Lunch at Maxim’s Restaurant (2) – A Good Beginning

We were happy to see two bowls of rice with meat arrived first at our table. Connie filled Abby’s bowl with some rice and meat, hoping that Abby would take at least some mouthfuls.

Perhaps, Abby was a little hungry at that time. She picked up the large white porcelain spoon which was filled with rice already and pushed the rice into her mouth. It was a good beginning for her.

Soon came a mixed dish of puddings from taro, water-chestnuts and turnip (即芋頭糕, 馬蹄糕, 蘿蔔糕). We were pleased that Abby found great interest in all these three kinds of puddings (三色糕). She gobbled the lumps of puddings with no hesitation. This was a good sign that she learned to eat more varieties of food. Later Abby was given the top piece of “thousand layers ”(千層糕) and a lotus-seed bun (蓮蓉飽).

Abby was holding the lotus-seed bun in her hand, but she just gave a small bite at the surface. I was sure she wanted to eat the bun, but by that time, she was already full. She could eat any more. Although she did not eat a large quantity of food this time, she had just added more “tasty” food names in her own dictionary.

招財進寶

我最近在某機構裏面發現這張招財貓廣告, 究竟這是什麼地方呢?
A. 馬會投注站 B. 金銀貿易場 C. 當舖 D. 銀行 E. 股票市場

Lunch at Maxim’s Restaurant (1) – Sniffing

Today at about noon, at one of the Maxim’s Restaurants, Abby began to sniff at the wet towel which Connie picked up from the table to wash her hands with before lunch.

Abby always likes to smell at things with perfumes. She loves rubbing cream on her face (provided by grandmother) and often asks for lip-sticks (not red ones, but those for lubrication). Sometimes it is not strange to find Abby’s face white with cream or her lips shiny when you see her.

It is really difficult to take photos of kids like Abby who moves all the time. Abby does not freeze herself for photo-taking. Here the photo shows that both her head and left hand were moving. Two-fifths of the photos taken at Abby have to be deleted. Thanks to the invention of digital cameras that we can erase any photos we are not satisfied with!

Indiana Jones (The Kingdom of Crystal Skull)

Yesterday we went to see this film because the bank we are using had given us 4 tickets. Before we entered AMC cinema at Festival Walk, we were each given a packet of pop-corns, a drink and a packet of moist tissue-paper.

The film was about a story of Indiana Jones who was bought to a restricted military base on U. S. soil by some Russian military forces in 1957. He could escape from the scene and reached a test-site for Atomic Bomb where he carelessly ignited the bomb. It was incredible that he could save his life by hiding inside a refrigerator.

Back to the university, this professor, Indiana Jones met a young lad (who was actually his son). The latter asked him to save his mother. They were to travel to Peru by plane. They began to explore the old ruins where they saw some skeletons. The Russians were able to track and capture them. At the Russian camp, Indiana Jones met his former lover who was the mother of the young lad. The Russians had got a Crystal Skull already. They wanted Indiana Jones to find the way for them to have the treasure hunt. On the way through the jungle, Indiana Jones with the help of his lover, son and two other men, escaped from the Russians. They were miraculously unharmed after three vertical drops down three waterfalls because their truck was water-borne.

Finally they were successful in reaching the site inside a hall surrounded by chambers of rocks, full of treasure and a ring of crystal skeletons sitting on chairs. At that time the Russians arrived. When the lady commander fitted back the crystal skull to its original place, the cave shook and everything fell down. Indiana Jones and his parties escaped from the site except one man and were able to see that these skulls and skeletons turned into ET who returned to space by their huge flying saucer.

To me, this film is a mixture of a treasure hunt, a display of skeletons, fighting, in-and-out caves, dangerous escapes and meeting of ETs.

During the film, the packet of pop-corns had already fed me up. I believed I would not eat pop-corns again for another year. I was too full of those stuffs. Luckily our bank provides us with free tickets once a year. I remember last time we watched “Pirates of The Caribbean – Dead Man’s Chest” at the same theatre which provided us with the same kind of pop-corns and drinks.

