Molly Bear

Our latest addition to our pet collection. Little Molly Bear, roughly named after my maternal grandmother with a twist in the surname. Haha... its a family joke from "Beh". We got her from a farm 20mins away from Oamaru at 8 weeks. She's a tiny little thing, barely 1kg but can be fiesty. She managed to scare Jerry, a 8kg heavy weight with a snarl and sent him scurrying off.

She loves to curl up and sleep a lot. Such a little pudding.  

Here she is playing with her snaky. She was scared of it at first.  

She can sit upright like a little teddy bear. Isnt she cute? She's a long haired Siberian, like Jerry. Only her fur is longer.

Finally got her to sit still for this pic.

I wrap her up in newspaper sometimes when I carry her. She uses her claws a lot, common for baby kittens. Ouch!!!

Carrot Cake, Bak Chang, HCR and Jerry

I'll call it as it is. 10 days into my official unpaid holiday leave, I have been busy! Obviously no one or only a small population have heard of the Dragon Boat Festival where you throw rice dumplings into the river to appease the spirits, much less you can find bak changs on sale on the streets of Oamaru. I made some and discovered that I wasn't the only one in Oamaru to make them. Mrs Liu, my Taiwanese Sifu made some too! We exchanged some bakchangs and had some green tea. Yums.

Bak Chang
Before you view the graphic images below, please understand that I have never wrapped a bak chang before,  and though I've eaten lots, I have never learned the art of tying it. Before I endeavoured to make them I did some research on the internet for the best recipe and finally decided on Mrs Leong's Recipe book and youtubed on how to actually tie the dumplings in a neat triangular bundle. I managed to find some bamboo leaves in Christchurch before the quake, actually, I bought the bamboo leaves ages ago (along with some lotus leaves) but have not used them. I honestly would not have known it was Dragon Boat Fest save for an advert in Dunedin. Anyway, it tastes pretty authentic to me and I left out the nasty stuff like split green beans.

I used minced meat, candied melon and all the other stuff in the recipe.

The assembly line. Rice is prepared and seasoned, meat cooked, bamboo leaves softened, pot of hot boiling water ready to go. I had some raffia strings. While I did know how to fold it in a triangular bundle, I didnt know how to tie it and keep it secure. So it ended up a little flat but still secure. Improvision. Who knows mabbie next time, we'll have flattened bak changs?.... nnnnoooott!!!

So the strings are all over the place, doesnt look too pretty but it tastes pretty good. From 1kg of glutinous rice, I made about 35 bak changs. Thankfully I had LK and two babes to help finish them with pleasure!

Perhaps the view of the sea will win some points off the badly wrapped but very delicous bakchangs?

I enjoyed making it. Had lots of fun but next time, I'll improvise and just chuck everything into a steam tray. :)

Carrot Cake

No one's birthday in particular, well, my mother's is coming up but I can't possibly send it to her. Anyway, I suddenly had a thing for carrot cakes and cream cheese frosting. Its like, carrot and cake? Carrot cake and cream cheese? Who in this beautiful world decided that they taste good together? Who tell me? I wanna shake your hand and kiss you. Its the best thing ever. To console myself, the cake is made without butter, has raw sugar (not very much of a consolation) and the best part, it helps you see at night. Yup, just one slice of it will help you see in the dark. Something in the carrots, that will do you good. Just eat. hmmmmm..... Its lovely and moist on the inside. hmmmm....

HCR
Hainanese Chicken Rice. After the disappointing much awaited meal at Pow Sing on our trip back, I needed to find something that can satisfy. The prima deli boxes of make it yourself HCR is not too bad really. If you are far from home and need some HCR, try that or you can do it the hard way. Boil the chicken stock, cook the rice with chicken stock and some fat, ginger and garlic, throw in a pandan leaf for a hint of oomph. Boil the chicken and throw it in ice water to make the skin and flesh jellylike. etc. I dont have a picture of it, I didnt think it was necessary. But with the leftover chicken, I drowned it in Shaoxing wine and chucked it overnight in the fridge. OOOOOOhhhh...... throw some corriander leaves over it and its Drunken Chicken! Hics!

Jerry
I realised I haven't put many pics of my big little kitten. Here goes... Jerry over the year(s)

 When he first came is was a cute little baby cat. Not the best behaved but we loved him lots... somehow.

