Enjoying fall in Calgary我們到卡加利了!

終於到了卡加利。經過四、五天的調適，孟田也終於恢復正常作息了！只不過好冷喔！晚上只有0度，白天大概8-15左右。每天總要塗個三、四遍的乳液。不過乾淨的空氣和美麗的秋天讓我了解到，這是正確的決定。只是得被迫離開家人，真是捨不得，只能不去想。
It's October 2007, and here we are -- back in Calgary! Though it is much cooler than Taiwan, and a bit of a shock to the system, the skies are beautifully clear and the air is fresh. It's nice to be back.
這是我們接下來至少一年要住的地方，也就是公公婆婆的房子。在我們到後一週，他們已經搬到新家。
Vivian in front of Morgan's house, where we will be staying for the next while



孟田和她的新玩具房子，是爺爺去車庫拍賣買的
Fiona enjoying her new doll's house, which grandpa picked up at a local garage sale



慢跑推車，也是爺爺去車庫拍賣買的。我們現在喜歡散步，尤其在落葉中。
Grandpa also picked up this sporty stroller! We took it out on a nice day to enjoy the fall weather and the beautiful colors of the turning leaves


Fiona's first time seeing the autumn leaves on the ground 孟田第一次看到這麼多落葉，而且可以玩。剛開始，她還不敢躺下去，看到爸爸躺下了，她才敢開始玩。
Playtime! Daddy buries Fiona under a pile of leaves


Now it's Fiona's turn to bury Daddy
So many shades of green, orange and yellow More playtime as Fiona discovers a new playground

Pretty berries linger as a tree surrenders its leaves to the changing season

雖然冬天就要來臨，但我想，最難的部分應該已經過了。就等待著家人和朋友的到訪吧！
Back at home. Fiona says: After all that playing and my remaining jet lag, it's time for a nap!

Gareth's escape to Lanyu, Orchid Island

Last Friday afternoon we got a surprise: Vivian and Fiona had a chance to go to Hokkaido, Japan. Suddenly Gareth also decided to make a little getaway. Destination: The remote Taiwanese island of Lanyu, otherwise known as Orchid Island.One has to first fly by jet to Taidong, then take one of these prop planes to go over to LanyuLanyu can be found southeast of Taiwan, about 50 km offshore from the Taiwanese mainland. First sighting of the island The old fishing harbor, now unused. I went snorkeling there on my second day
The island's lone beach bar. A nice place to sip a cold drink and chat with other travelers
Traditional Tao boats on the shore. The Tao people are not Chinese at all, but related to the Oceanic peoples from islands further to the south: Philippines, Borneo, etc.
The local diet: fish, fish and more fish. The day's catch is caught, prepared, then hung out to dry. Visitors see this scene often. Using this ancient method of preservation the fish can be stored for up to six months before eating View from the hills towards battleship rock
Getting up early for the sunrise at 5:20 am
The sun breaks over the Pacific
Enjoying the early morning view from the grassy lawn atop the main weather station
Everywhere the common sight: volcanic rocks, and goats! Sometimes together!

Back at the weather station in the afternoon for another view
Local kids paddle in the water
A closer look at one of the traditional Tao boats Some Taiwanese tourists hired this one + a guide and went out for an afternoon paddle

Mr. Lamuran, proprietor of the hostel where I stayed. If you have a chance to visit Lanyu, his hostel is definitely worthwhile. See http://lamuran.blogspot.com/

Mountain biking: Paoma and Tonghou trails

Near the end of August Gareth went on a 2-day mountain biking trip with Ken, Teri and Charles. We visited the popular Paoma and Tonghou trails, near the town Jiaoxi on Taiwan's east coast. Riding the # 9 highway from Taipei to Ilan. Since the new Snow Mountain tunnel opened up, this road is very quietWe passed by the Feitsui reservoir -- nice views hereKen, Gareth, Charles and Teri, the intrepid bikers.
Ken has also blogged about the trip, in some detail: http://blog.pixnet.net/Kaiteri/post/8354223
http://blog.pixnet.net/Kaiteri/post/8438437
(Chinese only + pictures)The top part of the Feitsui reservoir. Lots of tea farms on the hills around here...And the little tea town of Pinglin. We stopped here for some tea-flavored icecream By the time we reached the Paoma trail it was nearly dark. We stopped here to enjoy the view of the Ilan plain before descending into the town of Jiaoxi, famous for hot spring hotels and cow-tongue cakes The next morning: riding through back county roads and villages en route to the Tonghou trail
Our plan: cross the mountain range in the background of this picture

Just before the steep part of the ride uphill
After an extremely hot 2-hour climb to the top, we began the descent. We first rode along the edges of some steep grassy hills cloaked in mist. Then we had to push-carry the bikes down 3 km of hiking trail. But THEN... another several more km of excellent ridable offroad trail, all downhill. Yea! Eventually we popped out in Wulai, the aboriginal town south of Taipei. From there it was easy to make our way back to civilization and head home.

Slideshow: pictures from July and August 2007

Here's a random sampling of what we've been up to this summer: Beach parties, weddings, road trips, making music, family visits, dinner gatherings, night market outings and more. A nice way to spend this last season of ours in Taiwan :-)

當模特兒Fiona models in the mountains

孟田今天第一次當模特兒
早上9點半在天母集合上陽明山
說實在，一想到他們要在戶外拍秋天的衣服，就有一點難受
小孩子撐的住嗎？也許這也是選在陽明山的原因之一，山上真的比較涼快一些，再加上躲在樹蔭裡，還算舒服
至少孟田沒留什麼汗(她通常超會流汗的)
Recently Fiona went out on a photo shoot for a local children's clothing company, Why and 1/2.

第一套衣服。發現孟田的另一種可愛，因為平常我是不會這樣替她打扮的。
They took the kids up to Yangmingshan National Park and pretended it was winter. Fiona looks different because I don't usually dress her in this style.

第二套。靴子太大，不能走路，所以她只能站在原地。還會不看鏡頭耶！她幾乎都不怎麼笑，工作人員一直說她好酷喔！

終於笑了，聽到攝影師拼命按個不停。
Fiona was very well-behaved throughout the experience. While the other kids got tired and grumpy, she remained calm and professional.

這張看起來有沒有明星的氣質？

第三套，家居服。 還有人伺候呢！
The makeup and wardrobe assistants hover around, making sure Fiona looks right

開始有一點累了
She looked tired

最後一套，家居服。那個搭配的小孩，從頭哭到尾。最後攝影師說，就讓她背對鏡頭畫畫好了，反正衣服樣式一樣，只要看顏色就夠了。真不曉得出來的效果如何！
說真的，不是我做媽的自誇，孟田真是適合當模特兒，不吵不鬧，完全配合！第一套時，她還不知道怎麼回事，會一直回頭找我。我就跟她說，媽媽在旁邊等你，你站著不能動。後來就真的不動，而且抱她上陣前她還會說，不能動喔，好像在提醒自己！
總之，很難得的經驗，算是幫她留下一個回憶。
Here they set up some desks and a blackboard in the forest, to make a little classroom kind of feeling.

The Why and 1/2 people even made a promo video for this fall collection! Here is an excerpt with Fiona's few moments on camera