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Friday, July 23, 2021

Knitting Projects

 


Now that we have gone back to Phase 2, I have more time for my knitting projects. The white sweater is 100% Peruvian highland wool. A sweater like this retails for between SGD$350 to SGD$600. Knitting it myself, I spent only $120. I bought the yarn from a site called Lovecrafts.

The brown sweater is made of 100% cashmere wool. A 100% cashmere wool sweater retails for upwards of SGD$1500. When we travelled to Bologna, a handknitted cashmere wool long shawl cost 800 euros. Knitting the sweater myself, I spent only SGD$98. I bought the yarn from Colourmart. Colourmart collects leftover yarns from textile factories, and sells them at tiny prices. The problem is that they don't restock the same colour of yarn if it runs out. That is ok, though. I simply buy a larger quantity than I think I need.

I am thrilled that I manage to complete the cashmere wool sweater before The Son goes off to Cambridge. Both sweaters are warm and soft. The Peruvian highland wool yarn was an extremely enjoyable knit. It felt so good to touch and feel the yarn through my fingers. Soft, strong and fluffy yarn, it was. 

I am a yarn addict. It is hard to say "No," to luxury yarns. So, despite worrying that I won't have time to knit even more projects, I managed to still collect yarn inside my cupboard.

This is 100% silk yarn that I bought for SGD$112. 
This is enough to make a mid thigh length pullover for me.

This is bamboo yarn that I bought for SGD$24 a bag.
I bought 2 bags to make a long summer dress.
Bamboo yarn wicks perspiration and draws heat away
from the body. Maybe, I can wear this to The Daughter's wedding.






Sunday, July 11, 2021

Little Things and Love


On a daily basis, I have one gesture of love for my husband. I sun his bath towel and wash his masks. Both these activities engage my 2 autistic sensitivities:
- touch
- smell

I don't as much enjoy washing these little things. What I most love is when the masks and towels are dry. I touch them. I run my fingers over them. I smell them, breathing in the fragrance of sunshine. We throw our undies into the wash but masks are different than undies. I can smell my masks. Every 2 hrs, I must change out my reusable mask because I cannot tolerate the smell of stale breath in my own mask. 

I like the smell of freshly washed and sunned masks and towels. It makes me happy, calms me and because I derive so much joy from touching and smelling freshly laundered masks and towels, it has become almost a ritual in my head when I wash The Husband's masks, and sun his bath towel. I imagine that he too can experience the same joy when he uses the items.

He does not you know. He does not have the same sensitivities that I do. The Husband's nose does not quite work. Even when his towel is dirty, he cannot smell a thing. However, he tries very hard to enjoy the smell and the feel of these little things, because he loves me, and wants to appreciate what I do for him.





 

Mangosteen Pericarp

 


I had previously thought it an old wives' tale to have to eat durians and mangosteens together. Practical experience has taught me otherwise. Having greedily stuffed myself with 5 seeds of durians, I woke up the day after with a splitting headache, and hives. Desperate for a solution when herbal teas did not really help, I ate a whole bag of mangosteens.

The headache went away.

I googled mangosteens and discovered that mangosteen pericarp is a thing. People desiccate the pericarp, smash it into powder, and eat it as medicine.

Durian seems to do something that dilates my blood vessels. I get low blood pressure. The dilated blood vessels and arteries press into my brain and it hurts, oh boy it hurts. It is the same thing when the weather turns too hot. To cool down, my blood vessels and arteries dilate. Then, the headaches come.

Now that I know it is a thing. I am stocking up on mangosteen pericarp. I dehydrate it and store it in the freezer. Then, I pound it into smithereens and make a tea. Most people will find the tea bitter and bad tasting. I actually quite like the bitter and dry taste profile. What serendipity to find a natural remedy for hot weather migraine!


Masik All Natural Toothpaste

 


A friend passed me one tube of this toothpaste to try. After the first brush, I was sold. This magic toothpaste cleans very well and disinfects properly. It contains Dead Sea salt grains, lemongrass oil, peppermint oil, orange oil and lavender oil. There is no fluoride. My friend used to get mouth ulcers. She does not get them anymore. 

LG Styler

I came across a machine like this in the SIA Business Class Lounge many years ago. Travellers could pop in their coats and these would come out deodorised and pressed. The technology had not made it into the home appliances space yet. Lately, I noticed that M has been spending so much time pressing clothes. She presses everything, even stuff that we tell her we don't need pressed. I wasn't sure whether to make this purchase so I asked The Husband.

Before I had even turned around, he had bought it.

Reviews online were mixed. American suburban housewives raved about it. Some professional reviewers wrote highly critical reviews. So, when the machine arrived, I was not overly optimistic. 

I love it.

I put in a wrinkled man's long sleeved shirt. What came out was warm and pressed. Of course, this machine does not actually press the clothes. Instead, it steams and shakes the wrinkles away.




In Love With Shopee

Necessity is the mother of invention. Much as I disliked going to Chong Pang Market, I found it useful to go to a wet and humid, non-airconditioned place to shop for fresh fruits and vegetables. With the Delta variant of Covid19, wet and humid environments no longer offer any protection. I also did not want to go into the malls.

So, I found fruits and vegetables on Shopee. At first, I was hesitant and skeptical. Would the fruits arrive in bad shape? It turned out much better than I thought it would. The fruits were actually better than what I have been buying in Chong Pang Market. I was thrilled! It is hard to choose mangosteens without some degree of spoilage. In the whole bag of mangosteens, none were spoiled. I could not find longans at Chong Pang Market. The Shopee longans came fat, juicy and with thick flesh. Greatly encouraged by my fruit success, I also ordered my week's supply of vegetables from Shopee. Again, the results far exceeded expectations. Perfect vegetables.

Shopee has really grown on me. I used to shop sporadically on Lazada, believing Shopee to be where unprofessional sellers hang out to entrap unsuspecting customers. Instead, Shopee has matured into a fabulous online shopper's paradise. So far, I find that if I pay attention to Shopee online reviews, my buying experience is very good. I have yet to give anything less than 5 stars to any of the sellers I buy from.

Shopee is way better than Chong Pang Market. The range of wares is far wider. If I can spell it, I can find it. The prices are often better than Chong Pang Market's itinerant hawkers. I have bought everything from kitchen gadgets to nutritional supplements to teletubby suits to an LG Styler (it automatically irons clothes).