 See, climbing everywhere, even on our dining table before he was banned from the living room.

 The basket seemed huge then.....

 Waiting by the door of the living room. He knows he is not allowed in there. Isnt he adorable

Chillaxing on my lap

Slowing growing bigger and his tail is getting bushier.

 Downright tubby. Check out his beer belly!!

Look closely and you'll see that he brought his ginger friend home. He neutered by the way... what was he thinking!! It was so cute, they were meowing to each other before ginger went away.

Snuggling on the sofa beside me. He's only allowed in the living room on supervised visits. He knows he's a rascal.

His fav sleeping position, heads up , tails down.

 Aint he tubby.... LK feeds him lots

 His other fav position. love to rub his tummy

 Snuggling on my blanket! Definite no-no. But he's such a sweet little rascal.

Grouchy  he didn't win the Steampunk competition in the Oamaru Mail or does he think he should be the Oamaru Male? hahaha....

Bye for now everyone. Hugs and kisses

Life and Times of a Housewife

So week 1 of being a wifey was rather excellent I must say. Did lots of things with the house like putting up new drapes and voiles, new blinds, doing up the bathroom and putting things together. Just doing anything but studying!! Subconsciously I procrastinate? haha... no... I think I just am procrastinating. My assignments are long due but thankfully its via correspondence so they can't catch me!!! Anyway, I will endeavour to complete my assignments!! Jiayou!

North Island Campervan Trip
As promised, the photos of my long overdue campervan trip to Auckland up northeast to Cape Reinga, back down on the western loop to Hamilton then to the Coromandel Peninsula all in a grand total of 7 days. We flew up from Christchurch to Auckland and back. We rented a Kea with Shower and Toilet which is really cool. Had all the luxurious necessities like a gas stove, sink, heater, TV and DVD, Radio, hot water,very comfy king bed, microwave etc. Splendid. I want one!!! A bigger campervan that is.

TV and DVD, Radio right in front of the bed

Comfy King sized bed. There's aircon in the van too!

Another view of the bed.

View of the campervan from the rear, walk thru to the drivers seat. :) LK enjoying life in the campervan.

Side view, thats the sink and gas stove and behind it is the shower/toilet

The beds turn into a dining/living area during the day.

 

With a campervan, you can stop whenever, cook whatever, eat whatever, sleep wherever, meet whoever and travel however. :)

We camped by the sea in Takapuna in Auckland.

Campervan site in Takapuna Auckland. Those in the pics are caravans that you have to hook up to cars.

Gas stove and below it is the fridge/freezer. Super awesome compact kitchen.

One of the beaches along the coast of Northland. We didn't take many pics cos we think Kakanui beach, which is 5 mins away from where we are is a million times prettier.

Stones in Keri Keri. Love the town of Keri keri, nice, warm and easy.  

Lighthouse at Cape Reinga.  It is actually a significant site for the Maori, about souls departing.

Look closely and carefully and you will notice two seas meeting, the Tasman Sea and the Pacific. Really mindblowing!

Closer look at the light house

Kauri Tree in Kauri Forest.

So we were more fascinated with driving around in the campervan than the actual sights that we went to. Didn't think very much of  Coromandel, didn't like the drive around the winding, narrow roads. The cathedral cove, the famous scene in Lion, Witch, Wardrobe was sort of closed off but LK when down anyway. We had a go at the Hot Water Beach where you dig a hole in the beach and have your own warm spa. Apparently, there are geothermal lines going on below the sands and you just have to pick the right spot and boil your bum in it. Nice on a cold windy day. Haha...Our trip also cemented the fact that South Island was a much better place for us. :) And we want a campervan of our own! :)

I think this blog may have too many pics, will carry on with another just ahead. :)

