20 Aug 2021 – Gastronomical Feasting

Tue: saddened by all the news of many disasters happening around the world – https://disasterphilanthropy.org/our-approach/disasters/

And the consequences of the man-made long history in Afghanistan which brings back memories of

Steve McCurry, one my favourite photographers and where the idiom A picture is worth a thousand words really applies.

I can so relate to the saying The eyes are the windows to the soul here. McCurry’s famous photograph, SharbatGula /Afghan Girl, on the cover of National Geographic Jun 1985. 

https://amylamsg.com/2016/01/23/gillman-barracks/

Wed: at Les’sClinic/FarrerPkMedicalCentre to pick up medications – looks like the clinic girls have green-thumbs and the plants here are thriving at the corner window on the 7floor.

OysterHouse/OwenRd – no mussels, but the clams look good for tonight’s dinner.

Chinese Restaurant JiaHeWanShiXing 家和万事兴 which translates to if the family lives in harmony all affairs will prosper – a nice restaurant conveniently located downstairs from Les’s clinic and serves a well-presented varieties of Cantonese cuisine. Tkx to AiHwee for today’s lunch which started with Pan-fried Bacon wrapped with tomato served with SaladCream, an interesting appetizer that combines sweet cherry tomatoes with smoky bacon, CrispyRoastPork, SilverBait+StiredFriedKaiLan done to my taste with a nice crunch and well presented – good idea to serve the baits separately to keep them crusty fresh.

CrispyHorFun with Seafood&EggSauce – first time for this dish and is best enjoyed immediately, while the HorFun is still crispy.

Good StuffedCrab and excellent DoubleBoilSoup of the day. Delicious DurianDeepFriedSesameBall and mini EggTart for dessert.

Appreciations for the 1stMoonCakesX4 (LotusPaste+MacadamiaNuts) of the season – could not resist this pretty insulated bag to keep future take-away foods warm!

Good to see MartinNg whom we have not seen since father passed away –  an afternoon@Les&Ivy’s catching up with his Dublin days&when he returned to SIN in the early 1960s. He left SIN 1953, before Lawrence, returned in the early 1960s and was our family doctor then.

Stayed on@Les&Ivy’s for dinner since already there – home-made clams done to perfection by Les+foods by ImperialTresures/Paragon from Chris – what an amazing gastronomical feasting day and a lovely evening was enjoyed by all. Nice to meet with Caroline&Alex, Michael and ChrisLim. Appreciations to Michael for sharing his ride back to the EastEnd.

Gastronomy is the greatest form of therapy that anyone can be exposed to – Marco Pierre White

Thu: pouring at~0300hrs, got up to close the windows, continued sleeping soundly with the heavy rains pelting down on the AC-compressor outside the bedroom window; stopped by the time I got up at~0700hrs. Tkx Aileen for brunch company at my favourite CCF@MTmarket and for lovely orchids to add to my weekend red bouquet.

Fri: #1 moved to her apartment to start her sophomore year at UofSC/USA. Mon16Aug2021 was 1stSchoolDay for #2(11th), #3(9th), #4(7th) and #5(5th) grades. These 4 looked thrilled when their mother asked to take their pic!!!! tkx to Linn for the pix.

Can’t believe that #4 is now taller than #2. Could not recognize #3’s voice when I spoke to him – last saw them all 2019summer and in just under 2yrs they all seemed to have grown overnight…

Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere – Chinese Proverb

TGIF, a good weekend to all, stay safe&dry on this lovely cool&very wet morning here in SIN. Has been a long long while ago when&where I could walk for ~4hrs and only saw 2ppl walking and others 2cycling. The paths were wet and waves were higher than usual this morning, managed to even pick a handful(46)SagaSeeds on the way.

On the way back stopped@KatongShoppingCentre to pick up a banana pie@DonaManis. Also tried a new flavour@TheHumbleScoop – ORH HAW/HawthornBerry, nice&refreshing.

16 Aug 2021: Bucket List Additions

Fri: tkx to sis Jo for dinner – TGIF on this one&only 13Fri for 2021. A good weekend to all and do not let the superstitious, etc affect your life. What happened on Friday the 13th originally? On Friday, October 13, 1307, the French rounded up thousands of Knights Templars and tortured them as heretics. Some believe the date of this massacre sparked our modern-day association of Friday the 13th with bad luck. 

https://www.history.com/topics/folklore/friday-the-13th

Sat: weekend project from this week onwards is to share&recommend my favourite local foods (only 1dish~S$5) from outdoor Hawkers/Market Food Centre (max 2ppl) in SIN. 50A MarineTerrace YongHuatDelight’s ShrimpCheeCheongFun (RiceNoodelRoll) 豬腸粉 S$3 – Bon Appetit https://www.misstamchiak.com/yong-huat-delight/

Sun: continuing to add to my bucket list – NorthCoast&Northern Isles (Shetland, Orkney and the Hebrides) in Scotland. Lived over a decade in Ireland, but have not been to Scotland! It has been nearly 2yrs ago since I last used my passport!!

