My World Tuesday-Telok Blangah Housing Estate (Part 2)

Continued from yesterday post.......

It is a very emotional task to sell my in law's flat. Both have passed away within seven months of each other and been a roller coaster time for us. The flat had been vacant a few years cause dad in law was bed ridden and had to be in a nursing home (very expensive) and mom in law went to stay with her unmarried daughter.

It is strange that friends thought we are going to inherit a big sum of money. It is just a small flat not a bungalow and also dont forget to include the nursing home charges, lawyer fees (in laws never make a will), hospital fees, funeral expenses, etc. Dont forget..... the cost of living in Singapore is quite high and all these fees are a hefty sum. So after deducting all these expenses, there are not much left from the proceeds of the flat and hubby need to share the proceeds with his other siblings. I will write more about cost of living in Singapore in another post whenever I get the chance.

While hubby is clearing the stuff in my in law's flat, I was having a great time looking at the view of the scenery from the flat. The scenery is so beautiful and as it is on the high floor, it is so windy and the flat is on top of a hill too.

The above photo shows some apartment blocks(more than 30 years old) in Telok Blangh. The apartment blocks are of different designs. Some are five rooms apartment , some are four rooms , some are three rooms and the smallest are like my in law's flat two rooms flats. The flats here are very popular as they are facing the sea and with great views. The rich greenery in the background is Mount Faber. Despite the name "Mount" it is not a mountain but a hill. You can view my previous posting of Mount Faber in here.

Look at how Singaporeans hang their laundries. Majority dont use dryers but hang them on bamboo poles and out of the windows. We are two degrees north of the equator so drying clothes in the hot sun make sense. It is also a green way too. :) I do that too but at times, I hang them in my balcony when I am not at home.

Closer look at the laundries hanging out to dry on bamboo poles. How to you dry your clothes?

This is the view from my in law's flat. I could view the cable cars on the left leading to and fro the little island opposite me. The island is known as Sentosa. You can view my previous posting of Sentosa in here. On Sentosa, the intergrated resort with Universal Studio and a Casino is under construction and when completed, one can view the lovely fireworks from here too.

I am looking forward to the Universal Studio instead of the Casino because I dont have gambling luck and not addicted to gambling. :) We can ban family members from going to the casino if they are addicted and locals need to pay a fee to enter Casino while tourists enter the Casino free of charge.

A short video of the surrounding area. Look towards the end of the video, you could spot the corridor of the block where I am standing. :)

Please visit "That's my World" for other parts of the world.

Please visit tomorrow for more photos of the surrounding housing estate.

Telok Blangah - Part One

These two pots of plants are the beginning of my new posting of Telok Blangah Housing Estate. I was there with hubby clearing some stuff of my in laws's flat. They have both passed away last year and this will be our last trip here.

These two flower pots are placed in a small balcony outside the flat. The area is so windy as it was facing the sea and Sentosa. The flat has a very nice view. I will talk about it in tomorrow post.

I will also show the surrounding area in Telok Blangah Housing Estate. The series will probably end with skywatch Friday. Some of you might like to know how the average Singaporean lives, so please come back for the Telok Blangah Series. :)

Joke

I posted this photo of a motorbike to tell you a joke that my favourite uncle told me.

My late uncle (my favourite uncle) used to have a scooter. Once while out dating his girlfriend (his wife), they were riding the scooter and my uncle would always love to chat while riding.

Then they had to stop at a traffic light when it turned red. His wife came down from the scooter to retrieve her scarf which had flew off the ground. So when the traffic light turned green, my uncle just rode the scooter off without her...lol.

And the funny part was my uncle continued chatting while riding without realising his wife was not in the back seat. Then he was wondering why other drivers kept looking at him...hehehe and why his wife was so quiet. So he turned around and realised his wife was not behind him.....hahaha

When he told us the joke, we were all laughing so hard.

My uncle and his wife is no longer around and I hope they have fun riding wherever they are now. Hopefully they get to meet my late parents too and they can have a game of mahjong...lol

Tea Sets

My contribution for Pink Saturday are these cute tea sets. Do you have the same problem as me for receiving presents that you have no use at all? I think I am going to set up a stall and start selling all the gifts that I dont use ....lol....then I use the money I earn and buy something I like. :)

The teapot and teacups have cute pictures of the giraffes.

And if you stack the two cups together, they gave a picture of the whole animal. So cute, I guess they are meant for lovers or partners. And no hubby and me dont use these cups...lol

Another teaset collection for lovers/partners.

The cup and saucer are in the shape of a heart.

For more pinky participants, please visit Beverly of How Sweet The Sound.

Skywatch Friday-Building Around Coleman Street (Part 4)-Central Fire Station

As I walked towards the end of Coleman Street, I saw this familar red and white building. Oh yes, I remember this. Each time when I visited my late grandparents during my childhood time, I would love to come here and watch the fire engines going out and coming in of the fire station.

It is one of the oldest fire station in Singapore and the building is so influenced with the colonial architectural designs. It is still in use today.

For other sky watchers, please hop over to Skywatch blog.

Buildings around Coleman Street (Part 3)-Capitol

This is a great old historial building and it existed even before the Japanese War. It survived. It used to be a cinema and I would always be so afraid to use the toilets in the cinema...lol. They are rumoured to be haunted. Inside the cinema are beautiful sculptures of angels in the ceilings.

Now the cinema is gone and it is now vacant and not sure what is the future plan for it.

The shops in Capitol Building have to shift out by end of this month for future planning of Capitol.

