The sun is bright
The birds fly
The sky is too high
The wings too fragile
Not sighs
but hates are brought by the sunshine
How can you tell
who is dying,
who is alive?
Today or Tomorrow
Both like devil in endless night
No cry,
Or the devil leads you to another crime.
家常饼，也许翻译成home-made cake更确切。但是我之所以想做家常饼吃，却是因为怀念过去在国内的生活。
最近想家，总是想起自己一个人游荡在北京街头的情景。租的房子旁边就有一家宏状元。几乎每天傍晚，我都会路过，有时买菜，有时逛街。我最喜欢宏状元里面的手抓饼——事实上，我喜欢任何油炸食品。
我去宏状元的次数也不多，大多数情况下，我喜欢自己做饭吃。但是那情景却深深印在我的头脑里。也许这是当初外表风光、内心落寞的一个标志。
Recipe食谱:
1，适量面粉慢慢加水和盐，揉成面团。加水到大部分粉潮湿时即可。多揉一会更筋道。想做几个饼就把面团分成几份。稍饧．
Put some water salt in the flour. Roll out it untile it becomes dough with smooth surface.Devide the dough into the number of cakes that you want to make.Each cake needs dough big as a fist.Leave it for a while.
2，在面板上撒上一些干面粉，放上面团，将每个面团擀成５毫米厚的长方形．刷上香油，撒上椒盐．长边的一边开始叠抓，抓成一个长条，拉长．从两侧向中间卷，最后对叠在一起，压扁，就制成了生坯．
Dust some powder on the chopping board and put the dough on it.Roll each dough into a flat rectangle,as flat as you can.The thickness is about 5mm.Brush some sesame oil on it,and dust some pepper salt.Fold it with pleats（the more the better） along the longer side into a stick. Stretch the stick longer.Rolling from both ends,then fold the rolls together.Press it hard to a flat round.
3，锅内热油，油温低．放入生坯，炸至两面金黄．
Put some oil in the pan with low heat.Put the round dough in it. Fry it until both sids of the cake become golden.
*About life:People who rely on their fame or their position are nothing but empty shells.The real person is revealed in his work and personal life.
*About art:He(Qi Baishi)told me that the principle of art was that what you paint should be like the subject,yet not like it.When you paint plum blossom,you should concentrate on the branches:with wisteria the blossom should be profuse but not chaotic.'You must paint the inner character,the spirit the nature of the subject.When you paint a peony you need to express its serenity and splendor:for a plum blossom,it is the metallic rigidity of its trunk and branches,and for peaches their luxuriant warmth.Once you have spread out the paper,you must first plan the whole structure.Such things as lightness and heaviness and the degrees of density and sparseness should all be in your mind before you start.You are not making a photograph;with material object as your basis,you are using your brush to produce something new,formed in your imagination.This is the spirit of art.'
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
suffocate
Waste away:to lose weight, strength, or vitality
Aboard:in or into a group, association, or organization
Anesthesia
Curator
Waver
Trapping
Fray
Suture
Sag
在这边，吃不到自己喜欢的麻球。东海渔村（Mandarin Wok）的麻球，往往都快炸焦了，不够地道。昨天一时兴起，自己动手做麻球。家里有汤圆粉、澄粉以及黑白芝麻。唯一少的是馅料红豆沙，于是我就是芝麻酱加黑芝麻及一点面粉作馅料。
The sesame ball in Mandarin Wok is always over-fried. Yesterday, I decided to make it on my own. I have Glutinous rice flour, wheat flour and white sesame. But I do not have the stuff,red bean paste,yet I think peanut sauce with sugar,black sesame and a little flour will be a good substitute.
最后炸出来的麻球很不错，淡淡的金黄色，皮薄中空，芝麻酱略咸，口味正好。而且，我不用整锅油炸，而用少量油翻炒，因此命名健康小麻球。
Actually,the six sesame balls I made was quite delicious. It is light golden outside.The skin is so thin that there is quite some space between the stuff and the skin.I did not use a pot of oil to fry the balls but just use a little. Thus I call it healthy sesame ball.
