A Year Ago ...

A Poem--

I don't want any more of her
She makes me very swollen
I don't want any more of her
She makes me fallen

So I'll move to Holly Land
where for supper
I'll have soome berries
And I'll have a wife and children
that will give me many merries

A Letter --

Dear Santa,

Before I fly, will you bring cozy clothes for our long cold flight? I will get cold. Get me groomed too, because I don't like to be messy. Get me some snacks, I get hungry. Prepare them so I can fly.

Love,
Star the Reindeer

A Book --
The Important Book

The important thing about a puppy is that it is cute. It is playful. It has fur.

But the important thing about a puppy
is that it is cute


The important thing about
a car is that it takes you to places. It has seats. It has wheels.

But the important thing about
a car is that it takes you to
places.




The important thing about a
flower is that it is colorful.
It is beatiful. It smells good.

But the important thing about a
flower is that it is colorful.












The important thing about my family
is that we love each other. We spend
time together. They help me learn.

But the important thing about my
family is that we love each other.





The important thing about
Cristmas is it is Jesus's birthday.
We get presents. We have lights.

But the important thing about
Cristmas is that it is Jesus's
birthday.

Marymoor Park Birds

Just a little earlier today, my family and I went to Marymoor Park again. But, oh, what an adventure it was today! I took my binoculars and one of my birding books. I took the "Washington State Birds" one. It was a small book, and I don't need bird recordings from my other book.

The first bird I discovered and recognized (some birds I saw but didn't recognize) was actually a flock of migrant Canada Geese. This was a little strange. The geese were supposed to migrate in the fall, not winter. But I didn't mind too much .

The second one first gave out its song before I spotted it. It was a very familiar song from my bird recording book. Then, a dark shape suddenly fluttered into view. I didn't mistake it for a crow even at the first glance because I noticed a funny crest on it's head. It was a Steller's Jay. That was the third time I saw one!

Now here comes the third bird (it rhymes!). I also first heard its song. It was a nasal chick-a-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee. It had to be some sort of chickadee. I grabbed my binoculars and aimed it at a small bird that was "chickadee shaped". I couldn't tell what it was until I noticed a black stripe running from it's eyes to it's cheeks. So I checked my birding book. It was a Mountain Chickadee!

Finally, this is the last one: After me and mom crossed the bridge (the bridge had flooded and the others were too scared to come)
there was the lake. There were some waterbirds swimming in the giant pond. My binoculars were too weak to find out what bird it was, but I saw that somewhere on the bird was a patch of white. And there was a TON of possibilities for what it was if there was a patch of white on it.
Later, we got home and looked at the pictures mom took at Marymoor. She had also took pictures of the waterbirds. I realized that the birds had white bills. Suddenly, I knew what they were. Black bodies, white beaks... why, it was nothing but the American Coot!
I think I'll go there again and again. Marymoor is an excellent birding place!!

-by Hannah

Sneezing Nose (ACHOO!)

Dad has a super-sensitive nose. Tickled by a feather for only 1 second? ACHOO! Being squeezed? ACHOO! There's practically a whole list of other things that make him sneeze. Some of them also make me sneeze, but then, they make everyone else sneeze, on the other hand. ACHOOOO!

-by Hannah

The Shooting Star on Halloween

It was Halloween night, and I was freezing. I was only wearing what felt like silk and I couldn't even make a 2 out of my hands! Then, all of a sudden, I saw an orange and red shooting star, blazing like fire. "There's a shooting star!" I shouted, pointing. But when my parents turned around, it was too late. "Did you make a wish?" they asked. I nodded. I secretly wished I would go home without trick-or-treating anymore houses, since I didn't believe such things at that time. So I simply forgot about my wish almost immediately after I made it. But suddenly, it came true! I told a few of my lucky classmates the other day about what I saw. And some of them also saw it. One of them, a boy named Diego, said that he wished he'd get a ton of candy. and he did get a ton. He used a bag taller than himself, and it still overflowed with candy. Another was one of my neighbors. He said he wished he'd fall on his hand. He didn't believe in shooting stars and wishes, either. But he did fall on his hand and had to go home. Wow!

-by Hannah

The Ambulence Siren

We were driving home from the Pacific Science Center after watching "Happy Feet", the new movie, at the Imax theater, when an ambulence siren rang. It reminded me of the firefighters (they have the same siren), which reminded me of fire, that reminded me of smoke (from the fire), that reminded me of tobbaco, that reminded me of pipes that people use to smoke, that reminded me of Huckleberry Finn! Huckleberry smoked when he was only 10. Not long after, the siren came again. And by that time, my whole mind went straight to... Huckleberry Finn. :)

-by Hannah

Sleeping Buddy

函函有固定的sleeping buddies, 如一只灰色的大象，一只穿红褂子的白熊.
妹妹曾一度青睐一只软软的哈巴狗，后来就多了，各式各样的娃娃，eeyore, peter rabbit, bumble bee, etc, 再后来，顺手拈来，逮谁是谁，再再后来。。。比如昨晚，捏着一个橡皮筋也躺下睡了，半夜坐起来哭，因为找不着sleeping buddy 了，mommy 一个鲤鱼打挺，扯亮电灯，掀起被子，才找着恐怕是世界上最小的sleeping buddy —— 一根粉红色的橡皮筋。

（补记01/05/07）最近妹妹常常搂着一件毛背心睡觉，第二天醒来后四处溜达，手里还拎着那件背心。

Cutie Beautie

On the day before she was born, my mom went to the hospital and told me my little sister was going to be named Melody. I couldn't wait, I was going to be a big sister! Now I would know what it felt like to be a (assistant) baby-sitter! I couldn't sleep that night either, so the night seemed like a year. The next day, mom didn't come back. I felt like I was going to urinate in my pants from all that waiting. FINALLY, that night, the new babe came home!! I ran to her and sneaked a brief peek at Melody. She was sleeping peacefully in her car-seat. If I didn't know she was a girl earlier, I would've thought she was a boy. Her breath was the smell of the little blue flower called Baby's Breath. "Oh, she is gorgeous !" I thought. I wanted to kiss her, but I was too shy to do that yet. Melody was certainly the right name. I'm glad she wasn't named anything else, not even Rosie or Carol. She was beautiful, cute, and precious at the same time, so she was a "cutie beautie" after all. :)

-by Hannah

朝三暮四新篇

自打Costco没了Silk Soymilk，换上了Signature Soymilk 之后，妹妹便不爱喝奶了。只得搭配着促销出去。这不：
“妹妹要看Bunny"
“先喝了这杯奶”妈妈往一大杯子里倒奶
“No, No, too much" 妹妹着急地摇手摆脚
妈妈不急不忙，转手拿来妹妹专用小杯子，将大杯子里的 Signature 倒在小杯子里，小妮子接过杯子，到一边乖乖的喝去了。

——得再找一地进 Silk 了。。

节前节后

节前——
“函函，如果有一天，Santa 死了，怎么办？”
“Mom, don't mention it!"
(一天后）“Mom, I just saw the news posted in Columbia Club saying that an old man has figured out how to be Santa! Since then he hasn't shaved his beard. He will be the new replacement of Santa, I think."

"Mom, you know, in Hawaii, houses there have no chimneys but Santa still managed to deliver the presents even with the door locked."
"Oh, how?"
"It's a little secrect about that guy." 函函耸耸肩，不是很操心。

节日中——
“Mom, after opening all the presents, Christmas becomes a normal day，again ” 不知隔壁家还剩下哪些帽子，借顶给小蹄子也戴一戴？

Christmas

Today is Christmas. I'm happy. The instant I woke up, I went downstairs quietly. There, under the Christmas tree, were 4 presents. I looked at the first one. It had a small card that said: "Hannah, find your lucky penny. Ho ho ho. Merry Christmas. Santa." The second one was a cylinder that also had a tiny card that said: "For Melody." The third one had an envelope that was addressed:

Melody
2003 Angel St.
Cloud City, Heaven 1002

(she was born on 10/02/2003) The fourth present said:

Hannah
1998 Happy Ave.
Sunnyville, Heaven 1021

(I was born on 10/21/1998) Santa sure had a good sense of humor that tickled my funnybone!

