tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76497342024-03-07T10:42:15.528+01:00sohcoolsohcoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15067609480064416929noreply@blogger.comBlogger587125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649734.post-76863169935073066152023-03-01T10:52:00.001+01:002023-03-01T10:52:58.792+01:00We have moved<p>I haven't updated this blog for a few years. I stopped writing because my life is pretty much a routine. Sure, there were ups and downs. But I just lost interest to write.</p><p>In between then and now, there were COVID 19, I changed job, was a stay at home mum for 8 months during the lockdown, got a new FIAT 500 electric car (my dream car) and moved back to Singapore last August.</p><p>I would love to write down my challenging move back to my birthplace. But maybe another time. Throughout this journey, God has been faithful. One obstacle after another were overcome by His grace. I was totally stressed out; uncertain if the choice was the right one. </p><p>I left behind 19 years of my life in France. It is a big deal to me. I spent almost all my adulthood there and made so many good friends. The boys spent their lives in our village knitting close friendships with their village friends. It was hard to leave.</p><p>We decided to come back for this one reason: my mum. </p>sohcoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15067609480064416929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649734.post-35206509316026461132018-11-09T23:04:00.006+01:002018-11-09T23:09:17.124+01:00Berlin Seb and I visited Berlin during the recent school holidays while the boys were with their grandparents.<br />
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We spent 4 wonderful days walking around this dynamic city. We walked a lot and came across the major landmarks. We visited 3 museums and watched the movie "Crazy rich asians" that I happened to chance upon. And of course, I did some shopping at the nearby Mall of Berlin.<br />
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Our stay at Marriott Berlin was perfect. Thanks to Seb's frequent overseas work trips, he accumulated enough reward points and got us a superior room for less than 100€ for the 3 nights. This room gave us excess to the executive lounge. I did not know such lounge exists. For my work trips, I had been to the Air France business lounge at the airport. The hotel's executive lounge was similar. Cozy, private and always replenish with drinks and light snacks. We could even have simple meals there.<br />
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From our hotel, we could see the Singapore embassy. I was surprised to see the Singapore flag flying!<br />
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We visited East Side Gallery. The 1.3km of the reminding Berlin wall was creatively painted and it was an open art gallery. There were many interesting paintings and thought provoking texts.<br />
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I saw these Eastern Germany manufactured cars, the Trabant. They used to be the cars driven in the Eastern Bloc. Now they are used mainly as tourist attractions.<br />
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Before the Berlin Wall was built, it was divided into four zones: US, British, French and Russian. We visited this street to see Charlie's Checkpoint. There was a checkpoint and a sighboard. Nearby was the Charlie's Checkpoint museum.<br />
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Seb and I were amused to see tourists posing with fake American soldiers for a small fee.<br />
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As for museums, we visited the German Historical museum, the Pergamon museum and the Topography of Terror.</div>
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The museum island housed many museums and the Pergamon museum is one amazing museum. It contains antiquity from ancient middle east and Isalmic arts. </div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">The impressive reconstructions of massive archaeological structures – the Pergamon Altar, Market Gate of Miletus, the Ishtar Gate and Processional Way from Babylon, and the Mshatta Facade – have made the Pergamonmuseum famous throughout the world.</span><br />
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The <span style="text-align: center;">German Historical museum gave a comprehensive history of Germany since the days of lords and kings. After two hours in there and before reaching the WW1 section, we left. There were many conflicts in europe. In between the numerous conflicts were the 100 years war between 1337 to 1453 and t</span><span style="text-align: center;">he 30 years war between 1618 and 1648. These information was heavy on the heart. Still, it was a museum full of well preserved items on display.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">On our last day, we walked around our district at Potsdamer Platz and arrived at Topography of Terror. This site was once the Gestapo and SS headquarters. The buildings were demolished after the war. Germans tried to get on with their lives and erased the painful past.</span></div>
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This recent museum detailed the raising of Hilter and how the Nazis came into power resulting into World War 2. How the Jews were persecuted. Homosexuals, gypsies, political opponents were not spared too. </div>
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After the walls collapsed, new buildings were built in these no man zones. Berlin feels young and vibrant. It shows even in its food. Many restaurants have vegan options. It was easy for Seb to find something suitable for him.<br />
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Seb organised this trip and after 16 years of marriage (yes, this is our wedding anniversary trip), he is starting to know my travel style. He brought me to a Sunday open market and an indoor Saturday food market. I bought 2 second hand english books and a book about the Berlin wall.<br />
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Berlin is an educational trip. Germany has such a dark past. I hope this dark history will never repeat itself though the current political situations around the world seems to be heading towards this path.sohcoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15067609480064416929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649734.post-22423199341861220062018-09-13T17:12:00.001+02:002018-09-13T17:15:27.747+02:00Back to Nissan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
After having the DS3 for about three years, I decided to change car. I realised that for a small car, the DS3 was consuming too much fuel. The BMW motor (yes, BMW and Citroen exchanged parts) was running on an average 8L of petrol per 100km. That is worse than the VW Touran. Furthermore, petrol prices are on the increase. </div>
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Seb and I discussed and decided that we shall go full electric. We did think of having a hybrid car but on high speed, it still consumes petrol. </div>
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With me working from home, my routine is to go to my La Defense office on Mondays and Paris on Saturdays for the boys' chinese lesson. The rest of the days are ferrying the boys to the next town for their activities. Any medium size electric car can do 200km easily and Paris back and fro from our place is about 130km. </div>
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Seb advised me not to buy an electric car but to lease it. As the batteries of electric cars are evolving constantly , being more and more powerful, the electric car we procured would be obsolete in the years to come.</div>
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We do not have much choice in France. We tried Renault Zoe and Nissan Leaf, and took a 37 months lease with the Nissan Leaf. We are back to Nissan, my first love. Yeah! (<a href="http://sohcool.blogspot.com/2007/05/please-take-note.html" target="_blank">Our first car was a Nissan Note</a>). </div>
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This car has lots of cool <a href="https://www.nissanusa.com/vehicles/electric-cars/leaf/features.html" target="_blank">features</a>. It has lane departure warning, distance control while on cruise control, ePedal, back passenger seat belts warning etc...</div>
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It was a breeze to drive this car. It was bigger than the DS3 though I still prefer the compact size of the DS3. I have never driven an electric car but it is just as powerful as any other car. It is silent and takes off once the pedal is stepped on. </div>
