Time to file Income Tax

The only good thing about Financial Depression is that we pay less tax. However, the leftover from our shrunk income may not be enough to cover our taxes.

I will take a trip back home to file my household income tax. I will use someone's account for on-line tax-filing and if enough time, blogging.

Got to cash some cashables for taxes. Next time when I come back to blog in China, I might be cashless.

Best Wishes,

June

It is the next step that matters.

The post in one of my chicken soup for mind on the side bar http://http//itrustican.blogspot.com/2009/04/take-responsibility-for-next-step.html? encourages me to introspect. I now, getting out most of the mess of life, is able of keep reminding myself of those words: Don't look back, look forward and don't complain. No blame. I am doing pretty good now.
For most of us who have the control of our own life, it is true that the next step afterwards is more important than what happened in the past. But when I think of those who are still in pain and don't have any choice...

Think of someone whose life is surrounded by so many uncontrollables. How could they look forward and take any constructive next step for their own life.
Take India for example, women born in poverty was a shame to their family and have no rights at all. If you tell them to take any next step to grab a true life that will put their life in jeopardy. I know some women would rather risk their life for freedom, but when they are married with kids, they would not do it for kids' sake. And I believe there are many more women who although live in developed or developing countries, out of their old cultures, suffered from mental abuse by their families around.

Maybe to forget and forgive is the only step they can take. And don't tell them not to cry. Crying may heal the pain.
Or maybe we should said this: if you can not change the environment, then change your mind or attitude. This might be the step to take.


Hope this won't sound too negative. Cheers!
..

Learn with Kids

Since I became a mom, I started playing and learning with my son, not just about piano and violin, but also about attitudes in life.

Kids' behaviors can be a reflection of adults. The only difference is that kids are cuter. However, if parents spoil the cute innocent faces, the cute faces may turn disgusting when they grow up.

Sunday morning, Winston woke up early and before I could spot him he was already on the couch ready to play Wii. Richy just bought some more new game disk. And whenever there were new games, Winston would soon get addictive to it. It was hard to ask him to control his mind and the time in playing Wii. My experiences told me that sticking to the rules and not yielding to his going-to-cry face work. And it became easier time after time because he seemed to understand what I said although he tried to test my limit to his insistence every time.
So Winston obeyed my words to practice piano and violin instead of playing Wii first in the morning. While practicing violin, I found him rushing and absent-minded and we had to start over the same section again. Then I asked him to take a break for a short talk. He was quiet and listening.
I asked : What were you thinking when you were playing violin?
He said: Wii.
I asked again：What are you thinking now?
He was honest and said: Wii.
So, I asked：If you keep Wii in your mind, do you have space for learning and practicing your violin?
He said: No.
I said: Let's remove Wii from your brain now.
He said: OK.
So, I acted like using my hands to get something out of his brain, and said: Now forget the Wii. You should be able to concentrate now.

He told me: Mom, I got three parts in my brain. Here is for piano, here is for violin, and the back is for Wii. You should remove Wii from the back.

That was cute. I did as he said. And we finished practicing violin perfectly and efficiently. Also, we finished the piano practice very fast. The whole practice together only took less than an hour. For a six-year old kid, I consider that is good enough. And Winston realized being concentrated could make things go smoothly.

At last I told him: You should always do what you ought to do first and do whatever you like later. So, next time what is the order of things to do on Sunday morning?

He said: Breakfast, piano and violin, Wii....

So he ran for Wii. No blame!

Richy came out from the other room and told me: The words you just said are great and should apply to yourself.

I knew he meant that I should always do housework before blogging. And it is very true. When I said it out I was reminding myself at the same time. That is the cruel part about learning with kids.

After violin, piano, and Wii, we went out to kick soccer in the park. As usual, many were flying kites in the park but the wind made it difficult to fly kites this time. Winston and Richy played soccer while I was flying the kite. I could not believe that Winston could kick the ball well. He used to kick to the unwanted direction two weeks ago. He had learned soccer from his classmates. They even "kicked" basketball at school when teachers wanted them to practice throwing balls to the basket.

Kids just learn so fast in skills and attitudes.

...

Parade

Su Zhou city government is celebrating the opening of its travel festival by inviting show groups from several countries and places.


I took Winston and Jessie's older son to watch the parade. We had waited for one hour before the parade started. The kids almost lost their patience. But after the parade, they got no complaints. For this kind of celebration, pictures are always better than words.

-------

Religious Rites are popular in some places of China.

