The weeks that was...

The Grimm Brothers, hubs, Julien my cousin and me

right before the Easter Holidays, we went to Hanau, Germany to visit my aunt (from my dad's side). It was just 6 hours drive there, well supposed to be but we took about 5 hours! When we arrived, my aunt was like "how come so fast? Speeding ler!?". Yup! Hubs was going about 180 to 200 kmh on certain parts of the German highway; famed for having no speed limit. I guess hubs was in heaven - speeding heaven that is. And believe it or not, there's been actually really rare cases of accidents there, which is a bit weird since speed kills as they say. But I guess when you're going a minimum of 170 kmh, you're on your toes all the time to be distracted.

The Würzburg Residence

Any ways, we spent a week at their place. Went visiting Frankfurt, Hanau and Würzburg. Didn't do much shopping or sight seeing besides the places mentioned earlier, this time around as the weather was horrid. But still, it didn't stop me from getting some books; PS, I Love You by Cecelia Ahern, Talk to the Snail by Stephen Clarke, 501 Must Visit Cities by Bounty Books and Guess How much I Love You by Sam McBratney & Anita Jeram with CD.

The main stairway of the Residence, notice the fresco above. Original by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo.

I really love the book Guess How Much I Love You. I've been reading it to Owen almost every night!! As for Talk to the Snail, I like the way Clarke writes about the French. So funny and entertaining. I haven't been reading PS, I Love You just yet as I still haven't finish The Other Side of the Story by Marian Keyes. And plus I'm eyeing another book recommended by NNC member, Nik or was it Margaret (??), The Friday Kniting Club by Kate Jacobs. Having eyes bigger than the purse! We'll see how it goes 1st. Or may be I could ask my girl friend in London to get them for me when she comes for a visit the next time? Books in the UK are far less pricey than here in the Land of Moos. Mental note; I'll even ask her to get me Ribena!! YAY!! hehehehehehe.... I LOVE RIBENA!

One of the weird scultures along the stairway. Reminds me of the devil....

OH! Did anyone know that the Grimm Brothers was born in Hanau? Well I didn't but now I know! :D There's not much old buildings in Frankfurt or most of Germany for the fact is that most was bombed by the Alliance during WWII. Some that was left standing, was left as it is as a monuments. Perhaps as a reminder for the younger generations.

The Festung Marienbreg fortress from the pedestrian bridge

One of the many sculptures along the bridge

My aunt was like; "Ya, but did you know that due to this consistent "reminder" that the laws with regards to sexual offenders, especially towards paedophiles, are so lax?. Only less than 4 years prison and fine, that's it! As parents in Germany, I'm constantly worried about the safety of my son." Well, which parents doesn't? We worry that bad things can and will happen to our kids; on the way to and from school, while they are playing outside etc. But I do agree that laws against these people are kinda lax here in Europe. They'd say "oh, because they are sick we have to help them" OR even worst "oh, we can't harm them because they are human as well" etc etc. I mean come on!! Paedophiles are every where, even in Malaysia. But there at least we have the cane ruling, which is I am all for it! If not castrate them (which I don't think will happen anywhere at all!), cane them to remind them of what horrors they've put a child through. Locking them up and throw aways the key or trying to "cure" them will not do any good, coz tax payers money can be put into good use else where.

A very striking church, no?

Würzburg is a town full of churches! Here's one of them....

Opps.. looks like I've wandered. So back to; Hanau. Its pretty much a small town. It has however a US army base here. My uncle told us that they are soon to be relocated to the East of Germany. As for Frankfurt, its a very metropolitan city. As do all cities but it still has its charms, although it did not impress me very much. Perhaps we didn't really try to discover it.. Hmmm.... But Würzburg was really pretty, even when it drizzles and its cold out! The bridge for pedestrians over the Main river, the Würzburg Residence and the Festung Marienberg fortress was really something. The Residence was actually heavily destroyed during WWII, but it now its fully restored with minor restoration work still on going. It was owned by a prince-bishop, don't the name though. They even have a miniature Hall of Mirrors - I'm comparing with Versailles Palace of course, which is really something to see. Sorry, no pictures as photography isn't allowed inside. As for the Festung Marienberg fortress, by the time we got there it was closing time for the museum. But still we took a walk around the grounds just before heading back to Hanau. The way back was getting a little bit dark and snowy - not good for driving.

Würzburg town viewed from the fortress

Any ways, it was all good fun catching up on the latest (or old) family gossips with my aunt and uncle. The week pasts so fast and its time to go home for we'd be expecting a house guest the following week - one of hub's friend from Nice, France. And they are traveling with their 2 month old girl!! She's adorable but from what I see, but her dad seems to be complaining all the time about her crying. Hmm.... New father getting use to the idea of having a colicky baby.... We went through the same experience, so I guess its time for him to find out as well! ;)

Malaysia has decided

Its truly un believeable! BN (Barisan National) lost Selangor, Penang, Kedah and Perak. Mind you these states were once strong BN supporters. So what HAPPENED?

I tell you what I know so far. BN brought this upon themselves. The promises BN made on 2004 were so-called "achieved" and was said to be done beyond those promises. But how does the layman know? There's no one watching or even monitor the said "progress" by so-called NGOs. NGOs in M'sia I've always believed that it has the backing of the government. If not they would not have "lesen" to even form or operate as a group!! Call me paranoid or a baseless blogger, but there's no such thing as black and white in politics. There's always the "GREY" area, where politicians build their so-called cronies and get support for their causes or "other agenda".

As a Malaysian living abroad. I think many would agree with me that looking (reading or hearing) at current events of our home country from the outside gives us an advantage on perspective. We look at (and experienced) at the ways of local government and its economic situation of our host country, some may agree with me on this but some may not, and we do compare it (conscientiously or not) with those of our home country.

