30 Jul 2024 – Singapore’s Orchid Diplomacy

27Jul2013: With cousin Amy Lam in St. Bees. It was great to catch up and share family stories. Merle loved speaking Cantonese with you. Good luck with the Coast to Coast Walk. We look forward to joining you for one leg of it next week. Yes I blinked!! First meeting with these 2 beautiful nieces, Merle&Mei when cousin YatSoon&Helen met me@StBeesUKc2c Thru’Hike 309k/192m in 16days 11yrs ago today.

https://amylamsg.com/2013/07/27/milton-keynes-manchester/

Food is not just fuel. Food is about family, food is about community, food is about identity. And we nourish all those things when we eat well — Michael Pollan

Mon: follow up appt@SGH, Bus196 instead of the MRT despite taking a longer time and more walking outdoors. Getting off on NewBridgeRd just after BlairRd crossing NewBridgeRd&EuTongSenSt-HospitalDr and stopping@Starbucks for a cuppa before walking thru’ OutramCommunityHospital to Blk3. Preference is still to walk under the shaded outdoor walkways than to be walking underground in crowded stuffy connections@OutramMRT. Shuttles from the bus-stops to the hospital buildings are usually too crowded for me!

Downloaded above pix shows the VIP orchids named after politicians&dignitaries @SingaporeBotanicGardens’ NationalOrchidGarden. From top L-R: Dendrobium Duke Duchess of Cornwall, Dendrobium Barack&Michelle Obama, Dendrobium Margaret Thatcher. Center L-R: Dendrobium Rodrigo Roa Duterte, Dendrobium Memoria Princess Diana, Dendrobium Narendra Modi. Bottom L-R: Dendrobium Malcolm&Lucy Turnbull, Dendrobium Masako Kotaishi Hidenka and Dendrobium Joaquim Alberto Chissano. 

Tue: Singapore’s Orchid Diplomacy – book features stories behind 60 hybrids named after world leaders – the first-ever book on the nation’s use of orchids for diplomacy was launched on Jul 29. The Foreign Affairs Ministry and National Parks Board say the book also marks Singapore’s 60th year of independence in 2025. The book features the stories of 60 orchids hybridised by Singapore, then presented to world leaders and international organisations. Looking forward to this book – flora,fauna&food are some of the best ways to bring good will to ppl peacefully.

Like a lovely orchid, or anything else that’s nurtured, marriage prospers and grows, but if it’s ignored, it withers — Michael Douglas

Flower Power – Singapore’s Orchid Diplomacy: Hybridisation, Conservation, and the Vanda Miss Joaquim (youtube.com)

Flower Power: Singapore’s Orchid Diplomacy (nlb.gov.sg)

26 Jul 2024 – Condolences to Cousin Karen

Tue: condolences with prayers&thoughts to cousin Karen&her family for the passing of their mother,m-i-l,grandmother AuntieNgor in KCH,Sarawak/Malaysia.

Did not think that the Nov2023 visit to KCH would be the last time with her – RIP gracious lady. First time meeting with this beautiful elegant lady was in the early 1960s when she&her mother(paternal grandmother CHAN SweeNgor’s sister) visited with us@5TemengongRd and my parents&I took them to SBG.

Happy 13thBday to #5 JamesMagnus HALL and what an amazing cake baked by #2, finally now I understand why they have 2dogs – hahaha!

Appreciations to Gel for catching despite of some misunderstanding as to where we were supposed to be meeting! Did not realize that 132TraditionalTeochewNoodles has now moved to the MT-Market&FoodCentre and no longer@Blk59-coffee shop.

Bought a new bunch of fresh Eucalyptus leaf+orchidsS$16, the last fresh batch was from Alex&Amber’s wedding in Jul2019! now all dried but still with a slight bit of fragrance when crushed.

What a lovely surprise to receive Earl Lu – A Rediscovery of His Art in the mail. Appreciations&thanks to CT TAN – looking forward to reading it. They are not long, the days of wine&roses, so enjoy every moment to the fullest.

There is nothing more difficult for a truly creative painter than to paint a rose because before he can do so he has first to forget all the roses that were ever painted – Henri Matisse

Fri: Stadium-MRT-station with its stunning design has been my favourite MRT stations since 2011. Now with all these new must see list, will have to explore to check out if this will still my favourite?

22 Jul 2024 – Food Glorious Food

Fri: condolences to KirstenB for the passing of her brother Georg – Min kjære, tapre bror, Georg, sovnet stille inn på Ullevål Sykehus 12.juli. Bisettelsen blir på Vestre Gravlund, nye kapell fredag, 26de juli kl 14.30.

