When every minute counts

When every minute matters. With lil’ one’s school dismissal at 12pm and therapy at 3.30pm, it means I need to make full use of whatever time I have. 

The day started with hubby sending lil’ one to school at 7+ for school to start at 8am. Was too tired to get out of bed even though I slept early last night (early in my standard). I couldn’t go back to bed after she roused me from my sleep “who’s sending me to school?” Volunteered to send che-che to work. Had some time while she got ready for work so used the time to remove the curtains in living room n lil’ one’s room. I can’t remove the curtains in master bedroom coz the stupid cabinet is in the way (who puts the cabinet all the way so in leaving only 1cm for the curtain rod?) and che-che’s room (coz I can’t open up the ladder with her bed in the way. N too short when I use her bed as a stepping stool). Started washing the curtains in batches. 

Left one set of curtains to do the tumbling in the house and I brought the rests out and dropped by the 24hr laundromat. 

Had to remember to bring che-che’s chicky chicky. I washed it and air-dried it few days back but coz it’s been raining, now chicky chicky smells. Re-washed it today and brought it to the laundromat with me. 

Separated into 2 dryers and put for half hour ($5 each dryer), packed lil’ one and my lunch at coffee shop next door and went to pick her up from school. 

The curtains completed its dryer run when I was otw home, barely 2km out from her school. Yippee! Curtains dried, che-che’s chicky chicky is fluffy and smells nice. 

Between 12+ to 2+ : Back at home. Last batch of curtains done and did our laundry. Brought them out with me, was hoping to throw them into 3 dryers and spin at a lesser time but alas! All dryers were utilised. Kept the damp stuffs in the car while I brought lil’ one for her therapy. 

Reached back close to 5pm and promptly went over. Thank goodness all dryers are empty. Threw into 2 dryers for 18mins each (cost : $1/ 6mins. So $6 gone!)

Dropped lil’ one back at home and picked up the washed undergarments. Should have asked hubby to help wash the socks. I did a quick wash run for 15minutes

and came back with the curtains and clothes dried. Dump all the undergarments and socks into one dryer for 18mins. Aiyah! Don’t care 了。It’s not a huge quantity each batch so …. Want to put into 2 dryers is akin to wasting money. 

By the time all is done, it’s already 5mins to 6pm. Should I pick che-che up or not? In the end, I simply headed home, I’m so tired today from all the running around + cleaning windows and doors, all I look forward to now is a nice warm shower and rest.

$19 gone just like that! I’m grateful that we have this 24hr coin operated laundromat only 350m, a 5min walk away from us. Used only in emergency. However I must admit I like the idea of not having any laundry hanging around in the yard area. In the meantime, I’ll need to look to get a new one. I haven’t washed our sweaters and thermal yet. Sobs! Can’t do it in damp weather.

阿嫂的唠叨

Can we not have any curtains at all? I always loved it when the curtains are removed for wash  E.V.E.R.Y..S.I.N.G.L.E..T.I.M.E 

Everytime I’ll say out loud, “I wish we don’t have any curtains.” My family is sick and tired of hearing me on repeat mode all the time 🤣. Yah, I think the older I get the more lorsoh I get 😂. 

Without curtains, the small house looks S..P..A..C..I..O..U..S. I’ve removed the heavy curtains for almost 2 years(?), leaving only the white translucent curtain to save our modesty from the privy eyes of neighbours walking past our unit everytime. Without the huge heavy curtains, (1) it makes washing easier too, cutting down the batches of curtains to wash and to hang dry with heat blasting on the drying rack continuously for hours. Hmm…maybe that’s why the rack broke down just as we returned from Japan. Without the huge curtains, (2) it makes cleaning the window grilles and windows and doors slightly easier.

Like…can we maybe just paste a white paper or transparent paper on the doors and windows so that nobody can look into the house both day and night? *the woes of living on the first floor* . So that I don’t have to wash the curtains just clean the sliding doors frame and windows frame. And when aunty feels like it just tear off the paper and replace it, better still if I don’t have to start measuring and cutting and pasting. In conclusion, I’m just so tired and lazy and want to have nothing to do with household chores. 

わらび餅 drinks

In Kobe. Small kiosk operating out from a van. 

In KUR, a peach specialty, we didn’t try this tho I would have loved to if someone could share it with me. 

