Life Ramblings

Wordless Wednesday - Blogging Break

2009-12-01T16:40:00.014+08:00

My master will be taking a break from blogging for a couple of weeks and will resume in January. It's going to be a hectic month filled with some offline work, travelling and other commitments that does not allow her to keep a regular blogging pace. She should be back here again when things settle down in January.

Thank you all for your continuous visit and support. See you next year!

First Commenter - Liza

Today's Flowers - Hibiscus Sabdariffa (Roselle)

2009-11-29T23:42:00.005+08:00

I've always been fascinated and enthralled by Hibiscus blooms and the roselle flowers growing in my garden have finally sprouted.

Roselle or its scientific name Hibiscus sabdariffa are common wild-grown flowers now widely distributed and cultivated in tropical regions round the globe. Sepals of roselle are used in making juices, squashes, jellies, wines and pies. The juice contains vitamin C and minerals and many parts of the plant are also claimed to have various medicinal properties. More specifically, they are commonly used as a treatment for cardiac, nerve diseases and cancer.

With its numerous health benefits, this is definitely a home comfort that brings me back into my early years. The beverage is similar to Ribena juice, but not as sour though. It makes a fabulous iced tea that never fails to leave me feeling refreshed and uplifted.

First Commenter - Happily Retired Gal

PhotoHunt - Technology

2009-11-27T23:13:00.001+08:00

Our tropical climate has several advantages. We don't need seasonal outfits, tourists from cold countries would flock to our beaches plus the high moisture content keeps our skin looking younger for longer. On the other hand, with the intense levels of humidity, it can be also uncomfortable for anyone. That's when air-conditioning feels like a life saver.

We have 3 units of air-conditioner. The latest unit we purchased features inverter technology that adjusts its cooling capacity to maintain a consistent temperature, increasing energy efficiency compared to conventional split air conditioners. Not only it saves electricity, it cools the room faster and inverter's compressor are more silent compared to non-inverter.

These days, most companies have introduced the full range of inverter air-conditioners to the market to meet the increasing demand for energy-saving and eco-friendly items in view of the deepening environmental crisis, resources and global warming issues.

First Commenter - Rainfield

Wordless Wednesday - A great place for a relaxing drink in an inviting ambience.

2009-11-25T08:35:00.006+08:00

First Commenter - Anna

Today's Flowers - Impatiens

2009-11-23T07:40:00.003+08:00

Impatiens flowers take their name from the Latin, impatiens, "impatient." They are being called because their ripe seed pods will sometimes burst when slightly touch. Perhaps they are too impatient to reproduce. :) There are many species of impatiens flowers, often misspelled as "impatience" or "impatients".

I came across these appealing flowers spreading out before the eye at Cactus Valley. As the name implies, they could be suitable and a great remedy for a person who is impatient and frustrated. That said, I'm totally the impatient one! Perhaps, I should plant them too. :)

First Commenter - fishing guy

PhotoHunt - Bird(s)

2009-11-20T16:37:00.004+08:00

This week's shots were from our trip to Lake Lucerne, a few years ago. Lake Lucerne is Switzerland’s most popular lake, well known all over Europe. Lucerne itself is surrounded by water, since not only does it sit on the lake but it also is split in two by the River Reuss. Bird lovers will be able to see large flocks of sea birds in the middle of the city.

There were plentiful of seagulls, swans, geese and other sea birds moving gracefully around the lake.

While taking pictures of the city, a flock of seagulls flew towards us and stood still as though to welcome us. When they realised no chips were coming their way they fluttered their wings and flapped wildly by the strong gusts of wind. It looked fun.

It was incredible to see their beautiful wings spread in such graceful flight around the lake. The lovely seagulls were truly putting on a show for us.

First Commenter - Monica

RIP dear Father In law

2009-11-18T15:41:00.002+08:00

It has been a sad, heart wrenching week for my family. My beloved father-in-law (FIL) passed away peacefully, a few days ago after a long battle with heart disease. He was aged 83.

My FIL has been in the hospital a few times in the past few years for heart and related complications. He was readmitted to the hospital again last week after suffering breathing problems.

As he was getting weak and breathless, he was confined to the hospital intensive care unit, with intravenous tubes and drips. And for a few days, an oxygen mask helped him to breathe which he absolutely hated. He shook his head sorrowfully with eyes closed, at the thought of going home. He must have been frustrated with all the pain and suffering he went through. He looked as though he had given up on life. Perhaps he thought that he had achieved a ripe old age.

