29 Nov 2018 – Happy Bday John

Mon: the times to avoid the rush-hour-traffic on the CBD is after 1000hrs. Heading to catch up with Leng who lives near the CBD.

Welcome Leng &baby Aurora from Norway back to SIN. Fantastic views of the threatening rain clouds from her apt on the 24th floor, and fortunately those clouds did not linger and blew away clearing the sky with a zoomed-in view of a colourful elementary school.

Aurora, an alert cute baby-tourist enjoying the food here. Delighted to see the new Rail Corridor added in this amazing model of SIN@URA. Tkx to Clement&Hannah, it took me then 8hrs to do a thru’walk on this 25k trail 2+yrs ago on my 66th Bday.

https://amylamsg.com/2016/01/16/the-green-corridor/

Dessert in Chinatown and what a coincident to bump into niece Daisy&sis-in-law. Enjoying the sight of all the local childhood cookies – no did not buy any. Pix credit of me to Leng.

Korean movie Soul Mate/Wonderful Ghost 원더풀 고스트 @VivoCity: a patrol officer gets into an accident while investigating a case. His soul gets separated from his body where his wandering spirit tries to figure out and solve a case.

A reminder of the movie Ghost (1990) with PatrickSwayze & DemiMoore. These are the only kind of ghost movies for me! Have been entertained recently with similar movies on YouTube. Must be the Christmas mood.

Shopping for candies@Candylicious where I always feel like a kid and do not know what I really want from all the choices?? But how I felt and what I really am was reminded by the staff@Kopitiam who addressed me as Ah Ma – wow! for the first time, usually it is Auntie!!

Tue&Wed: a crazy rush to complete some of the gifts&preparations for the first Christmas gathering this weekend. Procrastination is my middle name – makes me more creative! Since I now have the reputation of a cork-collector from my wine-drinker male friends!! must make use of them. Last year, it was cork-boards and this year cork-wreaths.

Thu: Happy Happy 12Bday #3, JohnW Hall (2006). As camera shy as he is, happy to have these shots from the summer during my last visit. Hopefully all my children&grandchildren know that they are always deep in my heart even though we only meet annually.

Tkx to Les&Ivy for dinner tonight+a bottle of  wine.

Annoying FB. Tkx to Dee for this message – Hi….I actually got another friend request from you which I ignored so you may want to check your account. Decided to make one of these posting for if&when it happens again – probably will as it also happened last month and FB is facing some issues at present. Pix download and edited. 

Glad to see niece Dika’s write-ups on SIN&Memphis/TN,USA. Pix credits to Pixabay&PhillipVanZandt

https://www.frommers.com/slideshows/848298-frommer-s-best-places-to-go-in-2019?fbclid=IwAR19rHOTCWBe__PFnWApNPgNv-WKEOGaaFXjWquGdUEVP96lPQuLvJR9Tyo

You can’t just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood. What mood is that? Last-minute panic – Bill Watterson

25 Nov 2018 – 29Days To Christmas

Wed: CC’s wake, where you meet members of family one seldom sees. Not exactly a happy occasion, but sadness is also part of life. A precious collage of the 3cousins+family&friends from their growing years. Being a mother I feel for 17thAunt and having been a wife, I also feel for CC’s pregnant wife, another Amy who is expecting their first child, a son in Mar 2019.

Thu: Happy Thanksgiving and this must be one of the few Thanksgiving where a bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau 2018 could not be located. After trying and running around 3different locations, was too tired  to do anything.

Glad that the family in the US is able to get a bottle as it is our family tradition to have the turkey dinner with this wine. Pix credits to Linn.

Appreciations to Mr Naoto Orui, the founder of The MusicalBox Museum for a most interesting and sweetest Thanksgiving.

https://amylamsg.com/2015/08/21/musical-box-museum/

Today I learnt and tasted 19different honeys and that the bee’s lifespan is a month and in that month, it produces only 1teaspoon of honey! Group pix credits to Yoshie.

