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No Onions Please

6 Feb

Recently I was diagnosed with Infectious Colitis. Not life threatening but generally very uncomfortable. All this while I thought it was the usual monthly cramps getting more severe with age but no, it was them bacterias in my intestines all this time, having a wild party every now and then to create an unbearable pain and discomfort.

I was prescribed antibiotics for a week and it had been okay, no side effects from the meds. Because it was abdominal cramps and not diarrhoea, the doctor did not advise me what food to avoid and neither did I bother to check thoroughly although I have been careful on the choices which were nothing too extreme.

So almost a week after the colonoscopy procedure, I was fine and on the road to recovery; I even played a round of golf four days later. But I had the most unfortunate and unsuspecting setback yesterday.

I had a very nauseating spell all because I had some onions for lunch. It triggered a reaction a few hours later and was the most horrid sensation. Initially I didn’t know what it was until I got home and laid horizontal for a few hours to recuperate before going online to check.

I figured it’s best to know what I should avoid to minimize my discomfort because with Chinese New Year just around the corner, there’s bound to be a lot of eating, drinking and merry-making.

To my horror, the list included coffee, cereal, nuts, alcohol, chocolate, spicy food and of course onions, with limited intake of milk, ice cream, cheese and a whole lot of other stuff but the first three items on the list horrified me to no end!

It’s not so much of what I can eat (white bread, ugh!) but what to avoid. No coffee, cereal and nuts, my breakfast and snack staples? And no alcohol, chocolate and spicy food, my life! For at least three months! Oh dear…

I try to look at the brighter side of the situation; I will definitely shed some pounds. And unless I want to be constantly feeling bloated or nauseous, I better be disciplined about my food intake. And definitely no onions please.

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The Poor Birds, Part 2

16 Jan

The poor birds are hungry no more! We went in search of bird seeds yesterday during our lunch break. Hubby remembered a shop that we have drove past before but never frequented and what a bargain we stumbled upon.

For a mere eight Ringgit (equivalent to two US Dollars), he bought two kilos worth of bird seeds. Two kilos! That’s a lot of bird seeds. Looks like our garden party for the birds (sometimes dubbed Soup Kitchen for the Birds) will be quite happening for the next few months.

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Next to a five liter bucket of paint, that’s a lof of bird seeds!

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The Poor Birds

15 Jan

We ran out of bird seeds and the poor visiting birds have not been fed the last three days. To make matters worse, we have not had the time to replenish the seeds yet the birds still keep coming, hoping and wanting. I guess when life is made easier, they keep trying their luck.

Thoughtfully, M2 gave them rice grains the last two days, something better than nothing. And the birds will have to make do with this choice until we do go buy more bird seeds.
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Full Bloom

12 Jan

We have been experiencing wet and cold weather these past few days. Last night it was 23 degrees Celsius which was unusual for our location. While we are not complaining – in fact appreciative, I think hubby’s air plants agree with the weather. Although it’s not proven that cool air does accelerate blooming, it’s more of the timing truthfully. Hubby sure does have the green fingers.

These air plants was in full bloom last night. So pretty they look! All the other air plants are thriving as well and we should see a few more in full bloom soon.

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Bitten by the Flu Bug

19 Dec

The inevitable has happened! M2 and I have been bitten by the flu bug. I was fine up till my meeting yesterday but when I got home, it’s full blown. Not good.

I suspect it’s during the taxi ride home that we caught the chill, as I could feel the acute coldness in the car and I knew it’s going to hit; it certainly isn’t from the cold when we left Hong Kong nor tiredness from the travel. Sure enough it did.

Well, better rest for a speedy recovery.

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A Second Chance

30 Nov

This tree had actually died several months ago but hubby didn’t have the heart to throw it away. So he planted it at the garden just so he can hang his air plant pieces on it.

Barren but sturdy, it stool for months without leaves or life. Never say die literally. Surrounded by the air plants, a different location in the garden and a change in weather, it miraculously revived!

The love and air must have been good for it. The past few days new leaves have been sprouting out, the tree resuscitated and blooming, given this second chance. What a beautiful sight.

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A Change of Season

9 Nov

Suddenly the weather changed. The real monsoon is here and it looks like golfing days will be reduced. In fact, last Saturday when we had our usual morning game, we couldn’t complete 18 holes when the rain came down. My flight did 12 holes while hubby’s flight managed 11 holes only.

I am not complaining though. Rainy days may mean less golf but with the air being cooler, it’s more comfortable; definitely a welcome from the hot and high humid conditions that we’ve been having the past few weeks.

On a brighter note, it means more comfortable days ahead to carve up more Citizens of Gigglesville!

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Jinx of the Grapes

2 Nov

Like many people, we enjoy fruits, all kinds of fruits except grapes. Whole grapes are considered a jinx for us because to us, it is a fruit that is eaten only by the sick, not the healthy ones. If everyone at home are well and healthy, we do not eat grapes to avoid falling sick.

You don’t see people bringing grapes when visiting other healthy people, do you? But grapes are something people usually bring when visiting the sick, whether at the hospital or homes. I’m not trying to be mean but that’s the reality of grapes.

I simply would not buy grapes no matter how nice and enticing they can be on the shelves.

So I don’t know what got into me last week when I bought two containers of grapes. Not just one but two. Unbelievable! And guess what? Whether one chooses to believe or not, the jinx struck. M2 fell sick the very next day!

Not just sick but so sick to the core (two containers remember?) with a viral infection that caused vomiting and diarrhoea; it has been terrible beyond words causing M2 to miss school for three days.

This incident just reaffirmed my belief that we always get jinxed by grapes. Sigh… I should have known better than to make that purchase.

We better finish the two containers quickly before another person succumbs to an illness the next few days. Coincidentally, we spoke to M1 yesterday and she said she’s sick too. I asked her if she bought grapes? She said she did!

Told you, grapes are a jinx. At least for us. Sigh… hope both girls recover soon.

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What a Harvest

30 Oct

We have a lovely garden and on top of all the air plants, hubby-the person with green fingers not me-also has some editable plants and herbs in the mix. Being quite the farmer, he finally harvested the batch of turmeric yesterday after taking care of it for some time.

What a lovely bunch! I guess we will be having meals peppered with turmeric for the next few days.

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My Citizens, Your Citizens

19 Oct

It has become an ongoing joke between hubby and I on the subject of birds (and owls), with me labelling his troop as citizens too.

As you know, my Citizens are my owl carvings for the imaginary township of Gigglesville. And his citizens are the visiting birds who would come by the garden daily to be fed.

Every evening when we return from work, all the citizens await – mine in their tray, his at the garden. As my citizen count grows with an addition almost every night, so does his count too!

It is now more than Fat Bird, Bird 3 and Bird 4; it’s a whole flock of all sizes, big and small! I would poke fun at him that his citizens are awaiting, being so demanding, constantly wanting to be fed unlike mine, so docile and not demanding at all.

His citizens are also very territorial. Each time he has the bird seeds out, they would ‘fight’ especially the pair that comes down to the ground, pushing and shoving whilst pecking away. While this is ongoing, my citizens are just chilling and being cute, living harmoniously together without any in-fighting.

I just find this so funny. My citizens and his citizens. Hahahaha….

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