page3

Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008
Today I went to another Scrap booking class from 9:30 to 1:00 - called Scrap 'n Go. You make up eight different pages, with no specific pictures in mind, just the layouts and embellishments. Some of the colors were not my scene - pastels, and then another with burgundy, cream and pink, but I liked the layouts, and will apply them to my own color schemes. Although I don't really get to make any "friends" there, the company is good and we have a lot of fun chatting and figuring out what we're supposed to be doing. There's normally only about six to eight people in a class. The scrapbook shop also has a small coffee shop inside, so we always get to have yummy hot chocolate or Milo or coffee during the lessons. Two of the women are teachers at local schools (they're on school holidays now) and it's was interesting to see how different the local education is compared to that of the international schools. How much stricter they are, and how many kids are in a class - 30. After discussing all the differences we still couldn't reason the difference between the cost of local schools and the tens of thousands per year it costs to send a child to an international school - if you can get them in! We decided after a short while that the conversation was way to stressful and we switched topics to crafting.
After finishing the class I went to Spotlight, sort of a Joann's type store, to buy some fabric to make a gathered curtain for our powder bathroom. The way our house is situated, if you stand in the wrong place, the neighbors in the condo's next door get to see you having a pee!!!! It's a funky 48-inch wide, but 15-inch tall window so I got two tension rods and will make a rod-pocket type curtain to put up there. It should look a whole lot better than the current flattened-cardboard-box décor!
Tomorrow I have my first parchment craft, or Pergamano, class at Spotlight. I'm a litle aprehensive - it's very delicate work and I don't know that I have the skill to do such work...we'll see!
I think I'm going to make some quilt panels or a wall-hanging, using some oriental prints. I saw a nice kimono pattern, and a ginger jar pattern too, that looked very pretty. Instead of a a large quilt that just gets folded and put away I thought I would just do a few squares, perhaps three, and then frame them. I think a trip to the ONLY quilting store I know of is in order but it will have to wait till next week - to much going on!!!! Coffee on Thursday morning till noon, then catch a taxi to Scrap booking group till 2, then Maxine has art class in the afternoon. Lunch on Friday with Andrea - haven't seen her in weeks - Zoie is probably walking around by now!!! Then ortho on Friday afternoon with Sydney. There's supposed to be a Chinese Dragon competition downtown everynight this week, ending on Saturday. I figured that since we would be there for Syd's appointment on Friday we would get supper somewhere and then go watch the competition. Hopefully get some cool photo's as well.

Boy, I think that expresso I had at lunchtime has just kicked in!!!!!

Wednesday, 3rd September, 2008
My parchment class was very interesting - it's actually quite easy to do. You just need a steady, light hand - something I'll have to work on! Today I made a greeting card only using white ink, next week I'll be using color ink, which is much less forgiving! Today I was the only student which helped the class move along at a steady pace - my pace!! I'm going to have to will myself to be strong - the scrap-booking store is two shops away from the classes and I have to walk by there on my way to the car! So far I've been sorely unsuccessful in staying on track to the car park! I bought some papers today to get Maxine's 6th, yes, 6th birthday photo's done! I got it about 95% finished this afternoon - just the title to do.

It rains pretty much everyday now. Not all day, but for most of the afternoon. Fluctuates between sprinkles and downpours all afternoon. Rory bought me a new contraption that fits under the small balcony off to the side of the kitchen, so I can hang the laundry out and actually get it dry. The "washing lines" are very strange here. Basically they're just 8-foot long bamboo poles covered in plastic - about 6 of them - that sit on a bracket attached to the wall. They're portable so I can just move them to my new stand if it starts raining. Beats running out and hauling it all in and then hanging it back out again every couple of minutes!

