Colours of sunrise

 Rushed up the hill this morning to catch the colours. Sun rises early now. Reaching the foot of the hill at 6.45a.m is a little late. I huffed and puffed up the hill. Probably in less than twenty minutes. The view is still as beautiful. I'll never tire of sunrises and sunsets.

It’s the same spot that I look at everyday but the view never fails to amaze me. This is when the psalm comes to my mind : I lift up my eyes to the hills ..from where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord who make heaven and earth. Ps 121:1-2

Covid 19

interesting how our lives just change in a few days. So restricted travel has been enforced in Malaysia. Some are still unaware of the seriousness of the situation. Do we need a major disaster to make us serious?

Last night was the whole drama of people trying to go back to their villages. Then the need to get permit from the police for interstate travel. The road jammed up, the police stations were crowded with people and bus stations too with people trying to get public transportation. Hopefully this crowd will not worsen the situation in Malaysia.

As life is put on hold, there are those who face difficulties physically and medically. Julie is quarantined due to TB. I wonder how is she coping. Bernie is home bound due to stroke and old age. She’s very frail and has difficulty moving. Her dinner is catered. So that takes care of her meals. Got her a tray of eggs n cooked her some stew which she can keep n steam for any of her meals. There’s Lee Yoon who has mild stroke and just admitted to GH. Her mother is bed ridden and now the brother has to divide his time between home and hospital.

Some can’t even live a normal peaceful life. For what I have I am thankful for my lot.

No worries

Another beautiful poem to remind me that God is in control. I shouldn’t be worried. This is taken from Streams In The Desert. 

O Thou of little faith,

God hath not failed thee yet!

When all looks dark and gloomy,

Thou dost so soon forget─

Forget that He has led thee,

And gently cleared thy way;

On clouds has poured His sunshine,

And turned thy night to day.

And if He's helped thee hitherto,

He will not fail thee now;

How it must wound His loving heart

To see thy anxious brow!

Oh! doubt not any longer,

To Him commit thy way,

whom in the past thou trusted,

And is "just the same today."

God is with me

Is it raining, little flower?

　Be glad of rain;

Too much sun would wither thee;

　`Twill shine again.

The clouds are very black, `tis true;

But just behind them shines the blue.

Art thou weary, tender heart?

　Be glad of pain:

In sorrow sweetest virtues grow,

　As flowers in rain.

God watches, and thou wilt have sun,

When clouds their perfect work have done.

　　　　　　　　　　─Lucy Larcom. 

Margin

margin refers to the space on the edge of a page where there is no text....James Bryan Smith (The good and beautiful God).

I always gets upset when students write into the margin which I call it Mt Space. Some have so much to write that they just go on and on and on.

Just like my life ....I’ve filled it up with so much that work, kdrama, housework...overflows into the margins of my life.

In this new soul training James Bryan Smith is suggesting that we take time for margin....leisure, me time, rest and time for God, family n health.

So I’ve found some time for margin today. One of the leisurely thing I used to enjoy was reading poems. Today I rediscovered Christina Rossetti.

Here’s one of her poem which is so dreary but true. I don’t mind it being read at my wake.

When I am dead, my dearest,
Sing no sad songs for me;
Plant thou no roses at my head,
Nor shady cypress tree:
Be the green grass above me
With showers and dewdrops wet;
And if thou wilt, remember,
And if thou wilt, forget.

I shall not see the shadows,
I shall not feel the rain;
I shall not hear the nightingale
Sing on, as if in pain:
And dreaming through the twilight
That doth not rise nor set,
Haply I may remember,
And haply may forget.

Blogging today is another margin. 😀😀

Soul training

One of the soul training exercises that I’ve to practise is taking time of to enjoy nature. This is what I’m doing now. Appreciating the sky, the plants, the breeze, the birds and the various sounds from bird chirping to the washing machine.

So the evening started with a cup of coffee (with a trickle of Kahlua). 

The flowers are not too great looking like before but they are still pleasing to the eye. 

Birds flying above. 