Will definitely think more about adding that extra teasp of honey in the future. Many tkx Yoshie for the invite and to Mr Orui for a delicious home-made lunch by him. He mentioned that those who like his cooking will fall in love with him, but I must say that I have fallen for his cooking 🙂

A Taste of Honey, tasting much sweeter than wine – Beatles

Fri: not TGIF for me today – the last time I followed directly with my hands on the casket vehicle (for immediate family) was in 1965 when mother died, and we went barefoot then. Pix credits of cousin Sara&I to CE. Today no one had to go barefoot and a private bus took us to Johor/Malaysia for CC’s funeral. Anyone who has been that route will know the long lines at the immigration at both ends…

Not sure if it is coincidental or planned where this is concerned – CC lived on Jalan RumanTinggi/SIN and now he is buried in Nirvanna MemorialPark on Jalan KotaTinggi/Kulai, Malaysia – Jalan=walk or road, Ruman=home, Kota=fort in Malay

Do not mean to be blasphemous, disrespectful, out-of-line or rude in any ways, but this must be one of the most colourful light-show burial ceremonies attended!

Sitting at the back row and hoping that taking pix discreetly without flash is OK – 1pix tells 1,000words. The circular center opened and in a dark room and from the forehead of the deity KwanYin various colour lights beamed across the room to the back wall. The white lights were the finale, assuming that the soul/spirit is being beamed up to paradise. My personal thought – in this high-tech world, it would be quite something if CC’s image could have been incorporated into those white lights – no offence there, CC.

The burial grounds are tranquil and extensive.

Last stop – Chinatown Buddha Tooth Relic Temple back in SIN. Not sure about why here, but will edit when I find out.

Our dead are never dead to us until we have forgotten them – Cousin Lam ChengChwab, you will never be forgotten – RIP. Anyone who has seen Coco (2017), an animated film that celebrates the Mexican tradition known as Día de Muertos will be able to relate to the quote.

Sat&Sun: needed this weekend to chill and to start with the Christmas gifts now that Thanksgiving is over. A Christmas shopper’s complaint is one of long-standing but the nice thing about Christmas is that you can make people forget the past with a present.

Sun: tkx to Martin for lunch. Introducing him to my favourtie Popiah joint@Glory. Per his request for the foods (left-right) – Achar (Nonya Spicy Pickled Veg), Otak (Fish Paste in Banana-Leaf), Popiah (Springroll SIN-style), Chicken Rendang (Nonya-style) and Laksa (Peranakan style Spicy-Noodle Soup). This young German friend is a real sport and a pleasure to see him try everything with gusto.

20 Nov 2018 – Christmas Bazaar

Fri: TGIF – a good&safe weekend to all. This is as far as I can get where aging, politics and religion are concerned. And this is another good one for seniors like me and many of my friends (whether you want to admit it or not ) – LAUGH, with or without teeth 🙂 when you still can.

https://amylamsg.com/2011/02/18/to-seniors/

Sat: annual visit to the Norwegian Seamen’s Church where I can get kransekaker and good baked-goods. They have offered to stored them for me as I only have a small freezer. Will be there again sometime mid Dec to pick them up.

The cranes in the background@PasirPanjang Terminal will be history when the Tuas Port is ready! This year the hill up here seems steeper, ie short of breath to walk up!

Besides the baked-goods, some accessories+a new angel to add to my collection.

Nice to make a new friend, Idah and to catch up with such an international group with Iren/Norway, Lulu/China, Carmel/Ireland& SIN. Good open-faced sandwiches and tkx to Iren for sharing her fresh baked goods.

Delightful German Brass Band, Posaunenchor Singapur and the sight of a young new eye-candy pastor –  blame it on Carmel who commented that the churches in Ireland would be packed with young ladies if he was preaching there! Not blind yet, so do enjoy your sight fully while you still have it 🙂

Thank you to PatLynn&David for yummy dinner, and to Lucas&Beth for dessert in their lovely new home. Congratulations to grandniece Beth who will be starting in Pri1@KatongCHIJ for the next school year. Kids pix credits to PatLynn.

So very sad sad news from cousin ChengEn – ChengChwab, the 2nd son to 17thUncle, LAM TinYie (3sons with 2nd wife, youngest ChengLong lives with his family in Australia with his family and 1daughter, JiaWen and 1son, ChengSong with 3rd wife in NZ).

CC had a brain hemorrhage on his last day in BKK and died there tonight. He leaves behind a wife and an unborn child. CE will be heading to BKK from China to bring the body back to SIN. Condolences, thoughts and prayers are with him and the family.