From Garry13Aug:

Trip around the block #29. Next stop was Kalbarri, a pleasant seaside fishing and holiday town where the streets were, sometime ago, paved with shells, literally. Ravaged by a cyclone in April this year, the mess has been cleared but the damage very visible. Dramatic red stone coastal cliffs and the impressive sky walks in the National Park were highlights.

The extremely saline water here provides a perfect environment for these minute clams that have no preditors. Everything is covered in them. The solidified shells are quarried for building blocks.

Seafood platter for one. Delicious. Great dinner with Greg Shortis and Anne. These beauties, stromatalites, were the first oxygen producing organisms about 600 million years ago (roughly), thus allowing god to create oxygen using humans at a later date. Very few exist. This is a World Heritage Area.

Cyclone damage.

Dramatic coast.

One of the two skywalks in Kalbarri NP.

Everything is green – young wheat or yellow – canola. Pink Lake. Not my pic obviously but the light was pathetic when I came by. 

Wonderful memorial to HMAS Sydney. Waiting wife statue. This was put in place about 6 yrs before the remains of the Sydney were found. By coincidence, she is looking to almost the exact area it was found.

Some lovely old homes in Geraldton. $9 million raised to restore this Catholic cathedral. The pinnacles and one human which reminded me some vague memories of a trip there many moons ago! Will have to search for old pix (not digitized yet) as to when I was there!

Mon16Aug:

Trip around the block #30. Still heading south through small coastal towns / villages /hamlets of Dongara, Leeman, and Julian Bay to Cervantes. 

The prevailing wind from the west!. I missed this tree as I had a road train up my butt and good not stop. Came across this pic later. Pulled in Dongara where this alpaca asked to be in the pjc.

Every house has a boat but serious boat cred⁹ only comes with a tractor in the front yard as well!. No comment on the house! Houses and land around here do target the elderly boasting ‘big enough for a caravan AND a boat!’

This is the turquoise coast and lobster heaven! Ended up in Perth!

12 Aug 2021: And A Season For Every Activity – National Day 2021

Remembrance of things past is not necessarily the remembrance of things as they were ― Marcel Proust

Fri: working on my emotions so as not to allow them to overwhelm me.

Only people who are capable of loving strongly can also suffer great sorrow, but this same necessity of loving serves to counteract their grief and heals them ― Leo Tolstoy

Sat: made a big pot of seafood (crabmeat, prawns, squids) creamy cheese, mushroom herbal sauce for this weekend Sat dinner&tomorrow’s lunch. Tkx for this Oximeter, have to now figure out how to use it!

Sun: nice to have Helen&Calvin’s company over Sunday’s pasta lunch. Appreciations for drinks, durians, strawberries and lovely sunflowers to cheer me.

Seafood pasta+salad were appreciated with good appetite and durians are always welcome, thank you. Pix credits to Helen.

Mon: Majulah Singapura – this year’s NationalDay will be a quiet day to gather some energy for a busy week ahead. Managed to find my flags to get them out in time for SIN 56Bday with left-overs strawberry breakfast. The pre-school kids downstairs have also done a good job with their creations!

SIN was blessed with a perfect morning in this beautiful clear blue sky to have a parade – pix credits to EmeritusSeniorMinister Goh ChokTong and ST.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/watch-live-ndp-ceremonial-parade-marina-bay-float-2097226

Tue: followed-up app@SGH, all is well, next app in Oct/Nov. Today is also when dinning out is possible again, Vietnamese dinner@GreatWorldCity FoodJunction – could hardly recognize the shops, etc in this revamped mall where I took ‘dinning out’ literally and it was a lovely evening outside the enclosed AC-area to ourselves. Clement did not quite like the alfresco idea, but being an obliging nephew as he is, accompanied me for dessert outside!

This place brings me back memories of the old TheGreatWorldAmusementPark (closed 1964) with the GhostTrain rides! 1978 it became GreatWorldCity, a mall with residential&office and now soon with a new GreatWorldMRT station, targeted for completion in 2022. Pix downloaded.

Wed: appreciations to Theresa&ChengJun for yummy steak dinner.