Suppose to catch a plane flying above. In fact I saw two planes passing by. 

Listen to the sounds. 

And  just like that, dusk has come. 

The orange colours of the sky is gone. 

It’s getting dark now. Mosquitoes are out!,,,,

Sky Mirror

23.2.19
Adventure for the month of February was the trip to Sky Mirror, off Kuala Selangor. Had always wanted to visit this place so when Ms Liau invited to join a tour, I jumped at it despite disliking joining tours. Tours as tours are.....I still dislike it except for the Sky Mirror and the paddy museum. Anyway back to the topic....will only focus on the Sky Mirror experience.

The jetty is in this place called Sasaran. The boatman looks young and his assistant is even younger. Only 18 apparently but looks much younger.

This fishing village is by the swamp. Full of egrets. 

Boats by the jetty. Around this time...10.15am many boats left the jetty to Sky Mirror. 

Took us about 25 minutes to reach the destination. Felt the boatman sped all the way there. He did slow down a while to show us some dolphins but I couldn’t see where I was seated. 

When we reached there were already other boats around. I believe there were almost 500 people on land. I The boatmen were turning here and there waiting for the tide to go down. We could see the difference in the water....the brownish water shows where land would appear while the greenish water is the deeper end. Finally saw some people coming down at the further end. The water was slightly below the knee. 

Then we were allowed to come down. The water was around the ankle. Went down with only my hat and hand phone. We were warned not to touch any of the sea creatures as they could be poisonous. Being in the middle of the Strait of Malacca, I believed him.  The sight of tide going down and land appearing was pretty awesome. 

All over the beach can see sights like this. The boatmen and assistants preparing the place for photography. Smmothen  the beach, make a little puddle and set up the tent like structure for lighting purposes 😂😂. Very innovative. 

The full group photo. 38 of us ....then we broke up to three different groups. Following different photographers. We followed the assistant from our boat. I offered him my iPhone X..of course I had to stay with him. 

The Seremban group. 12 of us. By the way....we met Mrs Öng...the children’s piano teacher. We stayed on the beach for an hour. Waiting for our turns to take pictures....groups, family, individual and couples. In no time time was up. 

The trip back was pretty awesome. When we were close to the village, we entered the mouth of the river with swamps on the left and right. I though it was a different route but it was the same. The scene was different because of the low tide. The swamps were swamped with egrets and we even saw a huge monitor lizard. 

A closer view of the swamp with the monitor lizard. 

Well, the whole excursion ended about 12.30pm. Pretty impressive and awed by God’s creation. The Almighty has indeed given us a beautiful earth. I was pleased when the boatmen told off a smoker not to throw the butt on the beach. Yes....they are playing their part to preserve the sea from pollution. It’s us...urban people who are ignorant and bring pollution even to the middle of the sea. 

Nights of Rain and Stars

This is the title of the book written by Maeve Binchy. One day during my Nilam class (a total waste of time) I saw a 12 year old student with this book. I was totally excited as MB is one of my favourite author. I thought I’ve read all of her books. Apparently not! 

This is MB. Very sensible and down to earth writer. Her style of writing is easy to read. Talking about normal people with their everyday lives but she spins tale out of normal living. There’s something real and honest in how she writes. It’s interesting too how she moves from one character to another or one place to another.

In this book she introduces us to four main characters running away from life and how a chance meeting with an angel like character brought changes to them. 

Issues like manipulation, expectations and domestic violence are touched on. I agree with her that one should not be dictated on how they should live. We need the freedom to live our lives and make our mistakes. Only then can we learn and be better people. But her conclusion is a bit over simplistic. Life in reality tend to be more complicated and sticky. 

The character David reminds me much of the kdrama Sky Castle. Expectations from parents and how to child yearns to be free from it and live his own life as his own person. 

People say love is blind (which I disagree)...through Fiona’s character she shows how a level headed person can be blinded by what she thinks is love for her man to the extent of allowing him to abuse her physically, emotionally and verbally. We can’t tell a person she / he has made the wrong choice. She has to discover it herself. 

