Nasi Briyani and thunderstorms

 

During thunderstorms, even animals who don't like each other put their differences aside and stick close to Mom :)

I went down to do bloodwork, and at M's recommendation, got nasi briyani from Shami Banana Leaf Delights. It was good - the rice was fluffy, it wasn't oily and it was very tasty!

Singapore

 

Back in Singapore and came back to a fatter/fluffier Simone, a sock monkey from V and Simian cutting his hair in the little cape I got him :)

Suntaneye and her husby gave me a ride to the train station and snacks for the trip too. Thanks guys! The weather couldn't have been nice too - it was sunny and warm.

I watched Oranges and Sunshine on the plane, which was very good. At Will and A's the other day, their friend, V, told me that her Dad had been a migrant child and had been shipped from England to New Zealand. It was astounding that something like that could have happened.

Not quite as good was Das Blaue Von Himmel - the acting was good, the cinematography was lovely, but I wanted to smack one of the protagonists.

Happy Thanksgiving

 

Simian joked that I'm a Thanksgiving Orphan this year - and everyone is super nice to Thanksgiving Orphans. I had five invitations to dinner, spanning three different states :) I would have loved to go to everyone's dinner but I only have one stomach!

I spent the evening at Will and A's and the food was delicious! As usual, everyone was stuffed. I brought a chocolate banana cake along and we had cider with rum. Everything was delicious.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone and I am thankful for so many things in my life. My wonderful husband, my ever supportive family and my fantastic friends. All of you make me feel so fortunate and so loved.

Lunch at Samos

 

I went down town and had lunch with Will, D, HJ and E today. We went to Samos for a late lunch (because I was busy mailing off stuff at the post office). Lunch was great as always and the company was a blast. I miss these guys!

I made portobello mushrooms with baked vegetables for dinner, with baked brussel sprouts on the side.

Dinner with Suntaneye and her husby and doctor visit

 

The quality of the photos is pretty horrible - sorry! I didn't want to carry my nice camera to the hospital and have to worry about one more thing to lose. Today was horrible and rainy - it just rained all day. I had to go out to get some vitamins for Mom, then I headed down to Hopkins to see my doctor. The drive was horrible because traffic was all backed up and though I left with plenty of time to spare (or so I thought), I got there at precisely my appointment time.

Dr W was very nice as always. He was very through in his checkup and then he suggested I up the dosage of my immunosuppressants. He will also give me covering antibiotics that I am supposed to take.

I met Suntaneye and her husby afterwards for dinner - they were kind enough to go out with me on a wet, yucky, miserable night when it would be perfect to crawl under the covers and just stay there. We went to Holy Frijoles where my Enchilada was the size of a small child. They also bought me dinner!

I went and hung out at their place for a while before driving home. The rain had almost stopped but the fog was pretty bad. Just down the road from our home, I had to slow to a crawl because it was like pea soup out there!

Internet was down all day - just came back on an hour ago!

Creek

 

I went with G, M and their kids, N and O, to Cold Saturday Farm. Unfortunately, we didn't see any horses - so we drove around the neighbourhood till we did see some :) We also saw some ducks by the Creek, and N tried to feed them Ritz Crackers. The ducks were not interested.

The weather today was cloudy but warm. I went for another run to take advantage of the warmth! :)

Sun

 

The weather warmed up beautifully today and we even had sun. We stopped by a playground after lunch. Baby E had a lot of fun pushing his stroller (what is it with babies and pushing their own strollers?) The trees are all red, orange and yellow - I need to go for a drive to look at the trees.

M - I was good and didn't run two days ago because I thought it might be a bit cold for my hands. Today I bundled up -I had a hat on, gloves AND a jacket because it was around 7 degrees celcius. Turns out that I was actually TOO warm - my hands started to sweat. Still, better warm in my case than not!

I made a vegetable bake for dinner - it's been a long time since I made one and I was pleased with my dinner!