Thu: introducing KK to my favourite CheeCheongFun@MarineTerrace – glad that he too liked it.

https://www.misstamchiak.com/yong-huat-delight/

Looking forward to viewing the completion of this painting by Yip Yew Chong. The amazing details of daily life from the 60s-80s in Chinatown give an idea of a bygone era.

But I guess every bygone era takes on a shade of myth — Karen Thompson Walker

Now, you can see the people are actually watching an Opera show set up in the middle of the street. As I haven’t painted the actors and actresses on the stage yet, the crowd seemed like they are in an anticipatory mood Some mobile food vendors have also gathered. There is a bird nest drink stall, an ice-cream stall, a roasted chestnut stall and a Kacang Putih stall. All are real except for the bird nest, which is made of jelly!

In this inaugural section, I’ve painted a cross-section interior of a three-storey shophouse in Chinatown. The ground floor shows a coffee shop. The second and third floor are residential, where multiple families or coolie tenants 苦力房 lived. Usually, an anchor tenant would rent a whole floor from the landlord, and then partitioned and sub-tenanted the cubicles to smaller families and singles. You can see how people lived. That was how my family lived; that’s why I am able to paint the scene from memory and imagination. 

7 Aug 2021 – Celebrations To A Well-Lived Life

Appreciations&grateful to all for your kind&thoughtful condolences, prayers&words. Was hoping for the best, yet preparing for the worst when we knew of Lawrence’s condition since Jun. Will have to let grief take its course – sad for not being able to say goodbye under these COVID-19 circumstances, KL/Malaysia is under a total lockdown. Trying to find pix&words (not easy as the emotions are still too fresh) for an eulogy&tribute to a dearest beloved brother Lawrence.

LAM KwokFou/Lawrence, the eldest born (4Feb1934-5Aug2021) of 7 to a banker family (KwongLeeBank/KLB), LAM TinYue (father) who was also the eldest born for his father LAM SongKee (grandfather), the founder of KLB. From 1934 until early 1950s, only he knew what really happened, but understanding that era and the timeframe, it must not have been easy growing up in such a large family (1grandfather, 3grandmothers, 2parents, 14surviving immediate&half aunties&uncles, 3siblings in 1939, 6 in 1950), living together and going thru’ WWII.

I was born in 1950 after the war and blessed with a father and a brother like Lawrence (16yrs my senior) who pampered&spoilt me thoroughly, making me adoring these 2men and have put them on a pedestal throughout my childhood.

Lawrence left SIN for his further studies&work in the UK&Ireland 1955-56 and did not return until 1964. Remembered so vividly the day we saw him off by ship from Gate9 then, today HabourFront – mother&I were bawing our eyes out, she had to even used sun-shades to covered her tears-stained eyes. In those years, we looked so much forward to receiving those old big reels to hear his voice on the tape-recorder. And being the responsible and filial son as he always was, those tapes arrived regularly, in addition to all the letters&postcards he sent.

When he returned in 1964, mother was diagnosed with LungCancer/Stage4. He got married in May1965, mother passed away Jun1965 and I was sent off to Dublin/Ireland Jul1965. 1964-1967 was a traumatic time which is probably buried deep within with the keys never to be found again. Between 1967-1999, the seldom-short-visits back to this part of the world were somewhere in the clouds as the 2feet had to be on the grounds to raise my 2girls between Norway&USA.

1999 when I decided to stay on to work after a visit, was the time for me to get to know my roots+my siblings&their families better. Took many trips between then till 2019 to visit with Lawrence in KCH, Sarawak/Malaysia and he too took many trips to visit with us in SIN. Am glad to have gotten to know him, this time not from an innocent child’s eyes, but the eyes of someone who still loves him from the heart as the little sister who so adored him, thank you for being such a wonderful big brother – he will be missed.

Lawrence’s 80Bday from KCH, Sarawak/Malaysia in 2014: from left to right – Michael, Larry, Justin, Ivy, Leslie, Lawrence. Mabel, John, Sabina, Francesca, Joyce, me.

Condolences to his wife ONG Mabel+his family in KL/Malaysia – LAM YinChun/John& Francesca+Justin (not in the pix here), Sabina and LAM YinBong/Larry&Ruth. The last trip we (Lawrence, Leslie&Ivy+me, John&Francesca) were together was in Penang/Malaysia Jun-Jul2019.

Edited 8Aug2021: goodbye dearest brother, gone but never will be forgotten.