This is a tradition in some places of China where some kids are selected for religious celebration. The "real" kids sitting on the top are wearing traditional Chinese costumes. This rite is still popular in some places. However, you can see the ones holding the high chairs are older folks. It would be hard to pass this tradition to younger generation. Soon this can only be seen in the Discovery Channel.

China's Minority Group --Harvesting.

Sunny Sunflower kids.

Africa --Barbarian Dance.

Thailand Dancing group.

Scotland Band.

French Clown and Dancing Ladies.






Brazil Semba Dance.

Hawaiian Hula Hula Dance.

Hope you enjoy the feel and fun.

Have a nice weekend!

米水的功效 A fast cure for stomach discomfort

Winston had stomach discomfort yesterday, I tried the trick in James's blog: http://liftyouup.blogspot.com/2009/04/diarrhoea.html. And it worked perfectly. I like to recommand the cure here. Since James already had an English version, I will write this in Chinese so more of my friends can know the trick. It is really easy and simple.

一个blog好友提过米水在治療肠胃上的效用，昨天我试了，颇有效的，很怀疑为什么前一阵子还有西医提到肚子不舒服不适合吃粥，不过这里提到的也不全然是粥，而是像粥的米水。其实古早以来吃粥就一直是老祖宗的养生秘方，也常用於肠胃不适。以下是个人经验，参考看吧！

米水=粥=稀饭？ 我也不知道，我个人觉得大致上是的，只差在水分的多寡而已。

首先，稀饭或粥真的很好吃，如果能加入皮蛋瘦肉就更棒了，不过如果你是肚子不舒服，先别加入任何东西吧，一杯米加上很多水（约米的二十倍吧）用煮粥的方式，作成米水，然后多喝米水就可以很快痊愈了。
这可是有医学临床实验证明的喔！研究者还是个老外医师，不过他还搞不清楚到底是米水中的何种成分有如此惊人功效。

下次肚子不舒服的时候，试看吧！我有加一点盐，很好喝。
希望你不是在晚上發生的，不然米水还真利尿，半夜厕所灯就不用关了呗！

不認错比做错事更可耻！Admitting takes courage!

看到以下的新闻，感歎许多政治人物贪污犯错，哪个不是先否认，接下来死不承认。
中廣新闻

據南韓「聯合通訊社」報導，因捲入「受賄醜聞」的盧武鉉在自己的網站上，貼上文章表示：他已無法繼續成為（支持者）追求的價值象徵。他已經沒有資格再提民主主義、進步、正義了，並請各位拋棄他。 我赞赏他认错的勇气。

According to the news, South Korea's former president Lu asked his people to take faith away from him, in a way to say sorry for his scandals.
I salute him for facing and admitting self mistakes. And I think many more dishonest politicians should learn from him.
---------------------

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace. "-----Jimi Hendrix

"Money and Corruption are ruining the land. Crooked politicians betray the working man, pocketing the profits and treating us like sheep. And we're tired of hearing promises that we know they'll never keep.” ----Ray Davies

The blinking line between bribery and showing gratitude

This morning I told Richy that I had nothing to write in my blog today and I will find time to make some potato salad so I can bring to Winston's violin class to share with the teacher. Richy said:" You are doing what you were against before." What? I am accused of committing a bribery via potato salad! Now I feel I had so much to say in the blog to clear the line between bribery and gratitude. And I hope I still got time to make my potato salad.

Yes, I hate the way parents bribe teachers just to get more attention on their kids. First of all, because I think treating every student fairly is a teacher's mission and bribery is a bad example for kids to learn. Sencond of all, I don't want to spend any penny out of our still-not-enough fortune in bribery. Since I was a kid, I have heard and seen some parents buy luxurious things such as wines or jewelry to the teachers every year until their kids graduate. I also knew some students tried to please their teachers through the similar way. But mine is totally different. I only want to share my cooking with my teacher friends. I do not like cooking that much, but if I try some new recipes, I will prepare more so I can share with others including my neighbors. Since I do not have many friends in this new place. Winston's music teachers and kindergarten teachers become my friends in a very natural way. We talked about various things often after school even for a few minutes every time. And we know we are of the same type, straightforward, sincere and in some way, naive. If I don't like them I would not share with them so often. And they enjoy being the recipients of my food experiments out of my kitchen. One time, my cookies came out too sweet and once my turnip desserts were too salty, they tried and we laughed. I never expect them to treat Winston better after I share food with them. Because they already treated every kids the same best. And that is why I like them and we become friends. Either way it is: to to show my gratitude or just to share. I am definitely sure that I do not want to bribe.
It had been difficult for me to show my gratitude to my teachers and elder friends, because I was such a shy person. But now Winston's teachers are mostly around my age so we easily became friends. We talk and joke. And whenever I got something to share or suffer with, I am not shy to let them try first. That is what friends are for.

