(341)Well brought up children/ Upbringing 35

My friend Abbie mentioned that she did not realise Kevin used to take the Steven family to church. Now that Kevin is studying in Australia, The family was walking to the bus stop when Abbie drove past. Of course Abbie stopped and offered a lift.

There are many children in church. We are a very young church in a metropolitan area. But I must say the Steven children are two precious gems. Abbie said they are well brought up the old fashion way. I said that it is not common to see respect for a grey haired woman in a child's eyes nowadays. Abbie concurred. When I had the rare occasion to talk to both the children (they are about eight and ten), they maintain eye contact with me and enunciate words clearly with a respectful look in their eyes.

What I normally see are eyes that glazed over, as long as the person they are focused on are above a certain age. At first I thought it was because I don't dress up to the city standard. Or perhaps because I don't hold any position of importance in church. But it was not that, I notice the same type of "bratty look" (that Abbie labeled) on the faces of the same children when women who are very  well dressed and are holding some positions of importance both in and out of the church.

If it was the abundant wealth that God lavishes on these new rich first generation Christians that brought about such attitudes in the second generation, then I am glad that there are a few modest-income families who are not affected.

(340)Ungainly movements/ Learning difficulties 16

The other evening I was attending a Christmas event in a home. There were many children, ranging from a few months, toddler, school-age children to teenagers. Since I was tired from the preparation and the actual cooking of my family's contributions,  I just took it easy. I sat and relaxed. After eating and helping to remove a few serving dishes to the kitchen., I listened to conversations around me with half my attention and reverted to my hobby of watching children.

I noticed a three year old girl who was constantly running and in motion. First her mum ran after her. Then after the brother woke up, the maid took over. Trying to be friendly, I chatted to the mum while she fed the younger brother. Somehow she talked about the contrast of the activity levels of her two children. Then she mentioned how the younger boy could not crawl properly yet but has started to stand and toddle around the sofa holding on for dear life.

Since ninety per cent of my students who had reading problems never could crawl properly at that age but went on to walk rapidly, I tried to explain that in encouraging the child to practice crawling daily would reduce the future problems of reading difficulties. She obviously could not conceive what I was driving at, probably never met anyone who needed special tutors to learn to read English. Without being rude nor insistent, I tried to share what I know.


After I returned home Elizabeth commented on how the little girl was running away from the maid, in attempting to miss Sandy, her swinging arm hit Elizabeth's thigh. You see, Sandy and Elizabeth was deep in conversation with chairs all around them, they were effectively blocking the exit. The little girl lost her balance and fell headlong flat on all four, did not cry but immediately got up without any assistance to run on out the gate.

Now, that was something that would have happened to Elizabeth right up to the age of three plus. Remember Cassandra in my last learning disability post, she was like that right up to age eight. Many a times she would hit her toes against an offending chair leg while coming to the dinner table to have a meal in my house. Of course a girl at seven would have slowed down enough not to fall. But I have rubbed ointment on many a bruises on her limbs and bandaged her bleeding toes. After bringing up Elizabeth full-time and Cassandra part-time (for a few years), I become quite accomplished in first aid through practice.

From what little I know, the part of the brain that control spatial perception (height, width, depth and distance) and co-ordination in crawling is the same part that is involved in learning spelling and grammar and vocabulary in phonetic based languages like English. Mothers in economically fast emerging countries would do their children a favour in not hiring maids who would carry a baby or toddler all their waking hours to prevent them from whining or crying.

( 339)Four Little girls/ Upbringing 34

I will attempt to bring you notes of four small girls who caught my eyes. Certain unrelated facts will be changed deliberately so that no one can trace them once I become known as the Dyslexic Rambler.

The first girl, I shall call her Verity. She has an extrovert as a father but an artistic mum. She was perhaps a little clingy when she was a baby. Whenever I saw her, her mother would be holding her. I actually do not remember any neighbour or friends holding her at all. What I noticed about her then was the fact that she was strong willed.  Mum was training her well as a single child, I saw good habits inculcated early on.
However, things changed after her sister was born. First Mum lost her clear, glowing complexion. Next I no longer see Mum smiling. Mum was still dutiful, conscientious but seemed to walk around as if she was in a world of her own. Next Mum's dressing become unco-ordinated, she was no longer as well turned out as before.
The shocking thing was Verity became withdrawn and sorrowful quite rapidly. She lost that stubborn sparkle in her earlier glinting eyes. To be honest, I have never come across personally a child with such sad eyes unless the child had lost one parent at a tender age.

Let us call the second one Veron. She has  a talkative father and a sensible mum. An out and out extrovert is Veron. I have images of her singing or dancing, it is not unusual to see her admiring herself in front of a mirror. In my head, I named her Little Miss Sunshine. It is funny that when her brother was born, she became more feminine, fluffy  and scatter-brain. She reminded me of many floor mates of mine in college. They were children of good circumstances, happy go lucky and outright optimists who would never imagine anything could go wrong in their lives.

Then the third one shall be Venice. A year ago I was naming her the best adjusted child, and she was too. I will always remember her as the self-absorbed child who would skippy-skipped with a happy smile towards her fashion-plate mum, totally unaware of onlookers all around.  Now that her mum was totally stressed up by a difficult younger brother; she stands helplessly by her mum, unable to help. She realised that the world no longer revolve around her, and the sudden fast-foward  growing up took away the sparkle I so like in her. Of course her mum had no more time to buy new outfits that I used to look foward to admiring from afar.

The last one shall be Vanessa. I am unable to decide if the mum or the child has a stronger will. I would imagine the mum would win at home but vice versa in public. A most pretty child but not easy to bring up. No one can attempt to help except the professionals. Mum claims to know best and keep every well wisher at arm's length. The smartest  policy with such a defensive parent is not to say anything at all.

I am sure all these girls will grow up and become good citizens. The parents are all responsible and upright individuals holding good jobs. A certain level of wealth will ensure a good education for all. But it is interesting to follow them year by year and note their developments in real time.

(338)A world Choke by plastics/ recycling 5

Do you know that by 2003 statistics, 500 billion plastic bags were consumed yearly?

Yet less than 1% was recycled because it costs more to recycle than to make new ones. Plastic bags was found floating north of the Arctic Circle near Spitzbergen. They are found as far south as the Falkland Islands.

Plastic bags photo degrades. Over time they break down into smaller, more toxic petro-polymers, which would eventually contaminates soil and water ways. Microscopic particles of such polymers are entering the food chain and we have yet to see the full effects on wild life. The pictures I saw on line was heart rending, birds were entangled in plastic bags and starved. Whales, dolphins, seals and turtles would mistake them for food. They die after eating plastic bags.

Ireland took the lead in Europe by taxing plastic bags in 2002. Consumption had been reduced by 90%. Israel, Canada, Western India, Botswana, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Taiwan, and Singapore have banned or are working towards banning plastic bags. On March 27, 2007, San Francisco became the first US city to ban ...

I know I am contributing to the contamination whenever I forgot to bring reusable containers to buy food. Even when I buy a loaf of bread, I end up with one plastic bag. As much as in using trolley and boxes to transport groceries home, it is just lessening the number of plastic bags consumed. The invention of thermoplastic made from petroleum is what got us into this self-imposed bind.

(336)Poor Black Cat/ cat tales 27

Long ago, one winter night I was sitting in Dianne's room, begging for a story. I had completed my homework and prepared for the next two days' lectures. As usual, I went to disturb my friends in the Arts Faculty who never seemed to work. That night, someone told me that should I one day be driving in the Midwest of America on a full moon night, never should I stop even if there be a chain of people blocking the road.

They told me about the Black Sabbath, sacrifice of young women, torture, drinking of blood, ... Being curious, I asked what if there was no young female to be caught, what would happen then? No ceremony? Some one told the story of a poor black cat found more dead than alive. The poor thing had been mercilessly tortured. Its skin was sliced in so many places that it was more detached than intact. It had lost more than half the normal volume of blood. It was the paramedic that promptly infused in saline that saved its life.

There are groups in America that look into the welfare of animals. Once news broke, lots of kind folks offered to adopt this cat. In the end a very rich woman managed to win the right to pamper the cat. For the rest of its life, it lived in clover. There was a maid dedicated to the caring for this cat. Special food was prepared daily by the kitchen staff. The cat had its personal bedroom with ensuite toilet. Even if Mistress had flown to St Tropez, the cat got its daily drive. With clauses well written into the Mistress' will, the future of this cat was taken care of even beyond the owner's death.

-Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand it fully. -

black-cat1.jpg from paranormalknowledge.com

(334)Moses the Royal cat/ Cat tales 26

There was a very special cat called Moses in the Court of Egypt. Little Princess Nerfeti found her along the bank of River Nile. Moses had a fantastic time growing up in the luxurious women's apartments. Moses had markings on its side like a tiger. That was why she was called Moses, meaning the reeds the grew along the river.

