For three weeks, my nest is empty once again. My mood now is completely different from when my children were studying in Europe. At that time, I was filled with worry, now I am filled with peace.

I have time to savor home slowly. I think a warm home can really make life full of sunshine.

This February, my beloved second aunt, my father’s little sister, passed away. I realized my pain while paying my tribute to her while far away from her. She, the last parent-generation relative who cared, loved, and watched my brother and I grow up, is gone, and there is no more such relative who remembers our childhood stories. The end of her life is also the ending of some stories of life, which is painful…

Letting go of the pain, thinking that although my parents have passed away for many years, my brother and I can chat about our dear parents and relatives in heaven and talk about our hometown and the relatives and friends there, those chats warm my heart! I am grateful to my parents for showing us the warmth of home throughout their lives, so that my brother and I can always talk about trivial matters across the ocean and understand each other and encourage each other.

After my brother encouraged me to create a channel to publish my short videos, whenever his friends praised my short videos, my brother would forward the chat records to me in time. My original intention of making short videos was to help my brother and sister-in-law’s business, after some time, I started to entertain myself by telling stories in my heart, which I enjoyed a lot; the pleasure of bringing entertainment to others through my short videos is an unexpected enjoyment to me. This is the feeling of human love, floating and flowing warmly in the world by words, by messages, and by short videos.

Last night, while chatting with my daughter on the phone, I heard an interesting story about my little grandson, Ben. After his one and half year old little sister tore off the duck attached to the head of her plush toy, she was very upset but was not able to express it in words.

Ben saw his sister was upset and said to his mother: “Use tape (to stick the duck back)!” When I heard it, I laughed and replied: “He really is your son! He already knows the power of tape.” My daughter also knew early on that tape can repair walls, fix books, and things, which made me very proud, as when I was a child, I did not known about tape. Until one day, my daughter told me sadly that the tape failed to fix the fallen hem of her skirt.

Her words made I felt sad and regretful because when I was my daughter’s age, I liked knitting, crocheting, cross-stitching, embroidery and other handicrafts. I remember that my father bought a shed and special needles from Chengdu for me to do embroidery; but my daughter has never seen me do any needlework, because I was busy working and never had the time. This is a glimpse of the tiredness of the first generation immigrant working mothers. After that incident, I began to consciously let my daughter and son see or enjoy me needlework (my daughter learned mending when she was a graduate student, but my son never learned it). I felt at ease knowing that I had tried my best. The three circles in the photo are three embroidery sheds of different sizes.

My daughter also told me on the phone that people praised the trousers I made for Ben using the two long sleeves of an old sweatshirt. I was very happy that my daughter could chat with me about trivial family matters in an interesting way.

Before my mother had Alzheimer’s disease, she often talked about her needlework on the phone, such as altering a piece of clothing or mending an apron. Unfortunately, at that time I was too busy with work and housework and didn’t have the energy to praise my mother.

My daughter also asked me if I had a good dinner last night. This is because I told her the day before yesterday that her brother and sister-in-law would come to dinner on Saturday. I told my daughter that on Saturday morning, Shan (daughter-in-law) said she wanted to eat porridge, but didn’t say what kind of porridge; I cooked three kinds of porridge: millet and pumpkin porridge (millet itself needs to be cooked for two hours), rice and sweet potato porridge (add sweet potato and cook for another hour after the rice blooms in the pot), and rice, glutinous rice and green bean porridge (these three things are soaked in water for a few hours and then put into the pot with cold water to start stew). After hearing this, my daughter praised me. I told her that I made two versions of twice-cooked pork: one that her brother liked, and one with garlic sprouts and steamed bread slices, fried a plate of carrots, lettuce and pumpkin cubes and a plate of broccoli, and boiled a lotus root soup.

There are people to eat, people to listen, and many pots to clean, this is a great joy that only chefs can enjoy.

When I was cooking the sweet potato porridge on Saturday, I suddenly remembered my tiredness of working in the past. There was a period of time I wanted to eat sweet potato porridge and knew how to cook it, but I didn’t have the time or energy to make it. I often went to the deli next to the Chinese supermarket and paid three dollars to buy a cup of very watery sweet potato porridge. At that time, I said to myself: “When I have lots of free time, I will cook a big pot of sweet potato porridge and eat it slowly.” After I became free, my desire to eat sweet potato porridge faded, so I still haven’t cooked a big pot of sweet potato porridge for myself to eat slowly. Today, as I cooked sweet potato porridge for my daughter-in-law, I felt very happy after thinking of this past, because I finally had time to cook sweet potato porridge and eat it slowly.

It is very nourishing to savor the taste of home in my spare time, in my temporarily empty nest.

Today is another rainy day. While sitting by the window watching the rain, I thought of one of the joys of this Chinese New Year, taking a morning walk with my daughter on a cloudy day.

The fifth day of this Chinese New Year is Sunday, my two grandchildren who don’t usually go to the daycare on Sunday will go because Teacher K is free this Sunday, also because they didn’t go Friday! My daughter suggested we visit the San Jose Rose Garden after dropping the babies, I replied: “The roses haven’t bloomed yet, and it is cloudy. Let’s take a walk at the nearby Lake Cunningham Park.”

