Hollyford Track

My love for the mountains began when I did a trek in Mount Kinabalu 16 years back. I was awed by the grandeur of the mountain, the magnificent views atop the summit and the pleasing humdrum of simply walking on the tracks. Trekking has a therapeutic effect for my spirit, the mountain my sanctuary. There's always a longing to return to the mountains to rejuvenate my soul...

Tramping in New Zealand had been on my to do list since but somehow I went on other treks instead. I was in NZ this Nov for a fibre retreat and took the chance to extend my stay for a trek, albeit a short one!

I was alone on the trip and sensibility rules - instead of being an independent trekker, I opted for a guided trek. The Hollyford Track seemed luring as it covered a less tramped region, spreading from pristine native forests, valleys and lakes, historical sites, natural seal colony and climaxing it with a helicopter ride to Milford Sound, a wide range for a 3-day trek! I signed up without hesitation.

The experience with the Hollyford Track is in a league of its own! I had many boo-boos during the 3 day trek but every situation was salvaged by the organising team and scenic route. We had to carry our own backpack of 7kg and trekked 19.5km on the 1st day; by the end of the day, my shoulders were sore from the weight. Upon reaching our lodge, we were greeted by a lovely and cozy lodge furnished with beds and fireplace! A good night's sleep on a comfy bed does miracles to the body's healing. Furthermore, we were served a michelin style dinner with wine :-) What better way to pamper oneself after a hard day's trek?

Weather for Day 2 was rainy, which is usually a bummer for a trek. However, our knowledgeable guides perked the day imparting interesting history about the route which we trekked. In actuality, it rains most of the time at Hollyford Valley, making it a rain forest valley, with mists setting in, casting a mystical landscape, beautiful in its own way. We jet boated a bit, reaching the far out inaccessible places due to rain. During mid day, my right boot quitted on me, its sole ripped open - a nightmare for any trekker (I only had a pair of walking shoes)! Thankfully the guides were equipped with a handy kit, my boot was mended to withstand the rest of the trek.

At the last stretch of trek, we traversed the natural colony of fur seals and it was such a delight to watch them up close! Another highlight was the Fiordland crested penguins which were usually shy. However, due to the rain, most of them clambered ashore. In fact, one of them was so curious, it came as close as 1 metre from where I was. I was brimming with smiles :-)

Upon returning to the lodge (yet another luxurious hut), my boot protested after a treacherous 12km walk and totally fell apart. My resourceful guide managed to procure a pair of track shoes for me. It was a wee bit big but with stuffing of napkins, they worked pretty well for my Day 3 trek, which was a mere 5km walk on a sand dune island.

We were again spoiled rotten at Martins Bay Lodge with a generous spread of cheese board and wine, followed by a grilled salmon meal. The bar is certainly raised sky high for a trek! I may reconsider doing any independent trek in future ;p Breakfast affairs were equally sumptuous.

Day 3 was a relaxing trek despite bits of rain and hail. The route was scenic - undulating dunes with breaking waves and misty mountains as backdrop. We bade farewell to the Hollyford valley by climbing onto a chopper onward to a majestic descent to the Milford Sound, absolutely stunning!

Toy Soldiers

My boy has a penchant for soldiers, as with most boys. In his toddler days, he aspired to be a soldier when he grew up. I cannot fathom being one in any stage of my life... A soldier is essential as a country's defence force but the association of a soldier with violence seems inevitable in my mind as news of territorial fighting with armed violence in the world seems rampant. The entertainment industry tends to glorify war movies but the atrocities in a war immensely overwhelm any justified victory :-(

While Singapore is a small nation, it is beefed up by a strong defence force. Other than the political argument, I see the mandatory 2 years of National Service for its male citizens at age 17-18 as a plus from a social standpoint. The boys grow to become more mature mentally and emotionally! It roughens their charisma, makes them rugged, fosters comradeship and patriotism. Some may argue it as a waste of time for Singaporean men economically but the character that's built in the 2 years is priceless...

When my boy was introduced to soccer in his kindergarten days, he began a love for soccer and played in league matches with his academy team. His ambition changed - he aspired to be a professional soccer player! We didn't want to discourage 'the ambition' as his passion is admiringly hot at his age. He follows world class soccer players and their matches, his wealth of current soccer knowledge is impressive. 

As he grew into his preteen years and became acquainted with maths and economics, his love for soccer hasn't dissipated. However, his logic grew. It dawned on him that it's excruciatingly difficult to become a world class player with Singapore as the base and when he realised that even the top player in Singapore rarely commands high price, his 'ambition' wavered with his pragmatism. As we all know, our ambitions change over time ;p Nonetheless, he still loves the idea of soldiers and soccer. 