Just like royal personages, animals do not live long. Possibly it was because food was plentiful and available in all attractive forms and delicious guise, folks tend to over eat daily. Moses lived onlly seven years. The sad Princess had her embalmed and kept the remains in two containers, one of the body and the other all the internal organs. Egyptians believed in an after life, hence all the elaborate funeral ritual of supplying everything the deceased Pharoah would possibly need.

After Moses went on to the happy hunting ground, our Princess dreamed of her often. In the dreams, the cat was able to talk and guide the Princess in palace intrigue. Later the grown up Princess made a most advantageous marriage and became Queen Nerfetiti. When Queen Nerfetiti passed on her mummy was duely interred with her husband in an underground chamber. Moses was kept there as her cherished possession. Today, the two containers were found in a British Museum.

- for there is no authority except that which God has established. -

cat.jpg from ncbi.nim.nih.gov

(333) Cat and Fish/ cat tales 25

Many years ago, I used to take my toddler to see a doctor. While waiting for our turn, we would look at a fish in an aquarium. More often than not, a black cat was also sitting in front of the aquarium, caught up just like us, staring at the colourful fish swimming about.

As my children grow older, they fell sick less often. Before I know it, I had not been to the doctor's for years. Just two months back, we were back to the same place, this time it was a sports injury. We recognised the nurse, who smiled warmly. But the aquarium had been changed, the fish is of a different type. They are colouful and attractive, but not as big as the old one. Ah! There was no cat. After we came out of the doctor's room, my daughter asked the nurse what happened to the big fish.

Apparently there was a black out two years back for more than ten hours. Without the air blower, the big fish died. Sad, wasn't it? After all, it had been with the clinic for eight years. What about the cat? It never came back, after the fish died. At first, the nurses looked for it, they had been feeding it out of their lunch and dinner. It was one of those cats that lived on the kindness of restaurant workers and in this case, the nurses who grew fond of it. Later, an old lady who lived nearby said that the cat died in front of the clinic, a street sweeper wrapped it in newspaper and disposed it.

It was interesting to hear of the deaths of two animals so close to each other. Could animals communicate? Could cats befriend a fish?

- And Johnathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. -
cat-eating-prey.jpg from commons.wikimedia.org

(327) Chance meeting

I went to purchase lunch and happened to fall into conversation with a lady in the eatery. The conversation started with her commenting that she was being unnecessarily good to her son. I smiled and responded with some common place remark.

She went on to tell me how her husband's family forced her to convert to Christianity. She went to church for many years and brought many to church. Apparently now, she no longer goes for service. Then she found out that I am a church going Christian. So she asked me why some Christians, specifically her parents-in-laws, are two faced?

This incident set me thinking for a while. Many people equate God with so called "Christian behavior"! There are all types of people in church. For that matter, we cannot assume that everyone who happened to be attending Sunday service in every church to be saved. Even in the bible we find:

Not everyone who says to me,"Lord, Lord," will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day,"Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?" Then I will tell them plainly, " I never knew you. Away from me, you evil doers." Matt 7:21-23

It is sad that my own brother would not step into any church because he detests the behaviors of some so-called Christians in his work place. I thank God that even though I have professed Christ for twenty six years now, my brother had not accused me of being a hypocrite yet. I know he is still watching, that I am walking a lifetime of testimony in front of my unbelieving family.

(326) Wuthering Heights/ Interesting buildings 45

Even before I read the description, this building with its stark look makes me think of a book called Wuthering Heights. I know Scotland and Wales are two different places. But would the highlands of both places experience the same sort of strong winds that wails?

What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed, or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth? Job 38:24

Coillabus Cottage-JPG embrace scotland.co.uk

(325)A Beach wedding/ Interesting buildings 44

Getting married by the sea ... it is a virtual building. Filled by surf, sun, sand, breeze and the tangy smell of salt.

The man said,"This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman' for she was taken out of man." For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. Gen 2:23-24

enchantedSeaCottage1.jpg herecomestheguide.com

(323)A match-making cat/ Cat tales 24

 Vena was sitting on the verandah, her faithful suiters surrounding her. She was the village beauty. In certain parts of the world, a young girl would not be allowed to refuse a proposal of marriage once too often. Sooner rather than later some bully would put together a raiding party to kidnap the "proud" girl for force marriage.

Vena's great aunt came to visit her mum, bringing the reputed expensive pet cat. The jolly group of young folks were playing with the cat. This cat was different from other village cats because it had one blue and one brown eyes. One bold fellow who was trying to examine the eyes too closely was scratched.

Later that night, after the visitors all left, Vena's mum again urged her daughter to choose one suiter so that she could be safely and joyfully married off. Vena mentioned that she could not decide which of her childhood friends to pick. Mum said to set them a task, whoever who complete it well first would be the one. Vena said, may her God set the task  and choose the right one for her. They left the matter at that.

Early next morning, the cat was no where to be found. There was panic in the household, Great Aunt Pook would return that afternoon, what would they tell her? Vena sent three identical messages to her three friends, urging them to look for her Great Aunt Pook's cat.

An hour later, it was a fourth young man who carried the cat back into Vena's arms. She remembered what she promised her mother. Obediently she brought the victor of the "task" to her father in the rice field. Within the week representatives from the young man's family came to ask formally for her hand. Within the month Vena was happily married. Interestingly, her husband knew nothing about the cat being lost,  He was just observant enough to notice the cat being trapped on a high branch with a dog barking below. And he was kind enough to rescue the cat as well as took the trouble to return it to its home.

- He has taken me to the banquet hall, and his banner over me is love. -

cat07.gif from home.comcast.net

(322) A Cat "stork"/ Cat tales 23

For years Nam had longed for a child of her own. While her sister-in-law bore twins and her own sisters went for abortions, Nam would pray and hope month after month for a baby. One year her unmarried aunt passed away and left her sufficient money for medical tests. Both Nam and Lang went to the big hospital for a few visits. Sad to say, the verdict was Nam was infertile, and it was irreversible. Sadden, Nam returned to her mother's house and mourned. All her sisters promised to give her the next child they conceived. Not knowing what else to do, she agreed. A few days later, Lang came to take her home.

The first night she was home, she dreamed that a very loving and gentle voice told her that she would be given a child. It was a vivid dream, not hazy as most went. After she woke up, she could close her eyes and hear the promise which gladden her heart. The next morning, as she opened her front door, she saw a kitten outside. Being a kind person, she took water and what food she could find to feed the weak and struggling little thing. A few days later after the kitten managed to survive and thrived. Despite numerous attempts to give her away, the cat stubbornly remained stationed in Nam's front yard. What can Nam do, her husband was allergic to cat fur? On stormy nights, Nam would keep the cat in the shed.

As Nam worked in her humble house day after day, she sang. Lo and behold, shortly after the cat adopted her, she conceived. Nine months later, she gave birth to a strong boy. A year later, she adopted a new born girl her youngest sister carried to term. Soon her house was bustling with voices and songs and cries of many children. True to the dream, she had only one biological offspring - her first born son. She loved all her children, she had five. Each of her sisters duely gave her one child each, as promised. And to this day, Nam looked upon her one cat as a harbinger of hope, her own divine tangible answer to a promised child.

-Even Elizabeth your relative  is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.-

cat1.jpg from ucdavis.edu

(321) Snowball, a blessed cat/ Cat tales 22

Long ago in a small town far away, there was a woman named Rose. Her parents left her some inheritance. She was comfortable and lived a simple life. By the time her husband passed on, she had no need to work another day for the rest of her life. The apple of her life was a cat called Snowball.
 
Rose lived in a small house surrounded by a huge garden. She spent all her spare time raising flowers. Small flowers, big flowers, potted flowering plants, flowering bushes, and flowering trees. She collected and planted them all lovingly in her vast land. Really, her garden looked like paradise on earth.

Since young, Snowball was fascinated by butterflies. She would spend all her daylight hours chasing them in the garden. But never did she catch any for many years. One Christmas, Rose bought a light and soft blanket covered with multi-coloured butterflies in flight. Initially, Snowball pounced on the blanket and played with it. After a while she must have realised that they were not real. then she spent hours looking intently at the window scene of a snow covered garden. Often she would snooze on the lovely blanket.

Spring came. The first green shoot was spotted. The first bird returned. the flowers bloomed. Butterflies emerged. Our Snowball no longer would chase the butterflies. It was beautiful sight to behold, swirling butterflies in the air, a dancing cat on the ground, with a host of flowers strategically placed to bring about the greatest contrast in colours.