I was in a rush before going out in the morning and didn’t wear a windbreaker. My daughter only noticed it while driving. She was worried that I would catch a cold if I went for a walk while wearing so little, so I said, “I’ll be warm after a walk, or we can go home get a windbreaker, after dropping the babies.”

Once we arrived at Teacher K’s house, my grandchildren went to play with their favorite toys immediately, and my daughter said to K: “Do you have a thick coat to borrow? As my mother doesn’t have a windbreaker and we are planning to go for a walk in Lake Cunningham Park on the way home.” K went to her closet and brought out five coats for me to choose from. Her thoughtfulness made me happy and my daughter’s flexibility also made me happy. I was in a good mood before I even went for the walk. I picked a beige windbreaker that fit me well. After my daughter thanked K, we left and drove to Lake Cunningham Park. The parking lots there were all empty.

After my daughter parked the car, I took her to the trail along the lake for a walk. At 9:30 on a Sunday morning, there were very few people on the lakeside trail. The occasional runners, dog walkers, and bicycle riders were probably people who really liked outdoor activities, except for the two of us who came early because we had to send the babies to daycare.

I actually like to sleep in. Some time ago, I read a small post saying that it is good for the physical and mental health of the elderly not to sleep in and get up on time in the morning. I thought of my father who went to bed and got up early and was in good health, and thought of how before he passed away at almost 93 years old, he could still read and wrote articles online every day. I started to get up early and on time since then. Although I haven’t felt the benefits of not sleeping in, I think it won’t hurt to stick to it. Maybe it will show health benefits in ten years. I feel the familiar “have an immediate effect” lifestyle is really fading away for me now.

While walking on the lakeside trail, we looked at the lively ducks, geese, and seagulls on the water, I told my daughter: “In the summer, you can see small fish in the water and turtles basking in the sun on the rocks.” We continued walking along the lake, and a while later, my daughter said she saw a turtle sticking its head out of the water, but unfortunately I didn’t see it.

After the turtle, I can’t help but remember Walden Pond in Massachusetts, a place where my daughter and I often went for walks. According to Wikipedia, Walden Pond is a famous example of a kettle hole, it was formed by retreating glaciers 10,000–12,000 years ago. Walden Pond attracts more tourists because of a leading transcendentalist, Henry David Thoreau’s book “Walden”. Once when we were walking on the waterside under the slope next to the railway, my daughter said she saw a turtle floating on the water. I followed the direction she pointed and saw a big green turtle over a foot long. I was very surprised to see such a big turtle. After that, every time we passed that section of water, we always stopped and took a closer look at the water, unfortunately we never saw the green turtle again. At that time, my daughter was single and now she is a mother of two kids, and we also had been away from Massachusetts for almost three years. Time flies!

We passed an open field with fitness equipment and came to the dock. As I like chairs under the shade, I pointed to the chair under the tree by the lake and said: “Look, the chair under the tree is very popular in the summer because of the shade.” The bankside of lake my grandson Ben and I once watched the ducks is gone because the water level of the lake is high during the rainy season. While watching the vanished bank under the dark clouds, I saw many seagulls taking off and landing on the lake, I feel it is lively here.

We changed the route at the end of the lakeside trail and walked to the water playground, which has been renamed CaliBunga Waterpark after switching owners in 2024. The parking lot there is also empty because it is closed in the winter. My daughter still remembers the happy times she and her brother went to the Ranging Waters, used to be called. She said that she will take Ben back to visit the old place in the near future because children love to play in the water.

It took less than an hour to walk a large circle in the park, we felt very relaxed and not tired. On the way to the parking lot, I asked my daughter to take a few photos for me.

The photo captured the cloudy sky on Sunday morning, the empty parking lot, my joy after a walk, K’s beige double-layer buttons windbreaker, and the pink scarf I knitted for my daughter when she was in middle school. This scarf has been with me from California to Massachusetts, and from Massachusetts back to California. The color and texture remain the same, and the memories are clear. It is a souvenir with manyfamily stories.

On rainy days, staying at home is a good time for replaying the fun of walking and chatting with my daughter and the thoughts triggered by it! At age 60, I pray for family harmony and purposeful unity.

Little Episodes

In September 2023, I spent a day at Lake Cunningham Park and watched the sunset before going home, and I started to like this park, and wrote a story。

In March 2021, it was still winter at Walden Pond, we walked on a downhill trail covered with ice, though it was very difficult to walk there, we still finished walking a circle around the pond, and here is the story.

In December 2020, I went for a walk at the snow covered Walden Pond, the peaceful scenery led me to enjoy the rich sounds of nature more story.

In September 2020, we went for a morning walk at Walden Pond, which was full with the COVID-19 pandemic atmosphere. Here is the story.

Today is Labor Day and the whole country is on holiday，as am I. At home, watching grey green leaves of lavender, using one hand to gently rub them to collect the incense on my hand, and smelling my hand with the calming lavender incense relaxed my mind and I started to think about trivial things in heaven and on earth.

I found it was very relaxing and pleasant to flow in the long memory stream of my late parents, as I recalled the stories and love they left behind without any substantial duties.

