How are you? Have you started a new week with a big smile?

This is just a short note to say Hello to you and to share something with you.

Since I wrote to you last time, in the past 8 days, except going to see the graduation ceremony of Missouri State University, I have stopped all of the teaching jobs at my apartment, focused myself on the second volume of my series books: Together with Me, Learn Chinese Culture and Language by Enjoying Paintings, Music and Poetry --translated Chinese poems into English, created music, paintings, sang in Chinese and in English, wrote articles, while to paint for the second art exhibition in the Park Central Branch Library of Springfield, MO, in the second half year of 2014.

Originally, the book writing should be done in the warm Shenzhen (it is next to Hong Kong and its temperature is as same as Hong Kong) in the winter vacation of Chinese National Academy of Arts. Since I will leave for China in March, 2014. I must catch my time to complete the job in the USA.

So, since I had my new painting board Dec 2, I have painted 5 new paintings, include one painting for my new books. Created a piece of new music for a classical Chinese poem, sang it in Chinese and in English and also completed the article about the poem.

Maybe for I worked too much, so that I have been suffering the headache for 2 days and 2 nights already, so that I had to ask my former colleagues to send some painkillers with EMS ( Express Mail Service ) from China since I had an allergy to some American painkillers.

Anyway, no matter what has happened to me, as long as I could get up, I kept painting, creating or practising music and writting articles.

The good news was: Dec 13, I bought a new 88 keys' Yamaha keyboard with 50% discount in the Christmas season. :-)

Now, with the keyboard and the painting board, I will be able to spend an efficiency time in the USA. At least, I will carry all of the paintings, music and articles for the Volume Two of my series book to go back China in two and half months.

What I have done within the past 8 days are below, you can see them via the links. I do hope to get your good comments, suggestions, help and directions.

How about you? Do you have any thing special to share in the past 8 days?

Shirley Yiping Zhang
Dec 16, 2013