Tillandsia ionantha 'rubra'

I found a temporary stall at the nearby shopping mall selling airplants. Bought a few and hope they do well. I have one which did so well that it has multiplied to a bunch over the years. It must like its little niche in the balcony. This one when I bought it had the reddish leaves and I was told that it was going to flower. Sure enough a few days later it did and one day after I took the photo, another flower bloomed so now there are three. Let's hope the others do well too.

Work in Progress - Completed

Remember this? Mistakes (which hopefully will not be noticed) resulted into these two doilies. Seashell and Shell Pink Medium Lizbeth threads were used. I like the colour combination. I prefer the lower one as was recommended in the book because it better showcases the pattern.

Construction of Gardens by the Bay - Bay South

The Flower Dome

One of 2 conservatories which will house plants from the cool dry climate. The other conservatory named Cloud Forest will house plants from the cool moist climate

Supertrees - vertical gardens

25-50 meters in height

I took these photos weeks ago when we were passing by on the expressway. It has been a while since we drove pass and it looked very different. The site is behind Marina Bay Sands and the development is due to officially open in 2012 but it will host the World Orchid Conference this November. More information here at their official website if you are interested.

Christmas 2011 Snowflake #5

Susanne Schwenke's pattern on page 18 of her Spitzen Ideen book. I am tempted to get more of her books. I love her patterns. Are you also a fan?

This will be snowflake #5. Hopefully this month, I will be able tat more snowflakes and not get too distracted by other patterns. This snowflake was fast to tat and very enjoyable. I am quite happy with it. Tatted in size 40 thread in white. This ball is a Japanese brand thread called LaPrimera Cotton Lace Yarn and it is made in Turkey.

Night Blooming Epiphyllum

My mother used to let us stay up to watch this plant bloom when my sister and I were young. It usually bloomed late at night and would only last one night. Mom planted her much larger plant in a dragon pot. I recently bought this plant at the local market and there was one flower which had already bloomed. I took it home to my balcony, watered daily and fertilised it. I soon noticed a large number of flower buds on several leaf margins. I missed the first bloom (see above photo) which bloomed the night before but the I managed to photograph this one. There is a delicate fragrance when it blooms. I had to bring it into the kitchen to photograph it without the flash.

Gifts from Judy

Judy sent me, Umi and Tsuru these lovely gifts she made. Two crocheted mice with a bell inside each and a lovely pink and brown rabbit which she created.

Umi and Tsuru love their crocheted mice and really enjoy themselves playing with it. Thank you so much Judy. They seldom have so much fun with their toys. I had to pull them out from under the sofa several times.

Precious Photos

Dressed in nyonya style sarong kebaya

Dressed in the traditional samfoo

During the Chinese New Year, my mom showed me these old photos. Taken 60 years ago, it shows my mom and her sisters in traditional attire. She could not remember what occasion it was that my grandparents had these photos taken, either Chinese New Year or my grandfather's birthday. I wonder if the boys had a similar photo taken. Yes, mom had a huge family.

Work in Progress

Why are there two, you say? Because I made a mistake in the first one. I simply hate mistakes. Could I go back to tatting it right the first time round?

I am tatting the third round of the pattern now and I ended up with a mistake again, so I guess you will see two motifs the next time I post this WIP. I will change the colours around. But both will have mistakes. This is done in Lizbeth Size 20 in Seashell (#114) and Shell pink medium (#627).

Red Velvet Cake

I recently had a red velvet cupcake at Starbucks. AAA and I, in one of the rare occasions ended up at Starbucks. He knows I love that but often he would rather have coffee at the local coffee shop than Starbucks. This is the very first time I tried this cake and I loved it. Came home, looked for a recipe to bake my own.

Now, I am just wondering if all that food grade red colouring is good for health. After some time, the red began to seep into the cream cheese frosting. The cream cheese frosting could not be left out in our weather for long without melting. It did not taste the same as Starbucks but I still liked it, anyway. Will I bake it again? Sure, I will. I used this recipe.

Third Attempt

3rd

2nd

1st

Oh my, how different the three look. Which is your favourite?

It still does not look like the one in the book. Perhaps if I used Size 20 thread or thicker, that would be it. Although I liked what I saw in the book, from these three,

I prefer the first one I tatted - the white one. I have been obsessed with this that I have been neglecting my snowflakes. Only one to show in the whole of February.