A Tale Of Two Sickies!

April 9^th We had plans for this morning, get up early (not too late), catch a bus, go towards Nansheng and find a new place to explore. Unfortunately we awoke to the sound of rain. Cue any number of songs about rain, and I can tell you that I know quite a few! Never mind, I spent some of the morning preparing what they call the ‘mix-in’ for this evening’s dinner.

After lunch we took the plunge, it wasn’t raining although the air was damp with 89% humidity. Every now and then we thought we felt drops on our skin. Apart from that though, it was pretty good weather for a stroll around the river. As we were crossing the little island Huan had me teetering on a very steep slope to snap this first cicada. The second one was much easier and could be snapped from the footpath without any dangerous leaning.

For the first time in ages we saw a skink, odd looking creatures aren’t they. I thought this one had a damaged membrane behind its eye but they all seem to look the same on the internet. The ‘normal’ lizards that we see have a membrane across that hole. Maybe the skink does too but it may be recessed and that is why we can’t see it. That’s a question for you Saurologists out there!

And just to show you the difference I then found a lizard for you.

This one is for the lady of the manor. I knew we were too far away but what’s a man to do?

More lizards were found, one was in focus, one wasn’t, neither of them appear here. Instead there is a little chick which had, apparently, fallen out of its nest. We could see that it was not yet able to fly and every now and then a parent would fly down to ‘check on it’. Before anybody asks, we were not in a position to get down to the riverside and help!

Above our heads, also at the limit of the camera, was the worried ‘parent’. All we can hope is that the parent keeps the chick well fed until it has enough strength to fly.

Back home it was time for Chef Bob to get down to it again. This week I had decided I would try and cook a crust-less quiche, thus avoiding having to make any pastry.

There is no photograph of my efforts I’m afraid. If you follow the recipe you will be fine. I ended up with too many ‘mix-ins’ and not quite the right balance of quantities. Having said that it tasted superb, I ate a half of the ‘too much’, Huan had a quarter and she will have the remaining quarter for her breakfast tomorrow.

April 10^th Whatever plans we had for today went by the wayside as the chief teddy bear was out of sorts this morning. I volunteered to stay home too and be the care bear! Was it my cooking? If it was then it was selective, I was fine. After lunch I had to take a break from caring and go out to buy today’s lottery tickets. Tickets bought I stopped by the town square where I found preparations well underway for the upcoming Sanyuesan Festival.

We mustn’t forget the needs of children and old people. Here’s a baby roller coaster and the ice cream stand for those with no teeth!

From there I took a walk down one of my favourite streets.

My reason for taking this road today was a sad one. It was time to finally say goodbye to my dear old Fujifilm camera. It had no chance of being repaired and had spent far too long sitting on the balcony. The repair man was happy to get another free bag of bits.

I decided I had to pass by the little island, to see if I could find a lizard for the patient at home. On my way I thought I would show you yet another different view of the river.

And the fates were kind to me, I found a little chap having a kip.

Another caterpillar, you know, they of many legs, appeared this week. It has been deemed worthy of inclusion here because its colour is so strikingly different to the one that was shown in last week’s video. What do you mean you didn’t watch it? Go and watch it now!

Yet again at the limit of my eyes and the camera lens, a little bird with something in its beak. This photo has been cropped to 12% of its original size!

My final photo of the day concerns the other orders that I had been given by the in-patient before I left home. She needed me to collect two items from the delivery boxes. When the express delivery people call, if you are not available they will put your items in one of these green boxes and provide you with an access code to ‘open the box’. The system works and I successfully opened two boxes and recovered two items.

April 11^th My first job this morning was to rein in the eager beaver who was suggesting all sorts of routes that included lots of going up! I had to remind her that she had eaten next to nothing yesterday and spent most of the day in bed. Maybe a round the river walk would suffice. That meant of course that we would have to ‘look for lizards’. These first two were found on the main road, before we turned off to go round the river.

As we reached the river we were greeted with this pleasant pastoral scene.

The usual photographer was there trying to catch the birds on the backs of the cows. Maybe it was too early in the day but he wasn’t having much success. I had some though, despite not being able to see anything through the camera at all.

And then Huan pointed out the bovine traffic policeman, he is directing the cow traffic with his big lollipop stick. It is the long pole with a blue disc on the end. Perhaps he is worried that they might ‘accidentally’ bump him into the river.

