Doggie Play Group

A lot of people have asked me how Jack is doing. When we first left the house he was very nervous, he barked incessantly at our temporary apartment in Katy when we were all gone. I think having Loretta leave then moving really shook his world. He spent a week at Grandma and Grandpa's before he made the trip to Singapore and was happy there. Then he was in Quarantine for 10 days, we were able to visit him during that time. Once he arrived here he was anxious, but he has settled in quite well, quickly. He seems to know this is his home. The first time he was home alone he did bark quite a bit but he has stopped doing that. He is much mellower and much more demanding than he was before. We think he got so much attention from Loretta that he did not need as much from us.

Prior to our move we were told Singapore was not dog friendly. I did a lot of web surfing and found so many groomers and pet shops that I figured that was not the case. We do have to be careful when walking to watch the reaction of locals. Some of it cultural (Muslim Malays consider dogs and pigs dirty and do not want any contact with them) and some are just scared because he is big.

The best news is I found a field that runs behind our neighborhood. There is a paved walk way to the field just behind our street so it's very convenient. I try to take Jack up every morning after school starts. The field is kind of an informal dog park. Almost every morning we meet up with other dogs. This morning we talked our next door neighbor in to bringing her dog, Nana (mastiff) to the field. Nana is so big (160 pounds) and not well socialized so they worry about getting her out. Well, Nana did just fine! Zoe, a mix of standard poodle and golden retriever (she's black) played well with both Jack and Nana. And of course while the dogs play the owners get to visit :)

Tracy

You'd never see this in Katy, Texas!

Notice anything different? Well, if you have visited this blog before you probably noticed the new look. The other blog was giving me difficulties. I couldn't upload images via the blog so I was having to add html code and that was giving me fits. The images were too big or too small. Anyway after looking at several blogs I noticed the blogs I really liked were using blogspot. A little investigating and 20 minutes later and a new blog was created. Daniel, ever handy web guy moved all of my previous posts over and the images. The only thing missing is the comments. So, please comment again it makes me feel a little less alone over here.... waiting for my stuff. I still sound pitiful, don't I?

So, I'm trying to get over my depression from not getting my stuff. A little grocery retail therapy, yes that means more chocolate. Now I think I've got a stomach ache from too much chocolate :) I've had a few distractions today, we got our auction outdoor furniture delivered today. Because we have not decided which set to keep and we have so little furniture in the house it's inside for now. We had the company we are renting furniture from come and take away two awful armchairs, now that we have our outdoor armchairs. We also got another bed delivered. This weekend is Chinese New Year, everyone has Monday and Tuesday off as a National Holiday - it is a big deal. An old college friend, Rick Gregory who has lived in Malaysia with his Malay wife for 20 years are coming to visit. We have not seen Rick and Hanizah for a very long time and we've never met their 10 year old son, Jaren. We knew we would have plenty of beds when our furniture got here, but you know the story. So now my future loom room has a nice Queen size bed for company! It does look less lonely this way.

The picture I've posted today is something you definitely would not see in Katy, Texas. Singapore is a super safe place, you rarely hear of crime because they are so tough on criminals. I mentioned to some neighbors that we had had not seen a police presence. They laughed and said wait till they patrol the neighborhood. Well, here they are. Walking down our suburban neighborhood with AK-47's! This is from my bedroom window. As I took the picture the officer must have seen me or the flash and his head snapped in my direction. I hid behind the curtains!

Back to my chocolate and a good book,

Tracy

Nooooooo, say it isn't so!!!

Today was the day our ship was to arrive in Singapore. I have tried not to get too excited and count on our shipment arriving this week, but I couldn't help myself. This morning I told Peter, just 2 more days and we get to sleep on our own mattress, cook with our pots, etc... I sent a note to the moving company here in Singapore and asked for an update on the shipment. The response was horrible - the ship's final destination was Korea not Singapore. Say what?? How do you make a mistake that big?? Seems to me big ships don't just randomly change their course. Anyway, they are now moving the container to another ship and it will be here (if we are lucky) on the 24th - then customs - then delivery. We are all sad - no looms for Tracy, no bike for Peter and no movies for Eric....

Katy left for Thailand this morning. They went straight from the airport in Phuket to a boat to scuba dive. It's a hard life - she'd never be scuba diving on a school trip in Katy, Texas. They will be staying on Phi Phi island (google it, it's gorgeous and the location for several movies). Peter has decided to get certified to scuba dive so that he and Katy can take advantage of the many great diving opportunities in this part of the world.

Today's photo is so that you can help me wallow in self pity. This is one of the two small rooms on the third floor where I will have my studio space. Right now Eric has the whole floor, he is already getting territorial about it. Notice how empty and lonely the room looks....

Hoping to weave in the future, Tracy

Dress Finished!

As you can see the dress is finished, just in time for the gala. It is not perfect, but it worked and was comfy. Not having all of my tools made sewing more difficult. The fabric was probably the most slippery I've ever worked with, which made sewing with it even more challenging. I sold my 20+ year old Bernina sewing machine prior to leaving Houston and purchased a new spiffy Bernina here in Singapore, the new machine is dual voltage so it will work in the states as well. This was my first project with the new machine, it sews like a dream!

The gala was a lot of fun. 80% of the women were wearing black, I was glad to have my colorful dress. The gala was a PTA fundraiser for the American School. There was a silent auction and a live auction. We picked up two sets of outdoor furniture, we only needed one and intended to get one, but now we have two! We also "won" a trip to a local island for 2, maybe a chance for a romantic weekend. The big auction items were Persian carpets, beautiful rugs that sold for mega bucks. They auctioned a fancy Harley Davidson motorcycle which sold for $36,000 Sing$ ($25,000 USD).