London Trip with Mom

London never ceases to bore me even as I have visited it many times. Its wealth of culture, heritage, arts and scenic outskirts is constantly amusing visitors. Perhaps my comment is skewed - being Singaporeans naturally makes us more familiar with England since Singapore was once its colony, we are more informed due to Singapore's history. It applies more with my parents' generation, as evident in my recent trip to London with my mom.

I had travelled with my mom for vacations aplenty since my firstborn 11 years ago, however it was always as a family vacation. Over the years, I realised that such family vacations were always centered around the kids - the programs were geared towards kids such as beach vacations, theme park vacations or places of interests that appeal to the kids. Even the choices of holiday cuisine were limited as the children are not as adventurous in their tastebuds. Hence, all of us suit our itinerary and meal choices towards the kids. Imagine no sushi nor sashimi when we were in Japan :-(

Meanwhile my mom will make other travels with her own friends, while I ventured on couple travels or adventure travels, which were neither suited to an elderly lady. My mom's circle of friends always chose Asian destinations (especially China and Japan), likely due to language, culture and cuisine similarity. When I decided to bring my mom on a birthday trip this year, one that's tailored entirely to her needs, she surprised me by choosing London. 

So off to London we went. I planned the entire itinerary, bringing her to the essential sights and museums in London, peppering up with gastronomic experiences. Thankfully London is cosmopolitan, there are great restaurants that serve up excellent Asian dishes to satiate her savoury and spicy palate. We had a fair share of fine western meals too. The highlight was Claridge's Afternoon Tea that was reserved months in advance. Lovely assortment of sandwiches, scones with their infamous dollop of clotted cream, pastries over exquisite tea in a regal and charming ambience. The serving was too much for us but I made sure I had a bite of each. 

My mom was particularly delighted to visit any places of interest that relates to the Royal family - Birmingham Palace, Claridge's, Diana's memorial fountain, etc. She chirped happily and repeatedly that Singapore used coins and notes with the royal queen imprinted during the olden days. Even the post box was the exact british post box we see installed in UK now. Then it dawned on me that she was more acquainted with British history by first hand experience :-)

Parking Day SG 2014

September had been a hectic month, with the beginning a preparation of my first roadshow, figuratively and literally! Parking Day, which is part of an annual worldwide event where community members transform parking spots into temporary public spaces, became my first project showcasing my needle felted creations. While it was a simple installation of an Art Gallery, it was a logistically challenging feat, having to almost single handedly shoulder the entire project. Thankfully I had gracious friends and my little ones who chipped in to help, lifting some burden.

My main aim of the roadshow is to promote the art of needle felting - creating an awareness and understanding of the craft, as well as an appreciation of the intricate yet amusing art. The event turned out rather meaningful, having a fair stream of lunch time crowd and friends who came to support and visit the gallery. My girl assisted to demonstrate the craft to the public, as well as teaching the curious ones the art of needle felting.

The day panned out well despite the relentless scorching sun. It poured suddenly during midday and I had to scramble to shift the installations under shade (with the help of visiting friends) and not long after, the sun came scorning on us again. We moved the installations a couple of times depending on the sun intensity and human traffic. Logistically comical but it added to our memory bank of fun moments :-)

Skiing

Winter sports is practically zilch in Singapore as it is a sun locked tropical island. In order to engage in winter sports, we have to travel far north or south at the opportune timing to catch the bountiful snowfall in the mountains. Unfortunately, the Northern and Southern Hemisphere snow seasons rarely coincide with local school vacations, depriving local students the opportunity of experiencing winter sports. 

I am a fervent fan of the mountains. Before I had kids, I would trek the mountains and soak in its grandeur and awe, especially snow capped mountains which serve as a sanctuary to my spirit. However, snowy mountains are far away from the equator or the nearer ones would command heights more than 3500m, rendering a longer time to scale these mountains due to distance. As a mom of 2 young kids, it is almost impossible to pluck myself away from them for more than 2 weeks as homesickness and guilt will kick in. 