Sun: thank you to nieces Judy&Daisy, nephew Clement, grand-nephews Stanley&Darryl who made my day after such sad news from last night. Yummy Japanese lunch.

Premiere of the movie WiFi Ralph@GV-Suntec – cute flick where you can find all the Disney princesses, high-tech games in social media. Quite a crowd with the Disney’s staff and their families. Pix credit of me to Clem.

WiFi, or is it WiFie?

Tea@Just Dough – colourful steamed baos with different fillings, tasted a different bite from the young ppl. Very appropriate logo&name, too doughy for me but enjoyed by the others.

Dinner@Marché – had a taste from all the young ppl’s dishes, a raw NZ oyster, Bruschetta (missing the fresh basil) and CremeBrulee (none of them wanted to taste) for myself. Appreciations to my family for pulling me thru’ today@SuntecCity.

Mon: M1 tried to deliver this when I was out last week, do not even know why I am getting this FOC nor do I know how to use it, but thank you and will try to learn to use another new toy – nice screen-saver pix!

Given the blatant deceit regarding the biologically harmful effects of antenna towers, cell phones and WiFi radiation, one can only wonder what is going on with all of the other forms of radiation ― Steven Magee

Tue: welcome back to SIN Lesley, who is here to work for a few days. Nice to catch up with her again@FoodRepublic in CitySquare Mall – can it really be 7+yrs ago when we last met? She now lives in SanJose/USA with her 19cats+8foster cats, now she is what I would call a real CAT-Woman and she does not have time to hike the way she used to…

 https://amylamsg.com/2011/05/05/expunged/

15 Nov 2018 – Shopping Spree Mood

Mon: 33rdASEAN Summit here in SIN started, so avoid the Suntec area unless you want to be stuck with the road closures, traffic delays, etc etc. Chaired by SIN PM Lee HsienLoong for 10ASEAN countries, heads of 8 key partner nations of ASEAN, security has to be really tight!

https://www.asean2018.sg/About/ASEAN-2018

There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing. (If only the US President knew this quote, he might have dressed appropriately and have some decency!) Let the experienced staff Campers’Corner help your upcoming holidays to be a good one. Fantastic sale ending Sun18Nov on the 1st-floor@51WaterlooSt.

Could not resist these deals and I thought I have all the outdoor&sports gears I needed! 5thCharco sandals but 1stChaco bag!!

Many tkx for a beautiful and surprised gift from my bro, Les – a golden pearl which I never knew existed! Golden South Sea pearls typically come in sizes larger than most other types of saltwater pearls. They come from the largest pearl-producing oysters on the planet. Once the saltwater oysters are bead-nucleated, it can take up to 2-4 years for them to fully form, so they are quite rare. All of these factors make it possible for the hosts to produce very large pearls – 

https://www.thepearlsource.com/golden-south-sea-pearls.php

Bought tickets for SIN-KCH-SIN (S$68) on AirAsia for mid-Jan2019. Looking forward to catching up with family&friends and eating the local foods there.

Tue: appreciations to Faith for a productive shopping day@Giant&IKEA. Thrilled to be able to use my IKEApoints for Gravlaks&SiewMai brunch – 1,000pts+S$3.

Wed: had to get some materials, etc for sewing and Spotlight was offering 30%off for members tonight; 50%off@Watsons. PlazaSIN has 300+shops and services for your choices. Made time to watch my 1st Tagalog (must be the influence of the ASEAN on-goings) movie First Love – Nick gets attracted to a photographer with a congenital heart disease who is waiting to be selected for a heart transplant. Soon, the two become each other’s inspiration to live life to the fullest. Beautiful scenes from Vancouver/Canada.

Nice to see this SIN showcase of Instagram photography by the National Youth Council NYC.

Enjoyed watching a young artist in the making.

Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter – OscarWilde

Tkx Clement for dinner company. Looks like PlazaSIN is ready for the Christmas and I am far from ready! No excuse now that I have much of the shopping done – just need get out of the lazy mood and into the creative one!! Will try and pick a location on OrchardRd to share the Christmas lighting on FB starting this Sun2Dec, first Sun of Advent.

