Pavement Little Hoon

Ha!Ha! Daddy is exercising dear Hannah's leg muscles but she is enjoying the job like a hoon.... screaming as she dashes along.  Perhaps after this she will stretch for 18 steps!!!!

Cheers to everyone. Success Enterprise has diversified into the brewery business. As part of its captial investment, Sarge Wen has secured a kegerator... which is a refigerator for kegs of beer! Well it's easy now to have a beer after a hard day's work!

A view of the kegerator and the Master Brewer testing the foam output.
Today is Sunday and it will be slow and easy. Looks like the Docks and West Coast Eagles are like our Singapore soccer team. Give so much hope and fail to perform in the last moment. The closest to winner came from the Dockers who if they had got their act together in the last quarter, they could have just made it. Maybe it was away from home syndrome.
The pastor preached on a new seriesThe Unusal Suspects. Insignificant people who did significant acts. The first last night was Priscilla and Aquila. And the women seems to lead and they were alway called Priscilla and Aquila and not Acquila and Priscilla.
Spring is here and no more heater is required in the evenings. The sad thing is we are leaving soon leaving this wonderful weather behind. And first stop in Singapore? No 4 Joo Eng mee.. wonder if they have raised prices.

The Secret Garden

We mentioned about the extra cactus plants we only found after moving in for a few months. Well anothere surprise for mybakuteh yesterday as she saw these beautiful flowers suddenly sprout out under the yellow bush!

And more secrets. Heard some noise in the front yard and say a most beautiful bird trying to use the bird bath in front!

You need to strain your eyes a little to see the green bird.

And the wonder wan swee is ground like crazy. Mybakuteh says she uses the Xian technique - spray the seeds like crazy!

Went jogging again and saw more lilies of the field on the other side of the road. Visit my friendly neighbour Gavin yesterday and found he had the same problem as Lta Ennoying. His dog is digging his garden and chewing up things. The remarkable thing is that he has built a chicken coop behind next to the swimming pool. And he says we will be getting eggs soon! Told him about our intention to breed quailds but the big man said, the eggs are too little to worth the effort. Gavin also showed me a video of a poisonous snake he saw across the other side of the street next to the bush land. He also has a video clip of a lake with large fishes in the clear water nearby. Ha!Ha! This will be the destination of the next jog!

More and better Chong Pang Cha Tow Kuay this morning. Ha!Ha! Think we will probably not go back to Singapore as frequently next year... especially with a walking Hannah!

 

Best Visit to the Worst Zoo

Ha!Ha! Grandpa and Grandma are here. We ae all ready to go!

Mustn't forget my sunnies in case there are xiong mau there!

Ha!Ha! Arrived at the zoo... not cheap... Hannah riding on an animal.. Opps..wrong picture - this one's at Melbourne.

This is the right one. Looks like a real one... I mean the tortoise.

And Kin invited the grandparents to join it. Must be the Photo of the year!

Hannah enjoying the animals.. but where are they?

A monster Pelikan hidding in the bush

A magnificient Cheetah at close up.

Then Hannah met a friend and showed off her steady legs.

She later actually walked independently four big steps!

Then it was lunch and the birds flew off with her food!

And it was carousel time... Unfortunately Hannah was frightened by the up and down motion of the horse and the loud music. Carried her and she gradually enjoyed it by looking at the girl next to her and her Mummy at the side taking pics.

Slef potrait while the carousel was moving. She was not afraid at his point of time yet.

Enjoying a moment with Mummy looking at the dusty elephants.

Then with Granma for a while.

Soon it was back to the car heading for home. And the signs of tiredness sets in. And the eventual day ends with two shows.

The first  one is the elephant waving goodbye to the audience.
And the second one...ha!ha! you guess it.. performance by dear Hannah.

 

Mummy was right.. the worst zoo you ever visited unless you have never gone to a zoo. But it was a special experience with Hannah. Thank you Mummy for the zoo treat! Next zoo visit - Singapore Panda????

 

 

Nice Family Dinner

It was a wonderful treat last night as Xian invited us for a 99% Korean BBQ - or GGB...By the end of dinner we were all puffed up with food.

 The pita bread and BBQ inserts were just fabulous. And there was mo and kim chi...Last night's dinner may be historic as it was also a strategic planning session for GGB!

Why 99% Korean. The food was washed down by Swedish fruit wine... see all the pink cheeks at the end of the dinner. Sarge Wen turned wobbly and started tormenting the poor cats with the self sounding toy.
And the dinner will last for 48 hours - there was ta bao for everyone!
Today is Perth Zoo Day - invitation from Kin.
 Think the grand parents are more excited than Hannah. Went to Trip Advisor to understand the state of the Perth Zoo. Was surprised with this review.
This is one of the best zoos I've been too. It is perfectly sized so that when you finish, you are not completely exhausted. It isn't the biggest zoo and it doesn't have that many animal shows, but it has a very comprehensive selection of animals. It's best point is that it is very well planned out and landscaped. It is well worth the visit if you want to spend an enjoyable day out and then walk by the foreshore overlooking the city.