Wifey

Its the start of my three month hiatus from work. Unpaid, unfortunately but rather rewarding for my first day, on the first of June. So rewarding that I actually have time to water the plants! So what did I actually do on my first day as wifey. Woke up at 914am, didn't want to get out of bed so I reached over pick up my read of  Queen of the Sun: A Modern Revelation. A quick shuffle out of bed to draw the curtains to let some light thru before cuddling back under the covers. Definitely, highly recommended must read book would put in a review on it when I have time. Was kinda hungry while reading but the thought of walking to the kitchen wasn't as exciting as the next line on the page so I kept on. 10am, okay, hungry enough. Strolled out the door, snuggled my little sweet rascal lying belly up in the corridor staring cutely at me for his breakkie. Gave him a tickle and greeted him with a "Good morning my little fat cat!" and walked to the kitchen. Heated up the oats that my husband left for me ( he woke up at 430am to prepare to work and had to kiss me up at 530am just before he left just to make sure I knew that he was going to work). Left the oats to heat while I tried to go downstairs to feed the cat. Tried because Jerry would zig zag along the steps as I went down. I have no idea why. Picked up his tray and washed it, refilling it with water and some Friskies. He went gobbling it up as soon as tipped over his food. He came upstairs not long after and trotted up and down the corridor. Alright, I opened the door and off he went galavanting somewhere.

Hopped up the stairs and had my bowl of oats while watching Will and Kate: Road to the Altar on E! Never seem to bore me watching that. They look so good together. Prince and Princess. Sweet. At ard 11 when the show ended, I spent some time mucking around before deciding to water the plants. Put in some organic blood and bone for the plot which I intended for my herbs, watered out new, apparently hardy dwarfe peach trees and spring onions and corriander in the hot house. Hearing me sing ABBA's One of Us while admiring the great job my gardener has done Jerry jumped up from behind the fences and came to say hello. Rubbed his head against my legs then ran away.  He jumped in my way while I was watering the plants and I gave him a gentle sprinkle with the hose. He seems to like it. Haha... not.....

Almost 12. What's for lunch? Had to actually be wifey not pretend you know. Dug up from prawns and squid from the humongous chest freezer that we had, found some fish bones and chicken bones. I've got my menu for the day sorted. Easy Peasy.  Did all the dishes, scrubbed out the slow cooker and started boiling some water in it. Had some left over rice so, fried rice it was going to be. What sort I wonder? Sambal perhaps? Nasi Goreng? Ahhh..... Thai Pineapple Rice paste in the pantry and some canned pineapple.  Cool. Lunch sorted. Prepared the stuff and started cooking. I doubt you'll want to know exactly what I did to fry the rice. When the water was hot, I chucked in the chicken and fish bones in the slow cooker with some dangui , ginger and wolf berries. Thats dinner sorted. Loved cooking, had the great view of the sea while cooking, played a piano CD and just smiled. Hmmmmm..... wifey. I can do that.

120pm, hubbs is home from work, brought in the mail and the papers. What news could little Oamaru possibly have? Had lunch with leftover seafood Assam Pedas soup with crabs, prawns and fish. Hmmmm....
Sleeeeepy after lunch I was. Nooooo.... I didnt' sleep k. I did the dishes, rare but I just loved it. Hmmmm..... the big blue ocean kept me company while I cleaned up. Smiles.  Somewhat tired from doing whatever I did this morning, hey cooking and gardening can be tiring k. Hopped in bed in the guestroom to finish reading the book. Its soooooo goood. Hubbs woke up ard 3 to go prepare to teach Mandarin. Printed some stuff last minute, as any well prepared teacher would do and said goodbye, poking me in the leg. Like what the hell? I was still happily reading my book in bed. Anyway,  before he left, the caught the cat idling in the garden, caught him and passed him to me through the window. What a cute little furball. No... I'm still not getting him a cat door. Do you know that burglars can actually reach in and open the door through the cat door?  Anyway, I finally finished reading the glorious book. Felt uplifted yet depressed at the same time. Read it and you'll know why.

4pm. Stretch!! Hungrish.... prepared my therapy room for a friend. Put some lemon and peppermint oil in the burner, heat up the room a little, put the kettle on and went to cuddle the cat. Had some hot choc with almond biscuits while watching the ocean..... bliss... more smiles on my face. Hubbs came back just as I was finishing my afternoon tea. My friend came early, had a treatment for him. Great guy! Had a good chat while treating him for over an hour. Had a short chat after. Shut the room down after, fed the hungry cat again and walked to town. Night air was cool and the stars were out glistening in the moonlit night. Had a short session of Arnis, love em stick fighting. Hiak!  Played with a little girl and a really tall guy. Hiak hiak!! Drove home with hubbs. Had our dinner of leftover pineapple rice and the lovely fish soup. hmmmm..... yums. Decided that washing dishes at lunch is good enough for a wifey. Tried to play with the sleepy cat but he was adamant not to be disturbed. Cats. Watched tv instead. Got onto Facebook on Zuma Blitz! Got some fortune cookies and extra mojos. Looked at what Wills and Kate were up to, preparing for their Canadian Trip and something about Fifa elections *yawns*.  Here I am, recording my first day of being a Wifey. Hardly exciting but very happy. Could I do this forever? A.B.S.O.L.U.T.E.L.Y...... mabbie.....

