A fine weekend indeed

It is Monday night and I am reflecting on a really nice weekend. Without Marlene here I wonder what to do on the weekends. I am not inspired to do too much exploring and I wonder just how much I can handle the two wiper snippers all on my own. That is why it is so nice to have friends. I got a call from Richard on Saturday morning saying he and Sharon wanted to take me and the kids to a breakfast joint and my heart lifted. We set off and ate a delicious Malay/Chinese breakfast with nasi lemak and another dish and the kids inhaled their Milo ice.

Not quite Apocalypse Now, but maybe some day...

Fun at the furniture store

Then we went to a used furniture store and did some serious damage to my pocketbook. I bought a patio set, which is something we really need to take advantage of our outside space. I thought of it this morning as I was writing inside at our kitchen table… it is only being delivered on Wednesday. I also purchased a second hand projector for a fraction of its new cost. This is a fun gadget! I am projecting movies onto our white walls and the image has to be about 5 feet by 9 feet… Wow – so much fun – though I am not sure Marlene will see it in the same light as the kids and I do! Well… when the cat is away…! I also bought two used clay pots for cooking, which will be fun to experiment with. I love the Chinese clay pot cooking we have at restaurants, and the science makes a lot of sense. Dunk the clay pots in water for an hour and as they cook in the oven they let off moisture, preventing whatever meat is cooking in there to dry out. On the way home we hit a tiny Thai place in a convenience store in Section 17 – hawker style with killer food! Oh yeah. We finished off the day with Richard and Finley over for a screening of Kung Fu Panda. 

Meow

Boys n girls

Sunday was more fun. We had the junior hash out by Batang Kali. Sulin and Aimee joined us and it was such a pleasure to have them along! I was just happy enough to have an adult conversation, but it is so nice to see how well Aurelia and Aimee get along. The walk, which took place in an overgrown plantation was spectacular, as a good bit of it went in a river. The kids loved it – and who wouldn’t? It was Liv’s and Alex’s birthday hash so we had cake afterwards followed by a good swim in the river. I was watching Aurelia, Rowan, Finley and Aimee play and it was interesting to note how quickly they came around to building a house for them to stay in out of sticks and rocks – social animals indeed! On the way home we stopped at Lucky Light, where Sharon had preordered dinner for us. Wow – was it ever good. I especially liked the aubergine, the lala clams, and the salted fish and pork belly clay pot, but the chicken, fish curry, and garlic green beans were quite nice as well. And so my belly grows ever larger.

Loving the trail

Kids are already asleep (8pm), which is good because they have a big school field trip tomorrow – heading to a theatre, which should be very interesting for Aurelia who loves to hear and tell stories and who, ahem, loves directing as well! I think it will be right up her alley. Tonight Marlene is out of touch as she is sleeping at a field site. Tomorrow she makes her way back to Yaoundé and flies in the evening. It will take her about 24-30 hours to get back here – arriving only on Thursday. Can’t wait!  

Life is good