My Old Singer Resurrection Project (Part III)

Oh, bummer!  

I had been lagging in my posts lately, so many things happening around here that almost made my head spin! (but not like Linda Blair in Exorcist III, I assure you).

I edited and republished two of my posts from this blog, entitled 'Our Dear Pets' & 'Buffalo Shower at Mekarsari (Hold the Soap!)' in a Wikinut website. I had to admit that it was quite a new experience - I met  lots of professional writers from all over the world whom I received wonderful insights, useful guides on how to write great articles, and many more. 

one of my published work @ wikinut

And there was also this end of semester exams for my older children, DOUBLE BUMMER ...

Fortunately for me, the kids had all went to sleep, so I got a few hours of my needed peace n' quiet, just perfect for winding down and write. With my ever present mug of hot cappucinno, soft music playing in the background, I let my fingers to dance on the keyboard. What bliss.

The Big Day

At last, Mr. Fixit arrived with my Singer cradled on his motorbike.  Oh, goody, goody!  I couldn't be more happier.  I quickly let him in to reinstall the machine onto its cabinet.  And while working, he showed me the parts which he had replaced at his shop before.  Here they are:

The pineapple gear (don't know which part resembled a pineapple!)

the old 'pineapple' gear

The motor drive belt

old motor drive belt - crumbled at a touch

sturdy new belt

The 20 years old black gear belt (which could have easily snapped on my first attempt to reuse it).

pic of the new gear belt

And finally, just finally, the machine is back to where it belong, back in the house, all 'rejuvenated' and ready to rock n roll!

SWEET!!

Dropped me 'da bomb'! Uh oh.

'Would you like to give it a try, Ma'am?", the guy asked .. [and received a completely blank stare that certainly made me looked so stupid] ...  But then, he must have remembered that I sit at the very bottom of the 'sewing chain', so he quickly whisked a spool of maroon colored thread from his bag pocket and deftly showed me how to do it.  (Pheww, that was awkward!)

he forgot to take this off - finders keepers! lol!

After showing me not once, but twice on how to feed the thread, he proceeded and sew a straight line on a piece of blue cotton scrap cloth. Hearing the 'thudda thudda thudda' sound made my heart to go pitter patter.  I felt so happy it worked again so I continued to pay more attention and absorbed as much information from him. He showed me how to refill the small thread spool, set the different pattern width, replace the needle, and so on. All the while, I had a picture of me fixing my children's clothes, making useful things for the house (i.e. cover for my hubby's electronic piano/keyboard, runner for the dining table, sofa pillow cases, and many more!)  Ooh, so exciting!

Mr.Fixit stayed only for 25 minutes as he had another machine to deliver.  After paying his well deserved fee and a tip, I saw him off and quickly went inside again .. to celebrate the homecoming of an old friend :)

My Old Singer Resurrection Project (Part II)

Mr. Fixit

The Singer 'handyman' arrived the next day as expected.  Unfortunately, I was busy finishing up my cooking in the kitchen at the time, making a mean chicken stew and rice for lunch (I called it mean since my kids always help themselves for seconds whenever I serve this dish).  I sure hope the fragrant smell did not bother him too much as it was nearing lunchtime. (If you wanted to give the recipe a try, just scroll down near the end).  Not intending to be impolite, I turned down the heat for slow cooking and invited him in to have a look see.

At first, I kind of anticipated a look of utter disbelief on his face when he saw it, but the guy just kept a straight face and said, 'Not too bad, Ma'am. But would you consider upgrading with a brand new sewing machine?'. Oh dear, that was a classic.
I just smiled and told him about my 'mission', which is to give the old faithful a new lease in life. I also told him about my blog and how he was going to play a part in it (and then asked permission to take his picture, he he).  He was a trifle surprised when I told him that I couldn't sew - Oho ... what big mouth I have. Whatever happened to 'never expose any of your weak points', eh? :P.  I just stopped yapping right then and let him tinker with the machine - see what sort of repairs needed to be done.

