peacockflower's world

Pilgrimage to Fatima Church, Banting

2009-11-04T21:43:00.004+08:00

Local pilgrimages to Catholic churches is gaining popularity among churchgoers. Usually it's a day trip and made affordable to parishioners of all churches for all walks of life by George Yeow, a dear friend and a tourist guide by profession.

For the recent pilgrimage to Church of Our Lady of Fatima in Banting on October 11th, a total of 150 pilgrims, mainly from Petaling Jaya, Brickfields, Cheras and Kajang, traveled together in 3 buses and 2 vans. It was not surprising to see such a large crowd, after all the charge was only RM45 per pax and that included transport to Fatima Church and other interesting places at Tanjung Sepat, buns and a bottle of mineral water for light breakfast and seafood lunch.

The actual Feast Day for the Church of Our Lady of Fatima, Banting was to be celebrated on Tuesday, October 13th, commemorating the anniversary of Our Lady's last apparition on October 13 1917. We attended the Novena and Sunday Eucharistic Celebration instead, 2 days earlier for the convenience of the working pilgrims.

The Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. VA. Michael celebrated the Mass, with the feast theme, "Seeing goodness and charisms in every person". He spoke enthusiastically and gave a profound homily on the theme, assuring one and all, that each person is unique and special in God's eyes, and endowed with fruits (Galatians 5:22-23) and gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:7-11).

He encouraged us to never think less of anyone and to be good stewards of our gifts/talents for the good of the church and for humanity as a whole.

A well-attended Mass, overflowing with probably about 800 parishioners, pilgrims and other visiting members.

A healing session followed immediately after the Mass by the charismatic Parish Priest, who moved amongst the crowd and blessed the faithful with the Blessed Sacrament by tracing the sign of the cross with the monstrance held steadily upright before him. As Jesus passed by me, tears streamed down my cheeks as I became choked with my sinfulness and unworthiness.

We were all then invited to partake lunch. Though a simple meal, it speaks volume of the Church's generosity. A big thank you to Fr. Michael and his church team for their kindness and hospitality, catering to our spiritual and material needs.

I can see that the Church is poor, building looks a little run-down and in dire need of painting. Even, Fr. Michael mentioned that the Church's weekly collection is about RM400, but unbelievably that day's collection for aid to flood victims in Philippines and Vietnam totaled RM3,000. Father, sure was proud of the faithful.

The Church's front has a nice view, facing the Klang River, which was swollen that morning. In the compound, there stood one of the most beautiful grotto I've even seen, a lovely masterpiece indeed! Fabulous bougainvillea bushes in vibrant red and pink decorated the grotto, which has a lovely man-made water feature with luxuriant Bird's Nest Ferns and other plants, and neighbouring palm trees.

Gereja Katolik Fatima (Church of Our Lady of Fatima) (1976)
140 Jalan Kekwa, Taman Seri
Telok Datok
42700 Banting,
Kuala Langat, Selangor
(Tel: 603-3181 5980)

Here's sharing

lyrics of the song, Dear Lady Of Fatima

(that was sung during the bus journey to Fatima Church
and also at the end of the Mass, befitting that special occasion.
A favourite of mine too, usually sung at our BEC weekly rosary prayer meeting)

Dear Lady of Fatima
We come on bended knees
To beg your intercession
For peace and unity
Dear Mary, won't you show us
The right and shining way
We pledge our love and offer you
A rosary each day.

You promised at Fatima
Each time when you appeared
To help us if we pray to you
To banish war and fear
Dear Lady on first Saturdays
We ask your guiding hand
For grace and guidance here on earth
And protection for our land.

Having completed our pilgrimage mission around 1.15 pm and spiritually uplifted, we then traveled to Tanjung Sepat to visit places of interest in the itinerary. (To be continued...)

P/S: Almost forgot to add this testament by Mdm. Serena Foong, one of the pilgrims from Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Jalan Peel. She shared this enroute on a recent pilgrimage to Church of St. Jude in Gopeng on Oct. 24. A new convert with a windy-stomach disorder, she said that during the healing session at Fatima Church, when Fr. Michael neared her with the monstrance, she felt a warm sensation flowing from top to toe as a figure in dazzling white garment laid hands on her head. What a blessed healing experience!
Definitely, that was Jesus Christ, all-merciful and all-compassionate, who promised in Matthew 18:20: "For where 2 or 3 come together in my name, I am there with them." And, He says in Luke 11:9: "Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you."

Praise and thanks be to God!

Lunch at Canton-i, The Gardens Mid Valley

2009-11-03T19:02:00.008+08:00

David, our darling son, introduced us to dine at Canton-i, the branch at The Gardens Mid Valley about 3 weeks ago. A food restaurant serving Hong Kong cuisine, situated in one of Malaysia's most impressive and popularly visited mega mall. It has an open kitchen concept, where you can observe the chefs preparing/cooking the food ordered.

We reached there before noon to avoid queuing as it can be pretty crowded it seems, even during week-days. No wonder, I noticed rows of chairs conveniently placed outside its entrance for queuing customers, as seen in the left photo below. The right image on the other hand shows the restaurant's interior, a little too cramped and tight, screaming for want of dining space, don't you think so?
Frankly, as the crowd gradually increased, the din inside can be disturbing and you can even hear what the other diners close-by are chattering!

Canton-i's menu is chiefly Hong Kong culinary delights, an extensive list that includes authentic hand-made dim sum, noodles, well-known roast goose/duck and the like, seafood, savoury and custardy buns and many others.

We ordered 3 plates of dry-version plain wonton noodles (RM4 per plate) and a combination platter of roasted pork (siew yok), barbecued pork (char siu) and roasted duck (RM29.80). Servings were reasonable, befitting the charges. I find the mee good, it was thin, springy and finely moistened. Unfortunately, it was not piping hot, just lukewarm by the time the combo meat platter to accompany it was served. The roasted meat were quite delicious too. I especially like the roasted pork belly that came with the right proportion of crunchy/succulent meat and fat, with a thin layer of well-roasted crispy skin. Sweetened sauce on the barbecued pork was ladled a little too much and too sweetish though, for my taste.

Another side dish that we ordered is the duck-meat spring rolls as seen to the right of image below. Just 2 small rolls costing RM9 is a little too expensive, I'd say! What's more shocking is the next dish serve!

This one is atrocious! We ordered fried dumplings but this was presented instead. It was not as photo displayed on the menu at all. One of the waiters told us that the person who took our order should have explained clearly as you can choose between 2 versions. How distressing. Can you imagine eating only these fried, tasteless and over-sized wonton skins, without its filling? And, charged RM10 too? To make matters worst, the dipping sauce with 5 tiny-winy miserable-looking beaf balls as seen on the right is awful, and separately billed RM8 as well! Definitely ripped off here!

Total bill was RM99.80 which included charges for 3 wet towels (RM3), Chinese tea for 3 pax (RM15) and taxes! Impossible to believe that we paid that abominable price for a mediocre dining...that averages to about RM33 per person! Very often, when a place becomes too popular, quality is compromised!

Moreover, we think too much MSG was used in their food preparation as our throat felt parched about an hour after lunch, while still walking around the shopping mall. This will definitely be our first and last dining experience there!

Website: http://www.canton-i.com/

Canton-i
at The Gardens Mid Valley City
LG-202 & 203A (Lower Ground Floor)
Lingkaran Syed Putra
59200 Kuala Lumpur.
(Tel: 603-2284 6888)

Recipe for Nonya Yam Cake

2009-10-29T16:12:00.005+08:00

Yum..yum! So delicous, tasty and finger-linking! I just love it!

A favourite savoury snack, the steamed Nonya Yam Cake has been a must-have for every festive season or birthday celebrations in our home in previous years. But, gone are the days where much cooking was done in preparation of those happy occasions. Nowadays, as we age gracefully, my darling John and I would rather dine out with our family at various restaurants or eateries, trying other chefs' wonderful favourites than our own. One is really spoilt for choices, where sky is the limit for culinary delights in Malaysia.

I love cooking, though interest to try new cooking/baking recipes has waned drastically over the years since our children left the nest to start their own families. No more fun cooking for just the two of us, more so, when certain essential ingredients have to be omitted or quantity reduced due to health reasons.

Nonetheless, every now and then, I would still cook this popular Nonya Yam Cake whenever I'm in the mood or when there's a special request or just to treat some friends.

That opportunity came just a week ago when Catholic families in the neighbourhood gathered in our home for a prayer meeting.

They just love it and helped to polish up almost every morsel! And, I love to watch them gorging it too...haha, so rewarding to know that my labour of love was appreciated! :-D

Steamed Yam Cake is such a favourite food for Malaysians! Locals eat it at anytime, can be for breakfast, lunch, tea, dinner or supper, and sold almost everywhere, at the market places, eating stalls and restaurants, even at megamalls and hotels.

