Meeting Sally

Finally I got to meet a tatter from a distant land in person! You would have guessed it's Sally Kerson of Tat's Heaven, and you could have seen her post about visiting Singapore too. We met and had a really great time chatting, shopping, trying some local food and even went to a night spot.
Let's begin with the food...

A local mango sago dessert that I enjoy. Sally thinks it's refreshing.

Our Chinese fare consists of a combination meat dish of roasted pork, barbeque pork and soya sauce chicken; stir fried kai lan and seafood fried rice.

Here's Sally, posing for a quick picture before tucking into the dessert.

We shopped for our favourite craft supplies (and you can see this on Sally's post), and after dinner, we went to The Fullerton Heritage area, which covers The Fullerton Hotel Singapore, The Fullerton Waterboat House, The Merlion Park and One Fullerton, The Fullerton Bay Hotel Singapore and Customs House. This precinct is rich with Singapore's history from the time of the landing of Stamford Raffles.

And some night shots...

The Marina Bay Sands hotel and casino, complete with brand-name shops, cinema, a museum and even a SkyPark shaped like a boat on the rooftop of the 3 buildings.

Sally and I with the famous Merlion, Singapore's mascot, in the background. 

Of course, time flies when the conversation's good, but we had to call it a day as it was getting late. Sally must be tired out from a whole afternoon of walking and in the hot Singapore weather!

I accompanied Sally back to the hotel and there was 'im in the garage, "loitering" around the entrance to the hotel. He must have become worried and decided to wait for his dear wife downstairs. But luck was on my side, I got to meet him in person!

'im in the garage and I

It was indeed a most exciting and memorable day for me. Thanks for taking the time to meet me, Sally! More about surprises from Sally in the next post. Stay tuned.

*For the full story, please see Sally's post of 18 Jun.
** All the pictures were taken with the smartphone I bought 2 days before this, and it served us well. The most challenging shot had to be that of Sally and I trying to get both of us into the frame with the Merlion! And this we managed without even getting to see ourselves in the screen.

Meeting Bear Artists and A Giveaway

Last Sunday, I was at our local Teddy Bear Show at the Arts House. This event takes place yearly but on a rather small scale. I was lucky to meet a few bear artists whose names I've heard of for quite a while but only got to meet at this show! To name a few... Wayne Lim, Esther Lee and Audie (from the Netherlands). Do check out Wayne's blog. He has great pictures of the show. They are award-winning bear artists in their own right.

Oh, and Esther is having her first blog giveaway . Isn't Dusty a sweetie?

Chinatown

With the Lunar New Year looming close, Chinatown (牛车水) was buzzing with hawkers selling celebration goodies. It's Year of the Rabbit in 2011.

Buildings have been decorated with flowers and well wishes (couplets)



Rows and rows of makeshift stalls line both sides of the street



Charms that people hang in their cars, on purses, anywhere



Windmills blessed at the Wong Tai Xin Temple in Hong Kong, believed to
change the previous year's bad luck when the wheel turns with the help of the wind



Auspicious Chinese sayings to be stuck to the doors



Dried preserved meats (duck, leg of ham, Chinese sausages) -- in the past, these were prepared
to tide over the winter months when people could not go out to hunt.
The meats are either salted or sugared. It's now become a tradition to have these.



More accessories for decorating the house



Lanterns and decorations to ignite the celebrative mood 



Not forgetting the flowers



These cheery windmills are for the kids



These knotted tassles can be added to lanterns or hung on their own. Very colourful.




Mustn't forget the lanterns



Chinese lions (These were what I thought Jane had in mind in the early days of the 2011 TIAS)



Other finds -- big calligraphy brushes



And dolls of the different Chinese tribal peoples

It's the fourth day of the CNY celebrations today. This festival is celebrated for 15 days and kids can continue to collect angbaos (aka hongbaos 红包) till the last day. Families usually gather for a huge feast from the eve through the 15th day.

Here's wishing my Chinese friends

Gong Hei Fatt Choy 恭禧发财

Hope you'd enjoyed some eye candy here.

Downtown Singapore

More Christmas street decor, a continuation from here...

An indoor Xmas decor @Novena Sq

Tangs



An intoxicated mannequin - one of the window displays at Tangs