When my parents came down stairs (and Mel), I started to open my presents. First, I opened the addressed gift. It was a real sewing machine!! Then, I opened the "lucky penny" one. It was a kit that shows you how to be a cheer leader. But I didn't find my lucky penny until mom looked at the card. There was a mini stocking on the card. "Why don't you look in the stocking?" she suggested. Sure enough, a penny was in the stocking. And of course, it said on the penny: 1998.
Mel got a gigantic set of Playdoh and a box of Winnie-the-Pooh stuff: books, a music player with it's own discs, and even a small film-maker! Both of us had one gift that had a small box attatched. It was a box of Pop-Its. They look like dandilion seeds without the fuzz. It makes a loud popping sound when you throw it on the ground.

Santa seems like he's been using our snowflake wrappers again. That's what all the gifts are wrapped with. I found my Scotch tape on a present; he's using that too, AND a greeting card from my room!

Merry Christmas!

--Hannah

P.S. Lila and Mo meowed quite a bit this morning. Are they saying "A stranger came into our house last night!" ?

-by Hannah

A Funny Word --天籁 (2)

"妹妹要看电视, YEAH! " We cracked up.
Once, we had to not let Mel watch TV because of something important we had to do. Mel wanted to watch TV, so we had a discussion with her. Now, you could imagine her dismay. She started to cry. But suddenly, she stopped crying a little, just enough for her to talk. And then she did talk. "妹妹要看电视，YEAH! " But we laughed instead. So funny! The "YEAH!" part was the funny one. None of us would use that word, though. We would have got scolded more greatly instead. But Mel was little, only 3 years old, and we never heard that phrase before (it only sounded funny), that we just led her upstairs. And the good thing was, Mel stopped crying. I still wonder why, she was very calm.
--Hannah

Little Artist

Draw, draw, DRAW! When ever Melody has time, she would either be playing on the Nintendo DS (I HATE Nintendoes) or drawing! First, she can only draw weird things that look like blobs of jelly. Then, she can draw people that look like ants to me. Then, she can draw sharks eating fish. THEN, she can draw what looks like our cats, and maybe some foxes are in her picture. After all this, I don't see or regonize any new figures when she draws. But too much of a good thing IS a bad thing. I'm very proud of her talent. On the other hand, I'm also a little worried. Mel usually draws on white paper. But now she has started to draw on MY pictures (even my best works) and on paper that simply aren't for drawing! Oh, well, she is still a very good artist for someone her age. I'm not surprised when mom admires it like a fine piece of art. I like her drawings too, actually. :)

--Hannah

天籁（1）

拉着妹妹在大床上疯，突然妹妹躺倒在床上痛苦的哼唧起来。
“妹妹，扭着手了吗？"
“。。。对啦~~”小脸儿扭成一小团。
一众看客哈哈大笑。
“妹妹，意思说对了，但语气错啦！”

——平常如果妹妹回答问题正确，我们就会高兴地对她说“妹妹，对啦~~”

函函委曲吗？

"妹妹，今天晚上你跟我睡，好吗？”姐姐好脾气地问道，
“No"
“妹妹，今天我跟你睡，好吗？”
“No"
“妹妹，你睡我的房间吗？”
“No"
"妹妹，那我睡你的房间，好吗？”
“No"
“妹妹，我睡地上，不会打搅你的，你可以pretend我没睡在这里”
“No"

谈判失败，姐姐也就不再讲客气了，抱着 camping 用的睡袋径自铺在妹妹房间的地上，舒舒服服的躺下来。那位说“No" 的同志，好像也没啥意见。

——姐姐因为 vivid imagination （依我看纯属自个儿吓自个儿）在晚上较活跃，不敢一人睡一间房，总想拉个垫背的，或三岁的妹妹，或一只小猫。

搭错车 II

“Soup! Hot soup!" 昏黄的路灯下有几个人围着一火炉，一个男孩子冲我们，应该是我们，因为路上没有别人，喊道“Soup, it's free!" —— 前几天因妹妹的病，没好好睡过安稳觉，有些意识模糊，我该不是走进了狄更斯笔下的伦敦街头吧？

我犹疑了，首先想到的，这是不是为homeless提供的假日服务呢？要不他们就是一堆homeless.　但我还是走过去，说我不需要热汤，我想打个电话，那男孩子问有零钱吗，我说还有，他转身指着一旁颇气派的大楼说，里面有 pay phone.

以前开车常路过这地，知道是个police station/fires station/city hall　之类的所在，因为警车，消防车就趴在门边。走进去，大厅干净明亮温暖，当中立着一棵亮闪闪的圣诞树，电话崭新好使，通知完了Daddy，便想搞清楚政府几点关门，走到门口看关门时间，从一侧的会议室出来一位和蔼的妇女上前询问，我简单地跟她说明原委，她忙建议我们进会议室坐坐，那儿更暖和，有热茶热巧克力奶。她叫　Denise. 平时工作是一个 traveling nurse，屋外那个男孩是她15岁的儿子，叫Brendon, 他正在努力争取得到 Boy Scout 的 Eagle Award，这是Boy Scout 的最高荣誉。她女儿也在这儿帮忙，她已大学四年级了，学的是 Anthrology. Denise 家屋顶上星期四被一刮断的树枝戳了一大窟窿，她丈夫自己修了修，我夸他是个handy man， Denise 和她女儿相视一笑，说修没修好，等下次下雨就知道了。　

室内有几张桌子几把椅子，三五个人在聊着天。又有一位妇女迎上来领我们到放着热饮还有饼干的桌子前，函函和我各自冲了杯hot chocolate。这位妇女叫Brenda，她有哮喘，需每天喷 steroid，后来 Brenda 又跑去听七点钟的 city council——她并不是其中一员，只是对今晚讨论的救灾问题感兴趣。　Brenda 建议我们到门外火炉那儿弄点热汤，我们便高高兴兴又去了，函函私下里问我他们是干什么的，我说是给遇到困难的人提供shelter的，函函说长大了也要办这么一个shelter.

在火炉上做汤的老太太已是满头银发，很精神的短发。桌上地上摊者一堆做汤的罐头，锅碗瓢盆，都是用自家的pick-up拖来的。端了杯chicken soup 回到会议室，Denise过来聊天，Denise 善谈，更善听，函函这下逮着可以倾诉的对象了，有人说，美国女人，给她一杯水，她的话就可以如滔滔江水一般排将过来。函函一边喝着巧克力奶，一边抖落着脑子里所有的存货，从 Barbie doll 的 fashion style, 到学校一男孩子对她的crush，从暴风雨夜的断电经历，到各色小joke——书里看来的，听同学说起的，自己makeup的， etc. 可以参考她的文章 "Locked Keys".

Daddy 直到8：10才现身，问为何姗姗来迟，答曰“心急似火，却欲速不达，陷于traffic jam 不能自拔”。该 jam 系交通繁忙区红绿灯灭了两盏酿制所成。

“I hope I'll see you again" 函函与Denise hug,告别。

回到家，我把剩下的3个钢镚给了函函，奖励她今晚所表现出来的勇敢和冷静；
小姑娘大方的受下了，从她的 piggy bank 拿出另外3个钢镚给我，说是补偿我打电话浪费掉的3个。我不是很解，她说不想看到我 waste money for nothing ——我还是不解，不过还是接受了她的好意。


--从city website 上找到关于Denise他们自愿从事的组织的介绍：

Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program：

Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training is designed to prepare you to help yourself, your family, and your neighbors in the event of a catastrophic disaster. Professional emergency services personnel will not be able to help everyone immediately, so citizens like you can make a difference by using your CERT training to protect and save lives. With training and practice, you will be able to do the greatest good for the greatest number of people after a disaster, while helping prevent yourself from becoming a victim.

Emergency Services Coordinating Agency (ESCA) began providing CERT training in 1996. Since then, over 600 citizens have graduated from the CERT program.