Here's sharing :

Recipe for Nonya Yam Cake

Ingredients:

500 gm rice flour
6 1/2 glasses of filtered water (approx. 2 litre)
600 gm yam, preferably the imported variety from China (wash, skinned and cubed)
100 gm shallots (sliced thinly)
100 gm dried shrimps (wash, drained and pounded)
100 gm of preserved vegetable or 'choy poh', optional (wash and diced)
2 cubes of chicken stock
2 teaspoon fine salt
2 teaspoon 5-spice powder
4-6 tablespoon cooking oil for frying
2 sprigs of spring onions and red chillies for garnishing (sliced)

Method:

Combine the rice flour with water, salt and 5-spice powder thoroughly in a saucepan and set aside.
Heat up the oil in a kuali and stir-fry shallots till golden brown. Dish out on a strainer and set aside for garnishing.
Next, fry the pounded dried shrimps (add more oil if necessary) till slightly brown, then add in the preserved vegetable and continue frying till golden brown. Dish out on a strainer and set aside for garnishing, retaining about a tablespoon of this mixture in the kuali.
In the remaining heated oil with the tablespoon of the dried shrimps mixture, add in the cubed yam and chicken stock to stir-fry altogether for about 5 mins.
Pour in the well-mixed rice flour mixture (refer to step 1) to the yam mixture and keep stirring continuously over high heat. Then, reduce to low heat as the mixture starts to thicken like custard. Turn off heat.
Transfer the yam mixture into a 29-cm round cake tin and steam for 45 mins.
Leave to cool and set (takes about 7-8 hrs. to set firmly).
Then garnish with the fried dried shrimps mixture, fried shallots, spring onions and red chillies (hehe..you can see that missing from my pictures...forgot to buy!). Serve with chilli sauce and a brownish-sweetened sauce known locally as 'timzheong'.

Brown sauce ('timzheong') :

Pound or blend together 4 shallots, 4 pips of garlic, half a thumb-size of ginger and 2 tablespoon of 'tow-cheong' (fermented soya beans).
Saute the pounded ingredients in 1-2 tablespoon of cooking oil until fragrant.
Add a large bowl of filtered water and bring to boil.
Sprinkle some thick soya sauce for colouring. Drizzle some light soya sauce, and add 1 tablespoon of sugar, half a teaspoon of fine salt and 2 tablespoon of tomato sauce (the latter is optional, but I like it for a sourish tinge) for taste. Continue to simmer for a while.
Thicken the mixture with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, premixed with 2 tablespoons of water. Stir well and off heat. Ready to serve.

Birthday celebration @ Shogun Jap Buffet Restaurant

2009-10-20T15:01:00.001+08:00

Our family never tire of going to Shogun Japanese Buffet Restaurant, the branch at Bandar Utama, for its buffet lunch. With such an extensive spread of Japanese cuisine, plus other Asian delights that include local, Thai, Korean and Chinese, you'll never be short of choices to indulge to your heart's content!

So, that was our destination about three weeks ago to celebrate Darren's belated birthday.

My family of 9 members, plus Kellie's cousin lunched from 12.30 to almost closing time at 5.30 pm, spending precious and delightful moments together, besides enjoying the glorious food, presented that day. Of course we weren't eating non-stop as if in a food marathon, but partook the delicious meal at our own pace and leisure.

That's what I like about the long hours of buffet lunch/dinner or high-tea. There's no need to rush through one's meal. Moreover, the best food is not what you eat but the company you eat with....the company and fellowship of family members and friends that makes what you consume pale in comparison. Time and togetherness well-spent that money can't buy!

Sharing below are some of the fabulous food we 'gorged' ourselves with. Though the pictures taken do not do justice to the impressive array of Shogun's food galore, the smiles on our faces speak volume of our satisfaction, contentment and enjoyment.

John, my beloved spouse and I love treating our family with delightful dining. It's pure joy seeing the siblings and their family enjoying each other's company as they chatter and ate with zestful pleasure.

Shogun Japanese Buffet Restaurant
1 Utama Shopping Centre
Petaling Jaya.
(Tel: 603-7726 3770, 77265770, 7726 0770)
Business Hours: 12.00-3.00 pm; 6.00-10.30 pm
B/Lunch Price for Sat./Sun./Public Hols.: RM48++ (A), RM30 (Child 8-11yrs), RM15 (Child 4-7yrs).

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Lunch at Boston, Solaris Mont Kiara

2009-10-14T15:46:00.003+08:00

Almost a month had passed by since we lunched at Boston Chillout, Solaris Mont Kiara in Kuala Lumpur! An interesting cafe, serving a fusion of Hong Kong and local cuisine with many other culinary delights from various regions.

As usual, we left the choice of lunch destination to David, our elder son.

Fully aware that his dad and I haven't ventured to this area before, he drove us to Solaris Mont Kiara.

A beautifully landscaped hilly region with many tall high-rise condominiums and modern architectural shopping malls and commercial buildings.

Seen mushrooming in the area are numerous eateries or F&B outlets offering exciting cosmopolitan lifestyle dining and others, after-dinner entertainment. A popular hub of interesting happenings!

We scouted around and ended up parking at SohoKL and was most surprised that parking cost only RM1.

To our delight, there weren't much of a crowd at noon time, probably being a weekday.

It was fun strolling leisurely along the impressively designed open-space corridor bordering the 1st floor of Block J and enjoying the scenic view in the vicinity.

Opportunities abound too for David and I to capture photos unrestrained. Free from being ogled by passers-by, anyway too few to bother us!

SohoKL seemed relatively new and many units were still untenanted. Hence, choice of eating places were limited.

Anyway, we decided to lunch at Boston Chillout and it turned out to be a lovely dining experience.

Lovely ambience, very inviting and spacious, with a classy and arty decor and well-placed LCD TVs for pleasant viewing, comfy dining sofas/chairs and tables, and cabinets well-stocked with alcohol.

We went for their value-for-money special lunch set for weekdays. Hehe...must eat smart.

For just RM10.95+/set, each diner gets a hot/cold beverage, one main course of rice or noodles and a single-scoop ice-cream as dessert.

For the main course, David chose Ramen with sliced beef, John had sweet and sour fish with corn rice while I selected sliced beef tenderloin with corn rice.

In addition to that, we ordered a plate of Hancock's Supernatural which looks too tempting to resist. Costs RM15.95+ for quite a large dish of baked crispy slices (textured like cornflakes) that is topped with cherry tomatoes and cheesy stuff, to be eaten by dipping a piece into the lovely chili sauce. Light, yet filling.

On the whole, food was simply fabulous, service good and prompt. We left totally satisfied and contented, with stomach filled to capacity!

If interested, try Boston Chillout @
Unit J-01-13, First Floor, Block J @ SohoKL
Solaris Mont Kiara
No. 2, Jalan Solaris, Kuala Lumpur
(Tel: 603 6203 0830)

Our miniature pinscher, Maxi

2009-10-05T22:51:00.004+08:00

Sharing below is a photo collage of our miniature pinscher,
comprised of pictures captured on October 1st,
specially created to celebrate his birthday,
Maxi's special day!

5 year-old prince...still handsome, playful and energetic!

Happy 5th Birthday....on October 1st, 2009!
And many more happy returns of the day!

Big hugs and kisses, darling Maxi!
God bless you for the joy and happiness you give us each day

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR MAXI!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!"

Our fun-loving, lovable and adorable pet dog, Maxi
who has been in our home for 4 wonderful years.
May we be blessed with many many more!

Veg Fish Farm Thai Restaurant

2009-09-26T15:14:00.005+08:00

A gang of nine of us had lunch at the Fish Farm Thai Restaurant less than a week ago, our first time.

This Thai-owned restaurant is situated next to their own vegetable farm, at the bottom of a rocky hill and surrounded by lush tropical vegetation and 'sitting' on a very large pond (fish farm), teeming with 'home-bred' fishes like talapia merah, pak sow kong, escargot and others. Hence, its name 'Veg Fish Farm Thai Restaurant'.

It's a sort of rural village, well off from the main road, on an untarred bumpy beaten path of about 1 km or more, located near Ampang Lookout Point at Km 4, Jalan Ampang-Hulu Langat, 68000 Ampang, Selangor (Tel: 017-251 5236/019-260 6493).

According to Michael and Irene who suggested this lunch venue, it's so popular and heavily patronized especially during the weekends or public holidays that you may be forced to turn back because there's no available parking space or due to such a big crowd that may result in long waiting hours to be served. That was what happened to them one Sunday evening a fortnight ago, simply no parking at all!

Our outing there was on Monday 21st and it sure was overcrowded with customers, being a public holiday due to the Hari Raya Festival Season.

Of course, we were there before 11.30 am as advised by Michael, but in less than an hour, the drove of people steadily increased very quickly.

Whatever, having tried the food, I can just say that there's nothing much to shout about, except that the vegetables and seafood are fresh. Tasty or delicious, it's very subjective.

