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Goodness gracious me! It is already Spring. And although life has opened up considerably, this wretched coronavirus hasn't gone away so I am still effectively hemmed in until such time that I'm confident leading a life of normality won't bring home any nasties to my elderly mother. We are taking a few more calculated risks than before (like resuming music lessons and a weekly playdate) while trying to keep a social distance (hard with little ones!) and of course, we always have our masks on. My husband is still in Singapore working far less hours though we are very fortunate that he is still working. So we remain forever grateful for the things we do have and try not to take anything for granted.
I had planned to do so much while isolating and although I've accomplished a few things, I feel I could be doing much more. My days however, seem to consist mostly of cooking, cleaning and then cooking again! By the time little Miss Four is in bed at 7pm, I'm usually quite exhausted. I really am in awe of women who can do it all - I certainly am not one of them!
My little Miss Four has started taking individual violin lessons with a lovely teacher in Sydney who specialises in the Suzuki method. Bubby is really enjoying it and loves attending her weekly classes. I'm over the moon as I believe a love of beautiful music truly feeds the soul and gives one an outlet - whether that be in creating or appreciating. I also love the Suzuki method as not only does it give a methodical structure in which to learn, it involves the parents too - both during class time and at home practicing. I cherish the focused time we spend together and seeing my daughter improve each day. Another topic I look forward to exploring more here on my blog in the future.
I'm continuing my online sewing classes through Sew n Sew and will soon graduate to the intermediate course. Woohoo! My frock patterns stare at me daily reminding me that it's time to start making dresses but I do need a little more hand holding. Thank goodness for Christeen! She's been a godsend. If you're interested in learning as well, Christeen has opened her course to those residing in the UK, New Zealand and most importantly for the majority of my readers, SINGAPORE! I honestly could not recommend a more fantastic course. You can read about my baby steps here.
My bubby continues to study Mandarin (Chinese) under the tutelage of Hanziland based in Singapore. She used to attend their playgroup for wee ones (my review can be found here) and now whilst in Sydney, is continuing individual and small group classes via Zoom. It's been great. Class is once weekly and she's been making real progress. I'm supplementing her classes with a wonderful DVD series, Learn Chinese with Mei Mei. I love the DVDs and more importantly, so does Bubby! I bought the first four DVDs but they've been so successful, I am planning to buy the entire series.
Something else I am working on at the moment is moving this blog from Wordpress to Sparkleapp - a programme that was designed to replace the long defunct iWeb. I will be blogging more in the future about it but making the move means I will be quiet for a little while as I re-design, add additional functionality and then migrate this site over. The designing is lots of fun and super easy because of Sparkleapp and I am able to do it myself without any external help. I am also waiting for Sparkleapp V3 which I believe (or hoping at the very least) will have a blogging component which will make the move even more exciting. I honestly can't wait to rid myself of the Wordpress behemoth!
In Singapore we attend church twice a month (our priests fly in from Sydney and sometimes elsewhere). In Sydney, we could be attending our church but I still think it is too much of a risk just as yet. Bubby misses her Abounas (priests) so I feel terrible. The only way we can negate this is by ensuring we watch the livestreams of the Holy Liturgy each Sunday and if Sunday school is available, we watch that together too. We were having some Zoom meetings with our congregation and priests but the time difference between Singapore and Sydney meant that bubby was in bed. We can't wait for the time we can start attending again but in the meantime, I'm truly grateful that modern technology has enabled us to still feel involved and not totally cut off. We are also using this time to concentrate on personal, private prayer and reflection.
One thing I love about being in Sydney is watching my favourite television show, Escape to the Country. I often imagine myself living in the English countryside (yes, it's a fantasy of mine) and my mother and I love to sit down and argue about all the different houses. She prefers a newer build in a traditional style while I simply love the genuine older homes with beams - lots of beams! Give me a real character home with thatched roof, beams, a big country kitchen, a snug and a conservatory and we are talking! And that folks, (perhaps a little sadly) is my Saturday night!
Okay, that's enough of an update from me. Hopefully my next post will be from my Sparkly new website and blog! Watch this space!
Do take care and feel free to drop me a line wherever you may be. I love getting comments and I promise to answer them!
If you have any questions about Suzuki Violin lessons or would like to leave a comment, I’d love to hear from you in my comments section below.
Until next time,
Love, Mei-Ling x
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