An easy reading and entertaining book to pass time. 😀

Now I wonder if a 12 year old is able to read between the lines and come with these conclusions about life. 

Ah boy to man

so Dan is having his gap year/ months...before starting his undergrad studies. He’s full of plans. Conjuring projects in his mind and bringing them to reality. The father is real pleased that the son takes after him here. They speak the same language and get so excited of gadgets and machinery.

Project 1: making a shield. He took his father’s precious wood, sawed and shaped it into what he says inspired by the Kadazan or Iban(?) shield. He said the plank has been around the past ten years and not used. So it probably won’t be used for the next ten years. He might as well use it. Hmmmm....the father went quiet when he saw his wood was cut😂😂😂😂..

Project 2: he turned a pair of broken shears into a knife. Wrapped the handle and make it usable. 

Project 3: cleaning, sharpening, and restoring his father’s old machete. Out comes the angle grinder. 

Yesterday we went to Mr DIY and he spent more than 70 buying stuff for his projects. The above picture shows things that appeared on the His working table as he works on his projects. 

And I overheard the boys to men discussing about building a table????

I’m glad he’s home and spending his time portering around. Whether any of his projects will be useful or not....we’ll see. What’s important he’s doing things that he enjoys and definitely speaking the same language as the father. That’s precious bonding time. 

Multi seed walnut beer bread

I love bread and pastries. I am now using my fourth bread machine. My first machine was Princess brand, followed by Kenwood (the most expensive ) and then Tesco brand. This second Tesco machine was bought online...only rn168!!  The cheapest ever.

 I used up the beer which I was unable to finish in my bread. (Never ever throw out unfinished beer or soju or wine....throw it into the bread 😆😆).

1 egg

1 c liquid (I topped up the beer with water to reach a cup)

2tbsp olive oil

3/4 tsp salt

2 c HP flour

1 c whole meal flour

4tbsp various seeds

1/3 c walnut

2tbsp brown sugar

2tsp yeast 

Bake with Tesco machine..basic for 3 hours. The result is as the picture above. 

CNY gatherings

This  is the season where there will be endless gatherings. Just today a group of students visited me and the endless chatter of what they are doing, where they are studying etc etc. I really appreciate their visit because it’s a reflection of their sincerity towards me as their teacher regardless of what they are doing. Am so glad today’s gathering was not the ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ sort of gathering.

5Zeta 2016??

Then there is the extended family gatherings....where we meet up with cousins and aunts and uncles etc etc. Those cousins who are doing well are so well thought of....those who are not doing so well sit in another side and there’s that group who may have brought shame to the family....they are out of the radar and spoken of in hushed tones. Talk about caste system....amongst the Chinese community there is this unwritten caste system which runs in every clan. Hubby purposely didn’t inform me of such a gathering this year and I’m blissfully ignorant and happy 😃😃😆😆😆😆. 

Even back home in my kampung, I didn’t go on visitations to extended families...which makes me pretty anti social I think. A dear cousin called on us almost midnight and she couldn’t understand why I didn’t visit her mum which is the remaining elder in the family. Hmmmm...I guess I value my time with my own siblings more. 

So what does an introvert like me do during CNY? I treasure very much the time with my siblings, nephews , nieces and their children. This year there are just so many cute kids. My cup overflows with joy as I spend the time with them. Call me selfish...but that was quality time spent. 

The annual movie with the nephews ...who are grown men now. That’s luxury. We hardly meet and it’s CNY that we catch up with each other. 

Just now a student ask why didn’t I go to her grandma’s house for their CNY party (my neighbor). I simply said...I’m scared of crowds. Which is absolutely true. Crowds....even if they are relatives make me uncomfortable and awkward. 

So the next time if I don’t attend a gathering, reunion etc etc....I hope my family and friends will be more forgiving  and understanding. 

Take time to smell the roses

the cny weekend has started and this is the time when much has to be done. I was already mentally making a to do list while lying on bed just now. But I refuse to be flustered by my busy schedule.

Purposely sit in the garden now to have my breakfast with Kc and do our devotional together. We have decided to have more breakfasts in the garden this year.

