Archive | December, 2017

What a Year 2017 Has Been

29 Dec

2017 is coming to an end with two days left to go. This is my last entry for the year and my, my, what a year it has been for me!

There has been many significant changes to our lives in 2017, the biggest one being the relocation of our design studio. We moved closer to home and it’s a mere 5km away only. What a difference for us especially when it comes to time management and traffic jam-free driving which is really nice.

It may be smaller in size but it’s a lot more cosy and I certainly feel happier. Work-wise we have been fortunate to be kept busy. Let’s hope this momentum carries onward to the new year.

On the personal side, I have been plagued with injuries causing me to lose interest in playing golf. While it’s unfortunate I lost my passion for the game I enjoy, it spawned a new passion, carving. Gigglesville was born with a whole new township of owl Citizens and Superheroes. They have been lovingly hand-crafted with each day of me staying home to recover from the tennis elbow.

Hubby also picked up a new interest in air plants. The house is now full of these everywhere and it’s nice to look at them. M1 had a good year at university, and did her second internship which we feel the experience was invaluable. She has matured so much. M2 turned Sweet 16 and doing well in school too.

We had several crayfishes that lasted and didn’t. These creatures are not easy to care for! Some fishes died too due to old age. Senior citizen of the house, Rooney, also official pet number one, turned ten and for the first time showed signs of his seniority. And demanding more attention than ever.

The list can go on for what happened throughout the year! As I reflect back, there’s more good and memorable ones than anything else and I carry these in my heart forever. With 2017 almost done––sometimes too fast with the days going by, sometimes super slow––I look forward to the new year and eagerly await what lies ahead with a positive outlook.

I want to thank all my readers, people from all over the world, friends and family who have followed me to read my stories and thoughts. It’s a nice feeling and I hope you’d continue to read and enjoy the musings.

A toast to 2017, thank you for memories and another toast to 2018, let it be an exciting year with lots to write, grouse and muse about!

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I Need a Mallet?

28 Dec

My latest set of tools look so huge that hubby thinks I should have a log or wood stump to work on instead of puny one inch thick balsa wood! It’s just too funny. Tempting as it may be, I shot down the offer because this would then make the whole living room become a woodwork workshop.

And out of the blue, I feel I need a mallet to complement the new tools. I even picked one up over the weekend when we were at the hardware store but hubby told me that there’s an existing mallet in the office already and I should just bring that home.

Well, we’ll see how my usage of the new tools will be. But I need a bigger piece of wood…

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The Day After

26 Dec

Normally every year after enjoying the merry-making of the Family Christmas Dinner, we would sleep in. But this year it’s a little different, a break from tradition; firstly, dinner was hosted by us and secondly, it was on Christmas Day itself, not Christmas Eve.

Food preparation was a long process although there wasn’t much cooking. I made the salad, M1 made the mash potatoes, M2 prepared the hors d’oeuvres of smoked bacon and grape on romaine. The focaccia herb mushroom toast bites was team effort, and the turkey and dinner rolls were contributed by my sibling. We did add a couple more purchased roasted chicken to make life easier. It’s a simple spread but satisfying nonetheless.

And because dinner was on Christmas Day itself and Boxing Day is not a holiday, we have to go into the office. Not too long but necessary to wrap up some little work we have left for the year.

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Merry Christmas Everyone!

25 Dec

Here’s wishing everyone, my readers, friends and family and a very blessed and Merry Christmas!

This year, we are having the family over for Christmas dinner, Mom, my sibling and his troopers. It will be a fun Merry-making time with lots to eat, yes, I can cook if preparing a salad counts as cooking, lots to drink, and lots to talk and laugh about.

As we reflect upon the past twelve months, let our experiences make us stronger and better prepared for 2018!

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Serious Tools

22 Dec

I had a good chuckle when my latest tool purchase from Lazada arrived. Dang! They are huge!!!!!! One gentle tap on the soft balsa would be enough to break the wood apart.

Hahaha… honestly I didn’t expect this latest set of tools to be so gigantic. I guess I didn’t read the fine print or ignored the size mention. Oh well.