5 Aug 2021 – Singaporean-Irish-Norwegian-American Connections

Sun: welcome Aug2021 and delighted that the Chihuly exhibition will be extended until 3-Oct2021. Looking much forward to catching some night lights in Sep. The only night lights pix I have so far is the one not in the gardens, but outside by CliffordPier. Ethereal White Persians/in the gardens pix credits to niece May/Patricia.

https://amylamsg.com/2021/05/12/gardens-by-the-bay-2/

Appreciations to PatLynn&family+Lee for lunch (food from Lionel), yummy homemade dessert, KuehSalat by PatLynn. Tkx to Lee for the rides to&back from Pat’s.

Lovely gardens from PatLynn’s and Carmel’s – had the chance to pop by to say hi to Carmel, KokSoon&Cian who is back for the summer from his medical school in London/UK. Somehow seeing Cian now in his 20s and remembering when I first met him 20yrs ago does really make me feel how time has past by so quickly ie how fast I am aging, hahaha!

Mon: Happy Bday Claire! How can that be that she is 57today?? Seems like just yesterday that I was teaching her (1978) and she was baby-sitting Linn&May travelling with us to SIN (1979). 1989pix of her visiting us in FL/USA – the last time we caught up was in Tromsø/Norway Aug 2019.

https://amylamsg.com/2019/08/24/then-nordnorsk-musikkonservatorium/

Blessed with friends like Claire (Irish/Norwegian) going back to the 1970s when she was my student&baby-sitter. With Carmel (Irish/SIN) to 2000s when we were both IGAS-committee members (she still is today). Seems like my Singaporean-Irish-Norwegian-cultures have brought us together and hopefully will stay in contact for as long as I am kicking!

Tue: somehow have managed to strain&sprain some muscles around the neck/collar-bone&R-shoulder. Have not taken any pain-killers since after being discharged from SGH, but last night, it was necessary to take it so that I can get some hours of sleep. This too shall pass – today will use a heatpad on this grey-wet morning. Nice to chat with cousin Yun in Toronto/Canada and childhood friend Peggy in Perth/Australia.

Yeah to Norway – pix downloaded. Karsten Warholm became the first man to run under 46 seconds with a time of 45.94 breaking the world record to win gold in men’s 400m hurdles – amazing race! https://sg.news.yahoo.com/news/tokyo-olympics-2021-karsten-warholm-smashes-his-own-world-record-goes-viral-for-reaction-050445419.html

Wed: another day with a heatpad and starting on foods in the freezer on this grey-wet morning.

Thu: tkx for the below interesting video from Kitty, one of my former music teachers from Dublin/Ireland days. Last meetings with her was in 2011&14 and with her mother&daughter, Yasmin who I used to baby-sit in the late 1960s now lives in NY/USA. https://amylamsg.com/2014/01/21/first-2014-lo-hei撈起/

Dr Kitty Fadlu-Deen in conversation with Dr Caroline van Niekerk – congratulations with her 2books+other publications and wishing her all the best to the building of the BallantaMusicAcademy of SierraLeona.  https://youtu.be/xEL9W3LozuQ

GG1LAM KwokFou/Lawrence(1934-2021) took his last breath today at 13.40hrs in KL/Malaysia.

May he now RIP. Condolences to his wife GG1-ONG Mabel+his family in KL/Malaysia – OG1LAM YinChon/John&family and OG2LAM YinBong/Larry&family.

1Aug – Happy Bday  TOH ChengHong
2Aug– Happy Bday LAM ChengEn
9Aug – 56th SIN National Day
10Aug – Happy Bday LAM JenWee&Alvin NG
21Aug – Happy Bday LIM SiewChin
26Aug – Happy Bday Cindy LAM
29Aug – Happy Bday Sean KENNEDY
30Aug – Happy Bday Michelle ANG

31 July 2021: Message To Antivaccination Groups

Roald Dahl (1916-1990), one of my favourite British children’s authors who wrote Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – his message to antivaccination groups!

Olivia, my eldest daughter, caught measles when she was seven years old. As the illness took its usual course I can remember reading to her often in bed and not feeling particularly alarmed about it. Then one morning, when she was well on the road to recovery, I was sitting on her bed showing her how to fashion little animals out of coloured pipe-cleaners, and when it came to her turn to make one herself, I noticed that her fingers and her mind were not working together and she couldn’t do anything.

‘Are you feeling all right?’ I asked her.

‘I feel all sleepy,’ she said.

In an hour, she was unconscious. In twelve hours she was dead.

The measles had turned into a terrible thing called measles encephalitis and there was nothing the doctors could do to save her. That was…in 1962, but even now, if a child with measles happens to develop the same deadly reaction from measles as Olivia did, there would still be nothing the doctors could do to help her. On the other hand, there is today something that parents can do to make sure that this sort of tragedy does not happen to a child of theirs. They can insist that their child is immunised against measles.