-The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. -

(318) Good old USA /Interesting bldg 41

What do you think of when you look at this house? For me, I imagine the windows all lit at night, then one by one, the lights go out. It is a livable house. And I can see myself sitting on a rocking chair on the porch.

Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. Ps 46:10

Rose%252520Front%252520 from ashvillevacationhomes.com

(317) Clean n Bright / Interesting bldg 40

It is strange that this little building reminds me of country churches! I used to love to locate each church building in each hamlet  I passed in mountainous regions.

When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Ex 33:22

colville house.jpg from mta.ca

(316)Save the earth/ recycling 4

This topic relates to recycling. I pledged to use my little effort and circle of influence to bring about the awareness of recycling and the cutting down of carbon footprint we leave on planet earth. 吃素一年，就相當種了82棵樹，可以減緩全球暖化  If one person turns vegetarian for one year, it would be equivalent to planting 82 trees. That would contributes to slowing down our green house effect First I have to state that my family are not vegetarians. However, I did spend one thanksgiving break with an American white family who were vegans but did not believe in Hinduism. I was very fond of their two children and almost decided to relocate to Michigan with them. The only thing that kept me south was my full scholarship. I remember I love their vegetables dishes. Now that I am back in Asia, living in a metropolitan city, it is common to eat in vegetarian restaurants. 如果您以為，提倡蔬食都是佛教徒，那您就錯了。以英國來說，在1998年，有四百萬 人吃素； 六人當中，有一人吃素或是想改吃素；15-34歲人口，有11%吃素；近半民眾愈來愈少吃肉。 If you think that those who promote vegetarian lifestyle are all Bhuddists, then I am afraid you are wrong. In England alone, by the year 1998, there were four millions vegetarians. Out of every six persons, one is a vegetarian or is deciding to become one. Among those aged 15 to 34, there is 11% who turned from a meat diet.  Moreover almost half the population cuts down on meat intake. 聯合國氣候變遷會議主席"帕喬里"，針對全球暖化，呼籲大家「不肉食、騎腳踏車、簡約消費」，這可不是宗教家的勸說，而是上千位頂尖科學家的研究精華。   慈濟繼「心素食儀、克己復禮之後」，也根據這三句話，提出「力行減碳333，常保地球999」的運動。不肉食部分，延伸出來就是素食、低碳里程食物，還有不浪費食物。騎單車部分延伸出來就是，少開車、省水省電還有珍惜紙張，至於簡約消費方面，延伸出來就是不追求流行、延續物命，還有不要使用一次性商品。希望透過這九種生活方式，一起挽救地球。   有一個數據表示，生產一公斤牛肉，排放36.4公斤的二氧化碳，相當開車三小時。養牛一年所排放的二氧化碳，相當跑車開七萬公里。 減緩全球暖化，連聯合國都呼籲大家，少吃肉。其實很多人已經改變生活方式，來減少碳足跡，例如少開車，但您知道嗎？少開車半小時，減少的二氧化碳，相當吃一客牛排，或是吃一碗牛肉麵。也就是說，只要吃一客牛排、或是牛肉麵，您排放的二氧化碳，就相當於開車半小時。 除此之外，全球有三成的陸地，是用來畜牧業。如果您吃一客牛排或是一碗牛肉麵，相當砍伐半座台北市大安森林公園面積、這麼多的林木。所以，改變生活習慣，地球可以少被破壞。 畜牧業排放的二氧化碳，比所有汽車、機車排放的還要多，真的非常驚人。從這個角度來看，畜牧業是一個非常不環保的產業。或許有人會說，種菜、種稻、種水果，也會排放二氧化碳啊？沒錯，但是蔬果的二氧化碳排放，只有動物產品的1/9。而且生產一公斤的肉，這些牲畜，必須吃七公斤的穀物，直接間接造成糧荒。您在這邊吃，可能讓另外一端的人沒東西吃。 另外，葷食者一年，製造的二氧化碳1500公斤，素食者一年430公斤，差距1070公斤，相當82棵樹一年，吸收二氧化碳的量，也相當七棵樹，一個月吸收的二氧化碳排放量。很多人喜歡種樹減碳，其實，吃素一年，就相當種了82棵樹，可以減緩全球暖化。 我們都是生長在同一個地球的子民,地球的生與滅,你我都有責任。

Articles on similar topics are easily found on line. I shall not attempt to duplicate such efforts here. Thank you for reading this short community advertisement.

(315) Two kitties / Cat tales 21

There was a young girl, pretty and sweet, who helps her mum to care for the family ducks. Ducklings are incredibly cute little things. Since she is the only girl among six siblings, she was the only one who would pet and play with such fluffy pets.

One ducking in particular took to our young lady, she was only ten years old then. The blessed duck grew up following her beloved owner daily every where the latter went. Everyone in the neighbourhood got used to seeing the unlikely pair, a teenage girl and a mummy duck. Every morning the teenager would don her school uniform, her escort would unfailingly accompanied her to the main road quite a distance away.  The amazing part is that the duck knew time and would be dutifully waiting at the drop-off point when our young lady came home in the afternoon. On weekends the duck would not be found waiting for the owner's return, as our lady puts it, she would not change into uniform then.

On a rare Saturday, Mum took daughter to the market. The butcher had two kittens on display in a small basket. One was yellow and white. The other was black with a white nose. Since there were field mice that sneaked into the house, Mum let our duck lover chose one to take home. Thereafter, we have a much loved owner walking with the dignified duck, with a yellow kitten trailing behind. As the duck ruled the yard, the kitten would gambol in the house. This kitten grew to be a good mouser. As the duck lays an egg each day, the cat would show off its daily kill, be it mouse, lizard or cockcroaches.

Ah! There is one more feat, difficult to believe as it is! One morning, for whatever reason our beloved owner overslept. Imagine her face when the duck quacked at the window until she appeared to shush her. Lo and behold, the cat was also scratching and meowing at her bedroom door. After all the fuss, she still managed to catch her bus to school!

This blessed lady grew up to become the mother of my daughter's best friend in school.

- He will bless your land with produce: grain, new wine, and olive oil ... the increase of your livestock ... -

cats-in-love.jpg from funniest-pets.blogspot.com

(314) Cat in a Mansion / Cat tales 20

Talking to my son, I recalled one very clever cat I had a glimpse of many years ago. The mistress of the cat was rich, cultured, hospitable, kind but her blind spot was her beloved cat.

I was invited to her mansion in a surburb of Lexington as the foreign visitor of her cousin's family over that Christmas and new year period. I still remember that was the very first time I had a chance to eat a French hen as an entree of lunch. Her house was well decorated with good taste showing it was old money.

This much talked about cat was the apple of Madame's eyes. However, the Master had nothing good to say about it. As she sang its praises, he underminded every point with a counter tale. Madame would resume her song without any visible reaction. And you can imagine how confused I was about these crazy Americans' funny ways. Fancy throwing a big party of sixty for a formal sit down luncheon, spending thousands of dollars and having profesional staff waiting at the spiffily set tables and the topic of conversation was a cat.

Then as I patiently listened on I realised it was no ordinary cat. It was a cat that had mastered the art of crossing roads at zebra crossings. It actually would look left, right and left again after all traffic stopped. Mind boggling! Later I learned that in spite of all the fire and smoke of the Master, he actually was very fond of the cat. Why was that so? Well, because after the cat started ruling the house, the mistress had had less time, leisure and will to go for impulsive shopping. His credit card bills halved in payments and that left him much funds to acquire more rare books. Talk about the good a pet brings.

- You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everyone under his feet: all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swims the paths of the sea. -

myspace-cats-images-0004.jpg from dam7.com

(313) Beloved Persian / Cat tales 19

There was a poor pretty girl that married into a rich family. Her husband was fond of dogs and set up a compound behind his property to breed expensive dogs. Her mother-in-law had a persian cat. This bride started her married life waking up at four am every morning to cook dog and cat food.

It was quite an amazing tale as it developed. Each pair of dogs had its own enclosure. They were fed in the morning and let out in the evening to run about on the extensive property. Soon neighbours complained to the town council. The authorities came twice, once at ten am and the second time at three pm. Both times they could not hear a thing and just wrote a report stating there was no basis for complaints. As fads went, it lasted its due course. The dogs were transferred to another more isolated property and sold off pair by pair.

The persian cat, however, lived and ruled supreme in that household for years. It was a house filled with women. Apart from the rich son and his bride, his mum and a few unmarried sisters, the next generation was two more girl babies. This lucky cat was loved and pampered by all the females of the household. Here is one cat that sat pretty and did not have to catch one rat in its entire life.

- May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord. -

mila.jpg from ragdoll-cats.com

(312) Security / Interesting bldg 39

This property reminds me of my grand ma's house within a rubber estate. When I visited her as a child of nine years old, they did not lock their doors when they slept at night.

