Goodbye 2011!

Fruitcake

I'm told this is really good fruit cake. My aunt baked it for my mom. I don't eat fruitcake. I don't know why. But i am fascinated that they can keep for years.

This one's open

We had the most pleasant evening at Books Actually yesterday. It's tucked in a corner of Tiong Bahru Road and you probably need a whole day or more to comb through the selection of books some you wouldn't find elsewhere so says my husband the reader. He was rather dismayed when Borders closed and now Page One. You know the little kid who wails when his ice cream falls off the cone? That's him everytime a bookstore closes down. I suppose it's a different experience when you're actually at a bookstore- the simple act of walking, stopping, picking a book out from the shelf, being surrounded completely by books and more books and then some more, and in some, amidst a treasure trove of memorabilia complete with the bookstore cat. We walked, stopped, looked, oohed and ahhed and fought the urge to hug the cat who was more interested in getting his dinner.

Next time.

Tea and the sniffles

Tis the season to be recovering from flu. It was not fun coming down with a temperature on Christmas Eve and missing out on the celebrations but I'm just glad the worst is over. It's true what they say about good health being the ony thing you'd wish for when you don't have it. Of course when you do, you think about other things having tea with family and friends and possibly having a coffee maker in the kitchen.

lately

[afterword: I have finally figured out how to make my pictures bigger on blogger without driving myself completely insane! Seeing things bigger here still needs some getting used to though. Thank you all for visiting and taking the time to write your greetings it always add a little sparkle to my week.]

merry christmas and happy holidays!

the week in black and white

it's been nice taking some time off before christmas and just doing the things i wouln't otherwise be doing. christmas is town is really lively but the crowd just makes me want to stay home. hope your week's looking good.

maybe knitting

i woke up this morning looking for these knitting needles. it took me the whole day. in the process, i discovered things i had in my cupboards and dresser that i forgotten i ever had them. then of course, this led to having the need to organize my cupboards and dusting shelves and dropping by the mall to look for boxes to organize my stuff and i mean all kinds of stuff. by then, it was evening time and then i remembered why i was looking for these knitting needles. last night, i had seen a picture of some lovely yarn in a magazine and thought of taking up knitting again. maybe another day.

how's your weekend?

wednesday

on some days i wish the world was simpler as black and white.

Xiamen 3

these are the last of the xiamen series. i wish to go off somewhere soon again!

Xiemen 2

Some pics from Gulangyu, an island off the coast of Xiamen. it's about a 5 min ferry ride. its a nice way to spend an afternoon.

Xiamen 1

it's been a wonderful 4 days in xiamen which is a major city of China. the purpose of visit was really to catch up with an old friend who's been working there for about 10 years now. i can understand the attraction the place has for her. the lifestyle is alot simpler than home here and the people lead their own lives without much fanfare. there isn't alot of of the pleasantries that one might be used to when you step into the shops but they will help you readily if you had questions or needed help with directions. i saw someone at the hotel tipping the doorman who quietly declined and smiled as he helped him with his luggage.

i loved walking the streets. it comes alive especially over the weekends and the street food is delicious but rather salty. i took alot of food pictures but somehow didn't do a good job of it. many of it with blown out highlights. above are just some pictures of the streets.