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For charging the car, we installed a box. It takes about 7 hours to fully charge an empty battery at 6kW. A fully charged battery would cost about 5€ of electricity. The car tracks the estimated time needed to charge and the car regenerates energy when it slows down. So the indicated kilometers is an estimation. So far, we have never reach 0%. The min we had left was 25% of battery.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEituEc97rrcai7BBN-NlA3U9jAJUQwFew-VtNwIgbEJXKGxRVuzbKch-d2p4TqeaesNh_zT6_9NG1Sht5kzoZ5pPY09tGGGz4mrfFTfcWY7I7SK25oRPCIxLc_Kj2M4hVBlu9oKVQ/s1600/IMG_20180912_173525_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEituEc97rrcai7BBN-NlA3U9jAJUQwFew-VtNwIgbEJXKGxRVuzbKch-d2p4TqeaesNh_zT6_9NG1Sht5kzoZ5pPY09tGGGz4mrfFTfcWY7I7SK25oRPCIxLc_Kj2M4hVBlu9oKVQ/s320/IMG_20180912_173525_HDR.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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In the village, there are two charging boxes in the public parking outside the school. It is free to charge there and I have applied for the charging card. There is a Zoe in the village but so far when I charged the car there, the charging boxes were available.</div>
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A new school term has started and chinese lesson in Paris will begin soon. Another postive point of having an electric car in Paris, public parking is free; that is if there is an empty one available. :)</div>
<br />sohcoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15067609480064416929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649734.post-4152573716863734662018-06-06T22:03:00.001+02:002018-06-06T22:03:12.198+02:00Medivale festival in Dourdan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Last weekend was the yearly medivale festival in Dourdan. We visited the castle in the late afternoon on Saturday while Seb went to Dourdan swimming pool.</div>
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This was the third time we attended this festival. We decided to stay within the castle during our short visit. The boys spent time playing with some wooden games like the bar skittle bowling, puck game etc. They were rewarded with sweets if they scored well. We spent a long time there.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlOS7zwNIug7TwkjFIgpv-X4ix2Riwl_HCLtX5JDe88iS750wPswr_qatljbDIulH08mlB2M-rWqsiFMoWlLY-yJLmdCpm1RhLBK6oNJi4352jpyxe2dfv-7uJy6PKInCkyTUVaQ/s1600/20180602_164441.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlOS7zwNIug7TwkjFIgpv-X4ix2Riwl_HCLtX5JDe88iS750wPswr_qatljbDIulH08mlB2M-rWqsiFMoWlLY-yJLmdCpm1RhLBK6oNJi4352jpyxe2dfv-7uJy6PKInCkyTUVaQ/s320/20180602_164441.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
There was performance in the castle ground. Sword fighting. Archery sessions were held at the moat.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiST5G81oF6tcY8ah9yKDbvvuMaY-eZLUVkwQb4DNXIEqU9jMFaD9JATMvz1ughyphenhyphenMcV-CR_8jUbHXsiMYuoUXcC-JwuHXIg2ccxaghvUh1EgFx05Tqh9NyhrixQELrKMm9Umkk4YA/s1600/20180602_155649.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiST5G81oF6tcY8ah9yKDbvvuMaY-eZLUVkwQb4DNXIEqU9jMFaD9JATMvz1ughyphenhyphenMcV-CR_8jUbHXsiMYuoUXcC-JwuHXIg2ccxaghvUh1EgFx05Tqh9NyhrixQELrKMm9Umkk4YA/s320/20180602_155649.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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For the first time, we visited the museum in the castle. It was a small one and had interesting information on the local history.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4_CagL5_sBBv9dUQ3ZbR4ssZqIex9R8IMdkxT4BFhjeCvrWMSJ28RwWopVSw9ojsERmdRfXiTAkdeORJrpXz0G1SAq4w5iSmm7BrPTvkQBvsIiVcEY-Af6GhmSWbQd1hrGyagVQ/s1600/20180602_170838.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4_CagL5_sBBv9dUQ3ZbR4ssZqIex9R8IMdkxT4BFhjeCvrWMSJ28RwWopVSw9ojsERmdRfXiTAkdeORJrpXz0G1SAq4w5iSmm7BrPTvkQBvsIiVcEY-Af6GhmSWbQd1hrGyagVQ/s320/20180602_170838.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUAtAhwVCKp1FZRdlDJrhIipDH5Q7sGuWzh8iqf1MO3E-Gj30xIx9MW9OrhJtUjs9VbmkT_E9JTe7E8NNaQeNWYdiBpkAVtEJ1-N1PVFJHVCGheJJSf81eS0Int9BdacJsmJ2u7g/s1600/20180602_165028.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUAtAhwVCKp1FZRdlDJrhIipDH5Q7sGuWzh8iqf1MO3E-Gj30xIx9MW9OrhJtUjs9VbmkT_E9JTe7E8NNaQeNWYdiBpkAVtEJ1-N1PVFJHVCGheJJSf81eS0Int9BdacJsmJ2u7g/s320/20180602_165028.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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While we were queueing for ice cream and fries, Seb called me to say he would pick us up after his swim. We headed to our meeting point and that ended our short visit of the festival. I hope to visit next year on a sunday afternoon to catch the knights battle.</div>
<br />sohcoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15067609480064416929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649734.post-41721659891709335862018-05-16T23:12:00.001+02:002018-05-16T23:12:48.187+02:00Strawberries a plenty<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I bought two strawberry plants last year from the organic farm and one of them have reproduced giving lots of daughter plants. It was growing a few long runners last september and I put the new baby plants in smaller pots just around it. I left them out and they survived winter. I spotted white flowers and am waiting now for strawberries.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZOY0xwTOPO7q2h5ri23wJcmcvh3_Oku9LvvPYCon7y-oCm6m1Gj5DjKOi5De-u0uCVHqXaWiiPmX4YfWtPmnsZ-vfx7Z4p3hm7GIW6JR8y-bwYjjqnvs9tuY7fLcFAW4dhwqTqA/s1600/IMG_20180506_120518_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZOY0xwTOPO7q2h5ri23wJcmcvh3_Oku9LvvPYCon7y-oCm6m1Gj5DjKOi5De-u0uCVHqXaWiiPmX4YfWtPmnsZ-vfx7Z4p3hm7GIW6JR8y-bwYjjqnvs9tuY7fLcFAW4dhwqTqA/s320/IMG_20180506_120518_HDR.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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The other plant was planted in my vegetable plot and it is doing well too. It has grown much bigger and there are flowers too.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGkhn47jLAveXQ-EChfiK3plQQiW0Ii4mZqxI8MS2tqduDFE1RqPDFppb19fGa1WWdbof_kTKrzM1NnBhEFfQSa8GLKjRgdnA7gZCxIvEINhoTPTygQ01ZgEVYRWaS5H6cPeu_xg/s1600/IMG_20180506_120606_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGkhn47jLAveXQ-EChfiK3plQQiW0Ii4mZqxI8MS2tqduDFE1RqPDFppb19fGa1WWdbof_kTKrzM1NnBhEFfQSa8GLKjRgdnA7gZCxIvEINhoTPTygQ01ZgEVYRWaS5H6cPeu_xg/s320/IMG_20180506_120606_HDR.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Hoping these plants will give many strawberries in the next few months. </div>
sohcoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15067609480064416929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649734.post-58650292802509928472018-04-27T00:04:00.000+02:002018-04-27T00:06:03.927+02:00Book: La vérité sur l'affaire Harry Quebert<span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">My bookworm friend recommended me this book and I had it as my christmas gift from my sister-in-law. I read the original version in French and while writing this post, I realised that there is a version in English. The title is The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqoe3yMG5RzWtpbOyjXsu1QGS9pSanLgmJKc35NHP3Pp7MlyrKOlAPgAajfouZqbvjJJPayZZCNaQ-tHKNf1uyMjNk6z_KQJSW9Shf0itq0yvKGpE0wtJFszVqKr2rTilFJ7Wzaw/s1600/download.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="345" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqoe3yMG5RzWtpbOyjXsu1QGS9pSanLgmJKc35NHP3Pp7MlyrKOlAPgAajfouZqbvjJJPayZZCNaQ-tHKNf1uyMjNk6z_KQJSW9Shf0itq0yvKGpE0wtJFszVqKr2rTilFJ7Wzaw/s320/download.jpeg" width="220" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">This novel though is more than 800 pages, is easy to read. The many twisting plots make reading unstoppable. Each time, when I started to read the book in bed, I knew that I would sleep only in the early hours of the night. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">I really enjoyed reading the book. Once the book is finished, I find it remarkable of the author to come up with such ideas. I won't write about the story here. Go read it. It is highly entertaining.</span></span>sohcoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15067609480064416929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649734.post-39644940761570704362018-04-26T23:51:00.000+02:002018-04-26T23:53:11.972+02:00Home made laundry detergent<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I made my first bottle of laundry detergent. It was really easy and I had already washed 4 loads of clothes with this detergent. The clothes were cleaned and I am satisfied with my product.</div>