Its not that we love our home country less but its that we love our home country more that we compare and simply want the best for our fellow/future Malaysians at home and abroad. Its like parents wanting what is best for their children. As there's no such thing as "the best" government in any countries. Voting IS actually a way to choose and the only outlet that we, its citizens, to voice out what we want for our nation.

On why BN loose these states; well simply put it this way. Noticing that these states aren't actually "moving"forward or even going any where with BN - rural folks wishes not met, the "play" on race/religious issues (sensitive matter), the security issues (crime, immigration etc) and economic matter has got from bad to worst. Its no wonder the rakyat wants the winds of change after having BN "rule" the country for more than 3 decade (the Opposition won in 1969 - and we know how the rest of the story goes!).

I think this generation of Malaysians are mature enough and fearless to make such decision. Fear is the mother of all evil. That is what created riots in 1969. Let me just say this, although we may not know what the future may hold but we are fearless enough to venture into the unknown. Malaysia has its faults, she makes mistakes and hopefully learn from each mistakes. She is also a young nation, dynamic and eagar to learn from the rest of the world. We can not let race and religion blind us from what we set ourselves to achieve. We must see to it that we not take for granted that tax payers money is easy money to fulfil our wants but needs of our rakyat regardless of background/colour/believes. We must see to it that we teach our children that Malaysia belongs to them and that they are Malaysians (full stop), not just Chinese/Indian/Punjabi dan lain-lain Malaysian. This my dream for my home country - Malaysia and I am a Malaysian.

On the trail of scandals my friend?

I just recieved this from a friend. Don't know how true this is but when Air Asia wanted to take over Sabah & Sarawak routes then actually "return" them again, makes one actually wonder no, on what the hell is going on behind the scenes? I may not be able to vote, even if I am, I'll vote using my brains and with relevance to all that is and has happend in the country.

Fasten Your Seat Belts : The Air Asia, Badawi , Singapore , Kamaludin, Tengku Adnan, Kalimullah Story I bet you all know that Air Asia in Thailand is call Thai Air Asia and they have Thaksin family as their share holders. Guess who are the share holders in Malaysia Air Asia?.... Good guess! Did know you are so smart my fren! Read on my dear tax payer!

Posted by Raja Petra - Wednesday, 27 February 2008

By Little Bird

Kawan-kawan, please fasten your seat belts now. I thought that I knew something about what is really going on in the administration of Abdullah Badawi. Today I found out I have not even scratched the> surface. The following is panas-panas news. You may want to hit the> ejection button (not yours but theirs) after reading this. Firstly, the shareholders and/or stakeholders of Air Asia (directly, indirectly, through proxies, etc.) include Kamaluddin bin Abdullah Badawi, Kalimullah Maseerul Hassan (also into Tune Hotels), Khairy Jamaluddin, Tony Fernandez, etc.

We all know the story of Air Asia. Well, we all thought it was a rags to riches story. It is actually a story about riches. The rags part is actually very hazy. When MAS entered into a phase of 'restructuring' about three years ago, Air Asia, through Tony Fernandez, struck fast and furious. Before we go further, you may want to ask why did MAS have to suffer yet another 'restructuring'? That is a story by itself for another day but just bear in mind that Badawi's brother, Ibrahim, is the owner of the catering company (Skychef?) that used to supply mineral water at RM35 a case to MAS. With that kind of pricing, surely MAS would need 'restructuring'.

Anyway, Air Asia stepped in and pushed the Gomen for a 'rationalisation' of the domestic air routes in Malaysia . Air Asia asked to be given MAS' Sabah and Sarawak routes. MAS could keep flying> in Semenanjung, they said. Despite objections by MAS, Air Asia was> granted its wish. But the wish did not just happen. Zaki, a fourth floor boy at the PM's office, helped Air Asia make its wish come true. Once MAS lost its Sabah and Sarawak routes to Air Asia, there was a> staff redundancy. So MAS had to organise a VSS. MAS demanded that since Air Asia was taking over their Sabah and Sarawak routes it would make some of their staff redundant so Air Asia should pay MAS some compensation. Everyone (MAS, Gomen and even Air Asia) agreed that compensation was payable to MAS. But Air Asia would not pay anything. Finally, the Gomen (err that means you and me lah, Encik Taxpayer) paid the compensation to MAS, which MAS promptly used in one of the most expensive VSS payments in our history. If your blood is starting to boil, stop reading and better cool off because it does not get better.

Then, within one year, Air Asia realised that the Sabah and Sarawak routes were not profitable. They never were. MAS was performing national service in Sabah and Sarawak . Flying chickens and goats is not a money-making venture. No problem.

Air Asia made another wish. They told the Gomen, we have to return these air routes back to MAS. Again MAS objected. Again overruled. Not relevant. Then came the handing over ceremony of the air routes and the airplanes. When they took over the Sabah/Sarawak routes, Air Asia had 'acquired' seven airplanes from MAS in perfect working condition. (MAS does have one of the best safety records in the world.) However, when Air Asia 'returned' the planes to MAS, only one was left in working condition. The other six planes were grounded, not fit for flying and could not fly. In actual fact, Air Asia was cannibalising parts from the six planes to keep the seventh one flying. Again MAS objected. Again overruled.Not relevant. It eventually cost MAS in excess of RM50 million to make the planes flyable again.

This was a direct subsidy to 'rags to riches' Air Asia's profits. Then Air Asia started eyeing the lucrative KL-Singapore routes. Tighten your seat belts. This one will really jolt. But they went about it the roundabout way. They said they wanted to go international. They did (some) but international routes are tough. No Zaki, Badawi, Khairy, Kalimullah or Kamaluddin to make your wishes come true. But the KL-Singapore sector was generating RM40 million in PROFITS to MAS. This was the plum in the pudding. Air Asia wanted it badly. So they made another wish. It came true. This is how they did it. Air Asia 's bid to break into the KL-Singapore sector was first discussed in Cabinet when Badawi was on holiday overseas.