Ribena (利賓納)

In the past, Ribena used to be a kind of drinks we brought as a gift to our friends or relatives when they were sick. It was believed to be good to the sick for earlier recovery. In my dictionary, Ribena links with “recovery from sickness”. Same to Macaronis, when I see them, they reminded me of the only “food” I ate when I was ill in my childhood. In this case, I avoid eating macaronis in my daily meals except that there is no other choice.

Ribena always preserves its original nature of concentrated version which we have to dilute it before we drink it. Now this version has been modified to versions with no sugar and with glucose.

In recent years, Ribena provides instant drinks. It does not have the taste of blackcurrants alone, but a mixture of blackcurrants with lemon, blackcurrants with pears and most recently, soft-drinks called Ribena Sparkling (有氣汽水). This latest version of products of Ribena is stored in glass bottles with the shape of a lady, similar to those classic bottles of Coke.

Yesterday I chanced to see a display of Ribena in a supermarket. These bottles of Ribena drinks are instant ones, but not of the “Sparkling” type. They were placed in cardboard racks in the design for the new “soft-drink” products. Please look out for these "soft-drinks" in your supermarkets or elsewhere. I do not mean you have to try it, but just notice its existence.

Abby wants to be slimmer!

Abby is always slim. She wants to be slimmer recently.

Yesterday we had lunch together with Abby at a restaurant. At first she asked for water to drink. We let her have a sip, but not another because we feared that she would be fed up with water and refused to eat. The soup came and she had two or three spoonfuls. When we gave her rice, she reluctantly opened her mouth to receive it. The rice stayed in her mouth for a long time. Obviously we ate first, having no patience to wait.

Later, after we had finished eating our food, it was Connie’s turn to feed her with food. Abby did not want to eat at all, so Connie had to push food into her mouth. It might be that her mouth was too full and she cried with resistance, she vomited. Everything in her mouth was spilt out. As a result, her neck, her mouth and face were jammed with tears, food particles, saliva and soup or even milk which she earlier drank. That made Connie very angry. Well, one thing was sure that Abby did not have lunch at all yesterday, but a thorough bath at home from head to feet.

The photos here recorded the time we had lunch with her at a restaurant at Tai Po one day in March.

Photo 1:The rice was placed before her. Her smiling face was impressive.

Photo 2: Raising her spoon with rice was just a single action.

Photo 3: The rice stayed in her mouth without chewing and swallowing.

It made us feel that she did not like to eat food at all. What supposed we should do to make her eat and enjoy food?

看看水墨畫

這幅水墨畫並不是我畫的! 我借用了最近澳洲銀行在報紙上賣的廣告和大家分享. 我特別挑選了我拍的兩張照片和這幅水墨畫作比較.

究竟你選擇下面那一個作為你的意見呢?

[A]水墨畫比較照片好看

[B]照片比較水墨畫好看

[C]水墨畫和照片同樣好看

Snoopy World Games 2008

Snoopy joins the World Games 2008 in a running event. He has won the game, but he is still holding a water-bottle in his left hand.

The bottle itself is a gift to anyone who buy one of the products below:

Guess what people have to buy before they can get one such bottle!

[1] Ribena blackcurrant drink

[2] Darkie tooth paste

[3] Oreo biscuits

[4] Dreyer’s ice-cream

[5] Coke drink

全國哀悼三日

昨天下午二時二十八分, 中國各省市包括香港及澳門特別行政區的同胞一齊肅穆默哀三分鐘, 以示哀悼四川大地震的死難者. 當時我正在家中, 外面傳來車輛發出的長長的警號聲, 立即開啟電視機, 眼見電視被分割成好幾個畫面. 有下半旗, 有悼念鮮花, 有香港特區政府官員及特首, 立法局的議員, 北京領導人等, 天安門廣場上的人民, 在四川地震現場的拯救人員, 火車站的工作人員, 消防及警察隊伍等等都站著默哀. 各人神情哀傷, 有些還流出眼淚. 場面感人.

我覺得今次地震喚醒了很多中國人民, 令大家心連心, 更團結, 互助互愛, 使中國強大起來!

我特別尊敬那些救災的官兵, 志願人員, 醫護人員. 他們不顧自己的安危及疲累, 努力以赴去做好救援工作!

