I Was Never a Girl Scout

Cindy was the Girl Scout in our family, not me.  I, apparently, was the typical baby of the family who didn't have to do anything she didn't want to do. I love that role in the family and I find I cling to it.

So, Taylor, like Cindy, is a middle child. Girl Scouts is good for those middle kids. Right?

World Thinking Day

Art Badge

Beach clean-up with Dad

Woodworking badge

And, finally, there's camping in the driving rain! This smiling photo is before the rain (before we even left the house). 

Tea Time - March 2016

A little history:
According to Wikipedia, The Repulse Bay occupies the site of the former colonial-style Repulse Bay Hotel (1920-1982), which was featured in the 1955 film Love is a Many-Splendored Thing and in the 1978 film, Coming Home. 
The hotel was renowned for it's British architectural style and was owned by Hong Kong Shanghai Hotels group of the Kadoorie family. During WWII the hotel was used as a stronghold and hospital by the British forces.
Royalty and celebrities who found refuge at the hotel include writers, George Bernard Shaw and Noel Coward. Actor, Marlon Brando was a guest in the 1950s. Spain's Crown Prince Juan Carlos and Crown Princess Sofia spent their honeymoon at the hotel, while other royal guests included Prince Axel of Denmark and Prince Peter of Greece.

For the Holcombe royalty, we find the tea at The Verandah restaurant at The Repulse Bay to be a bit pricey, so we are not frequent patrons.

The Breathtaking Beauty of HK - Feb 2016

So, this is Dragon's Back, one of the most famous trails in Hong Kong. It's just beautiful, and it's very well traveled. Of course, leave it to me to get lost on this well-traveled trail. Cindy used to say I was never allowed in front of the hiking group. Smart girl.

This jewel became our alternative to Dog Beach for Hank. There's not a name to the area, except that it's in Chung Hum Kok and it's really near our house. It's also completely empty of people or dogs every time we go.

A guard near one of the construction sites told us about the trail that leads to the water. Actually, he used no words in English, but he was very smiley and pointed in the general direction of a trailhead. We're pretty good with those kinds of directions.

The housing complex in the distance (the left of Jeff's head) is ours.

The trail's a little sketchy. 

Happy Birthday Ellis - January 25

Luckily, he has two sisters who are clearly excited about birthday cakes. I'm sure he was so focused on this piece of art, he forgot all about the dull 15th birthday.

And, these just make me smile.

Flag Day - Jan 2016

We like to do our share of volunteer work around the Holcombe house, much to the exhaustion of our children.

But, this day made us feel like a real local. Actually, Ellis was involved in a Flag Day through school, but that doesn't really count because it was a bunch of international school kids doing what their teachers told them.

Claire and I were legit. Flag Day for Mother's Choice.

Here's the Wikipedia explanation of HK Flag Day:

Flag Day (Chinese: 賣旗日) in Hong Kong is a day on which public fundraising of charities takes place. Organised public fundraising in Hong Kong must be government-approved. Historically, it had been held only on a Saturday. It is currently, however, organised on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Flag-selling (Chinese: 賣旗) hours are from 7:00 in the morning to 12:30 in the afternoon on a flag day.^[1]

On a flag day, volunteers with some stock of "flags" and a bag to collect donation (money) stand on streets to raise funds from passers-by. In the past, actual small flags were handed out to people who gave money. Nowadays, people receive a little sticker, which typically bears the name and logo of the beneficiary, to place on their clothing after they donate money. Those stickers for particular use in a flag day are still called "flags", in both English and Cantonese.

So, truly, we didn't have to say one thing. We stood outside the MTR station and people walked by and placed money in the bag and then waited for Claire to put a sticker on their clothing. Everyone just knew what to do. 

No, this is not me! This is our friend, who is 18 years younger than me. 

Back tracking (again)- Piercings 2016

Claire has been waiting for earrings since she was six years old when she came home from school with a new pair of earrings she bought from a traveling group. I first thought the earrings were for me and she said, "No, I bought them for me." Really? I reminded her the rule of the house is to wait until she is 10 years old. Her reply, "I know, but I'm going to be ready."

Four years later, and not a clue to the whereabouts of that first pair of earrings, she is pierced.

So, she was clearly excited on the way to get her ears pierced, but when the rubber hit the road, she was a wreck. 

She selected her earrings, and then fear gripped her. THEN, she gripped me (in a death grip). We made it through this ordeal with our breathing exercises and a few tears. 

And, Anna - to the rescue - provided a much deserved picnic on the beach once we got home. All is well in the universe.

Bringing in the new year 2016

So, for half the group this was our first trip to Korea. Jeff goes there all the time and the girls started out there, but the boys and I were treading on new soil.

I was so excited for the girls to visit their homeland, but they only wanted to see their new friends they had made a few months before and enjoy the New Year skiing and snowboarding.