My Bumble Bee

I wanted to try crocheting a bumble bee after the 10 legged octopus. I started a little, then went on the Bali holiday. While on holiday, I almost finished another scrunchie. It was finally done when I met the aunties form lunch last Sunday. 

While I love to crochet the scrunchie, I don’t use them. So when Auntie H asked for it, I was more than happy to gift her. 

After the scrunchie, I continued with the bumble bee and recognised how important to count the stitches. I think I did better with the counting this time. 

It looked like I am crocheting some beanie for some doll or pet. It wasn’t difficult to follow the YouTube, just a lot of pausing and then rewatching when needed. The stitches are manageable too. At some point, I lost count again bcos the video didn’t tell me how many stitches to count. 

After several nights, I finally got my bumble bee. 

So cute! I duno why the wings are so humongous, such that it looks like bunny than bee. The eyes and mouth were supposed to be stitched on. I tried. The 1st attempt made it looked like some psychotic murder bee with a crooked smile. The 2nd attempt led to a lopsided bee. Lol.

The bee needed to be stuffed with cotton wool to make it fluffy. I did, but other than cotton wool, I also stuffed the 10 legged octopus into the bee. Hohoho. Like I say, I only like and want to crochet. No sentimental values. 

I have not decided on what to crochet next. Maybe I should brushed up on my sewing skills 1st. Haha.

Mummy Lim

Project Rio Chapter 4: Carpentry Work is Up!

In the week that we were away, the IDs had updated that the carpentry work is up. The carpentry work, from kitchen cabinets to shoe cabinet, the kids’ platform bed and wardrobes, made up a significant portion of the renovation project. The carpentry work needs to be fabricated and little work goes on in Rio during that. 

Over last 2 weekends before our trip, we saw the newly laid vinyl and freshly painted walls. Other than these, there was barely much work progress.  

We went to Rio last Sunday to check the progress but a trip to IKEA before that to buy the kids’ study tables and book shelves. We had been playing a game of jigsaw puzzle since day 1, attempting to fit things so as to make the house/ rooms more spacious. We found a study table from IKEA that seems to fit into a little corner in the kids’ room. I suspect that IKEA will be a regular hang out place for us for the many weekends to come. 

Daddy Lim managed to sign up the IKEA membership; I tried many rounds but kept getting stuck and am very happy to get free coffee that comes as a benefit for IKEA members. Free is good. 

The carpentry work.

We had intended to assemble the study table but realised that it may hamper on-going work. 

I had thought that with the carpentry work up, Rio would look 80% ready but apparently not. Piles of unused tiles, unused paint, debris are still lying in different parts of the house. We can’t do much cleaning or start moving things into the house. There are also things that we wanted to order and send directly to Rio but worried about missing the intercom, which is activated via our mobile, to grant access to delivery. There is no security to allow access. Plus I don’t think it is very nice to leave packages at the doorway; our next door neighbour’s door is adjacent to ours. In summary, things are moving slower and less in control than I desire and I don’t like it. 

On the positive side, things are moving. We have the Gain City buys delivery on 14 Jul. I have also arranged for the metal gate and rubbish chute mesh installation to be done on the same day. The former is to guard Mochi from escaping and the latter for 小强. The following week will be the invisible grille installation at the balcony and service yard. I will be working from Rio on those days. While I have trained myself to work from anywhere, I do need a table, chair and a fan to survive the entire day. 

As for our current unit, the chances of terminating the lease early seems small. There hasn’t been any activity from the agent on viewing. Oh well. There are quite some furniture that we are not moving and I have finally started to post on Carousel for a small $$ or for free. The free stuff moves really quickly. Lol. So far, I have given away the standing mirror, one of the study tables and some wooden hangers. I told Daddy Lim that he shouldn’t be surprise if he comes home and start finding things missing. 

The tentative move date has been fixed on 11 Aug. I should start sourcing for a mover so that we get the boxes to start packing. Finding a mover is what I hated most about shifting. We have moved 3x and have never had a good mover. Zzzzzzz.

Mummy Lim

Bali Day 7: Home Sweet Home

Zaky said that he had trained all the upper body muscle groups and thus didn’t want to go to the gym. Bcos Zaky wasn’t going to the gym, T didn’t go to. I told the girls that we should go for a run at the beach. It would be such nice view for a run. The girls agreed but C backed out after the live band performance bcos we all played too hard.

I had a hard time waking Nana and we finally got out of the room at 7am. We jogged on the pavement along the beach and there were so many other people jogging/ walking. We decided to jog on the beach instead. The tide was rising but the beach still stretches far out. There were so many people making use of the milder waves to learn to surf. 