Side view of Capitol Theatre - used to come here for movies when hubby and me dating...lol. That's more than 20 years ago.

Buildings around Coleman Street (Part 2)-Funan Centre

This is Funan Centre, one of the IT complex of Singapore. This is the place where you can find all electronics, computer and anything associated with IT.

The place where Funan Centre stands used to be where my late grandparents lived in. It was one of those prewar houses that were demlised and make way for all these buidlings. I used to play around these streets during my childhood where life is simle and fun and not much tall buildings and vehicles.

Inside Funan Centre, you can see all the advertisements/banners advertising the latest technology and the competition is fierce.

Good buys in the atrium of the complex.

And of course you can find food in the centre. This is the food court of Funan Centre. Ever wondered why Singaporean is always eating? :) It's a weekend and I am out too shopping/window shopping and looking for good food and I dont normally cook during the weekends. I only cook dinner during weekdays. That's is five times a week...lol

Sometimes I dont even cook weekdays if my two sons decided not to come home for dinner so hubby and me will eat out or ordered takeaways. Life is so much easier when the kids are all grown up.

A short video of Funan Centre.

My World Tuesday-Walking trip along Coleman Street-St. Andrew's Cathedral

Today, I will begin a series of what I see along the Coleman Street. Coleman Street and Hill Street are my two playgrounds during my childhood times...lol. During those times, there were not many tall buildings or cars. My late grandparents used to stay in those pre war shophouses near Coleman Street where the now Funan Centre is.(It Complex-will post about Funan another day.)

This is the famous St Andrew's Cathedral which is protected under the heritage law.

I love the beautiful architectural design of the church. You can read more about it in here.

Please visit "That's my World" for other parts of the world.

Please come back tomorrow for more posts on Coleman Street.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

A very Happy Mother's Day to all mothers around the world. I have fun and so happy today because it is a day for me to rest. My two sons treat me and hubby for a sumptous lunch.

Will post the photos of food over at my food blog when I got time.

After lunch, the waiter gave me a stalk of carnation for it is mother's day.

These awards were given to me by my two sons few years back.

And yummy, my favourite portugese tarts and I wondered how the giver knew I like them....hehehe. The giver is my son's female friend and my son dont know that I like portugese tarts. She ask my son to pass these yummy snacks to me because it is mother's day. So sweet of her. :)

Pink Saturday - $2 shop

My pink contribution for this Saturday are these $2 products that I got from the $2 shop. It is so worth. Each item is only $2 and you just walked up to the cashier, she will count the number of items in your basket and times $2 and you pay for the total price.

Boxes to keep my crafts and batteries/memory cards for my camera.

Even these needles with the big eye hole that I needed for my crochet/knitting cost me $2 for a set of three. Been hunting for these needles for a long time. Great find. :)

I love the pink wool and I made a granny square but you will have to wait a long time for the finished product cause I need to make more squares and joined them together and it is very time consuming.

Meanwhile I get to crochet a scarf and I like it so much. I am not an expert so it is a bit untidy but seeing the scarf getting longer, the satisfaction is there.

I am almost done with the scarf and I need to crochet another 10 cm more. Took me about less than 3 days to finish this length during TV commercials...lol.

For more pinky participants, please visit Beverly of How Sweet The Sound.

Scary Tree

This tree looked so scary. It looked like a tree that has come alive and trying to get me. Yikes!

I was trying to capture a nice photo for skywatch while walking along Coleman Street. Then when I view the photo through my camera, I realised the tree looked scary. So I told hubby and both of us looked up again at the tree and I pointed to hubby that the branches are like limbs.

Then suddenly, we were surrounded by 5 or 6 people looking up at the tree too....lol. Hubby and me walked away laughing....hahaha. These people must be wondering what is happening up there...lol.

Oh this tree is located in the compound of a famous church in Coleman street which I will showcase on My World Tuesday. The church is very old and very beautiful. Please return to visit on Tuesday. :)

For other sky watchers, please hop over to Skywatch blog.

Flowers for mom

These are belated photos taken during my recent birthday in January 2009.

My sons bought a bouquet of flowers for me..... first time. :) They used to buy a stalk of flower only cause they are still students back then.

I love the big Gerbera flower.

And I was laughing so hard when the three men in the house taking a longer time lighting the candles because this year the candles are more....lol

Next year they can just put 5 big candles...hehehe

My World Tuesday - Downtown East - Part 5 (Final)

Holdiay makers having fun BBQ beside their chalets at Downtown East. The chalets can sleep four people in one unit. The chalets are fenced off and only those who rented the chalets can enter free while the others had to pay $1 to enter. But the place where I showcased during the last few posts of Downtown East are free as there are many restuarants, shops and recreation facilities opened to everyone.

I love the swimming pool within the chalet compound that has glass on one side of the pool.

It is so funny as if I was looking at fishes swimming in tanks. Just a short video to show you the swimmers.

Please visit "That's my World" for other parts of the world.

Downtown East - Part 4 - Recreation

Going toward the resort/chalets from the E hub complex, we can come across several restaurants, food courts and some small shops.

It is a Saturday night and many Singaporeans do not normally cook on this day, so the entire family will come out and patronise eating outlets near their homes or in other parts of the city. I am one of them...lol.

I saw these beautiful chess sets in a window display.

They are in the form of soldiers and kings, so cute.

Mahjong set anyone?

What about chips and cards?

As there are several chalets near here, this shop sold mainly recreation items that holiday makers might need.