Thursday, September 4th, 2008
After an almost sleepless night I really had to force myself to go to the coffee and scrap booking this morning. I got my new t-shirts from Avenue yesterday, (via Sharrie - Thx!) which helped prod me along a bit. I wore my green one with black sparklies on it! I'm glad I went - I got to meet some very nice people, and had carrot cake - twice!!! We had some at the coffee and then when I got to the scrapbooking group it was the hosts birthday and she had carrot cake for everyone! The day was saved!!!!
Talking of cake, and the results of eating too much of it......I've actually lost weight - about 18 pounds!!!! I was shocked when I stood on the scale! I stood on it, off it, back on, back off, gave it a good stomp, got back on, weighed Sydney to see of she still weighed the same, gave it another stomp, and got back on - lo and behold, I've lost weight!!!! I even checked the pounds and kilogram conversiona couple of times online too to see if I was missing something!!!! I knew my clothes felt a little looser, but that was a HUGE surprise! I'll have to quit eating that carrot cake though! I really think I've sweated most of it off though - it was definetely not through any effort on my part! It's pretty easy to sweat off that much when you live in a perpetual sauna!
It's still a big YIPPPPEEEE though!

Saturday, 6th September, 2008
Last night we went to watch the Semi-finals of the Lion Dance Championships at Ngee Ann City. Sydney had an orthodontic appointment, not far from Ngee Ann, late in the afternoon so we met Rory for some supper and then to watch the show. The "lions" are two people "long" one being the front end and the other the rear. The competition involves them doing various acrobatic movements in time to the music, whilst creating drama and suspence with the movement and actions of the "lion". They have to perform all this on 6-8 foot tall tall stilts with dinner-plate size "platforms" on top, jumping from one to the other, synchronizing their movements and footwork so as to not fall, or knock over any of the stilts. If one gets knocked over they can't replace it until the lion has jumped back over the "opening" it created by knocking down the stilt. It was amazing how they moved to fluidly from platform to platform, at the same time making this lion so life like - in a Chinese kind of way!!! We watched four different teams perform, and then another show with a loooooooong dragon, about 12 people long. The dragon chases a fancy ball, held on a stick by another person of the team. It was amazing how they all moved in unison to create the smooth movements of the dragon. Each of the team members held part of the dragon up on a long stick too. With the twirling and moving they did, it meant that the team were constantly have to jump over or duck under each other sticks to avoid catastrophe! It looked totally exhausting!

Monday, 8th October
Max, Syd and I went to see Avril Lavigne last night at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. It was an awesome concert - I took a headache pill before going, and I actually knew all but two of the songs!!! She spent almost all the time - 1½ hours - on stage, with only one "costume change" when she switched t-shirts! I hate going to concerts when there's a 20 minute costume change every second song so this was great! The girls got some t-shirts, and on each of the seats there was a packet with an Avril Lavigne lanyard and glow-stick in side. Max and Syd's friends from school were also there, just a bit further along our row, so they switched places so Maxine could sit with her friend and Syd with hers. It was funny because the light sticks were all grouped in colors and when they switched seats Syd's was the only yellow one in a mass of orange so we knew exactly where she was!! Maxine and Megan bopped away all night next to me - poor things! They all had a good time - especially since they all knew all the songs and the sequence was really put together well. A great time was had by all!!!

Tuesday, 9th September
Today I attended a luncheon hosted by the American Womens Association, where the ladies from the Indian Womens Association were guests. They taught us about the different styles of saris and sari fabrics. They demonstrated on a volunteer how to wear a sari. It looked very complicated but they said it was much easier to do it yourself. They also showed us all the secrets to wearing a sari - how to pin them in place without anyone noticing! All the fabrics were so beautiful. A few of the Indian ladies sat at each of the tables and we had a great time talking "saris". We were all amazed at the difference in cost of the saris. A lot of it depends on the type of fabric used (usually 6 yards) but can cost anything from about $200 upwards. Some of the heavier silk ones cost on the thousands. In addition to the sari, you need a top, or fitted blouse, and a petticoat, usually made from the same, or coordinating fabric. When you get a sari made, the tailor will apply a tyope of basting along the lower edge to prevent the bottom of the skirt from fraying because it drags along the floor, and gets caught in heels, etc. For the more "modern" Indian lady (read young, slender, tight tummy) there were a few more risque designs which involved showing a lot more skin and curves. Apparently it's fine to show off curves and belly-buttons, but the bust should be covered with the draped sari fabric for modesty!
After we ate our Indian lunch another lady gave a talk on traditional Indian home remedies - I didn't take any notes, but we should be getting some info in an email - some sounded really good and definitely worth trying. The lady I sat next to lived in Richardson for her entire childhood, and her brother lives in Coppell !!!! I hadn't met her before so we got to talking about what we miss - the big shops, Tex-Mex and buffalo wings topped the list! It was a very enjoyable morning - but now I need some "real" food - this carnivor needs meat!!!! Rice and veggies ain't gonna cut it here!!!

