Audiobooks, Anniversary, Au Revoir, Ailments

Hello beautiful people in Blogland. 

I have been away from here for so long. Not because there isn't anything to write about, but because I've been so busy. 

CG1 is going back to visit her family for a month next week, so I've been helping with organising the tickets, the admin stuff (like re-entry permits, insurance for renewing employment permits, etc etc) and I've also been the one in charge of planning the last two trips to Kuching and Malacca so I have found myself in a heap of admin recently. 

Also, and perhaps the bigger reason why I haven't written as much, is because I have been hooked to my raunchy audiobooks. The Uptown Girls series is what I'm listening to right now. And there are plenty more such *ahem* "romantic" novels. I AM fussy about the narrator tho and will only listen to the ones read by Justine Eyre. 

That aside, we celebrated our 13th year at the beginning of this month. I can't believe what started out as a sorta kinda flingy thing has ended up the longest relationship of my life. It's not been without its fair share of fights and stressors, he's the stressor, then we fight. LOL 

Most recently we had another long discussion about the difference in the flow of information between us. I tell him everything and he tells me nothing. Why? We've worked out that it's a psychological, childhood trauma thing (he doesn't think anything he has to say will be a thing I would want to know... clearly he's no stranger to self-deprecating thinking), and after hashing it out over and over in various different permutations over the years, and most recently because I refused to just let it go and sweep it under the carpet and leave things alone (do we NEED more cliches?), I said we need to deal with this and find a solution or else it's going to be hanging over me like a storm cloud and I'll resent him for it as we move through the months to come. 

If I wanna know stuff, I could keep asking. But I wouldn't know what I don't know. Most recent example, the boys' trip to HK for the rugby 7s I thought he was going on ended up being a bunch of people, some he didn't know, two he met once, and his best friend, going to HK separately and with various combos of family (wife, solo, wife+kids... etc) and the guys (and on the last day, also the wives, maybe one maybe two... who knew?) would meet up at the games on the 3 days. How is that a boys' trip?

I mean, if it's a boys' trip I assumed the 4 of them would travel there together and share rooms or at least room in the same hotel.  Not be a total bunch of upwards of 10 people, all travelling on their own, with no "together" involvement except for meeting up at the games and eating before and after - and in different combinations of who's eating and who's not at that. Cos not everyone had meals together. They just came and went as it suited each of them.

So in that case, how am I to know to ask "Are the wives going, are the kids going, are you travelling together, are you rooming with Joe..." ? There are some things that I'm allowed to assume when I hear "Boys' trip to HK for the Rugby 7s", no? Why would I ask if the wives are going, if it's a boys' trip? Cos I imagine MY response to such a question would be "I said it was a BOYS' TRIP... why would the wives be going?" Evidently this is not the case when a guy says "boys' trip". 

I COULD just ask a bunch of questions everyday. What you doing? Where you at? What plans for the day? Saw anything? Ate yet? Anything exciting happening at work? Any accidents on the road? Any medical issues I should know about that suddenly happened today? I mean, it's bluddy ridiculous. I would resent it. He would resent the questioning. And I would get tired and bored.

OR. I could just ignore everything and take an "I'll just accept what you wanna tell me when you wanna tell me" approach. In the meantime I would ask myself why I was being so stupid and needy and clingy and telling you everything that's going on in my day when you clearly do not share the same level of communication. I would resent it, and curtail the information flow. And then we would have the same relationship you have with your wife. Don't ask don't tell, yes? 

It would be the end of us. I'm certain. 

Anyway. After a frustrating evening of going round and round in circles (see conversation below) the man had an epiphany. And was also overcome with a stroke of brilliance - he said (before sharing said epiphany with me) "And with this I feel like I'm going to talk myself right into a spot". Which he really did. 

Me - Why do I tell you stuff? Why do I inform you of this and that? 

Him - Because it's exciting to you and you want me to know.

Me - Ok, how is it exciting to tell you my friend wants to borrow money. Plus, it doesn't concern you, it doesn't make a difference to your life, it doesn't affect you at all. And still I tell you. Do you want to know such things? Should I not bother to tell you this kind of stuff? 

Him - No, I like hearing this stuff. 