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It is really easy to make the detergent. </div>
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Heat up 1L of water.</div>
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Mix in 50 gram of grated savon de Marseille (at least 70% pure without glycerin).</div>
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Add in 3 spoons of sodium bicarbonate and 30 drops of essential oil.</div>
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I chose tea tree oil as it smells good and is antiseptic and antibacterial.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpY_KZmw7y3rHQDwmj_Nm1_ptQao3ZejaYpnJ1R2_Lx5cYTjO8PQCtuXTwdpRX9IZr4QiR0ZilDL6KlneKYgISedQRrW0CAAgo9_dXjwIOZ3d1RfJ960GNMM-V7XP_AsXSMpW_vQ/s1600/IMG_20180419_122205.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpY_KZmw7y3rHQDwmj_Nm1_ptQao3ZejaYpnJ1R2_Lx5cYTjO8PQCtuXTwdpRX9IZr4QiR0ZilDL6KlneKYgISedQRrW0CAAgo9_dXjwIOZ3d1RfJ960GNMM-V7XP_AsXSMpW_vQ/s320/IMG_20180419_122205.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Mix the mixture well and when it has cool down, pour the detergent into a bottle.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3f05HWJ_L9VkuBFjwXGLQiCrUVHQ98yS62Jj8-s7kKRb46reWAWtLcM4RuNIwKVbGs4NlVCGhpwzMjz6moBTfyPKaJ5a4bxN8DexOm8CP7GPhyphenhyphenn8SHOcFEuUjoiEMaWgJBle0qg/s1600/IMG_20180419_122215.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3f05HWJ_L9VkuBFjwXGLQiCrUVHQ98yS62Jj8-s7kKRb46reWAWtLcM4RuNIwKVbGs4NlVCGhpwzMjz6moBTfyPKaJ5a4bxN8DexOm8CP7GPhyphenhyphenn8SHOcFEuUjoiEMaWgJBle0qg/s320/IMG_20180419_122215.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
The mixture hardens slightly once it has cooled down and I have to give the bottle a good shake to pour out the detergent at each use. Other than that, I have no complains about this chemical free and cheap detergent.<br />
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I no longer have to buy detergent. Anyone up for the game to try it?sohcoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15067609480064416929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649734.post-38774810598177032852018-04-15T22:13:00.001+02:002018-04-15T22:13:09.302+02:00Book: Bakhita by Véronique OlmiLast year I mentioned that I gave this book as a gift to my retired doctor. I also mentioned that I wanted to read it. A few months back, I borrowed this book from the village library and read the 400++ pages in a fortnight.<br />
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This book by Véronique Olmi is based on the life story of Bakhita who was kidnapped at the age of 7 and became a slave. In a twist of events, she ended up in Italy and became a religious sister when she gained freedom.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiafhxlY0Vq32NJqTfnR4lY90MrP5WGthyphenhyphencl0CUWMKn2qWWeuB4w4UhOC3nZUKwIS_HaO8HkI0jiI40xNrvJUL41TQBOgXG8d-KY4VfIM1LjG5vC8xzIaNDglav_oPLuMyI6FLUXg/s1600/bakhita-964561-264-432.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="394" data-original-width="264" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiafhxlY0Vq32NJqTfnR4lY90MrP5WGthyphenhyphencl0CUWMKn2qWWeuB4w4UhOC3nZUKwIS_HaO8HkI0jiI40xNrvJUL41TQBOgXG8d-KY4VfIM1LjG5vC8xzIaNDglav_oPLuMyI6FLUXg/s320/bakhita-964561-264-432.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>
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The book was in 3 parts (if I remembered correctly). The first part on her stolen childhood was very painful to read. The enormous sufferings she went through was unimaginable. No normal person, least a child can survive this. Her thoughts and longing of home was heart breaking to read. </div>
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When she arrived in Italy, things seems to work out better for her. However she was a foreigner in a white people's land. I could empathize with her thoughts. Not being able to express herself in Italian, not being used to the culture, not having family and worst, not remembering her own name; the name given by her parents. </div>
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I do not think this book is available in English. But if you are interested in Bakhita, you can read about her on Wikipedia. It does give a good description of her life. This book touched me a lot. If you read French, take the challenge to read this book. It is not easy to read, I cried. But it is so worth it in the end.sohcoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15067609480064416929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649734.post-52801949136656397862018-04-06T09:27:00.000+02:002018-04-06T09:28:12.285+02:00Train strike calendar<br />
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This is massive. This is messy. This is the calendar of the train strike from April to June. Two days strike followed by three days work. And the cycle continues like this. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZAe87mvHKGVgRHP6CtvBcP0EizSvw05nV7XK1pWg4pJKsV2rT2QFbRavo2-5HLB32LKXcEC4x8xC2eNIf9CoDZ9v0L-kGP-S3zQTnjlF9sDctIIWEmngFYp6kWNZYt2HuoISVAQ/s1600/calendrier+des+greves.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="832" data-original-width="920" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZAe87mvHKGVgRHP6CtvBcP0EizSvw05nV7XK1pWg4pJKsV2rT2QFbRavo2-5HLB32LKXcEC4x8xC2eNIf9CoDZ9v0L-kGP-S3zQTnjlF9sDctIIWEmngFYp6kWNZYt2HuoISVAQ/s400/calendrier+des+greves.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
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It looks like my work calendar when I was working at the Seagate factory during one school vacation. The shift of 12 hours was three days work, two days rest, followed by two days work and then three days rest.</div>
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Not only SNCF is protesting, unions from other big companies are joining. Seb had to fly for his work on tuesday the 3rd and was informed through a SMS 24 hours before that AirFrance cancelled the flight. The message was sent on Easter Monday at 6am and Seb woke up quickly to book his ticket with EasyJet. </div>
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Since I work from home and only go office once a week, this period should not been too difficult for me. However, it would be such a pain for workers taking public transport to work. I hope the unions and the government manage to settle their differences real soon.sohcoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15067609480064416929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649734.post-16741097985171866682018-04-04T22:22:00.001+02:002018-04-04T22:22:03.842+02:00DIY Box pouches <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
My new sewing craze at the moment is box pouch. I bought some fabrics and zips from Singapore. The zips are cheaper in Singapore. </div>
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I had made 5 so far and am still not satisfy with the results though to others, the pouches look lovely and presentable.</div>
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I saw this scooter fabric in Singapore and it was love at first sight. I have made 2 pouches with it.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz3xhNTHqRC62F6H_pEqL90KiDTCckTAAsME5Ht-TNkbXu1Kcg4Vx3xHXBZYDG34Jr8Jt-onjyDJZNVl57zxtZ01_6jOpyW14MeaFYpD8Ieuw9YWECAw380heslw3mVh2zvB_UHA/s1600/IMG_20180330_205440_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz3xhNTHqRC62F6H_pEqL90KiDTCckTAAsME5Ht-TNkbXu1Kcg4Vx3xHXBZYDG34Jr8Jt-onjyDJZNVl57zxtZ01_6jOpyW14MeaFYpD8Ieuw9YWECAw380heslw3mVh2zvB_UHA/s320/IMG_20180330_205440_HDR.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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For this pouch, I used left over fabric from <a href="http://sohcool.blogspot.fr/2014/12/another-zipped-tote-bag.html" target="_blank">the tote bag</a> I made a few years back. It is meant for a Japanese friend. I gave it to her today and she was surprised that I sew.<br />
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I will continue to make pouches at the meantime as I would like to improve on it. Hope to make the perfect one soon.<br />
<br />sohcoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15067609480064416929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649734.post-40026012098380312032018-03-25T21:36:00.003+02:002018-03-25T21:38:04.480+02:00Food in Kuala LumpurIn Kuala Lumpur, we visited Lot 10 Hutong Food court for lunch on our first day. It is situated in Bukit Bintang along the streets of shopping malls.<br />
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Apparently, all the best street food stalls are clustered in this food court. One can't miss it with all the sign boards just outside the food court. We had a good lunch and it was hard to choose what to eat.<br />