Thursday, 11th September 2008
I completed my second parchment class yesterday. We worked with color ink today and I really couldn't "get into" the class - I really don't enjoy working with the colors - I much prefer that plainer, more delicate looking white on white work. But, I have to be a good student and learn all the different styles.....

The girls played their first soccer matches yesterday. Sydney's team drew one-all. Maxine's lost, not telling the score! Both had really good games and we managed to get some cute photos - one of Maxine fouling one of the opposing teams players! The fields were tucked away behind the golf driving range and shopping center, which was converted from the old horse racing track and buildings. I would never had know that was all back there had they not been playing there.

Rory is really battling to settle - missing being able to do "stuff" around the house and yard back home in the evenings. It gets dark here about 7pm, so the evenings are very short, and there's really not much you can do. Nothing to do around the house either, so he's incredibly bored and frustrated. He has started a small veggie garden - if it's anything like the one he had back in Coppell, it should be very successful. We can "plant" anything so it's all pot stuff - tomatoes, mint, peppers, and some Morning Glories. So far the Morning Glories and tomatoes have sprouted and he only planted them on Saturday!

Today I met with my beading group. I feel quite guilty talking about all the groups I'm spending time with, when Rory's having such a difficult time.....
But, we're working on a crocheted piece and it's actually coming along quite nicely. I'm hoping to get it finished tonight -something you can do in front of the TV! Our group is like a meeting of the United Nations - we have two Americans, an Indian, a Korean, a Canadian, two Chinese and one Filipino lady, and then myself - British African-American! It makes for some interesting conversation and we've all learned a lot, in just the few meetings, about different cultures and places, in addition to the beading which we actually go there to do! I'm hosting sometime in November, so I'd better get thinking about recipes - I'm thinking chocolate cake is in order!

Friday, 12th September 2008
It's Friday!!!! Yipppeee! Haven't a clue what we're doing this weekend, but it's weekend!!! I went to apply for our visas for Australia today, after Rory went earlier in the week and was turned away. I made sure that today I had everything I needed, that everything was signed, and there was still a problem! The lady snatched up the paperwork and started rummaging through it remarking that I was short of documents - she just hadn't seen them. So I promptly pointed out to her that they were in fact there - that she should have another "careful" look!!! She got all fussy about Maxine being a minor - how was she to know that Maxine was in fact our daughter??? So I just stared back at her until she realized that I wasn't going to offer up any answer to her redundant question! And, apparently, because Maxine is a minor she needs a consent form to travel - even though we're all applying for visas based on the same itinerary, that we had to give as well, and she's travelling with us! Now, because Sydney is an American citizen, we can apply for her visa online, and even though she's a minor we don't have to produce any documents or sign any consent forms, etc!!!! That just doesn't make any sense at all. So, I paid for our visas - enough to feed a small country for a year - left our passports there and came home, not expecting to see them for at least another week or two. This afternoon I got a call to say that they were ready - I can get them on Monday morning! Less than 6 hour turn-around!!! Yippee! I'm just hoping that they're all there - Maxine's included! Now, we have to get Rory's passport off to the Korean Consular for his trip with his mom in December, and to the Chinese Consular because he's going to China in October! Unfortunately I won't be able to tag along to China as it's during the week and the kids are at school. Maybe next time, next year. No more India trips planned, yet....not that I'm in any rush to go there!!!!