搭错车 I

今天下午带着函函出去买点菜，因为大部分区域已通电了，商店里该有牛奶和肉买了。买完了东西就去图书馆还已过期好几天的书，接下来长达3个半小时不寻常的经历就这么平凡的开始了—— 恍恍惚惚乎间，搭错车到了一个不知名的小站。。。

天很冷，偏偏我又只穿了件夹衣，函函也只比我多件薄毛衣。在图书馆停车场将散落的书装进拎包时，函函催我快点，因为她冷，我一着急，车钥匙就锁车里了，绕着车走了一圈，无缝可插针。一旁刚趴好的车里走出一人主动提出一些建议和帮助，可惜车子严丝合缝，爱莫能助。

4:45，天快全黑了，拎着书到图书馆，因停电的原因，今天还是闭馆，本指望在那里打电话给Daddy W。然后我俩浮生偷得半日闲，舒舒服服暖暖和和在书堆里耗上2个小时。我问函函该怎么办，“走回家吧”这是函的建议，“恐怕得走3个小时，并且大部分路程没人行道”。打的？在这称之为 “valley” 的地方，那就好比在大都市想坐小驴拉车，并且这时候上哪去找出租车公司的电话号码。斜对角有一辆警车正等着红绿灯，他应该看到街道上的两个孤魂吧，里面会不会坐着一位雷锋叔叔呀？绿灯了，雷锋叔叔打我身边飞驰而去。

望着对面小型shopping mall,只能从那儿想办法，幸好今天带了钱包。

我对函函说，这个时候，首先要打通电话，让家里人知道我们在哪儿，然后再找个暖和安全的地方等着爸爸来接。

先奔加油站，函函说他们不会借给我们电话的，缘于上次在downtown找不到朋友下榻的旅馆，Daddy到一家书店借用电话遭到拒绝的经历。后来还是函函建议“问问”车子的GPS，输入电话号码才找到正确的地址。果不出函函所料，但是人家还是给我们指出一条出路，附近有公用电话，简直是难以置信——我指的是居然有公共电话。函函担心没coin，我说这好办，兴冲冲奔就近一家grocery store，得了８个quarter。

这是个简陋的室外公用电话亭，两部电话，没一部是通的，还吞掉了我宝贵的３个quarter.就着昏暗的街灯一看，听筒坑洼遍布，满腹心酸状——显然被人"bang"过无数次，

街过道有一小教堂，还明亮着，奔过去，门扉久扣不开，原来临街的铺面已并作一家当地小报社，已下班了。

事态开始严峻起来，很冷的天啊，已经全黑了。

这一带经常开车路过，努力回忆，好像有那么一辆公交车经过邻近的一条街，能离家近一步就算一步。

一路跑着找 bus stop,函函紧跟在后面。我心里已盘算着找个饭馆，吃饱喝足，再讨个电话打打。

Locked Keys and a People Shelter Make a Fun Difference

Yesterday, after some shopping for food at Costco and Trader Joe's, my mom and I went to the Issaquah Public Library to drop off overdue books, and if it's open, we'll pick up some more books there. It was closed because of power outage since Dec.15. And we also realized we had locked the keys in the trunk of our car. And then thats when we had one of our best days in our lives. It started out very bad, though.

We came up with many ideas, but a number of them failed. For instance, we found a grocery store. We bought things that we could not find earlier: green peppers and carrots. Then, instead of credit card, we used a $20 doller bill. We got change, just as we planned. There was enough coins from the change to make plenty of calls on the telephones out in the city. We hurried to the telephone booth right outside Shell, a gas station. But the wrecked thing would not "swallow" the coins. Mom had wasted 75 cents! Also, the telephone had broke because people had banged it hard. But finally, we were still walking when we came across a small group of people. "Soup! Hot soup!" they called. Then I saw a sign that said "FREE HOT SOUP." They asked us if we wanted any soup. All we asked for was a telephone, the one by Shell had broke. They had one in the building. I hoped it was better than the other one. It was. We called dad to pick us up as he was driving home.

There happend to have a shelter for people at the City Hall and Police Station. We decided to stay there until dad came. I had fun there, especially with Denise, who is the head of Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), I think. As a result, we stayed there for almost 3 hours. Dad was supposed to pick us up in the Van Pool. And Van Pools leave only at 6 o'clock. But dad wanted to leave earlier and pick us up. So he Car Pooled instead with a friend. But his friend took a different road and they got stuck in a 1-and-a-half hour traffic jam. While at the shelter, we drank hot chocolate and chatted with each other. It did turn out to be a good day after all （At the begining, I thought we were goners)!

-Hannah

日落而息——购物篇

当街上所有的红绿灯都成了黑灯瞎火的stop sign时，车子走的是文文雅雅，人行道上也多了些消消停停拎着购物袋走路的人。

走走停停的车子在shopping mall做探头探脑状，一店挨一店地探过来,大多数grocery store 关门2-3天，即便开门，也没有牛奶鸡蛋鱼肉卖。

QFC 前好像聚着一堆人，赶过去一瞧，一伙计把着门，对着门前一众说道：
“My generator is down. We will open as soon as it's back" 神情颇有些high，但这一干人似乎并没有散开。
"But where is my wife?" 一男子走过来，够着头往店里东瞧西瞧，一边说道。
众人一阵哄笑。
—cell phone 没电了，老婆也找不着了。

日落而息——逍遥篇

晚饭后，洗漱完毕，6：00以后干什么呢？

妹妹——
Nintendo掌中游戏机，玩得没了电，妈妈高兴得跟她说，“妹呀，游戏机没电啦，又冲不了电耶，我们玩不了啦！”
小人儿才不会自找没趣呢，转头就攻“Bird Songs"，这本书可以放出250种鸟的鸣叫声，后来电池也跑光光；
再换Lego, 可怜她妈，烛光下，摸摸索索，做大象，盖房子，不比穿针走线来得轻松。

姐姐——
睡前函函每天给我们讲一个故事，"The Frog Prince” ”Hansel and Gretel"
"Goldilocks and the Three Bears”, 小姑娘靠着墙自顾自的重复着古老的传说；
函函从她closet顶层架子上翻出一个不需任何“电”的游戏，Pictionary, 是隔壁阿姨若干年前送的阳春白雪，束之高阁，是它的宿命，如今得以下凡，那是它的造化。抽出一张卡片，选一个词，画出来，然后让对方猜，猜对了可掷色子，移动你的棋子，谁先到终点谁赢；
用一副扑克牌，去掉花色，一人一摞牌，每人出两张，运用+-*/四则运算, 先算出21的人得到桌面上的四张牌——此乃“21点”游戏，函函进步较快，但她人小输不起，我得赔着点；

爸爸妈妈——
爸爸对妈妈唱道“你挑水来，你浇园”，妈妈做饭，爸爸帮忙或倒忙，并以此为乐，见“吃喝篇”。

日落而息——吃喝篇

早上不能烤toast,就做 French toast. 牛奶用小锅烧热，格外的香，浇上chocolate syrup 或 honey，便是一顿暖胃暖身的早餐，尤其在一个chilly的没暖气的清晨。
晚餐，等想起做时，天已黑了，好在中饭总是做了很多，再添个粥，到后院揪几棵小白菜，大火清抄就很好吃了。
中午饭，是一天的重头戏。做饭时总免不了想起 "The Longest Winter" (“Little House" series), 一家六口，没有butter，没有肉，木材短缺，靠着黑面包和土豆，在大雪覆盖下冰冻的屋子里，度过了5，6个月。想起这一出，做饭的高兴劲就受到打击。

但饭还是做出来了，并且很奢侈。

第一天，饺子，手工杆的饺子皮，饺子馅动用了12味调味品，硬是把牛肉馅调得吃不出牛肉味来，并且一点不干，12钗是：火鸡肉末，芹菜，香菇，炒鸡蛋，姜末，盐，糖，白酒，白胡椒粉，miso，芹菜汁，香油。

第二天，面条，手工杆机器压的面条，30 chicken wings，3 carrots, 4 ribs of celery 烧制的 home-made chicken soup 煮面条，鸡翅捞出，浸葱姜汁30分钟，成就一道本乡本土的鸡汁鸡面。清炒青菜一盘增加维生素。

第三天，包子，配糯米粥。天气虽冷，但给足够长时间发面，包子个个胖大柔软，出锅不塌陷。

蒸蒸煮煮，家里弄得还算暖和。

日落而息——起始篇

12月14日晚，一场时速达60迈的风暴袭击了花生屯，一夜之间，150万人断电，翌日清晨，街道上断枝败叶横布，两旁大树或腰折或拔根而起，触目惊心，犹如战后沙场，虽尸籍遍野，却是平静异常，远空云彩瑰丽。

