Singapore – A 35 year old single man tries to perform hypnosis in MSN.. with hilarious results. (Via TK)
His conversation with Olivia, a mom of 2 (who supposedly provided some false information to him)
Click for the MSN conversation (more…)
The children were playing with sparklers and Big took some gorgeous pictures with the Nikon D60. Love the focus and effects.
I think they had lots of fun, though I get nervous around them things. The sparklers, not the kids.
A pregnant STOMPer says this woman not only did not offer her the Priority Seat in the train, she even cursed her and her unborn child.Says the STOMPer in an email to STOMP yesterday (Jan 29):
“Today, I (I boarded the train from City Hall) met this inconsiderate and rude woman who did not offer me (who is 26 weeks pregnant) the Priority Seat she was sitting on.
“She did not offer me the seat even after finishing her sms and after one stop.
“However, she realised that I was taking a picture of her and asked me very rudely and with a hostile expression on her face if I wanted the seat.
“I answered yes and she stood up and started hurling vulgarities at me and calling me a ‘b***h’.
“I scolded her back as I thought she should be embarassed of herself!
“She walked away after about 20 seconds of cursing.
“Before she alighted at Novena station, she stopped by my seat and started cursing me and my unborn baby!
“I’m speechless as I’m wondering if she is even ashamed of herself!
“I cannot tolerate actions like this and from someone who is obviously educated.”
In a telephone conversation with STOMP, the STOMPer stood by her story.
She said that she was wearing maternity clothing and was visibly pregnant when she boarded the train and was disappointed that the woman had behaved in such a manner.
What were your thoughts after reading this? Indignation? Anger? Incredulity? This is natural if you had felt the above. After all it is minimal human decency to side with a pregnant woman who not only had been denied a seat, but also had to endure curses to herself and her unborn child. [Though as a disclaimer, I should state that I never expected anyone to offer me a seat during both my pregnancies. That is a story for another day though.]
You might even blog about it and express your displeasure/ disgust/ anger/ shock. That, too is perfectly normal. But what if you were presented with the other side of the story?
A pregnant woman earlier alleged that this woman not only failed to offer her a Priority Seat in the train, she even cursed her and her unborn child.The woman pictured in the story has since informed STOMP of her side of the story in an email dated Feb 1.Here’s what she had to say:“The truth of this incident is I boarded the train before the pregnant lady did. I was tired and trying to sleep as you can see in the photo.
“I had no idea when she boarded or that she was maliciously taking a photo of me sleeping. She never once asked for the seat, nor did anybody around alert me of her presence.
“Nonetheless, I looked up after a while, and when I noticed her, I immediately asked, ‘Do you want to sit?’
“To my shock and horror, she said ‘Yes’ really rudely, glaring at me, and rushed to the seat without a word of thanks!
“I then asked her, ‘Hey I offered you the seat, why are you being so hostile?’
“She said, ‘Of course! Couldn’t you see the sign?’
“Certainly I knew I was sitting on the Priority Seat. But am I expected to be constantly on the lookout for pregnant women? I was asleep for Christ’s sake, and the minute I noticed her, I offered it to her!
“There was NO ‘20 seconds of cursing’, ’she stood up and started hurling vulgarities at me’, nor did I curse her and her unborn baby.
“‘A pregnant STOMPer says this woman not only did not offer her the Priority Seat in the train, she even cursed her and her unborn child’ – this vicious statement is totally untrue.
“If there were SMRT cameras, I would most certainly like the public to see how ungrateful this pregnant lady really was, and worse, trying to malign me on STOMP!
“I do not deny that I called her a b***h. She certainly is the epitome of the word ‘b***h’.
“The truth is, she called me one too! After I graciously offered her the seat, she called me a b***h because I said there was no need for hostility simply because I had not noticed her earlier.
“As for ‘cursing her and her unborn baby’? All i said before I alighted was that it would be terribly sad if she brought up another person just like herself.
“I am not ashamed to say this because this is the true story, and I am sure everyone would agree with me that it is a great shame that a lady of her age cannot even conduct herself graciously, and is thinking of bringing up a child.”