So, never try to justify bribery by putting my just-to-share into the same category! To me that is quite an insult. And think of this, how would anyone appreciate my cooking if they are not friends or Winston?
-----
Some exercise to lose weight, others exercise to turn healthy;
Someone prays or worships god to get more fortune, others do it for peace in mind or peace in the world;
Some teach because of the pay and regular paid breaks, others teach because they enjoy teaching.
Some do research for degrees, others do research because they like to chase the unknown.
Some carry brand bags to show their status or fortune, others carry bags because they only got two hands. (--ha, I like this one.)

The acts may look similar, but the motives vary.
-- - To me, The motives matter!

To view Richy's words from a different perspective, I should take his words a compliment.
If he thinks my potato salad can bribe someone then it must taste extremely good.
Thanks, Richy. You are so DEAR!
---

Bamboo shoot Soup

Winston is at the stage of changing teeth and one of his front teeth is swinging and still hanging there. I cooked bamboo shoot and bone soup Saturday night. The bamboo shoot was hard at the bottom and tender on the top. I gave Winston the tender parts to eat and told him: You are little now so you eat the tender parts. Daddy is strong and he can chew the hard parts. But when you grow up, it is your turn to eat the hard parts. Mom and Dad will be too old to chew.
Winston tried the tender pieces and said: We will not cook bamboo soup when I grow up.
I asked: Why?
Winston: Because I don't want to eat the hard parts.
Still Wondering to feel sad or laugh, I asked：Then what would we cook for soup?
He said: Bean Curd Soup.

~Very tender and nice~


Lesson: Never expect or ask for feedback from kids.


And think of what to cook for our elders.

..

A rice in the field

It rained this Sunday. We stayed home watching one kids movie and 2009 New Year's Concert DVD conducted by Daniel Barenboim. I also spent some time to renew the layout of my blog page. It looked fine to me now. Today is a rainy day again, I decide to do some reading. I am still looking for some good books to read. Please recommend some good books to me, if you got some in mind. I like to read books about life and words of wisdom.

This morning, I opened the book which I bought months ago and I haven't got time to read it seriously yet. I found on bottom of certain pages are some words of wisdom. So inspiring on such a rainy day!

We are the leaves of one branch, the drops of one sea, and the flowers of one garden. ---Jean Batiste Henry Lacordaire

My Note:
1.Yeh, and each person is a rice in the field. This fits very much to the theme of the movie we just watched yesterday " Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!". In this movie, a big elephant Horton found a speck on a clover. And inside the speck there were millions of little mites living in a village called whoville. A fight between regonizing and denying the existence of littles lives began...
2. While we are big and observing something tiny, Maybe there is someone even bigger watching us.


Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect. ----Ralph Waldo Emerson.

My Note: I feel ashamed that I always wish for good luck. I guess "hard work" will be the cause and never mind the effect.

Some more till next time~

Kite-flying 风筝的季节

Again, Winston and I went out to the park to fly kite on this windy day. This time we used our new kite, bigger and better. No much effort, the kite was high in the sky. The wind and the quality of our new kite just made it possible for us to sit and eat on the ground while flying our kite. We only need to make little adjustment when the wind changed.

To some point, family relationship is like the string of the kite. If the string is too short, or if we are afraid to let go, the kite can never fly high. However, without the string, the kite would easily fly along with the wind without any pull and fall unrecoverable very soon, even for the best kite.

For parents, if they always keep their kids so close on sight, their kids could never reach some point high. Parents give advice when needed so their kids would not lose themselves in the turbulence of society chaos.

The same may apply to the relationship between husband and wife, between friends, and maybe between people and God.


最近的气候很适合放风筝，在Park放风筝後，回到家里，往窗外看还是一堆风筝在天上飞，好一个风筝的季节。这时候，如果不想放风筝，千萬别到公园或绿地，因为会不断有卖风筝的人走到你面前推销，直到你也放上一个风筝才罢休。

------------------------------------------------------------------
Some food and water for a picnic.


Rice ball covered with Japanese Seaweed and stuffed with crispy cucumber, nuts and dry meat inside.