Menu is extensive. You can expect a lot of Thai cuisine that boasts of hot, spicy, sweet and sour dishes to tantalize your taste buds. It has a grill section for more varied choices of meat and seafood too.

Probably, due to the management's inability to cater for such a large crowd, food was far below par, just very ordinary I'd say.

Service was quite bad, dishes were slow in coming, and even one of our orders almost forgotten. Barbecued squid was half cooked, fried chicken too tough and ladies finger a little too old...humph!...must have harvested too late from its vegetable farm.

Fortunately, food isn't pricey and bill totaled only RM128.40 (inclusive of tea and rice) for the following dishes:

Talapia fish, steam limau thai style - RM24
Pak Sow Kong Fish, steam kicap - RM24.40
Fried Spinash (small) - RM8
Sambal Petai, fried with prawns (small) - RM12
Ladies Finger, steam (small) - RM8
Kerabu Mango with Keli Fish (small) - RM12
Fried Chicken with lime leaves (small) - RM10
Barbecued Squid (small) - RM12

Nevertheless, even though prices seemed reasonable, I don't think it's worthwhile to try another round if food quality and preparation is substandard!!

Elegant Inn Hong Kong Cuisine, Cheras

2009-09-25T17:58:00.007+08:00

Elegant, it definitely is, inside but not as appeared outside. Like being in a mini 5-star hotel restaurant where service is superb and ambiance great too. As its name suggest, it is elegant dining alright, but be prepared to be hit with an Iraqi bomb - hehe...a hefty food bill at the end of it all!

Five of us just wanted to try out this eatery one Sunday afternoon about a month ago. Restaurant Elegant Inn Hong Kong Cuisine is located at:
No. 16, Jalan Waras 1,
Taman Connaught, Cheras
56100 Kuala Lumpur. (Tel: (603) 9130 2626)

Outside appearance is nothing to shout about, a very ordinary corner lot of a seemingly old shop-house block.

As I mentioned earlier, elegance is of the essence for that lunch. Table napkins and towels were provided. Plates were changed ever so often, after every serving, and carried out by uniformed waitresses. The lady proprietress was friendly and even taught us how to enjoy their food...she seemed very proud of their Hong Kong cuisine food creations, sharing with us some of the unique ingredients that were included.

On the whole, food was good and delicious, but in such small servings that we think 2 persons could have easily polished them all. Definitely inadequate to fill 5 tummies full...maybe just enough to tickle our stomachs.

We ordered 4 dishes as recommended by the lady proprietress.

First serving was a plate of homemade tow foo, topped with salted and peppered Hong Kong boneless silver fish.

This was lovely but pricey and strangely itemized on the bill. One single dish but bore two charges, that is, RM16 for 8 small cubes of tow foo and another RM16 for the silver fish.

Strange, huh?

A plate of Golden Fried Pork Rib was then served individually to each person.

She told us that the meat is slightly tough as no unhealthy tenderizer had been indiscriminately added. Also, advised us to slice off the meat following the length of the bone...humph, did we look so ignorant that she had to teach us how to eat?

Whatever, this pork rib was tasty with just the right seasoning. But, there again, was it worth paying RM13 per piece?

Subsequent serving was a small plate of Bitter Gourd with Salted Vegetables (RM18) and ended with a plate of Fried Rice (RM22), another small serving.

The former is just so ordinary and even though the Fried Rice is one of their specialities, fried with diced dried shrimps from Hong Kong, and crabment, egg and garnished with spring onions, they were definitely exorbitantly priced too!

Anyway, I liked the fried rice as it wasn't oily at all and the rice grains perfectly cooked and fried.

Tea was RM2 per head which is normal and another RM9.50 for peanuts/towels. Total bill came up to RM164.35, inclusive of 5% service charge. Well, that's what you pay for elegant dining! Think, we retirees can do without that for ordinary lunches and dinners. Once bitten twice shy...we won't be 'hoodwinked' a second time for sure!!

Frankly, food business, like other businesses is sluggish during these times of economic downturn...there was only another table with diners besides us on a Sunday afternoon! That speaks volume, doesn't it? And, we were told that the Elegant Inn at this branch is only open for 3 days a week, that is, from Friday to Sunday. Hope, business picks up for them.

Use LinkWithin widget on your blog

2009-09-22T15:06:00.002+08:00

Just had to share a helpful blogging tip here!

Recently stumbled upon this lovely LinkWithin widget at some recipe blogs (thanks to Cheah of No-frills Recipe), and was definitely captivated and had it installed pronto on this blog.

Basically, it will automatically generate from your blog archive to display your related posts with clickable thumbnails (3 or 4 images as you wish) at the end of each post, linking them to their own post page.

Obviously, a smart way to feature related posts on your blog!

How does the LinkWithin widget benefit you?

since posts are retrieved from your blog archive, past as well as recent related posts are made accessible to visitors. Probably, even reintroducing past forgotten posts for your own leisure reading, yes? I've noticed that most times its thumbnail suggestions are relevant with the post they're linked to;
one way to keep your visitors interested and absorb in what are available in your blog;
somehow, images are more catchy and attractive than just text links, thus draw a reader's attention and interest;
a chance to increase traffic to your blog and page views;
you get to showcase lots of your blog posts for free and ad-free too. Isn't that fantastic? Saves you immeasurable time should you ever want to foolishly attempt a D-I-Y similar display. Of course, some bloggers may opt out this widget, preferring to choose their own posts...well, each to their own...I'm just too lazy to try. Fact be told, I've been toying with the idea for a long time and this widget is like 'heaven-sent'. :-D

So, why wait! Learn how-to install this beneficial blog widget on your blog. It's so simple and easy. Just click on this LinkWithin link, follow its easy steps therein and start the goodies rolling into your blog...almost immediately!

I've read that this widget can be installed in Wordpress and Typepad, besides Blogger.

Point to note though, is that widget will show text links when most of the suggested posts do not have an image.

That said, some of my older posts before the installation of the widget fall in this category. But, in spite of inserting images in those posts subsequently so that they would appear in the the widget, the thumbnails were not showcased. So, I emailed the team at LinkWithin-Contact Us about my problem and to my delightful surprise, they redressed it very quickly and professionally!

Thumbs up for their excellent follow-up support service! I'm impressed!

To the LinkWithin team: my heartfelt gratitude and thanks, and God bless you all for your generosity in sharing!

Psalm 118:8 - Trust In God

2009-09-18T16:49:00.003+08:00

Received a power point slide show via an email a few weeks ago about The Bible and was astounded by the profound message it portrayed. Thought I'd share here how awesome our Heavenly Father is - He alone knows what is best for us and ask us to trust in Him.

Quoted from the 11 slides as follows:

This is pretty strange how it worked out this way. Even if you are not religious, you should read this.
Q: What is the shortest chapter in the Bible?
A: Psalm 117
Q: What is the longest chapter in the Bible?
A: Psalm 119
Q: Which chapter is in the centre of the Bible?
A: Psalm 118
Facts: There are 594 chapters before Psalm 118. There are 594 chapters after Psalm 118. Add these numbers up and you get 1188.
Q: What is the centre verse in the Bible?
A: Psalm 118:8
Does this verse say something significant about God's perfect will for our lives?
The next time someone says they would like to find God's perfect will for their lives and that they want to be in the centre of His will, just send them to the centre of His Word!
Psalm 118:8 reads: "It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man."
Now, isn't that odd how this worked out...or was God in the centre of it? Before sending this, I said a prayer for you. Have you got a minute - 60 seconds for God? All you do is simply say a small prayer for the person who sent this to you.
"Father God, bless my friend in whatever it is that you know he or she may be needing this day! May their life be full of your peace, prosperity, and power as they seek to have a close relationship with You....Amen."
Then, send it on to 10 other people. Within hours, 10 people have prayed for you, and you caused many people pray to God for other people. Then sit back and watch the power of God at work in your life for doing the thing that you know He loves.
When things get tough, always remember...faith doesn't get you around trouble, it gets you through it!
"When you relinguish the desire to control your future, you obtain happiness."
May God bless you!

I do believe and trust in God, our Heavenly Father.

He asks us not to be afraid and promises to save us, knows each of us by name and we are precious to Him. Do refer to Isaiah 43:1-5 for comfort, assurance and strength.

God sends miracles everyday, in small and simple or even dramatic ways. We just have to train our eyes to be aware of them.

John, my beloved spouse and I experienced a miraculous protection from bodily harm during an attempted break-in into our home in late June.

And, it sure was a divine protection from The Divine Mercy, our Saviour and Redeemer!

We adore you O Christ and we bless You;
By Your Holy Cross, You have redeemed the world;
And, joy has come into the world!