The best time of the day in the garden is in the morning when everything is quiet and there’s only the birds chirping. This is called smelling the roses. My garden may not be the most beautiful garden but it’s where I relax and chill. 

To a new day and new adventure 🥂🍻!!

2016-2019

The title is the length of time I did not blog and today...  after more than two and a half years I'm on my trusty old Mac typing away. Maybe a little rusty in my writing..brain too complacent and lazy with all the Kdramas!

This morning Lyn was running through some recipes on my blog and that make me realized that I should take up blogging again so that my children have stuff to read about me one day when I'm not with them. That would help to keep memories of me alive😼😼😼😼😼😼.

So much has happened in the past two years and I'm an orphan now. Mum passed away in September 2016 and dad in March 2017...six months apart. Festive seasons like CNY and Christmas are still difficult for me.

What did I do the past two years? Kdrama !!!!😆😆 Influence of students and also my way of escaping from the stress in life. KC is surprised that I'm not on any drama tonight. Hahaha.

The empty nest syndrome...that's me. This should be a good reason for me to be penning some lines here every now and then if I'm not too lazy. But most of the time I feel lazy.

Traveling ...the bug bites without fail where I would start planning early each year. This year will be different. No more planning but keeping my thoughts in prayer that God will bless me with that holiday which I have in mind. Will wait for the surprise.

When I read some of my blogs I was pleasantly surprised by the book reviews I wrote. Forgotten I have read so many interesting books. Just yesterday I picked up a book by Maeve Binchy. Will write a review on it after I finish reading.

OK resolution for 2019..I must start blogging again. Just pen a few thoughts would be good.

Danger lurks

It was a Sunday afternoon. We were at Brickfields, walking to an Indian restaurant called Chat Masala. This place is the Little India of KL. One can see the Indians on the streets in their colorful costumes, adorned with jewellery. 

While crossing the road at a corner, we heard a horn. Turned around and saw a motorist horning at an Indian family crossing the road like us. All other vehicles had stopped as its pedestrian crossing but the motorist continued to swerve around the family. He stretched his arm to an old lady, there was a shriek and he was off. Within seconds! He had just snatched the lady's necklace. 

All of us were stunned looking to the direction where he sped off. What can we do? Pointing and shouting were of no use. He was way ahead and had disappeared round the bend. 

That's snatch thief in broad daylight in malaysia. As easy as that. Nothing can be done. Now what I read in the papers happened right under my nose. 

We always hear the advice to ladies not to carry handbags. I see the sense of the advice today. But if I don't carry my handbag, how am I going to carry my keys, wallet, phone, iPad, lipsticks, tissue paper etc etc??

It was a normal Sunday afternoon....

A letter to the kids

Guidelines which we hope you will find helpful:

1. Date a Christian if possible. (This is the heritage that we have from our grandparents which we now pass to you and we would like to see it passed to the next generations.) It will save you from lots of heartaches over religious differences next time. It will also give you a mutual interest which cements the relationship. In a Christian relationship it's a love triangle. 

Christ at the top of your triangle, you n the person u r dating at the bottom. Both growing upwards to God n thus closing in on the gap between you. 

2. If you are interested in a non Christian you must make known your stand in Christ to him right from the start. Don't mislead a person. Let your principles, beliefs n core values be clear between you so you will not disappoint each other. When dating a non Christian you must pray day n night for his conviction to believe in Christ. Talk about both your values and see how you can both accept each other's values. Never compromise. If there be uneasiness don't push it aside and cover it up with excuses. Bang heavens gates for answers and guidance. God will guide you. Trust God in this. He knows best. 

3. Talk to one of us if there be doubt or struggle or confusion. Matters of the heart can get complicated. Sometimes you have to b strong and hard to protect yourself. We will not judge you but provide you a listening ear n prayers. We respect you as an adult but if we see some unwise moves or choice made by you we will speak up. We are your parents n God has given us the privilege to mentor and disciple you. 

