New Rates for our Electricity Usage

In Cheshire Home we pay a minimal amount for the use of electricity for our own electrical appliances. It is the Residents' Chairman duty to collect the money for the office every month. This duty had been passed on to my sister, Mary as the existing Chairman had difficulty doing so. It was a task nobody like.
As oil prices went over the months, some have speculated that the Home would up our electricity usage rate. But no concrete evidence was forthcoming and the oil price had started to drop when, out of the blue, the new rates were pinned up on the notice board for all to see. The new rates would take effect in April. As I am the one helping my sister to do the paper work, it means I have quite a bit to do editing the records. Some residents had paid up for the whole year and there are adjustments to be made. Sis, Mary is not going to have an easy job collecting bills in April.

Once upon a time, I was dust.

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. From dust we come, to dust we'll return. Ash Wednesday is the day that we are reminded of our mortality. It is also a reminder that we will return to meet our God; the one who made us and the one who loves us, to whom we truly belong.
In the begining, on the sixth day after God created Heaven and Earth and all that is in it, God formed man out of the dust of the ground and breathe into him the breath of life. Therefore, with each breath we take, we should be thankful to God for the gift of life.
Today God gave me a new perspective that increased my awareness of His love for me.
After God created man, God put the man into a deep sleep and took a rib bone out of the man to
form a woman to give the man a perfect companion. God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply."
So, we are all descendents of our first parents, Adam and Eve. Now, back to the first thought: ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Surely, I'll return to dust. Everyday, I die a little and contribute to the amount of dust in my room with my old skin cells. Now the second thought: from my mother's womb, I come; flesh of her flesh, blood of her blood, nothing that resembles a handful of dust. To affirm that I was made of dust is to say and believe that I have come a long, long way. I am possibly more than 6000 years old since the first man Adam is believed to come into existance in 4001 B.C.
Wow! God waited a long time to see me. He took His time to form me. He saw me when I was dust. He knew and loved me back then (and still do:)) and He took care of me and brought me to existance.

Know more about:
Ash Wednesday
The Story of Creation

Foxtail Palms added

The central courtyard has a new look with eight saplings of Foxtail Palm, Wodyetia bifurcata, being added to it. We were a bunch of happy onlookers this morning watching the men planting the trees.
Some week ago, our friend, Danny, brought his friend with a knowledge of landscaping to the Home. They had talked about doing something to the garden. Together they donated the money to purchase and plant the trees.
Having the trees made quite a bit of difference to the feel of the place. The trees were choosen for its foxtail-like feather shape leaves which, not only look decorative, but help break up the direct and intensed heating of the courtyard while not blocking out the sunlight. The planted palms lend a softer feel to their surrounding and added some sense of happiness and well being. I said it because I feel it. Thanks, Danny and Jin Hong:)

Leopard Lacewing eclosed

After lunch I went back and find that my Leopard Lacewing had eclosed. Out came the camera and everything. This time I endeavoured to do a real good direct shot of my butterfly. I had tape the vine firmly to the box beforehand. I tipped the box slowly on its side taking care not to alarm the butterfly in the slightest way. And, yes, I succeeded! I tipped the box upright again. No alarm caused. I left it. It wasn't ready to fly.
Four hours later, it sure didn't look ready to me. It hadn't stirred from the same perch. Kumari went near to take a look. The alarmed butterfly flapped its wings and dropped from its perch. A spot of red appeared. One wing got glued to the wet meconium it had passed out. I let it grab a pen and put it back on the vine. Half an hour later it was still hanging on, but after my dinner and six hours after eclosure, it fell on its back again. This time it couldn't get up:-(

A Different Kind of Lunch

To celebrate the CNY, lunch was a catered buffet.
For the residents, the meal was a plateful of mee-goreng (fried noodles) and some curry chicken. For dessert, there was sweet yam paste. We all shared a tray of "lo hei". There were barely enough for all and we could only get a spoonful of the new year delicacy. Right after we have had our lunch, the staff started their lunch with more trays of "lo hei" and come away with little platefuls of the sweet died fruit from the tray. Many of the foriegn staff hadn't acquire the taste buds for savouring it and after a mouthful, some of them dump the plateful of the dish into the dustbin while we watch with doleful eyes.
For the staff, lunch was a plate piled high with food that look deliciously mouth-watering. There were prawns with their shells on, mushrooms with broccoli, braised duck meat, fried chicken wings on top of the other simple food. Some residents returned from their medical checkup and were given their share of mee-goreng, but one resident discovered that her lunch was not kept and was angry and refused to eat.

Catching the Floats

We expected a quiet and simple dinner at Elaine's place yesterday. It turned out quite differently. Neighbours got invited and unexpected friends popped up. It was Mrs. Gwee's birthday and for the fun of it, Elaine bought 2 small pieces of cake to be cut up into 16 little cubes for each of us! We had a good dinner and stayed on to chit-chat after the neighbours left. Elaine made the suggestion of catching the Chingay floats in Ang Mo Kio.

A check through the internet provided the details. The Chingay floats would made their way through Teck Ghee, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10, block 409 to Street 51 and 52. Thereafter it will go on towards Serangoon North through AMK Ave 3. There are two places where we can see the floats; Teck Ghee block 409 and the Chong Boon Park across the underpass.

Elaine arrived with her sisters and brothers-in-law and we hurried over to the 409 market reaching there before 7.50pm. We needn't have worried. There was a variety show going on and goody bags were being distributed. It was a long wait before the floats came coursing down the road. We sat by the road and had a good view of all the floats. After the last float went by, we ran the way back home an cut to the furthest end of Chong Boon park just in time to catch a bird's eye view of the parade passing by again. We were elated to have catch the floats twice.