Red-letter day for kid writers

Wish there were red-letter day in my time. I was 13 when I earned my first $5 for getting an article published in the Dolphin magazine.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11488948

Red-letter day for kid writers

Keven Mealamu will illustrate books by Josephine Sim, 7, and Ben Davies, 10. Photo / Dean Purcell

Eight young Kiwi authors will be bubbling with inspiration after meeting their sporting heroes and getting a story published, all in one day.
The winners of this year's Barfoot & Thompson Young Authors Challenge attended a workshop at the National Library in Auckland yesterday, where award-winning children's writer Maria Gill mentored the aspiring writers and helped craft their stories for publication.
The young creative minds - all aged between 7 and 12 - will see their stories brought to life and illustrated by rugby legend and artist Keven Mealamu, Silver Fern Anna Harrison and artists Tracey van Lent, Jun Arita and Erika Pearce.
The illustrators interviewed their assigned authors to find out more about their characters, with Mealamu sitting down with Josephine Sim, 7, from Cockle Bay School and Ben Davies, 10, from Patumahoe School.
Josephine's story Home Sweet Home was picked as the supreme winner and chosen as the cover story for the book.
The winners, selected from more than 1100 entries from primary and intermediate-aged children across Auckland and Northland, were chosen for their use of theme, development of characters and settings, and positive messages.
They will all feature in a professionally published storybook, with 15,000 copies provided to Starship children's hospital and Whangarei Hospital's children's ward.

The eight winners are:

Josephine Sim, Cockle Bay School - Home Sweet Home (supreme winner)
Nicole Daria, Royal Oak Primary School - Rodney's Adventure
Lucy Li, St Dominic's College - Black Cat's Venture
Jenna Hainsworth, Beachlands School - My Family, My Home
Ben Davies, Patumahoe School - The Topsy Turvy Day that Showed Maximus the Right Way
Caleb Palmer, Elim Christian College - Spotty's New Home
Antoine Ashman, Glenbrook School - Mr Cat
Emilia Finer, Kerikeri High School - Rangi Ruru

- NZ Herald

Lachenalia flower in winter

Lachenalia

Plant

Lachenalia is a genus of bulbs in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae, which are usually found in Namibia and South Africa. Most of these plants have a dormancy period, and the new roots of these plants will always grow every year. Wikipedia

common name of "Soldier Boys" 

http://floralfridayfoto.blogspot.com/

Calceolaria

The petals looks like puffed balloons. Calceolaria (/ˌkælsiː.ɵˈlɛəriə/[1]), also called lady's purse, slipper flower and pocketbook flower,[2] or slipperwort
http://floralfridayfoto.blogspot.com/

Red: Barber's pole.

I was taking the barber's pole, and saw it was also a pokies bar.  When I was young, the pole was a  spiralling red and white stripes and hung outside

 barbers' shops as a business sign.
http://rubytuesdaytoo.blogspot.co.nz/

Red Hot poker

Red Hot Poker, Torch lily, Poker Plant (Kniphofia uvaria)

a genus of plants in the family Asphodelaceae that includes 70 or more species native to Africa. Some species have been commercially used horticulturally and are commonly known for their bright, rocket-shaped flowers.

These plants produce spikes of brightly-colored, hanging, red-to-orange flowers. This gives names such as "torch" and "red hot poker" to many of them.

The Kniphofia genus is named after Johann Hieronymus Kniphof, a 18th century German physician and botanist.

There is a clump in my neighbour's garden, and it was just perfect for me to take the different stages of the flower.

Selamat Hari Raya,

when I was in Primary school, Dad was a civil servant and we lived in the Government Quarters. That was a time we lived among different racial groups in Sarawak. During Hari Raya, Chinese New Year, we gave food and visited each other.

There was a sweet like a dried agar, my mum could not replicate.

 I have since googled and it is agar agar kering.
25gm agar-agar strips
1L water
350gm sugar
1 tsp rose flavouring
½ tsp pink/red colouring o get a pastel colour.
cut into rectangles
Sun dry for a week.
It's got a crunchy crust, a slightly chewy and springy interior.

