hope you had a lovely thanksgiving, i know i sure did!  before going to our destination we made a detour to Gozzi’s Turkey Farm in Guilford, CT to see if the colored turkeys were still out… and there they were!

i’d never seen them in-person before, they were so vibrantly colored!  i don’t know why or how they do it, but they were fun to see!

and guess what?

turkey butt!!!  (i crack me up.)

Em Ku tý

Tháng tám trăng thu đã lên cao,

Toàn gia hồi hộp vui đón chào,

Ku tý chào đời vào ngày Giáp*

Bảo Minh** hoàng tử một vì sao.

* * *

Trời Phật ban cho vầng trán cao,

Nét khuôn thanh tú má trái đào,

Tiếng khóc vang vang trang nam tử

Bà mụ dạy cười duyên làm sao.

* * *

Trong Nam ngoài Bắc cùng vui thay,

Cầu mong Ky tý cứ mỗi ngày,

Ăn no chóng lớn như Phù Đổng,

Kỷ Sửu trâu vàng lấp lánh sao !

Bà ngoại

Tp. Hồ Chí Minh – Mùa thu 2009

16.10.2009

* Ku tý sinh ngày Giáp Ngọ 28/8 Kỷ Sửu

** Bố mẹ dự định đặt tên em Ku tý là Bảo Minh..

Thanksgiving Day envelope

Today was the 1st day of our Countdown to the New Year.  The activity for today was to list 10 things you’re thankful for.

Here’s Xan’s list:

1. A house
2. My family
3. My school
4. Our food
5. Trees & nature
6. My friends
7. Our happiness
8. My brain
9. Playgrounds
10. All people

*sigh* He’s so sweet. I stole his #7…

We had a wonderful dinner with Nana & Papa.  The kids had a great time & so did the grown ups!

A piece of teasure in the west of Singapore – the Heritage View Condo – this apartment is tastefully decorated!

Every inch of space in this apartment is well utilized. The furniture is carefully chosen to bring out a relaxing and homely environment, in this carefree development…

Check out the views from its window…

There are 3 rooms that you can dress them up to your liking. As for the current owners, they decided to have a cosy area, a study and finally a master bedroom. Check them out one by one…

There is no other place perfect to display your loveliest, proudest and victorious moments in life… right outside all the rooms in this apartment!

Finally… the next location of an apartment that everyone may be excited… a place where all will share joy and laughter among friends and family, on the dining table while pipping hot and delicious food are served from the kitchen…

3+1 Bedroom Apartment for SALE!!!

Living Room: Granite
Bed Room: Parquet
Kitchen: Homogeneous Tiles

Built-in Area – 1313 SQFT

CALL NOW TO VIEW THIS PROPERTY!

Call ERA professionals at 9011 5500 or 9450 3855 and start building your home!!!

Das vorhersehbare, aber unerwünschte Souvenir aus Beijing lässt seine kalten Griffel langsam wieder von mir los: Eine zweiwöchige Kombination aus allen denkbaren Grippe-Erkältungs-Symptomen. (Wäre ja zu schön gewesen…)

Rückkehr am Montagabend, und in der Zeitspanne von Dienstagnachmittag bis Donnerstagabend hab ich mir größtenteils gewünscht, einfach einzuschlafen, um den Kopfschmerzen zu entkommen, wenn ich nicht gerade mal wieder zur Toilette rennen musste.

Inzwischen war sowieso unsere gesamte WG eine einzige Quarantänezone, da O. ohnehin schon krank war, Ka. und Ki. den Husten-Teil des Beijing-Souvenirs ausgepackt hatten und C. netterweise auch was davon abbekommen durfte.

Anstatt mich am Freitag in Ruhe zu lassen, hat mir der Mann mit der Kutte und der Sense dann noch Ki.s Husten rübergeschickt, den ich seitdem so langsam abbaue. Ob der Hustensaft aus der Apotheke darauf irgendeinen Einfluss hatte, entzieht sich meinem Urteilsvermögen, da ich eher den Eindruck hatte, nach jeder Einnahme müsste ich stundenlang schlimmer husten als zuvor, aber es ist eben Medizin…

Schluss mit den widerlichen Details meiner körperlichen Gebrechen: Fakt ist, dass die letzte Woche nur noch schlimmer gemacht wurde, indem meine Klimaanlage nicht funktionierte.