Go for Kite-flying!

This kite flies so easily. I can sit, eat, and fly kite at the same time. Piece of cake!

Ex-life, This Life ? 前世今生

Someone forwarded me a PPT file illustrating the circle of ex-life and this life.

I am a believer of Gods. I respect all religions because I regard myself tiny and weak. And the believers' testimonies sound so real. I do need guidance when I get lost. However, I don't like to preach or to be preached. I like to keep the freedom on choosing what to believe, and what to read. I keep Budish books and Christian Bible on my book shelf. I checked the religious books out whenever I was in bad mood and needed guidance.
There is always new inspiration for me when I check those religious books out. Anyway, what I want to say is: whatever religion it is, as long as it cures.

I keep thinking if we treat the issue of ex-life, this life, and next life philosophically, instead of religiously, then we can be a believer without religious burden and live "this life" differently.

If we know that our family members were related in our ex-life and we may meet others in our next life, we would treat many others the same way we treat our family members. Our love to our family would not be so selfish and would be extended to others.

Environmentally, if we know this life is not the end of our life, then we would treasure more of the natural resources instead of use them as much as we can.

And, when we meet some problems repeatedly, we will try to deal and solve them instead of burying our head in the sand like an Ostrich. Because, as the ex-life theory says: the shadow of ex-life would repeat in our current life. So, if we deal with the problems , we may not need to deal with the same problems all over again in our next life.

I like to think things over sometimes. But with my tiny brain, I am not sure what I just said is right or wrong. But it does help me in some way.

*********
If death meant just leaving the stage long enough to change costume and come back as a new character...Would you slow down? Or speed up?
---by Chuck Palahniuk

你是保姆还是卧底的？

觉得部分有理、也有趣，就节取部分新闻文章Post了。


周小燕教授的话
对男生，周小燕的忠告：“生活不势利，但要讲实力。”她说，男生爱一个人要用实力来证明。“以德驾驭才华，叫高尚，以德驾驭财富，叫高贵，以德驾驭爱情，叫高级。”　

男女之间如何相处　　专家：别做“保姆”加“卧底”　　
“我对他无微不至，吃东西都要把最好的留给他，为什么感情还是出现问题？”一名女研究生问道。周小燕说，不要让爱变成男人的负担。“母性泛滥关怀过头，你就成了保姆。有几个男人会和保姆谈恋爱？”　　另一名女生说，看多了男人外遇的故事，不知道以后怎样才能管住男人。“你是去享受爱情享受婚姻的，干嘛去做卧底？”周小燕说，婚姻中要保持独立，拥有自己的精彩人生。


周小燕说，男性的心理核心是“成就与能力”，需要被感激、欣赏、肯定。
女性心理核心是“情感和关系”，需要被倾听、关怀、尊重。
所以男人和女人相处，要像父亲一样“疼”，像儿子一样“乖”；
女人对男人，要像母亲一样“护”，像女儿一样“娇”。

Farm Visit, 未来农林大世界

Winston's school had a field trip to a Farm close to Tai-hu lake (太湖）. Parents were encouraged to join the trip. It took one hour to get there. The temperature was around 27 C, a bit high for spring.
The farm was big. We saw fish both in an aquarium and in the lake. The kids had fun feeding geese, hens, turkeys, ostrich, goats, and cows. They picked tomatoes and cucumbers. The most fun for them must be grass skiing （or grass sleighing). They did not want any other activities after sleighing. So, the teachers let them sleigh longer to end the trip.

Some other activities available in this farm are boating, horse riding and fish catching. We will try them when Richy gets time for our next visit.

未来农林大世界是一个生态农场也是儿童游樂场，不以景观取勝，但其中的果园栽种与动物喂养颇富教育意义，很适合亲子旅游以及学生团体旅游。

母语外语的互譯哲学 ----Lily 家的笑话

媽咪說 : 一星期共有幾天,
Doodoo 掰起手指頭数一数: Sunday/Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday/Friday/Saturday , no school today. Today 也是 day, 共有8天

orz..........


媽咪 : Good morning, Today is Friday,
Doodoo說 : Friday - 就是"薯條 day"嗎 (French fries)? 媽咪, 你今天要買薯條給我吃喔!
媽咪 : 今天也是上直排輪的日子, 溜的太快, 就會飛起來的 "Fly -day"

散步金鸡湖（二）--湖西 West Gold Chicken Lake

午睡后，我们又去湖西溜直排轮，Richy用跑的跟在我和Winston後面，还得一路上负责照相，我们顺着湖西從北溜到南边的李公瑅，单趟就要花上40分鐘，一路上很多人在放风筝、骑双人脚踏车、踩四轮车、溜滑板，徒步和湖边休息的人最多，好一个浪漫悠闲的周日午后。

沿途我们也買了一个升级版的大风筝，当场就放了起来，新风筝很好放，一会儿就飞上天。

...