Ah.. feeling differently now? My point is, regardless of who you might think is telling the truth, get both sides of the story.
The weather was gloriously sunny and breezy so we went for a walk in the estate.
Look at the scattered leaves on the ground. Our problems are but one leaf in the big scheme of things.
Pond at Kent Ridge Park
Feeding the turtles
‘Fishing’
Caught a leaf. 
The scenery is simply breathtaking. I prefer to take a walk in the park a million times more than jostling with crowds in shopping centres or along Orchard Road. *shudder*
It almost felt like our own private park – it was that quiet and serene.
Hmm.. do not catch birds with your bare hands? Do not clench the bird in your fists? LOL
I think we will miss the park a lot when we move out end of this year. If there is one good thing that the government has done, it is National Parks. Hort Park is another place that is great for relaxation and kid friendly. Hopefully the next house we move into will be close to a park or amidst greenery.
**
Pictures taken with the Nikon D60.
We had a chance to visit Marina Barrage, a new place of interest when we brought the kids to the family carnival organized by PUB. Boy, was it a chore getting there without a car.
We took the train to Marina Bay station where there is a free shuttle bus service every half hour to the Barrage. Given the usual efficiency in civil service, the timings as shown in the shuttle notice were not accurate – the revised notice for the New Year’s Eve schedule was not reflected accordingly. If you are going on a weekend or public holiday, the timings are different from that of a weekday. Do check with the station personnel if you are unsure.
The walk to the ‘bus stop’ from the station took about 7 minutes and it is highly uncomfortable due to the lack of any shelter and the continuous flow of dust and exhaust fumes from the heavy industrial vehicles that drove past endlessly.
I cannot comprehend why the ‘bus stop’ cannot be located right outside the station. The shuttle is operated every half hour and will not cause any traffic jam. The shuttle also alights us quite a distance away from the Barrage – about 7 minutes walk. I am not impressed with the logistics planning. It would be better if you can drive there or go directly by taxi – less grief. Parking is available at carpark A – right beside the Barrage.
Given the inconvenience in getting there, I was glad the children had some form of fun once we reached the carnival.
Food stalls outside the Pump House
Not as grouchy as mummy
The Pump House which contains 7 massive water pumps
Playing in the ‘Water Balloons’
F1 zippers
Evening lights
You can even have a picnic here
Today is the first day of another new year. What happened in 2008 for all of you? In the tradition of reminiscing,
My 10 personal projections for 2009
I think it’s good to do a cap of what happened the year before and to do a projection for the next year so that we know where we are going and how we are getting there. Care to share on your own plans? Do a pingback to me so that I can pop in and take a peek.
And since it’s such a long post already, I leave you with a song, which I thought echoes the spirit of the new year and the promise of a fresh start.
If you wander off too far, my love will get you home.
If you follow the wrong star, my love will get you home.
If you ever find yourself, lost and all alone,
get back on your feet and think of me, my love will get you home.
Boy, my love will get you home.
If the bright lights blinds your eyes, my love will get you home.
If your troubles break your stride, my love will get you home.
If you ever find yourself, lost and all alone,
get back on your feet and think of me, my love will get you home.
Boy, my love will get you home.
If you ever feel ashamed, my love will get you home.
When there’s only you to blame, my love will get you home.
If you ever find yourself, lost and all alone,
get back on your feet and think of me, my love will get you home.
Boy, my love will get you home.
If you ever find yourself, lost and all alone,
get back on your feet and think of me, my love will get you home.
Boy, my love will get you home,
Boy, my love will get you home.
As I was looking back at my Christmas posts in the last two years, I was cringing at how bimbotic and obnoxious I must have sounded two years ago. The clincher was that I had meant to be thankful for what I have.
The 2008 me wanted to give the 2006 me a tight slap on the face.
On a brighter note, it’s a reminder to myself to be more tolerant to people I deem bimbotic and idiotic now as seeing how I was ignorantly guilty. Who knows, perhaps the 2010 me might have something to say about the 2008 me now? LOL.
This year though, like the last few years, had us spending it quietly with the family and at TK’s home party.
The girls with TK’s sister’s dog, Nigel, who is a real slut. Nigel, not TK’s sister.