Me - And I like hearing YOUR stuff.

Him - But I don't have interesting stuff to tell you... my day is boring and mundane. 

Me - And my friend wanting to borrow money is interesting how? Saying "I'm on my way back from work" is interesting how? Telling you all the things I tell you .. isn't it mundane too? 

** this is the part where he had his epiphany and said what he said about talking himself into a spot**

Him - It's not mundane because it pertains to YOU and what is pertinent to YOU or affects YOU or bothers YOU or involves YOU matters to ME. Cos it's YOU. 

Me - Tada! Now do you get it? 

He says he did. He looked really uncomfortable lying on my bed and staring at the ceiling, and I could see the gears turning in his brain. 

Well then, let's see. 

At least we got that sorted somewhat... before moving ahead into the next year. I'm not saying it's going to be all hunky dory now, but at least he's figured THAT one out. I'm sure there will be other blocks. It's not going to be a fix all. But I'm nothing if not tenacious and if I have to chip away at his traumas one psychological barrier at a time, then so be it. 

Bring it on! 

Haven't invested 13 years only to give up now... 

And speaking of anniversary, he got me another silver coin - 

It's so pretty! I bought him a kazoo. LOL. It hasn't arrived. But I can't wait for him get his hands on it and make all sorts of noise! 

In personal medical news - I've changed my HRT to tibolone. It's a drug that when metabolised by the body produces the hormones I need. Don't ask me how it works. I can't fathom it myself. But it's supposed to be better than the previous one I was taking. Best of all - no withdrawal bleed. But it's early days yet... I've only started taking it this week. Hopefully the aches and pains I get during the 'low dose' week on the triphasic pills won't be as pronounced. 

Speaking of hormones, I've been to see my physiotherapist cos my shoulder pain is getting more annoying. And I'm freezing up. Apparently there is a term for it in Chinese he says - the 50s Shoulder. Seems the changes in hormone levels affects the shoulder (specifically the shoulder joint, he doesn't know why, but it does) in some women and a LOT of women in this age group end up with a frozen shoulder. Yup. It's an 18-mth curse on average, sometimes shorter in some people, consisting of 4 phases. We all suspect (by we I mean me, my boss-cum-GP and physiotherapist) that I'm in phase 2. It started presenting in November, so at an average of 3 months per phase, I'm in the Freezing stage. 

The good news is that once it's actually in the Frozen stage, there is less pain, just stiffness and limited mobility. I can't wait for this shit to be done with. 

In travel news, if all goes to plan, I'll be hopping into Kuala Lumpur with BIKSS on the 15th of April cos he has a worktrip coming up. Fingers are crossed.

And now I will sleep. Here are some pics from the last month.. 

Lunch at an unexpected Vietnamese restaurant while waiting for my physio appt

Tonight's Peranakan Dinner Buffet

Melaka / Malacca last weekend

A simple explanation of where my people come from - Melaka is the birthplace of my great great great Granddad. I think. I can't remember how many "greats" there are. And it's too late in the evening and I'm too lazy to dig out the books to check. But yeah, that's where we come from originally.

The Melaka River (and a hotel on the other side... Casa del rio I think it's called)

Enjoying a Peranakan Lunch

Clockwise from left :

Bak wan kepiting

Nangka lemak

Beef rendang

Cincaluk ulam

Babi tohay

Center : ngoh hiang with cili cuka

My own version of nangka lemak which BIKSS tried today - 

Young jackfruit in a coconut milk gravy, with prawns

on the river cruise

 

And that's all for now... I shall come back with MORE news! 

Silver and Gold, Things New and Old

 

My first ever silver coin. Given to my by BIKSS for my birthday. It's really pretty.

BIKSS' first silver coin - given him by me for HIS birthday. (And I got myself one too.)

And also, this 2024 Kookaburra coin. Because I wanted the changeover coins. 

BIKSS has also picked up some more gold coins. Another Canadian Maple for each of us and some other bars for himself. 

There's an ongoing Gold Magnet joke between us at the moment.

And it's happening! 

We're flying to Vietnam today. Again. This time to Hue (Central VN) and then to spend a day back in HCMC before coming home. Where we have already made reservations for our favourite pizza place for lunch once we arrive there on Wednesday. 