Tracy

Shopping Success

Before I tell you my success story first I need to give you some background on the Singapore shopping scene. Singapore is a consumer society. Hard to imagine more shopping than the USA but it's true. This little island is jam packed with shoppers and shopping malls. The island is laid out so that you can stay in your community and find just about everything you need there. There are markets on the ground floors of the HDB's (condos for locals). These are open air and always include a Hawker market. a Hawker market is a basically a food court, usually yummy food, too. Within 10 minutes walking distance we have 2 local markets and one train ride away is a 7 story mall and Civic Center. Our mall is geared more towards locals, I can find most of what I need there except clothing/shoes. So, I ventured out to the downtown area to Tanglin Mall which I've heard referred to as the "Expat Mall". I was searching for Birkenstock sandals. I wandered around the mall to see what stores were there, I found a nice little quilt shop, several nice clothing and shoe stores and then (be still my heart) a store full of ethnic textiles. Most of the textiles were from Indonesia and Cambodia. There were some nice cottons, but as I explored more I found the real goodies locked up in glass cabinets. Silk Batiks - beautiful! There was a wide range of colors and wide degree of intricacy in design. The price of the piece increased according to whether the fabric was on commercial silk or handwoven silk and how intricate the design was. Most of these were shawls or sarongs. There was one piece that took my breath away, it was so beautiful and the design was incredibly detailed, it was a sarong as was priced at $1500 Sing (about $1,050 USD). As I was shopping for shoes I did not have my camera with me, darn it. I was searching for fabric for a simple dress to wear to a gala for the high school so I picked up a simple silk sarong. The piece I got is on commercial "silk satin". I have taken a photo of the piece laid out on my dining room floor and a close up of the border. Hopefully this gives you an idea of the detail in a simple piece. I have minimal sewing tools with me and a cutting board is one of the things I'm missing. I had to take a deep breath before cutting, how much harder can it be to cut up a sarong than a piece of handwoven yardage! I should finish the dress tomorrow - just in time for the gala. Tracy

A little about Singapore.

We were told that Singapore is Asia for Beginners or Asia Light. It is very easy for non-Asians to feel at home here. English is the official language (other official languages are Mandarin, Malay and Tamil). The reason for English is a nod to Singapore's roots. Singapore was colonized by the British (surprise!). Because of it's central location in Southeast Asia and it's proximity to the "Spice Islands" it was a desirable location for the Brits. The Dutch had the Dutch West Indies so the British had to find a spot and make friends with the natives. Currently Singapore is one of the two busiest port in the world, so it's location is still prime. Amazingly this small island nation has just under 5 million people but only 252 square miles!

I've gone on two walking tours, one where we learned about Singapore's roots and little about the current government and their strict laws. The 2nd tour was last week to Chinatown. I had hopes of seeing lots of beautiful fabric, I hear it's there. The tour focused on the upcoming Chinese New Year and the traditions that surround that very important holiday. I learned lots and tried some interesting foods but saw no textiles at all!

So now I understand a little better the importance of Chinese New Year to the locals. Singapore is 75% Chinese, 14% Malay, 9% Indian and 2% other (that's us). The main religions are Buddhism, Muslim, Christian, Taoism and Hinduism. Most locals live in HDB (Housing and Development Board)housing, these are high rise flats and apparently are nice inside. The HDB housing is why so many people can live on such a small island. We live in a "Terraced House", which is really a town house. Shared walls on 2 sides and 3 stories high. The walls are concrete so we do not hear our neighbors at all. Anything "landed" is rare here. Our land is a small patio in the back and a small garden and enough tiled driveway to squeeze in our car. But, Jack has a spot to do his business. There are houses with yards (land) but it's still not much land.

Enough about Singapore for today. The top photo is a picture of the new Sports Hub, a modern building and then the bottom photo is of a row of houses in Chinatown. The two show a little of the contrast of architecture in Singapore.

Tracy

Welcome to Singapore

Hi everyone, the Lone Star Loom Room's long awaited (by me) blog is up and running. Originally the blog was intended to be a weaving blog. However as you may guess by the title, FAR EAST LOOM ROOM the purpose of the blog has changed a little. We arrived in Singapore January 1st. We are currently waiting for our container with our household goods to arrive (scheduled for February 8th). Moving to Singapore has been the main focus of our lives for the past few months and I think now the blog idea has evolved in to a way to keep family, friends and customers informed of our time here in Singapore. I do intend to post weaving/textile related information as soon as I have something to post. Meanwhile watch for updates on life in Singapore.

Last night Peter, Jack (dog) and I went to the Botanical Gardens. Established in 1859 it is a lovely oasis in the middle of a bustling city. We only had about an hour and half before dark so we did not see the whole garden. Peter came prepared with camera in hand so we were slow going. Interestingly there are many familiar plants in Singapore. The climate in Houston is similar many months of the year. However, I have not seen any roses or other plants that do need some degree of cold for their cycle. This was Jack's first big outing and he was a celebrity. We have to be careful walking Jack, 15% of the population is muslim and they do not touch dogs. I try to keep him close to my side so as not to offend anyone. However, at the Botanical Gardens everyone wanted to pet him and take his picture! I truly think he had more pictures taken than in all 3 years of his life in that hour and half. I heard many kids say "Look a GIANT poodle!". I had to stop and pose him numerous times. Just fyi - the time difference is 14 hours AHEAD of CST time in the states.

Pictures are from the Singapore Botanical Garden; Jack and Tracy in front of a tree with neat roots and lovely orchids. Tracy