Getting into a Routine

July 3 (Friday)

"Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." So goes the old saying ... However, the "early to rise" part makes me ready for a mid afternoon nap. The "healthy, wealthy, and wise" part hasn't kicked in yet either. I'm trying to be positive. I'm sure it will come. Doing a 180 from a night owl to an early bird is quite a challenge.

We're trying to get into a routine of cooking more at home and not eating out so much. John's just way too happy making his famous won tons! Meals will be rather simple for the first little bit until we are able to build up our supply of Chinese groceries. I have to keep reminding him that we are only here for 18 months, and we don't need a 2 years supply.

Happy "Won Ton King"

July 4 (Saturday)

Happy 4th of July to all our American Families and Friends!

After our shift today, we went on a quick outing to the Dragon Boat Festival. It was right along the promenade just a few blocks from our condo along the Walk of Stars by the Bruce Lee statue. So many people! We saw a few races, but it was hard to get a close look...wall to wall people...hot, sticky and crowded.

This dragon is all made up out of balloons.

Check out these dresses - all made out of balloons!

We only had an hour there, then had to rush to the ferry to go to dinner with Auntie May Soo. Agatha was supposed to join us with her two sons, Mike and Mark. Unfortunately, they hadn't arrived home yet from England, so we will catch them for dinner another time. Had a wonderful feast with Auntie.

Auntie May Soo and Me at City Plaza

Fresh whole shrimp - creepy eyes included!

Tropical slushies - mango, watermelon, guava 

July 5 (Sunday)

Happy Birthday, Jasmine! For so many years when you were growing up, you spent your birthday at camp. Now, we're the ones away on your birthday. Hope you had a wonderful day!

Our church service didn't start till 2:00 today, so we took a little walk to the Walk of Stars to see if there were any more races happening. Here's what we saw:

Inflated dragon

A neck to neck race

Bruce Lee's Star on the Walk of Stars

Matching Jackie Chan's hand prints - a perfect match!

"They call me Bruce"

 It was testimony meeting today. We were in the Peninsula Third Branch. The sisters there are so humble and full of the spirit. I love listening to them. Even though many of them have so many challenges, their faith is so strong. Sister Ball's birthday was on July 4th, and they threw a surprise party for her after church today. Another wonderful meal prepared by the Filipino sisters.


July 6 (Monday)

The Temple is closed on Mondays so this is our Pday (preparation day). We went to the Government office where we were issued our Hong Kong ID card. I'm not sure what the card is all about, but as a temporary permanent resident, it gives you discounts on certain services like cell phones.

Did some more exploring with the Ball's. Had lunch at Subway. It was pretty much the same as back home. Went to see the area where John lived with his Grandmother while he was waiting to immigrate to Canada. I wished we had a time machine to revisit what it was like when he was there. Oh, if the buildings could talk...

John's pointing to the name of the street where he used to live.

Hard to read sign "Yee Kuk Street" where John used to live.

It could have been one of these buildings he lived in, but he can't recall for sure.

Door way with steps leading up to the apartments.

...and I thought our Subway was small!

Pretty much the same system and products.

July 7 (Tuesday)

Happy Birthday, Cardiff! Hope you had a fun filled day. July is jam packed with birthdays and anniversaries in our family.

The name of this post is "Getting into a Routine". It may seem like we don't work much with all the activities we seem to be doing. Today however was just another day at the Temple. It's beginning to feel like a routine day. Things run quite a bit differently in the Hong Kong Temple as opposed to the Alberta Temple. We get a wide variety of patrons from many distant lands. It's always exciting to see who will show up, and whether we'll be listening in English, Cantonese, Mandarin, or one of 6 other languages.


July 8 (Wednesday)

Happy Anniversary, Rylan and Molly! And the special occasions in July just keep on coming.

"Getting into a Routine" seems to mean going to the market every day. Another trip to the market. I feel like the 3 Little Pigs, except there's just the 2 of us and we're always going to the market. It seems we have more days off than we work.

Where's Grampy? (John)

Where's Grampy? Can't even get close to the shops!