And I found some new restaurants near the place we're staying so we might pop in. Altho I don't know how we'll find that many mealtimes with being there only one afternoon and overnight. I said even if we eat 3 hourly that's just 3, 5 and 8pm. BIKSS pointed out there's 11pm too... supper?

And I intend to buy a bag of Marou chocolates for friends and colleagues. And cashews! I will take photos! 

The plan in Hue is to visit the LaVang Basilica, Cathedral, 2 churches and a Monastery. AND find a driver who will take us to all the 7 royal tombs! 

BIKSS is organising a cruise for us with Hue Cakes and Tea down the Perfume River and then we'll probably spend a day around the Historic Citadel and Palaces. There will be markets and night walking streets to explore too.  

I'm excited and eager to get going. But here are some pics of the last month. 

Took a mini vacay on the first 2 days of CNY - there was a lion dance troupe at our hotel.

Also caught this diabolo act at the mall!

(Some of my) loot - Grey knit top, navy striped tee, black pants, grey pants. Because I'm worth it.

BIKSS took me to dinner for my birthday, a French place we enjoy but don't go to very often

(Burrata + salad + fried shallots /mushroom croquette /grilled veggie salad /grilled fish, salsa, mash)

And that's that for now. See you when I get back! 

My Year of Black and Gold and Going Places

We're planning a trip to visit the Shrine of Our Lady of La Vang, about 58km west of Hue, Vietnam. If everything goes according to plan, it'll be happening second week of Feb. We plan to get back into Ho Chi Minh a day before the trip ends so that we can shop a bit at our favourite markets there.

If everything continues to go to plan I might tag along with BIKSS to Thailand when he heads there in March for another work trip! Looking forward to visiting the Cath Kidston Teahouse again! Mmmm such delicious scones! But that's a ways away yet.

My current obsession is gold. And since I've always loved earrings, I figured if I'm going to spend money on shiny ear ornaments, may as well make 'em gold. At least they'll be worth something when I'm old and grey. The result of my quest for sparkly baubles is two pairs of earrings, one an 18k mixed yellow and white gold pair off Etsy, and the other a 24k yellow gold teardrop from a reputable jewellery chain where I live. 

On the actual gold front, I've also been wanting to get a 5g bar of investment gold, but was planning on waiting for some of my cash deposits to mature mid-Jan before doing so. 

However BIKSS reminded me that the last time Trump took office gold prices jumped. And advises against waiting too long. 

He has recently become interested in gold as well, so we went to my bullion shop of choice last week for him to pick up a bar. And then he bought me one by way of a Christmas present! I love it!

Anyway, he's going to spot me some dough before it's too late, so that we can buy more this Friday. And when my funds come rolling into my bank I'll return him the moola. With time deposit interest rates dropping 30% I've decided to take a larger than previosly intended portion of that cash out of the bank and put it into a Canadian Mint Maple Leaf coin. And before you tell me that coins cost more than bars, this one is only 1.9% over spot, making it cheaper than all the other options right now because, like every retailer in the world, my bullion trader is not unaware that they, too, need to dangle promotional prices in front of their clientele to entice people to buy more stuff.

Since I looked at prices 3 days ago it's already gone up a little bit. I only hope it won't hike up too much before we manage to get our pieces on Friday.

The other thing I've decided to do is just forget about all that fashion advice I've been hearing about re: stepping out of your comfort zone and trying out colours in your palette etc. I know I'm comfortable enough with some of the more neutral offerings in my autumn palette, but dammit, I've found myself staring at the wardrobe in the mornings more times than I would like, holding out a top and thinking why didn't I get this in black instead! I have since remedied that. These are some of my latest adds.

1. Flare fit V-neck top. Had it in White & Forest Green. And now I have it in Black.

2. Sleeveless V-neck top. Had it in Dusty Blue & Olive Green. And now I have it in Black. 

3. Knit top. Had it in Beige. And now I have it in Black.

4. Cotton tank. Had it in Camel. And now I have it in Black. 

Plus 2 bonus tops not previously owned in a different colour. 

A very decent one that I could wear for work, or to more conservative events... 

and another for fun date nights! 

