Tutu Chronicles

Remember Kecil's ballet lessons? It is still currently on hold, as the teacher went back for holidays following her school age kids. Lack of lessons, however, does not mean a respite for Kecil's fascination. Or the hunt for the perfect outfit.

So it happened during our Summer Trip to Indonesia, we had to make a night's stopover in Singapore. And while we were having dinner at the mall, there it was, right across our seats that night, tutu skirts of various sizes and colors, including one in fuschia pink.
By the time dinner was over, this Mama so did not stand a chance against all the badgering and mini-food-strikes. So, we bought it. Anyway, Kecil looks kind of cute in it, or so this Mama consoles herself.

Since we got the tutu on our way to Indonesia, it did travel with us, but Mama did limit its use due to the washing requirement (handwash, or at least, in a net if using washing machine).
Once we got home and stuck inside thanks to all the thunderstorms, out came the tutu, and Kecil got on with her own version of ballet lessons.

Oh, and if I can direct your attention to her sunglasses, somehow it just made strange appearances for rainy days indoors, but not quite for sunny days outside. Real strange.

Once the rain stopped, however, it was time for walkies! And since it was outdoor, off went the ballet slippers and on came her heartsy pink boots!
You know, I have seen so many pictures of little girls in tutus and boots online, but I am quite sure that Kecil had never seen one before. I suppose certain things are just universal, huh? After all, the boot's practical nature is just the balance needed for the super frou frou tutu. On a humid afternoon, right after the rain.

The following day turned out sunny, so, again, we took the newly shaven Dog out for her daily walkies.
The weather was really kind of nice, which really encouraged the Little One to do all kinds of antics in her tutu and boots:

... climbing up the fence, dancing, posing.....

Of course, Mama was busy taking pictures.... Why, we even scored a keeper or two:

... not to mention meeting a friend on the way:

Hahaha.... It was a good walkie, in tutu and all. Here's for more pretty, photogenic walkies ahead! Cheers!

Summer Indo Trip: Yogya Trips part 1

So, you know where we stayed while we were in Yogya. But what did we do while we were there? Apart from taking picture, that is.

Well... the first night, we went for a special dinner. Duh! Obviously we have to eat, like 3 times a day, but this one is special. Because the dinner was part of a package, which include a special dance performance, with the Grand Temple Prambanan as the background.

You might remember us visiting the temple a while back, during the day. This time, we did not go quite to the temple itself, but it was clearly visible, beautifully lit, serving as a spectacular backdrop to the dance performance.

The dance was actually a retelling of the epic story, Ramayana, albeit very much abridged. Eyang Putri informed us that in fact, the story used to be told over so many weeks, with every night the dancers dancing different (small) part of the story. Well, I guess it's hard to cater to the international (read: transient) audience with that kind of arrangement. Hence, we had the whole story in one sitting.

It was a beautiful performance, even Kecil was transfixed. She kept asking about the story. It was a good thing we sat right next to Eyang Putri, who was very familiar with the story. The highlight of the whole performance? Real fire burning (specially prepared) huts above the stage, serving as secondary backdrop. So cool!

When the dance was over, Kecil requested that she take picture with the Princess (Shinta). She seemed very much taken by the beautiful princess. Unfortunately, Shinta was standing right next to the Hanuman, of which Kecil was quite scared. So, we settled on one of the lesser dancers, one of the fish, as a matter of fact, part of Rama's mighty army.

The following day, after a leisurely breakfast, we went to visit the heart of the city, the Sultan's palace, the Keraton of Yogyakarta.
This is not to be mixed up with the keraton of Surakarta, which we visited 2 years back on our trip to Solo.

Although the 2 keratons are somewhat similar in design (a complex of low buildings amidst lush greeneries with plenty of open spaces), we immediately felt that the atmosphere was quite different. Here, in Yogya, it was definitely more crowded with tourists, but more than that, it was also alive! Of course, the liveliness might have something to do with the presence of in-house dancing 'academy'.

Indeed, within keraton, you can actually learn the traditional Javanese dance. I believe it was held every Sunday. While we were there, there was actually 'classes' going on, with groups of dancers trying out in one of the pavilion. There were many girls, but there were also young (and some not so young) men learning how to dance. Of course, the men learn slightly different movements from the girls. Why, some of their stances were quite acrobatic, involving some delicate balancing on single foot.

In a different pavilion that day, there was also a 'proper' dance performance, this time with proper costumes and such. Instead of large groups, the three performances only had a group of 3 dancers, a pair of male dancers, and one solo piece. Seats were available in front of the stage, however, you can always take a seat anywhere around the pavilion. It was a free and easy arrangement, which allows anyone to come and go as they wish, as long as they don't disturb the performance.

Now, Kecil had been watching all the dancing, both during classes and the performance, wide-eyed. So... it was no surprise at all that she repeated her request from the previous night: she wanted to take picture with the beautiful dancers. And so she did. Accompanied by Tante Lia, of course, because the Little Girl was just kind of shy.

