The Day Has Arrived

It started with me swaying as an earthquake started my day...


Then Shodai knocked and smiled - it all seemed right again.

But soon the packers came... 

They started packing our loot... 

And hauling it out... 

My stomach turns and tumbles

The fear of the unknown

The anticipation of the adventure

The uncertainty ahead

The goodbyes as we walk away

The hellos as we move forward

The reality setting in

The tears are coming

Both happy and sad

It's an emotional day.

I think I need one of these:

It seems it may be really happening... 

It seems surreal.

So I may need two.

**Update**

They have now come and gone.  Our few little precious boxes loaded on a truck:

I told you we did not have a lot.  Didja not believe me?  Two plus years here and this is all we have accumulated... and most of that was this last week!


Our packers assured us it is well packed and ready to go.  They will build a crate at the company for our loot and place the boxes in it.  We told them what would happen if they broke anything, obviously, they took us quite seriously  ;-)

Thanks lovely ladies and gentleman - it went really smooth - amazingly so.  If you want me to put the name of your company on here, I will do it - but only with your permission.  I forgot to ask - so if you see this, and don't mind, just let me know.  You all did a great job on this end - we will see how it went on that end!  Ahhh, and your giggles about us playing mahjong still rings pleasantly in my ears; that and the foo dogs.  Lions.  Whatever. 

Finally, with most of our belongings, the movers leave with  a big wave...

And off they go!

Be careful - we don't have much, but what we do have, we love.

This is all so weird.  I have never had movers before... Heck, we have rarely moved.  Yes, honey, I am doing well... if you only knew how I felt.


I might need three.

You Gotta Go To Chijmes

Last night we went to Chijmes with friends... it is one of our favorite places in Singapore to eat (thanks Raye and Gavin!), so we got one more chance to see it.  I finally remembered my Tokina lens so I could get pictures of it all.  I am awfully tired so I am going to post some night pictures and head to bed.  Didn't want to neglect the blog though - for some reason it is therapeutic for me.  So with no further discussion, have a look at why we love the place so much:

Our favorite place to eat there is Pizza Giordino's on the upper courtyard (near green sign on mid-left side), but there are dozens of places to choose from:

Lower courtyard:

So if you haven't been to Chijmes, you gotta go.  Just do it!  You won't regret it.  Tomorrow, daytime pictures of Chijmes.

Oh, Raye and Gavin?  Thanks again!  Loved seeing your little guy.  Sure wish I had remembered to get a picture of the three of you.  Gonna miss your smiling face, Raye...

Isn't he adorable?

Reflections

The last week has certainly been a week of reflections... thinking of all the fun times we have had, reflecting on friendships we have made and where we have been.  We have had some great times in Asia; reflecting has been bittersweet... you know how that is... right?

I took these pictures tonight and thought there couldn't be a more perfect time to share with you:

 Just reflections, but nice ones; just like our Singapore memories.

Obviously, with packing and all, I don't have a lot of time to blog, but I do have good news!  We have a DATE!  Not a destination, but a date finally!  We are leaving here for New Orleans on November 1st - and arriving in New Orleans on... November 1st - just 8 hours later!  Ha!  I WISH!  Are you ready Louisiana?  I am ready for you!  

So just a week left... gonna be a rough one.  Keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Smoky Singapore Sunset

Looking for the good in everything, I found the sun trying to peek through the smoke this evening.  I quickly grabbed my camera and shot this:

It is unedited except for the watermark and resizing.

Breakin' Her In

Yesterday was our Bible Study and after we finished it, Debbie and I went out to the Noodle Man's place.  She has only been here a few months and is still trying to get used to Asian food.  I had told her a few weeks back it was time she tried some of the foods here, but she had yet braved up to it.  So after Bible Study, I drug Debbie to the Noodle Man's place to eat...  Just her and I...

She had to start from ground zero - chopsticks:

There is a knack to eating with chopsticks.  I quickly found a you tube video to show you how to use them.  I am not saying he is right, but this is how I have been taught to hold chopsticks and it works for me.  Give using chopsticks a try!

Once we got that down, the food arrived:

And she ate:

She was a trooper!  She tried fried dumplings and steamed dumplings:

She tried one very lonnnnnnngggggg noodle:

Chomped on the rice:

She seemed to do best with the rice - she finished it!

And before we knew it, the meal was finished:

The noodle man is great - he invited us to help him make noodles:

How cool is that?! 

We weren't the only ones he has taught:

 He has wallpapered his walls with all his other friends!

