the first alumni reunion...

WARNING: KIDS, THIS IS HOW YOU LOOK WHEN YOU WATCH TOO MUCH TV!!!! Not very pretty eh? 

Once upon a time, three families from different corners  of the world met in a tiny German city. Today, they all meet again in our corner of the world. By sheer coincidence, work has brought these families back together. And can you believe it? We are neighbours again too! :) 

I think the staff @ Carl Schurz will be proud to see this picture... ok, maybe not that proud, considering the zombie-faces. 

not a typical library...

How big are these books? 

Pretty huge... 

Good enough for a game of hide-and-seek too....  

Yes, it's all about perspectives... :) 

Brought to you by bACk @ the Comic Strip Museum in Brussels. 

appreciating art...

While we cleared off the old stuff, Alan and I went through postcards, pictures, books and essays that were made/written of the yore. Oh what memories! 

On Sunday afternoon, Alan decided to go through some of the photos again. This time with the kids. He had two photos similar to these here: 

Bryan was asked if he found the place familiar.

"Er... yes, yes. That Gaudi guy made it, right?" 

Absolutely! Yes. He calls it the five-finger church. Don't ask me why. There are more steeples than 5. 

We were in Barcelona, just before flying back to Singapore last year. Gaudi's buildings were such fun for the kids. They felt like they were in some fantasy-land. While creating space, Gaudi sought new structures in nature to break the convention of normal architecture. Since young, he developed a love for nature and this is evident in his mainly gothic yet with a romantic touch of style. What a true artist of his time. Of course, some people labelled him mental at that point of time too, and Gaudi's works were met with much criticism. 

And of course, the audio guide that we got when we were in Casa Milla (La Perdera)had a great impact on Bryan's appreciation of Gaudi's buildings. One great souvenir we bought was also a book on Gaudi, written for children. 

Unfortunately, Kristin was still too young to enjoy Gaudi's fantasy land. Hopefully she'll discover the beauty herself one day. 

thank you, McKenna!

Just three days before we left Frankfurt, we managed to get the kids' teacher at the preschool to do a photo session with us. We haven't received our photo CD yet, but McKenna knows just how anxious we are to look at the pics. So she did a preview for us on her blog. 

The shots are brilliant! Now I can't wait for the CD to arrive! 

Here are some shots of the kids... 

So these photos can be used for casting purposes?? What do you think? 

new year's eve @ esplanade

This will be the last night that we're sleeping in a hotel room. We had been living out of our suitcases in a hotel room since November 12th. Life will be returning back to normal soon, though there still will be lots of unpacking and fixing to be done in our "new" home. Well, "new" coz officially this has been our address for almost 7 years, though Alan and I have hardly lived in it, much less the kids. So we're back from Germany, back in Singapore for a fresh start. 

And nope, I'm not gonna start a new blog. This will continue to be back in Germany as a blog address, while we'll be back from Germany, for now. 

And here's to a wonderful 2009, Happy New Year everyone! 

last fruits...

These were the last batch of chilli I harvested from our balcony before we moved out of the apartment. They were all freshest of green in November. 

A month later, they all turned beautifully red. Alas, no more opportunities to cook. 

Bye bye my last fruits! 

bye bye my garden! 

baking, history and life in transit

When I had the ingredients of the carrot cake recipe (thanks to Monica) in my mixing bowl, I had no idea that it was gonna be the last time I was baking. In our cosy nest while we were bACk in Germany. This was the weekend before we moved into the service apartment. 

Instead of a 65 sq m apartment (one sleeping room, one living area, a nice dining table with chairs and a complete kitchen with an oven and a dishwasher), the hotel manager made us an even better offer. We got two stand alone apartments (40 sq m each) for the same price! 

I don't know why he suddenly made us that offer.

Perhaps the 65 sq m place was too new. And we have two very young kids who might start doodling on their brand new leather couches. (Not that I condone that kind of activities in my family). 

Or maybe this manager took pity on us. With the 65 sq m, it would mean the kids get to sleep in the bedroom, while Alan and I have to sleep in the living area on our own air-mattress. 

Anyhow, the kids welcome the idea of two stand alone apartments too. I think Bryan was thrilled to have his own room. Well, not exactly his own, he's got to share it with his sister. 