As usual, there weren’t any big ticket ‘wants’ by the children as we don’t have the habit of giving gifts only during Christmas or birthdays. They have their books, DVDs, games, gadgets, phone and whatnots already, so we got them craft and game sets for this Christmas. Though yours truly here was very tempted to get the Wii..
But I think having Xbox and Xbox 360, PSP and PS3… and DS lite are quite enough for this household.
For now.
In any case, Christmas, being other than the season for giving, sharing and forgiving, is primarily the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Besides the practice of gifting in the family, I feel it’s important to share with the children about giving to the less privileged.
Featured in Young Parents (Dec 08) for their Christmas writeup
I feel as fortunate and thankful as I did in 2006, only much more mellow, less squealy and definitely more sombre. There are many things that I have lost in life – only to be blessed with much more in return and there is nothing in life that can replace the joy, frustration, happiness and exasperation that my girls give me.
In retrospect, this was a good year for me. I had fulfilled a good part of my agenda, left the best boss I ever had (he sent me the sweetest sms over Christmas – ‘to my very very valued ex PA..’), started the business, examined myself as a person, got the highest paid and most boring job I ever had and yeah, got bored – I should have known.
I need new challenges.
So yes, I had a good year, though I had a down period lately, but here’s to an even better year.
**
In the new year to come and in view of the recession and economy crisis, we plan to scale down on a lot of luxuries and extravagances and focusing on minimizing our debts and building our assets.
Cash in the hand is better than a(nother) bag in the wardrobe I say.
After all like Michael Levin of celebrity PR fame said,
“As a celebrity media expert and author, I predict the new year will be marked by a cultural trend I am calling “Luxury Shame”. In the extraordinary recessionary times, it seems vulgar to flaunt one’s luxurious lifestyle.
I caution even the most successful celebrities to go ‘bling-less’.”
What more of us humble folks?
A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door.
SON: “Daddy, may I ask you a question?”
DAD: “Yeah sure, what it is?”
SON: “Daddy, how much do you make an hour?”
DAD: “That’s none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?” the man said angrily.
SON: “I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?”
DAD: ‘ If you must know, I make $50 an hour.”
SON: “Oh,” the little boy replied, with his head down. “Daddy, may I please borrow $25?”
The father was furious, “If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I don’t work hard everyday for such childish frivolities.”
The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.
The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy’s questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money? After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down , and started to think: Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $25.00 and he really didn’t ask for money very often.
The man went to the door of the little boy’s room and opened the door.
“Are you asleep, son?” He asked.
“No daddy, I’m awake,” replied the boy.
“I’ve been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier” said the man. “It’s been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here’s the $25 you asked for.”
The little boy sat straight up, smiling. “Oh, thank you daddy!” he yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills.
The man saw that the boy already had money, started to get angry again.
The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his father.
“Why do you want more money if you already have some?” the father grumbled.
“Because I didn’t have enough, but now I do,” the little boy replied. “Daddy, I have $50 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you.”
The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little son, and he begged for his forgiveness.
It’s just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life. We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts.
Do remember to share that $50 worth of your time with someone you love. If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of hours. But the family & friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.
Judging from the fun we had at Dim Sum Dollies, the family trooped to the WRAP festival also organized by NHB under the Explore Singapore! program.
There were good activities lined out for the kids – crafts, balloon sculpting and body art ‘kiosks’ set up to cater to the kids but the only glitch was probably that there was too much demand and too little supply. The queues were snaking long and tempers flared when a brawl broke out between two mothers in front of us. Now if they are giving out free 2.55s, I’d take apart the hussy who cuts my queue but this is freaking kids’ doodles for crissake. And lady, staging a catfight in front of your daughter is a big uh uh and certainly most unglamourous.
It doesn’t mean that I will take it lying down if my kids get sidelined but I prefer to let kids sort things out on their own – they learn to be independent and street smart. The only time I remember pulling my weight as a mum was when violence got involved. To cut a long story short, another kid hit Gean while trying to shove her off the swing. Gean, being sweetness personified, brushed it aside because the kid was younger. But this mother here was like, HOW DARE YOU, YOU LITTLE PIECE OF TURD. Big told me later that I looked murderous. I did contemplate breaking her little fingers one by one.
KIDDING. Really.
Anyway the ending was an anti climax. When I approached the mother to speak to her, I remained calm. Kids get boisterous when playing together, that’s fine but the line should be drawn at smacking and the likes – and I told her so accordingly. The kids were watching me and very possibly learning from my approach of handling conflict. Of course, there are occasions that call for a suitable meltdown but this is hardly it.
Anyway, I digress. So, if there is any queue cutting, I’d let the kids sort it out, failing which attention should be brought to the service provider as a matter of fact and that’s that.
Besides having more activities for the children so that they don’t kill each other, I think the temperature has to be adjusted lower to accommodate the afternoon sun and increased human traffic. It was rather warm indoors and scorching HOT outdoors – more fans and marquee tents would have been most welcome.
The area indoors was also spacious enough for more seats, something which I found very scarce in commodity. Perhaps I am speaking with prejudice but fat arses like mine need to be parked occasionally while I looked on with Dowager-like indulgence while my offsprings entertained themselves with paint and exploding balloons.
All in all, this mum here is happy when the kids are happy and judging from the photos, the kids don’t give a hoot about fat arses needing seats.
But still.
Must have at carnivals – food stalls! My only lament – not enough
Kweh kweh!! I.must.resist.
MUST.RESIST.
RESIST!
Damned, resistance is futile
Sigh, guess why I am a plus size auntie. *burp*
Jack and Rai of EIC performing! I especially liked Rai singing the hokkien song ‘One Half‘ (one of the songs in 881)
The bouncing cow. Perennial kids’ favourite.
Alamak you see this girl. Macham hantu can.
Body artist doing a flower mural for Gean
Pose also got pattern ok. Tsk.
Posing with her balloon flower (pink of course) and the painted art. *rolls eyes*
Ger getting her body art done
COOKIE MONSTER!!! I was almost tempted to queue and get one done too
Yep she likes dogs (yes, TK, the attraction is your dogs, not you)
Having icecream after all that fun
Happy campers
We brought the kids to catch the Dim Sum Dollies show last Saturday at the National Museum with Serendipity and TK.
The delectable Dim Sum Dollies! I absolutely adore these ladies for their comic talent. They can sing a mean tune too.
The turnout for the show. We were standing at the back to get a ‘bird’s eye view’. I think judging from the reaction from the audience, they enjoyed the show as much as, if not more than we did.
Emma plucked this dude from the audience and posed a question to him, “What is the name of the museum – the National Museum of __________?” He was stumped, much to the amusement of the audience. We cracked up even more when Pamela offered ‘multiple choices‘ – “Is it Malaysia? Singapore?” LOL. I think he had stage fright lah.
My kids enjoying the show with much gusto. Don’t ask me why Gean was doing the lips thing.
This segment about the Singapore Girl (SQ girl) was hilarious. I especially am amused by the humorous sly digs at how atrocious their spoken English can be sometimes, the competitive bitchiness and their strange Pinkerton affliction.
Selena being a good sport and striking a pose for our camera
Emma and Pamela gamely posing for us too.
Serendipity feeling tempted to jab my butt? Tsk! LOL.
**
I think NHB has done a great job in thinking out of the box in its innovative outreach programs. In tying in with the popular and well received Dim Sum Dollies, and marketing it at an extremely affordable price at $10 per adult, it’s a clever and interesting way to draw people in. Sure enough, we wanted to carry on exploring the museum after the show ended.
The only minor grouse my kids had was that the skit, at 30 minutes, was too short! These kids know a good thing when they see it. Heh. Also, don’t forget that the influence of children and the impact of good will during childhood (think MacDonalds, people) is a very real and powerful marketing factor. The kids are already asking when they can ‘go to the museum’ again. Heh.
I would say that the Explore Singapore! program (70+ events in 27 museums!) is a success because we will be going again for the WRAP festival tomorrow with the kids. With a good itinerary for both adults and kids, I think NHB has it down pat.
**
More photos
Hair style pattern book – so nostalgic!!
Old school toiletries – the powder is still available these days, not sure about the rest.
Antique Singer sewing machine! Big’s mum has one too.
Silk cheongsam – the workmanship looks so exquisite and impeccable. I was swooning away.
Antique wedding gown – check out the OMG puff sleeves!
This sounds so wrong. LOL.
See the audiophones that we are plugged in to? The different exhibits in the museum are tagged with numbers – when you key in the number, you can listen to information about the exhibit. With audio and visual guidance, we explored Singapore history and the Japanese Occupation with ease. PS – also note that I am double the size of Serendipity. Hiak hiak hiak!!
**
BIG thanks to Blog2u.sg and NHB for the kind invitation extended to me, Big, the kids AND my friends.
So I’m still here. Thanks for the concern about the recent silence. Quite a lot had been going on in my life.
Last week, I was talking to Big’s sister in law and she was telling me to marry Big soon. She also stressed that I should ‘give him a child’ to be ‘fair to him’ but strangely I was not offended at all.
I remember telling Big that I was surprised that I was not affronted by her words. Perhaps it was her forthright frankness which was much less offensive than some other forms of passive aggressiveness or pretentious hypocrisy. On hindsight, I am glad that I felt amused than upset by her refreshing honesty.
She just passed away. She was only 42. Her last words to me was to marry Big soon and to bear him a child. I don’t know how to articulate my feelings when I think about this. It is neither sadness or pressure. I don’t know what it is.
My maternal aunt has been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She goes for a full body check up every year and they found nothing wrong with her last year. This year, they found a cyst that was growing so rapidly it was going to be bigger than her ovary and it is growing inside her ovary. When my mother told me about it, I felt cold fear entwining around my heart, gripping it vise like. It was a surreal, am I really hearing this moment.
My aunt had to undergo surgery to remove her entire womb and starting from next week, go through six cycles of chemotherapy. I am reading up whatever I can about her condition. She is only in her late forties. When I accompanied her just now to remove her stitches, I was hit with an avalanche of emotions which I had to hide with a calm facade in order to be strong for her. I will be going with her to see her oncologist next week. I think the road ahead for her is tough but hopefully, slightly easier with our support.
Lately I feel very tired. Tired of life’s fragility, people giving me grief about stupid meaningless things, meaningless violence, injustice, petty gossips, hissy fits over nothing – basically I am sick of and fed up with human stupidity and ugliness. I feel the need to retreat into myself and to be a loner again.
Perhaps it is my defence mechanism kicking in, I don’t know.
On a brighter note, I find myself redefining my priorities in life all over again.
Ger is on hols till end of the year. While we have already planned the usual camps for them (they had just came back from their scuba/ archery/ bowling camps), I hope we won’t tear out too much of our hair out the rest of the time. LOL. I don’t believe in spoonfeeding entertainment or activities to fill out her day (after all she is quite independent and already has a plan of what she is going to do). She remembered that the quota of borrowed books is doubled to 8 per person during school holidays and had asked if she could go every week. Amenities like the pool, soccer field, basketball court and tennis court are at our convenience so I think we are in good hands.
And no, she is not ‘going through the next year’s syllabus’ as what I have heard from some parents’ intentions. Poor kids – are they the victims of their parents’ over demanding expectations or the society’s punishing pace and pressure? I don’t do this not only because I want to retain whatever vestiges of childhood she has, I also don’t want to risk her getting bored because we have been through the syllabus. After all, someone had been known to get up to no good when she gets bored.
Anyway, we have been swimming in the mornings, going to the library, taking walks and having games at home so far. She’s still having her ballet weekly and will be going back to school for intensive netball training. She’s been selected for the school team next year and will be in Sports Class – something that she had been aiming for. It’s not the first time I feel glad that I have enrolled her in this convent – where the culture and spirit encourages values, principles, character and belief in self.
After all, efforts at home need to be complemented by a corresponding system and culture in school. That is also why I was not interested in a ‘top school’ where there will definitely be an over emphasis on academic results, homework, holiday classes and what nots. I am quite pleased with her results, even though the Chinese was less than ideal because she missed out an entire chunk of questions at the back due to time issue.
