It is amazing how time has flown by with the wink of an eye. It seems like only yesterday when I reflected on 2014. Now, exactly a year ago, I started my reflections with this phrase… Every one receives a blank 365-page book each New Year. We are being “tested” for each single day. What and how we fill each page-day is totally up to us. Has it been a good day, bad and horrid day, memorable and magical? Sometimes people forget how much 365 days actually bring to their lives.
Reflections … 2015
My last 365 days were a mix of bullish and bearish emotions – among others – excitement, anxiety, worry, sadness, joy, happiness, disappointment, panic, hope, jubilation, relief, love, elation…There was one page or pages, rather, that were filled with endless trickles of excitement, joy, love and happiness. My family of 4 from Belgium met up with my family of 19 from Kuching, KL, Sibu and Edmonton. We converged where the VIP aka Mum lives. It was a blessing to meet everyone after 7 long years! There were abundance of catching ups AND lots of eating frenzy !!
Looking back at how much I have done and indulged in my favourite banquet with my loved ones in such a short span of time was a fairly tall order. I am glad I have filled my year book with moments I could cherish for a long time.
FAMILY, like branches on a tree, we all grow in different directions, yet our roots remain as one (author unknown)
Just 10 short days of acquaintance!
Oh yes, I was glad to be introduced to a new friend of the family during my summer hols in August. He was my youngest sister’s best pal. His name was Nicky. He had the most lovely pair of brown eyes that could melt anyone’s heart. He succeeded in melting mine, by the way.
Introducing Nicky …
For 10 days, I’ve seen Nicky lovingly purring at our feet under the table, in the living room and eating his meals at almost predictable hours. Then one morning, he never turned up for his breakfast, and neither for his lunch. And then one of my sisters received a phone call. It was the saddest news ever. No words could describe how crushed my family were upon hearing the news. Nicky’s gone!
My youngest sister’s best pal was gone… Forever! She was there when Nicky was born. She was there when Nicky grew up. In that 10 days I was in Kuching, I sensed a huge bond between my sister and Nicky. It was the saddest moment in my year book to feel the pain and sadness my sister went through. To seal the pain, she made a collage of her pal, capturing the times she had with her true furry friend. He was too young to die. He was only an 8-month old kitten (equivalent to 15 human years)
May he rest in peace!
Every Cloud has a Silver Lining
It was strange but true; Nicky’s mum was pregnant! She was a stray cat when my family took her in while she was carrying Nicky and looking for a shelter to deliver her only kitten then. Now she’s a part of the family. With Nicky’s death, the vacuum was almost immediately filled with triple joy!
The house is full again😄
New and Absurdly Different
Last year I learnt a new way of ‘baking’ cakes in my no-fancy 20-year old 2-button rice cooker. I went through a learning curve improving my bakes from one use to another in my most absurd rice cooker! Now, late 2015, I was challenged with a totally new cooking technique, ie, cooking in the Thermomix! I bought the latest model, TM5, with the coolest built-in recipe chip, which I hardly used! Tsk! Tsk! Tsk! Cooking in my new thermie meant learning a new way of cooking, and complying to an electro language. To give you an idea, “Cook for 20 minutes, at 100 deg Celcius or Varoma, reverse dial at speed spoon to 1”
Was I happy with my new “toy”? Well, the final results tell all.
Here were some of them 😃
As you can see, in just a month’s usage, my cooking became more versatile and my presentation skill has also improved by leaps and bounds. Anyway, I told my friends that it’s a sin not to use my thermie considering the fact that the “little kitchen” costs me a fortune. And no, I will not discard my conventional way of cooking. I still love the long hours of braising stewed meats in my slow cooker, AND, the traditional rice cooker is just priceless 😊
Old habits certainly die hard and call me old-fashioned …sometimes😄
My Peaceful Moments
Honestly, I don’t have many peaceful moments. I used to read when I wanted to be in my own world, but I have not been reading a lot lately, which is a shame, therefore, I filled that gap with a paper, a pencil or pen and some colours with my right hand. I have recently relived my childish hobby… sketching, drawing and colouring!
I hope to have more time to doodle my way through my new 365-day year book😜
My Wish …
I have a very simple wish. PEACE and LOVE in both micro and macro levels. Without these 2 components, fear exists. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate and hate leads to suffering.
Remember the words of Master Yoda?
“Fear is the path to the dark side”
For those I may have wronged, I ask for forgiveness. For those whom I have helped, I wish I could have done more. For those I could not help, I ask for your understanding. And for those who have helped me, I am grateful for all you did.
So, out with the old and in with the new. As we all know, with every new year comes greater challenges and obstacles, I wish you lots of courage filled with hope and faith to overcome all of the hurdles you may face. May you have a great year and a wonderful time ahead.
And remember, tomorrow is the start of your first blank page. You are the master of that page. Take a pen in your hand and write a beautiful story for yourself.
See you next year! 😜
Cheers!
By the way ... 