A lesson in Patience...

After such a lovely day yesterday, I eagerly anticipated my Friday activities. On a Friday I drop Evan off to school and then head to the club for breakfast and coffee with a few of the ladies. Friday is a day when anyone who wants to come meets for coffee. I went and had a lovely breakfast of banana crepes. After a good visit with the gals, I headed up to my sewing class. As I said yesterday I have finally put the quilt together and was just getting ready to "quilt" the quilt. After a small blunder on my quilt yesterday I went home and spent a little over an hour unpicking a whole section of my stitches. This is my least favorite part of sewing!! With that mistake behind me I set my mind for resewing my mistake and then I would be ready to start quilting. Now here comes my lesson in patience... I'm not sure what I did this time, but the batting kept puckering!! So back to unstitching I went. So frustrating. After one of the lovely ladies helped me sew it smooth, I am finally able to start where I left off. This quilt has been a labour of love! I can't wait to see my sisters face as she opens my present on her wedding day!

Lately...

Last night was my second swimming lesson class. I brought Kieran along so he could get a few laps in. But instead of him swimming laps, he had a few laughs at his mother's expense! It seems I am still quite out our shape, so for me to swim two lengths non-stop is quite a feat! After my gruelling class, we headed home with a fresh squeezed juice. I had one called the Morning after which had papaya, cucumber, and oranges. MMmm Yummy! Kieran had one called Melon Delight which had a mixture of melons in it.

This morning after dropping Evan off at school I headed for a walk on the beach. We are in the midst of monsoon season, so for the past few days rains have dotted the skies. But this morning the sun was shining and the breeze was blowing, perfect for a beach walk! I headed out with my achy muscles and ipod ready to feed my soul. It was really lovely to hear the waves crashing and to have some time alone. Already I feel energized for the day! Kieran is off to his class and I am off to pretty up my toes! This afternoon I have sewing and am finally putting the batting on the quilt I am making for my sister. So far a good day is ahead!!

Swimming Lessons...

Tonight I was really reliving my youth. I haven't taken swimming lessons for about 20 years!! Wow...That makes me sound so old! The club we belong to offers excellent swimming lessons for kids and apparently adults at a relatively cheap price. So while chatting with a couple of girlfriends, all three of us decided to enlist in the adult swim lessons. It sounded great at the time...you know bravery in numbers! For the last couple of weeks the lessons were cancelled due to power outages. We were secretly cheering inside! But tonight was the night to make the plunge, literally! I must say it was hilarious (thanks to my friend, Debbie) I was sure I would drown from ingesting water while laughing!! But on a serious note, I think I benefited already from the lessons by learning the proper way to breath while doing the front crawl. I will keep you posted on my progress... hopefully I will be able to swim more than one length continuously! (I had wanted to include a photo of my first day at school, but I couldn't think of one person who would willingly allow me to post a photo of them in their bathing suit on my blog!)

:: Mmmm Moroccan ::

While at a friend house last week I had the most amazing dinner. So I thought I'd share the recipes with you since they are quite simple and are able to be made ahead of time. This is especially for you Jamie... Don't be afraid of the prep and steps, it is quite easy!

Tfaia - Lamb Tagine with Quail's eggs

( I used chicken and plain hard boiled eggs)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter :: 3 Tbsp olive oil :: 2 large onions chopped

small pinch of saffron strands (I omitted) :: 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger

2 lbs of shoulder of lamb ( I used chicken breasts, about 5) cut in chunky pieces

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped :: 6 Tbsp freshly chopped cilantro

4 - 6 hard boiled eggs, added in the last moments before serving

Directions:

Melt butter and olive oil in a large saucepan or skillet with a lid. Add the onions, saffron, ginger and some salt & pepper. Cook on a medium heat until the onions are transparent, about 10 minutes. Put in the lamb/chicken and the garlic and stir well and cook for 3 mins. Stir in the cilantro and just enough cold water to cover the meat. Bring gently to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer until the meat becomes tender (around 25 minutes for the chicken) Once tender remove the lid and simmer until the sauce has reduced by half. You can stop cooking at this point until ready to serve. Once ready to serve add the eggs cut into quarters into the sauce to heat. Serve meat and sauce over the couscous.

