Nikon D7000

Our new camera has finally arrived! Nikon D7000! Our old D70 has mold inside the lens, as well as inside the camera. Photographs taken had white spots on them, and the card slot seemed to be faulty as well. Photographs uploaded onto my laptop could not be read, and "disappeared" completed. Lost and gone forever. This had happened quite a few times. It was very frustrating, especially when they were photographs taken during trips. So we decided to invest in another DSLR, since the old was almost seven years old. We bought it when my little boy was born =)

Our first shot. No flash used, taken at night under orange light. What do you think? What you see is what we captured. I did not photoshop the picture. In my opinion, the lens and the focus are pretty sharp. I foresee lots of usage out of this camera, both indoors and out, day and night.

How about this one? I did up the contrast and a little of the color.

The picture was taken from inside the apartment with the zoom (18-200mm) lens. The flowers were just outside my living room window. There was the window pane, followed by the window mesh, then the flowers. The new camera definitely did a great job in capturing the flowers, as compared to when using a point and shoot.

I'm happy with our purchase, and looking forward to purchasing the Nikkor AF-S 50mm f/1.8 lens. It is suppose to be good for portraits and low-light photography. And not to mention, it produces sharp images and is reasonably affordable.

It has been raining and I cannot bring the camera out for outdoor shots.

Looking forward to better weather!

Bird in Distress

The weather had warmed up, and the temperature had gone up to a high of 34C! We left all our windows open and since it was cooler in the living room, we were there most of the time.

It was almost 2.30pm when I heard continuous chirping coming from my bedroom. And so, I went up to the bedroom to check. To my surprise, I found a tiny bird perched on the ledge outside the window, chirping away. He didn't seem to be intimated by my presence. Birds usually do not land on window ledge, and when they do, they will fly away the moment they sense that there is someone approaching.

And so, I watched this little fellow for a while. He didn't seem to have the intention of flying away. In fact, he turned around to look at me, and started chirping away again, as if he was trying to tell me something. Are you injured? Are you lost? I would love to help, but I just couldn't figure out what was wrong with him. I also did not want to scare the bird. So I decided that I should just wait and see.

At 4.30pm, I noticed that the bird had moved from one side of my window to the other. Still chirping away, with no intention of flying away. His hard work of continuous chirping paid off, as after a while, I saw a similar bird flying by, and landed beside the stranded bird. I was watching them at a distance away, so the second bird didn't fly away. However, when I approached the window, trying to take a photograph of the two birds together, it flew away even before I reached the window.

Not wanting to frighten the second bird, as he might be able to help the stranded bird, I moved away from the window, watching them at a respectable distance. Sure enough, the bird flew back, cautiously, as it now perched on a tree branch instead of the window ledge. He was chirping away loudly, and so did the stranded bird.

The next thing I knew, there was four to five bigger birds that came, all perched on the higher branches, chirping away. It was like an orchestra! What a sight! I got really excited when I saw the robin and the red cardinal! I ran to the window with my camera, oops, and frightened the two bigger birds perched on the lower branches. I did, however, managed to take a picture of the robin and carinal, since they were perched high up in the tree.

Then I turned to the window ledge to check on the stranded bird.

It was gone! It was now hopping and chirping away on the ground, with the other bird! They flew away after a while.

I was really glad that it was just lost, and not injured. And he managed to be reunited with his friend. What an experience!

Bert and Bert

How do you like this family portrait of Bert and Bert? These two brothers live on Sesame Street and are good friends with Ernie =)

In the bento, we have blanched broccoli florets and oven-baked soy-honey chicken thigh fillet. What are those black strips behind Bert, on top of the rice?

I cut the piece of nori used for Bert's mouth, brow and eyes into small strips. Then I sprinkled them over the rice. No wastage =)

And I sprinkled some onto the rice in Hubby dear's lunchbox! What's in his lunchbox? Along with rice, he gets broiled chicken wings and stir-fried broccoli and mini sweet peppers.

Clean the wings and pat dry with a paper kitchen towel.

Generously sprinkle some sea salt over the wings.

Season with a little ground black pepper and paprika.

Transfer the wings to a rack with a drip pan.

Place the rack at least 6 inches away from the broiler.

Broil the wings for 10 minutes.

Turn the wings over and broil for another 10 minutes.

Each oven is different, so the broiling time may be shorter or longer.

Remove when done and let cool before packing into the lunchbox.

Add a little oil to a hot frying pan.

Add minced garlic to the oil.

Fry the garlic till fragrant.

Add the sliced mini sweet peppers.

Give it a quick stir and leave it to cook for a couple of seconds.

Add broccoli florets.