After retiring, my mother and father had very different hobbies: my father liked reading and writing, and my mother liked watching TV. As I saw her watching TV so often, I chatted with my daughter about this many times: “Your grandmother didn’t like reading after retirement, but liked watching TV.” After hearing this enough times, my daughter said: “Could grandma’s Alzheimer’s disease be related to her lifestyle of not reading after retirement?” I said: “We hadn’t heard of Alzheimer’s disease at that time (mid-1980s).”

The first time I heard about Alzheimer’s disease was in the United States in the early 1990′s. When I read that excessive aluminum intake may lead to Alzheimer’s disease and that using aluminum cookware daily brings aluminum into food, I thought of my parents at home using aluminum pots to steam rice, boil water, and cook soup, so I wrote a letter to tell them to get rid of the aluminum pots and basins in order to prevent Alzheimer’s disease. Then my brother wrote back: “Your letter worked, as Mom and Dad finally get rid of all the aluminum cookwares now, although we have said it many times earlier without success.” I think that this is an example of elderly and stubborn parents who are more likely to accept the same suggestion from different children. Actually, I am also more likely to accept the same suggestion when it comes from both my daughter and my son, which is why sometimes my daughter asks her younger brother to chat with me about things on the side. I fell lucky to have two children!

After my mother retired, she not only liked watching TV but also liked learning health related new knowledge. However, there were no such books for sale in Xinhua Bookstore in my hometown Zigong, and the library was not open to the public there. My mother learned bits and pieces of knowledge from the newspapers she subscribed to. She cut out health-related articles and collected them into a book to review and share. After I started graduate school in the United States, my mother attached a newspaper clipping about eye exercise in a letter from home and wrote: “You will use your eyes a lots in your studies now, so you need to pay attention to protecting your eyes. I am sending this article about simple eye exercises. You can try it out.” My habit of rolling my eyeballs in the morning and evening came from that small newspaper clipping, because it carried my mother’s thoughtful love from afar.

Later, when I heard that a neighbor was experiencing Ocular Hypertension, I also recommended the same rolling eyes exercises, which didn’t work, because simple preventive exercises need to be practiced over time to take effect. After my son went to college, he spent longer hours on the computer, and he sometimes said that his eyes were tired. I told him to take a break from the computer screen every hour to rest his eyes and to look far and green leaves outside; I also told him to spend one or two minutes every morning and evening to roll his eyeballs, which can strengthen the muscles around the eyes over time. Passing on the healthy tips my mother taught me is the joy of having children.

My daughter reminded me a few weeks ago: “You should pay attention to oral hygiene and avoid having bad breath like grandma used to.” My daughter’s care for my oral hygiene reminded me of my caring for my mother’s bad breath many years ago. After graduating from college started my first job as a high school teacher in middle 1980′s, I bought a bottle of mouthwash for my mother to help with her bad breath. My mother said that she felt the water was burning in her mouth, but it didn’t help her bad breath. The caring of mother’s oral hygiene in two generations of daughters in my family also shows the joy of having children.

Labor Day is a day to labor, I labored in thinking that the joy of having children is a way of conveying the love in heaven and on earth, which made the world lovely and lovable.

Sarah is a nanny who comes to take care of my two grandchildren once a week. My grandson Ben often says: “Sarah Ayi” because he likes her very much.

Last week, Sarah gave us a cake she baked. While greeting each other in the kitchen and dining room area, she pointed at the cake and said to me: “This cake goes well with coffee.” I looked at the dark brown juicy cake with a mouth full of saliva and said: “I am currently intermittent fasting and I will have my first meal at 11 o’clock.” When Sarah heard this, she happily replied: “I am also intermittent fasting.”

I was curious about her fast, so I sat with her on the couch in the living room and chatted for a while when my grandchildren were taking their afternoon naps. I told Sarah: “I started intermittent fasting in the summer of 2021 during COVID. I fasted for 16 hours a day and only ate two meals.” Sarah said: “I started intermittent fasting at the beginning of this year and I only ate one meal.” It sounds like that that Sarah’s fasting is more challenging than mine, as eating only one meal a day is harder than eating two meals a day. Sarah asked me: “How many days do you fast every week?” I smiled and said: “Five days of fasting and two days of cheating.” She also smiled and said: “I also cheat for two days. I haven’t eaten rice since February 14th, I have to wait until March 28th to eat rice.” I said, “Wow, I like rice very much, but I used to have no rice at dinner. After I started intermittent fasting, I ate rice every night.It has been almost three years and my body weight is very stable. ” Sarah said that she also likes rice. Sarah told me that she was once keen on boxing, but after her waist injury, her doctor advised her to stop boxing. She said: “Practicing boxing helped me lose more than 20 pounds. Look, I purposely wearing the same clothes to take photos before and after practicing boxing.” I looked at her obviously slim figure after practicing boxing in the photo and said wholeheartedly: “You are so capable! I can only walk and jog.” Sarah said: “We have to take good care of our health so we don’t burden our children.” I nodded in agreement at her thought about others.