Sunday, 14th September, 2008

It seems that Singapore is in a perpetual state of reconstruction. Just about every day I see another house being torn down to make way for a new, multi-storey, contemporary style residence. Since the homes here are brick and mortar, it's no easy task, and tends to make a lot of noise. But, no matter where you live in Singapore, the noise seems unavoidable. If it's not a house, it's a block of apartment going up or coming down. Just in our neighborhood alone, there must be at least a dozen homes in some stage or demolision or reconstruction. I must say it makes me quite envious, not being part of the design process. I've been very tempted to sneak in while the construction workers are there, pretending that I'd be interested in renting the newly renovated house! The materials they use are very different to what I'm used to in Texas - having to take into consideration the high humidity here and the availibilty of certain products. A lot of granite and marble is used throughout.
Most of the homes are razed to the foundation, if not the ground, and totally redesigned, often with a built-in pool as part of the design, lapping up against the walls of the house. To contain the dust and debris, large canvas "curtains' are erected along the fence of the yard - not a pretty site at all - I'm really pleased we don't have all that going on next to us.

Talking of reconstruction, we've been watching the Fox News and CNN coverage of hurricane Ike wreaking it's havoc along the Texas coastline and inland. We've been especially watching it's course through east Texas. Lord knows what the lake-house went through!

Monday, 15th September 2008

We had a plumber come out on Saturday to take a look at the ominous, dark looking patch on the ceiling in our bathroom. Turns out the water heater had corroded and was leaking rusty water onto the ceiling. So, this morning they came out to fix it and actually showed up on time!
But, before that I went to pick up our passports at the Australian Consular, and then ran next door to the American Consular to get some approval documents to say that it's "okay" that we travel for an extended period while on Green Card status. Kind of nice of them to let us know now - after we've been gone for 4 months! Anyway, I'm begining to think I'm a magnet for problems at these places. After receiving an email from E&Y to say we could go and get these letters - they would be at the consular waiting for us, no-one could find anything when I got to the counter, after waiting an hour for my number to be called! Grrrr!!!!
I also met with one of the ladies from the beading group and went beading shopping in Chinatown. I visited a few stores I'd not been to before, and managed to find some nice bits and pieces, enough for at least 5 projects!
When the taxi dropped me back home I couldn't find my keys! I'd left them inside the house! I tried scaling the 8-foot gate, but chickened out twice. It wasn't pretty, okay!!! I thought of just waiting for the girls to come home, but they had soccer practice and would only get home about 6pm. So ended up calling Rory to come let me in! Thank heavens he was in the office and not at the plant, and that it wasn't pouring rain!!!!

Wednesday, 17th September 2008
Last night I played Bunco! We had only twelve players but they've been know to have as many as twenty, depending on the hostess! It was a fun evening, despite the fact they play with "snake eyes"!!! No prizes either - just money. More prizes though - for "snake eyes" and for mini-buncos. One woman rolled sixteen minis!!!!! It was a fun evening, but I still felt like a traitor to my "regular" group back in Coppell, whom I miss a LOT!!