Alles südlich des Yangtze hat in China ja leider keine Heizungen mehr, sondern nur Klimaanlagen, dankbarerweise mit Heizfunktion. Zu meinem Leidwesen hat sich der weiße Kasten in meinem Zimmer dazu entschlossen, aller fünf Minuten ein ohrenbetäubendes Quietschgeräusch von sich zu geben und zehn Minuten lang nicht wieder damit aufzuhören…

Reaktion im Normalzustand: „Mensch, das nervt, hat jemand Ohrstöpsel…?“

Reaktion mit starken Kopfschmerzen: „Bitte ramm mir einen Kugelschreiber ins Gehirn und erlöse mich!“

Die Wahl zwischen Kopfschmerzen und Eiseskälte im Zimmer gewann also der Winter, bis ich wieder fit genug war, den Vermieter anzurufen, der sich für Samstagmorgen ankündigte, um sich das selbst mal anzusehen. Sonntagmorgen stand dann auch schon ein Handwerker in der Tür, der das Geräusch in zwei Versuchen erst mal verschlimmerte, verdoppelte und schließlich ein weiteres Geräusch hinzufügte, aber letztendlich war es weg. Ich hoffe, es bleibt so, denn diesen Mann will ich nicht wiedersehen. Abgesehen davon, dass während seiner Arbeit sein Handy fünfzehnmal in ohrenbetäubender Lautstärke zu klingeln begann, sprach er auch so einen schrecklichen chinesischen Akzent, dass ich kaum ein Wort verstanden habe und dafür von ihm ausgelacht wurde. -.- Wenn das Quietschen wiederkommt, hoffe ich, die nächste Klimaanlage fällt dir auf den Kopf.

Mehr ist in der Fülle meines Lebens seither nicht passiert und wenn ich mir überlege, dass ich in zwei Wochen schon Prüfungen schreibe und danach fertig bin mit dem Semester, frag ich mich wirklich, was danach passieren soll. Ich muss noch zwei Seminararbeiten schreiben, hab noch keinen Praktikumsplatz und dementsprechend auch keine Vorstellung, wo ich nächstes Jahr sein werde. Und wie immer bin ich zu pessimistisch.

Photo:2009 Danish Crafts/jeppegudmundsen.com

Jessica Svensson, 28, Sweden

Graduation from The Danish Designschool 2008

Department of Furniture & Spatial Design

Special in furniture

Design background

Established my own small company in 2009

The Danish Design School

Art School in Lund

Important lessons learned during your education

For me the School has been a fantastic creative environment where I got the possibility and time to find out and develop my approach to design

Did you do anything prior to your education to strengthen your skills and to get into your school?

I went to Art School for one year to make my portfolio to get into The Danish Design School

Prototype 2008

Project title

Home Sweet Home

Length of project

Five months

Concept

Extension kitchen sofa

Inspiration

Traditional Swedish kitchen sofas

Materials

Aluminium, ash wood

Keywords for the visual design

Contrast and illusion

Prototype 2008

How is your work process when you design?

It´s depending on how much time I can spend and what kind of assignment it is. Normally I have an expression or a picture on my mind that I would like to achieve. I use pretty much time thinking, writing keywords and sketching before I actually do something that gives a visual or practical result. Next step is to see how the concept can be realized by drawing 3D-model, material research and involving people with the souch knowledge.

Which part of the process is the hardest for you to work through?

To make “big” decisions fast is not a favorite as well as feeling confused over to many options.

In your experience, are there specific skills that would be helpful to master?

Don´t get stressed up because it´s a final project. You have done successful projects before so of course this one will turn out great too. Just give it some extra power and focus. Talk to other people about your project to get advice and help but listen to yourself.

What are your strengths?

Critical but optimistic

Prototype 2008

What are your weaknesses?

Ambivalent

Do you turn to specific areas for inspiration in general?

It´s very different.

Any designers you find inspirational?

I get inspired from a lot of different designers and artists but I don´t have a particular favorite.

Is your work process based on a special approach towards design?

I want to be able to work wide and make interesting products with a long lifetime and quality.

