100 Days in China - Day 109

How much fun was the cat cafe?! Bad cocktails and good cats. And a lot of hand sanitiser.

100 Days in China - Day 605

Before and after....the highs and lows of dating:

100 Days in China - Day 623

Social & Co is our home away from home in Guangzhou city. A place of good cocktails, great music, fresh food, friendly faces and fun times. We are lucky to have it. 

Day 623 in China coincides with their 3rd birthday and my favourite cocktail ' The First Wife' inspired this little painting. Happy Birthday!

100 and something days in China - Day 308

I'm guessing on the day here....but it was about at the 8 week mark, then working forwards to when you were born and backwards to when I arrived...

Either way it was exciting news to receive in the coffee line of espresso to go.

100 and something days in China - Day 595

Getting back on the 300 100 days in China bandwagon, where I am painting 300 100 pieces that capture my time here...I don't think that was the original intention but that's what it's morphed into now. Clearly there's a bit of a lag and while we are yet to get to that one per day countdown (some of us have been here before and it ain't pretty) I've chosen to be a bit more realistic about it and slashed the number by a third.

Day 595 broke my moping around drought. It's a painting for a friends birthday following a fun night our at karaoke. I literally shook it off. Thanks to Taylor and everyone else.

300 and something days in China - Day 276

Day 276, a painting for a birthday that ends up a little dark. I'm not sure where that all came from... the words now obscured by paint and collage, I can still make some out: now, heart, always, forever. Like a  bad greeting card.

Somehow when all the words were together in formation, they seemed much sadder behind that heart, probably because I can't remember some of the words that are now missing. But I remember the story and it's not really mine to tell. 

I tried to make it lighter and cut all the words up. I put them upside down and even hid some - with a dash of pink to provide the illusion of fun. 

It helped a little, though it's still sad to me.

300 and something days in China - Day 196

Day 196, a surprise package arrives. It's full of delicious, fresh roasted coffee from Canberra, and makes my apartment smell amazing. And while I was thinking about how lucky I am to have pretty awesome friends, I remembered that when I was little I had a Holly Hobby book of friendship.  This book had lots of great quotes defining friendship and I remember they started with "friendship is....".

And so I thought, friendship is letting someone drink your Lonsdale Street Roasters coffee when you are living 7509 kilometres away from  Lonsdale Street Roasters...and then in return they courier replacement coffee all the way to China. 

It's a pretty good (albeit a bit long) definition of friendship.

300 and something days in China - Day 192

Day 192, Guangzhou - Zhujiang New Town. Listening to David Bowie amongst the neon lights. Modern love walks beside me. Modern love walks on by.

300 and something days in China - Day 78

Day 78, Causeway Bay in Hong Kong (19 September, 2015).