20120228 A Party for Three

This is the fourth day of my
5-day-holiday.
It is back to school for my son tomorrow,
so I left my warm burrow
for the market.
This Mom chef knows she needed
fish on the table.

I had not fully closed the main door on the ground floor
when I beheld the cold and the gloomy sign of a coming rain.
It was 11:45am when I left the 7th floor.
There really was no time to go back  for a coat and an umbrella.
Such incredible motherly love
I cannot lay claim to;
on the contrary, I heard myself scold,
"Silly old lady to have braved the cold,
sillier still if you catch a cold."

Blame it on spontaneity,
blame it on the sudden urge to throw a party.
Yet, how can one not be reprehensible
even to self,
for the time spent on my Windows
to ever glance out the windows!

Nevertheless,
it did not take long for God to make me aware of His presence.

On my way to the market,
the red light was on, I do not have to stop walking.

While I was in the market,
the lady fishmonger  in her chatty mood,
gave me a brilliant tip for my fish and clams
(Please visit PaletteformyPalate and
here
for the details)
          
The rain did come pouring hard.
I heard it but was saved from an encounter.
It poured hard and fast
as fast as it takes to see
the finish of my NT$600.

On my way home,
the street was wet but without a drizzle.
Again, there was the red light, I do not have to stop walking.
I need neither a coat nor an umbrella.
I walked home warm with passion for a new recipe.
I walked home warm with passion for my family of three.

20111120 Thank You, Diana.

Awakened by a call at 9am this morning.

The number indicated a long distance call from Taipei.

In a very beautiful accent the caller said, "Hello,is this B..?"

"Yes, may I know who's calling please?" I said.

"This is Diana."

"I only know of two Dianas.  The Diana and the little girl Diana."

A slight hesitation at the other end...

Certain that she must be the little girl Diana and the only Diana I've known,

I said,"Tell me where we got acquainted."

"S St." she said.

"Yes, you are the little girl Diana."

I also talked to her mom.

The hour on the phone brought back memories.

Recollections dated back 20 years ago.

I got to thank her mom for the support she has given me.

I got to thank her for entrusting me with the task of getting 

her precious little one to read.

I am so blessed.  Six years with a child is more than I can ask for.

She is now teaching.

I now have someone to refer to when asked about TOEIC & TESOL.

20111028 The Culprit -Aedes Aegypti

A sizable area that used to be cramped with goods in the tiny grocery store was empty.  Either the owner is patient or I am the only one who has asked.  She told me that  someone in the community was infected with dengue virus.

No wonder the seats in the beauty salon and the desks at the office that I passed by were all wrapped in plastic.  I wondered if I have missed the notice.  On my way closer to home, I caught a glimpse of the empty racks in the organic store.  I have no time to look back at how the convenient store was doing.  The beddings shop and the restaurants right below us were closed for the night.  

I recalled what the sprayers and foggers did to our classroom four years ago. It was a whole lot easier to clean up compared to a home.  The house cleaning and the washing of utensils that came after would be any homemaker's nightmare. For sure, nobody would want to admit  to be the dengue victim after having caused everyone all the hassles.

  

No one within a radius of 50 meters from the victim can be spared.  It is enforced by fining uncooperative citizens and by opening locks in case one thinks he can get away with an alibi.  

With this blog you know I am spared.  And with this blog, a prayer

for complete elimination of the culprit.  

20110821 Pray for Our Teen

Thank You Lord for simple fun times with our teen.
Lord make us wise and listen to Your advice.
We call out Your Name and seek Your guidance
moment by moment
each of our days.
Help us teach by how we live.
Give us the courage and hope to instruct our teen to successfully run life's race.
To know his calling, the condition that's best for his soul
that least exposes him to Your wrath but gives him more opportunity
of serving and enjoying You, Our Lord.

20110817 Wednesday Recluse

Call me lazy for taking it easy.
Another Wednesday, my non-working holiday.
Fleeing tension with relaxation,
Reading,writing,cooking and playing at my leisure.
Cheap at half the price for pleasure
in the privacy of one's home,
where my mind starts to roam.

20110811 Of Cowboys and Guns

The sign language for the word  traffic looks like a man holding and shooting two pistols aimed at an enemy.  The sign description says: Both 3 classifier hands move back and forth next to each other with palms facing each other.   Being on the road feels like being in a war zone.  No wonder I can never muster up the courage to drive a car, ride a motorcycle or even ride a bike. 

20110811 Of Lightning & Thunder

Braved several flashes of lightning on my way home from class tonight.
I could wait for the rain to stop and walked home along closed shops
or walked home along brightly lit shops amid the thunderstorm.

Thank you, Lord, for protecting the Mother,who had to brave the lightning and thunder
while the rain kept beating on her face, as she take her daughter home from class
on her motorcycle.

Thank you, Lord, for protecting the child, who had to brave the thunderstorm
riding home on his bicycle on busy streets among cars.

Thank you, Lord, for protecting the drivers, who had to be on the road at this kind of weather.
Be it driving home a loved one, or someone else's
Or be he driving home to his loved ones waiting for him at home.

20110803 Bugging Paparazzo

Deliberately for my ears as I was taking photos at the 
Cultural Center this afternoon.


Woman: Look! Somebody's taking our photos and then she'll be posting them...



Me: Sorry lady, I'm more interested in taking photos of worms. To prove see here 



She's such a coward for not engaging me in confrontation.
I'm more of a coward for just keeping my reply to my thoughts.


Much as I would love to put a bug in her ear, I want to give her credit for a subject to write about today and another one in the future about the ways to say "Bug Off!"

20110407 Of Teas, Coffee & Cake

A gift from a friend,
shared with more friends.

I brought half of this cake to visit Ruth,
the ever gracious hostess at Cafe 349
yesterday afternoon.
We had our cup of coffee with this Icewine Tea Chiffon Cake.

I got to meet one of her friends,
a lovely lady.
We continued our conversation as
Ruth's customers started to come in.
It was one afternoon that I need not worry about
what food to put on the table for hubby and son.
Ruth had it all planned for me.
I just took the bag home
and laid them on the table.
A dish of vegetable, chicken and fish.

I thank my Lord for the time to enjoy people.
People in different walks of life.

Behold, I didn't see..

I bought this whole piece of bamboo shoot.
The woman asked if I'd want it peeled.
Don't know why I refused.
Must have thought I can do it myself.
Not until I tried to split it open, (1)
and decided to peel a layer off,
  that I wondered how it should be done.
I have watched it done before.
Just kept on peeling until (2),(3)
and doubted if I have really watched
in the real sense of the word.
There must be a way of peeling it
and for sure it doesn't look like this at all. (4)

20110311 My Nose and The Leaves

1.Amoxil 500mg, Amoxicillin, 2. Paran 500mg, Acetaminophen 500mg
3.Pukamin Tablets "C, Brompheniramine 4mg, 4. ME 25 mg., DL Methylephedrine 25mg
5. Suwell.


Was up early this morning to pay our family doctor a visit,
before his clinic, about 15 steps from our front door,
closed at 10a.m..

My sneezes were never ending.
It was not just the exaggerated reaction
to sudden changes in temperature
or some offending allergens that my surgical mask could take care of.
It was a time for therapeutic intervention.

"Same old problem." My doctor said
"This happens whenever you see the leaves falling and
whenever you see them sprouting."
"Thank You, Doc" I said as I headed to the
dispatch window for my medicine.

This may sound like a seasonal thing
but I have long been disarmed from knowing how to get over-the counter drugs.
It felt good to have a professional person to depend on
even for such a small case between my nose and the leaves.