REFLECTIONS

A beautiful new dawn

2012-02-01T14:54:00.000+08:00

I woke up today for once feeling fresh and alert. And it was only 5.40 am - the azan had not even been called yet and here I was feeling happier than I had been for days. Oh and the reason? Easy - my hubby came back for one night, just to make sure I was okay and he brought back the maid, who had gone over to KL to help clean up the apartment. Mind you, that is not to say that I had been feeling down in the dumps - no no- I was okay , but neither happy nor unhappy. You know that feeling? Like you are numb and a bit dull.

Yeah... okay anyway I looked out the window and saw the most gorgeous sunrise ever - it can't replace the view you get from Melawati of the Melawati Hills and cliffs and the sun showing up in slow degrees, becoming pink and slowly shimmering into a decidely golden yellow....but this one comes a close second. The view was slightly obscured by the rooftops but it was still a good shot I thought.

Breaking dawn

After staying here for almost 3 months I'm slowly getting used to the life here in this sleepy hollow. Of course a lot of people will say it's no longer a sleepy hollow, but for me and my daughter it still is. Imagine trying to find good eating places and the only ones you know is the local mamak shop (Restaurant Taj), Old Town Kopitiam, the Arab restaurant opposite MMU and the fast food places at most of the malls and shopping complexes. Maybe I'm picky but I love my tandoori chicken which you can get anywhere in KL or Melawati, or satay or fried mee. Maybe I need to explore more and be a bit more adventurous but I dont want ikan bakar (you can't have it every day can you?) and even the famed chendol near the clock tower is getting a bit boring. You see having lived in KL for all of my working life (since I left university) I know most if not all the best eating places in and around there. And apart from eating, even clothes shopping is like shopping at a night market.

Hmm does that make me sound like a spoiled diva? No... I like shopping for clothes in KL though I don't really do it all that often. I love M&S, Isetan, Robinsons etc and they really cannot compare to the shops we have here.Oh well... looks like we just have to find time to go up north then ... after all it's only 2 hours away. And I do need to see my tailor and my hair dresser ...

On the plus side, I love the beauty that is Malacca, tourist attractions and all. Even though I have taken the river cruise so many times and cannot really see what the fuss is all about, I still proudly introduce it to any friend who comes visiting and even take the boat ride with them. The night cruise is something else and really quite entertaining. I proudly show them the clock tower and the Stadthuys and Government HIll and even the replica of the Portuguese ship that once conquered Malacca. And if anyone dare say they don't like Malacca... well beware. Don't ever say it infront of me!

View of the Malacca river

The 200 year old Queen Victoria Fountain, built to commemorate her jubilee

Can this be true?

2012-01-31T13:33:00.000+08:00

Lots of nasty things have been happening lately in this country - I'm not talking about politically nasty but real, hard core downright nasty and ugly - like the murder and burning of four people , one a wealthy business woman and the others her lawyer, an accountant and her driver. And to date, even though every one knows who the murderers are, they are still debating about it at court. The main reason is that the bodies have been burned to ashes and thrown into a river so there is little evidence. This is when we wish that CSI is here in Malaysia to help out. Or that defence lawyers have a conscience and not defend so vigorously or that our police are smarter.

Closer to home something else has happened (much too close for comfort actually) - our neighbour's house was burned on the night of December 24 (Christmas eve). It happened at 3 am in the morning when my helper woke up shouting, " Fire! Fire!" I woke up groggily and looked out the window and to my horror she was right. The fire was just next door, a mere 7 feet from our house.

I called out to my neighbours but luckily they were already up and the fire brigade had been called. Meanwhile I used our garden hose and shot some water at the neighbour's flaming window, hosing the water right up to the roof which was already in flames. When the firemen arrived about 5-6 minutes later they put out the fire in less than half an hour but the damage was still quite extensive.Most of the back bedroom was totally burned down and the windows on her kitchen were charred. We all thought it was caused by an electricity short circuit. But horrible news awaited us the next day - it wasn't caused by a short circuit but a deliberate attempt by an arsonist. A wooden stool used to open the kitchen window was found outside and the iron grill was bent inside - which the police said could have been pushed by a crowbar or something similar. There were print marks on the wall that showed parts of a man's shoe.

So who could have done such a thing? Robbers? There was nothing much to steal there because the couple were old pensioners and who would keep money in the house these days? We hardly carry any cash - what we carry is just to buy the necessary. I often wonder what our police are doing to curb such activities. Crime is on the increase and nothing much has been done. I seldom see police cars doing their rounds, especially here in Malacca.

Gone are the days when we can allow our children to walk to the grocer or the pasar malam (night market) for fear they will be abducted, tortured and killed. Remember that little girl whose body was found in a bag and left on the steps of an apartment? Till today the killer has not been apprehended. She only wanted to go to the pasar malam. Just a few months later another little girl went missing and has never been seen again. I shall not state all the horrible things that is happening here nowadays... enough I think that you read just that little bit. But I wish, oh how I wish we had a more competent and efficient police force, better enforcement and a kinder public.

2012-01-21T12:19:00.000+08:00

Actually I haven't written for so long my brain must have stagnated. And I blame the Ipad for this! Too many games, apps that are so interesting and lots of magazines online. So I promised myself I will start writing again - even if its only one paragraph each day. So thinking about it I grapple around for ideas. Hmmm... what shall I write about ? Shall I write about my cats? Now that we are staying in Malacca we've brought back all of them - yes, even Apin and Momo the two black monsters.

Momo has control of the staircase

They came about two weeks ago - the two of them amidst a heavy January drizzle. Repin grumbled that they meowed the whole way - two hours on the road, each creating his own cacophony of meows.The moment they were let out of their travel cage they bounded out and started roaming this much bigger area (well bigger compared to the apartment where they lived mainly in the balcony and living room). Momo quickly appropriated the stairs, much to Mulan and Ginger's disgust. In fact Mulan was so unhappy, every time she passed Momo on the staircase, she took a swipe at Momo for good measure. The poor thing got the fright of his life - who is this little upstart who dares swipe his monsterness?

Apin meanwhile quickly adjusted to the new house, first going to the kitchen where he sensed some food lay in wait. Ginger and Bear Bear both remained upstairs, uncertain about these two new creatures.The first two nights both Momo and Apin made a lot of noise - especially Momo who showed his uncertainty about the new environment by prowling around the house and meowing his discontent.

Bear Bear hiding in the closet

Bear took to the wardrobe during the day to hide from the new 'people' and Ginger took to the window sill, to get away. As for Mulan - she's still the princess, terrorising everyone who happens her way.

Books read recently

2012-01-18T14:00:00.000+08:00

I'm stuck here in the boondocks - at least where books are concerned. There are no good bookstores in Malacca. What passes for a bookstore is Popular Bookstore which sells mainly school texts, revision and examination books as well as outdated popular novels. Afte two trips and returning with nothing I decided to at least get one or two books, even if they are outdated or even worse, expensive! So I came home with one Nora Roberts (she's always a good one if you have nothing to read) and The White Queen which I had wanted to read before but didnt want to pay through the nose for.

Anyway the Nora Roberts was new -its called The Next Always and one of her family/relationship stories which she is very good for.The book is centred in a small town called Boonsboro where 3 brothers have bought over an old hotel and renovating it. The hotel had been there for centuries, surviving war and peace, watching the town grow and now that it is very old, the Montgomery brothers have bought it and they are going to turn it back into what it once was - a beautiful classic looking hotel. But the old hotel has its secrets too and its own ghost, staying there. Beckett Montgomery is the architect and is the only one of his brothers who had seen the ghost. Clare Brewster is the owner of the local bookshop, as well as the girl Beckett dreamed of long ago in his student days. Now she's a young widow with 3 boisterous boys to bring up.She does not believe in ghosts or spirits but one day when she was visiting with Beckett at the slowly developing hotel she 'sees' the ghost and is quite shaken by the experience. Her relationship with Beckett is also getting closer and she's even thinking of marrying again - until one day a crazy suitor traps her and plans to elope with her!

Nora Roberts is at her best writing about family and relationships and this book is no different. Boonsboro comes alive with details of the characters and their lives with a little adventure and mystery thrown in.

Some photos of the trip

2011-10-19T20:50:00.000+08:00

The Post Office in Madrid

The Relecting pool at the Al Hambra, Granada

View of the garden from the Queen's room in Al hambra

The Monastery in Battalha

Spain, Portugal and Morocco are really beautiful countries , with a lot of similarities in climate and vegetation. The only difference is the culture and religion but even this you can see a number of similarities. Like Spain, Morocco too had been a Roman outpost a long time ago and till today there are any number of Roman ruins to be found. In Spain especially nearer Seville, we visited a Roman aqueduct and a site that had once been a Roman village. It is fascinating to see the modernity of these antiquities - much of the layout of these Roman villages were very modern and showed careful planning and design. In fact we can learn a lot by learning more about them, I think.

Seville

2011-10-06T21:19:00.001+08:00

FRom Lisbon it was another 5 hour drive south to Seville, which was our next stop. we had two short breaks during the journey, once to eat and a sceond stop just to stretch our legs. The view though was still as beautiful though as we drove further south changes in scenery was inevitable. Instead of the high mountain roads we now pass through farmlands - mostly olive but also oranges and other fruits. there are also more and more windmills - the ones that Don Quixote tried to topple in the legendary story of the Don from La Mancha.

The medieval city of Toledo in Spain

At Avila, walled city

Seville is even more beautiful than madrid, though in a different way. Oranges line the streets and for some one like me who has not really seen orange trees this is something. Much of Seville is made up of narrow streets which intertwine with one another and it is so easy to get lost here. Our hotel - Don Pedro - is situated in a quiet street but still very close to most of the sights that we want to see. For me, I had enough of churches and cathedrals and at the first opportunity Repin and I wandered off in search of other things to see and do. We walked towards the town centre and saw many shops and decided to do some shopping here.

That night we were treated to one of the highlights of the tour - a flamenco show and dinner at a really nice restaurant.

Fado singer

Batalha and Fatima

2011-10-05T20:48:00.001+08:00

There's so much to see and do in Lisbon we all felt that there were not enough days to do it. That is the problem with guided tours - you are on a schedule and everyone has to follow that schedule. That first night we went for a real Portuguese dinner - complete with a fado - or a singer/ singers. This is in a way some form of Portuguese opera with the singer telling a story in a song. The singers were good - really strong and expressive so that even though we didnt know the language we still liked the songs. Then there were the Portuguese dances which is very similar to our own Portuguese dances here in Malaysia. I think I enjoyed this night very much and it was a good ending to a really wonderful day - the tour of Lisbon, the trip to Cascais and Sintra and finally the dinner and the Fado. We took a walk from the little restaurant and saw the yellow tram that is like a funicular train climbing up the hill. This was like icing on the cake - the tram was crowded but some of our group jumped up anyway and took a short trip down.

The church at Fatima

Next day we were supposed to drive to Seville but with a stop at Battalha and Fatima - two cities with a lot of religious significance. Fatima is a very small town and is only famous because of its saint - The Lady Fatima. It was said that the girl, Fatima who lived in the 15th century was the daughter of an Arab fisherman. She fell in love with a young Portuguese nobleman and of course there was a lot of anger on both sides of the family. In the end Fatima, because she loved her young nobleman passionately, decided to run away with him. They were caught and she was killed. However after she died the young nobleman wanted to take away her body and bury it himself. To his surprise, the body was intact and not even decomposed. He brought this to the attention of the town people and many declared that she was a saint. After this there were stories of people who saw her and they said that she always appeared to people who were in trouble and she would help them, which is why she is considered the patron saint of fishermen in Portugal.

Battalha is another small town with a beautiful and very old monastery. The day we arrived was a holiday so entrance was free and we all had a good look around. After 30 minutes though Repin and I went out and decided to have some coffee under the trees at one of the outdoor cafes.

Lisboa, Portugal

2011-10-04T12:50:00.004+08:00

The Henry the Navigator monument

Early in the morning of the next day we drove down to Lisboa, capital city of Portugal. The view changed from hilly to undulating to plain - we passed through scenic countryside and gorges as we passed through the mountains of Sierra Madre towards Lisbon, or Lisboa as the Portuguese call it. On the way we stopped twice - once at a wine bordega and had some wine tasting. Angel, being the caring person that he is, brought biscuits because he didnt want anyone taking the wine on an empty stomach. Here we learned the history of wine making in Portugal, the average ages of the various wines and why certain wines were for the table and some for special occasions at restaurants. I wanted a taste so Repin let me have a sip - no more! Hmmm... I didnt really like the taste - it was a bit bitter and tart on the tongue - but they say it grows on you, and I guess it does. It did give me a warm feeling though.

Almost everyone bought some wine - to take with them to Morocco, it seems.

We arrived in Lisbon late in the afternoon and were checked in by Angel fairly quickly. Lunch today was on the house - paella - for us it was seafood. It was quite delicious actually and I was pleasantly surprised. Angel said that Portuguese food is so much better and fresher than Spanish food because most Spanish people had come to depend on restaurant and store bought food whereas the Portuguese still cooked at home and most of them dine at home rather than eat out.

We were then taken on a short tour of Lisbon - just a drive through actually. Lisbon is a very beautiful city and is situated on the banks of the River Tagus. There are more than 20 bridges spanning this river and the widest and longest looks a little like the Bay Bridge in San Francisco. We were told that the San Francisco Bridge was designed by the same architect.

The beautiful monastery at Battalha

In Lisbon we visited the Henry the Navigator Monument, The Belem Tower, the Royal Palace and also the Expo site. The next day we went to Cascais and Sintra both outside the city and a fair distance from Lisbon. The journey to Cascais which is a seaside resort on the Estoril coast took about one hour. We had plenty of time to wander around the pretty coastal town and had lunch at one of the tiny cafes near the seafront.

After Cascais we went to Sintra, this time a town up on the mountains. The drive was scenic but a bit harrowing though our driver Sergio was rather good and very experienced, in spite of being young. The views here was fantastic and what I loved about it was that it was much cooler than Lisbon, though Lisbon was cooler than Madrid.

Cascais seen from the bus

view of one of the castles in Sintra

view from Sintra

Coimbra, Portugal

2011-10-03T22:15:00.001+08:00

The third night we spent in Coimbra. Actually we drove on to Coimbra right after Avila where we had a light meal of coffee (cafe leche) and muffins. I noticed some others had hamburgers but since we could not take meat during this trip we made do with muffins, pancakes and other light pasteries. An interesting thing happened in Avila that day - Ron and Julia, the only New Zealanders among us - were late to the bus and was finally thought to be lost. Poor Angel. our Tour Director was quite distraught because nobody knew them at that time except us - I sat with them during breakfast at the hotel, so could give a description of the couple. I'm sure it must have been a scary experience for them - I know how easily one can get lost in that medieval city - a wrong turn and you don't know where you are! We sent out a small search party but after half an hour still could not find them. Finally after waiting for almost one hour they turned up at the supposed meeting place, very pale and frightened thinking we might be angry with them. Of course we were not for anybody could get lost in the narrow winding streets!

So at 2.30 pm, one hour later then the scheduled time we left for Portugal. It was a long drive through narrow gorges and splendid looking scenery, past olive and cork plantations as well as vineyards.We arrived at Coimbra in Portugal earlier than we thought, thanks to our fantastic driver, Sergio and still had time to visit the university that is so famous for its black uniforms or capes! The Coimbra University or Universidad de Coimbra is the oldest university in Portugal and the fifth oldest in Europe. Coimbra itself is a scenic city, very well-preserved with old cobble-stoned roads, tiny alleys that climb up to the university which is situated at the top of the town. I noticed that there were also a lot of nice shops but we didnt have time to shop so had to say good bye to that!

One of the narrow cobbled streets

Gate into the old city

Facade of old church

Avila and Coimbra

2011-10-03T21:42:00.000+08:00

The second day of the tour we journeyed to Avila, a fortress city north of Madrid, in the province of Castile. It is a beautifully preserved city - looks practically medieval as we approached it, with high walls surrounding the city and lots of churches and cathedrals. It was first built in the 5th century it is claimed, but deteriorated due to the Roman invasion but was rebuilt in the 12th century and still stands today as it was. There were at least three large churches or cathedrals in this small city and two universities!

Walking along its narrow streets

The medieval looking Avila seen from the road

walled city of Avila, Spain

Travelling through Spain, Portugal and Morocco

2011-10-02T19:24:00.000+08:00

For this year's holiday we went to Spain, Portugal and Morocco. Three countries with almost the same climate but very different cultures and traditions. The holiday began in Madrid - we arrived there on 30th September, Friday about noon and were taken to the hotel by the Cosmos people. The Hotel is in the suburbs and quite decent, though we had to pay through our nose for the Internet! The following are some pictures from the first few days we were in Madrid - mostly taken with my Iphone, so may not be too good.

Hotel Praga where we stayed

There is a beautiful park a few metres behind the hotel, we discovered and for the next few days took our evening walks there.

It's a large park, with a river running in between and since the evenings are warm and balmy we notice that many families go there - either to exercise or relax.

The tour proper only began on 2nd October and our first trip was a tour of Madrid - the palace, some monuments, museums etc and later in the afternoon we were taken to the ancient city of Toledo, famous for its steel and sword making. Toledo had at one time been captured by the Arabs and turned into a fort, so there is a very high wall around most of the city, surrounded by a river. We watched the making of jewellery - mostly made of platinum, steel and silver as well as the making of daggers and swords at one of the small workshops there.

Park behind the hotel

Plaza Major, is one of the main squares in Madrid, very popular with tourists and locals alike, with restaurants and lots of souvenir shops. Since there is a bus that goes there directly from the hotel, it was one of the first places we visited upon arrival. We spent hours there, just walking and admiring the scenery - very European with a main square surrounded by small shops and restaurants. We had lunch at one of the many outdoor cafe - seafood paella - very Spanish indeed! We sat outside and watched the world go by - so our first day in Madrid was spent there!

Repin at Plaza Major

New books for September and October

2011-09-21T17:05:00.001+08:00

The following were bought for August and September actually:

Jill Mansell - To the Moon and Back (read it and can give it 4 for readability)
Mary Balogh - Yes I bought 4 books together because I wanted to read about the Huxtable family all at once. These are : First Comes Marriage ; Then Comes Seduction; To SEduce an Angel; At Last Comes Love; and the last one to marry - Constantine Huxtable in A Secret Affair

I really enjoyed reading these books and would recommend Mary Balogh for anybody who loves Regency romances. Just a word of caution though - Mary Balogh does not hide the real social scene behind parties and non stop gaiety. The society that she describes has war and its inevitable consequences as well as all the horror of poverty in 18th century England which she integrates so well in her stories that they give us readers different and seldom shown view of the period.

I also bought a re-telling of a famous and well-known Shakespearean play - Hamlet, called Falling For Hamlet, written by a new comer to the writing scene - Michelle Ray.