For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways Ps 91:11

cottage2.jpg from ontariocabinrental.com

(311) Paradise / Interesting bldg 38

It's a tropical paradise. On one hand it would be a dream come true for some to live here. But on the other hand there are lots of practical problems to overcome. I suppose if I have the opportunity, I would have to overcome quite a number of my fears.

I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Ps 34:4

Island Cottage SWNS 750x522.jpg dailymail.co.uk

(306) Aging parents

I just came back from a reunion luncheon. It is school holidays for a neighbouring country. My friend Lilian rushed back to be with her mother. Her husband came along and her only son enjoyed  playing with his cousins.

Since we already reached the half century mark, our parents are at least in their seventies. My dad was eighty seven when he passed on. My mum is seventy eight years old. Right now she is looking forward to her trip to Hong Kong. Everyday she walks in the morning, on a good day she can walk non-stop for forty five minutes. Apart from her medications, she takes her many food supplements faithfully. That includes unprocessed honey, spirulina, calcium magnesium, vitamin C and Omega 3 fish oil.

Lilian's mum does not go out. She has a tendency to brood over things that upset her. Not surprisingly each time Lilian comes home, her mother talks about death and the old lady worries about how her three grand sons would cope without her caring for them. After everyone asked their questions, our general consensus is that the old lady is not having a good diet, especially breakfast and lunch. There is a lack of exercise and she lacks friends and hobbies. It is tough that the only daughter she communicates well with resides four hundred miles away.

The most frightening thing is that the old lady talks about dead relatives as if they are around her daily. If we apply western psychology, we would say she hallucinates. By eastern traditions, perhaps these spirits are a harbinger of death, which the old lady seemed to concentrate much on since her husband passed away.

(305) Sinking buildings

During my trip to a river side town a few days back, I saw sights that I have read about. There are cities like Venice that sinks a few inches a year. So this is really nothing new.

A kind soul who used to pastor in that town had access to her former parishioner's car. She took us round her former parish and we were shocked to see double storey houses that sunk until only half of the downstairs stick out of the stagnant water. The sad part is that  folks are dwelling in the upstairs portion with make shift stairs linking the house and the road that is dry.

It is a very rich part of the country. Just two streets away we see mansions that are well set in landscape gardens. And I mean mansions that probably boast at least fifteen bedrooms. I obviously do not belong to this upper class or I would take it as a matter of course.

According to our volunteer tour guide, the longest river in the province floods periodically. Her former church owns a few small motor boats for rescue purposes. The youth group turns out in full force for rescue efforts during the flood and for the cleaning up after the water recedes. It is all very  good for these people to do what they can to help. But more importantly the town council ought to make use of the abundance in taxes to up grade the drains that has no cement  sides nor base. It was a whole town of clog drains with full stagnating water. I certainly had not seen the likes of this since my childhood forty over years ago. Shocking!

(300) Choice of career/ Upbringing 33

When Elizabeth was young, we lived in a small town. Living standard was low and a group of mothers who were homemakers gathered often so that children could play with each other. When she was nine years old, Aunty Eileen offered to take Elizabeth and her girl to voice lessons. Elizabeth refused and that was that. A year later, Aunty Marion offered to take Elizabeth and her daughter to drama lessons. Again Elizabeth refused. Two years later, the Sunday School Superintendent chose Elizabeth for a duet in a concert. I didn't think too much of it even though a few people did take the trouble to encourage me to look into some form of voice development.

Then fast forward five years. When Elizabeth became active in her present youth group, she took out her savings to attend ten voice training lessons. Initially I don't hear much difference, a year to two later, her voice did change for the better. When we visited Switzeland, our hostess who was a soprano prophesied that soon Elizabeth would be able to play the piano and harmonise with the music. At that point, she could either play the piano or sing. Now, four years later, being able to sing and play either the piano or guitar simultaneously is something she is comfortable with. In the interim, she managed to get involved in just about every drama staged. Just a few weeks back, I waited for her during band practice. As I walked up the stairs, I heard a female vocalist singing and leading in an interesting and attractive manner. I was most surprised when I realised it was my daughter singing. She has improved a lot since that duet seven years ago.

Then I understand why she could not see herself becoming an accountant or economist. Unless she chooses to put music to a second place as a hobby, sitting in an office eight to twelve hours a day dealing with figures may not be her first choice. Even though she is good in accounting and economics, there is no passion in her heart for those two fields. At this point I must be honest that the fact I don't have half a million set aside for her tertiary education  makes things simple. If it is God's perfect will, then she will be successful in winning a scholarship to go to an institution to pursue her passion. If it is not, then she will have to fall back on whatever offer the Government universities gives her. It is strange that my choice in major was heavily influenced by job opportunities. Now it seems that my daughter is following her heart. It is wonderful that I can pray and commit her to God, He knows what her future will be.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jer 29:11

(298) Summer home / Interesting bldg 33

It is such a pretty house that it looks unreal. Nonetheless it is the perfect place for romantic vacations.

We love because God first love us. 1 Jn 4:19

nantucket-decor-cottage-style.jpg from completely-coastal.com

(292) Working vs full time mom/ upbringing 32

A good friend was relating how a baby in church was entertaining her one Sunday. It is a very good looking baby girl. She has big eyes and readily smiles at strangers and friends. What is special about her is at one glance, those of us who have grown children can tell that she is alert, highly intelligent and is thinking meaningful thoughts. Actually she is Elizabeth's hot favourite, being extremely responsive to a teenager's playful interaction.

The mother of this baby said that she has to work at an admin job just to keep the accounts in the blue.  And I believe her. Father and mother are young, just bought their first home and just changed an old car for a small new one.

My friend said that she hopes this young mother will stop work as soon as she can. It would be a waste that she does not have time to build on a good foundation. I  agree. The first seven years of a child's life is formative. By the time that a child celebrates her seventh birthday, 95% of her brain has been developed  already.

In my own family, I compare Elizabeth and Kenneth. Kenneth had my undivided attention for nine months. I almost did not survive from the experience, was almost suicidal with post-natal depression. When I next quit my part-time job, Elizabeth was 2 1/2 and Kenneth was seven. Today I see Elizabeth as much better adjusted socially and I have been privileged to be given ample opportunity to develop her potential to a high degree. To a different set of circumstances and timing, I had honestly tried my best with each child, and gotten different results. Of course God is still working at both of them. Each faces different circumstances and challenges. The more is given from on high, the more is expected of the person.

As my children leave the nest one by one, I am released to answer my own call. I wonder if indeed God will open a door for Kenneth to teach English in a foreign country. If Elizabeth applies to one college in America, will God sees it fit to give her sufficient financial aid to go? What started out as a hobby like fun time is becoming time consuming. It actually takes me a minimum of two solid hours daily to keep three or four of  my blogs going.

Between 23 to 26 Nov I will be in a small town to help out in a Chinese Youth Mission Camp. I have never been to that part of the country before. According to my son, there is no cyber cafe or coffee bean there. So sorry, I am telling you my readers that I will be off line during those few days. For those of you who are new, please go back to the earlier posts. For readers in USA, please tune in to estateenthusiast.wordpress.com for a complete set of posts. For some reason, Americans are responding more to my Interesting buildings posts more than readers from any other country so far. Thank you, my American readers.

(291) Tranquility / Interesting bldg 30

This is a property that exudes old world English charm. If I should need to summarise it, it is one word: tranquility.

For God is not a God of disorder but of peace. 1 Co 14:33

38 04 4---Thatched-Cottage-Micheld freefoto.com

(288)Stop using Kleenex/ Recycling 2

The following article was forwarded to me by my recycling partner who is a member of  a Buddhist organisation from Taiwan. I will summarise the main point. The author was used to carrying handkerchief before he arrived in America. He could not recall when he stopped using cloth and started to use Kleenex.

A few years  back he heard about the paper making and bleaching process would create a highly toxic side product: dioxane. Apparently dioxane harms our central nervous system, causes liver, kidney failure. It hurts our skin, lungs and creates health problems. From that point on, he stopped buying and using paper napkins.

As China develops from an agricultural country to become an industrial giant, land usage would unavoidably be progressively converted to industrial purposes. As consumers demand high end products like beer, much grain would be channeled  to the brewery away from the poor masses. As the per capita demand for meat, milk and eggs  increases, the base prices of the main grain would shoot up. As the rich consumes more high end products, the poor would have less and less basic food to buy from as prices spiral upwards. The end result would be a small portion of the world would overeat and have to combat obesity, while the rest of the world face under nourishment and thousands would starve to death should there be any seasonal shortfall of grain harvest.  There was a book written entitled:《Who Will Feed China》 by Lester Brown from World Watch Institute（W. W. Norton & CO: U. S. $8.95; TEL: 202-452-1999; Fax: 202-296-7365).