The Stew, The Service Guy and The Little Vinca Girl

The Little Vinca Girl

Vinca flowers

Meanwhile, Nafisa (my youngest), was out alone in the garden picking her favorite vinca flowers.  I found myself going back and forth between the kitchen, the living room and the garden.  Lucky for me the stew was finally done, so I could concentrate on the repair and my little girl. If you were wondering how does a vinca plant look like, to the right is a picture I googled from www.parkswholesaleplants.com.  "It is easy to grow, and requires little or no attention. A grower once reported that he has grown Vinca in the same location for 30 years. It successfully reseeded itself each year, with no effort on his part.  This plant is known by three names: Vinca, Periwinkle (or Madagascar Periwinkle), and Myrtle. Botanists will tell you that there is also a separate strain or variety of Periwinkle. Vinca plants are native to North America, Europe, China and India.  The plants are grown for its attractive glossy, green foliage, as well as its flowers. Flowers bloom all summer, and up to frost. Common colors include white, rose, pink, and red." - Source: www.gardenersnet.com/flower/vincaperiwinkle.htm  

Enough botanical ramblings, back to the repair.

Here are the stuff in the list needed replacing:
* Motor drive belt
* Gear belt
* Pineapple Gear or 'something'
* House Service

After some calculating, Mr. Rais told me that he estimated the cost of repair to be around Rp. 260,000.- or around USD29.25! Wow, not too bad, eh?
While I waited for him to remove the machine for repair, I came across this website: http://www.singerco.com/
Very useful site!  It even has some free designs and project for its users. Here is one of them:

Click here for the full instructions.  Dare I even dream of trying to make such a beautiful creation?  He he ... dream on ...
When I finally snapped out of it, the machine was off the cabinet at last and out she went with Mr. Fixit.  It would be 2-3 days before  I could see her again.

Oh, and I really, really  looked forward to that day. :)


BONUS:

-- > Chicken Stew Recipe < --

Cut 1 whole chicken into 12 parts

Marinate with a mixture of:

- 1 tsp tamarind paste

- 1tsp salt

- 2 tbsp water

Put aside

Grind together:

8 pcs. of shallot/red onion

4 pcs of garlic

3 red chillies (large size)

3 pcs of candle nut/kemiri 

Medium heat 2 tbsp of vegetable oil

Fry the fine mixture of onion etc above until fragrant

Put in the chicken parts, cook for about 3 minutes

Add the following ingredients:

- 4 tbsp of sweet soy sauce

- 1 tsp of sugar 

-1 tsp salt 

- 1 tsp pepper

- 3 dried cloves and 

- 1 cinnamon stick

And after the meat is evenly coated, add:

- 250 ml of water and

- an additional 6 tbsp of sweet soy sauce

Let it boil until the chicken is about done

When the sauce is thickened, add some lemon juice and 

voila!

Bon Appetite :)

Buffalo Shower at Mekarsari (Hold The Soap!)

TRAVEL: OUR MEKARSARI SCHOOL TRIP JOURNAL

'Departure'

It's been a long time since our last trip to Mekarsari, if I remembered it right, we had it on July 3, 2008. The girls were brimming with excitement.  They wore new pink t-shirts and girly jeans that I bought only the day before. Yes, it was actually a school field trip for Dinda (3rd grade) and Zadia's (1st grade), so, we had to ride the tour bus together with, say, about half the school's population?  

And you really, really don't want to know how super noisy it was! Uggh.  

'Hey, our bus was the only one with a toilet! Woohoo!'

But the noise didn't even compare to what I had to endure during the trip.

You see, there were 4 big-sized tour buses for our transportation, and guess what?  Our bus was the only one with a toilet! Whoa! That sure brought our travelling experience to another level, right?

Well, not quite.

Although the extra comfort facility was deemed as a luxury, I for one, thought otherwise.

Let me zip you back to the event of our arrival  at the school yard. You see, we arrived late for the morning assembly.  And because of it, we were the last to board the bus.  Hence, all the front and middle seats were taken and the backseat was the only option for me to sit on.  

And, ummm, did I tell you that the backseat was located right next to the bus' toilet? Horrifying!

I will let you do the math:

32 kids/bus (2 kids peed twice and once for the rest) + limited water in the bus' water reserve = stinky pee smell + utter desperation and difficulty in breathing (on my part)

Lucky for my girls though.  All students were instructed to sit in the front while all parents and teachers had to sit behind them. My one and only consolation was that the person sitting next to me (who had to endure the same torture) - was the school's head principle, Mr. Azwir.  Well, it took 2-hour journey from the assembly point to Mekarsari and upon arrival, we were the only passengers left wearing sickly 'green' faces.

Mekarsari

Before I forgot, let me give you a little bit of background on the place, which I took from their official website (www.mekarsari.com):

"Mekarsari Amazing Tourism Park (MATP) is a place where one can find the wealth of Indonesia’s fruit species gathered together in a single location. It is also intended to develop and breeding of superior varieties of fruit. Mekarsari is one of the biggest tropical fruit garden in the world.