We jogged for 2km before turning back. Even after 2km, the beach still stretches a long way out. 

The way back was more tiring as there was wind resistance and I kept bumping into Nana while jogging on the gentle incline beach. Nana suggested to pause and rest at the 3.4km mark but there was only so little left. We motivated each other and jogged the remaining 600m on the easier pavement and completed our 4km one and only jog in Bali. Nana said that she almost died and really looked like it. Lol. 

The jog was rewarded with bfast - our last bfast of the trip. We started earlier while waiting for Auntie S and the kids to join us. The kids wanted to go back to the beach even though we only had an hour to spare. Auntie S and the kids chose to chill in the room. 

On the way to the beach, we stopped by a stall selling clothes. The T-shirts were at IDR50k a piece while the sleeveless at IDR40k. This was before bargaining and we didn’t bargain. No wonder the aunties were so happy to close the sales with us 2 nights before. It is ok, we need to contribute and boost the Bali economy.

The kids happily jumped waves. 

I helped Nana to pick more seashells. The tide was high and big seashells were hard to find. 

I realised that seashells picking is actually very therapeutic. These seashells were waiting for Nana to pick out the ones that she wanted and the rest would stay on the Bali beach, till the next seashell picker. 

Nana’s collection after 3 days on Kuta beach. 

I hope it isn’t illegal to bring seashells out of Bali or into Singapore. Goodbye Kuta beach. 

I did packing up while the kids showered. I was happy with the amount of old clothing that we left behind/ discarded but how come our bags still felt so heavy. Hmmm… 

The night before, the hotel staff said that we should leave at 11am and would be still comfortable for the 2pm flight. We took heed and met at the lobby at 11am. Daddy Lim and Nana even hopped down to the Rock Shop in the last 20 mins.

At the lobby, another staff said that we should hurry for the 2pm flight bcos of the traffic. What? Auntie S’ grab came 1st. Ours was on its heel but missed the turn and I had to cancel and book again. My heart started racing as we waited for the car. When we finally got into the grab, there were parts of the road where the traffic was so bad and at a standstill. I was seriously considering if we should take 4 motorbikes to the airport. Eventually we didn’t and the driver sped up for us, breaking some traffic rules along the way. We arrived at 12.15pm and gave him all our change as tips. 

Auntie S and kids were a good 10 mins ahead of us. I screenshot and sent everyone their digital boarding pass and asked Auntie S and the kids to proceed 1st. Once we arrived at the airport, I rushed everybody to the immigration. The game doesn’t end until we cleared the immigration. 

We did! Phew! It was so stressful. We should have left earlier and be able to breathe better. I felt so stupid. We met up with Auntie S and rushed to the departing gate. The digital boarding pass doesn’t state the boarding time and we were all too anxious to leave the gate to find food. 

In the end, we bought expensive sandwiches to munch at the gate and had a lot of time left. Boarding was at 1.50pm and the digital tickets didn’t show our Board Me First privilege. I had to log in to my Krisflyer account to print screen my Krisflyer silver status, in case the staff checked. Bcos ours were digital tickets, the staff didn’t check and allowed us to board. 

This round, only Daddy Lim got the exit row. We sat behind him and Auntie S and kids behind us.

A young Indian couple boarded and sat beside Daddy Lim. The moment they sat down, they tested the amount of decline the seats gave. I asked that they not decline the seat fully given that it was a day flight. I don’t know why I suddenly had that Karen attitude, maybe bcos I was in a foul mood from rushing to the airport and it was the end of our holiday. Lol. Anyway, the couple agreed. 

We didn’t pre-order food. Zaky said that it wasn’t needed but changed his mind while on the plane. 

The rest of the flight was uneventful. I napped, read and played games. We eventually touched down and had dinner at the airport before grabbing home. 

Daddy Lim went to pick Mochi while I unpacked. Nana offered to help but I think I would be more effective on my own. Mochi came back and started meowing. I had expected that; he did that the last time too, which is a sign of stress or anxiety. He would meow to want to get into a particular room, then meow to want to get out soon after. When we all went to bed, he was meowing so much that Daddy Lim woke up in the night to allow him into our room and kept the door opened for him. He was happy for a while with the extra attention. 

This morning at 6am, he started meowing for food. He is even more punctual than my alarm clock. He was happy with food and when we all got up and about with our day, he was snoozing to catch up on his sleep. 

