Why the puzzled look?

You know when Sean is home, stuff appears .. we now have a trifecta of solutions looking for matching problems.

Another mystery solved. Thinking the ornate Red Egg to be some marketing – packaging ploy of a Pu-erh purveyor ???


Turns out to be a: 藝術品 yì shù pǐn, work of art, from Fijian province. To each their own.

Sunday Morning tea “al fresco”

A warm, heading to hot, morning calls for outdoor dining (before it gets HOT) A pleasant 25C.

Uncovered time Capsule

My friend Terry unearthed this trophy of a time passed, a tin of tea (empty), LIPTON’S TEA.  (from his parents basement). proclaiming to be:

THE MOST DELICIOUS THE WORLD PRODUCES. Tin measures: 85 mm square by 105 mm tall. This small time capsule, contained another treasure, a hand made; Tea Infuser.   Many thx to Terry for gifting me his find.   Preliminary research dates the Tin to: 1920’s-30’s. Unfortunately, Terry’s find has no outer label of any kind.

As found on ebay:  ANTIQUE LIPTON'S TEA TIN - 1929

This is one of the TINS that were FOUND when A WALL in an OLD HOUSE was being demolished!  AMAZINGLY, the PAPER LABEL is STILL AROUND THE OUTSIDE, it is brittle, but it is VERY READABLE.  This TIN was PRODUCED IN 1929. The TOP of the lid reads "LIPTON'S TEA  THE MOST DELICIOUS THE WORLD PRODUCES".  The BOTTOM reads "LIPTON TEA PLANTER CEYLON".

 

Yixing hand made beauty

Hand crafted by an artisan:


A matching cup  signed by master: Chen XiYuan. Dated: Ding Hai, the 24th. year of the 60 year cycle: 2007

Home is the sailor, home from the sea.

Weekend at home: priceless

Back cover of a new book on tea

Hand Painted Tranquility

Exquisitely painted scenes of a by-gone era: Emperor Yong Zheng. Qing dynasty 1722-1735
圍棋 wei gi … an afternoon game of “Go”  The game progress in this set of three cups (三個茶杯)


After Go … tea
I only wish these cups were made in the reign of Yong Zheng.      13th. December, 1678 until 8th. October, 1735. At 44 years old he ascended the Imperial Dragon Throne in 1722, dying just before his 58th birthday.
Da(1) Qing(2) Yong (3)Zheng(4) Nian(5) Zhi(6)

NOTE: Chinese characters in this example are written and read in numerical order 1-6.  The calligraphy styles will vary over the centuries.
1 “Da” means GREAT, usually the first character in Qing marked pieces
2 “Qing” delineates the dynasty (Qing –Ming)
3-4 “Yong” “ Zheng” delineates in two characters the emperor’s title during his reign
5-6 “Nian” “ Zhi” delineates (5)“period / year”  (6)“make / manufacture”, normally the last two characters.

Saturday morning Tea

Early Saturday morning, another visit to Dongguan city.  The tea shop, just as the girls open.
Couple of pictures of the new line of Tea Serving Tables:


Thanks' for the tea, see you next time:  I ended up with about: 8,500 grams of tea, (close to 19lbs) and some “Stuff – teapot and cups”

Happy Birthday: 生日快樂, Sheng ri kuai le

Julia's birthday Saturday, 6/6/09.
Another mystery of the orient: birthdays are not a simple affair. Each year the celebration date follows the lunar calendar.  In 2007, June 28th, so: logically in 2009 we celebrate on 6/6.
Office celebration:



This year we had a friend from Japan in town .. nice touch presenting flowers at dinner.

我的三個朋友

wo de sange pengyou .. my three friends.

Left to Right: Betty, Julia and Rita.

Diving South Taiwan

Tim and Dawn SCUBA on Taiwan’s south coast.
One more reason for Robbie to visit Taiwan

Guangdong Province, Chao Zhou region

Chaozhou neighbors Fujian Province, about a 3 hr drive from ShenZhen, the small town of MeiLong. Fishing and fish farming dominate the area. Meilong also boasts a small ceramics industry. Many Guangdong residents visit this area for Great Seafood.
Small bays dot the coastline:

It’s a hard life, eking out a living from the sea.

Dongguan Tea Shop a year on

I have found a “backdoor” to posting blogs in Mainland .. all of the Proxy servers have problems with “posting” but most support viewing. Unfortunately this backdoor requires an expensive “Key”
My favorite tea shop in Dongguan City. Some obvious changes in this and the other tea shops nearby. Less merchandise, fewer customers, but still good tea.

Pu-Erh prices have dropped and are fairly consistent in most stores Mrs.. Yang is carrying a new line of Large Wooden Slab tables .. quality and finish is very good. 
Li Hong is much taller, a lot of growing up in a  year

Song Shan Lake a year on

A year on, new planting have filled in .. Song Shan Lake
Local development board HQ:… Across the inlet from the Hyatt.
A hot day for some gardening