Aimlessly Meandering in Singapore

This is going to be a totally random post about things I see while I am traveling out and about Singapore.  Bear with me... I have no direction.

Do you ever 'see' a picture that you know is the picture of all time - one you strive to get, but know it is impossible?  Every time I am traveling on East Coast Park, this picture jumps out at me.  For two years, I have tried to get this picture, and it is near impossible.  Imagine traveling down the freeway at 110-120 kilometers and having a fraction of one second to get the perfect shot.  It simply cannot happen for so many reasons... so this is the best I can do with my 'dream shot':

Look at the picture closely.  In the middle of all those buildings and low appears to be a mosque (?) - at the very back and at the bottom.  Now imagine having a good camera and plenty of time to set the picture up and catching it at just the right angle... do you see it?  If you are a photographer you do.  There is no perfect place to take this picture.  Heck, I do not even know what street is below, but this would be an awesome picture if I could just get it.  I gave up, so here is my best shot.  Ugh.

While traveling on the MRT the other day, I saw some Indian women (they always wear such gorgeous clothes!) and while thinking I realized what shoes they were wearing:

 

The MRT was so full they had no chance of seeing me take this picture.  I just loved the sight - beautiful clothes and comfy shoes.  I love a woman like that - brave enough to say my feet are important!  Wish I had gone for comfort 30 years ago - I wouldn't have feet problems now!

Yes, we do have litter here in Singapore.  It is not on the 'expat' trails so much as it is in other areas:

While traveling in a taxi I saw one Chinese version of a hearse...

The last picture is the front of the vehicle  (!)

Saw this while walking through the MRT... man, it made my mouth water  :-)   You know me and gadgets...

Take a close look and see if you notice what is wrong with this picture.  Ok, besides the heart attacks waiting to happen and the prices:

Do you see it?  The fourth burger back has no bun!  The lettuce IS the bun.  Talk about carb free!

I no longer have to wonder where my mail keeps going.  I have waited for packages, letters and cards that never came.  Maybe this is part of the reason:

Yes, it is a mail bike.

Look a bit closer:

Do you feel my pain yet?  No?

Our mail is bungy corded in while flying down the highway doing 110-120 kilometers...  Oh, maybe the rubber bands will hold the mail in.  Or maybe they broke and the cards I am missing went tumbling...

If that isn't enough, here is the central office mail truck minus the mail men:

No, those are not mail men - those are random passers by... and those mail bags were left standing there unattended for a few minutes  :-(  

Signs always make us giggle in Singapore.  I won't sit on this if you tell me what it is:

And can someone please tell me what I missed at the school across the street from me?  I knew the date and time though  :-)

I am confused... please make this a bit clearer:

Do you want me to go this way or would you rather I stayed out?

And finally, I know everyone is dying to know the latest on my side pain (ha!).  The Dr has found a cure:

We will put a bandaid on it.  

Seriously.  

I have officially quit going to the Dr.  

Imagine, me croaking with a bandaid on my side - for the pain inside.

Seriously. 

Not.  

Using.

Them.

This is not a pain patch - this is like the end adhesives of a Bandaid.

A Gift of Love

Years and years ago, Granny Daisy, Steve's maternal granny, made 2 lap quilts and gave them to our kids.  The kids were too young to really enjoy them, but they were the perfect size to sit on the sofa, cover up and watch tv with - and they certainly used them for that.  They were such a perfect size that I used them all the time, too - and so did every one else that sat on the sofa.  I would fold them and put them on either end of the sofa where they were constantly reached for.  Years past, and I think the kids forgot they were theirs - and we just kept on using them.  Each kid grew up and moved away from home and 'forgot' to take their blanket... never mind, mom forgot the remind them.

It became a joke to us all - the kids would come to visit and pull down a blanket to use it, they would comment that they needed to remember to take theirs home, and promptly forget.  Hey, they were getting no complaining (or reminding) from me - I loved their blankets.  Finally, one did remember to take hers home, but I still had the other one.  And much later, when our son settled down with a wife and family, I felt guilty enough to send his to him.  Man, how I missed Granny Daisy's quilts!  They were as much a part of me as they were part of the kid's lives.  I had to find a new lap quilt, but no matter what I used, nothing compared to Granny Daisy's quilts.