Najib chaired the meeting and Air Asia's application was rejected. The application was rejected for two main reasons:

i. By 2009 the whole of ASEAN becomes open sky anyway. ASEAN airlines can fly to all ASEAN capitals without restrictions. So why open up KL-Singapore in double quick time?

ii. If budget flights are allowed between KL-Singapore, KLIA will die> an unnatural death. KLIA will become a feeder airport for Singapore 's Changi. People will fly from KL to Singapore and then fly off from Singapore to the rest of the world. MAS will then die a natural death. So the request was declined.
Then Badawi came back from his travels and asked Tengku Adnan the Minister of Tourism to prepare a paper on tourism, linking MAS, Air Asia , SIA, etc., to tourist arrivals. At the next Cabinet meeting chaired by Badawi, he asked Tengku Adnan to present the 'Cabinet paper'. Insiders say that the paper was an 'out of Agenda' item - meaning it> surprised everyone, but the dunggus approved it nonetheless. Air Asia got its wish again. Tengku Adnan also secured his Putrajaya seat.

Now here is the killer. Soon after Air Asia started flying the KL-Singapore sector, they started giving away 300,000 free tickets, 5 sen tickets and all the other gimmicks. Singapore is believed to be> subsidising Air Asia for all these expensive gimmicks. For SIA, losing RM40 million (S$17 million) profit from the KL-Singapore sector is chicken feed. Air Asia is feeding thousands of transit passengers from KL to Changi . Air Asia is providing RM19 bus rides from KL to KLIA. From KLIA, passengers fly almost free to Changi. From Changi the passengers can connect to the world. Now, Air Asia is making another wish - they want to fly direct from Kuching, KK, Penang, Alor Setar, Kota Bharu, etc., to Changi. They will earn even more 'subsidies' from Singapore . KLIA will drop dead later, MAS will die first.

This is how we go from 'rags to riches'. And we all thought Tony Fernandez was such a great guy too. The shareholders and/or stakeholders of Air Asia (directly, indirectly, through proxies, etc.) include Kamaluddin bin Abdullah Badawi, Kalimullah Maseerul Hassan (also into Tune Hotels), Khairy Jamaluddin, Tony Fernandez, etc. Yes, we believe in open skies, competition and all that. But friends, fellow Malaysians, this is the PM, his son, his S-I-L and his cronies lah. How can they sell out their own country? But this is what they are doing.

Kawan-kawan, come March 8th, 2008 you have an opportunity to hit the button for the ejecion seat. Hit the ejection button and send these people out into oblivion. Don't give them any parachutes either.

They say never trust a shrewd businessman (most of them are shrewd, if not how can get KAYA wor?), so why trust the words of a politician? They are merely words. So VOTE WISELY FELLOW MALAYSIANS!!

Is Milk a "poison" for humans?

Moo!

Living in a milk rich region, its hard to avoid products made with cow's milk. Be it butter, cheese, yogurt, cakes, cereals etc...

However there are reasons to believe that milk is slowly poisoning our human bodies. Well at least I do. Do you think cow's milk is right and safe for human consumption at all? Well, most people say right away YES! For the very few would say NO!

For the YES! group, their reasons are:

• 
  
  Well that's where you get your calcium and protein from. Honestly? Well no. Calcium and protein could be obtained from other sources such as soy and green leafy veggies. Like the cow which gets their sources from. Cow's milk are made from vegetarian diet. We don't we see cow's drinking each other milk don't we? Unless of course if its their new born.

The NO! group reasons:

• milk contains hormone which is either injected by farmers or produced naturally by the animal for the usage of their new borns. These hormone can and could react with our human body cell which causes cancer. Take for example, breast cancer. In order for cow's to produce milk, it has to produce insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I). Same as human female. Therefore since us females produce these IGF-Is ourseves, why take in more from milk? "It has been widely known that IGF-I is one of the key factors of cancerous cell growth" from here.


• There are a lot of people who are lactose intolerant or milk will make them very (very) ill. Some people like me who suffers from migraine would be thankful to know that milk is one of the main culprits besides sudden change of temperature, allergy of certain foods (peanuts, chocolates etc), stress, toothaches etc...


• Its also widely known to cause osteoporosis in the western world. I've actually not heard of osteoporosis while I was back home!!! I think must be the reason that in Asia (notably China & Japan), we don't drink that much of milk or at all. The other reason for this would be that most Asians have milk intolerance. Drinking milk will not prevent loss of bone mass. It seems that bone mass loss is accelerated by having too much protein and dairy products.


• One could actually find residues of pesticides and what nots. These residues remains in the fat cells of milk even after pasteurising it.
• 
  
  Well it causes bowel movement in most cases, kidney stone and prostate cancer in most cases.


• Have anyone seen how cow's are milked? Well if you're thinking a maid with a bucket in hand milking the cow happily, you're darn wrong! Milk consumption as double and tripled in the last decade. Milking cows the old fashioned way would take too long not to mention too expensive to fill the demands of todays "new" consumer market, namely China. Cow's are being "sucked" with machines on a daily basis. Can you imagine YOU being "sucked" in such manner? I could: from previous breast lactating machine in the hospital!! :(

With so many reasons, why the dairy industry giants such as Nestlé (they were involved in a infant food product scandal. The Nestlé Boycott read all about it) etc continue to promote milk as a healthy and safe choice of food? Because it involves the loss of trillions of investments and jobs. Imagine farmers, cheese makers or your average milkman loosing their income/jobs. I'm hot asking people to immediately stop taking dairy food while I ironronically continue to take them. I have been reducing them and will continue to do so. I hope that you will do the same perhaps?

Most sources are from www.notmilk.com and image from http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/

Finally found

Roti pan fry - dry is best. Better still with curries... yummy!

