more of paradise

Nevi's sand castle

Devin, Richard and Genevieve

Our goodbye group: Annette, Pam, Sam, Sarah and Devin David, Nevi and Ann

Appreciation Lunch

My dearest friend, Kate is moving back to OZ. So Lisa and I had a little appreciation luncheon at Lisa's house!!!!

Lisa and Kate in Lisa's great kitchen

These are some beautiful lanterns from the Lantern Festival that Kate gave to Lisa and her family- so beautiful and colorful!

And these were the beautiful cupcakes Lisa made!!!!! Oh what a glorious lunch she prepared for us! Thank you~

Not Bali, but Balinese food

OK pictures of Bali soon- for now...I made this Indonesian dish when we first arrived home from Bali. It is called Gado-Gado. basically it is boiled vegetables with a peanut sauce. So yummy.
Cabbage sliced
Carrots
Onion
Potato

Boil or saute them in a pan....I boiled the potato and sauteed the rest in a bit of olive oil.
Then make a fresh peanut sauce...I also added a bit of coconut milk into the peanut sauce- a Balinese secret.
Pour over and serve~ Delicious.

Really I am going to post pictures...soon. Stay tuned.

Sweet Friends

Sweet Devin reading to the girls at a sleepover!

We are facing a common experience as Expats. One that makes this experience very challenging. Our dearest and closest friends, The Ryan family are moving back to Australia next Wednesday. Mike, Kate and Hannah live here at Pulai Springs with us. They have been our constant. They are the ones who made us feel welcomed, helped us learn the ropes, entertained us, fed us, befriended us, kept us company...and so much more. In the almost year we have been here- they have been a part of our everyday. Hannah is Nevi's one and really only friend here where we live....(there is beautiful Tiara too, but she is a bit younger and not quite the same kind of friend). Hannah and Nevi go to school together and they live one floor apart. Hannah and Nevi are sisters. Everyone at their school thinks so- and so do they for that matter. This experience for Nevi would have never been tolerable without her friendship with Hannah. Hannah tends to Nevi- looks after her- tolerates her when she is being wild child and loves her dearly. Next week, when our friends leave to go to their home...our lives will completely change. We will survive, but this is the not so fun part of expat life....people come and go- work comes and happens and finishes and you leave...most families off to the next cultural expat experience....for us back home. But even Nevi said it today...this is the part I do not like- having to say goodbye and not knowing if you will see each other again....but when you do I bet it feels the same....but then you have to say goodbye again. Mum, I don;t like this part. Guess what, Honey- neither do I. Sweet friendship and loving is so worth it, but goodbyes hurt.

Singapore

Kate in the very clean mirror

fancy

Groovy stainless with automatic everything

rows and rows of western toilets with paper

If you read every post in this blog- you will remember back a bit I wrote about the black mold problem in Johor Bahru where we live. In fact, you will remember the pictures of the bathrooms in Genevieve's school. So you will also remember me talking about the stark differences between JB and Singapore. Two countries right next to each other only separated by a causeway over the Straits of Johor. well...here are some pictures of the bathrooms in a shopping complex in Singapore. Seriously, I kid you not....shopping mall. Oh you thought you were in a five star hotel.....nope public bathrooms! Singapore may be rather sterile, over-regulated- strangely non- Asian feeling...but wow do they have STUNNING potties!

Not Bali~ but FOOD

OK I know I said pictures of beautiful Bali- but I am having trouble uploading them....need Devin's help. So instead...FOOD. Next best thing to Bali.
The other night, I had no idea what to cook. I had been to Singapore a few days before and yes, I smuggled pork across the border. Seriously- it is not a great thing to do- bring pork into a Muslim country...especially across 2 borders...but my kid was craving sausage. Not chicken sausage, not beef sausage...but good old American Pork sausage. I had intended to cook them for breakie- but had not gotten around to it. So guess what we had for dinner: Breakfast Bangers and Mash. I whipped up some herb potatoes, sauteed green beans, good old American Pork Sausage (and that is exactly what the package called them) and a lovely salad. I also made some gravy to pour on top. Our daughter was beyond delighted....ate every last bite~ Devin's response was....is this our main course? And I said, "yup". Pure delight and well worth the smuggle!

New look

Well, I have been beyond lame with Blog writing lately. I have so much to say about Bali...so much to say about our best and constant friends, the Ryan family leaving to go home to Australia next week, our lives here, Genevieve's struggles and delights with her school, my cooking adventures, Devin's endless work, our hours spent trying to find a home to rent when Nevi and I go back to Portland in August...and yet- I have not written. Perhaps my brain is a bit on overload...but that should create more of a reason/need to write.Hummmm....
So I re-designed the blog page tonight. Maybe a new color and a new view is what I needed to re-connect. Sometimes a new view can change ones perspective more than just simply seeing something from a different point of view...OK I am looking from a new angle~ and tomorrow I will post beautiful pictures from Bali. Thanks for staying with me~