The Sabbatical - Home Improvements Edition

It is absolutely true when they say statistics show that a large proportion of people quit after going on sabbatical. The thought of going back to work, facing the deluge of emails waiting for you is just daunting and depressing. I think however, the studies focus of people who self- reflect and feel that they can/want to do more with their lives etc. Maybe the daunting emails play a part as in "I can do more than just respond to these irritating emails."

A week and a half before I was supposed to go back to work, I wrote my boss to ask for another 3 days' off to make it a whole week out instead of returning to work on a Wednesday. As I was arranging my social calendar with friends in Singapore, from Seville where I was at that time, I was thinking I didn't have enough time to pack in all these meetings, plus do those little and not-so-little home improvement jobs I wanted to tackle.

After not hearing from the boss after 4 days, I wrote him again and asked if silence meant consent? This got me an immediate response, the good man replied that he thought he had said yes on email before and if he didn't, he said it in his head, resoundingly. Ahhh... who wouldn't love a boss like that? It makes the mountain of emails less irritating, almost.

Anyway to put work out of my head, I started tackling the home improvement jobs. I patched the few holes in the master bedroom walls left by the removal of the curtain rods which were never in use, ever. Not a great job as I did that in the semi-dark but I think better than nothing. And we finally bought a can of Nippon paint called "Charming" this afternoon. I was really impressed by the whole computerised system they use now, the computer dispenses a few drops of coloured paint in the right concentration into the can of white paint and then the can is placed into automated shaking device which shakes it up to mix it well. So no one needs to stock a bunch of coloured paints and hope that they all sell equally well. Anyway this is NOT my kitchen but what I hope the Charming colour will be close enough to. But I got a sneaky feeling it is going to end up looking exactly like the colour of my cabinets now...

Home Improvements - You Win Some, You Lose Some

After installing blinds in the living room, I lost the free form hanging wall (aka window grills) for my various artworks. That was a lot of space that was surrendered and there were many pieces of work which are now missing a display spot. 

So when my new Zhu Hong watercolour was delivered, I had to find somewhere to hang my new treasure. I decided to swap out my own red masterpiece. I love being able to enjoy my new purchase while I sit in the living room surfing, or watching tv. I like how the black frame makes the orange pop.

I don't know yet what I am going to do with the other pieces that no longer have a home. Should I create a salon wall, if so, where? Or should I put them into the store room and have the discipline to rotate them on a quarterly basis?

I like home improvement projects. I like the fact that every step makes me love my home even more.

An Urge Came Over Me

I have this inexplicable urge in me tonight to buy another piece of art. It's not that I got a raise or a bonus or sold some shares and made a profit. It's not like I had a hard time at work and needed to reward myself. It's just something that crept over me, that I just needed it.

I am not sure what it will be, but I am leaning towards another Ling Yang Chang (the Herons & the Waterlilies on the extreme right) or a Zhu Hong (the Geylang Night Scene, which is second from the right). Or to buy a piece from an artist I have yet to own, like an Anthony Chua Say Hua. Perhaps something small, something which will be easier to find some precious wall space to hang. Or something very big as we do have that whole blank wall in the holiday room.

I am viewing that as my way of contributing to the arts, support the artists.

Sweets For My Sweet

Desserts are my Achilles Heel. When I go to a restaurant, I look at the desserts first and then try to work backwards to see what my appetite can accommodate and then figure out if I am going to get a starter and a main and what to order. As such, it was difficult when I found out that I have probably more than 50% chance of getting Type 2 diabetes in some stage of my life, because that meant cutting down on the sweets down and watching what I eat even more.

This amuse bouche that we had during the recent Mother's Day lunch was one of my favourite items that day. The pair was encased in gel filled with a chocolate hazelnut and a raspberry liquid resting on a biscuit respectively. These were the best! So interesting to have them pop in your mouth to fill it with a delicious liquid. 

This was a chocolate dessert, I can't remember much about it because I am not a chocolate fan. (Really? There are people who don't like chocolate? Yes, I get that a lot.) But the presentation was really pretty and the small bit of chocolate I tasted was not overly sweet, the way I like my chocolate (if I had to like chocolate).

Who doesn't like an apple tart? This was an unusual one in its presentation, as with all the dishes on the menu really. This restaurant does strive to put a twist on its items, a fusion of western and Japanese and definitely presented in a way that you least expect.

So with a great love for desserts, what can/should I do? "Everything in moderation" does seem to be a good mantra for everything and especially in this case. But on the other hand, the other important quote that comes to mind is "Life is uncertain, eat dessert first."