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For dinner one evening, we walked over to Jalan Alor where there was a street long of open air restaurants. Most of the eateries offered the same dishes. There were also stalls selling fruits and durians.<br />
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We settled at one table and ordered satays and noodles and tofu stew and rice etc... From our table, we could see all the actions in the kitchen.<br />
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<span style="text-align: start;">After dinner, my mum bought some local fruits. A1 loves dragonfruit so we bought two. The fruit seller made us try the small apples. They were very crunchy and sweet. Mum bought some too.</span></div>
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Another evening, my mum and I went to Jalan Alor after dinner and had durians. </div>
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We bought fruits again at Chinatown. We all love mango and these mangoes were very good.</div>
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Like Singapore, it is so easy to get fresh fruits.</div>
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sohcoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15067609480064416929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649734.post-54689128676433692882018-03-23T23:04:00.000+01:002018-03-23T23:10:00.300+01:00A1 first school trip for a weekA1 went on a volcano study trip with his classmates. They spent five days in Auvergne and came back this evening. We were happy to see him. It was the first time he was away alone.<br />
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Though he missed us, he enjoyed himself. The group stayed in a big house and A1 slept with 4 other friends in a big bedroom. They hiked each day and visited <a href="https://www.vulcania.com/en/" target="_blank">Vulcania</a> on Wednesday. They usually did picnic during lunch time and in the evening, had their dinners at a nearby restaurant. He told me breakfast was buffet style and one morning, he had 3 yogurts. He enjoyed mealtimes and ate everything.<br />
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He mentioned the hikes were tiring and it was cold in the morning. Indeed, it was the start of spring but the temperature was low for the season. They visitied <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puy_de_D%C3%B4me" target="_blank">Puy de Dôme</a>, <a href="http://www.paysdauvergne.fr/puy-de-dome/puy-de-la-vache-63.html" target="_blank">Puy de la vache</a> and Lac Pavin among others.<br />
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A1 had 20€ as pocket money and he spent half on the Saint Nectaire cheese. He must have stopped by this village. He also bought 2 notebooks with pens for himself and his brother. With not much left, he gave 2€ to a friend who was short of cash. I was touched by his gesture.<br />
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The cheese was a good idea. Each time we go on holiday, I would buy food as gifts for family and friends. A1 takes after me. Tika loves Saint Nectaire but her daughter bought her a bracelet and a pen for herself. I told her I shall pass her a chunk of the cheese. :)<br />
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A1 and A2 were happy to see each other. They hugged once A1 alighted from the coach. 5 days not seeing my boy, I felt he had grown taller. His recital of his trip came with confident and self-assurance. He definitely has grown in these 5 days without us.sohcoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15067609480064416929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649734.post-8243754593891580432018-03-13T00:04:00.001+01:002018-03-13T00:14:40.459+01:00Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaWe spent 4 days in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia during our recent trip to Singapore. We got around by taxi or with Grab. Grab is Uber's number one competitor in South-east Asia. We stayed in the Bukit Bintang area and usually a 5 mins Grab ride cost us 5Ringgit (1€). Considering we were 3 adults with 2 children, it was cheaper to squeeze into a car than taking the bus or the MRT. We did take taxis a few times and it cost us thrice the price of a Grab ride.<br />
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For most Singaporeans, KL is a weekend getaway place for shopping, food and massages. Since my family and I travelled from far away, I decided to add in touristy stuff with a visit to the National Museum, the aquarium (cos it was cheaper than in Singapore and France) and going to the KL Tower to have a bird eye's view of this city.<br />
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The last time I visited KL was more than 15 years ago when I attended a friend's wedding. KL had changed a lot with so many sky scrapers. There was still construction going on just beside the Petronas Towers. Does this city need all these office space?<br />
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We shopped at the Central Market for souvenirs. I chose this market as it had air-condition. Seb waited for us at a cafe after half an hour and the boys stayed with him to write post cards. My mum and I continued to the second storey of the market.<br />
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There were shops selling local products be it food, craft or clothes. I bought a few batik sarongs as they were really beautiful. I intend to make them into bags or pouches. My mum bought mango chewy candies and durian chocolates. To each his/her interest.<br />
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After posting the postcards just outside the Central Market, we took a taxi to the Petronas Tower.<br />
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Petronas Towers are the tallest twin towers in the world. The boys were excited to see them. We had lunch at Suria KLCC, the shopping center at the foot of the towers.</div>
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After lunch on our way to the aquarium, we came upon a lion dance blessing a shop front. As it was still the first 10 days of Chinese New Year, I was glad that my boys could see this loud performance.<br />
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Lion and dragon dance is part of Chinese New Year. So is the big head doll (大头娃娃) though it is often left out.<br />
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Aquaria KLCC was just a short 5 mins walk from the towers. As we went on a week day, it was not crowdy.<br />
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The boys had a chance to touch small sharks.<br />
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This aquarium was as good as the ones in France and from my old memory, that of Singapore's.<br />
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We managed to watch sharks feeding. These sharks were fed twice a week and we saw different species of sharks. Other fishes like eels and rays and even a big turtle tried to snatch food.</div>
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On another day, we visited the National Museum. The museum is divided into four sections. Starting from the prehistoric age where traces of early men were found in caves, the bronze and iron ages, the colonisation period until the present day with the advance development in the country.<br />
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The museum was not big and could be done in an hour and a half. We headed to KL Tower in the afternoon to take in the view of KL. We could see the top of the Petronas Towers. This was where I got the big picture of how developed this city is.<br />
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One evening, we visited Chinatown. I thought spending a cool evening there would be nice. It was disappointing as Chinatown only sells fake luxury goods. Touters kept asking Seb if he wanted bags, watches, clothes etc. Seb told me never to bring him to another Chinatown. The one in Bangkok last year was too hot and dusty. This one was full of touters. Oops. The only good thing out of this trip was that the boys bought metal miniature airplanes and were happy. I bought 2 KL t-shirts for them and mum bought local fruits.<br />
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On our last day, we hung out at Suria KLCC as Seb wanted to shop for ear phones. Below photo is a Chinese new year theme set up in the shopping mall. It was very well done.<br />
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We enjoyed this short getaway. We stayed at a service appartment and the boys enjoyed the pool. The place was beside a train track and from our 10th floor, A2 would look down eagerly for passing trains.<br />
