Lost Dog Found

On the eve of my departure, I find a friend in need.



Anyone who wants to adopt a lovely doggie,
please email me asap.

She is very sweet and a bit shy at first, but a total lover.

***

A happy ending, my sister found a home for her!
Her vet said the pup was about a year old and pregnant.
What a crazy situation to be in all alone.
Lucky for her, she has a new home with a nice family with two kids.

Happy Holidays!
Health and Happiness and Good Fortune to Ya'll.

XXX
Su

Back to Beijing, Again

Turns out Continental flies North over the North Pole then directly East.
A new route for me. Seeing the vast winterland that caps our globe was mind-numbing.
Can't even imagine there is life up there or even the parts in Russia and Mongolia.
Looked like if you were looking at the lines in your knuckles, but frozen and white in the lines which may or may not be streams of water below. Just a cracked landscape with the fractured lines of deeper white snow.

Temperatures have dropped since my arrival. The new down coat works like a charm and the scarf my Mom knit for me is just the bright dash of color I need to not just be a black blob in the landscape. Better run. Housekeeping just knocked and I told them I'll be gone in an hour.

This is day two in DC's lux apt. Breakfast and works in the mornings. So far living healthier than I have in a long time. Beijing is a very cool place to be right now. Thank goodness for the generosity of virtual strangers. Ciao for now. Got to buy my bedroom suite for the studio. Ikea bound.

XXX






Flying West to go East, but this time stopping North first.

Departure

ATL to NWK Dec 1, 2008

NWK to PEK Dec 2, 2008

Arrive in PEK Dec 3, 2008

At least the flight was paid with Skymiles and for Christmas I asked for travel insurance.
Emergency medical, medical evac, and death in case of plane crash covered, but no terrorism.

This is the beginning of a grand adventure. A New York love story that took me half way across the world only to discover it was not the kind of lasting love I was looking for. But undeterred, I continue on my own personal journey to find my way back to my art and personal passions. Still uncertain of what true love looks like, the mystery is left unsolved to keep things interesting. To endure lost love in the bitter cold of a foreign land, I can only hope I will be reborn with Spring into a stronger more certain self that can learn from the past and move forward with a steady and strong heart open to what may be. If all is lost, I have a Last Will with a memo I still need to write. So far what I have written is the following...

Memo
to my Last Will and Testament
regarding my peronal belongings

As I have no significant other besides Meta,
Yun has first pick of everything and can use her judgment as to who thing may be given to,
unless specified differently below.

Amy Dykes Scarborough
Any formal dress that Yun does not think Theresa would want.

Still have to decide homes for my cameras, art work, furniture.
My library will be donated to a program that distributes books to underfunded librarys that need art books.

If I owned a boat, I'd call him Dreamboat.

From Atlanta, signing off for now.

***
If anyone needs a good estate lawyer to draft your will, I'd recommend mine:
Juliet Kalib
212. 724-3466

***

Mom's Recipes and Other Fruits of My Childhood

My Mom has been teaching me how to make some of my favorite Korean dishes.
To start off this series, here is my latest craving...

JANGJORIM (to be eaten with rice and other banchan)

eye of round beef
boiled eggs
soy sauce
sugar
cloves of garlic

Bring to a boil chunks of the eye of round in water (more than enough to cover tops of pieces)
lower heat to simmer for 2 -3 hours or until water is half gone
skim the top of the water as you go.

Then:
add soy sauce to level where water began (Kikkoman preferable)
add approx half cup sugar
add approx 10 cloves of garlic
add peeled and boiled eggs whole

simmer for another hour til soup is back to half or to taste*

For dessert, try a Persimmon.

I prefer the Fuyu, which is crisp like an apple called "sweet persimmon." Tonight however, my Mom gave me one of two "big persimmons" that was harvested from our tree in the backyard. This was the Hachiya version which is big and red like a plump tomato with a similar soft peal away skin. It was amazingly sweet, soft, and juicy. I had to scoop it up with a spoon.


It's important you know there are two kinds of persimmons: the Fuyu, the kind you can eat right away, and the Hachiya, the kind you can't. If you bite into an unripe Hachiya persimmon, it is if you just drank six cups of extra strength tea. This astringent flavor is due to the high level of tannin in the fruit, and there is a good chance that you would never try a persimmon again because it tastes so bitter. This would be a shame because ripe persimmons have an exceptional flavor and provide us with important nutrients such as beta-carotene, Vitamin C and potassium.

-from Tony Tantillo.com

Oriental Medicine

I've just finished pack 13 of 40 medicinal herbal tea mixtures. In order to finish my full regiment before traveling Dec. 1, I'll have to triple up for a few days this week. It is still TBD whether there are recognizable effects of this medicine.

My Mom goes every year to boost her system and fight off the annual evil flu or cold. She says it has helped keep her healthy and avoid getting sick. Last year she missed her dose and feels her flu/colds so far have been due to this lapse. It is a common belief shared by many Koreans apparently, that an annual dose of this Oriental Medicine can "keep the doctor away." So, as my Mom made her appointment, I said I would take her there and she offered to get me a visit with the specialist. The man who decides what allies you and which tea you will need, met with us and took my pulse first.

I am apparently suffering from a lack of blood aka not great circulation, my respiratory system is weak, and my kidneys are not up to snuff. This all translated into $400 and a tea with the special antler powder, something my Mom's $300 mix did not need.

My sister is skeptical, as am I about how the diagnosis is reached and well we actually receive in our pouches. I will say, however, the packaging is done well. The office clean and seemingly homey with nature documentaries playing on a loop. The other thing is it is next door to a Korean Church. I'm sure a lot of business comes from connections there. The office also has those drawers that remind me of this photo I took in Beijing at the Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital. Similar methods and materials by run by a Korean.

I am always open to trying new things and believe anything can have power if you believe in it. So, this winter, as I am trying to build up my energy for this long hard winter ahead, I am trying this tea. It has a bitter smell and taste, but it smells familiar and reminds me of my Dad for some reason. And that makes it taste less bitter.

Something else about hope and trying to make sense of things...
I am reminded also of this machine I ran into in Hong Kong at the Peak. A little Roman Holiday in China. A replica that told fortunes. I have the read out somewhere, but it was in Chinese, so I was unable to dicier the message until I had my tutor in Beijing make sense of it for me. I only recall I wasn't so lucking in Love. Fine in the Fame and Fortune department. Well, C'est la vie! Can't have it all now, can we?

Halloween Madness

In Avondale Estates, GA Halloween is a close the street off and let the kids roam kinda town. The neighbors go all out and compete for Spirit Awards. Doug, my brother-in-law, installed a grave site, flying skeleton, smoke machine, and sound fx. He also lurked in the darkness in a gorilla costume and came alive to scare the too cool for school teens in their everyday street wear.


Theresa was a vampire princess.
If only I had seen this how to before working on Theresa!
But we did alright.



Noah was the Ghoast Rider. Doug did his make-up.
Yun was busy making a delicious soup and pizza for this little get together.

A little Halloween history:
My 2008 Pumpkin Design vs 2004 Pumpkin Design


Avondale Estates, GA 2008


Bushwick Brooklyn, 2004


Check out
Threadbanger: How to Make yourself into a Zombie
Make-up by our lovely Katie Pellegrino