Couscous with caramelised onions & raisins

Ingredients:

6 Tbsp olive oil : 2 large onions finely sliced :: 1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp tumeric :: 1 small bunch of cilantro washed and tied with a rubber band

1/2 cup golden raisins :: 1 1/2 Tbsp sugar :: 1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup of dried couscous :: 1/2 cup butter

Directions:

Heat 4 Tbsp olive oil in a medium pan, add the onions and stir until soft. Add the ginger, tumeric and Salt & Pepper. Keep stirring and add a little water if they start to stick. When the onions have reduced by half pour in 2 cups of water and bring gently to a boil. Add the tied cilantro, raisins, sugar, and cinnamon. Reduce heat, cover, and leave to gently cook (about 10-15 mins.) Put couscous in a large mixing bowl, pour 2 Tbsp olive oil on it. Work oil into the couscous with your fingers until it is coated. Melt half of the butter and add to the couscous and toss with a fork until coated. Remove the cilantro bunch from onion and raisin mixture. Pour the mixture over the couscous. Cover tightly with cling film and set aside for 10 minutes. Uncover the couscous and fluff with a fork. This recipe can be enjoyed hot or cold. To reheat, microwave for 3 minutes. Enjoy :)

Party Time!!

After much worry about having electricity for the party, we awoke to the pleasant sounding of purring air conditioners. I was so relieved because as you can see we needed electricity for the slides and bouncy castle that we rented for the party.
The slides were delivered at around 9am. The boys played on them the entire time before the party and during the party.

Evan invited around 12 kids to the party. Even though the rain was falling the kids didn't notice a bit. We started the party just letting them play on the slides to their hearts content. After about an hour we had a waterfight complete with water guns and water balloons. The balloons that I painstakingly filled lasted all of 5 minutes. They wore themselves out a bit more bouncing between the slide and the castle.

Next we had the kids dry off before lunch. For lunch we had spring rolls, ham rolls, chips, and watermelon. Evan had a great time opening his presents. He had many favorite gifts that he couldn't wait to play with. After presents, he blew out his 9 candles on the cake, gulped down a few bitefuls, and then they headed back out onto the slide. This was one of the funnest, easiest, and most tiresome party we've had. But a good time was had by all.

::

After the party we headed to the pool for the boys' swimming lessons. When we got back Rob had invited some of the local neighbourhood kids over to play on the slides. It was great to see the fun they were having. It also broke the ice so the boys could meet some of the local kids in our area.

:: Thankful ::

A friend of mine who also has a fabulous blog has started a post called Thankful Thursdays. While I have many things to be thankful for one particular comfort I have taken for granted until recently comes to mind. For the last few days, Brunei for whatever reason has suffered many power outages. The first one lasted about 15 hours, then 8, and now 6 hours. While the initial outages were inconvenient, now it has brought the city to almost a stop. The line ups for gas were about a mile long at one point. The water became scarce. We were frequently saying, " If it's yellow, let it mellow!" But what we missed the most was our air conditioner's. In this hot climate, it is almost unbearable to sleep without A/C. If you were brave enough to expose yourself to the mosquitoes you could get a breeze from the window. For the time being our electricity is up and running, for how long I'm not sure. My biggest worry at the moment is the party we have planned for Evan tomorrow. The party will go on, but without power our blow up waterslide and bouncy castle will lay on the lawn like a limp banana peel. Even scarier is how to entertain 15 kids without it! I'll keep you posted, but for now I am praying the problem has been fixed!

:: Today ::

Today was somewhat uneventful. We woke up to rain and listened as the last remnants of the thunderstorm rumbled. After dropping Evan off at school, Kieran and I started in on school. This term we are studying Earth Science for his science course. I love learning about the way the earth works. Shortly after starting we lost power. Right away the house seems so peaceful and quiet without the whirl of air conditioners or TV's. So off I went to fill our fridge with groceries. After Evan finished school he had a couple of friends over to play. There was a new boy from Canada join Evan's class. Evan was eager to show him around and tell him all about life in Brunei. Tomorrow I am off to yoga on the beach again, and if time allows I will fit in a bit of scrapbooking.

