mei li

I was just going through some old photos and remembered this sunrise over the himalayas in Western China. It seems like a very long time ago, this kind of trip is not possible or practical with a baby. It was an amazing journey and to look at this photo, it reminds me how lucky I am to have the partner, the means and the desire to go to such places.

scented garden

I wanted to plant a scented garden, meaning, plants that had flowers and fruits that smell very nice. I am not a green thumb but I do try hard. Now I am inspired to make a garden like the zoo and have a scented garden too. It will take some time. Here is proof of some delirious smells of the coming spring, daphne and cumquat and the lovely orange blossom flowers (which have been spent). I have tried the gardenia and the dwarf magnolia and the jasmine, all of which are hanging in there but because of the drought and not much skill of the the gardener, they are just leaves with no flowers. I plan to revamp the garden over the coming weekends and put in some new lavendar, poke around the local nursery, move things around and do some "loaming". Loaming is an invented word by my husband, it basically means tilling. The soil involved in loaming is called "loamus"....So I hope to get some loamus and mulch into the ground and encourage some lovely smells to grow.

loveliness

Today I received a beautiful card and a beautiful felted brooch in the mail from a dear friend. It is so lovely and sweet. This has made me feel very happy. Thankyou so much missy h xxx

learning windows

There is said to be 'windows' of learning opportunites for humans and when we catch them it is easier to teach a new skill, for example, eating, talking, walking etc etc...if we miss that window, it is more labour intensive to teach a new skill. I can totally understand this and view learning a new language as an adult (when you have grown up mono-lingual) as a perfect illustration of this point. The trick is knowing when that window is open. I am currently anticipating the 'learn to eat independently' window for Pei. I am totally enjoying watching him learn something new and enjoy himself at the same time. Learning should be this fun. I must remember this joy when sweating over long forgotten Chinese and Japanese vocab/sentence structure/tone etc etc etc...

day at the zoo

Here is my big darling telling my little darling about the brown bear...

Little houses filled with wooden and clay animals.

We went to the zoo to see some animals but were just as impressed with the beatutful landscaping and general surrounds. This has inspired me to create my garden at home to be like this part of the zoo, it might take some time, but to create such a pretty and relaxing place cant be a bad thing to do. I made a picnic lunch with rough cut egg and salad sandwiches, a fruit bun and some fruit. We sat and ate them on this big wooden chair in the afternoon sunshine. It was such a lovely and simple way to spend a few hours. The highlight was to see so many animals all up and about including the meercat, lemur and orang utan. I think one of my favourite animals is the hairy nosed wombat

call me crazy....

Pei is 8 months old today. I gave him a pen and this is his first drawing. Genius is he not?!

i like it

I really liked this Nokia advert on the wall at the Singapore Esplanane Arts Centre . The letters are created by lots of handprints as above. Parts of the advert as placed around the centre such as in the lift, small posters etc.

Puffy face update is that it is stull puffy and now the skin is getting very blue and bruised. I am not going out for a while....I think the worst is over but it is still painful and doesnt look so good.

puffy

I am a bit puffy after my operation of tooth removal and implant BUT the good news is that after nearly 18 months of broken sleep, last night was the first night I have slept all the way through. This is thanks to some very heavy duty pain relief and a good baby. I am still smiling and feel this hospital experience was far better than I ever imagined it could be. I'm sure I will go back to looking like I am not storing marshmallows in my gums in about a week or so. A massive thanks to my legend Mum and darling husband who have helped me these past few days xxxxxxx

A letter to Ma-Ma

Dear Ma-Ma,

A singlet, all-in-one, jumper, coat, stockings, pants, shoes, hat and two blankets is not required in temperate winters. When I cry I am telling you that that the walk is no longer fun as I am hot so please take off some layers.

Love

Pei xxx

winter sunshine

Even in the middle of winter, when the sun shines, so do the people. Today lots of people are out walking, kicking the ball, enjoying thier families and sharing food. I really like the winter sun, especially since it does not last long and by 3pm, the sky has returned to its moody grey, the mist arrives and the cool evening settles into the cold night. Anything that needs to or that should be done, should be done without delay. The trees above are skinny and stark in winter and full and leafy green in summer. I love this street and how the trees characterise the seasons so clearly. There is a lack of season definition here in Melbourne so trees and other things act as a clue or guide, especially on the sunniest of winter days where we might be tricked into believing otherwise.

The leaf impression is one that I step over very often. The leaf must have fallen into the concrete after it was poured. I like to look for these small graffitti's from nature.

...relax

and realise that I am not a bad person for watching the TV show about Victoria Beckham.....

mr moo

I havent written about the dog for a while, he is still here though, ever loyal and loving. He is such a good dog. I have just started to let him get close to the baby. The baby loves to see the dog and greets him with a big smile and kick, kick, kick of the legs. Of course the dog is curious about this wriggly, wriggle puss and has to poke his nose very close to see what it is. Both baby and dog exchange some very nice and gentle looks, until the baby reaches out to grab a handful of whiskers, face, ear, paw etc in which case the dog leaps up and scats. The baby is now moving and soon enough there will be a time when he gets to the dog before I realise, and I want both of them to be comfortable and relaxed in that instance. The other day, I saw a kid get bitten by a dog that was tied up out the front of the supermarket. It was very scary and upsetting for the kid, the mother and the dog (the dog's owner was not there). I would hate to see this happen to our boy at home, but given our dog is a sooky whippet, it is fairly unlikely.

