6 Jan 2016 – With Good Memories

Mon: First day of school and so much to share! US domestic air travel will require either a traditional passport or a federally-compliant ID card called “Real ID.” State driver’s licenses will no longer allow Americans access to domestic flights, as they do now. Real ID will constitute an internal passport’.

In other words you need to find out if your whatever US ID meets the required regulations for where ever you might be traveling to. So to make it easy for those who HAVE passports, just take your passport with you when you are traveling. For those who do not have a passport, go find out before you travel.

Pix credit to my niece Candice and she is taking a vote – boobalicious or phallic 🙂 at the Pasadena Rose Parade, CA USA. Seen from this little girl’s innocent eyes, this was her favourite. The thought of the parade brought back memories when we lived in CA, USA. L&M at this parade in 1986…

Just got words that an old Irish friend, Keith is home from hospital. He broke a collar-bone and several ribs avoiding a stone on his racing bike. Had surgery and now back in his Switzerland home. Speedy recovery to him, dug out some pix from his visits in OSL and our visit in CPH 1983-86.

Appreciations to HongSze for a wonderful evening with dinner and drinks at the Tanglin Club. Good to catch up with Samantha who blooms to be more beautiful for every year.

What a pleasant surprise to bump into Billy. Trying to recall when was the last time our paths crossed?? Found a pix from his family’s visit to FL, USA when we were living there in 1990! Now he is a grandfather of 1 with 2 more expected this year!

Tue: On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love sent to me: 12 Drummers Drumming. Drum rolls for putting away all Christmas decorations! And this tree is now ready for the next season, ie if you are using an artificial tree and has storage space!

It has been many years since I had a Christmas tree and when I did we had real trees thus not possible to pack it away. The only tree I have now is an advent calendar tree and this is a no-brainer to pack nor does it need much storage space 🙂

I don’t believe in forgetting the past, Because it’s always going to be a part of my life. But I can learn from it, accept it and move on – Abhishek Tiwari

3 Jan 2016 – On Orchard Road

Sat: Happy Bday to grand-nephew Darryl. Dropped by to Les&Ivy to check that things are OK as they are away until tomorrow. Tkx for T with Daisy and good to catch up with Raymond.

The choices and taste of the cakes at Brunetti***Tanglin Mall has yet to disappoint me. Today they had this new cute cake name Walk With Me – looks good and rich but was not hungry enough to try it.

After Walk With Me, decided to walk from Tanglin Road down Pedestrian Night on Orchard Road. Quite a novelty to be able to walk in the middle of this usually busy traffic road. To my surprise it was not as crowded as I thought it would be.

Strange but nice to be able to stand still in the middle of Orchard Rd to get some decent shots. Other shots in the camera were from a moving bus thru’ the glass windows.

Thought it was going to be the whole of Orchard, but as as it turned out, was only from the junction from Scotts Rd to Cairnhill Rd – 660m.

After The Heeren at Cairnhill Rd the traffic resumed and most of the Christmas displays were already down around Centre Point and Gateway. Good to still see people enjoying this pleasant evening. Walked from Tanglin Mall to Plaza SIN, app 3+K

Sun: another cloudy and lovely day keeping the temps comfortable to open windows and no AC needed in the pad! Nice day to organize paper-work, etc before starting on the logistics for E1, which will be one of the last big challenges in life’s journey!

On the tenth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Ten Lords a Leaping

And yes I need those 10 Lords not just leaping around but to make themselves useful and help me put away decorations and clean up this pad 🙂

1 Jan 2016 – Welcome 2016

Tue: need to rest the muscles and joints after yesterday. Just show how unfit this body is. Have to do something about it before the heart and the rest of the organs like the stomach unfriends the mind…

Wed: Before We Go***two strangers stuck in Manhattan for the night grow into each others most trusted confidants when an evening of unexpected adventure forces them to confront their fears and take control of their lives…

Carol****based on the novel The Price of Salt, the movie is set in 1952 following a young dep-store clerk, Therese Belivet, who dreams of a better life. She then meets and falls in love with an older, married woman named Carol, an alluring woman who is trapped in a loveless, convenient marriage…

A tad slow pace but excellent acting from the women.

