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.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

Well, finally we've moved to a new place - shifting stuff is almost done, I still have a few things to clear from the old house. It's amazing bcos we've moved stuff from 2 houses into 1 - it's a good thing I have the room in the loft which has a small store room connected to it. Otherwise I would not be able to be close to all my craft supplies. I love my new room - it has a nice ceiling with exposed wood, an English touch I suppose.

For the past 3-4 weeks in prep for the move, I've been assembling furniture and shelves - yup, I'm the "handyman" in the family. It's been hard work - I still need to put in 6 doors on the shelves. Apart from that, everything else is done.

To all my friends and visitors to the blog, I wish you a wonderful Christmas and another "good" Year ahead. It's been a tough 2 years for me since coming home, but I promise myself next year will be different! I'm certainly going to see Barcelona whatever happens and maybe a few other places if time permits.

Have a good one!

Live in the Moment....

Recently, despite my busy schedule trying to juggle part-time work, packing & getting ready to shift to a new place and selling my works of art at a local bazaar, I've spent every single spare moment I have on my computer. As I mentioned, I've bought e-books over the internet and finally had a chance to look at them. Here's a simple collage I learnt today. The poppy flower was taken at a botanical garden in Auckland earlier this year and the quote "live in the moment" really reflects how I feel right now.

Time flies so quickly and I'm learning how to appreciate every moment I have - with people, doing the things I love and just living the simple life...

Flowers - my favourite subject

It has been a while since I last blogged. Been busy with lots, getting ready to move into a new place, lots of packing up to do, buying some furniture, etc...

This week I've been busy downloading stuff from digital scrapbooking websites - buying kits and e-books to improve my Photoshop Elements knowledge with the hope to be able to produce better layouts. But I have not had time to read the books! Typical, isn't it?

Here's some pics taken in Penang - mad search for flowers back in Feb. Every place I visit, I try to take the local flowers to fill my album of flowers of the world...

Snow in March

You can see I'm starting to get going with my travel pics. Here's another - a picture of Amsterdam in snow. This was back in March 2005 - I've never experienced snowfall which lasted a few days. It was nice to walk when it's snowing... but certainly not when the snow starts to melt. It was super slippery and I had to go out and buy a new pair of boots to keep my feet warm. A pity it was not Christmas but it sure felt like it was. I had a good time!

Scotland

I visited Scotland in May 2005, had only 5 days to see as much as possible. It's such a beautiful place and full of castles and abbeys. One of the most spectacular ruins was in St Andrews - it was a significant place in history. It was also where the story of Chariots of Fire was birthed....

The Hiding Place - Haarlem, Netherlands

Continuing with my collection of travel layouts, here is a historic house in Haarlem, near Amsterdam. Corrie ten Boom was a daughter of a watchmaker. The ten Booms lived in the house above their shop. It was a 3 storey house, and during the 2nd world war, the family helped to hide many Jews and other folks who needed a shelter from the Nazis. The visit to "The Hiding Place" was history coming alive! Over the years, I have read many of Corrie's books and often wondered about the town where she lived. My brother and I stumbled upon the house one day when we stopped by Haarlem. Took another 2 visits there before I could actually tour inside the house. Do visit if you go to Amsterdam, it is worth the trouble aside from the much publicised Anne Frank's house.