Visiting My Grandhildren

It’s almost two weeks since stubbing my toes against the edge of the door frame. The xray revealed a possible fracture in one of the little toes.

However, fracture or none, a promise is a promise. A promise that was made months ago to a little boy across the South China Sea, that Grandma would visit him. He had been counting the days so Grandpa and I set out to fly across.

Wheelchair services made boarding and disembarking a breeze. On arrival, my grandson’s sharp eyes noted the walking stick and on learning of my mishap, was most sympathetic and concerned.

The next day, we visited Stephen, our older grandson who will be leaving before the weekend, heading for the UK where he will continue his tertiary education.

Isaac has just started pre-school but unfortunately he hasn’t been feeling well of late so he has been missing school. He’s a jovial little lad and very helpful. Here he is, weighing himself before reading our weight as we by turn, stand on the digital scale.

His little sister Abigail, is 17 months old and she has just learned to walk.

Chloe is our older granddaughter who’s sitting for her A-levels soon. Here she is with her small butterfly pendant, a present from me.

In a couple of days we will making our way back to the Land Below the Wind which has been our home for the last 5 decades.

It’s time for the next xray of my foot and I’m missing my plants too.

My Birthday

It seems that as one grows older, the time goes by faster! Half of 2017 has flown past and my 74^th birthday has come and gone! 

I’ve been blessed with a lovely family and great friends. Even though my children (except for my eldest daughter) and  grandchildren stay far away across the sea, they never fail to telephone to wish me Happy Birthday. My siblings too, call up to send their greetings. It is wonderful to feel so much love coming across the distance. My little grandson (he’s four years old) sang Happy Birthday over Face time! So marvellous to see him and hear him sing.

Isaac

My eldest girl who stays with us bought dinner at a Chinese restaurant. The three of us had a simple dinner with the mandatory birthday noodles or longevity noodles.

Longevity Noodles

In the days of old, when my grandma was still alive, she used to cook me a bowl of longevity noodles (mee sua) and a couple of red, hard boiled eggs. Red signals prosperity.

My buddies ( we used to play golf together ) organized a lunch to celebrate my birthday. It was a most enjoyable lunch as we nattered over a nice meal and polished it off with cakes and coffee. Needless to say, lunch is never less than a 2 hour affair, after which we adjourned to go shopping.

Getting together for a meal and going shopping is not only enjoyable but most therapeutic. For those few hours, we forget whatever problems we have and the stress that comes with the daily grind of life.

Penang Assam Laksa

Fruity salad

Pumpkin soup & spring rolls

Butterscotch cake & Brownie with ice cream

It is so true that apart from family, we need to have girl friends with whom we can let down our hair, giggle over silly happenings, take wefies and forget the calories for that afternoon. We celebrate our birthdays by going for lunch. Thank you my friends for the lovely afternoon. Looking forward to the next birthday in July.

Nary, Josie, myself & Faridah in a wefie.

Food That I Like

I’m a typical Malaysian who loves food.  I daresay that Malaysians live for food! At any time of day and night, you can find Malaysians eating, in coffee shops, swanky cafes and restaurants, at road side stalls, etc. In fact, wherever the food is good, there you’ll find crowds.

Sambal Petai

Ladies' Fingers

 Supper is very common among Malaysians. This could be one reason why many of us are obese and diabetic. 

Char Kway Teow (Fried Flat noodles)

Oyster omelette

Sauteed  Prawns & Oyster Sauce Vegetables

 We just can’t help it for our country is a food paradise. We are a multi-culture nation and we have food to suit every palate. Eating can be quite an adventure itself.

Chicken Satay & Peanut Sauce

Indian Chicken Curry

The local cuisine varies from state to state. The food in the northern states is different from that in the south. There are also differences in the type of food available in East and West Malaysia. 

Soft Shell Crab

In fact, we don’t mind driving a couple of hours to a place to have lunch or dinner, so long as the food is good!!

Small mussels

Food we had at a fishing village restaurant 2 hours' drive away from Kuala Lumpur

 It used to be cheap to eat out but at present it has become more expensive as the cost of living has gone up tremendously. Our currency is very weak so food stuff costs more these days.

Nonetheless, Malaysians will still eat out, enjoying the camaraderie among friends.

April 2017 Two Destinations

In April this year, I was very lucky to visit two places.  One was Singapore and the other Taipeh.

In Singapore, I saw beautiful parrots close-up. Their owners had brought them out to the park. They were so colorful. 

Beautiful Birds

Only God could have fashioned such beautiful birds in glorious hues.

Black Crested Parrot

Blue Parrots

They were obviously domesticated as I saw them fly off into the air and then return to land on their owner’s out=stretched hand.

Towards the end of April, I flew into Taipeh with a group of dynamic ladies who are members of a very active and well-known non-governmental organisation (SWEPA or Sabah Women Entrepreneurs and Professionals Association). 

We went there on a mission, to link up with our counterparts in the Taiwanese Women Entrepreneurs Associations.