Evan's 9th Birthday

On Friday my little boy turned 9. The night before we go through several traditions like kissing an eight year old for the last time, getting eight kisses from an eight year old for the last time, and the list goes on. Then the following morning we get to see if it is the same to kiss a nine year old. I'm not sure how long I will be able to milk this, but we keep trying and for now it still works!

For his birthday this year he got a Nerf gun ammo vest, some groovy shoes he had his eye on, a couple of water guns and water balloons (for his upcoming party) money and clothes from his grandparents. After opening his presents it was time for school.

In the evening we went to the club for dinner and a swim. Then since I was on duty to supervise the Youth Club, Evan was allowed to join. He is not quite old enough to join the Youth Club, so he was excited to be able to see what goes on every Friday night. This week was movie night. He was far more excited to try all the other activities like, soccer, pool, fuseball, and of course the candy station.

The following morning we again headed to Tutong Beach. As I told you before we went there last week. But since it was Evan's birthday he could choose what he wanted to do and suprising he chose to go quadding again. This time I remembered my camera. We had a great time wandering the beach which was completely empty except for us.

Next weekend we have Evan's actual birthday party planned. We have a huge bouncy castle and an inflatable waterslide rented for the party. As well we are planning a huge waterfight. I'm sure it will be fun, and very chaotic! More on that to come...

A String of Pearls

Twice during this last week I have come across the phrase, " Like a sting of pearls..." This morning as I opened up my daily reading from the book Season's of Life, the title of the story was, you guessed it, " A String of Pearls" This to me was meant for me to take notice of. So as the story goes....

Pearls are the product of pain. For some unknown reason, the shell of the oyster gets pierced and a grain of sand slips inside. On the entry of the foreign irritant, all the resoures within the tiny, sensitive oyster rush to the spot and begin to release healing fluids that otherwise would have remained dormant. By and by the the irritant is covered and the wound is healed- by a pearl! It is the symbol of stress- a healed wound... a precious , tiny jewel conceived through irritation, born of adversity, nursed by adjustments. Had there been no wounding, no irritating interruption, there could have been no pearl.

::

As I examine this and try to apply it to my life it has a ring of truth to it. Every circumstance we endure is meant for a reason. The adversity we all face is put in our paths to refine and make us better than who we were yesterday. Some of us may only have a couple of pearls in our collection. But by the end of my life as I've laboured through my trials I hope that the string of pearls I wear around my neck is testimony to the life lessons I've learned.

Yoga by the Beach

Today was the first day back to school for the boys. A friend of mine had invited me to join her for yoga by the beach. It sounded so lovely! After dropping Evan off at school, Kieran and I headed to the club for a quick bite of breakfast before the class started. As we were getting out of the car we felt the faintest hint of rain. By the time we reached the door the skies opened up and poured down on us. I thought, "That's it!" A good excuse to get out of exercise. But within a few minutes the skies dried up and the yoga instructor walked by me inviting me to join them. And I'm glad I did. It was absolutely amazing exercising in such a beautiful environment. There was no need for relaxing music to get us in tune with our bodies. The waves roaring and crashing in the background were enough to soothe any troubled mind. My mind has been troubled lately. I'm not sure entirely what has been giving me the blues. But with another year fresh at hand, I decided exercise was what I needed. I'm not so much wanting to build my muscles, but more to build myself internally. So as we were finishing up the class and were in the final moments of relaxation, I felt a tear come to my eye. Not a tear of sadness, but one of gratitude for being in such a beautiful place and experiencing this amazing experience!

Tutong Beach

Today we headed to Tutong Beach. The beach is about 40 minutes from our house towards Bandar. The beach was beautiful and quite popular. The water had a more tropical look than the beach here in KB. While we were there we rented 3 quads and explored the beach. The boys thoroughly miss their motorbikes, and they were racing up the beach as fast as the bikes would take them. It was great watching them with the wind in their hair, doing jumps over the logs, and doing donuts in the sand. Afterwards, we headed into the town and had lunch. Tonight Evan is having a friend sleepover. Tomorrow is a holiday here, so I'm sure we will be relaxing for the final day before school starts back from Christmas holidays.
( Sorry no photos... I forgot to bring the camera )