Huan was also busy with her phone; this is a guy picking up river snails.

When she wasn’t busy with her phone she was busy bossing me around!

Now here’s one we have seen before, but not here. I wonder if your memories can go back that far and also recall the answer to the question, what fruit is this?

Flowers and fruit are quite closely related, we’ve had some fruit so here are some flowers. Now a bit of creative editing could make you think that this was either the left over confetti from a wedding or the red outer paper wrapping of firecrackers. However, although I may tweak our photos a little here and there, creative editing is not really my thing!

And finally we bring you yet another of those elusive white birds that always seem to be just at the limit of the camera’s range. Unusually, Huan didn’t see this bird at all.

Back home and after our lunch we both needed naps. Huan needed hers to recover from yesterday and I needed mine to recover from going to bed far too late last night. When Huan is ill, more often than not I stay up far too long so as not to disturb her.

April 12^th Last night it was my turn to be the poorly teddy bear, and for me it was ‘both sides now’. The good news is that it wasn’t my cooking that made Huan ill, and it wasn’t her cooking that made me ill. There must be some kind of stomach bug doing the rounds. I was running so much, for one end, or the other, or both that I eventually decided to sleep in the spare bedroom. Today was a ‘water only’ diet interspersed with lots of sleep. An early night then followed.

April 13th Good morning world, it’s a brand new day! Yesterday I lost count of the number of times Huan asked me if I wanted something to eat, a piece of bread perhaps. Meanwhile all I wanted to do was to drink water and sleep which for most of the day I succeeded in doing. For some reason though Huan always wants to feed me when my body just tells me NO! Anyway, this morning was much better and my morning coffee tasted out of this world!

We both agreed that maybe salad would not be a good idea this weekend and that a good old chicken stew would probably be better. Also, as neither of us was really on top form we didn’t want to have too long a walk. From home we headed off to the ‘fortune maker’s shop’, also known as the ‘waste your money on lottery tickets shop’. I know, but you never know, one day maybe. From there we popped into the market and bought a whole chicken before setting off home. On the way we were accosted by a lady who seemed to know us. After chatting to Huan it seems we had met on April 2^nd where we had helped them take some photos. Today she needed a photo to show the other two ladies that she had met me again.

When we reached home I still needed a few extra metres to reach at least 4k for the day so Huan sent me off to the riverside. How many cows can you see? No prizes for the winners!

April 14^th I guess whatever we bug we had this week really took it out of us. I woke up too late this morning for a walk and Huan was too tired to join me after lunch. As for me, I needed some exercise and a little fresh air. Now what is slower, a stroll or a saunter? Whichever one it is I had the Sunday version. Photos were needed of course, both for Huan and for you. First I took a video, you can see that here - https://youtu.be/bvmByHI7FgU If you are curious about the impending invasion of the USA mentioned in the video description then that’s here

 https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/04/13/2024-cicada-map/73300248007/

Huan is a lady who does not like to have flowers bought for her, or chocolates come to think of it, but she does like photographs of them.

Now you will remember that when I walk alone I take photos so that my mistress can know exactly where I have been, just to make sure I have been behaving myself. Today I wondered about places you may not have seen so much of and I chose to venture to what we call ‘the top road’, mostly because it is the last cross town road before the hills.

Just before reaching said road I went through a very small children’s’ park.

And then I was on the top road.

This week’s des res may even be desirable for you good folks out there. It looks just a little different to the usual architecture we see, I think I could live there!

And then we have the last two photos of the top road before I eventually got back to the river again. Look carefully at all of today’s images and see if they match with your perceptions of China. I see a wonderful clean city with a great climate where Huan and I are happy to live. There are sometimes more people, nice people they are too, but never too many.

I did have a stop on the way, my energy was flagging. Sugar was needed so a cool bottle of orange something with bits of orange in it was the order of the day. When I reached home my belly felt far too full to have dinner so I decided to skip it until tomorrow. There were no real arguments from the Minister of Health; she herself only had a small dinner.

April 15^th Just a normal Monday today, shopping in the morning followed by us both being lazy for the rest of the day. We decided that another day of rest would not be amiss. Call it one of the additional benefits of being retired. Let’s just hope that this week will be more normal. And on that note it’s time to say goodbye again, till the next time, bieeeeee!

New Boots Again!

