SO happy.  It's wonderful!

She's Back...

The goalie in me, I mean.  Just played the late game tonight (which is scheduled to begin at 11 pm but never starts that early) and I had fun.  Before Christmas, hockey had ceased to be fun for me.  And that was just wrong.  I played much better tonight (even after a month hiatus).  We had two full lines with four d which was excellent.  We still lost, though, but we did score with 8.7 seconds left.  Final score: 2-3. 

One thing that I consciously changed was the way I've been holding my glove hand.  I initially thought that my "new" Battram glove was a poor design.  (Or, at least, not a design that I cared for.)  However, after looking at our 2007 photo album which I recently had printed as Christmas gifts, I discovered the truth.  In those photos, I was using my old catching glove which was a lot larger.  But the angle I was holding it at was all wrong.  It was tilted down so that nothing could (easily?) be caught.  Tonight I kept looking at my glove and positioning it correctly which felt awkward.  But "Eureka"!  I snagged a puck off of a face-off in the 3rd period and it went right into the pocket.

I also fell back into cheering for my team.  I always talk (or more likely, scream) directions/information to my team.  But I made sure to yell encouragement when they were in the offensive zone.  Much better.

It's late...should get to bed...need to be up in a few hours.

Sunrise in the Mountains of Georgia

Aren't these photos amazing?  It was soooo beautiful!

 

 

It reminds me a little of the morning after the night that I met Tom.  We watched the most AMAZING sunrise on the back of his boat which was in a parking lot near New Harbor, Block Island.  (He had sunk it and was awaiting a spot on the ferry to take it back to the mainland for repairs!)

Why It's Great to be a Child of Asia

After arriving back from Christmas holidays, it's nearly time for Chinese New Year.  Claire and James with their CNY white chocolate fish bought from the Club.  (James' hair has been growing out for nearly a week at this point!!!)