Thu: Happy 40Bday Chris who is a father to 3kids, still looks like a kid himself and easily mistaken to be a bro of his own kids…

11 Nov 2018 – My Favourite Coffee-Coffee Ice-Cream

Wed: strange to see this location so empty. The moving of TPT (opened 1972 and was SE-Asia’s first container terminal then) to the future Tuas mega-port is in progress. Very unlikely to see the new TuasTerminal which will not be ready until 2040!

With real estate needs changing rapidly along with consumer and business trends, it could make sense for land use planning to evolve more flexibly ahead of changing needs – MsTan. 

5 Weddings – an American journalist travels to India to do a magazine feature on Bollywood weddings. To add to her issues, her mother asks her to track her father, who left them when Shanaya was a little girl and deliver a parcel to him. There she overcomes her own prejudices about the culture, the people and discovers more than she had hoped to. Entertaining and an enjoyable way to pass 1+hr. Must be the Festival of the Lights attracting me to these Indian foods&movie…

Finally found my favourtie CoffeeCoffee ice-cream here in SIN@VivoCity. Will be back!

Have always wanted to try this KCH KoloMee – will definitely not be back!!

Thu: after a good 10hrs sleep on a wet and storming night last night, ready to fix things around the 4-walls and mending clothes – still do mend clothes and darn socks!

Fri: heavy morning rains was nice. A trip to the OrchardRd area@CathayCineleisureOrchard to discover that it is under renovation and the B1 good chicken-rice stall is no longer. Japanese movie – The Travelling Cat Chronicles is about a kind-warm heart young man who has a cat named Nana, but, due to circumstances, he is unable to take care of Nana. He travels with Nana to find a person who will take care of Nana. During his travels he meets with his childhood friends and his first love. Not a cat person but rather touching with this special bond of man&cat.

Sat: have not been to NUS campus and decided to check it out since I was going to be there for a concert. Just cannot get enough of the greenery there.

Indeed an impressive campus – makes me want to go back to school again. The idea of 1hr30mins on the bus to get from the East-end over to the West-end will change my mind with that thought, unless I can get a room in those high-rise doms!

Looks like there is plenty of on-going activities for the weekend.

Nice covered walkway over AYE linking to the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum Faculty of Science and the Yong Siew Toh YST Conservatory of Music.

The sky opened and poured buckets, but no worries considering all the eateries here! Choice was Foodclinque to feel the fresh cool breeze and yet protected from the heavy downpours.

Appreciations to Yoshie for the delightful evening@YSTCM

A full house enjoying Dohnányi&Dvořák Piano Quintets with the T’ang Quartet-Albert Tiu And Friends. Tkx to Joseph for the ride back to the East-side, saved me an hour on the bus! Group-selfie credits to Yoshie&George.

Sun: introducing Glory’s Popiah&Chendol to Yoshie. Pix credits to Yoshie. Tkx to Les&Ivy for Sun dinner and for an amazing and surprised gift.

6 Nov 2018 – Happy Deepavali/Diwali

Sat: a trip to Little India just before Deepavali – enough Chicken Biryani&crowds to last me for the year, until the CNY 🙂

Some cheerful mural art: 6 pillars of TekkaCentre. Cattleland 2 by EuniceLim. MadanMogra, Jasmine of the City by NadiahAlsagoff, a tribute to the SIN migrant workers.

The name Tekka comes from TehKiaKah or TekKah, a Hokkien name meaning foot of the bamboos, a reference to the many bamboo plants growing along RochorCanal.

Buildings of interest:  House of TanTengNiah – one of the last surviving Chinese villas in the neighbourhood.  SriVeeramakaliamman Temple – one of SIN oldest places of worship, this Hindu temple houses reliefs and statues that survived the bombings of WWII.

Do enjoy the ambiance of the festivities with all the colours, lights, food, flowers, etc as long as I can just take pix and not have to be pushing in the crowds.

Met this young man Martin from Germany who was in SIN for a holiday and liked it so much that he is now here to work for a year. Good for him and hope that his stay here for the year will be filled with good experiences and adventures, have offered to show him around.