ROTI CANAI!!! muahahahahaha.... Was suppose to get basmati rice from this Indian/Sri Lankan shop nearby. But the lady boss (she lived in S'pore for some time) asked me out of the blue if I'd like roti. My eyes lilted up and said; you have them? She told me that they got them just recently.

Happy birthday papa! We love you!

I was really happy to find something so familiar and taken for granted at home. Even though its frozen, its really better than not having them at all... :) And besides, it was hubs' birthday. So I made dhall curry (my veggie not spicy version) and also pork curry. So you can say its curry nite!

70% dark chocolate with butter is..... Heaven....

But what about dessert? Well, no birthday ever feels complete without desserts right? I made chocolate fondant cake à la française. Not bad for the 1st try. It looks like what the Americans call "lava" cake; you know where the centre just melts in the mouth types? Well, this one melts in the mouth but unlike the lava cake, one has to pop it in the fridge once its cooled from baking. And let me tell you, the wait was horrible!!! This is one cake that needs time to "blend in", sort of like tiramisu. The kitchen smells so nice of chocolate and I really (REALLY) wanted to eat it right when it came out of the oven.... But after eating it, it just "stays" in the stomach!!

Results in this..

Chocolate fondant cake is one cake that I would make may be twice a year. Reason being its too heavy on the stomach for anything else. Would not make this during summer time either. I so really wanted to make something Owen could eat for his 1st birthday this June. I saw some really cute and nice jelly cakes online. But its only sold back home! I might wanna try to make one of those but I doubt that I'll be any good at pouring the colours into their proper "places" in the mold.... You see, I got of of those Winnie the Pooh silicone mold (small ones) to try out. It did however de-mold easily but with minor colouring mixes accident(at least I tried!) . It doesn't look easy to keep the colours from mixing with each other. I really wonder how they could did it....

So how was your Valentine?

Pretty orange bunch

It was Valentine's day on Thursday. What I did on that day? Hmmm... Let see.... Well for one it was our laundry day. We aren't allowed to install our own washing machine here - as per the landlord. So we had to use the common washing machine - which was ok considering the fact that there's two machines with 6kg capacity each, plus we have our own timetable of who uses it and when. But its not free - goes by a "cash card" system. Anyways, even if we have our own machine, its not "free" as well - who's paying the electriciy and water needed to run the machine? Just the sake of convenience.

Hubs and I agreed that we won't make a big hooha about Valentine's. So we're pretty proud to say that we didn't! Why? Has anyone notice the price tag for a flowers (especially RED roses), chocolates or anything that has everything to do with Valentine's day? YUP! The price is soaring like the price for oil these days. Its really a scandal when these item seems to "go back to normal" right after Valentine's day... :p How about a special Valentine's menu in restaurants? Well these "specials" I can tell you is sometimes not really that worth it - again for the prices and the quality versus quantity question.

Its not that we want to prevent people from celebrating this special event. Its just that it somehow no longer seems to be special from being comercialised actively. What happend to old fashion small everyday gestures for our loved ones? Is it no longer special to us? I wonder. But if one want shower their beloved with expensive gifts and what nots, why not? But I would LOVE to see if they could do it every other month, not only on Valentine's day. Aren't we suppose to show/celebrate love everyday and not only on that specific day? Hmmm..... I wonder.

Anyways, with us there's no really a "celebration". Hubs got us a bunch of orange roses at the very last minute from our neighbourhood supermarket. Why orange roses? I think its a very pretty colour and its not red! ;) No chocolates or any special dinner. And no, we didn't go out just the two of us. No babysitter - well basically its virtually IMPOSSIBLE to get one last minute during this time of the year any way. So our Valentine's was spent at home as always, with just a bunch of none red flowers! So how was your Valentine?

Of nuts and dates look alike

Dates look alike

Some time ago, mum was telling me about the virtues of Gingko nuts. Me being ignorant brat, didn't know what on earth gingko even looks like! That is until I was set out to live in a country deprived of Asian herbs and foodstuff. Unless I'm willing to pay for the exorbitant prices of certain available Asian groceries here, which is often the case, I'm left without typical ingredients like buah keras, proper curry powder etcs.

The nuts

Well these recent years abroad, I've found gingko trees just by the roadside!! The trees are actually HUGE! And as usual, only the females produces fruits. And mind you, we Chinese would be jumping for joy when we find free gingkos - these "babies" costs alot! I'm not too sure about the prices per kilo or grams but they are sure expensive.

The smelly gooy stuff....

I think must be from the fact that the fruit itself smells soo.... HORRIBLE!! Its like rotten meat or poop! And cleaning it, is really a challenge. The nut itself is covered in this apricot coloured mush (once the fruit ripen) and one have to wear gloves to pick them. Why? Cause if you don't, the thickish residue and its "latex" seems to stick to the skin like a 2nd skin!!! And to some, it'll even causes skin rash. But since there's no skipping in getting rid of the mushy and really smelly stuff to get to the nut, scrubing the leftover mush is another must. We want to make sure that its really clean and also the get rid of the smell as well once its dried.

Another fact is that, mat sallehs will try really hard to avoid planting the female tree, thus there's fewer females around for the nuts. AND there's fruits only during winter time.

Now every winter hubs and I would go collect these smelly fruits, and we're being looked at as wierdos!! Once there's even a lady that almost ATE the fruit while I was collecting them. Lucky that it didn't reach her mouth, coz its the fruit that's poisonous AND SMELLY!! YUCKKYYY!!! So next winter, I'm looking foward to collecting them again with Owen. Well he'll have to just stand (or sit in his buggy) for the moment until he learns to hold (or stand still!!) the plastic bag....

Bakin' Sunday

Pineapple rolls....

Today is the only day which I've not held Owen for at least half the day. The reason? Was busy bakin'! :)

Hubs was out in the morning for his weekly tennis sessions and it was time to look after Owen while I busied myself doing mis-en-place for baking. What I did today; Pineapple rolls and Peanut cookies. Was suppose to do Chocolate chip cookies as well, but I was DEAD TIRED after all the baking, cooking (lunch & dinner) and then cleaning up.... :p But I was really satisfied with the way the tart came out.