Cyber-security firm CrowdStrike’s software update causes major outage affecting businesses globally – not a cyber-security incident but a technical issue with the software of Microsoft&CrowdStrike. Many of the businesses are rebooting the system and will take a few days for things to be normal. The inconvenience caused by the loss of access to services for thousands of ppl serves as a reminder of our dependence on BigTechs in running our daily lives&businesses – pix downloaded

Cyber-security firm CrowdStrike’s software update causes major outage affecting businesses globally | The Straits Times

JohnB/SC,USA took ~25hrs to travel from SC-CLT-ORD, normally would take ~5hrs! He certainly picked the wrong weekend to travel from NC to Chicago!!

Sat: was planning to pay bills this weekend but will wait till next week after what happened yesterday.

Grocery this morning – but could not resist the Cherries&Strawberries,BrusselSprouts&SweetCorn rising the cost slightly more than the usual – GiantS$38.30,FreshProduceS$17.50,Bakery+hawkersS$11.70. Now with more than enough fresh produce to share so that it will not go to waste. Enough YuuPoints for these 2tubs of ice-cream, normallyS$9.70 for my CoffeeMilkshake weekend treats! using points instead of paying with cash – rather pleased with my purchase for today.

Sun: sharing some fresh produce with Jo and Sue, the few who like me likes BrusselSprouts and in return tkx for the TanjongRhuWontonMee.

Ending this FoodHeavenWeek on one of the most comfortable direct ~30mins MRT–TELine ride from MarineTerraceExit2 to OrchardBlvdExit2 and a short stroll crossing GrangeRd to RochalieDr.

Mussels in butter&white wine cooked to perfection.Chinese Steamed Grouper garnished with fresh cilantro, green onions&ginger. NZ Lamb roasted for 3hrs with garlic and a final torched for the crispy outside while pink inside – absolutely tasty,tender&moist. Stirred-fried veggie with the best WokHey to keep the crunchy freshness hats off to my bro, the cook for one of the best homecooked meals ever.

Cherishing the moments shared around Sunday dining table with scrumptious homecooked dinner tkx to Les&Ivy and to Glady&Shawn for durians. Food is our common ground as we all have to eat to live, and everyone has their different&personal taste as to what is the most palatable – always delightful to be able to share with ppl who enjoy eating&acknowledging the impact of food on our physical&emotional well-being.

Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food – Hippocrates

Mon: was planning to walk ECPk today but woke up to a pull calf muscle, not pushing it and will wait and see what happens tomorrow…

18 Jul 2024 – From Chicken to Duck!

Mon: was looking much forward to ClaireA’s visit end of this month but sadly that is not going to happen. Received news this morning from her – I am on my way home from Malaysia. Upon arrival I learned that Geoffrey had died in a paragliding accident. I am hurrying home to be with Mum and Dad. And we sadly will not be making it to Singapore in August after all.

Oh no! OMG so very sad&sorry to hear – condolences with thoughts&prayers to her&her family. How I remember when Hazel(Claire’s mother) was always worried when Claire went skydiving – Geoffrey is Claire’s bro.

Was going thru’ pix searching for some old pix. Only one found was from FL/USA 1989 when Claire was visiting during her skydiving days.

Tkx to Helen for yummy avocados and BengawanSolo PadanChiffonCake, some of my favourite foods. Appreciations for visit to share salad&soup+TamarindJuice.

Good food is very often, even most often, simple food – Anthony Bourdain

She has started to learn to play the piano yesterday and glad to be able to share whatever notes she might be interested from my personal music library. Music has been and will always be my refuge where&when I can feel safe to completely&freely express body&soul emotions&feelings.

People haven’t always been there for me but music always has ― Taylor Swift

Tue: KK not only brought me the best to my taste homemade SotoAyam/ChickenSoup Indonesian-style but also his helper to clean the windows. KK is my first&oldest male friend from the early 1950s! and is also godfather to 2ndBorn – appreciations for his kindness&thoughts. The impact that gratitude can have on our well-being and overall life satisfaction is quite amazing when you are able to cultivate more gratitude in your daily lives.

Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude ― A.A. Milne

Wed: time to organize&tidy the music books,notes&scores checking out if and how much these aging fingers can still manage on the keyboard of piano besides the keyboard on this computer – hahaha!

Thu: direct MRT on TEL from MarineT to Orchard – 12stops,30mins,99c/Senior.

Feasting with the eyes before dinner in the basement@Paragon.

Tkx with appreciations to 4drs for dinner ImperialTreasureSuperPekingDuck. Most grateful&thankful for them to include me over the years – group pix from 2021 and now.

Tonight’s menu: PekingDuck+noodles,BraisedAbalone&FishMaw,FriedFish, and dessert.