I was voted out... although I thought an oven and a dishwasher were more important than a decent place for me to sleep! And that's so true. I don't know how much time/energy/water I've wasted ever since I started to hand-wash my dishes again. Time/energy/water that could have been better utilized. The skin on my hands wouldn't be dry as prunes, I could do better with resting, blogging and catching my US series online. 

What am I gonna do in Singapore without a dishwasher? 

How's baking gonna be like without a dishwasher? 

One good news though: I will be working only two days a week, starting from Feb 2009. 

a whirlwind of sort...

It's been quite hectic since I last posted anything on the blog. 

The stress started on the 10th of this month. As if it wasn't stressful enough, the kids had the first two days of that week off! So packing was reduced to the minimal, only the essentials were to leave for the service apartment by Wednesday evening. After the 12th, I was deep in packing, going back and forth between the service apartment and our flat in Westend. It had been a terrible 1.5 weeks for the kids too. I put them in daycare everyday till 5.30 pm. Thank God there was no hiccups, though Kristin was already having a little runny nose just one day before the movers arrived, on the 18th. 

It was quite an ordeal... with the packing during the day and the caring of the kids at the end of the day. I can't tell you how much I resented them every time I picked them up 5.30 pm. They were cranky, hungry and tired. Still, Alan and I gritted our teeth, pressed on and fell right into bed every night. So if anyone of you has insomnia, try moving house and caring for young kids all at once. You'll sleep like a babe every night, I promise! 

The big day finally came - November the 18th. The men arrived at 9 am. One German, one Ghanian and two Italians. Definitely happy with the combination. In fact, I was secretly happy coz I had good faith that all our things would fit into one 20 ft container. Coz anything above that volume wasn't within our entitlement anymore, and that would mean we would have to dig into our pockets to ship boxes back to Singapore. 

The Italians were the best, esp this guy Toni. I think he's a genius. He's like a puzzle wizard. Anything from dismantling to packing and stacking, he used up every inch of space available. That all our things fit into one container, we definitely had Toni to thank for! 

Prior to our big day, I heard lots of horror stories about movers. So other than herding our things together, I packed some, bagged some, and even took pictures of the bigger items. Yep... lots of preparation work. And perhaps I overdid a little. In the end, the movers spent 6 hours the 1st day packing at our place and 2.5 hours on the 2nd day. And another 1.5 hours to reload our things onto an actual 20 ft container. They were out of Frankfurt by 1 pm on Nov 19th! 

The kids weren't sentimental at all when I showed them the empty apartment that afternoon. Al wasn't at all sad either... I was the only one grieving over the end of my Westend days! 

 

The kitchen - the place where I spent most part of the day in... other than the time I spent at the desk online.

This kitchen was brand new... and I think I left it pretty brand new too after 3 years! :) It doesn't mean I didn't cook. It just meant I maintained it well. And I have my Putzfrau to thank for such a wonderful condition. 

The dining area - our family area, where we ate, talked, did homework, craftwork, painted, drew, playdoh-ed, played games, baked, cut cookies, decorated cupcakes, read, wrote, sang, drank etc. Oh... how not to miss this place? 

More pics to follow when I find time and space to breathe from this whirlwind... 

missing germany #10

It was a good friend's birthday today. I was invited to a great brunch, and an even greater company of moms. 

These days I've been asked pretty often how I feel towards returning to Singapore. 

My standard answer: a mixed feeling of happy and sad. 

The happy's: 

1) I'll have help... lots of help from grandparents. 

2) I don't have to worry about my kids catching a cold. No more thick winter clothes. 

3) My kids will finally learn how to read and write! Yay! No need to pretend that I pseudo-homeschool. which I don't anyway. 

4) I can go for affordable spa treatments! 

5) No need to cook every day if I don't feel up to. Food is everywhere! 

The sad's: 

1) No more Own Time Own Target mentality. Gotta return to the workforce. 

2) No more suka-suka lunch with this mom or that mom, or extended birthday brunches. 

3) No more shopping in the quiet morning hours, e.g. 9.30 am at supermarket, or 10 am at shopping malls, trying on shoes and clothes! 

4) No more quiet moments... Frankfurt is after all a small place, compared with the over-crowded Singapore. 

5) No more cool, dry weather... back to the steam-bath Singapore, perspiring all day long! 