The last time he went to the sitterls place. He came back and didn’t poo for 2 days. On the 3rd day, I was about to send him to the vet when he finally pooped. I had been watching his litter box since morning and was so relived when he pooped this evening. Lol. What a reason to be happy. 

With that, it marked the end of our June 2025 Bali holiday. We enjoyed the holiday very much. Auntie S and the kids provided us with great companionship. HardRock Hotel didn’t disappoint us too. Our only struggle was the bad traffic. We were all reluctant to come home, particularly when school and work start on Monday. Still, all good things come to an end. It is time for us to keep our eyes on the next holiday. Hoho. 

Mummy Lim

Bali Day 6: HardRock Hotel

We gave the kids a choice to do a jewellery making workshop that would take 3 hours or simply stay in the hotel and make use of its facilities and the beach of course. They opted for the latter. 

I was very happy when they agreed to go to the gym again. I love exercise companions. This time, Auntie S came along and did a long walk on the treadmill. I couldn’t move Nana though, who got upset with me when I tried to wake her up. 

At least she woke up on time for bfast and we sat in the vibes corner this time. 

Then, it was to the beach but iconic pictures 1st. 

Oh yes, those were the singlets that we bought. 

Zaky got the buff guy cutting singlet while Daddy Lim got the uncle cutting. Lol. 

It was again high tide. None of the kids were keen to learn/ try surfing and were happy to just jump the waves. I rented a body board for IDR50k that was underutilised bcos the waves were too massive for me to even go into the water properly and Zaky said that he must be much heavier now and cannot float properly on the board. Lol. 

I did try to go into the sea and ride the waves like the kids. The kids said that they would take care of me but I think they only tried to kill me. The waves look even more threatening when I am in the water and the kids insisted that I needed at least to be chest high waters. When the waves come, we float on the waves and my toes cannot touch the seabed. Noooooooo… I only rode 1 wave and decided that I had enough of the chest high waters, went to the shallower part and got hit by 2 consecutive waves. Zaky never save me. Enough le, I still wanted to live the remaining years of my life. 

After a while, we left the sea for swimming pool and came up with our own game of water polo mixed with captain ball. It was a super violent game that involves a lot of people grabbing and ball snatching. I duno how long the game lasted but we were all exhausted at the end. 

We wanted to play vball but couldn’t find the vball. We did a little frisbee but there was little open space. Nana actioning a dive for the frisbee. 

The physical activities called for lunch.

Zaky fell in love with the local chocolate bars and made me buy 8 but only half made it back to Singapore. 

Daddy Lim needed to be back in the room by 1pm. HardRock hotel has this service where guests can loan one of their guitars for free for 24 hours to try them out. Daddy Lim has been eyeing this service even before the trip. 

Unfortunately, we didn’t stay very long in the room for him to fully enjoy the perk. 

Daddy Lim booked a 1.5 hr jamming and recording session at 2pm. The only person in the family who cannot play a musical instrument (unless you count the recorder) was their only audience. 

They recorded 2 songs, which would be nicely clean up by the technician. We haven’t heard the result but I concluded that the only person in the family who could sing properly is Nana. So she ended up busily singing and drumming. 

While we jammed, Auntie S and the kids went shopping. She said that there was sale everywhere in the mall. C got lucky and came back bagful. After the session, Nana and I went back to the beach to pick seashell. It was low tide and the perfect timing for seashell picking. Auntie S and the kids wanted to just nuah in the room but it was the last day! We dragged Auntie S and C along. 

Zaky had no interest in seashell picking and while we were at the beach, Daddy Lim and him dragged T to the teenager game room. The activities were also for free!

We happened to be at the beach for the baby turtle released program. 

The baby turtles were 1 day old. The staff said that their natural instinct is to follow the light, either the sun or the moon. It took a good 10 mins for the turtles to finally get to the waves, some of them got washed back and had to do it all over again. The staff kept reminding the people to not help the baby turtles and let nature does its work. 

We left for dinner and ended up at the mall. 

Daddy Lim then went back to the room for his guitar while the rest of us went for massage. It was the last opportunity and we must go massage. 

We had a short rest before going for the live band. Again, we didn’t manage to move Nana. Interestingly, Zaky tagged along and got himself another mocktail. While C and T stuffed themselves full of milk shakes this trip, Zaky went crazy over mocktails. 

Cheers! 

The kids stayed for 1 set and left. The adults watched 2 sets and in between sets, there was performance. Not bad. By the time we were back in the room, the kids were already in lala land. We had made perfect use of the facilities and it was such a tiring day. Haha. 

Mummy Lim