Sarah pays great attention to protect her skin from the sunlight, by wearing a wide sun hat every time she takes my grandchildren out. This always reminds me of WL, who also liked to wear a similar sun hat, a memory of almost 20 years ago when my son and her son attended the same class at Greystone Elementary School in Almaden Valley San Jose. Sarah, who is already 40 years old, looks like she is only 30 years old,

She said that since their children are grown up, she and her husband can go hiking every weekend, and they often go on dates. She joked: “The relationship between husband and wife needs to be nourished as well.” She showed me a video of her singing for her daughter at her 18th birthday celebration party. She told me: “I sang the song that I have sung to her since she was a baby.” I said, “You have a beautiful voice. Did you practice singing before?” She said, “No, I just like singing.” I smiled and said, “I like to listen to people sing.” I saw the scene in the video where she wiped her tears at the end of singing and thought she has a soft heart. I said: “Look at the video, I see you held a big birthday celebration party for your daughter!” She said: “Yes, it was held at a club near our home. The 18th birthday of a Filipino girl is very important.” Her explanation reminded me of girls’ 16th birthday is called “Sweet Sixteen” in the United State, a custom I heard and saw in Massachusetts a few years ago.

I showed Sarah a photo of Kara, our cat in Waltham, and she said she had a cat in the Philippines, even though she was allergic to both cats and dogs. She also showed me some photos of a small weekend project that she was very proud of. She repainted a worn-out wooden chair given by a neighbor，made it into a brand new chair, and placed it in her beautiful garden. I felt the chair is a great addition to her garden, as I enjoyed sitting on chairs in gardens. She enjoys gardening, cooking, baking creatively, and selling homemade Filipino food sometimes.

I told her I am retired and like writing short stories. I showed her my “Puddle of Gold” homepage and told her: “This website was built for me by my daughter. The header image was taken by me, a photo of a mother taking pictures of her daughter among the blooming yellow flowers outside of Filoli Garden.” Because this was the first time she heard of Filoli, Sarah quickly searched for this garden online using her iPad in her hand. I told her: “This garden is beautiful in spring. Earlier this year, the meeting between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Biden was held in Filoli’s hall.” I was very happy to tell another flower lover about my favorite garden.

After chatting, I really liked Sarah, who is considerate, has many hobbies and is capable, so I asked her if I could write a story about her. She happily agreed, and we even took a photo to be included in this story.

Little Episodes

（The photos from left to right, top to bottom: the cake Sarah gave us, the desk where I drank coffee and ate the cake, and the grass in front of the Waltham house grew in late March. A photo of Sarah and me. In late March, the small white flowers in Waltham and the colorful spring flowers in San Jose.）

Related Stories

In July 2021, I felt very good after 50 days of intermittent fasting. I wrote a story to commemorate my mother who paid great attention to eating well and staying health throughout her life.

December 21，at home

On the evening of December 21, 2023, my daughter invited Grace and Lou for dinner as they were going out for Christmas. I feel very happy to host the friends we made in Massachusetts at our home in California.

While I was cooking fish, shrimps, and rice noodles for dinner (Grace likes seafood, Lou likes rice noodles), I thought of the good times we spent together in Waltham, Massachusetts. During 2020 COVID pandemic period, while my daughter was studying in Germany, I was alone at Waltham. Grace and Lou often stopped by our home to bring their home-made delicious dishes: stir-fried lamb, braised beef, Shandong pancakes, and Saqima, etc. also to spend time to chat with me. We climbed the Blue Mountains in Massachusetts together in the fall in 2020. My daughter later told me: “After you guys climbed the Blue Mountain together, Grace messaged me: ‘Your mother is in good health as she had no trouble at all with climbing.’ I was so happy to hear this news!”

It seems that the last time I saw Grace was in the summer, not long after my granddaughter was born. When I saw Grace this time, I felt she is even more beautiful and fashionable. She always reminds me of a good friend I used to work with.

During dinner, we congratulated Grace on passing her Ph.D. comprehensive exams and Lou on switching his companies.

After dinner, I gave a box of wedding candies that I had just brought back from my son and daughter-in-law’s Flower Moon Celebration in Beijing. Graces took the box and praised its festive color and beautiful design, then opened the box and poured the wedding candies on the dining table. She pointed to the pretty wedding candies and said: “Oh, many of the candies are my favorites in the past.” She and Lou then each picked out their favorite candies to eat.

Seeing Grace happily talking and soaking the wedding candy inside her mouth, I asked her: “Do you think the Egyptian pyramids are really pre-historical?” My daughter immediately asked me: “Why are you asking this question?” I said: “Recently, I watched some short video blogs that were shared by friends who travel very often and I saw the videos showed evidence that the pyramids were built with cement and said they were built by later generations. I want to know whether this statement is reliable.” Grace said: “That statement is not reliable. I am sure that the Egyptian pyramids have a very long history!” Because Grace is a doctoral student who is currently working on her Ph.D. essay on the 3000 BC Akkadian at JHU (the abbreviation for Johns Hopkins University), I believed her words and said: “Thank you for the expert’s words!” She smiled and said again: “Aunt Jing, our JHU History Department has two professors who specialize in the history of ancient Egypt. If you have more questions, I can ask the professors to answer them for you.” I quickly said: “I have no questions, I just want to know that the Egyptian pyramids are worth a visit, because I want to see them. “Then, I turned around and told my daughter: “After I came back from Peru, you asked me where I want to go next year. Now I have the answer: I want to see the pyramids of Egypt next year.”