Use ALT and TITLE attributes on images

2009-09-16T17:08:00.012+08:00

It's highly recommended to use both the ALT and TITLE tags on images that you've uploaded to your blogs. Adding these attributes to name and title your photos are most beneficial for the following reasons:

Descriptive text in both the attributes can be read by search engines for keywords/page content, thus improve the blog's accessibility, a form of advertising.
An image without these attributes is just an image, illegible to search engines, unless you've already named your JPEG images before uploading from your computer. Most people just retain the IMG# as downloaded from their digital cameras.
A necessity as the ALT attribute in HTML is the alternate text description for images. Its sole purpose is to describe images. Should an image not be loadable due to text-only browsers (especially for disabled users), slow internet connections or whatever, at least the alternate text description of the image will be seen.
It enhances the blog's usability by providing helpful details or information for the readers or visitors.
It makes your images discoverable by Google and other photo search engines, hence a way of promoting your blog.
Some browsers support the TITLE attribute but not the ALT attribute or vice versa. So, my humble advice is to use both the attributes to images, which is the safest bet.

Here's how-to apply the ALT and TITLE attributes to your HTML codes for images:

As an example, this is an unnamed image uploaded from my computer and does not have the ALT and TITLE attributes as yet. When viewed in the Edit Html mode of the New Post Editor, it bears the following HTML codes, as follows :-

i) first section as enclosed within the symbols < and > shows this:

<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_yue3lWqntTA/Sq9hYjk11MI/AAAAAAAAA_M/rr7yoOWWgTk/s1600-h/IMG_2526+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;">

ii) second section for the image (img) tag, also enclosed within similar symbols < and ></a> shows this:

<img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_yue3lWqntTA/Sq9hYjk11MI/AAAAAAAAA_M/rr7yoOWWgTk/s320/IMG_2526+copy.jpg" /></a>

Now, all you need to do is to add the TITLE attribute, title="" and the ALT attribute, alt="" and the description of the image within the inverted commas.
The descriptive text should be informative and meaningful, preferably in a complete sentence. For this picture, the text description to be used is "A view of our tropical home-garden design in Kuala Lumpur, on Sept 13 2009".
Try to follow these how-to steps (the descriptive texts are colored and bold for easy viewing) :

(i) add title="" together with the descriptive text of the image to the first section of the HTML codes. For this example, it should appear like this:

<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_yue3lWqntTA/Sq9hYjk11MI/AAAAAAAAA_M/rr7yoOWWgTk/s1600-h/IMG_2526+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="A view of our tropical home-garden design in Kuala Lumpur, on Sept 13 2009">

(ii) next, add alt="" with the alternate text for the image to the second section of the HTML codes. It should appear as such:

<img alt="A view of our tropical home-garden design in Kuala Lumpur, on Sept 13 2009" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_yue3lWqntTA/Sq9hYjk11MI/AAAAAAAAA_M/rr7yoOWWgTk/s320/IMG_2526+copy.jpg" /></a>
(Tip: an easier way to do this is to copy the title attribute, already done in step (i), then paste it to where the alt attribute should be inserted and just change the word title to alt)

That's all you need to do...simple and easy! The final html codes should appear as such:

<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_yue3lWqntTA/Sq9hYjk11MI/AAAAAAAAA_M/rr7yoOWWgTk/s1600-h/IMG_2526+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="A view of our tropical home-garden design in Kuala Lumpur, on Sept 13 2009"><img alt="A view of our tropical home-garden design in Kuala Lumpur, on Sept 13 2009" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_yue3lWqntTA/Sq9hYjk11MI/AAAAAAAAA_M/rr7yoOWWgTk/s320/IMG_2526+copy.jpg" /></a>

Click on the right image to view its larger version that illustrated clearly the correct insertion of both the ALT and TITLE tags.

The HTML codes for your uploaded image may not be exactly the same as the example given above, but the principle of inserting the TITLE and ALT tags is the same.

Try it... a simple action that does wonders to your images and blog in general. Practice makes perfect.

The garden photo on the right illustrates the resulting effect. Just test by rolling your mouse over it to read the image's description (the title).

Incidentally, if you're interested to visit our tropical garden, it's just a click away to John & Jacq's Garden here.

Hope this HTML tutorial on titling and naming your images has been useful.

Useful external links:

New Template - problems & solutions

2009-08-31T15:51:00.046+08:00

Continuing from previous post, 'Upgrade to Blogger Layouts features' ....

Two unwelcome problems occurred after the switch from old template to the new one with Layouts.

Aargh! Sidebar's Adsense ads and blog's links' color doing their disappearing act...now you see, now you don't!

Kept me so muddled and puzzled for many days as I struggled to rectify the problems. Googled for answers but unsuccessful. Hmm...had I been more knowledgeable in the configuration of html codes/css language, both of my problems could have been easily solved, I'm positive. Too bad..just had to rely on my own observations, trials and errors, plus brainstorming to get by for the time being until I can improve/expand my limited knowledge.

Nonetheless, in my google search for remedies, I found some very comprehensive and educative articles on html/css at David Raggett's guides, which I've bookmarked for further learning. Thanks, David for your generous sharing.

A friend teasingly remarked via email, "Aiyoh, my sympathies with your peacock blog....revamp till the owner also have its peacock feathers all flustered!" Haha...had a good laugh at my 'flustered' self in spite of the frustrations and mammoth tasks ahead.

Anyway, here's sharing the problems encountered and how-to solve, in my own way:

Problem #1 : I selected to display adsense ad units in my sidebar and posts. All the ads did show up initially. But when I edited their colors to blend with my blog, the adsense ads at the sidebar went missing on the main page, though it's displayed on the individual page of each post's url. The ads at the main body however, remained displayed throughout on both pages, regardless. Just couldn't understand why that happened! Occurred in both my blogs, this and the other blog, titled 'A tropical paradise in Malaysia'.

After much trial and error in removing and adding again the ads, I observed that this disappearing act occurs only when the adsense ad that appears beneath each post is edited, which is done at Layout / Page Elements > Edit Blog Posts (configure inline ads). In its editing window, it is indicated that the ads will show up to 3 times on a page. Herein lies the riddle! It finally dawned on me after much brainstorming that I already have 3 ad units (1 after each post as selected) on the main body plus another one at the sidebar, which adds to 4 altogether on the main page. No wonder Google restricted the display of the ad at the sidebar. It seemed to prioritize the number of ads displayed on the main body rather than the sidebar if editing is made to the inline ads, subsequent to the initial ads placement.

Solution for #1 :

The 4 ad units have to be removed and then added again. But first, edit the colors of the adsense ad units as you'd desire so that the edits are automatically saved before removal. To edit the ads that appear in the main body, go to Layout / Page Elements and click Edit for Blog Posts, then Configure the inline ads, and save when done. Next, click to Edit the Adsense gadget at the sidebar and save when done. Remember to be very precise when you configure the inline ads for the Blog posts, try to let the colours chosen be your final.
Next, remove the ads. Click on the Monetize tab and look out for the words, 'Remove Ads'. Click on it and a message will appear to prompt you to confirm removal. Then, another message will appear to suggest that you complete the form to reapply the ads if you wish to.
Continue to add the adsense ads again, by choosing the recommended first choice ie. to display ads in the sidebar and posts, then click the Next button to complete. A message pops up to confirm that adsense is enabled. Click to view blog....ads should be displayed as selected.
That's it. Should you desire to edit the sidebar ads once again, it's okay. But remember to leave the ads after each post unedited, otherwise it'll trigger the sidebar ad to go missing again if you edit it. Should you need to edit it again to further improve its display, be prepared to repeat the whole solution process from step 1 and so on!

Problem #2 : The peacockflower blogspot was upgraded to a new template, 'Harbor' by Douglas Bowman. One blatant setback was the colors of all the links or hyperlinks in the blog will be changed from its original blue color to a light grey (same as text color) when it's being clicked on, and will not return to its original. Can you imagine how awful that will be when eventually all the links are clicked, resulting into a drably blog without color contrast? Gees, what's causing that, I wondered in disbelief! Very strange, this is the first time for me. I don't encounter this problem with my second blog, using the 'Thisaway (Green)' template by Dan Rubin.

Solution for #2 :

Final successful third attempt. Steps taken were :

Pick a new template that does not pose this problem. Go to Layout / Pick New Template, then select a new template. Here, clicked on each of the template available and then preview template to see whether all the links are of one color or show the same problematic varied colors. Then, preview again the templates whose design best suit you and do not contain the problem as mentioned.
(I experimented and found that templates therein provided limited choices as all of Douglas Bowman's design have this same problem, as with many others, with the exception of designs by Darren Delaye and Dan Rubin. Since my other blog bears the latter's design, I finally had to choose one by the former and decided on 'Stretch Denim Light'. Incidentally, I later tweaked/fine-tuned its fonts and colours and am delighted with its charming and pleasant result. :-D ).
Click Save Template when you've made your final decision. And View Blog to see your new layout design.

As I mentioned earlier, these two problems that I encountered could have been solved easily if equipped with a sound knowledge of HTML and CSS.