Falling for Hamlet follows the Shakespearean tragedy fairly closely but we see the whole thing from the eyes of Ophelia, Hamlet's girlfriend, whose father is the King's advisor - Polonius. OPhelia is a girl of 16 - young and in love with the crown prince of Denmark who is a college student. Although the Queen, Getrude , does not really like it, she bears with the relationship, even befriending the motherless Ophelia and going shopping with her sometimes. Things however change when the King dies suddenly and Hamlet who was close to his father suspects that his father was murdered, and by his own uncle, the greedy Claudius. The rest of the story follows closely to the original, except that this has been modernised, that is the setting is modern day Denmark and Hamlet and Ophelia use phones and send text messages and the media is very much in the picture. In fact the story begins with a television interview - Ophelia is ready to face the press and tell her story. As we can see, Ophelia does not kill herself in this story. She is a young woman who has faced a lot of challenges and heartbreak but is strong against the storm.

THis is one book I literally could not put down until the last page. Its a stupendous read and whether you like Shakespeare or not, I recommend that you read this book. It has everything you want in a book - great characters, superb plot, stunning detail and lots of sex and murder. Shakespeare is ever a master story teller and the re-telling is not half bad!

Visiting Rizal and family

2011-09-21T15:28:00.002+08:00

On Thursday 12 September Sarah and I decided to visit Sophia in Singapore. It had been at least 2 weeks since we last saw her, during the Eid celebrations and at that time I was just too busy to really enjoy her. So off to Singapore we went!As usual the arrangements were made by Repin, my husband. And as usual we went by night train, taking the sleeping berth and arriving in Woodlands at approximately 6.30 am. After immigration and customs were over we hailed a cab and arrived at Paya Lebar at 8 am - a bit too early for my daughter in law, who was obviously woken up by us ringing the bell!

Anyway she welcomed us and prepared breakfast - pancakes with maple syrup ! Hmmm I can still remember the delicious taste of the pancakes right now- two weeks after the visit!

Sophia was excited and to show how excited she ran around the living room and jumped up and down.But she still had to go to school- nenek or not. Poh ling sent her to her pre- school which was about a block away and after that since Poh ling had a Mandarin class to attend, we decided to meet at Orchard Road and have lunch with Rizal.

We had a great time walking along Orchard and just window shopping at first. Then we had lunch with Rizal and Poh ling at a place called famous for it's sandwiches. Later Poh ling took us to a new store- H&M which is well known in UK but had just opened in Singapore! Talk about queuing for clothes - there were so many people we had to queue to go in!Even though I didnt initially want to buy anything we ended up buying a shirt for Sarah, socks for me and a sweater too. They were so cheap at the discounted prices I just had to buy! Ha ha! So says the eternal shopholic.

Repin arrived later that night and we fetched him from the station at Woodlands in Rizal's new car. It 3was quite an adventure because Rizal had not driven much in Singapore and that was to send his boss to meetings and so on. However we did not get lost - much to my surprise actually and it is true that Singapore is so small you cant really get lost!

Next day was a Saturday so we all decided to spend some time at the zoo with the small fry who was initially excited and talked of the zoo non stop before that. All that changed however when we were there - she was afraid of everything! We couldn't walk near the monkeys or any of the animals or she would scream her head off and yell instructions - no not so near, stay in the middle of the road, no don't go near the animals! Luckily all that changed after she had her lunch and a dip at the water park - which was after 2pm., by which time she had calmed down enough to allow us to take her to some of the animals. Which was the point of the whole visit actually - to introduce her to some of the animals she sees on tv or in her books. Sophie however is more like her father in many ways - one of which is their fear of anything new! Rizal as a baby was just like that - he cried when we took him to the beach and refused to touch the sand - it was too grainy and stuck to his feet so he refused to leave my arms and clung like a baby orang utan!

Sophia in her pram "reading" the zoo map

The Singapore zoo actually deserves a whole page to itself - its so well maintained and beautifully landscaped. There are lots of huge old trees, orchids and other plants the walk around the zoo is like walking around a park and the view is certainly fantastic, with lakes and rivers all around. I hear they are adding other attractions - a river boat ride is one of them. This is one place I promise myself I will visit again.

Orchids at the zoo

Mary Balogh's Huxtable series

2011-09-02T08:59:00.001+08:00

Now that all the hullabaloo about Eid is over, I've got more time to sit and read a bit. Actually I have been reading, just not writing about it, mainly because I discovered a very addictive pastime - playing Angry Birds, City Story, and Empire Story on my new Ipad. I can tell you that it is very very addictive - I can sit there with my Ipad and forget about cooking or cleaning or reading for that matter! Repin comes home from work and when he sees me sitting with my Ipad he'll say - "Oh Mama is busy empire building or city building or fighting angry birds!" Which makes me feel very guilty...

Anyway now that I have a bit of time I'll just tell you all about these books I've been reading. They're about the Huxtable family which is a fairly big one. There's Constantine Huxtable, a tall, dangerously sexy and formidable guy who was the illegimate son of the Earl of Merton. He was illegitimate only by a technicality - his parents - the first Earl of Merton married his mother two days too late - and because of that he could not inherit the title and property of his own father, even though he was the first born. His second brother, who was born much later and slightly retarded, inherited the title instead. BUt his brother died early, when he was only 16 years old so the title went to a second cousin, as the only one who was a direct descendent.

The first book- First Comes Marriage is about this second cousin's family - a family of 3 young beautiful women and one handsome young man who was to become the next Earl of Merton. Elliot Wallace is a trustee of the Hustable Estate and when the young Earl of Merton dies, it is his job to look for the next heir. He is Constantine's cousin on his mother's side and actually looks very much like him - tall with dark good looks and dangerously sexy. However, due to false rumors and prejudice, he hates Con's guts and refuses to acknowledge him, even though they are cousins and had been best friends in their teenage years. After much search they manage to find the heir to the Huxtable estate and the Earl of Merton in a remote village where he found the 4 siblings living in genteel poverty, with Margaret, the most beautiful of them all and the eldest, trying her best to keep the family afloat. Stephen, who would soon be the next Earl of Merton was a mere boy at only 17 years old. Margaret was wondering how she could send her brother to Oxford to continue his studies, as a gentleman's son should. But their father - the former Vicar of Throckbridge - had so angered their grandfather by marrying their mother - his family had cut him off without a penny, or even acknowledging them. So apart from what Margaret and Kate earned from teaching at the local school, they had no means of support.In fact soon, even their cottage would no longer be theirs and Margaret was desperate enough to think of moving somewhere where she could find work.

At this stage, along comes Elliot with his announcement that their brother Stephen was in fact the new Earl of Merton and that he would not only inherit the title but also a large sum of money and an estate that was rich beyond their imagining. The only flaw was that they found Elliot arrogant and slightly condescending and that he meant to take Stephen, their baby brother away from them! So they all refused to budge, unless they all went along to the new place. Elliot, who was supposed to guide Stephen into his new role and act as mentor was forced to accept the ultimatum and finally took all of them, including the widowed Vanessa Huxtable, the second oldest sister. In fact, Elliot who was soon to be the Earl of Moreland decided to marry one of the Huxtable sisters, which one though he was not so sure, until one of them , the most audacious of them all - proposed to him!

This is one of Mary Balogh's finest books - I always love her style, which is slightly like that of Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer combined and really enjoyed the read. Her characters are lovable and real and the situations they find themselves in sometimes funny and hilarious. If you like Regency romances, then this is the book for you.

There are 5 books in all - First Comes Marriage, Then Comes Seduction, At last Comes Love, Seducing an Angel and finally A Secret Affair.

These books tell the stories of the three sisters, Vanessa (First Comes Marriage), Katherine (Then Comes Seduction), and Margaret (At Last Comes Love) and of their brother Stephen (Seducing an Angel) and second cousin Constantine (A Secret Affair).

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Fasting... or feasting?

2011-08-20T21:49:00.001+08:00

Its that time of the year again - Ramadan - the month when we are supposed to abstain from all earthly delights - in whatever form - physical, emotional or spiritual. For most of us Muslims in Malaysia, Ramadan means one thing - to fast physically. Many of us forget, or maybe just don't realise that Ramadan does not only mean to fast or abstain from eating during the day but to abstain from all things evil or harmful to us, whether physically or emotionally. Thus it means to be free from all forms of wrong doing, whether physical or emotional. One is supposed to be free from anger and any form of malice, especially if it is directed at another human being.

If everyone adheres to the ruling then this world would indeed be a peaceful and safe place. But of course no one (or very few) follow such a ruling. Even where food is concerned, one is advised not to eat too much - gluttony is a sin, and one of the seven deadly sins at that. But come Raadan, bazaars mushroom everywhere. Today they are called Ramadan bazaars and food is plentiful. Just name what you like to eat, and provided you have the money, you can definitely buy it anywhere at the bazaar. The one near my house is a perfect example - all kinds of food and delicacies can be found there. Food that you have not eaten since you were a child like the serabai - a kind of pancake made with rice flour and eaten with a sweet concoction of bananas and brown sugar and coconut milk, can be found. Delicacies from the East coast states, from Sarawak or Penang can all be found at this bazaar. People from all walks of life will throng the place and come 6pm, the atmosphere is almost that of a fiesta; crowds of people pushing just to move, vendors selling their wares at the tops of their voices, and if that is not loud enough, using a hailer to make their voices louder and more noticeable.

I went there on the first day of Ramadan and vowed never to go again. First there is the crowd, then the noise and the smoke (from barbeque fires and others) and finally the amount and variety of food available. I have been told - never to go food shopping when you are hungry - and oh how true that is! I bought murtabak, ayam percik, roti bom, tauhu bakar and rojak - food that can feed a normal family of four. Its not that I am greedy or a glutton, its just that the sight of so much food releases certain enzymes in our body which relays the message to our brain saying - "Buy, buy, buy!" At break time, after the euphoria of eating is over, I look at all the left overs and wonder as well as promise myself - tomorrow I will not indulge myself. I will eat less..."

Its well past the 15th day now and I still have not fulfilled my own promise. I still go to the Ramadan bazaar and buy up too much food again. My husband comes home from work and bring home some cakes he picked up at the office cafe, my maid prepares some favourite puddings or pie to add to the main dish. So in the long run we end up feasting... and not fasting. Hmmm... tomorrow my son is coming over for iftar with Emma. I wonder what I shall prepare .. better look at my recipe book.....

Back to normal

2011-07-29T18:34:00.000+08:00

Well Sarah has been back for almost 2 weeks now and things have settled down somewhat . Bear bear her large British short hair is also back at home still trying to get used to a house full of other felines! He is so used to being alone with Sara that he is still a little confused - what with the different climate and all. But he seems to be settling down a bit, and is getting used to seeing other people around , besides his owner.But he is cute though quite big sized - he looks like a small dog! We will need to take him to the vet one of these days,just to register him, but I felt it important to let him absorb his surroundings first and get used to the different environment.

A lot of things have happened since I last wrote - some sad and some good. First of all last week on Thursday Emma's mum passed away. Emma is my new daughter in law who got married to Wan in April this year. We had wanted to wait until July but now I'm glad that we didn't because at least she got to see her youngest daughter married. I still remember her serene look of happiness as she looked at the newly married couple. She and her husband - Mr.Ebrahim even posed on the dais after the wedding - a picture of married bliss. May her soul rest in peace.

On Saturday 23 July we celebrated Sara's return with a small family gathering - all my brothers and sisters as well as Repin's came over for the function and we had a few people from the surau to perform some prayers too. This was a good time for me to show off my new extension - don't really know what to call it - it's too small to call a sitting room and yet it is part of the living room. It kind of brightens up the living room and gives it an added character!

Sarah and Bear Bear return home

2011-07-17T17:39:00.001+08:00

Yesterday at 12.15 pm my daughter Sarah arrived home, or rather at KLIA. We had been texting each other since she was in Moscow airport - me because I was concerned about Bear Bear, her cat which she was bringing home to Malaysia finally. A lot of preparation had to be carried out before Bear Bear was actually allowed to come to Malaysia. The Russian authorities were very strict - his vaccinations and other documents had to be in order and he also had to take his anti -rabies shot exactly one month before departure. Then on the Malaysian side we had to get the papers from the Veterinary Department - import permit and so on. So finally the cat was allowed to be taken back here but first he had to undergo the journey - 6 hours by van from Nizhny Novgorod to Moscow, a stop at the Malaysian Embassy to get his permit stamped, then to the airport where there was a wait of another 5 hours before boarding. Bear bear had his own ticket, which costs us RM1200 - he would be in his cage in the plane with Sarah!

According to Sara he was a really good traveller - he was quiet most of the journey,only miawing for food early in the morning just before they were to arrive in Bangkok. In transit he was the centre of attraction - being a big cat (8 kg) and black a few people thought aloud whether Bear Bear was in fact a cat or a small lynx! In fact quite a few took pictures of him on the leash, walking around Bangkok airport.

Then here in KL, he had to be quarantined - luckily for a week - but much to Sara's disappointment because she had heard from a friend that her cat was not quarantined at all! Anyway after some tears (from Sara) Bear Bear was finally released to the vet and taken to the Quarantine Department, a few kilometres away from the airport.

Of course to day we had to visit him at his quarantine place - and it was quite ok - spacious and airy. There were a few other cats with him (all in their own rooms) some were quite noisy and attention seeking.

Poor Bear Bear in the quarantine place

Bear Bear was quite stressed, judging from the furballs rolling off his back and his very quiet demeanor. In fact at first he wouldnt even acknowledge Sara who felt terribly guilty. We spent half an hour gently petting him and trying to make him relax. Looks like I will be driving to the Veterinary Department every day until he is released. Sara says she must visit him every day!

Jill Mansell's newest book

2011-07-14T13:05:00.001+08:00

Ellie and her husband Jamie seem to have it all - they are desperately in love and married! Jamie is fun, gorgeous and the perfect husband, until fate takes its hand and jamie is killed in an accident on the way to a class gathering. How can Ellie cope, can she cope? She is devastated and at first just goes on from day to day without even knowing whether she has eaten or not. But sooner or later she has to go on living, and she does - she changes job, moved from a louzy apartment to a very nice neighbourhood and gets the perfect boss!

She definitely doesn’t need a new man, not while she has a certain secret visitor to keep her company...

Ellie's boss, entrepreneur Zack McLaren seems to have it all, but the girl he can’t stop thinking about won’t give him a second glance. Why can’t she pay him the kind of attention she lavishes on Elmo, his time-share dog?

Having moved to an exclusive flat in North London, Ellie becomes friendly with neighbour Roo who’s harbouring a secret of her own. Between them, can both girls sort out their lives?

This is just the sort of book to lift you out of your doldrums - Jill Mansell's newest certainly does that and more! A funny, yet touching romance with characters that are lively and personable. I enjoyed most of her books and this one is yet another of her romances that are full of humour and humanity. A really good book that you wont be able to put down until you've finished reading it!

I'd recommend it to anybody who enjoys chick lit once in a while and for those who love light romances. 4 out of 5!

Moscow

2011-06-30T16:51:00.025+08:00

After the graduation ceremony we all decided to go to Moscow - Repin and I will take a flight back to KL from there and Sarah and her room mate, Zakiah will go for a short trip to St Petersberg, Helsinki, Copenhagen and Stockholm, after which they will fly back to Malaysia, tghis time for good, with Bear Bear in tow. Bear-bear's permit and visa had been prepared months ago and he will travel back to KL with Sarah on the plane! I wonder how he will take it, he being so shy and a bit of a scaredy cat.

From Nizhny Novgorod we all boarded the train at around 10.30pm. Sarah had booked two compartments - one for us and the other for Dr Mansor, Zakiah and her sister Zawiah. The train was quite okay - maybe bigger than our KTM and smoother too. It was very punctual and left NN exactly 10 minutes after 10.20, which was the boarding time. We all had sleeping berths so we quickly settled in and soothed by the swaying movement of the train, I nodded off soon after!

a tired looking Repin at the railway station

Before we knew it, it was already dawn. Here in Russia, dawn comes very early in the summer (as early as 3.30am) and dusk is as late as 10.00 pm! I had slept the whole way and soon at 6.00 a.m we could see the outskirts of Moscow already. It was rather like any other large city in the world - buildings that have not much character, industries and manufacturing areas, bits of farm land and by 6.30 we had already reached the station. There are 3 main railway stations in Moscow and this one, where we are is supposed to be one of the largest and the beginning of the Trans-Siberian Railway. As soon as we could we left the train and dragged our bags out. Together our bags numbered 11 - more than our group of six! This was why we took the train anyway - because we could never go on the S7 which had a baggage limit of 15kg.

Sarah then called the apartment but the landlady said we could only go in at 11 am so we decided to stop at the railway station and have our breakfast, which consisted of buns and a cup of coffee each.

view from our bedroom

By the time we could check into the apartment, it was already 12 noon! But the apartment was quite nice - fully furnished with 3 bedrooms and a kitchen which had a stove, an oven, a fridge and a washing machine! Now we were all set! First thing to do was explore the area so after putting away our stuff we all trooped down and took a walk. It seems the train station is just across the river which has a lovely covered walk way. The view from our bedroom is quite fantastic!

Giant Matrushka

Sarah at the walking street

We took a walk across the covered bridge and discovered that there were shops along it. Right across was a huge new shopping centre which had the giant matrushkas ( Russian nesting dolls). Zakiah and Sarah were so excited they ran all over the exhibition area to view the different matrushkas. They were simply gigantic and really beautifully painted.

The Kremlin at the Red Square

Russian sojourn

2011-06-29T14:08:00.011+08:00

Finally after six long years of slogging and a lot of heartache, pain and sickness suffered alone, joy and withstanding the bitter cold of a Russian winter, my youngest Sarah has graduated with an M.D! She worked hard for it of course even though critics here in Malaysia say that overseas trained graduates, especially Russian doctors are not as good as the locally trained ones! Just because many of them were not pampered government scholars who rely on the government for everything, they are looked down upon. Anyway Sarah had a grand occasion yesterday. They looked splendid in their red and black gowns and black graduation caps with red tassels. The ceremony itself was quite simple - it was presided over by the Rector of the Nizhny Novgorod State Medical Academy (NNSMA) and went without a hitch. It began with the Russian National anthem sung by a really good choir who went on to sing the university song.

The morning started with a grand gesture from the students - they had hired for themselves a limousine to go to the convocation venue- a really huge, white limousine that could take 10 of us easily. So we went to the hall in style! There they quickly dressed in their graduation robes and I noticed that there were a lot of Malaysian parents on hand to help their children. Eighty students - all from foreign countries- would be graduating this year. Almost 80% of the students are Malaysian , the rest coming from some African countries (Kenya, Tanzania and Morrocco). There were also some students from Sri Lanka and one from Indonesia.

After the ceremony we all went for a celebration lunch - at a Japanese restaurant, booked by Sarah and her friends but paid for by parents (lol).

