SO sorry for being a negligent blogger over the past week or so...

Let me update you on what's been happening...

Last Thursday I noticed that 'Shen Yun for the performing arts' were going to be performing in San Jose the following evening... there were rave reviews and it looked like it might be good, so I booked the last 2 tickets that were available and on Friday after work, Ed and I headed for San Jose (do we know the way to San Jose?... yes we do!)

When we arrived we found ourselves submerged in an ocean of Chinese faces and language... and the show itself was a cultural experience that we will never forget... lots of short dances/recitals punctuated by an American host and Chinese hostess telling us about the 'Spiritual roots of Chinese culture' (?)...

One dance showed an idol maker who got tired of crafting idols and 'ran out of ideas' so fell asleep, but in his dream the idols came to life and encouraged him so that he woke with renewed enthusiasm for his 'sacred' work... Ed and I couldn't help but see the irony... praise God that we worship the LIVING God who has not been crafted by human hands!

We did giggle when the host said at another point "please welcome the Mongolian Chopstick Dancers"... I mean, that's a phrase we're unlikely to EVER hear again!

We left at the half way point...glad we'd done it, but having had enough!

On Saturday we got up early and cycled from our home all the way along the edge of the bay to the San Mateo bridge... absolutely beautiful. Apparently the trail goes for miles so there are options for whole-day cycle-rides in the future!

We spent the rest of the day (and most of Sunday too!) relaxing in the sunshine on our balcony... what a blessing to have our own private space in the sun in total peace and quiet. Glorious!

For Sunday lunch we met up with our 20's small group and went for 'Dim Sum' (a popular Californian lunch option - basically Chinese Tapas)... Ed and I avoided the chicken feet! It was enjoyable, but probably not something we'll be queuing up to do again!

For the last 3 Mondays I have attended a short course in the 'Homiletics' method of breaking down a passage of Scripture... a really useful tool in preparing bible studies and talks. Monday was the final session and I had been nominated by my group to give my talk to the whole room... which I did... it went really well and I received really positive critique... it has re-ignited my love of teaching the bible!

Which leads tidily onto what I did on Tuesday (!) The lovely 'Miss Erin' (she calls me 'Miss Nicci') came round with her gorgeous girls (Kelsie and Allie)... it was great to see them and Erin and I read the bible together for the first time... we've decided to work through Mark's gospel together... it was a really encouraging time. What a blessing to have found someone to read the bible with so early in our time out here!

Freeway has been active this week... we have rockorded 2 new songs which are sounding surprisingly good (given we're rockording them 'virtually' using Internet software packages)... keep an eye on the website (http://www.freewayband.co.uk/) for them... they should be on there soon!

Yesterday afternoon and today I am helping Claire (she's SUCH fun!) make a duvet cover that she has been wanting to make (but she doesn't have a sewing machine, or know how to sew!) for about a year! The task was made slightly more challenging when we realised that the piece of material she'd bought was not big enough to cover her duvet! Some quick creative thinking was needed - but I think we're going to be ok!

Last night at 20's I had a great chat with a Kyrgyzstani lady called 'Asella' who is having a tough time. We are going to meet up for lunch together next Tuesday. She has never had any contact with Christians before and so I am hoping to have the opportunity to explain a bit more about Jesus...

Ed's work is going well... it's been a busy couple of weeks but generally he is able to be home by about 6.30pm. He's enjoying the challenge of a bigger role and likes his colleagues. He has already designed a few new funky reports (i've seen them - they look good!), which are proving helpful to the teams and it all seems to be going well.

Ed moved offices this week - he used to be on the 1st floor and now he's on the 2nd floor - he prefers his new desk position because he has more space and it's lighter... also, the extra flight of stairs is a good thing to counteract the effect of all the fantastic foods EA provide in their staff canteen!

I think that pretty much brings you up to speed with what we've been up to...

We're looking forward to a 3 day weekend this weekend (for memorial day - Ed's Dad asked 'what is it a memorial for?' - we have no idea, but we're looking forward to the extra day off!)... we'll try to take some photos to include in the next blog posts!

Bundles of love...