Prototype 2008

Do you have a dream scenario for you and your design in the future?

To have my own company running well and to work with projects that I find interesting

Has it always been a dream to work with design?

Somehow yes. I didn´t knew exactly in which area but I think I knew that it should be something creative.

Why did you choose this specific specialization?

I like form and function

Where can we find more information about you?

www.jessicasvensson.com

More about “Home Sweet Home”: www.craftscollection.dk

Contact info

E-mail: js@jessicasvensson.com

Mobil: +46(0)706 96 70 32

Our Countdown to the New Year envelopes

I’m impressed by the other mamas that do this every year, so I’m copying! Here’s our list of activities. I put them each on a little slip and made dated envelopes out of an old National Geographic. They’re in a bowl & Xander can open one each day. I can’t wait to start!

November:

Thanksgiving Day – List 10 things you’re thankful for & hang in the kitchen!

27th – Go to Penitentiary Glen for “Snowdrop’s Adventure Game”

28th – Decorate the house for Christmas

29th – Watch a holiday show with some hot chocolate (with marshmallows, of course!)

30th – Make an ornament and hang it on the tree

December:

1st – Make paper snowflakes to decorate the house

2nd – Make musical instruments

3rd – Dance, sing & play your instruments from yesterday while listening to holiday music!

4th – Learn about St. Nicholas & his companions in Ireland, Germany and Slovenia / Put your shoes out & see if he comes!

5th – Pancake breakfast at OBCE! More St. Nicholas – Foods from Ireland, Germany & Slovenia for dinner

6th – Make treats for the birds and other critters in our backyard

7th – Bake cookies

8th – Make an ornament and hang it on the tree

9th – Do a puzzle as a family

10th – Family Wii night!

11th – 1st night of Hanukkah – let’s learn about it

12th – Make a gingerbread house

13th – Visit the “A Christmas Story House” and then watch the movie (again!)

14th – Write thank you notes to Miss H.  and the daycare teachers

15th – Buy a gift for a family in another part of the world via Heifer International

16th – Watch a holiday show with some hot chocolate (with marshmallows, of course!)

17th – Make an ornament and hang it on the tree

18th – Drive around & look at the lights. Don’t forget the hot chocolate!

19th – Visit Santa at the mall

20th – Make salt dough ornaments

21st – Winter Solstice – let’s learn about it

22nd – Go to the Rainforest at the Zoo!

23rd – Look at holiday cards & talk about the friends & family who sent them to us – learn all about the Christian Christmas story

24th – Visit Nana & Papa. Will the Pajama Elves come? Put out snacks for Santa & the reindeer, lay out your stockings and listen to the Night Before Christmas poem.

25th – It’s Christmas! Did Santa come? Let’s visit GG and call all of our relatives! Remember how much we all love each other.

26th – Time to visit the West Side Market for snacks on the balcony!

27th – Let’s write thank you cards to the people who sent us gifts

28th – Let’s visit the Cleveland Museum of Natural History

29th – Let’s visit the Great Lakes Science Center

30th – Let’s visit the Lake Erie Nature & Science Center

31st – Noon Year’s Eve at the Zoo and then we’ll stay up until MIDNIGHT!

January:

1st – Think of all the things you want to do this year. Dream big & work hard at making it happen!

I really didn’t mean to abandon this blog, especially when I was doing such a good job of posting nearly every day. But my mom came in town last Thursday and all things Thanksgiving and Xmas shopping related have consumed my life ever since. 

And of course, there was the Great Guest Bathroom Redo – Part Deux. Let me show you it.

Here’s what our guest bathroom looked like when we bought the house:

Ugly cast iron tub and ugly old blue tiles with moldy grout. Actually, these two things were the only “original” items in the house.

A jack hammer, four grown men (husband, FIL, grandpa, and step-dad), a hole in my wall, and a couple of months later, we had a handicap-accessible bathroom for the cost of about $1,000. (side note: My MIL has MS and can’t walk, so we needed a handicap-accessible bathroom that she can be wheeled into for showers so they don’t have to stay at a hotel when they come to visit.)