Selamat Hari Raya to my Muslim friends.

Flowers: Aloe flowers in Pt Chevalier

Most Aloe species have a rosette of large, thick, fleshy leaves. Aloe flowers are tubular, frequently yellow, orange, pink, or red, and are borne, densely clustered and pendant, at the apex of simple or branched, leafless stems. Many species of Aloe appear to be stemless, with the rosette growing directly at ground level; other varieties may have a branched or unbranched stem from which the fleshy leaves spring. They vary in color from grey to bright-green and are sometimes striped or mottled. Some aloes native to South Africa are tree-like (arborescent) wiki

http://floralfridayfoto.blogspot.com/

Red: Mousse. 2

I make this mousse when I go to pot-luck meals. This has sponge in it and taste better than the dessert I had at a lunch in a restaurant. It has no sponge and strawberries. I quote from a MKR (My Kitchen Rules) judge who said , just mousse itself is too rich to eat.

http://rubytuesdaytoo.blogspot.co.nz/

slam your door while baking a sponge cake????

Yester-year, Sue and I were good friends, we were also neighbours in Scalan Street, Grey Lynn in late 1970s. Sue was from Samoa. 

When she knew I had no money to buy a wedding dress, she told me about the Samoa way where the brides have wedding dresses given by their aunties. Sue asked if I minded borrowing her cousin dress. She assured me that the dress has not been worn, as her cousin had 12 dresses. She said I didn't have to pay anything, but would I invite her cousin to the wedding. The cousin even gave me a wedding gift.

Sue made sponge cakes for my wedding reception. She told me that we have to be very quiet and not slam the doors, otherwise the cakes would fall flat.

I meet on the cyber highway a very interesting young man. He is very creative and cooks and makes beautiful cakes. He experiments with recipes and shares it in his blogs. He posted his sponge cakes, and i asked him if he heard about slamming the door.

Just for curiosity, I googled and found this.

 

The 'Sure to Rise' Cookery Book

Cooking Hints

Previous Section | Table of Contents | Up | Next Section

page 48

Cooking Hints

• Cakes should be baked as soon as they are mixed.
• Raisins should always be stoned.
• Candied peel should always be thinly sliced.
• For nice pastry, always sift the flour.
• For scones and rolls, always use a very quick oven.
• For buns and small cakes, a moderate quick oven.
• For large cakes, not quite so quick.
• For sponge cakes, a moderate oven.
• Test the oven before baking—don't guess.
• Before baking, have everything ready, and suitable fire.
• Never slam the oven door when cooking, it spoils cakes, pastry, and puddings.
• Two breakfastcups of flour piled up equal 1℔.
• Wooden spoons are better than metal for all cooking.
• Always rub butter or lard into the flour with the fingers, not the palms of the hand.
• Currants, sultanas, raisins, or sugar equal ½℔. in barely level breakfastcup.
• Edmonds' Baking Powder should always be mixed in dry ingredients, unless otherwise mentioned.
• One breakfastcup of milk equals ½-pint; 1 teacupful of milk equals 1 gill.
• A cake should rise before browning to its full height, especially sponge cakes.
• You can always guess amount of butter to use in cooking by dividing the 1℔. squares.

This book is published and edited by the manufacturers, with the hope that it may prove of service to all who are in any way interested with that very necessary and important branch of domesticity, cooking. If this Cookery Book serves the end already mentioned, it will in some degree act as a return of thanks for the generous and whole hearted support given to Edmonds' “Sure to Rise” Baking Powder by the general public.

http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-EdmCook-t1-back-d1.html

The Hungry Monkey food truck Wellington

Frank Kitts Park on Wednesday and Thursday
Riverbank Market Lower Hutt on Saturday.

https://www.facebook.com/thehungrymonkeywellington/timeline

Friendly proprietor Lynn Wong introduces and serves up homemade Malaysian snacks with an emphasis on healthy food.