It was my 1st time try and am happy to say that the pastry and jam turned out really well. The jam I made a day earlier and popped them in the fridge (as adviced by mum, thanks!). Appearently some people mix in milk powder and some custard powder. But mum said, its up to personal preference. So I added Owen's milk powder into it and you know what? It tastes great! hehehehehe....

Oh, both of us were a little bit sick; runny nose, slight fever and body ache. So that's why I said I was DEAD by the time I finish the whole cleaning up. And I kinda miss him after awhile - actually the whole day. Since I'm missing him already for a single day of not holding him, I really doubt that I'm NOT GOING TO MISS him, if we left him with my mum for a holiday; as sugguested by mum!! Hmmm.... May be when he's alot older. Make that when he's 30! LOL! I think all mums will have to agree that some of us share the same feeling for each and every children we have.

Dream getaway- Bora-Bora Island.... picture from www.focusmag.gr

But a holiday, as suggested by mum, would be nice for a change. Just the 2 of us; hubs and me, out in an island some where.... Ahh...... That would be so nice indeed. You see, we've not had our honeymoon. The reason? We were thinking everyone has honeymoons, its just so the norm. Why not go some where nice every now and then. And at the same time save up some money just to go to some where really, really far and dreamy; the French Polynesian Islands, Male Maldives, Hawaii or even the Caribbeans perhaps? I'll be heaven when the day comes! :)

Chinese New Year coming soon.....

Its almost a week away from Chinese New Year, which falls on 7th Febuary 2008. And this year is the year of the Rat. I for one don't like rats that much and read some where that this year would be a roller coaster ride for us.

Well whatever ride it is, we'll just have to live through it no? Anyways, I am so looking forward to try out baking this Sunday; Pineapple tarts (made the jam yesterday), peanut cookies (or may be cashew nut?) and chocolate chips.... Its really been awhile since my last baking - X'mas! I so miss kuih kapit and the other CNY goodies at home...... *sigh

I so miss my family come every CNY. I could still remember my mum would gang up with our neighbours to make CNY goodies. Aunty A would bake pineapple tarts, Aunty B would make muruku etc.... May be I just miss the way the house and entire neighbourhood would smell so lovely from all the baking and cooking that is going around.

Which reminds me, mental note: spring clean the house on Mon or may be Tues. Ah... Spring cleaning time.... Cleaning our house back home is like torture for us kids... Since mum was busy working and baking/cooking, sis was lazy bum (don't even clean her own room), so the task was left to me, alone.... That time I really (REALLY) hate house work. And I still detest house work now, BUT have to do it since Owen is crawling around and "tasting" every thing he could put his grubby hand on..... But now I think I'm a bit lucky since we're living in an apartment and not a HOUSE. Cleaning a house would take me at least 1 whole day of simple cleaning. I could imagine spring cleaning; 2 days.... Now it takes me 3 hours max IF Owen doesn't kill the "cleaning groove".

Will post some pics and update of my baking "situation" next...

A new book...

after a year of not buying books!!! I really (REALLY) miss reading books. Not that I don't read no, its reading for Owen; Ladybird books of Mother Goose and jack & the Bean Stalk etc. So the very recent and 1st purchase of the year is....

Am reading till the Jojo part. So far its quite interesting. Can't wait till my new book shelves arrives from Ikea!!

What work!

Hi all! See I can stand!

I know, I know. I haven't been blogging lately. Was side tracked by Owen, stitching a new curtain and organising a steamboat/Chinese fondue party just yesterday for hub's friend. Owen's doing great now. He's getting more mobile by the day. Its just really amazing to see how babies learn stuff just like that!!! He's now crawling super fast, learning to stand and cruise at the same time. now the cruise part, I think he'll have to sharpen it up a little bit more. He keeps letting go of whatever he can get to hold himself steady, to "free stand"! Its really scary, coz he's fallen so many times and mostly to his head area. But thank goodness he almost always falls onto the carpet! So now, he's getting to know the "art of NOT falling" on his head but his bum (cushioned by diapers!). Now I understand why mum said I was a handful!! Hmm.... May be I tend to get into more trouble than sis?

Can you see my teeth? Owen with cheeky smile...

As for the stitching part, sad to say I've only done less than half on my 1st piece of curtain ever since 3 weeks ago! :(( But still I can foresee that I'm not going to leave it as a WIP for long. In fact, I've planned or shall we say drawn up a list of things to do/stitch this year. It will be:

1. 
   
   
   My kitchen curtains.



2. 
   
   
   The gold & yellow on red Chinese calligraphy: prosperity.



3. 
   
   
   A gift for my secret partner: Birthday gift exchange.



4. 
   
   
   Joan Elliot's "Home is where your honey is".



5. 
   
   
   
   My other WIP which turned into an UFO: the 9 Koi....

My WIP curtain. Still on 1st piece.

So you see, I don't think I'll have time to watch another no brainer HK VCD/DVD (which SIL so kindly lend me in case of boredom). In fact out of 25 movies, I've only seen 2 of them and almost fell asleep.... Seriously, I don't think I'm ever bored. There's always something to do; keep all 4 eyes on Owen, stitching, some bakin' & cookin', browsing on-line shops and only when I have time read blogs & blogging.