Your Heart Will Tell You Good Art

Credit: Lotus Series by Singapore artist, Ling Yang Chang from Cape of Good Hope Gallery

How do you tell if a piece of art is good or bad? How do you know if you should buy it? Some of my friends who are interested in art and are contemplating buying art, have asked me this question.

I think you know from your gut or perhaps, more accurately, your heart.

A good piece of art will speak to you. You walk away and come back to it again. If you still have the same buzz or ring in your heart, then this is it. A good piece of art grows on you and you will not tire of looking at it. It says something to you, sometimes you don't have to be able to verbalise what exactly about it that you like. You just do.

I remember learning at my first painting class, an epiphany of sorts that came to me - that art is both science and art. I recall my teacher being rather impressed that a novice student pointed that out to him at a first lesson. Telling if a piece of art is good or bad is a lot like that too. There are technical aspects you can consider - the science part of it. But for the art part of the evaluation, your heart will be able to tell you.

This painting from Ling Yang Chang's Lotus series was one of his first works I encountered by chance one morning of wandering around the art galleries. It definitely spoke to me. Even after 2 months, I think about it. Your heart is never wrong when it's like this.

Quick and Simple Home Improvements

I can think of various cheap and simple ways to enhance a room:-
1. Bunch of flowers from the supermarket
2. New cushion covers
3. Aromatherapy oils or fragrance sticks
4. Framed postcards or pretty calendar pages
5. A cheerful throw blanket over an old sofa

My favourite is to grab a bunch of flowers from the supermarket and arrange them in my collection of vintage pots and vases. I rotate the vessels and see what catches my fancy and what goes best with the type of flowers and colours.

Flowers from the supermarket: $3
Lifting mood of the house and the owner: priceless.

Habitual Baking

When we were living in Sydney, I used to make this orange cake quite often. It was such an easy recipe and I am a lazy baker. Or maybe call me a creature of habit, that's probably a fairer description. I bake what I am used to and rarely try new stuff. Once something new gets on my list, I just repeat it over and over again.

But somehow I stopped making this orange cake once we moved back to Singapore. I think it was out of necessity that I started baking bread and then the whole creature of habit thing took over and I almost exclusively made bread, interspersed with rock buns, another old-time favourite. Occasionally, I would make a quiche for lunch or dinner. And that was it. Oh except for that couple of times I tried my hand at making hot cross buns.

Anyway I decided to revisit this old friend last weekend. But instead of making the cake in a loaf tin which was how I used to make it in Sydney, I used little cupcake moulds. They cook faster this way and were easier for handing out in the office.

I made myself a nice cup of Earl Grey and had one for dessert right after dinner.

They were well-received in the office today. I think I will reinstate this recipe to the "Frequently Baked" list once more.

It's funny how much our personality traits are deeply embedded in different aspects of our life.

What I Buy When I Travel

I have a long-term love affair with all things fragile and breakable when I travel. There is never one trip where I do not come home lugging back some glassware or china. Why can't I love wood or plastic? That would make life so much easier! 

I love the look of mismatched china, I love drinking out of tea cups and saucers, particularly vintage ones, I love laying out my sweets and savouries on cake platters and stands. And I like eating and drinking tea a lot. I love taking afternoon tea. I love having tea parties at my house. I guess that explains a lot!

Me and My Tiffins

I generally don't like having too many takeaway containers in the house. Sure they are convenient to have around when you need to put some leftovers in the fridge or bring some extra food to the office. But seriously, how many does one need (even factoring in spares for emergencies)? We don't need to generate more waste. Plus those takeaway containers aren't constructed for multiple use and are apparently cancer causing as they emit some carcinogenic chemical when they are overused.

Hence, I try to remember to bring my own containers when I go to the nearby hawker centre to buy takeaways. Instead of the retro tiffins of multi-tiers like the 2 I have above, I use a single tier one (since I usually buy a one-dish meal like noodles or porridge) which is made of stainless steel and insulated to keep the food warm.

Call it what you may - being green, trying to reduce our chances of cancer, or just not wanting to hoard more useless stuff, I think it is an easy thing to do.

Bostock

Today I learnt what "bostock" is. It is a yummilicious almond toast, so simple but yet tastes so good. It seems like a total misnomer as it sounds like some sort of Bovril stock to me. But anyway, misnomer or not, it is delicious.

A Late Stroke Of Genius

Finally. It's over. This is our best idea which came late in the day. We changed the orientation of the bedroom door, moved it down the corridor, then up, then even further up and flushed with the built-in wardrobe. Then the light bulb came TOTALLY on, we started with a sliding door, were told no-can-do for various reasons, then we went with a regular door, reusing our existing door but fabricating a new door frame (which had to go to waste after being completed and paid for). Then with the light bulb going on, we reverted back to the idea of a sliding door but using the tracks of the new wardrobe. For some reason, this brilliant idea was fine with the contractor, who thought it was rather clever too.