In tune with family life, I had stayed away from long treks and greatly reduced my occasions atop snowy mountains. But the yearning will not be doused, leading to an alternative way to reach the summit in a much shorter time - skiing! I managed to escape into snowy mountains a couple of times while leaving the kids at home biding their school schedules ;p 

When the chance finally arose for my kids to ski with their favourite cousins living in Australia, I did not hesitate to take them off school for a couple of days. As young kids, they are ideally suited to learn a new sport - their sense of balance, agility and boldness are amazing! They mastered the green slopes in a matter of a 2 hour lesson, freeing them to ski breezily (I learnt to ski as an adult and had to conquer many psychological fear before achieving their ease!) Furthermore, skiing and bonding with right company adds to a beautiful experience, memories that will last a lifetime, whereas the few days of local school routine would be barely productive in a child's learning nor imprint a lasting memory. Here's a pic of my girl and her best friend cum cousin while skiing - a fond memory etched in her forever :-)

World Cup 2014

My boy started his love for soccer at the age of four when my 1st helper, Duhpuii whose love for soccer so great introduced him to the world of soccer as she followed her favourite teams and players. He would learn the names of the teams and players and became well-versed in them, more than his dad who is also a soccer aficionado. As he turned five, the World Cup 2010 hype was roaring in my household. We didn't subscribe to World Cup TV channels then, thus father and son would wake in the wee hours (as it was held in South Africa in a different time zone) and trot to MacDonald's for live telecast. I was simply amused - a 5 old year waking up at odd hours beyond the comfort of home just to watch a soccer match!

Soccer, on the other hand, was an alien to me. I grew up not knowing much about soccer. While my partner (then boyfriend) was a soccer fan, I was never sucked into his interest of watching the games. I just could not comprehend the thrill of 11 men chasing after a ball?!

As motherhood presents me with a boy whose passion in soccer intervenes with my own life, I was forced to acquaint myself with soccer more and more. He enrolled into a soccer academy after World Cup 2010. It started as a once weekly activity which was the dad's responsibility to chauffeur. As time passed, his skills sharpened, the training increased to twice weekly. During league seasons, it is thrice weekly soccer sessions! I started to chauffeur him to training and become a cheerleader during his matches. At times, his school roped him in for soccer matches or the academy ran friendly matches, so imagine the soccer overdose I had!!!

I learnt bits and pieces about soccer as my boy would be talking about it. In fact, my knowledge of soccer stems from his infectious passion and animated chat which he engaged me. I am certainly far from being an expert but am happy to hold a soccer conversation with my boy.

Now with World Cup 2014, the hype is on again. This time I am genuinely interested after all the influence from my boy. Hosted in Brazil, the timings of matches are even more horrendous for us here in Asia. Some nights I watched with my boy, in an effort to bond with him. However, I couldn't keep up while he continued to follow his favourite teams. His routine is certainly upset - he would go to bed at 530pm skipping dinner and wake up at 4am to catch the match before hopping on to school at 630am. The price boys pay for World Cup!

We are 2 days shy of World Cup 2014 Finals, with Germany facing off Argentina. Whom shall prevail?

Warplanes

Hmmm… Warplanes? I do not know much about war aircrafts nor was I ever interested in warfare nor war related weapons of destruction. The closest contact to warfare knowledge was the brief history lessons during school days. Ever since, I would not dwell deep into war topics - the subject of warfare being too dry for a female chromosome, the atrocities waged at war too heartbreaking to bear. Yet, the subject of warfare is unavoidable in one's life as the media is strife with news of tension and conflict.

Neither will I imagine myself enjoying reading warfare literature. A recent visit to The Museum of Flight in Seattle had spurred my interest in WWII history and a coincident reading of a novel "The Boy in Striped Pyjamas" (a supremely light read depicting a subtle portrayal of political injustice through the naive eye of a 9 year old boy) on The Holocaust.  I started to 'wikipedia' for WWII related articles. Every article is immensely loaded with new information previously unknown to me, which at a click will further illuminate the unexplored field. The more I read, the more it whets my appetite. However, it comes at a cost - it whips up a whirlwind of emotions and thoughts which I shall not elaborate.

The next book I picked out is A Higher Call, a memoir that will warm the heart, knowing that true honour and kindness do exist even in the darkness of war. It doubles up as an educational read - I learn about warplanes and ammo, the technicalities and tactics of warfare in a non-dry textbook manner. In fact, I was able to visualise these warplanes and imagine the scenarios as the visit to The Museum of Flight had equipped me with the background on WWII. I am amused to learn that a B-17 bomber was manned by 9 persons in a full combat and all the crew were situated at different parts of the plane, from the nose to the tail! The book is such an enlightenment (now I can spar with my boy on war combat terminologies ;p) that I feel compelled to poke a B-17 Bomber :-)

Battle with Mandarin...