When I told her she has to learn to manage her time in examinations instead of saying ‘not enough time’, she glibly told me that there were people who scored worse and they did all the questions. To which I gave my usual refrain – look not to the bottom but to the top. I wanted to start on my ‘you are your own best and worst competitor’ spiel but she was starting to roll her eyes.
Having a game of reversi with Ger
Having a spot of tea with the girl
When I am watching my CSI/ Dexter/ Monk etc, I like to have a pot of tea on with some finger food. Sometimes, the telly is on while I surf the net, do some crafts or flip through magazines. Any fellow multi taskers out there? 
Malay kueh kueh
Weak brew of Lapsang – I love this cup. Big bought it for me – he knows I like old school stuff.
We went for an evening walk at Henderson Waves last weekend. It is better to go in the early morning when there are less mozzies and not so damn hot. The scenery is beautiful though. Most importantly, FOC ok.
I love how the kids make their own entertainment. LOL.
And of course there were idiots who don’t know how to read signs and insist on smoking and polluting the air. Common sense to know not to smoke in places where people take relaxing walks right? Apparently not.
Lazy Friday posts will be a weekly pictorial post befitting of well, Lazy Fridays. LOL.
At M’s (Gean’s friend) birthday party
Dancing in the fleet of time
Gean playing with my TCM doctor’s dog
Just chilling out
Gean’s impression of ‘hantu’. Tsk.
Lighter Locks
I was so inspired by Walter’s self help tips “From Excess to Austerity” that I came up with my own little guide based on our own practices-
Mutton Stew with carrots and onions. Truly soul food.
Steamed Fish fillet – no fishy smell and the kids love it
Baked honey pork ribs – as good as it looks
Braised broccoli with prawn – he can’t take prawns but will cook for us because we do
Miding fried with sambal belachan (Miding is not available in local markets – Big’s mum got it from Malaysia for us. It is very delicious but looking at it made me itch uncontrollably!)
Oven baked chicken thighs – this is as yummy as the fried version but much healthier
Apart from the luxury of being pampered with home cooked food, we also value the time that we spend eating together as a family. In this society where everyone is working late and having their own activities, not many families have the time to dine together.
You can also check out Wine Affaire at 73 Tras Street (6220 2493) - where you can have a free flow of wines at only $28.
Very cosy ambience
The two owners (local entrepreneurs) of Wine Affaire
Chilling out on the couch for movies with homemade popcorn and drinks
This is a wonder machine. It not only plays DVDs, VCDs and CDs, it is USB compatible – it plays stuff that you download to your USB device.
The benefits of carpooling are as follows:
1. You reduce transport expenses.
2. You save on travelling time (direct route, no stops etc).
3. There is no driving stress or fatigue if you are the passenger.
4. You could read/ check emails/ work etc if you are the passenger.
5. You enjoy co-savings on petrol costs if you are the driver.
6. It is environmentally friendly.
7. It reduces traffic congestion.
8. It reduces parking problems.
Vanilla Cupcakes
Cupcake decorated with hundreds and thousands and chocolate rice
Brownie (for my kids to decorate and have fun)
Raspberry and white Chocolate cheesecake
Oreo cheesecake
Crafts for kids (a packet of the wood powder costs only $5 and it can last you a very long time)
Bear shaped pen holder
Dog paperweight
visit museums,
rediscover your heritage by exploring different parts of Singapore eg. Arab Street, Little India, Chinatown etc.
It’s enriching to the mind and soul while allowing us to rediscover our inner selves. It’s also much cheaper than hanging out at the malls (retail therapy is so very tempting and expensive) – and we’d end up eating in restaurants most of the time. I like this site because it gives me ideas on where to explore next in Singapore.
Our basil plant
We went to ??? at Maxwell Food Centre for chicken rice (forget ??, it’s over-hyped). After dinner, we decided to take a sightseeing stroll at Temple Street and Chinatown.
We saw miniatures of lion dance props, Chinese paintings, calligraphy and drawn fans, jade jewellery, cheongsams, embroidered shoes – a whole condensed world of the Chinese culture. I was sorely tempted to get a pair of the exquisitely embroidered cloth shoes but where on earth would I wear them to? LOL.