Now why I didn't make one myself I will never know.  I can sew, and can actually sew quite well.  Granny Daisy's quilts were not fancy ones - they were honestly, pieces of material, random sizes, cut and stitched together.  The colors did not even go together - they were literally random pieces.  Steph had taken pics with her iPhone, but I cannot save them - so until I get pictures, you will just have to imagine a very loved, haphazardly-thrown-together-hodgepodge of color quilt.  I have not had a lap quilt for years  :-(

Enter Mother's Day.  Steph had let me know she had sent a gift to me for Mother's Day and to be sure and let her know when I got it - before I opened it.  I didn't get it in time for Mother's Day.  I waited and waited... doing that and thinking of Singapore's mail system kinda scared me.  I have yet to receive 2 cards sent to me; one in November 2008 and another in March of this year.  But finally, a week after Mother's Day it arrived.

With that little part of our family around me (Steph and punkin' on Skype) and Steve next to me, I opened the box.  Punkin' had thrown some random stuff in for granny and papa (I love those random things), and finally, the big surprise:

When I saw it, I had hopes that it might be a lap quilt, but I wasn't sure...

Then I was sure it was after I saw our grand kid's names on it - look at my expression of surprise!

Do you see punkin' and her mom in the background?  

I opened it up and what did I see?

Three little hands waving back at me!   :-)

While admiring those hands, I saw this:

And that my friends, is a quilt made of love.

You will never know how much that means to me, Steph.  When I am using it now on the sofa, the hands and your square are over my heart.  I have you all with me all the time - close to my heart - where you are every minute of my day.  Thank you so much for this gift - it is a gift chock full of love that will last me the rest of my life - heck your quilts served me well for nearly 25 years!

I love you.  And thanks from the bottom of my heart with the hands and your little note keeping it warm.  You.  Rock. 

It Went From This To This In Nothing Flat...

I have to be the luckiest gal on earth to have this view.  Ok, maybe the second luckiest, because Debbi is on the 18th floor.  Is it better up there Debbi?  

The other morning I was bleary eyed and trying to get awake.  I had forgotten to take my thyroid med, so I walked into the living room and what do I see? 

I nearly killed myself running to get my camera, because I saw this:

Not 3 minutes later, it turned to this:

And finally, this:

Now please tell me that would not take your breath away... and believe me when I say it was much prettier than my camera could ever take.  I am still trying with the camera, but I couldn't get the beauty this morning started out with.  Hope you can get a taste of it here.

I am indeed the luckiest gal in the whole.. USA.  Okay, okay, Singapore.  Sarah, you have the title "luckiest girl in the whole USA"!   And PS:  I miss seeing you.  

Expat life rocks and sucks at the same time.  Sarah just moved back to the states - she was my second friend ever in Singapore  *waving at Pam* who was my first friend ever in Singapore.  Yes, I am lucky... to have shared a moment in time with them.

And I am lucky to see this sunrise every single morning.

Best Fried Chicken Ever!

Talk about me being all over the map these days... I am posting about random stuff.  If it seems scrambled, it is because my thoughts are scrambled.  Too much going on right now - but we are going on vacation in a few days!

Because it has been requested, and because it is loved by so many, I am going to post my recipe for fried chicken - it is not a secret and it is super easy  :-)

I am assuming you are starting with a cut up chicken or pieces of a cut up chicken.  I don't teach how to cut up chicken, but if you need to know, Click Here

Chicken (if you are in Singapore, have them remove the head, feet and icky inside stuffs)

Flour (Fla! it is called here in Singapore  ;-)

Seasoned Salt

Corn/Vegetable Oil

Wash chicken pieces thoroughly.  This is a very important step.  When you are finished, you want the chicken nice and wet - do NOT dry.  