Thu: on this last day of 2015 and the seventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me 7 Swans a Swimming – the exact origins and the meaning of the song are unknown, but it is highly probable that it originated from a children’s memory and forfeit game.

After qualifying the MDA Assistance Scheme and M1’s visit, decided to shop around for a small affordable HDM1 ready TV. Another learning and new experience as this will be my first TV here in SIN.

11.00hrs: started with the Expo and there was nothing there within my choice or budget. The MRT station is more interesting than what was inside the Expo!

11.30hrs: continued to Mustafa in Little India. Lucky me, 3 choices there. Do like shopping there when there are no crowds – the only 24-7shop of this kind in the world with everything under one roof. And there are as many entrances as there are exists to get totally lost!

Slightly disoriented when I got out and had to ask for directions to Tekka Centre! A young lady who gave me directions back to the main road advised me to take the MRT. By looking at me, she thought it would be too long a walk!!! How sweet and considerate – I thank her for directing me back on the main drag and took an enjoyable stroll.

Always enjoy this colourful and glittery stretch on Serangoon Rd passing Sri Veeramakaliamman temple, now newly painted.

The goldsmiths on this road seemed never-ending with beautiful Indian women decked in their finest painted on the pillars and walls. Somehow, this is what I kinda imagine what India is a little bit like, but somehow I also know that it is also an illusion knowing the poverty issues there! The ironies of life…

Tekka Centre, where my favourite biryani chicken rice and mutton soup are located and to be packaged to eat in the comforts of my ‘bechelotette pad’, term used by my nieces and nephews referring to my living quarters 🙂 Yummy NYE’s dinner. Another fun 5-6hrs day on the feet feeling grateful to families and friends who have crossed 2015 life journey’s path and made days, weeks and months memorable. Am blessed and ready for 2016.

Fri: Happy New Year from Kiritimati, the first location to have just passed midnight. Doubt that I will be able to stay awake to keep the mid-night clock going around the world.

Thank you Henry for his company and for sharing a New Year’s dinner with me.

With 40 different local times in use, it takes 26hrs for the New Year to encompass all time zones. And much of US Minor Outlying Islands including Baker Island, Howland Island are finally in 2016. Happy New Year to all around the world. May PEACE find a place to us all and also to the world.

2 – Happy Bday Darryl

5 – Happy Bdays Gerald  & Leonard

6 – Happy Bday Cindy

9 – Happy Bdays Judy & Lee

10 – Happy Bday KeeYang

15 – Happy Bdays Angie  & me!

18 – Happy Bday Isabelle-SunSun

19 – Happy Bday Kari

21 – Happy Bday Michael

22 – Happy Bday Katy

24 – Happy Bdays 15th uncle  and Ole K

29 Dec 2015 – The Survivour Naps…

Sat: the stomach and body need to rest. Seems like napping is getting to be a norm and good company – hahaha. Could not bring myself out of the comforts of this tiny AC studio-apartment. Time to catch up with the 2015 Season’s Greetings mail and to open gifts.

Perfect paper napkins for both Christmas and the CNY. The pineapple is recognized as a traditional expression of ‘welcome’ throughout the South and in areas along the Eastern Seaboard of the USA. And for the Chinese – Pineapple (凤梨) – wealth, luck, excellent fortune, tkx Linn.

Looks like the Christmas village has to go up again in future now that these lights arrived, tkx May. The piano looks kind of empty without the village for this Christmas!

For 2016 I should be welcoming good fortune and luck with bright starlight.

Happy Boxing Day and St Stephen’s Day on this 2nd Day of Christmas when my true love gave to me Two Turtle Doves. Gledelig Jul and not God Jul as L&M paternal great-grand-mother Emma would say after Christmas eve is over.

This share from FB made my day 🙂 Must have given Ferrero Rocher Chocolate to just about everyone for this season – so let the humour in again, and I even like Brussels sprouts.

Comment from Mario, an Irish friend –  Ha ha, beautiful !! After a couple of drinks would they even notice. My reply – I learnt to like Brussels sprouts in Ireland and from the Irish I learnt to drink with a humour.