So here’s how it looked after the first renovation:

At first glance, it looks fabulous. But if you look closely and remove the blue rug, you would see the tile floor is not level and the grout lines are uneven. None of the corners match up, and the tiles around the toilet are a botched job of piecing together a couple of broken tiles to make it all fit. So when my in-laws came back the next year, and my FIL rolled my MIL into the bathroom on a 400 lbs contraption that picks her up and sets her on a seat (in the shower), it shouldn’t be a huge surprise that one of the tiles cracked in two places under the pressure.

So what do you do when your bathroom floor looks terrible? Well you tear down the wallpaper and repaint of course!

But then you eventually realize that if you’re ever going to be confident in selling your house, you better have the floor redone. So we went to Home Depot in hopes of just paying someone to remove the old floor and reinstall the new one for a reasonable price. It’s a small bathroom, so it should’ve only cost about $450 for everything. Except when the contractors came to tear up our old tile, they said the subfloor was uneven and that they had to tear that out (it’s concrete) and re-pour it. And that would cost an additional $600. We talked it over but decided to cancel the job and finish it ourselves. So we paid $175 for professionals to remove the old tile floor and deliver our materials. Not bad I suppose, since the removal was the part I was worried about most.

The contractors left us with an uneven slab of concrete. Fantastic. Of course, not their fault. I actually blame my husband and FIL for not leveling it out when they poured the concrete subfloor during the first renovation. Note to anyone planning to install their own subfloor: LEVEL IT OUT! 

So I went to work with the chisel hacking away at places that were too high and then used patch and level where the floor was too low. This was pretty much trial and error for a few weeks – waiting for the patch and level mixture to dry and realizing I needed more in some places and less in others. Oh, and I had to do this BY MYSELF since my husband was out of town for work at that time. So that was fun.

When he came home, it was time to lay the tile. Except, the bathroom is kind of small and it’s hard for two grown people to fit in a space smaller than 25 sq ft. So I ended up spreading the Quikset and laying the tile while the hubs went to get more Quikset and cut the tiles. I’ll say this about laying tile: It is tedious, time-consuming work. Your measurements need to be precise, your Quikset needs to be spread evenly on the floor (sort of like frosting a cake to perfection) and you MUST USE SPACERS in your corners to make sure each corner comes out to a perfect cross. This is especially difficult if the space you’re working in isn’t a perfect square or has walls that are not at a perfect 90 degree angle.

Sometimes the toilet and edge pieces need to be cut by a professional because a regular tile cutter just won’t do the trick. So one stormy night after work, I took three pieces of tile with my measurements drawn on them to Lowe’s for cutting. The Home Depot near me does not cut tile but the guys at Lowe’s were kind of enough to cut my tile FOR FREE even though I didn’t buy my tile there and even though they don’t like to do that because if they break it, they can’t replace it. But I begged them and promised that if they broke it, I would not complain and I would just go grab another one from my massive stack at home for them to try again. Lesson learned: buy your tile from Lowe’s. Or wear a low-cut shirt and do some sweet talking.

So here it is pre-grouting:

During grouting:

And post grouting:

All that was left for my husband to do was put up the wall base border, put in the threshold and put back the toilet and sink. Since I was going to see New Moon on Saturday with the girls, he had a few hours to accomplish these few simple tasks. I expected him to be finished when I got home, but instead, I found a GIANT cardboard box with a picture of a porcelain toilet on the front and a very grouchy, sweaty husband.

“Don’t ask,” he said. So I didn’t. Instead, I peeked into the trashcan that had made it’s home in my living room to find my beautiful old toilet in pieces. The cursing from the bathroom made it pretty obvious. Apparently, in his struggle to put the toilet back on the pipe and wax ring, he dropped the tank and it shattered. Also apparently, tanks aren’t often sold separately, and the few that are, don’t fit our particular toilet bowl. So he had to buy a brand new toilet. Except it wasn’t quite as nice as our old one, which I probably shouldn’t have pointed out so soon after seeing it, because that did nothing to help the stream of cursing from the bathroom.