To solve the second problem, I did earlier attempted twice to edit template with my limited knowledge, following Blogger Help here. Chose to do this way as the blog's first 'Harbor' template did not have elements such as Link/Visited Link Color and Sidebar Link/Visited Link Color in the Layout / Fonts and Colors tab for me to configure. Anyhow, threw up at the second attempt when a message appeared with error code: bX-27asnz.

To redress, I just removed whatever html edits I've made earlier and save template. Thank God, everything was back to normal again except the links' colour unresolved until I tried the third successful attempt above after a good night's rest and having uplifted my problem in prayer.

Praise The Lord!

Update: Sept 1 2009
As I've guessed, problem #2 above can easily be rectified at Layouts > Fonts and Colors, if both the Link Color and Visited Link Color elements are included therein. Just set both the elements to have the same color or variant of the same color and then save to effect the changes on your blog. Easily done, huh! A friend's blog with the TicTac template had this problem, but fortunately for her, it was just a simple configuration as advised here and almost instantaneously solved.

Upgrade to Blogger Layouts features

2009-08-30T01:16:00.132+08:00

Hooray....finally my blog has been upgraded to a new template with the new Blogger Layouts features!

Simply cool and fantastic, ready to use with all the user-friendly features incorporated to customize the page elements, fonts and colours, edit HTML and pick new template, to name a few.

All can be so easily done with a few mouse clicks, needing no knowledge of HTML or CSS. Isn't that wonderful?

If you're still using the old template, and would like to customize your blog, let Blogger Help guide you through with the following links:

to use the Layouts features, you have first to upgrade your old template;
if you change your mind about the template chosen, you can easily switch to another;
learn more about the Layouts features here, and how-to use them, especially the Page Elements and Fonts and Colours, which really do wonders to style your blog as you desire;
adding the Adsense ad units via the Monetize button is such a breeze now, not necessary to know HTML. Subsequently, more ads units can be inserted using the Add a gadget element at Layout > Page Elements;
the New Post Editor is another great addition, a feature that should not be ignored for easier composing and editing.

I just love the new coat of paint given to this blog...cool sky-blue with complementary light grey! Previously, the old template was a pink one, 'Thisaway Rose' by Dan Rubin, now it's 'Stretch Denim Light' by Darren Delaye. Frankly, I had fun playing around with the various template styles, Layouts > Fonts and Colors tab and splashing/juggling around the various desired color paints before settling down to its final display as seen here.

Nonetheless, my first new template choice was 'Harbor' by Douglas Bowman...a charming and serene style but was forced to switch to the present one, due to an unexpected problem that surfaced...will share in my next post. (update: it's here!)

Why had I suddenly decide to change to this new template, you may ask?

For a long time, I had seen the 'Customize your design' tab on my dashboard but dare not attempt for fear of getting stuck halfway through. It did warn that old customized details may be lost on upgrade...a deterrent for me as I'm not at all html-savvy!

But destiny decided that it had to be done when I volunteered to assist a lovely friend to start her No-frills recipe blog here. I encountered problems along the way and had difficulty assisting her as features of her newly created blog and my old-template blog were at odds. Thus, the best way to redress the pressing issues was to create my own new blog on Malaysia and see for myself the Layout features available.

Wow...was I blown over with what the new Layout had to offer! Besides, this new blog can be used as a testing ground to boost my confidence in converting or upgrading my old template. And, the rest is history, so to speak.

Of course, there were some teething problems as I familiarized myself with the other Layouts features available....no pain, no gain, yes? But if there's a will there's a way! Nothing is so easy, but with patience, determination and perseverance, they can be overcome.

Hence forth, I hope to be sharing some blogging tips here. For sure, there'll be someone out there who may encounter similar problems and if a tip from my blog can put a smile on his/her face, mine will surely shine too! :-)

Empayar Seremban Siew Pow

2009-08-22T16:51:00.010+08:00

Five of us traveled in one car to an eatery about 60 km away, just to have lunch early this week. Ridiculous, you may remark? Not at all for us retirees who have much time to spare, so distance is no problem at all.

Empayar Siew Pow was our destination, popularly known for its baked pastry buns with BBQ meat filling or 'siew pow' in Chinese. It's located at Ground Floor, Jalan Besar TBK 4, Taman Bukit Kepayang in Seremban (Tel.: 06-6016308).

Nevertheless, you can have a very hearty meal to your heart's content here. Hehe...of course with money in hand, simply speaking. So many varied dishes are offered, with large pictures walled around to entice its customers. Smart business tactics, huh!!

We ordered curry prawn that was accompanied with brinjals, ladies fingers, long beans, etc., steamed Patin fish, vegetables and braised pork as seen in these images posted. Well prepared and delicious.

And, cheap too! Bill totaled only RM102.50 for the 4 dishes, inclusive of rice and drinks.

The 'siew pow' isn't cheap though! Not only prices have sky-rocketed, but size of buns are much reduced. Aargh...thank goodness, these aren't are favourites!!

Paddington House of Pancakes

2009-08-21T23:39:00.028+08:00

Yum...yum, got to try them out at Paddington House of Pancakes, about two weeks ago!
It's located at Unit 142, 1st Floor at The Curve, Mutiara Damansara - Tel: 03-7726 2382.
Pancakes were simply delicious!

If not for our elder boy, my darling John and I wouldn't have been able to drive there!
Gees, it's just too difficult to attempt the route there on our own...very confusing for us oldies with the many new highways and byways!!

David's order #406 included 2 pcs of pancakes, sausages and bacon, tomatoes and veggie. Normal price: RM22++. which is a little pricey though.

John's Brussels Set #303 - came with organic buckwheat, galatte with cheesy beef bacon, onions, mozzarella, sunny side-up, baked beans and guacamole.
This RM13.80++ lunch set includes a beverage and a mini pancake sundae.

My Tokyo Set #209 - came with grilled chicken, tomatoes, mushrooms, oyster, mozzarella, mashed potatoes served with filled pannekoek.

Another value for money lunch set at only RM13.80, like my darling's.

I was astonished by the wide range of pancakes offered on its menu, never knew they can be so extensive in variety!

Their normal-priced pancakes are quite expensive!

Go for their set lunch promotion on weekdays for only RM13.80++ that include one normal-priced pancake from a promotion list, plus a beverage and a lovely mini pancake sundae.

Real value for money...have to eat smart during this economic uncertainty, yes??

Cheap...good...healthy...and quality food! :-D

Rimba Ilmu, Universiti Malaya

2009-08-19T02:05:00.014+08:00

Rimba Ilmu Botanic Garden would have remained unknown to us had John and I not bothered to seek the identity of our lovely Cardwell Lily, a hosta look-alike plant.

Read about its ID search at our garden blog

Aptly named as the 'Forest of Knowledge' in English, it spans an extensive 80 hectares that is abundantly covered with rare and indigenous tropical flora. It is located in the University of Malaya's main campus in Kuala Lumpur.

We were very fortunate to be able to visit this 'treasure island' on Saturday, August 1, within a week of knowing its existence. Coincidentally too, being the first Saturday of the month, all of us visitors (only a handful adults with 3 children) were given a public tour by the seasoned naturalist, Ms. Angela ...thank you!

She guided us through the pathways in the Botanic Garden which is more forest-lke, giving a brief history of Rimba Ilmu. Patiently too, introducing some of the living collections of rare plants, including various kinds of medicinal herbs, ferns, gingers, palms and trees, as well as touching on the importance of forest conservation and its benefits, ecology and the like.

Most of the plants have their identities and origin clearly labeled.

It was an interesting, refreshing and enlightening tour that lasted about two and a half hours starting from 9.00 am. Included is the 'Rainforest and Our Environment' Exhibition in an annex to the main building and a view inside the Rare Plants and Orchid Conseratory.

All this for just RM4 per adult as admission fee, to see for real the treasures of plant life in the rainforest and much more.

My beloved and I truly enjoyed the wonderful tour. A little disappointed though that there were not much exotic flowers in abundance to amaze and astound us in this Rimba Ilmu Botanic Garden, but all the same, it was a very worthwhile trip. Our very own Malaysian-made tropical treasure, definitely not to be missed!

Explore Rimba Ilmu's website for more information and virtual tour of our visit.

Church of St Anne, Port Klang

2009-08-16T18:50:00.009+08:00

Haha...another one day's trip by the 'magnificent 7' to the Church of St. Anne Port Klang, that started its annual Novena to its patroness from July 16 in conjunction with the Feast of Saint Anne.

Didn't go on the actual Feast Day that fell on Sunday, July 26 though, but we attended Novena that was followed by Mass for senior citizens on Thursday, July 23. The 2009 Novena theme was 'Towards a spirituality of communion' and the theme for Thursday's worship was 'Cultivating deep and genuine friendships.

The main Celebrant that day was Fr. Mari Arokiam of Church of St. John Mary Vianney in Tampin and assisted by Fr. Lawrence Andrew, the parish priest of St. Anne Church. The former gave a wonderful homily on promoting genuine friendships based on the 3As, that is, acceptance, appreciation and affirmation and to be initiated within the domestic church amongst family members and then outwards to others.