What are the chances to have chicken&duck in the menu within a few days? Have been totally blessed&spoilt for good&scrunptious food this week. Lessons from the duck – water off the back, smooth&unruffled on top but paddling furiously underneath…

14 Jul 2024 – Of Human Bondage

Thu: well-needed restful 8hrs sleep last night after 5nights without getting more than 1-3hrs of sleep at a go. Sleep is the golden chain that ties health and our bodies together. Appreciations to AlexMcD for pix of Linn’s BornInTheUSA 4miler. Always put me in a good mood when seeing my flock’s well-being by keeping body&soul fit&healthy in every way – somehow maternal instinct comes into mind, but according to

Simone de Beauvoir – There is no such thing as maternal “instinct”: the word does not in any case apply to the human species. The mother’s attitude is defined by her total situation and by the way she accepts it.

After 24hrs, over 3days with SomersetMaugham’s OfHumanBondage1915 audiobook, I might tend to agree with Beauvoir. Read this book in my teens and seen the movie but have forgotten the details, relaxing to hear&listen(tkx to YouTube) and reflect…

You will find as you grow older that the first thing needful to make the world a tolerable place to live in is to recognize the inevitable selfishness of humanity – Somerset Maugham

Fri: tkx to Linn for the update of the tomato plant, bought it in Walmart ~2months ago and knew that to eat that fruit was not going to happen but was thrilled that it produced some for her to consume. Glad that the peacock did not get to them! Here is where this Chinese saying comes to mind.

一代人種樹，一代人享受果實- One generation planted trees, and one generation enjoyed the fruits

PaulK – the Chinese saying is what we no longer do. When I was young a farmer would say – we look after our land for the next generation and the generation after that. Society now takes, takes, takes but rarely gives back to rebuild the resources it extracts. Me: sadly true, the entitlement society with iThis, iThat, etc has overpowered the younger generations…

Thousand tkx to Ivy for this bird’s nest – the Chinese have used bird’s nest in their cooking for 400+yrs and has an equally long history of providing health benefits. Could never afford especially the good quality bird’s nest but have had it in my childhood days with memories of how mother using the tweezers meticulously cleaning of feathers,sand-grains+other debris before cooking it.

Edible Bird’s Nests: Nutrients, Benefits, Downsides (healthline.com)

18Mar2011: Sarikei’s Swiflets – morning sky dotted with swiftlets flying in and out of their nests. Only a few species of swiftlets are renowned for building the saliva nests used to produce the unique texture of bird’s nest soup costing~MYR4,000-5,000/S$1,000-2,000perKg. The edible ones are among the most expensive animal products consumed by humans, thus a lucrative but polluting business if one is not familiar of the know-how!

http://sarikei-time-capsule.blogspot.com/2008/07/scenes-sarikei-nyelong-swiftlet.html

Sat: 0500hrs would usually do grocery at MT-WetMarket on Fri. Was not up to it yesterday and glad to discover more choices today@Giant~S$47 but no Sen%,only Tues. FreshProduceS$10.50+PorkBone&MeatS$6. Shopping done by 0600hrs with the rest of the morning to clean,refridge,freeze food for the week!

Sun: appreciations to Clement for congee&soups from CrystalJade – now fridge&freezer packed to the rim with yummy foods. Getting old is not for sissies ― Bette Davis

6 Jul 2024 – Changi General Hospital

Wed: now that Chick-fil-A has been introduced here in SIN and with Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt (just discovered that this has been in VivoCity since 2013!) – two of my favourite US fast food chains both found here but have not tried them here yet!! Fast food is convenience but remember to Indulge with moderation.

The problem is when that fun stuff becomes the habit. And I think that’s what’s happened in our culture. Fast food has become the everyday meal – Michelle Obama

LauPaSat SIN only hawker market under gazetted national monument managed by FairpriceKopitiamGroup commemorates 130Anniversary this year – pix downloaded.

Lau Pa Sat: Iconic Hawker Centre in Singapore’s National Monument

BoonTat/SataySt closes to traffic at 1900hrs sharp and turns into a alfresco dining with 9satay stalls on BoonTatSt and 80+other stalls in the market to choose from. It is quite an experience to dine in the surroundings of the CBD skyscrapers and hopefully these young ppl enjoyed it. Overseas family&friends are fascinated when they are there to watch the efficient process from closing of the street to getting the tables&chairs on the street. SatayStreetChallenge – record/253sticks in 20mins by ZermattNeo/2023

Thu: Happy 4th, another day to rest the stomach before the weekend socials. How is it possible that it has been 19yrs ago since I hiked ~2,200miles/3,540km Appalachian Trail??? Today I am short of breath just crossing the road!

I know what I have to do now. I gotta keep breathing. Because tomorrow the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide could bring? Tom Hanks.

Relaxing with SomersetMaugham(1874-1965)audio-books short stories.