The garden is intended to create a model market garden which will nurture germplasm collection representing fruit trees, vegetables, and flowering plants. The aim here is to safeguard the genetic diversity of these plants. The 264-hectare garden is conceived as a tourist attraction who will enjoy the recreational facilities which include Canal Tour, Kid’s Fun Valley, Country Side, Melon Park, Snake fruit Garden, Deer Park, and other facilities."

I am sure you get the picture of what the hullabaloo was all about - Ecotourism.

Fish Hunt

During the session, we get to ride a mini train to tour the facilities, went to Mekarsari's own harvest market, had some KFC lunch box, engaged in the 'fish hunting' in the mud ... MUD!!

[The picture of newly bought pink tshirts and girly jeans just flashed before my eyes].

Not good.

As it turned out, the fish hunt was loud and fun.  All participants must catch the newly released fish in the muddy water. To be honest, I could barely recognize the girls.  They were all brown and icky and some other students even had mud from head to toe.  

Zadia - fish hunt

Dinda succeeded in catching one fish though, so at least there was some element of victory after all.  She was so proud of herself.

Dinda - After

Zadia - After

Buffalo Bath

After the muddy session, the kids were led to a corner where they could communally gave one lucky bufallo his bath.  Imagine. 32 kids scrubbing down a fully grown buffalo.  Some rode on his back, the others tugged at his slightly curved long horns. Heck, I would be lying if I say I was not concerned about the whole buffalo idea. But the buffalo just took it oh so calmly.

A spa experience perhaps? Maybe.

Drugged? Maybe.

Was I a bit paranoid? Yes. LOL.

Buffalo Bath

Finally, after all the hollering and giggling and squealing, the kids had their fill and retreated to the restrooms for a shower and clothes change.  They spent more time playing the bungee trampoline, pushed a giant transparent ball around, having more fun together.

Strike a pose - giant transparent ball

Return Home

And as the day was ending, we all boarded the bus (this time I got lucky to get a middle seat, THANK YOU GOD!) to return home.  

All tired, but happy.

Weekend Easy Recipes

Weekend.  Ah, how I love the sound of it, as weekend for me means ... 

~ family ~

And what could be the perfect time to create something delightful in the kitchen with the kids if not the weekend?

In this post, I would like to share (if this was Twitter, 'retweet') some recipes from one of my favorite blogs called 'Somewhat Simple' (written by a super creative mom - Stephanie) - on her wonderful meringue cookie recipe that is soooo easy to make.  

It was supposed to be a topping for a 'Sweetheart Cupcake', but  I've decided to highlight her meringue recipe for now - besides, who can resist their pretty pink color?! :)

Quote

{Meringue Cookies}

Ingredients:

3 Egg Whites

1/4 teaspoon Cream of Tartar

3/4 cup Baker's Sugar

Food Coloring & Flavoring are optional

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.

2.  In a large bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer on medium speed until foamy.

3.  Add Cream of Tartar, beat on high and gradually add sugar, mixing until stiff peaks form, about 7 minutes.

4.  Place your meringue mixture into a large pastry bag fitted with your favorite decorating tip, I used a large French tip.

5. On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a non stick baking mat, pipe large meringue swirls about 1.5 inches in diameter and 2 inches apart.

6.  Bake meringues for 3 hours or until meringues are completely dry and crunchy on the outside.

UnQuote

Delightful! Hit all the right spot, I'd say.
Other knock 'em dead recipes on that same page: 

and the mouthwatering 

this is how it looks after spending some time in the oven
mmmmmm .. I swear I could smell them now :)

super yummy!

I can't wait to shop for some ingredients and try them out.

If you're interested to try these recipes,
why not visit Stephanie at 'Somewhat Simple' and give them a try? ;)

Simple Craft Project for the Kids

It's the rainy season ... when the rain just go on like forever and the day gloomy and desolate, the kids would be housebound with nothing exciting to do.

For a starter, give these a try ...

~ Decorative Pencil Holder ~

We could make simple things such as a pretty pencil holder, using a used tin can (carefully check there is no sharp edges on the can), glue stick, safety scissor and printed wallpaper (try using these fabulous FREE downloadable collection of printed wallpapers from http://www.lovemae.com.au/yesplease.htm (thank you Bimbi for giving me this link!):

Choice of 10 free wallpapers

Sample Wallpaper

You could ask your kid to participate by cutting the wallpaper about an inch taller than the can. Let him/her glue the inside of the wallpaper then wrap it around the can, so the ends overlap a bit.  Cut off any excess wallpaper and let dry.