April 2^nd Another week and another, new, pair of boots! Mind you, I made a mistake with them. When they arrived I had a quick try and they seemed fine. This morning I noticed that they are a size 46 instead of the ordered size 45. Unfortunately, we have already said that they are fine and released the money. Large insoles now required, dummy!

To try the new boots I suggested the country kindergarten walk and Huan agreed. Not only did she agree but she did her usual trick of finding three of those pesky lizards. I think she thought that the third one would be a no-no but I got it!

Unusually we met some snowbirds on this route, a very talkative bunch they were too. Here I am just pointing out to them ‘my Lǎobǎn’, which means boss.

Soon the ‘boss’ was at it again.

Soon we were into the real countryside where we frightened the little birdies.

Then I thought it was time for a panorama without showing the village.

Huan then sneaked into a farm to take a snap of some turkeys. Unbeknownst to her, I had another one all to myself outside!

Need I tell you what happened next?

These two snaps show where I explored without Huan to see if there was another route. It’s not obvious from the pictures, but there wasn’t.

Soon we reached our water stop where we picked up a little friend.

Almost at the end of our walk and still the boss found another one!

Just as we crossed the bridge back to the main road I had the idea of taking a panorama that will remind us, maybe not you, of our first trip to Wuzhishan in 2007. We came down the little road you can see on the right of the picture, on to the ford, also on the right. There was no big wall there then. We crossed the river and went to see the buildings you can see on the left. As you of course know, we didn’t buy there; we bought in the town instead.

With our walk(s), the one to the bridge and the one after the bus home, we had a grand total of eleven and three quarter kilometres today. Naps were most definitely needed! After nap time I had some maintenance to do, repaid the electrical extension. Not only did I repair it but I added a fused plug for good measure. I really don’t trust our wiring! Here you can see the new plug and the new ‘different’ switch both ‘off’ and ‘on’.

I needed the microwave today as I was the duty chef. Today’s dinner was a simple British one, fried pork with mashed potato and baked beans. It went down well all round.

April 3^rd Not many photos were taken today, mostly because I was alone. The C-in-C was a little late off the mark this morning so when I suggested that we walk down the main road and back she declined. She said that there wasn’t enough to see on that walk so she would stay home, bake bread and water the flowers. Each to their own so off I went, keeping one wary eye on the sky. The sun is actually in this picture, somewhere.

To my surprise the lack of sun didn’t seem to worry some!

I walked as far as the gates of Camelot then took a slight detour behind the guard house just to get a few extra metres. That detour helped keep the camera out of the man made rain.

Being alone I had a short coffee and fag break, my view was not quite the usual.

As I was approaching home, it wasn’t a moonlit night, I wasn’t in Mexico and I was walking alone between the apartment blocks of Shui An Bie Shu. Suddenly, I heard the plaintive cry of a (not so young and not so Mexican) girl, she shouted “Oi!” And that’s the end of my solo day out.

April 4^th “Where shall we go today?” “Oh, I don’t know, how about dead people mountain, we haven’t been up there for a while?” “OK.” On the way we decided to take another of our famous detours, it took us behind the ‘no title deeds’ apartment blocks and further.

The ‘further’ had us going through the woods and past some other dearly departed souls.

Getting back on to the road was not so easy.

In fact just after this next picture we ‘had words’ with me accusing Huan of being more interested in getting photos of me in difficulties rather than helping me in my hour of need! Of course I don’t stay grumpy long.

Huan had just been talking to a couple of Hainan people going down the mountain and they told her it was quite busy up there today. We had forgotten that today is a holiday, as is tomorrow. It is Qingming Festival, the time for people to show respect to their ancestors. You can learn more here: - https://www.chinahighlights.com/festivals/qingming-festival.htm. As usual, we enjoyed the views on the way up.

We soon found out that what we had been told was true, in the past we have never seen a car up here at all. Today was different; here are just a few of them.

Here I am checking the dictionary translation so that the lady could tell me what the flowers were. I know, many of you will be calling me a dummy, but I never did have green fingers. If you don’t know either, they are white chrysanthemums and they were being given out free.

Soon we were on our way again.

Next I found the rubber and Huan found the rubber farmer.

Soon we reached the turn around point and headed back down. On the way I popped into the fish farm to get a better view of the des res.