4. When going on a date, always plan to do things together like study together, read a book n discuss it, go to museums n talk about what you see. Be in open and bright spaces. No going to the room or sitting in dark corners. Don't allow yourself to be tempted. Remember if the person is not meant for you, it's easier to break up when you are not carried away with physical acts like touching ,petting etc. It will also leave less scars on both of you, making it easier to move on. Avoid being physical because you will never be satisfied with just a little touching. You will want more n more and it will get out of control. Your father only held my little finger. When I sat behind him on the motorbike our friends laughed at us saying there's space for an elephant. These are things you can talk about when dating cause you are laying your ground rules too. 

5. Watch the choice of places you hang out in. If you are overseas and it's the norm to go to the pub, please do know how much drink you can hold. Anyway it's not healthy to hang out in the pub often. Go for the experience but don't make it a way of life. It's too expensive a lifestyle anyway. Drinking is also not good. So let it be occasional and not a daily affair. 

6. Live within your means. Never be in debt. Never borrow from others and don't let your friends make it a habit to borrow money from you. If you have a credit card, use it only when it's a planned purchase and you know you have the cash for it. Never live on credit. Pay whatever sum that is on your credit card bill when d billing comes in each month. Don't accumulate. We will not bail you out on your credits. 

7. Don't stay or hide in your room too long. Go out and socialize especially when you don't feel like it. Get out under the sun. It will drive depression and sadness and melancholy away. When you are down, go under the sun. Be outdoors. Walk or play some games. Do things which you've never done before for the experience. Be adventurous. 

8. Find a church to worship and serve. Don't put too high an expectation on the church and the people. You are there to commune with God and His people. Don't make excuses not going to church or not serving God. One excuse will lead to another. The right time to serve will never come because every new day is the right time to serve Him. He has given you a new day for a purpose. To serve Him. 

9. Take time for kind acts. To be a servant to others. Go help in soup kitchens, counsel a friend.... When you spend time helping others you will be grateful for all God has blessed you with. Use all the talents God has given you. You will discover new talents and strengths. 

10. Always inform us your whereabouts and introduce us to your friends. Don't hide things from us. Don't do anything that will cause us to worry. Connect and contact us regularly. Regardless of who you will be one day, you are our child and we are your parents. We have responsibility towards each other. 

11. Protect your relationship with your each other. Keep in touch even when you are busy. Don't neglect each other and don't drift away. There are only the two of you. So you must care and protect each other. 

12. Above all...never leave God out of your life. He must be at the core. Your life and decisions and activities must center on Jesus. Remember we are meeting each other at Jesus' bosom one day. So live your life in Christ so that we will be together in eternity.

of wives and concubines

Been very much into chinese history videos these past few weeks. It's part of my homework every time I teach Form 4 history (Chapter 2) which touches on the chinese civilization.

Started off by watching The First Emperor of China ie Shih Huang Ti. Wanted to re-watch The Emperor and The Assassin but ended with the documentary. Very impressed by it. Worth my time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yb1CcvqJ0gc

Then came along some other documentary on eunuch and some weird chinese wedding rituals before I ended with the movie Raise the Red Lantern.

What a movie!! Women were such downtrodden species in the eyes of the chinese. Was so disturbed watching it. Just can't imagine that such tradition actually took place in society. I think many rich chinese men in Malaya had quite a number of wives also. I guess it's a way of showing wealth??

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Yo8bvg0MAg

Then again, polygamy is practiced by the Muslims too up till this day. Wonder how is the sisterhood of wives like amongst them? Human being human.....I don't think there is any one woman who will be happy to see the husband having other wife or wives. No matter how noble she may want to be, the matter of heart is known only to her.

It was an interesting movie to ponder on.

Long ngien (foo chow egg noodle)

Long ngien is a Foo Chow noodle made from tapioca flour unlike mien fen kau which is made from wheat flour. Many times this year mum has pestered me to make for her to eat but I was too busy. It's holiday now and I had better cook this noodle before the new academic year starts with its busyness. 