So here it is, doors all shut, flushed against the wall.

And here with the bedroom door slid into the wardrobe, revealing the corridor leading to the front part of the house. A late stroke of genius but so totally worth it.

Home Renovations - Before

Finally, the renovations are about to happen. This picture shows the most detested feature in our house, this wooden parquet platform that was put in by the last owner who thought it was a brilliant feature he adapted from his last resort holiday and was so proud of. I really hated it because it was impractical and dangerous especially for those middle of the night loo visits when one could easily fall over. We overcame that obstacle by swapping the sleeping area with the study area. But it was still annoying because there was also the issue of stubbing your toe instead of falling over when you came from the opposite direction. We lived with that for 3 whole years and finally decided that we have to do another round of renovations and this was the first thing that had to be fixed.

I was pretty happy with the rest of the house, but our bedroom just seems to be a white, functional room. Even the roomful of vintage furniture like the Art Deco dresser and the mid-Century long blue bench (from the Sydney Opera House foyer) could not save the insipidness of this room.

So I am looking forward to having the works done and adding some colour to this room. The room will be getting the character it deserves after a long 3 years. I can't wait. 3 weeks to the unveiling!

Work In Progress

We have been in our little flat for almost 3 years now, it's a cliche but time does fly. Our renovation and upgrading works thus far were:-

a. before moving in, basic and minor renovations - we were very eager to move into our own place!
b. about 1 year + upon moving in, upgraded shower fixtures and replaced the sink in the common bathroom. We had also replaced the stove from the stainless steel one to a glass one and repainted our kitchen cabinet doors from a plain pine to a baby blue and changed the handles. Finally hung up the 2 mid-century space ship lamps purchased online from Holland.
c. very recently, hung up more artworks and created a sorta salon wall with smaller pictures in the living room (I say "sorta" because they were under threat of removal by the Boy but I think they work and he's left them alone since).

However the one area that always felt neglected to me was our bedroom. We finally put double-glazing in and wooden blinds and that improved our sleep quality. But apart from that, we hadn't done much. The space (bedroom cum office) was functional but soulless. We have a couple of nice vintage furniture in it but that still didn't do anything for the room.

So this time round, we are focusing on our bedroom cum office. We will finally:-

a. get rid of the much-hated platform parquet floor in the office area, legacy of the last owner. It was a dumb, impractical feature but we kept it because of the speed we needed to move in 3 years ago. We made it more practical by switching the sleep and work areas, so you don't fall over the platform stumbling from your bed to the en-suite loo in the middle of the night. 

b. flatten the indentation in the 2 big end walls and make them into feature walls. I am the creative director for the bedroom area while the Boy is responsible for the office. Dark, heavy drapes will divide the 2 areas. We will be laying wooden floors on the newly-leveled surface. 

c. hack the wall separating the bedroom/office from the rest of the house, opening up the space. We will however be putting in a sliding door to block off the private space from the dining/living rooms when needed.

So we are now awaiting the contractor's quotation before we give the go ahead and I am excited to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel and have a bedroom which says style rather than just function.

Cammeray

This mid-Century block is very modest, but it has a charm about it that sticks in my mind. It has been 3 years since we lived there and I had only lived in it for 8 or 9 months but somehow, I can't get it out of my mind. The clean, modernist lines, the beautiful green surroundings, the water nearby, the very genteel feel of the village...

I always loved Surry Hills for the vibe, the hipness, the cafes, the feel of the whole neighbourhood, but in the end, I think my heart keeps coming back to Cammeray. And maybe it's time my head admits it too. I think it's the first time I've said it out loud.

Weigh In

I have always had a mild obsession with retro weighing scales and have bought a couple from overseas flea markets and contemplated lugging back one of those heavy ones with metal weights you can add or subtract on the weighing pan. But good sense always prevailed at the end. However, I am always on the lookout for vintage weighing scales whenever I travel.

Anyway, the battle of the bulge also continues and a less retro bathroom scale is involved in this battle. I have been jolted back to action and have been faithfully logging in on My Fitness Pal (G calls it My Fatness Pal which seems to be a more apt name really). I have been quite successful in keeping to my goals this whole week since I started and have only failed today, but I plead Chinese New Year Reunion dinner - 'nuff said. I don't want to be lugging around the equivalent of 7 litres of milk every day with/on me but I am looking at it as 3+2+2, I think it makes it easier when the loss is calibrated in smaller, more do-able chunks.