Oh, and because I've always thought knits look just a little bit more dressy, I got me two knit tops. Not in black. Cos they didn't have THIS one in black.

And cos this one looked better in the beige.

I've also been on the lookout for a leopard bag, so I picked this up for 1/3 the original price on sale!

And because I don't have a pair of actual button up long black trousers, I got myself a pair. 

And those were my 10 pieces for under a hundred bucks. I think it might be something like 60-70 USD for the lot. Not a bad haul, I must say. It should last me the whole year. I don't intend to spend money on clothes and bags and skincare/makeup this year. Unless ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. I just have way a lot of this shit and I don't really need more. 

UNLESS I'm on holiday. That's the only caveat. In my defence, I only buy stuff when I'm on holiday if it's terribly cheaper than back home, or if it can't be got back home. And those are pretty good reasons imo. 

And so begins my 2025. 

I shall be baking like there's no tomorrow come mid-Jan as the Lunar New Year (or Chinese New Year aka CNY) comes earlier than usual (end Jan iso Feb) this year. 

I will be having the traditional reunion dinner with the sister's family in their house this year, instead of here where mum was. Then on the first 2 days of CNY (national holidays) I'm going for a little R n R with CG1 to Malaysia! Just chillin', hangin', and not doing anythin'.  Being my first CNY without mum, I didn't think I should be sitting home and staring at the walls, as we will be without the usual stream of visitors since there's no more matriach in attendance for the family to visit / pay respects to. Instead I will be hosting a family lunch on the 4th day of CNY. 

Am I excited about the year to come? Yes. I can't explain it, but it feels like I'm on the cusp of something solid. Something true. Something that feels like a "let's go!" instead of a "just keep swimming." 

Perhaps because this is the first time, in a long time, I'm not stepping into a new year wondering if this will be dad's / mum's last. 

School-Girly Me (aka P is for Pain, Passing, Purchases, Peelable Polish, Parcels and Presents)

Before you get excited about the school girl in the title, it's not what you think. 

1) As a child I used to have tummy aches from anxiety around exam season. Recently I've been dealing with tummy aches again, like bloat, or indigestion or something. Not sure what it is but for now it's neither my appendix nor my gallbladder.  Which is good, at least. We're treating with Famotidine twice a day and keeping a food diary. It seems to be about 75% successful at keeping the pain away. We'll give it 2 weeks and see how that goes.

2) I'm also back to school. Or rather, I got back to my course and am now done with it. I've finished my final assessment and am now certified in "Lifestyle Medicine - Improving the future of health care". Let's see how much I can impact that future LOL. 

3) The girly thing I am referring to, is the fact that I've recently become obsessed with beauty Advent Calendars. They're not out yet where I live, altho I did manage to get hold of the W7 Beauty Box from Amazon. I've linked the one from Superdrug in the UK cos that's where I first saw it, and I would take a photo of it for you except it hasn't arrived yet. I've seen a few unboxing videos on Youtube from the UK stores already, so maybe you guys are just ahead of the rest of us over there.

4) What HAS arrived is last year's Sephora 24-day Advent Calendar which I bought at 50% off because, well, it's last year's! I haven't unboxed it yet tho, which surprises even me because I WAS looking forward to doing that before I left for music school this afternoon - it arrived as I was leaving the house! And that's all I was looking forward to coming home to, really.

5) Instead, what I found in my mailbox when I got home was even more tempting - a set of water-based, peelable nail polish. I wanted to see if it really was as quick-drying and convenient as the influencers say. So far, drying time is brilliant. It does smudge a bit (water based after all) if you go to do the dishes within 15 mins of putting it on, but then because #Chemistry, somehow the rough smudged bits just sorta smoothened themselves out as my nails dried. Dissolved into a lovely shiny layer! (They say don't let it get into water for 4 hours.... I supposed the best thing is to paint them then go to bed?)

Here's a video... the shine was totally a surprise to me. I wasn't expecting it to be glossy or shiny at all.

6) Now little girls love presents and I'm no different. Especially when they're pressies I like! 

BIKSS was in London recently (and we're planning a trip there next year!) and came back with some delightful treats for me - 

Mini Paddington Tote. Love it!