Ingredients:

500 g tapioca flour

2 eggs

3 tbsp wheat flour

Water

Method:

Beat the eggs. Pour in a cup of water. 

Slowly add the tapioca flour and wheat flour. The wheat flour is to make the texture slightly tougher so that it's easier to handle. Otherwise it gets too soft. 

 Add water and mix well till it is smooth. 

It must have a runny consistency. 

Heat a non stick wok or pan. Oil the wok slightly. 

When warm pour in a ladle full of batter. Tilt the wok about so that the batter fills the pan. If it doesn't smoothen out on the pan easily, add a little water. The batter is too thick. 

This is like making crepe or pan cake. 

Add a little water every now and the as the batter will thicken. 

Oil the pan slightly after two rounds of making the 'pancake'. 

Lift the 'pancake ' to the table. Roll it up while it is still hot. Otherwise it will not roll nicely. 

Cut the rolled pancake and the long ngien or egg noodle is ready. 

The stock is really up to the individual. As I couldn't find lala today, I decided to use flower crabs. I also added foo chow fish balls, mushroom, vegetables and fuchok fish paste roll. I use lots of ginger and pepper as this noodle tend to be cooling. 

Long ngien has a smooth texture. Don't even need to chew it. Unlike mien fen kau which can be hard and thick if not we'll done. 

Mother eats long ngien with yemeishu. Lyn will add a dash of rice wine. I usually add DOM to mine. Real good!!

Chemainus, Vancouver Island

2014 is actually a very exciting year for us. We visited Vancouver again...after 13 years. One of our trips there was to this quaint town at Vancouver Island. We tried all ways to pronounce the name...with the [k] sound but it is actually pronounced as [sh].

Our favorite pastime in a new place is to walk and explore. As we walked around this small town we came across this fairy tale inn. 

Little Inn on Willow- the side view. 

I don't know what view is this but it's just so cute. 

The little gate to get into fairy land. 

Just look at the sign. I was expecting some goblins and elves to hop out any minute. 

A vacation that was even more memorable this time because the kids are grown and were able to enjoy every moment with us. We also have a private chauffeur to ferry us around...my brother. Great memories created this year in June. 

Appreciating beauty...

It's been a long time since I last blogged. Just lost my momentum this year. The year is coming to an end soon. Makes me reflective. So here are some pretty pictures I took in the month of September and October. 

We visited a little English cafe in town called the Parlour. The deco is real English.  Here's a little tin box filled with pretty weeds. 

This is a rose from my garden. Nelda has green fingers. The flowers under her care bloom beautifully. But at the moment the whole garden and porch is in a mess as we are doing some renovation. Waiting eagerly for the whole mess to be cleaned up so we can see the garden bloom again. 

This is sunset at Rejang River. Took the debate team there for competition. Sunsets are my favorite but this sunset has some dirty spots. The glass of the hotel window needed cleaning badly. 

An evening out to the beach. The beach was full of people but I managed to take this very nice and classic looking coconut tree. 

Just can't be on the beach without a picture of the sea. 

Hope the next inspiration to blog will come soon. 

Brown and burnt

There was a severe draught early this year lasting almost two month. During that time many parts of the country was on fire. Kepayang Hill was not spared. One evening I received an SMS from Bernice saying that KHill was on fire. I couldn't see from my house. It was the S2 side.

I suspected then that it must be near Rocky Mountain ... one of our favorite routes. 

After staying away from the hill for almost two months, we managed to go up today. Haze, rain and of course hectic schedule have kept us from the hill this long. I no longer enjoy the hill. The route has changed because of development. The hill has been cut all the way up. 

While making our way up Rocky Mountain we noticed signs of the wood being burnt. It got worse the further we went. True enough...that was the part that was on fire few months ago as seen in these pictures. 

Totally dismayed and saddened by what we saw. 

Going up the trail...used to have low bushes left and right. Now it's barren and clear.

At the top...all brown. The trees are blackened. It's more severe at the top compared to the bottom. 

We hope to grow old climbing this hill. Now I wonder if the hill will still be here in ten years time. Need to look for a new hill nearby to climb.