14:28 2008 05 12

This time and this date are worth to remember in the heart of every Chinese people. The earthquake at Sichuan, 8th class in the Richter Scale (黎克特制八級), has created many casualties, deaths, broken families and homeless people. The pain to people living in Sichuan is immense and it will take a long time for the people to heal. News after news of successful rescues of living people make the rescue teams, onlookers, the people before their TV sets, especially the Chinese, in different parts of the world, cheered with joy.

I particularly admire those Liberation Armies and Rescue teams from different departments who save people buried out of the rubble of fallen houses and buildings.

They did not care about their own lives, but rushed in swiftly to the scenes of earthquake by parachuting, walking up and down hills (because some of the roads were blocked up by huge rocks) across rivers and some even travelled by boats to remote places to look for any sign of survivors.

The medical teams at the scenes as well those at hospitals in big cities pay important roles in the rescue sector. They give medical care to those injured in the earthquake.

I also respect those reporters in China and in Hong Kong. They went deep into the affected areas in the earthquake and forgot that they were in great danger from fallen rocks, from landslides, from flooding and the collapses of houses under subsequent after-shocks. They too had to walk a long way, eat little and sleep in the open.

Let us salute to all those brave, kind-hearted and life-saving people, medical-care team members and those professional reporters who bring us news about the earthquake.

The Maori Dance

At the Kiwi & Birdlife Park at Queenstown, New Zealand (on September 9^th last year), Ho Keung and Yin Ping watched a Maori Dance performed by two men and two women, all strong and fat, in their beautiful stitched costumes (in skirts). It was funny to see some patterns painted on the faces of the lady performers.

During the dance, all these aborigines of New Zealand showed their tongues and made their eyes look bigger. One man was holding a club in his right hand and one lady a white cube. They danced and sang in some strange tones, telling some sort of a story to the audience.

Ying Ping and Ho Keung danced among these Maoris. Instead of showing their tongues, they showed smiling faces to the other audience!

Little Dandelions (小小蒲公英)

Yesterday on one of the potted plants, my wife discovers some dandelions. I was quite interested in looking at the small yellow wild flowers that grew out from two plants with zig-zag leaves. Actually they did not belong to the family of flowers which was planned for display on our nearby footbridge.

The flowers of the dandelions are the composite flower head (see the first and second photo) consisting of many flowers called florets. Dandelions are found in Africa, Asia and Europe. Many of its species have asexual reproduction so that seeds can be produced without pollination.

Dandelions are tap-rooted, biennial (二年生)or perennial (多年生) herbaceous plants (草本植物) living in temperate areas of our Northern Hemisphere. They are commonly known as weeds (野草) or ruderals.

The leaves of dandelions (see the third photo) are 5–25 cm long, simple and basal, entire or lobed, forming a rosette above the central taproot. As the leaves grow outward they push down the surrounding vegetation, such as grass in a lawn, which kills those plants by cutting off their access to sunlight. It is strange to find a bright yellow flower head, which is open in the daytime but closes at night. It is borne singly on a hollow stem (scape) which rises 4–30 cm above the leaves and exudes a milky sap (latex) when broken. A rosette may produce several flowering stems at a time. The flower head is 2–5 cm in diameter and consists entirely of ray florets. The flower head matures into a spherical "clock" (also known as a "wishie") containing many single-seeded fruits (achenes). Each achene is attached to a pappus of fine white hairs, which enable wind-aided dispersal over long distances.

Away from their native regions, dandelions have become established in the Americas, Australia, and New Zealand, and are now common throughout all temperate regions. In this manner, it is world-wide.

The flower head (see the first and second photo) is surrounded by bracts (sometimes mistakenly called sepals) in two series. The inner bracts are erect until the seeds mature, then flex down to allow the seeds to disperse; the outer bracts are always reflexed downward. Some species drop the "parachute" (called a pappus, modified sepals) from the achenes. Between the pappus and the achene, there is a stalk called a beak, which elongates as the fruit matures. The beak breaks off from the achene quite easily. After pollination, the dandelion flower dries out for about 1-2 days and then the seed-bearing parachutes expand and lift out of the dried flower head. The dried part of the flower drops off and the parachute ball (see the ball-like one at the bottom of the first photo) opens into a full sphere. The parachute drops off when the seed strikes an obstacle. Often dandelions can be observed growing in a crevice near a wall, because the blowing fruits hit the wall and the feathery pappi drop off, sending the dandelion seeds to the base of the obstacle where they germinate. After the seed is released, the parachutes lose their feathered structure and take on a fuzzy, cotton-like appearance, often called "dandelion snow." While it was probably not developed evolutionarily, Dandelions seeds are often dispersed by young children, who often blow on or kick the clock.

