Rumor Roundup

A friend tonight had a very intelligent question: what have we heard this month? Well, it's a slightly topsy-turvy month for rumors. Here's what we've heard:

• March 29th may be in (remember, we're April 6th.)


• Referrals may not be mailed until after Oct. 8th due to Chinese National Day holiday.


• Packages are in the air


• But we don't know what these packages are (from CCAA)


• Somebody says they're matching all of March in this batch. We've heard these silly things before, and they are never true.

So we're just holding tight and enjoying the ride. I found some nifty things at Batesville Wal-Mart: travel changing pad (pink!), scented diaper bags with dispenser, Triple Cream exczema cream.

If none of this makes sense, see FAQs and Terms & Acronymns on the right side of this blog.

Batesville

I (Heather) am in Batesville enjoying some relaxation time with Mom and her four cats. We plan to watch some movies (Totoro, The Changeling, Sunshine Cleaning.) I've been in the mood for something scary!

Jeff is home working and taking care of the cats. I miss them all!

Nothing new on the rumor front. We thought referrals might arrive this week, but it looks like CCAA might hold off until just before or just after their upcoming holiday week (Oct. 1-8, China National Day.) I heard this holiday week and Chinese New Year are really their only holidays from work. So I say, enjoy!

Vancouver

Mom & I toured Vancouver, BC. It was beautiful! I had a couple good runs on the waterfront and Stanley Park. We had a nice cab driver take us on a night tour of the city lights and water views. He also drove us through Stanley Park to see totem poles and raccoons. Supposedly there are bears in the park, but we didn't see any (darn!) Vancouver is where my dad grew up, so we drove around some residential areas to imagine his childhood there.

Nothing new on the rumor front. We expect (other people's) referral calls any day, then we might know the latest cut-off date (March 27? 28? 29?) Everyone's thinking the 29th.

I miss Jeff & the cats. I will Skype with them soon!

Seattle

Since nothing's new on the rumor front, I went to Seattle! Mom met me here, and we toured around the Pike Place Market and waterfront yesterday. Today we'll drive to Vancouver!

Doraemon Ashes Parks

With great joy, we introduce Doraemon as the newest member of our family!

He was at Yokota's Pet Care center since June 20. He was found abandoned in base housing. He's microchipped, though, so the base knows who did it (that family moved away.) Apparently they left another cat, too (microchip traced back to same family), but we don't know what happened to that cat. Hopefully he/she got adopted. Whoever this family is, despite what they did, must be okay, because Doraemon is sweet, gentle, and healthy.

Doraemon is 12, and in good health and spirits. He's calm, likes to eat, is somewhat playful, and is a sometimes snuggler.

He and Ralph are getting to know each other. They are taking it slowly!

Ashes is the name he came with. We couldn't help but notice a resemblance to the cartoon cat Doraemon. Welcome Doraemon!

Holy cow

The rumor is March 29th is in. This may or may not be true. If true it would surpass all of RQ's last 3 months of predictions (well, horrid case, anyway. That's the only column I look at anymore.) This probably makes no sense if you haven't been following the blog or have never looked at Rumor Queen.




But the really big news is Doraemon. He is on a 1-week trial period in our house. So far it's going well, although Ralph is a bit spun-up. After 3 months in the shelter, Doraemon isn't phased by any of Ralph's growling or hissing. Tomorrow I'll get them some new toys, catnip, and a big cardboard box to cut holes in. Wish us luck!!

It's that time of month

This is when we start seriously checking Rumor Queen evening & morning for updates. So far, she says someone with LID March 27 is told they are in. We're hoping CCAA will at least get through March 28th this month.

On a fun note, this weekend we had friends from Tokyo over to Yokota. They are an American expat couple, also adopting from China. We found each other through the wonders of Yahoo groups. They just moved here from Shanghai, where they lived for 3 years. We enjoyed hearing their stories and getting tips about China. They also taught us a few Mandarin phrases. Their visit gave us an excuse to have dinner at Yokota's new Chili's!

Comfort food

This is Yamada Udon, a chain restaurant. We have 2 nearby out the east gate. It's cheap, fast, and delicious. This one has a nice window view of vegetable gardens, the base, and sometimes Mt. Fuji. It's also near the Bunny Store (Nishimatsuya) and Dorama video rental, so makes for a nice low-key outing.
Jeff outside Yamada Udon. Drinks are simple: a bottomless pitcher of ice water. But you can also order beer, tea, chu-hi, sake, or bring in a bottled drink from the vending machines outside.

