Because there is still quite a bit of stuff to do around the apartment- pictures to hang on the walls, arranging the ornaments, etc. C, my fourth sister, came for a visit last night from London, she'll be with us until Sunday, until then she'll be my excuse for going out most days and hitting the sales.
We found an apartment. It is nice, with newly painted walls and crystal chandeliers. The 8/16er neighbourhood is a bit staid compared to the one we nearly signed up in the Boulevard Raspail/ Rue de Rennes area, but I can't justify village feel against 3 attached bathrooms/shower/toilet/bidet and 1 guest toilet and a decent sized kitchen. And the rent is within budget. Only thing is, we need to bring our own furniture, which means sleeping on the floor when the furniture is being shipped over (and back, when we return after the posting). And we'll have to figure out internet connection, telephone etc.
Thanks to everyone's who's been following our journey, we really appreciate your support and encouragement. We're officially the parents of baby V, yay yay ya!!
She looks like the picture they sent us, chubby and fair, with steady eyes and strong limbs. Sleeps and eats well. We are having so much fun getting to know her. Right now we're waiting for her passport to be processed. There isn't much to do but to play with her, help her to stand, explore the playroom and get used to the potty.
It's 2.08 am and I am wide awake, just like I was sleepless the night before. Today's insomnia may be due to the ti kun yam and nai cha I drank earlier, or the unfamiliarity of sleeping in a new bed, but the main cause is anxiety and worry about this major event in our lives. I am missing the dogs too, when we called home in the afternoon they were both waiting at the door, as is their habit at the weekend when they would normally expect us to come home in the middle of the afternoon and take them to Botanic Gardens for their run in the park.
2.20 am now. The aircon is blowing directly on my shoulders, not fun, I have three layers of clothing on. Am going to do some praying and yoga-ing.
There's no need to buy any ribbons for Mimi and Rufus. These were made from ribbons and fabrics left over from projects or given by kind friends. So sweet no?
As modelled....
Mimi's coat has grown so beautiful, silvery and sleek.
Rufus, meanwhile, is very greedy. Just now he managed not just to surreptitiously lick the cake, he stole away a sizeable piece too.
And he loves to "kai kai", especially if we take him to Botanical Gardens
Since I was feeling confident about single crochet, double crochet, slip stitch, circles and increasing stitches...
Actually the pattern specified a 10.0 mm hook and a boucle type yarn, but the knit shop did not have either, so I improvised by doubling most of the stitches and winging it till I had something that fit over my head.
(No, this is not me in the picture).
Last week I accompanied my colleague to the knit shop near our office. I wanted to learn how to crochet but the owner firmly refused to teach me. She gives free knitting lessons if her customers buy the yarn and tools but for crochet, she simply was not interested. This reluctance to teach crocheting is common among knit shops in Singapore. M ost businesses exist to sell yarn, I guess crocheting does not consume as much yarn as knitting.
Not that it does matter. At the Kinokuniya sale, I bought The Cozy Crochet Kit by Melissa Leapman- inside the box there was some blue yarn, 5 crochet hooks, 1 big-eyed needle and a stack of project cards. The instructions were mostly clear, as in I was not sure about some of the steps so had to validate with online resources and some of the diagrams were not terribly accurate but on the whole it was easy for a complete novice like me to follow. It also took me a while to figure out turning chains and decode the acronyms. BUT, after a few hours of unravelling and trying over and over again, I managed to make 3 bookmarks and 1 drink coaster!
Crocheting is fun, and I was really pleased I could make something so quickly, heck what am I saying, I felt right invincible when the drinks coaster turned out right- it took quite a bit of concentration to remember the stitch sequences. I have to buy more more yarn, there is only two colours at home, too boring.
For my colleagues:
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