Vietnamese Clothespin Doll

You asked for it.

J's second project is about his ancestors. Each student is given a clothespin doll and some black yarn for hair. They are to dress the doll in their native clothing. I gave him the choice of either Chinese or Vietnamese and he chose the latter. It's boring but J seems proud of it. I doubt he'll be as proud when he sees other kids' dolls because there are much more creative parents out there.

Windows 7 Inside Out

Windows 7 Inside Out

I am currently reading this book after reformatting and installing Windows 7 on my old laptop. It is quite a good book. I've learned a few new things but unfortunately, my aged brain is finding it difficult to retain them.

Patio Plants

 

Blueberry Bush. Thrives on acidic soil. I might chop it down or plant a 2nd plant to improve the yield quantity.

White blueberry flowers turn into blueberries.

Green to purple, finally to deep purplish blue.

Raspberry bush. Thorny and thrives on acidic soil.

Raspberries at various stages of ripening. You can see the "stem" after I picked the fruit.

Snowbird peas. 

Sunflower at the end of its life. We harvest the seeds after the flower dries up. The hamsters love 'em (seeds).

Dwarf Yellow Water Lily.

Thai basil and passion fruit plant

On the top is a picture of my Thai basil plant. I like to get a bunch and fry them in an omelette.
My neighbour, Mr Wong, says his mother used to make a dip for boiled chicken with these: just chop a bunch, pound them together with cili padi, garlic and young ginger. Add a dash of sesame oil and kicap.

I hope to try his family recipe soon.

On the bottom is a picture of my two passion fruit plants. Looking forward to reaping some fruits from my lil patch.

Starting a vegetable patch

Here are my first two attempts at gardening.

On the left is a brinjal plant.

On the right, is my little row of kangkung (water convulvus). They are growing very fast in this rainy season.

Pastel Sage Green walls

Here's my bedroom after the wall painting job.
I like how the green wall looks with my yellow lighting. Very calming. 

Spring cleaning a hobby closet

Took me a few days but I did it. Bought a few containers and had to throw out a big bag of old clothes; clothes that I thought I would reuse in the future, scraps of fabric I considered too precious  to join the trash ... but in the end, space and practicality overcame sentimental feelings. I was surprised that I was able to fit all my current hobby books. I vow never to start a new hobby ... unless I give up an existing one. Now, I have to tackle hemming pants for the boys in preparation for the new school season.

Summer Trip to Malaysia

This is a picture of us after a 90-minute Thai body massage at Thai Odyssey @ Empire Mall, Subang Jaya. Won't say it's relaxing but it was definitely an experience that we will never forget. CH wearing her blousy blouse. Very pretty. We are standing in front of a Kampung display. Surrounding the hut were various stalls selling Malaysian delicacies and traditional clothing. Unfortunately, the prices were jacked a bit too high for us. "See. No touch."

Here below is our kids:

Letter to a Friend

I don't know what to say except ...

You are stronger than you think you are.
You are beautiful, attractive, and smart.
You are honest and true.
You are loyal and steadfast.
Don't let anyone convince you otherwise.
Don't think less of yourself.
When doubts come,
Remind yourself of these qualities.

You will rise above this.
You will get through this.
So, take a deep breath, and have faith.
God is there with you, and so am I.
You are not alone.

I love you, sister.

Trip to San Juan Bautista

Chaperoned on a field trip to San Juan Bautista mission. The buildings are - the mission church, Plaza Hotel, Plaza Hall, Settler's Cabin, Livery and Stable, Jail, Outhouse (single and double story) ... don't remember much. I was in charge of 3 girls and 3 boys, and we had to go on a "scavenger hunt" looking for a list of items. The girls behaved very much like girls - insisting on visiting all the gift shops, candy shop and ice-cream parlour. I wanted to join the boys and just sit out but I couldn't. Most of the time, I just stood outside waiting for the girls ... much like a husband waiting for the wife to finish her shopping ... needless to say, I konked off on the bus ride back to school. zzzz.

View rest of the pictures on this link: https://picasaweb.google.com/115283976243930785758/SanJuanBautista?authkey=Gv1sRgCJHk5c3i77z-oQE#

After three classes of watercolor painting

Busy Bee's beautiful creations pressured me to come up with some. Here are two paintings after three classes of watercolor painting under my (ever-expanding physical) belt. I had to stop going because of volunteer commitments. For some reason, most of the field trips and school events happen on the same day of the class so I am not sure if I will sign up again.

First taste of folk art painting

Folk art Welcome sign

This was my first ever project in Folk Art painting.

Folk art painting of Ms. Darling Duck

Let me introduce you to Ms. Darling Duck.
She was one of the first few projects that I did. So, not very professionally done, but satisfying to me, nonetheless (grin).

I used a MDF Board of duck (which I bought from Craft Haven, 1Utama for about RM25)
Different brushes (liner, 1" square, etc. to paint the features)
Jo Sonja's acrylic paints (black, orange, turquoise etc.)

Here's how I prepared and painted her.
1) To prepare: paint all over with Jo Sonja's All Purpose Sealer. (1-2 times).
2) Basecoat with Jo Sonja's White Gesso (2 times).
3) Background colour is Jo Sonja's Island Sand (2-3 times). Use a sanding pad to smoothen the surface in between coats of paint, except the last layer.
4) I drew a free-hand image of her features using a 2B pencil.
5) Paint in the details with a mix of different colour.
6) For the lace: I dotted red colours using a stylus.

On hindsight, I will probably use a Blending gel to make her shawl less stiff.
That's it. 

Getting the light

My family and I travelled back to Taiping (which is located  in the Perak state of Malaysia) for a wedding recently. Along the way, we stopped by one of the famous shops in Bidor, which sell sweet, ripe pomelos. 

All the girls made a mad dash for the toilet but we were stopped in our tracks. Just outside the toilet was a beautiful display of paper chains and hanging plants. This was all  inside the dimly lit shoplot. The decorations were made by a Burmese lady who came in to Malaysia to work. Such an unexpected sight of beauty in the least expected of places. I wished I had taken more pictures.

Greetings organic humans!

I come in peace.