BORROWING MONEY FROM KUAN YIN (JIE FU)

Today is the 26th day of the first lunar month.  The Taoists believe that on this day the Depository Vault of the Goddess of Mercy, Kuan Yin is opened.  In many countries where there are Chinese of Taoist faith, (especially Hong Kong) there will surely be those who wish to borrow 'Money' from the Goddess.

Actually, this symbolic ritual involves no real money. Instead, worshippers receive a packet of "lucky money" containing a red slip of paper on which an amount is written. This amount is symbolically "borrowed" from the goddess in the hope that real money will follow.

For the year of the Rabbit, the Goddess' "coffers" will disburse the funds on Monday.  I heard that for this year, the depository will also be open on Tuesday as well. 

REPAYING THE 'MONEY' BORROWED
For those who had borrowed the wealth the previous year, they have to repay it if they gain wealth within that year.  One has to settle the loan first at the end of the year before being able to borrow again the next year.  The ritual to repay the wealth borrowed can be carried out at the temple under the guidance of the caretaker or any of the knowledgeable volunteers there.

CLAIMING OWNERSHIP OF PHOTOS

A few of my friends who post their photographs in the Internet would place their watermark on them.  I am a bit lazy when it comes to doing the watermarks.  What I usually do is to have my picture taken next to what I am going to blog about, then it would be rather obvious that the photo belongs to me.  For instance, I am pictured with my mum's Ginger Plant (Costus) above.  With me standing next to it, it would be rather difficult for people to claim that the picture belongs to them and post it in their blogs.  Somehow or rather, they would have to acknowledge the photo is mine.  That is why you see a lot of photos of me in the blog.  Heh! Heh!

WEIGHT MANAGEMENT, ANYONE?

When I was out shopping with my mum and aunt on Sunday, we spotted this new slimming centre in Ipoh.  So, if I can't lose the spare tyre around my waist, I might have to resort to coming here. 
Then again, these places cost a lot of money, don't they?  Hmm ... I better persuade Kama to go on a fast (puasa) and I follow her.  Then I can save money and also lose weight.

ANOTHER DEAR CHEAH REPLY: AFFINITY WITH DEITIES

I have this young man by the name of Maheswaran from Klang, Selangor who wrote to tell me that he keeps dreaming of deities.  I was very touched when he told me that he read my blog from A - Z and wanted me to be his Feng Shui teacher.  Unfortunately, I had to turn Mahes down as I am not qualified to be his sifu.  I too am learning about Feng Shui. 
When I consulted my sifu about the reason for Mahes having these frequent dreams about Chinese deities and also joss-sticks, he said that the young man has a great affinity with the deities.  Well, I believe that Mahes and his family will receive the blessings of these deities since he keeps having dreams about them.  My advice to Mahes is to work hard in his job and to keep going to the temples to worship the deities that appear to him in his dream.  I am certain that something good will happen to him in future.

RED PEARS

I was taken with the pears above.  Unlike the normal ones which are green, these come in red.
The fruit seller told me that the red coloured pears are imported from Africa.  For RM10, one gets 8 pears.  I bought 4 for RM5.

How does a red pear taste like?  Like a green coloured one.  The difference is only in the colour.  Believe me, cos I ate one already.

SMOOCH, SMOOCH

Here is a photo of me giving a peck on the cheek to my little nephew, James.  When they are small, these little boys let you kiss them but when they grow into teenagers they want to be kissed by girls their age.  So, before James grows up too soon, I am getting all my smooches first.  James will say that Yee Yee is very Ham Sub (when literally translated it means taking advantage of him).

IN SEARCH OF THE NILAM PLANT

Me outside the locked gate of the Herb Garden

The guard who was kind enough to let me in is at the back

The NILAM plant

I went to the Perak State Herb Garden to look for a special plant for my school on Saturday.  The name of the plant is NILAM (pogostemon cablin benth) or Patchouli.  However, when I reached there I discovered that the Herb Garden was not open during the weekend.  Luckily for me, the guard who was on duty was kind enough to let my mum, aunt and me in to look for the plant.  He introduced me to the gardener who managed to get me the plant.  This plant is used in traditional medicine to treat asthma and cough.  The scent of the Nilam is used to induce relaxation.  Nilam is usually made into patchouli oil. In Malaysia, Nilam is used as an antidote for venomous snakebites. In Chinese medicine, this herb is used to treat headaches, colds, nausea, diarrhea, and abdominal pain.

 Me with the Nilam plant that I bought for the school Herb Garden

With the Patchouli or Nilam leaves

My mum and aunt said that things went so smoothly because we had gone and performed prayers to Tai Sui before we went to the Herb Garden in Batu Gajah.  The Chinese believe that with Tai Sui on our side, our journey through the year would be aided by the Grand Duke Jupiter (another name for Tai Sui).

DEAR CHEAH REPLIES

I have been receiving quite a number of emails from visitors asking me for advice, suggestions and information on Feng Shui.  Busy though I am with work, I try my best to reply to the queries as promptly as I can.  Here is one query from a Venezualan visitor that I think might be of interest to some of you.  I am reproducing it here plus the advice on what to do.

Hi Cheah, I am writing you up from Venezuela. I just found an interesting article in your blog about salt water cure. I discovered in this article that I made a big mistake getting rid of last year's cure by disposing it inappropiately through the plumbing. And I am having some health problems right now.

My dear Cheah, would you happen to kwow how to clean up this mess ? I will deeply appreciate if you share with me whatever you know.

