Sunday

Again, not much to report, Linda is the same, still on IV's all day and no change except for the first improvements, but no set backs either.  Amy still won't let her shower or wash her hair and that is the first thing Linda complains about to who ever will listen.  Except that she is in a snit all day today and I will have to tell why.  This is the Chinese New Year and the biggest holiday of the year for the whole country.  So what everyone does across the whole country is make dumplings with the whole family working together and than eating them.  So last night the hospital put on a dumpling party with most of the patents getting together with the staff and making dumplings and than eating them.  I took a lot of pictures so I didn't make many dumplings but Linda got right in there and made dumplings.  So everybody was chit chatting and having a good time when this speech therapist for one of the patents came over to talk to me.  She was 33 and pretty good looking,  So as were talking and Linda was sitting right next to me, she asked, Is that your mother. So I said no, that's my wife.  Well for some reason Linda did not take kindly to that.  Now in my mind I thought anyone could see that Linda was not my mother, so I thought it was funny that this girl would make such a mistake,  But it seems laughing was not the right response.  This is one of those times guys brains work differently than woman's. So after a while I sort of changed my mind and didn't laugh too loud.

 

Today at lunch time Amy came to the room and asked me if i wanted to go to a market that was near and I said sure.  So she went and changed cloths out of her doctor stuff and we got a cab and off we went.  Now this was a big store, like walmart, home depot, Macy's, and Safeway all rolled into one.  I found a few things I wanted to buy, the price was on them so I thought that was the price.  Not in China.  I started to pull my money out and Amy frowns and said not yet.  She picks up some of the stuff and tells the sales girl that the quality was no good.  So the girl behind the counter starts arguing loud that the stuff was just fine.  Now being China the place was full of people, and soon a crowd stood around to watch the exchange.  I'm thinking, lets just pay and get out of here.  But that's not how the game is played.  Another guy standing there picks up some of the stuff and chimes in with his 2 cents worth.  Now there are 5 sales girls behind the counter all talking a mile a minute and our team on the other side saying we could get it cheaper elsewhere and better quality so lets go.  Well hell, I want the stuff, but no it's no good.  So just in the nick of time, the sales girls blinked and the day was saved. Amy saved face and to cement the deal she asked for another box.  Than on the way out, as we went to get a cab, we passed a line of bicycle rick shaws.  Joking I said lets ride back in that.  Amy asks how much and the guy says something, too much.  All the other guys in line started offering to do it cheaper.  But we had to get back soon so we looked for a cab.  Now the game is started again.  How much.  I don't know, what the meter says.  No good, you have to know how much.  So this goes on for a while and I want to get back, but we have to play the game.  Finely we start off and before we get there, the guy shuts off the meter and we save a nickel.  It isn't the nickel, it's the principal of the thing and the game goes on.

 

Yesterday I took the bike out and rode to one of the old sections of Beijing.  There was so much to see I parked the bike and started to walk thru the alleys and back in time.  I must have walked for 2 hrs before I started to look for the bike again.  This is the stuff you never see except on foot. There is so much more to see, like the great wall and the forbidden city.  But I don't want to go there until Linda can go with me ,and I don't know when that will be.

 

Maybe I spoke too soon, Amy has been cutting back on Linda's med's and tonight Linda is slower and the tremor is back.  It takes a while for the cells to start working so I guess we will wait and see.

 

john and linda in China