I dedicated two of my books to Olivia, the first was ‘James and the Giant Peach’. That was when she was still alive. The second was ‘The BFG’, dedicated to her memory after she had died from measles. You will see her name at the beginning of each of these books. And I know how happy she would be if only she could know that her death had helped to save a good deal of illness and death among other children – Roald Dahl,1986.

Wed: thank you for today’s lunch&dinner – yummy home-made potato salad with chicken&salad from niece May/Patricia. Managed to finished the left-overs for dinner+mini Swiss rolls from Leo for dessert. Appreciate the good company and Leo’s high-tech help for forwarding a WhatsApp message from nephew Chon/John regarding about his father, my eldest bro Lawrence’s situation to the family.

27 Jul 2021 – And The Living Is Easy

Sat: made my week to talk to both L&M with #6 enjoying his 10thBday on the beach@Tides Folly Beach (1 Center St, Folly Beach, SC/USA). Pix credits to LInn.

Its summer time in OSL/Norway in a real Garden of Eden juicing her cherries – pix credits to May. Good to chat with them both for updates, etc hoping that travel will be more opened again for their future trips to visit SIN in 2022! When I lived in Norway, we used to make our own CherryLiqueur, ( cherries soaked in DrSpirit for months!) best liqueur ever I have tasted and then the cherries were used in the ChristmasFruitCakes – both very good&popular. Seems like a decent harvest from their garden this year. Miss not able to taste all these fresh organic produce – she makes the best bruschette with their home-grown tomatoes.

Sun: tkx for Indonesian home-made GardoGardo+SotoAyam lunch from KK, his helper instructed by him makes tasty healthy foods – the best SotoAyam tasted.

Walked to take out dinner+durian from MingKitchen@59MarineTerrace (rice, soup veggie&chicken for 2ppl S$30) – no worries, Clement carried all the foods. On the right track to recovery when durian/S$18 is on the menu, hahaha.

This is definitely worth to share, ie ALL parents should take a few mins to listen to this young person who I so totally agree with. From a mother of 2 and a grandmother of 6! http://t.ted.com/GeyKvc5

Mon: Good Monday morning! How wonderful to start this week with Olympics-Triathlon-Brave Blummenfelt winning gold for Norway with Meteor wows Norway after blazing through last night sky night. https://edition.cnn.com/…/world/norway-meteor/index.html

Appreciations to Ivy for lunch – satay+seafoodBeeHoon from TanglinClub.

And thank you to Carmel whose kindness&thoughtfulness are always at the right time&place. Am sooo totally blessed&spoilt with all the caring&concerns from family&friends, feeling absolutely appreciative&grateful for their attention to help with the healing&recovery process.

Tue: a needed quiet day to finish left-overs with snooze&screen-time and glad to be completely done with AntiB. A call from the surgeon this morning – Cancer/Stage1, but the good news is that it has now been completely removed. No other treatments needed now except for follow-up appointments+scans to check that it does not return. With the family history of lung-cancer (mother 2ndbro&uncle died of lung-cancer), the sitting-duck was me! as I do not smoke and generally lead a healthy life.

I like food and sleep. So if I give you my food, or text you late at night, you are special to me –

To&from Garry – Me: Did I miss Trip around the block #26????

26Jul: Trip around the block # 27 Spent almost 3 weeks camped on a sand dune at Cleaverville, near Karratha. With temps around 30° and crappy cold wet weather down south, there was no reason to move on.

The former shallow port of Cossack. Now deserted in that no one lives there but preserved as an historical precinct and big Cossack Art festival. Cossack Court House.

Ok you win!

Exmouth = whale sharks, turtles and coral. Surrounded by these giant communication towers courtesy USA originally and now Harold Holt Naval Base.

This is serious trailer fishing boat country. Guess they left the pipe for a good reason.

Mandurah Mandurah gorge walk. Turquoise Bay.

23 Jul 2021 – Garden Of Eden

Mon: Happy 24Anniversary to my beautiful first-born – miss and love them all tons and wish I could be there to help and be of support in these troubled times.

Appreciations to Carmel for delicious yummy fresh berries&fruits+orchids – in the Garden of Eden with my favourite NZ bite-size apples but I am not Eve, so will eat all the apples I want – hahaha. KK did mentioned that – If you are Eve, you are too old to care whether there is a snake around (remember, Eve was a young woman!). Feeling young is far from what I feel today, maybe young at heart, but definitely NOT the body!!! Having the runs all day, the system needing to rid all the chemicals ingested during surgery.