ADVICE ON WHAT TO DO

Dear Luis,

I consulted my Sifu about your query and he said that you can carry out a cleansing for your plumbing system to get rid of the negative Qi from the used Salt Water Cure.  Here is what you need to get:

Ingredients needed

1. Water from 7 water sources (e.g. sea, river, lake, well, stream, waterfall, rain water, hotspring, ground water) - about 1 liter of each.  Alternatively, one can obtain the holy water from 7 houses of worship of ones religion, e.g. the Catholics can get it from the chapel.
2.  7 flowers of 7 different colours.
3. 7 limes (each cut into 7 pieces).
4. Rock salt (1 tea cup full)

What to do

1. Pour the water from the 7 sources into a pail (a new unused one).
2. Add the 7 different coloured flowers
3. Add the cut limes (should be 49 pieces).
4. Add the rock salt.
5. Carry the pail with all the ingredients mentioned above and place it under the sun at noon for one hour or more.  Then bring it back into the house and use half the water in the pail to pour into the plumbing. 
6. You use the other half of the water in the pail to sprinkle all around the house.  Leave a little bit of the water with the flowers, lime and whatever is left of the rock salt in the pail.  You are to throw them into a drain in front of the house.  If there is no drain, then you empty it into a garbage bin outside of the house.
7. This will help to rid the place of the negative energy.

Regards,
Miss Cheah

PRAYING TO TAI SUI FOR THE RABBIT YEAR

For the year of the Rabbit, there are 4 animal zodiacs which are in conflict with Tai Sui.  The Taoists believe that those who are in conflict need to pray to Tai Sui or the Grand Duke Jupiter for a safe and good year. 
Those who are conflict this year are the Rabbit, the Rooster, the Rat and the Horse.
My mum and I who belong to the group who are in conflict went to the temple yesterday morning to pray to Tai Sui.  Before we went, my mum bought fruits, Fa Gao (a type of cake) and a bottle of oil as offerings.

 When we reached the temple, we had to wait for our turn for one of the temple volunteers to help us write our names and particulars on a special prayer paper.  I gave her a packet of Lai See (red packet containing money) for her help.  We also included the names of my sister and my nephew who were in conflict. 

I paid RM17 for the prayer paraphernalia above that would be used as offerings during the praying to Tai Sui ceremony.  As yesterday was a good day to perform the prayers, there were a lot of people at the temple and so we had to wait a while for our turn.

There would be a temple helper who would help to perform the ceremony.  Those in conflict with Tai Sui have to kneel in front of the Tai Sui statue during the ceremony. 

After the ceremony is over, the helper will stack the joss paper under the Tai Sui Statue.  This symbolises that the luck of those who prayed to Tai Sui would be lifted and be improved.  They would also be blessed by Tai Sui.

The joss paper being stacked under the Tai Sui statue.  After the ceremony, the offering paper with the names of those in conflict with Tai Sui would be burnt.  Then the worshippers would be given a paper charm to be kept for protection.  They would be given a small packet of tea leaves.  One has to brew the tea leaves to drink at home.

CAN BUY SHOES NOW

I refrained from buying shoes on the first fifteen days of the Chinese New Year because it is considered taboo to do so.  Why?  According to my late aunt, the Cantonese word for shoes is "Hai" which is similar in sound to sigh.  So if we buy shoes during the first few days of the year, then we might end up with lots of unhappy events throughout the year which might cause us to sigh.  My aunt told this to me when I was a little girl and it has sort of become a taboo for me. 
As the celebrations are over, I can now safely buy new shoes.  I bought two pairs of sandals from the market this morning.  They were very cheap - RM8.00 per pair. I bought the gold and copper sandals.  They were so cheap because the shoemakers were the ones selling the shoes.

DELICIOUS FRIED NOODLES

 Want to taste delicious fried mee (noodles)?  Let me introduce you to a stall which is located outside the Perak State Herb Garden in Batu Gajah.  I first discovered this very yummy fried mee when I went with my students to the Herb Garden on a study trip two years ago.  My colleagues and I were really surprised when we tasted the food after our visit was over. 
Yesterday afternoon, I once again got to eat this very delicious fried mee when I went to the Herb Garden to look for a plant for my school.  I was rather worried that the taste might not be the same as it had been two years since I was there.  Luckily for me, my mum and aunt, it was the same cook and the taste was as yummilicious as when I first tasted it. 
We ordered two plates of fried mee, one plate of fried meehoon, one glass of teh tarik, one Ice Kacang and a glass of water.  How much did that come to?  RM13.00.  Reasonable for such delicious food.

HEART-SHAPED BALLOONS

My friend Daniel who works part-time as a photographer was busy looking for heart-shaped balloons for a wedding photoshoot but had been unsuccessful.  He had been asking people where to buy these balloons in his FACEBOOK account and had lots of suggestions.  However, the balloons were not sold there.
So I gave him a call and told him that I'd try look for the balloons for him.  Guess where I found them?  At TESCO hypermarket in Ipoh. I called him the moment I found the heart-shaped balloons. Since we have a TESCO in Sitiawan, Daniel said he was going to go get them himself.  Nevertheless, I decided to buy some of the balloons for myself.  Here you see me with a red heart-shaped balloon.

MEET MY REGULAR FLORIST

I am pictured with my regular florist, Brother Lek.  I have been buying plants from him for more than ten years.  He used to sell plants in his own nursery for about 7 years but then the owner of the land wanted it back and so he now operates at the Kampung Simee Market. 
Brother Lek would usually give my mum, aunt and I a special price for the plants that have taken our fancy.  My mum buys soil and fertilisers from him as well.  He'd send the soil to my home since my mum buys at least 10 packets of soil each time.

 My mum and aunt chatting about plants with Brother Lek.

 Two coloured periwinkle plants

 Me with a plant called Lucky Stars

 Bunga Tahi Ayam

 More pretty flowers

 Azalea

 Desert Rose and other plants