Thursday, December 30, 2010

I had been so occupied of packing & travelling this month of December. ~ Philippines, Singapore then back to Perth for the Christmas holidays. I was so energetic & excited when I left Perth on the 11th of Dec with my 2 kids via Singapore airlines . Filled with much enthusiam that I'll be seeing my family , my cute grandson and my new house back in my hometown in Laguna, Philippines. Doing a very quick Shopping in the bustling streets of  Quiapo, Manila the 1st 2 days I was there.



Of course I will always have the time to buy my beads which I consider as my major consolation , plus essential gifts , clothing / shoes  for the wedding event and food essentials to bring back home to my province.  My short visit to Philippines was due to my daughter's wedding on the 18th of Dec.

I had sponsored and personally made all the jewelries worn by the bridesmaids,



flower girls and of course the elegant set worn by my daughter who is the bride.









It was exhausting to travel in Manila. Beating the Traffic jams and the stress when you see just about anything crossing the road coming from the middle of nowhere. Not a place for the chicken hearted!  Being a driver in Philippines is a no joke job for someone who value their life. Anyway, I'm happy I'm not the driver coz I had rented a van to pick us up. That way, I can just sit back and play with my family and my cute chubby grandson while we travel the combusted streets of Manila all the way to the province .


My little house back in Lynville Subdivision was filled with mess when I arrived. Hardly any space left in the living room coz the sofa bed was there where my grandson plays and sleeps during the time they're there.  Fine with me as long as he's happy as ever and feelin comfortable.

Sealtiel is such a happy child ...


I'm happy to see he loves the toy I bought for him ...


His smile can cure all the heartaches I had inside me ...

My daughter and her son are in my house almost all the time rather than being in Luisiana, Laguna where her husband was from originally. I don't mind the mess but the house being so dirty and full of spiders, bugs and mosquitoes was something else. I was always clearing up all these whenever I come home. So actually, I don't really come for vacation. But as pest exterminator to be exact ! God knows just how much I had killed from those crawling flying, buzzing insects during my few days stay !
 GGGRRRRRRRRR!

Let's forget about the cleaning for the moment and go back to what had gone around me during my stay  in Laguna. Commotion outside my house and people are banging on my grilled gate while my son Tristan 11y/o was crying in a corner. What had happened ? My son had bumped a young kid while biking on the road near the playground. The 8y/o boy was bleeding and was rushed by the father to the nearest clinic. OMG ! I went out quickly to check where the boy lives and so that I can ask someone to take me to him. I told Tristan to stop crying coz it was an accident and glad to see he didn't have any bruises or scratches from the fall. I'll have to go to check and help the kid in the clinic and check how he was. The father came back from the clinic and met me. he took me where his son was. The poor boy was given a first aid but didn't receive any further treatment in the private clinic coz he needed to be sent for a Medico legal at the provincial hospital since his case was an accident. I asked the nurse if the bleeding of his head had stopped. It's important to make sure he doesn't run out of blood! He flipped the bandage and checked the cut if it was still bleeding.  I saw the cut on the side of his head.. Man ...  it was nasty! Lucky the bleeding had stopped so off we go to the provincial hospital in a rush.




 The father and I both flipped our heads in shock. We hurriedly transferred the boy to the provincial hospital. We were there for almost 2 hours before the poor boy finally had his stitches on his cut .He was a very brave , strong boy.




I was amazed that he diidn't even reacted to pain. No resistance to the treatment and absolutely no fear at all. I was finally relieved when he was treated totally . His head X-ray results being ok and no fractures at all is also a big relief for me. But still, this incident really shook the hell out of me . I was so nervous for my son Triatan as well coz he never had any experience of seeing someone bleeding heavily on the streets. But it was an accident ... kids play. Kids run on the streets ... just can't avoid mishaps sometimes. I'm just glad the boy went home afterwards and I got him all the medicines he needed. I really hope that he gets better soon . I adviced him not to run on the streets anymore and ask someone to guide them when going to the playground. He was lucky it was just a bike who got him, what if it was a car ? I can imagine what happens next !