Good to chat with Ann(Perth) and appreciations to DaisyL for the lovely bouquet to cheer me up when my movements are even slower than the sloth! But then have just been informed by Garry that sloths can move quickly! In Sri Lanka, they are one of few animals to stalk and attack humans! In my ignorance I thought that sloths are the most slowest&harmless, but I supposed if they are threatened, that will be another story!!

Tue: 2above pix downloaded. Selamat Hari Raya Haji to all celebrating, a public holiday here in SIN. Sometime I do get confused with these Hari Rayas. Today is Haji (end of Hajj, korban/the sacrifice, a ritual for this). https://www.timeout.com/singapore/things-to-do/the-guide-to-hari-raya-haji-in-singapore

Not to mix up with Puasa (marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan/fasting month) https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_919_2004-12-20.html

C-19cases up in the 100+ restrictions back to Phase2. Saddened&shocked over the news about RiverValleyHighSchool murder, do not ever remember reading or hearing of a murder in school here in SIN! https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/death-river-valley-high-most-students-return-classes-counsellors-deployed-school-support

Trying out the services of Deliveroo for the first time – was having YoléYogurt in mind as my supply was getting low, but no delivery for that, so decided to try my favourite HokkienMeeS$15.20 (including delivery charges) from Lorong29 and pleased with their service and the meal was kept hot. The medium size with 5good size prawns will last me for 3meals!!

Wed: tkx to DaisyC for BatangFishSoup – poor her! Sounds like she has a contractor from HELL to renovate her place. Tkx to Clement for picking up the litre YoléYogurt box S$23, few of the foods which is really a help to calm the stomach at present.

Thu: 10yrs ago Fri22Jul2011, a day Norwegians will never forget! In memory to all who lost their lives then. https://amylamsg.com/2011/07/23/bombs-shootings/

Happy Sarawak Day – missing my Bday KCH visits with family&friends and missing their KCH-Laksa, KoloMee, Midin – the last was Jan2019! Wonder when I can be there again? The nearest place I can order take-out KCH Laksa&KoloMee is@HaigRdMarket and that is closed due to a raise of C-19cases there! Good to hear from Chuan&AnnChee from KCH. https://amylamsg.com/2019/01/15/kch-rotary-clubs/

Appreciations to CK for these yummy quiche (no cheese) – finally had the pleasure to meet him. Could not wait till tomorrow, tasted one and looking forward to breakfast tomorrow. And here is to a real man who eats and likes quiche, but makes them too.

Real Men Don’t Eat Quiche / Never settle with words what you can accomplish with a flamethrower – Bruce Feirstein

Fri: Happy Bday to #5 who now counts his age in 2digits. The opening of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 in Japan – already delayed a year, but personally, I still think that this not a good idea to continue! Today is also the opening for Peer Gynt på Gålå and this year both of Guri’s children, Peder&Eline will be taking part. Was fortunate to be able to be there in 2019.  https://amylamsg.com/2019/08/11/peer-gynt-pa-gala/

To live is to war with trolls in heart and woul.
To write is to sit in judgement on oneself ― Henrik Johan Ibsen, Peer Gynt

Tkx to HS&BT for ThunderTeaRice/LeiChaFan擂茶+omelett from JooChiat – a wholesome healthy meal with ground green tea, nuts or seeds, basil&mint soup. It is an acquired taste and it has been a while ago since I last had it, now is the perfect time for this healing foods. https://angmohintheeast.com/joo-chiat-thunder-tea-rice/

19 Jul 2021 – NAKED Singapore Style

Fri: grocery shopping at Giant/Tampines – MeatsS$32 minus 3%SrSav

Durians total S$19.40. 5 for S$10+3 for S$10 with .60c SrSav, – packed them so well that I managed to take them on the bus, all 8durians! – really good deals&promotions considering that there is also 3%SrSav and points to my PassionCard. For that kind of price, they are very decent. Nice to have Clement, SL&Leonard over for dinner.

Tkx Leonard for a new HuaweiPortableBluetoothSpeaker and for setting up the new laptop from Michael. Good to have an extra lighter laptop if I have to be away from my 4-walls, this one is easier to take with me.

Sat: pix from Mick&Ann in Dublin! They said that it was good – has anyone else seen or tasted this outside of Ireland? With a tagline like NAKED Singapore Style, it got my attention and I am really curious now! Some funny comments from FB friends: AudreyW: Naked..means just curry n water? Lol. ChengCH: Consume while naked.

