My baby's first jeans

Here is my "little baby", so grown up in her first jeans.

I hadn't realised she had grown so much!   Here she is in a pair of jeans I picked up from our playgroup rummage sale and a top a mom gave a friend when she left the country, along with a pair of day-market shoes.  Stylin'!  Kyle is in his All Black pants and skateboarding shirt.  Can you tell they dressed themselves?

It's Chinese New Year's Day.  Last night we had the New Year dinner with Richard's parents.  Most of friends get emotionally ready for the big dinner with family at this time of year.  Our dinner is actually quieter, as Lisa and family go down South for the week.  We have relative calm, which suits me, as I am not one to really get into tradition like Christmas of this NewYear thing.

Today, I took pictures of some of Kyle's art.  This is from last year, when he was four to four-and-a-half.  I hope he will get back into it someday as I really enjoy looking at his work.

Flowers.  You can see a smudge in the center.  Kyle bumped it by mistake, but decided it was fine like that.

Cat on the Roof:  They read a Chinese story in the class, then drew their own interpretation.

ER and Plastc Surgery

So, here I am, at Chung-Gung hospital in Ba-du, waiting for Richard to have his thumb saved. It's just the beginning of a two to three hour wait while he is in surgery. When Richard called from the basement this afternoon, "Katrina, we need to go to the hospital," I didn't think too much about it. He didn't sound like he was too much pain, there was very little blood and he walked up to the neighbor to ask him to move Richard's van for us so I could drive out. We left the lights on and a chicken in the oven. Six and half hours later, Richard is probably getting a steel pin in his left thumb or maybe having part of it amputated, the kids are at the grandparents', and the chicken is being eaten by the neighbors.


Richard says he cannot remember what happened exactly, just that the bandsaw was higher than he should have left it and he must have reached over it. I had suggested he wear protective metal gloves or put a cover over the saw, but up until now it had been fine. NZ Health and Safety officers would have palpatations if they saw the kind of safety gear used (or not) here in Taiwan. What can you do? At least the health care here is fast. We came to the ER and stayed here until Richard's breakfast had digested and they found a surgeon to operate. I am not sure if other countries could boast such efficiency. It's Sunday night and I am the only one waiting in the surgery waiting room.

There may not be many foreigners turning up in this branch of Chung-Gung. I say this because I have been "hello" 'd several times already, and just now had a man sit down beside me and look at me for a few minutes before stating, "bye bye" and leaving. The staff have been very nice so far. The great thing about hospitals in Taiwan is, you will always find someone who speaks English.

*In Taiwan, you need to have someone in the hospital to look after you, as there is nobody to look after the basic needs of patients (toilet, food, drink, nose-blowing...) If your family does not have someone available to stay fulltime, you will try to hire a 24-hour assistant to stay with the patient.

***This was written on Sunday night.  It's now Thursday.  Richard had cut through bone, nerve, vein, tendon.  The plastic surgeon put it back on, with a pin in the thumb that will come out in a month.  The damage is about 5cm in length, and when you think of the size of a thumb, that is quite a wound.  We have to watch for infection, and he starts rehab/physio on Friday.  Just a FYI, the whole thing including a night in hospital cost just over 4,000TWD (about 200NZD).  I get to show my sense of duty and love by showering him and helping dress the wound.

And the neighbors really enjoyed the chicken :)

Insomnia

Over my years in Taiwan, I have had periods of time where I just can't/won't sleep until the depths of the night.  I used to think this was particular to me, but have discovered that many expats in Taiwan suffer the same "problem".  I don't know if it's the environment, or if it's something about the kinds of people who come to Taiwan and stay here.  Because, over time I have found a large number of my friends are quite hyperactive or at least with overactive minds.  This trait may be what makes Taiwan attractive to us, or what allows (or compels us) to stay here.  On nights like this, I remember things like my dear friend Brian telling me how he thinks I would make a great smoker, and that it might temper my need to move and do things.  And times when I would roam the streets at three or four in the morning, just unable to settle and not ready for the calm of the apartment.  When I think of things like this, I kind of congratulate myself on the fact I have managed to live in a Taiwanese family for several years, with the boundaries imposed that really make it impossible to release much of the nervous tension that builds up from being in a pre-defined environment.  Very recently, I have had the urge to write again, and to create.  That feeling is like a ball inflating in my chest, being held down my the weight of something similar to water, yet thicker and darker.  I have the desire, but no project, and as yet no creature has shown its face as a subject.  Being stuck in this whirlpool of threatened unreleased energy brings a shadow to sleep and makes the bed rather unwelcoming.  As my rather insightful father once said, "Katrina, boredom seems to create a dangerous situation for you."