Friday, 19th September 2008
The kids both had soccer games on Wednesday - both lost :(
A couple of the moms got to stand through both games in the sweltering heat - it was miserable. The only thing that kept us mildly amused was Andrea's baby, Zoie, who is just 4 months and full of smiles and gurgles! Luckily they played on the fields within a 5 minute walk from our house and we had to pass the fish 'n chippy on the way home - so guess we we had for supper!
I finished my third parchment class on Wednesday morning. Although I'm learning more techniques, I'm still prefering the plain white lacy look instead of the colored stuff. The Chinese lady who teaches the class is so funny - she's quite the chatterbox. She also does scrap-booking but always calls it "book scrapping" - something to do with the translation....
Yesterday I went scrap-booking with my AWA group. I managed to find a wheeled craft cart for
S$40 (about USD$30) to haul all my stuff in! It's awesome - fits almost everything I have in there!
I found out that a few of the ladies use V-post, a service offered by the Singapore post office for getting stuff from the USA. I'd never heard of it before. Basically it provides you with a USA street address (some places won't deliver to PO boxes) so you can get stuff shipped within the USA and then on to Singapore. Your items, along with others items, are collected and then everything is shipped together. Apparently it works great - you save money because you don't end up paying store international shipping rates which are exhorbitant, and a lot of places offer free shipping within the USA. Apparently a lot of people use it around Christmastime since even more stores offer free or flat rate shipping, like Sears, Macys, etc. I bought some scrapbooking stuff from Joann's to see how the rates compare.
Today I went to see a dermatologist since my skin has been getting increasingly worse. I don't think the heat helps it at all either - but the humidity keeps those wrinkles all nicely plumped out!!! He was very thorough and encouraging, gave me some lotion and medication so we'll see how it progresses. The redness and blotchiness is definitely rosacea which will need ongoing treatment.

Sunday, 21st September 2008
Yesterday was Maxine's birthday party. We brought it forward a few weeks since we've got Rory's brother's family coming on Wednesday for a few weeks, and one of Max's friends has a birthday the same weekend as her. We organized a maxi-cab to take a bunch of her friends to Plaza Singapura for movies, and then to come back home for cake, pillowcase decorating and a sleepover! I think we all got to sleep about 2am! Could have been worse! Strawberry filled crepes were ordered for breakfast, which I made ahead of time while they were all at the movies and just re-heated them in the microwave! Worked great! They're all here until 11am and then they're catching a taxi together to another friends party at lunchtime. I'll be taking a nap!

Friday, 26th September, 2008
It's POURING rain today! We were woken by thunder and lightening about 6am, and three hours later it still hasn't let up. Could be in for a soggy day.

Yesterday Rory took the day off work to spend with Steven, Samantha, Shane and Stuart, who I will from now on refer to as the S's !!!! They took a drive around the city, and a walk around the botanical gardens while I was at my morning coffee, and beading group. The kids are actually getting along well. PLayStation is a hot between them all - racing and skating especially! Today, while I get some chores and housework done, they're going shopping and sight-seeing down Orchard Road. Tonight we'll go to the Chinese Gardens, where the Lantern Festival is in full swing.

Saturday, September 27th, 2008
I'm suffering from a Hello Kitty overdose!!! Last night we went to the Chinese Gardens to see the Lantern Festival. The theme was Hello Kitty and it was a Hello Kitty Extravaganza!!!! I've never seen so much Hello Kitty in my life! They did an awesome display throughout the gardens, and in a strange way, really made it fit well into the surroundings. On the lake they had Kitty and friends in huge sailboats, all made from lantern fabric, and they had Kitty with her Asian friends surrounding the Chinese Pagado building. There were also some small stalls, and rides for the kids. They all went inside these giant blow-up balls that "floated" on top of a swimming pool. Obviously it was very difficult to walk or even move without falling over and it made for some hilarious moments - they all looked like hamsters running in their wheels. A few minutes later they had a very short firesworks display - I think it lasted less than a minute, but it was right in front of us! They were quite big fireworks going off and it was sooooo loud!!! After that we strolled around and came to some stalls selling these amazingly delicate caramel / toffee on a stick zodiac signs. The guy would take the melted sugar and swirl it around on a marble slab, attach a stick and let it cool for a few seconds. Then carefully lift it off. They were about the size of a dinner plate, and totally transparent and incredibly delicate looking. A little further along was a man making woven items out of palm leaves. he had made everything from little frogs and snakes to giant Chinese dragons with beautiful detail, and there were even some squirrels!!!
Although we had a great time, we forgot our camera in all the confusion of who's going in which car, and who's following who, and Steven's camera battery gave up shortly after we arrived, so we're hoping to get some stills from the video camera to put up on the site. If not, we'll find a link on the internet because it was definitely worth seeing.