Sun: checking into SGH to get the AntigenRapidTest/ART done with neg results before admission. At the rate I am here, should be able to find my way around blind-folded! No available beds in the Block5-56-Cward, but had the luxury of being in an AC ICU room for the night with interesting observations&eavesdroppings – MrMachoMuscle, perhaps imagining that he was the main attraction, but I must admit all my ears&eyes wanted was a quiet rest! MrNoPainKillerForMe, too much poison, but smokes and would cry Aiyoh painful!! MsPrissy with a husband who brought her gourmet food to feed her as she was having seizures but seems like there was nothing to show in the scan results!!!

Mon: 0835hrs – procedure (R VATS KIV) surgical removal of a nodule in the upper R-Lung discovered during scans in the beginning of the year for the thyroids. Now with the Metabolic Imbalance https://amylamsg.com/2021/04/22/parathyroidectomy/ taken care of, this is the next step. With a family history of lung-cancer, best to get rid of it and hope&pray that it bye bye forever to it! In ICU with morphine on demand but making me throw up all night – looks like you can’t have the cake and eat it – min pain, max nauseous in ICU.

Tue: infection is NOT welcome, now on AntiB intravenously in ICU to fight this very annoying infection.

Wed: must be on the mend to to taken away from ICU, but now off morphine on demand, less nauseous but the pain was NO fun! Effort to cough with the an infected lung saturated with yukky infection and ridding of phlegm is another story! Breathing excises and a security small hug pillow do help. Morning out on the ward and probably still in a dazed, thought I was in some MamaShop, the sight all the foods piled on the table across the bed by the window with the scanning sound which was the drug dispenser, a welcoming figure now ready for my array of drug cocktails!!

Thu: the most exciting event of the day was watching these 2men cleaning the vents – another interesting observation; in previous days it would be a Chinese instructing an Indian and now it is reversed! Also learnt that there is still a tube attached to my R-Lung, thus lugging this thing (to check the liquid in the lung) which has to be with me where ever I am+2other needles in the arm.

Fri: discovered this piece of paradise in the AC waiting room where I could hide with my book, (still struggling with BillBryson’s WalkInTheWoods/2nd time round) but at this stage still getting dizzy with too much screen or words time. Overheard another conversation between a Chinese, Indian&Malay guys who were comparing SGH to CGH and it tickled me to find out that SGH-SureToGoHome while CGH-CannotGoHome, hahaha

Sat: ~0600hrs Xray, ~0900hrs tube out from lung, ~1000hrs Xray all cleared to be discharged by 1400hrs. A big THANK-YOU to DrBH ONG+team and to all our health care workers for their dedication&good work@Block5/Ward56/Level6/Room22/Bed4. Appreciations to Clement for seeing me back to my 4-walls, feeding me to make sure that I will survive. Another surgery down, life moves forward and the next step is to organize and sort out my drugs! Truly blessed to have such caring&concerning family&friends and no I will not miss hospital food no matter how nourishing, lol.

Getting old is not for sissies ― Bette Davis

Sun: no complains, I can walk, see, hear, smell, eat&talk alot – very thankful to SL for today’s yummy meal delivered by DinTaiFung

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From Garry10Jul: Trip around the block #25 Karajini National Park. A must-visit if you are in the area. Evidence of occupation dates back 30,000 years and land management practices such as ‘fire stick farming’ have helped determine the range of vegetation and animals now found in this tropical semi-desert.

Foryescue Falls

Beautiful deep gorges cut through the arid plains and many wildflowers are still blooming. I visited the eastern part of the park on my way from Marble Bar to Newman and the western while heading from Newman to Tom Price.

I camped beside this unmarked riverbed where the surrounding rocks were covered with the Aboriginal etchings.

From Garry12Jul: Just now. ABS – another bloody sunset over Cleaverville WA! But I liked it!

8 Jul 2021 – Heatwave, Hailstorm, Hurricane

Mon: what in the world is happening in Canada and the rest of the world?? Candles are melting for cousin Klaus in Vancouver and hailstones from cousin Yun in Toronto!! I remember seeing this kind of hailstones one time during my FL/USAdays when our RedVWbug was affected and had to undergo a whole new bodywork repairs. Appreciations for their share of these pix. Besides this havoc of the heatwave&hailstones, hurricane season has also started! Family&friends+everyone in the affected areas, plx take care.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehrT5NCPjPo

From niece Dika/USA: the Chicago area was hit with 3 tornadoes within a week. One reached speeds of 130mph! I’m used to getting warnings on my cellphone now.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2021/07/02/hottest-town-canada-burnt-ashes-record-heatwave/

From cousin Susannah/Canada: I’m headed North to Smithers and this is the route I take – fires by Pavilion, soo many fires, so hot and dry.