I am a Singaporean Chinese and I learn Mandarin from young. I studied in a reputable Chinese primary and secondary school but I am not proud to say I am barely proficient in Mandarin. While other major subjects had been a breeze, Mandarin was my most nightmarish subject. I practically had recurring nightmares even in my adult working days - the scene of examinations setting and I couldn't find the words to begin my chinese essay; instead, I was peeling my nails throughout and handed in a blank sheet! Surprisingly I scored an A1 in national level Standard Chinese examinations and was delighted to be a B3 student in national level Higher Chinese examinations. The bonus was I liberated myself of Chinese lessons ever since! While most of my college mates had their due of weekly Chinese lessons and assignments, I could idle away ;p

Apparently I do not possess a flair for languages. As years passed in the real world of interaction with people of diverse backgrounds, as well as my curiosity of cultures and places, I became motivated to learn new languages. But still, polishing up my Mandarin wasn't on my to-do list. Somehow I wasn't charmed to re-learn Mandarin, perhaps due to the nightmares as well as my personal experiences with Chinese related incidents which had not been very pleasant? When my kids started to attend primary school, I was once again forced to acquaint myself with Mandarin, in my feeble attempt to help them. The Chinese standard in my kids' era has been way elevated beyond my time, thus I am rendered totally useless in any assistance to their learning. 

Mandarin language thus became a bone of contention between myself and Singapore education system. The schools place a high priority and standard to learning of Mandarin. However, having gone through the learning process myself, I realised that if a child is not brought up in a natural environment whereby the language is spoken and used at home nor in his social circle, it becomes a pain to learn a language if the child is not passionate about it. If the Chinese teachers in schools fail to inspire the child, that almost spells doom. Thus, it falls upon the parents' responsibilities to boost the child's interest. I have to resort to external help of a tuition teacher to brush up my kids' Mandarin, but the once weekly lessons are hardly enough. 

I am certainly not a Tiger Mom; for me, it is enough that the kids are equipped in basic Mandarin as a foundation. I will not go to lengths stressing my kids to excel in Mandarin, killing their joy of learning a language and their childhood. Eventually as they grow and learn to carve a role for themselves in society and if Mandarin proves to be essential in their life, they will naturally be motivated to polish up their Mandarin, and they will easily pick it up given their foundation in Mandarin, as depicted in my own life... Now that I have discovered a Chinese writer cum illustrator (幾米) that captivates me, I am fired up to polish up my Mandarin again! I shared 幾米's pieces with my daughter, she loves the humor and animated drawings too! Hopefully it'll inspire her to read more Chinese books :-)

For those who are new to 幾米，here's a peep at his 作品. This was the first piece I read and was so tickled by it, not to mention my girl. So tickled that I had to poke the character :-)

Learning Journey of Needle Felting

As I experiment and poke more, I discover subtle techniques of needle felting that will improve an artwork. It may seem common sense to be poking this way or that way, but it takes experience to uncover the 'ahhs' of techniques. I started learning the basics by reading a few needle felting books initially, but as I poke more, I tend to poke by intuition. I wonder if I should document these trivial revelations along the way which may be helpful as instruction in event that I forget what I had done before...

I am more of a self- taught needle felt artist with my haphazard way of experimentation. My passion for needle felting grows by the day, with each creation poked. Having said that, the desire to poke is very much dependent on what inspires me at the moment in time, pretty random. 

The challenge arises when friends start to request for commissioned works, which means they dictate the theme of the art piece. At first, I have doubts as I am very much a person who crafts based on inspiration. The first job was themed hot air balloons; I researched on pictures of hot air balloons and started to work on it. In the process, I began to discover joy as I get acquainted with the pictures and tried as best as possible to make the creation real yet captivating to the customer, in this case a 3 month old infant - cutesie Baby Gene! The baby mobile turned out pretty and useful :-)

Disney Frozen

The upside of parenthood is being able to transport back to childhood - reliving the missed bits and revelling in childish acts without being labelled as 'childish'. Recently, my kids and I synced our inflight movie and watched the acclaimed Disney movie Frozen together; we enjoyed the plot and musical. I was pleasantly surprised that the supposedly girly movie captivated my boy too. We downloaded their favourite song titles from Frozen on iTunes and played them during car rides, both of them would sing along and reenact the scenes from Frozen. It's a delight watching them giggling in their antics, such simple joy :-) The combination of an entertaining movie and great musical songs keeps reverberating in our memory, so much so that I'm inspired to needle felt Olaf and my first attempt of a huge figurine, Anna!

Felissimo Koala

While visiting a friend in Kobe in 2012, I chanced upon a Felissimo Happy Toys Project Exhibition. It was a delightful display of handmade koala bears in patchwork or crochet, created and contributed by different individuals who participated in the project. After the exhibition, the multitude of colourful and vibrant bears would be shipped and donated to various children in the world as a gift,  how heartwarming! 