Please toss the head and feet and icky stuff if you found out you had it anyway.  I do fry the gizzards though, so Todd and I can fight over them.  Darn, I miss those days.

Put about 3 cups Fla! (flour) in a nice wide, flat bowl

Heat about 1-1.5" vegetable oil in a frying pan - heat over MEDIUM to low heat.

Season salt each piece on both sides

Dip in flour on both sides.  I usually flour each piece well then let set in the flour while the oil heats.  Reflour as you put in the hot oil in a single layer.  Try to get as much flour as possible on it.

Once all the chicken is in the hot oil, keep the fire at a medium heat or just below.  You should hear a nice soft frying sound - if it is frantic and popping, you have the oil on too high of a heat.  Turn it down just under medium.

Put a lid on it and let it fry for about 10 minutes.  When you check it, just open the lid and look in to see if it is forming a golden crust around the outside of each piece of chicken.  If it is, then carefully turn each piece over.  If it is not turning golden brown on the edges, leave it alone and continue to check on it until it does.  Once you turn it, cock the lid a bit sideways on the pan, then let it fry about 5-8 minutes and take the lid off.  

Now rotate the chicken over again to the other side and leave the lid off - still gently frying until golden brown.  Sometimes you need to flip on sides or back to the other side, but just gently fry until all sides are golden brown and crispy. 

Drain on paper towel and serve.  Just like mom's fried chicken and you did nothing fancy  :-)

Now, do you want they yummy cream gravy mom used to make too?

Cream Gravy Recipe

Drain all but about 1/3 cup oil and leave the 'crunchies' the chicken left behind.  Add about 1/3 cup flour (the leftovers from when you floured the chicken is fine as you will fry it).  The mixture should be about the consistency of hmmm... a thick sauce - like A-1 or Ketchup.  If it is not, add flour or oil to make it so.  Add a bit of salt and pepper.  I am a mom, I don't measure, but if you are trying to cook this, you can probably figure it out.

Stir constantly until the flour has become a dark golden brown.  Add about 3-4 cups of milk, stirring or whisking it in quickly, mixing the flour mixture into the milk.  Simmer until mixture turns to a nice thick gravy.  Sometimes I need to add more milk... have no idea why.  Maybe because I never measure anything?

Making you hungry?  Go ahead and make it and enjoy the best fried chicken ever.  I have friends and family that will vouch for this.  :-)  It is requested often.

I have no picture.  We forgot to take one and we ate it all  ;-)

Have You Been to Taylor B's Fine Design Group Yet?

A few friends and I went back to Taylor B's and browsed a bit.  We are never disappointed in the selection of fun things they have... if only I had a condo large enough to buy stuff I would be a happy camper.  They have two warehouses chock full of great furniture... I love going there!

I found this chest of drawers:

Do you notice anything great about it?  Go Back.  Look closely...

Do you see it?

Did you find them?

Did you get a headache?

These little guys are holding the chest on their head!

And all their cousins are hanging out on the drawers:

The chest is not very wide, but it is intriguing. 

Don't worry, it had not been dusted yet - in fact, I think it was straight off the shipment  :-)

I wouldn't have bought it, but it is cute!  If I did buy it, I would worry about those little guys having a headache... or the cousins staring at me.  Nope, not my chest of drawers... but, do you like it?

My friend Debbi found this:

It is very big and Nicole assured us it breaks down easily to go into doors.  I thought it was a big bird cage, then decided it was a Chinese Confessional.  Debbi tried it out, do you see her in there?

Here, I opened the doors for you:

Don't you think it would make a good Chinese confessional?  Ann, quit laughing over there.  I don't think the Chinese have confessionals, but it is definitely a Chinese box for live people... you know, the chair gives that away.  Noelle, put down that coffee!  I guess I said that a bit late, didn't I?

Nicole straightened me out when she heard our giggles.  It is to carry a bride in!  There are long wooden pieces that slide through the bottom 4 corners and it is lifted on men's shoulders to carry the bride.  I tried to google this baby, but it doesn't come up under 'Chinese bride carrier', 'Chinese bride box', or 'Chinese box' or Chinese wooden bride box'... lol.  If you know what it is called, I would love to know.  Heck, maybe Nicole knew?   Did I hear her say?  I am old, I don't remember.