 Sri muka/ pulut salat/Sri salat. ... the green cake. The orange...steamed kumara/sweet potato cake

wheat heat bags and cold weather.

waist pouch which can also used over your shoulder.

Our weather news show snow in many parts of New Zealand, including Wellington. I am glad I have my whaet heat bags.


I made these wheat heat bags. They are good hot or cold for thermotherapy uses. I buy organic wheat from an organic bulk shop. You have to make sure they are organic, otherwise when you heat them, the chemical fumes may be emitted in your micro-wave oven.

Wheat apparently maintains heat better than other grains and its insulation qualities due to its cellular structure. This means it can absorb heat or cold evenly and distributes this stored heat or cold gradually and effectively.

I have made them like a feather boa to wrap round your neck, and keep you snug and warm or relieve your sore neck. I also make a wrap for my waist. I have a sore back, and I wear it standing or sitting or lying down. They mould to the contour of the area being treated.

My family loves it especially in winter. Sam goes to bed with his "hottie."

You can freeze them, and use it as a first aid cold pack, or if you have migraine. I have made many of these bags and sent them as far as Singapore.

You can buy them online or in chemist shops but it is very expensive.

succulent flower

http://floralfridayfoto.blogspot.com/

cactus flower/ Zygocactus (more correctly called schlumbergera,

Zygocactus, with their pretty, flattened-bell flowers, are delights of the winter garden. They’re often called ‘crab’ cactus, because of their crab-like segmented stems, or, occasionally, Christmas cactus. The latter name doesn’t, of course, make a lot of sense in the southern hemisphere where they flower in the middle of the year. Zygocactus bloom in winter because their flowering is initiated by winter’s longer nights (or shorter days).

Zygocactus (more correctly called schlumbergera, but familiarly known as zygos) are hybrids of succulent plants that grow naturally on trees in their Brazilian homeland. 

http://floralfridayfoto.blogspot.com/

http://www.commonsenseorganics.co.nz/find-us/johnsonville/


http://abcwednesday-mrsnesbitt.blogspot.co.nz/

butter

Does Golden Churn Butter still sell in tins? 

My funniest story was I was in Form 4, my sister in Form 1. She decided to make some cookies she learn from school. She went to the only grocery shop in the neighbourhood. 

When we opened the can, it had gone runny. I was not scared and went and asked for a refund. 

The towkay aka the boss refused, and said," You must have bought it long ago."

I said, "we just bought it. "

He went to his stock of Golden Churn Butter, shook them, and threw them on the floor, saying @@##$ at the same time, he gave us our refund. 

We didn't make our cookies, but we felt very triumph. It was a time when consumers didn't dare ask for a refund.

www.aoteanz.com

Helichrysum argyrophyllum

 http://floralfridayfoto.blogspot.com/

http://www.plantzafrica.com/planthij/helichryargry.htm  courtesy to show opened flowers.

Red: mousse wrapper.

went with students to Tip Top ice cream factory. They were making cheese cakes for Crofters. The school bought some cheesecakes for the students. I saw these mousse and and didn't notice any different from ice cream. Then on Sunday NZCA lunch, they served mousse.


http://rubytuesdaytoo.blogspot.co.nz/

red: Rhubarb bottle.

The bottle of a rhubarb and ginger cordial.

This post is to all my friends in this meme that I don't know why, I have not been able to post comments to you.

http://rubytuesdaytoo.blogspot.co.nz/

ciabatta roll

Italian Ciabatta roo with pate. I love the chewy texture and reminds me of the Sibu Foochow Kompia.

http://rubytuesdaytoo.blogspot.co.nz/

Mandevilla

I saw this beautiful crimson Mandevilla at my friend Connie's house. Her friend from Canada gave it to her. Connie's friend was delighted that the Mandevilla here bloom for a long period.