我们玩到天渐黑才回家，阿嫂我早做好不外食的打算，两三下就把秘密武器端上桌備好晚餐了，看看我的醉鸡加卤蛋冷盤，是否很上相也很美味呢？

散步金鸡湖（一）---湖之北North Lakeside Statue

上次独自去金鸡湖北边發现金鸡湖另一面的美与悠闲，于是今日Richy和 Winston也一起过去走走。中午直接在湖边的金海华餐厅吃港式饮茶，上周吃壞肚子的陰影未散，很担心食物不新鲜， 本来我坚持不外食的，可Richy一直想试试传说中的金海华，只好抱着姑且一试的心情去试。还好，食物一点也不像Local餐厅，清淡不腻，服务也很好，Richy还试了苏州有名的碧螺春茶，结果午觉一直无法入睡。

Kite 风筝

After lunch，Winston and I went out to fly kites. We saw some frogs in the waterway of the park, and one toad. Frogs were too sly to be photoed, but the toad stood still for some time so we were able to take some pictures of it. The wind was strong intermittently,instead of continuously. It was not easy to fly our kite. But we made it twice high in the sky. On the way back, Winston took pictures of many objects. If he was not in the picture, he was the one holding the camera. He even took a picture of his own shadow.

------------------------------ The ugly toad , er- er- er----------------

音樂会 Orchestra

昨晚我们去科文中心聽江苏交响乐团“春之韵律”音乐会，其中部分曲子还搭配芭蕾舞蹈，中场还有一段二胡为主乐团为辅的合奏，节目内容比一般的交响乐表演丰富。
这是我们第一次进入科文馆聆听音乐，它的场地可容纳1000多人，但感觉上不大，Richy觉得场面不够浩大。我们買的票是二楼第一排，仍觉得可以近距离看到表演者，没有人太多的压迫感，可见当初设计者的功力。

节目表演非常精彩，後半场主要是演奏埃尔加的著名交响乐作品《谜》，一个“谜”就包含了十四种变奏曲，令人震撼也印象深刻，中间没有任何停顿，令我讶异的是坐我身边的Winston從一到十四都数得出来。

最後安可了三首曲子，看完表演，不禁讓人赞叹苏州是个人文艺术荟萃的地方。

因太专心认真观赏演出，眼睛好累好酸，这类型节目如果能在白天演出就好了。

---新闻转载----

当交响“遇上”芭蕾 苏州科文中心2009交响音乐季开幕音乐会
交响乐和芭蕾舞、《蓝色多瑙河》与《天鹅湖》，将不同类别的艺术“混搭”。4月10日，苏州科技文化艺术中心2009交响音乐季开幕音乐会--“春之韵律”通过一次完美的“邂逅”，让爱好艺术的市民感受“混搭”产生的全新艺术效果。 “春之韵律”全场音乐演出由江苏省交响乐团担纲，苏州科文芭蕾舞剧院出演芭蕾舞。苏州科技文化艺术中心精心打造的专业芭蕾舞团，是中国第六个、也是江苏省唯一的专业芭蕾舞团。 江苏省交响乐团与苏州科文芭蕾舞剧院的合作是一次全新艺术尝试。演出的两个板块囊括了《蓝色多瑙河》、《胡桃夹子》、《天鹅湖》、埃尔加的著名交响乐作品《谜》等著名的音乐与舞蹈作品。担任本次演出指挥的澳籍华裔指挥家陈正哲是苏州科技文化艺术中心艺术总监，本场音乐会的下半场作品曾由他率江苏交响乐团，于去年5月在北京国家大剧院成功演出。在交响乐和芭蕾舞艺术“混搭”外，青年二胡演奏家、国家一级演员邓建栋在江苏交响乐团的协作下，独奏了《姑苏春晓》、《二泉映月》两首传世佳品。在乐队朦胧的背景衬托下，二胡利用泛音、颤、滑奏等技巧，向听众展示了一幅音韵婉转，基调惟妙的江南美景。

異曲同工 Multi-colored Flowers in one Cherry Tree

中午我吃完午饭又出外景了，前几日看到新闻提到二个颜色的樱花出现在同一株树上，没想到昨天我才發现我家後街转角处的樱花也是多色，无独有偶，在開往超市的路上又看到了一株多色花的樱树，因此今日带了相机去採集奇景。 我拍到的花很劲爆，白色的花是多数，其中夹雑桃红、粉红、龍鳳胎、 混血儿，他们可都是同根生的，是自然现象，100%非接枝的喔!