6) No more fun picnics with my kids in our backyard Botanical Gdns. 

7) No more bake sales in the preschool to occupy a couple of my mornings. 

8) No more lack of homework from the preschool. 

9) No more sledding in winter. 

10) No more strawberry picking in the summer. 

11) No more no more no more no more no more... 

Aiyoh... so many the sad's???!!! 

Ok... I know you moms in Singapore will cheer me up. Yeah, give me more happy's to look forward to... 

At the very least, there's always the FREE beach! 

missing germany #9

This is my lovely cleaning lady from Poland - Halina. She speaks almost no German and I don't know a single word of Polish other than "dzine dobry"! But we managed to communicate somehow, in the simplest of German and I have never been disappointed by her housekeeping power for the past 2.5 years. 

Yep, for the first half year, I was struggling to clean my house, cook meals, do laundry, iron my husband's business shirts while I was nursing a then 3 month-old Kristin. What would normally take 2 hours max (e.g. vacuuming the floor, mopping, cleaning the bathroom and toilets) would become a never ending ordeal. I dreaded when it was the cleaning day - my self-induced stress. I've always had this tick of having my whole place wiped down at least once every week. Household chores were never a big deal to me and my brother. I think my mom excelled in this department - my brother and I used to clean for my mom once every week as soon as we were in secondary schools. This habit has accompanied us throughout lives that even in the most stressful exam periods while I was overseas, I never had a dirty bathroom! Thus when I couldn't clean like I would love to in the earlier days of our posting here, I was M.I.S.E.R.A.B.L.E.! I was stressed. I think I even had post-natal depressions because of that! 

Things changed when Halina came into my life here. Strangely, I had to outsource the department that I was most comfortable with! Cleaning and cooking had never been a problem for me, while the other C in the chemical makeup of a SAHM was something I struggled and am still struggling most with, namely Childcare! But that one - cannot outsource lah! Yes, I complain and whine about my kids, yet I won't want to return to working full-time. It's not hard to guess where my heart is. :)

Back to Halina: I wish I could tell her how much she meant to me during our stay here in Frankfurt. I know, no amount of Polish I know would help me express that - that's because I know none. Still, if I could speak perfect Polish, I wouldn't find enough words to thank her... I do hope she'll continue to find employment... I felt terribly sorry when I told her that we were leaving soon. If only I could have her come along to Singapore too... 

romancing@siesmayer-ffm.de

The ambience... 

The table... 

The food... 

The couple...? Not her... me! Behind the camera! 

The flowers... 

The glass... 

The place... 

that we will definitely miss... 

missing germany #8

This Friday was quite special. Bryan was off to his friend Ryan's home for a play date - not the special part. It's a perfect autumn day with 18 centigrade and a clear blue sky, thus I decided to ride a bike to school to pick Kristin up - I can only manage biking with one kid, however. Yep, picking Kristin up with the bike was the special part. Besides being a great workout, the ride also allowed me to take some exciting pictures along the way to school... yep, I will certainly do this again, if I only have one kid to pick up from the preschool. 

Instead of allowing me to make a pit stop at Grueneburgpark (a public park), Kristin wanted to take a walk in Palmengarten (one that requires an entrance fee, though it doesn't really matter since we have a season ticket, just that I had to go home first to fish out the ticket from my bag). She was exceedingly well-behaved today. Or maybe it's the weather... it was so good, I felt so good... I didn't care if she was whining a little, errm, actually, I can't remember if she did whine, did she? 

By the time we came to this pond in Palmengarten (there are several in Palmengarten), Kristin refused to move. So I decided to start taking a few photos since I couldn't tear her away from the pond and its little drain...

Anyway, it has been pretty warm the whole day. I saw no harm letting her play with the running water: 

In between, I thought I could make a few photos to send in as a photo assignment to Digital Photography School (DPS) which has the theme of "bubbles" for the week. 

I took over a couple of dozens, deleted many... and am still having problems deliberating on which one to send in... 

