Aromatherapy

my regular newspaper vendor is a sweet Indian old man.ive been buyimg newspaper from him for over 10 years hes a kind man and set up a street stall beside a road.he plants jasmine bushes on road shoulder,feeds a few stray dogs and pigeons every morning.i buy my bottled water from him when i got free potato,sardines n vege from food bank during covid,i give him the free food.so sometimes he plucks jasmines n ylang ylang flowers to give me to put inside my car as perfume.its pure aromatherapy unlike artificial scent that causes nasal allergy n sneezing

My happy hour painting

jun has gone out.yipee i have the dining table to myself to paint to my hearts content.a mixed ink wash cum western oil painting of san sui or mountains and water landscape.at last the personal space with no interruptions.put a notice outside for postal parcel delivery to put it on the ground. do not disturb my peace of mind with disruptions. gonna space out.

Park workout

Mental health

there is focus on combating covid virus effect on physical health but not on mental health.it has caused distress,social isolation and increasing despair. i feel that cutting off contacts lead to alienation and depression.i got back my mojo by returning to exercising outdoors in group activity.it is a mood booster to talk and laugh with friends in face to face communication. being stuck indoors,our thoughts are stuck in a rut and we ruminate on the past and dread the future especially doomscrolling at news of war and pandemic.such negativity drags us down. it takes effort to break the chains of toxic thoughts and clear the mind. singing and cooking helps to channel back to the present.its exercise that gives a serotonin boost to our brain. i look forward to travelling once pandemic is under full control globally.i miss the diverse culture and foreign experiences.just reading national geographic magazine arouse my yearning to travel to sikkim,kashmir,morocco and mongolia,ajanta caves n dunhuamg silk road

Western n malaysian food

i cooked a spaghetti alio olio with olive oil,garlic,chilli flakes in a clam stock seasoning,toppef with macjetel fillets in olive oil and cucumber ribbons.dinner i cooked vegetarian soya fish in sourish tom yam sauce with kefir lime leaves,lemongrass,galanggal ginger n spices.then i cooked cabbage.nice simple meal with ten grain rice.

A new day,start afresh

Sunday nite new pal

ginger tabby was so friendly and rolled over on its tummy to be petted.a good new pal

Lunch with zumba gang

i baked a salted caramel cake with salted caramel sauce with ginger almond crisp and m n m chocolates.the teacher was so happy many of us had a great vegetarian lunch for her.

A walk down memory lane

went back to park where in my childhood days i roamed around to play outdoors.growing up in a shophouse as a streetkid,we used to play with neighbourhood kids .im used to dashing across busy roads and running to the wet market to buy fresh produce for grandma or playing near open drains,sailing paper boats after heavy rain.so the park here was our refuge to play outdoors.learnt about birds and bees spying on courting couples smooching in the evening,catching grasshoppers,tadpoles and frogs from the lake or my dad catching a whopping big grass carp from the lake. i had so good memories of the patk.now facilities are better with outdoor gym,a library,a museum and open air food stall.but they put fencing around the lake after people committed suicide jumping into lake.the trees are shady and i enjoyed zumba on the park.

Zumba is energetic

new dance moves cha cha cha

Let go of the past,let go of the future,be present

i read an interesting insight by south african blogger ulrich janse van vuuren When your past suddenly calls accept it as a big compliment at how far youve come since and move on then let the message go to voicemail

Exercise pal

met my exercise pal Elizabeth and her mom.Shes so athletic and fit with her push ups n pull ups.but i seldom go to this park now as the monkeys are nuisance and im afraid to get monkeypox if im scratched by the apes.but the trees here are cooling amd the scenery more natural

Secret dream

wow my secret dream is to see pink Sakura blossoms opening against background of a snowy mount Fuji while im soaking in a steaming hot spring pool in the midst of heavy snowfall.what a wonderful sensation of a steamy warm bath while snowflakes keep on falling on the ground.now which hotel in Japan has such a view?one of the 100 places to visit before i reach 100!