Add a little water. Just enough to cook the vegetables.

Mix well and let the vegetables cook.

When the vegetables are cooked, add some sea salt to taste.

I put the vegetables into cups, as I did not wish to have the sauce from the vegetables mixing with the chicken wings. Hence, I used only a little water to cook the vegetables. However, if you are cooking this dish for dinner, and like to have a little more sauce in the dish, then add more water/chicken stock to cook the vegetables. You can also use oyster sauce in place of sea salt.

The weather this morning was just gorgeous! The sun was shinning brightly and cheerfully, and the temperature was just above zero degree Celsius! Nice and cool weather! I looked out of the living room window and saw the shadow of the tree on the wall .... lovely!

And check out the shadow of the tree on the snow covered ground! Beautiful! I'm looking forward to the arrival of Lady Spring, although the 2 inches of snow accumulated yesterday remind me of how beautiful Winter can be.

School Closure

This is the second consecutive day for school closure, due to significant absences of teachers who call in sick, in protest of Governor Scott Walker's proposal to strip collective bargaining rights of nearly all public employees. This not only affect our school district, but many other districts also issue a school closure notice for Thursday morning.

The boys were happy to be home, especially the little one, as he was still coughing and sneezing, after running a fever Sunday night. His fever went away on Monday, but came back again on Wednesday. So he had been staying home since Monday. No school, no bento. But things start getting boring, meals especially, when you eat at home two meals a day, for two days in a row. I just have to "dress up" their meals a little =)

Darling son YW's lunch for today ... rice in miso soup, top with some blanched broccoli and Japanese Fishcake. A very light meal, since he doesn't have much of an appetite. The elder boy gets his favorite baked chicken thigh fillet, alongside with broccoli, rice, two slices of fishcake and a bowl of miso soup.

"Will school be closed tomorrow??", they asked after lunch.

I seriously think that it will be. Teachers are in the job because they love teaching, despite that little income they get. If the Bill gets through, they are going to contribute more to their pension, which means an even lower take-home pay, and also pay higher insurance. They just want to be treated fairly. As one parent-teacher puts it "Care for your teachers as you would care for your kid". I couldn't agree more.

Love Is Where Home Is ....

Fill a House with Love, and it becomes a HOME.

A house is a house.

It can be an empty house.

It can be a house filled with elegant furniture,

or it can be a house with minimum furniture.

Without the people in the house,

without the love they put in, it's just a house.

And you need to put in not just love,

but time in the house, to call it a HOME.

So here's to Ah Zhu, who is getting married in December .... who got a house and turning it into a home ..... our heartiest congratulations to you and Darren on tying the knot!

Childhood Cookies

Food brings back lots of childhood memory ... for instance, when I see fried rice, I will think of my mom's special fried rice, with her special chilli sauce. When I am sick, I will think of her beehoon soup.

I was at the supermarket doing my weekly grocery shopping when hubby dear saw this tin of butter cookies! It had been ages since I last ate them! I love them as a kid! This cookie was a luxury item back then ... a special treat. I don't get to eat it very often, but when I do, I can finish the tin by myself! Of course, we had to buy a tin home. And hubby dear said "All four of us will be fighting to eat these butter cookies!".

I wonder what will be my boys' "childhood" food when they are grown up.

Stick Figure Family

Fun, fun and more fun!

I found this interesting website and created my own family portrait!

吃 在 口 里， 甜 在 心 里

有 客 到！ 是 谁？

可 爱 老 公 也！

欢 迎， 欢 迎！

谢 谢 你 为 我 煮 粥 。。 我 吃 在 口 里， 甜 在 心 里 。。

前阵子感冒了。白天还好，没什么大碍。

一到了晚上就咳得厉害，好像就快把喉咙也咳出来似地拼命咳。虽然我像患了哮喘病似地拼命咳嗽，幸好不是猪瘟找上门来，谢天谢地。

太太（即此部落格的“女神厨”—piggymummy ^_^）于是煮了一锅又一锅的止咳汤啦，润肺汤啦，川贝水啦，等之类的药材汤给我喝。我心里暗想：“这下子可好啦，天天有好汤喝。咳久一点也没关系。呵呵⋯⋯”结果我足足咳了一个月，也喝尽了一个月的好汤。但太太也失眠了一整个月。因为太太不仅关心我的健康，半夜枕边不停的咳声和鼾声成交响乐，想必她也没好觉睡。

病好了，我这个做丈夫的折磨了这个好老婆这么久总不能没有表示。说肉麻点儿，太太的体贴和温柔倒真的让我好感动。我想，乘感恩节的长周末为她做点儿饭菜，让她休息一两天。那天我炒了个蛋炒饭和做了道ABC汤。（我想，汤名叫ABC，应该简单不过。）孩子和太太当晚给的口碑出乎我预料之中的好，也让我有信心尝试下厨。

于是，因为太太喜欢吃广东粥而 在 “woods" 好难找到好粥，我便尝试煮道“红豆花生养血粥”给她了。

虽然自己的厨艺不算怎样，但是我肯定会有更多下厨的尝试。因为简单的幸福就在太太吃着粥时露出的微笑。


食谱是从粉樱的部落格学的：

红豆花生养血粥

（我稍微做了更改）

材料1


红豆 : 50－100g
花生 : 50g

红枣 : 10枚

材料2

米 : 150g (洗净)



材料3

冰糖 : 适量



1) 将材料1洗净, 加水浸泡1-4小时后,
用大火煮沸后, 转小火煮约半至一小时


2) 加入材料2慢火续煮至米烂豆熟时, 加入红糖或片糖
调味, 即可食用。



* 功能补气养血, 安神补脑。一般人多能食用, 如学生、脑力工作者、年老记忆力减退、妇女月经量少、睡眠不安、 失眠梦多、容易疲倦等。


* 常食用能强身健体, 增强脑力如体质较燥热者，红枣及桂圆的分量则减少


Creativity and Drawing

Give kids some time to observe, and give them the space to be creative, and they will come up something to surprise you =) At least that's the case with my two boys.

Darling son KW loves construction vehicles.

When he was younger, about age 2+, he would use his many mini construction vehicles and wooden bricks, and set up his own construction site. We would roll little paper balls for his bull-dozer, and he would transport the wooden bricks in his bigger dump truck! Our estate was undergoing upgrading then, and there were plenty of construction vehicles moving in and out each day ... dumptrucks, cranes, bulldozer, excavators and cement mixer trucks. He would stand outside the coffee shop for hours, with grandm who came over for her weekly visit, and watched as the workers operated the vehicles.

We never told him "Can you draw what you see at the shop for us?". All we did was supply him with the drawing materials and paper. If he felt like drawing/scribbling/tearing the paper, he knew where to get his supplies. After many weeks of playing with his construction vehicles, and watching the workers, he drew his first vehicle at grandma's house one weekend .... We couldn't believe what we saw and had to ask his grandma again and again if she helped him with the drawing. No, came the answer. "I looked at the vehicle and drew it on my own.", said the boy.

Can you see the difference between two drawings, and the last two? He has since progressed from freehand drawing at four years old, to using a ruler at six! Again, no one told him to use a rule in his drawing.

How about his little brother?

He has been observing his elder brother draw. But he wasn't very keen in drawing. He was more keen in tearing up paper and sticking them onto another piece. It was only when we moved into the woods, and allowed them to plaster our living walls with their drawing that he took a keen interest in drawing. As with all kids, he started with 'stick figures', and flowers. "Mama loves flowers, so I draw more for her" the boy would say ... so sweet of him (when he is not throwing a tantrum). Then came the "gingerbread", Mario, and family portraits. Next came the Rock Monsters in the Power Miners!

The latest craze? Dinosaurs!
All thanks to PBS's "Dinosaur Train"!
Library books on dinosaurs, both factual and fiction, sat on our book shelf at the moment.

They learn all the big words from the show ... Paleontologist, theropods and names of many dinosaurs. They are better at naming the dinosaurs than I do! No, we didn't draw any dinosaurs for him. Having read the books, and watched the tv programme, he concluded that "a dinosaur has four legs, a long tail, and sharp teeth". And hence, the drawings. I was pleasantly surprised to see the drawings, which he did last night before bedtime, and this morning before going to school. I love the dinosaurs drawn!

Maybe he will start drawing snowmen and Santa Claus, since Christmas is coming?

We miss you ... Nasi Lemak!

Dear Nasi Lemak (Rice in Coconut Cream),

I have been waiting for your arrival since Wednesday. We are happy to receive an email from the Malaysian Student Association, informing us that they will be selling Nasi Lemak to raise funds for their association. Being neighbours to Malaysia, we are more than happy to support the fundraising project. We miss you so much, we have to place order for three packets to be delivered to our house, instead of two!

A neck-breaking wait ... and finally, it's Saturday!

It was a beautiful morning, though a little chilly. We brought the kids out for an early lunch at McDonalds ... ok, Mom was too excited thinking about Nasi Lemak to be able to cook properly for the kids. Mom and Dad would be having Nasi Lemak for lunch! Delivery would be between 1 - 2 pm ... Couldn't wait for the packets to be delivered!

1pm came and went.

2pm came and went.

3pm came and went.

4pm came and went.

Nasi Lemak, did you lose your way?

Knock, knock ... 4.30pm. Finally arrived!

Three packets of Nasi Lemak ... back in Singapore, I would rate the rice and chicken delivered, a star out of five ... however, when you are in a faraway land, any home food is delicious and comforting! And the sambal chilli ... uhhhhh ..... love it!

I'm going to bed tonight, dreaming of .... Nasi Briyani, Curry Chicken, Chicken Rice, Fishball Noodles, and many many more .... Drool ....

Fever and LAIV

Darling son YW had a high fever (39.5 degree Celsius) on the night of hubby dear's birthday. We were suspecting it was due to the seasonal flu mist spray (LAIV) he had on Sunday afternoon. This was the first time the boys had the mist spray. All along, the boys had their flu jab (Inactivated), and they were alright after the jab.

From the brochure given to us at the clinic ...

There are two types of seasonal influenza vaccine :

• LAIV (nasal spray) - A live, attenuated influenza vaccine contains live but attenuated (weakened) influenza virus. It is sprayed into the nostrils.
• Inactivated influenza vaccine, sometimes called the "Flu Shot", is given by injection.

LAIV is made from weakened virus and does not cause influenza. The vaccine can cause mild symptoms in people who gets it ... Mild problems including fever, runny nose, headache and muscle aches, nasal congestion or cough, abdominal pain or occasional vomiting or diarrhea.

Since the elder was without a fever, he slept with his daddy, while the little one with the fever slept with me that night. I stayed up the whole night, taking his temperature every hour. I was worried that the fever might go up to 40 degree Celsius in the middle of the night. It didn't help that he felt cold and the temperature outside the house was at a single digit. He had to have the blanket on. But the blanket trapped heat in the body and didn't help in dissipating the less desired heat. I had to sponged him occasionally, as his face and body felt really hot to the touch. It was an exhausting and sleepless night.

It was a nightmare the next morning, to find that the older boy's temperature had gone up to the mid 38! As with fever, the boys had no appetite. I tried to cook something which they would enjoy, but it meant two dishes for two boys! The older boy preferred cold soba, while the younger one preferred porridge. I was glad they managed to finish their meal. By evening, their temperature was back to normal. Phew!

They were happy to miss school for that day.

No school on Thursday and Friday as the teachers had to attend the WEAC Convention. It was a super long break for the boys .. would have to think of activities to keep them occupied for the next two days ...

Hi Mister Piggy!

Dear Mister Piggy, I love you!

I love Sundays too!

Sunday is the day Papa gives us pocket money.

I will feed you some, and keep some in my little round box. The money in the little round box can be used to buy things that I like, like books at Borders. I am also saving up to buy Lego!

After a month of saving up, I finally have enough money to buy a Space Police set! My brother has less money, so he can only buy the Creator set. The Lego Space Police is very cool!

Mama says that if I learn my chinese words well, she will consider buying another "not so expensive" Space Police set for me and my brother! Hooray! I will make sure I study hard for my Chinese. Just recognising the chinese characters. I don't have to remember how to write them. Hmm ... I should be able to do that =)

I am eagerly waiting for Mama to start the Chinese lesson with me!

A Rare Visitor

It was a chilly summer morning. I was walking towards the kitchen when I caught sight of something flying across the grass patch outside our apartment ... 

It had a distinct red tail. Two fluffy white legs ... looked like it was wearing a pair of white fleece pants, very appropriate for the chilly morning. A sharp hooked beak. A bird of prey. 

I admit I was a little afraid of it due to its size. It surely looked huge from far when it had its wings spread out. While taking the photographs, I was moving toward it, inch by inch. As I proceed cautiously, I noticed there were a couple of times when it stopped moving, only to turn its head in my direction, before walking towards me, in a rather clumsy manner, then stopping to look for food on the grass. 

Seriously, I had no idea what kind of bird it was. Uploaded the photographs for hubby to see, and he suggested, after checking on the internet, that it could be a red-tailed hawk! I think he is right. The size, the colour of its body and tail, the beak. 

The bird could be injured, since it was sighted by my neighbour yesterday. It could be out looking for food, while using the woods in our area as a recovery point. 

I hope the bird recover soon. Seeing the bird and following it to the next block of apartments was a good start to a chilly "autumn-like" summer morning .... 

Cicadas

"Knock, Knock" 

My neighbour's face peeked through our living room window. 

"The cicada are coming out of their shells! Do your boys want to see it?"

"I have never seen them coming out of their shells before!" she spoke in great excitment.

There were like three cicadas on the tree.

The first one was already out. 