Well, at least I now have some kick-ass serious tools to tackle harder wood, like the bass wood.

Going Gaga Over Gudetama

21 Dec

You would think that being in Hong Kong and especially visiting Hong Kong Disneyland, we would be excited by Mickey and company but no, we were not as mesmerized as most would be. Instead, we found Gudetama and were captivated by it.

Somehow the lazy egg has gotten the better of us. M2 and I bought Gudetama socks; and she bought candies and a pencil case too. As for me, I acquired a recycle bag, a luggage tag and a two-sided self-inking rubber stamp.

There were more stuff available – folders, pouches, name card holders, pencils, passport holder, lunch boxes, little figurines and a whole lot of stationeries but I managed to refrain. It was tough though…

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Bitten by the Flu Bug

19 Dec

The inevitable has happened! M2 and I have been bitten by the flu bug. I was fine up till my meeting yesterday but when I got home, it’s full blown. Not good.

I suspect it’s during the taxi ride home that we caught the chill, as I could feel the acute coldness in the car and I knew it’s going to hit; it certainly isn’t from the cold when we left Hong Kong nor tiredness from the travel. Sure enough it did.

Well, better rest for a speedy recovery.

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Holiday’s Over

18 Dec

The minute the realization kicks in that the holiday is over, the body is sapped with lethargy and the spirit is down. Welcome back to reality. We got to the airport early yesterday, and after checking in, we took the train—transferring from one terminal to another—to look for Aji Ichiban to buy some last minute snacks. After our purchase, we had a simple noodle lunch before making our way to the designated gate.

Although our flight was delayed slightly, we managed to arrive home not too late which was good because this allowed us to readjust to the weather and rest. The holiday is truly over.

I shouldn’t have agreed to a meeting today with a potential new client but when it’s a potential new client, one should agree to accommodate them. Well, towards a good week ahead!

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HK Day 5: Goodbye Hong Kong

17 Dec

We woke up at eight to a freezing cold apartment. Nine degrees the Weather app showed! No wonder it’s freaking cold. Thank goodness it’s our last day and we’re leaving. Goodbye Hong Kong, you have been really fun this trip as we totally enjoyed ourselves. But I am sure we will be back again.

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HK Day 4: We Walked and Walked and Walked…

16 Dec

Today we topped it all, the mother of all walks! We were on the move for almost 12 hours, doing 17,217 steps and 10.7km. We covered so many areas after a hearty breakfast. It was a much colder day today with the temperature at 14 degrees Celsius so it made walking brisk. Everyone had three layers on except for M1.

We walked to Victoria Park to visit Tin Hau Temple and Lin Fa Kung Temple; after that we walked to Sogo the departmental store and went to every floor to browse because it’s fun to look especially at the household and decorative items. We saw an incense burner that costs a bomb, well, HK$428,000 to be exact! I kid you not. Does money fall from the sky for the people here? Seeing that we are not worthy to be new owners of the burner, we left Sogo for Nathan Road.

The Goldfish Market street was very interesting with lots of pets on display for sale. We crossed over here and there braving the sardine packed streets and stumbled upon Fa Yuen Food Market. Looking for food, we inadvertently found Mui Kee Congee. So good the congee tasted.

Sated and rested a bit, we moved on towards the Ladies Market, the main attraction in that area. By then the wind picked up and temperature got colder. And when it gets colder, one tends to want to go to the bathroom more frequently. But with so many street vendors and cramped eateries, finding a bathroom wasn’t easy. So what did we do?

We walked into a hospital to use the bathroom at the A&E department!

We ate again, this time finally getting our roast goose and roast pork with rice. Ahhh…. So so good. But the evening was not over yet as we headed down to Tsim Sha Tsui to watch the evening laser show. It was a little after 9.00pm when we got back to the apartment and all of us just couldn’t feel our feet anymore. What a day!

After four intense days of walking, I foresee no such lengthy walks in the next few days ahead. I must say it has been a really good family vacation and looking forward to the remaining time we have together with M1 before she goes back to the US in January.

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