The annual GLASG Dye Fest is coming up on June 28th. There are two mini workshops that I want to participate in. One on natural dyeing, the other on no-felt space dyeing. I just made a purchase on spunkyeclectic.com. Some gray Icelandic, some black Shetland and some dark brown Blue Faced Leicester. I want to experiment dyeing with naturally colored fiber. There will be many expert dyers there and I can expect excellent input. Can you guess why I got the black Shetland?

The thing is… this morning I found out that I might have to be in China on June 26th for room designs. ARRGGHH! Are you kidding me? The scheduling seems a little funny to me. Maybe there’s a mistake. I need to call Taiwan to confirm this. Of course I’ll go to China and miss the Dye Fest. But, but…..

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Photo from Summer 2008 issue of Spin•off

Creator: Smoking Hot Needles (Monika)
Fiber: Merino/Tencel, colorway ‘Aspen’, from Spunky Eclectic
Pattern: Morning Surf
Read the creator’s original blog post

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this scarf. It’s featured in the latest issue of Spin•off. The article presented several finished spin-to-knit scarves using the same pattern, Morning Surf. This one is my favorite. The pattern, the colors just work together very nicely. Plus the knitting is fabulous! I want one! The pattern is free. I just need to find the right fiber to spin. Oh, and time. ha ha ha

Other news. I talked to my sister in Taiwan. We are going to continue the effort of completing the hotel unless there’s a serious buyer. This means that I will most likely go to China very soon. IF there’s a serious buying interest before July, I’d be able to escape the trip. Crossing my fingers.

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Just when you think that you are set for the journey ahead, you are given a fork in the road. The family feud is still going on. It is serious enough that people are re-evaluating the situation. Now there is a possibility of selling the project in China. Which means that I might have to change my plans real quick.

Anyway, I am mentioning this to explain my absence, my silence. Communicating with family in Taiwan and China take up a lot of evening and early morning time. It’s really like having a second job before I even start the job in China. Well, I don’t even know if I’ll be going after all. But that may be a good thing, too. If we decide to sell the project, I can use the money and invest in something smaller that I can enjoy. Oh, that’s looking too far ahead into the future.

I am sharing a few images of the design concepts for the interior. It will be sad if we can’t work together to keep the hotel. But, maybe life will be more peaceful without it.

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Yes, I’ve been gone for, what, more than a month. Yikes! Preparation has started for the venture in China. Departure date has moved up to the beginning of July. My wicked sister would like to see me there on the 1st of the month. Good luck to that!

CB and I decided that it would be best for him to stay in the States so that we won’t get caught in a difficult situation together if there ever will be one in the future. Not saying that there will be of course. Just don’t want to repeat the same mistake that we made with the last company (which is still struggling.) He is staying in Beverly Hills, and I can come home once in a while.

Did you heard about the new restrictions on getting the Chinese visa? Only in effect during the Olympics. Harder to get and allows less time in China. I am actually going to play this to my advantage. hehehe Am going to set it up so that I will be home every three months or so. That would be FANTASTIC!

Anyway. I have not been crafty for a while. Went to the spinning guild meeting. (Photos coming soon.) But not much else. Yes, Ted, I am still here, and will be picking up the needles for some earnest knitting this month. Here are some photos that I took for Songkran, Thai New Year celebration at the temple. We held the event one week earlier so that not all temples had activities on the same day.

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A little update on my future plans. It is a positive yes for me to be heading to China for a few years. It is still not certain if CB will be moving with me. It’s not a problem with the family. It is just that we (CB and I) are not sure what’s best for CB, yet. Arrrgggh! We only have about six months to make the decision and act on it. Oh yeah, I am moving in August. At least that’s the current plan.