When my FIL regained consciousness, through written notepad, he insisted he be taken back home. In the back of my mind, I knew that he was soon going to leave us very soon and at the same time he didn't want to die in the hospital. Eventually we took him home with all the necessary apparatus he would need to help him breathe.

His health began to take a sudden turn for the worse last week. After two battles with heart complications in a few weeks of hospitalisation, he passed away peacefully that night. We cried for him to fight on as we witnessed his final breath. However, it is a blessing that he no longer having to suffer and that he has been freed from his pain.

Memories of him will remain in our hearts forever. I miss him heaps.

First Commenter - Denesa

Wordless Wednesday - Love is in the air

2009-11-10T22:30:00.004+08:00

First Commenter - Rainfield

Today's Flowers - Splash of Yellow

2009-11-08T23:50:00.002+08:00

My mom's delightful garden is full of bright yellow hues and they contrast well with the glossy green leaves. It's amazing to see how the yellow beauties sway gently in the breeze and the long lasting blooms blended well with other plants in the garden. It shows the value of life being nurtured with well care and blooming in perfection.

Scrumptious Egg tarts

2009-11-06T23:24:00.000+08:00

It was a rainy, chilly afternoon and I had this sudden crave for portuguese egg tarts and if you've not tasted this irresistible dessert before, you're missing out on some sweet, mouth-watering, fragrant egg custard.

In my previous trip to Macau, I had the best, authentic Portuguese Egg Tarts and the entire tart was tasty enough to be gobbled up in seconds. The crust was flaky and richly creamy and the custard was smooth and sinfully delicious. Those were the best portuguese egg tarts I ever had in my lifetime.

So far, one of the better egg tarts I've tasted can be found in Carnarvon St, Penang. Never mind the price, the egg tarts here are very enticing to the taste buds, in terms of its delicate flaky pastry, freshness and wobbly filling. The eggs-cellent treats are selling like hot cakes the moment they arrived at the shop.

Personally, I prefer the Portuguese style egg tarts to the normal egg tarts. While the original version at times crumbly and less flaky, the Portuguese egg tart literally tasted much better and I could feel the fragrant custard oozing out on first bite. The sweetness is just perfect for me. Hmmm........incredibly yummy.

Hungry now? I am.

First Commenter - Monica

Wordless Wednesday - View from a cruise in Turkey

2009-11-04T07:20:00.002+08:00

First commenter - Autumn Belle

Today's Flowers - Ananas Nanus

2009-11-02T07:10:00.011+08:00

There are a few pots of miniature pineapples with long narrow yellow-green leaves armed with sharp little thorns growing here in my garden. Its scientic name is Ananas Nanus and it belongs to the bromeliad family.

The cone-shaped inflorescence produces purple flowers with yellow-pinkish bracts.

After a few months growth, it will sprout small pink fruit atop of the elongated stem.

The mini pineapple could remain on the plant for another couple of months from this stage.

The dragon fly was at the right place at the right time when I took this shot.

They are not edible but they attract butterflies, bees and mainly dragonflies. They are a cute little thing to add to my exotic plants collection.

First Commenter - Carver

PhotoHunt - Bags

2009-10-30T21:25:00.007+08:00

Every Monday is 'No Plastic Bags Day' in Penang. Over the course to reduce the consumption of plastic bags and encourage the use of eco grocery bags, a 20-sen charge per bag will be imposed on consumers by most major stores. Proceeds will be donated to the state’s Partners Against Poverty (PAP) campaign to help the hardcore poor. With the hysteria surrounding global warming, I think it’s a great move to help protect the planet.

Doing my contribution for the environment, I try to bring my own bags when grocery shopping avoiding plastic bags. But seriously, I think more and more people should practise this initiative more often, if not daily. I keep some reusable bags in the back of my car, but the only problem is that I need to cultivate the habit of remembering to grab them along whenever I go shopping. Imagine if people consistently use reusable bags, eventually there will no longer have tons of plastic bags accumulating at home which are hard to recycle and that people feel sorry about throwing away.

First Commenter - Mei Teng

Wordless Wednesday - I wish it would snow here

2009-10-28T00:02:00.004+08:00

Photos courtesy of a good friend of mine, Melissa. These shots were taken during her visit to New Zealand early this year.