The four young doctors

Renovation project (2)

2011-06-22T19:30:00.014+08:00

After the initial work (the breaking of the arches and the floor), they put up the windows for the side area. The door will be moved to the front too and will be bigger than the present one. Tomorrow they will put up the window ledges and the door but they have to plaster the walls first, which is still not done. According to the window man the walls need to be plastered and painted before he can put up the windows? Our contractor Lai Ah Yee has not even plastered the walls! And he didnt come at all today, yet he promised us he would finish it by the third week, which is this week! Sigh...

Finally after a lot of waiting, Lai the contractor (who happened to also be Repin's cousin!) came and in one day worked his miracle. A whole crew came and fixed the plaster, put up the windows and fixed the ceiling. However he couldn't do anything about the doors because the door man was in KL doing some other work and would only be back in Malacca on Monday! Talk of exporting our talents! Can't KL find their own door making experts? The following pictures show the transformation.

The finished product does look nice, even 80% completed as it is now. Next will be the floor and the wiring as well as the outer door.

Renovation project in Malacca (1)

2011-06-05T22:05:00.030+08:00

After the wedding was over Repin and I decided to continue with our planned renovation of the Malacca house - we needed to increase the floor level to prevent flooding and this can only be done if we did some major changes to the outer verandah - cover the verandah, increase the floor level, add windows. I love bay windows so this is my chance to have one!

After a lot of discussion and looking at pictures on the internet, we decided to increase the floor level (by 8 inches) and cover the wrap around verandah that is already there. We would close the verandah area and build windows instead so the verandah will be an extension of the living room. Repin intends to have large windows that look on to the yard so that he can be as close to the garden as possible, without actually going to the garden! (LOL) He also wants to set his study there! For now, its dust, and noise every day - while they skin off the outer layers of the walls and add bricks to the lower level. The following are the while renovation pictures. I'll post some after pictures once renovation is complete!

The front door that will be added

Re reading old books

2011-05-31T12:17:00.059+08:00

I'm in my re reading mood these days - didn't feel much like reading romances or thrillers either, so I went through my bookshelves and got out some much loved classics - Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey, a retelling of Sleeping Beauty by Robin McKinley and my much loved Alice in Wonderland - the book for when you are tired, or despondent or just plain bored. When I was 10 and very very sick, my father bought this book for me - Alice in Wonderland. I was at once fascinated and engrossed in the book and forgot to be cantankerous and demanding or whiney and attention seeking.

Today the book that he bought for me is still around, though tattered and hanging by its bare threads. It should be put in a museum of much loved books - together with all the Enid Blytons, Hans Christian Anderson and Frances Hodgkins. Anyway, last year I came upon this beautiful hardcover edition with illustrations by the original artist, Sir John Tenniel at the Big Bad Wolf Sale and quickly grabbed it, thinking myself the most lucky person that day! There were only 6 copies and they cost, can you beat it, RM8.00. Gem of the year!

What I loved about Alice, and still do is the no nonsense style of Lewis Caroll. In those days I didn't care who the writer was nor how the book came about. I loved the conversational style of Alice, the main character and narrator of the story and I enjoyed her adventures. In fact for a long time after that, I wanted to be Alice and wished we had rabbits in top coats in hot tropical Malaysia, one I could follow down a rabbit hole and have adventures that were both funny and brave.

Another book that I loved and enjoyed reading recently was a re-telling of Charles Perrault's Sleeping Beauty. This was written by Robin McKinley and called Spindle's End. It is a truly spell-binding book full of rich detail and colourful characters. The main story does follow the original - about the baby princess who was about to be baptised and on her baptism day the wicked fairy came and sent out a curse. But after this there are so many twists and turns in the story that at times one forgets that it is the story of the sleeping princess. McKinley's baby princess is rescued by a fairy, but a fairy who is not even one yet. She is only a young girl who happened to be at the christening and who happened to overhear the curse. Out of the goodness of her heart she runs to the cradle and holds the baby and says "No, no it will not happen... it will not happen.. You will have all my magic, all knowledge if it will help you at all and it will protect you." Words that became actually the little princess's protection for this young fairy had a gift of talking to animals. Somehow she found herself with the little baby princess in her arms on her way home to her village which is at the very furthest corner of the kingdom. It took her almost 65 days to to reach home , having to keep away from the main pathways and using only the forest track that wound along the borders of the country. Along the way, the little princess was helped and nurtured by all the animals in the forest - bear, fox, cow, even wolf gave their milk readily to help keep the princess quiet and safe. The fox was the first creature to help her, though generally foxes avoided humans as much as possible.

" All the creatures of forest and field and riverbank knew the infant was special. She was the princess, spirited away from the evil fairy Pernicia on her name day. But the curse was cast: Rosie was fated to prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and fall into a poisoned sleep - a slumber from which no one would be able to rouse her..."

Rosie as she was later called grew up never knowing she was a princess, away from palace rules and curses. The wicked fairy along with the whole palace, looked for her but nobody suspected that the little girl growing up with two fairies far away in a corner of the kingdom was actually a princess. For one thing she grew up to be robust and tomboyish, liking all manner of boy adventures rather than to sit at home and learn to spin. She was also, inspite of the gifts by her twelve fairy godmothers, quite homely looking. Her hair was beautiful it is true, being long and golden and blond and soft as silk. She had a very happy nature and the gift of friendship - everyone who knew her loved her. But she had a nose which while not ugly, was a trifle big for er face and eyes which were as blue as the skies with long curly lashes but which were too big for her small inquisitive features. She was protected by the very ordinariness of her upbringing and thus it was that she never knew that she was the princess the whole country was talking about, until just the week before she turned 21, when a stranger came to the door and claimed to be from the palace and that she Rosie was actually a princess.

After that night things happened very fast. Penicia the wicked fairy who had been looking for her finally realised where she was. The handsome young man who had come to work as Narl's apprentice was actually a prince and her bethrothed, but he was in love with Peony her best friend. Rosie herself realised that she did not want to become the princess and rule a kingdom but preferred to be in her village looking after the animals. But curses as we know cannot be thwarted and so things become even more interesting after this. All in all , this is a very satisfactory book to read, even if you are not really a fan of fantasy or fairy tales. The writer weaves a tale that is really magical and yet so astoundingly real that once you start, you cannot put the book down until you have reached the end. Because the end is not like the fairy tale. There is a ball where the princess was supposed to be introduced to her family and her kinsmen but Pernicia comes to this ball too. And the curse is thrown except that this time, it is Rosie alone who can rescue herself. And this she does, with the help of all her animal friends (very Disneyish this one) but also Narl the blacksmith who is actually a fairy in disguise and who loved her. Like all good fairy tales there is a happy ending, though it is not the ending we all think it would be. I would give this book a 4 out of 5! Very good read indeed and one a lover of words would love - beautifully written with lots of descriptions.

Surabaya jaunt 2

2011-05-21T23:04:00.000+08:00

An Tibetan llama greeted us as soon as we entered the gates

The Surabaya Safari Park is situated roughly 25km out of the city. Its a sprawling 290 hectares of woodland - huge grassy areas blend well with huge old trees that simply look as if they have been there for centuries, instead of only 20 years old. Well most of the trees are but many are also older than that. But I beleive what Malaysia failed to produce, Indonesia has done quite well - a well maintained safari park. There are easily more than 60 0r 70 animal species here, with most of the major large mammals as well as the reptiles and birds represented.

The tigers were beautiful - large and rather lazy looking they were all having a siesta in the afternoon. One lion was seen having a drink but this one was quite old looking, and thin too.

We saw the endangered Sumatran rhinos from far though - there were three of them but they were too lazy to move. The elephants however were a mite too friendly and when Wan threw some bananas out at them, a trunk came sniffing right inside our van!

The most interesting of these animals to me were the dancing elephants! They could actually sway to music!

Surabaya jaunt

2011-05-21T00:59:00.001+08:00

Last week we all flew to Surabaya for a supposedly long weekend break. However it didnt really turn out to be a relaxing one - not for me or Emma, my new daughter in law who was with us. First the flight there was early in the morning - at 8.30 am, which meant that we had to leave the house about 5.15 am! We arrived in Surabaya about mid morning - just nice we thought. But the journey from the airport to the city was horrendous - a mile long jam indeed awaited us just as we left the airport, on the way to Bromo, a mountain resort, 70 km west of Surabaya. Because of the congestion, the driver decided it would be better for us to have an early lunch since Bromo it seemed is not a town,nor even a village, but just a resort in the midst of acres of tea and other vegetation.

After a long journey along a narrow, bumpy, winding road that seemed more like a track used for jeeps we arrived at Bromo Cottages, a resort about 3000m above sea level. Mount Bromo is actually a volcano, an active one at that! The resort however is only about 2,000m above sea level but even then the temperature was fairly cool - very temperate, I'd say. Almost like an English spring!

Hydrangeas just outside our cottage

Lillies and roses on the slopes

Bromo Cottages itself is quite a surprise - a welcome one. The cottages are really single- roomed chalets and they are all on the hill slopes. So we had to climb down a few stairs to get to ours, which luckily is just next to my son's. Shasha my daughter and Yatie, our maid has another cottage closer to the main reception. There are flowers all over the slopes and around the cottages. Hydrangeas as big as plates bloom brightly beside our cottage and the roses are simply stunning. All around us we can see the mountains - green and verdant. Other cottages dot the hillside - these we were told later are workers' cottages. The hillside is heavily planted - all kinds of vegetables (temperate ones like cabbages, onions, potatoes, carrots etc) are grown here. There are also a lot of apple orchards but they were further down. We stopped at one on our way to Surabaya, the next day and I managed to take a few photos.

Apple trees

Evening comes early in these parts and by 5pm the mists are rising and the clouds cover the sky. We stayed indoors after some tea, taken with Indonesian meatball soup - me to finish reading my book and Repin to tinker with his blackberry. There is very poor reception, but I'm not surprised.

That night we all retired early, not least because we were bushed by the journey, but also partly because there was nothing else to do! The next day was Sunday and the plan was to visit an apple farm and a waterfall, then on to the Safari Park. We ended up just doing the last one - there's nothing much one can do at an apple farm (its not picking season yet) and none of us were prepared to climb a rocky hillside to see the waterfall. At least the Safari park was interesting, though the animals, especially the lions, looked a little too thin for my liking. Pictures will be in the next write up.

New Books

2011-05-07T17:12:00.003+08:00

This will be my fourth entry for Naida's Romance Reading Challenge.

Chasing Fire by Nora Roberts is another one of her gems. I say this because her books are mostly polished -the characters real and multi dimensional, the plot flawless and the background very well researched. This book, like most of her other books has a well researched background on the careers of her characters - this time the book is about fire jumpers. Fire jumpers are just like fire fighters except that their work involves jumping into the heart of the fire and killing it from the inside. It is serious, dangerous work and her two main characters - Rowan Tripp and Gulliver Curry seem to enjoy the hard dangerous job.

Like in all of her books, Roberts fills Chasing Fire with details that really brings the story's world to life. She shows how smoke jumping is a high stress, physical career where one mistake can mean death. Smoke jumpers have to carry everything they need when they head into a blaze: food, drink, equipment for putting out the fire, sleeping bags and they cannot go home until the fire is out. This can mean days or even weeks of digging, spraying, clearing bush and sometimes running from certain death. The isolation of the areas where they fight fires means that if a smoke jumper, or a team of smoke jumpers, gets stuck, they are often too far away to receive outside help. Roberts really makes the smoke jumpers' experiences multi-dimensional with firefighting lingo and such vivid scenes that readers will be able to feel the heat on their faces and smell burnt trees.

Like many of Roberts' heroines, Rowan Tripp is gutsy, hot-tempered, fiercely loyal and can drink like a man. In fact she behaves almost like a man, except for the fact that she loves perfumes, especially one that smells of peaches. Gulliver or Gull on the other hand is more romantic, is easy going and flexible, kisses well and is smart and respectful. In fact the perfect hero. And to add to all this macho image, he loves to read and is rich as well. Who wouldn't fall in love with such a hero? Well, Rowan for one didn't, or refused to. Brought up by a bachelor father (her mother ran away and later died), Rowan has few feminine traits and has a lot of relationship issues.

He's the type of man who can tell a woman he loves her in spite of her not giving an inch:"I care about you, Rowan. The you who's got a laugh like an Old West saloon girl, the you who picks out constellations in the night sky and smells like peaches. I care about that woman as much as I do the fearless, smart, tireless one who puts her life on the line every time the siren goes off." (sigh...)

The two however find that they are fast falling in love, although Rowan refuses to admit it. However when the crazy lady who is running around vandalizing the smoke jumper's equipment targets Rowan, Gulliver's laid-back attitude is finally shaken off and his protective inner self is revealed. Mean while there are two burnt bodies found in the forest fires and because of her altercation with the "crazy lady who had vandalised her room" Rowan becomes a suspect. There is plenty of action in this, novel, not less the romance, sexy action type. You get nose to nose with the forest fires - the details are amazingly real and indepth and if you still can't fall in love with Roberts, then you are a hardcore anti romance type.

Like all her books, this one is a keeper - you want it for yourself! I'd give it a 5!

This is not part of the review though I definitely want to say something about this particular writer. I've always enjoyed her books though I mostly loved her series - the Quinn Brothers, the Born In series, even her tryout of a fantasy cum vampire novel series starting with Valey of Silence and Dance of the Gods.However my absolute favourite is the Quinn Brothers series. Here she portrays 4 men - strong, responsible, charming. And their women are all strong women but not domineering. All with different careers - one is a cleaning lady - but her women are all very real and very down to earth.

At the hospital

2011-05-04T16:31:00.000+08:00

We were supposed to go back to malacca that day. All I had to do was collect my mother in law from my brother in law's house and take her back to Melati. She told me that she had a stomach ache but thinking it was one of her regular diaroeaa, thought it was okay. But suddenly on the highway her stomach cramps became worse and she started groaning in pain. I then made a split second decision and instead of going home, swerved to the Melawati town centre, where the Damai Service Hospital was. I rushed to the emergency counter and told them my mother in law was in the car and having stomach cramps.

She was groaning in pain. They carried her straight to the emergency room and a doctor was called. The doctor said it could be due to build up of acidic gases in her stomach leading to the cramps. Also she was a picky eater- not liking everything that's supposed to be good for her, like milk, oats, unsweetened tea etc. And added to the number of medication she was taking every morning, it didnt help. She had pills for hyper tension, diabetes, liver problems and I don't know what else. All this while, as the doctor probed and poked, she was still groaning in pain. I asked the doctor - "Are you giving her something to relieve the pain?" "Yes," she said - and a fairly heavy dose too," said the doctor - an oldish lady with mannish manners, and a shock of dyed reddish hair, but a soft gentle voice, at odds with her appearance.

So my mother in law was admitted into the Damai Service Hospital that Friday afternoon and I had to relay the message to her various offspring. The first person to arrive was my husband, still in his office attire since he was supposed to have a meeting with some Health Ministry officials that afternoon. He cancelled the meeting however, to be with his mother. After some delay she was finally admitted to one of the rooms upstairs - small but complete with attached bathroom. The pain had not diminished, and she was still groaning in pain, clutching my hands like a child and saying, "It's painful Kat,... it's painful Kat..." all the while. I felt at a loss - what can one do in the face of so much pain? The nurse came in again and said she would give her one more jab of the pain killer and it was only after the jab, that she calmed down enough to sleep through.

She was kept in hospital for three days, and I stayed with her throughout. Well, at least I finished my book - Chasing Fire by Nora Roberts! Our plan of going back to Malacca was shelved and we all spent the weekend at the hospital instead. Well at least it wasn't anything serious - I mean nothing life threatening, though a gastritis problem can be quite painful I know. So much for our long Labour Day weekend plans!

Reflections

2011-04-25T17:44:00.001+08:00

The wedding is over now and things are back to normal. Mulan my cat is convalescing - after her operation. Do cats take time to recuperate from operations? As I see it Mulan is swishing her way everywhere, as if that scar on her tummy is not there at all, but I worry, in case she overdoes it. I try to keep an eye out for her, to stop her if she attempts to jump on to the sink (her favourite place to sleep) or on to the window sill. I worry that her stitches will burst open. That did happen to one of my cats ( I think it was Moshu) who had to go back to the Animal Hospital and be warded and re-stitched! WE told the doctor to keep her at the hospital until she could be safely let out and roam again. Mulan looks to be just as active, though yesterday she was fairly quiet.

Among other things, I'm back to my reading (YES!) and I'm glad to say I've finished reading Nora Roberts' romantic thriller The Search and am now reading another of her books - Chasing Fire. I've always enjoyed Nora Roberts and these are just as good as her other books. In The Search, we have a spunky heroine, Fiona Bristow, who was once the victim of a serial killer; the only difference is that Fiona managed to get away while his other victims didn't. At that time Fiona was still a university student. Eight years later Fiona is a successful dog trainer and also a member of a dog rescue team, based on an island in the Puget Sound, off the coast of Washington State. Although she would never forget the trauma of being kidnapped, tied and gagged in the trunk of a car and with the knowledge that the man was a serial killer who had already killed 12 young women - all just like her- Fiona believes that she has control of her life and the past is well behind her. She reckons without the coming of Simon Doyle, a successful wood artist who creates gorgeous furniture out of wood. Simon wants to send his dog for obedience training and thus the two meet. From the first meeting sparks seem to fly - and Simon, who is used to more beautiful women than Fiona, wonders why he is attracted to her.

Fiona on her part is drawn to the kindness she sees in him and his quiet strength. But then something else comes into the picture - a serial killer who is killing athletic young women is again on the loose and his methods were exactly like the man who had once kidnapped Fiona, the man they called the "Red Scarf killer " or RSK2. Is he Perry, the original killer, now let loose or a copy cat? And he is coming nearer and nearer to where Fiona is. And his method is exactly the same - and Fiona is again attacked by her nightmares.

I've always loved Nora Roberts' writing style - her descriptions are detailed and alive and her characters real. Her love scenes are usually very passionate without going over board. A really wonderful read, one that you simply cannot put down. I'd give this a 4 star rating - there are still other books that deserve that 5 star.

I'll keep the review of Chasing Fire for next time. I'm still reading it and also three others:

Nineteen Eighty Four by George Orwell
Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

I got them at 30% discount from Borders yesterday!

More wedding photos

2011-04-13T22:09:00.000+08:00

After taking the vows, the bride kisses her new husband's hands

Group family photo

The couple with both sets of parents

And now for the Malacca wedding! After this - one week of rest for me while they go honeymooning.