There’s one issue that will define the contours of this century more dramatically than any other, and that is the urgent threat of a changing climate – Barack Obama

On top of all the natural disasters, another disaster due to probable construction+maintence affected by climate change in the ChamplainTowers Condo at Surfside (north of Miami), FL/USA where a building collapsed. So far 50+bodies have been found but more ppl unaccounted for – prayers&thoughts are with all affected.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/surfside-disaster-death-toll-rises-to-32-as-weather-threatens-to-hamper-search/

Tue: where can I find good authentic OrhNee (芋泥) made with pork lard? Have now tried the cakes, tarts & swiss roll – but still prefer the traditional OrhNee in a bowl. Used to (ie many moons ago!) like what they served at PohKee/TiongBahru, but it does not taste the same nowadays!! For my overseas family&friends, this is a Teochew dessert of sweet taro/yam paste.

Wed: HaigRdMarket&FoodCentre, all ready for the National Day (first time here). Appreciations to Helen for today’s lunch co, this time round tasting good Cantonese food from one who was a chef in SIN-Marriot! The last time round here was SarawakLaksa+KoloMee then, tkx to cousin Karen – do recommend both these stalls and will return to this market to taste more stalls.

https://www.misstamchiak.com/chef-chik/amp

It was fun to walk around this market to check out what looks good. Discovered that the nursery that was once upon a time on AmberRd next to the SeaviewCondos is now located here and saw some most unusual cactus plant there.

So many interesting things to taste, do&see and so little time!

The stomach did not have any space for durians or fresh coconut juice after the yummy seafood lunch, next time round! The needed haircut appointment was calling.

Hangar66cafe WingsOverAsia, this unique and cosy cafe/lounge is located within an aircraft hangar up close with real private aircrafts with day/night views of private jet runway.

A wonderful peaceful afternoon in their upstairs membership lounge all to ourselves watching the private planes land&take off. Still stuffed from lunch but had a hot chocolate and shared a piece of their cheese cake to enjoy the lovely ambience.

The location is slightly out of any main drag, even the grab driver had problems fining the way, but definitely worth the visit, especially on a weekday if you can drive here.

https://www.facebook.com/hangar66cafe/

Did not know how I could eat more food, but the clams ordered by CC were delicious. Tkx to Calvin&co for dinner, had to go there to check out what they are doing to the corks – it was time to adjust&resize+to count the 440corks! Also Calvin wanted to get his dates correct for when&where CC was located over the 34yrs. Grateful to all for an enjoyable&delightful afternoon&evening. Next haircut with Helen – sometime in Aug. Looking forward to another new adventure&outing.

Thu: both body&soul need to calm down today, but will need to do some grocery shopping, especially the heavier items before the weekend and probably be offline and out of action next week.

From Garry6Jul: Trip around the block #24. Since most of us have some money in a super fund, it is likely that, through the fund’s investments, we own part of the Pilbara! So it was off to have a look at what ‘our companies’ were doing(ie BHP, Rio and Fortesque. Gina’s $4 billion profit last year is from her private company). Well judging by the 24 hr cranes, loaders, ships and lights at Port Headland, the length of the ore-carrying trains [1.5kms and 200+ cars with 1 driver] criss crossing the region, the mountains removed and the depth of the holes in the ground, the size of the machinery and the number of workers, they are doing plenty! So it’s Port Headland, Marble Bar, Newman, Tom Price, Paraburdoo and back to the coastal highway at Nanutarra.

So it’s Port Headland, Marble Bar – lovely little town with nice community feel to it – unlike some of the other company made towns. This old stone building now houses the tourist centre, mining registrar, police and courthouse.

Camped a few nights at Albert Tognolini camp area between Marble Bar and Newman. Great spot. The early explorers thought the outcrops of jasper they saw were Marble, hence the name. Easy enough to confuse.

The radio tells you what’s coming. A 4.8 or a 5.2 refers to the width of the load in metres. The biggest I passed was 8.6m wide and there were three of them, trucks! Lots of very large machinery being moved about.

BHP’s Mt Whaleback mine at Newman. Camping roadside between Newman and Tom Price. Great views. Mt Nameless at Tom Price.

Must be a few hundred vehicles in Paraburdoo airport parking lot – all with red flags, and many of them Thrifty rentals! Rio own the airport. Impressive community assets thanks to the state commitment to spend percentage of mining royalties in the area from which they were generated.

Another roadside camping spot.

Karratha – impressive, modern town.