Back at the graveyard, which seems the wrong word to describe the ancestors’ final resting places, people were still busy. The fire and rescue services were in attendance, just in case. Huan took a fancy to this ATV but the fireman told her that if we bought one the police would not issue us a number so we would not be allowed to drive it on public roads. Shame really.

It was not the city fire and rescue services that were here but the forestry version. They have smaller trucks and of course their ATVs.

Continuing our downward course a couple of guys coming up said something to Huan that I didn’t hear. When I asked what they were on about she told me that they were asking why I was not walking in the safe place, the road, instead of the other side of the crash barrier. It’s a good job they didn’t see the blood where a tree attacked me!

We did see Huan’s favourites on the way down, three of them in fact. However, for some reason unknown to me, the first two were out of focus. The third one was much better.

We did take a few more photos but I think there are enough in here for today, at least for our walk. We will add one for Chef Bob’s dinner though. Today’s meal has no recipe but it does have ingredients which you can see below. It turned out a little salty for some reason, maybe the sachet I added from the duck man, but we sorted that out with some natural yoghurt. Huan had normal noodles and I had ramen. All in all it was very tasty and filling with enough left over for Huan’s breakfast tomorrow.

April 5th “Feicui Park this morning darling?” SWMBO agreed so off we went, across the little island where Huan found a bug that I could not see at all with my eyes and then not much of it with the camera. This photo is a 22% crop.

Her happiness index then soared when she found a lizard where we have never seen one before.

Me? I was just doing the usual, scenery shots.

At the halfway point we were surprised to see so many people. Apart from what you see here, there were more on the bridge and even a few children playing in the water on the other side. Obviously the snowbirds have not yet migrated north. Of course it was still a holiday so that could be the main reason. Huan wonders why they love to sit on the rocks in the middle of a river. For myself, I would find it very relaxing indeed, if I was the only person there.

And then it was back to downhill scenery for me.

For a change I thought I would step into the middle of the river to get some different shots. Huan took some photos from much too far away. Here I am urging her to get a little closer and here she is in her final spot.

“What shall I do now, your Majesty?”

“Just do what you usually do!”

Actually, clambering on the rocks was worth it, the views were fine.

“Get down from there now, you stupid boy!” “Yes dear.”

As we had been going up the other side we had heard someone ‘exercising their lungs’ to which I had responded with my own lung exercises. Lo and behold, we met them coming up this side as we were going down. We knew it was them because we heard them before we saw them. They had not heard my response so we all had a quick go now, I won! Photos were needed, mostly for them to remember the occasion, but Huan took some for us too.

For me it was back to my scenery duties.

We thought you might like this; here are two things that may look different but are in fact the same, well almost anyway. The flower on the left becomes the fruit on the right.

Huan’s morning was complete when she found yet another lizard, where she had never found one before, in the garden in front of the nursing college.

And there you have it, well, apart from a little anecdote with no photographs. After lunch, Huan went out to the maintenance office to pay our water bill and when she came back I heard her talking to someone. “I’ve brought a visitor,” she shouted from the door. She had brought back the son of one of the maintenance crew who, because today was a school holiday, had been sitting in the office while his father worked. He came home with her to watch TV. At least that way he wouldn’t be so bored.

April 6^th “Saturday night’s all right for fighting” but Saturday morning is still market walking day. Today we found a chap selling puppies and he had brought the mother to show how the puppies would grow up. He was very worried about me and kept a firm grip on the Mum’s collar but she was fine. She only moved when I held her big paw in mine.

The market itself was a little different today. On the main thoroughfare it was much the same as usual but on the run up to the new enclosed market it was empty. Our ongoing road works are preventing them from driving their little three wheeled farm trucks up there.

The Minister of Finance then had to visit one of her banks where idly glancing upwards I found a lizard and a rather grubby sensor.

Cuddlies on cars came next, makes a change from decals I suppose. You probably don’t need me to tell you who they are but I will anyway. First is ‘Stitch’ from Lilo and Stitch then second is ‘Lotso’ from Toy Story. My education has been severely limited, I have seen neither.

Huan would not be happy with a walk if she failed to spot any lizards of course and on our travels to buy our weekend salad she managed to find three. One was changing his coat.

Today’s walk was definitely a stroll rather than a walk; I purposely kept our speed down to avoid too much sweating. Despite that, we still both had to have an afternoon nap. Maybe we have finally become ‘Hainanised’! Now then, we often talk about our weekend salads but rarely show you what they are. Here are today’s ingredients.