I have a secret... are you ready to hear it?

Tomorrow (Friday) they are supposed to get a 40' container shipment from China in!  I bet we could meet over there and find just the perfect... Chinese people box.

Didja miss the directions?  They are under the linky at the top of the page.  Wanna Go?

Meet Dad... We Love Him!

This is my dad, well, step-dad, and my sister and their two rats... errr... dogs.  They say they are dogs anyway.  Me?  Not so much... lol... Anyway, my sister has lived with dad since mom died and taken care of him.  Thanks for that sis... (and she does a great job!)

Dad has 3 kids of his own.  Do they call him for his birthday?  No, they don't. Ok, let me rephrase that.  Seldom do they.  Do they come to see him when they are in town to see their mom?  Nope.  Do they do anything with him or for him?  Nada.  Very seldom do they acknowledge his existence.  One son has not seen or talked to him in FIVE years!  My siblings and I are the only ones that call him regularly, wish him happy birthday, or happy father's day.  His kids all think their mom walks on water - but do they care about him?  Apparently not.  She has led them to believe... well, ok, I won't go there.  Dad is a good man.  He is an old farmer with not much schoolin', but he is a really good man.

Where am I going with this?  A couple of months ago, dad had knee surgery.  He did great!  He healed nicely, did all the physical therapy he needed to and his knee surgery was a huge success.  Did the kids come?  Only for a moment 2 of them stopped in.  Did they go through the therapy and Drs visit with him?  No.  Not once.  Liz did it all - well, my brother was there a bit, but it is mainly on Liz's shoulders.  She was there during surgery, recovery, physical therapy, and all his moaning and groaning...

Last week, dad had back surgery.  He had some discs welded together in his back - it was severely degenerated.  After they did that, they gave him dilaudid for pain and he went looney tunes.  Flippin' looney tunes - as in out there flappin' in the wind.  He has not come back - even though they took him off the meds.  He is back to his normal meds now - but still checked out.  Maybe it takes a while for it to work out of his system?  Anyway, Liz has been up there as much as humanly possible.  One of his kids stopped in for less than an hour and the other one stopped in for less than 30 minutes - and both begrudgingly doing so.

The nurses have kept Liz up to date, called her back to the hospital when necessary (a 45 minute drive on a good traffic day) and kept her posted about changes.  Today, out of sheer exhaustion, Liz came home.  Apparently dad fell after she left.  He is in x-ray now.

I told Liz to call his daughter and demand help with him - Liz is exhausted!  There are 3 other kids and spouses to help!  She did. Well, lo and behold, the daughter leaks that "SHE has power of attorney" for his medical and "SHE would have them call HER" with updates and information.  I told Liz to tell her since SHE is in charge to get her last up to the hospital and take care of him!  24/7 like LIZ has been doing!  It makes me so freaking mad that (1) we did not know this, (2) they have not bothered the last week to step in and (3) they have allowed my sister to shoulder it ALL!

I cannot stand it - I am so freaking mad!  These people have NOTHING to do with their dad yet, they have control over his life?  HELLO?  They have no idea what his favorite food is, or even what his favorite thing in life to do is!  They.  Never.  See.  Him.  Yet they have coerced him into signing God knows what ever to them!

Dad is not the brightest Crayon in the box - he is a good man, but without much education, he is limited in his legal abilities and can be coerced into doing anything.  Liz protects him - heck we all do in of his own defense - but last year, his daughter took dad (out of the goodness of her heart) (ha!) for a few days to give Liz a break.  It was not out of the goodness of their heart - trust me.  We knew that then.  Apparently, that goodness was to get him to sign his life and whatever else over to her - and we *knew* it at the time, however, dad was tight lipped about it.  He spilled just enough of the beans to let Liz know he had gone to an attorney. 

