{The McLemores go to China}

{Art about Town}

The Chinese people certainly seem to love their art installations, and so do I! Here are a couple of my favorites from the past couple of months.

 

Oustide the museum for contemporary art were several exhibits. This one was my favorite. I love the subject and detail, and I could help but laugh at how acurate the depiction of the Chinese metro is!

 

every detail counts... right down to the angry birds stuffed animal in the bag!

 

This is in one of the metro stations in Suzhou. Similar to the sidwalk chalk 3D drawings I've seen on the internet, this was actually made of canvas, I think. Still pretty darn cool!

 

- Ashley

{Gingerbread Oranaments}

As my time draws to a close at work, Nancy and I have been trying to get as much done as possible together. Over the Thanksgiving weekend we made some gingerbread ornaments. I remember doing these as a kid. They are easy, fun, and smell amazing!

(simplified from a recipe from Martha Stewart. She has great recipes, she just gets so carried away with details!)

1 cup ground cinnamon

1/4 cup applesauce

Craft glue

Rolling pin

Utility knife, or cookie cutters

Baking sheet

Length of thin ribbon for each ornament

Prepare Dough

Step 1

In a medium bowl, mix together 1 cup ground cinnamon and 1/4 cup applesauce using a rubber spatula.

Step 2

Stir in 1/2 cup craft glue. Stir the dough until consistency is smooth and dry. Let stand 1 hour. Applesauce gives the dough pliability, glue makes it firm, and cinnamon imparts a lovely fragrance and a gingerbread color.

Step 3

Turn out one-quarter of dough onto a cool, flat surface; flatten with your hands.

Step 4

Flatten with a rolling pin to 1/4 inch thick. If dough becomes too dry, spritz with water. If it sticks to rolling pin or work surface, sprinkle with additional cinnamon.

Step 5

Cut out shapes with cookie cutters and set aside.

Step 6

With a straw, poke a hole in dough. Air-dry ornaments on a wire rack lined with paper towels for 24 hours, turning them over every 6 hours or so to keep them flat. Alternatively, preheat oven to 200 degrees. Transfer ornaments to a baking sheet; bake, flipping once, until dry, about 2 hours. Once dry, decorate using beads, glitter, or paint.

Enjoy!

-Ashley

{Strike a Pose}

Well, I tried out an experiment by attempting to post this through my email. So far nothing has shown up, but I'll be keeping my eye out just in case there is some ridiculous delay. This would be pretty handy and crucial if it works out because of the unpredictability of the internet in China. While I'm not overly concerned about the censorship, I do like to be prepared for things and I want to be as ready as possible for the change in culture as it applies to technology before I go because let's face it, I'm definitely a product of our era. I'm going to deeply miss social media, and it's versatility.

That being said, I got an early Christmas gift today!

That's what I'm calling it at any rate. I really wanted a new camera to help document this upcoming year. Jeff wasn't exactly as enthused as I was but he was supportive none the less ( Thank you dear!). Nancy spent the afternoon with me striking poses and giggling as I played around with the different features. She's an awfully good sport.

One month tomorrow before I head out, and I'm more excited, terrified, and overwhelmed than ever! Thank goodness for Jeff and his knack for task-managing. :)

Stay tuned!
-Ashley

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