Monday, March 12, 2007

Road Trip!

DFS is off the freezer and on the frying pan again. What a relief. For a moment I thought there was no hope but then things do have a way of working out init?

Sadly enough, I have had to cast on for another project. A baby bonnet. I realized I prefer one project on the needles at one time. All my WIPs are consequences of not sticking to this simple rule. But this was a special case where time was of the essence.

But I haven’t really got much knitting done. What with the new semester starting and my brother visiting me =)
We’ve been exploring Malaysia. Next stop Genting.
Here are some pictures of the places we’ve (bro, Mira, a classmate and my ----) been to.

The Petronas Twin Towers



Lata Iskandar - a little waterfall with clear cool water, on the way to Cameron Highlands.



Vast expanses of tea plantations that smattered the hills on the way up



A rather steep climb by foot brought us here (pretty darn high up in the mountains I tell you). Veggies don't get any fresher than this!



Now this is a story I have to tell...

On the way up the mountain, by car, there was a middle aged man going home after work. He was carrying a little pink bag full of groceries. The typical homely farmer going home for dinner after a long day at work.

We all had a major itch to get up to the mountain to see the highest peak in peninsular Malaysia and he obliged us willingly and told us how to get up there. Mind you, we had to leave the car and walk.

So following his directions, we took the car up the hill and parked it when the road got too narrow. As we rounded the bends, we met him again and this time he was carrying a chicken (can you see it?). Dinner. Cruelty? Well if you think so, then you better stop eating chicken aiite? Where do you think your meat comes from eh?

It was rather heartening to see people who lived life much simpler than us complicated folks. No cellulars, no MP3s, no computers, PDAs and what not. It was really nice to chat with him to find out what life was like way up there. His little house was situated up high in the mountains and everday he walked up and down (a forty minute walk) to work and back. By the time we reached halfway, we were beat, huffing and puffing like the sky had fallen on our heads. We couldn't take it anymore.

You may see, how simple their life is and how advanced we are. But despite all that, he was nice enough to invite us to his part of the town so that we could get the freshest vegetables for free. How humbling is that? How many of us would extend such courtesy to complete strangers? I was truely touched by this simple man.

Moving on...


The view from the Hotel where we stayed the night.

Budget stuff but not so bad except for the fact that the TV channels kept changing whenever we got to the best part of a movie.

But anyways, I enjoyed the stay. Good fun, good food. FAR away from the heat of the city.


A little strawberry plant. Cameron Highlands' source of sweetness hee hee.

And of course the Cameronian tradition...

Tea and scones

For those of you who are visiting, I know I don't have to tell you this but do visit the Tcafe. A homely restaurant in Tanah Rata selling homemade hot piping scones with creamy butter, whipped cream and jam. Oh mama. I would go back just for that. BUT do note, it's closed on Sundays.

Anyhoo... the weekend is over. Time to get back to life.

Happy Knitting everyone!

Thursday, March 01, 2007

SP 9 revealed!

My SP9 spoiler has struck for the last time! It was the perfect package to put me in a wonderful euphoric mood for the rest of the day. My spoiler was Jamie from Jamie's Journey all the way from Canada.

The first thing that caught my eye when I opened the box was something pink, and completely fluorescent. A pink giraffe!! Bendy and everything! Lookie here...

His eyes are so wonky! Part of his charm hehehe.

Next I saw a glimmer of dark green and the heavenly smell of peppermint wafted up into my nostrils...that meant one and ONLY one thing.....AFTER EIGHTS! Not just one but TWO big packets. I almost flipped over in delight! Thanks Jamie...it was such a treat...(was - since its LONG gone).

Also she thoughtfully included two packets of the most amazing Cranberry Cider that I was raving about when she sent them to me before. I.LOVE.IT. seriously.

Does anyone in Malaysia know where I can get it here?


Next up, I dug through to discover a wonderful selection of lip balm, inspirational magnet, hand cream and bath salts.


Next up...knitting surprises. I almost started dancing when I saw this:


Two sets of Susan Bates circulars and a Count 10 Plus gauge thingee. OMG...I've already started using one of the circs...hence the missing one in the pic and the gauge thingee is SO USEFUL. I'm so freaking lucky! Thanks Jamie, I was squealing in glee when I figured out how to work it!

And now...the best for last...my jaw dropped and I was speechless for a couple of minutes when I saw this...

5 balls of a beautiful lavender color...100% mercerized cotton! Patons - Grace as you can see.

I'm stumped at what to knit with this that would required exactly 5 balls. Jamie recommended a tank top and I think she's right. I'll have to start pattern hunting. But if any of y'all have any brilliant ideas..PLEASE...let me know.

Jamie, I would like to thank you for such a wonderful package. I can see that you have put in a lot of effort into this well thought-off package. Thanks for being such a cool spoiler.

In other wonderful news. My brother is here on holiday. It's so nice to have him around after such a long time. Wish my parents were here too. I have a nice supply of home cooked food to last me awhile now. Yumm...
Speaking of yummm...mom sent me a roasted turkey. My bro, buddy, ---- and I had a rather belated Thanksgiving dinner. Boy were we full!

Anyways thats all for now. I am currently knitting the Diamond Fantasy Shawl in Knitpicks Shadow. It's currently in the freezer because of a big ass mistake. Got to figure out what to do.

Happy Knitting y'all!


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