First Commenter - Denesa

Today's Flowers - Cat's Whiskers Plant

2009-10-26T07:30:00.007+08:00

This is my first participation in Today's Flowers.

While walking on a trail near my house yesterday evening, one of the plants that literally caught my attention was the cat's whiskers with its elongated white flowers. As the name implies, the flower truly resembles the shape of a cat's whiskers and it is also known as Misai Kucing in malay. The scientific name is Orthosiphon aristatus and the plants are found mainly in South East Asia and tropical Australia.

This is a herbal remedy in the mint family which is often used for making Java tea. It is claimed to have anti-inflammatory and magical healing properties and is commonly used to cure ailments of the kidney, bladder stone, hypertension, urinary tract infection, liver and other related disorders. The herbs are also useful in the treatment of diabetes, rheumatism, gout and managing cholestrol levels.

Fresh or dried leaves can be used for making tea. Has anyone heard about it or tried this before? I'm a tea drinker and one of these days I'll need to experiment making tea out of the leaves.

This extraordinary plant is easily propagated by the cut stem. It attracts butterflies and it also provides plenty of nectar for bees and hummingbirds.

First Commenter - Jama

PhotoHunt - Tied

2009-10-23T23:10:00.006+08:00

It has been almost a year since my sister tied the knot with the man of her dreams and is enjoying being his wife more than she could ever imagined.

That not only means the marriage of two special people, but a knot tied with God's abundant blessings that will last a lifetime and more.

First Commenter - Carver

Wordless Wednesday - Baby Fever

2009-10-20T21:20:00.005+08:00

My precious baby has been feeling under the weather for the last couple of days. She was a bit of feverish and loss of appetite, followed by an abrupt onset of chills and fatigue over the weekend. Despite feeling under the weather, she was in pretty good mood considering she has a nasal congestion, cough and sneezing. I was able to get her into the doctor early afternoon on Saturday. She was prescribed some medication and but it seemed like she hated those medicines as they were way too sweet for her liking.

She hasn't felt too good all weekend, but she seems to be showing signs of recovery although a little cranky. Typically, when kids get sick, it can be a worrisome and stressful time for any parents.

I have a stuffy nose and mild fever too, but I think it's seasonal infections due to the weather change.

Hopefully my baby and I will feel better soon, so we can have fun later this week.

Until then, hope everyone is feeling fabulous and healthy!

First Commenter - Mei Teng

PhotoHunt - My choice

2009-10-16T20:19:00.003+08:00

One of my fondest memories of Cameron Highlands was visiting a corn farm in Tringkap. It was a rewarding experience taking the kids to see the vast expanse of corns because in the city they don't ever get to experience anything like that.

If you've never had sweet corn tasted directly from the farm, you're missing out on some sweet, juicy and mouth-watering corns. It’s worth coming to Cameron Highlands for that alone.

It was incredible seeing rows and rows of corn stalks as far as the eye can see.

More interestingly, the local farmers can harvest baby corn and mature sweet corn ears from the same plant, how cool.

As can be seen in this picture, this is a baby corn. It is sweet corn which can be harvested when still tiny and immature. The cob at harvest is roughly three inches in length, and the tiny kernels are edible and popular in Asian cooking. The baby corn ears are picked by hand immediately when the silks emerge from the ear tips, leaving only one full sized ear to go to mature for sweet corn. This will ensure each corn would attain the maximum juiciness and sweetness.

Upon maturity, the sweet corns are picked early in the morning when the ears are cool, before the heat of the day is oppressive. Normally, sweet corns are ready for harvest when ears are plump, silks are dry, and kernels are juicy and milky. They are grown primarily for local markets.

I was told that the height of their natural sweetness lasts within a day and then the sugar starts converting to starch causing it to lose some of its sweet flavour. That explains why the taste of freshly picked corn is tempting to nibble but don't eat too much of it though, because raw corns will give you a nut case of toilet runs. Don't say I didn't warn you!

First Commenter

Wordless Wednesday - Wanna go for a swim?

2009-10-14T07:15:00.004+08:00

First Commenter - Ayie

Ruby Tuesday - My New Nephew

2009-10-12T16:00:00.001+08:00

Introducing the newest member to our family. This cute little prince is Ivan, my little nephew. He's 1 month old and he’s absolutely soft and squishy. I love babies and nothing is as pure and innocent as a baby. I love the smell, the smooth silky skin, adorable baby noises, those little noses, the teeny tiny fingers and toes. Isn't he precious?