The bread of course does not go in the salad. Also, I forgot to include the raisins above but I did include them in the salad. The fish has broad beans included in the can so we thought that this week we did not need our usual sweet corn. Here’s what it looks like in the bowl and what Huan had on her plate. Mine is in a bowl with mayonnaise and vinegar so no photo.

My mother would be so impressed, me eating salad without slabs of bread slathered with butter. Aren’t we the healthy eaters though? Do you think you’d like to try?

April 7^th An ordinary countryside walk was the plan for today, the route chosen by yours truly. Almost immediately Huan found a lizard at the top of a tree. She was so happy because she had never found one in such a spot before but she was also puzzled as to why they would be there. How did she spot it? Well the tree was below the bridge so we were looking down on it. It was so far away though that the quality of the resultant image was not good enough to share with you. I really must make some camera decisions soon!

The next two finds were in range, a butterfly from me and a lizard from her.

Off the paved road we went and through the fields and the woods.

For a brief moment, before heading back to the fringes of the forest, we were close to the road.

Unfortunately our progress was scuppered and we could not go as far as usual. We had to find another way back to the road, through the betel nut trees.

Just before hitting the road I took this (cropped) photo of a small tourist hotel. If we didn’t live so close maybe we would consider staying there.

Here’s another of those photos taken with the sole intention of showing Huan how difficult it is to catch the wee birdies. (Only joking darling, honest!)

And I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you why this one was taken.

Lucky me then found another butterfly, this time with a flower.

Back across the main road and on the way home we mused about the changes we often see. Here we used to walk in the shade sheltered by trees. They have gone, replaced by betel nut trees, as a cash crop. They will eventually give us shade as well but not for a few years.

Before we reached our final village Huan managed to spot another flash of colour amid all the green foliage. I was lucky with this one; I had to move greenery out of the way to get a good shot. What do you think he is thinking?

“Why did I take this photo?” I’m not really sure other than that we were looking at all the snails. If you look very closely though you will also see some leeches!

And then it was my turn again, and I found our last lizard of the day.

Our last snap of the day show our Fire and Rescue Services training on the bridge to somewhere. We weren’t close enough to shoot a video of them haring down the road with hoses in hand. I have a lot of respect for them; it’s not a job I ever fancied.

April 8^th Monday seems to come around all too often, every seven days in fact. Is it just as fast for you out there? As usual it was a shopping day, only Baijiahui for me; I couldn’t find a parking space to join Huan in the indoor market. Just as well that I enjoy driving, eh? On the way we dropped off our printer for repair. It keeps giving an error message that there is a paper jam but I failed to find any paper anywhere. They called us while we were shopping to tell us it would cost ¥130.00 so we gave them the OK. On the way home we popped in to collect it and they told us it was broken again. Every time they cleared the jam, the next print ended up with the same error and the same jam. What’s more, they can not fix it. Sometimes I hate being retired; it’s not only my body that is packing up but all the things we own too!

After lunch Huan had a nap while I scrambled my brain trying to find a new, cheap, all-in-one printer. I thought I would go for one that only printed in black and white, save some money and some running costs. All the printers I found were second hand and we have learnt that Taobao is definitely not a good second hand marketplace. Eventually I went out to clear my head.

I knew that Huan would like some pictures of my wanderings so I kept my eyes open. The first thing I found ended up in a video, https://youtu.be/cqcPtfSVnT4 That was before I reached the little island. When I did cross the bridge they were preparing for the next cultural show.

It was a day that would keep SWMBO very happy; I found two lizards for her.

How would you like your sweet little boy to have this reputation, the #1 bad boy in kindergarten? It certainly wasn’t me, there were no kindergartens when was little. P.S. We are not sure why the cartoon figure appears to be a girl.

As I sometimes do, not always, when I am out alone, I stopped for a coffee and a fag break. Today’s break was shared with the Wuzhishan tea crowds, who may or may not be playing cards.

This next one was not taken for you; it was taken for Huan so that she could explain it for me. She thinks that the owners meant to say ‘exclusive’, but the translation of the characters used is just as the English says it is. The other four characters, 轻奢潮牌, translate as ‘Affordable luxury fashion brand’ and I could see some Nike stuff inside. As to the ‘other characters’, the ones in the window, I have no idea. Perhaps you can help?

We’ll be waiting here for an answer, see you next time!