Debbie's comment about the food?  "Had a great time today.... and lunch was... okay... my first really Chinese food..... !  Loved watching the noodle man make the noodles... that was so cool!"  Love ya Debs!  I am proud of you for trying - and I am going to miss you so darned much!  I laugh a lot when we are together - what the heck are we going to do without each other?  Lol... we are fixin' to find out!  I know you will do fine - you have Brenda, Debbi, Karen and Sue to keep you in line.  Who is gonna... oh wait!  I don't have ANYone keeping me in line!  WHOOT!  *thinking of all the things she can get away with*  

Oh and Deb?  Don't forget the lake house; unbuild those bricks, k?  Tim, I am trying!  I had no control over her! 

Lol,  ok so she wasn't keen on the noodle man food (I can't believe it - his food is great!), but it is one step in the right direction.  Girls, you gotta keep encouraging her - miss bravery there will have to be blindfolded and led to the trough... and since I won't be here to do it, I am depending on you broaden her horizons!

Okay, Houston we have a problem!  Have you seen the air quality in Singapore?  UGH!!!!  There are a handful of things we want to do before we leave.  We want to go to Marina Bay Sands Sky Park, to the bar above Equinox the Stamford Hotel and to ride the new cable cars at Sentosa.  I could SCREAM!  LOOK at 'our view'!

Just in case you have forgotten (haha), it is supposed to look like this:

Do you see Marina Bay Sands (the fancy casino)??  Yeah, neither do I   :-(   Do you see the flyer?  Nope.  Not visible.  Do you think we are going to pay to go if we cannot partake in the view? 

UGH!  Sumatra (Indonesia) is doing their yearly burn off of jungles and croplands, but we get the smoke!  Yes, folks, this is smoke!  Imagine what it is doing with my asthma...  Good grief!  Leone suggested someone send BIG fans - then we will blow it right back to them.    Steve and I only have two weekends, let's hope the wind changes direction.  Please?

And finally, I went on the US Embassy Tour today.  Oh.  My.  Gosh!  Was it ever good!  So very informative!  The guide that took us into the Embassy said it has gotten to be a much better tour lately - we went to several rooms and the gardens.  If you have not gone, be sure to go.  And can you pick us up an Embassy cap?  They were fresh out of them.  Of course the shipment comes in at the end of the month - and you can only shop at the Embassy if you go on a tour.  You can do so through the American Women's Associaton.  It was awesome!  Can't give any secrets away or they may have to... never mind... just go!

Off to finish sorting our loot.  Gotta get er done.  

Saying Goodbyes

 I have been saying goodbyes for days now!  I can't believe this is so difficult  :-(  

Yesterday I had to tell Brenda goodbye - or rather see ya later.  We have gotten so close it is crazy!  Love ya Brenda!  I hope we never lose touch - so we just said see you later.  We sure have a lot in common don't we?  Lol...  You are right, same same, but different  ;-)

After telling Brenda 'see ya!' (not saying goodbye to ya) I had to go tell the girls on the board of the spouses association of the company my hubby works for goodbye.  Confused?  Sorry,  I am too tired to reword it.  More people... lol... We went to Chijmes and Pizzeria Giardino's.  Yum!  I love visiting with these girls - we are so fortunate to have this experience.  We have girls from all over the world; we visited and laughed over customs, traditions, and habits different countries have.  I love that we can ask each other questions about their home country and get a totally honest answer or explanation.  I have learned so darned much about other lifestyles!  (I am not bobbing my head here ladies ;-)   It is great!  What will I do without everyone?
 

Here is Anjana (from India), Virginie (from France), me (from USA), Silvana (from Peru) and Sally (from England) - and this is just the Board of Directors - imagine all of us together!

What an experience!


I am shopping until I drop - and we all know how much I like that... Ok, Jeremy, I actually got OUT the door, have been to MORE than one place and bought more than one thing.  Impressed?

I went back to Taylor B's today - they *just* got a new shipment of blue and white!  Best you haul yourself over there if you would like to take advantage of it.  I have already gotten my share so you are welcome to buy anything you want!   ;-)  She has lots, but it is going fast.  I can't get over the turnover she has!  So glad I found out she had a container coming in - if I had not gone by Sunday, I never would have known.   Here is some of the stuff she has - and there is lots more!

Pretty isn't it?


I also went to another blue and white place - will post about it soon.  I took more pictures today, so you will be excited to see what this other place has!

I went again to China Town... man!  I could go there all the time and never get tired of it.  Great place for hanging out and especially for taking pictures.

So I have spent the last few days trying to get the last few things we want to take back to the states.  I am beat!  Saying goodbyes and shopping - it sure takes a toll on the body.  Tomorrow, I tour the Embassy and then I am coming home and resting.  That, my friends, is a promise!

And maybe I will really blog.  Maybe.  Or sleep.  We will see what wins.

Saying goodbyes is hard.  Life should never be hard, but it is sometimes, isn't it?  You gotta go over the rocky road to see the view.  This road is really rocky folks...

But I can almost see our family on the other side.  And I can feel the weather changing... to much cooler.  Itsa comin'!