Newport RI - Bellevue Ave

Bellevue Ave, which is approx 2.4mile long....is where most of the grand Newport mansions are situated. Along this road, you can get a feel of how the "Golden era" had been like. This street was where the wealthiest used to congregate during the summers during the last couple century.

RG and I took a slow stroll down Bellevue Ave around sunset and these were just some of the beautiful things that we saw along the way.

Even the front gates of the mansions looked amazingly grand!

We also saw very intricate lamp ornaments.....

...a pair of Pelicans flanking the front gate.....

Many of these mansions are supposedly haunted.....so there are ghost tours that you can join that'd bring you through some of the "haunted mansions" in the evenings.

Just look at some of the super long driveways....we couldn't even see the mansion which was very far back from the gate for privacy....so you can imagine the kind of acreage the mansions are sitting on.

Oh my.....are those camels I see in the yard?!

There are the HUGE mansions.....

....and then there are also the smaller and cuter ones....

There's just so much to see along Bellevue....it's an attraction on its own!

Project GREEN....

I had strips of remnant fabrics left and I didn't want to waste them. So I pieced them together and made these..........can you guess what they are?

Okay....another clue....it looks like this when you are using it.....

It's actually a cup sleeve! Back in Singapore, I used to bring my own mug to Starbucks - not only is it green to do so....I also get a discount off my regular coffee.

While it's not always convenient to lug around a coffee mug especially with a tiny purse....you can still do your part for the environment by bringing your own cup sleeve! It'd definitely help cut down the use of paper cups (double cupping) and cardboard sleeves. I'm not the one who came up with the fabric sleeve idea....but whoever had come up with it really deserves a big pat on the back!

I had layered my fabric sleeve with thick interfacing and had also used a layer of flannel. It'd keep the fingers from burning when you have a hot cup of coffee and the insulation layers would keep the coffee warm too. I used velcro on the ends so that it would fit most cup sizes. And it's completely reversible!

You can wrap it around the strap of your handbag/wrist or around your purse so that you'll remember to bring it along when you are heading out for your coffee.

The yard is a mess....

My landlord got a contractor to clear the chopped trees and debris from the backyard over last weekend.

The guy came with his fancy machines. First he used the mechanical arm to consolidate the debris.....he actually offered to let me operate the mechanical arm but I was too much of a scady cat. I didn't want to risk breaking his machine which he said had cost USD35,000.

After consolidating the debris, he used the other end of the machine to "scoop" up the debris.

And then he dumped the debris into a trailer container for disposal.

Look at the mess that his machine had left behind =( I sure hope he's coming back to fix it.

Over here, it costs quite abit to chop down trees. Think my landlord paid several thousands of dollars just to chop off a couple of trees. And clearing of the debris is easily another thousand odd dollars.

Some close-ups for mom....

My mom and I were talking on skype the other day about my sewing. She asked if I know how to sew the zippers properly. So I told her that I'll take a few close-up shots for her to see.....

And yes mom, I do add lining to all my handiwork! =P

I had to make two crayon holders - one for each nephew...lest they complain about favoritism.....

I didn't have sufficient fabric to make backpacks.....so I made them matching pencil cases instead.

For little fans of Thomas the Tank Engine....

My two little nephews are huge Thomas fans.

I have been on the lookout for fabrics with prints of Thomas and friends...and I chanced upon a piece of remnant fabric that had been reclaimed from a bedsheet.

So I upcycled the fabric into a cute crayon holder for my little nephews.

Will try to see if I can make a little backpack out of the remaining fabric.

Tax frustrations....

I've been going round and round in circles with the fed and state tax departments for weeks!

First, I got wrong information for the form to use for tax filing (seriously, wrong info from the tax depts???!!)...and then, they just kept making me more and more frustrated each time I talk to them over the phone - with the inflexible tax regulations, the apparent lack of coordination between fed and state government as well as ill-informed personnel manning helplines.

Anyway...today's conversations with the fed and state departments went like this:

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ME : i don't have SSN (social security no.) or ITIN (indiv tax identification no.) which is required in the state tax return form

STATE: oh you'd definitely need an ID for filing...please call IRS (can't wait for me to hang up)

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ME : i need to obtain ITIN that's required for ny state tax filing but i'm not filing federal tax

FED : oh, you can only apply for ITIN if you file federal tax

ME : can i file a zero return for federal tax and apply for ITIN

FED : no..that's a fraudulent submission.
(then proceeded to make me answer 101 questions before telling me....)

FED : sorry, you cannot apply for ITIN. please call your state tax dept

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ME : IRS will not allow me to apply for ITIN and i don't have SSN....what should i indicate as ID on the state tax form?

STATE: huh?? ermmmmm.......(left me on the phone for good 10min or so)

STATE: then you file state return as "married filing separate return"

ME : okkkkaayyy....but for "married filing separate return"...it is indicated on the form to "ENTER SPOUSE'S SOC. SEC NUMBER IN THE APPROPRIATE SPACE ABOVE" which is really the reason why we are having this conversation!

STATE: ????????????

Pretty flowers bloom for you and me....

Remember this from a couple of weeks back?

It has turned into this......pretty aren't they!

I was practically lying on the floor to take this photograph as the flowers all face downards when they open.... Little white flowers poking from below the debris......Green shoots are appearing in our yard.....can't say the same about the other "GREEN SHOOT" that Bernanke had mentioned....