Woke up this morning to see this as the weather report for Singapore today. Someone either made a serious typo or we are in for an arctic blast today!!

Singapore

87°F Current: Icy Wind: NW at 5 mph Humidity: 66%

Having another rough week in the kitten department at the Wood household. Last Wednesday we were given another batch of two all white (2 weeks old) kittens. There were actually 4 of them at the shelter but they decided since they were so young and needed lots of attention that it would be better to split them up into 2 different foster homes. The little ones did great the first day and a half, I was feeding them every 3 hours day and night. Then midway though the second day they started having loose stools and stopped eating. Of course this happened after the SPCA clinic was closed so I spent another all-nighter force feeding them kitten formula every three hours and first thing in the morning took them in to get checked by the vet. He said they were "very sick" with a virus and that they likely would not make it. He went on to share that the other 2 kittens in the litter that went to another foster home both had died the day before from the same virus :(

Now I am no fashion expert and for all I know people are taking photos of my crazy outfits too. However, I do believe there are some unspoken rules about what is universally appropriate to wear in public and what is not. The puzzling thing is that almost everyday I encounter such fascinating fashion flops that I cant help but stare in amazement. Below are my top 10 list of Fashion Faux Pas over the last few months.

One of the many things I love about Singapore is the weather. Being only slightly north of the equator its is perpetually sunny and 85 degrees. Which means although the days can get pretty humid, the evenings are cooler (apx 80 degrees) and thus the perfect temp for an outdoor picnic. We met up with some of our very special friends, Sharon and Dave for an impromptu dinner yesterday evening.

Last week was a tough one at the Wood house. It started off well, I got a call from the SPCA saying they had a kitten for me to foster. Those phone calls always put me in the best mood! So I rushed off to pick up the smallest kitten we have fostered yet. She was somewhere between 2 and 3 weeks old and had just opened her eyes.

I had an interesting encounter at the grocery store today. I got into a line to check-out with just a few items needed for the day. There were not very many check-out counters open so there was a line several people deep at each counter. Lucky for me, after a year of living in Singapore I am a "black belt" at waiting in lines! When it was finally my turn at the front of the line the cashier looked me up and down and then promptly informed me that this was a "green line only" which means you are required to bring your own reusable grocery bags if you want to check out at that counter. Kind of like the "10 items or less line". I was caught off guard to say the least. But there was no way I was going to get back in another line to checkout so I looked the cashier right in the eye and pointed at my jumbo sized purse and stated "yes and this is my carry bag". This comment was met with a snicker from the person behind me in line who had no less than seven neatly stacked reusable bags ready to go. At that point, I really started to worry that my purse was somehow not the appropriate specifications for a reusable grocery bag (this paranoia is again the result of living in Singapore). I held my breath and waiting with the same guilty tension I have when I enter the "10 items or less" line with 14 items. After a long pause and another once over, checkout lady finally sighed heavily and said "ok" and rang up my items. Thank goodness!

For those of you who may not know I have a tinsy bit of a...ok...a major phobia of chairlifts. This phobia stems from a traumatic experience at 14 where I did not get off the chairlift in time and was not allowed to ride back down to the bottom but was forcibly pulled off the lift by a very cute ski patrol guy who I landed on top of and knocked the wind out of all while be heckled by the 3rd grade "powder pigs" ski school and my best friend Carmen...Anywho, after several years of intense counseling :) I recovered enough to set foot in snow again but did make a vow never to ride a chair lift. Over the years I have not been able to keep this vow but still feel the panic rising as I get close to the top of the mountain on the lift.

It's been 6 months since my last visit home and 1 year since Kingsley was last in Seattle. Needless to say we were both really excited to see friends and family, drive a car again, and just be in Seattle.