Mouldy Bak Kwa

I think it turned bad over the weekend. It already lasted longer than normal since we put it in a Lock & Lock container. No preservatives, good.

This Must Be A Bio-Degradable Specs

I broke my spectacles frame while drying it with a towel. I was little shocked when it broke as I thought I had only replaced it recently. And I really liked this pair, it changed my nerdy look and brightened my face.

I don't think I was heavy handed, I simply did my normal weight on the rubbing. I've only had this pair a little over a year, and its the first plastic one since secondary school. 

I recall the ones in secondary to be extremely tough, it would take you considerable force to break the frames. So I was surprised this pair broke so easily. I suppose thats what you get for going 'green' these days. You can pass off inferior, non-durable products with a positive spin and generate repeating revenue for an otherwise one time only sale.

Meimei checked and confirmed that I changed to this part about 15 months ago. Ok, so I was more than a year old ... but still isn't it too soon to break already? I know jogging shoes will disintegrate in a year, but a spectacle? Sign ... sorry green folks, it isn't that I don't support recycling or health of our planet ... but when things spoil so easily and yet the product are priced just as expensive, it really turns me off on the whole 'go green' concept. I'm sure the cause is noble, but the execution leaves so much to abuse and corporate greed.

Ok after that rant, I'll have to say I'm not turning back to a metal frame. I really like the bright colours of the spectacles. I'll be crossing my fingers and hope we find a more durable pair.

P.S. thank you Meimei for helping to put it back together with super glue *muach!

Vase 303 - 2014 22nd Feb

A single pink rose. Classy, striking and delicate.

Home Made Bread

Armed with an oven and kitchen mixer, we finally made a successful attempt at baking a loaf of bread. This is a good start and one of our to-do's when we were contemplating getting an oven.

The mixer helped a lot too. We had a previous attempt that didn't turn out as well, I suppose due to lack of effort in the kneading process. My right arm was limp after a 5 minute kneading workout. So with the mixer we could now let it run as long as we like with minimal effort.

Also getting the right recipe really helps. There are a lot of recipes online but many of those don't really work right. So it takes some trial and error to get a suitable recipe you can work with.

I think the next attempt would be a baguette. I've always liked baguette, being able to make my own would be marvellous. Let's see how that goes.

My Kitchen Assistant - Bosch MUM54W41

An addition to our already cluttered kitchen. But this is something we had to have. This sure beats having to knead bread by hand. With it's multi features of juicer, bender and an array of cutting blades, it makes sense to make space for this wonderful tool.

We did look at other models but what attracted us to this was the kneading hook. Other cheaper models offer the plastic kneading tool which we were skeptical about. Hopefully the 900watts would be adequate to do most of what we needed done, which is primarily kneading and chopping. We'll know in a few months if it's as good as it's made out to be. But at the moment, it's a reasonably priced model for its published capabilities.

Big Brother Is Watching

New big brother camera at the lift lobby. Never noticed unsavoury characters at my block but welcome the vigilance of a camera.

Vase 303 - 2014 3rd Feb

No idea what these pretty reds are but they bring the bright festive cheer into the house.

Orchid Gardens 2014

I've been to the Botanic Gardens sparingly over the years but never stepped into the famous Orchid Gardens. So when Meimei ask if we would like to go with Sis, Papa and Mama, I was more than game.

It was CNY and we were granted free admission to the gardens. The current attraction was the Zodiac inspired orchid decorations. And since it was the year of the horse, it had it's own special design.

I actually prefer the decorations for the other zodiac animals to the horse centrepiece. Less tacky I suppose.

There must be hundreds of variants of orchids in the park. And all so delicately manicured.  

I wouldn't mind coming again. You can never get tired of all these pretty orchids!

CNY 2014 - Goodies

What's CNY without the goodies! We are well-prepared for guest this year with extras from our Chinatown trip. Gong Hei Fatt Choi!!

CNY 2014 - Ang Pow

DBS's ang pows are very cute this year. But it lost by a close margin to this year's winner from Lays. Got this set of 4 as a promo gift for buying 2 packs of potato chips.

CNY 2014 - Chinatown

不知为何我今年心血来潮老早有了这念头， 这可是我们首次一同到牛车水逛逛。老婆很善解人意，虽然明明不太感兴趣但还是很开朗陪我走了大半天。新年逛唐人街总是较有 气氛。不知是人潮带人气的关 系或是那无数挤满年货的小 摊子，这片混乱又亮丽的情景以转化为迎春接财的象征。在这走着仿佛能接收群众的福气，带我们迎接美丽幸福的新年！祝大家新年快乐万事如意！

Rare Salt

For the longest time we couldn't find any Kosher Salt in any supermarkets. Finally chance on it at Novena Square.

Experiment "Pickup" - Count 1

My dear has a habit of leaving things around the house and forgetting them. For the most part I'll try to pick up after her and put things back in place. She tries to tidy up sometimes but still it doesn't happen often enough. I suppose that's a quirk about her I've come to adore and then have a sheepish grin about it.

Adore, because I find that it is a happy and pure feeling. You know when you were young and you would come home with a new toy. You would rip open the packaging and throw it on the table carelessly and then scoot off to play with the new toy. Yah, that sort of innocence and pleasure. I love that she can continue to enjoy such simple pleasures.

Sheepish grin, because it's always been something I could poke fun with. She seems so helpless in trying to organise things. I think there may be a psychological angle to all this. I know she is trying, and that's good enough for me.

So anyways, being somewhat cheekier recently, I've decided to conduct an experiment on a whim. I've codenamed it Experiment "Pickup".

The subject of the experiment is a shoe box Meimei left on the floor two days ago at roughly 8pm. I noticed it yesterday but decided to wait and see if she will see it too and put it away. Hence the premise of the "Pickup" experiment. 

At the moment the box is by the sofa and fan. She may not have an inking to pick it up since it isn't in her way when walking to the sofa. So to test this assumption I will be moving it towards the centre of the walkway by an inch or so everyday and see when she picks it up. I wager she will pick it up only after about 4-5 days or when she chances on this post. Hehehehe this is going to be so interesting *Grin.

Start 21 Jan: Moved 2 inches toward the walkway.

22 Jan: Did not draw any response. Moved another 3 inches towards the walkway.

23 Jan: The 3 inches drew a response! The box is now on the dining table. Still not where it should be, let's wait and see what happens next.

27 Jan: After several days it was moved from the highly visible spot on the table to a less conspicuous spot at the side table.

30 Jan: Tomorrow's CNY and I've decided to keep the box into the shoe cupboard.

All in all, fun experiment haha. Have the item in highly visible area and give her enough time, she will pick them up.

My New Trolley - More Storage!

New study room trolley, very sturdy and convenient. Frees up the drawers for Meimei.

CNY 2014 - New Notes

Long queue for new notes. They were only left with $2 denominations. Decided to exchange $2 & $10 notes with Dad instead.