Indulge Me a Moment

I'm going to step back in time to New Year's Eve 2007/2008. We were in Lijiang, south western China. Our wall-mounted "heater" blew tepid air and our toes were always cold. When we showered a pool puddle of water formed on the bathroom floor, because there was no tub.

That night it was so cold in Lijiang that it snowed, a rare event in that area. To celebrate the New Year, we splurged on dinner at "Le Cafe Paris", where BG had salmon and mashed potatoes, and I had the very French specialty of Mongolian tofu hotpot with noodles -- accompanied by a gallon-sized bucket of rice. "This country was built on rice," the waiter told me. "Rice is cheap in this country." Later, carbohydrate-induced torpor fully upon us, we walked the pretty, picturesque streets of Lijiang and contemplated the purchase of yak jerky.



Very late in the evening, well past 9:30, we decided that we were absolutely, thoroughly chilled, and returned to our guest house. We climbed into bed and watched a movie. I'm ashamed to say that we rang in the new year with the newest Transformers movie, Megan Fox and all. Guess whose pick that was?

This time we're ringing in the New Year with family and crab legs. I can't believe how much has happened since December 31, 2007.

Happy New Year!