My Korean treasures

My last post was so depressing, it's time for some eye candy to brighten up your day (and mine).

Below are some of the things I bought from Korea.

"Zipper puller"

(I don't know what the proper name is)

Buttons

Stamps

Ice cream bowls

The China story...

My husband's grandma passed away on our last day in Seoul. She was living in Hainan, China. So after we came back to Singapore, we packed the whole family and flew over for her '7-day prayer ceremony'.

We were there for 4 days. Probably the most gruelling 4 days of our lives. From cramped budget airline seats with filthy toilets, super hot weather (Hainan island is the southernmost part of China, hence the hottest) to the toughest Chinese praying session I've ever attended in my whole entire life. The details...

Location: Weicai, Hainan Island, China

Scene: Burning offerings and lighting joss sticks

Prop: 1000 rims of fake paper money, 10 boxes of paper clothes and jewellery, one hard-boiled egg per actor (eggshells to throw into the fire, eggs to eat), seven joss sticks per actor

Setting: A scorching hot summer day at 12 noon, with strong winds from north south east and west to blow off the fiery ashes right to the actors' noses

Set: A 10mx10m bush area of wild weeds and grass the height of a sycamore, sparsely growing trees, unclear footpath

Climax: My poor father-in-law collapsing right onto the bush out of heatstroke

Imagine what my daughter thought about the whole thing.

I wish I had any pictures to show of the ordeal. But that would simply be rude. So instead I took a picture of the house that my husband's grandfather built. The house is located about 5 minutes walk from the 'set'. In the picture are my parents-in-law.

Back from China

I went to Korea, but I came back from China. How did that happen? More on that in my next update, but first, two snapshots from my trip to Seoul. I got a hungry husband to feed right now so I need to hurry.

First picture is my favourite place in Seoul... Insadong!

Next is a picture of some of the shops I love.
More to come soon!

At the airport

Free internet #1, Changi Airport. Who can resist?

You're probably wondering why, after posting such a sad entry on leaving my daughter in school, I'm now leaving her for another country! I can't help but feeling like a terrible mom everytime I do this (you mean you do this often?!?! you say). No, not very often. But lately it seems like it happens once in every few months. This is the third time this year, actually. First London, then Japan and now Korea.

When I left home this morning, my daughter was still asleep, so I just gave her a longer-than-usual kiss and a sign of the cross on the forehead (my mom would be so proud, and besides, what better thing can I give her than that?) It felt sooo hard to leave, but I'm really hoping that during my absence, my daughter can bond with my helper (aka maid) and be less hostile towards her. Oh yeah... she has been pretty hostile towards my helper so far. A simple look from the helper will get a "Don't see me!" and that's just one of her many more don'ts. "Don't touch my bed!" "Don't take my pillow!" "Don't don't don't!" Sigh...

Well, I gotta go now. So until next week, take care!

Off to Seoul for the rest of the week

I'll be leaving for Seoul tomorrow morning, so I won't have any new blog update until next week. That is unless I can't resist the temptation of free internet that, they say, is available in abundance in the city.

What will I be doing in Seoul? Well, my dear husband will be working during the day, so I'll be free to roam the street of this 10th largest city in the world. I might also check out the ceramics village where we could try our hands at pottery making, as part of the tour. Sounds fun, huh?

I don't expect much from the trip though, because a few of my friends who have been there didn't come back with much positive feedback. One said the koreans were the rudest people on earth, another said there wasn't anything much to do, and so on. But you can be sure that I'll be back with some pictures (if not the only things). So until then, have a good week ahead!

The next Picasso

I found a seriously hilarious book at the library today. It was sitting innocently on the return-here-after-you-read trolley. The book is called "Why cats paint: a theory of feline aesthetics" by Heather Busch & Burton Silver. What tickles me the most about the book is that it's not meant to be funny at all. It explores the subject of cat painting in a similar way as that of interest rate policy. It discusses the historical perspectives, the different theories and so on.

One of the major artists was 'Minnie', who was an abstract expressionist. Minnie had a tendency to paint outside the canvas (read: on the wall). This was described, in the words of the authors, "Her paintings... refused to be contained by need for conventional boundaries and overflow off-canvas in a vital yet balanced manner."

So go and borrow the book from the library if yours has it. The pictures are simply divine and I'm sure you'll have a good time reading it.

Tuesday and Thursday blues

Tuesdays and Thursdays are becoming harder and harder to get by. My daughter goes to 'school' on those days. Each class only lasts two and a half hours, but her anxiety (and I believe, agony) starts as early as the night before and she makes sure that everyone around her knows it. It reaches its climax in those few minutes before she enters the classroom, when she screams and cries at the top of her lungs for 'mommy'.

It breaks my heart every time. It especially hurts since I have to pretend that it's not such a big deal and just walk away. Trying to pacify her and looking sad won't work at this point and it may even discourage her further from going to class. Deep down inside, I'm dying to pacify her and tell her that everything will be okay, and that I will always be there with her. But that would be a lie, because in real life, things do go wrong and we sometimes have to do something we don't wanna do. Still, I feel so sad to see her cry like that.

Fabric obsession

I bought a piece of fabric from Lara Cameron's Kirin & Co and I just can't wait to get my hands on it! I started reading her blog a few weeks ago and now I'm hooked. She's a designer of various things but I especially love the fabric patterns she designs.

I haven't decided what I'll use it for, but I'm pretty sure my brand new sewing machine and I can work out something. Just wait and see.

My very own sewing machine

The crocs shoes weren't the only things I bought. Yep, as the title suggests, I also bought a sewing machine! I'd been wanting to get one for so long... I guess I must've said something right (or said it frequently enough...) coz my dear husband finally said "If you want it, just buy it lah." *grin* So I did.

It's a Janome sewing machine, which has everything I could ever need, and hopefully more, in case my sewing skill picks up. I haven't taken it out of the box yet, coz I'm feeling rather drowsy because of the flu. But I'll definitely do it before the end of the week and start working on the long list of stuff I promised my husband I'd do :P

Oh gee, gst...

Today's the day Singapore's GST goes up to 7%, from 5%. Well, 2% more isn't much, but I just had to do what everybody else did, and buy something to beat it. So yesterday (the last day of 5% gst) I bought two pairs of crocs shoes of matching colour for my daughter and me.


Now, you've probably heard me saying "crocs shoes are super ugly, i'll never wear them." But that was before they came up with the prima range. I just love ballerina shoes lookalies, they always remind me of Audrey Hepburn. And I adooore Audrey Hepburn. She always looked so effortlessly elegant and graceful (at least in the pictures). Somehow I feel that, we're not actually very different, really, Audrey and me. She's graceful and I'm Grace.