STAY SAFE

 

CHAP GOH MEH DINNER

 Dinner with my dear friends Lai Yoong and Nalini on the 15th day of the first lunar month. 

This marks the final day of the celebrations for the lunar new year.

RED MOO MOO T SHIRT FOR MY BEAR

 

CNY HEADGEAR FOR PRECIOUS

 

CNY GIFT FROM MY BFF

 

CNY FAIRY LIGHTS

My fairy lights were put up at around midnight to welcome the Year of the Moo Moo.

 

REUNION MEAL

 Due to the MCO ... I could not go back to my hometown to celebrate with my family. So I celebrated with my 2 dear friends.

ROLLIN IN THE GOLD

 My usual CNY ritual ... roll in the kum (gold) at midnight on the 1st day of the new year.

This year ... I also carried in a box containing 8 mandarin oranges.  In Cantonese, mandarins are called kum which has the same sound as gold. So I carried in gold for the new year. Also the number 8 is called patt which sounds like fatt - to prosper.

I want lots of money to help the less fortunate ... people, meows and doggies.

V

MY MINI GARDEN

Now that I am a pensioner, I have a bit more time to indulge in gardening.  I have a mini garden and it gives me great joy to enjoy my plants in the morning.  

HAPPINESS IS ...

Happiness is meeting up with a dear friend for dinner, especially if the friend has moved to another place and came back to visit.

HAPPINESS IS ...

Happiness is watching the sunset with my dear friend, Nancy.

HERBAL REMEDY FOR JOINT PAIN USING LEMON PEELS

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

LUO HAN JAI

VEGETARIAN DISH: LUO HAN JAI

I first learnt to cook Luo Hon Jai 罗汉斋 (Cantonese) when I was 12 or 13 years old. Later with tips from my Aunt May, I was able to make it tastier. If I may say so, this is one of my signature dishes as I have 48 years of experience.

This is a popular vegetarian dish that you can order from many Chinese restaurants.

My version consists of bean curd preserve, fucuk, glass noodles, golden needles, wood ear fungus, cabbage, choy sum, carrot, chillies, button mushrooms, red dates and dried mushroom. Actually there should be 18 ingredients. I left out gingko, tofu puffs, water chestnut, baby corn, lotus root and fatt choy (black moss) as I was lazy to go out to buy them.
The eighteen ingredients in the Lo Han Jai represent the eighteen Arhats in Buddhism.

PASSION FRUIT FLOWER (PASSIFLORA)

Passiflora plant at Taman Kelulut KVSM. The purplish bloom is exquisite. Hopefully they will bear fruit. The common name for the fruit is passion fruit.

"Feng Shui Creates a Peaceful Home in Turbulent Times"

"Feng Shui Creates a Peaceful Home in Turbulent Times"

It seems like for far too long the world has suffered one tragedy after another, and now there’s a pandemic. The news is filled with death, senseless violence, and destruction….and more arrives every day. The question turns to how to keep your home and life peaceful when the world outside your door feels like it’s turned upside down.

No matter what’s happening, peace begins with you, where you live, how you live, and how you choose to respond.

Using feng shui in your home is a powerful way to create a respite from the difficulties outside your four walls to help you create a peaceful home environment no matter what’s happening in the outside world.

Your safe place in the world is your feng shui home.

You look to your home to provide a sensory reprieve, allowing you to unplug from the stresses of the outside, and the over-stimulating, often violent and troubled world.

A home such as this will nurture and refresh you.

However, your home shouldn’t be so “Zen” that it calms you to a point that you’re ready to fall asleep because a house that’s too quiet and still isn’t alive. Your home needs to be restful but not stagnant. It should provide you the elements that enable you to regroup so that you can take on each new day and function effectively in the outside world rather than simply withdraw from it.

But creating a calming, relaxing home isn’t as easy as it seems. That’s because the elements of a serene space aren’t always obvious.

Here are six elements that create a calm, peaceful, and refreshing environment that will help you create a feng shui home — a peaceful yet energizing sanctuary.

1. Make your home mentally restful.

A home must be a line in the sand between you and troubling world events, stress-filled work, and — this is important here — electronic demands. Here are some important tips for getting mental rest from your home.

Rein in the television. If your home is like many, the television is centrally-located and turned on regardless of whether anyone is watching it or not. This gives the TV superior status over the occupants ......continue reading

If this link does not work, copy and paste this link into your browser window:

https://redlotusletter.com/feng-shui-creates-peaceful-home/

BAMBOO SHOOTS

THE NEW NORMAL

THE NEW NORMAL (OUTSIDE THE BANK)
Stand in between the line markers ... 1 meter apart. Wait for my turn. When I reach the front of the line, the guard will take my temperature and if I am not feverish, then only can write down my name, phone number and temperature in a book.
After that ... I am only allowed to enter.