Or, maybe she was still a bit scared of the big giant guarding the front door?

In any case, it was a good morning, and overall a very 'cultured' weekend in Yogyakarta, and it was not even over yet! We'll stop here first, and continue with part 2 of the Yogya trip. Cheers!

Dog Hair Stories

Following the visit to the vet in which the Dog was diagnosed with hot spots, Mama kept the Dog in her 'cone' to prevent scratching. The vet-recommended regime also included a doggie shower with a special soap. So.... one fine morning, we took the Dog out for a shower.

Even Kecil had not taken her shower yet that day, did you notice?
Mama does not usually take pictures for the Dog's shower, simply because Mama would have her hands full showering the Dog. That day's regime, however, involved some waiting time after soap application to let the soap 'stew' for a while for full effect, hence, the pictures.

Dog, in general, do not like showers. Period. Haha... too bad, Doggie, it's for your own good.

Now, while giving the Dog shower, Mama noticed a few more very small spots on the Dog's neck. These were way more difficult to treat due to the Dog's thick coat, especially around the neck. So... finally, after some consultation with Daddy, we decided to send the Dog for a full shave, even after the shower. Just in case, especially since the weather was running towards very high humidity levels due to the thunderstorms lately. Brace yourselves. Here was what we got after the trip to the groomer's:

Uh oh, a white lab with an extremely bushy tail? Haha.. nah, that's our Dog all right. We did not quite realise that the Dog's coat actually had that fashionable 'ombre' colouring, so that when shaved very short, she's really quite white!

We think that the Dog got pretty morose and grumpy for a while after the shave. Oh dear. But we showered her with plenty of hugs and attention, and we liked to think she perked up after a while. The spots definitely got better to the point of almost gone. Fiuh....
Better still, we got a few sunny afternoons, which allowed us to have our usual walkies, just as long as we kept a close eye on the weather. So... all was good. The Dog even had started to turn slightly brown on top. Haha... so.. we are pretty sure we'll get our shaggy Dog in no time at all. In the meantime, we'll definitely enjoy doggie hugs minus the furball. Cheers!

Summer Indo Trip: Yogyakarta & Ambarrukmo

The following day, we woke up early to catch our train from Surabaya to Yogyakarta. It was a couple of hours trip compared to half hour flight we could have taken from the airport, but Kecil was definitely excited about taking the train again.

Despite the early hour, Kecil was wide awake. She played with her chair, stayed on the lookout outside, even tried the toilet facilities on the train (it was pretty basic, but hey... when you have to go, you have to go, no?). Still, I guess a couple of a hours on the train got on her nerves after a while, and that was when she started bothering her Tante Lia, 'claiming' her time on Tante's iPad.

When we got to the Tugu Station in Yogyakarta, Kecil did not want to lose out from the rest of the gang bringing their luggage. She insisted on tackling Tante Tara's luggage, much to the amusement of everyone. She did manage to get it all the way to the car, though. Great job, Kiddo!

Now for our stay in Yogya, Eyang Putri had arranged that we stayed in this palace-turned-hotel in Yogyakarta. Managed by one of the better local hotel chains in Indonesia, Royal Ambarrukmo Hotel was built right next to a real keraton or palace. The whole complex was actually built on lands belonging to the Sultan or king of Yogyakarta. You can read more about Yogyakarta and the sultanate from the Wikipedia entry.

Mama's point? It was an absolutely beautiful hotel, with lots of photogenic possibilities. Which was why, armed with a bevy of inspiration from the hotel's own image gallery, Mama went on photographer mode.

Just to illustrate some of the hotel's photogenic potential.... the lobby: full of light, with this stunning, 2-storey-high relief. So, of course, we had to take a few pics over there.

There was the beautiful garden outside, with the outdoor swimming pool and the quiet park where you can wander around and enjoy the peace and quiet.

Kecil, however, was more interested in the deer statues near the swimming pool. She kept on asking Mama to take her picture with them! And so we did, so we did.

Back at the Lobby, there was also a baby grand piano, in front of a beautiful wood wall with stunning metal works. You might remember these....

We even took a pic with Tante Lia (Mama simply placed the camera on the piano and used a timer)

Ah, that piano, such perfect 'prop' for my pictures, although it certainly lend a 'musician' impression to the pictures. Just look at these:

And of course, there was also the other side of the lobby ...

Oh, this post is such a gallore of pictures, but it will not be complete without the big group picture, also taken at the lobby, of course.

We definitely enjoyed our stay in Yogyakarta very much (and that was only the accommodation. When added with all the activities.... it was very much fantastic!). Thank you all for the wonderful time! Special thanks to all for bearing with all Mama's photographic antics. Hehehe.... I hope you all like the pictures.

And just to top it of, here's a picture of Mama 'at work'.

Cheers!