Catching Up

Can't believe how the time passes...it's been months since my last post...Been busy, busy, busy. So to catch up on what's been happening, let's go back a bit... It all began somewhere in July 2005... second daughter WAR went off to Perth to study... that free her computer for use... then after a bit of cleaning up and storing stuff that she didn't bring along, I decided to start blogging - which I did with much enthusiasm...
Then sometime in late August/early September (can't really remember) older daughter CMW told me that her best friend Mandy is getting married and had invited her to attend all the ceremonies involved... and daughter needed outfits for these functions... So I thought no big deal... at the most she will need two outfits.. one for the day and one for the evening... CMW said that she needed four outfits!! What!! Why??
First outfit - for a buffet dinner/dance... I attended this event and this was held on the eve of the whole wedding ceremony... sort of an introduction of the bride to the world... We went there... after a while, Mandy came to greet us and the other guests and invited us to have dinner... After dinner there were drums banging away and a lady started walking in with a pot balanced on her head... this pot had lighted candles... then she danced around a bit and others joined her and when the pot got too hot for her she passed it to another person and the dancing went on and more people joined her... This went on and on until the candles burned out and the pot was set on a table but the dancing continued... I supposed that this was also a way of relieving stress for the womenfolk who had spent the past weeks and months preparing for the wedding... So for this night CMW needed an outfit suitable for "clubbing"..
Second day ... oiling ceremony... I didn't attend this but understood that it involved oil being poured on the head and hands and feet of the bride and she will be adorned with henna paintings ... I supposed that this is a cleansing/blessing ritual.. So for this CMW need only wear some old T-shirt and jeans..
Third day morning... temple ceremony... I attended this also and found it enlightening... I got to see a Sikh wedding and also the inside of a Sikh temple... One thing that Mandy didn't tell us was that we have to cover our heads when inside the temple and fortunately there were scarves available at the entrance and we managed to find one each that sort of matched our clothes... As it involved sitting down on the floor of the temple hall, we needed something that allowed us to do that...CMW decided on a peasant top and skirt... As for the ritual.. it's the usual... the priest(s) offered a lot of prayers and the bride and groom went round the alter a few times... I wont' go into details... after the temple rituals the bride went back home and I understand she will be "kicked out" of the house...
Third day evening.... dinner at some posh restaurant... CMW had been asked to make a speech and she decided to wear a sari for this occassion... She wore a sari at her cousin's wedding and she looked great but was told that she shouldn't wear a red sari at an Indian wedding ...so we have to go look for a blue one.. and my darling daughter suggested that I crochet the top...the choli.. Cochet!!! I needed at least 3 weeks for that!!! She replied that the wedding is in December and I got 3 months... Oh..okay..
So we planned and we went to Johor Bahru to get the crochet thread (if any one want to know where...- the shop is located in the building opposite the JB train station, where there's a lot of travel-agencies and the shop actually face the train station) and we check my stock of cloths and found two pieces of material suitable for the peasant blouse and the black pants for her clubbing outfit.. still needed to buy more.. so went to Spotlight and got very nice and expensive (@S$29.95 per metre x 2m) materials for the clubbing top and the peasant skirt (@S$19.95 per metre x 3m) and went to Serangoon Road to buy the sari... We bought two saris which isn't exactly what she wanted but she liked the colours and a few days later she went with Mandy and bought the one that she wore to the dinner... a very nice and expensive-looking one with embroidery and rhinestones... I said expensive-looking because it only cost S$70.00 and it looked like it should cost more... I supposed if a tourist was to go and buy it, the price will be much much higher...
As soon as I got the crochet thread I started crocheting even before everything else was bought and while I was hooking away, I planned the sewing and somehow I managed to get everything ready by the due date which was 3rd December... Now CMW liked to add stress to my life...she decided to go to Perth to visit her sister and both to come back before Christmas and when did she booked her flight for??... 7th December...1 a.m... which means we go to the airport on the 6th around 10pm... Now that is a very tight schedule... 3rd - the dance night, 4th - the oiling ceremony, 5th - the temple and restaurant dinner, 6th - fly off to Perth.... So there I was crocheting, sewing and packing... one thing after another...aarghh!!!
So CMW departed for Perth... rest??? not really... have to clean up the house ..(been neglecting and also have to clean because WAR is sensitive to dust) and also clean up Ah Gong house... people are coming for Christmas... so clean, clean, dust, dust and before you can blink... they are coming back!!??!!
It so happened that while CMW was in Perth, hubby went off to KL/Bangkok (?? can't remember which one) and CMW would return on Monday 21st, hubby would return on Tuesday and WAR would return on Wednesday... Thank goodness I don't drive otherwise I will have to go to the airport three days in a row... Anyhow, for a change of pace, I went to the airport on Monday... travelling on the mrt was a relaxing time for me... one hour of doing nothing... met up with CMW and the next day just let my hubby come back on his own (he's used to that) and then on Wednesday go to the airport again to meet WAR...
And then it's Christmas... and all the chaos that went with presents-buying and menu-planning and.... well most people know what it's like...
And then it's Chinese New Year... no..no.. Something happened before that...