Reading this article, I felt terrible as I have been using paper napkins because of convenience for years. I must go and buy a few handkerchieves and stop using paper products for this purpose.

After all, nobody knows when our world would come to an end. Until then, we only have one world and we all have no choice but to live in the same world. No one can change the entire world. But I can change the consumption choices of my household.  

雷久南

小時候，每天上學口袋裡一定帶著一條手帕來擦汗、擦手等；初中來美國之後，不知什麼時候跟著大家都用紙巾替代手帕，只有喜愛戶外活動的人、運動員才用手帕。

幾年前我聽一位澳大利亞的醫生說，在造紙和漂白過程產生的副產品——Dioxane是毒性相當高的化學藥劑，已嚴重地污染了整個地球，也造成健康的 問題。Dioxane會傷害中樞神經，造成肝、腎的壞死，也會傷害皮膚、肺，同時也是致癌物。接著，她拿出她的手帕示範她環保的對策，說用手帕擦鼻涕完全 合乎衛生，因為，只要布一乾，細菌即無法生存，一條手帕可用多次之後才洗。
被她點醒後，我也開始隨身攜帶手帕，所用的是爬山用的大手帕，長寬各二十英吋（五十公分）。剛開始時有點不習慣，但很快的就習慣成自然，這幾年我沒 有再買紙巾，也不覺得有欠缺，看到各處大量使用紙巾，覺得很浪費，也很污染。從手帕這個小事，使我想到環保和污染僅是習慣的改變而已，只要我們願意多花一 分鐘去思惟平日的習慣所造成的後果，然後選擇善待環境的習慣，我們可以改善我們生活的環境，也避免一些災難。

說到我們可能面臨的災難，糧食不足是其中之一。生活在工業社會國家的人很難想像當其他農業社會也進入工業社會時，對有限的地球資源，如水、土地會造 成什麼樣的壓力，特別是有十二億人口的中國，當中國人民也學著開汽車、吃肉、吃蛋、喝啤酒時，對地球的影響，用「災難」兩字來形容不會過份。

早在一九八八年，「世界觀察所」(Worldwatch Institute)的Lester Brown先生就注意到所有人口密度高的國家，一旦從農業社會進入工業社會，最大的改變是糧食不能自給自足，必須依賴進口，這是因為農地被工業用替代掉， 或建公路佔用；另一方面，經濟發展之後，人們的飲食多元化，多吃雞鴨肉奶和蛋、冰淇淋、啤酒等。台灣、日本和南韓是地球上人口密度相當高的國家，三十年 來，已由農業社會轉入工業社會，據一九九四年的資料，日本七十二％的食物是靠進口，南韓六十六％是靠進口，台灣七十六％是靠進口；中國也是人口密度頗高的 國家，現在正在迅速的工業化，所會面臨的糧食不足是可想而知的，一九九四年，Brown先生寫了一篇警惕世界的文章〈誰來餵中國？〉(Who will Feed China)。依中國目前的消耗數量，其所需依賴進口的糧食將沒有任何一個國家可以滿足，一九九三至一九九四年，中國還出口八百萬噸糧食，到一九九四至一 九九五年，反而進口一百四十六萬噸的糧食，實際上所欠缺的糧食不只這數量，為了平穩直線上升的糧食價錢，中國政府施放了儲存的糧食。以此類推到二○三○年 的開發中國家，根據人口成長的速度，二○三○年所需進口的糧食將會是一九九四年全球出口糧食的總數，中國將需進口三億到四億噸的糧食，是今日全世界出口糧 食的二倍，目前已有十個仰賴進口食物國家，並且還繼續不斷增加新的進口糧食的國家，如印度、印尼、伊朗、巴基斯坦、墨西哥等，我們將面臨嚴重的糧食不足， 一九九五年，Brown先生收集更詳盡的資料寫成一本書——《Who Will Feed China》（W. W. Norton & CO: U. S. $8.95; TEL: 202-452-1999; Fax: 202-296-7365；中文版是廣西教育出版社；南寧，廣西；郵編530022）。

世界糧食的生產受水源農地的縮小限制，很難增產。世界人口不斷的膨脹、飲食的要求提升，生產和需求的差距只有增加。解決的辦法有二，一、限制人口的 增長；二、飲食環保，以五穀雜糧、豆類為主食，配以蔬果。中國會從一個出口糧食變進口糧食的國家，就是因為國民所得提高，大家就多吃肉，特別是豬肉，肉的 食量從一九七三年每人八公斤增加到一九九四年的三十二公斤，總食量已超過美國，此外，蛋的食量，中國政府也有意鼓勵大家在二○○○年由現在的每人每年一百 粒增加到每人每年二百粒，和美國的每人每年二百三十五粒很接近，要達到這個目標要養十三億隻雞，所需糧食是二千四百萬噸糧食，正好是目前加拿大每年出口的 糧食總數。

除此之外，啤酒的消費也在增加，中國每個成人喝一瓶啤酒使用的糧食總數就需用三十七萬噸的糧食，一九八一年啤酒生產量是十億公升，一九九四年增加十 三倍——一百三十億公升的啤酒，中國啤酒的酒量已超過德國，僅次於美國。當我們每一個人警覺到生活上的習慣可以造成災難或平安，我們會思惟，然後選擇用手 帕不用紙巾，喝水不喝啤酒，吃五穀蔬果，不吃肉蛋奶；我們想創造一個人人有飯吃的地球，還是一部份人盡情吃喝，另一部份的人餓死的悲慘世界？
選擇在我們，從一條手帕做起，從一口飯吃起，從一杯水喝起。

(284)Reliving foreign student days/ Upbringing 31

Further Studies 

When Elizabeth was 16, we were privileged to have a sponsored trip to Switzeland  (Prayers 15 Wish come true). She was indeed a very blessed young lady. Our hostess actually invited her to stay in her house in Zurich and pursue her pre-university. For what ever reason, Elizabeth was not ready to leave home.

After she turned 17, she was talked into applying for a scholarship to study International Baccalaureate in Finland. She cleared her first interview. During the second interview, she was more of an observer than taking an active part in impressing the moderators. And she told her interviewing panel that it did not matter if she did not get the scholarship, for she did not mind going to pre-u in a government school. Therefore, I was not surprised that she was not chosen.

Now she is within days of sitting for her exams. I was indeed taken aback when she said she might apply to my old college for a scholarship. Oh! We will see if she still feels the same come December 15. Anyway, I had quite a journey down memory lane answering her questions. Of course I missed Asian food in America. But my mum and dad sent food parcels every three months and I often cooked up a storm in the middle of the night.

When I fried up chilli paste and dried shrimp, those true Americans all went looking for the dead rats they smelled. A few would follow their noses into the kitchen for a good feed. Those who like ethnic food usually had been living abroad as army brats or as children of ex-pats working in Asia. It was no co-incidence that those who like my cooking were the more international youth who befriend anyone from any part of the world.

Who did the cleaning up after my kitchen adventure? I would not leave behind any dirty sauce pans or dishes. The maid would wipe down the walls and the floor. God had been very kind to me. I remember the maid was most sympathetic to me as she had a daughter volunteering as a Peace Corp teacher in South America. The loving Mum would send monthly food parcel. She would imagine her darling cooking up a hurricane during the weekends in the school kitchen too. During my last year, my friend the maid told me the good news that her daughter was going to marry an engineer from a good family in the country she worked in. She met her Prince Charming when he came with the survey team to bring pipe water to her adopted village.

(283) Away assignment

My friend Lee Lee was sent by her boss to a branch in a northern city. I kind of assumed that it was another book shop needing help to have a stock take at the end of the year. Well, it wasn't! It turned out to be a mini market in a shopping centre near a village.

The shop was run by a young Indian man with the help of a shop assistant. The first few days Lee Lee did was have a spring cleaning. Much accumulated rubbish was thrown out. Cockroaches and rats were killed and chased away. Next she and the assistant wiped away lots of dust. Expired foodstuff was thrown out. Things that were not sold for years were marked down in prices and sold off. Next she rearranged everything according to the classification, eg. kitchen utensils all on the same side, cleaning supplies all on the other side ...

I sat there listening to her practical steps to make the shop a nicer place to shop in. She was very effective, the regular customers commented how much the shop has improved within the month she was there. Even salesmen told her that their goods were arranged to a much better effect, everything could be seen at one glance. She was much pleased that from now on, she only needs to go there once a month for three days.

It goes to show that even though Lee Lee does not have much qualification, she is a very efficient person with lots of common sense. I won't be surprised that in a short few months, she could turn the shop around and cause it to be profitable.