Curry Udon (above), a Jeff favorite. Udon are the thick noodles.

"5-item view" (above), a Heather favorite. These udon noodles are cold. It's also available with soba noodles. I like to add S&B Seven Spice.

Love Yamada Udon. And the service is so good. If any of you visit, we'll take you here.

Clothes from Audrey-chan

Today we got some new (well-loved) clothes, courtesy of Audrey-chan and the Morales clan. Lots of mix & match pieces for cooler weather. The possible size and type of clothing is starter to come clearer: 6-9, 12 month, winter.... maybe, maybe, don't hold us to it! This picture shows a bit of our packing efforts - an ongoing project for the last 4 years. Earlier this summer, we received these and many other outfits from Audrey-chan. We've seen her wear them, so know how good they look on a dark-haired girl. The blue one does say "Born in the USA." Hmmm. Arigato gozaimasu, Audrey-chan!

Right now, I need to pay attention to this baby (see video):

All is quiet

Today is Sept. 10th, and referrals might happen around the 20-21st. So now is the time we quietly brace for rumors. Realistically, they may not start until next week (or even the next.)

Luckily, there are plenty of fun things to keep us busy. Yesterday, the spouses from Jeff's office went out to Tokyo's Kappabashi Street (kitchen district.) It has dishes and restaurant wares, including Japan's famous fake food. We got so hungry for lunch, but had to laugh that all we could find was fake food! Thanks for the photo and trip, ladies.

The group went back early, so I stayed in Tokyo to wander around the Senso-ji temple in Asakusa, and the Science Museum at Ueno Park.

Mitake-san

We spent Friday night at Mitake Youth Hostel on Mitake-san ("Mitake-san" means "the honorable Mount Mitake.") We did this last fall, so knew it was a great hostel. Saturday, we hiked a trail over Mt. Otake and Nokogiri Ridge, back to Okutama Station. It took us all day and was a gruelling hike! But it was beautiful. See our Flickr site for more photos.

Walking from Mitake Station (not far from Yokota) to the cable car station, we once again saw many large spiders ("kumo.") But once on the mountain, we only saw tiny spiders.

Mitake-san is famous for the musasabi (flying squirrel), but we didn't see any again this year. We did meet a giant earthworm and bright green bug, as well as many butterflies and hovering insects on the mountaintops.

Our fellow hikers impressed us with their abilities (many were older folks.) Some people were even running on the trail. The hike was much more difficult than we imagined! We rewarded ourselves at the end with cold "nama biru" (draft beer), oden, udon, sashimi, and purple potato.

Galactic Peace Hotel

1. Galactic Peace Hotel

2. Pool

3. Lobby

4. Room

(all photos found on Google Images)

A few of you know I'm planning a solo trip (Heather + backpack) to China's Yangtze Region soon. This is something I've been wanting to do since we briefly visited southern China last winter. This trip is for fun & education only, not directly related to the adoption. Of course, I'd love to take Jeff, but he's saving his leave, and I have fun traveling solo (this could be my last time for a while!) My tentative plan is: Shanghai (will meet Rumor Queen friend who lives there), Suzhou, Nanjing, Nanchang, and Hangzhou. Mostly I'll stay in very cheap youth hostels (like $10/night in China!) But for Nanchang, I'm doing something special: staying in the Galactic Peace International Hotel (still cheap - $90/night - for a 5-star.) Why? Let me explain.

Nanchang is capital of Jiangxi province. Most of our agency's referrals (children) are from Jiangxi lately. I think we have a 90% chance of going there. Most families stay in the Galactic Peace, Gloria, Lakeview, or Jin Feng hotels. I chose Galactic Peace for the cool name, rave reviews, and lovely photos. Jeff is sold on the pool - he's determined to get our girl swimming even if we meet her in mid-winter! A fellow adoptive parent told me "it's the building across the street where you meet your child." How neat! I'll check out the other "adoption hotels", too, as well as the famous Wal-Mart, People's Park and Tenwang Pavilion.

Hawaii Pal

Yesterday we got a surprise package in the mail. It was this dress and card from my friend Brooks in Hawaii. She has kindly offered to give us a hand if we do the Hawaii trip for naturalization. Thanks, Brooks!