我们这一片停电三天三夜，有些区域至今还未通电。工程车加班加点的剧掉危险的树枝，搭起被压倒的电线。

没有electricity, 我们失去了什么，还剩下什么？
我们还有：
。时间，爸爸妈妈有了大把时间，家里还有一个电池钟，不至于4点天一黑就糊里糊涂吃晚饭了；
。火，幸运的是我家炉子用的是煤气，一日三餐还有热饭吃;
。照明，去年买的3大罐香蜡烛排上大用场，还可以“烛光晚餐”;

我们没了：
。暖气，家里晚上温度降到49F;
。Gasline, 所有加油站统统的关门，捱到周六，有那么一两家gas station 供油了，排队加油的车子塞满了一条半街道；
。电视电脑, Daddy 眼里的血丝血块，在休养3日后，没了；
。净化水，冰箱不制冷倒也罢了，水也不出了，grocery store 里的 bottle
water 早脱销了。只好喝 tap water.
。热水，不能洗热水澡；
。pressure，日出而作，日落而息的生活，你还指望什么呢；
。Grocery store 没有牛奶鸡蛋和肉;
。10+ citizen lives. 有烧煤球取暖而煤气中毒的，有大水冲进地下室未能脱险的，等等.

Cat Hugs and Kisses

Here's the thing that made me cry a little bit this afternoon:

We had moved the cat's bed this morning to our back door so there was a beautiful view of the snow in our garden for our cats to see. The cats were already getting used to sleep there by the afternoon. Finally, Lila, my female tabby cat climbed in and looked at the garden snow. I guess she's never saw the world become white before. A few minutes later, Mo, my fat male black cat climbed in also. He gently bit and licked her neck, which I call "cat kisses".

After some more kissing before lying down to rest, they were sleeping. Then, I noticed that Mo was hugging Lila. It's no joke. He DID look like a boy hugging a girl if they stood up. "MOM, LOOK!" I cried. But my mom had already noticed. After a minute, my mom said "Hannah, come here, quick! Look!" I ran over. Now both of them were hugging. And sleeping. "Oh, that's so cute!" I exclaimed when I saw them. "Take a picture of them before they wake up!" my mom said. I ran to the office and grabbed the camera. Click! The cats woke up to the sound but quickly fell asleep again, hugging each other. Here's the picture:


--Hannah

Hedge Hog Warning

Hedge Hogs are very cute. It could get 100 grumpy people cooing about how cute they simply are. But think twice before you say "Awww, that's so adorable!" when a hedge hog licks your finger. When a hedge hog does that, it is actually sniffing you, seeing if you're good enough for it to bite you.

--Hannah

有感于米国小学生的成绩单

这 report card，每学期3次，其评估分8个方面，依次为：Reading, Writing, Math, Communication, Science and Health, Social Studies, Physical Education and the Arts, and Social/Learning Skills.

这里单表最后一项：Social/Learning Skills. 此项又进一步细分为9点：
.Respects the rights and feelings of others
.Accepts responsibility
.Follows class rules and school rules
.Cooperates with others
.Uses time wisely
.Follows directions
.Demonstrates good organizational skill
.Exhibits positive attitude
.Completes assignments on time

别看小朋友上学整天跟玩儿似的，老师一旁冷眼看着呢。
先跑一下题，美国是个工业国家，工业国家造出来的每一个螺丝钉都标有一个号，保证这一号的螺丝肯定能拧进同一号的螺帽。造螺丝如此，种庄稼亦如此，那教育呢？
虽说没有全国统一教材，虽说鼓励个人创造，但学校要求的个人素质，原来也是一个个打上号，标上码。
教育早已上升为一门科学，科学者，有尺有度有衡量单位者也。
我并不否认，在这种综合素质的要求下，过关斩将者肯定能顺顺利利在这个社会 survive，他们对这个社会的繁荣昌盛也会起到推波助澜的作用。这些要求是完美无缺的，又有一项项详细标准的指导，我不怀疑其“科学”度，可是，每当我看到这条条框框几十项，总有隐隐约约的担心和不安。
他们是在做螺丝拧螺帽么？
小孩的心理千差万别，曲里拐弯。一个腼腆的孩子，可能会在大众场合表现失态；一个敏感的孩子，有可能表现粗鲁和冷漠。如果不是一个细心的妈妈，或者儿童心理学家，我真的没有信心，其他的人怎么看出其中的道道？
做个小孩子不容易啊，做个又符合规范，又不失本色保持其天真美好的孩子，几乎是不可能。
二者只能取其一的话，我自会取本舍末，既为人父母，就应该好好地了解孩子的心思，在适当的时候给以适当的启发，正确的引导——说来容易，做起来就没那么简单，该给孩子灌输些什么，我是越来越没把握了。“摸着石头过河”吧。

（遂改“炼钢记”为“过河记”）

The trick I played on Melody

I gave Melody the tiny light my grandpa uses to read, made her go into the bathroom (with the light off) and locked the door. I told her to open the little light I gave her so she won't be scared. Under the door was a crack.I peeked in and saw the blue light flashing about.

"Good." I thought, " 'Cause to do this,I need her to know how to use the light."
After a few minutes, I called out to her "Hey, MELODY! It's dinner time!"
"Oh, boy!" I thought,"Here it comes!" I heard her struggle to open the door.
"Hey, help!" Melody cried.
I cracked up, "Hey, Melody, I'm eating a cake! hmmm... Yummy!"
Melody struggled more and I could hear "emm, emm" sound from the other side of door. Obviously Melody was trying harder to open the door.

Finally, when she sounded like she was going to cry, I opened the door and she ran out.
But it was not dinner time yet.

----By Hannah

妹妹，你爱什么呀

为了启发小人儿的心智，妈妈先表态：“妈妈爱妹妹，妈妈还爱谁呀？”
"爸爸，姐姐”；
"那~， 妹妹爱。。。”妈妈满怀期待地；
"。。。"
妈妈做着发“m" 音的口型，再循循诱导之；
小人儿一边咬着勺子，一边扭着身子躲闪，小圆眼睛一转，坏坏笑道:
"Mmmmm, Mo! ”
"还有呢？”再坚持一把，或许有转机?
"Lila” 这回很快接上；
"还有呢？”贼心不死；
"Birthday” ——嗳，a party girl；
"嗯，还有呢？”沙锅打破也在所不惜；
"巧克力！”

沙锅破了一地。。。

那山，那水。。。

已不足为奇了。
花生屯东西南北方四大名雪山有如金钢般矗立，高速上一不留神，一座白面馒头般的雪山，就从你前方地平线上冉冉升起，视觉告诉你，沿着这路往前冲，你就可以一直冲到馒头山顶上去呢。
如果转头朝西开，可以一路滑到大洋里。
于是有了去山上滑雪，去海里看鲸的传统。（不是我家的，是屯里的）

山水原本是还愿，上香者千里跋涉去朝拜的。去了这一层矜持，也就跟自家后院的池塘没多大差别了。（宜为 "Mood" 一文的再一佐证）

倒是朝去暮归经过的几处 moor 常常引我侧头多看两眼。

秋冬，衰草连连，或远或近疏疏落落着几棵枯树，颇有几分神似圆明园那已久违的荒凉园子。“绵连~~/如波浪起伏/的旷野/是/禁止的/风”（大家都会敲敲打打的近代诗哈）。
春夏，葱葱郁郁，如墨如画，鸟鸣其间，翻飞其外, 虽无夏花烂漫，却让隔窗观望，风掣而去的我看到一派盎然生机。

朝雾未散尽时，就有了雾里看 moor 的不尽兴；
正日底下，身旁的车流绝尘而去，moor 依旧安静从容。

如果要我打个比方，如果硬要我打个比方的话，moor，是远古时期，是传说中，是诗经所吟咏的，
。。。

Mood, Mood, It's All About Mood ——寄小星星

做饭时如果你的肚子还饱得话，你做出来的饭就缺乏诚意，尽管你也努力想做好；
工作时如果别的人都忙着过节，你就免不了“身在曹营心在汉”；

年轻时，背一破书包，没地图，没干粮，口袋里几个挤公共汽车的钱，心中默念一个地名，就出发了；
拖家带口之后，没地图？——车子有GPS；没干粮？——有 cooler 和烧烤架；口袋里还是没几张cash？——信用卡总有的吧。（突然想起，恍惚大约还欠着隔壁的20来块钱）。且不说事前作的 homework， virtual tour 和 reservation, 从家门口零距离直指目的地，车路转水路再转空路，端的是行如流水。
。。。。

我不是一个喜欢找不自在的人，远不是。一个找不自在的人，首先得是个勤奋的精力充沛的人，显然我不是一个勤奋的精力充沛的人，对这一点我还是很自信的，所以我不是一个找不自在的人，所以我没有厚古薄今的想法。只不过，一碰到做选择题，我就跟邻居家的小女孩一个样：两者的好处都想左右逢源的利用着。还有比这更美好的愿望吗？没有。

I have a dream, 如果年轻时有现在这种便利，或者反过来也行啊，现在还拥有年轻时的心情，这世界该多美好啊——

——是不是这个理儿，星星?