These are the shots I'm happy with:

Shot 1, shutter@1/60, aperture@6.3, ISO@400, on sub-auto at aperture priority mode :  

Shot 2, shutter@1/60, aperture@5.6, ISO@400, on manual mode: 

Shot 3, shutter@1/60, aperture@5.6, ISO@400, on manual:

Shot 4 on manual with shutter@1/60, aperture@5.6, ISO@400 : 

Shot 5 on manual with shutter@1/60, aperture@5.6, ISO@400 :

So which one, my friends? Will appreciate some critiques... :)

missing germany #7

Remembering Frankfurt, this is Alte Oper (the old opera house): 

The fountain: 

The water: 

Remembering Grueneburgpark, this is the Korean House (built to commemorate Frankfurter Book Fair 2005 during which Korea was the country featured). Looks like I was in the Far East... 

The Japanese Wall: 

I wanted to return to take more shots. But on our way home (on bike), Kristin refused to let me make a pit stop for more photos... sigh! 

Biking and taking photos in this wonderful weather... that's something I'll surely miss... 

missing germany #6

I joined another of Bryan's field trips again. It was an excursion to a pumpkin patch. 

I don't think I'd have so much to time to join my kids on field trips once I'm back in Singapore. Though I'll only be working part-time, how busy my weekly schedule is still remains to be seen, esp when I need to be back at work for not more than 3 times a week. I'm still hoping for not more than twice a week, fingers crossed on that one. 

Bryan with a huge pumpkin. 

Bryan running down the plum orchard, adjacent to pumpkin patch. The plums were sugar sweet! Nothing is indeed fresher than when it's from the source, directly! 

missing germany #5

This is our subway stop, Bockenheimer Warte. 

Platform for U4. 

A pretty platform, I would say. You have billboards featuring the Senckenberg Museum on one side: 

And on the other side, Palmengarten is featured. We live among these tourist attractions of Frankfurt city: 

U4 riding in... aiyah... if only the man in black suit stood still... 

TV @ 1/4, AV @ 6.3, WB on auto, ISO @ 800. 

Nonetheless, I still like this shot a lot. The idea was to freeze the men at the platform with the moving train. And of course, you see "Bockenheimer Warte" in the background at the left hand side. Here's giving it a more nostalgic look: 

missing germany #4

A short weekend getaway is just about 3-4 hours' drive away from Frankfurt. This is something we will definitely miss when we're back in Sg.

3-4 hours away from Frankfurt, we have a choice of fanciful destinations: 

e.g. Brussels, Antwerp, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Den Haag, Luxembourg, Strasbourg, Colmar, Mullhouse, Lichtenstein, and of course, many cities in Germany and many places in Switzerland. 

5 hours will get us to Paris, Berlin or Prague. 

Oh... I'm already missing the long road trips. 

Hello Autumn?

October 1st... 

- we're nearer to our departure date. 

- is much colder, at about 10 centigrade, than it has been in the past three years. 

- has lots of rain and wind... gee, it feels like November 1st! 

- many US series has returned to TV for the new season. That explains why it has been pretty quiet on my side. 

- Halloween is coming up... and then Thanksgiving, then Christmas, then New Year... lots of anticipation for festivities! 

- more pumpkins. A visit to a pumpkin patch for the kids? 

Oh, and a Happy Children's Day to all! I remember how I used to look forward to this last school holiday before the exam started in my primary school days! 

missing germany #3

This post is for next year so that my kids will not forget the season of colours - autumn! 

I always love autumn. Perhaps it's cos the much needed cool air to give some respite to a hot summer, although the past two summers hadn't been the hottest in history.

I love autumn for the beautiful colours too. A walk or a drive through the countryside now is just so beautiful, as if one had stepped into a fairy tale picture book. 

Though it's a pretty grey day for autumn and I feel like curling up in bed with a book, I'm still gonna miss this cool air and melancholy of the fall. 

This is my house downstairs. Not as grand looking as Lilian's. Besides, the grey background doesn't do much justice to this otherwise pretty pleasant environment. Didn't have my DSLR with me too... well, it's not something you carry around with you everyday! But I did have Lumix in my bag. Not too bad already... who carries a camera in her handbag everyday? 

I always like to observe this wall at this time of the year. There are more colours with each passing day in the fall. This will, however, be the last time I'm watching this colourful wall. 

Just a close-up to show you what I mean by colours. :) 

The brother and sister, what a rare sight indeed! 

Below are just two other pictures I took on our way home from school. Just stood amazed once again, wondering how many colours leaves could actually have!