Sun: the mind and the stomach are not friends 🙁 Decided to give it a miss for the Christmas lunch. Apologies Bev, do not usually cancel at the last moment, unless of real ouch! This place looks like it serves good key-lime pie. Sorry to miss Two Bakers, one of the newer faces in Jalan Besar’s cafe scene. The two chefs here are Le Cordon Bleu Paris-trained so you can be sure that their food here is of standard. Pix credits to Ting.

A lovely evening catching up with AudreyW, Clem & Sue. Glad that they could swing by to keep company with an old auntie 🙂 🙂 🙂

Mon: Happy Birthday PP. Really enjoy our annual trips together and looking forward to our next. Great to catch up with Grace and tkx for the goodies from Myanmar and Vietnam.

App 3+K starting from Marine C to Fort Rd, muggy and warm having to stop for some mins for shelter from a rain storm. Continued with a light drizzle to Fort Rd. Glad for the recent completion to cross safely. Another 2+K from there to the Gardens by the Bay/Bay East crossing the Marina Barrage to the domes/Bay South. Tkx for the company Grace, my SIN buddy hiker.

The best with this location is that cycling or walking on paths without cars – app 5-6K (1 to 2hrs depending on your pace) walk from where I live.

Been wanting to check out the Christmas display and to see the Cloud Forest which is my first experience. Thank goodness the crowds were not at its worst! The usual cost for entry into these 2 cooled conservatories is S$15 for seniors now being SG50 FOC for SIN seniors, note that there are only 3 more days for this offer.

A short visit to the Flower Dome to capture and see these displays. Have been there many times, so no need to linger with the crowds.

Cloud Forest: quite an experience walking around the Cloud Mountain, accessible by an elevator and descending it via a circular path where a 35-m/15ft waterfall provides refreshing cool air.

Bright colourful lights at the Supertrees with music and crowds making merry for the evening. Feeling all the aches in every muscle and joint after 5hrs on the feet, it was time to find the Bayfront MRT station!

One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today – Dale Carnegie

26 Dec 2015 – Let The Feasts Begin…

Left to right –
SookFenn Lim, Aisha Rahim, Peggy Tan, Raymond Chan, Carol Lek, Tin Htet HtetBo, Aimeng Sim, Jeremy, AileenKoh, Zainiffa and Francis, Not in the pic Cherie & Dennis (On Leave). Thank you Aisha for naming her co-workers.

The ‘Happy-Go-Lucky’, name given to me by Aisha. So the ‘Happy-Go-Lucky’ contributes this bottle of Australian wine ‘Cock and Bull’ 🙂 appropriate for any office party 🙂 🙂

Thu: appreciations to H&H for including me in their office lunch. Like Aileen new style earrings. It is such an honour to see how our diverse multi-cultural people working together and sharing the joys of the different celebrations, unlike Somalia and Brunei that have ban Christmas celebrations!!!!

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/12/somalia-bans-christmas-year-celebrations-151223180327602.html

Made gravlaks/marinated salmon for Les&Ivy for Christmas Eve.

Grandnephew Lucas’s angelica voice is a joy to hear at the Holy Family Catholic Church on East Coast Rd. Pleasant walk on this full-moon night.

Fri : at Tanglin Club

Appreciations to Les&Ivy for Christmas family lunch at Tanglin Club. With 21 of us, the atmosphere + all the poppers and noise, mess, etc made our merry-making a good time for the Green, Orange and Purple Generations. The wines brought by Les are as always good.

My dream is to be able to get all us 66 from my father LAM TinYue’s branch together just one time before my days are over…

The food this year is better than that of the previous years. Discovered later that they just had a change of management in the food section.

After such a big lunch with all those wines, had to take a long nap! With this orchid arrangement in SIN and this gift to Linn & family in USA – Bon Appetit and Cheers!

