25 Feb 2019 - Student Leaders Investiture

Javier has started performing his student leader duty since few weeks back.  And today is the actual investiture ceremony.  This is the first time he's wearing a tie, which is mandatory for the ceremony.

Hopefully by assuming such role and responsibility, Javier can grow into a better person and leader of the tomorrow.  All the best, Javier!

24 Feb 2019 - Hydroponics and the carnivorous Byblis

Hydroponics is a form of gardening that uses no soil, but instead grows plants in a solution of nutrients mixed with water.  Tracy is currently into this and has turned part of our living room into a mini hydroponics garden. 

Below shows an Arrowhead plant that has grown so big from one month ago when it was just a few tiny bulbs (慈菇).  Chinese likes to grow 慈菇 during CNY as it implies benevolence.  Its arrowhead-shaped leaves that grow skywards signify continuous improvement and progress in all endeavours in the New Year.

Following are some of the hydroponics plants that are currently in our indoor garden.

One interesting plant is called the Byblis (below).  It is a carnivorous plant which has sticky hairs that trap insects when they are fooled into thinking that the glandular secretions are drops of nectar.  If you look at the photo below closely, you can see an insect got itself trapped by sticky hairs.  The insect is gradually digested where it landed.

23 Feb 2019 - Javier's very own Mario Party Games

For those video gamers out there, you would have probably heard of a Nintendo game called Mario Party.  And today, Javier published his very own Mario Party Game on Scratch.  He had spent quite sometimes creating this game.  At this moment, the game allows 1 or 2 players to start.  It consists of 5 mini games with full sound effects.  I was once again being "summoned" to be his beta tester.  After trying out the game, I must say I'm really impressed.  I tried to look at his codes to understand the coding logic and oh my god, it's beyond me.  Click here to try it!

Up till today, he had already created and shared 100 projects on Scratch platform.  And he's still going strong.  Very impressive, Javier!  Keep it up!  :-)

20 Feb 2019 - Supermoon at Dawn

When we left home early this morning, we saw an extremely bright and round full moon in the west direction.  We then realized it's actually a supermoon.  This year we get to witness three supermoons in a row on 21 Jan, 19 Feb and 21 March.

Supermoon appears up to 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than usual.

Below is a picture presenting some facts about supermoon.  Click to enlarge it.

17 Feb 2019 - CNY Lion Dance and Mom's Birthday

We gathered at my sis's place this afternoon for the Chinese New Year Lion Dance Performance.  This has been an annual event for our family and I started blogging about it since 2008.  When I looked back at those blog posts, it's amazing to see how much the kids have grown.

At the end of the lion dance performance, four Chinese words (财源广进) were formed by oranges on the floor which means "Wealth and Fortune in Abundance".  Huat ah!

Following is a video clip of the lion dance.
Tomorrow is my mom's birthday and we had an early celebration for her after dinner.

祝您， 生日快乐，身体健康，天天开心，万事顺利！

5 Feb 2019 - CNY Visiting (Part 3)

After the CNY gathering session at Loyang Chalet, we drove to Tracy's cousin place for another session.  We again had Lou Hei and the usual photo taking.  Huat ah!

After Lou Hei, all the cousins gathered in a room to play some card games.  Of course, we had our Kacheng photos taken as well.

We left the place at about 2am!  After driving out from the car park, Jerlene and Javier were sound asleep within minutes.

5 Feb 2019 - CNY Visiting (Part 2)

In the evening, we went to Loyang Aloha Chalet where we all gathered to celebrate Chinese New Year.  Since last year, we started a "practice" where all those who are giving out red packets will sit in line and those who are receiving red packets will go through the line to collect their ang baos (red packets).  I think it's a great idea as we will not miss out anyone.  :-)

5 Feb 2019 - CNY Visiting (Part 1)

HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR TO ALL!

Yes, today is the first day of the year of the pig.  Our first CNY visiting is of course my parents' place.  It's always nice to be back to the home where I'd been staying since Primary 6 till I moved out to my own place.  So much memory flashed through my mind.  It's time to take some family photos.

4 Feb 2019 - Reunion Dinner on eve of CNY

Today is Chinese New Year Eve and we had our reunion steamboat with my parents. 

As usual, we prepared two pots of steamboat soups, one laksa which was spicy and the other was chicken soup.  We did not manage to finish all the food as we had probably prepared too much.  But that's a good sign because 年年有余!  :-)

2 Feb 2019 - Reunion Lou Hei (捞鱼生), Huat Ah!

Chinese New Year is three days away and we had an early family reunion gathering this evening.  As usual before our dinner, we had our favourite Lou Hei (捞鱼生) session.  So everybody, HUAT AH!!!!!

Every year, we had to search the internet for the auspicious Chinese phrases to say as we add each ingredient into the salad.  So I decided to post it here which we can refer to in the coming years.

1. In goes the raw fish (生鱼, Sheng Yu)
年年有馀 “Nian Nian You Yu” symbolising abundance ‘excess’ through the new year.

2. Put in the pomelo (柚子, You Zi)
大吉大利 “Da Ji Da Li” which means good fortunes and luck.

3. Sprinkle pepper & cinnamon powder (胡椒粉, Hu Jiao Fen)
招财进宝 “Zhao Cai Jin Bao” to attract more wealth and treasures. This step is a must for business lo hei.

4. Drizzle the oil  (油, You)
You can either use “财原广进 “Cai Yuan Guang Jin” or 一本万利 “Yi Ben Wan Li” while circling the ingredients with the oil to increase all profits 10,000 times and encouraging money to flow in from all directions. Thrill your bosses with this step!

5. Throw in the carrots (红萝卜, Hong Luo Bo)
鸿运当头 “Hong Yun Dang Tou” which means good luck is right at our doorsteps.

6. Put in the shredded green radish (青萝卜, Qing Luo Bo)
青春常驻 “Qing Chun Chang Zhu” for eternal youth. Good to let the ladies have a go at this one.

7. Now goes the shredded white radish (白萝卜, Bai Luo Bo)
风生水起 “Feng Sheng Shui Qi” and 步步高升 “Bu Bu Gao Sheng” which means prosperity in business and promotion at work. This is for all the minions at work.

8. Dust finely chopped peanuts (花生粉, Hua Sheng Fen)
金银满屋 “Jin yin man wu” symbolises a household filled with gold and silver. As an icon of longevity, peanuts also symbolise eternal youth.

9. Sprinkle sesame seeds over quickly (芝麻, Zhi Ma)
生意兴隆 “Sheng Yi Xing Long” for a flourishing business.

10. Throw in Golden Crackers (薄脆饼干, Bo Cui Bing Gan)
遍地黄金 “Bian Di Huang Jin” for hope of riches that literally fill the whole floor with gold.

11. In flows the plum sauce (酸梅酱, Suan Mei Jiang)
甜甜蜜蜜 “Tian Tian Mi Mi” for sweet and loving relationships for everyone.

12. Toss The Yusheng
Shout 发啊 “Huat Ah” and toss the salad for an auspicious 7 times for great luck and wealth in the new year.