Wan's wedding

2011-04-12T16:57:00.001+08:00

Well, the main ceremony is over or should I say the main ceremonies, since there were two. But the most important, which is the nikah ceremony (taking the vows) went well. It was held at Emma's house after the Friday prayers and my family assembled at my apartment in Melati before we all drove there in a convoy. We had to take with us all the "hantaran" or the gifts to be presented to the bride. These were: the money in the form of a banker's cheque (11,111); the mas kahwin or dowry which is according to Muslim law and the state the bride resides in (in this case KL which is RM300); the groom's gifts to the bride - a pair of shoes, a handbag, a set of perfume and body lotion, jewellery and prayer clothes. These are optional and it is up to the groom to give them or not and up to the bride's family to ask for them or not. Normally these gifts would be presented creatively - beautifully designed and arranged so that they look like flowers, birds or some such thing.

The "mas kahwin" or bride money

When we arrived at Emma's house we were really surprised - they had put up tents and decorated the house. Everything looked beautiful. They even had a pelamin or bridal dais! Normally, among the Malays, the nikah ceremony is the most simple. We usually have it either at the masjid (mosque) or at the bride's house. This is performed by the local kadhi (priest). The vows are first vocalised by the groom and the words are quite similar to the Christian version of it - the priest asks the groom - "Do you .... take .... as your lawful wedded wife with the bride price of ( certain amount of money is mentioned)" The groom has to answer in one breath - the whole phrase, without stuttering or repeating his lines. If he cannot say it in one breath, he has to repeat it until he can say it in one go without stumbling over the words.

Wan had to repeat the vows at least three times! The first time he got it correct but he forgot to mention the mas kahwin so he had to do it again until he could say it correctly. We had a laugh over it because he thought he wouldnt have to repeat.
I think the pictures below tell their own story.

The perfume set

Wan presenting the mas kahwin to Emma

The bridal dais

Emma, looking beautiful in her wedding finery

The prayer dress is arranged in the shape of a flower

Emma, looking beautiful

The jewellery set is put in here

Emma putting on Wan's ring

Busy days

2011-04-04T18:45:00.001+08:00

So many things pass through my mind these days. At night I lie awake, thinking of the numerous other things done or not done. First there's work - my classes have not ended. I still have a week of classes to go through and next week is the wedding already! When I think of it I get cold feet and start to wonder about all the things that can go wrong. There's our unpredictable weather for one thing - hope it stays fine on that day. Then I worry about the food - this is a new caterer so we're not sure. Of course we have gone for a food tasting and I've seen first hand his other functions - they seem well organised. So I guess I shouldn't worry? Then my class - I've got to finish all my marks by this Wednesday and send them to the department and fill in the required forms. Thinking of that my students all want to come down to Malacca for the wedding. Where can I put them up or should I let them worry about that themselves?

I've not yet met the kompang boys so haven't told them the schedule for the bersanding ceremony. Prior to the wedding we are also having a small gathering for my brothers and sisters and other close relatives - a kind of special prayer gathering. Last weekend we hung up the new curtains and I realised I didn't like the colour - they were too purple! OMG did I choose the wrong colour? The ones in the bedroom were okay because we had a lot of white but in the living room they looked a bit too much. Sigh... Maybe I should have stuck to neutral colours. I just hope that once we have set up the pelamin everything will turn out okay.

Then there's my kitten, Mulan. Right now she's already on heat (is that correct?). Busy with the wedding I forgot to take her to the vet last week for her spaying operation. Just made the appointment today - I'll have to take her on Thursday. She's quite aggressively passionate about wanting to mate - she was howling away the whole weekend! Poor thing ! She only stopped howling yesterday but I think the loud miawing has tired her out and now she only wants to sleep. Today she didn't even take her food - just a few licks of the wet food. Every time I pick her up to cuddle her she stiffens up and refuses to cuddle. Just hope she'll be okay by next week.

Wedding preparations in Melaka

2011-03-25T08:25:00.020+08:00

There are about a hundred and one things I need to do in Melaka for Wan's wedding. With that in mind Yatie and I drove down to our Malacca home to set in motion some of those preparations. First the house needed a thorough cleaning - upstairs and downstairs. Well, most of the cleaning had been done during our weekly visits. The bridal room especially. My sister is making new curtains for the room as well as the living rooms. These will be lavender, the theme colour for the wedding. I've already ordered the food and tents - luckily they come in a package these days - food, tents, kompang (kind of a drum band to welcome the bride) DJ for the event and music - for RM13.00 per head. To me its very cheap, after our KL deal which came to RM100 per pax and the hotel didn't even have a kompang!

The old garden

Late in the evening Yatie and I packed the goodie bags for the main table or the bride's entourage. There would be 30 of them. There were extra bags so I put them aside for special friends and close relatives. As for the other guests, we also have goodie bags for them but the goodies were not ready (normally chocolates and a slice of cake) so we just got the bags ready. But as we counted them (there should be 900) we found to our horror that I had bought only 500 bags! Luckily we decided to count them. There are 400 short so today I've got to dash down to the Bridal shop to get more!!
I've also revamped the garden, if that is the correct word for it. Pulled out all my plants that normally covered the fence and walls around the house and planted new ones. I also got rid of the bamboo which I unknowingly planted near the pond and which shed leaves all over the pond, as well as the neighbour's garden. Its a bit of a mess but I had always liked it but I guess it had to go! So did most of the branches on our mango tree outside. That was a real shame because it gave lots of shade on hot days but Kandan our gardener went and lopped off most of its branches so now it looks a bit forlorn without its heavy foliage.

Today the pest controller is coming to spray the whole house - anti-termite as well as cockroaches. Being away from this house in Malacca much of the time we really have to be careful with pests such as these, especially termites. They can destroy your whole house if you are not careful! Before we came back to live in this house it had been rented out for more than 20 years - to families which didn't really take care of the house. So when we decided that we wanted to come back here we had to renovate much of the house and found to our horror that termites had infested the upstairs bedroom.Luckily that was in the early stages so we managed to stop the infestation and get rid of he termites. But we were lucky we got them in time.

Latest reads

2011-03-18T12:51:00.022+08:00

I finished two books this week,one of which was The Bride's Bodyguard by Elizabeth Thornton. Set during the Napoleonic Wars in the early and mid nineteenth century, this book is about young ,wilful and headstrong orphan Tessa Lorimar, who runs away from her legal guardians in London to live with her grandfather, a Paris banker. Here she meets Ross Trevenan, one of the most attractive men that Tessa had ever met. But from the first, the two are at loggerheads. She finds him infuriating and arrogant whilst Ross thinks she is too headstrong and unconventional. After losing his gentle young wife to a suspected murder, Ross cannot easily find love in the vibrant beauty but against his wishes he has been made Tessa's bodyguard to escort her out of wartorn France, back to England. He had sworn to her grandfather that he would guard her with his life and that he would do anything to keep her safe - even if it meant that he had to marry her! However finding herself a bride to the attractive bodyguard seems more dangerous than any other situation and unknown to Tessa she holds the key to a mystery that goes back to her school days - a girl who drowned in the lake at her school. Nightmares, young women who die in mysterious circumstances and secrets - these are some of the things that taunt Tessa and finally she finds herself in the grip of a vicious murderer who would do anything to keep his secrets safe. Would Ross be able to guard her and still keep her love?

This book has all the elements of a good novel - well-drawn characters, a plot that keeps you glued to the pages and plenty of romance. I'd give this book a 4 star rating - a book I found really interesting, with lots of spine-chilling action and yes, plenty of sexy scenes!

The second book I read last week was a Jane Austen spin-off - Searching for Pemberley by Mary Lydon Simonsen. The best thing about this book is that I got it at a mere RM8.00 at the book sale. This is not the ordinary boy meets girl romance though it does have romance in plenty. However I found the writer rather long-winded which made the book a bit of a bore to finish. Although I've always loved anything to do with Jane Austen and Mr Darcy, this one is a bit slow going. The story is set in post war Britain - just after the second world war, about a young American woman who decides to escape the boredom of her hometown in Pennsylvania, US to look for Pemberley, or the house which was believed to be Pemberley. She did find the house which at one time belonged to the Laceys, (Darcy's).While there she meets an American pilot and begins a relationship with him but at the same time she finds out that the people who have been showing her and telling her about Pemberley and the Darcy family are actual descendants of that family, ie. the Laceys. Maggie (the American girl) is attracted to Michael, son of the family, yet she is also happy with her pilot. As she finds out more and more about Darcy and Elizabeth as well as the rest of the Bennet family, she is also falling in love with the last descendant of that family - Michael. But is it really love or is she only 'in love' with the whole idea of falling in love with Mr Darcy?

I didnt really like the writer's style which is very reminiscent of early 20th century writing.Maybe I'm used to the thrilling and fast paced writing style of more modern writers. The story in itself is interesting and the characters of Maggie and Michael are realistic. Maggie is a romantic yet down to earth type and a person one can believe in.

I'd give this book a 3 star rating. An okay book but nothing to shout about.

Curious Mulan

2011-03-14T17:52:00.001+08:00

Mulan is a really curious one - she'll jump into bags, peep into aquariums and put her head into anything that is different or new!

This is something new...

Maybe I should just take a look....

What did you do this weekend?

2011-03-12T16:51:00.003+08:00

Sophia,

What did you do this weekend is hosted by Gattina.
Last weekend I visited my son and daughter in law in Singapore! We do this every month - if they didn't come to KL, then we'd go down to Singapore just to see our little grand daughter Sophia! Today I played at tea time with her two favourite toys - Mew Mew and Blue!

Trying to get Blue to sit properly.

"Here you are Blue - one sugar for your tea!"

Sophia is now nearly 4 - she'll be four this July - and is a real chatterbox! She talked non-stop on the way to Jurong to visit my younger sister and again on the way back, both ways which took 2 hours! Not just non-stop, but in her inimical loud and piercing voice, telling all and sundry what she thought of the train, her two friends (Mew Mew and Blue who followed us) and whatever else caught her fancy.

While there we saw the network coverage of the Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami which devastated the town of Sendai , about 250km north of Tokyo. It was a heartbreaking and pitiful sight - huge buildings, cars, even trains swept away like matchbox toys in the huge waves. I pray for the lives of those people and hope whatever happens they remain strong and resilient.

Ho chi Minh city

2011-03-10T17:47:00.000+08:00

We landed in Ho Chi Minh city at about 3pm their time. It was hot and dry once we were away from the cool air-conditioned airport. Unlike my previous journeys, this is a rough trip- we didn't have a guide nor an air conditioned coach waiting for us. Warned about not carrying heavy luggage, all of us had only a small cabin bag with us. (We were supposed/expected to buy extra luggage here!) Right after we exited the airport pulling our bags with us we rushed for the bus which was waiting for passengers at the roadside. It wasn't air-conditioned as the windows were open. We boarded the bus and stored our luggage at the front but as other passengers kept coming, we decided to keep them with us.
Ho chi Minh city is fairly big - sprawling rather. We passed old fashioned buildings that must have existed before the Vietnamese war as well as new ones - all modern and shiny.Some parts are quite beautiful and elegant looking, with lots of trees lining the roads. In fact one boulevard reminded me very much of Paris with it's green trees lining the avenues,old statues decorating these places and European looking houses. We passed a building with such beautiful architecture I craned my neck to see further. It was the Opera House! It must have been beautiful at one time - rather like a grand old dame who was once upon a time a beauty in her day! She stood alone in her white finery - beautiful pillars on either side and a facade that had a lot of carvings. Just in front of the Opera House there was an avenue of green plants with a large fountain in the middle.

Once we were checked in at the small hotel (The Ava) our tour leader told us she would take us to a place where they sell baju kurong. It was a boutique, but they also made clothes to order and most were for Malaysian markets! They were ready made traditional dress that Malays in Malaysia wear and these are actually very expensive in Kuala Lumpur but here in Ho Chi Minh they cost only 1/3 of their price! Imagine one beautiful kurong which would be about RM500-RM600 in KL was only RM92 here! I bought two only although I would have loved to get more. Alas, I didn't really wear these beautiful dresses for every day. I'm more of a jeans and T shirt sort of person and only wear the kurong during official functions.

The beautiful Opera House

a street scene in Ho Chi Minh city

Traffic in this city is quite horrendous. Motor bikes are kings of the road and if you are timid, you'll never get across the road! They are everywhere - left, right and centre. There are fewer private cars though - much of the traffic seems to be vans, taxis and motor bikes. However we did see a number of the super rich in their huge luxury cars at traffic light junctions. Much of our stay here was spent shopping - we went to the Ben Thanh Market which sold everything - from electronic goods to fresh flowers!

Recent reads

2011-03-04T13:17:00.002+08:00

Jill Mansell is one of my favourite chick Lit writers and I try to read her books as soon as they come out. However due to my recent absorption in all things Regency I haven't read her later books. But I managed to catch up with her when I found her in the National Library - yes, surprise, surprise! So she made a good Romance Challenge number two for me.

This one Rumour Has It was first published in 2009 by Headline Review and has a pretty cover to boot! Very chic, I'd say. The first lines are:

" How weird that you could push open the front door and know in an instant that something was wrong.

Tilly stopped in the doorway, her hand fumbling for the light switch. Back from work at six o'clock on a cold Thursday evening in February,there was no reason to believe anything should be different.

But it was, she could feel it. She could tell.

Flick went the light switch, on came the light. So much for spooky sixth sense; the reason opening the door had felt different was because the hall carpet was gone."

Tilly Cole has just been dumped by her live in boyfriend of two years. Surprised and rather fed up, she decides to leave her job and make a fresh start in the small town of Roxborough, as Max Dineen's girl Friday. Max is hot and every woman's idea of the perfect man. Tilly however isn't interested in her boss, in fact she's not interested in any male as yet and is quite happy working as Max's assistant. But she meets Jack Lucas, Max's friend and partner and wham - all her innerds are shivering with lust and longing. Jack is irresistible ... and it looks like he too is attracted to Tilly. Then Tilly hears the rumour of his wicked reputation and alarm bells ring. She refuses to be just another notch on Jack's bedpost.

Should she just ignore the rumours and go for him (or better still allow him to go for her) or should she avoid him, which is nearly impossible ? Things come to a head when Jack confesses his attraction for her. How long can Tilly pretend to be mature about it all and stop running from the one man she could really love? But where there's a rumour, usually there's some truth too. Or is that wrong?

I find this book hilarious and unputdownable! Tilly is a down to earth, briskly independent,funny and romantic heroine while Jack is the typical handsome "rake" who is often misjudged. A lovely book for an afternoon read.

Rating: 4 star

Romance Reading Challenge

2011-03-01T17:27:00.014+08:00

I don't normally take part in challenges - reading or otherwise but this year I thought I'd join Naida's Romance Reading Challenge. You can read about it here at Naida's blog - TheBookworm07.blogspot.com I read a lot but I don't often bother to write reviews of the books I've read. Too lazy guess! Last week I read two books - A Summer to Remember and Then Comes Seduction, both by Mary Balogh, a recent favourite of mine.

A summer to remember is a sequel to One Night for Love. The story begins with Kit Butler, a young dandy who has just heard that his father wants him to marry and is planning to marry him off to their neighbour's daughter, Freya, his one time love. But Freya had chosen his elder brother, who had since died, and now Kit refuses to marry her!

Kit decides that the beautiful and very elegant Miss Edgeworth would do wonderfully for his bride but Lauren thinks otherwise. She would play the part of his betroth though, if he on his part would give her "a summer to remember."

But both are caught in their own web - Kit is physically attracted to the beautiful Lauren and she falls in love with him without realising it! Will they succumb to their attraction and forget about their pretend engagement or will they make it real?

A really wonderful and romantic read and one I'd recommend to lovers of historical fiction.
I'd give this book a 4 star rating - really loved it.

Wan's wedding preparations

2011-02-20T17:38:00.001+08:00

My second son - Ridzuan is getting married in April - months earlier than he expected. A normal Malay wedding is full of tradition and needs a lot of preparation before hand - for some even the engagement ceremony is again full of age old customs and traditions. There's the merisik ceremony, in which the groom's parents goes to the bride's house to formally propose. In this ceremony, the groom's parents will normally bring a ring as a sign of intent. After the usual chit chat and social niceties, the parents will broach the subject to the girl's parents. If the parents agree, then a dowry and an engagement date is set.

In Wan's case everything was made easy by Emma's family and we agreed to have the wedding in April. Since then, every weekend has busy for me. This week it's putting on the final touches for the door gifts - the thank you cards. I'm glad nowadays we can get almost everything ready made. We bought all the gifts a few weeks back at Nilai. What with teaching and rushing around getting the preparations done, I'm left with very little time to read or with anything else. As with most Malay weddings , we will have the bersanding ceremony where the bride and groom sit on a dais and receive blessings from their family and friends. The dais or pelamin is a raised platform upon which the young married couple will sit. They will be dressed resplendently in wedding finery and the dais will be decorated to make it look like a throne. After blessing the couple, guests will receive a token, normally an egg to symbolise the fertility of the marriage. All preparations will be done by the family of the bride and groom ( ie. the mother) and there is literally tons to do. The flowers to be ordered, door gifts to be prepared, the dais, the wedding finery, the food to be catered or cooked... guest list to be drawn up and invited. The mother is wedding planner, financial advisor, gift buyer, postman and flower arranger.

This is a picture of the dais that we have to prepare in the typical Malay wedding. I'll post actual pictures later!


This is the dais or pelamin on which the bride and groom will sit

I may complain about having no time to pursue my favourite activities but I'm excited and happy. After all, it's not every day that my son is getting married! However I still have time to read ! Just finished one book in fact - Then Comes Seduction by Mary Balogh, another Huxtable family saga. But I'll tell you about it later.

La Mer

2011-02-18T18:53:00.002+08:00

My cats (without Chichi)

2011-02-10T17:31:00.005+08:00

Ginger

Mulan is six months now. Soon I'll have to take her to be spayed, a job I don't really look forward to . She has started bugging Ginger too - chasing Ginger around the room. Poor Ginger has been told by the doctor to lose weight. She weighed about 5.95kg yesterday when we took her to the clinic. The naughty girl refused to take her antibiotics so we had to take her back to the clinic. Dr Sam said she's a bit overweight so we have to make sure she exercises more!

Ginger in her favourite sleeping position

Mulan however has not gained any weight since I took her from Min my sister. She's a fussy eater and doesn't really like to eat the dried cat food, preferring the canned variety. I wonder what to give her instead, since the vet says its not really nutritious enough.

This is Karupin, one of the Persian monsters. He's quite old, or at least older than the others. His favourite activity is sleeping and being combed by anybody.

Karupin or Apin as we call him is 10 years old and the last of my sister Lela's persians. Lela used to have half a dozen of them at one time!

This is Momo, the twin monster. Like Apin, his favourite activity is sleeping and maybe eating.I can never get a picture of Momo because he is either under the sofa or under the bed, his two favourite sleeping places. He has two baskets, - sometimes he goes there when you try to comb him because he hates being combed! Once I had to resort to cutting his furballs and left him patchy for a while.Another things he hates is visiting the pet groomer and once they even had to give him an anaesthetic just to groom him! After that I stopped taking him to the groomer - I'd rather do the grooming myself, even if the results are not that fetching.