The project was launched in 1997 in Japan and carries out yearly missions of collating handmade toys. The mascot changes every year, ranging from teddy bears, dogs, reindeers, elephants to cats. Being Japanese, the mascot never fails to be KAWAII.... I missed out taking part in the project for 2013 but will certainly be looking out for the new project this year. I can't wait to sew my own patchwork mascot and make my contribution.

Here's my version of Felissimo Koala in needle felt :-)

Cookie...

While I professed to be a cat and dog lover, I would have never thought I'll have a Chihuahua in my household, as the minuscule breed is the last to uphold the characteristics of dogs that appeal to me - charisma, security, 'huggability', rowdy play, gracefulness, etc. However, when I first saw this puny shivering ball of 3 brown spots on its body of white coat, it warmed my heart as it reminded me of our late Jack Russell Terrier, Rusty whom departed last August. Something stirred within me, I cannot pinpoint. As I watched the tiny 800g trembling within its enclosure, I had the desire to comfort and care for it. In the snap of minutes,  in crept the various reasons to justify why we should have this Chihuahua in our household: a companion for Coco that will not create chaos in the house, a dog for my girl whom she is able to manage by herself, a dog for my boy to instil in him 'responsibilities', a creature for me to care for like a baby since the factory for human babies is officially closed...

Since it's technically the kids' dog, they named it Cookie, despite a protest from my brother that it should be named Yoda due to the sheer resemblence between the two in his opinion. Thus Cookie's other nickname is Baby Yoda. It's been a month since Cookie came along and it finally had its last dose of vaccination. Even the vet who examined it was tickled that Cookie is such a teeny Chihuahua. After consultation, the vet actually came out and requested a picture of Cookie ;p 

Cookie (keeping fingers crossed!) has yet to exhibit the typical yelpiness of a Chihuahua, she barely barked more than twice in her stay with us, and both times merited with good reason. We've brought her out a couple of times in a doggie bag; she would be trembling initially till she settled comfortably in her bed within the bag, without making a wee bit of noise while we carried her about. Hopefully Cookie will be a great companion to my girl in her growing up years :-)

Baby Bump :-)

Pregnancy is an amazing journey – from the physical transformation of a woman’s body, physiological bonding with baby within, to the psychological nurturing of a mother’s instincts. It is a journey prerogative only to women, not one which men can undertake nor understand.

 

Even as myself had gone through two pregnancies bringing my precious ones to the world (they are both 8 & 10 already?!!!), it is still bewildering to me how a sperm of disc head 5 micrometer by 3 micrometer, when finding its way to an ovum of 0.12 mm diameter could fuse to develop into a foetus and eventually grow into a mature baby of 50cm, all the while happening inside a woman’s womb! I am constantly amused when I see Preggies with their ballooning belly stretching to contain the growing baby, the sight of their tummy so tender yet robust!

 

Perhaps the experience of pregnancies has conceived my view of Preggies – they are one lot of beautiful curves!

Love

Love is both profound and confounding. No one has a simple definition to Love as it encompasses a multitude of virtues. The first time I came across the meaning of Love in the Bible during my pre-teen days, the beautiful verse stuck in my heart ever since - 

Love is patient, love is kind. 

It does not boast, it is not proud.

It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, 

It is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. 

(1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

As life deals with us, we realise Love is not as simple as it sounds. The intricacies of life complicates the simplicity of Love. It may take a lifetime to unravel the mysteries of Love, or not… I am learning, even in my adulthood the true meaning of Love. 

At this juncture in life, I am reminded that "The best expression of Love is time". As Rick Warren places it "We all have different amounts of energy, wealth, and talent, but we all have the exact same amount of time: 168 hours a week. You can always get more money, but you can't get more time. You only have a certain amount of allotted days, so you have to decide: What is your time worth? The most valuable thing you can give someone is your attention, because when you give attention to somebody you're saying, "You matter to me. You are valuable. You are worth listening to. You are worth my time."" This is applicable to all sorts of relationships!!!

Teddy Bears

I don't particularly fancy teddy bears but a teddy never fails to warm my heart. It's funny how teddies are marketed as cute and lovable, when in reality a bear is ferocious when threatened. Similarly, a hippopotamus is by far the most 'dangerous' due to misconceived perception of being portrayed as an adorable creature! Puzzles aside, teddy bears tend to have a heartwarming effect on children and adults; I am one of those who love cuddlies, ie soft furry or fabric toys. I wonder if loving a cuddly means a person has a soft side? My boy, despite his love for soccer, knights, soldiers, lego, minecraft, etc has a soft spot for soft toys - at the age of 8, he was equally thrilled when given a cushy bunny for Xmas ;p

Some bears have an inherently cute look - my favourite is Polar Bear. White and snowy :-)