(281) Safety / Interesting bldg 23

What we have here is an ordinary country house. Yet from the present angle, it is indeed a welcoming sight after the dark wood. The house is reassuring me that safety is just a little distance away. Life is like that sometimes, one may value an ordinary choice that may be mundane but safe.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me Ps 23:4

country-house-hotel.jpg ballinderrypark.com

(280) Rock solid / Interesting bldg 22

I see a rock solid house. It is of a very simple design without any decorations. Yet it is warm. If  I were on a hike and see this building, I would not hesitate to walk up to it to ask for a drink.

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Mt 11:28

Rankin House.jpg ohiohistorycentral.org

(279) Cats Locked out / Cat tales 12

Lately there are many cats on my street. My children said that it was my blog that attracted them. Since cats do not read blogs, it  obviously cannot be.

One day I happened to drive up and saw the cats trailing behind my new neighbour and went into her house. Then I realize that these are outside cats when the owner is at work. There after I make doubly sure that my dustbin is properly closed and standing upright on a flat area.

Among the cats, one of them came to look me up. While I was unloading things from my car, it sneaked into my house. The minute it noticed that I saw it, it ran away like a tornado and knocked down a few of my purchases that I hadn't had time to move to my kitchen. That was a predominantly black cat with a patch of white on its back and tail. It was sleek and looked handsome.

There was another one that was somewhat smaller. It was also black and white, but more of white background with big patches of  black. This cat looked sweet and  and was very people oriented. It did not run when I walked closer to talk to it.. There are two more, one with orangy stripes and the other gray. Those two are shy, I did not get a good look at them yet.

Fear not, for I have redeem you; I have called you by name; you are mine.

six cats.jpg from clowder.net

(278) Rescue / Cat tales 11

One day my daughter and I went to church early. Instead of parking in front and running the car air-conditioning, we decided to park in the shadow of the block and open all the car windows. We sat in the car listening to FM radio and watched people walking up and down the street.

In a moment of silence, both of us were looking at a kitten climbing up a tree across the road from us. We were fascinated by its repeated attempts which more often ended in failures. Probably after attempt number twenty three, it managed to climb up the trunk and was hanging on to the first branch precariously. Then we heard the mother cat meowing to locate the naughty kitty. When the kitten heard the call, it wanted to come down but it dared not. And so they called each other, back and forth. Then the mother cat was directly below the kitten. After futile encouragements asking kitty to jump down, mum had no choice but to carry out a rescue operation.

The nimble mother cat climbed up expertly and brought the kitty down by the scuff of its neck.
Are we not sometimes like this adventurous kitty, we wander out of the straight and narrow pathway and need to ask God to rescue us?

- Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honour me.-

Cat picture2.jpg from dellone2one.com

(273) Airy / Interesting bldg 19

How many hours do we work per day so that we can afford the property we desire? How much money do we spend to decorate our abode the way we like? And yet how many years can we enjoy it all?

There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.  Ecc 2:24

Home-Decor-Tips-from-Mark womansday.com

(272) Community development

 There is this couple who gave up good jobs to be blessings to minority tribes in the mountains. Raymond was a highly paid chartered accountant. Evelyn was a mover and shaker in trading shares, earning millions in a bull run.

Evelyn started a cottage industry sewing small items for sale. The latest batch includes cotton purses that come in four colours: purple, blue, green, and yellow. There were flowers embroidered in matching colours on the upper panel that is beige in shade. Many friends and relatives who visit Raymond and Evelyn would bring these light weight items back. A local mission organization would sell such handicraft alongside the books and audio bibles in churches..

Over the years, I have seen note pads with magnets, book marks, tiny shoes to be tied to hand phones, four different ethnic shoes in a wooden frame with magnet, ethnic shirts with magnet ... all lovely to behold. It is a non profit community project to benefit the marginalised minorities living in the hills. Each woman was given a micro loan and was given training to enable her to produce marketable items. With the small profit of items produced, they are able then to repay the micro loan in installments. Usually the first beneficiary of such a project are the children, they are then able to go to school as their mothers could pay whatever fee that they previously could not.

Behind each handicraft, there is a small piece of paper showing a tiny photo of the minority woman with her name and story. It could be she was a widow having a tough time raising six young children. Or she could be handicapped with a withered leg, that means she could not farm or rear pigs in a mountainous area.

The producers are living in an Asian country. The finished products are sold in a small scale in a South East Asian country. What I am wondering is: would a blog like mine be able to play a role in helping to widen the scope of this already successful project? Would you, my readers, be interested to see photos of the products with histories of the makers? Would you write to an e-mail address to order such gifts for your  friends? At the last count, readers come from twenty-six countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Columbia, Denmark, France, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Macedonia, Malaysia, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, United Kingdom and U.S. of America. Thank you for following this blog.

If your answers to these questions are yes, please make a comment below this post or e-mail to ramblingsofadyslexic@gmail.com.

FlagsOfTheWorld.gif from journeywithjesus.net

(269) Dream / Interesting bldg 17

There is something dream like about this building. The moody blue sea? The grandeur of the structure? The isolation of the location?

What I want to be when I grow up... Where I will live when I become rich... Don't we all dream  at some point of our lives?

Yet all these are temporary... What we are here and now... What we own in this world... These are all transient.

Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. Lk 21:33

hotel1.jpg millionface.com

(263) Recycling

When I  told friends and acquaintances that I recycle, sometimes I end up with a car load of all kinds of everything. There was this old lady who gave us more than fifty brown bottles which she kept from her husband's consumption of bee propolis.

It is a good thing that I live near a recycling station. On the way back to where I live, I would unload all the glass bottles. The next time she gave us two electrical gadgets. My son who at one glance could tell what the items were, said that there were one VCD player and one DVD player. And so that was that. I was surprised as I remember the old lady said she had an old VCD player that still worked and that she would pack all the clothes that her daughters and grand children left in her house. So I thought, maybe her daughter bought a new DVD player a few days back. Then it is natural that she would want to get rid of the old one. We unloaded the two electrical items as usual. I took the clothes home to sort. Our recycling centre was run by a family who collects items to convert to cash for disaster relief.

Two weeks down the line, I had a frantic call from the old lady saying that her daughter could not find the latter's projector. The former was calm enough to tell me that she believed that projector was probably overseas. Only her daughter had forgotten where it was. Just in case we recycled an expensive projector, I paid a special visit to our recycling partner. After listening to what happens to our items after it left the home centre, I went back to find out more details of the missing item.

To facilitate communication, I sms the recycling centre's hand phone number to the recycling party and vice versa. Then I put the matter out of my mind. Three days later, a happy call came telling us that the old lady was right, the missing projector was located in a South East Asian country. Her daughter had forgotten that she left it in a business associate's house the last visit three months ago. I immediately informed my recycling partner the good news. We both learned a lesson from the incident. Should there be an expensive item given, we would keep it for a period and confirm that it was meant to be given away.

(262) Sun n water / Interesting Bldg 12

Somehow, this is my ideal of a visit to the sun and the water. No miles of white sandy beach. Strange, isn't it? Well, think of the days of lazing around, reading under the trees. Then when the sun is really hot, one can jump in to cool down, heavenly!

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. Rev 21:4

cottage5.JPG breezybaycottage.com

(260) Winter wonderland / Intere. Bldg10

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas! This picture reminded me of a snow storm I experienced in Maryland in 1982 winter. Look at the snow laden branches, what a beautiful picture of winter wonderland. Of course it went without saying there were hundreds of homes with power outage after a storm. Such pristine beauty co-exist with hardship and suffering! Just like life, isn't it?

He had made everything beautiful in its time. Ecc 3:11

cottage big.jpg cybermall.co.nz

(259) Phobia / Cat tales 9

Afraid of cats

 There is an old lady who was eighty years old last year. Let us call her Auntie Yong. She was almost a teenager when the Japanese overrun her country. Her dad passed away before World War Two. Her mum was an iliterate rubber tapper who struggled to bring up five children. The entire family had to hide in the jungle and was forced to plant vegetables and roots to keep themselves alive.

Auntie Yong was sick most of those difficult months. She had slow fever, often had chills even at high noon, her feet swelled ... In modern terms, she probably had anemia and was malnourished. Her kidneys were probably overworked and as a result weakened. Her mum loved her and went to ask old ladies for folk medicine to heal her. Things often worked for a little while, but then the symptoms would return, with a vengeance.

That was until the loving mum started trading her valuables for meat. Once a hunter traded part of a monkey carcass with a tea set from China. Another time Mum traded a golden hair pin for two bats. And so Auntie was fed periodically on wild cat, rat, squirrel, wild boar, even dogs and cats that were unlucky enough to be caught.

