a day at the park

we went to the pasir ris park today.

the plan:

stroll as one big happy family - kuya, april, keyla, tita, mike, me. naks!

keyla to play on the playground.

caths and mike to do 30 min walk/run.

pasir ris park is a hidden gem. it's not that crowded like east coast park is. the place is clean and big. children could play, the whole family or barkada could do ihaw ihaw. lovers could stroll. others even go fishing, camping, biking. the park is this big:



interesting finds:

fishing. at times you get the big ones, at times the tiny ones, at times nothing at all. life goes on anyway. try again another day.



lush. i wish mother earth will always be abundant like this... that she may last a million years... that my children's children's children will be nurtured the same way.



pathways. and sunsets. all sunsets are beautiful.



bridges and water and plants.



run. running used to be a burden for me. now i find it therapeutic, just like mopping floors and walking alone.



sturdy. my God is as sturdy as this tree is. rain, lightning, scorching sun? nothing will harm me as long as my God is here. i admit i am frightened at times, but my God sustains and protects! amen!



lovers. yihee. i wish everybody finds his/her soulmate!



friendship. you know you are friends if you could sit all day and talk about everything and anything - and you don't get bored!



family. so heartwarming to see a family gathered together. i always look forward to weekends with family!



silver lining. there will always be one! always!



and more beautiful sunsets.



simplicity. a child's life is so simple. sleep when tired, cry when hungry, play when awake. makes me want to go back to
childhood but that is not the proper order of life! :p



solitude. inner and outer.



and the opposite of solitude, chaos. the chaos that is my hair. and pimple outbreak. argh.



and love! heard at rx today: a vampire will never go into your house/life unless you invite him. maybe love is like a vampire. let's always welcome love then! it will never come uninvited :)



ps:
muntik na
kaming
masagasaan
ng motor
dahil
sa cheesy
pose na ito
bow

peranakan museum

last, last friday, i took a day off from work to accompany mike in the submission of the formalities of his long term pass. we were done by around 10am so we decided to go to the peranakan museum.

but before we went to the museum, we feasted on the pinakamasarap na pancit sa balat ng lupa. the stall is located at the suntec foodcourt and good to see there's a kuya pinoy staff at the store. he may have added a few strands of pancit on our plate. divine! this is breakfast number 2. the first one was maggi chicken noodles at home. you can't blame me. i got traumatized with long queues and no breakfast. :p



on our way to the mrt, i saw these ceiling lamps. nice!



it was raining. but so what?

then we got to the peranakan museum:



"Who are the Peranakans? For centuries, the riches of Southeast Asia have brought foreign traders to the region. While many returned to their homelands, some remained behind, marrying local women."

hybrid! mixed culture!


this cat welcomes the visitors. i'm not so fond of cats, but i'm caths. gets?



a peranakan family in telok kurau area. so formal! look at the 2 girls holding on to the plant stands. what's up? :)



this granny looks like lola felicing - our neighbor in sto. nino and my lola's best friend. kailangan talaga may haplos?!



i love the background! apparently, butterflies were popular motifs for the peranakans as these signify good luck. cheers to the best of luck!



the museum showcased stuff from the old peranakan families. this is our reflection on one of the antique cabinets.



and another one. they look an awful lot like our cabinets from the philippines. the ones you find in the buena familias chochaleras houses. i bet kuya will not be too keen in owning one. think about spirits living in cabinets. boo!



and another one of those buena familias dresser tables. chochal!



benches by the main doors were also popular for the old peranakan houses. here's mike relaxing on one of the wooden benches. my lola has a special bangko back at home. it was her favorite siesta spot.



an old phone, ca 1930s. if you lift the earpiece, you could hear a recorded conversation. cool! rpg!



here's a latter model. i remember having a similar unit in our house. yesteryears! that was our first phone!



this girl looks like my cousin irish! so posh! look at the dress and the bag and the overall impact hihihi.



at the dining table. how much platos and platitos could one household use? i have a dream... someday, i'll be a housewife and i'll prepare all the meals for my family... and we'll eat together happily... all the days of our lives! ariba!



and a typical kitchen. i like it!



and more of the intricate plates and serving dishes. nakakahinayang gamitin, ang ganda kasi hihi. i'm reminded of a tansan. i wonder why.



here are some beaded bags. so intricate! i learned that the manner of beading is somewhat similar to cross stitching. the patterns are the same, the ones with the grids and you follow the color per cell.



while daoism and buddhism dominated, catholicism somehow seeped through. here's an interesting item - an altar with the image of the holy family.



and another nice background.



at the end of the day, we were this happy!



lunch was tapa king at lau pa sat. what a lovely day! what a lovely life!