Self-explanatory box

The rose/orchid was a little bit sus. We gave that one away. The other two were fine. I'm also very surprised that the one with Jasmine didn't make me feel ill. I can't smell it at all, in fact. There are two oils I don't agree with - Jasmine and Wintergreen. They make me throw up. I shall pray I never need Deep Heat or Counterpain rub in my old(er) age.

Knowing my penchant for shortbread, BIKSS got me this box. I was so looking forward to it, till I put one in my mouth and bit down. It was hard, and tasted like orange. That is NOT shortbread. Still, a bikkie is a bikkie. But now I have tasked him with getting me some REAL shortbread fingers from Marks & Sparks.

Another Paddington treasure. He went on the fridge as soon as I got him.

That's all for today's letter P round up. Oh and P is also for Paddington innit??

I shall leave you with this pic that BIKSS sent me earlier. Seen on socials.

 

Backlog 2 - Precious Metals, and Feasting

Some time ago I nagged BIKSS about being complacent about our relationship. Soon after that he took me out to dinner. It was a prawn head stock claypot hotpot affair that was absolutely delicious. 

(Look away if you're triggered by whole prawns!)

In more news about jewellery and in this case, precious metals, I went to a trader a couple of weeks ago and sold off some silver that I had lying around - a commemorative airline ingot and a Canadian Maple Leaf pure silver coin. Then I picked up a gram of pure gold (as an investment, you know?) but not for myself. I got it as a gift for CG1 cos she's been so spectacular and has never asked for a raise or for an advance or anything of the sort. She'd always gone above and beyond her duties and loved me and mum as if we were her own family. And I was never able to give her a proper "bonus" as it were. 

Anyway, all that walking around the precious metal dealership and feeling like a million bucks (it really was a totally new experience for both BIKSS and myself) with the plush carpets and hushed tones and soothing lights and personal attendant ready to answer every question about ANYTHING did quite a number on our bellies, so we went and continued EATING like millionaires. Beef wellingtons are expensive here. But what the hey. As a good friend of mine likes to say, fake it till you make it! And I suppose sometimes it works out better than you expect! 

That was almost 50 bucks.

Scallops are also not the cheapest thing in where-I-live

Of course we would have a salad!

And since we were spending so much money already, let's just go all the way with a chocolate eclair and this awesome bomb of chocolate decadence!

Of course we couldn't finish all that chocolate so I took some home with me  :)

Right, I'm hoping that by the time you read this I would have gotten my hands on some wellness products that I ordered when I was still at home (last week) and gotten delivered to the hotel where we're staying. They don't ship to where-I-live so I arranged for them to send it to me here. 

I've also hopefully had their product sponsored afternoon tea with BIKSS at the Sofitel Hotel (and I hope it was lovely lol), as well as a Ritz Carlton afternoon tea which looked lovely on the website. 

It's so challenging writing a post to be scheduled in the future talking about something that has happened in the post's past but is yet to happen while I'm actually writing it! It's fabulous. 

Alright then, on with the vacation! 

Physio, Audio and Sciatica

So my audiology test went great. The doctor says no deterioration. There IS some level of hearing loss but it has remained stable over the last 3 years... so that's GOOD! I don't have to see him again till Jan 2026! 

Meanwhile BIKSS discovered at physio that he can't straighten his right leg lol. He just never noticed that after the meniscus injury he kept compensating with the other leg and never worked to recover full range of motion in the bad leg. 

It's a bit too late now that the joint has healed in the fashion it's healed in. Ah well. He's not too bothered. He joked that the physio took his pants down while he was lying on the massage table. When I pulled his pants off that night he said "You're the second person (not counting me) to remove my pants today". Tsk. Well I bet HE didn't give you a blow job did he? HAHAHAHA

(Um he'd better not have.) 

Ahem. 

These few days with the impending CNY holiday (this weekend!) I've been cleaning (and baking) and my back has been acting up because of it. Additionally today I felt the annoying pains of sciatica attacking my butt and hip and back of leg as I got up to go to work. Gah. Just what I need right now. Never mind. Boswellia to the rescue! 

