12 - The feast goes on...family, family

Mr. Han said to Bob -- your family and my family! / I brought family pictures to show people, such as of my Mom, Anne Lane, and her sister, Bob's grandmother, Margaret (Peg) Drake (with their sister, Pauline, in the middle, below, in 1977). Mr. Han said: "In China, you would be Bob's auntie." "In Poland, too," Jola said.

I told Mr. Han how Bob's parents, Bob and Evelyn Drake, here in 2003, took care of my Mother in her old age when my brother and I did not live in Milwaukee. Mr. Han was practicing his English and it got better and better as we toured and had meals together. He translated for all the Chinese-speakers: "Bob's mother and father took care of Connie's mother." The Chinese understand well the honor of "taking care of" -- for which we are very grateful.

At Bob's brother John and his wife Kari's wedding in 1977, below, the aunts and uncles: Mom (Anne Sanger Lane), Pauline Sanger Henning, Albert "Pope" Sanger, the grandmother of the groom, Aunt Peg Drake (Bob's grandmother), and my Dad, Jim Lane.

In 2003, Bob and Jola at his brother John and Kari Drake's place in Pewaukee for a barbeque.

...and in Australia, Melbourne, my daughter Molly visiting with my brother Pat and my sister-in-spirit Pam, and on the right, their kids Elizabeth, Geoff, and Kevin.

In Nandaihe in July, Bob tries the Polish sausage with chopsticks -- the picture is proof for Jola's mother -- as Big Mr. Han urges us to have more delicacies.

Chopsticks give Polish sausage extra zip!

The Han family and me -- Han Zhan Peng, their daughter Han Xiao and Sun Ning.

As the evening waxed delightfully, the lovely young waitresses were taking photos of each other behind us with their cell phones.











And as the evening grew even more congenial, they asked if they could take pictures with us. The sweethearts!



We were toasting in Chinese...















...Polish...











...German...














and American!












Project manager Mr. Xia ("Shay"), Bob, and Jolanta.











Jola, Xiao, and Ning. Xiao, who is studying music, may come to Wisconsin.













Bob, Mr. Han, and Mr. Xia.












With Jola.