Maybe this guy has not visited San Diego or Singapore zoo yet.
Hmm.. hope they put sunnies on the bears so we think they are pandas from China!

Happy Birthday, Suai Ke!

 

Happy Birthday, Ethan!

 

 

It was another fine day yesterday with warm sunshine and clear skies. Went for a jog to explore the neighbourhood.

Went to Winthrop and the Symmonds Parade House now really looked very nice from the outside. Quite outstanding compared to the older houses along the street.

Back at the garden  found out there are actually 3 praying mantis - got to bring them to church one day. Two of them have now moved to the apple plants.

See for your self. Wonder what insects they can catch over there. Surely not a bee!!!
Tonight is dinner at Xian's place.  Still remembered the nice dinner we had the last time with dual steamboat and BBQ!

Mo yi Chi Doh

It was birthday celebration all over again last night at Langford with a yummy banana cake baked by Kin. And a lovely authentic laksa yong tau foo for dinner!

The bonus was of course having to spend time with dear Hannah before the meal. And what a smiley baby!

First meeting and needs a little warm up.

 

Quick warm up and she is ready to be Miss Sunshine.

Warning: do not say the "No" word or she will pauch! This is the start up signal... Ha!Ha!

But most of the time, she is Miss Happy.

Or she she showing off her one tooth?

You cannot be more happy than this!

After Daddy has bathed dear Hannah...still smiling

Even broader smile.If you say ring ring, she will say Hi!

Then the one finger catwalk presentation. Well this Thursday is Zoo Day for Hannah....

Back at Success, it Chong Pang brekky this morning. Cha tow kuay in two versions - black sauce and white. And where did the live garnishing come from?

Ta!Ta! Just pop into the garden and snip, snip!

And talking about garden, spotted two praying mantis living in the orange plant. Goggled and found they eat bugs and aphids - so they are friends. Wonder if they would mate and produce holy praying babies!!!
Today is Tuesday and it's garbage collection day - lucky the phone alarm rang last night!

 

Best Week Ever

What do you look forward to from retirement day until the Lord takes you away? Fished until you cannot lift up your biggest catch? Golf until you have the perfect game? Travel until you lost track of time? Well it should be heart warming family  experiences and memories of it.
Yesterday Mybakuteh surprised the indianboyfriend by cooking a delightful feast of his favourite mee siam.

 Angela had another surprise pressie - a bonsai plant which is said to live for over a hundred year. And these warm family experiences will become heart touching memories. Imagine the years down the road when the great grandchildren would ask why the mother was watering the surviving  miniature plant and the answer may sound like this: Grandma bought this for great grandpa's birthday - on that day great grandma cooked a wonderful feast of great grandpa's mee-siam the left over of which grandma and grandpa took to work for lunch".
The subway birthday lunch was merely food to eat without the crucial family warmth. Sarge Wen called me on Sunday from CBD specially to wish me on my birthday date.Earlier, He and Angela also arranged a surprise Father's Cake. Who would ever forget about warm family experience whenever an image of the porcupine fugu fish pops up on TV or in a  sea-side shop? Kaledoscop3 wished the indianboyfriend via facetime and gave us a memorable trip to Melbourne, made even more impressionable with the lobby noodle treat. While eating the lobby noodles last friday, the Melbourne memory invariably pops up ( unfortunately also the glimpses of the monster crab we did not eat). But these are memories that strengthen you and know that God has blessed you. The indianboyfriend thought that perhaps Lta Ennoying was too preoccupied with Hannah and have forgotten the date. But no, in the evening, he called with a bad cold, giving the cheerful greeting. And family experiences goes beyond the immediate family. The indianboyfriend was touched by Lin's pressie. And Kin who msm the indianboyfriend on behalf of dear Hannah to greet him.

And there were family friends who posted kind greetings on fb. Early Henry made a posting with pics that does not justify my age but it is the care and concern that makes it heart-warming. And Lee who still keeps the tradition of giving birthday Ang Pow and in Aussie currency.
The most meaningful thing is life is to have a warm caring  family relationship encompassing you, to remind you have done right in life. And these experiences will become part of your memory collection to carry you through the ups and downs of life. Friends, although diminishing, are important reinforcers too, but in the end it all boils down to the family relationship.
As you look up on a starry Spring night and be enveloped by the endlessness of the universe, it is absolutely fulfulling to know deep down  you are loved and cared for by your family. Praise be unto God.
( Will talk about the garden tomorrow.)