Pockets of time

Ever have that rush feeling, having to complete so much in so little time .... I have come up with the simplest solution  for that which I call "pockets of time."

It's all those times in between, waiting for the pot to boil or waiting to get in the shower or waiting for that person to turn up .... get ready ....

All these in between time, can be put to good use by doing little stuff that do not require plenty of time.

I have loaded the laundry, the dish washer, cleared out the garbage and all these little odd and ends that just require a minute or two to get accomplished.  Before you realize it, most of the mundane stuff has been taken care of which leaves you loads of time for relaxation.

Nostalgia

Listening to the Christmas albums from my childhood on you tube brings back a flood of memories.

There's Ray Connif which my neighbour's used to blast from their house next door, lovely christmasy feelings and such sweet memories.

Jim Reeve's is on now, that's another old time favourite, I can smell the aroma of the pineapple jam cooking on the stove and the voice of Enyak singing along to the tune while we take turns scrapping the papaya for the stuffed chillies which will be used for our pickles and the lemons coated in salt and all these would dry out in the sun for days. 

The pickle queen was my grandmother, Florence Gomes - (affectionately know as auntie Chiding) - my grandmother made the best pickels, not to mention all the traditional Portuguese dishes. She also sewed all our clothes and curtains.

When it rained all of us rushing outside to bring in the stuff that was drying out in the sun, it was very tedious work getting ready for Christmas, the prepping, the washing, although the children were not included in the decorating of the tree.  I still recall, the tree only went up on the 22nd or 23rd of  December.

The new curtains would be strung on the 24th morning, than preparations for the cooking.

We always attended Christmas mid-night mass on the eve, when we got home we feasted on pork totters cooked with salted preserved cabbage, this dish always tasted so much better two days later.

Lunch was a grand feast of roasted beef, chicken, pork, curry devil, pongteh, sebak, chup chye and an egg, lettuce, onion, cucumber layered salad.

There were lots of cookies and cakes, kuih ros, kuih boluh, wagek, dodol, pineapple tarts, sugi cake, chocolate cake, butter cake, fruit cake and sugi.

The radiogram would be playing Christmas songs all day and all night

We had the best Christmas growing up.

Snowfall

Woke up this morning to a sprinkling of snow on the ground, yes, the arrival of winter !!

Ken pelted me with a snowball while I was chatting with Christine and Net on FB ... without much coaxing went outside to make snowballs and enjoy this first snowfall.

First snowfall of the season

Chithra

Chithra, my dearest friend ... today I am informed that you will be married in March of 2014, I wish you the best dearest friend.

I respect your choice and I am happy for you.  You are my dearest friend and I want you to be happy more than anything.  You have had such a sad and lonely life for far too long.  My hope is that you will be loved much. 

May God shower His blessing upon you and the man who will share your life.  May the two of you have a good life, one of abundant love and faith.

Have a happy life Chithra.

Most amazing Autumn season

We are surrounded by the vibrant colours of Autumn everywhere.  It's been such a glorious season, compared to the last ten years since I have been here.  The colours are just so beautiful, from the orange, amber, gold, yellow, red and burgundy. 

At Kohl's, I look out the widows and I witness the bright red of the burning bushes, on the mountain tops we see the specks of orange and gold, so lovely to behold.

In our neighbourhood, the colors of the trees catches my breath. The spectacular tree lines along the highway .... orange and gold, than the bright  red of burning bushes, once again yellow and gold.  Each day I get another chance to admire the beautiful trees - the structure, the colors and I thank God each time that I am able to witness such loveliness.

The colours peaked mid-September and now we are in the second week of November and still surrounded by the Fall foliage.  We are truly blessed this year for the wonderful colours of  Autumn.

The dry season contributed to the lasting Fall foliage.  Once the rains arrive the leaves will fall and put an end to the beautiful landscape of Autumn.

For now we will continue to admire the wonder of nature and the blessings of  our good and gracious God.