The last few shots have all been taken with my new, awesome camera which I love!

Lunch at Grano

 

We went over to see Will and A's gorgeous new house today. It's in a really nice location and it's beautiful - lots of light and space. HJ, E and Baby E also came and E suggested we try a Pasta Place in Hampden. He couldn't quite remember the name and we walked down the Avenue and there it was tucked in a corner. I know we've walked by Grano several times - and it's tiny. Most people sit at the counter and the pasta is cooked right in front of you. There were also three two-seater tables and that was it. The pasta though, was awesome. I had a spinach and ricotta ravioli in an Aglio Olio Sauce and it was fantastic. We also had cannoli and tiramisu for dessert. To have fantastic cannoli again - what a treat (sorry M, I know you're drooling right now :)). Will and A also somehow snuck over and paid the bill before we knew what was happening!

Suntaneye - this place is near you. You should go try it!

We headed over to a quirky little bookshop cum toy store afterward - I got some comics. Then I went by to pick up some groceries before heading home.

Lining up the Unicorns

Lining up the Unicorns
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

G and M are here with N and Baby O. Here is N lining up the unicorns Will and A got us. I have a feeling some may be going home with her, especially as she has taken to riding them around the house!

Leaf

Leaf
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

The weather suddenly turned cold. It's been rainy but fairly warm. Unusually for me, I had bad jet lag the first night and barely slept - which was remedied last night!
Will picked me up from the airport and I had a lovely 5 Guys dinner with Suntaneye and her husby last night!

Ice Cream and Daiso

 

Simian and I went to a music store he read about online. We got a music stand for him to use, and found in the vicinity a Korean Supermarket and Udders, an ice cream store. We joked that the Tira-Miss-U ice cream had more alcohol than most of the drinks we've had in Singapore :)

We also went to the main Daiso at IMM - our first time there. We were amazed at how much stuff there was - including knitting needles!

Sun Yat Sen Villa

 

Imp and I went to the Sun Yat Sen Villa today to take a look at the collection. It was a pretty weird mish-mash. It's kind of like one of those places which claims "George Washington Slept Here" - but without the bed or much of anything that would suggest that it actually happened. Sun Yat Sen apparently only slept at the villa twice - and most of the artifacts were destroyed during World War II. As a result, there are various things relating to the Nationalists, lots of stuff about Revolution (Imp thought it was strange the authorities allowed it), and then stuff about the people who supported him. The links to Sun were tenuous at best - and really, the man didn't have much to do with Singapore anyway.

Also strange - the paintings of Sun where he has an almost holy light shining on him. Plus these paintings are never identified. All very odd.

We went to Laksania for lunch and then to Wimbly Lu for tea because it turned out the latter decided today that they would no longer serve lunch on weekdays :(

At the Zoo

 

I tagged along with M, WW and Baby E on their trip to the zoo today. It was Baby E's first time and with hindsight, we probably should have taken her to the children's Adventureland first. She liked some of the exhibits but it might have been a little hard for her to appreciate the animals as they weren't up close.

The zoo has changed a lot since I last went - there's even a boat ride now!

Sick

Everyone at home has been down with a bad stomach virus. Dad got sick first, followed rapidly by Mom and Simian. Fortunately they all seem to be on the mend - it was a nasty bug but it seems to move out of the system fast too.
I just increased my meds and everyone was worried that I might get sick so we've been eating separately. We don't even share bathrooms. Simian has been camping out with Jerry as well. I've also been washing my hands constantly and wearing a mask. I made ORCS today - Mom felt well enough to eat one, which was a good sign!

Real Food

 

Imp and I had lunch at Real Food - it was good! The dumpling soup I had was especially yummy.

Dreams and Reality

 

Imp and I went to the Museum D'Orsay exhibition Dreams and Reality at the National Museum. We are similarly drawn to the darker paintings and both of us are not big fans of Monet. Impy made poo-ey noises at the Monets :)