I'm also pretty certain it's because I'm stressed (and pissed) at my boss. Long story short - he mentioned that he could hear me hollering at my colleague and more and more these days it seems. I said that's because if I don't stop her from making mistakes she's going to fuck up. As it is I made a mistake on a lab form (nothing major thank goodness) because I'm constantly keeping one eye and one ear on her. How is anyone supposed get any proper work done when they're constantly monitoring someone else?!

Anyway today I popped a St John's Wort cap and went to work bright and early. Transferred some templates to the back station lappy (where the colleague usually sits) and parked myself in the front. Where the registration happens. I've decided that instead of the fluid whoever's-available-do-the-next-thing system we've been using I'm marking out clear and distinct boundaries so that I shall just do my own shit and she can do her own shit and stop watching her and correcting her. If she fucks up then she fixes it. If she doesn't know how then she can make it the boss's problem. 

As Betty says, he doesn't FEEL the pain cos he never has to deal with the backlash of her mess-ups. I've always either prevented the problems or fixed them for her. I'm done. If he wants me to holler at her less, then I'm gonna holler less. Or not at all. 

It aint my problem anymore. 

Grrrr. 

Ok so now that that's out of the way - here's a plate of Indian skewered roast meats we had for dinner the last time we went out - he was away last week, is back this week, and will be away again next week. I'm not happy about it. But I suppose I'll have loads of time to catch up on my course, since I did absolutlely nothing last week (and probably this coming week too) with all the CNY prep.

Today's chips -  a friend came in from Perth (by way of Bali) and brought me some awesome snacks from Australia. Specifically I asked for two of the Chef Series flavours (can't get them here) but he added this one cos it's his wife's favourite and she wanted me to try 'em! I haven't yet... but I'm sure it's delish. Especially since I love cheese!

All the Food and Gifts from Portugal

Forgive me readers.. it has been 10 days since my last entry. 

Mostly I've been lazy. But also my brain is tired all the time from dealing with the incompetence of caregiver #2. We have been scrambling to find a replacement asap. I managed to get in touch with a friend's ex-caregiver who took care of her mum during the last 3 years of her life as she succumbed to dementia too. We're getting the paperwork started as soon as she clears her medical in her home country. 

Which, hopefully, will be TOMORROW! Fingers crossed that she's fit for overseas deployment. 

Meanwhile, the new washing machine is great. For some reason I can actually smell the soap on my clothes with this washer. I don't know if that's a good thing or not. But it smells good. At the end of the cycle everything is also drier than in the old machine. So it's cut my dryer time by 30 mins! 

I realise that since I've been so busy trying to get the Thailand fotos up on the blog, I've not posted any of the OTHER food pics from our date nights. So you're gonna get them all at one go. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

NUMBER 1 - We (well, I) apparently couldn't get enough of Thai cuisine following the recent holiday so we went and had MORE Thai food when we came back. 

Dinner at a place we've eaten at before, but this time we decided to try stuff we've never tried. 

Crab Tanghoon in claypot - crab good. tanghoon good. chinese parseley, not so much.

Sour spicy coconut milk and seafood soup. Interesting. Rich. Thick. I would eat this again.

Stir fried kangkong. Deceptively spicy. Didn't look it. Sure was tho.

NUMBER 2 - One hot clammy evening, BIKSS' car decided it didn't want to start. So it (and we) were stuck in the basement carpark of a nearby mall. Well, the car was. So that's where we went. He was on the fone with a million people trying to see to a tow truck etc... so I decided to hop into a Vietnamese place we were familiar with. 

It's kinda weird. Every time we eat there we agree it's really delicious. But we never actually REMEMBER to go back there when we have a craving. It's only ever by chance that we dine there again and we say to each other each time that it's a good place to go for Vietnamese food. It's as if our memories get wiped when we leave the restaurant LOL. These are their fried spring rolls. Veggie ones I think. I can't quite remember ... hur hur hur. 

Bun Thit Hue Nuong - Rice vermicelli, grilled pork, fried spring rolls with a very delicious sweet and sour sauce that we got an extra serving of and poured over the whole thing! It's basically Bun Cha without the meatballs.

Grilled something. Maybe more pork. 