There was a shop in the old “Sei Yan Gai” (????where there were very nostalgic pictures of olden Singapore on display. I bought a few to be framed up and displayed at home – in line with our decor theme of vintage nostalgia.
So nostalgic
Old Collyer Quay
Old North Bridge Road
Old Singapore River
Old Dhoby Ghaut
On a small table, small “wood clay” animals made by the owner were displayed for sale. He also sells the wood clay powder at S$5.00 a packet for home crafts. He explained that the wood clay is made from wood powder and we just need to add two parts powder and one part water to make dough. Basically you can add colour to the dough to make playdough. To prevent it from drying out and hardening, just keep it refrigerated in a plastic container or bag. To make an ornament or craft item, just fashion and sculpt when wet and leave for 1-2 days to dry out and harden completely.
The children being the usual inquisitive sponges that they are, gathered around him to ??. He very gamely started to teach my girls how to craft a hand, dog, and other ornaments out of the wood clay. Seeing that the kids are having such a ball, I bought a packet for them to do their thing at home.
The children are dolls. They insisted for making something for me.
Ger’s bear “pen holder” for me
Gean’s bear for me. She is waiting for it to dry before she paints it.
Bringing the children for a free “heritage tour” of Chinatown and spending a quiet evening doing crafts with them – these are a few of the simple things that we enjoy and which gave us much happiness.
This post is dedicated to my late grandmother.
I come from a pure Cantonese family where my maternal and paternal parents are Cantonese. One side of the family being Cantonese is quite enough for most but in my case, I got the double whammy.
Being Cantonese, I believe, is a whole culture in itself. The particular attention paid to our family traditions, wedding customs and cuisine, and not to mention our idiosyncrasies, make us a very unique dialect group. In this aspect, I think the Cantonese are not unlike the Peranakans – to whom our family is also related to due to marriage interlinks. That makes it a triple whammy. To those who like to complain about your family, I haven’t even started on mine.
In the aspect of the woman’s duty to her family, I believe that again the Cantonese is no doubt the most fussy and anally retentive – well, perhaps we share the dubious honor with the Peranakans – and I say this with love. Many a times have I heard the elders chastising away in Cantonese when a daughter-in-law does not know how to cook well or is sloppy with the house chores. Not only is the Cantonese daughter or daughter in law expected to cook and brew nutritious soups brewed for hours (which the Cantonese are well known for?and take care of her family, she is also expected to be presentable and possess manners and decorum befitting of a good upbringing – ????????????We are also probably expected to have two heads and four arms too.
My grandmother is a classic example of a good wife and daughter in law. She brought up seven (!) children and kept house while working. Her cooking is unsurpassed and till this day, I have not been able to find someone who can make salted vegetable with duck soup that can be on par with hers.
Although she had passed away for more than two years now, little things in life still remind me of her significance in my life. Strangely, I was her favourite grandchild even though she had favored sons. From her, I learned how to savor and appreciate steamed sweet potatoes. I remember sitting at the dining table while she patiently peeled off the skins for me.
I also remember her morning ritual of making fresh strong coffee – from the fresh powder that she would buy from the old school coffee beans shop at Cassia Crescent. She would use a strainer bag like this:
credits to www.cubanfoodmarket.com
The fragrance of the coffee would permeate throughout our old house and she would sit down to have a hot cup of coffee before starting on her daily chores – a habit that I was soon to acquire in my later years.
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Taken at the National Museum
She used to snort at commercial cereal and would only make “wu” for me – a very healthy and nutritious concoction of cooked dong sum power. I have fond memories of her ladling it out in one of these yellow metal plates to be cooled before feeding me. It was truly a labour of love – it is extremely tedious to grind the dong sum into powder form and then cook it slowly over a low fire so as not to burn it. I have not tasted “wu” ever since she passed away and the thought of it will always make me tear up.
