We're Moving...

Our first two years in Singapore are about to end and we are all keen to continue our expat life.  The breaking news this week is that we are moving to a new condo at the start of April.  With the end of our two year lease at Newton Gems, we were faced with a significant rent increase which, along with the construction site next door, spurred us to look for something new.  Lucinda and I spent Thursday afternoon being shown different apartments by our agent Deanna and we choose the third one we saw.  This is pretty good going given that some people will view 20-30 apartments or even more when house hunting.  We will be moving to The Regency at Tiong Bahru at the start of April, just in time for visits from Hannah and the Huddarts.

The selling factors of the new place are that it has 4 bedrooms, great balconies and nice views from level 13. It is also quite a bit closer to work and about 1km closer to school. It's on the green MRT line and only 3 stops from Raffles Place (CBD) although the station is a bit further to walk - about 800m.  The two big balconies are at either end of the living room and provide additional living space and can be opened up to allow the breeze to flow through.  The bedrooms, maids room and yard area are a bit smaller than Newton Gems, so we may need to do a bit of adjusting to fit everything in.  Guests will get their own en suite.  If you are interested, here is a link to the floor plan.

Here are a few photos of the place.

Cheering and Chingay

This weekend was a busy one. After spending all morning cheering on Alice and Felicity and the rest of Avondale Swim Team at the International Schools Swimming Carnival, we had a quiet afternoon (ie parents napped while kids watched TV) before heading out to Chingay. Chingay is a big parade and a part of the Chinese New Year Celebrations. It is held in the pit straight area of the Formula One course and I really wasn't sure what to expect. Chingay is truly spectacular with different floats from community groups, Singaporean companies, tourist attractions and also other countries. The street was full of performers, acrobats and dancers. The costumes were fantastic and the fireworks, firecrackers, streamers, clouds of ticker tape and lantern balloons all made for an amazing atmosphere . We didn't get home until midnight.

On Sunday the girls and I saw the Gruffalo (thanks to my boss Julie who was double-booked so she gave me the tickets) It was a dramatic production of the children's picture book and very funny - an excellent way to keep two very tired girls entertained.

How our camera broke

It all began when our friends Rachel and Mark went on holiday.  Actually, you could say it started three years ago when Buckley our dog was trying to get a ball from under the couch.  Or maybe it started when we bought a new dog.  Let's stick with Rachel and Mark going on holiday and note for background purposes of the story that the underneath lining of our couch is all torn, on account of Buckley having ripped it with his claws.

Anyway. Rachel, Mark, Lily and Holly live in our condo and have a pet hamster named Harriet.  They were heading off on holiday for a week and were all prepared to leave Harriet behind in their apartment.  Harriet lives in a hamster mansion with easily a week's supply of food and water on hand.  "Oh, we'll look after Harriet", said Jackie.  Jackie and Dave live upstairs with their kids Harrison and Lilia.  Rachel wasn't worried about Harriet needing to be looked after but was happy to facilitate some pet-sitting enjoyment.  And so Harriet moved into level 24.

After a few days a problem began to emerge.  Dave was having an allergic reaction to the hamster and this came up in discussion between Jackie and Lucinda.  "We'll take her", exclaimed Lucinda, "we'd love to have Harriet!".  This was closely followed by, "although, we are known to kill off hamsters...".  Seeing a solution to Dave's sore eyes, Jackie was not about to be put off by some urban legends used to frighten generations of hamster children. Harriet and mansion were promptly delivered to the Bertram residence.

On Thursday morning we were enjoying Day 1 of Chinese New Year with no work and no school.  Dad was napping, Mum was cooking scrambled eggs and Felicity was in the study.  Alice decided to take some photos of Harriet sitting on the lounge room floor.  After placing Harriet on the floor, Alice picked up the camera ready to take some wildlife snaps.  Harriet, perhaps sensing an opportunity, promptly ran under the couch, then up the torn lining, before disappearing inside.

As the ensuing drama unfolded, the couch was upended, hands were waved in distress, people ran in different directions, eggs were still cooking, how to explain to Rachel the sequence of events leading to the demise of her hamster was contemplated, the complete under-lining of the couch was cut away and silence was called for as we listened for sounds to 1) indicate that Harriet was still inside the couch and 2) give us an idea of where in the couch she was.

The hamster story ended happily when we located and retrieved Harriet from inside the backing of the couch.  Harriet was returned to her lodgings, the couch lining was taped up and the couch righted back on to its legs.  And the camera?  It turns out it was on the floor, still on with the lens sticking out, right under the path of the upturning couch.  The force of the blow struck right on the lens, crushing the metal and bending it out of shape.  Time for a new camera.

A taste of Durian

Felicity went off the Universal Studios today for a birthday party so Alice had her devoted parents to herself. We decided to make her dreams come true and take her to a Durian Shop. Alice was in her wonderland. She's begged us to take for about a year to Simply Durian after first trying it at a market. Up until now we had avoided this moment. We spent a small fortune on the delicacy known as "The King of Fruits"and then took it to a nearby park to eat. We all had a taste. Alice had about a quarter of the fruit before we convinced her to stop or she might make herself sick. Matt and I had a mouthful each. Durians have a bad reputation for smelling so pungent they are banned from taxis and public transport - some liken the smell to gym socks with a hint of stale vomit. Yes the smell is overwhelming, however the texture is pleasantly creamy like custard, the taste is strong and flavoursome ...and you do get value for money. Nine hours after eating it I can still taste it and I believe I can still smell it...

Back from Oz

The last few weeks in Oz were fantastic catching up with family and friends. Highlights included

* Seeing the outdoor play Alice in Wonderland at Ripponlea with Tamsin, Kim and Chrissy and families

* Hanging out at the Children's Garden with Sarah, Henry and Ned and then playing in the Botanic Gardens with the Huddarts and Brittany.

* Simply messing about with the Bearsleys doing kids things - dress ups, concerts, "the "Sports with Anna" Carnival, swimming, trampolining, catching boatmen in the pool, games nights, beauty salon night, camping in the backyard, selling Anna's stuff from a shop in the frontyard and even cream pie fights!!

* Being a volunteer on the day to help Rohan and Katrina organise the Two Bays Trail Run. There was the choice of running 28K or 56K ...or watching others run 28K and 56k and handing out water - so that's what I did. Well done - a great event!

* Heading off to Fieldstone House in Neerim North with Tamsin and her kids. An idyllic historic house with a country view out every window. Thanks to the visitors who came out so see us - Chrissy & co, Kim & kids and Rene and family. And Andrew who arrived midnight on the last night.

* Mum and I sweating it out at the Australian Open. Thanks Roh for giving Mum two tickets, thanks Mum for giving one to me and thanks Dad for looking after the kids.

*Meeting up with the Day family cousins and Debbie and Liz and co at Braeside Park the morning before we boarded the plane. It was a nice way to finish off a great holiday.

Now we are back to normal in Singapore. Back at work and school and I seem to be signing lots of forms for activities. Both kids tried out for the Avondale swim team very early this morning before dressing up as a "helper" to raise money for the flood victims. Alice went as a vet and Felicity went as ...well..the Fashion Police! - helping people look stylish with a limited wardrobe perhaps??? Happy Australia Day to all. We celebrated Australia Day on Saturday by going to the Australia Day Ball. It was great fun. Maybe we'll have a Vegemite sandwich for afternoon tea in honour of this moment. Lots of photos below because at the moment this is basically my photo album.