所以啊！孩子长得不像爹也不必验DNA啦！

學習

肚子咕噜了三天，现在食欲恢复了，又与瘦身无缘了。



上周，帮Winston换了小提琴老师，心情变化真大。一来是与原有的老师相处得很好而不捨也不好開口，原来的老师很有耐性也很认真，但适合初至中级学习；二来是新老师是苏州有名的大师，有点不敢相信我们Wisnton这么早就能跟大师学习了，老师也蛮喜欢Winston的。Richy消遣我这个妈第一次去上课比Winston还紧张，昨天上课，老师送了Winston一片他与钢琴老师合奏的CD，我们回家听了，可惜只有五首，意猶未竟。

雖然我没啥音乐素养，但找老师我自认可以，我观察得出老师的深度广度，还有一点就是要懂得启发与能沟通，一个当初用理解的方式去学习有成的人，不論他所遇到的学生程度高或低，必能用能被理解的方式去教学生；而一个用死背模式学习的老师也只会用同様的方法教学生，学生摸不着头绪，只能跟着死背。

從Winston老师们的教学，可以观察到他们的专业与敬业精神，他们不会表现出不可一世、高不可攀的模樣，教琴很仔细认真，非常重视基本功夫，他们认为基本功影响未来长远的发展。我很高兴能帮Winston在钢琴、小提琴方面都找到很好的老师。我觉得孩子既然有这方面的天分与兴趣，就要找对老师学好，Winston在音乐上确实有天分，我只认为小学没甚麽压力（如果有压力应是家长观念问题）应多充实课外技能，长大後才有机会做选择，未来不可知，以后的事就顺其自然了。我也相信，有我这个陪练的妈在一旁当Winston的学生扮丑搞笑，他的学习过程会是快乐没压力的。

栽培小孩若能顺着原有天赋，是顺水推舟、事半功倍。如果强迫小孩学他没兴趣也没天分的事儿，是逆水行舟且事倍功半，只会破坏亲子关系。

如果家长一味向“钱”途看齐，只会毁滅孩子的天分，我觉得很可悲。

想当初很小的时候，我看到风琴就很想弹，看到纸就想画，当时没有机会学习，现在陪着孩子练练玩玩也不错。

晕眩

去上方山那天，我们午餐晚餐分别试了两家没去过的餐厅，当时就觉得食物不是很有保障的感觉。结果我昨日整个人觉得恶心昏沉怕冷，Richy下班後帮我按摩，我吐完後觉得稍好，睡前还刮痧，半夜竟换Richy犯晕眩，无法移动，天旋地转，换我帮他按摩，今早二人都好多了。

我查了晕眩症的原因，有心血管肝或耳部原因或全身性疾病造成的，诱发原因很多，其中包含了食物或药物。一则新闻还提到食物中甲荃会造成晕眩。

现在看到食物都还觉得恶心，接下来的这个月我们应该不敢外食了。

还好那天Winston食欲不佳，我也没有强迫他吃不想吃的东西，否则大家都难受。

Visit Suzhou, 上方山

上方山国家森林公园位于石湖景区内，它和石湖山水相依，风景很美。距市中心很近，离我们住处只需花20分鐘车程就可到达，不过因为第一次驱车前往，加上路标与地图显示不清，我们去程花了40分鐘，我们顺着人多的地方去，後来在一个路口塞爆，我下车问路，交警问我：「你要去幾号公墓？」Oh, oh！跟错路了，忘了4月5日大家忙着扫墓，差点開到墓仔埔。

公园面积很大，林木覆盖率高，植物种类多达300多种，但我大多不认识。我看到的认得的至少有松、樱、梅、蘭、杏等树种。景区内有缆车可达山峰的高塔，但可能只在旺季（7-11月）開放，我们去的时候没能坐到缆车。上方山内有很多古迹古道，但我们光是赏樱看孔雀就花了一个上午，所以没力气再多作停留，留着下次再访。

不必開太久的车就能身處名山勝水，这是苏州人独有的幸福。

孔雀饼干，好吃！