妹妹的手套

那是几天前的事情。

十一月的意外的一场大雪，大人不上班小孩不上学，无事可做达三日，Daddy W. 远见卓识在七八九月份买的雪撬便派上用场了。伊四出勘探，在临近的park 发现一小山坡，达50米长，再好不过了。妈妈在家里七翻八翻，翻出一些行头给一家子凑合着穿戴上了，姐姐的防水的裤子是5岁大的，手套是我多余的；妹妹原有一双手套，但找不着，估计送人了，妹妹便裸着手也跟去了，说“妈妈以后买”。

从山坡上冲下来确实很有速度，很刺激，但妹妹谨慎的一旁看着，玩玩雪；手冻僵了便过来要在我手中“擦一擦”；看到姐姐一路尖叫着冲下坡，便奔过去，一边秀秀气气地追问“Hannah,怎回事啦”。肯定有一个多小时过去了，爸爸妈妈姐姐玩得很尽兴。

后来妹妹说“回家吧”，于是妈妈陪她回家，爸爸继续陪姐姐玩。

回家路上妹妹不大说话，经过小区旁的马场时，我说“妈妈抱抱吧”，妹妹转过身子让我抱，一路上她的头歪在我的肩膀上，很安静。小丫头看来已经累了。

回到家脱了外套和鞋子，才发现妹妹的鞋子已经湿透了，一双脚冻得冰凉。手当然也是凉凉的。

今天一大早，妹妹自己起床，打开门，进到我的卧室，“看，妹妹的手套，有飞机”，不知她从哪里翻出来的一只我已忘了从哪里来的小小孩戴的手套，蓝色的，上面绣着一架飞机，这是连 mitten 也算不上的，因为连大拇指都没分开，要不姐姐还说是袜子呢，另一只还不知在哪里藏着。妹妹很宝贝她的新手套，高高兴兴戴着一只蓝蓝的手套上学去了——手套有点紧巴巴的，五个小手指半蜷在里边。

到了学校，脱下外套，我建议她也脱下那只手套，和外套放在一起。

出了教室，在玻璃门外又溜了一眼，老师走过去跟妹妹打招呼，妹妹立刻又拿出她的手套，扬起来 show 给老师看，接着又戴上它 show 给老师看，好像还一边说 "I like it".

——妹妹应该觉得手套是一件很了不起的东西吧。

（忍不住还是发了一帖）

休网一月

本指望这期工作完了以后，好好休息一阵子，结果邻组扩张，有意让我加入，这是一个 permanent position ，并且所做的东东比较有意思--新的工作总是有点刺激的，好比新年初始，大伙免不了写点或想点 new year resolution.

故此休网一月，并：
1. 坚决抵制做饭的诱惑；
2. 能不干家务就不干，油瓶倒了，跨过去；
3. 每天锻炼身体半小时以上；
4. 剩下的就是看书,准备面试。

其实 head count 并没有彻底定下来，但也要做好准备，机会只砸有准备的人嘛。

--立此存照--

似水年华 I -- 体检

上大学时爱买些时髦的书，《追忆似水年华》便是其中一套，洋洋洒洒11大本，只为书名诱人，其实从未读完过一本，只记得书中写吃一种叫“玛格瑞特”的茶点，就20多页（保留记忆有误的权利）;
码字也可“子曰诗云”地码，但需要养一堆文学教授来做注脚;
如今，戴上防毒面具，穿上防弹背心，你想怎么惬意，怎么泻意，就怎么敲，只是多了些网络垃圾罢了；

其实今天我想说的不是这个，大雪封山已经三天了，休息过度，意识有些散漫，重新切入主题。

上几周带一大一小去做常规体检，医生提醒我，再过两三年，大女儿该开始新一轮发育了，虽然也是学过医的，也知如今世界变化快，可不知有这么快，“左牵黄右擎苍”的日子这就完了？

侧过头看看这只“苍”——那是仿如昨日的依人小鸟，啥时有了不羁~的眼神？做妈的只有暗自神伤。
辛辛苦苦，婆婆妈妈，为的就是一只属于蓝天白云的鹰，数年一晃，如今却“无处话凄凉”。

再低头瞅瞅这只黄毛小狗狗，摸着狗狗的爪爪，心说“长大了你将是一匹俊逸飞扬的什么马呢”。

Introducing Lila and Mo

About 6 monthes ago, I got these 2 little cats from a animal shelter, not the pet store. They were only 12 weeks old at that time, but now they're 7 months. Mo is my black cat. He is a longhair kind of cat, the kind of cat that has long hair.This ol' fat cat likes to eat and has a kind personality. His golden eyes make him look like...well..more "cattish." And his sister is so much more active than him. A lazy cat, likes to sleep and purr on my bed. He also likes attention. When he is ignored by everyone, he meows for attention. And usually it's very loud, wow! I think he weighes about 5lbs; he's heavy.

Okay, now for Lila girl: This dainty, pixie-faced female feline friend gives me a lot
to say about her. I'll call Lila my "shy friend." She is shy, especially with strangers or if you appraoch her too quickly. These things set her on the run. It's probally because she was once feral (half wild). But with time and patience, it's possible to make friend with her. She is as active as a monkey, a striped monkey to be exact. I'll suspect she's 3 or less lbs; she's very light. Me and Lila do have a special friendship, we love (not like) each other. I stroke her and she licks me, then purrs. She's definetly a sweet cat, and a curious one too, like all cats.
I love both of my cats, they were my first true friends I had ever had.

---By Hannah

How My Dad Made Me Want to Never Write a Blog Again

This morning, before I ate breakfast, I decided to write a Blog in my parent's laptop. I wanted to wite about how much fun I had in the snow yesterday. When I finished, I read it to my disencouraging dad (this I found out later). After I finished reading it to him, he didn't react for a moment. Then finally, he said "This is not a good story." "Why?" I asked, very surprised. I had worked hard on it. "It's not intresting." Not intresting!!! I did not see WHAT was not intresting. So I erased everything. "See how you like it NOW!" I said as I shoved the laptop in front of his face. "Why, that's very good!" he answerd. "Thank you!" My anger was growing. I closed the Blog and shut the laptop. "I'll never write in the Blog again!" I said bitterly. "I'll just write my stories in my diary and I'll never share them with you!" "That's all right with me." was the reply. I've had enough. I went out and slammed the door. Mo was at the door. He mewed softly and I stroked him. But inside me, I was furious. Now I've decided to write a Blog about all this.