I think Angela was afraid that I’d fear difficulties in China. I admit, I am nervous. It is not what I am familiar with. I don’t know anything about the hotel business. But I am not afraid, and I am eager to learn. Anyhoo. To help relax my attitude, Angela said, “you won’t have too much to do. You will have time for your spiritual practice. And what a place to do that!” True. It is amazingly beautiful in Zhangjiajie. Just look at this:

I wonder how often I will actually set foot in the parks though. Oh, did I mention that Zhang is the way they spell my last name in mainland China? Zhangjiajie consists of three Chinese characters. It translates to “Zhang family homeland”. Meant to be? Another tidbit of information. When I was there in 2002, I didn’t see birds flying around. I wondered where they went? Were they eaten? eeekk! Lots of moths though. Yikes! Moths!

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It’s past midnight in Zhangjiajie, Hunan, China. Temperature at 26 degrees and snowing. Really snowing. Burrrrr! It is the worst winter storm in China within the last 50 years. Power, water and food outage throughout the country. People trying to get home for the Lunar New Year but are stuck in the bad weather. The number of people affected is astounding. It is really scary and worrisome.

I was supposed to hear from Angela earlier this week to continue our conversation. Not getting a call and hearing the news coming out of China made me really worried. I sent her an email last night to see if she got back to Taiwan safely. Oh yes, she went over to Zhangjiajie last week despite of the weather. Luckily, I got a reply this morning. She made it back. She also described what a horrible situation that a lot of people are in. It really broke her heart.

As can be expected, the hotel construction is on hold. At this point it is unrealistic to expect it to be done before the Olympics start. That maybe a blessing. At least it is for me. I’d rather it be built well then having to rush it. The goal now is to have a grand opening in Jan. 2009.

Angela will be calling me within a day. I will have to discuss details of relocating, and to bring CB into the picture. I wonder how we will be getting the legal status to stay in Taiwan for a few years. How do we store our stuff here in the States. Getting a bank account that will enable us to deal with foreign currency easily. Lots to think about. We had bad news coming out of the main office of the company CB and I work for now. But it maybe a blessing in disguise. I won’t go into details. Let’s just say that it is a change that will benefit us even if we quit and move to Taiwan, or China. (I’d rather be in Taipei, Taiwan, though.)

Change of subject. I cooked again! It is another recipe from The Best 30-minute Recipe. And this one is the tastiest so far.

Spanish Style Chicken & Rice. Yummy! And so easy to make. Yes, it looks a little mushy. I used a Dutch Oven instead of a 12″ Sauce Pan. According to America�s Most Trusted Test Kitchen, it makes a difference in reducing the liquid when cooking. If you are making a pasta sauce, Dutch Oven will leave you a more watery sauce than what results from using a 12″ Sauce Pan. Oh, but my rice turned out so delicious anyway. I couldn’t believe how easy it was. There’s a nice spicy kick with Chorizo in the rice. Our butcher gave us Portuguese sausages that they made in-store. He said that they were the same. Is that true?

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Can there be direction for this restless one finally? Very possible.

My sister Angela and I had a long talk last Thursday. We cried a little because we both realized that without Mom here with us on Earth we are the closest family to each other. The other sisters are just too caught up in money and power struggle. And unlike before when she brought up the topic of the hotel in China and me getting involved, I was the one that asked a question to her, “What do you think that I can do? Can you seriously think that I fit in the picture?” We talked. We talked for a long time. I am beginning to think that it is doable.

Other factors also influenced the way I face the “family business responsibilities”. First, right after Mom’s passing, Angela and I openly discussed my sexuality and my relationship with CB. She was surprisingly accepting and understanding. Finally, I feel like that I can be myself in front of a family member. I don’t have to feel like running away. Working with Angela seems possible now.

Second, both CB and I have been so stressed with our company. Just the issue of moving or not moving is driving us nuts. There are other things. We are just tired of feeling stuck, waiting for someone to give an OK to move forward. We have to start making a plan that possibly does not include the company we work for currently.

So Asia is suddenly in the picture. I am not sure if I feel excited, or stressed. Probably both. I haven’t committed to it yet. But it is very likely that I will say yes in a couple of days. I still don’t know if this will mean that we live in Taiwan, or China. I haven’t even talked to Angela about CB, yet. There are so many unknowns. I am nervous.

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