on my desk monday

On my desk is a completely awesome dragon scarf hand knit by the equally awesome author/illustrator Mary Newall Depalma:

It is a gift for Rain Dragon (though I am tempted to "borrow" it once the weather gets cold) and she adores it. She runs back and forth wearing it, pretending she is a flying dragon:

If you aren't familiar with Mary's work, you should  be! She is the  incredible author illustrator of  many beautiful books like Two Little Birds:

A Grand Old Tree:

Rain Dragon likes to ad lib with this book and includes celebrities like Bill Cosby, Maisy and Spot in the tree 

And Rain Dragon's favorite,  The Strange Egg:

and it gets her to eat a lot of oranges, too

Thanks so much, Mary!!!!

on my desk monday

This sweet cherry hat was sent by my friends at the Elephant Trunk's Bookshop (Isn't that a great name for a bookstore?). I particularly love it as I have an affection for cherries (which is also why I adored the cherry swatch in the 100 Wishes quilt that my friend Barbara O'Connor contributed).  The hat is on my desk after Rain Dragon shrugged it off during a bout of restless sleep. But she was so cute while it lasted:

Thanks, Elephant Trunk's Bookshop!

red egg party with family

Rain Dragon's second red egg party was a family one in Upstate NY:

She stayed awake for some of this one:

to the delight of Aunties and Grandmas:

We combined the party with my niece Lily's birthday:

birthday girl and the baby!

But Rain Dragon got the best present. It was the 100 Wishes Quilt that began at the baby shower! They finished it! Isn't it beautiful?

I was told that so many people sent in fabric that even though it had originally been planned as baby size, it turned out queen size.  I was so touched to see all the people who contributed, people from all parts of my life-- local friends:

we had another red egg party with these people!

far away family:

all the way from Taiwan!

author/illustrator colleagues:

I like how Anna  made all her pieces color coordinated!

I particularly love the material Barbara chose because it reminds me of my cherry bedsheets

and new cousins:

love the Star Wars wish!

The quilt was backed with this neat dragon fabric:

The whole thing was perfect for Rain Dragon:

Thanks so much, quilters!

The talented quilters from l-r: Carri, Janet, Cappy (who didn't do any quilting but is in the photo because he thought this was a pile on game), Lily, Lissy and my mom

A 100 Good Wishes Quilt, a Bai Jia Bei,  is based on the Chinese tradition where family and friends each add a piece of cloth to make a quilt for a new baby. Each piece of cloth symbolizes their wish for the child and the quilt becomes a precious way to show how welcome the baby is into the world. 

on my desk monday

**The wonderful school in Hong Kong that I visited in 2007 sent Rain Dragon a baby gift and a batch of cards:

Isn't that sweet?  My extremely limited Chinese knowledge extended far enough to inform me that the shoes say "right" and "left."  Thanks so much*, Hong Kong International School!



*I've been so horrible about writing thank-you notes (I still owe friends & family from the baby shower! I hang my head in shame. Somehow, every time I try to start them something calls me away. It's even worse with my reader mail. So Sorry!)

on my desk monday

They say when you're expecting, the "nesting instinct" comes on strong. Well, it's true in my case. Because even though it is 70 degrees, I am shopping for afghans and blankets. Which is why when this gift came in the mail, I was especially thrilled:

It's a beautiful, homemade quilt made by Winifred Weng (a friend made by her daughter, Charlotte's enjoyment of Year of the Dog).  There's a little inscription sewn in:

as well as a dragon quilted in it! In honor of Rain Dragon!

Isn't it gorgeous? I love the colors.  And if that wasn't enough, the cutest hedgehog was also included:

Wow! Thanks so much, Winifred and Charlotte!

on my desk monday

A beautiful crane mobile, another lovely gift from the school in Upstate NY (which I will post about this week, promise).

I can wait to hang it over the Rain Dragon's bed!

on my desk monday

At my recent school visit in Portland, Oregon, the librarians surprised me with this adorable baby gift:

It's an Ugly Vegetable baby hat! I'm pretty sure this is a fu gua (bitter melon). Awww! Isn't it the cutest thing? I can't wait for the Rain Dragon to wear it.

surprise!

The other day, the Sasquatch and I were supposed to meet my friend Anna Alter at this cute little tea room:

But, when we went I was a bit surprised:

Because it wasn't just my friend Anna inside, but a whole troupe of my my friends and family:

Yes, it was a surprise baby shower! I was definitely surprised!

I couldn't believe the Sasquatch tricked me!

And also a super lovely one. It was all my girly dreams come true:

pretty plates

pretty teapots

pretty tea room!

We also had a pretty tea with sandwiches (crusts cut off), the most delicious scones ever and chocolate covered strawberries. I forgot to take pictures of the food but it was highly enjoyed:

But, of course, it was the company that was the most beautiful:

some of the blue rose girls! 

There were also presents!

I loved all of them, but my favorite one is the upcoming 100 Wishes Quilt. This is a Chinese tradition where the newborn's friends and family contribute cloth to make a quilt--with the quilt full of loving wishes of the gift givers. Everyone brought some material for the quilt  (my niece Lily & friend Carri are going to make it, since I don't know how to quilt) and also cut a little swatches from their material in a scrapbook with the giver's wish for our upcoming baby. Isn't that sweet? I ♥ this soooo much!

With all this, I feel sure our baby is going to be very lucky. I know I'm a very lucky upcoming baby mama!

the first gift

Many lovely people have offered baby things for our upcoming Rain Dragon.  We are happy to accept but have been putting off the receiving of them as our place is already crammed with our own adult stuff (we have to look into moving soon!).  But, for the holidays, the Sasquatch got me (us) a special gift that I had to make room for.

Those of you that have read Year of the Dog, might remember that the main character has a teddy bear named Butterscotch:

That is because in real life I really did have a teddy bear named Butterscotch. I loved him and still have him. His name is Butterscotch because when I first got him he was butterscotch colored. But now he is so old, he is grey (and tattered):

So, the Sasquatch did some internet searching and found a Butterscotch family member:

Which I can't wait to give to our Rain Dragon!!!

Butterscotch and Caramel