---By Hannah

螳臂挡车

节后家家户户的冰箱又清空了，便一窝蜂赶到 Costco 进货。

Check-out 完，Daddy 推着购物车往门口走，在那儿，工作人员还要在你的 receipt 上划上一道，我领着姐姐妹妹跟在一旁。

出口乱糟糟一大堆人和购物车，正要出去时，妹妹突然挣脱我的手，挡在大门中央，大哭起来：“No，No”，跳着脚，两只胳膊张着，身子往后坠着，脸上表情惊恐而着急，门口本就混乱的局面霎时间僵持起来。看着她小小的身子努力地想要阻挡比她高大许多的车子和大人组成的潮流，滑稽又可怜，我弯下腰，问：“妹妹，怎么啦？”妹妹急得只顾跳脚，好在做妈的天生和女儿心有灵犀，“是不是爸爸不见啦？”她立刻不那么着急了，四下里张望着，“喏，爸爸在前面等着呢”，我指给她看，爸爸不知什么时候走到前面去了。妹妹立刻啥事也没发生一般乖乖地跟着大家一起走向停车场。

只有一颗眼泪还积在胖胖的腮帮子上。

--这已不是第一次小朋友担心 Daddy 走丢了。
--小朋友心地真是善良啊，怎么这么善良呢（套用隔壁家Daddy的者名句式），事后连一句埋怨的话也没有：“Daddy，你怎么一个人走前面去了？”，“Daddy,你怎么不跟我说一声啊？”

A Funny Way My Classmate Got an Eagle Award

Eagle Awards are very special. You earn them by doing something very good and helpful. If you're lucky, you're noticed by an adult. If you're luckier, that adult will decide to give you an Eagle Award. When you get 3 Eagle Awards, turn it in the office and you get a certificate. When you get 3 certificates, you get to eat lunch with the principal. So that day came(it was only yesterday)when my classmate Riddhi got a Eagle Award in a funny way. It was recess. And it was very cold. Me and Riddhi were playing on a bar. Suddenly, a recess teacher came over to us. "You get an Eagle Award!" she said to Riddhi, the "lucky girl". "Why?" we asked at the same time. "Because you are wearing gloves on a very cold day!" she answered as she handed Riddhi an Eagle Award. I was speechless. I just didn't get it. Was she out of her mind?! Still, I didn't tell her and congratulated Riddhi. She went about, spreading the news to everyone she knew. THEY went about, spreading the news to everyone THEY knew. "Wow!" I thought. "Soon, the school's going to be in a uproar!" I wonder if I should wear mittens tomorrow.

--- By Hannah

十年一遇的大雪

天气预报已经说了今天有下雪，但是似乎并没有引起大家的足够重视，这是在西雅图呐，才11月份！

下午4点多，还一点动静没有。

5点，细雪下得很温柔，没声没息，树木丛林银装素裹。

5:20，Daddy 从他的楼里出来，开车到我这儿，平常不过3，5分钟。

6点，我出楼一瞧，这个世界很安静。

6点半，我去 Kitchen 煮了一杯 Hot Cocoa，大楼里四季如春，不过此时一杯热可可还是很受用的。

6：40，Daddy 兴冲冲现身，车子趴在临近的34号楼，如果再前进100米到我这儿，恐怕还得小半个时辰。给家里打电话，告诉函函不用等我们了，早点睡觉。

于是，我俩一起煮了两杯热饮，盛上两碗香喷喷还热乎着的爆米花，各爬各网，倒也滋润。
Daddy 在网上查各大高速的交通状况，时速均曰“零”。我好奇在什么情况下会是负数呢？

8：30 决定启程回家。此时雪停了， Campus 差不多空荡荡了。一路顺顺畅畅哼着歌儿沿湖行到了 Plateau. 事情却没完。Plateau 主道一坡连一坡，不少人根本没有冰上滑车上下坡的经验，小心又小心，缓慢又缓慢，于是街上塞满了大大小小的车蹭蹭停停。道路一旁散落着不少黑灯瞎火的车子，如同一个个雪夜里的孤魂野鬼，这招弃车保帅着实厉害，不过我俩还是决定人在车在，大不了磨蹭到天亮，打个”U turn" 干脆接着回去上班呗，再看看油表，可以耗到天亮。有了这种准备，大家心平气和一分一分地挨着。

10:20 Home Sweet Home! 雪色下小区真漂亮啊！

2006 年的感恩节

火鸡其实不怎么好吃，不管你怎么烤，火鸡烤不出海鲜来。但是明年，我可能还是会烤的。

初来乍到时，对别人的节没感觉，又把自己的节日给丢了，每逢 holiday 街道清冷，我便失了魂似的。“独在异乡为异客”，诗人所在的“异乡”还过着跟他一样的节呢，所以我是没法同情他的。

后来函函上 pre-school 了，节前总是抱回家来一只火鸡，画的或做的，一年一个样，决不雷同。小孩子家本来就喜欢过节，再这么一折腾，更是热烈地向往着。

于是做爹妈的，只好依葫芦画瓢的应景，但心里仍是没着没落的。

今天一大早，便开始整这只20磅的大鸟。等开始烤时，函函也下楼来了。

清早的凉气慢慢被熏走了，蒸腾出过年的味道。鼻子一向灵敏的函函也活跃起来，绕着厨房中央的“岛”开始转圈子，絮絮叨叨地说些什么。平时爱看书的函函似乎这时候也坐不住了，转了几圈后，又到客厅溜达了一会儿，后来索性坐到钢琴旁，贝多芬，巴赫便铿锵有力欢快地流淌着。看来小蹄子心情不错，估计是昨晚睡得好的缘故。一旁忙活的我，心情也好将起来 -- 昨晚两猫“喵呜”了小半宿。

屋外连绵的下着细雨，天阴阴的，我打开了屋子里所有的灯。妹妹呆在书房热衷于她的涂鸦，姐姐在我身旁转悠，“噢，妈妈，我就是喜欢过节！”语气居然颇为激动。

中午饭一顿汤汤水水的面条便打发了。

等到桌子张开，雪白的餐具摆上，客人进门来，6个小孩，2只猫，便呼啦一会楼上，呼啦一会楼下，函函是最大的，时不时传来她夸张的嘎嘎笑声，有点 silly 的说。再等到6张小脸红扑扑了，炉膛里的火鸡也通体油光发亮，显出好看的时髦的古铜色皮肤，Thanksgiving Dinner 就始开吃了。

火鸡还是不怎么好吃，不管你怎么烤，火鸡还是火鸡。但明年还是要烤的，并且要好好用点心思烤点甜点。
为了一屋子的明亮热闹；为了哄着甜蜜的小嘴更甜蜜。
再说啦，到年底了，感个恩也是应该的，否则让人说，忘了这个负了那个的。

函函练琴新进展

时不时的，她就会主动坐到凳子上，专注地弹上一段比较难一点的曲子，看着她十指在琴键上上下翻飞，不得不说小朋友也不容易啊。

钢琴一直是函函的“罩门”，常常练上一小时，一点进展都没有，为此备受打击，尽管我一旁也说着“慢慢练，没关系，总会练好的”，诸如此类不痛不痒的话，但是我得承认，说这些大道理时，我的心里却不是这么笃定的，甚至比她更恼火，更没信心。一点不用惊讶，如果函函有一天，遇上别的困难时，只会抱怨，害怕，逃避 —— 这是做父母最大的败笔，我们的表情，身体语言会影响我们的孩子，其影响之大往往出乎你的意料。你的紧张，易怒会传染给他，等他也遇到困难时，你会看到你的影子。

事情的转机有时来得就是那么突然。我个人体会有两点：

首先，父母和孩子得真心真意地欣赏或学会欣赏古典音乐，否则随大流地盲从，大家的心理承受能力就可想而知了，练琴当中肯定会遇到磕磕跘跘，没有好的心理承受能力，正确的心理准备，一场场家庭不愉快，就这么上演了。打个比方，一个小伙子爱上了一位姑娘，再多的困难，再大的障碍，他都会兴冲冲地奔过去，不以为苦，反以为乐，甚至以此为人生目标，都不好说。

其次，就是考验为人父母者的修养了。遇上小孩卡壳了，大人首先 get frustrated 了，对小孩资质产生怀疑，继而失望，继而破罐破摔，可以没限制地继而下去，直至孩子彻底被毁坏。我们为什么对自己的小孩没信心？为什么要比来比去？中国父母的虚荣心可是小有名气的。

我是这么想的，既然对孩子的信心和鼓励只会促使他充分地发挥他的才能，有什么理由不这么做吗？与其强求一天才，不如好好培养一人才。指望着不付出任何辛苦和劳动，就有一天才自个儿茁壮成长，那是 miracle seeker 的一廂情愿。如果我能把一资质鲁顿的孩子，其实只是开窍晚些而已，培养成健康快乐，自信上进，热爱生活的人，我会非常非常满足的。（—— 不过没准，人到时候又说，其实你这小孩很有天赋的：）

当意识到这一点时，我就觉得自己算是彻底超脱了，心中一片澄明。
When life give you lemons, make lemonade.

