I bought star anise yesterday.  I brought it home with a few other items I picked up at the Chinese market near my parents house.  They are all still in a bag on the counter that I'm going to put away in a few minutes when I clean up my kitchen.  I've come and gone a few times from the house since bringing it home and each time I've come back in, the familiar smell has struck me.

It's amazing how our sense of smell is linked to memory.

I've had this happen before with the distinctive bouquet that is gear lube.  The truck I drove in college had a leak and when I smell gear lube, it brings back a flood of favorable feelings.  The same thing happened with the anise - and it surprised me!  Happy feelings about China?  But we didn't like it there!

Mulling this over in my mind and heart over the last day brought me here.  I stopped blogging rather abruptly at the beginning of our last year in China.  There were different reasons for it, and I wasn't sure to how to move past them at the time.  Even after coming home there were plenty of times I thought about picking up the pen (clacking on the keys?), but the time away kept me from diving in.

No more!  Here I am.  I have no idea how often I will write, but I think I'm ready to try again.  I certainly have plenty that I didn't share here about our time in Shanghai.  And I know you are all waiting for the remaining "Adventures in Driving" posts.  I welcome you to join me.  Who knows where the path may lead!