Construction Scenes

This is the building we live in, lovingly referred to as Qing Gong Lou.  I think this translates to, "Eardrum Replacement Needed."  The sound of this drill below haunts our dreams, and our waking hours too!

The glass has been removed from the stairwell windows, and we need to take care going out the exit to look for falling debris, lest we get new brick-shaped holes in our heads.  Sometimes they give us hard hats to wear to go our bicycles.  No I'm not kidding.

Here they are demolishing some of the walls of the building, to make new doorways I suppose, or they are working with hammer and chisel to remove the outer orange concrete facing to expose the bricks beneath.  
This is definitely the most decrepit building in this up and coming neighborhood.  I'm sure the neighbors in the beautiful hi-rise apartment buildings around don't want to look at this building the way it was.  It is quickly being born (bourne?) from the old China into the new!


The main feature of my bicycle (below) is my bright red lock that stops any would-be thieves in their tracks (the crooked handlebars, squeaky cranks and purple child seat however may have something to do with it, too!)  It's covered with dust from the construction and I leave it that way to make it look as worn out as possible.  Peter wipes his with a cloth everyday because he likes it shiny... this is his 2nd bike in 3 months - will he ever learn??  I like to leave things in my basket like this half-empty water bottle to see how long it will be until it disappears.  So far I have lost an English/Chinese dictionary and a Bungee cord, on different occasions, which each took about an hour to disappear.  Sue's luscious pink bicycle is pictured behind...

A local wall near our apartment alternates between graffiti and white paint. This is Sophie's favorite monster picture that she always comments on when we ride by.
 
   This week the score is: Graffiti Artists 1 ; City Paint Crews, 0.

I stopped by the local flower market to get Sue some flowers today...

This woman was trimming up a nice display but as soon as she saw me pull out the camera she ran inside.  Check for the coy smile on her face!  Afterwards, I bought some flowers from her - next time I will have to be more stealthy!
  
Tomorrow is Sophie's 3rd birthday, so I will be on the lookout for a birthday cake.  Maybe I can have them write "Sophie" on it in Chinese.  That would be a gas!  Also, the program director from the Colorado China Council who found us these teaching jobs, Alice Renouf, is coming to Hangzhou for a visit and she will stay in our 2nd apartment.  We just saw her briefly in Shanghai so we are looking forward to seeing her more in Hangzhou.