This one is Blackie, who is actually more grey than black, giving a pose. Wan my son says she's more monkey than cat!

And this is Mulan, sleeping blissfully

Goodnight Mister Tom

2011-02-06T16:03:00.001+08:00

Goodnight Mister Tom was written in 1981 by Michelle Marjoram and is a beautifully written and touching story of William Beech, a child evacuee during the Second World War. Set in England in the years just before the war, this book is a children's classic. Young Willie Beech is evacuated to the country just as Britain stands on the brink of war with Germany. Given to the care of Old Tom, a cantankerous sixty year old widower who lived beside a churchyard, William was a sad,sickly, silent, deprived child who had been abused by his mother. Afraid of everything, illiterate and never been loved, the little boy blossoms under Tom's care. Much to the surprise of the whole village, Old Tom himself changes. The grumpy old man who used to shun village life after the death of his wife and son is now very much involved in this little boy's needs.

What does Mister Tom think of Willie?

"The tales he had heard of evacuees didn't seem to fit Willie. 'Ungrateful' and 'wild' were the adjectives he had heard used or just plain 'homesick'. He was quite unprepared for this timid, sickly little specimen."

It all becomes a bit clearer when Tom unpacks the brown paper carrier bag that Willie has brought with him from his unforgiving London home. There are no warm, spare clothes. There is an old Bible and a leather belt to beat him with. Willie is obviously used to being beaten - he is covered in bruises and bleeding sores. He is so malnourished he can't keep a proper meal down, he wets the bed, he can't read or write, and he shivers and trembles a lot.

Slowly old Tom Oakley discovers that he is falling in love with the sad little boy. He wants to see him smile and be a normal happy boy. He buys Willie his first warm clothes and watches the boy flourish under his care.William learns to read and makes friends with Zach, an outgoing, friendly and optimistic boy the same age as William.

But Willie's life with Mr Tom is about to come to an end - his mother summons him back to London where untold horrors await him at his old home. Tom, worried about the boy, finally goes to London to look for him. He finds William tied, grimy and deep in his own waste carrying the dead body of his infant sister in his thin arms. William is rescued but in danger of being put into a children's home. Again Mr Tom comes to his rescue - this time he kidnaps the boy and takes him back to the country where slowly William gets back his health.

A powerful and moving story of the growing relationship between a grumpy old man and a sad and deprived little boy, this story is devastatingly sad in places and yet it's also full of scenes of happiness and beauty. It shows how William deals with his grief and matures in the end. Beautifully and sensitively written, with a a lot of research done on life during the Second World war, this is a good book for all everyone - adults and children.

New titles

2011-02-03T23:45:00.000+08:00

Went to Kinokuniya yesterday and bought myself some new books, including one by Jessica Day George - Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow. After reading Princess of Glass by the same author, I wanted to read more of her books. Last week I read Princess of the Midnight Ball which was actually a prequel to Princess of Glass. Princess of the Midnight Ball was a re-telling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses. If you loved fairy tales a child you will love this one and its sequel - Princess of Glass.

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow is also a re-telling. This one is a Norwegian folk tale entitled East of the Sun and West of the Moon.

The main character in this story is the youngest daughter of a poor woodcutter. He had so many daughters that by the time this youngest girl came along he had no energy to name her. The family called her Lass or Pika, which means Lass.As the girl grew up she realised that she could understand animal talk and so when one day she met a polar bear and talked to him, the bear persuaded her into going away with him.Lass followed the bear to his castle deep in the mountains and stayed with him. Her every desire was granted except one thing - she must never ask him questions about himself nor talk to anyone else about the secrets of the castle. Lass however wanted to know more. She was curious about many things - who was the bear, who was the man/ person who slept in her bed every night but disappeared every morning/ why were the servants disappearing? Lass finally realised that the bear was actually under a curse and to help him she had to brave all kinds of obstacles and go where no one dared to go.

A moving story of love and devotion, made real by the lively characters and beautiful descriptions of the northern lands.

Other books I bought yesterday:

And then Comes Seduction - by Mary Balogh
The Darcy Connection -by Elizabeth Aston

Remembering Chi Chi

2011-01-31T18:30:00.002+08:00

In the garden in Melaka

Its exactly two months since Chi Chi went over the Rainbow Bridge. I still miss her though. Here I'd like to share some photos of her. She was so cute. And the worst thing is until today, I still don't know the cause of death. Neither did the vet who treated her. Her fever had gone down, she looked tired, which I suppose was natural, after the fever. I guess I will always ask myself that question - it was rather sudden after all. She was okay in the morning then she suddenly looked tired and couldn't walk. By 1.45pm she had convulsed and died.


Deep sleep

Yawn.... I'm so sleepy

Wherever you are Chichi I will always think of you.

Going Home...

2011-01-29T19:09:00.001+08:00

Just finished reading three books but two of them are re reads - the university texts for my class - Lord of the Flies and Frankenstein. I also managed to finish reading this book I've been carrying around for what seems like ages - Coming Home by Melanie Rose. I bought it for 50% off at BookXcess and it's so worth it!

This is Melanie Rose's second book, the first being It's Magic! which was also very well-received.

In this book a young woman is caught in a freak snowstorm while on the way to visit her aunt and uncle. Her car falls into a raging icy river but she and her cat survives because they are both thrown out. Unconscious, she is found by a man, Vincent, who carries her into his house and looks after her. However she finds out that the accident has knocked off her memories and she cannot remember who she is or where she's from. What is strange about all this is that Vincent has a young daughter who has not talked for two years (because of her sister's death and her mother's disappearance ), but who started talking with the young woman as though nothing had ever happened. Meanwhile, Tara, Vincent's housekeeper is very suspicious of their new houseguest.

Later Tara's brother Colin, a psychoanalyst, tries to jerk the young woman's memory by using hypnosis but this has a surprising result! Instead of regaining her memory, she regresses into a previous life.

I think the part of the regression of “Kate” by Colin is really interesting. You can tell that Melanie Rose has done her research for this book, and it comes across in the way she writes “Kate’s” regressions, and the detail of the Victorian time she regresses to is perfect. I was really interested to read about Kitty's story as well as "Kate's "story. It was a good addition to the novel, and I am so impressed by how well Rose has weaved all these different threads together to create such a fabulous read.

One brilliant thing about this novel was how multi-dimensional it was. As well as the mystery story of who our leading lady was (which actually seemed to take a back seat for a little while in the book), there were a few other stories in there too. One was to do with the family that “Kate” stays with – Jadie is very ill and hasn’t spoken for years, yet speaks to Kate like it’s nothing out of the ordinary. The story around this is actually quite heart-breaking and the way it slowly unfolds is so tenderly done that you are completely captivated by it. It is a tough area that is dealt with very delicately by the writer, and I think she has tackled them extremely well. She manages to make us see the heart break of the little girl and her father as well as the housekeeper and she does it so well too.

If you haven’t discovered this author yet, then I definitely recommend you seek out a copy of this book because it is an amazing read.

Mulan goes fishing

2011-01-26T19:07:00.001+08:00

Mulan our grey kitten never seems to tire of looking at the fish in my aquarium. Not a day passes by when she sits on the aquarium cover to watch the little fish swim, sometimes pawing the glass to try and catch the fish. I sometimes wonder what she is thinking when she tries to catch the fish!

One day I accidentally left the flip cover of the aquarium open. You can guess what she did when she saw that here's a chance for her. She decided to go fishing!

Singapore, Books and Sophia

2011-01-18T22:05:00.005+08:00

I was in Singapore last weekend - to babysit my grand daughter while Rizal and Poh ling went for a much needed break in Bali. I was too happy to oblige. Taking a bus gave me 5 hours of reading time and I managed to finish the book I had been trying to read last week - The Bookseller of Kabul. Written by Asne Sierstad, a Norwegian journalist, the book has become quite controversial. Sierstad herself was sued by the main character of her "novel" Sultan Khan or Shah Rais, the real bookseller in Kabul. Siertstad met Rais, a modern-seeming, urbane and cultured bookseller, while she was covering the Taliban war in Afghanistan. Charmed and impressed by his cultured mien, she got him to agree to let her stay with his family, while she writes about them. While with them however, she discovers another side to this seemingly modern man - he is a typical Afghan autocrat, who rules his family with an iron fist. Sierstad does not mince words when she describes the bookseller's character. Although proclaiming to be a modern man with open views about women and education, at home Sultan Khan (the character in the book) does not really practise what he preaches. His wife Sharifa is totally ignored once he marries a younger woman. His nineteen year old sister Leila is treated like an unpaid servant and his sons are forced to work in his book shops, even the 12 year old who only wanted to go to school and learn, like his friends.

It is an interesting book though some might say otherwise. Written as a novel, most of the incidents and even the characters are real however. I agree with Asne Sierstad and I believe that her depiction of this Afghan family and the society in which it moves is true. She may have broken some unwritten law of hospitality by writing about a family she has stayed with but the colourful tale she has woven and its stark reality pitted against a background of a new Afghan nation just rising in the aftermath of the Taliban war is fresh and insightful. As a reader I feel sad and angry sometimes about the way women, and especially Leila, Sultan's nineteen year old sister is treated. But it is true that in many parts of the world, especially among the less educated, and where the culture is stronger than the religious knowledge, women are never treated fairly. However reading this, one should also understand that not all families are like Sultan's and that Islam is a religion which reveres its women.

While in Singapore I had the chance to read a few books on fantasy - one by Jessica Day George entitled
Princess of Glass and another about a girl who could change into a dragon, Spitfire. Princess of Glass is a re-telling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses and is a beautiful story of courage, romance and true love - pitted against witches and curses, with a heroine who is both beautiful and brave as well as intelligent. I'm going to find her other books to read - I enjoyed reading this one so much!

My stay in Singapore is of course not about reading at all but about Sophia.We had a wonderful visit with her and enjoyed ourselves going on the Singapore Flyer with her. Just watching her antics makes me laugh. She can be naughty at times but she is such a delight!

Having fun with Datok

Playing with her toys

Mulan

2011-01-12T19:18:00.002+08:00

I haven't really much time these days to post on my blog - I've started teaching again this semester - the same course as I taught last year. This year though I've only got 10 students - some of them the ones I taught last year in the Literature Methodology class. This one is Simulated Teaching in Literature Education, that is I'll be teaching students how to teach Literature. Life is busier too because Wan my second boy is getting married! Preparations are already under way and luckily for me I have my sisters to help out. Lela my sister will be making the pelamin or dais which is so necessary for any Malay wedding, be it modern or traditional. We'll have two weddings too - one in Malacca where all my relatives are, and one in KL where all our friends are. When Rizal got married last time we had it at the old Semabok house in Malacca and only a few close friends turned up. So this time we decided to have two weddings -one in each place.

As for my new little kitty, not so new and not so little now - she's getting bigger and naughtier by the day. We had to change her name back to Mulan, the name they called her back when she belonged to my sister Jasmine. She used to jump on me when I'm praying and cling on to the prayer clothes. My right hand is full of tiny scars - a legacy of hers. When I play with her, she will bite and kick fiercely, not knowing yet how to control her claws so I have to be very careful. I've learnt to pull away when she's too fierce.

Look at her eyeing my aquarium! She's there every day, morning or night, watching the fish swim. Sometimes she tries to swipe at them with her paws! Sometimes she climbs on top and stares at the tiny fish inside the aquarium!!

"If only I can get those wriggly things... how do I get them?"

Back to school

2011-01-04T16:34:00.001+08:00

I was watching the news yesterday which showed pictures of kids all over Malaysia going back to school. Many were crying and clinging to their parents but a few were happily holding hands with other children and smiling.

When I was a child I always looked forward to going to school. I loved school - as opposed to staying home and being bored out of my skull because there was nothing to read! The long December school holidays were always a trial to me - I used to count the days when I could go back to school! Was I weird or something? School was so much fun I think in those days. We still had singing lessons, days when we were brought to the hall to listen to the radio broadcast (no tv in those days mind you), story telling sessions with our teachers telling us wonderful stories from fables and other fairy tales. When we were in third year at Elementary school, we had this really wonderful teacher called Miss Ratnam. She taught us English, Science and Civics. She was also our class teacher and we loved her very much. I can still see her smiling face and
spectacles, telling all of us about her sick mother. She told us to pray for her mother to get well and when one smart aleck said " How to pray because we all have different religions," her answer was the best answer and one I will always remember. " Just remember that all religions teach us to be good and that whoever you pray to, that god will want you to be good. Pray in your own language and to your own god ," she said.

The last lesson of the day was always hers - usually it would be English. After we had done our work she would remind us to hand in the exercise books and then we'd all sit quietly while she told us stories. My first stories from the Greek myths began from her story telling sessions. She told us about Medusa, The Golden Fleece, King Midas and many many more. Her classes were always very interesting mainly because she allowed us to be children - she didn't mind us walking around the class as long as we had a reason, talking and laughing was allowed as long as we didn't disrupt the class and best of all she loved singing, so quite often we'd have singing in the class.

Coming back to the question of school - why do many of today's children dread school so much? Ask any child if they love school and the sorry answer is more often than not, no. I think schools have become too serious, too exam-oriented and too large. It is no longer personal anymore. Classes are normally about 50 students. There were only about 30 children in my class in primary school. By the second week the teacher had memorised all the students' names and could more or less identify every child in her class. By the first term, she knew our personalities, our strengths and weaknesses, our likes and dislikes. There is a closeness and a caring, that perhaps is missing in today's impersonal school environment. We went to our teacher's house for Deepavalli and even for tea sometimes. I still remember the terrace house in which she lived because I was a fairly frequent visitor. Where are all the Miss Ratnams today? Do we still have such caring teachers? For the sake of the younger generation I hope so.

The year that was and the year that will be

2011-01-02T19:20:00.002+08:00

Jim Reeves is one of my favourite singers. This song, with words taken from the bible always touches me and I think is just the message for the new year.Happy New Year everybody and this song is for you! Just listen to the words - Knock and the door will open, Seek and you will find.... Ask and you will be given...