So there you go, page one, chapter one. 2 years of moving here, away from the rest of the world, secluded and isolated. Not much in a way of " lets play mahjong!! or lets go get durian!! Or lets go yum cha!!" but still very happy nonetheless. Me day. Yay. Love you. Kisses.

And they lived happily ever after?

Its been almost a year since my last entry. As much as I have stopped reading blogs, I've stopped writing my own. Is it just a passe or just laziness? Doesn't matter. I'm just procrastinating from what I'm supposed to do anyway.

End of the Chalk and Blackboard?
I've made such a hard decision (gags) to quit teaching. Hahahaha. Officially my last day of teaching was on my Birthday and my what a lovely birthday present it was to myself. One of the best I'd say. E.V.E.R As much as I love sharing the world of biology and whatever else I have to teach to a classroom full of wide eyed seeming eager, knowledge-hungry crowd of restless teenagers, I love not doing it. Hahahahah. Anyway, enough gloating. I do like to teach I must say but I'm very keen to change my listening crowd to that of an older, more mature and ernest group of people. Hopefully, one day, I can . And hopefully it would be a subject that is useful, meaningful and helpful to the world. Something which is more heartfelt and beneficial to the human race. Who knows what it is?

Totara Estate
The place of much beauty and solitude. More solitude than beauty but somewhat exciting nonetheless. I've got to make the best of everything. This is where I'm working.  Before you get toooo excited, its the birthplace of the frozen meat industry in NZ. Beautiful old Oamaru stone buildings in a picturesque setting. An urban gal taking much delight in settling into her rural country job. I work amongst preserved archeological building remains and hungry sheep.

One of the four buildings on site.

Two years in NZ
So elections in Singapore have come and gone. Two out of the very many ain't exactly super exciting but I'm not into political stuff. Its interesting to be able to compare governments at a superficial level ( in my case) ie whatever is in the superficial news. Doesn't bother me too much. I'm not about to do a point by point comparison about Labour and National or the Green party (Political Parties in NZ) to PAP or SDP or WP etc. But I do know that housing and cars are considerably cheaper. (Petrol prices are about the same) And I don't have to worry about paying ERP when I drive into town.I can speed up to 100ks here (or more sometimes, ahem).  But migrating here and settling in has been pretty much smooth sailing except for the nail biting, heart wrenching bit about trying to get a full time permanent job. Love the four seasons in a year and sometimes in a day, love the rainy weather (when I'm cosily at home by the fire watching DVDs). Decided that we both are not true gardeners at heart, at least not yet and left the gardening to a pro. Thank heavens! But I've been really busy doing all the things I've never got to do in Sg. I'm into TKD, Arnis, Yoga, Massage, Aromatherapy and watching lots of Donnie Yen, Jet Li, Sammo Hung, Jackie Chan DVDs etc. Pure B.L.I.S.S.

Holidays have been mostly confined parts of NZ but the trip back to Sg in Dec 2010 further cements the reasons why we left. Except for the parts when I met up with friends and family over food and more food. Doubt we will be going to Sg soon. Cheap Air Asia and Jetstar fares simply means you... yes you.. the privileged one reading my blog... can come visit.

Royal Wedding
I'm not a Prince William fan nor Kate Middleton fan but the royal wedding has won my heart with truth and beauty. Its not an act for one and its not arranged and I hope they will live happily ever after. Love Pippa too.... :)

Singapore and Australia
Here are some pics taken on my camera phone when we were in Sg and Oz. The highlight would definitely have to be Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne. Pity we were 2 weeks early for the Australian Open. One day, one day I will be there..... Better yet, I'll go for all the grand slams. Better yet, I'll go for all four with Nadal winning each Slam. Better yet, I'll meet him, the King of Clay!

 A Sg flag in Rod Laver. Seriously!!!

So thats all for now. Procrastinated enough. Will definitely upload campervan pics of our tour of the North Island soon. Stay tuned!