A close up. Design from De Fil en Aiguille mag issue 21

About the Chinese fondue. Actually one of hubs friend will be having a stomach reducing operation soon. Once its done, he won't be able to eat normal food, just really small and liquidise foods. Why stomach reduction, coz this guy is huge. I mean he is big and he doesn't wear a jacket during winter even outside coz he's always HOT. This guy sweats during the coldest months.... He's been telling us that he really needs to get it done. I think so too, for obvious reasons; he's health is suffering

Anyways, preparing food for 2 big guys, 3 adults and 3 kids alone is a "field day" for me. Especially when you have a crying 7 month old and a husband who is glued to the TV due to Australia Open (tennis) is double.... That's why I was telling hubs, the next time we are only allowed to have max twice a year for gatherings of this kind if it involves me cooking/preparing food and doing the cleaning up alone. Its not that I don't like doing it but I really hate it when he leaves almost everything to me and then expect me to do things at the very last minute!! Men, when they aren't in the food business is totally useless & clueless....

To start off the year

For the start of 2008, I would like to post this article which was emailed to me just moments ago. Although a little on the sentimental side of things but its so true isn't it? We're so "driven" by material things that we sometimes forget to stop and smell the roses.

Food for Thought to start the Year
by Anna Quindlen

This was a speech made by Pulitzer Prize-winning author , Anna Quindlen at the graduation ceremony of an American university where she was awarded an Honorary PhD.

"I'm a novelist. My work is human nature. Real life is all I know. Don't ever confuse the two , your life and your work. You will walk out of here this afternoon with only one thing that no one else has. There will be hundreds of people out there with your same degree: there will be thousands of people doing what you want to do for a living. But you will be the only person alive who has sole custody of your life. Your particular life. Your entire life. Not just your life at a desk , or your life on a bus , or in a car , or at the computer. Not just the life of your mind , but the life of your heart. Not just your bank accounts but also your soul.

People don't talk about the soul very much anymore. It's so much easier to write a resume than to craft a spirit. But a resume is cold comfort on a winter's night , or when you're sad , or broke , or lonely , or when you've received your test results and they're not so good.

Here is my resume: I am a good mother to three children. I have tried never to let my work stand in the way of being a good parent. I no longer consider myself the centre of the universe. I show up.

I listen. I try to laugh. I am a good friend to my husband. I have tried to make marriage vows mean what they say. I am a good friend to my friends and they to me.

Without them , there would be nothing to say to you today , because I would be a cardboard cut out. But I call them on the phone , and I meet them for lunch. I would be rotten , at best mediocre at my job if those other things were not true.

You cannot be really first rate at your work if your work is all you are. So here's what I wanted to tell you today: Get a life. A real life , not a manic pursuit of the next promotion , the bigger pay cheque , the larger house.

Do you think you'd care so very much about those things if you blew an aneurysm one afternoon , or found a lump in your breast? Get a life in which you notice the smell of salt water pushing itself on a breeze at the seaside , a life in which you stop and watch how a red-tailed hawk circles over the water , or the way a baby scowls with concentration when she tries to pick up a sweet with her thumb and first finger.

Get a life in which you are not alone. Find people you love , and who love you. And remember that love is not leisure , it is work. Pick up the phone. Send an email. Write a letter. Get a life in which you are generous. And realize that life is the best thing ever , and that you have no business taking it for granted. Care so deeply about its goodness that you want to spread it around. Take money you would have spent on beer and give it to charity. Work in a soup kitchen. Be a big brother or sister. All of you want to do well. But if you do not do good too , then doing well will never be enough.

It is so easy to waste our lives , our days , our hours , and our minutes. It is so easy to take for granted the color of our kids' eyes , the way the melody in a symphony rises and falls and disappears and rises again. It is so easy to exist instead of to live.

I learned to live many years ago. I learned to love the journey , not the destination. I learned that it is not a dress rehearsal , and that today is the only guarantee you get. I learned to look at all the good in the world and try to give some of it back because I believed in it , completely and utterly. And I tried to do that , in part , by telling others what I had learned.

By telling them this:Consider the lilies of the field. Look at the fuzz on a baby's ear. Read in the back yard with the sun on your face. Learn to be happy. And think of life as a terminal illness , because if you do , you will live it with joy and passion as it ought to be lived".

Christmas market

A wooden tower

This is an overdue post due to the laziness in me these past few days.... :p

The Edelweiss Chalet

We went to a Christmas market in Montreux on Sunday. Thinking that it will be packed, we took a bus there to avoid the overcrowded car park. Took us about 15 mins to get there and Owen was enjoying the scenery all the way... It didn't snow or rain so its all good besides the grey-grey skies.

Owen with papa and the reindeers! opps... and mousse also!

Once we hopped off the bus, the whiff of hot wine fills the winter air. Its basically red wine mixed with spices - to "spice up" the winter body I guess. Its delicious when they can get the mixture right, otherwise we'll be all tipsy or worst too much spice! There were stalls selling all kinds of hand-made presents and food/drinks. One I find particularly interesting is a stall selling glass items. The guy who made them even blown/torch glass decorations/jewellery items to order. Then there's one stall selling Christmas tree hanging glass balls (do you call them glass balls or globe?). Now these balls are different coz one could see there's a figurine inside it. Its so cute with Santa and reindeer inside. But since we've got an-ornament-pulling-little-man at home, i don't think I'll get a 15CHF glass thingy! Would want to sneak in some pics but it would be too obvious.

Look at the GIANT WOK!!

Ice skating rink

This year's decoration isn't as nice as last years. May be things are getting more and more expensive? But there's a small nice skating rink right next to a Finland cottage restaurant. OH! And there's also a "traditional" Swiss cottage restaurant as well. All made up just for the market. Went in for a meal of cheese fondue with friends there just 2 weeks ago. Its always crowded.

The rows of stalls

I think Christmas market will be even better of there's snow and lots of decorations. Am crossing my fingers that for next Christmas, we'll try to go to Strasbourg for their market. Heard its one of the best... Or may be even to Lapland (Finland) for its Santa's home?!? hehehehe...

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Owen and Santa! Merry Christmas to you all! :D

Yes its the time of the year... Its Christmas next week! Its been freezing these past three days, with maximum temperatures at 3°C during the day and below 0°C by 5pm... BRRR..... With such freezing weather, its nice to stay in and do some stitching, baking or playing with Owen. hehehehe...