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Things in Malaysia is very affordable though I didn't do much shopping. How is it possible? , my friends would ask. The proof: We went by AirAsia with no check in luggages and came back with the same hand carry bags.<br />
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KL feels safe and people are friendly. I would like to visit this country again in our next visit to Singapore. Maybe Penang or Ipoh.sohcoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15067609480064416929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649734.post-50846819352869905812018-03-06T09:27:00.001+01:002018-03-06T09:27:21.188+01:00Post vacationOur vacation in Singapore is over and everyone is back to school and work.<br />Various thoughts on my mind each time I come back from Singapore.<br />
I was looking forward to go office yesterday to catch up with my colleagues especially one I am close to. She informed me that she had broken her ring finger while walking her dog on the slippery walkway. Sick leave imposed and I won't see her until my next passage to office.<br />
A2 came back from school yesterday and told me his friend who lost her father to cancer is losing her mother too to the same illness. I know this family and A2's friend has come and play with him before.<br />
My close friend C who is going through a rough patch in her couple life, sent me a message yesterday telling me she and her partner are separated. They have two kids togather.<br />
I am affected by these news as these are my new close friends in France.<br />
Broken finger, broken lives, broken hearts.sohcoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15067609480064416929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649734.post-74979871110783503042018-02-08T22:55:00.000+01:002018-02-08T22:59:36.141+01:00Snow<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
On tuesday evening, it snowed heavily and Paris and its surrounding area were paralysed. Roads were blocked as snow piled up. Cars were stuck and snow trucks could not pass to clear the snow. An estimated 1800 drivers spent their night in their cars on the road. A neighbour who worked 15km took 4 hours to reach home. I could imagine her stress as I had a minor experience too.</div>
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A1 was sick on tuesday and I brought him to the doctor. On the way to the pharmacy, cars were driving at 30km/h and we saw some cars skidding on the slippery icy road. A bus stopped and could not move and I was just a few cars behind. We waited for 10mins before some kind souls helped direct traffic as it was a single lane road. During that time, I thought I had to park my car by the side and walked 3km home with my sick boy.</div>
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After getting the medication, under the heavy snow, I drove slowly back home. From the town to my village, there was a long line of cars. We were driving at 10mk/h by then. </div>
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On Wednesday, A1 stayed at home while I brought A2 to school. A1's teacher was there but not A2's. His teacher could not make it to school. So I brought A2 back home and the boys played in the snow.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3LLPzNaQzKLqVN4eh_HuOqT1OfBNeNM-of9QJx-AhYRVbSRkZuBGQH51ZnzVlRkLLhbL4pGRNuaiK1c26ZOyfjYVMGttkJC05cODRQCuhBn0THOFKal_cKp_TlewZNBwuRTX87g/s1600/IMG_20180207_090317.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3LLPzNaQzKLqVN4eh_HuOqT1OfBNeNM-of9QJx-AhYRVbSRkZuBGQH51ZnzVlRkLLhbL4pGRNuaiK1c26ZOyfjYVMGttkJC05cODRQCuhBn0THOFKal_cKp_TlewZNBwuRTX87g/s320/IMG_20180207_090317.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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In the afternoon, I borrowed a snow shovel from a neighbour and cleared my driveway. I was told that temperature would stay at zero for the next few days and if the driveway was not cleared of snow, I would not be able to drive out the car. I don't intend to use the car this week as all activities are cancelled.</div>
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This morning, A1 went to school as usual while A2 still did not have class. He stayed with 6 other kids doing coloring activities and playing games. Parents who could not go to work kept their kids at home. I had to pour hot water over our front gate as it was frozen and would not open. As the canteen was closed because the caterer could not deliver lunch, the boys came home for lunch. Secondary school kids did not have school as there was no bus service.</div>
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The sun came out and the garden shed looked like a mountain chalet. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUC0YrOP9qD1wIDrWmzEGoAmmZtGrXZzcGasBNEzBn_dX_x3wqrHFuYgJeJFj1p6aYJSr1qi4MAqzMN9l7OVJck-y0jYHiWYnWgL1QGWADp9jg7H7QV2fU5oawC6S-55KvfDQD0w/s1600/IMG_20180208_140107_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUC0YrOP9qD1wIDrWmzEGoAmmZtGrXZzcGasBNEzBn_dX_x3wqrHFuYgJeJFj1p6aYJSr1qi4MAqzMN9l7OVJck-y0jYHiWYnWgL1QGWADp9jg7H7QV2fU5oawC6S-55KvfDQD0w/s320/IMG_20180208_140107_HDR.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
We are not going to ski this year yet the boys had a chance to put on their ski suits and shoes. They had fun sledging down the slope in the park.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEeXRzrxtJ4DeVema72E6WEqJJIaS-ZruNamOUCOaFCYBregk3FwpefiNYXK7rzDdK5BVk481wD8qY5r6aoaCs8MReLPokv9jctdPSZr8p9ubHPcy1ZLsmZl4SM8FNOhQmgLG6Tw/s1600/IMG_20180208_110644_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEeXRzrxtJ4DeVema72E6WEqJJIaS-ZruNamOUCOaFCYBregk3FwpefiNYXK7rzDdK5BVk481wD8qY5r6aoaCs8MReLPokv9jctdPSZr8p9ubHPcy1ZLsmZl4SM8FNOhQmgLG6Tw/s320/IMG_20180208_110644_HDR.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Seb was lucky to escape this as he is in Italy since Tuesday. He will return tomorrow night and I hope he can come home easily as snow is expected.</div>
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When I sent photos to my friends in Singapore with the caption "Paris and its suburbs are paralysed", one replied "it's more like paradise." Yes, paradise for the kids. For us adults, this is not much fun because this weather is rare and we are not equipped.sohcoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15067609480064416929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649734.post-39916805871035995932018-01-23T22:27:00.002+01:002018-01-23T22:27:25.510+01:00Just Kunafa<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRuaRtxVZCRxnV7bFIyMnG0wxewqICMRPqvN6-FjR6c3A4RFdL_rYTRpN_e-3uxZ_hQ4iqi2QuEXhry3IYg9g-DzWFTdADO3Zn6Hk3O878akhEBTHph0SN-ULQMHnm_UATh9oU5w/s1600/IMG_20180120_145515_1516630193074.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRuaRtxVZCRxnV7bFIyMnG0wxewqICMRPqvN6-FjR6c3A4RFdL_rYTRpN_e-3uxZ_hQ4iqi2QuEXhry3IYg9g-DzWFTdADO3Zn6Hk3O878akhEBTHph0SN-ULQMHnm_UATh9oU5w/s320/IMG_20180120_145515_1516630193074.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Seb went to Dubai last week for a last minute meeting. He took the flight on Thursday, had his meeting on Friday, met an ex-colleague for dinner and took the 3am flight arriving at CDG airport on Saturday morning.</div>
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I told him to try and get me a box of baklawa. I love these middle east desserts. He was thoughtful enough to get t-shirts for the boys and even a fridge magnet for his mother-in-law despite the busy schedule.</div>
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When I received this beautiful box of sweet delights, I thought of sharing with friends. There were too many and the kids did not like them. However once I started eating them, I could not stop. I am going to finish this box by myself. Won't do good to my waistline but I just couldn't resist them!</div>
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If you go Dubai, go visit <a href="http://justkunafa.com/home" target="_blank">this shop</a> and try these. They are really really good.</div>
sohcoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15067609480064416929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649734.post-50757144554381831052018-01-01T23:49:00.004+01:002018-01-01T23:51:45.548+01:00New year's creations<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Happy new year everyone. I haven't been posting as December was a busy month preparing for christmas plus year end activities for the boys. Seb being often on work trips did not help. </div>
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I was feeling under the weather due to the grey and rainy December skies.</div>
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I am taking vitamins and hopefully 2018 will begin on a cheerful note; though it rained the whole day today. Yesterday we welcomed the new year celebrating a friend's 40th birthday. So today, we stayed at home to get over the hangover and rest.</div>
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Me being me, I took out the sewing machine while the boys took a nap. In no time at all, I made a zipped pouch. The tutorial can be found <a href="https://crazylittleprojects.com/pencil-case-tutorial/" target="_blank">here</a>. Zips do not scare me anymore. :)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqPqLeomFu4ZY0nTMPsYjsxUnIYQpNvczRoxCb_qv9eSkW8WiUukkWgpt_ZjOEU6FdTDnxl-n50_boyL-wn7T-b6PRS5SX6yU6rujavniK3pWeef-3ELEhFN1jesljVyrmSBOP3g/s1600/IMG_20180101_205849_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqPqLeomFu4ZY0nTMPsYjsxUnIYQpNvczRoxCb_qv9eSkW8WiUukkWgpt_ZjOEU6FdTDnxl-n50_boyL-wn7T-b6PRS5SX6yU6rujavniK3pWeef-3ELEhFN1jesljVyrmSBOP3g/s320/IMG_20180101_205849_HDR.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE-zhQljodn2lTXPRcHCSIL47bRA_iIzc_AQA0yDPmahEQ09s0gnmHLWvtV-NDCxDQGD-6pbB__ifeI5YF9Yu1lsAKZDAXP_ijPtvgl4ISyzpM13DSkQceGwyS0PKODfGYqOCFRw/s1600/IMG_20180101_205917_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE-zhQljodn2lTXPRcHCSIL47bRA_iIzc_AQA0yDPmahEQ09s0gnmHLWvtV-NDCxDQGD-6pbB__ifeI5YF9Yu1lsAKZDAXP_ijPtvgl4ISyzpM13DSkQceGwyS0PKODfGYqOCFRw/s320/IMG_20180101_205917_HDR.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I also made some make up remover washable cotton pads. I got the idea from the DIY workshop organised by the village library in Dec. I don't put on make up often and I use disposable cotton to remove the make up. With these washable pads, there will be no waste of cotton pads.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDQ1wCoZqmc6RKh0iO9ZH652r1GKjRSh9ahXuJuQJpiwn7yxZckvL-n2pHTcDgl8DV33ZMeKsCWI5amyVrlXu9IlUlc97ikBH1cyGv3GDeRvmG7BV0KzNnODZWOwvfnYcqwTe4sg/s1600/IMG_20180101_210252_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDQ1wCoZqmc6RKh0iO9ZH652r1GKjRSh9ahXuJuQJpiwn7yxZckvL-n2pHTcDgl8DV33ZMeKsCWI5amyVrlXu9IlUlc97ikBH1cyGv3GDeRvmG7BV0KzNnODZWOwvfnYcqwTe4sg/s320/IMG_20180101_210252_HDR.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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For year 2018, I aspire to be a responsible consumer in generating less waste. What is your resolution for 2018?</div>
<br />sohcoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15067609480064416929noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649734.post-8756944678819722612017-12-12T21:46:00.004+01:002017-12-12T21:46:55.021+01:00Christmas windows<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
We went windows viewing at Printemps and Galleries Lafayette after chinese lesson. The boys told me they enjoyed viewing the windows though I felt that they had outgrown this tradition. They used to look at each window for a long time, catching all the details.</div>
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Seb felt that the window displays were full of consumer goods and had lost the magical Christmas feeling like it used to be. There was even a display of EasyJet with its plane and bears dressed as crew members. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWTA7q0VQ8jJbHDqWxkPJnZZGNBV_XEXlsYWpGv633Gc2W2tlvA4ohPaq6-qV-_gZUK3v012d_S8nF7uAFR_JiZcctlCAn0VyETtiDiF_5DX7g93QXvooE4nxzC4XoW7lyvojw5Q/s1600/IMG_20171125_150651.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWTA7q0VQ8jJbHDqWxkPJnZZGNBV_XEXlsYWpGv633Gc2W2tlvA4ohPaq6-qV-_gZUK3v012d_S8nF7uAFR_JiZcctlCAn0VyETtiDiF_5DX7g93QXvooE4nxzC4XoW7lyvojw5Q/s320/IMG_20171125_150651.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFgTgZsFQfTfrpOIlDwZ29STUd815V0xUCCUhgYTL0xSYwJDXxqvaBsZ5uC7IAh6w6a1if5ZqS26fTvDP6oOKDkCjnvOWqNeenVxSvBWrnv7K1tO47tSy4bCJu1nP-Kci5N-rQWw/s1600/IMG_20171125_144408.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFgTgZsFQfTfrpOIlDwZ29STUd815V0xUCCUhgYTL0xSYwJDXxqvaBsZ5uC7IAh6w6a1if5ZqS26fTvDP6oOKDkCjnvOWqNeenVxSvBWrnv7K1tO47tSy4bCJu1nP-Kci5N-rQWw/s320/IMG_20171125_144408.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
We went into Galleries Lafayette to admire the center decoration. I find it really pretty with all the candies bright balloons.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlMEgf_chWJmFnDzoUBigCoZBz_MSBhS2HsR9fWIzeFlQHzE68YeD21lO3MOxiNUqdVEj_JszDJ6-CFRJC1-uaJf2_MGg005QqqenpsFVBh9ewq4WIAH8kFn2_1OAg8lCK1yUNXA/s1600/IMG_20171125_151258.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlMEgf_chWJmFnDzoUBigCoZBz_MSBhS2HsR9fWIzeFlQHzE68YeD21lO3MOxiNUqdVEj_JszDJ6-CFRJC1-uaJf2_MGg005QqqenpsFVBh9ewq4WIAH8kFn2_1OAg8lCK1yUNXA/s320/IMG_20171125_151258.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><span style="text-align: center;">I told the boys this was the last year but they were keen to come back next year. We shall see.</span>sohcoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15067609480064416929noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649734.post-65460308922506173952017-11-16T23:36:00.001+01:002017-11-16T23:36:12.869+01:00Almost zero wasteI have always recycle and do my part to save energy. On my own effort, these are some of the examples:<br />
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1. Lights are turned off when I leave a room. </div>
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2. Tap is turned off when I do not need running water. Like scrubbing the dishes or pots, brushing the teeth, shampooing my hair.</div>
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3. When washing vegetables, I have a basin in the sink to collect the water. I then pour the water into a pail. This water is used to water the plants. The water collected from washing rice is full of nutrients and help my orchid plants to bloom frequently.</div>
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4. Left over food are given to Handsome.</div>
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5. Peels from fruits and vegetables used to be kept in a bag and thrown into the forest while walking Handsome as natural compost or food for wild animals.</div>
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6. Plastic, paper and glasses are recycled. I tear off the plastic window from envelopes as this flimsy plastic cannot be recycled.</div>
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7. I keep jam jars for friends who makes jam.</div>
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8. I use grocery plastic bags as rubbish bags instead of buying black rubbish bag. </div>
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9. On my letter box, there is a sticker 'No publicity' to avoid junk mail.</div>
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10. Since I work from home, I don't flush the toilet after each short usage. </div>
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11. I boil hot water and keep them in a hot flask. I notice colleagues boiling a kettle full just for a cup of tea.</div>
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12. If the sun is out or if the fireplace is working, I hang the clothes to dry instead of using the dryer.</div>
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13. I mend clothes and A2 wears hand me downs from A1.</div>
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14. I source for pre-loved items at flea market or on LeBonCoin.fr.</div>
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15. Back of envelopes or unwanted papers are used to write shopping list or to do list.</div>
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16. I bring my own grocery bags to supermarket. For my rubbish bags, I have friend and family in Singapore who give me supermarket plastic bags.</div>
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17. I try to buy local and organic.</div>
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18. I eat less meat.</div>
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19. I recycled my hair.</div>
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Living in this village, I came to know other mums who are eco conscious like me. Some are striving towards zero waste. Kudos to them. We exchange ideas and I came to realise from our discussions that though recycling is good, the best is to avoid having materials to recycle.</div>
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That means making our own, instead of buying excessively packaged products from the supermarkets. </div>
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For my part, I have cut down on buying cakes and snacks and instead make cookies and cakes once or twice a week. Some friends even made their own cleaning products but I am not there yet.</div>