Oh well, vent over.  Please keep my dad and my sister in your prayers.  Heck, offer a few prayers up for his kids - they surely need them. And keep me in your prayers too - I am having not so nice thoughts in relation to *this* part of my family.

We all have black sheep in the family, right?  Can someone please hand me the shears?  And let me show them where the pen is... it is in Tulsa at the hospital.  Now give me a padlock so I can lock them in the pen with him.  They.  Care.  So.  Much.  Honestly?  I could not do that to dad.

I love you Liz, and I love you dad.  Get well soon, dad - we need to have a long chat about blood family and real family.  There is a difference.

Missing a Part of the Big Picture

Do you ever feel like you are missing something very important - like part of the big picture?  Do you ever look at something and feel like you just want to back out and see 'the rest of the story'?

I have been planning our trips - three huge trips rolled up into one.  We are going to Hawaii (Oahu and Hawaii - the big island) and then flying onto San Francisco to pick up our son and his family, and going on to Anaheim to go to Disneyland.

Try as I might, I feel like I am missing something very important.  I have sectioned each part of the trip down and methodically worked through it; getting hotels/lodging, rental cars, island hops, and tours lined up.  I have bought tickets for Disneyland, trinkets, got the lodging, autograph books, trading pins and rented a car for that trip. I have faithfully kept it all in one place within easy reach and kept a detailed calendar of confirmation numbers.  No matter how meticulous I have been I have still felt like I am missing some elusive piece of the puzzle.  So I search.  

Of course I still have a ton to do, but it is finally coming together - and rightly so, we have a mere two weeks before we leave!  Searching through the piles of paper - I still feel like there is something not there...

While making a list and checking it twice, subconsciously, I realized I felt a sense of... sadness surrounding me.  What?!  I should not be sad!  This is a trip of a lifetime!  Hawaii is on my bucket list from when I was 16!  We will get to see our guys - and man, it is has been MUCH too long since we have seen them - so why the sadness?

Finally today, it hit me:  We are not going home!  Sure we are going to have a wonderful time - but we are still not going home.  :-(  Worse than that - by the time we finally make it back 'home' it will be nearly a year from the last time.  Reality sets in here.  

Nearly.  

One. 

Freaking. 

Year!

Is that the part of the big picture?

Today, Steph sent me a video of her - from a far, far distance, I can barely see my 'little' girl.  I started bawling - not because it was sad, but because I didn't realize how much I missed her.  Heck, who am I kidding?  I did realize it - the video just sent that message reeling home.  I should not be sad - I should be elated that I get to see her!  But like a baby, I am bawling while watching Steph in the wee background, trying to catch a glimpse of her mannerisms... her face, her... heck... just her!

And so, I finally realized that it is not the trip that I am missing something in - it is the destination; oh not the places we are going and those we will see, but the final visit.  Usually, our wonderful trips back to the states end with the inevitable trip 'home'.  *insert sigh here* Happy times with whoever we are going to visit, whatever we are going to see - followed by a trip home; a sit in our recliners, watching our very own tv, cooking with my very own kitchen tools and last but not least, grilling, boiling and laughing with friends and family.  Not only are we not going home, we are don't even HAVE a home there now...  (I did say there everyone, don't get your feathers all ruffled up  ;-)

Ok, so now that I have figured out what the missing part is, I think I have it covered.  I think.

Boy this trip has sure been an event to plan!  I have had to do it in four stages; (1) Oahu, (2) the big island, (3) San Francisco and finally (4) Disneyland.  Whew!  I can feel the tired setting in now.  I have high hopes we can still enjoy it even through the exhaustion. 

So finally, even though I feel like I am missing something in the overall big picture (home, girls, recitals, birthday parties, get togethers), at least I know that I am probably doing ok on the actual trip.  I will figure out how to live on the not going home part... lol...  wish me luck on that one!  

But, we do have one great thing to look forward to:

I guess now that I figured it out, you can see more  :-)

Seeing our wonderful kids and grandkids!  WHOOT!  

So that, my friends, will help complete the big picture  :-)