Years later, Auntie Yong was afraid of cats. As children, they used to play with the cats they kept to catch mice. They particularly loved one that had yellow fur. They called it the Yellow Emperor. She suspected that cat was slaughtered to keep her alive. Perhaps it was guilt, maybe the childish way of fear took root in her heart. She avoided cats from then on.

 And my god will supply all your needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus. Phi 4:19

cat.jpg from internetvideomag.com

(258) Adopted / Cat tales 8

My neighbour, Roger, is a dog lover. Their dog was expecting a litter many years ago. As the date drew near, mother-to-be was restless. Dog owners were worried. The tiny dog was round and bursting with puppies. Sad to say, something went wrong with the birth and all were still born. The first time mum was grief stricken. She went off food and was reduced to skin and bones within days.

Miss Rini brought a stray kitten back from her school. The poor little thing was pathetically thin and cold. As soon as the kitten was placed next to the listless dog, the former nuzzled and started to suckle. The dog pushed her away a few times and later gave up. In the next few days, the kitten brought the dog from the brink of giving up on life. As the kitten became sleek and good looking, the dog started to live again since losing the puppies.

This story was told by my grandma. I was about nine years old and came home with the proverb: raining like cats and dogs. Being curious, I asked my grandma why Mr. Roger's dog and cat were such good friends. Far from fighting, they actually enjoyed each other's company. On rainy days, they would snuggle  closely together to keep warm.

- The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. -

american-bob-tail-cat-facts.jpg from catfacts.org

(257) Rescuing the mistreated / Cat tales 7

I know a girl who loves all kinds of animals since young. She cares for the hungry, the sick, the strays and the down troddens. It is not unusual to see a sick bird with a mended wing in her bed room. Of course she had a guard dog and two kitty cats. On top of that she befriends the neibourhood cats.

One evening I was in her house having dinner. You see, my folks did not own a car. In order to attend a school event at night, I went to her home after school so that it would be easy for her dad to take us both to school without travelling to another part of town to pick me up. As I was helping with washing up, I noticed her saving some left over for a stray. She related the 'phantom' cat who was so shy that although she had been feeding it for the past month, she had not had a good look at it.

Two years later, she told me she finally won the trust of that illusive cat. Even though it was a lame cat, it was capable of hiding and disappearing within moments. The day the cat allowed her to pet it, she was jubilant. Another day, she came to school really angry. Apparently, she suspected the cat was a victim of cruelty. We were poor students, each had little allowance. A few of us actually pooled our change so our friend could buy some disinfectant and possibly some bandage so that our animal doctor could attempt to remove the foreign object inserted into the cat's front paw.

A few days later, she reported that the offending nail had been removed and the paw was on the mend. Two weeks later, a home had been found for this shy cat. We were all happy that the cat had found a loving owner. It is unthinkable that people could be that cruel to purposely hurt an innocent and helpless cat when it was too young to defend itself.

A father to the fatherless, a defender to the widows, is God in his holy dwelling. Ps 68:5

Cat2.jpg from cvcl.mit.edu

(256) Pleasing / Interesting Bldg 9

When I look at this picture, it is the scenery that captures my imagination. The buildings are just an after thought.

And the Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground -- trees that are pleasing to the eye and good for food. Gen 2:9

stonetree-cottage.jpg stonetreecottage.com

(252) Detox / Upbringing 27

Elizabeth  has been having allergies for as long as I can remember. Her triggers could be dust, cold air, food or at times unknown causes. Throughout her childhood, I used to force her drink cod liver oil. It did reduce her common colds. Then at one point when she was about eight, I bought spirulina powder imported by my cousin's good friend. I used to spend hours filling in capsules for her easy swallowing. That helped for a few years until she kept putting on weight. After taking her off spirulina for a few months, her allergies returned. You may be laughing at me by now, why not buy capsules in the first place? The reason is that pharmacy capsules don't work. I guess it has to do with the purity of the content. Shortly after we stopped spirulina, the supplier migrated to another country, ending my first workable solution.

A month back she switched food supplements. Since then she found herself going through healing crisis. Her allergies came on more frequently. She had mild rashes now and then. From past experience we know that this is a necessary stage before she will improve. After reading through more information, she decided to go through the detox. In five days, she will replace her daily three meals with liquid meal replacement. In between the liquid meals, she will take snacks of raw fruits and vegetables. In the process of this regiment, she will probably lose some weight. Looking at the BMI, she does not need to lose any weight.

On November 1, her first day of detox, she had diarrhea. Today is Nov 2, she had blocked nose in the morning, loose stool when she visits the little room, and runny nose in the evening.

- to be continued -

(251) Detox 2 / Upbringing 28

Detox - part 2  (continue from upbringing 27)

On Nov 3 In the morning Elizabeth had slight stomach upset for a few minutes right before bowel motion. From morning to night she had intervals of light-headedness and mild headache, especially in between her liquid meals and snacks of fruit or raw vegetable. She had intermittent gas discharge.
When she stayed still for long, there was numbness in her limbs. On her neck she had patches of itchiness.

On Nov 4 there was numbness and sneezing in the morning.

On Nov 5 there were loose stools (one bowel movement) and the tendency to feel numb if her limbs stay still.

Here I repeat her goal of undergoing this detoxification program is not to lose weight. But inadvertently a person who follow all the rules would lose some weight. Elizabeth is slim and reasonably healthy. She lost 2 kilograms within the five day meal replacement program.


Now she has moved to phase two of the program: to replace two meals with liquid meal replacement. The third meal is to be made up of low glyceamic index food and lots of vege and fruits. Since phase 2 is in progess, I would record it in another post.

Please direct  queries to ramblingsofadyslexic@gmail.com

(250) Virginia Garden / Interesting bldg 6

It is such a lush and colourful garden. The house may be a plain board house, but the garden makes it a five-star cottage.

See how the lilies of the field grow.They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even  Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. Mt 6:28

Virginia-garden-cottage-m.jpg from southernliving.com

(247) God our helper / Prayers 22

- God is a present help in trouble. -

My friend Ruby went to Vietnam as a missionary. She heard a direct call from God and obeyed by faith. After she took out just about all the spare cash from her bank and brought along all the love gifts given from those near and dear to her, which was just enough for about half a year's expenses, she simply trusted that somehow God will supply the rest.

Here I will record one particular incident of extra ordinary providence. Right after she collected her air-ticket to return to her home country (after one year in the field), she went to apply for a returning permit. She was very low in cash. In order to keep her bank account in Vietnam active, she could not take out everything she has. Here she was in a catch twenty two situation. Should she return to her home without the permit, she would have difficulty reentering. But how was she going to find enough money to obtain that important piece of document? Whispering a quick prayer to commit the entire situation to God, she took the crowded public transport back to the missionary base.

When she entered her base, the administrator handed her a tissue paper wrapped item to her. When she asked what it was, the latter said probably money. It is common that the giver wishes to remain anonymous. Therefore the latter merely said, "Don't ask me who gave you this. I cannot reveal the name." After thanking the 'post man', Ruby mounted the stairs to her second floor bedroom. After she closed the door and sat on her bed, she opened the tissue and counted the money. It was the exact amount she needed plus the transportation cost to go to town to get the permit. She was so overwhelmed that she knelt down and cried for quite a while.

When she related the incident to me, it was Chinese New Year. I went for many lavish celebrations that cost far more than what Ruby needed that day. Since I could not ask those generous friends and relatives to give me cash instead, I thought and thought about ideas of fund raising. By March I started a drive to collect all kinds of recyclable items: you name it, I collect it. Newspaper, glass, plastic, metal, aluminium, ... My neighbours, two care groups, church friends, personal friends ... Between March and December my children and I sold slightly above one thousand dollars worth of materials.

(245)God cares for the poor/ Prayer 20

When I was living in a northern small town, I attended a small fellowship group. The leader of the group was good at caring for the needy. Members were spurred into action. I remember buying grocery with my spare cash, pooled together with contributions from others and delivering necessities to a blind person called Aunty Chan.

She was a dressmaker by profession. Her taxi driver husband died a few years back. She was childless. Her best friend's children whom she sacrificially helped to bring up refused to care for her. Sad to say, her so called best friend came back from two decades of working illegally in the United Kingdom and fought with her.

By the time we see that she was surviving on welfare payments and the kindness of neighbours and well wishers, we would expect her to die alone and uncared for. The truth turned out to be the opposite. Her next door neighbour was poor, but they cooked for her when she was ill. When she could no longer clean herself, another neighbour who is childless came to her aid. She actually was surrounded with these neighbours while she breathed her last.