But you know how sometimes, some people are just sort of…accident prone? Think Chevy Chase in Christmas Vacation? That’s how my husband is when it comes to this bathroom. In addition to the broken toilet, he dropped a screw down the sewage pipe, which he had to dig out. Then he hit his head on the towel rack, knocking it into the water of the open toilet tank – twice. He also managed to get wax from the wax ring seal ALL over the bathroom. I’m pretty sure he thinks this bathroom has some sort of vendetta against him. I’m pretty sure I agree. But we finished it. And with a minor toilet seat upgrade, we decided not to take back the smaller, cheaper toilet. So the guest bathroom is now complete.

A word about the tile and grout choice: In the first renovation, we went with a gray/white tile and gray grout, thinking it would match the blue tiles in the shower better than a cream-colored tile. We didn’t want solid white since that’s so hard to keep clean. But the problem with gray grout is that it darkens the room and if you have any imperfections at all with your tile work, gray grout makes it that much more obvious. This time, we went with a cream/off-white colored tile and “alabaster” grout – which is basically off-white. Though it doesn’t quite match the blue and white decor we have going on in the rest of the bathroom, it matches the hall tile just outside the bathroom, the kitchen tile, and the upstairs bathroom tile. So we just continued the theme throughout the house. Plus, I think it makes the bathroom a little brighter and less like a cold dungeon. We still have to seal it to make sure the grout stays nice and white, but it’s ready for our Thanksgiving Day guests. And it’s one less thing I have to worry about when the times comes to sell our house.

No scrapbooking for me this week.

Not because I don’t want to, but because my bedroom (and desk) look like this…

And just before you thought I was a very messy girl who lives out of cardboard boxes, I must tell you I am moving house this week so everything is an absolute shambles.

I’m also slightly disturbed (but also smiling) to see how many wedding magazines I’ve accumulated in less than a year of being engaged. Even more impressive is that I have wedding magazines from a range of countries (UK, USA, New Zealand…) and some in languages I can’t even read (Spanish, Dutch…)!

Inspiration, or am I just a victim of the corporate juggernaut that is the wedding industry?

I’ve said before that I think this place is perfect for an alternative, non-traditional dwelling. Yurts are drawing lots of attention these days and Pacific Yurts, one of the best, is located right in Cottage Grove. Yurts are a low cost, beautiful, easy to construct alternative to traditional dwellings and with a top of the line manufacturer right down the road, you’ll even save on the high cost of delivery. For more information on yurts, go to Pacific Yurts website: http://pacificyurts.com/ or check out an entry on my other blog, Stuck In Cottage Grove. http://stuckincottagegrove.wordpress.com/2008/02/14/pacific-yurts/

home, home on the driving range.  where the macys and bandits play.  where seldom is heard a discouraging word and the pies are baked fresh all day.

sung to the tune of “home on the range” obvi.

it’s about that time folks.  sarah’s just now getting out of class (law school rocks!) and swinging through the lex to pick me and my overly packed suitcase up.  oh and we’re also grabbing lunch at blue-to the-sky.  the most yummiest in the tummiest meal in the world.  i’ll have the special sandwich (cuz i am, mom told me so) and sarah will have the chix salad on focaccia.  the usual.

then we’ll sing along with our ipizzle all the way to the atl.

At this point last year, I was stressing going back to Philly for my five year high school reunion. Who did I want to see?  Who would I have to avoid? And was there enough alcohol available to get me through the whole thing?

Today, though, as I head back, I’m thinking much more about what I’m looking forward to, than what I’m not.

• I’m looking forward to pie duty. Every year during Thanksgiving dinner, I help around the kitchen, but my biggest responsibility is making the pies – pumpkin and pecan, naturally.

• I’m looking forward to Black Friday. Yes, it’s gotten a little ridiculous with sales starting at midnight (whatever happened to the good old fashioned 4am start?), but it’s still tradition. So I will drag myself to the outlets at an ungodly hour, and do my part in stimulating this economy. Even though the crowds are terrifying.

• I’m looking forward to running my first race with my entire family. We’ll be doing a 5k in the area, that not only promises appearances from the “Jogging Turkey” and Santa Claus, but also helps raise money for the school near which it’s being held.

• I’m looking forward to brunch with my high school girlfriends. I usually only see them over the holidays (though, that might be changing soon – I’m sensing a whole lot of weddings coming up), but we always pick up right where we left off.

I’m unfortunately not looking forward to the extended family we’ll have over on Thanksgiving day, but hey, nothing’s perfect.

