opus 13; life of a retiree

because i did not get the peking university summer programme, and i gave up on the semester@sea summer programme, and my yog volunteering stint was not realised....

i had one of the most amazing summer vacations ever, without even leaving singapore (much)!

just a brief update on what has been happening in my life, just for the sake of writing it and feeling good about myself:

1. USP-Piper Intro to Creative Writing Course

my first time going for something that is supposed to empower me and make me feel more confident...? it was really useful, and i enjoyed the environment and learnt a lot, although i felt that if i had put in a greater amount of effort, i'd have gained more. anyway, it clashed with my yog training (exactly same time same day) and because the yog training dates were only announced really late in may, i had already committed myself to this class.

anyway, some pics from the public reading session, which includes me reading a poem about a caterpillar.





2. Excursion with Grandma and Friends

joined my grandmother and her friends for an excursion organised by her temple.




3. Malacca Trip

my granduncle drove my grandaunt, two of my aunts and me across the border to Malacca for a wonderful (extended) weekend of shopping, eating, (minimum) sightseeing.











4. Caterpillars and Bottled Gardens
started making terrariums in bottles as a hobby probably a year ago, but the vacation has given me so much time to beautify my home with plants!

after making a friend a bottled garden with an angel for her birthday, i realised how pretty these little figurines look in glass bottles. a little trapped maybe but cute nonetheless.







most of my bottles were from IKEA, and so are the following containers/pots. it's really affordable!

the following's a cactus garden i made for my mum for her birthday in january. one of the plants died so i shifted this cactus into the middle of the - yes! it's a pitcher! it cost me under $3 from IKEA and it's really user-friendly because you can transport your plant anywhere you want!




the little blackboard was inspired by what was done at BooksActually for their potted plants. i got those at DAISO, 3 mini blackboards for $2.

i like how plants really inspire me... they're always full of life and energy, that kind of force that bursts forward. plants are so optimistic! and they also can beautify your bathroom.



slightly related to my planting spree is my recent love for cute caterpillars. i saw a butterfly lay an egg about a month ago, and i watched and waited for the caterpillar to appear, and then i took the caterpillar and fed it leaves in a container, and then it started to grow really quickly, and then form a cocoon, and finally fly away as a butterfly. then i saw it come back to my garden in the afternoon on the day i released it, and lay more eggs!

so i've taken those eggs and placed them in containers, but they haven't hatched!



BUT i found out that my neighbour's lime plant had at least TWO caterpillars! so now i'm the foster mum of two cute, spikey black caterpillars that will soon grow into beautiful yellow butterflies!






ignore the badly done manicure.

other than that, i can't count how many fun outings i've had with friends this holidays - one of the best! i'm going to miss summer vacation once i graduate and (hopefully) start working :)