Happy New Year 2011

2011-01-01T22:12:00.001+08:00

%3Cdiv+style%3D%22text-align%3A+justify%3B%22%3E%0D%0A%3Cspan+style%3D%22font-family%3A+Arial%2C+Helvetica%2C+sans-serif%3B%22%3EI+was+watching+a+re+-run+of+%22Man+of+the+Year%22+-+remember+that+one%3F+The+one+in+which+Robin+Williams+was+elected+President+of+the+United+States+through+a+computer+glitch.+It+got+me+thinking+about+a+lot+of+things+-+some+of+the+things+he+said+reminded+me+so+much+of+Obama%3F+About+people+wanting+change+and+they+didn%27t+care+what+kind+of+change+it+was%2C+as+long+as+there+was+change.+This+brings+me+to+Bush+and+the+shoe+throwing+incident.+I+don%27t+like+George+Bush+-+I+believe+he+is+one+of+the+causes+of+so+many+things+that+went+wrong+in+Iraq+today.+If+he+had+just+let+Iraq+alone+-+it+wouldn%27t+be+so+miserable+now.+I+don%27t+know+whether+people+in+the+US+understood+what%27s+going+on+there+before+Bush+attacked+the+country.+He+claimed+that+there+were+%22weapons+of+mass+destruction%22+in+Iraq+and+that+it+was+planning+to+attack+Israel.+After+they+had+destroyed+Iraq+and+left+it+in+pieces+which+until+today+could+never+be+put+together+again+%28like+Humpty+Dumpty%29+-+they+found+nothing+incriminating+about+Iraq.+No+weapons+of+mass+destruction+were+ever+found+anywhere+in+the+country.+And+did+he+apologise+to+the+Iraqis+for+destroying+their+country%3F+No.+He+had+%22regrets%22+but+no+apologies.+Why%3F+To+apologise+would+be+to+admit+he+was+wrong+of+course.+So+I+don%27t+blame+the+frustrated+Iraqis+for+hating+him+and+all+he+stood+for.+I+think+at+least+half+of+the+world+hates+him+in+fact.+Hence+the+shoe.+I+only+wish+it+had+hit+him+right+there+in+the+face.+He+would+have+deserved+it.+No%2C+he+deserves+much+more+than+a+shoe+thrown+at+him+actually.%3C%2Fspan%3E%3C%2Fdiv%3E%0D%0A%3Cdiv+style%3D%22text-align%3A+justify%3B%22%3E%0D%0A%3Cspan+style%3D%22font-family%3A+Arial%2C+Helvetica%2C+sans-serif%3B%22%3E%3C%2Fspan%3E%3C%2Fdiv%3E%0D%0A%3Cdiv+style%3D%22text-align%3A+justify%3B%22%3E%0D%0A%3Cspan+style%3D%22font-family%3A+Arial%2C+Helvetica%2C+sans-serif%3B%22%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Fspan%3E%3C%2Fdiv%3E%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0A%3Cdiv+style%3D%22text-align%3A+justify%3B%22%3E%0D%0A%3Cspan+style%3D%22font-family%3A+Arial%2C+Helvetica%2C+sans-serif%3B%22%3EAnother+thing+Robin+Williams+in+his+role+as+Tom+Dobbs%2C+president+elect+in+%22Man+of+the+Year%22+said+was+%22politicians+are+like+napkins+-+they+ought+to+be+changed+regularly%22.+Do+I+agree+with+that+sentiment%21+Especially+here+in+Malaysia.%3C%2Fspan%3E%3C%2Fdiv%3E%0D%0A%3Cspan+style%3D%22font-family%3A+Arial%2C+Helvetica%2C+sans-serif%3B%22%3E%3C%2Fspan%3E%3Cspan+style%3D%22font-family%3A+Arial%2C+Helvetica%2C+sans-serif%3B%22%3E%3Cdiv+style%3D%22text-align%3A+justify%3B%22%3E%0D%0A%0D%0A%3C%2Fdiv%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Fspan%3E%3Cspan+style%3D%22font-family%3A+Arial%2C+Helvetica%2C+sans-serif%3B%22%3E%3Cdiv+style%3D%22text-align%3A+justify%3B%22%3E%0D%0A%0D%0A%3C%2Fdiv%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Fspan%3E%0D%0A%3Cdiv+style%3D%22text-align%3A+justify%3B%22%3E%0D%0A%3Cspan+style%3D%22font-family%3A+Arial%2C+Helvetica%2C+sans-serif%3B%22%3EIn+this+country%2C+once+a+politician+is+elected%2C+he+stays+on+for+ever.+And+do+they+stay+on+and+on+and+on.+Some%2C+even+when+they+are+not+elected%2C+insists+on+staying+on+-+Samy+Vellu+to+name+just+one.+Then+there+are+those+who+do+get+elected+by+fairly+narrow+margins+-+Mohamad+Taib%2C+Najib+and+so+many+others.+I+guess+you+can%27t+blame+them+for+wanting+to+stay+on.+After+all+it%E2%80%99s+all+about+power+isn%27t+it%3F+Oh%2C+of+course+they+all+say+that+they+have+the+country%27s+best+interests+at+heart.+They+all+do+that+but+we+the+rakyat+know+better.+Even+the+opposition+leaders+are+the+same.+Do+we+ever+get+to+see+a+new+set+of+faces%3F+It%27s+always+the+same+-+Karpal+Singh%2C+Lim+Kit+Siang+and+his+son%2C+and+now+Anwar+Ibrahim+and+his+daughter.+We+hoped+after+the+last+election+that+things+would+change+but+I+see+nothing+has+changed.+In+Penang+and+Selangor+and+Kedah+and+Kelantan+where+the+opposition+rule+I+haven%27t+seen+any+substantial+changes+as+yet.+Little+unimportant+things+like+street+names+make+headlines+now+and+then.+They+say+they+will+be+an+improvement+but+once+in+control+they+are+much+like+the+Barisan.%3C%2Fspan%3E%3C%2Fdiv%3E%0D%0A%3Cspan+style%3D%22font-family%3A+Arial%2C+Helvetica%2C+sans-serif%3B%22%3E%3C%2Fspan%3E%3Cspan+style%3D%22font-family%3A+Arial%2C+Helvetica%2C+sans-serif%3B%22%3E%3Cdiv+style%3D%22text-align%3A+justify%3B%22%3E%0D%0A%0D%0A%3C%2Fdiv%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Fspan%3E%0D%0A%3Cdiv+style%3D%22text-align%3A+justify%3B%22%3E%0D%0A%3Cspan+style%3D%22font-family%3A+Arial%2C+Helvetica%2C+sans-serif%3B%22%3EI+wonder+about+the+justice+system%3B+and+the+Altantuya+and+Teoh+Beng+Hock+cases+come+to+mind.+Will+they+ever+get+the+justice+they+deserve%3F+And+the+police+force.+What+are+they+doing+to+rid+the+country+of+crime%3F+Or+as+in+many+cases+now%2C+are+many+of+them+also+involved+in+criminal+acts+themselves%3F+Can+we+ever+trust+the+police+force+to+help+us+or+will+they+kill+rampantly+as+in+the+case+of+the+shooting+of+the+15+year+old+boy+in+Shah+Alam%3F+That+is+a+big+question+mark+there.+Who+is+to+be+blamed+for+the+boy%E2%80%99s+death%3F+The+police%2C+the+parents+%28for+not+knowing+what+their+own+son+is+doing+at+2+am+in+the+morning%29%2C+the+boy+himself+%E2%80%93+for+driving+a+car+without+a+licence+and+then+not+stopping+when+the+police+told+him+to+stop%3F+At+2.00+am+in+the+morning+anyone+would+be+forgiven+to+think+him+a+criminal%21%3C%2Fspan%3E%3C%2Fdiv%3E%0D%0A%3Cspan+style%3D%22font-family%3A+Arial%2C+Helvetica%2C+sans-serif%3B%22%3E%3C%2Fspan%3E%3Cspan+style%3D%22font-family%3A+Arial%2C+Helvetica%2C+sans-serif%3B%22%3E%3Cdiv+style%3D%22text-align%3A+justify%3B%22%3E%0D%0A%0D%0A%3C%2Fdiv%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Fspan%3E%3Cspan+style%3D%22font-family%3A+Arial%2C+Helvetica%2C+sans-serif%3B%22%3E%3Cdiv+style%3D%22text-align%3A+justify%3B%22%3E%0D%0A%0D%0A%3C%2Fdiv%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Fspan%3E%0D%0A%3Cdiv+style%3D%22text-align%3A+justify%3B%22%3E%0D%0A%3Cspan+style%3D%22font-family%3A+Arial%2C+Helvetica%2C+sans-serif%3B%22%3EI+am+not+going+to+talk+about+the+Education+system+%E2%80%93+it%E2%80%99s+too+much+to+even+think+about.+But+I+do+wish+the+government+chooses+teachers+more+carefully.+To+me+teachers+should+be+above+reproach+and+very+very+objective+in+their+dealings+with+students.+We+have+uztazahs+%28religious+teachers%29who+tell+8+year+olds+they+are+going+to+hell+when+they+die+because+they+don%E2%80%99t+wear+a+scarf+and+teachers+who+shout+obscenities+at+kids+and+tell+them+to+%E2%80%9Cgo+back+to+their+country%2C+that+they+are+immigrants%21%E2%80%9D+How+can+you+ever+be+a+teacher+if+you+feel+like+that+about+the+other+races+in+this+multi+ethnic+country%3F+Athat%3F+So+why+must+we+have+the+race+thing+at+all%3F+Why+can%27t+we+just+get+rid+of+that+column+and+just+put+one+thing+-+citizenship.+We+shoMalays+are+not+really+%E2%80%9Cbumiputera%E2%80%9D+%E2%80%93+sons+of+the+soil.+They+were+once+from+Indonesia%2C+Cambodia%2C+Thailand+and+generations+ago+their+ancestors+came+to+this+country+to+start+a+new+life.+So+who+is+really+the+bumiputera%3F+The+natives+in+the+jungles%3F%3C%2Fspan%3E%3C%2Fdiv%3E%0D%0A%3Cspan+style%3D%22font-family%3A+Arial%2C+Helvetica%2C+sans-serif%3B%22%3E%3C%2Fspan%3E%3Cspan+style%3D%22font-family%3A+Arial%2C+Helvetica%2C+sans-serif%3B%22%3E%3Cdiv+style%3D%22text-align%3A+justify%3B%22%3E%0D%0+even+have+to+go+that+far.+I+only+want+a+single+education+system+for+us+all+-+one+school+for+all+the+races+in+this+country.+No+vernacular+schools.+Is+that+too+much+to+ask%3F+The+various+languages+will+be+taught+-+just+as+Singapore+has+now.+Mandarin+and+Tamil+are+taught+in+schools+for+those+who+want+to+learn+them.+Malay+should+remain+the+national+language+but+English+should+remain+the+language+of+instruction%2C+especially+for+Science+and+Mathematics.+Then+and+only+then+can+we+slowly+go+forward+towards+unification+and+maybe+in+50+years+hence%2C+we+can+say+we+have+a+bangsa+Malaysia.+But+the+other+races+should+not+ask+the+Malays+to+lose+their+privileges+and+expect+to+keep+theirs.+Having+vernacular+schools+I+feel+is+a+privilege.+What+other+country+in+the+world+ha+2011+for+all+of+us.+Let+us+hope+that+the+economic+outlook+will+improve+and+that+the+world+will+indeed+be+a+better+and+safer+one.%3C%2Fspan%uld+be+proud+to+call+ourselves+Malaysians+first+and+whatever+race+we+are%2C+as+secondary.+Will+we+ever+be+able+to+do+that%3F+And+I%27m+not+talking+of+the+Malays.+I%27m+also+referring+to+the+Indians+and+Chinese+who+jump+a+mile+high+the+moment+someone+mentions+we+have+a+single+education+system.+Why+not%2C+if+we+are+sincere+about+wanting+to+have+a+united+Malaysia%3F+Thailand+has+only+a+single+education+system%3B+so+does+Indonesia.+The+Chinese+in+Indonesia+even+have+Indonesian+names+-+Rudi+Hartono+for+example.+We+don%27t+even+have+to+go+that+far.+I+only+want+a+single+education+system+for+us+all+-+one+school+for+all+the+races+in+this+country.+No+vernacular+schools.+Is+that+too+much+to+ask%3F+The+various+languages+will+be+taught+-+just+as+Singapore+has+now.+Mandarin+and+Tamil+are+taught+in+schools+for+those+who+want+to+learn+them.+Malay+should+remain+the+national+language+but+English+should+remain+the+language+of+instruction%2C+especially+for+Science+and+Mathematics.+Then+and+only+then+can+we+slowly+go+forward+towards+unification+and+maybe+in+50+years+hence%2C+we+can+say+we+have+a+bangsa+Malaysia.+But+the+other+races+should+not+ask+the+Malays+to+lose+their+privileges+and+expect+to+keep+theirs.+Having+vernacular+schools+I+feel+is+a+privilege.+What+other+country+in+the+world+has+this%3F+How+fair+is+that%3F+%3C%2Fspan%3E%3C%2Fdiv%3E%0D%0A%3Cdiv+style%3D%22text-align%3A+justify%3B%22%3E%0D%0A%3Cspan+style%3D%22font-family%3A+Arial%2C+Helvetica%2C+sans-serif%3B%22%3E%0D%0A%3C%2Fspan%3E%3C%2Fdiv%3E%0D%0A%3Cdiv+style%3D%22text-align%3A+justify%3B%22%3E%0D%0A%3Cspan+style%3D%22font-family%3A+Arial%2C+Helvetica%2C+sans-serif%3B%22%3EAnd+what+do+I+wish+for+2011%3F+A+better+world+for+my+grandchildren%2C+that%27s+for+sure.+A+safer+one+too+-+better+quality+air%2C+better-cared+for+environment%2C+a+unified+Malaysia%2C+no+wars+in+the+world.+A+dream%3F+Perhaps%2C+but+if+Martin+Luther+King+can+have+his+dream+-+and+look+at+the+US+now+-+I+think

Have a very happy Christmas!

2010-12-25T22:59:00.000+08:00

Merry Christmas

all my blogger friends!

Pictures of Malacca, my hometown

2010-12-18T21:27:00.002+08:00

Malacca River

The Malacca Clock Tower, built during the Dutch era in the 17th century

Victoria Square near the Stadt House

The Victoria Fountain, built in the 19th century to commemorate Queen Victoria's rule

Replica of a Duthch Windmill

A typical Malay village house in Malacca

The Art Gallery, which used to be the General Post Office

Malacca is one of the oldest cities in Malaysia being at least 500 years old. It has been ruled by the Indo-Malays (13- 16th centuries), then later conquered by the Portuguese in the 16th century (1511) and again later by the Dutch in the 17th century. Sometime in the 19th century the Dutch exchanged it for Benkoolen in Sumatra with the English. Today its a very popular tourist destination- last year alone more than 2 million people visited this tiny state.

2010-12-18T15:20:00.000+08:00

Part One:

OUR share of night to bear,

Our share of morning,

Our blank in bliss to fill,

Our blank in scorning.

Here a star, and there a star,

Some lose their way.

Here a mist, and there a mist,

Afterwards - day!

(Emily Dickinson)

Three cups of tea

2010-12-14T14:20:00.001+08:00

When Greg Mortenson, a young climber, became lost upon his descent from climbing K2, one of the Himalaya's toughest mountains, he never realised the changes that he would experience, nor the impact of being lost and then turning up at a remote mountain village in the Hindu Kush. Three Cups of Tea is an amazing story of how one man almost single-handedly tried to help the children of remote villages in Pakistan and Afghanistan by building schools for them.

In 1992, Mortenson's youngest sister, Christa, who suffered from severe epilepsy, died suddenly at 23. Heartbroken, Mortenson decided to honor her memory by leaving her favorite amber necklace at the top of K2, the world's second-highest peak. But less than half a mile from the summit, after more than 10 punishing weeks of climbing, he turned back to help rescue a fellow mountaineer in trouble. On a five-day hike back to the main road, Mortenson was separated from his team and took a wrong turn off the trail. Lost, sick, and deeply disappointed, he stumbled into a tiny Pakistani village ringed by jagged peaks, so isolated that no foreigner had ever visited it before. The people of Korphe, farmers and herders, welcomed him and nursed him back to health. He made friends with the elder or village chief, Haji Ali and found that there were so many things the old man could teach him. The village had no school; the children met outdoors on a patch of bare ground, even in the frosts of autumn. A part-time teacher shared with a distant village came only three days a week, but the kids — 78 boys and four girls — still gathered every day to study. A few had slates they wrote on with mud-tipped twigs, but most scratched their lessons in the dirt with sticks. No books, no pencils, no paper, no roof — just a burning desire to learn.

"I promised I'd build them a school," Mortenson says, "and fulfilling that promise led me to my life's work." This book, co-authored with Relin, describes Mortenson's struggle to get a grant or sponsor to help buy the materials for the school in Korphe. He sent 580 letters in all, and received only one in reply. Then he got a break in the form of inventor/climber Jean Hoerni who gave him his start - 20 thousand dollars to buy the required materials. It took two years to get the money and another two years to build that first school. But once started many other villages asked him to build a school for them too and looking at the children really tore at his heart, so slowly and with Jean Hoernie's help again he started the CAI - Central Asia Institute to help build schools in desolate villages.

Greg Mortenson with some of his students in Pakistan

Gripping, because it deals in facts and reality, this book is in turns funny, sad and fascinating. There were many parts in the book that made me laugh but there were also some parts that were incredibly touching. Suspense too, especially when he was captured by a group of tribal people and kept in captivity for 8 days. I really admire Mr Mortenson for the work he is doing in a country where Americans are hardly welcomed, let alone liked. I think this is one book that should be required reading, not just for the story of how one man (an American at that) could help build schools for the thousands of impoverished and destitute children of Pakistan and Afghanistan but also of overcoming the odds. I think if anyone deserves the Nobel Peace Prize, it is Greg Mortenson. Anyone who has not read this book should read it!

A new cat in the house

2010-12-10T16:44:00.002+08:00

She's already showing her curiosity

I finally gave in and agreed to take one more cat into our household - Smokey. She's actually a kitten, a bout 5 moths old, and given by my sister Jasmine. You can see her here:

Smokey the new addition to the family

BBC's list of books

2010-12-10T15:56:00.001+08:00

The BBC believes most people will have read only 6 of the 100 books listed here.

by Kathy Repin on Saturday, 04 December 2010 at 14:31

Instructions: Copy this into your NOTES. Bold those books you've read in their entirety.
Italicize the ones you started but didn't finish or read only an excerpt.
Tag other book lovers. Tag me as well so I can see your responses!

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare – all the tragedies, some of the comedies
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 Lord of the Rings Trilogy- JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Sons and Lovers – D.H. Lawrence
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma -Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - A.A. Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude- Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Inferno - Dante
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - E.B. White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton (lots of other titles though)
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

My Note: Have we forgotten Faustus, Homer, Beuwulf, Chaucer etc etc? And what about Evelyn Waugh and numerous other good writers of the 20th century? American writers such as Mark Twain and people like Joseph Conrad who wrote books in English even though English wasn’t their first language? Actually this list is not exhaustive. There are hundreds more good books...

New Books

2010-12-05T14:57:00.000+08:00

Randa Abdel Fatah is an Australian writer of Palestinian origins and her first book - Does My Head Look Big in this? tells us about a young Lebanese Muslim growing up in Sydney, Australia, and how she copes with being called a WOG by her own classmates, being ' in love' with the smartest, handsomest boy in her class and wearing the hijab.Its a very lively and contemporary novel and most of the issues addressed are actually happening in many parts of the world. The book gives us a first person view of what life is like for the young Muslim growing up in a non Muslim world and themes such as prejudice, first love, boys, identity are dealt with in a witty, funny and no nonsense manner. Amal is a smart and well liked girl but when she decides to wear the hijab she realises that there is still a lot of prejudice facing her in her school. Randa Abdel Fatah gets us to see that Amal is like millions of other teenagers - worried about studies, boys, pimples and being popular. There are many instances in the story that made me want to laugh out loud - they are so funny. Yet some incidents on the other hand touches the heart.. A book that can be recommended to everybody who wants to know what its like to be a Muslim in a non Muslim country.

Her other books - Ten Things I hate About Me and Where the Streets Had a Name. I liked both books but not as much as the first. The first book - Does My Head Look Big in this? scores big in the humour departtment. Abdel Fattah has a witty way with words.

I still have a number of books to get through -Jeffery Deaver's The Vanished Man, A.S. Bayatt's The Children's Book, Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Relin and The Angel's Game by Carlos Luiz Zarfon.

Still missing Chi Chi

2010-11-26T21:45:00.000+08:00

We went back to Malacca today - Repin has gone to India for some meetings and since I haven't gone home to the Malacca house for ages I decided to do that while he's away. As usual Ginger came along, though this is the first time we're down here without Chi Chi. At first she didnt seem to notice - well she did look for Chi chi yesterday. I noticed she went round the bedroom sniffing and making mewwling noises, wondering where her best friend had got to. Then she went to Chi Chi's bed and slept there for a while. Not satisfied she got up and went under the bed and sniffed at Chi Chi's box there too. Still no Chi Chi so she jumped on the bed and slept instead.

Today once released from the pet carrier, she ran to the kitchen. Then she came over to us and looked at me, miawing a question. I said "She's not here Girl. She's gone." Then I went upstairs, with Ginger following, or rather leading me because she bounded up the stairs and quickly went into my bedroom. Sniffing under the bed she then looked at me with a long miaw. Who says cats can't talk? I understood perfectly what Ginger was trying to say - "Where the heck is she?"

Ginger wondering where Chi Chi had gone

I stroked her gently and held her. Now she's my comfort - at least I have her. The other three cats - Momo, Apin and Black are just not my cats even though I take care of them. Chi chi and Ginger have always been mine - the whole family knew that. Which was why when they all heard of Chi Chi's death, their first question was "How's mama?" Well Mama is coping. But it will take some time before I adopt another cat. Even a cute one like Min's grey Persian that she wanted to give me. In fact, right now I don't think I want to have another cat at all. Its too heart breaking when they die. And Chi Chi's is too sudden. I wish I knew what was the cause. If it's an infection - where did she get it? How come the other cats didn't get it? Why her?

Loss of a beloved cat

2010-11-25T16:30:00.000+08:00

Yesterday Chi chi was sick - she vomitted some green stuff which looked like leaves so I assumed she must have eaten a plant I had bought a few weeks ago. But then she looked tired and listless and refused her meal so I quickly took her to the vet. Her temperature was indeed high - 40 degrees! The vet gave her a jab for the fever and another one for antibiotic. When I took her back home she seemed okay - even played with Ginger for a while. Last night she ate a bit and slept on the bed. Early this morning at 5.30am she woke me up, kneading my tummy and purred loudly. But at 9.00 am she again appeared weak and tired and was lying down on her cushion bed with head down on the floor. I carried her and she was limp and lifeless. Her pulse was too high though she had no fever. Suspecting something seriously wrong I quickly I took her back to the vet. After checking her for fever the vet told me she had no fever. There was no vomitting too so we didnt really know what was wrong. She was given water intravenously and the vet told me to leave her for observation. When I left her she was miawing in the cage, though her pupils were a bit dilated. I tried to calm her down as best as I could and told the vet I'll come back in the evening to take her back. But at 2.30pm I got a call from the vet. Chi Chi had had a couple of seizures and had died immediately. I just don't know what happened. She's not an outdoor cat - we live in an apartment and Chi Chi as well as the other cats stayed inside. They don't eat anything except what we give them, and that is Royal Canin cat food. In the morning they all have a little wet food - Fancy Feast. Chi Chi however is a picky eater and seldom finishes her wet food, which will be gobbled up by Ginger. So what went wrong? I've lost my beloved cat and feel like howling loudly. I just cannot believe that she's gone just like that. Here are some pictures of her - you can see that she was indeed a lovely cat.