And that’s what bottles of wine are for.

This is Henry, my little brother.  Today is his 16th birthday.

We’re six years apart, but we’ve always been close. I think it helps that we had such a big age difference, plus being a boy and a girl, we never really had anything to argue over — except maybe on family vacations about who’s turn it was to play Pokemon Red and who was stuck with Yellow. Although I was older, I was still a nerd, so this was a legitimate concern.  Oh, and there was one time I pushed him over in the yard because he kept yelling at cars and buses going by that we were scooping dog poo. I think I was only 12 or 13 then, and I was SO mortified — he deserved to go down.

We have a million inside jokes from stupid YouTube videos, Homestar Runner, and episodes of Flight of the Conchords. We share our iTunes libraries and an obsession with Taylor Swift. He’s cool enough that I let him stick around when I have my friends over.  He’s cool enough to let me tag along with his friends for trick-or-treating when I have nothing else to do on Halloween. (Yes, that was this year. My life is awesome.) We go to concerts and movies together. He takes my hand-me-down computers and cell phones with no complaints. He doesn’t mind that I tease him endlessly about being a vegetarian — “There’s bacon in that chocolate cake, sorry brah.” He’s not just my little brother, he’s one of my best friends. Sometimes I wish we were twins.

When I was at college in Syracuse and in England last month, missing him was the worst. I wasn’t there for his marching band performances and school plays. I found out about his new girlfriends from Facebook. I gave him all the sisterly advice I could while I was around, but I still always felt like he was growing up, and I was missing it.  It’s not that we weren’t still close while I was gone, but let’s just say I’m really glad to be home, and he’s a big factor.

Henry has grown up so much in the past few years, and I’m really proud of him. He’s a sophomore in high school now, a brilliant musician, a little hippie and future activist.  He’s going to do great things with his life — he just needs to be reminded how great he is every once in a while, when school seems like a waste of time and he’s ready to drop out & start a band.

So in his honor, appreciate your siblings today.  If you aren’t already, try to make friends — one of the best parts about getting older is that it becomes a little easier to do.  And if you don’t like your own siblings, adopt a friend to pick on and give hand-me-downs for the day (or vice versa).  Friends are the next best thing to blood siblings, sometimes even better

And yeah, he probably won’t read this, but just in case — Happy Birthday Hank!  I love you dude, keep on being awesome!

Henry in Utah, Summer 08

Up until last weekend, San Francisco was having incredible November weather. The sun was shining, the air was crisp, and all we wanted to do was be outside.

We happen to have a little outdoor patio that measures about 8′x8′ and it was starting to look a bit disgusting with the leaves and dirt that had accumulated.  So, a few weekends ago Will and I took a couple of hours to clean things up, take a quick trip to our neighborhood nursery, and get our planting on.

I wish I had Before pictures, becauase the transformation was pretty dramatic. Anyhow, here’s our little outdoor patio (which we still don’t use, but at least now it looks good!)

That’s our neighbor’s window, not ours. They don’t have access to the patio. hehe

Kjære Julenissen !

jeg ønsker meg Kivi lykter i alle farger & gjerne en rosa Maribolle!

Hilsen Janne

Å her får Nissen kjøpt de:

Å det hadde blitt sååå fint!

Arghh! Had been real down on my luck lately. Tons of unlucky stuff happened one after another. Like,

1) charger for my portable vacuum cleaner spoilt
Should I count myself lucky because it’s still under warranty? I’m still upset anyway, maybe it was “overcharged” and kinda fused but I haven heard of charger being spoilt due to that leh. Duhz.

2) Vickki’s newly bought dog food packet had tons of insects and I had to call for an exchange since it was being delivered. The stupid CSO said need to check with supplier before they call me back because pet’s food was delivered directly from supplier’s side.

3) My alarm clock cant work too! But I’ve just realised it’s because of low batt. Have changed the batteries and now it’s fine

4) Vickki is having serious rashes problem again despite I just bathed her 1 day ago. Sigh.

All these seem like small stuff but when they come together, arggghhh, damn pek chey one lor.

