Another Wedding

Wedding bells rang for my nephew Mervyn and his bride Joanne.

Family members who were able to attend had a good day participating in the mid-morning tea ceremony followed by a dinner at night. The bride and groom looked resplendent in their wedding finery.
All his aunts and uncles looked great as well and his lovely cousins are a feast for sore eyes. Family gatherings are great for bonding.

Relax......& Have your Feet Pampered

I never knew how good it felt to have one's feet pampered and the toe nails polished.

My daughter gave me a treat and introduced me to the experience of a pedicure. At the nail salon, I was shown the range of colors and asked to choose one for my toe nails. Then I sat down and the basin was filled with warm water.

At first I was not used to having someone sitting at my feet, giving me a foot bath and a calf scrub.
A short while later I relaxed and gave in to the wonderful sensation of having my feet pampered. After the foot bath, my feet were dried and the toe nails trimmed and buffed.


Then she placed sponge in between my toes to facilitate painting the nails. A base coat went on first, followed by the color I had selected earlier.
After that, a mini-fan was turned on to speed up drying the nail polish.When my toenails were dry, voila! They looked so pretty and feminine!

Now I understand why women go for pedicures and manicures. I opted not to have a manicure as I'm constantly washing this and that while doing house chores.

Barley Reduces Body Heat

Am almost back to normal thanks to this wonderful drink!

Most Asians will be familiar with this drink made from raw and roasted barley grains. The Chinese know it as "sung suk yee mai".
It can be purchased from shops that sell Chinese herbs or Chinese medicine shops. You can also get it from supermarkets. It's very cheap, about 2 Ringgit or less per pack. It comes prepacked with a mix of raw and roasted barley which makes it effective to remove the heatiness in one's system.

This heatiness in the system leads to coughs and sore throats.

Empty half the packet into a pot of water( wash the barley first ) and bring to the boil. Add in a couple of screwpine leaves
(shred them so that the aroma comes out)to give the barley drink a nice fragrance. I usually twist them into a small bundle so that it is easier to remove after the barley is boiled.
When the barley is boiling vigorously, lower the fire and continue to boil for about half an hour or until the raw barley has puffed up and is soft.

Then add yellow rock sugar to taste.When the sugar has dissolved, switch off the fire. Remove the screwpine leaves. Your barley drink can be consumed throughout the day. The boiled barley can be eaten as well. It is soft and contains fibre which is good for our digestive system.

After a couple of days, you will find that your sore throat has eased and the cough is better. You can drink this barley as often as you like especially during the hot season, as it cools down your body system. However old people should not take this drink too often as it is considered too cooling for an aged body system.

Eating too many mandarins is bad because mandarin oranges are very heaty and cause sore throats. Now you know what to do if you have a sore throat.

Taking Stock

Next Thursday will be the last day of the Chinese New Year. 15 days of celebration!! Can you imagine the amount of food we have consumed? Especially the cookies!

I have three invitations for tomorrow!! Oh dearie me, it's difficult to choose which to go to. They're all on at the same time!

I'm absolutely sure that I'm not the only one to have put on weight during the last ten days or so, what with all the visiting and eating. However, I did have the misfortune of falling prey to the flu bug. That took away most of the desire for food, no matter how delectable the morsels were. I think I've got over the worst of it, especially the hacking cough at night and the runny nose. Three days ago I lost my voice completely but today I can speak again, thanks to a drink which I've been boiling and consuming. Tell you about it in my next post.

What I want to share with those who need to lose the excess pounds that they've piled on and to get rid of the toxins that would have accumulated as well, is a detox program that will flush it all out.

Check it out.

You'll be lighter and fitter at the end of it. Cheers!

4th Day of Chinese New Year

 

This evening we had a meal at my youngest sister's house. This is a collage of some of our relatives present. Not everyone was able to attend as they had other appointments.

As usual the children had a great time running around in the spacious lounge and there was Mr Bean on tv to entertain the older folks.

Makan at Bee's House Day 4

 

This is what my youngest sister fed us on the 4th day of the New Year. She cooked most of the food herself. The poh piah (Chinese salad roll), char siew (roast pork)were purchased while another sibling gave her the sambal sotong (spicy cuttlefish). The lemon cake was baked by her daughter Rachel.

The salmon yeesang was purchased and this is the second yeesang which I had today. My former classmates of the Methodist Girls' School gathered at the Lake Club for lunch and we had jellyfish yeesang. This dish is a must for the Chinese New Year and we toss the salad amid wishes for good health and prosperity. As one of the old girls said, "All the money in the world counts for nothing without good health." Good health especially as we grow older is true wealth.

Grandchildren are in Town!

 

My grandchildren flew in on the third day of the New Year and here they are receiving their angpows (red packets). Their Ah Yee (aunt)who is single is also entitled to her angpow. We get ours too from our married daughter!

Children who are married give angpows to their parents when they come to visit. They usually have their reunion dinner at their in-laws' place, according to the Chinese custom and then only come to visit their parents.

Our son left the same morning as our grandchildren arrived as he had to visit his in-laws who live in Singapore. So he didn't get to see his niece and nephew and to hand them their angpows. However, Ah Yee was delegated to hand over their angpows to them.

Chinese New Year Day1

 

This is a collage of the photos taken at my daughter's apartment on the first day of the Chinese New Year when our relatives, siblings, nieces and nephews, came to visit.

A Time of Bonding and Renewal

The Chinese New Year has always been a time when relatives exchange visits and catch up. There is a renewal of relationships and bonding, especially with the children now grown up and with their own families.
There is also an exchange of gifts and red packets for the children and those who are still single. Some of the young children are not back yet as they have gone to visit the paternal side of the relatives, following the custom. Tomorrow they will return and they will receive their red packetsfrom older relatives.

It is a time of feasting and eating, where varieties of cookies and mandarin oranges are served.
Mandarin oranges as a gift are de rigeur when one goes visiting. They signify prosperity. In turn your host will also present you with some mandarins when you leave.