Voila!  :)

~ Printable Characters ~

Visit Disney's Family Fun to print this charming printable Elf character.  Cut and paste and there you go.

There are other exciting characters to try as well, such as the Ultimate Dad, Santa, Witch, Dracula, Werewolf, Swamp Monster and a truckload of other fun-tastic projects for the whole family.

So let's get busy, shall we?   :)

Our Dear Pets (Part I)

According to Wikipedia, a pet is 'an animal kept for companionship and enjoyment or a household animal, as opposed to wild animals or to livestock, laboratory animals, working animals or sport animals, which are kept for economic or productive reasons.'  

Our kids' definition about their pets? Simple. Pets are their bestfriends 

Well, I have to admit that some of these 'bestfriends' did stand out - although all of them are special, no doubt about it.  And today, I think I would like to share with you their stories ... more as a tribute to these special friends of ours that had given such wonderful memories to our family.

~ Putih's Story ~

About 8 or so years ago, we had a bunny rabbit whom the kids named si 'Putih' ('putih' means the color white in Indonesian).  Although white did not truly describe his true colorings (more siamese-like to me), they named him 'Putih' anyway.  But as time passed by and Putih grew to be a handsome adult rabbit, I thought his real title should be .... 'The Rabbit from Hell'!  (horror music playing in the background).

Now, you might be wondering, how did this handsome looking rabbit could ever achieved such a reputation?  Well, to quickly introduce you to Putih, this was how he looked like (unfortunately, you couldn't see his red eyes from this view point) and this was his story:

Here goes.  During our stay at the large Kertamukti house (my hubby's family house), the kids were just toddlers and Zadia a wee baby at the time. We placed our mattresses futton-like, meaning, we just flopped them on the floor, so the children wouldn't get hurt if they ever fell off the side.  There were like 15 or so people living in the same house, but the house still felt 'empty'. Or, was it only me that felt that way? ;)


And so, to keep us 'company', we kept some pets: two pairs of white fan-tailed doves, a couple of rabbits, a few hamsters and a stray cat. Except for the mini hamsters which we kept in a special cage, we let the others go free ... and Putih was the only rabbit that felt at ease to roam the house premises as he liked - he was such a free spirit, that rabbit.  


To cut the story short, every morning this rascal almost always visited our bedroom .. and JUMP on our faces .. to demand his breakfast!!  And it was no ordinary rabbity breakfast that he wanted - only the premium 'Sari Roti' sweet bread, that due to his addiction, we had to buy the day before.  I forgot who started feeding him this food, but it quickly became a habit.  


And boy, whenever we forgot - he turned from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde, and thus officially became, 'The Rabbit from Hell'!  Believe it or not, he would have a tantrum, jumped on our mattresses and ripped the bedsheets to shreds with such frenzy.  I think we lost 4 or 5 bedsheets that way.  Rabbits do have sharp claws, that's why we have to trim them regularly.  Oh, and once (and only once), he made a mistake of jumping on my sleeping hubby's face, and that sent him sailing across the room!  Luckily, he didn't get hurt. Well, maybe only his bunny dignity ...


Sigh, despite all his tantrums and antics, we loved Putih sooo much. He was like a family to us!  He never failed to greet us whenever we see him ~ almost like a pet dog in a way.


But one day, Putih went missing ... the kids kept asking us his whereabouts and we absolutely had no idea.  I had searched for him everywhere, asking our neighbors if they saw him, etc.  We were so at a loss ... 


It was only about two months later my brother-in-law broke the shocking truth to my hubby, disclosing that  a wild civet or what we locally called 'musang', had got him one night.  He and my husband's buddy had buried his remains under a rambutan tree in the backyard, unknowningly to us. Both then agreed not to tell what had really happened until we were ready.


I wished they never tell ...  :(

(end of Part I)

A Soap To Die For .... :-P

My best friend dropped by my house one day and gave me a small soap gift, it was from L'Occitane du Provence, Verbena Extra-Gentle Soap with Shea Butter.
Oh, hey, what a coincidence, I thought ~ I'm in the mood to try new stuff :-) ..
and what a shower experience it was! I'm officially HOOKED!