Yesterday just finished fengshui audit for our new house by Ir’s fengshui master. He was actually Ir’s hubby’s shi fu, so to speak. Drives a lexus and is a monk. He certainly looks very busy and the fengshui audit seems chop chop done. Sigh, I also dont know what to say. He doesnt charge a fee, you need to give an angbao instead. Despite so, our angbao is not small. Really hope he wont be like the previous Master Chang from fengshuiyinyang.com who ignored emails/calls/sms after he got the money. Hng!

Thank god Master Lim didnt suggest anything which pose major changes to our planning IMO as bed and wardrobe can stay at their planned position. To dearie, it’s headache. Because he meant the house to be in dark dark cool cool colours. But now Master Lim said deco is best to be in beige. To me I’m fine lah but he’s fussy. =P

I’m really rushing for everything since I want the house to be ready by CNY. Had sent my requirements and floorplan to 2 designers/contractors. Still waiting for their quotes. Meanwhile, I have to get hold of Master Lim when he’s back from JB…still got some stuff to ask him. Speaking of the house, sometimes I get so frustrated and throw tantrum at dearie. Why? Because he’s like dilly dally la! Ask him decide reno stuff and want him to discuss together, he was either busy doing other things or else postpone and postone.

He thinks a house can suddenly pop out nicely renovated with a throw of money. It doesnt work like this lor. You still have to decide what you want and get the contractor to quote. And the thing is, he WANTS to decide and yet want to take his own sweet time to decide. Many times I felt like slapping him but I curbed myself. Argghh!

Work too is busy. I’m always especially busy during Nov and Dec because we need to deliver calenders and diaries. Personally, I also have many upcoming events.

The 2 events just passed was the gathering with Gen and gang, as well as Al & Cat’s ROM.

The former was on Sat evening and the latter was on Sun morning.

Gen is back from London and hence met up with all of us. We had a very fun but costly night. It’s all……CHINA ONE’S fault. Dammit. They USED to serve the nicest cheese fries but suddenly they took out from the menu. They USED to sell a wine range of reasonably priced wines, now they marked up so high and only 1 choice for red/white/sparkling wine respectively. I’m so damn pissed since I was the one who suggested as they have no ideas. Angry lor(with myself)!

We further adjourned to a pub at Boay quay for some beer and ktv. Sang some songs but the others were unable to drink more. My fault again, I kept expect they can drink as much as me when they’re decent folks(not drinkers like me). But actually also not totally my fault la because when I asked whether they want to drink, they’re very nice and kept say, “can can, just order what you like”.

=.=”

Eh really, if cannot just say mah. Because of my assumption of their reply, some drinks were wasted since obviously I cant finish all. Haiz, they’re just very nice people. Nevermind, in future I know their limits.

And because I had alot to drink that night, it was hell of a chore to wake up at 9+am the next morning. ROM function at the museum house. OMG…why didnt they set a more…normal timing at 11pm or 12pm? Luncheon mah right? But timing was set at 10.30am. With the massive jam, we reached at 10.50am but was glad we were in time for the solemnization.

Warmest congratulations to the lovely couple Al and Cat. They looked superbly handsome and gorgeous together! But I was simply too worn out(minor hangover) to even take pics of the couple nor the lovely restaurant whose name is 4 numbers. Dont remember what though…2047? or 2087? Think 4D. Haha. Thai restaurant but food was merely passable..think the food turned cold already. But the drinks were the worst. The sprite tasted like ice water just because the ice had dissolved ages ago. And even a request of a new glass tasted the same. Very nice and plush deco though.

Looking forward to their banquet! I love weddings!

Movie title: The informant
Ratings: 1/5
Comments: Matt damon, you really disappoint me. Fell asleep half way and dearie bought me home to sleep at 1am. It was really a yucky show! Comedy? Comedy my ****

ANY WEEKEND GUEST OF MINE has to be prepared to walk on the beach, go to yard sales, and visit a historic house or two. So on Saturday, when I said to my friend Marilyn Fish, “Oh, let’s just pop in to the Home Sweet Home Museum,” she was game. A few years back, Marilyn and I were editors-in-chief of sister publications, Style 1900 and Modernism. She now works at the Jason Jacques gallery of European art pottery, so she knows a thing or two about the decorative arts.