There are usually 54 to 172 seeds produced per head, but a single plant can produce more than 2000 seeds a year.

Dandelions are considered as a kind of medicinal herb. They are grown commercially on a small scale as a leaf vegetable. The leaves (called dandelion greens closest in character to mustard greens) can be eaten cooked or raw in various forms, such as in soup or salad. Usually the young leaves and unopened buds are eaten raw in salads, while older leaves are cooked. Raw leaves have a slightly bitter taste. Dandelion salad is often accompanied with hard boiled eggs, The leaves are high in Vitamin A, Vitamin C and iron, carrying more iron and calcium than spinach.

Dandelion flowers can be used to make dandelion wine, for which there are many recipes. It has been used in a saison ale called Pissenlit (literally “wet the bed” in French) made by Brasserie Fantome in Belgium. Another recipe using the plant is dandelion flower jam. Ground roasted dandelion root can be used as a coffee substitute. Dandelion root is a registered drug in Canada, sold principally as a diuretic. A leaf decoction can be drunk to “purify the blood”, for the treatment of anemia, jaundice, and also for nervousness. Drunk before meals, dandelion root coffee is claimed to stimulate digestive functions and function as a liver tonic. “Dandelion and Burdock” is a soft drink that has long been popular in the United Kingdom with authentic recipes sold by health food shops.

The milky latex has been used as a mosquito repellent; the milk is also applied to warts, helping get rid of them without damaging the surrounding skin.

Yellow or green dye colours can be obtained from the flowers but little colour can be obtained from the roots of the plant.

Dandelions are important plants for bees. Not only is the appearance of their flowers used as an indicator that the honey bee season is starting, but they are also an important source of nectar and pollen early in the season.

I am deeply impressed after reading the materials from Wikipedia (source) that Dandelions are so useful to mankind.

What do you think about this building?

If I don’t tell you what this building is, you may not know that it is the New building for Tai Po Hui Market and Cooked Food Centre (大埔墟街市及熟食中心).

In the past, markets in Hong Kong were hot (without air-conditioning), untidy, wet and dirty.

Time has changed everything. The most important thing is that nowadays new markets are air-conditioned with orderly and clean stalls.

People may buy meat, vegetables and other food and may eat comfortably in this multi-storey 21^st century designed building. They may stop for long here, say, taking lunch, chatting and buying food home for dinner.

“London Bridge has fallen down”

“London Bridge has fallen down” can be applied to one of the coastal features my brother and sister-in-law saw in March along the Great Ocean Road in Australia. The whole piece of headland, if not the central part be lost, could resemble the look of our “London Bridge”.

It seems to me as if the fallen rock has been cut away by knife because the edges are so sharp and vertical. You can see how powerful the sea is and how weak the fallen rock is. Where is the rock that has fallen? I guess it fractures, disintegrates, falls into the sea bed owing to long erosion by sea, rain and wind. In some years or so, the view may be different here.

Another photo to share with you is the one with a beautiful arch at the base of a “dividing” rock of a natural “strait”. Sea is one of the Sculptors in Nature.

消防局換新裝

以往政府建築物大多數外牆都掃上白色的灰水, 如消防局, 政府合署, 水務署, 官立學校等等. 但現在有些改變了, 政府再沒有墨守成規地全用白色, 思想開放了.如此, 各政府部門自主選擇顏色, 把其建築物換上新裝.

我最近發現(其實可能已經發生了很久)鄰近的消防局的外牆塗上艷麗的粉紅色, 加上幾條柱及屋頂部分用上較深的粉紅色把整座消防局襯托得非常有現代感和有神氣. 那些鮮紅色的大閘門依舊把守著正門. 當我們聽到一連串警鐘聲及見到這些大門突然打開, 正是消防車出動時.

