…when you’re in your 9th to 10th week of pregnancy!

These were taken at my father-in-law’s place at Molines en Queyras where the Le Tour de France went by last year. It is along the French Alps and is popular amongst skiers plus hikers during winter and hikers during summer when the weather is beautiful with plenty of sunshine and lots to see and take in, like wild deer and marmots!

The only problem with this is that it’s very dry - I had some nosebleeds - and cold but with the right clothing, you’ll do just fine. All I had on was a turtleneck, a polar pullover and a winter jacket (windbreaker + polar inside) and ski pants topped off with hiking shoes. The sunglasses are necessary because snow reflects A LOT of light and can be painful plus a beanie and gloves will do your head and fingers a world of good. But really, after 10 minutes of walking, you’ll start to feel hot, hot and hot!!!!

Trust me, it may look dangerous but it was actually very very safe and fun, even. I fell on my bum a few times but it was landing on a huge pillow of feathers! Have a look and gauge for yourself!

Right now, I’m off to take a look-see at some corsets!

I must admit that I didn’t know much about these
Moroccan lamps until I got this assignment and boy, are they awesomely beautiful! Apparently, these lamps are made from “sheep or goat skin that is stretched around different shapes of handmade Moroccan wrought iron frames” before being dyeing and drawn by henna artists with a needle. The motifs are often different and intricate andcan take hours to complete - this includes the drying process. Typical colours include red, yellow, orange or blue - a reminder of Arabian nights, if you will.

Now, if I had a really free rein and budget to toy around with the deco of this apartment, this would be it for me in terms of lighting!!!!

I went from unmarried to married (!), from jobless to employed part-time & small business owner (and getting some money blogging about things like air tools) (!!) and from wife to mother-to-be twice (!!!). The last still has me reeling from the excitement and well, amazement of it all. The biggest in terms of physical movement per se is the move from home, family and friends to a foreign country I knew nothing of except that it’s well-known for chocolate, foreign bank accounts and fondue. I’m still adjusting - does anyone stop? - but I can safely say that things are definitely better than the way it was months ago.

I got to visit a few countries in Europe - Austria, Italy, Liechtenstein - and hiked along the Dolomites as well as explore Switzerland even more. Things that many people dream of doing but can’t afford to. Actually, it was a very cheap, backpacker style holiday for us.

On the craft aspect of things, my knitting list of FOs (Finished Objects) has been dismal as I got distracted with things like weaving and spinning. In a way, being unemployed has allowed me to focus on my other loves in life - cooking, baking - and given me the opportunity to discover other crafts which I am now more than passionate about. But that still doesn’t stop Nil from getting me to make a resolution whereby I am not to start any more projects until I finish the current WIPs, which is quite alright by me. Then there is the matter of the stash as well - I have accumulated a very healthy stash for 2008, enough carry me well into 2009. So there, less expenses when it comes to this art involving yarn and needles.

Politically, I remember getting annoyed at the inability to cast my vote in the March general elections back at home (double standards), claim citizenship for my children (discrimination) and well, everything else that makes Malaysian politics and politicians idiotic, to say the least. On the global front, I celebrated with glee when Obama won - it is a sign that people and ultimately, a society & nation really can change! A number of people will recall the earthquakes, the wars, the conflicts, the starvation and so forth…yes, it has been a turbulent year.

Socially, I made a couple of new friends - seriously, no matter what people say, people have heaps in common even though they may come from different cultures and communities - and watched a couple old ones join me in the whole marriage journey. My heartiest congratulations to them and I hope that married life will bring them more blessings & happiness in the years to come! I also closed a few opened books and I wish them both lots of luck in their future endeavours and journey ahead.

I guess you could say that marriage and ultimately, impending motherhood can change one’s perspective even more…

2008…I wouldn’t change it for anything!

This is a rather incomplete picture - cucumbers and the kangkung belacan are missing - as Nil and I decided to taste test the first batch, mainly the rice and the sambal, just before dinner got underway.