Mandevilla (play /ˌmændɨˈvɪlə/)[2] is a genus of plants belonging to the family Apocynaceae, the Periwinkle family. It consists of about 100 species, mostly tropical and subtropical flowering vines.

Mandevilla is native to Central and South America and many Mandevillas come originally from the Serra dos Órgãos forests in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The genus was named after Henry Mandeville (1773-1861), a British diplomat and gardener.[3]

Mandevillas develop spectacular flowers in warm climates. The flowers come in a variety of colours, including white, pink, yellow, and red. As climbers, Mandevillas can be trained against a wall or trellis to provide a leafy green and often flowering picture of beauty. They have a tendency to attract insects like mealybugs and scales.




http://floralfridayfoto.blogspot.com/

Allamanda and my God family, the Chews

Here in August 2011, with my KAI/ adopted mum Mrs. Chew Tien Kui.

Here in June 2015 when I made an impromptu visit tp Wellington,  Behind us, is Lynn Wong, I call her Ah Leng.






When I finished high school in Borneo in 1974, I had a gap year and became a teacher before I went to university in Canada. The kids adored me as I was just a kid myself at 19, not much older than some of the students who have come from Chinese schools.

That school, Kai Chung school in Binatang aka now as Bintang, divided the students into houses named after flowers. I was in charge of the Allamanda team. This yellow trumpet like flower is very potent, the sap is poisonous.


The Chinese has a nice tradition. It is called "KAI" To explain simply, if I like a certain family, I might go to "KAI" myself to become one of their daughters. It is an affectionate or endearment. I do not physically become their daughter.

When I was teaching in Kai Chung school, the first day I arrived in the little town, the principal left me in their house. There was no prior arrangement of where I was to sleep that night. Mrs. Chew thought her husband was approached by the principal if I could sleep the night. She offered me a bed, and the rest was history.

I often visited them and just before I went to Canada, I stayed a month with them. You couldn't ask for a better family.

In 2011 August, I went to Christchurch and met up with most of the family. I told Mrs. Chew she was now my KAI mum. Lynn/ Ah Leng asked if I remembered this Allamanda flower. She was a member of the Allamanda house, and she remembered I was cheering for this house with her. A LA MAN DA.

This post is for the Late Chew Tien Kui family. Ah Leng, this flower will always link us.

This flower from a shrub I found on the Gold Coast of Australia is slightly different to the Borneo ones. They have those extra petals in the middle.
Common Name: Stansill's Double, Flore Pleno Allamanda
Botanical Name: Allamanda cathartica 'Stansill's Double'

The Borneo ones are look like a trumpet and have a hole in the middle.

http://floralfridayfoto.blogspot.co.nz/

Pink Mandevilla sanderi

http://floralfridayfoto.blogspot.com/

Mandevilla sanderi

Scientific name: Mandevilla splendens

Pronunciation: man-dev-VILL-luh SPLEN-denz

Common name(s): pink allamanda

Psyllium

http://www.healthline.com/health/psyllium-health-benefits#2

I was introduced to this product on recommendation that as a professional, we lead very stressful life. It is good for us.

Psyllium can lower your risk of heart disease by:

• lowering your blood pressure
• improving your lipid levels
• strengthening your heart muscle

Research has shown that soluble fiber can help manage cholesterol levels. Proper cholesterol regulation is important for everyone, but vital for people over the age of 50. One studyshows that psyllium is an effective way for people to lower their cholesterol, with very few side effects.

Psyllium /ˈsɪliəm/, or Ispaghula /ˌɪspəˈɡuːlə/, is the common name used for several members of the plant genus Plantago whose seeds are used commercially for the production of mucilage

If you are in Singapore, go to the big 24 hour Mustapha shop, they sell very cheaply in the package in the last post. Ask the Indian people for Ispaghula pronounced as E SOP GO LA, they may not understand your Chinese accent. They also sell in certain Indian shops in NZ.

When I was in Sibu, I saw it in a Rejang Park Chinese Med Hall, 500 grams at $25. very cheap.