1st Day - 23 Jan 2012

23 Jan 2012 (Mon):

Dreamland....dreamland...dreamland.... " I'm wide awake... " What's that sound? ... sleepy head here trying to make out the sound that woke me up... oh..silly me, its the gongs & bangs of the lion dance troupe passing by in their vehicle...

And... yes, its the 1st day of Chinese New Year... GONG XI FA CAI, XIN NIAN KUAI LE.. :).. OMG!!! Look at the clock...its 9am. We've got a busy day ahead of us... off to the bathroom for a quick refreshing shower, breakfast, get changed... wait... what's the rush here since everyone had already left for the temple without us...

The 1st thing we did, oh well, was to get our car "showered".. on the phone but no one answered. We wanted to know if the rest were still at the temple.... DH suggested making a trip down but we did not find traces of any family member there.

So we proceeded to Haw Par Villa first, thereafter to my grannys' for lunch & my mum's place for dinner.

Welcome to Haw Par Villa. I think the last time here was during my school days. Now that the Circle Line is built directly outside the park, it makes coming to Haw Par Villa a breeze.







Yes, one of the must visit inside Haw Par Villa is the Ten Courts of Hell, with gruesome depiction of hell in Chinese Mythology.







Till then, see you again!! From the west, its a drive back to the North, to my grannys' for lunch. No fotos to show...sorry. Same for dinner at my mums', again no photos...

Tomorrow, 24 Jan 2012 (Tues), we're off to Melaka, Malaysia.

CNY Eve - 22 Jan 2012

22 Jan 2012 (Sun):

Before i start, here's wishing everyone a Happy & Prosperous Golden Dragon Year ahead. Today marks the last day of Year 2011 in the Lunar Calendar. Its Chinese New Year's Eve. And as usual, we always gather round at my aunts' place for the reunion dinner.

The assistant chef (aka DH) hard at work..

With the head chef (aka my aunt) doing the guiding...

" Yes madam.. " goes Rachel..

" Do i look smart... " goes Lionel

So it started from this...

To this...

And lastly, it became like this..





Everyone sat back, chit chat & basically just relaxing before the Yum Seng ceremony... haha



The Yum Seng ceremony... 3 cheers to the start of a good year!!!

Spelling

16 Jan 2012 (Mon):

Finally i got back the spelling list from Lionel. I was beginning to wonder do they not have any spelling? Why was there no list given?

Lionel's spelling falls on every Wed. Each week, they will be tested on 10 words but only the underlined words on every sentence. However, both Daddy & I want Lionel to learn the full sentence as well.


Next week, when we are in Bali, both kids would have to learn their spelling & Lionel needs to complete on his home assignment - Maths worksheet.

Timetable

14 January 2012 (Sat):

I received Lionel's timetable for year 2012, 5 days back on 09 January 2012. Basically he has:
15 periods of English lessons,
14 periods of Mother Tongue (Chinese) lessons,
8 periods of Maths lessons,
3 periods of P.E lessons,
2 periods of Music lessons,
2 periods of Arts & Crafts lessons,
1 period of Social Studies lessons,
1 period of Health Education lessons,
1 period of FTGP lessons ( Form Teacher Guidance Period)

These are all in a weeks' lesson plan. I have since taught him how to read his timetable & packed his bag on a daily basis. He knows what lessons will be conducted the next day & will put in the neccessary.

I have also gotten Lionel to get his FT's email address so that i can communicate with the teacher if i have any doubts. The teacher also encourages all parents to use the handbook as a form of communication tool in which i did as well.

I wrote a letter regarding " Application for School Leave" to his FT. Lionel told me his teacher read the letter but did not mention anything. I hope that means she is fine with the application. Lionel will be heading off on a vacation during the CNY period & will be absent from classes for 3 days.

Chinatown

08 January 2012 (Sun):

We went to Chinatown for some crowd jostling... js kidding... we're there to breathe in the atmosphere of the coming Lunar New Year night market... its our yearly event.

We parked our vehicle at Maxwell market & crossed over. First building that greeted us was this temple -

Buddha Tooth Relic Temple. 佛牙寺. Grand opening on 30 May 2007.

Can u see the father & daughter? Hint: orange & yellow.

New year goody: - Chinese steamed sticky cake. 年糕. How did the sticky cake came about? Read about it here

Fireworks for hours of fun.

Spring couplet. 春联. Read about it here

Hundred Chinese Family Surname. 百家姓 Read.

Cute little dragon. Year 2012 is the year of dragon. Read.

Crowd of people doing their new year shopping.

Pussy Willows. 银柳. Read.

God of Wealth. 财神爷

This dragon cost $880. Can u believe it? It comes in a pair with a dragon ball.

Spring flowers. 春花

New Year goodies: Taiwan jelly & muah chee。台湾果冻，麻芝

Another crowd of people along another lane.

Sri Mariamman Temple. Read.

Japanese mochi. Similar to the Taiwan muah chee. 日试麻芝

Of prunes & plums. 话梅, 酸梅, 奶梅等


The evergreen goodies: pineapple tarts, love letters, kueh bangkit, chiku, beehives, crispy mini sambal prawn rolls, almond cookies..

Chinese New Year symbolism = entire unity = sweet. Melon seeds, candied lotus seeds, pine nuts, candied kumquats, peanuts & many others. They called this " Chuan He " - 全合 = 全盒. 瓜子, 糖莲子, 松子, 金子, 长生果.

The different kind of melon seeds. 瓜子

Cured meat - chinese sausages, duck, pork belly, etc. 腊味. Read.


Taking a break from all the walking. It drizzled all of a sudden & everyone rushed for shelter.


Chinese New Year decors.

Pomelos. 柚子. Read.



We ended our walk at Smith Street. Look at the crowd. It was already past 11pm & the hawkers are still busy serving the big crowd