So that's quite a tragedy I had to take care off. I didn't mind spending a few thousands of pesos for sending the boy to the hospital. I have the responsibility to make sure, he's treated well. I just hope all goes well for him afterwards. I really pray for his quick recovery !

Unfortunately, bad luck never eneded just there. Tragedies just came pouring while I was in my hometown. This time, it was even during my daughter's wedding day! Oh no! Let me rest 1st and take a quick gasp of air before I continue ... this is the life I have ... I just don't know why I was chosen to carry all the burden.

 There must be a Reason For it ...


Friday, November 19, 2010

A Birthday Wish ...




Today, Nov. 19th marks another special day for my son Meier.
He's a year older !



I can't be there to celebrate it with you ... too sad. But I wish you all the happiness and enjoy the fun of being surrounded by friends and loved ones back there in the Philippines.


 Just don't forget, we're oceans apart but you 'll be always in my heart . You're my son and I Love You dearly .



Happy Birthday From Us all here in Perth, Australia !!!

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Making a Difference ...



Why some people do beading ?

Beading is not just an act of doing simple crafts or considered a simple hobby to a few. For some people, it's a way of expressing how & what they feel and think. Beading is also the end result of an acquired knowledge or on the other hand the by-product based on the blessed natural talent of the lucky ones . It's a form of career as well and can be a person's stepping stone to a dedicated journey & personal ambitions in life.


Photo taken in Changi Heights during an advance wiring tutorial last  June 2, 2010

Some may get into it with reasons to relax their troubled minds in a quiet corner as a therapy . Just like I do until now. A craft that can also lead to soul & self-searching . Where we can find out what each and every one of us is capable of doing when given the chance or opportunity to create something in our own space & time. A simple means to meet and connect to more people around us. As a way to share ideas with each other and be a part of a social community or merely as a way to support one's self financially . For home based mothers like most of us, the earnings from sales of the end products like women accessories / jewelries is always a good source of extra income while in the comfort of our home . It gives us the flexibility to manage time between family life and work without leaving home at all.



Just like beads, the ideas how to make something out of them and the purposes connected to them have unlimited possiblities. So no matter what the real reason behind each person's mind is, one thing is for sure ~ Beading helps a lot in so many unimaginable ways ... it helps in making a difference in our lives !

A Beading Party for Carly's Birthday !

I had been teaching simple / advance beading techniques while I was in Singapore before my big move to Perth 2 months ago. My students are mostly Expatriate wives , local Singaporean women & kids from various International schools. Almost all had started as beginners with no knowledge of how to bead at all. How I enjoyed sharing with them what I had learned myself through the years. From the basic simple ways of stringing beads, secret tips on how to manage with the projects plus the experiences I had acquired during my self-taught beading . Keeping my tutorials simple and easy to understand and the availability of basic materials made their time with me more enjoyable and stress free. Although I must say, they all got addicted to acquiring more beads after my sessions ha-ha !

Lorraine & Armida doing the Weaving technique with Pearls !

Beading is not just an art. It's a passion for some people including my students and myself . Life without beads would mean a sudden death for me ... no kidding and I'm sure I won't be alone to feel that way !  I had seen from my previous students the seriousness and their goal to polish ther creating skills to a more advance level . Upon seeing what they're up to, I'm happy to be with them every step of the way. Beading with them made me happy so much that the happy feeling gave me more energy and boost to teach as much as I can do.


Undeniably,  now that I had relocated here in Perth, Australia. I do miss my students a lot. They're a unique set of individuals and I love teaching each and everyone of them. To see them progress each and every time gave me enormous feeling of satisfaction. How I love hearing their own stories of what they'd made the way they're interested with mine too. My life is always an open book for my students anyway ... they all know what I'm up to most of the time... if not , go and find a few minutes of your time to check my Facebook wall ha-ha !