24 Dec 2015 – Greetings From Us

Favourite performers for my favourtie Christmas Carol and they are personal but they managed to give me that extra chill when listening to them. In many ways this is a simple melody but the notes range is not easy to achieve with sincere heart-felt emotional dynamics…

Male Solo: Pavarotti (1945-2007) may he RIP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iM5IDFRRfaY

Female Solo: Lexi Walker – whose voice range and control are amazing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZNAlRhjbjc

Female Group: Celtic Women – angelica and sweet voices
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5MpQsLJvOw

Male Group: Il Divo – quartet of pop/opera crossover singers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkI8BVplIew

Male Choir – The King’s Singers and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NU2TlwcH3h4

Piano Solo – Garth Smith
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaBb188wW-M

22 Dec 2015 – The Rebirth Of The Sun

Mon: an interesting video from the US Embassy Oslo especially for those who asked what I used to eat in Norway during Christmas. Today I still enjoy the rakfish, ribbe and aquarvit. Tkx for the share, Thomas.

God jul og skål til alle mine norske familie og venner.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8U2tQCWCErM&feature=youtu.be

Caught up with these 2 movies which were featured in my absence

Woman in Gold*****is the remarkable true story of one woman’s journey to reclaim her heritage and seek justice for what happened to her family. 60yrs after she fled Vienna/Austria during WW II, a Jewish woman Maria Altman sought to regain a world famous painting of her aunt plundered by the Nazis during World War II.

Walk in the Woods***is a sterling showcase for two great acting veterans, Robert Redford and Nick Nolte. Watching these two interact and listening to their wizened characters’ riffs amid gorgeous scenery on the AT (filmed by another film veteran, cinematographer John Bailey) is a sheer delight – which is a good thing since that comprises the bulk of the movie. Wonderful memories of the AT…

Mon: M1 staff was at my place to try to install a DVB-12 set-top box and one indoor antenna FOC for qualifying the MDA Assistance Scheme. Since I have no TV, they will return another day when I manage to get an inexpensive one or ask around anyone who wants to get rid of an old TV!!!

Tue: Happy Winter Solstice, also known as Dong Zhi or some Cantonese call it Khor Tong. Tkx Carmel & Mei-Lin for breakfast. Good to catch up and see Mei-Lin’s mom Irene again – forgot to take pix!

The origin of the word Yule, has several suggested origins from the Old English word, geõla, the Old Norse word jõl, a pagan festival celebrated also at the winter solstice, the rebirth of the Sun. Peace be with you all no matter how or if you celebrate the Winter Solstice.

21 Dec 2015 – Last Weekend Before Christmas

Sat: Catching up with bro Steven’s lovely family. Tkx to sis-in-law PohKit, nieces Judy, Daisy, nephews Vince&Annie, Clem, grandnephews Stanley, Darrly and Andrew for including me in their family lunch. First time at New Lucky Claypot Rice****#02-19, Holland Drive Market & Food Centre. Yummy.

http://www.streetdirectory.com/newluckyclaypotrice/

Stumbled upon this beautiful location and set-up on 42 Waterloo St after a gathering at CC last night. If my memory serves me correctly, this used to be Action Theater,  a delightful small play-house, restaurant and an alfresco bar. Now Centre 42 with intentions to be a focal point for incubation of new works, nurturing of playwright talents, research and discourse of SIN theatre.

https://thelongnwindingroad.wordpress.com/2010/01/13/where-you-could-once-have-your-car-fixed-in-a-church-memories-of-waterloo-street/

Sun: 4th Sunday of Advent where Advent is a season observed in some Christian churches as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas. The term is a Latin word meaning ‘coming’.

In my Advent calendar today is Khob khun ka/Thai for the 24 languages of Thank you and no, I have not learnt them all yet!

Kiera’s little workshop has a delightful mini breakfast on the tray with all kinds of toasts and chocolate donuts the size of a 5cent coin. Mud-Rock is an interesting ceramic studio located at 126 Towner Rd. The taxi driver who drove Ivy and I there must be one of the most annoying drivers I have encountered – he kept sighing and yawning aloud! and budding in our conversation.

Good to catch up with Michelle at Aveson Travel at Tanglin Mall.

La Ventana****at Dempsey Rd serves up tasteful Catalonian small plates. With LesIvy​’s wines, nothing can go wrong where F&B are concerned.Tkx for a lovely evening.

Good to meet up with Korean friends Mejin&Jung. Interesting place own by another Korean serving Spanish food.

