Our New Home

A gorgeous breeze is wafting over me as I type this blog entry tonight. My very own palms that I purchased from Katong Floral Market are swaying. I can hear the fountain by the pool which I can also see where I am sitting. The small lamps around the garden are very attractive and the sound of our wood chime that Daddy just gave me, gives me the impression that I am at a resort in South East Asia. Wait a minute! I am!

We have been in our new home for just over a week and are enjoying it immensely. Setting up home is challenging but both kids are helping me. Pit and Frunty take turns with leaf patrol as we have two decks and also help unpack our boxes. (a few glasses that made it across the world have since broken on our tile floors which is pretty funny, actually!) Even though we don't have furniture yet and are still on air mattresses, we will have our house warming party this Sunday. Don't forget to bring your swim suit!

Although I enjoy living near Frunty's school so we can ride our bikes, some great markets where I am getting to know people (Victor at the Bao stall is really nice and will try to get me some red bean paste, the guys at the coffee/stall are teaching me...Malay!) and having a pool that I can jump in anytime I wish, I find living beside the Buddhist temple to be the most interesting experience. The chanting is soothing, the drums are mesmerizing... the scent of the cooking is tantalizing. Time to introduce myself!!

We were lucky to move in just before Halloween in order to enjoy a fun party, trick-or-treating and the chance to meet lots of new neighbours. Our gated community has such a great mix of Singaporeans and westerners. I feel so grateful to have the chance to commune with either depending on my mood.

I am also really proud of myself for some small home improvements that I instigated. I painted my ensuite bathroom an Oyster Grey and hired a guy to help me paint Frunty and Pit's rooms. The kids chose their colours and even which wall would have which colour. After this huge transition, I wanted to make sure they got to choose how to make their very own rooms special. Pit chose Mandarin Glow for one wall and Sprout (green) for two walls. The wall overlooking the Buddhist temple remained cream. Frunty chose Blue Mist for three walls and the one wall remained cream. He does want some green stripes added to one wall. It's going to be a bit tricky but I'll try.

I am also grateful that our Chinese teacher and French babysitters have been able to continue coming over twice a week respectively especially since they don't have comfortable chairs to sit on. It is a testament to how great our kids are that their tutors would sit on the floor to teach them. I am so proud of our guys. Frunty sings a song now in Mandarin and when the two of them are playing together, I often hear conversations in French. Frunty is also, I just heard, fluent in Singlish! When he is talking to Singaporeans, he speaks this hybrid dialect. The first time was a bit shocking. He knows with us though, he has to speak Canadian English and Italian.

Well, that's it for now although I could write for hours. I can't tell you how nice it is to have this life experience. A bat just flew by. Pit told me at dinner (gluten-free sausages that were delivered by The Butcher!) that if I were very quiet, I would see a bat tonight. He was right!