Chi Chi is curious about the fish and tries to get them out.

She'll sleep anywhere!

At home in the Malacca garden

Chi Chi and Ginger together

I'm sure Ginger will miss her too - even though they aren't siblings, they grew up together. Ginger was found as a tiny kitten, hardly bigger than my palm, back in June 2006. She was dirty and hungry. When we took her in we had to clean her up for two weeks before she was clean enough. Chi Chi was given to me by my aunt when she was about two months old, sometime in July 2006. She was a round furry ball of white then. But as she grew older her distinctive colour came out and she became more beige than white with brownish tips at her ears and tail. Her face too changed from white to grey and later a darker grey. She would be about 4 this year. I can only console myself by saying that she's gone to a better place. She was here only for a while - on loan as they say. Good bye Chi Chi my darling. I'll miss you always.

Some historical romances

2010-11-23T18:38:00.000+08:00

The past few days have been fairly hectic ones - reason being its Convocation time at the university. Its over now - today was their last day and everything went without a hitch, glad to say. So today I managed to finish my next book on the list - a historical romance. So different from the last one - Shadow of the Wind. This one is by Stephanie Laurens, The Untamed Bride and is one of a quartet.

I didn't really know that its part of a quartet, otherwise I wouldn't have bought it. Anyway I've just finished it and found it quite engrossing. The time is the 1820s and it started out in India - during the heyday of the East India Company. We learned so much about the East India Company when I was in school, the moment I saw the blurp I decided to get it.

Colonel Derek Delborough and his four friends have been given the task of finding and unmasking The Black Cobra - a cruel and fiendish cult that kills and rampages in the Indian countryside. They know that the leader of the cult is an Englishman and one of the upper society people but with no evidence and nothing but rumours there is nothing they can do to get him. Until one of their own - James is caught and tortured while trying to pass them a letter that is clearly written by the Black Cobra himself. This letter James had managed to pass on to Del through the girl he was escorting. Now with this pice of evidence in their hands, the group has to quickly pass the evidence to England so that they can arrest the Black Cobra. But Del and his friends are followed and threatened. Del himself has another problem now - his aunts have asked him to escort a young lady, his neighbour's daughter, back home. With the cobra's men after him and a young lady in his entourage, Del has to be even more careful.

This book is quite a pleasurable read - it has adventure and romance and is full of suspense. Del is surprised to discover that the young lady he is supposed to escort is not the timid miss he thought he would find. Delia is full of spunk and is quite capable of helping him land some cobras on her own. The first time they meet she saves his life with her quick thinking action and soon a lot of other adventures come their way.

Other historical romances I'm keeping for another day are:

1. Searching for Pemberley - Mary Lydon Simonsen

2. Captain jack's Woman - Stephanie Laurens

3 A Secret Affair - Mary Balogh

I've also got a few young adult fiction, one of which I've been meaning to read for some time - Does my head look big in this? by Randa Abdul Fattah. This is about a young Muslim girl growing up in Australia and her decision to wear the scarf. I'll tell you all more about this book once I've finished reading it.

Lazy days

2010-11-20T23:11:00.001+08:00

I've had a long lazy spell - just lazed about reading and finishing my growing pile of books. Last week was the Big Bad Wolf Sale and as usual I over spent. But I'm quite satisfied with my haul - I got a total of 60 books for a total of RM333! If that is not cheap I dont know what is. Most of the books were romance - tried a few other writers besides my usual Nora Roberts. I also went in for a number of fantasy stuff by R. A Salvatore and a few others. There were two good finds among the lot - Shadow of the Wind and The Angel's Game, both by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. I also managed to bag a few books by A. S. Bayatt, who was ranked No 2 in last year's Booker. I finished reading Shadow of the Wind and completely fell in love with it. I love the way the writer described books - he's a book lover's writer:

"This is a place of mystery Daniel, a sanctuary.Every book, every volume you see here has a soul. The soul of the person who wrote it and of those who read it and lived it and dreamed with it. Every time a book changes hands, every time someone runs his eyes down its pages, its spirit grows and strengthens."

These words were told to Daniel, a 10 year old boy by his bookseller father. That day Daniel was taken to this secret place - the cemetry of books, where books which were forgotten or which were obsolete were sent to. Daniel was asked to choose one book and it would be his forever. And the book he chose was called The Shadow of the Wind by Julian Carax.

But there is something fishy about this book because the moment people know that he has it, there are offers from strangers who want to buy it. Daniel is pulled into the mystery and is even threatened if he did not give up the book. Daniel becomes piqued by this interest in his book and intends to find out more about Julian carax. But as he grows older he realises there is more to the mystery than meets the eye and what begins as mere literary curiosity becomes a life and death search for the truth behind the writer's death (or life?)

I found this book tremendously enjoyable - there's mystery, humour, horror and romance and for the book lover, beautifully written.

Other gems I unearthed at the sale were Emma by Jane Austen (beautiful cover), Alice in Wonderland (hard cover edition with illustrations by Sir John Tenniel) , Mansfield Park (my old one is really really old and shows it) and lots of chick lit stuff. I also got a few young adult fiction which I had wanted to read before but didn't get because of other priorities but were now being sold for a mere RM8/-. I was in book heaven! And the R.A Salvatore were also hard back editions, books worth keeping! My husband too got what he wanted - lots of books on travel as well as some on colonial life in Malaya. He loves books like that so the ones that I bought for him kept him really happy. I think this lot will keep me happily occupied - at least for now.

Sophia

2010-11-17T23:13:00.001+08:00

Sophie and Pixel (in one of her better moments)

Sophie with her grandfather on raya day

She's getting better now - at least she'll answer when I call her on the phone. The other day she said, "Nenek, I'm going back to Singapore already..." which is a vast improvement on our phone conversations. Previously she would only say "Bye!"

This and that

2010-11-04T18:26:00.001+08:00

Am sitting here at the Nissan service centre waiting for my car to be serviced. Quite a long queue since tomorrow is Deepavalli and the beginning of a long weekend. Luckily I've got Mary Balogh's book with me - One Night For Love.

Neville Wyatt, Earl of Kilbourne, is about to get married. His future wife is a step cousin and he has known her all his life. Suddenly just as the music is about to start, a young woman in ragged clothes rushes to the altar and says she is his wife! And true enough Neville is shocked to see that it is indeed Lily, his beloved wife whom he had married when he was in the army. But she had been shot and believed to have died. Neville himself saw the bullet going into her chest just before he himself was shot. Lying in hospital later and being told that Lily had indeed died made him realise that soldiering was not for him. He went back to his estate after his father died to resume his duties as a nobleman.

Lily meanwhile had not died. She was captured, first by The French and later by Spanish partisans who treated her badly. After the war Lily went back to Portugal to trace her husband to arrive just in time to prevent him getting married. But will they live happily ever after? What about Lauren, Neville's jilted bride? Can Lily be the mistress of Kilbourne Abbey?

Like her other novels about Regency and Victorian England, this book shows a fairly wide knowledge of life and society of the time. Mary Balogh does not shy away from the more gruesome stories of war like so many other writers who write about the era. Her women characters are strong and sometimes quite independent, even wilful at times. Lily is no less. When she discovers that her marriage to Neville was not legal she insisted on leaving him, in spite of the fact that Neville loves her and begs her to stay. Actually there are times when she gets on my nerves and I wish she would be less stubborn but it's a heartbreaking story and well written. When, Lilly leaves Kilbourne she lives with Elizabeth, Neville's aunt who takes her under her wings and trains her to become a noble woman and one who can be with Neville as his equal.The story takes a sudden twist when Lily is threatened with murder. There are lots of twists and turns in this story of thwarted love and is quite un-put-downable.

Back in Melaka

2010-10-31T17:10:00.001+08:00

The orchids are doing well - imagine that they're still in bloom after one month! Most of them anyway. The deep purple ones are already dried but hopefully will bloom soon. My roses are dead and gone I know... it's not easy trying to nurture a rose plant when one is more often not at home than at home. Anyway most of my other plants are all right.

I still have a lingering cough - no plegm but I hate this dry wracking cough especially at night. Must try the honey treatment my friend said would work - a spoonful of honey mixed with warm water. Simple isn't it but I haven't tried it yet.

As for the cats - Momo and Karupin have to be taken to the vet for their vaccination. Then next month its GInger and Chi chi's turn. I think MOmo also is in need of grooming - his fur is really thick and long now and its so difficult to get rid of the tangles sometimes. But last year when I took him for a grooming session, he was ill and was out of sync for almost a week. Poor thing - must be really stressful for him. He doesn't really take to strangers; the only person he allows to cuddle him are Sarah, shasha and me. So at the vet its always distressing to see him cling to the cage, miawing loudly and refusing to let go. I guess for him its the ultimate torture so I try to do it only once a year. Hope he'll be fine this year!

Last year after we had cropped of nearly all his hair - its the no 2 cut (GI Joe) - he was really out of synq. Even his close pal, Karupin, who is his twin, could not recognise him and when he came near Apin, Apin would run, or worse still growled at him. Then he would run and Momo would stand there looking baffled, and Momo would go to his basket to sulk.

A newly cropped Momo - taken last year looking very dejected

Back home

2010-10-27T22:22:00.000+08:00

Well I'm home now - after being away for more than 3 weeks. My cats are fine and so are the fishes and the plants and most important - me. Apart from being tired that is. And a bit dejected too - I lost a piece of luggage with a number of souvenirs from Turkey as well as some gifts for my children from London. I had left the bag at the hotel where we were staying (pre- tour) at the hotel storage and it seems the storage was burgled. Of course the hotel's insurance will try to compensate us but who can replace the lost souvenirs? Anyway that's it, enough said.

My body still thinks its in London - am waking up in the middle of the night and cannot sleep after that. And when I do sleep, I wake up at 8.30 am! Guess it'll take some time to catch up... meanwhile I am catching up with daily chores, friends, bill payments and all those other things that make up my life. Life's good!

Istanbul - London - Amsterdam

2010-10-18T22:20:00.005+08:00

Repin at the Rue Scribe waiting for the Cosmos bus

From Turkey, we went to London where we stayed at the Novotel in Hammersmith. It's a 4 star hotel and is not bad actually - its fairly close to the tube and the bus station is within walking distance.We were in London, prior to the tour, for about 5 days. The tour started on 16th October, one day after my birthday which was celebrated with a our friends when we were in Istanbul. It was a surprise actually - one organised by Hanin.

I had a great time in Istanbul and in London, missed my friends for a while. They all went back to KL after Istanbul. In London, we renewed our acquaintance with this huge city - we walked along the Thames, took a bus through its old streets and rode the London Eye. We went back to Melur the Malaysian restaurant on Edgware Road and had our first Malaysian meal for days. Then we went to Oxford Street and I bought some pullovers for Shasha, the Kath Kidston bags that both Shasha and Sarah loved and a few souvenirs to take back home.

( Some of these were stolen subsequently but were later replaced - some, not all).

The Malaysian Restaurant that we frequented is situated nearby!

On the 16th October we started the tour. First we were driven to Dover in a coach. Our tour director would meet us at Dover, it seems. But in Dover we found that our tour director was still in Calais and could not come over because of a labour strike in France. Then we found out that we had to carry our luggage on to the ferry, which was called 'The Pride of Scotland'. It was fairly big, with lots of restaurants catering to the different budgets. The journey was smooth and uneventful - no squalls or heavy seas. In fact the sun was shining brightly!

FRench and Belgian country side

It took us approximately one hour to cross the Channel and even from far we could see the famous "White Cliffs of Dover", made nostalgic by Jim Reeves' song of the same name. I took the time to read my book, window shop at the tax free shopping arcade and Repin had a little nap. At 2.00pm we berthed and an announcement told us to take our bags and walk down to the level 3 floors below us to meet the bus and tour director.

Our bus was waiting for us and so was our Cosmos tour director, Flora Anfuso, an Italian living in England. Flora seems okay, though I noticed that throughout the trip she hardly talked to us (Repin and I as well as Mr and Mrs Ho from Singapore.) Maybe she didn't know what to talk to us about. I find her not rude exactly but not really friendly and warm. She was also a bit aloof, a bit standoffish. Whenever I said something to her, either she ignored it (if its not a question) or she would answer but very briefly. She definitely wasn't warm towards us. I could see how friendly she was with the others though. For sure I will refuse to take Cosmos again as a tour package. We enjoyed our last trip with Globus so much last year which was the reason we took the Cosmos tour - because it was a sister company. Nevertheless we did have a great time in spite of all this - we were in fun-filled Amsterdam and took a boat ride on the canal, went for a visit at one of the cheese factories, visited a traditional Dutch village (very touristy though) complete with girls wearing clogs and windmills and also went to the Zuider Zee. At night we went to the red light district, which was really really, interesting! What I really enjoyed was not the Red Light district itself but the funny little jokes that our local tour guide gave us. She was nothing to look at, but she can talk and has a really good sense of humour.

Our walking tour of London started from Big Ben

On the Rhine cruise to Basle

Repin walking along one of the canals in Zaanse Skaans

Istanbul

2010-10-12T04:46:00.002+08:00

Interior of the Grand Bazaar (there are more than 25000 shops in the Grand bazaar!)

There are so many things to do in Istanbul and we had only 3 days. Yesterday we visited Topkapi Palace which is really really big. The queue to get in too was worse than Disneyland! Finally we managed to get in but the main attractions, which were the displays of the various ornaments and tools used by the Ottoman sultans, were so crowded, my group opted not to see them. Instead we went to the second viewing chamber which housed the jewels that used to belong to the former sultans. Cameras were not allowed inside so we could not take pictures of the jewels but there is a large display of precious stones - mainly emeralds and diamonds. There were necklaces, earrings, rings and made of all kinds of precious stones. There were also golden cradles that used to belong to the young princes and swords and daggers encrusted with precious stones and gold.

On Saturday we took a boat ride on the Bosperus. It was a cold and foggy morning but it cleared somewhat a bit later, though the clouds were still there. Istanbul seen from the sea is really magnificent.

boat ride on the Bosperus

The Kamal Ataturk Bridge which spans the Bosperus

Beautiful houses along the Bosperous coast


Potter demonstrating the making of Turkish pottery

This is a Turkish pottery shop. The master potter is demonstrating the art of turning the pottery wheel using the special red clay from Cappadocia, in the south eastern part of Turkey. They have some of the most gorgeous pottery in the world. If I wasn't travelling on to Europe I would definitely buy them.

Gorgeously coloured bowls of all sizes

Topkapi, The Blue mosque and Hagia Sophia

2010-10-12T02:36:00.001+08:00

Today's Istanbul was actually Constantinople - the eastern capital of the Roman Byzantium Empire which ruled Anatolia and Byzantine until the late 13th century when it was conquered by the Turks of the Ottoman Empire. Turkey had been ruled by the Greeks or Macedonians (sometime in 343 BC when it was conquered by Alexander), then taken over by the Romans who formed Byzantium and finally by the Ottomans. When Sultan Mehmet the 2nd ascended the throne of the Ottoman Empire, he laid seige to Constantinople, which had already been weakened by corruption and numerous wars. Two years later, Constantinople finally fell to the Turks - on 29 May 1453.

The ancient Byzantine empire, with Constantinople as its capital

During Emperor Constantine's rule in Byzantium he had built a large church to celebrate his conversion to Christianity - the Hagia Sophia. When Constantinople fell, the church too was converted into a mosque at first. The Turks however did not destroy the beautiful interior of the church. However Sultan Ahmet the first, his heir, realised that he needed his own mosque, and instructed Sinan, his architect to design the largest and most beautiful mosque on top of the hill, close to the Hagia Sophia. This mosque is today one of the most beautiful in the world, and known to most people as the Blue Mosque. Its actual name is Sultan Ahmet Cami (Sultan Ahmet's mosque). It is indeed a splendid structure, with its graceful cascade of domes, its six slender minarets marking the corners of the courtyards and the lovely grey colour of the stones, set off by gilded ornaments on the domes and minarets.

Next to the Blue Mosque, just acoss the gardens is the Hagia Sophia or at one time called Saint Sophia's Church. There are still beautifully painted frescoes in the central hall and in the domes. Pictures of the infant Jesus and the Virgin Mary decorate the high ceilings of the central area, with gold coloured lettering of the words Allah and Mohammed covering the pillars.


Inside the Blue mosque

The main entrance to Topkapi Palace or Topkapi Sarayi

From Eskesehir to Istanbul

2010-10-11T12:27:00.001+08:00

The drive back to Istanbul seemed shorter by contrast, though we took the same road going in. Maybe we were fresher and more relaxed and there was rather less traffic on the road compared to when we came. Anyway on Sunday at 8.30 am we left Eskesehir for Istanbul. We passed the same orchards mainly quince I notice, and a few manufacturing plants - near Eskisehir, they were mainly cars.

After a brief stop at one of the rest areas - we had a coffee break and bought some local fruits - we were back on the way. Marwan, the guide wanted to arrive at the bridge before 12 noon he said. The congestion would be bad after that he told us. Even then, we arrived at Istanbul a few kilometers from the bridge to a jam packed road. There seemed to be no end - it was going to be a long crawl. However our driver had a few tricks up his sleeve - he knew of a few short cuts and soon we were on the bridge itself, crossing the Bhosperous going towards the European part of Turkey.

Our hotel , The Titanic, is situated on one of the busy streets of Istanbul - Takseem Road. It's a fairly large hotel, very accessible to most of the large shops and close to many restaurants. Just leave the hotel and immediately you are invited into the numerous little eateries and cafes! Since it was already past lunch time, Marwan took us to a fish restaurant nearby. The soup was really delicious and so was the grilled fish that were served later. According to our guide, food is expensive in Istanbul, especially if one orders ala carte. So we ordered the fixed menu which came to about 98 TL ( double that for USD). There are about 6 people in the group so I think that is fairly reasonable.

After lunch we went back to our hotel for a short rest and came out again around 5pm. We all decided to walk along Takseem Road and just do some window shopping and maybe look for souvenirs to take home. Dinner was at one of the nearby kebab places and by 9pm we decided to go back to the hotel for the night.

2nd day at Eskisehir

2010-10-07T19:40:00.001+08:00

View of Eskisehir from Selale Park

Old Quarter of Eskisehir

View of the Posuk River in Eskisehir

Early on the second day we drove out of town towards Gordion, a small village about 80 km away and famed for its ancient sites. It is said that when Alexander the Great came to conquer Asia Minor, he was asked to unravel the great Gordion Knot, which only a wise ruler could do. We all know that Alexander was a great warrior, but from this story we also know he was a practical and intelligent man! Instead of spending hours trying to unravel the knot, he just took his sword and cut it into two, thus unraveling the knot at the same time. He then went on to conquer the country, defeating King Darrius III and proclaiming himself Emperor of Asia Minor. At that time Asia Minor included Persia, (today's Iraq), Turkey and Syria. We saw the ruins of the city that was built there in the early 7th century, the ramparts of the citadel and parts of the walls of this ancient city.

