Thursday, September 23, 2010
Friday, September 17, 2010
My niece's birthday party
Karen, my baby sister's been planning this for ages.
Baby sister. How long ago has it been since I could call her that?
Decades ago, when I was small, I kept bugging my mom to give me a sister. An only child with only adults for company, I was very lonely. Karen came along. My baby sister. Now a mother herself, of 2 adorable little girls.
She baked up a storm these in preparation for today's party. Kemi's one month and Kay Lee's belated 3rd birthday.
The kids were perpared for water play.
ok, having my sons play water bombs with the little ones was out of the question. my boys holed up playing xbox instead. Favourite character : Vega. Boys = violent games? My hubby gave Lewis tips on how to beat the opponent.
My dad and uncles 1,2,3 and 4
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Friday, September 10, 2010
Boanona and my grandpa
Bought a gigantic custard apple the other day. It was 3 times the size of the ones I remembered from my childhood, but not as sweet. The sweetest ones were from my grandpa's garden, when I was but a little girl, barely 6 at that time.
Staring out of the window, I'd watch Ah Kong, an avid gardener, tending to his plants. He had green fingers. Rose bushes flourished in his care. In the center of that tiny patch of land, our garden, was a boanona (custard apple) tree. He was always carrying 2 pails filled with water. Either washing the house, tending to his plants, or cooking up a storm in the kitchen.
Grandpa was a fantastic cook. Mom and dad were worried about me when I was little as I was a finicky eater. The only thing I'd eat for lunch would be one chicken wing, cooked by grandpa. They couldn't get me to eat anything else.
Grandpa loved steak. A peranakan working for the British army, our meals were typically nonya cuisine mixed with western food. Steak, with that tangy thick brown sauce.. HP sauce if I recall correctly. Living with him, I grew to love steak. When I was older, mom would take me out to mom and daughter lunches when her work permitted it. We'd go for steak.
Ah Kong didn't cook. She was very sick. Bedridden most of the time. Grandpa ran the home on his own. Ipoh, his sister, helped him.
Grandma and my grand aunts were always dressed in baju kebaya, complete with the silver accessories, brooches and all... Stuff I rarely see these days, outside of festivities, where the theme happens to be Peranakan. Somehow, I feel that it is a dying culture. Maybe it's just me, but I tend to feel like an outsider when I step out of my extended family.
The series Little Nonya had me fixated. I felt like I had revisited my long forgotten past. Even my kids had no idea about their peranakan heritage. I married out of the peranakan community a long time ago.. and into my husband's world. I don't even own a kebaya. I hardly watch much TV. Even when I do, it would be Octo, with my kids, or Channel 5. There's this joke that if you see a bunch of middle-aged peranakans watching a chinese show, it's probably Little Nonya. That said, I only caught the last few episodes.
Back to that custard apple. It reminded me how much grandpa loved me. He loved each of us and saved something special for each of his 13 grandchildren.
I lived with him when I was small. Each time a custard apple appeared on the tree, he'd tend to it carefully. He fertilized all the plants in the garden with natural fertilizers -- from us, actually. The custard apples were left to ripen on the tree to perfection.
Then grandpa would give me the largest and sweetest custard apple to this waiting grand daughter.. with love.
Grandpa. I miss you.
Staring out of the window, I'd watch Ah Kong, an avid gardener, tending to his plants. He had green fingers. Rose bushes flourished in his care. In the center of that tiny patch of land, our garden, was a boanona (custard apple) tree. He was always carrying 2 pails filled with water. Either washing the house, tending to his plants, or cooking up a storm in the kitchen.
Grandpa was a fantastic cook. Mom and dad were worried about me when I was little as I was a finicky eater. The only thing I'd eat for lunch would be one chicken wing, cooked by grandpa. They couldn't get me to eat anything else.
Grandpa loved steak. A peranakan working for the British army, our meals were typically nonya cuisine mixed with western food. Steak, with that tangy thick brown sauce.. HP sauce if I recall correctly. Living with him, I grew to love steak. When I was older, mom would take me out to mom and daughter lunches when her work permitted it. We'd go for steak.
Ah Kong didn't cook. She was very sick. Bedridden most of the time. Grandpa ran the home on his own. Ipoh, his sister, helped him.
Grandma and my grand aunts were always dressed in baju kebaya, complete with the silver accessories, brooches and all... Stuff I rarely see these days, outside of festivities, where the theme happens to be Peranakan. Somehow, I feel that it is a dying culture. Maybe it's just me, but I tend to feel like an outsider when I step out of my extended family.
The series Little Nonya had me fixated. I felt like I had revisited my long forgotten past. Even my kids had no idea about their peranakan heritage. I married out of the peranakan community a long time ago.. and into my husband's world. I don't even own a kebaya. I hardly watch much TV. Even when I do, it would be Octo, with my kids, or Channel 5. There's this joke that if you see a bunch of middle-aged peranakans watching a chinese show, it's probably Little Nonya. That said, I only caught the last few episodes.
Back to that custard apple. It reminded me how much grandpa loved me. He loved each of us and saved something special for each of his 13 grandchildren.
I lived with him when I was small. Each time a custard apple appeared on the tree, he'd tend to it carefully. He fertilized all the plants in the garden with natural fertilizers -- from us, actually. The custard apples were left to ripen on the tree to perfection.
Then grandpa would give me the largest and sweetest custard apple to this waiting grand daughter.. with love.
Grandpa. I miss you.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Friday, September 3, 2010
Rising From The Rubble - Singapore Story
I was feeling down. But when things seem their worst, they can only get better.
Remembered a tale me late grandfather told me. About our minister mentor, then prime minister Lee Kuan Yew. The day he cried in front of the nation he led.
Dug up an old video -- about when Singapore was kicked out of Malaysia. With no natural resources, correct me if I'm wrong but I remember grandpa saying that Singapore had only $4,000 savings, as a nation. We seemed doomed.
Not enough drinking water. Not enough resources to support the nation. The only thing we had -- our people.
Our forefathers struggled to build our nation.
This is Singapore today.
Remembered a tale me late grandfather told me. About our minister mentor, then prime minister Lee Kuan Yew. The day he cried in front of the nation he led.
Dug up an old video -- about when Singapore was kicked out of Malaysia. With no natural resources, correct me if I'm wrong but I remember grandpa saying that Singapore had only $4,000 savings, as a nation. We seemed doomed.
Not enough drinking water. Not enough resources to support the nation. The only thing we had -- our people.
Our forefathers struggled to build our nation.
This is Singapore today.
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