10 Ways to Enjoy Life

1.Use spare time to do what you like
2.When you have to work, be happy and ready to do it
3.Be happy (always)
4.Do good things and be nice to get lots of compliments
5.Be healthy (to do all the other things)
6.Laugh a lot. This, however, is optional
7.Relax, don't panic
8.Think about how great it is to be yourself
9.Think about all the things you can do, not what you can't
10.Don't make yourself bored, come up with things to do

I hope you follow my directions and have a great life.

---By Hannah

What are Hannah's Favorite Things

今天突然想问函函这个问题，因为突然发现我已很久没跟她好好聊聊了。小朋友倒是很落落大方地跟你一一数来：
1. reading books, esp. picture books
2. eating delicious and healthy food
3. if not so dark, I like sleeping
4. taking hot bathes in tub
5. going to school
6. drawing pictures
7. doing fun exercises outside
8. playing computer games
9. writing in my diary or friends' scrapbook
10.having playdates with friends
11.doing "Sunshine Math"--------& homework
12.watching TV with my sister
13.petting my cats
14.taking silly pictures
15.learning lessons
16.acting out in dramas
17.goofing off whenever & wherever I can
18.daydreaming at home
19.thinking
20.talking on the phone, especially with Mom or Dad
21.riding on my bicycle
22.having FUN!!!
临了，函函叮嘱我，等以后 "find more fun things"，她还要往 blog 上加的。
私下里，拿着清单上上下下查了又查，practising piano 好像没在其中耶。

------Not The End Yet-----

文郁芳老师

文老师长得很高，1米70以上，戴着副大眼镜，年轻快乐，笑起来嘴总是咧得大大的，露出白白的整齐的牙齿，她有一副女高音的好嗓子，教屈原的“橘颂“时，先教我们唱这首歌，等歌学会唱了，我觉得我已经通篇明白了，我再也没在别的地方听到过“橘颂”，曲子配得很典雅。我一直怀疑，是不是文老师谱的曲呢？市里有音乐会，偶而也有歌剧，她是一定去听的。她应该也教我们音乐的。

文老师有肺结核，开家长会时，家长都往后坐，坐在前排的便用手帕捂着嘴，我为此感到伤心，恨那些人势利，她跟我说话时，我便把头抬得高高的，凑得很近，觉得这样才能稍稍解解气。一天，我在她单身宿舍里看儿童文学，她说要出去一下拿体检报告，等她回来时，脸上满是笑容，说“检查结果是阴性“，虽然语焉不详，但我明白她的意思，我冲她笑了笑，没说什么，低下头接着看书，虽然心里也替她高兴，但我并不想表现出来，是想表明，我并不介意她的生病，不管有病还是没有，我一样亲近她。（小孩有时也有些曲里拐弯的心理活动）

有一天，我从旧衣服堆里翻出来一件棕色的外套，便很兴奋的穿着上学去了，初中三年，我只有两件罩衣，一件军装绿，一件民警蓝。上完语文课，文老师叫我到她宿舍去一下，说帮我缝一缝袖子，我这才发现胳膊肘那儿都磨融了，已经露出线缝了。中午放学期间，我便在她的小房子里看”雪虎“，她在一旁缝着衣，跟我有一搭没一搭的聊着天。

文老师称我为“灰姑娘”，这时我会腼腆起来。我当时是属假小子，愣头青之流，学校老师认识我的，分两派，在办公室里来聊起学生时，文老师总是为我辩护。有时从紧闭的办公室里传来好听的女高音，在一片浑浊的声音中鹤立，我不知道他们在讨论些什么，有时正好碰上文老师从办公室出来，看见我，她便笑嘻嘻的轻快地说道：“他们说你。。。，我说不是这样的。。。。”。因为她轻松的样子，我也就没把这人云当一回事，至今还是这样。

文老师一直希望我能学文，我妈妈则认为文革的教训已经足够了——有没搞错，搞文学？你会死得很惨的！

听说现在她身体不是太好，但她总是乐观的，我想她应该还是乐观的，当年领着学校一帮年轻的老师骑车去葛洲坝的文老师，怎么会倒下呢。

When commute is not a commute any more

上下班占去我们不少的时间，并且多半时候是无聊的，若碰上堵车情况更糟。我们的情况稍微好一些，两人结伴而行，一路上聊聊东西长短，半小时一会儿也就过去了。

当我突然发觉近几年来几乎没读什么书时，便感到很不安，尤其是最近，这种不安越来越强烈，人饿了总是难受的，不管是哪个部位。值得一提的是，当你想看点书的时候，似乎总也找不到时间。

今天在回家路上，日有所思，就日有所想，我突然灵光闪现，“为何不到图书馆弄上一批 book on tape 放车上，每天可以听整整一小时呢！”一星期5小时，一年就260小时，嗯，可以完成10本书左右，如果有那么多书需要看的话。

我很得意这个 brilliant idea，一石两鸟，两个问题一块解决了，并且没添新的负担。这好比 to fix a bug by removing a piece of junk. 自己赞一个先。

为 Pygmalion Effect 再说几句

父母亲都会对自己的孩子有比较高的期待，但这并不等同于Pygmalion Effect 。

举个反例，在我上高中时，我的班主任兼英语老师曾对我说过一句“你的英语在年级里并不是最好的”（她只管了我一年，好险！）。我不记得她别的任何一句话，独独这一句。在这之前，我从没把谁谁谁放在眼里，盲目的自信倒是一直维护着我健康向上的精神。直到现在，我都没觉得有什么不好。自打那以后，我就对英语失去了信心和热情。如果她少说那两个字，我今天会怎么样呢？我会用英文写 Blog 吗？会吗？不会吗？

我的初中语文老师倒是对我充满盲目的信心，尽管我从未拿过一次作文竞赛奖，但对我的兴趣爱好却起了很大的影响。我从没见她对我皱过一次眉头，从未流露过一点点的失望，尽管我的成绩时起时伏。（听说她身体一直不好，好多年没见了，该好好为她写篇文章）

对小孩有较高的期待的同时要有充足的信心和耐心。具备一时一阵的信心和耐心容易，难的是有一辈子的信心和耐心。我开这个Blog 也是为的监督我自己，提醒我自己，道理比较容易想明白，难的是付诸行动。

对我自己的两个孩子，我的最高希望是，她们能不断提高自身，充分发挥各自的潜能（而不在乎潜能的深浅和方面）；做一个勤奋，向上，快乐的人，对挑战和失败，take in positive way. 一个精神上自由的人，就是一个脱离了低级趣味的人，一个不被世俗所束缚的人。

所以，不要把我们的眼光停留在成绩单上，不要把我们的目标定在某所藤校上。
所以我要给大的开讲哲学，小的吗，玩两年再说。我要让 Socrates 成为函涵青少年时期精神上的 Role Modal， 让她认识哲学就好比给她装上一个火车头，自己“呜呜”往前奔着，那我就“可以天天躺着玩儿了”（摘自长今的大叔的语录）。

只是我还不很清楚该怎么个讲法。再议。

A Happy Day

送完小的们上学，Daddy 和 Mommy 便潇潇洒洒的上班来。

10:15 到达office，Daddy 就坐隔壁cubicle，因为整个Windows Division放假一周以贺Vista shipping，伊便跟到我的办公室来玩了。

12:30 Lunch Time：
“上午都干什么了？“
”爬网，你呢？“
”浇园子。也看了下苏格拉底生平，孔子死后10年，苏格拉底出生了。“
于是一起 Admire 了一下苏氏人格的伟大和超脱，中午饭食不知味的下了肚。
“为什么那个时候就出了那么多的哲学家？”
“后来就出科学家了。”
“现在则盛产工程师么？那么以后就出工人啦？人往低处走，水往高处流？”

1:20 回办公处接着爬网的爬网，浇园的浇园。

4:20 启程回家。

4:40 采购。感恩节临近了，要置点东西，才觉得像过节。这个时候，我喜欢逛一逛书摊，挑几本书给函函，一本菜谱给自己，冬天了，天空低而阴沉，我喜欢烤点饼干，蛋糕和面包，烤得家里香喷喷的。阴雨天，可以理所当然的呆在家里，吃吃喝喝玩玩，睡睡懒觉，像熊一样，冬眠起来，好好休息。
我不知道住在L.A的人们是不是很累啊，整天阳光明媚地催你出门，想想看，外面大太阳的照着，你能坦然地在家懒洋洋的呆着吗？