Am completing my ornaments. Yes I know it taking such a long time to finish them since its just small stitching. But when your little one is teething, is just hard to find the time to stitch or even cook! He's got two little bottom front teeth popping up now and it hurts when he bites! Especially when we're still breastfeeding him - OUCH! So now its to the bottle s-l-o-w-l-y....

Surprisingly he doesn't have fever, diarrhea or crying all the time. But he's a bit agitated and cranky and always sticking to his mama! Just the day before yesterday night, he'll only sleep if he's on top of me or right beside me. Its just seems so sweet but boy I didn't get to sleep comfortably! I had to make sure that either I don't roll over or move.

So the next day in order for him to sleep soundly in the evening, I brought him to see Santa! He was so surprise to see an old man with a very long and white beard. He just kept staring with his mouth open! He didn't even cry while taking a picture with Santa. I guess he's still figuring out whats all the fuss about and who's that man in red whom he just sat with!! hehehehehe..... It will be Owen's first Christmas this year. I hope that he won't be pulling any more ornaments down from the tree!

So here's wishing everyone a very MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A JOLLY NEW YEAR! May all your wishes come true and may you be blessed with good health, lots of joy and love!

My, My...

It has been raining since Friday evening! Its been grey, windy and down right depressing whenever I look out the window... sigh. No wonder every time when its winter, there's bound to be some people doing crazy things like suicide etc; a mare boy shooting shoppers and killing himself....

Well to me it DOESN'T have to be depressing weather or mood wise. TO PEOPLE HAVING HISTORY OF DEPRESSION: GET HELP ASAP! We've been busy these past few weeks. I for one have been experimenting with recipes from a French baking mag I picked up while we were in France. The result, will never try their recipes any more!! The measurements (not to mention instructions!!) are a bit off and therefore, the sablé (French Butter biscuits) biscuits turn out to be less than OK, although edible... Then the chocolate "tongues" didn't look like any where near a tongue! Looks more like a splat flat porcupine!!! Seriously, its not that I had trouble understanding them. In fact I even had hubs translate them just so that I didn't get them wrong. May be I should try again the next time...

Fruit cakes... Yes it cracked a bit... Must be from the fact I tried to jam in as much dried fruit & nuts!!

There's a taboo from my mum saying that, if your baking didn't turn out well today, don't try to bake again until several days later; otherwise it'll turn out horrible as well! So better be safe than sorry, I made fruit cake the following weekend. You know the ones that has to go through the "aging" process? That's the one. Got the recipe from Joy of Baking site. Been brushing them twice a week and I really hope that it'll turn out well! Hubs: "Well babes, it does smell OK" is the reply I get whenever he wants a taste of it... Sorry babes. Its not old enough to be eaten yet! hahaha...

Our 1st tree ever!

Oh! Did I mentioned that we got a real pine tree? Its our 1st tree after all these years here. And since its impossible to get decorations for Chinese New Year (unless online), we thought why not decorate a Christmas tree instead although we don't celebrate Christmas. Besides, if I were to decorate for CNY, my ang mohs neighbours will be wondering if we opened up a Chinese restaurant instead of celebrating CNY!! LOL! So far, we've put up all trinkets and 1 of my stiched ornaments. I still have 3 more to go... sigh.

Some of the tree deco...

Just hung up 1 of my stitched ornaments...

The charts looks so simple and easy to do, but it took me longer to frog and to redo the whole thing. So for now there's no pictures of them yet. Will do once I finish them and hang them up on our tree. We didn't really managed to find ornaments that we wanted, so will have to make do with whatever I could get my hands on from our nearby super market. Will do better next year with hand made glass ornaments, for the moment its all plastic, clay and natural pine . I was also afraid that Owen will pull, play, bite and or swallow them as he's starting to learn to crawl and is grabbing anything he could get his hands on to "taste" them in his mouth! We're praying that he won't pull the whole tree down!!

Look at this!

This just came this morning for me. They are from Anna Lalitha of NNC for its 1st Anniversary gift exchange. Aren't they pretty? And it came in a pretty silver box with a bow! I love boxes with bows... Boxes with bows/ribbons always has something nice in it....

In fact I'm wondering if I'll ever use them, as I'm afraid to get them dirty! Hmm.... May be I should find something to protect them?

The weekend was spent...

There were only 2 halls like this...

At an annual craft market/workshop on Saturday afternoon and meeting up a dear friend who is going back home for some R&R after 5 years spent here. Oh! Ive also received some goodies bought online on Sat morning! There aren't so many pictures here since my battery died on me half way through! ARRGGHHHH.....

Isabelle's Workshop mainly on patchwork

The craft thingy is unfortunately an annual thing but might as well is, since its done on a very small scale here compare to the ones held in France etc. It was organised by Creavenue. The stalls were mainly selling items for quilting, patchwork, jewellery, scrap booking, card making, clay modeling and wooden crafts. I seriously think people like Janet, Nik or BJ from NNC would go ga-ga from the amounts of quilting fabric they could find here! And mind you the fabrics are just so pretty that I too bought 2 x 1/3 yard cut for future projects. The lady posing with her patch work, Bea Weiss (I think she is Bea; speaks only German & little French) manning her quilt/patchwork stall. She made this pretty little houses and others for sale at the market. Selling at if I'm not mistaken at CHF300.- plus, depending on design! My, my....

L'ädeli's Workshop - Bea Weiss with her houses. Aren't they pretty?

Bernina's stall

On the sewing side, there's a Bernina stand. I so wanted to get one of these machines but they are just too expensive. And plus for my limited knowledge of sewing (can-sew-but-not-good-at-it type), I'd rather wait till I am an expert and am using it often to get a Bernina Aurora 430. Well one can always dream no? hehehehe...

