Click on a photo to see an enlargement.
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Sandy's birthday falls in November - on the 11th - which makes it really easy to remember. She is now six years old by Western reckoning - but is 7 years old by Chinese computation - hence the 7 on the birthday cake.
Click on a photo to see an enlargement.
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In December Sandy's dance school put on a performance to delight the parents with the progress and talent of their offspring, and to demonstrate that the tuition they had been paying out was not spent in vain.
Sandy was really focused, and (a parent's prejudice nothwithstanding), was one of the better dancers in her group. After Sandy's group got done with their routine - a peasant folk-dance type - they invited the audience onto the stage to dance along with the performers. A good time was had by all. (Mandy is in the pink shirt and red pants in the pictures at the far left and far right of the second row.)
Click on a photo to see an enlargement.
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Of course, no December would be complete without the holiday season. We decided to get a new tree this year - as the old one had gotten pretty ratty and unsteady from having been packed and unpacked so many times.
Tanya wanted a slightly smaller tree than the last one - which she felt took up too much space and made it inconvenient for comfortably getting around the living room.
So... off we all went - we picked out a slightly smaller model than the previous one and then lugged home the box. When we got home, and unpacked it, it was ENORMOUS. It practically went up to the ceiling. Obviously, whoever was in the stockroom either took out the wrong box, or the box they gave us was meant for someone else.
Naturally, I asked Tanya if she wanted me to bring it back for the smaller model. So, after all the discussion about how the previous tree was way too big for our living room, do you think she wanted to bring this one back (which literally stands head and shoulders above the previous model)? No way! Why give back a bargain? Better to rearrange the living room furniture than pass up a windfall!
Click on a photo to see an enlargement.
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Well, that's all there is for now - more is sure to follow. As always, if anyone has any photos that they would like to put up, by all means email them to me.