KEEPING MY ELDERS SAFE BY NOT VISITING THEM

KEEPING MY ELDERS SAFE BY NOT VISITING THEM

There are reports in the media of many attempting to go back to their villages to celebrate the Eid Festival with their loved ones.  Here is Malaysia we are not allowed to travel intrastate to curb the spread of Covid-19.

My Aunty Linda and Uncle Jimmy are in Ipoh and I haven't seen them for weeks. They are both in their eighties and suffer from chronic diseases. My aunt has diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol. Uncle Jimmy suffers from Parkinson's disease and had a heart attack a few years ago. He also has high BP. It is not that I don't miss them. I do. They are both in the high risk group.

That is why I do not go back to Ipoh. My neighbour helps to make sure my house is okay and I transfer money online to Uncle Krishnan to cut the grass.

If you have vulnerable old folks, please stay where you are. Do not go visit them ... you might endanger their lives.

DRINKING FOUNTAIN FOR MY FURRY BABIES

My furry babies love drinking from the water fountain I bought for them.
Last year Min Min had to go for an operation because he suffered from kidney stones. The vet suspects that my baby doesn't drink enough water. I found out that one way to encourage kitties to drink is by getting them a water fountain.

**
Fresh, flowing water will be quite appealing to many pets. “Water fountains can entice pets to drink more because they use a filter to make the water fresher and better tasting,”

CHINESE SYTLE PICKLED CUCUMBER

This is another dish my late father taught me. It is super easy to make.

Ingredients
1 Japanese cucumber
Salt (1/3 teaspoon)
Sugar (2 tablespoon)
1 Lime
Add Chilli (cut into strips)

Refrigerate about 10 minutes before eating.

Method
Cut the cucumber into strips (remove centre part)
Put cut cucumber in boil
Add salt
Add sugar
Add lime juice

HAPPY TEACHER'S DAY

In Malaysia, we celebrate Teacher's Day on 16th May.

#3 QUARRELSOME STAR IS IN THE NORTH THIS YEAR

#3 STAR IN THE NORTH

This part of my house is in the North sector. I use a lot of red here or colours associated with fire like dark yellow, dark pink, purple and orange.

Those who are Feng Shui enthusiasts would understand why I have introduced colors associated with this element here.

My Feng Shui sifu Mr Jason Eng Ecs would be proud of me.

I AM BACK

Thank you Dorothy and Spring for worrying about my wellbeing. The two dear ladies emailed me to find out how I was,  Fear not I am back.  

I had a very eventful 2019.  I immersed myself in charity work and community service.  So much so that I neglected my blog.  A tragedy happened in my family.  My youngest sister had an accident and was in a coma for sometime.  She passed away on October 20th 2019.  My family and I were in mourning for a few months and I was too distraught to blog,

At the beginning of the year I had to get ready for my retirement in April.  I had to train my successor and also try to finish projects that I started.  Unfortunately, I could not finish what I set out to do.  On 18th March, my country Malaysia went into partial Lockdown.  Here we term it as Movement Control Order (MCO).  We were not allowed out from our houses unless we needed to go buy food, buy medicine or seek treatment form the hospital.  Malaysia is still under MCO but things have been relaxed.  Economies are allowed to open and our time out has also been relaxed. Schools and institutions of learning remain closed. We are told that henceforth life will not be the same.  There will be a new norm.
Social distancing is what we need to do to stay safe.  We also go about carryiing hand sanitizers and wearing face masks.  This MCO will be until June 9.  Then we wait and see if it will be extended.

As my birthday is on 17th April, I retired without ceremony and fanfare.  Orders were to Stay at Home to Stay Safe.

However, I have been really, really busy during this period as the Non Governmental Organisation I am attached to have been offering humanitarian aid to the poor and needy.  Those who are daily wage earners and do not have savings are finding it hard to make ends meet.  Luckily the government has come up with packages to help the economy and people.  However, while waiting for the cash pay outs, some families had run of food to eat.  That is where my team comes in,.  We get contributions for to buy send food to these people.  I think this situation is happening throughout the world.  WE are all together in this Pandemic.

So dare friends that about sums up what I have been up to until now.

I will try to do catch up with my blogging,

Love
Li Na

HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR