Let Me Tell You How Rich I Am :-)

I was thinking the other day of all the physical things I would want to take back with me, what would the one I most wanted be?  Many people want to take furniture back; furniture made with woods like Teak and Rosewood would be at the top of the list.  Other people love the private tailors they have hired to have dresses and suits made to fit them like a glove.  Rich Asian rugs with intricate designs are also a popular choice - indeed a nice splash to a home... So with this in mind and our tour coming to a close in less than a year now (11.21 months or 48.57 weeks or 340 days or 243 weekdays or 8160 hours to go - but who is counting?) I was contemplating the things I would really like to take home with me.

I am not a shopper and I think my hubby loves that.  Oh, I browse around, but when it comes right down to picking something out, I think of how hard he has worked to earn that money and how much I want him to be able to retire and enjoy life like I have been privileged enough to do, I nearly always put it back and walk away.  But I do want to have a few memories of Singapore and our life here.  So contemplating what I would treasure to take with me, I finally came up with an answer.  I love the deeply rich colors of Asia - they are breathtaking.  I love the colors of the materials used in garments, on flower pots and kleenex box covers - just anything made in Asia is deeply rich in color.  

However, one of my favorite color palates of all is the Batik material.  I have bought meters and meters of it to bring home with me.  I have found this wonderful 'uncle' (elderly man) in Holland Village that has a batik (an Indonesian patterned material) shop.  He sells aprons, dresses, shirts and bags with it.  And he sells scraps.  Oh, yes, lots of scraps.  Last week, we went by there to buy scraps and his son was there - in a shop that was in shambles.  'Uncle' keeps his shop neat as a pin - it was obvious 'unlce' was not there.  He informed us that his father had had a heart attack and was in ICU.  The artery to his heart was 95% blocked and he would not be back to work for at least 6 weeks - if at all.  Sadly, he said they would not operate on him because 'uncle' was not doing well physically.  We were very sad, but we bought our scraps and moved on.

Yesterday, we decided we needed to back for more scraps - and we needed to introduce a friend to our little gold mine shop.  I am now addicted to those scraps, and just know my daughter and I will fall in love with the mounds of Batiks and make quilts until our hearts are content.  I have decided every time I go to Holland Village, I will buy scraps to go with my meters of batik.

I dreaded rounding the corner, I was afraid our little shop was permanently closed, but we finally made the walk.  As I rounded the corner I held my breath.  I even closed my eyes and said a silent prayer.  You have to understand, in the two years I have been here, I have come to love this uncle.  We do not communicate well; with my English only and his heavy Chinese, we barely make it, but we do communicate.

As I opened my eyes, I was pleased to find the doors lifted and the shop open.  The next task was walking in and finding out if uncle was doing any better...  I hesitantly walked in and who do I see?  UNCLE was there staring back at me!  WHOOT!  

He was back at work looking healthy as an ox. Ok, maybe not an ox, but he was going strong, his antique sewing machine (we guess it to be at least 50 years old) was humming away as he was back to sewing his precious Batik into an array of orders.  Oh.  My.  Gosh.  I was so excited to see him!  I asked him if he was feeling better and he said to me, "Feeling good!  Must work!  Feel good!"  Yippee!  I was on top of the world!  Uncle is doing well despite his poor prognosis.  :-)  His shop was all tidied up, in immaculate order again and we got our bags of scraps.  Bags and bags of scraps!  Oh and I have probably bought a dozen aprons from him (thank you Debbi... lol) but I love them.  And I love the fact I can stand and watch him whip them out on that old machine in a few minutes flat.  It was so nice to know he 'must work' - I know it is what made him recover so quickly. Duty calls  :-)

Yes, I am happy, he is healthier, but more than anything I am rich. I have lots of rich colors to take home with me - and I will get more.  I am in love with the Batik here and I cannot leave Singapore without loads of it.  Can you see me coming home with yards and yards (ooops, meters and meters) of this? 

Isn't it breath taking?  As far as I know, you cannot get Indonesian Batik in the US, but I will bring some home.

I found some other little gems yesterday as well:

Paper Maché eggs! 

Then I tumbled them in the little bowl I got:

Ok, so that doesn't look so nice, but I love the bowl, I love the eggs, I love the scraps and I love the deep rich colors in all of them.  And as I set here caressing my scraps - I know in my heart that I must go out with my friends and buy more batik - it is what makes me happy.

Being rich doesn't have to come in $$$ bills, but it can come in rich colors, rich love, rich lives, rich culture and rich friendships.  I am immersed in all of those.  How did I get to be so lucky?  Yes, I am very, very rich.  I just might be the richest gal in the world!