I just hope they'll continue their journey to the beading path even without my physical presence and wherever they go. But hey ladies, don't you worry ! I'm still here ... you'll be in my mind and heart always. Facebook is just around the corner. So if you need me , just poke me there ok ?
More power to your beading, expats and non expats ladies! 
Many thanks for the time you had spent with me ... hoping it won't be the last !

 
A farewell present given to me by Ms. Cynthia Wilson
Please visit her blog at :

 
A Bronze Statue given by Ms. Beng Javier

~ Thanks a lot for your lovely gifts ! ~

Monday, October 11, 2010

What's October's Birth Flower ?



The Cosmos is October's Birth Flower

October: Cosmos Alternate: Calendula


Photo I had taken along a bushy sideroad on my way to a surfing area in Busselton, Western Australia ~ Oct 9, 2010


The Cosmos ( Greek word for harmony or ordered universe ) includes 20-26 species of annual plants native to scrub and meadow areas in Mexico, the southern United States (Arizona, Florida), Central America and northern South America south to Paraguay.

This lovely flowers are abundant here in Perth Australia as well. They are a pest free plant which helps keep bugs at a minimum in gardens and green houses, and grow very well in dry, hot climates . If planted in rich, fertile soil, tall plants will grow.  Because it is one of the easiest plants to grow it can be planted at various time including the spring for summer blooming or mid-summer for early fall blooming.

There are so many beautiful flowers growing in the wild here in Australia. So I make sure I have my camera with me wherever I go all the time just in case I spot some real nice colorful ones.


Another Photo I had taken with the view of flowers growing before the surfing area in Busselton, Western Australia ~ Oct 9, 2010
 
 
Flowers just give me the inspirations I need inorder to create something unique. Their colors , their shapes , are simply fascinating.  The way they're formed gives a strong influence in what I do as well . What can I do without them ?


Crocheted Necklace was created with the flower design ( flower inset above) embedded in my mind on the last week of Sept. The single flower which caught my eye while I was walking was found on a sidewalk near the entrance to our service apartment on Sept 25, 2010 . Necklace Item was finished on Oct 11, 2010 after I came back from a family holiday on the South of Perth visiting the Margaret River.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Simply Getting There ...




Experiences in Perth so far are not that special especially when the cold wind blows on my face which I hate so much. I'm not the winter loving human being but my complains about being cold is getting better now that I see the sun blaring during the daytime and I can now wear short sleeves without any pullovers unlike a few weeks ago. I could now start to see the magnificent sunset I managed to take snapshots of, from the service apartment's terrrace.




The amazing sunset colors including the waves of the sea are always an awesome view from where I stand.


Panoramic views are aboundant here but, life in general for me is quite very basic around here . Compared to the fast moving , ever busy Singapore , here is very slow with things & time to do things outside home is very limited . Shops and offices close at 5pm some even as early as 4pm and nightlife party for me is super duper doomed here. Time to set aside my dancing stilletos and get some knee lenght boots to keep my feet warm. Boots are quite cheap around here ( thank God ! ) and I managed to find a good place for it in Carrillon City, Perth.

Talking more about shopping around here, not all is cheap and not all is available unfortunately. I just can't buy / get everything I need for the kitchen in one place , no matter how I try . What a pity ... How I miss the real wet markets to buy fresh fish / seafoods too. I had been to Subiaco weekend market but not impressed at all .They only have fruits & vegetables and some asian spices. Today I was in Innaloo ( Kingkong Market ) to check the seafoods place but still not impressed as well but I would say, the seafoods ( at last I had found some real fresh fish ) are better than in Coles and Woolworths which carry mostly frozen ones or already cooked prawns / shrimps. I had once tried the cooked shrimps from Coles but they're not good tasting at all. Things around here ere expensive too. Oh well , I better get used to it with a never ending sigh ...   hhhaaaayyyyy !

 Also, I'm Getting used to driving a speed of 40km/hr ( makes me fall asleep behind the wheels ... so pinch me real hard please ! ) in designated school areas and 60 to 70km/hr on normal roads. The only time I can drive 80kms to 100kms for a change is when I come from Perth CBD and passing the freeway to go back home.