The next few days will be a challenge, with pineapple tarts and other CNY goodies everywhere I turn. I think a couple of pineapple tarts once a year wouldn't hurt. After all, we have to keep traditions going!

20th Class Reunion

My Law School class of 1992 is having our 20th anniversary class reunion next Friday. 20 years! Seems unbelievable that 20 years have flown by in a twinkling of an eye. We were just young adults in our early twenties when we finished up our 4 years in Law School, sold ice-cream in the foyer to raise money for our graduating class bash, practised hard for the traditional graduating class concert - as you can see, we did Cole Porter's "Anything Goes" and to this day, I don't know how the show went because I was one of the background dancers and didn't have the luxury of watching the performance. And I don't remember watching the taped (yes taped on video) recording afterwards. What I do remember is lots of sweat and tears in the rehearsals, where many life-long friendships were made and a couple were broken.

Those 4 years were the best ones of my life I reckon. There were lots that I learnt inside the lecture halls but even more outside the lectures. At the jam and hops bopping to the live amateur bands, canoeing for ages in the open sea to Sentosa island and camping overnight (and then realising that I had to canoe back! What? No one told me I had to take the canoe back and it wasn't a canoe there, take the bus back kinda outing), in the foyer scooping out big scoops of ice-cream, playing Pictionary, having lunch in the Arts canteen while hungry eyes stared down at you, willing you to hurry up and vacate your seats, those long tea breaks at the School of Management canteen, mugging late into the night at the Faculty, then walking back with a friend to the hostel...

Those were the good old days. And in a week's time, we will all be meeting up, with more kilos piled on, less hair, more lines on our faces but I am sure we will all still see the young ones in our early twenties beneath all that. I can't wait.

Sydney, I Miss You

Last trip to Sydney was 5 days before Christmas last year and was an in and out trip, hardly enough time to meet my friends, drink all the flat white to satisfy my caffeine cravings, visit the new cafes that have popped up in Surry Hills, buy all the vintage ceramics and glassware at the opp shops, nose around the Mitchell Road Auction House, gorge on lovely bread from Bourke Street Bakery and Central Baking Depot, walk the parks and beaches... And almost a whole year has gone by without a work trip to Sydney this year, the biggest drawback of the new role. I miss everything and everyone.

So even nursing this (new) cold which followed 2 bouts of walking pneumonia, I am determined to enjoy myself when I get there in 2 days' time. So let me get back to lying on the couch and resting my mind, body and soul. Then I will be ready for you Sydney!!

Form Over Substance?

Today we were faced with a dilemma. We went to a cafe which serves good muffins of interesting variety and other baked goodies like dark chocolate tarts. The coffee was pretty good too. So what was the problem?

Well, the decor was rustic country meets modern. It was confused and did not go together. The space was long and narrow. The tables were wrought-iron garden furniture style, the hanging lights were contemporary. The wood laminate were light-coloured and looked quite tacky. The shelving were used in an untidy manner and there were stools stored under them. A showcase for cakes and pies was stacked on the shelf backwards so that the employees could open the doors however that meant the customers had to look at the knobs and untidy wires. The airconditioning also dripped.

We struggled with the form over substance issue. Many other cafes looked good but the food was mediocre. This one was the complete opposite. It was not a difficult fix, they need to tidy up and decide what look they want. I say ditch the garden furniture and fix the drippy airconditioning. And tidy up!

Millionaire In The Making

Bought my first Singapore Sweep ticket in a long time, it now costs $3, I think the last time I bought one it might have been $2, a 33.33% increase. I think it might have been 15 years ago or more! Anyway this one has a picture of the General Post Office which is now the Fullerton Hotel on it. I have always felt that this was one refurbishment of an old heritage building which was well-done. But I digress. So maybe by mid-week I would be a millionaire.

Checking In

A week after I wrote about my belated resolutions, I am so happy to report that I finally got off my arse and walked the 3.8 km home one day after work in 35 minutes and went back to yoga today after a 5 month hiatus. I am pretty sure my wrists were bruised from all the downward dogs I had to do because holding up my weight with my twig-thin wrists (my arms are disproportionately thin compared to the rest of me) for all that prolonged time was no easy feat. However, I did survive the 90 minutes and had such a great sweat detox I felt so good after.

I also made 3 micro loans on www.kiva.org and helping others to help themselves is a fantastic feeling. We have so much and so many people have so little. We spend $50 on a meal and that could be a month's salary for many living in abject poverty. We can all do more, and be content with much less at the same time.

And I also went back to my bread-making, with this cranberry and walnut loaf baked in my brand new Valencia orange Le Creuset dutch oven.

My life is finally moving back to a good and calm track.