First Commenter

PhotoHunt - Sports

2009-10-09T22:42:00.008+08:00

My kids have always been a sports fan especially badminton. They have started playing badminton when they were old enough or strong enough to swing the rackets. Their passion for badminton came from my husband who trained them to play the sports from an early age. Not only does it promote fitness, it's an intriguing sports, full of strategies and excitement.

On top of that, seeing world class players on TV has been an inspiration to them to develop new techniques, improving their skills and what it is like to both win and lose. When they first started they weren't very good and they thought they would never be a good player but after much support and encouragement from friends and teachers, they got better.

First Commenters

Wordless Wednesday - Ruins of St Paul's Cathedral in Macau

2009-10-07T06:50:00.003+08:00

The remaining facade of St Paul's cathedral after the cathedral was detroyed by a disastrous fire during a typhoon in 1835. For centuries, it has been the icon of Macau and is the number one destination of Macau sightseeing. The façade is covered in intricate carvings and sculptures depicting the early days of the Catholic Church in Asia. It is officially enlisted as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005.

First Commenter

Ruby Tuesday - Lantern Festival

2009-10-05T13:14:00.003+08:00

It was a night filled with excitement and fun for the kids and parents who attended the school family gathering to mark the Lantern Festival recently. At the same time, I think it was a wonderful opportunity as all the kids get to experience a great taste of the traditional culture.

Among the activities lined up for the night were 24-season drums, lanterns procession, a lucky draw and not forgetting eating lots of glorious food.

The 24-season drums are used mainly in Chinese festivals, one of which is the Chinese New Year or Mid-Autumn Celebration.

The kids mesmerised the crowd with a superb performance of skills and coordination as they moved energetically to the rhythm of the drums, how cool is that!

My son and his friends gathered joyfully with their favourite lanterns parading around the school compound to mark this occasion. It was interesting to see those numerous lanterns in assorted sizes, shapes and even icons like Doeraemon, Ultraman, Spiderman and so on. Unfortunately, I didn't take many pictures during that night as I was too busy catching up with friends and savouring delicious food.

These days, sophisticated lanterns are equipped with battery operated which are perfect for toddlers but depending on the preferences of the kids, many older kids preferred candle lanterns.

Fun time : a group of kids posing for the camera with their favourite lanterns. Unfortunately, my son was camera shy and was always behind the camera. :(

The kids participated in lantern walk. They enjoyed the walk very much and many felt proud showing off their very own lantern on a walk around the school compound!

These cute lanterns provide a way for children to carry around candles safely

Hope everyone had an enjoyable Mooncake festival!

First Commenter - Donna

PhotoHunt - Words

2009-10-02T19:16:00.007+08:00

One of my fondest memories as a mother was reading to my children bedtime stories and I've always believed in reading to my kids would help foster a love of words and reading. My strategy so far, is to immerse my children in Chinese/English books at an early age. I would introduced them to simple words that apply to their daily life.

In addition to reading, educational DVDs are being introduced to my children at an early age. This set of DVD which comes in 10 volumes is by far the best I’ve come across with complete, straightforward explanations and interesting graphics. It is one of the fun ways to encourage kids to learn new reading words. My 2 year old is absorbing the sounds, tones and words based purely from all the repetition of words that she has heard. She can happily watch it countless times. It has been incredibly fun, very educational and a good exposure of new words and knowledge.

First Commenters

Wordful/ Wordless Wednesday - Statue of Fisher Girl

2009-09-30T06:18:00.003+08:00

This statue has been one of the interesting spots I had visited in Zhuhai last year. Zhuhai literally means Pearl of the Sea. The Statue of fisher girl has become the landmark in Zhuhai, located at the scenic Xianglu Bay. She holds a pearl high in the air with both hands in an elegant pose, admiring its bright luster that also symbolizes the brightness of Zhuhai.

According to legend, this statue depicts a beautiful fairy maiden who fell in love with a young fisherman. He believed some fabricated rumors and asked the girl for the bracelet she wore as proof of her love. Although she knew she would die if the bracelet were removed from her body, she still took it off and presented it to prove her deep love for him. The girl died eventually and the fisherman was bitterly remorseful, crying all day and night. An Immortal named Jiuzhou Elder was moved by their love and helped the young man resuscitate the girl. They offered this huge precious pearl to their benefactor during their marriage ceremony as a token of their appreciation for his kindness.

First Commenter