7:10 回到家，姐姐在沙发上看书，妹妹趴在桌子边上画画，两人都已吃过饭，洗过澡，干干净净的等着爸爸妈妈回家。

7:40 晚饭后函函弹了首Beethoven Sonatina in F.　弹得不错， Daddy 又从网上找到Paul Copeland演奏的录音，大伙儿一起欣赏了几遍。
这时发生了一件费解的事， 也不知是贝多芬的原因呢，还是读了几句苏格拉底，还是听了几次音乐会，函函弹的音乐打动了我，the knot in my belly 就这么消失了，古典音乐原来可以这么动人（就像我突然不喜欢味重的菜肴，而喜欢清淡的原汁原味）。我非常好心情的坐在沙发上听着，函函有几个地方弹磕巴了，冲我瘪了瘪嘴，奇怪的是我一点也不着急，函函也就很主动的重新专注于她的演奏了。（换在平时，我早就着急跳脚了，函函就会像霜打的茄子，然后就是恶性循环了）
。。。难道这就是传说中的　Pygmalion effect！！原来困扰许久的问题就可以这么简单的解决？这个效应我以前有听说过的，怎么没想起来用上一用呢？。

8:20 上楼。姐妹俩的房子已经烧得暖暖和和的了，一家人挤在温暖而明亮的小房间读几本书，今天我给妹妹读了" Calling all Toddelers" "The Stars are Waiting" "Dear Zoo" 和 "When Grandma Came"。
“Over the hill , behind the moon, the stars are waiting,..." 书中美丽的水彩画让人怀念春天的日子。

9:20 下楼，记下“A happy day"。

Mama, I don't mean that, but when you die...

时不时地，函函就会谈到这个话题。
“Mom, can I keep it after you die?"函函指着 waffle maker 问道，就好像在问：“Mom, can I have another waffle for breakfast?"
她从没担心过没了妈妈的日子该怎么办，倒是很肯定地认为我会 "go up to Heaven and still keep looking after her"

今天她指着放在 desktop 上的一只纸天鹅，那是几天前她叠的送给我和她爹的小礼物（小朋友经常时不时地画张画，做个小玩意，然后四处送人），又说开了：
“When I go to college, you grow older and older and see me lesser and lesser (?), this swan will remind you of me. If you guys die, you can put it in your coffin "
"What if we have seperate coffins?" Daddy 问道，
"Then I 'll put it in a box and keep it" ——Simple, isn't it?

A Lefty

现在基本上可以确定妹妹是个左撇子。我于是向Daddy W.汇报此事，伊便欣慰地笑了：“这么说，我们家终于出了个左撇子罗！”
民间流传着这么一个说法，说是左撇子的人有艺术天分。那我自然是宁信其有啦。
于是便开始寻找佐证。

妹妹无师自通的突然画起画来，一张接一张，可以画上半个多小时，爷爷在一旁兴致盎然的陪着。妹妹的画一上来便是满满的一幅，中央有棵大树，树上有苹果，有小鸟，树下有草地，有一堆的人，每个人都是由3个圆圈组成，说像土豆也可以，像蚂蚁也不差，每人头上飘着数根头发，胳膊腿都一率叉开着，好象在做广播体操的某一节。（回头附上片片，也让大伙儿欣赏欣赏）

妹妹的音乐启蒙很早，还抱在手中时就看上了Flash，后来就是MTV，现在常逛You-Tube，早先话都不会说时，却清清楚楚要听那首歌，“妹妹，要不要 Uptown Girl?" "要不要 Girl is Dangerous？”一点不含糊的点头或摇头，一双小眼睛紧紧盯着屏幕，小嘴巴微微张着，我一旁担心着口水会溢出来，也好奇她的小脑瓜里都在想些什么呢？ 他们说这里装的是 the treasure of our future resource —— according to a Girl Scout handbook.

Introducing Melody.简

从对函函教育得失的反思中，我向God再要了个简单快乐的孩子，并取名为“简”，英文名“Melody"，小名“妹妹”。她真是个无忧无虑的小天使，整天高高兴兴快快活活的，虽然有点娇，脾气却好，我家乡有一句老话叫“坐菩萨坐一世，站菩萨站一世“，我家Daddy便挪用为“笑菩萨笑一世，苦菩萨苦一世“。

因为是第二个孩子，我已没多少热情教她这教她那的了，简简于是比姐姐多做了一年半载的哑巴，少读了几百本书，但似乎也不妨碍她与别人交流；也在努力地认自己的名字，尽管常常猜错；也画一些长得像土豆或是蚂蚁的人采苹果；２岁多一点可以码５０个pieces的拼图，虽然至今（３岁）也没突破100 pieces； 积木搭得也像模像样，可以看得出她的想象力是比较活跃的。

妹妹非常喜欢音乐和动画，对配乐动画更是痴迷，常常哼一些小歌小调，虽然吐字不是很清晰。一日林中散步，一地的落叶，妹妹捡起２片蒲扇大的梧桐叶子，一上一下地挥舞着，小屁股跟着一翘一翘的，嘴里哼着：“亭亭白桦，悠悠碧空微微南来风。。。”

给她我所能想得到的并且能给得起的东西，然后我就在一边做个舒舒服服的麦田守望者，“福杯满溢”。

我们期待孩子们什么？or 我们想给孩子们一种什么样的生活？

这是自函函上学之后，一直困扰我的一个问题。

因为函函是个比较听话的孩子，并且似乎也有那么一些 potential，于是做妈的便想知道这坛子水到底有多深，便给函函多了些 push。当你对小孩的 expectation设得比较高时，若取得成绩，你会认为是顺理成章，理所致之；若遇挫折，则难掩失望之情。生活中于是多了些 frustration，多了些鸡肋，少了意外的惊喜。不划算，那~是~相~当~的~不划算.

弹钢琴便是其中著名的一桩，函函并不喜欢弹，喊累过，不情不愿皱眉过，两年过去了，不上不下的，有人说，小孩需要一点 push，过了某个坎儿就好了，可至今仍然遥遥无期。我是大大小小的道理翻来覆去掳过好几遍了，函函都快被我掳成木头人了，没兴趣还是没兴趣，连原本有的对音乐的爱好也快磨没了。

我目前的打算是，先让她再练上几个月，反正她有多余时间，在这段观察期间，我得保持非常耐心的好态度，100%只鼓励，不批评，如果事情有转机，就接着练，否则，该断即断，我愿意牺牲这八竿子都还没打着的练琴的好处，换来函函自在的童年，再加之我对“苦其心志，劳其筋骨”的成才之路的嗤之以鼻，就更没必要练这劳什子了。

我现在问大家一个问题，为什么要学钢琴呢？我不是很清楚，也没看到这是多么必要。对不学芭蕾，我是很坦然地，因为早早的就断了这个念。如今证明是正确无比的。

我当初怎么就答应函函去学钢琴了呢？-- 祥林嫂地说。

传说中有一种“启发式”的教育方式，苏格拉底所提倡的，我想应该是不错的，孔夫子当年似乎也是这么育人的，二位门下弟子的成就恐怕不是某所藤校“汆丸子”般汆出来的毕业生所能及的。那么就从这入手吧，好在古人著述惜字若金，我应该可以在这个holiday season 囫囵个大概。（读书报告待续）

Malèna：历史与电影

昨晚看了这部电影，认为它与一段真实的历史有关联。

这段历史也曾入了一幅油画/摄影的主题，说的是二战期间一个被占领的小镇，一位当地妇女与一德国军官生了一个小孩，二战胜利后，镇上居民便把这位可怜的妇女和她的孩子赶出了小镇--在各种丑陋的情绪能得以充分暴露，发泄的群起而攻之中，可以想象她在被驱逐中所受的凌辱了。

电影并没不那么灰暗，因为有了一个12岁的小男孩， His pure love eventually made huge difference in Malèna's life.

而历史上的 Malèna 恐怕就没有那么幸运了 -- cliché 的说。

开门见山

为了打发上班时多余的时间；
为了拾掇拾掇七零八碎的东西；
也为了写字的水平不致于日落一尺月落一丈；
写到哪算哪吧。