Green Pine (青松)

#2014-0625

This afternoon I came to Green Pine to see my father again.

My father has stayed in this Nursing Home most of the time since last November (2013), and I have visited him here almost every day. When I was too busy to do so, I would come at least four times a week!

[Not only I but also my mother and my brothers and sisters are so concerned about his health; they also regularly come and see him here at Green Pine!]

It's been a difficult situation for my father: He has to "rest in bed" almost all day long. His both legs being so paralyzed, he has been unable to stand up. He could not sit up without help; only with professional caregivers' help can he sit in a special wheelchair for about one hour at a time -- in fact, one hour in the morning and one hour in the afternoon! Then, because of the unbearable pain in his lower back, he needs to be put back to the bed immediately.

How terrible the situation is! Whenever I think of this, my heart is nearly broken!

And my father must return to Jen-Ai Hospital (as an outpatient) several times a month. At times he has to stay in the hospital for days, to get a series of examinations or to have more medical treatment. -- This is really a very big challenge for my father and for all his family. May the Lord, our merciful Father in heaven, be always with us, whatever difficulties we'll have to face! May the Lord strengthen us, and save us all!

上圖：小噴泉 變化真多，此時 像不像一頭獅子？

-- Does the spring (above) look like a lion?

下圖：像不像一隻面朝左方，溼答答的落水狗？

-- Does the spring (below) look like a dog now?

 What can you see now in the photo above?

And the photo below -- what do you think it is?

Welcome to Taiwan, Matisse and Christina!

#2014-0624

Welcome to Taiwan, Matisse and Christina!
Welcome to St. James' Episcopal Church, in Taichung!

This evening Jean and I, as we had also been invited, came to Pin Hong Qiao (品虹橋--滬川料理) on Wuquan W-3rd Street, Taichung City, to meet two English teachers who had just arrived at St. James -- that is, Matisse and Christina.

Matisse and Christina came from Boston, the capital and largest city of the state of Massachusetts, in the US. And, from now on, they will stay in central Taiwan for about two months. They will be experiencing "the life in Ilha Formosa" -- Ilha Formosa meaning "beautiful island" in Portuguese -- by spending days and nights with us, by joining in the summer camp and learning Chinese at St. James, and by visiting as many scenic spots as they can, during their stay here in Taiwan.

Well, I'll be their Mandarin teacher in July (and August?). I'll do my best to teach, hoping that my teaching will be helpful to them, to some degree!

More Photos Taken on the Same Day: 五年前的照片 (續)

#2014-0620B

這些也是 2009 年 5 月 2 日那天 慶祝家父八十歲生日所拍攝的照片。［參閱 See also: #2014-0620A.］

五年的時間，一轉眼過去了。我們當時舉辦慶生會的「饗宴 牡丹亭」已更名為「董月花 客家人文餐廳」。那照片中的孩子們都已長高、長大了；而家父也明顯變老變弱了。如今，偶然發現這些［還不算太老舊的］舊照片，心中的懷念特別多，感觸也特別深！

我忍不住要將這些照片貼入《木咕子的家》，因為這麼做，既可「永久保存」又可「隨時翻閱」。

Photos Taken in May 2009: 五年前的照片

#2014-0620A

The photos on this page [and on the next page, #2014-0620B] were taken on the 2nd day of May, 2009, when we were celebrating my father's 80th birthday. Time flies! In these five years, there have been lots of changes that are noticeable. The same restaurant where we had the birthday party has changed its name from Xiangyan-Mudanting (饗宴 牡丹亭) to Dong Yue Hua (董月花 客家人文餐廳). The children in the photos have grown much bigger and taller; in the meantime, my father has become so very "old and sick"! . . . Seeing these pictures again, I felt a mixture of excitement and sorrow. And I feel that I should put these photos into my blog Mookoo's Home, so that I can review them more easily -- no matter where I am; no matter when I want to!

Ben ye [liantong xia yiye, #2014-0620B] de zhaopian shi 2009 nian 5 yue 2 ri wei qingzhu jiafu 80 dashou juban jucan huodong shi suo paishe de. Wu nian de shijian, yi zhayan guoqu le. Dangshi de Xiangyan-Mudanting (饗宴 牡丹亭) yi gengming wei Dong Yue Hua (董月花 客家人文餐廳). Wo zhuyi dao zhaopian-zhong de haizimen dou zhang da, zhang gao le; er jiafu ta que mingxian bian lao, bian ruo le. Rujin zai kan zhexie busuan tai jiu de jiu zhaopian, xin-litou huainian tebie duo, ganchu ye tebie shen! . . . Wo ren-buzhu yao jiang zhexie zhaopian tie ru Muguzi de Jia, yinwei zheme zuo, ji ke "yongjiu baocun", you ke "suishi fanyue".

更多照片請參閱 See also: #2014-0620B

I'm Going to Create Something

#2014-0604

For some reasons I'm going to create something very special for myself. I have actually started writing the first few pages of it. It would possibly turn out to be a short short story or a very long novel when I finish it; however, a "novella" might be the best form (or container) for those kinds of stuff (contents) to be put in.

I'm sorry that at this moment I can't tell you too much about my new story. Even I haven't gotten the whole picture of it. But in my mind there have been quite a few things appearing to be so true, including a personal walking stick, a magical bag, some birds and animals (such as eagles, owls, monkeys, cats, elephants, tigers, squirrels, rhinos, alligators, a dog, a fox, a lion, a pigeon . . .), plus an ape, an ugly Serpent, a good-looking Giant, and me -- and my counterparts (a "King" and a "man")!

My two hands (that is, ten fingers) are extremely important. And I have been given a special number: 0976-245183. [Is it a cell-phone number?] As for the setting of this story, I think I will clearly see it when exploring in this mysterious land as illustrated below.

The three pictures below and the one on the upper right corner are adapted from Collins COBUILD Illustrated Basic Dictionary of American English, p. 266. 

[ISBN-13: 9781111032364]

The pictures below are adapted from Collins COBUILD 

Illustrated Basic Dictionary of American English, p. 408.

A New Start

#2014-0603

Yesterday Jean and I went to meet our good friends Jane and Peter Chan at their house again. It was Monday evening, the time when four of us would regularly meet for a Teatime chat (喝茶聊天的時間). But we had some "mutual friends" coming to join us last night, as you can see in the photos below -- the photos being from Shuhui Wu's Facebook (吳淑慧的臉書).

We had a new plan: On Monday evenings we'd like to spend time together reading the Bible [in Today's English Version]. We would like to brush up on our English and, of course, we'd also like to share something personal with each other in our own languages. This was, indeed, a new start for us. Praise the Lord!