Shared with us too a touching email he had received about 'Who you are (I am) makes a difference", irrespective whether you're young or old, small or large, rich or poor, high-ranking or ordinary. It holds true no matter who you are.

He ended by encouraging us to support the St Anne kindergarten extensions building fund with these words, "Give and spend, God will send" and elaborated that God loves a cheerful giver!

2 Corinthians 9:6-11 from the Good News Bible says,

Remember that the person who plants few seeds will have a small crop; the one who plants many seeds will have a large crop.
Each one should give, then, as he has decided, not with regret or out of a sense of duty; for God loves the one who gives gladly.
And God is able to give you more than you need, so that you will always have all you need for yourselves and more than enough for every good cause.
As the scripture says, "He gives generously to the needy; his kindness lasts forever".
And, God, who supplies seed for the sower and bread to eat, will also supply you with all the seed you need and will make it grow and produce a rich harvest from your generosity.

I'm definitely sure Fr. Mari's sermon made an impact on all of us and the Church of St. Anne was a little richer that day. Thank you both, Fr. Mari and Fr. Lawrence and praise The Lord for such charismatic Priests in our midst. Lunch was generously served for everyone present. Looks like a banquet, yummy and tantalizing!

Nevertheless, our group of seven (Steven, Sook Wan, John and Mary B., Michael, my other half and I) decided to proceed to Telok Gong for lunch. Hehe....lost our way there, the chief navigator must be getting 'younger'? ;-)

If I recalled correctly, we reached the Restoran Makanan Laut Telok Gong Sdn Bhd (formerly known as Coconut Flower Seafood Restaurant) almost 2.15 pm. We were really famished and could eat a cow, so to speak! Haha...every dish ordered were polished almost immediately and lunch was over in a jiffy!! :-)

What shocked us though was the bill totaled RM152 for a small dish each of mee hoon (12/-), steamed fish (42/-), river terrapin (38/-), mantis prawn (15/-), egg omelette with small oysters (15/) and miscellaneous. A bit too expensive for the quantity served! No more going to that eatery again, for sure!

Nonetheless, that insightful and inspiring sermon by Father Mari at Church of St Anne, Port Klang, has left its mark in my heart.

P/S: Coincidentally, about 2 weeks after the trip to Church of St Anne in Port Klang, my beloved brother sent me an email with the power point presentation of 'Who I Am Makes A Difference' and put a big grin on my face!! :-D Love to share below this inspiritional quotation, without the images, of course!

Who I Am Makes A Difference (by Helice Bridges)

A teacher in New York decided to honor each of her seniors in high school by telling them the difference each of them had made.

Using a process developed by Helice Bridges of Del Mar, California, she called each student to the front of the class, one at a time. First she told them how the student made a difference to her and the class. Then she presented each of them with a blue ribbon imprinted with gold letters which read, "Who I Am Makes a Difference."

Afterwards, the teacher decided to do a class project to see what kind of impact recognition would have on a community. She gave each of the students three more ribbons and instructed them to go out and spread this acknowledgment ceremony. Then they were to follow up on the results, see who honored whom and report back to the class in about a week.

One of the boys in the class went to a junior executive in a nearby company and honored him for helping him with his career planning. He gave him a blue ribbon and put it on his shirt. Then he gave him two extra ribbons, and said, "We're doing a class project on recognition, and we'd like you to go out, find somebody to honor, give them a blue ribbon, then give them the extra blue ribbon so they can acknowledge a third person to keep this acknowledgment ceremony going. Then please report back to me and tell me what happened."

Later that day the junior executive went in to see his boss, who had a reputation of being kind of a grouchy fellow. He told him that he deeply admired him for being a creative genius. The boss seemed very surprised. The junior executive asked him if he would accept the gift of the blue ribbon and would he give him permission to put it on him. His surprised boss said,"Well, sure." The junior executive took the blue ribbon and placed it right on his boss's jacket above his heart. As he gave him the last extra ribbon, he said, "Would you do me a favor? Would you take this extra ribbon and pass it on by honoring somebody else? The young boy who first gave me the ribbons is doing a project in school and we want to keep this recognition ceremony going and find out how it affects people."

That night the boss came home to his 14-year-old son and sat him down. He said, "The most incredible thing happened to me today. I was in my office and one of the junior executives came in and told me he admired me and gave me a blue ribbon for being a creative genius. Imagine. He thinks I'm a creative genius." Then he put this blue ribbon that says "Who I Am Makes A Difference" on my jacket above my heart. He gave me an extra ribbon and asked me to find somebody else to honor.
As I was driving home tonight, I started thinking about whom I would honor with this ribbon and I thought about you. I want to honor you.
"My days are really hectic and when I come home I don't pay a lot of attention to you. Sometimes I scream at you for not getting good enough grades in school and for your bedroom being a mess, but somehow tonight, I just wanted to sit here and, well, just let you know that you do make a difference to me. Besides your mother, you are the most important person in my life. You're a great kid and I love you!"
The startled boy started to sob and sob, and he couldn't stop crying. His whole body shook. He looked up at his father and said through his tears, "I was planning on committing suicide tomorrow, Dad, because I didn't think you loved me. Now I don't need to."

Other slides that were included:

Please know that I think you are important, or you would not have received this in the first place.
Who you are does make a difference, and I wanted you to know that.
I'm passing the blue ribbon to you.
Have an awesome day, and know that someone has thought about you today!
And the young boy and his classmates learned a valuable lesson. Who you are DOES make a difference. You are under no obligation to send this on to anyone...not to two people or to two hundred. As far as I am concerned, you can delete it and move on to the next message. But if, you have anyone who means a lot to you, I encourage you to send him or her this message and let them know. You never know what kind of difference a littly encouragement can make to a person.

Thank you so much, my dearest Brother, for the affirmation.

A movie on 'Who I Am Makes A Difference' at Inspirational Flash Movies.

A weekend in Cameron Highlands

2009-08-06T23:14:00.008+08:00

Recently, we had a terrific 3D2N holiday to Cameron Highlands. It was really fun and enjoyable with the right company of friends, all retirees including 2 reemployed.

Almost couldn't get an apartment for the weekend of July ll. Didn't realized that CH is still such a popular and favourite holiday resort. In spite of a warmer than cool climate in the highlands due to indiscriminate deforestation in the name of development and tourism, causing hazardous environmental damage and pollution, crowds are still drawn there. Whatever, it's definitely cooler than the lowlands and a treat for relaxation in cooler clime and enjoy whatever nature has to offer.

Being quite computer savvy and a lady of leisure, so to speak, I was assigned to make reservation just 12 days before the trip. Almost an impossible task I realized as our request for an apartment on the ground floor or the very most 1st floor had to be fulfilled since one among us has a heart ailment. Almost all related sites for CH reservations insist that payment be made simultaneously upon booking with no guarantee in fulfilling our special request. After much googling and phone calls, I finally found this website: apartments.cameronhighlands.com, whose reservation personnel, Ms. Jessie was able to get us a 1st floor unit at Carnation Park Apartments for RM250 per night.

A big thank you to Ms. Jessie of Cameron Holiday Services for her expert and efficient services before and during our holiday there.

This holiday is memorable as it is the first time 7 of us are holidaying together, usually it's just a day's trip or an evening somewhere for food!

We left Kuala Lumpur around 7 am in two cars, using the Simpang Pulai way to CH. Stopped in Ipoh to meet Soke Wan's sister, Sook Hah who baked a cake to celebrate her sis's birthday and some muffins to share around. Without reservation, we roped her in to join our trip which she did. A new addition to our group and mighty glad to have found a new friend that was able to click instantly with us all. Besides, she loves baking and definitely an expert, having sampled and gorged ourselves with those yummy ones that she offered. Hehe...greedy people like us look forward for more of her company! :-D

We lunched at Sun Marpoh Restaurant at Ipoh Garden, before continuing our journey. Reached CH about 4 pm due to a massive 1-hour jam from Tringkap to Brinchang town, caused by traders setting up stalls for pasar-malam. Humph...don't ever travel this way to CH on Saturdays, better to use the old road via Tapah.

The 3-room apartment at Carnation Park was splendidly clean with enough bedding for 8-10 persons, a kitchen sufficiently equipped with utensils and the like, a refrigerator and well-furnished dining and sitting areas. We were delightfully happy, yet rather surprised that 8 sets of Japanese slippers were provided too, something most welcomed on the apartment's cold marbled flooring. A mahjong table was included too. Of course, the excited players came prepared with the necessary mahjong papers, chips, etc. Housekeeping service for the apartment was promptly attended to.

What more could we ask...the apartment was clean, comfy and cosy!! We were absolutely very satisfied! Besides, it's located at the foothill of Gunung Jasar at Tanah Rata, a cool and quiet area just less than 5 minutes drive to town. And, it's close to the Chapel of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel where 8 of us attended the Sunset Mass with Fr. Eugene Benedict as the Celebrant, seven of whom are Catholics from the Church of St. Francis of Assisi, Cheras, while Soke Hah, a non-Catholic, just tagged along.