Recipe:
1、将适量汤圆粉和一点澄粉混合，加入5调羹白糖（依据口味及份量可加多或加少），慢慢加入冷水搅拌。可以加一点水，然后用一根筷子搅拌一下。到大部分粉都潮湿时，改用手揉，揉成不怎么粘手的长条。
Put glutinous rice powder and a little wheat flour together. Add 5 tsp sugar in it (sugar can be added or reduced according to the amount of flour). Every time put a little water in it, and stir with chopsticks until most of the flour became dampen. Then make it into a long stick of dough by hands.
2、把长条分成几等份。每一份用手搓成一个圆球。
Divide the stick into several equal ones. Make each one into a ball by hands.
3、将芝麻酱、白糖以及一点面粉搅拌均匀。
Put sesame sauce, 2 tsp sugar and a little wheat flour together and stir. This is the stuff.
4、用筷子从圆球顶部戳个洞，不要戳穿底部，然后转动筷子，使洞变大，圆球的四壁变薄。
Dig a hole in every ball by a chopstick. Then make the hole bigger enough to put the stuff in.
5、用调羹将馅料放入洞内，封口。将圆球搓圆，粘上白芝麻。
Use a tsp to put the stuff inside the ball and close it. Let some sesame stick all over the ball.
6、锅内放少许油，小火，依次放入麻球。因为油比较少，在炸的过程中，不断翻滚麻球，每一面都炸到泛黄为止。Pour some oil in the dry pan. Turn down the fire and Put the balls in the pan. Turn the balls frequently in order to make them completely fried. When the outside of the balls become hard and bright golden, it is done.
nastygram - /nas'tee-gram/
1. A protocol packet or item of e-mail (the latter is also called a letterbomb) that takes advantage of misfeatures or security holes on the target system to do untoward things.
2. Disapproving mail, especially from a net.god, pursuant to a violation of netiquette or a complaint about failure to correct some mail- or news-transmission problem. Compare shitogram, mailbomb.
3. A status report from an unhappy, and probably picky, customer. "What did Corporate say in today's nastygram?"
4. [deprecated] An error reply by mail from a daemon; in particular, a bounce message.
Other new words:
testy menial vicarious miscue wear off
现在正在和老公一起找房子，8月的时候我们准备搬家。现在住在Urbana,也许到时候会到Champaign.
有一个house，门口就对着一个小公园，里面有几个秋千。也许是小时候没有玩够，直到现在我还是很喜欢荡秋千时那种飞起来的幸福感。在等房东回来给我们看房子的期间，我就一直在那里荡啊荡。
现在住的地方旁边也有一个很大的公园。有的晚上，和老公一起在那里打完网球，就会到轮胎式的秋千上晃荡一会。
秋千给我很多安慰。有时候，我觉得心情很糟糕，或者一天没有出门，也会溜达过去，在那里荡悠荡悠，看看灯火通明的露天网球场地，树木在黑夜里深深浅浅的绿色，和那蓝紫色的天空。有时候，松鼠和兔子们都会过来相伴。记得有一次我们打网球，两只灰兔就在围网外蹲着观看。其中一只偶尔还站起来，前肢缩在雪白的胸前，好像很high的样子。
I always love swings. When swinging, you have the feeling that you are flying. Sometimes when I feel bad, I will go to the park and swing for a long time. Nobody will disturb me. I love the tranquil evenings on the swing in the park.
The trees will cover you with variety green colors.The sky is dark, yet you can find it is purple. At that time, you will feel yourself like a tree standing firmly on the earth or a tiny animal living in this big world. What you could do is to see how time pass through,outside and in your body, and how it changed everything. Yet there will be no endings,no stops.
上周六的时候，和老公实验室的两个同学——一个是台湾同学，携了太太Grace同行，另一个是印度女孩，去了芝加哥的Outlet。所谓Outlet,就是所有品牌过季服装大打折的集中地。5月28日是美国的Memorial Day,纪念所有战亡的美国士兵——老美在这方面的做法可圈可点。因这个节日，从上个周末开始，所有地方都开始折上加折。我们在Outlet收获颇丰，连Polo的T-shirt也只需要12美金而已。
回到正题，在去Outlet半路，我们到路边一个小镇的中餐馆吃了午饭。那里的小吃很不错，我点了咸豆浆、油条及韭菜盒子，口味正宗。餐馆隔壁是一家中国超市，名叫宏缘超市。我和老公在那里找到大块的五花肉。后来在煮的时候发现这肉是去了血污的，想来在杀猪的时候放了血。这是我来美国第一次闻到猪肉煮熟后的香味，一般这里的肉都有一股Stink的味道。
当时，我们约定次日到我家分享美食。我和老公做了一桌子的菜，菜单为：
凉菜：心太软，熏蛋
主食：米饭，皮蛋瘦肉粥
热菜：梅菜扣肉，红烧鸡翅，花菜香菇汤，大虾炒茄子以及Cheese烤芦笋（这个是Grace带来的）
今天，先跟大家分享梅菜扣肉。他们都说很有Restaurant的感觉，一气就全消灭光了。
Recipe:
1、大块五花肉放进冷水里（水要没过肉），大火将水煮沸，然后小火直到肉煮熟。
Put thick pieces of streaky pork in a pot with cold water. The pork should be submersed. Cook until the pork is completely cooked.