Lucky I can drive around and navigate the area. Of course , big thanks to the GPRS included with our rented AVIS car. What a relief during the 1st week I was driving around Scarborough to take the kids to school and hubby to office. Although the said GPRS had failed to take me to the right places a few times ( IKEA most especially ! ) , I had then decided to buy myself a Road map for a whooping AUD$29.95 in the nearest convenience shop I found beside the Coles supermarket in Scarborough Beach Road . It's a must to have a road map in the car at all times. I should say so I can really see all the streets and check where I'll be going before I step in the car & hit the roads.

Slowly, I'm getting familiar of the places around me and what I can get from there. Spotlight is one of my favorite places here in Scarborough . Why ? It's full of arts and crafts materials that I need to keep me busy and entertained during the day. I love the collection of yarns & threads they have in stock. I already had created 2 sling bags for phones / camera just like this one from the yarn I had bought from Spotlight and still making a crocheted wool scarf I'm hoping would be finished before this weekend .


Only Set Available !
Retail Price = AUD$25.00
( pair of Earrings included + free shipping within Australia only )

Today, I was lucky to get AUD$40 Off from my AUD$100 purchase entitled only to VIP members. I became a VIP member only last week during my 2nd visit there. Great savings I got today and thanks a lot to an Italian lady who tipped me off about the VIP savings I didn't know about when I went in the shop this morning. The nice lady Eena, even gave me an address of a bead shop named the Bead Co. located in 12 Howe St. , Osborne Park which is only a few blocks away from Spotlight. She was so helpful and looking forward to seeing her again knowing she is also beading as a hobby. I found the shop she told me and checked what the shop have in stock. Quite a lot but beads / parts are sold by piece & weight mostly ! I just bought some seed beads to try then I went home with a big smile on my face knowing I had discovered some good places today. Yiipppeeee !

More positive news is, I found some new friends from the kid's school . For the moment, I only hang around with them for a few minutes when I pick up the kids in the afternoon. They're from mixed nationalities ~ Filipinos, Thais, Singaporeans, Dutch, Scottish, Americans , etc. They're all nice and friendly and the Australians are very warm people as well. In the end, I'm happy here in Perth.


Thursday, September 02, 2010

SEPTEMBER ...





Sapphire is the official birthstone for the month of September as adopted by the American National Association of Jewelers in 1912. It is also one of the birth stones for the Zodiac signs of Pisces, Taurus, Virgo and Sagittarius. This stone symbolizes prosperity and sincerity




Blue is by far the most popular color for sapphires, but they can be almost any color, including yellow, green, white, colorless, pink, orange, brown, and purple. Padparadscha is the name for a rare orange-pink variety of sapphire and has a higher value than blue sapphires.


Folklore, Legend, and Healing Properties:

Its powers include spiritual enlightenment and inner peace. Sapphire is believed to offer healing properties for rheumatism, colic, and mental illness. It is also considered an antidepressant and an aid to psychokinesis, telepathy, clairvoyance and astral projection.





My move here in Perth, Australia had stopped me from touching my beads for a while. Thus, I'm not able to make any jewelry during my spare time ( If ever I get lucky to have any spare time at all after all the housework I'm facing these days as a fulltime mom . Remember that I was not able to bring my ever helpful helper from Singapore ,,, sigh ! ). Although somewhere , somehow, the nice sapphire blue waters I see each and everyday infront of my service apartment's terrace here in Scarborough is soothing to my weary and tired mind . 





There are several spectacular views surrounding me here. But sad to say, they're still not enough to stop me from wishing that I can make at least a piece of jewelry to start with my new life here soon ... my hands are dying to touch my beading stuffs really . Few more days and I'll start taking out the few boxes I had put in my check in luggage.


It's about time to start anew ,



 it's about time to create ... time to make me happy even for just a bit after all !

 
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