Ruins of the Gordion civilisation

Near Gordion too there's another famous figure, though this one we all thought was only fictitious. This person is no less than the famous King Midas (pronounced as Mi (me) Das (Dust). Yes, the one with the golden touch. It seems there really was a King Midas and he did indeed had a golden touch, that is, whatever he touched turned to gold. The legend is that Midas had performed a good act for one of the gods (cant remember which one) and in return was told he could have anything he wanted. So he said that he wanted anything he touched to be gold and at once he got his wish. For two days Midas was very happy, running all over the palace and touching everything. Everything that he touched did indeed turn to gold. But alas, soon he realised the foolishness of his wish because he could not eat. Even the food that he tried to swallow became gold pellets and who could eat gold pellets? In sorrow he sat in the garden wondering how he could eat and drink when his little son came running to him. He turned to see the little boy and was so happy to see the child forgot about the wish. He carried his son in his arms and found to his horror that the boy had turned into a golden statue. Regretting his greedy wish, he begged for forgiveness and told the God that he would give up everything, just to have his son back. He was told to go and bathe in the river Oshu, near his palace and the gift would be overturned. And after he had bathed in the river, he found that everything was back to its original status and his son was again a normal boy. From that incident he realised how foolish he was and that he had to be grateful for what he had.

In Gordion we visited the tomb of King Midas, which was deep under a hillock. The museum c lose to the tomb had artifacts and even a statue of King Midas. I knew that Turkey had a rich history but never really understood how rich it actually is, with a civilisation that goes back to Mesopotamia, the Romans and later the Ottoman Turks.

At the Gordion Museum with a collage of Alexander the Great at the back.

Having coffee at the colorful garden of the Museum cafe

Istanbul and Eskisehir

2010-10-06T13:57:00.003+08:00

So finally after almost 16 hours of travel, we managed to get settled in at the Hotel in Eskisehir. Eskisehir is actually a small university town, south east of Istanbul. We landed early in the morning at the Mustapha Kemal Ataturk Airport. No problems there - the landing was fine (we didn't even bump) and Immigrations and customs were a breeze. Well not actually a breeze because the queue was fairly long, but it moved and we were cleared without any hitch. Outside, the air was cool and bracing - after being cooped in a cabin for almost 11 hours, that was a really nice feeling. Like other airports, this was very busy but our tour guide was already waiting for us and soon had us out of the crowded car park and onto the highway. He asked us if we wanted to stop somewhere to freshen up and so on so we all said yes and he smiled. But it was easier said then done - the highway was congested and traffic was very very slow. To pass the time he pointed to us some interesting places along the way - Topkapi Palace, the Bhosperous sea, and a number of old buildings and mosques. He also gave us a brief history of Istanbul, at one time the capital of the Byzantine Empire and known throughout the western world as Constantinople, after the Roman Emperor, Constantine.

The Straits of Bospherous which divides Istanbul into two - the European side and the Asian side

Istanbul is a fascinating city - a curious blend of East and West, with one foot in Europe and the other in Asia, straddling the Straits of Bospherous. We crossed the huge bridge spanning the straits and went across towards the Asian part of Turkey leaving Istanbul behind us. Well, we'd have 3 days there later on, after the conference. But for now we have to go to Eskisehir, which is more inland and approximately 450 km away.

We finally managed to get out of the congestion and on to the highway by 8.30 am. At 9.00 we stopped at a rest area for a bit of breakfast and to freshen up. The journey would be about 6 hours. We passed through countryside that were quite beautiful - lots of trees and greenery, apple orchards, quince, vineyards and so on. As we journeyed further and further inland, the vegetation became more and more sparse. Much of the country is mountainous according to Marwan, and the place where we were heading is actually a valley, surrounded by mountains. We passed fields of wheat (though the wheat had already been harvested) and meadows where we saw thousands of sheep grazing. We passed through quaint little villages, looking deserted and empty.

We finally arrived at our destination around 1pm and checked in about 2pm. After checking in and freshening up we all had lunch at one of the cafes in town. Eskisehir is a university town with a population of almost 500,000 people, half of which are students. The main food type I think is the kebab. There are many different varieties of kebabs - meat, vegetables and fish. There are lamb kebabs, beef kebabs, chicken as well as mutton. There are also aubergine, carrots, capsicum, tomatoes and other types of vegetable kebabs. This is normally served with a variety of breads and rice, salads and pepper (fresh as well as preserved).

The town looks very European in architecture - the apartments all had little gardens around them. There are roses, impatiens, marigolds and foxgloves. Roses especially - all colours and all so fat and healthy looking. Its a pretty town, even though I was told there's nothing touristy here. After the heavy lunch we had a walk along the main street and had a bit of window shopping. Hmm lots of goodies to buy later.

We went back to the hotel for a rest and at 5pm decided to walk down towards the hypermarket next door - Carefour, which is just like the ones we have at home. They also had some nice shops inside - mostly selling clothes.

travelling

2010-10-01T17:47:00.002+08:00

Tomorrow night around midnight, I'll be on a plane bound for Istanbul. We'll be in Turkey for 6 days - 3 days in Istanbul and another 3 in Eskisehir. Actually Repin will be attending a conference there but we have taken this opportunity to take some time out for a short tour of Turkey. Then we'll also be going to London and another tour of Europe. This one will take us about 2 weeks, so all in all I'll be away for about 23 days. Fairly long.

So today I stocked up on cat food and cat litter. My son who will be home to sort of look after the cats will not bother to buy their normal food which I get from the veterinary so I thought I 'd better buy them and keep them in the store room just in case. I know I'm going to miss Chi Chi, Ginger, Momo, Karupin and Black. Especially Ginger. I'll worry about Karupin (He's always so sickly and I hope he wont be too sick while I'm away.) And I wonder who will cuddle my two monsters (Momo and Karupin) when I'm not around. Chi chi is quite self sufficient and doesn't really need to be held, but both Karupin and Momo somehow always seem to be needy, poor things. Karupin especially will look at you with his soulful eyes as if wondering why you haven't brushed his hair or petted him.

Chi Chi showing her boredom

I also bought some books to read along the journey too - one JD Robb - Promises in Death,one book by a Turkish writer - Orhan Parmuk, and another by Jeffrey Archer - Paths of Glory. Looking forward to reading that first on the plane. I read the review and I think its a sad book in a way - its about George Mallory, a mountain climber who died while climbing Everest and it's based on a true story.

Books Galore

2010-09-27T11:02:00.000+08:00

Just imagine - I've run out of books to read! Finished all the ones I bought last month and right now I'm "revising" some that I'd read years ago. Which is one reason why I seldom borrow books from the library - I always want to re-read them. Pride and Prejudice, for example, I've read more times than I can say - what with using it as a text in school, teaching it when I became a teacher and re-reading it on my own just because I love it so much. Another one I've re-read more times than I can remember is Wuthering Heights. There is always something new to see or understand in that book. I've got so many favourites actually, even Anne of Green Gables is a favourite and I really don't mind reading it at least once more.

During the week prior to the Eid Holidays, there was a book sale at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. I wasn't able to go because I was already in Melaka by then but Repin, my other half went and bought a whole box of books. Of course they were his favourite types, which were travelogues, books on travel and books on countries. He already had 4 books on India, but he came home with 2 more - A History of India and Nine Lives. These were not really travel books but somewhat related. The one on the history of India is actually quite fascinating. Written in an easy style with lots of descriptive passages and interesting anecdotes, it's really very readable - reads like a documentary.

Another book that I really enjoyed was Tahir Shah's Sorcerer's Apprentice. No, this is not a fantasy - but neither is it a book documenting sorcery etc. Tahir Shah's style is always engaging and provocative with a lot of humour thrown in. Like many of his other travel books, this is a quest to understand the secrets of illusion and magic of Indian Saddoos. Beginning with his childhood in England, it takes him from England to India to the guardians of his great grandfather's tomb, to the temples of Kolkatta and Mumbai. Some of the adventures he goes through are quite bizarre but it gives us an insight into an India which is seldom seen by foreigners.

Nadia's engagement

2010-09-26T08:15:00.001+08:00

Yesterday one of my nieces got engaged. Nadiah who is my sister Azizah's older girl is a lovely child and I'm glad that she's met someone nice. Before the ceremony, on Thursday I had called my sis. who was in deep panic mode. Crying and sobbing loudly over the phone she told me that the workers she'd called to renovate the house had not finished. The kitchen was in a shambles and there was dust everywhere. The wiring hadn't been fixed and there was no electricity. I just listened quietly and tried my best to calm her down. Since I was away in KL and would be home only on Saturday, there was nothing I could do. But I called all my other sisters and told them about Aziz's problem. "No problem, " they said.

And by Saturday, everything had been sorted out. Well we can't help about the kitchen but the wiring was done by Nan, my brother and so we had lights. The others took over the cooking job - Leila cooked the rice. Ita cooked the rendang and dal curry, Marina and Nyah Mila, an aunt, came over and helped clean the house. Jasmine did the cakes and biscuits for the bridegroom's side and Min, my sister in law prepared the vegetables. Since everything was done in their own houses, we didn't really have to use Aziz's unfinished kitchen - not much anyway. That's sisters for you and never was I glad and proud to have sisters like these. Yesterday I saw that the boys (all our nephews) were very helpful when guests started arriving. While some of them ushered the guests, the others cleared tables and more others washed the used dishes. We didn't even need outside workers! It was a totally family effort and I felt so proud to see them.

One of the gifts for the groom Nadiah's future mum in law putting the ring onto her finger

You see both our parents had passed away when we were all fairly young. I was in my 30s but being eldest I had to take over the job of being mum and dad to a family of 13, three of whom were still in college, the youngest was only 18 years old and had just finished her SPM. When my youngest sisters got married, it was my sister Leila and I who arranged everything - and we did it without the usual fights and arguments that normally abound even in families with both parents intact. So yes, I'm proud of them - my younger brothers and sisters. We're a tight bunch and even my own cousins are envious of us. We have planned family days - at a resort somewhere where we have games and karaoke sessions and prizes to be won - all sponsored by everyone in the group who could afford it. Sometimes I wish our parents were alive to see us - I'm sure they'd be very proud. My dad would have been about 78 now and mum would have been 75.

One Season of Sunshine

2010-09-17T15:14:00.019+08:00

I was actually attracted to this book because of its cover! I had never read Julia London previously, though I did browse through a few of her regency romances a few times. This book however caught my fancy because I'm always a sucker for young children in stories and when I saw that this book had a five year old boy, I immediately took it and I'm glad to say that its a book worth reading - the plot is interesting though initially I was quite irritated by the heroine, Jane, who never seemed to know what she wanted.

The novel opens with a fiery accident - an accident which unravels a lot of things later in the story.

Jane Aaron was adopted as an infant and throughout her growing up years she has wondered about her biological mother and why she was given away. So she decides to go to Cedar Springs to look for her birth mother. While there she becomes nanny to two children who had recently lost their mother in a terrible road accident. In the beginning Jane dislikes Asher Price, her handsome employer, but as time goes on and she spends time with the family,she finds she is fast falling in love with the children who still miss their mother, especially little Levi, who needs a mother's love.

But Jane also finds out that Susannah is not the "perfect wife and mother" that she thought she was and that she was drunk when she had the accident. When Riley, Asher's teenaged daughter

finds out about her father and her nanny, she goes beserk and tries to break them up. Jane has to decide whether she wants to stay and win this troubled girl's love or go back to Houston and her teaching job.

This is an ok book for an afternoon's relaxation - there are no twists in plots or surprise endings but a fairly good reading nevertheless.

Rice Pilaf

2010-09-15T17:10:00.002+08:00

This is our family's traditional recipe and although you can find numerous pilaf recipes this one is slightly different because we often cook the meat inside the rice. I'm using ingredients for more than 4 people so if there are only two people you can halve the recipe if you like.

Rice pilaf with vegetables

The Rice

2 medium cups Basmati rice (soaked for two hours in plain water)
1 teaspn salt to taste or as you like
1 cup milk - fresh or evaporated
1 cup water
6-7 shallots (sliced thinly)
4-5 garlic (sliced thinly)
1 inch ginger (sliced thinly)
2-3 star anneseed
some peppercorns (5-6 )
piece of cinnamon stick
2-3 tablespoons of ground jintan manis mixed with dash of water
two large onions cut in slices
1 carrot - sliced about 1 inch length
baby potatoes or 2 medium sized potatoes
cauliflower (cut into small florettes)
peas
two small tomatoes cut in half
oil for frying - ghee is nice but not necessary. You can also use margarine or butter.

(Optional)

Chicken or other meat - to be cut into manageable pieces and fried slightly or until half cooked

Method:

1. Fry the onions, ginger, garlic ,cardomom seeds, star aneseeds, cinnamon and jintan manis until light brown.
2. If you are using meat, then you may put in the meat now and fry them together with the above.
3. Mix in the vegetables - fry the harder vegetables first and keep the softer ones for last.
4. Once the potatoes are semi cooked, put in the rice, milk and stir lightly. Keep the flame at low heat.
5. Let the rice boil a bit , then mix in the water. Cover pot and let it simmer until rice looks fluffy and soft.
6. If you have a rice cooker you can also transfer the rice now to the rice cooker so that it can be cooked and left warm.
7. When rice seems done, put in the rest of the vegetables - tomatoes, peas and if you like you can add some raisins.
8. Rice is ready when it looks soft and fluffy, yet grainy. Serve either with chicken curry or dhall as a side dish.
9. Slice some large onions, tomatoes, and cucumber and add a dash of salt and vinegar and a little sugar for a side dish.

Post holiday blues

2010-09-15T09:14:00.002+08:00

Well the Eid holidays have come and gone and life is back to its more relaxed pace. We had our Raya Open House on the first day as usual. The usual number of people came - my brothers and sisters, Repin's friends and a few of mine. This time around Yatie and I decided to cook ourselves instead of getting a caterer and oh boy, was it tiring! We had made the usual ketupat ( bought the ready made leaves from the market), made the rendang (both beef and chicken), as well as the rest of the accompaniments. Apart from that we made pilaf rice which was a hit with almost everybody and my sister Leila asked for the recipe.

Actually pilaf is very easy since its a one dish meal and can be eaten either on its own or with a curry as a side dish. We made the curry just in case somebody wanted gravy with their rice, and since it was the first to finish I guess most people did. They came in a steady stream - almost non stop since we began at 11 am, with first my sisters, then Ranjeet and Jaswant. I think I didn't have a break at all until nearly 7pm, when the last guests, Hamzah and his wife, left. All in all, it was a great day - tiring but entertaining.

I always say that I won't have an open house but then still have it. This year there were fewer people who came compared to last year. Only 3 of my old classmates turned up but other friends came. Repin's old friends came too - quite a few of them- An Min, John, Chow Fatt and Hamzah and their wives. Of our family - most were away this year. Alan and family went back to Perak to Kahdijah's house and Jemi went to Penang. Even Denan didn't come home this year and neither did Jijah.

"Evening is the Whole Day"

2010-09-08T21:26:00.060+08:00

Preeta Samarasan's book Evening is the Whole Day is about an Indian family in Malaysia and has been out since 2008, but I've just finished reading it today. The book is rich in detail and beautifully crafted though at times she does go over the top. However for a first time writer, I'd say it's a marvellous attempt and really good, slightly skewed though it may be where the racial politics are concerned.

The novel is about young Aasha Rajasekaran and her family - brother Suresh, Amma (mother), Appa (father) her sister Uma who at the beginning of the novel leaves for the US to study and the grandmother, who has died but has returned as a ghost. No its not a ghost story, but Aasha who is 6 years old at the beginning of the story, for some strange reasons, seems to be able to see spirits. Most of the events in the story are seen through the eyes of Aasha, who seem to be left alone much of the time and who longs to be heard and played with by her sister Uma or even Chellam, the maid. But Paati, the grandmother has died in mysterious circumstances and the maid Chellam is suddenly dismissed without any reason given. Uma has left for a country so far away. And even if she did not leave, Uma had changed. She was no longer the laughing happy Uma who loved to talk to her little sister but a quiet, sullen older sister who neither laughed nor talked.

The book gives us glimpses of life in Malaysia in the 1960s - just after independence. Some critics say that Preeta's view of Malaysia is too limiting but I believe that she's not a historian and this is not a history text. It's a novel about a family - with all its secrets and its hopes and dreams. Its a strong novel, with no illusions and a lot of honesty. But what caught me right from the beginning are her descriptions - they are almost poetic in their beauty, whether she's describing her characters or the landscape. The stories, for there are many stories within this story, are not pretty though - they are brutally honest - men who beat their wives after drinking toddy (illegal alcoholic drink), men who have mistresses on the side, murder and incest, a father too intent on his own activities, a mother who is shallow and often cruel. The plot is sometimes complicated as the writer weaves her stories of private miseries with public events of the day and she uses a lot of flashbacks as it goes back and forth. The stories unfold like a tapestry - rich, colourful, unforgettable. A book I'd recommend to anybody who likes a well-woven tale.

The other book I'd just finished reading is Lisa Kleypas' book - Sugar Daddy. Earlier I'd read her regency romances and though they were okay, I didn't find them great, not as enjoyable as Georgette Heyer's books or Mary Balough either. However somebody mentioned that her contemporay novels were better so I decided to look for one. And after reading Sugar Daddy, I find that I want to read the sequel - Blue-eyed Devil.
Sugar Daddy is written in the first person narrative, about a girl Liberty Jones. Its more of a finding yourself type of book. A romance, but slightly different from the usual. I really liked the heroine - Liberty, who is spunky, loyal and very much a fighter. We see her as a young girl living in a trailer park with a flighty mother who has a string of boyfriends that come and go. The first time she moves to the park, she is rescued from two dogs by Hardy, a good looking, hardened boy. She is struck by his good looks and falls in love with him. But Hardy is ambitious and wants to get away from his poverty stricken life in the trailer park.So even though he cares for her, he leaves her behind and moves on. Liberty also loves her mother and baby sister, whom she brings up by herself after her mother's death. LIke Hardy, Liberty struggles to improve her life and becomes a beautician at a well known beauty salon. Here she meets Travis, a multi-millionaire who wants her to become his personal assistant. But staying at his house she discovers a lot of things about him, including some deeply kept secrets. She meets his family, especially his eldest son, Gage, who accuses her of sleeping with his father! Just as things begin to improve for this spunky girl, along comes Hardy back into her life. Will he spoil things for Liberty?

The style is quite straightforward, but I like her characters - they are lively and realistic, especially the kindly Miss Marva. I'd give this book a 3+ star rating. Fairly good reading, interesting plot and character development. Keepd you entertained.