Massaged Kale

8 May

Yesterday M1 sent us a picture of her dinner, bought at San Francisco Airport. She was en route to another city but that is not the point. The point here is her dinner.

What is ‘massaged kale’ pray tell? The food that I am used to, Asian or Western or otherwise, does not need any massaging. The only thing I know that needs massaging (besides me) are them cows that give us Wagyu Beef. I never knew vegetable also needs to be massaged. We thought it was funny.

Then I decided to google up the meaning to find out exactly what ‘massaged kale’ is. Ahh… it’s the preparation step.

One should massage the kale with bare hands to soften them. And this process apparently will yield a softer texture, making it easier to chew compared to just using a utensil to toss the greens.

Hmm… We learn something new everyday. I may try both methods just to see the difference if I do buy kale the next time I am at the grocery store.

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Ten Little Gnomes

7 May

The Gnomes of Gnomie-wood are taking over my life! Citizens of Gigglesville took a back seat last month as I found myself carving up Gnomes instead. With so much Meranti wood at my disposal, I was glueing pieces to make big blocks to carve into giant Gnomes.

And each one gets bigger than the previous. With the latest Gnome 10, standing at 5.5 inches tall, I now have 10 Gnomes in Gnomie-wood! But Gnome 10 is not the tallest; it comes in second. Gnome 9, a two-piece Meranti stands the tallest at 7 inches, while Gnome 2, carved from balsa, is the smallest and shortest among the lot at 43mm tall.

It’s been so addictive and fun. More Gnomes to come is all I can say!

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Family group shot

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Gnome 10 before the paint job

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The beginning of Gnome 10

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More Wood

4 May

Aunty Dearest has given me another five boxes of wood last weekend. So much wood, so little time. And I had to sieve through the supply to ensure the pieces are actually good to be carved. I say this because recently I carved a Big Citizen on a block that has a knot within the wood grains. I didn’t think it would pose a tough challenge but it did.

I should have been more careful in the first place when selecting and glueing the pieces together to make the big block. The imperfection was super hard and came out in a chunk, leaving a big gap in my poor Citizen’s shape. I think it will take me awhile to get this piece done up properly.

Meanwhile the five boxes were vetted as pieces that were uneven, cracked and have knots had to be thrown away. In a way it was painful to throw away all the wood but it had to be done for the good of the Citizens of Gigglesville.

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A Great Supplement

3 May

Wood Filler is the next best thing to have for any wood carving enthusiast I must say. I found this tube at Daiso and thought it would be a great supplement to aid my carving. And indeed it is.

There are times when the pressure to shape the wood is too great and little chunks come off, the Wood Filler is then used to smoothen out the mini craters. And after sanding down and paint added, you can’t even tell there was a mini crater in the first place! I love it.

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Pesky Intruder, Part 2

1 May

The pesky intruder struck again yesterday morning! Darn it. Whilst hubby was accompanying official pet number one to the garden terrace, the pesky intruder quietly came in to the dry kitchen, jumped onto the island counter and nibbled away at the plastic bag of the new loaf of bread.

I discovered the evidence when I walked into the kitchen. There were little bits of plastic all over the counter and a gaping hole in the bag. It didn’t get to the actual bread but the damage was enough. And what riled us was not just the new loaf, the old loaf, placed near the toaster, was nibbled at too. Grr…

Obviously both loaves of bread had to be thrown away and the place was wiped down properly for we can’t chance any disease even though we didn’t come into direct contact with the squirrel.

This is the third time we’ve discovered the intrusion. The first was the banana; the second time, it was toast. Yep, you read that right. Pesky squirrel came right in to the toaster and helped itself to the toast that hubby made.

We have to be even more vigilant now than ever.

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Undecided

30 Apr

Now that I am carving bigger pieces with the Meranti wood from Aunty Dearest, I am unsure how to categorize them. As you know, there are the Citizens, Superheroes, Monuments and Friends of Gigglesville, and each piece is labeled and recorded. Those who leave Gigglesville are granted passports to enable the migration.

Then there are the Gnomes who have grown in numbers and are now in their own hamlet, Gnomie-wood. Certain pieces like the Superheroes and Monuments stay put but I am still undecided whether the Gnomes can leave, I like them too much. We shall see.

Now these pieces, the giant Citizens are putting me in a bind. They look like the Citizens of Gigglesville but they are not Citizens because of their size nor are they Monuments because they are single pieces, not stacked up. See my predicament?

Maybe I should create another new category. Besides these differences, they also have a felt cloth underneath, making them more like paper weights than anything else!

Hmm… I have to sort this out soon.

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Forever 38 Again

27 Apr

Birthdays are joyous occasions because friends and family will send you fuzzy warm birthday wishes on all social media platforms that you are active in, throw you nice dinners or gift you with surprises. Even the games you play will send you wishes, a gift and unlimited play for a week! It’s nice and truly appreciated.

However, birthdays are also annual reminders to us that we are getting older with each year going by so fast. I am a dinosaur, remember? Seriously, I think the clock needs to slow down!

But like every other year for the past several years, I am forever 38 especially in the eyes of my girls. Each year with my birthday approaching, M2 will playfully ask me, “How old are you, Mommy?”

And of course, the answer is Forever 38. Again.

Bottom line, age is just a number and I am very thankful for the life that I have, surrounded by family and friends, and showered with constant support and flowing love. With such strong pillars behind me, I am certainly ready to face the year ahead. And staying forever 38…

A call from M1 across the ocean melted my heart to begin the day, and Hubby and M2 will be treating me to a fancy dinner this evening. Looking forward to the lovely evening ahead!

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Replenishing the Supplies, Part 2

26 Apr

After much thought, I decided to repaint the two-tier Monument. From its original of being all dark brown, I thought one species being bronze might look more regal. And I think it does.

I then tested on a three-tier Monument. Compared to an earlier piece looking colourful and very playful, the brown/bronze/brown version looks more serious and monumental. At the end of the day, there is no right or wrong to paint all these up.

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A Cough and a Cold Putter

24 Apr

After almost three weeks of R&R, I actually went off to play my first golf game last Friday. Taking time off from work because it’s slow anyway, I decided to go swing my clubs despite having a cough and nasal congestion. In honesty, when the nasal congestion struck, I didn’t want to cancel because I wanted to see my golf buddies more than to actually play golf.

This aside, I saw my O&G doctor twice already, two weeks ago to remove the bandages and last week, a follow-up to ensure the wounds are healing well which they are by the way. The doctor said if I don’t feel any pain in the abdomen while turning my body, I should be okay to play golf.

Having said that, she did advised to be careful to avoid gym routines that focuses on the abdomen area. So my trainer needs to tweak the exercise program when we resume our gym session.

So how did I fare on the fairways? Well with a cough and a cold putter, let’s just say I need to recover from the cough first and then, try to play more to get back into the groove.

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Times Have Changed, Part 4

23 Apr

It used to be the norm going for birthday parties of friends’ children, little children of a year old or any age less than five. Boisterous birthday parties with noisy kids and a headache-inducing situation.

These days the norm is attending birthday dinners or parties of friends’ parents or friends who are turning 60, 70 and 80! Times have certainly change as we find ourselves in a different circle of life and celebration.

No noisy kids around but these occasions are just as boisterous as we meet up with friends, old and current and yak away noisily, making merry to celebrate the milestone.

It was indeed a fabulous Saturday night celebration as I attended a girlfriend’s mom’s 70th birthday party, and there’s more milestone birthdays to come. Life is wonderful!

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