The charcoal stove in the picture also reminds me of the times she made love letters for the Chinese New Year. Not the mushy crap that I used to get from the gawky boy in the school bus but this delicious confection:
credits to www.littlemissmay.com
Gramps will pour the liquid thinly over the metal molder and cook it over the charcoal stove. After it is cooked and still hot, she will peel it from the metal plate using her cotton gloved hand and swiftly roll it with a thin wooden stick to make it into this shape -
credits to http://www.resepirrrecipe.com
She would make a bottle just for me to chomp on every year. The homemade taste of love letters is a taste and nostalgia that I have not been able to find in those factory manufactured ones.
Thankfully, we still have her legacy with us and that is – the speaking of the dialect. She taught me and subsequently my daughter to speak fluent Cantonese. My daughter has also inherited her love of steamed potatoes and like me, sometimes would still tear up when taking a bite of the food that reminds us of her “tai po”.
And given her partiality towards coffee, I suspect the morning habit of a hot cup is likely to make its appearance in a few years’ time.
We bought Crayola sets for the children to doodle while I played at being Nigella again.
I used some yogurt in this batch. The taste is slightly tangy and the texture is light.
Love the colour!
For the girls – a layer of Hazelnut cream and then an explosion of colours. I wish I had captured Gean’s face on camera when I gave it to her. She practically squealed with delight.
For Big and the girls. Yes, the girls polished off two cupcakes each! As supper.
Cookies for the children
I was on leave today and we decided to chill at Sentosa beach and go via cable car! As usual, we are blessed with good weather whenever we go on family outings.
Boarding at Mount Faber
Thankfully we all do not suffer from motion sickness and were able to enjoy the scenery without discomfort. It was a tad warm though.
The scenery!
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We went to Coastes at Siloso Beach. It’s under the Emerald Hill group so we had the fabulous ICB pizza (prawns and tomato pesto!) and their famous grilled chicken wings. I brought the kids there sometime ago when they still had a sand pit in the pool table area, but now they have filled the sand pit with cement. And so the kids played by the beach.
Glorious weather and cool breezes by the beach. Heaven.
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Sakae is situated beside Coastes so we sampled some of the food from their menu too.
Japanese cheesecake. Pretty presentation. The kids and Big told me my homemade one tastes much better which warms me deep inside.. *loved*
Yasai Tempura – quite passable. Just vegetables deep fried with batter.
Foie Gras pasta in cream/ tepanyaki sauce. Quite a hit with the kids.
Waffles with Walnut buttercotch and White chocolate raspberry icecream. From New Zealand Natural Icecream. Yum! We all loved it.
It’s very convenient to get eats from different restaurants as the food outlets are located within a stone’s throw of each other.
Two gorgeous bikini babes in front of us.. They were kissing at some point too. Hmm.. The guys will go, “the good ones are all taken!”
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After showering the kiddos, we settled down for a family dinner at Coastes. It really has a beautiful and relaxing ambience….
Aaahh… I promptly ordered a ice cold Hoegaarden white, to which the kids squealed that “women shouldn’t drink beer” Kids.
Bwahaahahahaha!!!! They took a small sip, made a face and declared it “nasty”.
GOOD. That’s my evil “reverse psychology” plan.
La evil mother and her two poor kids. *excuse the bare face and messy hair because of the humidity and breezes.*
Fire burnt ovens – makes for fantastic pizzas.
One of the shiokest things in the world is to chill with your family, pig out on chicken wings and pizza, and chug some ice cold beer…
….in these surroundings. Shiok.
My girls and I.. and Big being the sweet photographer as always.
We brought the kids to Hort Park on Saturday and the weather was glorious, to say the least.
Beautiful bed of green to lie on
Reminds me of rice terrains
Nice application of recycling
Taken from KHA (a Thai restaurant located in Hort Park)
I love this pic! Big really captured the moment
A happy one together.
Big’s angels
Flowers in the glasshouse.. Gorgeous!
Beautiful blooms of flowers everywhere.
They cycled. We walked.
And the sweet man helped carry their bikes up the hilly terrains.
I love this picture. It’s so poignant.. Makes me think of them growing up and me letting go eventually..
Yikes!! I don’t know where she gets that leg pose thing from! I certainly never posed like that. LOL.
Another ER XIN pose she came up with. *faint*
That’s better, young lady!
Checking out the turtles. There are lots in the pond beside our house..
Happy girls!