 * melbourne-international-flower-and- from forvogue.com

(241) Eva/ Prayers 17

Imagine a woman in her seventies, poor in eye sight and slow in movement, who still cared for the less fortunate ones among us; and you are thinking of Eva. I was privileged to know her and get to see her heart of gold. When I told her about the homeless man who came to beg, she asked enough questions to determine his one need: a pair of proper crutches. She actually went to talk to her charitable friend who promised the funds for the aluminium aide. I knew of a person who was willing to sell a redundant pair. So the two of us went to pick the crutches up. We were afraid of any untoward incident and decided to meet him in front of a shopping centre. She had the presence of mind to bring a screw driver in her hold all. So we found ourselves adjusting the height of the crutches for the poor man. He was in tears by the time the pair of us helped him up with the crutches.

That was not all. When his feet deteriorated and we found out he owed the hospital money, Eva and I went to see the hospital authorities to plead his case. We were referred to the state social welfare office. The kind officer gave us a letter which canceled his debt after the initial investigation. Can you see a more unlikely threesome? Eva with her orange coloured hair and electric pink dress. Me in my somber wall flower attire. And the homeless man in his rags. Eva drove her trusty little car to my house, I took over and drove to the nearest bus stop. We then took a bus to town and got down in front of the shopping centre. Three of us actually walked and limped quite a distance to that office. You see, we want to help him but we don't trust him to let him into our car. Subsequently he was put on probationary roll for a monthly allowance. Within six months officers visited all his known siblings to gather his case history. Before a year was up he was put on permanent roll for disability welfare stipend. When the officers learned that he had a motor cycle license, they put him on the waiting list for a state provided motor cycle with a side car for handicap folks.


The last time I met him, the homeless man had hope for a better future. He was grateful and told me so. All because Eva, a retired social worker for the blind, did not rest on her laurels. Good work is the other side of the coin of prayer.

*lily pad lotus flower from teachenglishinasia.net

(240) Faith/ Prayers 16

When we pray for something, what do we really expect from god?

If we believe that God is good, that he loves us; then how can he not give us good things?

Yet, sometimes what he gives is not like what we ask for, what then?


My heart ached for a mother who asked for a child, specifically many qualities that her heart desired. Yet the miracle child turned out to be late in development. It is very hard for a not very young mum who knows nothing very much about special children to handle a seemingly difficult child.


It is very easy to say, have faith. Especially for women who have perfectly delightful children with fairly normal childhoods. When things go wrong, too many people seemed to turn experts over night. It could be a very lonely place for the parents involved. How to seek a quiet place to hide in to withstand the storms raging outside? For that matter, it may not be possible to find a quiet physical place at all. One may need to create a quiet corner inside. Yes, finding the eye of the hurricane within one's soul.

* animal 101 from media.bigoo.ws

(235) Chocolate Dream / Interes. bldg 2

Isn't this every young child's dream? Not just a cake that looks like a house, but a real sized abode that is made up of edible chocolate and cream!

Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Ps 34:8

gingerbread house.jpg from blogs.urbanbaby.com

(231) Dementia

Over the week end I met my husband's former colleague's parents. Mr. and Mrs. Tan are retirees. While their daughter and family went for a package tour, they came to house sit to look after the family pet dog. In fact I blogged about their remarkable grand daughter in my no 2 post many months ago.

Mr. Tan is a healthy and hardy seventy-six year old. He was a former sportsman and a retired military personnel. Mrs Tan was diagnosed with dementia at age seventy two. By the time I met her, she was in the final stage. She no longer knows her own name. Neither could she write any number or letters. It was fortunate that she has a good pension as she used to hold a high post in the government. Her husband is her sole care-giver. She is totally dependent on him day and night. A year back, her children paid and gotten a full-time foreign maid to help care for her. She was suspicious of another woman staying in her domain and was very jealous of the time and attention her husband spent in training the maid. Day and night she fought to send the maid away. In the end, they took the maid to another family just to restore peace.

It is not easy to care for a fully grown adult with the mental capacity of a three year old. Once Mrs Tan wander off in a shopping centre and was lost for more than five hours. When the police located her, she was miles away in another commercial centre trying to open the car doors of every single car parked along the street. In addition to that, she was petrified with hands involuntarily shaking and she had soiled herself. Her husband had made sure she wore a stainless steel wrist band with his hand phone number engraved on it. Despite the fact that she was scared, she did not know how to ask for help. Mrs Tan is physically fit and may have the normal life span up to the average expectation of eighty odd years. As a result of the stress of caring for her, Mr Tan had accepted that he might lose six to eight years of his own life expectancy.

Here is the lives of a happily married couple adversely affected by disease. As in the marriage vow of  dwelling with each other through sickness and health, this is the flip side of the coin. Mr. Tan has passed the test with flying colours. He still takes his wife overseas twice a year because dementia did not take away her enjoyment in sight-seeing and trying new food. Mrs Tan is indeed a very blessed woman.

There is no cure once dementia sets in. One can only monitor, treat the symptoms and delay the process of worsening. Not much is proven about the cause of dementia. We are almost dealing with a black box.

(229) Psychotic/ Depression 6

- Depression varies from mild to severe, chronic or even psychotic disorder. -

Psychosis

While I was living in Silver city, I had a neighbour who was a psychotic case. We will call him Ding. He was in his forties when I moved in. Every afternoon, as I busy myself washing vegetables and getting ready to cook dinner, he would walk  up and down the back street and talk to himself.

As I settled in the area, I went to his mother's for a cooking demonstration. There I learned that his father was in his eighties. His mum was a sprightly seventy two. The gutsy old lady would drive Ding to a mental hospital 40 miles away to get his monthly jab. Ding's elder brother holds a Ph.d. and has tenure in a famous university in UK. Ding's younger sister married her Australian classmate and resides down under.

It seemed that Ding was very bright. He had wanted to be a medical doctor since he was little. Somehow his missed his first choice by two marks. No matter how his family or friends comforted him, he insisted on repeating his pre-u. Sad to say he missed again by a wider margin on second try. From then on, he deteriorated and had not recovered despite constant monitoring and treatment.

To me, it was such a waste! Ding was still good looking when he was approaching his late forties. He was not violent. On a good day he could carry on a normal conversation with me. If he had given up his first choice, he could have studied dentistry instead all those years ago.

Anyway, God was merciful to this family. In his early fifties, Ding was diagnosed with liver cancer. He knew that his parents had prayed for years that they would live long enough to care for him until Ding breathed his last. Within a year of the diagnosis, Ding died in his childhood home with his parents and a nurse in attendance. He was wise to insist he would receive no treatment. He passed into the next world with dignity and little suffering. His dad followed him two months later. The old lady packed up and sold her house to shuttle between UK and Australia.

(227) Mirror / L. Disabilities 15

                                              Learning disability      
-- This is a rewrite of Learning disability 1 - mirror --

A few months before my daughter started Year One, we moved into the suburb of Silver Spring. There I met a neighbour whose eldest child, Cassandra, was registered to enter the same school mine was going to join. Cassandra's mum readily agreed to fetch my daughter to and from school. In exchange for that, I offered to sit with and help the two girls do homework two nights a week.

Early on in that school year, as I walked out to chat with my neighbour as she dropped my daughter, Cassandra was weeping in the car. Later that evening I found Cassandra was distressed over having to bring some money to school the next day. She was supposed to pay her homeroom teacher something like twelve dollars and fifty cents and then use the remainder to purchase a few items from the book shop.

Instead of doing homework that night, I actually encouraged Cassandra and work out a way for her to carry out the errand with some help from my daughter. We role-played the two scenes, first with myself as the homeroom teacher and my daughter as Cassandra paying fee. Next with my son as the book shop assistant and  my daughter as Cassandra buying things. After that, we wrote down what Cassandra had to say, we helped her in rehearsing the two scenes a few times. The following day Cassandra was able to carry out what we taught her with a little assistance from my daughter.

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Fast forward twelve years. I was listening to a new friend, Cathy, telling me how she had "freeze", and as a result either refuse the purchase of a necessity or end up buying something  she had no earthly use of when faced with a fast talking salesman. I was really half listening to her. The other half  of my mind was running a search and match routine... Her distress was very familiar... I have seen that before... Ah! I have seen that in Cassandra that fateful evening in the car.

Could it be that my friend was like Cassandra, but she didn't overcome her minor learning difficulty in her childhood? Therefore as a grown woman, she was having problems handling a complex procedure involving multi-step decisions and negotiation?

Let us swing back to Cassandra. That little girl was a really smart child. Yet a little learning difficulty could drive her to tears. She dreaded facing two adults, having to handle money and dealing with time limit (with recess lasting twenty minutes).

* Post one was written more than a year back. Comparing the two versions, I took Elizabeth's advice to keep both so you would see the diamond from two facets.

* coral clock 3d screensaver-45155 from brothersoft.com