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I wished for a yogurt maker for my birthday and am making yogurts for the boys regularly. This means less plastic yogurt containers to throw since they cannot be recycled. And the boys love my yogurt.</div>
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A neighbour takes my veggie and fruits peels for his composter. I no longer throw them in the forest. He in return gives me the rich soil. That started me in creating my vegetable plot this year.</div>
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I use a cup to reduce the waste of hygienic pads. </div>
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And with these ladies, we are organising events to influence people to care for our planet. </div>
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We started a seed library in the village library. Our seed library is basically a box containing small paper bags of seeds. People can share seeds from their gardens or take seeds they want to grow. </div>
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Our last event was a clean up of the forest. Our forest looks green and clean. We were expecting small litter and beer bottles. However, the participants found bulky garbage like plastic table top, tyres and a gas heater too.</div>
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Our next event in Dec would be on a DIY theme. We shall be making sponges from old socks, cloth produce bags, microwave heat-able bean soft toys and bird seeds feeder.</div>
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I am proud that there are movers and shakers in this village making an effort to save the planet despite their busy schedules. </div>
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If you have ideas to add in, please leave a comment. All ideas welcome. </div>
sohcoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15067609480064416929noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649734.post-5363833210446275792017-10-29T21:36:00.002+01:002017-10-29T21:36:55.823+01:00Rome revisit<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
This post is way overdue. It has been in draft mode since my last post about our Italy holiday. Let me put a proper end to our summer holiday in Italy now that autumn is here. Seb and I visited Rome in 2013 thus Rome is not new to us. As all roads lead to Rome, I would like my mum to visit this city.</div>
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From Gargano, Seb drove us to Rome to our third Airbnb. It was an apartment with two bedrooms nearby the Colosseum. The apartment was very comfortable with everything provided, even washing detergent. If you are keen, drop me a comment and I can share the Airbnb with you.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikkHyURwXZtpBvOhgH67FmCxq64RDWy1J2LZclfq1RQ2DMMdAe-bv1vckf9QRFnJy1-yWxjT2AseQwXzs1F1difZp0JcZK9ZDJx4ObfMWMdlpwQeYAmjbJsEjzkZHmYdzlsr8U5Q/s1600/Italy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="820" data-original-width="1581" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikkHyURwXZtpBvOhgH67FmCxq64RDWy1J2LZclfq1RQ2DMMdAe-bv1vckf9QRFnJy1-yWxjT2AseQwXzs1F1difZp0JcZK9ZDJx4ObfMWMdlpwQeYAmjbJsEjzkZHmYdzlsr8U5Q/s320/Italy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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In Rome, we walked a lot in the city center and enjoyed ice creams under the hot sun. We visited chapels and cathedrales. We took photos at the main attractions, the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, the Palace of Justice just to name a few. We had wanted to visit the Pantheon but it was closed when we arrived.<br />
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With my mum, we visitied the Vatician City while Seb brought the boys to the science center. We reserved a guided tour of the Vatican Museum online to avoid the long queue. The guided tour was informative and we ended the visit with the Saint Peter's Basilica.<br />
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After Vatican City, we met up at the appartment to rest. Seb told me the activities in the Kids' Science Center were in Italian and was not useful for the boys. He had to explain to the boys. Still, the boys had a good time.</div>
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On our last day, we visited the Colosseum. There was a queue due to the security check. Tour operators were touting and telling the people in the queue that it would take an hour and half to get to the ticket counters. They offered guided tour which could get us in without the queue. As Seb and I had done a guided tour before, we were not interested. The queue moved on fast and it took us less than 20 minutes to get the tickets. These touters were liars.<br />
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The end of our Rome trip was also the end of our summer holiday. My mum enjoyed Rome. The kids enjoyed the beaches more than Rome. I enjoyed my time in Italy and do not mind coming back for the next summer.<br />
<br />sohcoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15067609480064416929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649734.post-81893128871479926712017-10-26T22:35:00.000+02:002017-10-26T22:35:07.494+02:00Bibs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I made three bibs from scraps of the boys' school bags I made few years back. It is addicting making bibs. They are really easy to do. </div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Just need to find babies to give to now. Next project is to make three girly bibs as I have three friends who just had baby girls.</span>sohcoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15067609480064416929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649734.post-79609475138565984342017-09-27T22:02:00.002+02:002017-09-27T22:02:59.990+02:00A note to his father<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This happened on thursday when A2 was at home after school with his father. I was bringing A1 to his music lesson.</div>
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Seb recounted the following. A2 came into the home office and took a piece of paper and starting writing. Seb was having a conference call with his colleague then. He did not pay attention to what A2 wrote when A2 presented him the paper. Seb just put a cross on the box 'Yes'.</div>
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A few minutes later, he heard the gate opening. He looked out from the window and saw A2 wearing his helmet riding his bicycle to leave the house. Seb quickly shouted at him to come back. He read the paper carefully and realised that he had given permission to A2 to join his friend to ride their bicycles outside.<br />
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When I reached home, I saw A2's friend Lucas lingering at our gate. I told him to get his mother's approval to come play with A2 in our garden. 5 minutes later, the two boys were having fun in our garden.<br />
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I read A2's note. It was no fault of A2. Seb admitted that he should have taken time to read it. A2 is a witty boy. He knew he could not speak to his father so he wrote a note.<br />
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It reads "Il y a LUCAS DEOR (dehors) avec son vélo je pe(peux) ales (aller) avec lui DEOR (dehors) avec lui en vélo. Coch (coche) ui(Oui) Non. LES-clés silteplai (s'il te plait) papa." <br />
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Translated to english, it would be "There is Lucas outside with his bicycle. I can go with him outside with him on bicycle. Tick Yes No. The keys please father."<br />
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There were a few french spelling error but it was a clear request in my opinion for a 7 year old who was determined to get permission to play with his friend.<br />
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When he got his father's approval, A2 looked for the house keys. He called the dog to enter into the laundry room and shut the door tight. The laundry room connects to the garage. As he was not sure which button on the remote control key opens the main gate and which the garage door, he did not want to accidentally open both the gate and garage door and risk having the dog run out of the house.<br />
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This he explained to me during dinner time. We all find it amusing but told him that he should have known the answer even before writing the note. Seb and I do not think the boys are old enough to ride their bicycles outside without an adult. <br />