My trips in November to Peru to see Machu Picchu and in December to Beijing to attend my daughter-in-law and son’s Flower Moon Celebration enlightened tonight’s gathering and I felt that the joy of traveling was lingering in the air.

While traveling in Peru in my free time, I came up with a despondent desire to see the pyramids of Egypt. After looking through the photos I took in Peru, I realized that it was on November 21st, exactly a month ago. There is also a story about that day.

November 21st，in Peru

Today is the first day after our tour group visited Machu Picchu, one of the “New Seven Wonders”. The tour guide took us to a farmhouse in Pisaq to make and eat local, empanadas (Spanish pies). I still remember the lady boss of the farmhouse proudly introducing herself: “I am a descendant of the King who built Machu Picchu more than 400 years ago.”

Because this was a group activity with plenty of alone time, the tour guide suggested that we form a two-people team to make empanadas and take photos of each other. I teamed up with Vaida, an Indian girl who is a sophomore in Texas. While waiting for the empanadas dough, we chatted. I told her that my daughter had also traveled alone in a tour group when she was a college student at University College of London in London. She said she is the only child in her family, she will go back to see her parents in India before Christmas, and she loves traveling. I asked her: “Where is a place worth visiting in India?” She said: “Taj Mahal.” I was not familiar with the name, so I asked her curiously: “India has a long history of Buddhism. Is this a natural scenery or a historical building?” She was surprised to hear my question, she opened her phone and found the photos of Taj Mahal and showed them to me. As soon as I saw the photo, I said quickly: “Oh, I know this place! After Diana and Charles had marital problems, she went there to take the famous photo.” Vaida frowned and seemed deflated. It was obvious that she was not satisfied with my interpretation. I looked at the innocent expression on her face and laughed quietly. I guessed she might be thinking to herself: “How could Jean so keen on gossip?” She said that she had been there with her parents a few years ago, and it is also one of the “New Seven Wonders”.

We lost our two-people team concept once we gathered around a big table and started kneading the dough to make our own empanadas, and I made two empanadas with different fillings. Because the empanadas we make will be placed on a large baking pan and put into the fire stove.， we also used dough stick to shape the first letters of our names to patch on the empanadas for easy identification so we could eat our own empanadas. I felt my empanadas were so tasty, because I made them myself.

As tonight had no group dinner and I felt altitude sickness, I stayed in my room after checking into the hotel in Cuzco to learn about India’s Taj Mahal and related information online. The “New Seven Wonders” were introduced in 2007, including
1. Great Wall of China
2. Colosseum in Roma, Italy
3. Taj Mahal in Agra, India
4. Chichen Itza in Yucatan, Mexico
5. the ancient city of Petra in Jordan
6. Machu Picchu in Peru
7. Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

It turns out that there is another “Seven Wonders of the Ancient World”: the Pyramid of Khufu in Egypt, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Temple of Artemis, the Statue of Olympian Zeus, and The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. Six of them have disappeared, and only the Pyramid of Khufu in Egypt remains.

I noticed that there are two wonders were built with legendaries of grand love: the first is the lost Hanging Gardens of Babylon, which was built between 604 BC and 562 BC by a King to please his beloved concubine and the second is Taj Mahal in India, which was build in 1648 in memory of a King’s beloved concubine. I guess the carrying force of this kind of legend held people’s desire for earth-shattering love. However, I have no interest in the Taj Mahal in India. I really want to see the Egyptian pyramids, a despondent desire, because I saw some videos saying that the pyramids are fake and were built by future generations with cement.

Little Episodes

1. 12-21-2023, Our dining ware, dishes, red wine, my son and daughter-in-law’s wedding candy box, wedding candy, and my granddaughter, being held by Lou, is about to be held by Grace.

2. 12-19-2023, On my first day back home from Beijing, Ben, my grandson, loved playing with his uncle and aunt’s wedding candy box, pouring out the shiny candies as toys and putting them back into the box.

3. 11-21-2023, In Pisaq, the dough for empanadas was made from seven or eight types of grains.

(The lady boss of the house wearing a black apron introduced herself: “I am a descendant of the king who built Machu Picchu more than four hundred years ago.”)

(The lady boss of the house held up the grain crops used in her empanadas one by one to show us and to explain.)

(The scene of everyone making empanadas around the big table for oneself and my two pies with the word “JS” in the rattan basket.)

Little Stories

A Story about Grace.
A Story about Lou.

In November 2023, I joined a 6-day group tour in Peru to see Machu Picchu (11-17 to 11-22) and had wonderful times：
a）The first day in South America by myself, I had a wonderful experience。
b）Unforgettable moment of chatting during Thanksgiving breakfast time in Cuzco Peru.

After living with my daughter, whenever my finger was cut by paper or while chopping vegetables, if my daughter saw it, she would ask me to wash the wound, apply Neosporin, and use a bandage, because she thought that a wound covered by a bandage would be more hygienic.

We often argue about this. I always say: “The wound will heal faster while exposed to the air.”

Because neither of us had professional knowledge, we couldn’t convince each other.

This afternoon, MK accidentally scratched two fingers while kayaking. He applied Neosporin to the scratches first then used bandages. After seeing what he did, I said to him: “Your wounds are small and they will heal easier from being exposed to the air directly.”

MK looked at me with a puzzled expression.

I added: “A wound under a bandage is moist and will be infected easier.”

