Busy Card Making Days

Since Christmas is next month, I've been busy making cards again. Yupe, my father is the one always sending out Christmas cards faithfully so I make them for him every year. Here are some which I made recently. More work still to be done, and production has to be more efficient as the demand is not a small one... hehehe

Coromandel

Since I'm on the roll, thought might as well post all the pictures I've taken recently. We took a trip to Coromandel a few weeks back. It was a pleasant trip despite all the winding roads. Of course the highlight had to be the hike to Cathedral Cove. The beach was simply beautiful. Later we headed down to Hot Water Beach and gosh - the sand was really really hot!! We stayed at Whittianga and the weather was pretty good.

Hobbiton

It's been a long while since I last posted anything. Been terribly busy - after Jakarta, it was time to head to Auckland. However, last weekend, I managed to head to Matamata - the Hobbiton town. I wasn't sure what to expect, but the tour was pretty cool. Our group was rather small - only 5 of us since it was the earliest time slot. Our tour guide was fantastic - she could really tell us lots from the LOTR trilogy. The weather was beautiful that day and the tour included sheep shearing and feeding a little lamb. So here are some pics (no touch ups at all) - the view of the Hobbit dwellings, view from Bilbo's house, the Pretty Tree and Bilbo Baggins' party site.

Jakarta

No time yet to post pics of Barcelona... After more than a year's break, finally, finally, decided to work for a few weeks. This time it's an assignment in Jakarta. I have never been to Jakarta nor Indonesia before - so it's interesting to find out for myself what the city is like.

The food is great! No wonder all my Indonesian friends are always talking/searching for nice food when they are away from home. There's lots of variety and everything tastes so good. In the past 3 weeks, we've ate local delights, Tony Romas, japanese, thai & dim sum and this week I've promised myself - no more stuffing myself for lunch and dinner.

The shopping malls are very nice, cinemas are nicer than what we have at home, and I find many interesting sculptures and statues in the city - I don't know what they all symbolise but it's beautiful. There's the really poor areas in the city as well and polution is bad and many smokers around.

I don't think I will have time to go around to see more of Indonesia, but certainly it is a place I'd like to visit again...

Barcelona

I just got home on Sunday from an 8-day trip to Barcelona. I had a TERRIFIC time! Four of us, all from different places met for a break there. It was great to catch up with friends and get to know Barcelona, and of course Gaudi!

Well, some ppl think 8 days is too long a time to spend in just one city, buy hey, I loved it. I enjoyed every minute of it - despite having to walk non-stop daily maybe 10 hours or more per day. It is good for me, cos I never get to exercise my legs for that length of time otherwise.

What do I love most? I think Gaudi is a genius! I love his buildings - and I think his concept of architecture was simply brilliant - I sure would LOVE to have lived in a house built by him. I like all the sights I managed to see - Picasso museum was nice, Palau de la musica Catalana was fabulous, Tibidabo was such a pleasant surprise, and Monserrat was nice even tho the weather was not too great that day.

I came home tired but just simply thankful to be able to have a holiday in a beautiful city. I'll be posting pics from the trip at some point....

Spring Layout

Here's another layout - been trying out a few techniques on PSE. Like how to cut semi-circles on patterned paper... so here's the result.

A Very Talented Artist in the Making

Over the past week, I had lovely gifts from an 8 yr old girl who is very talented. I think everyone has gifts and talents which should be encouraged and nurtured. Well, still nothing is lovelier than to receive such gifts from the heart. I've also done 2 layouts for her.

Small Treasures of Life

Last month amidst packing to shift from the old house, I found a letter from a wonderful lady I met in Auckland. This letter was dated more than 10 years ago. She has since passed on but when I read her letter I couldn't help but to whisper a word of thanks to God. I guess we don't always give thanks for friendships and kind words offered.

We met in a meeting, and Jean made a point to reach out to me. I'm thankful for that, and when I was getting ready to leave NZ, she cooked a meal for me. I brought her roses, which she spoke of in the letter she wrote. I'm sure she thought of me often as I've thought of her. Our paths only crossed for one season, but the impact of the encounter will stay with me forever. It's not often we meet someone who is so lovely and kind. I just hope someday when my time is up, someone can say the same about me - that I have made a positive impact on them.