I based my recipe loosely on Rasa Malaysia’s entry here simply because my mother-in-law didn’t have the right tamarind - she had sweet tamarind instead of the regular sour tamarind - and the shrimp paste was more Thai/Vietnamese than the regular Malaysian belacan. Note to those in Europe or places where they don’t stock Malaysian belacan or shrimp paste. The Thai/Vietnamese version can only be used in dishes whereby the spice paste is cooked so using it for the simple Nyonya sambal belacan is definitely a no-no! Why I say this is because the taste and smell of the shrimp paste in its raw form is absolutely yucky! Nearly like downing bleach!

I opted out on the eggs as my mother-in-law wanted something light for dinner and with the sweet tamarind squid plus garnishings, it was already quite heavy. Now screwpine or pandan leaves are a luxury item for me as the local Chinese store in Neuchâtel doesn’t stock them. I have read somewhere in Amy Beh cookbooks that vanilla flavouring can be used as a good substitute so maybe I’ll give it a go the next time I cook this dish up.

So what’s next? Well, a catch up on blogging, for one…and those assignments again - I got sd memory cards this time!

But first, I ought to tell you why I decided to suddenly make nasi lemak when I’m far away from Neuchatel and having to deal with an unfamiliar mother-in-law’s kitchen (I must admit that she’s awesome for allowing Nil and I to meddle around in her kitchen!). Even though my food poisoning bout knocked me off the craving mood for a day, it came back even stronger yesterday and it was then that I had enough…I simply have to make this dish or suffer the constant thought of nasi lemak floating away in my head day and night. Nil was only too happy to obliged and we spent two hours in the kitchen peeling away spices, preparing the rice, and so forth before finally settling down for a smallish bowl of nasi lemak with some sambal ikan bilis and sweet tamarind calamar.

It was heaven for me…truly (even made me forget about assignments like this - auto insurance quote). Now…for the real course - nasi lemak for DINNER!

ps: Recipe will come soon upon my return to Neuchatel and a non-French keyboard!

Spend about three to four hours driving from the Alps (and sunny skies) back to the city with its crappy gloomy winter weather, AND then proceed to spend the night staying up because you caught a bad case of food poisoning.

Seriously, I spent my New Year’s eve dinner downing some carrot and peanut porridge which Nil had to cook because I was too tired to leave the bed or toilet, and stirring Smecta into a glass of water while everyone else had scallop salad topped off with a healthy round of raclette (cheese, ham, potatoes, sausage and pickles).

I had planned to churn out some good old fashioned nasi lemak with some tumeric squid, rendang and kangkung belacan topped off with tiramisu for today but the food poisoning completely whipped me out on New Year’s Eve. Now I am wondering if I could do it before I leave my in-laws’ place…yes, despite the food poisoning, I am still hankering for some Malaysian yummies!

So yeah, what a way to usher in the new year…that and assignments like this one - term life insurance quote…

The lappie will be with me together with my loom and a couple of knitting projects plus my external harddisk. So hopefully I’ll see you again just before the New Year…

In the meantime, happy holidays, people!

BUT of lately, due to the overall warmth of the apartment (heating has gone up since it’s just a few days shy of winter), the gerbils have taken to stretching out on their bedding just to snooze with ease (sometimes they even sleep belly-up but sorry, no pics of that!)…here’s a look at what I mean.

I finally managed to finish weaving this scarf that I’ve had on for a while now and am glad to see it done, actually. Sometimes I think I have too many hobbies to be able to really concentrate on one but I also like to think that if given the time and effort, I can actually balance the spinning, knitting and weaving.

Since we’ll be going to Lyon for the annual Christmas get-together, Nil has suggested that I take my loom with me - just to keep me busy and all. I’m hoping to bring the loom, and some of my long overdue knitting projects (remember Ivy?) (well, just so you know, I have three pairs of socks plus Ivy and a baby wrap to finish…gah!). I don’t think I’ll start any new ones until I finish them all…or at least the ones that have been lying around for quite some time. Yes, I am going to put a stop to what knitters “affectionately” call startitis.

We’ll be spending the weekend preparing for the trip - this includes shopping for some comfortable maternity wear (I’m seriously running out of pants that don’t wrap tightly around the belly and decent sweaters) and of course, food for the gerbils. They’ll be on their own for two weeks so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that they won’t miss us too much.

In the meantime, here’s an alternative for those looking for Amazon books.