But its green wings were not spread out yet. 

Neither did it move. 

The second one had its head out of its shell.

The third one moved a little as we went nearer. 

There was a little crack on its body.

We waited for a while.

The first one started climbing!

The second one had half its body out already!
I could a little green peeking out from the shell.

The third one now spotted a even bigger crack.

Ok, I don't really know much about cicadas. I know they are called "Chan/2" in chinese. Did a little homework on the internet and this was what I found :

Most cicadas go through a cycle which lasts 2 to 5 years. 

The female cicada cuts slits into the bark of a twig to lay her eggs. When the eggs hatch, the newborn nymphs drop to the ground and burrow. Cicadas live underground as nymphs for most of their lives. The nymphs feed on root juice, and have strong legs for digging. When they are ready to emerge as adults, they construct an exit tunnel to the surface. They shed their skin (molt) on a nearby plant. The skin remains clinging to the plant, after the adult cicada emerge. 

I would love to video the process. But it was too long a process. 

Found a file from Wikipedia, showing how the cicada shed its skin. 

Look carefully at how the wings "unfold" as the adult cicada emerge! 

Cicada Molting

My little boy pulled the molted skin from the trunk. 

See the hole on the skin?

The adult cicada stayed on its molted skin, supposedly drying its wings, before it spread them out and started climbing up the tree, away from its skin. My little boy, not contented with just the skin, pulled the cicada off the trunk and tried to deposit into a glass jar, for his friend, who was afraid of the insect, to have a closer look. It was then, that I realised how strong the grip of a cicada can be. I had to use a stick to pull it off my boy's fingers! 

It was an interesting start to our day ... I'm sure I will miss all these "Live" lessons when we move out of the woods next year .... 

My Family 2

Another drawing by my little boy this morning.

No, he didn't make me angry this morning =) 

He just likes to draw. 

See the Up-arrows on both sides?

I think he was thinking about Nintendo when he was drawing, ha ha.

My Family =)

I made Mama angry this morning, and I drew this picture for her to say "sorry" ...  My Family. Can you see my Mama? Papa? Gor Gor? And me? 

Wanted!

It was another sunny afternoon. Birds were chirping happily on the tree branches. It was time to go and pick darling son up from school. It was just another school day for him, or so I thought ....

The dismissal bell came.

An announcement came shortly ... 

"All students, please go home immediately after school. Do not stay in school. Go home immediately"

Why? Hmmm  .... It definitely didn't sound good to me. 

Maybe the police was looking for some criminal?

Maybe someone hurt some kids in the neighbourhood, and so the kids were asked to go home?

There were so many possibilities .... I did let the kids play outside our apartment, since our neighbours' kids were out too. I informed their parents about the announcement made by the school even though I did not know the reason for it. I warned the kids not to be out of sight and to keep a lookout for strangers. 

So what exactly happened?

In today's news .... from the website Channel 3000 WISCTV.com .... 

The man was armed. He shot his ex-wife and fled the murder scene. No wonder the school asked the kids to go home immediately. Although the park which the man was found was a 15-minute drive to the school area, it was a safety precaution well taken. I was so relieved after reading the article this morning, knowing that the man was found.

One mom from the school told me that there was a case where another wanted man hid in the community garden next to the lake. Yet another case of a man hiding in the basement where the laundry room is located. Cases of strange man exposing themselves to kids at the playground, strange man standing and laughing hysterically on the swing where the kids play .... 

It was all to much for me to stomach. I had no appetite for lunch today. 

I stood outside the whole time while the kids were playing .. under the hot sun, dealing with not only my two boys, but another two boys and a girl from two other neighbours ... no wonder my body ached so badly now .... 

If wishes come true ....

Quack, Quack!

Each season in the woods, we see something special ...

Summer ... Fireflies! 

Tiny little flashlight in the dark =)

Fall ... Chipmunks and squirrels. 

These little fellows were busy collecting food and getting ready for winter.

Winter ... A family of three turkeys.

They went walking around the neighbourhood when the sun was out, leaving their "claw-prints" in the snow.

Spring ... Two ducks!

They were "sun-bathing" in the warm morning sun.

Like the family of turkeys, these two ducks didn't move an inch when I tried moving nearer to them to take a photograph of them. The brown one just gave me a lazy stare.

Tree Cutting

Some men were outside the apartment this morning. 

They were cutting the tree near our neighbour's apartment. 

They started work around eleven, and by 1pm, the tree was cut, the place was cleaned up. Neat and swift. 

Here's a video of the machine they use to 'shred' the branches ... You don't need a big truck to hold the many messy branches. Cool!

Reminds me of sugar-cane juice machine back home ....