What happened to Abby’s left arm?

On Mother’s Day, I captured a photo of Abby standing behind the kitchen gate. In the past she was not allowed to enter the kitchen. However, these days she was allowed to. Maybe she had grown up a bit that their parents allowed her to.

At that time, I noticed something on her left arm. It seemed that Abby was somehow “bandaged” there. The “bandage” was hard and light brown. Abby did not show any feeling of pain at all. What do you think about this?

林(林總)總

在我們的香港社會裏有很多總裁, 企業家, 領導及集團主席, 究竟他們是否個個的樣貌都像左面廣告上的面孔呢? 我覺得並不是, 因為所見的面孔不外乎肥厚或額闊下巴尖那兩種類型. 而偏偏不見了那些英俊的. 這裏最似的只是我們的大亨李總.

這廣告其實想帶出一家酒樓集團所賣的好糭.

究竟右邊那張廣告要推廣是什麼呢?

請選擇以下其中一項:

(1) 像權杖似的鑊鏟

(2) 08年香港母親頭上的后冠

(3) 08年香港母親選舉

(4) 今年母親節酒席

(5) 廣告上各人所穿著的拖鞋

Wildlife indoors

Yin Ping and Ho Keung visited the Kiwi & Birdlife Park at Queenstown, New Zealand on September 9^th, 2007.

A lady worker at the Park brought out a Kiwi, not a living one, but a specimen. She also showed a “gigantic” egg of this nocturnal endangered native flightless bird to the audience. The size of a Kiwi is more or less that of a hen. The lady says that tourists are not allowed to take real life pictures of Kiwis.

The lady worker next brought out a colourful bird of New Zealand which was so tame that it perched on one of her fingers. The worker was so clever as to hold some food to keep the bird interested and still.

Next a lizard was brought in front of the audience so that they have a close look at it. The kind of lizards that resides in New Zealand is called Tuatara (see the photo). Most of them live on the small islands neighbouring New Zealand. Unfortunately, they were endangered by the threats from rats. Thus the New Zealand Government is trying very hard to wipe out the rats in order to save the lives of these lovely animals.

The Government even protected them by residing some of them to its universities to breed, nourish and return them to nature afterwards.

Texas

The Lone Star State in America is Texas. The State motto is “Friendship”. The Texans (people of Texas) follow the motto in welcoming people around the world to come.

Texas is the leading oil producer in the nation (see the first photo from Daisy). More beef is produced in Texas than any other states. Of all the states, it is the largest cotton producer.

This state is famous in Space industry and high technology. It has a variety of reptiles and the official state reptile is the “Horned Lizard (toad)”. A more diverse selection of flowers can be found here in Texas and the official state flowers are the Bluebonnets

Daisy is so kind in sending me a photo which shows a very huge “Lone Star” on the ground. On the right of the National flag of U.S.A (see the second photo from Daisy) is the “Lone Star” flag with its field of red, white and blue and a single inset star. It has served as a proud symbol of the state since 1839. It replaced the first state flag, the “National Standard of Texas” which was hoisted in December 1836, with a yellow star in the middle against a blue background.

Carnation Night

The carnations presented by Connie & Philip, Tony and especially Abby pleased my wife on Mother’s Day this year to a high point.

A joyous dinner came to the dining table. A prayer was conducted by Philip and during that time, Abby looked at everybody with eyes opened.

There on the table were dishes of delicious food:

(1) A whole chicken (全隻雞) - a Must dish for Philip

(2) Sweet pork strips (甜豬腩條) – 調味用南乳加糖

(3) A big pad of prawn and scrambled egg (蝦蛋餅) – a dehydrated piece of egg and prawn

(4) Choy Sum (菜芯) – 幾綠, 幾嫩

(5) Birds Eye (Brand name) Fish fingers (魚手指) – 雀目牌(幾乎絕種了)

(6) Soft rice (軟飯) – 最適合Abby和我

On that night, a large number of photos and several short videos were taken. They all marked this great day to the Mothers at the Gathering.

The carnations stay fresh and beautiful in our grey vase at home. They, I believe, may last for at least one week. I will consider this week as Mother's Week.