19 Dec 2105 – … To Be Jolly

Thu: Saw Snoopy And Charlie Brown – The Peanuts Movie (2015)***movie yesterday. Based on Charles M. Schulz’s comic strip ‘Peanuts, this 3D animated comedy film focuses on Snoopy and his friendship with his human best friend, Charlie Brown. When a ‘Little Red-Haired Girl’ moves into their neighbourhood, a smitten Charlie, along with the help of Snoopy, embarks on new activities in hopes of getting her attention. More a fan of Charles Schutz’s comic strip than the movie which has a good message!

Edited – looks like I have missed the write-up for the National Design Centre at Middle Rd – this place has a nice indoor and outdoor cafe and worth the time to check it out. Accidentally stumbled into the ‘UNAGING’ talks and found it rather interesting. Being the eldest person there, the subject was quite appropriate 🙂

Nice to meet up with Henry for a drink at Victoria Bar, Hotel InterContinental. Tkx for taking time off your busy work schedule to catch up, Henry.

Fri: went around taking pix of decorated Christmas trees in SIN many years ago and made it into a game to guess where the trees are located. This year will just download this site and enjoy it with the music. Just show how age has caught up and getting to lazy to even take out more than the basic decorations, ie the advent calendar and a new music box. The host of angels and family pix are on the piano all year round…

http://www.silverkris.com/stories/best-christmas-trees-singapore-2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tGOohsBW90

Welcome back to SIN, Kitty from Sierra Leon/Africa and Beng from Melbourne/Australia. Their mother Mrs Eu, lives just down the road from me. Good to meet his family from Australia. Kitty and Beng crossed my path in Dublin days. She used to teach me music and I used to baby-sit her kids, but that was another lifetime ago 🙂

Delightful pre-Christmas gathering with Yoshie, Seb and Adrian. With thoughts of L&M and their families I bought a bottle of the 2015 Nouvean Beaujolais, the holidays have now official started 🙂 Tkx guys for fixing my computer and to Yoshie for the lovely flowers.

TGIF and the last Friday before Christmas. A good weekend to all and some thoughts into the holiday season…

16 Dec 2015 – From The Best Of Both Worlds…

Mon: Health Promotion Board sent some info regarding Health Behaviour Study Of SIN in my absence. Found 2 more notes on my door upon my return. Since they were showing that much interest to contact me, decided to contact them and ask what it was all about.

Turned out that they want me to take a survey with health questions. Was pleasantly surprised with a NTUC Fair Price S$10 voucher for taking the survey 🙂

Found some cardboard cut-out Christmas trees (S$1.50) for 10pieces and a red paper gift-bag (S$2) from Cat Socrates. Probably no one realized that it is written in Norwegian that ‘Money should not be enclosed in letters’. From Art Friend’s, the cute tiny wooden trees (S$6.85) when stuck on the cardboard ones give a lovely 3D effect. Good for decorations or gift-tags. Most satisfied with this purchase!

Picked up the rest of the Christmas gifts and more or less done with shopping – yeah. Now to wrap them as best as I know how and then to present them. The working area is a slight improvement as compared to a few days ago! Blog postings edited and updated. Time to catch up with friends and getting ready to say goodbye to 2015…

Tue: Appreciations to Carmel for taking time to have breakfast with me at Killiney Siglap***It takes an Irish to find good MeeSiam here in SIN 🙂 🙂

An interesting share from May. I remember when L&M questioning their identity and my reply has always been and still is that they have been blessed with the best of both worlds and it is up to them to live their life to the fullest. And today they both make me proud to be their mother and grandmother to their children…

I never understood how little I understood race until I tried to explain to my 5-year-old-son…

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/14/magazine/choose-your-own-identity.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur

Wed: 0800hrs to avoid crowds at Beach Road Prawn Mee Eating House@美芝律大虾面***370/372 East Coast Road and first time at this location – ngoh hiang here got one of the best ratings in SIN.

Tkx to Ting&CH for taking time to catch up. Appetite is not as it used to be, but still good tasting broth which is the secret of this dish.

I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, it’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, and that enables you to laugh at life’s realities – Dr. Seuss