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.

The Old and the Young

A great combination! When grandparents get together with grandchildren, the fun begins!

We watch them grow from tiny new born to their teens, when they complete their high school and then see them off to the university. As they grow older, we in turn grow even greyer and more stooped.

Our two pairs of grandchildren bring us much delight. We had the privilege of having the older two grow up in our former home with its large garden. In fact, they returned from the UK as a baby and a toddler and in their teens, they left us to study in the neighboring island republic where the education system is much better.

                                             Chloe celebrates her birthday in kindergarten

                                                      Delighted with her Barbie doll

                                                              Stephen has a present too
Children’s birthday parties were loud and happy in the big garden, both for my son during his childhood, and for my grandchildren.

                                                         Chloe and her presents

                                               Stephen and Chloe's friends playing a game

                                                   Children enjoying the party food

                                              Singing Happy Birthday to Chloe & Stephen

Alas, the younger two grandchildren were born and live in the island republic where they do not have the luxury of a home garden to run and play in.

                                                                Isaac and his cakes
Our younger grandson is now at an age where he is full of curiosity and he loves having us visit him whenever we can, which is not often, as the airfares are prohibitive. He is very knowledgeable for his age (four years old) and he speaks very well in both English and Mandarin. We are very proud of him.

                                                                Isaac blowing bubbles

                                              Wefie of Isaac & his Dad beneath the Octopus
The little girl will be one next month and she is as yet unable to crawl or speak. However, she can scream and shriek her needs!!

                                                                 Abigail at 2 months

                                                   Abigail at 10 months with Aunty Grace

Our older granddaughter has blossomed into a lovely girl who is completing her A-levels this year. Her brother will be heading to the UK for his degree course, come September.

 

Chloe & her Thomas Sabo bracelet

We had a short family holiday in Hoi An, Vietnam last December. It was a wonderful holiday with the two older grandchildren and our two daughters and son-in-law.

                                            Grandpa and grandchildren, Stephen & Chloe

                                   Son-in-law took this shot of us, 2 daughters an 2 grandkids

                                            With our elder daughter and her 2 children

Grandchildren make a great difference in our lives. It's so wonderful to see them grow into lovely young adults. It will not be long before the two older ones leave for their tertiary education abroad, taking their first steps towards independence and a new chapter in their lives. They go with our blessings and God willing, we will visit them.