Nothing in the world is permanent, and we’re foolish when we ask anything to last, but surely we’re still more foolish not to take delight in it while we have it – Somerset Maugham

Edited&updated: Fri: met with PP on the bus and continued to MaxwellFoodCentre to get a bite. Urban Redevelopment Authority/URA, the national urban planning authority of SIN would be a good place to introduce to anyone who is interested to learn about SIN and to her family who joined us later.

Met up with nieces,nephew&grandnephews@Swensen’sT2. Did not even get back to my 4walls as when the bus got to my stop, barely to just manage to get off the bus and threw up so profusely, could hardly breathe but asked some kind strangers to call the ambulance – rest of the evening@ChangiGH/A&E, thank goodness for oxygen via nasal cannula/NC&Nebulizier I could breathe…

Sat: still not feeling good but managed to text to inform family – was pumped with meds the rest of the day that by later evening, now warded was again throwing up. Tkx to Clement for the charger&headphones, much appreciated&needed.

Sun: could not hold down anything and a miserable feeling – not only one IV but two, one for the Saline and the other for AntiB&nausea med. System reacting to the chemicals…

Mon: Xray(showing infection in the lungs), blood test, etc, no appetite despite of decent food but drank alot of water, peeing alot – changing  AntiB, previous one seemingly not effective. Amazing how HighTech it is, everything is updated on an iPad by my bedside.

Tue: appetite still not good but eating a few bites for every meal to keep the energy, feeling more human. Interesting to watch how ppl&things function in Ward38. There is this seemingly sweet demur looking female(guessing her to be in her 80s) who yells on top of her voice(even an opera singer would be envious of those vocal cords!) in the foulest Hokkien-dialect when she is awake without her helper or visitors.

Oh how looks can be deceiving – according to PP dementia might be the reason and my comment is that hope that does not happen to us and a good one from her: We won’t know but would bother everyone else – hahaha

Wed: more blood test and a relief to know that this strong AntiB Levofloxacin is taking its effect against my newly diagnosed Pneumonia! – really and how did that get to me? Anyway always easier to deal with whatever when the cause is known, now back to my 4walls to rest&recover. Appreciations with thanks to all in ChangiGH who helped me to get my breath back and, on my feet, again. The only complain, and a serious one is that they did not return calls when family called and that got my family really concerned especially when I could not update them.

2 Jul 2024 – Peggy PUDDEY (nee LEUNG)

Sat&Sun: welcome back to SIN my first&oldest friend Peggy/PP, her son Joel+his 2kids Daniel&Sarang(their 1st visit) from Perth/Australia. PP is also in some ways related by the extended-HKG-TSANG-maternal side of the family by marriage, ie mother’s 4th-bro-in-law, the LEUNGs – family pix when 4thMaternal-uncle’s visit to SIN/late 1950s and that was the only time I met him. Pix of 4thMaternal-auntie BG4TSANG YokeLan&her family and met with those cousins in HKG&Canada over the years of travelling. Will not be able to do the TSANG branch family tree properly – have minimum info&knowledge of 3branches out of the 10branches there.

PPs father, uncle VincentLEUNG&his family (4th-maternal uncle’s nephew) moved to SIN to start his import&export business ~1952 and mother was his only relative here then thus bringing us together – the rest is history, we have stayed in contact since even when their family immigrated to Perth/1968. PP visited Norway in 1974; 1986 in CA/USA when I first met with her family 1989; she&family in 1996 FL/USA. We were busy raising our families then – now that our children are grown with their own families, trying our best to catch up and so far have done well in SIN,Croatia,Montenegro,Iceland,Norway,Japan,Italy…

Today I had the pleasure to meet another of her LEUNG’s cousin MayYee and her son Ming who have been living in SIN for many decades. MayYee deceased spouse LEUNG Yim was one of the engineers who established the MRT in the 1980s and she decided to stay on here with her 2children. Appreciations with thanks to them for a yummy lunch@MellbenSignature/TanjongPagar, not an easy place to find but thanks to a young couple who kindly showed me the way there.

And to MayYee&Ming’s gracious hospitality in their home@InternationalPlaza for dessert with a view.

Mon: Hello July and Happy CanadaDay to all celebrating today. Appreciations to Peggy for taking the time to visit my hood, 54MarineTerrace mural of life by the SIN River in the 1960s painted by MrLim, MarineTerraceWalk resident. Spent a lovely day chewing the fat, introducing&sharing this yummy RedPrawnDurian/AngHae. Blessed to have such a good friend&doctor to confide in, even as kids we used to chat late into the night when I was sleeping over at her place as she was never allowed to sleep over at anybody’s. We certainly go a long way back, 7decades and fortunate to still be able to keep our close bonding&friendship.

Tue: need to rest the stomach today after feasting the past 2days!