It has warmed up quite a bit in Macau and now we are in the monsoon season - the humidity is increasing and the daytime temperature is hitting 30 or more consistently. I don't find this too bad when humidity is 70% or so, but when it gets to 90% humidity it gets more uncomfortable. Pleasantly the skies have really cleared in the last few weeks and we can see clearly for many kilometres to the natural horizon. I think we can even see parts of Hong Kong from her...

We had a terrific New Year's present thanks entirely to Ruby. We now have 2 kittens in our family. When Doug and Ruby were here, Ruby had a long discussion with a shop owner who had some kittens and discovered that another person nearby had a pregnant cat who might give us a kitten later on. I left my number and a message in chinese from Ruby and lo and behold I was telephonedon Saturday and asked if I would like to come and get not one but two kittens! Well ...

Kung Hei Fat Choi - which means Happy New Year in Cantonese!! The kids are on holiday from school this week and Rich's site has been closed Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues for Chinese New Year - it is a really major holiday celebration and has been quite fascinating to be here in Macau for. The decorations are extensive - even our apartment building has lanterns and banners and messages everywhere - even on the pots of plants placed around the entrances especially for Chi...

This is soccer chinese style - the kids were in their chinese outfits for school and just kept playing in them at home with friends. The boys started a basketball skills thing after school, which seems to be quite good and with a great deal of hilarity we have organised ice skating lessons to start after chinese new year. The ice rink is very difficult to find - among a maze of tiny winding one way streets and we found it by walking and exploring last Saturday....

Having a car has made a real difference in just the 24 hours we have had it. Whilst Macau is not too big and the taxis are cheap, it is often not possible to get a taxi when you want one. The kids had got used to waiting at school as Cath was late getting a taxi. Supermarkets home deliver, but not anything cold, frozen or fresh - which just about summarises 80% of your shopping sometimes.Shopping is an education as everything is quite different, though the fruit ...