MK said, “After applying Neosporin ointment, the wound is unlikely to be infected, while you need to clean the wound with water prior to applying Neosporin in the first place. The moisture is necessary for the wound to heal. ”

After hearing that moisture is good for healing, I asked, “Does the moisture help to heal the wound quickly? Will the scar be smaller or no scar at all?”

MK said, “Yes, in most cases a small wound may not leave a scar after applying Neosporin and being bandaged. Combination of Neosporin (or other antibiotics and antifungal ointment) with bandaid helps minimize scar formation.”

As I grow older, I noticed that it takes longer for my scar to fade after my wound heals. My dark scars used to disappear in less than a year, now some of them are still obvious after more than a year.

MK, a biomedical researcher with MD and PhD, added: “After washing the wound with water, the combination of anti-bacterial and anti fungal ointment and band aid helps minimize scar formation.” is a timely and valuable health tip for me.

Knowledge is power.

Little Episodes

Unforgettable from what I saw and heard while kayaking on Sunday:

A mother took her school-age daughter and son to kayak. In their two-seat kayak boat, her daughter sat in the front, the mother sat in the back, and her son sat on her lap.

Two ladies were sitting and chatting with each other on their individual kayaks, which were close to each other in the middle of the Charles River.

Two ugly ducklings (fluffy gray baby swans) are with their parents.

On Thursday morning, June 2, the air in the rain was very fresh. After thinking of the fragrant hanxiao (sweetbay magnolia flowers), I jogged two miles from home to see the flowers. Standing in front of the blooming sweetbay magnolia in the drizzle, although my sweaty wet body was particularly sensitive to the cold wind, I still took photos of the flowers one-by-one and smelled them one-by-one. Watching blooming sweetbay magnolia always brings back vivid memories of my late mother to enjoy the beauty and fragrance of the flowers with me. I told my mother: “The sweetbay magnolia flowers that were in full bloom last night are back in bud shape this morning. The sweetbay magnolia that was in bud on May 19th has seeds now. The fragrance of the flowers in the rain is more subtle and pure. ”

After enjoying the sweetbay magnolia with my late mother, I felt chilly in the sporadic drizzle. After jogging back home, I felt very warm. Thinking that tomorrow will be the Dragon Boat Festival and my daughter likes zongzi (rice dumpling), I took the frozen pork belly out from the freezer and thawed it in hot water. I also prepared other things, such as washing the sweet rice and then soaking it in water, washing bamboo leaves and then soaking them in cold water for later use.

In the afternoon, my daughter took her son Ben to see a performance in school for the first time, so I went along in case she could not handle the baby by herself. After the performance, there was a traffic jam in the parking lot and we couldn’t back up our car, so we walked around the school campus for a while. I didn’t wear enough clothes for a long outdoor walk and felt very cold while walking around. After coming home, I found that the pork belly had not been thawed yet. Because the pork belly needed to be cut and marinated using ginger and soy sauce for at least two hours before making rice dumpling, I had to break the frozen pork belly pieces with my bare hands and then cut the very cold pork belly into small pieces to marinate. It was unusual for me to touch frozen cold meat for such a prolonged time.

In the evening, Ben went out with his parents to meet his friend Vincent. I spent more than two hours to make rice dumpling at home, taking a cold bamboo leaf from cold water and wrapping it into a cone, putting cold water dripping sweet rice into the cone, adding a few pieces of cold marinated pork belly in the sweet rice, then wrapping close the bamboo leave cone and using string to tie it tight. My hands were touching and holding the cold bamboo leaves all the time for more than two hours, which made my body feel very cold at the end.

In the morning of Friday, June 3, I had a stuffy nose, hoarse voice, and sore throat, all obvious cold symptoms. I took my temperature and saw no fever. The COVID-19 pandemic situation of more than two years has trained me well, I immediately did an antigen home test, the second test in my life. I was happy to see the test result was negative.

I stayed in bed on Friday and Saturday. Lying in bed, I felt pain from every breath I took: my lungs seemed motionless and could not take in air and my nasal cavity seemed to be pricked by thousands of small needles when I inhaled the air. Lying in bed, I also felt aches everywhere: every muscle on my face was in pain, all the muscles in my body were also hurting, and I had a bad headache, like my head would blow up. The pain of the common cold had made me doubt life when I was alone in the empty nest period in the past. I remember that after climbing up to the bedroom on the second floor and falling on the bed, I felt so desolate, painful and hopeless. At that time, what helped me was my dream: don’t let my parents worry about me and be ready to help my children. Today, I have no concern about my late parents’ worries about me at all, but it is more practical to be able to help my children. My mind is set to recover quickly so I can help take care of my little grandson, Ben.

On Sunday, the third day after I caught a cold, I got up and went for a walk at Walden Pond in the afternoon.

On Monday, I was basically fully recovered and ready to take care of my grandson Ben.

Little Episodes

1. 04-21-2022, First antigen test in Germany:

In the morning, as a taxi driver and a companion, I visited the hospital in downtown Boston.