The house is a cedar-shingled saltbox built around 1720. Disconcertingly, it turns out that many of the furnishings within are High Victorian, and there’s an extensive collection of Lustreware.

Hugh King, above, East Hampton’s village historian, dispelled some of the myths about the house. Chief among them is that actor/playwright John Howard Payne, who wrote the treacly song “Home Sweet Home” in 1823 for his play “Clari, Maid of Milan,” which was produced first in London and then in Philadelphia, was born there. Although Payne’s parents lived in East Hampton for a time, it wasn’t in that house, and Payne was born in lower Manhattan in 1791.

The house came to be decorated in mid-19th century mode because the last private owners, Gustav and Hannah Buek, who were there from 1907-1927, collected the material as an homage to Payne, intending the house to look as it might have when he lived there (though he didn’t).

In 1928, the Village of East Hampton raised $60,000 to buy the place from the Bueks; it has been a museum since.

I was a bit disappointed to find the architecture (which I love) and the furnishings (which I don’t) so out of sync. My favorite aspect of the house is the high-gloss white painted paneling, above, which was added, King told us, around 1750. It made me wonder if some of the dark woodwork in, say, Park Slope, which people often feel duty-bound to keep, couldn’t benefit from a treatment like this.

School has been crazy and if I’m not at school, I’m at work. If I’m not at work, I’m in some sort of lab. Just two more weeks and I am done for a month and then it’s weddings, dances, overseas visits, family time. Can’t wait.

blurry view (sorry!)

One of the greatest excitement of our new place is that we have a small garden!!

Small enough to keep in check but big enough for us to enjoy and most of all turn into a kitchen garden!! Since having an allotment I have become fond of prettiness which is also edible!!

Our local council provides great discount on composting bins, so we have taken up the offer and order one saving 2/3 on a normal retail price : ) I love a bargain me lol!

If you live in the Greater Manchester area you can find more info here.

I cannot wait to start, but I am such a weather girl that this rain is putting me off…. doh! Did I tell you I can be very good at being veeeeeery lazy????? ehm ehm… well I am, I really need a good push to start then once I get going I am fine and go on for ever! But give me a sofa, a cup of tea and the internet and that’s it…

That’s when PB comes in… he’s very good at telling me off, nicely, but enough to get off my lazy so and so eheh!

So I am thinking next week to get a dwarf apple tree, we have one at the allotment and is beautiful to enjoy its flowers in spring and juicy apples in autumn!

I’d like to work on a plan, if I do I’ll share it with you so you can tell me what you think, tips and advice.

In the meantime I share with you two lovely blogs about gardening and growing your own:

My tiny plot
Nourish me

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Una delle cose di cui sono molto felice, nella nuova casa, e` che abbiamo un piccolo giardino!! Il primo ed ultimo giardino che ho vissuto e` stato nella casa dove sono nata, ma solo fino all’eta` di 5 anni, i miei ricordi sono basati piu` sulle foto che ancora ho.

E` piccolo cosi` che non diventera` troppo pesante tenerlo ordinato, ma grande abbastanza per creare un piccolo ‘kitchen garden’… tipo orticello, dove potremo coltivare piante, frutta e verdura in modo modesto da usare in modo immediato in cucina (mentre invece il nostro allotment e` utilitissimo per coltivare in grande quantita` e piante che prendono tanto spazio).

Il problema e` che io sono una pigrooooona!!! Ve lo avevo mai detto??? Ve ne siete mai accorte??? Anche l’allotment quest’estate l’ho tralasciato un po’ troppo, per non parlare che io sotto la pioggia a zappare proprio non ci so stare : ( che tipo eh?!

Datemi un divano, una copertina, internet e una bevanda calda e che mi sposta piu`… mannaggia a me! Meno male che PB ogni tanto passa per la sala e mi da una ’strillatina’ di darmi una mossa eheh!

E`  cosi` tra pioggia e buio io intanto penso a fare una visitina dal vivaio sabato prossimo per prendere un albero (mini, che non cresca enorme) di mele!! Ne abbiamo uno all’allotment e sia i fiori in primavera che i frutti in autunno sono deliziosi!!

Sara` interessante tenere un ‘diario’ di come riusciremo a trasformare questo piccolo spazio.