Just a little something I bought

As for stitching, its a pity that they only have 4 stalls there. Most of them are selling kited charts, threads, aidas and linen fabrics. Unfortunately they only have linens under 14 counts.... But still got 2 fat quarters of Aida; a red and a rustic piece. The red piece will be for CNY next year; mental note to me to look for a nice prosperity calligraphy... And the rustic piece will be done up with Joan Elliott's Home is Where Your Honey is chart from her Cross Stitch; Sentiments ans Sayings.

A close up look at the 1/3 yard of fabric

And oh! I finally get to own Dentelles et Rubans by Anne Van Damme and Les Samplers en rouge et blanc by Issabelle Vautier. Even though I'm not really into samplers at the moment, I find that there are some item I could see myself stitching later on. Why I bought the lacey book; am preparing to sew a kitchen door panel curtain before CNY next year. Now I'm browsing for fabrics, linen that is affordable. Linens are so expensive but the material is really worth it in the long term. Perhaps a heirloom later on?

The goodies that arrived....

On the goodies I received; , 2 small jar of Horlicks, 600ml of Ribena, 1 pack of crumpets & soft biscuits, and a pack of dark brown soft sugar. Its been ages since I've drunk Horlicks and Ribena.... Just reminds me of home. Why I boguth brown sugar? I can't find them here in Switzerland! Ii wonder how Swissy people live without brown sugar. They are soo good on pancakes, bread, puddings and great to make fruit cakes with! I think will order some more Marmite, more Horlicks, Ribena etc when they are gone next year from MyExpatShop.com. For the moment I'm just sipping from my really big glass of Ribena.....

Our sunshine so well behaved while mummy browse....

All in all I have to say this, Owen was so well behaved during the entire market trip! Hubs and I were amazed at how quiet and observant he was... I think its partly because he was "entertained" by the ladies at the market while being held by hubs, that I was left with so much time browsing! hehehehe.... And here we were worried that he would find it boring and cry!! Hmm... Should bring him more often to craft markets....

A week in France : Paris and Rochefort

Kisses from 1st aunt!

Last week was one of the first time we took Owen to France. The drive which usually take us 5 hours has taken us 6 hours to arrive in Paris, where my 3rd SIL lives. We've never taken such long drive before with him in tow. He was sleeping almost of the time but was really wide awake and crying for the last hour before we finally arrive. I think its normal that he cries since he's not really used to having such compact space of the baby basket (complete with car safety harness of course) and its not really interesting to look at the grey sky all the way! We tried carrying him out of the car but with the cold wind blowing, it wasn't really a good idea....

I was so glad once we reach 3rd SIL place as he started to cry even louder! Once we got to her apartment, he was pretty distracted with all the attention that his 3rd aunt and 1st uncle showered on him, that he forgotten that its feeding time! hehehehe.... For the first time in months we went out for dinner without Owen! We have a self volunteered baby-sitter; my 3rd SIL.... So much as change within the space of just 1 year. The last time we were there was end of Oct 2006. The tram lines are working wonderfully, traffic is less dense, there's seems to be higher crime rate (day-light muggings!), higher exchange rate (1 Euro = 1.67 CHF, used to be 1 Euro = 1.50 CHF) and the usual restaurant we go to isn't as good as before.

Looks like underwater carpet no?

We actually took off the next day to Rochefort, where 1st and 2nd SILs lives. The car ride was endless. Took us 5 and half hours instead of the usual 4 to get to 1st SIL place. In this town nothing much has change, except that they cleaned up the place a bit. Whenever we stayed over at their place, I would wound up with dust allergy! So this time no watery & itchy eyes. Just sneezing and runny/blocked nose, which is OK since it smelled funny - old houses built with wooden flooring covered up with carpet and not well ventilated. The building has an air well, but its pretty much useless since there's NO AIR coming in!! Yes, you can say I don't really like staying over at their place but we only go there once every 2 years may be? So can not complaint lor!

My St. Jacques crêpe.. YUMMMYYY....

His traditional ham & eggs...

I really like Rochefort, La Rochelle and its surrounding area. La Rochelle started off as a fishing village that turned into an important port centuries ago. Much like Melaka. Rochefort however, is where the French arsenal; ie military harbour is. Both are very touristic town in the summer time with the seaside facing the Atlantic ocean. Now is the low season, so more locals than tourist; which I prefer. Its also THE place to get fresh (AND CHEAP) mussels and oysters! Am not a fan of oysters, but where else can you get big fat & fresh mussels at less than 7 or 8 Euros a kilo? Has something to do with the cultivation of these babies at Île de Ré I think.... Besides these two places, there's also Île de Ré, Royan, Île d'Oléron, Fouras and Brouage & Marennes. All are pretty much will be full of tourists during summer time.

Look! I have an orange star-fish on my arm!

Owen's orange star-fish... Looks more like a pin cushion though.

We stayed for 4 nights at 1st SIL place. Dined with family mostly; more Vietnamese food (which I grew to like)! But still managed to cram in a big bowl of mussels (small in their terms) in a "rustic" restaurant at La Rochelle, and a very (VERY) delicious crêpe on the next street where we stayed, amongst all the Viet food. Besides eating, we managed to visit the La Rochelle Aquarium. It was my 1st time visit AFTER having been there 4 or 5 times!! I guess hubs were to lazy to bring me... :p This aquarium really beats KLCC Aquaria! Reason? They have more interesting fishes (like the pirana!!), several big tanks and good information source about the species, and why people should not put on their FLASH while taking pictures of fishes or any other animals....

Can you find a fish here?

The ride back to Paris was a long one (so was the one back to Swissy land). I didn't have time to go stashing this time round. Partly because we didn't have time, its difficult to shop when you have kid whose still not on the bottle yet, due to the exchange rate and currently I can't find what I like just yet. May be the next time when we spend more time in Paris, then perhaps.