2、将肉捞出，用餐巾纸擦掉水和油，抹上一层酱油。
Pick up the pork,and put it on some tissues to remove the water and oil. Apply soy on the surface of the pork.
3、干锅里放入油，油温到放入切好的姜丝吱吱发响为妙。将猪肉肉皮朝下放入，火调小，盖上锅盖，一直炸到肉皮微微发焦为止（那时一般会听到肉爆的声音）。
Dry the pan and put some oil in it. Put sliced ginger in it.When you hear the hiss of the ginger, put the pork in with the pork's skin side down. Turn down the fire.Put the lid on the pan. Fry until the skin is slightly burnt(at that time, you will hear some explosion sound).
4、肉拿出，放凉，然后切成10厘米长、五厘米宽的薄片，越薄越好。干菜放到炸肉的油锅里，用勺子翻几下，但这时火是灭的。
Put the pork aside until it cools down. At the same time, you can put the dried mustard in the same pan with the oil that have fried the pork. Turn off the fire and stir the mustard a little. Then slice the pork thin. Make it into 10cm and 5cm rectangle slices.
5、取一个深碗，将肉片按鱼鳞状正齐地码好，上面放上干菜。我那天做肉很多，所以分了两层，一层肉，一层薄干菜，再一层肉，然后放上剩下的所有干菜，最后高高隆起碗口。在每一层肉上洒上姜末和大蒜末。最后，加调料。在最上面洒上3调羹糖、半调羹盐，淋上一点酱油，放上一点葱花。按口味可以用筷子兜一点老干妈或者豆瓣酱，不加也没关系。
Place the slices in a big bowl in a cascade way along the bowl's side. Put some minced ginger and onion on the slices. Then put the mustard on the slices. Add 3 tsp sugar,half tsp salt, some cutted shallot and some soy in it. You can also put some sauce that you like. It is alternative.
6、最后一步是蒸。我没有蒸架（在这里没有找到合适的），就把大碗直接放到装冷水的锅里，水略低于碗口。大火将水煮开，然后小火慢慢炖，保持锅里的水一直沸腾。这样蒸上一个半或者两个小时就好了。你会看到干菜因为浸油变成明亮的深色。最后出锅时将大碗倒扣与另一碗或盘上，肉层就会圆圆地在最表面了。
Put the bowl on the steamer. Steam it for about 2 hours. Take out the bowl from the steamer,put it up side down on another plate and take the bowl away. In that way, when you eat the dish, the meat is outside and the mustard is inside.
做事情的时候应该脚踏实地，所以我画下自己的脚，看看几年以后，它是否一直都踩在那块土地上。
In China, we describe practice and diligency as "footstep on solid soil". I drew my foot. I hope my foot will always keep stepping on solid soil without slackening.