I'm not too sure about you, but I read quite a few blogs of people I do not know, but I really enjoy what they write or the pictures they post. I never comment or introduce myself. I'm not sure if this is the correct etiquette. Maybe you can tell me? Maybe its even worse to tell others about the ones I enjoy without their permission? What do you think?

baby tea

Sometimes I get a bit obsessed over a particular type of tea. Not drinking wine at the moment, I am appreciating tea and I realise that a very fine tea is just like a very fine wine. The same qualities of smell, colour and taste apply. My current obsession tea is called baby chrysanthumum tea. It is from a very famous tea shop in Hong Kong called Mee Heung Cheun Tea Co. I have never been that thrilled about Chryssy tea, always pale yellow in colour and kind of mouldy tasting...that was until I tried this tea. From the moment I poured in the hot water, it immediately began to brew, I could smell an almost orange blossom fragrance, sweet and soft. The colour is a very clear green and the flowers open up as you can see above. The taste is both smell and flavour in one, sweet and not bitter or mouldy. This is how tea is meant to be drunk. It is the difference between a $10 bottle of wine and a $60 bottle of wine, that kind of difference.

I remember being very disappointed after returning from Japan and buy some expensive green tea to find the quality so poor that it would not be served in Japan, ok maybe from the station food cart on a long train journey or other kinds of places, but not in the home or restaurant.

My recent excitement about tea has made me think more about tea culture and the niceties and warmness it encourages. I am guilty of having a friend visit recently, who was there for a good hour and as we had planned to go out for lunch I did not offer a cup of tea, or even water....I have slipped out of the tea culture I once loved and participated in so passionately. I will offer some baby Chryssy tea next time.

post wedding

My sister got married on the weekend. It was a very lovely and happy and wonderful day. I am so glad to see her and her husband so happy. I got to wear my great dress and shoes and what I didnt mention yet was that I made all the stationary for the day. I wish I could say I made the above cupcakes, but I just made the stickers and stuck them on the boxes. Very cute. I have yet to post a photo of my dress, I will do so, it deserves a post to itself. Congratulations to you Roy.

wedding preparations

The photo above is the shoes I have been given to wear to my sisters wedding...I love them.....they go well also with my shoe collection below, which I wrote about a while ago.

old drawing new life

I drew this a long time ago when I was more obsessed with tea than with coffee. I still love tea and currently have reverted to drinking gen mai cha which, after a long break, is really very tasty. I am updating my website with new images and colours, check here to see the work so far. I have been doing private card orders and shop orders lately which has been keeping me busy. I am also making some small brooches and bracelets for sale through my shop which I will upload soon.

excitement

I am excited for 2 reasons: first my sister is getting married in two weeks and I'm looking forward to it, second I get to wear the coolest dress. A sneak peek is above. Made from recycled obi fabric (the fabric that goes around the waist of a kimono), bought from the gorgeous kazari warehouse and stitched by my most talented friend missy h. I will post more photos soon. Happiness :)

things have changed

Slowly, slowly, driving is becoming less of a trauma for both me and the baby. Several trips lately have had just a little squeak and grizzle but nothing more. There are still the big belly wailing sessions but not every time we go somewhere. All my 'perhaps' thoughts/theories about why he hates the car so much are less prominent in my mind. There are two things that seem to soothe him, the raindrops on the outside of the window as they trail down the glass and the good old jingle bells. Those handheld set of bells you used to play with in primary school, he loves them. Its a bit early for xmas carols but you just have to sing them when you hear those little bells so cheery. It takes some co-ordination to sing, play bells and drive....I wonder if I will get a fine for that....would be a hard, hard police officer.........

shiver me timbers

This lovely beach has been outside my door for the past week.....literally 10 steps from the door....it is always a shock to come back home to winter. Winter isnt really that cold in Melbourne compared to some other parts of the world, but compared to the lovely beach above it is COLD...........cold, cold brrrrrrrrr.

away visiting

The images are taken in the warm waters surounding Tioman island, off the Sth East coast of Malaysian peninsula. Its the first time for Pei's feet to touch sand. I hope he can love the seas and much as I do. Even though I have travelled to Malaysia several times, I always enjoy it and learn something new. It also serves as a buffer to appreciate my life at home and so I can see it with new eyes upon my return. I planned to do a lot of drawing, but I ended up just trying to do nothing (when the baby was asleep) and read a book, Shantaram. The book is supposed to be wonderful and amazing, but it kind of feels more like a movie and I find I am skimming bits.......I will post some drawings later.

I snorkelled to see if I could find some precious fish and sealife. I saw some nice fish, but they are so well trained to look for the swimmers who have bread, that I didnt get much attention. It was very nice to swim in warm, calm water, using fins you can swim so much faster. I think time in the sea is like nothing else in the world and having the opportunity to be in it, even just for a short time is refreshing and reviving. The cold hard reality of human life was felt when the beautiful clear blue water turned a horrible rusty brown colour and smelly, where the river runs into the sea. This river runs behind the housing areas collecting all the waste, rubbish and foulness left by us humans.....

Of course I also like to go shopping and in Singapore, since the national passtime is shopping, there is no shortage of places to spend your hard earned cash....I liked this shop that sells a brand called e-base (site is in Chinese but easy enough to navigate just by surfing the site). They had an excellent pair of jeans which must have morphed out of the '70's as it had the back pockets detailed with embriodery of rainbows and clouds, so cute BUT, no healthy woman's butt cannot fit into Asian sizes, so I just had to look and appreciate. The brand also has lots of contrasting fabrics and textures mixed up in shirts and dresses...60% off also made things affordable......there is also unending arrangements of local foods.....all very cheap and soooo good.......