Count Down

Last night was spent writing out the wedding invitation cards. No, not my wedding by my son's.

This morning I was all set to hand deliver some of the cards to relatives. However, being the absent-minded person that I am, I left the cards in the car and went in my brother's car to have breakfast, after which he would send me to my aunt's house to hand over the invitation cards. I didn't realise that I had come without the cards until we were almost at our destination.

So now there will have to be another trip to deliver those cards. The same thing happened later on. I went to my sister's house twice today but forgot the cards each time! How's that for a record?

Must be the excitement that the wedding is soon to take place! The cards are very pretty, the design chosen by the young couple.

Tomorrow I will be handing out more invitation cards and posting the rest to old friends. It is wonderful to know that friends of long standing will be present to witness and share our joy in our son's marriage.

This is the moment that most parents look forward to, the marriage of a child. We look forward to welcoming our daughter-in-law into the family and mind you we have a large family as we are a family of ten siblings and all of us have children and grandchildren as well.

No more Pain!!

Last night was the first night that I slept through without waking up in pain at odd hours. It was such a relief as I had been suffering from elbow tendonitis for many months and each movement brought pain, even in sleep.

Visits to the doctor and the physiotherapist brought little relief. The physiotherapy department in the government hospital has many patients needing attention and appointments are hard to come by so an ultrasound treatment once in three weeks hardly has any effect.

I went to the private physiotherapist once a week and it was all I could afford.

Fortunately, a new physiotherapist began work in the government clinic and this young lady is so caring that she asked me to go for treatment twice a week before clinic hours so that she could personally attend to me. It is thanks to her and the private physiotherapist that my elbow has now recovered.

That there is such a kind and caring young lady in government service has renewed my faith in human beings. She went out of her way to minister to my elbow and for that I'm very grateful to her. She has made a difference and added a rainbow in my life.

Now I can go about my chores without feeling pain.

Branded Fruit!!

We are enamored of brand names. Wherever we go we can see famous brand names on bill boards, in shopping malls and high streets. Fruits also come branded!!

You only have to look at Asian fruit stalls. The vendors will tell you that their durians are branded, such as Musang King ( mau sang wong ), Ang Hay ( Red prawn ) D 24, XO, etc., etc. There are so many that I can’t keep up. The other day, one vendor told me his is called Durian Belimbing ( Starfruit Durian ). The fruit tasted good but a tad too sweetish. I prefer my durians bitterish.

Rambutans also come branded these days. I bought the D24 on Sunday. When you buy fruit such as rambutan or langsat, you can always try them first to see if they are sweet or their flesh comes off the seed easily. Then only you decide whether or not to buy. The vendor usually doesn’t mind. He will tell you to go ahead and try, so confident is he that his fruit will not be rejected.


Of course these branded fruits come at a premium price, especially the Musang King durian, which my brother says costs RM30.00 or more per kilo. You can guess how much one fruit will add up to, with its thorny shell.

The D24 rambutans cost RM4.00 per kilo while the others ( unbranded ) cost either RM2.50 or RM3.00. However there is a difference in the texture of the flesh.

Both the rambutans ( RM3.00 and RM4.00 ) were good. The flesh came off the seed easily and they were sweet. When you buy rambutans, you want the ones whose flesh comes off readily and not those that stick to the seed so that you don’t really get to eat the fruit at all, just taste the juice. It can be frustrating trying to bite into the flesh which simply refuses to come off.

There is a subtle difference between the D24 and the other one which I bought. The flesh of the D24 is more crunchy and its sweetness is slightly different from that of the other rambutan. There is also a difference in their shape and hair.


The D24 has got longer outer hair and is elliptical in shape while the other is round and has shorter hair.

Rambutans really taste good when you chill them in the refrigerator.

The langsats are just coming out and the fruit on sale were not very sweet. They come in medium length clusters. You don’t want to buy those that are big because the seeds will be big. These are very bitter I you happen to bite into them. So go for the medium-sized ones. They do have a milky sap when you squeeze them open. It is sticky and bitter. The yellowish skin is thin and the fruit inside are white and segmented.
The flesh should be firm. Langsats can be very sweet and it’s very easy to consume a lot of them without realizing it, especially when you are watching tv.

Have you Laughed lately?

Have you laughed lately? Do you like laughing? Do you like people who laugh a lot?

If you have answered 'yes' to these questions, then congratulations! You are a happy person and you lead a happy, healthy life.

Laughter is a potent healer that improves our breathing and our natural immunity.

When we laugh, we release anxieties, stress and tension. This in turn decreases depression, defuses anger, takes away our sense of loneliness.

Laughter is contagious too. When someone bursts out laughing, emiting loud

booming laughter, we are at first surprised and then we too begin laughing.

It evokes positive emotions and has a therapeutic effect on us.

So if you haven't laughed lately, go on, have a good laugh. The healing power of laughter will have a positive effect on your mental health and well-being.