Saturday's weather was bright and sunny till the late evening, where it started to drizzle and rained lightly throughout the whole night till Sunday midday. What can you do but play mahjong again. All in the group can play except my beloved spouse and I. Nevertheless, through hours of observing them playing on Saturday night, Sunday morning and night, I became fascinated and will agree that it's a delightful game for sharpening our mind. Hmm...may wish to learn how-to if there's a tutor?

Rain stopped just in time for us to keep our Sunday lunch appointment with Fr. Eugene. Next, we visited Boh Tea Plantation at Ringlet which presented a magnificent view, though not as picturesque as the Sg. Palas Boh Tea Plantation at Brinchang. The Cactus Valey at Brinchang that we visited next hadn't change much compared to our previous visit in August 2005, but blossoms of Plectranthus 'Mona Lavender' were in great abundance.

Dinner was steam-boat at Downtown Cafe, where we had western the previous night. Quite a lovely Chinese and Western dining in the heart of Tanah Rata town with tasty food at reasonable prices. Followed by durians as dessert on both evenings at a stall just a few meters away. Fancy us all eating there to our heart's content, standing and eating uninhibitedly in public! Haha...first time for John and I!

Time flew and before we realized, it was departure time the next day, Monday morning. Around 11 am, we parted ways: Steven, Sook Wan, Mary and Sook Hah traveled with John Boi via the Simpang Pulai way to send Sook Hah, Ipoh-bound for home, whilst John and I traveled with Michael who took the Tapah route homeward.

Steven was the think-tank that masterminded a way of sharing the expenses, with a common cash pool made up of a specified amount collected from each person (drivers excluded as they will be accountable for the toll charges and petrol) and managed by his spouse Sook Wan, the finance manager. Everything moved so smoothly from day one and unbelievably there were excess cash returned a few days after the exciting trip. Imagine, just RM175 per pax for a 3D2N holiday to Cameron Highlands that covered transport, food and lodging and some miscellaneous...isn't that fantastic?? :-D

A big thank you to all our wonderful friends who have made this short vacation a truly enjoyable and memorable one for John and I.

Sharing below some photos captured, and more at my flickr photoblog.

In fact, Cameron Highlands has many places of interest, such as the garden nurseries, vegetable and strawberry farms, butterfly and bee farms, and others. Too bad, we were hampered by the rain and missed some of those lovely sights. Nevertheless, our vacation was primarily for relaxation and leisure and we sure got plenty of that!

A map of Cameron Highlands included here, just in case we may need one next time around!

Cataract Surgery by Dr. Kok Howe Sen

2009-07-25T23:32:00.007+08:00

Not me this time but my mother-in-law (MIL) who had cataract surgery done on both her eyes at Eye Specialist Clinic Kok & Kok, 96 Jalan Gasing, 46000 Petaling Jaya, by ,Dr. Kok Howe Sen

Both eyes on the same day, you might ask? Of course not, though it is possible as experienced by a friend of ours who had cataract operation on both her eyes on the same day, one after another, at Wong Yiing Cheong Specialist Eye Centre (WYCEC) in Cheras.

Anyway, my MIL had hers done about 3 months apart, first the left eye in March 2009, then followed by the right in June. Being so advance in age (85 years old), John (her son) and I thought it best for her to do one eye at a time with a rest period in between, even though doctors would advised differently. We didn't want her to be unduly afraid or anxious or felt pushed into an ordeal.

During her first clinical check, Dr. Kok diagnosed that she had cataract in both eyes besides age-related degeneration behind them, the right eye being in a worser condition. In fact, there was little vision in the right eye whereby fingers held at arms length away are vague to her. According to Dr. Kok, cataract surgery to the right eye may improve her vision very marginally. He suggested to do phacoemulsification (phaco for short) surgery to the left eye first as it will have a better chance of improved vision.

We praise and thank God that her first cataract operation was very successful with good vision that was better than expected, without complications and recovery was splendidly quick. Same too for the second cataract surgery to the right eye which resulted in vision as good as the left eye...we were wonderfully surprised! Tecnis IOL lenses were implanted in both eyes, Tecnis Z9001 +18.5D in the left eye and Tecnis Z9000 +08.0D in the right.

Thanks too to her daughter who took good care of her mum, especially with regard to the regimented eye-drop applications and saloon-style hair-washing, daily for about a month after each surgery.

And, of course, a big thank you to Dr. Kok Howe Sen, the eye specialist who performed both the operations so skillfully, and to his team of nurses and staff.

Having gone through a right eye cataract surgery myself early this year at WYCEC and having accompanied my MIL on both of her surgeries at Eye Specialist Clinic Kok & Kok, I cannot help but share my thoughts and conclude the following :-

Thumbs up to Dr. Kok of Eye Specialist Clinic Kok & Kok! A very skilled eye surgeon/specialist of few words but has a heart of gold. He charges so reasonably, making it affordable to a wider general public especially those handicapped financially. I'd like to positively think he is charitable and in a way contributing to society, though others may think otherwise, a business strategy perhaps? Nonetheless it is a win-win situation that John and I are most appreciative. We know of other eye surgeons that charges RM3,000/= or more for the phaco procedure with the same Tecnis lens implant or of lesser grade and no frills attached too.
His charge for a phaco cataract surgery per eye is only RM2,200/= which is real value for money - not only the patient gets a super-skilled surgeon (he does 6-7 cataract operations per day) but gets implanted with a premium Tecnis aspheric intraocular lens (IOL) from USA for a safer and sharper vision. Included in the package too is the initial RM100/= refundable payment for first consultation, 2 types of eyedrops (1 bottle of Vigamox (moxifloxacin hydrochloride ophthalmic solution) + 2 bottles of Spersadex comp.) and 3 post-op checks (first one on the next day, then 3 days later and final check 3 weeks later). Isn't that great! To me, this speaks volume of his concern for the patient who needs assurance that everything is okay or otherwise. In contrast, for my cataract surgery at another eye clinic, I was advised to return for only one post-op check on the third day - that too, the check and an additional bottle of Spersadex were charged, nothing is free there!
We observed that Dr. Kok's clinic was always packed with patients the many times that we've been there. Lots of people with eye-related problems, especially cataract, seek him. He's very focused and organized. I'm truly amazed that he's able to juggle between seeing patients and perform operations during the clinical hours and does it so professionally.
Dr. Kok's Eye Specialist Clinic is housed in a single-storey building (bungalow), hence very ideal for elderly patients who might have difficulty climbing a staircase had it been otherwise. That was one of the reasons why we rejected WYCEC for my MIL as its operation suite is on the 1st floor and we didn't want to risk her to any danger of falling after the op. Haha, in a way, I was the guinea-pig for my MIL. Since the phaco procedure on my right eye done at WYCEC with the Zeiss aspheric IOL implant did not produce excellent results as expected, I refuse to subject her to a probable disappointment like mine. I'm so happy to have found an alternative eye surgeon in Dr. Kok who gave her almost perfect sight in both eyes. Thank God!
I want that too for my left eye which has cataract. Without doubt, I'll be going to Dr. Kok for the phaco surgery one day. Probably not before my already operated right eye has fully recovered, with no discomfort of the quarter-moon halo and eye dryness. Pray that'll be soon...when, I wonder....humph, almost into my 7th month after surgery?

Father's Day 2009

2009-06-30T15:42:00.004+08:00

Darren treated his daddy and I to lunch at Athena, together with his family, in celebration of Father's Day on Sunday, June 21st. It is a modern Mediterranean dining, located at The Pavilion in Jalan Bukit Bintang with quite an impressive decor. First time for us all!

Food on the whole was quite good with simple presentation and reasonably priced. In my opinion, it's a notch or two lower as compared to Fig & Olive at Sunway Pyramid, Bandar Sunway, another joint serving Mediterranean cuisine.

John had Mediterranean Fish Fillet (RM22.90), Yanti had Authentic Mediterranean Beef (RM22.90), Dylea had Pasta Aglio Olio Salmon (RM19.90) and I had Pollo Alla Pimentos with marinated chicken (RM22.90). Our value lunches included soup of the day and dessert. Darren, on the other hand, had Roasted Leg of Chicken that included only a glass of Iced Lemon Tea (RM14.90).

A wonderful time spent together that included some shopping afterwards and an early dinner at Pizza Hut.

David, our elder son and his family were in Ipoh that weekend, so their absence in KL were truly felt by us all. Nevertheless, David decided to treat both his daddy and I to lunch at Chile's Grill and Bar, Suria KLCC the next day. A first visit for John and I but not for our son at this Texan-Mexican food fare! We were impressed with the large portions served, that were attractively presented and tasted good too! It's usually very crowded and noisy at this joint during the weekends and dinner time. Fortunately, we were there on Monday and slightly earlier than the usual lunch rush!