Condolences to Audrey&family – it is hard when death is so sudden. At Betty’s wake with Clem. Nice to be able to share a bottle of wine with Jamie&Giovanni@my place and to hear about his hometown in Sicily. They run The Terminal Cafe@Seletar Aerospace Crescent/Airbus Asia Training Centre where we (Betty, Aud, Clem&I) were over a year ago. Must go back there sometime soon – a celebration of life to Betty.

https://amylamsg.com/2017/07/16/from-seletar-aerospace-park/

Sun: did not plan another trip around Little India – as we all know in life, things do not always go as planned. Great to discover this 4-storey-playground@CitySquareMall. Must give it a try on a weekday after the school holidays – a good gift voucher to those with active kids. Sharing food@FoodRepublic and watching the workers busy with the Christmas decorations outside.

https://www.airzone.sg/csmyourvisit

Window-shopping around and tasting foods for Christmas gifts ideas. So far, am delighted&excited over what is in the imagination&mind! Looking forward to starting with them.

Mon: tkx for yummy India food@TanglinClub on the eve of Deepavali. An interesting&valid question was asked regarding my postings&blogging. Some ppl misread that I am unhappy for posting so regularly! Sharing positively and constructively is how I communicate + also for the memory, posting like these do help. Tkx for the concerns – can honestly say that I am not unhappy, but there are certainly ups and downs and not sharing the downs on social media is a choice I made a long time ago.

Tue: Happy Deepavali – enjoy the holiday.

The lights in LittleIndia are one of my favourties at this time of the year.

Attended Betty’s funeral and since@Mandai Columbarium, paid respects to my parents there. Later a visit to 4sis-in-law who now walks with the help of a walker.

A breeze on the bus-ride thru’ the CBD on a public holiday – Anson&Robinson Rds.

Esplanade Dr&Nicoll Highway

May it be a light to you in dark places, when all other lights go out ― JRR Tolkien 

2 Nov 2018 – An Oct With Jetlag And The Flu

Tue: LionAir crashed with no survivors. Condolences, prayers and thoughts are out to all affected. Memories of a LionAir flight in 2006/7 when the family was stationed in BandaAceh after the 2004 tsunami and when I also said that I will never fly with this airline again! Considering how much I travel with budget airlines to say some thing like this must mean that I really was not comfortable on that flight!

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-46042035

Safe flight to cousin back to HI. Grocery&movie day – A Star Is Born with BradleyCooper&LadyGaga performing amazing jobs with their roles. Another reminder what love&stardom can do to different ppl.

A sad ending and for those who are sensitive would blame it on what Rez last said to Jackson. Yes, one is responsible for one’s own action, but no matter what – inflicting guilt on anyone is not compassionate or kind. And even less so when someone is an alcoholic or drug dependent.

Wed: Happy Halloween and a safe Trick or Trick to all. The last time with my USA gang for Halloween was 2012 and the last Halloween celebrated in this house before it was burnt down (Sep2013). Where have all those years gone???

2018 pix credits to Linn – not sure what #1&2 are, but guessing that they are doctors in scrubs?? Love the Viking, Princess and Dinosaur.

Great to catch up with Jeffery for brunch. Happy for the local fruits purchases@the neighbourhood fruit stall. 4different varieties for S$5.80 papaya, pineapple, DukuLangsat (Lansium parasiticum) and Ciku (sapodilla/Manilkara zapota). Used to have these varieties (excluding the Duku) in my childhood home. Heart fruit (人心果) is the Chinese name for this local Ciku and we had 2 Ciku trees on our land. The bats used to visit these trees at night when there were fruits on the trees.

@GH to say my goodbye to Betty after these postings below from AudreyW. Unless a miracle happens, she will be off life support sometime tomorrow. Prayers and thoughts are out to her and the family. Will so miss her cheerful smiles.

Update 2 – The doctors have done what they could. Thank you for your prayers and My mum is on life support now and is Blessed with people around her that came to see her one last time.

Update 1 – situation is pressing and she needs another surgery to ease the pressure on her brain…keep your prayers for her recovery.

Update – My mum is out of surgery but still need to monitor..keep your prayers for her recovery.

Thu: @the Polyclinics – they want me 100% well before any shots or tests and quite rightly so. This flu has been dragging and could only recently smell and taste food properly again. Also the ears finally popped back to normal. A reason to celebrate with foods from Glory.

Fri: TGIF – a good weekend to all.

2 Happy Bdays  HongSze and JohnK/Ireland