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This little boy really has lots of tricks up his sleeve.sohcoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15067609480064416929noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649734.post-37516205722194468262017-09-13T00:18:00.004+02:002017-09-13T00:18:41.892+02:00Farewell party for our family doctor<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Our family doctor has retired. Her colleague organised a surprise farewell party for her and invited all her patients. Though we were told to bring food for four, potluck style; there were still too much to eat and drink.</div>
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Our doctor was happy to see her patients and chatted with everyone. She gave a touching thank you speech. Her husband also gave a speech thanking us for being great patients to his wife. It was a jovial event.</div>
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I got the doctor a book and left my gift on a table full of flowers and gifts. That's when I saw a beautiful cake. What an appropriate cake. <span style="color: #545454; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white;">:-)</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhNDomfGShVE5RU55XTwrj2CUzfV1sIj8fUb3sOxOB979Qkl08Mhc8xS4oik0bEUTi66pjPLL1P-zYEUeMGXyZ_Su6EF_jZmKqop6A3cB8bLx6iOlG_nzT50HnVfeQtpNbfOx01Q/s1600/IMG_20170910_144935_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhNDomfGShVE5RU55XTwrj2CUzfV1sIj8fUb3sOxOB979Qkl08Mhc8xS4oik0bEUTi66pjPLL1P-zYEUeMGXyZ_Su6EF_jZmKqop6A3cB8bLx6iOlG_nzT50HnVfeQtpNbfOx01Q/s320/IMG_20170910_144935_HDR.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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Speaking of the book, it was recommended by the book shop owner. It seems interesting. I would go check the library for it.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4uxXG5XAapQUCTV2N9z_tZn0VrK_TUvnVhC7nqip7RhUEhzb_DIXa_UQBgDNmUSgl-cGSYFGmAf-VCNdpy7nYp4BVXUZmhRIjBNT8a9vRTArQp4RgM6i-GqIOXw8rfKE52fgppQ/s1600/IMG_20170909_192438_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4uxXG5XAapQUCTV2N9z_tZn0VrK_TUvnVhC7nqip7RhUEhzb_DIXa_UQBgDNmUSgl-cGSYFGmAf-VCNdpy7nYp4BVXUZmhRIjBNT8a9vRTArQp4RgM6i-GqIOXw8rfKE52fgppQ/s320/IMG_20170909_192438_HDR.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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I never thought I would attend my doctor's retirement party. Living in the countryside does make a difference. People are more personal and there is more human touch than living in a big city. I hope the new doctor will be just as warm as the retired Doctor Thery.</div>
sohcoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15067609480064416929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649734.post-45134447180231658682017-09-10T23:20:00.001+02:002017-09-11T21:45:28.346+02:00Gargano, South ItalyWe spent 4 days at our second Airbnb in the Gargano region. This place used to be a convent. The structure collapsed about 50 years ago and the owners bought the place and divided it into 3 apartments.<br />
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Inside the apartment, the walls were very thick and kept the place cool despite the hot summer weather.<br />
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This was our apartment with two bedrooms. There was a big swimming pool and we were the only ones using it in the afternoon. The boys had fun jumping into the pool. </div>
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We could hear the bells of the cows and barking dogs as there was a farm just beside. A2 being the animal lover went to look for the farm dogs.<br />
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We visited Foggia, San Giovanni Rotondo, Vieste and Monte Saint Angelo. And each day, we either stopped at a beach or headed to the swimming pool.<br />
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We visited Foggia after lunch and all shops were closed. They only opened from 5pm. The streets were deserted in the afternoon. At San Giovanni Rotondo, we were looking for dinner. Seb suggested eating Chinese as we passed by a chinese restaurant. We went in and while ordering, a chinese man came over and asked if we were from Singapore. He had overheard my mum and I talking. He was a Malaysian living in Singapore and had come to Italy to help out his chinese friends in the restaurant. He hoped to open one in Rome. What a small world. I did not expect to meet any Singaporeans or Malaysians in San Giovanni and it was rather inland and there were only locals. I wished him the best.<br />
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On our second day, we saw a mother cat with her 5 kittens just outside our appartment. They were very thin and the left over food we gave them were quickly finished up. A2 insisted to give the cats more food. When visiting Foggia, we stopped by a supermarket and A2 bought a box of cat food. He was very eager to go back to feed the cats.<br />
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There were almond trees where we stayed. The cats ate the peeled almond nuts. We were amazed. The boys had fun cracking. A1 ate the broken almond nuts and kept the perfect almond nuts for his father and the cats. Such a sweet boy. My mum enjoyed cracking the nuts and became a pro. She found the technique and I had to keep up her pace plucking almonds from the tree for her to crack.<br />
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We had sunny weather throughout our stay except for the day when we drove 20mins to visit Monte Saint Angelo. It was rainy and cloudy. We visited the castle and the famous <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanctuary_of_Monte_Sant%27Angelo" target="_blank">sanctuary of Monte Sant'Angelo</a>. It is the oldest shrine in Western Europe dedicated to archangel Michael and is an important pilgrimage site. We had to walk down many steps to reach the grotto where the shrine was. The architecture was interesting.<br />
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After Monte Saint Angelo.,we headed to the beach. It was deserted due to the weather. It was very cloudy but the water was still warm. The boys just loved to be in the water.<br />
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After Gargano, we drove to Rome, our last destination in Italy.sohcoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15067609480064416929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649734.post-32225961433772630002017-08-26T23:42:00.005+02:002017-08-26T23:45:32.628+02:00Book: Le mec de la tombe d'à côtéThe village library is closed during the school holidays. One of the librarian is A2's classmate's grandmother. One day while picking up the boys, I met her and asked if the library had travel books on south of Italy. A few days later, she passed me two books and told me she had borrowed them under my name. Wow. This is village life. I appreciate this kind gesture.<br />
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Back to the main topic. I borrowed two books, Le Tresse and Le mec de la tombe d'à côté before the holidays. The latter was written by the Swedish author Katarina Mazetti and translated into several languages. In english, the title is Benny and Shrimp.<br />
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I enjoyed this book a lot. I read it late into the nights during our vacation.<br />
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The story is about two people who visited the graves of their loved ones and met each other there. Desiree was visiting her husband and Benny was visiting his parent. They shared a bench and slowly got to know each other.<br />
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They became an item but both were opposites in personalities and in their life styles. Desiree was a cultivated girl working in a library. Benny was a struggling farmer who had to take care of the animals and the land now that he was alone without his parents.<br />
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In the book, Benny and Desiree described about their relationships in alternating chapters. It was funny to read what each other expected from his/her partner. I also got a glimpse of the Swedish culture and food.<br />
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The ending was interesting. I was not expecting it but it did not come as a surprise. Did they overcome their differences and get togather at last? You have to read to find out.sohcoolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15067609480064416929noreply@blogger.com0