Bringing nature in

 

 

I bought some plants this week!  Without having any of our stuff still (waiting on our red cards), our apartment is bare, particularly bare of warmth and personality.  I thought for sure we would want to have some nature inside to "liven" up the place whether we had our stuff or not, and since it's becoming apparent that it's going to be months before we receive our shipments, I decided not to wait around to start making our house a home.  I asked around and after learning how to say flower shop in Mandarin,  "Huā diàn," and learning where one was located, I planned on going one morning after exercising.  There were a few days this week I was feeling "blah," and this day was another one.  So I thought I should just get out to the flower shop to bring home some plants to brighten up our home and my mood.  Luckily my friend and neighbor Amy put a text out to ladies from church here in the city asking if anyone wanted to play games or get together.  I texted her and told her my plan to go to the florist, and she said, "Let's go!"  Apparently she was anxious for some mood uplift and socializing with a friend too.  :)  So she and Gordon joined me, and I was grateful to have their companionship.  Amy took the full FSI Mandarin course, so I appreciated her Mandarin translating capabilities with my questions to the florist about how much to water the plants, if they needed sun or not, etc.  I was even able to find poinsettias for the Christmas season which I hadn't anticipated finding here in China!  I bought enough of them to give to our good friends as we Christmas caroled to them with "We wish you a Merry Christmas!"

I really wanted to just buy the whole store!  I passed up lemon trees and all sorts of beautiful flowers and leaves.  What I really wanted were a bonsai tree of some sort and a large plant for a corner next to our dining room table.  I found both and then some, but only spent about $150 for nine plants with vases and pots!

What was great was the delivery fee she pretty much waived because of the quantity of plants I bought.  Just a few hours after I paid for them, they arrived.  It was perfect timing because Sally, our ayi, had arrived so she could tell her the names of the plants and how to care for them.  Then Sally wrote it down for me in English.  Let's see how long I can keep these beauties alive!