I decided to do a quick update or another month will go by. I am alive and well in the City of Trees. Tomorrow we leave for China, where we will spend almost a month seeing much of the country. We will be on a Road Scholars tour with a small group and an English-speaking guide. We will start in Beijing and will return from Shanghai. I appreciate the educational component of this tour... we will learn much during this adventure.
The best news in a while, is that in early February our grandson was born, about two weeks early but healthy otherwise. He is adorable, but I guess I am just like any grandma when it comes to thinking ours is the cutest. We love being grandparents and spending time with him as much as we can. Fortunately he lives only a few miles away.
We recently finalized plans to have a new house built, just a few miles from our current home. The new house should be ready this summer. We felt it was the time to do it because real estate and building is starting to take off in this area. We looked at several pre-built homes but none of them had everything we wanted, so building seems the best option for us.
My sister and BIL are in the process of downsizing in CA, from their home of 30+ years to a condo in an "over 55"community near our former home. I think they will love their new, simpler and less expensive life.
Well, I need to finish packing, so I'm off. Hope all at SA have a Happy Easter in the company of friends and family.
Busy Living and Loving Retirement
March 23rd, 2013 at 11:54 pm
March 24th, 2013 at 12:17 am 1364084257
March 24th, 2013 at 01:14 am 1364087689
March 24th, 2013 at 02:58 pm 1364137102
March 24th, 2013 at 07:49 pm 1364154562
If you're bored on the l-o-n-g flight I suggest you brush-up, read-up on haggling/bargaining skills. The locals entertain family and friends for months telling jokes about tourists and how they spend money stupidly. Except for tourist hotels, western style shopping centres and restaurants, everything has a negotiated price. Basic starting point is about 1/2 asking price, and be mentally prepared to walk away if the vendor won't accept 2/3 of asking price. There will be another vendor selling the same stuff. 2nd nearly everything is fake, knock off, polyester not silk etc. The knock offs are really well done, many are made by the factory girls working off hours with end rolls of cloth/leather/ceramic/jewelry etc. 3rd the gov't operated jade shops are the biggest rip off. Merchandise is authentic but price is more than double what it should be, even for trinkets.
Check every seem and join...you likely already know all this from your previous travels. Warranty/guarantee/ letter of authenticity isn't worth the paper it's written on.
Have a wonderful trip, Perhaps you will journal & send photos.
March 26th, 2013 at 03:22 pm 1364311329
Have a wonderful trip.
You are a role model for all of us on how to prepare for and enjoy retirement. Thank you.