This was my attempt at a solution to get rid of these pink pimples on the wall. What do you think? I like it.

I have had many (and I really do mean MANY - ask Dave.) sleepless nights thinking of what to do about this psychedelic wall, and since we aren’t allowed to repaint it, hammer into it, remove it…all that’s left is to lean something BIG on it. So here we are.

Update: Now that we have this mirror, and the room appears bigger and brighter (YAY!)…I also get to see myself full-length every other minute and my thighs indeed seem to be getting bigger. I knew my jeans couln’t have been shrinking! GRR!

From Xiamen to the world…the four of us wish you all a very happy Easter weekend!

The Kiddies have been very creative these last few days…Enjoy their paintings, eggs, and OH YES!…see the cute little white vase on the right side of the table that Dave designed? It’s now ceramic! He just brought it home for me this evening and is adorable! I can’t wait for him to bring home other pieces from his new collection! (Manufacturing certainly has it’s perks!)

Together with some friends, we planned an Easter egg painting activity that was supposed to be held at Haiwan park. But due to the weather being very “mamahuhu” (so-so/comme ci comme ca) this morning, Heike offered to host this actiity in her living room instead - which was really great because we would have been sitting on wet grass and ff-reezing our butts off had we gone ahead with our picnic idea. This venue was *much* cozier - but we still ended up at the park after lunch run around and burn off some energy.

The Knipfelbergs have a fab place, with this fab view!

I would have had all the kids in this photo if I had my way, but it’s not easy rounding up 10 kids that all have their own agenda once let loose. Yup! you heard me TEN kids…We ended up being 9 boys and 1 girl. Poor Luise =(…it’s incredible how there is a dearth of little girls in this place. If ALL the kids who were invited would have come there would have been 13 boys and ONE girl!

Whee! The tree is up and anchored by lemons. Now, were just waiting to collect enough eggs to paint on the weekend. So far we’ve eaten omelette twice this week, and I predict that we’ll be having pancakes soon…

*Oh, and for those of you so inclined (like Mirs perhaps)…the tree is potted in a tin can that I covered with scrapbooking paper. Literally took 5 minutes.

…but not in China! Our Easter ritual unfortunately will be changing this year as Easter is not celebrated here, and will therefore be falling off the calendar. This is a huge shame especially since it offers a week long holiday, and a much awaited break for us Filipinos. Normally, it is our family tradition to head towards the beach, paint eggs, prepare our Easter tree, and organize the egg hunt that evolved into a treasure-hunt as the kids got older and hiding eggs was not enough! We’ll be missing out on all that beach activity this year, but we are trying to keep some aspects of it alive…so, i’m happy to announce that we have managed to prepare the tree so far…and eat lots of eggs!

I wish I could say that I made these cute little thingeys, but I actually bought them on Gulangyu!

Next weekend, we plan to get together with some friends for some egg painting, so I expect that my cheeks will be very painful by the end of the week from blowing out (and eating) all those eggs…so keep checking in as surely there will be lots more pictures of this to follow.

*sigh* …Allow me to reminisce for a bit…here are some pics from Easter ‘06

Since returning to our holiday, I have been such a lazy Hausfrau. The laundry pile is so large it’s taken a life of it’s own, my Chinese lessons have been postponed 5 times, the fridge is perpetually empty…BUT…I have been spending lots of time and money buying plants, shelves, organizing cabinets (read that as doing scrapbook paper inventory), and just generally doing FUN stuff that I really shouldn’t be prioritizing. Here’s the latest product of my procrastinatory streak (yes, that’s a word)…a valentine’s garland to go with the new shelves over our dining table! I know it’s really corny, but I love it!

Little by little the scent of Christmas is wafting into the house…Not just is the weather becoming “wintrier” but I have been busy making these orange/cinnamon/clove decorations that just infuse the room with this smell that I find just divine. (David claims he can’t smell it, and the kids think it’s gross.) Jeez! Rain on my parade will you! *snigger* Well I’m on a roll and no one can stop me now!

This Sunday we are hosting a christmas-crafting brunch in which together with two other families we will bake and decorate cookies, as well as make whatever we all feel we need in our homes. So exciting - I’m sure we’ll have loads of fun.

Right after waving Mom off in her taxi I felt a particular desire to play around with my scraps of gorgeous paper, scissors and glue…Christmas cards were the result of this burst of creative energy, and even Nicolas pitched in to help after a while. I’m SO loving the outcome…

Now, if only I could find that small folded piece of paper with EVERYONE’S addresses I so meticulously collected last year…ARG! I know, I know, you don’t need to tell me that I should have made an excel file and saved it on my computer - just help me pray to Saint Anthony now please! Oh - and please cross your fingers that I manage to find envelopes for these cards…I have yet to bump into the Chinese version of National Bookstore (Filipino bookstore where you can FIND IT ALL.)

Haiwan park was built on reclaimed land and is just a 10 minute walk away from our place. It’s a lovely park that offers a lot for everyone: ocean, endless gardens playgrounds, skateparks, cafe’s, In-outdoor swimming pools and hydrospa, bars…you name it, it’s pretty much got it.

Guaranteed endless fun with paper and a pair of scissors! Strangely therapeutic too!