As the depression and anxiety after the pandemic for more than a year became more common, I saw the small skills to maintain mental health are shown from time-to-time on all the rolling screens in the waiting room, such as “taking a new road to work to stimulate attention and activate brain cells.”, “remember to share your small achievements with friends and family.” , “have a small goal that can be achieved every day.”, and “keep a small book of positive thoughts or quotes to reflect on before your day begins.” I liked these tips very much.

Later, I searched online and found more expert’s talk on “tips for maintaining mental health”: stick to some achievable small goals every day, such as:
1. Staying outdoor 30 minutes a day.
2. Be a better listener by putting your feet into others’ shoes.
3. Willing to be known.
4. Be a better chatter.
5. Be friendly.
6. Be connected to people in different networking.
7. Volunteer regularly.
8. Save time to relax.
9. Wake up early.
10. Learn one new thing.
11. Learn a phrase of a foreign language.
12. Avoid becoming anxious by social media.
14. Write down key events in daily life.

Little Episodes

11-11-2021, one of the rolling screens in the waiting room:

“Mental Wellness Tip: Keep a small book of positive thoughts or quotes to reflect on before your day begins.”

Today’s Experience in the Hospital (2021)

06-09-2022, Thursday, Heavy rain in the morning

I rarely get sick and being sick usually means I caught a bad cold which is very serious. I remember in the past the lonely suffering experience of a bad cold for a few days always made me very sad and sometimes even depressed. My daughter explained: “Your sadness is related to the fact that you don’t often get sick and you have a weak tolerance for the feeling of being sick.” I doubt it.

I caught a very bad cold last Thursday, I stayed in bed on Friday and Saturday. Lying in bed, I felt pain from every breath I took: my lungs seemed motionless and could not take into air and my nasal cavity seemed to be pricked by thousands of small needles when I inhaled the air. Lying in bed, I also felt aches everywhere: every muscle on my face was in pain, the muscles all over my body were also hurting, and I had a bad headache, like my head would blowup. Sadly, In the United States, there are no prescription drugs for common colds, but only over-the-counter medicine. I have always been very cautious about taking any non-prescribed medicine. Although I always experienced several symptoms during my common cold, I did not quite understand which kind of medicine can deal with which kind of my symptoms, so “drinking more water and sleeping more is the best way to deal with a cold” is what I follow, plus my own personal remedies: alcohol marinated garlic and honey marinated lemon.

On Friday, apart from my stuffy nose and rough voice, I felt my sore throat was the most uncomfortable. MK suggested: “Ibuprofen can relieve sore throat.” This was the first time I heard that ibuprofen can reduce throat pain caused by a common cold, so I took a 200mg ibuprofen and felt my throat didn’t bother me quickly. On Saturday, I chatted with my son and Zelene about my coughing. Zelene suggested: “Take some vitamin C and rest.” So I started to take vitamin C.

On Saturday night, my daughter asked me with concern: “How many pills of ibuprofen have you taken?”

I said: “I took four pills for my sore throat.”

My daughter said: “If you don’t have a fever but take ibuprofen, it may not help to cure your fever in the future.” I didn’t think of this, so I stopped taking ibuprofen after the fourth pill of 200mg ibuprofen for this common cold.

Later I asked MK: “I take ibuprofen for my sore throat. If I eat too much ibuprofen just for a sore throat, will ibuprofen not help to reduce my fever in the future?”

MK said, “I don’t think so. How much ibuprofen did you take?”

I said, “I took four of them for this cold.”

MK said: “Increasing the dose can more quickly alleviate the discomfort caused by a cold. Taking no more than 8 pills of ibuprofen 200mg a day is fine.” After a pause, MK added: “Considering that inflammation itself is one of the ways for the human immune system to deal with the virus, ibuprofen may weaken the function of the human immune system, but there seems to be no research data on this.”

I stay in bed on Friday and Saturday. I used a whole box of tissues every night because of my runny nose and coughing sputum. I always ate my personal remedies: alcohol marinated garlic and honey marinated lemon, in addition, I took vitamin C and over-the-counter cold medicine ibuprofen. I felt that I recovered fast this time, as on Sunday, the third day of my cold, I was able to walk around Walden Pond.

After living in the United States for more than 30 years, I finally get a sense of the over-the-counter cold medicine. Endless learning is a joyful and fulfill journey

prescribed vs over-counter medicine

I found online: “non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen are more effective than acetaminophen at relieving throat pain. Start at a low dose: 200 mg to 400 mg of ibuprofen every 6 to 8 hours. In studies, ibuprofen was found to reduce acute sore throat pain by 32% to 80% in as quickly as 2 to 4 hours.” “Acetaminophen, rather than ibuprofen, should be your first choice if you have a history of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), ulcers, or kidney disease. In studies, 1000 mg of acetaminophen reduced acute sore throat pain by approximately 50% after 3 hours. Remember: Try not to go above 4000 mg a day, as too much acetaminophen can be toxic to the liver.”

feel cold, catching cold, viruses

I always thought I got a common cold because I didn’t wear enough clothes. MK explained: “Regarding common cold, common cold is virus infection. So, the proliferation of virus in the body causes the common cold. Feeling cold is a factor that is associated with increased risk of getting a common cold.”