In INY. Not the first time we came across this brand, we saw one in OKA as well just that we didn’t stop for a drink. 

Lil one not a fan of this drink but she likes it when she took a sip of chocolate drink from che-che. Then she decided to order the Asakawa-en matcha that che-che usually order in SIN. She just had to join in the fun then declared that she has always LOVED matcha. *I’m rolling my eyes* since when she likes matcha? 

In KAM its namesake. It wasn’t what I thought it was, this shop didn’t originate from Kamakura at all. After a search on the history of this novelty place just to write up on this in this blog entry, I realised its HQ is in Niigata and main store in Niigata Prefecture. 

Che-che has a tremendous appetite for snacks. She just finished her cup of hojicha latte less than 10 mins ago (from もみじ茶屋) and we walked past our favourite warabimochi place. It’s at the far end of 小町通りand won’t have the chance to walk all the way back for her to digest the latte and come back for this, so within 20mins she had two cups of filling drinks 🤣.

This is a specialty drink in KAM, where one will find snacks with Buddha head and all. So must have a “Image of the great Buddha” drink 🤣. I see no Buddha leh…. the morsels of granola gave the drink some crunch while sipping the small sticky bits of warabimochi - a good combination. 

Yums! Che-che commented that they should bring this to SIN, I beg to differ. It will make this just so special that one needs to fly over to drink it. Think what happened to chicken-in-a-biscuit. 

I didn’t come across TororiTenshi in Japan at all. 

我的妈啊！

我的妈啊！为什么好不坏这个时间坏？

Came home after a long trip and all one needs is things to run smoothly. But no……somebody just likes to make my life difficult. #%^*!!

Last year (2024), we came home to some thunderous noise in our compressor that the girls had to camp in the living room for the next few nights. This year, the dryer died. Ok, I have no idea what went wrong but I changed the remote control battery and it doesn’t work. 

I can’t bring down the rack to remove the towels and clothings hung since we left; I can’t even hang up the newly laundered bedsheets! And what?! Has it been raining continuously since we left? Some clothes still feel damp!! Damn!! As if I’m that fit now, came back sick and …nobody is helping me with anything, I need to go against my tired body and iron all the clothes dry. If not the clothes will stink (maybe just nice for me to use all the fabric fresheners I have) 

After all my complaining, you would think that I swore off new technology. Would I still prefer the old tek-kor method of hanging clothes? No, I prefer this where I can dry my clothes faster especially now during the monsoon season. 

But 老娘 still end up using the clothes hanger hook to bring down / hang up the clothes. Better still, have you seen anyone using a ladder just to do laundry?? Me lor! Coz Ms Shortie can’t reach the white pegs to clip the undergarments and socks. 真搞笑！

Sigh…… hubby says to get someone to come over. Eh…get who? I don’t even know where he bought this from, he didn’t pass me any invoice. Looks like I will need to get a new drying rack. Time to say goodbye to this “欢迎使用晾衣架…祝您生活愉快” cheena rack. 

Muchas gracias my mamasan bag

My last mamasan bag or what hubby always call it “Alibaba bag” life expectancy has finally come to an end 😭 

The senior crew would always introduce the newbies this personalized mamasan bag in Itaewon. I bought a medium and large bag. I was always so proud to say that my mamasan bag lasted me more than che-che’s age. Had it in mt first year of flying. Wow! That’s 29 lasting years!! 

My medium size bag frayed so much that I had to discard it last year. Both bags have served me well as a backup extra check-in bag; as a bag to carry our laundry to the laundromat; as a bag to carry groceries from supermarket trips overseas. 

When I was in Seoul last September I had wanted to drop by the shop but lil’ one didn’t want to make the trip to Itaewon 😟. Made a check with ex-crew in the FB group and was directed to Jenny (yah! Name sounds familiar now) - Seoul Yongsan-Hu Itaewon-dong 34-102 (Itaewon station exit 4) - IG under kukilsa_itaewon. So thankful for their replies. 

This time round, I did mend a small part of the bag when che-che noted a small slit in the hotel after we did the packing. All her heavy snacks lor!! Thankfully it didn’t burst open in Japan or enroute back to SIN. It finally gave way when hubby brought the bag of heavy bedsheets and laundry to the 24hr laundromat today 😭

Time to bade this goodbye. Time to let go of this small memory. 

Thank you !