Three of us shared a plate each of Triple Play, Classic Nachos and Grilled Chicken Caesar which totaled a little over RM100/= including drinks. Yummy and affordable!

Sharing below are some captures taken that day.

Thank you so much, my darling boys for this joyous moments. Your dad and I really appreciate your thoughtfulness and love.

Pilgrimage to Church of St. Paul the Apostle

2009-06-23T16:03:00.013+08:00

Last Saturday, 20 June 2009, my beloved spouse John and I went on a day pilgrimage to the Church of St. Paul the Apostle at Kuala Kubu Baru, Ulu Selangor with almost 90 other pilgrims, mostly from our parish, Church of St. Francis of Assisi. The pilgrimage was organized to celebrate the year dedicated to St. Paul (Pauline Year) as proclaimed by the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI and in order to gain the plenary indulgence. Our Spiritual Director was none other than our beloved Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Valentine Gompok.

Hehe, John and I were like happy kids, a little too excited that we didn't sleep too well and got up before 6 am to prepare ourselves for the pilgrimage. Left home at 7.10 and arrived at SFA Church very much ahead of the departure time. :-D

Just before departing to KKB at 8.10 am, we had the rite at the beginning of the pilgrimage at our church's ground. Then, each pilgrim was given a bottle of mineral water and a pack of egg sandwiches and banana cake as breakfast before boarding the air-conditioned bus.

We reached St. Paul's Church about 9.40 as envisaged and was welcomed by the PPC Chairperson, Mr. Colin Teh and his spouse, Dolly as there was no residing Parish Priest currently. A very meaningful Mass was celebrated from 10 am. with Fr. Valentine as the celebrant (thank you, Father!), ending almost one and a half hours later. After some photo sessions and signing of the pilgrimage book, we walked to Kuala Kubu Baru town nearby for lunch, led by Colin and Dolly.

Lunch for us and our retiree friends was simple: just Teochew porridge/rice with the traditional accompaniment (egg, salted vege, tow foo, pork and fish). Cost only RM42 for 7 persons that included an unknown Indian pilgrim, who preferred Chinese food. We decided to treat the latter and shared the cost among 6 of us.

Returned to St. Paul after lunch. More photo-shoot and cake-cutting by all the fathers present, celebrating Father's Day, a day earlier. Cake was graciously donated by Julie, one of the pilgrims.

Before leaving the Church of St. Paul the Apostle at 2 pm, we concluded with the rite at the end of the pilgrimage.

Arrived home safely about 3.40 pm. Praise and thank the Lord!

We thoroughly enjoyed this wonderfully joyful and enriching pilgrimage. A big thank-you to George Yeow, who did a great job in organizing this pilgrimage - prayerful and meditative yet not too heavy! And, it costs only RM15/pax with packed breakfast and transport included. Throw in a few more ringgit for lunch and you have a wonderful half a day pilgrimage, a real spiritual treat! Impossible to believe, huh?

Sharing below some pictures taken in and around the church that was established in 1965, located along Jalan Rasathurai in the town centre of Kuala Kubu Baru, Selangor (Tel: 03-60641467). A simple Catholic Church with a life-size sculpture of St. Paul inside and outside, a well-maintained church grounds with a lovely Blessed Mary Grotto and beautiful garden trees or shrubs like Solanum macranthum (Giant Potato Tree) and vines such as Passiflora coccinea (Red granadilla), Thunbergia laurifolia, and Quisqualis indica (Rangoon Creeper).

Dinner at Look Out Point, Ampang

2009-06-23T15:44:00.004+08:00

There's much talk about the happening at Look Out Point or Pusat Pelancongan dan Menara Tinjau (in the Malay language) that our retiree group decided to try out one evening about 2 weeks ago. Ten of us car-pooled in two cars and arrived there effortlessly as our chief navigator and initiator, Michael had been there a few times.

In fact, we've been there previously with him too, about one and a half years ago during the day time after a hearty lunch at a Chinese Restaurant with a fishing pond nearby, located somewhere in the forest region of 14th mile, Hulu Langat if I recalled correctly.

Unfortunately, it was too hazy for us to enjoy the magnificent Kuala Lumpur night skyline that would have included the Petronas Twin Towers, Menara KL Tower and Menara Telekom in Petaling Jaya, which were totally invisible that night. What a disappointment! I tried taking a couple of shots with my point-and-shoot camera Canon PowerShot A60, but was a fiasco! Anyway, nothing spectacular would have been achieved without the inclusion of the majestic buildings mentioned.

So, we focused on the menu available instead, at Look Out Point Western Food Restaurant where Michael had made reservations earlier. Service was good and food ordered were surprisingly served quite soon. I can't honestly say that the food was excellent, but was quite tasty no doubt, though the beef steak was a little tough. Most main courses were simply presented, nothing fancy, just accompanied with some fries and a couple of cauliflower or brocoli florets, or alternatively with mashed potatoes, slices of cucumber and tomatoes. Thus, I had no interest in photographing them.

Nonetheless, pricing was reasonable. Our total bill for 10 persons amounted to only RM272/=.

Included below is the business card of the restaurant's manager, just in case you are interested.

View some fantastic nightscape photos, shared by a blogger and be enthralled!

And, day pictures at another site and some additional info here.

Another Easter 2009 Celebration

2009-05-18T14:15:00.007+08:00

Easter is another wonderful season to express thanksgiving and appreciation of God's boundless gifts and blessings. An opportunity too to enjoy meals and fellowship with family, relatives and friends.

A month ago, on Saturday 18th of April, John and I graciously treated his mother and some friends from our retiree group to a sumptuous Chinese lunch at Mandarin Palace Chinese Restaurant, Federal Hotel Kuala Lumpur.

It was a Weekend 'Yam Ley Sek' (all you can eat) Brunch from 10.30am to 2.30pm where you select what you'd like to savour from a fixed menu of about 60 dishes. Included were 15 dim-sum varieties, shark's fin soup, meat (chicken, pork, venison, lamb), fish, prawns, tou foo, egg, veggies, noodles, etc. all prepared in various styles, could be Chinese, local and other Asian cuisine.

Reasonably priced too - just RM45++ per adult, but RM25++ for senior citizen/child, excluding chinese tea which cost RM3.50/pax. Real value for money, especially all of us except one are senior citizens! ;)

We enjoyed the lovely dishes except that some were a little too salty. Also, we made the mistake of starting off, indulging with too much dim-sum and shark's fin soup...hence, too little stomach space left for other interesting dishes. Hmm...must eat smart the next time around, huh!

Sharing some pictures taken then:

Easter Celebration at Shogun, Bandar Utama

2009-05-05T12:01:00.006+08:00

We chose to celebrate Easter Sunday, April 12 at Shogun Japanese Buffet Restaurant again. A favourite joint for our family gatherings where you eat all you can and stay as long as you want from 12 noon till 5.30 pm. Even venture out to shop in the 1 Utama Shopping Mall where Shogun is located, in-between the hours as long as some of us are still inside eating or yakking. Isn't that marvelous, especially for families with restless children who just wouldn't stay put for long?

Food quality, quantity and variety is simply awesome! Seems to be getting better and better at each next visit...just fantastic!! Real value for money. Good service and wonderful ambience.

Get to know more details about location, pricing and kinds of food, at my earlier post here.

Sharing here some photos taken on that lovely enjoyable day with members of my family.

Happy Easter 2009

2009-04-18T22:39:00.014+08:00

Though Easter Season for 2009 had already started from April 12,
it is never to late to send wishes, yes? :-)

Jesus Christ The Lord Is Risen! Alleluia! Alleluia!

"Wishing one and all
A Very Happy And Blessed Easter Season!
May The Unceasing Sacrificial Love Of
The Resurrected Lord Jesus
Remain In Our Hearts And Minds Forever,
Filling Us With His Fullness Of Joy, Peace, Mercy And Grace"

Just wanted to share the reasons why I chose the image of these lovely flowers of Hosta seen above for our Easter card. It seems so befitting the purpose, I think :

the blooms decided to burst forth happily on Easter Sunday, presenting John and I much joy and excitement. What a wonderful surprise and an awesome Easter gift - this is the first time we've ever seen Hosta's flowers in person and it is also the first time our Hosta ever bloomed since joining our garden family seven years ago. Perfect timing too, as if risen from slumber and being completely alive now.
Jesus, I want to die to sin and be alive to God in You, as Saint Paul prayed!
flowers appear so white and pure - reminding me of Jesus' cross and blood, purifying and cleansing me of my sins so that I can be as white as wool again.
Jesus, I need your strength and grace!
the left flower indicating the act of rising.
O Jesus, such immeasurable love for humanity! Thank you so much!
both flowers and bud depict the outstretched hands of the crucified Christ, as if beckoning me to love and serve one another as He did.
Jesus, fill me with your Holy Spirit!

Read more about Easter at catholicism.about.com and crivoice.org.