上个周日，和老公一起去芝加哥的植物园玩了一圈。原本是打算在芝加哥过一晚上，好好玩两天。但是因为种种原因，最后没有达成。
那一天是5月以来最冷的一天。我埋怨老公没有事先看一下天气预报。芝加哥是著名的风城，那一天我们一早穿着短袖出门，还有阳光。到了半路，阴云开始聚起来。幸好带了外套，但还是冻得够呛。我们先去拜访了房东Sandy和Tony，他们是台湾人，热情好客，带着我们逛了植物园。之后，我们还去吃了那附近最著名的台湾牛肉面，那汤和牛肉真是熬得有功夫。
在植物园里，我第一次亲眼看到了中国的牡丹花，开得大方、自由。我觉得这满山遍野的鲜花如果都真正盛开在自己心里，那该多好。触目都是繁华，对比自己内心更为萧条。所以回来以后，画了这样一幅画。
这是我和老公第一次真正游芝加哥，没有尽兴而归，我非常伤心。按理，这也是结婚纪念日的一次小小旅行。前一天晚上我兴奋得彻夜未眠，第二天看到了芝加哥那些著名的建筑和博物馆、美术馆，却只能擦肩而过。因此，我陷进了失望的泥潭，加上最近做家庭主妇日益觉得厌烦，心里更加失落，和老公赌气了两天。
其实，来回六个小时的车程，老公开车很辛苦，半路还歇了一下打了个盹。可是我一到了气头上，就啥都不顾了。在第二天的晚上，老公主动提议好好谈一下，不仅是这一次旅行的问题。这是结婚以来第一次这样的谈话。平时我如果生气，总喜欢一声不吭，所以老公并不非常明白我为什么生气。
这一次谈话很有意思。男人和女人是真的不一样，或者，我老公是一个尤其不懂得女人的男人。我老公总是把我想象成一个和他自己一样坚强的人，其实我不是。老公也是个实在得不行的人，举个例子，比如他要送我什么东西或我们要去某个餐馆吃饭，他首先会问我喜不喜欢。如果我回答不，那就真的啥都没有了。他的逻辑是，他都已经问过了，得到的答案就是真正的答案。而我的逻辑是，女人有时候说不，那是因为她有很多其他的原因、别的顾虑，那既是她的真实想法，又不是她的真实想法。比如这次去芝加哥，原来他就问我，如果只能待一天好吗？我说好的，但是我没有料到天气这样糟糕，而且我还没有去过Museum，而且，其实我内心里一直认为老公会安排两天，所以我兴高采烈收拾了洗漱用品和衣物。
他说如果以后要送我什么东西或安排什么节目，事先没有问我，最后我不喜欢怎么办？我告诉他，自己心爱的人送的礼物，不管是什么，没有一个女人会不喜欢。至少，女人也会喜欢男人为了这个惊喜所付出的努力。这样说到最后，我们俩都忍不住大笑。夫妻间有时这样仔细聊一聊真的很受用。
Chicago Botanic Garden is quite large and beautiful. When I was there last Sunday, I had the feeling that I was a flower-fairy.
Because this trip to Chicago, I had a quarrel with my husband Ming. I thought we would stay there for at least two days, but it turned out only one day. I could not stand up with it.It is our marriage anniversary travel. I was so furious that I did not talk to Ming for almost two days.
At last, he gave in. We had the first serious talk since marriage. Actually it is an interesting and successful one. We discovered the huge difference between man and woman. As a graduate of Bio-Chemistry, Ming is very clever,that is one reason I love him so much, but he does not know how to read women's mind,which sometimes I like, sometimes I hate. He believes when I say yes, I really mean it, but in fact I don't.
At last, we had a compromise. Next time he asks me something, I will tell him the complete answer. If he wants to give me some surprise, he does not need to ask my opinion. All men should remember this: woman will never dislike the romantics from her Mr. Right.
This is my second girl. I dressed her in Qi-pao.
Ever since I was 5 or 6 years old, I had always liked to draw beautiful women. My father used to be a carpenter, and he really has genius in it. At the sixth year of my elementary school, Papa made a long squared table and 12 chairs. He asked me to draw 12 girls on the chairs. We both knew that in A Dream of Red Mansions, the author writes the doom of 12 beautiful and talented women. It is a tragedy and the story is very popular in China. Thus I drew those 12 women.
As to Qi-pao, I love Qi-pao very much. It makes women slim and elegant.
Now in Urbana, peony is bloomed. Peony is a traditional flower in China. It means wealth which I do not like much, but also means beautiful and gentle. Peony plays an important role in tradition Chinese paintings.
I am a Chinese woman. I used to be a journalist of The Economic Observer in China. This year, I come US to accompany my husband who is a graduate here, exciting, but which also means I have to lose my job.
My former reports are here,which is still under-construction.My Chinese blog is in "Mindmeters"which is a poly-blog-website built by my former boss in the newspaper.
I am too sad about losing the job, and unfortunately I cannot find a new one in this new place. So now here I am, a full-time wife who tries to write something here. I hope I can make some friends through this blog and if there is any mistakes in the articles, welcome to point them out. I'd like to improve my English. I hope one day I can write news report in English.
