Monday, October 03, 2016
Oct. 2016 ~ writing this with a heavy heart. Just came back from my trip to the Philippi es. I was tired... stressed to the max with not much sleep after days of mourning and organizing my dear mom's funeral. She had unfortunately died quietly in her sleep under the care of my sister in law. It was a sad , very sad day for me while I was on the other hand on my last day of holidays in Sepang Malaysia.
I needed to hurriedly come home to Singapore and immediately tried to fly to Philippines for her funeral. Lucky with the help of husband, everything got arranged fast.
My mom died on the 24th of Sept., at age 72. She just had her birthday last July 1, 2016 and I was able to see her a month after ...last Aug when I came home for a brief holiday. I just regretted I left her without saying goodbye at that time coz my travel to Manila was at 3:00 am and I didnt want to disturb her in her sleep so early in the morning. I felt so bad not being able to say goodbye ... Sorry mom, if only I had known I won't be seeing you alive when I get back I could have had kissed you goodbye . I didn't know , no one knows you are about to leave us so soon.
My dear mom is a lovely kind lady. She loved us dearly and she even took care of my 2 older kids who literally grew up with her while I was all the time living overseas. She managed my home and my kids for so many years. I owed her a lot and I had tried to support her by giving her the best I could offer her. Although I am sure I wasn't able to give her enough still ...
I didnt forget to give her as a token of my appreciation her most favorite ... an orchid!
How she loves orchids and how she smiles and be proud when they bloom in our garden. She would even scold her grandson if they fool around with the flowers or stems.
Something she had missed watering after she got paralyzed years ago and became bedridden.
I made sure there's an orchid that would go with her on her last day carried by one of her grandsons.
We had a lot of relatives and friends who came and offered some prayers and paid tribute.
Offered their condolences and helped us during the wake.
Thanks to all of you for sharing your time to grieve with us and extend your moral support. I really did appreciate your kindness.
For sure, my mom is at peace and happy wherever she is now ...
Tuesday, August 09, 2016
Aug 2016 - I was very excited to see my hometown again after almost 11 months. Last year I was home in Sept. To assist in the birth of my 1st grand daughter. Now she had started to walk already and learned how to play and please everybody. How fast time flies ... next month on Sept 2016 she will be 1 year old already.
Hello there Ella ...
Her 2 elder brothers were growing fast too. Now I can enjoy watching them play bubbles with tbeir cousins by our terrace and hear their laughters and see how they giggle in excitement playing innocently altogether.
How I wish I could stay longer every time I come home to watch them grow ...
Anyways, I am a busy grandma always looking forward to my limited holidays. I have to see places and visit relatives, siblings scattered in different places. Visit some nice scenic spots away from my hometown too. I had visited Palawan with my son and brother. I got 2 escorts to carry all my loads. Lol !
Like me, we were like kids excited to be in a new surrounding.
I am lucky to be able to take them out there . Being able to see what other places in the Philippines look like . Puerto Princesa Palawan is a famous tourist destination for its under water caves and voted one of the world's best nature spot. You can find a lot of accomodations suit to anyone's budget. Food is also abundant and not really expensive as well as transport. People are very friendly and helpful. Water sports and activities are readily available and access to several islands nearby.
Eventhough our hotel is about an hour ++ drive from the airport, the roads were built for a smooth journey to Astoria ( our hotel for 3 days 2 nights ).
The hotel got lovely well spaced rooms and totally new ! All I can say about this place in and out is wow ....
Rooms are well equipped with lightings, aircon, hot shower, internet connection, safety boxes and personal amenities for a more pleasuranle convenient stay.
The restaurant on the other hand offers a variety of good ala carte food / buffet barbecue although super pricey as compared to other places outside the hotel that can be to troublesome to visit coz too far away .
Worth visiting in this island are the souvenir shops selling South Sea Pearls and native delicacies from sweets to dried seafoods. Palawan is the haven for South Sea Pearls in the Philippines. I was lost in paradise the moment I saw the pearl shops ! I made sure I got my bargaining skills when buying a few to take back with me. Sometimes I got lucky and few times I had turned my back and walked away... sigh !
I didn' t wanna go back to the hotel after seeing all of these ... can you blame me ?
Oh My God !!!
Seriously, I cannot stop myself from buying jewelries. Whether just raw materials for my projects or finished designs for my own personal use.
Also, being in places and shops like these is always a torture for me when I see some thing I really like but I can't afford to buy it. Oh well ... at least I am happy just being able to buy a few of what's in there somehow. What about you , will you feel the same ?
Friday, July 22, 2016
July 22, 2016 - My short holiday to Bali was well spent walking around and touring some nearby places from where I had stayed in Legian. Legian is located north of Kuta which on the other handmwas indeed a very busy area in Bali where most of the tourists were concentdated to party hard. I didn't go there to party though but with a mission to find some silver components suppliers and of course check for some beadshops in the neighboring area too.
I was lucky to have met a good driver in the airport when I arrived in Bali. He became my tour guide when I rented his taxi to take me to some silver suppliers. I didn't find the real silver components manufacturers but I found some reputable finished silver jewelry suppliers in Celuk instead. This village is the silver and gold centre of Bali.
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| Mop and Blue Coral Pendants |
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| Finished jewelry from UC Silver showroom |
Most of the places I had been to only sells the finished jewelries. I got frustrated when they won't disclose where I could find a place where I can buy the silver findings / components I need for my beaded jewelries. I am sure they were just nearby. Lucky I stumbled on 1 silver findings shop as we drove along Celuk on that rainy day. Despite it was pouring rain, I told Juni the Balinese driver to keep on driving till we find a shop selling what I need.
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| Going thru small little streets off the main road ... |
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| Small narrow streets as we search for silver artisans ... |
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| What I found and bought in 1 silver components shop . |
Anyhow, quite a bonus that I had managed to find a bead shop just about 300 meters from my hotel. Oh my gee... I was so delighted when I walked in there . See what I mean ? My eyes were feasting ...
Oh well, it gave me a hard time to come out of there without buying anything . Of course I didn't leave the shop empty handed. How can I ? Impossible ! So I ended up getting at least 20 strands of differnt types of recycled glass beads. The owner was very nice and accomodating. I will surely come back to this shop once I set my foot in this area of Legian again.
For now, all I hope is to come here again for another holidays soon.
Fingers crossed !
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