Knowing of my suffering from a common cold, my walking buddy for many years commented: “We are surrounded by viruses. When we are tired and weak, the viruses can easily take advantage of our weakness. Wearing clothes according to the weather is important.” MK then added: “Although we are surrounded by many viruses, only a portion of viruses are contagious. Another important key is exposure to a contagious virus. Of course, keeping warm is very important.” I found on WebMD: “There are more than 200 viruses that can give you a cold. The most common is rhinovirus, which accounts for 50%-80% of common colds. Antibiotics don’t work against viruses (only bacteria). Using them to treat a cold not only doesn’t help but they may cause side effects. Medically Reviewed by Minesh Khatri, MD on March 18, 2021.”

Last night, Ben, my grandson who was born in the lunar year of the cow, met his friend Vincent who was born in the lunar year of the tiger, for the second time. This time they met in our house while the last time they met in Vincent’s house.

Vincent’s parents (M and B) came from Munich, Germany. Because they were interested in Chinese food, I prepared Sichuan home dishes, such as double cooked pork belly, stir cooked Chinese green beans (flat and wide), Chinese lettuce, fried homemade wonton and steamed eggplant with cold sauce. Alex also made Middle Eastern roast lamb rack for the adults.

Vincent, who was less than three months old, was very picky about food. His parents brought his dinner from home, they also brought us fresh flowers and German chocolate rabbit.

My daughter takes care about the guests at our dinner table, so she usually arranges the seats for us. Last night, I sat at one end of the table. Ben and Vincent were at the other end of the table, sitting in their respective rocking chair and high chair. Vincent’s parents sat on my right, and Alex and my daughter sat on my left.

Serving Germans with Chinese food and thinking of their habit of drinking beer, Alex recommended a typical Chinese sorghum liquor, which contains more than 50 percent of alcohol, to M. After listening to Alex’s introduction, M happily accepted: “Well, I will take it, as I never tried such a high concentration of Chinese wine.”

Both mothers were breast-feeding, so Alex only poured the Chinese liquor for M, me and himself.

We chatted while eating and drinking. M said that he works from home and he works for a company that is based in Germany. He starts work 6 hours earlier than the people on the East Coast of the United States.

Both M and B liked the very spicy double cooked pork belly and cold sauce steamed eggplant. They also praised Alex’s lamb rack for its tenderness and deliciousness.

I noticed that M hadn’t touched his liquor and I told him: “If you can’t drink liquor, please don’t drink it.”

M replied: “I can drink it, but I don’t want to drink such strong liquor on an empty stomach.”

I praised him: “If you don’t drink on an empty stomach, then you have good eating habits!”

M said: “I used to be overweight, so now I pay attention to my eating habits.”

Looking at the tall and slender M, I couldn’t help but ask: “You are in such good shape. Have you ever been overweight?”

M smiled and said, “Yes, I was overweight in Germany. I lost weight after practicing intermittent fasting a few years ago.”

I immediately said, “I’ve been practicing intermittent fasting for more than a year now. I eat twice a day and don’t eat for 16 hours. I feel very good too!”

M said: “I only have one meal in the evening every day, so I can’t drink liquor with an empty stomach for an entire day.” I agree that it will be hard for an empty stomach to take a liquor that contains more than 50 percent of alcohol.

I asked M curiously: “You only have one meal at night every day. How do you maintain your energy level while working during the day?”

M said: “Drinking coffee and water during the day.”

After eating some dishes, M tasted the sorghum liquor. He said that he tasted a unique strong flavor and took a photo of the liquor bottle with great interest. So Alex poured him a second glass of the sorghum liquor.

Later I asked M: “Could I write a story about your intermittent fasting of one meal a day at dinner time?”

M said, “of course.”

I asked for more: “You’re so handsome. Could I use your photos in this story?” As soon as M heard this, he held up his glass of liquor and smiled at me. I quickly took a photo of the handsome and happy M for later use.

After dinner, the new parents were engaged in exchanging tips on how to calm their babies. M said that taking an airplane calms Vincent. He immediately picked up Ben and demonstrated what “taking an airplane” means: while holding Ben’s chest and belly in one hand and holding Ben’s neck vertically in the other hand, he moved his hands up and down and used his mouth to imitate the sound of an aircraft engine. Ben seemed to enjoy “flying” very much. In fact, while looking at Ben, I enjoyed the ride too.

More stories about intermittent fasting from my other friends: On 07-17-2021, Miss Bingbing said, “I have been on intermittent fasting for more than half a year. My lunch at 11:30 AM is a big meal and my dinner has less starch at 7 PM. I still feel sleepy after my lunch.”  2021-08-25, Clay, a friend I met during Wednesday’s Pokemon Go raid hour, said he has been on intermittent fasting for more than a year. I also learnt that he had tried the “keto diet” before, but as a “keto diet” for six consecutive weeks might cause a heart stroke, he switched from the “keto diet” to “intermittent fasting”. His first meal is at 11:00 AM and his second meal is at 7:00 PM. He also told me: “Within a week, if you are on ‘intermittent fasting’ for five days and cheated for the other two days by eating freely, ‘intermittent fasting’ will still keep its effect.” 

Little Episodes

The very handsome M holding Chinese liquor happily.

While holding Ben, M is demonstrating “flying an airplane”, a game both Vincent and Ben enjoy.

Ben and Vincent were at the other end of the table, sitting in their respective rocking chair and high chair.

Last night’s dishes.