More Buddha, IKEA...and Mah Jong

 

Either some naughty person secretly snapped this pic, or it is an officially sanctioned one from the temple.  On an earlier post I put my picture of a reclining Buddha that is in the temple in Shanghai that I visited.  A-OK to take that picture, but this is the protected Buddha, with the quiet music, the incense in a special (admission fee) room. 

This picture does not quite capture the ethereal sweetness of the face. I guess the dim light and the soft music really added to the whole effect...

 

The pilgrimage to IKEA was fine.  It was so comforting to enter, feeling like I was home because of the familiarity of the layout.  That store could have been anywhere in the world, once you are inside!  I just had the usual awkwardness of schlepping stuff home on public transit (and I guess the Shanghai subway at rush hour is nothing to be sneezed at).  I got the reading lamp I desperately needed (you know, the 2 light one - one bowl pointing upwards and a small arm bulb that can be moved around downwards).  The cheapest of the IKEA standing lamps (there wasn't a one in the 2 towns near the school).  I now have that same lamp in 3 countries in the world: China, Canada and Germany.  Thanks, good old IKEA.

 

Off to do a big hard walk around the area of the school, with a real no-nonsense walker, Jan.  She had an initial night of Mah Jong last week, and those of you who know me will not be surprised that even though I was really looking forward to learning the game, and socializing with a couple of women colleagues, I forgot about it and missed it. Then I had to give the lame excuse of  "a form of dyslexia, actually dyscalulia, regarding time....blah blah blah"  Will they forgive me?  Will I ever learn to play Mah Jong?   

 Karen