Bantuan kerajaan

yipee i got bantuan kerajaan as a single parent retiree from the government,enough for 2 months grocery bills.so gonna stock up on frozen seafood,frozen CP roast chicken and fresh fruit.ive been eating local fruit so time for avocado from kenya or south africa,figs from Turkey and strawberry from Egypt.the fruits from these nations are more affordable to us. with rise in wheat flour,time to stock non gluten flour to bake bread n cakes.also india is banning export of sugar so luckily i use sugar substitute like monk fruit and stevia.Thailand was on the right track under King Bumiphol for self sufficiency economy especially in food production so they have no problem in food security. they are self sufficient in rice,vegetables,fruit,poultry n fresh water fish.

Family home

i went back to my old family home where i grew up to take my blind elder sis to run errands at the telco and repair her laptop at computer repair shop.shes a fussy pot.but shes a tough independent senior citizen.Im proud of how she master technology to move around independently,order food and ehailing car online and even learn website design on her own.next week she proudly tells me she earned a certificate in digital accessibility from the United Nation online course thro zoom lectures online.She even mentors younger people who lose their sight to learn Jaws audio text to speech software.next weekend for Dragonboat festival,ill take her to dine out at cantonese restaurant little Paris,famous for steamed tilapia fish . i think as a graduate in fine arts,what she misses most is painting.this acryllic self portrait that she painted as a student in fine arts Malaysia Institute of Art is displayed proudly in our living room.the other chinese ink wash and calligraphy painting is done by my great grand uncle who was a taoist monk in Hong Kong temple Ching Chung Koon in Tuen Mun,new territories and renowned for his calligraphy n painting.If i visit Hong Kong,i dream of visiting the temple where his masterpieces were displayed.the other great grand aunt became a Buddhist nun in a temple in Serdang and i loved the vegetarian meals she cooked for us.may they achieve the bliss of nibbana. ive learnt simple techniques of painting from my sister when she became an art teacher.She passed to me her collection of acryllic paints n pastels. so i try my best to help her in her errands caused im blessed with good health and eyesight while she is the only unlucky one in the family.to inherit the defective gene that caused her to lose her sight at midlife.but shes a survivor who overcame the loss to make a new life for herself.

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Malaysian kopi tiam or cha chan teng

i had brunch at sec 17 kopi tiam.now they have asean food like vietnam spring roll or indonesia ayam penyet or smashed chicken and thai tom yam.i ordeted vietnam spring roll and a roast duck leg.so yummy

Park workout

From yoga to Bollywood

there is a lot of yoga studios from hatha to ashtanga to iyengar but no studio offering Bollywood dances.Bollywood dances are pretty popular in China.the bhangara teacher danesh has so many Chinese students from Zhu hai to Yantai so why cant someone start and invite Bollywood teachers to Malaysia.there are many classical Indian dance teachers but to me Bollywood is more lively than Zumba ,its so energetic n addictive.think i will go to Brickfields and buy some bangles and indian skirt and top.the China gals look so pretty in colourful punjabi suit and twirling skirts.Definitely cannot dance Bollywood dance in a tight sari Ha ha.reminds me of my lovely German ex colleague Sabine Pfeiffer who is so multicultural .she has worked in all parts of the world,smokes sisha,enjoys chinese tuina and is so friendly with all races that she wears a kebaya and the Indian cleaners in our college gifted her a beautiful sari.i m addicted to Bollywood dances on Youtube.Jun thinks im.nuts wearing henna and shall i try a nose ring?then he will disown me as ive turned into mama cow.moo.better stick to toe rings so cool looking

Craving Malay cuisine

just had craving for spicy Malay food.for lunch i cooked shrimp,cuttlefish n chicken breastmeat in a sourish pineapple assam laksa with shredded cucumber.yummy for dinner i cooked nyonya nasi ulam or herbal rice with blue butterfly pea flowers,shredded tumeric n kefir lime leaves,wild betel leaf,daun kaduk,torch ginger flower,long beans,cucumber,roasted coconut kerisik,shredded chicken,sambal belacan,lime juice.so fragrant.cooked cuttlefish sambal curry and kerabu bok nee or wood ear fungus chicken salad.it was a feast when i added the sour vegetable pickle achar i made and deep fried crispy salted fish .happy tummy