Did I really live there?

It is hard to believe that from 2000 until 2006 we lived in Brunei.  This is not a postcard. 

This photo was taken by us, looking out from The Empire Hotel, Brunei.  A 5 star (could be 6 star but does not serve alcohol) resort sitting on the shore of the South East China Sea.  Every  Sunday we would visit the water park here with our friends the Allcocks and spend the day.  Sometimes we would dress up and go out for a very posh dinner.  This sure was a western style treat in Brunei.  We loved every moment of our time there.  Sometimes I just have to pinch myself to help me remember that this was our reality back then. 

 (credits here)

Memories like this deserve to be part of an album.  So I thought I would slowly try and work my way through the photos I have and finally get this done.

Pineapple

Today I thought that I would blog something just a little different.

When I was living in Brunei one of the thing I loved was all the local fruit.  No I am not taking about the vomit smelling durian fruit.

 (image source here)

 

 

I am talking about the pineapple.  Truth be known the pineapple I bought was probably imported but we very cheap none the less.  One of the most painful things about pineapple is the cutting of the skin off.  I always seemed to leave bits of that tough skin on the edible flesh.  So I asked a friends wonderful amah Bless if she would show me how to cut the pineapple the local way and this is what I found.

• Firstly you take the pineapple and cut the skin off.  Now we don't grow this fruit in New Zealand so I thought I would post the photo of an unpicked fruit.

(Source here)

 

 

Then you run your knife around the pineapple following the little bits of skin left and you end up with a fruit looking like this.

 

 

 

 

 

Next you quarter your pinapple down the verticle line.

 

 

 

 

Next you notice that a pineapple has a hard core which can be unplesant to eat so cut it out.

 

 

 

 

Finally you cut your pineapple into bite size bits.  I slice down the long line three times and then cut into the size you enjoy.  That is all there is to it.

 









 

 



If Batman can...

I was sitting thinking about times back in Brunei and an image was bought to mind about DD learning to ride a bike. Why this image came to mind who knows, but I thought it was worth recording.

In Brunei there is a perpetual summer all year. So DH and thought that we were made when we realised that the small, first two wheeler bike DD could comfortably be ridden inside. When I say inside I mean a space about 10m x 10m right in front of air conditioning. We used that space for nothing except to play cricket in with our preschoolers.....yes our house was huge but that is another story.

This particular day DD got the bike which she was so proudly trying to ride pretending Batman was having a go to. I luckily had taken a photo and thought that there was a page to be made.

If Batman can....



Credits...background paper, speech bubbles from Life365 Hodge Podge 12 kit from WW, stitching from My Favourite Things kit from WW, glitter from Chasnryan by Flerg, mat and strip from Canded Apple by Emily Merrit, tape from Signature Tape pack at WW, fonts are Roman Times and Scrap Kids

Thinking Back

I was sitting there the other day looking at photos from time gone by when I came across this fantastic one of my DD at Kindy when we were living in Brunei.



Credits go to Lindsay Jane for the fabulous kit Art 101 and the font SA Kiss

It got me thinking about how adventurous we allow our children to become. What experiences we let them to encounter.

I know that I am keen to see my children play in the mud, I don't mind them getting we in the rain, climb trees, paint, bake etc. My theory is as long as they are safe then anything goes.

Yes it often makes plenty of washing, cleaning and requires many a sticking plaster or two on hand but to see the joy and pleasure when they encounter these experiences it all seems very worth it.