Banh Flan - Vietnamese coffee and caramel flan

NUMBER 3 - This Russian restaurant run by Hainanese cooks (don't ask me... I have no clue how THAT came about) has been around for decades. It's pricey, but kind of  an "old school" restaurant. Dark, quiet, with a little murmuring of conversation that never quite goes above an acceptable "polite" volume. I loved it. The food, well.. it was interesting... I'll give them that. It was the first time there for both of us. I'm glad we got to try it together.

Borshch -

A hearty classic Russian broth with Angus beef brisket, slow cooked to perfection

Blinis Caviar -

Homemade Russian pancakes served with caviar and créme fraiche

SHASHLIK of BEEF - 

The menu states "Our Shashliks are traditionally served without sauce as the meats are specially marinated, please request for sauce if you need any."

So we ate ours with the pickles and veggies that came with it. I don't usually eat heavily seasoned food anyway, so this was exactly like eating at home! I've been known to eat unseasoned and unsauced food. 

Baked Alaska -

Wellington of ice cream, sponge cake and meringue, flambéed with dark rum

Here's a video - 

NUMBER 4 - Afternoon tea at a mid-range hotel coffeehouse with an Asian twist! Turned out their savouries were good. Their sweets, not so much. This was part of the afternoon we spent together before he left for his work trip to Portugal. And also the day I bought my new washing machine.

Laksa in a jar

Fried "carrot" cake aka radish cake aka chai tow kway. The reason some people call it carrot cake is because daikon or radish (which is the main ingredient in this savoury dish) is known in Chinese as 'white carrot'. Hence, fried carrot cake.

Not great mini burgers and not great 'pie tee' either.

An assortment of cakes and things. Top shelf, meh. Bottom shelf - quite delicious.

Satay in a jar

NUMBER 5 - After shopping for the washing machine we went to a pizza place by the marina. We'd never eaten there before so decided to try it. I ate half a pizza. And the meatballs. And the veggies. And I finished everything in no time at all! I must have been really hungry or really stressed. I have been known to get very very hungry and eat-y when I've been working my brain. And I had definitely been working my brain with the caregiver issues and the washing machine issues recently.

A half and half pizza, grilled veggies, and (below) meatballs in gravy.

NUMBER 6 - The post-worktrip dinner. We went to a mall that houses a few Thai restaurants and a Thai supermarket, cos I wanted to have a look at the offerings. We didn't make it to the supermarket... so I think we'll go tomorrow instead. 

Stir fried veggies - GOOD

Grilled pork skewers - also GOOD

Seafood curry fry up. I enjoyed this one tremendously. 

BIKSS looked at the all-orange mass on the plate and announced "that's not going to photo well". 

I agreed. This was the best I could do. 

.... and now.... PRESENT TIME!

BIKSS was in Portugal for a work thing. And since I couldn't come with, I did the next best thing. I googled "Best souvenirs from Lisbon" and gave him a shopping list - The Rooster of Barcelos was one of the items on that list.

From the www :

In Portugal, the rooster is a symbol of faith, good luck and justice based on the legend of the "Old Cock of Barcelos". The legend tells a story about a pilgrim traveling through Spain who is accused of stealing silver from a landowner, and is sentenced to death by hanging.

To plead his innocence, he begs the judge to reverse his sentence. The judge was about to tuck into a roasted cockerel, when the pilgrim vowed that as proof of his innocence the cockerel will stand up on his plate and crow.

The judge pushed aside his meal and laughed. As the pilgrim was about to be hung, the cockerel miraculously stood up and crowed. Leaving the judge in disbelief, he then hurried to the gallows to free the innocent man.

Many years later, the pilgrim returned to Barcelos to carve a statue of the cockerel, where the legend and symbolism lives on til this day.

Also, a dozen Portuguese egg tarts. These were HIS suggestion, not an item on my list. They're a LOT sweeter than the ones that are sold in where-I-live, and a fair bit "stickier" too. Still, it's good eating. He asked if I wanted 6 or 12. Of course I said 12. 

I collect magnets. So I had it on my list. Along with a picture of a clay magnet with the Lisbon tram on it so he would know exactly what to look for. He couldn't find any clay ones, but he did get these. I have taken possession of the one on the right. I am still waiting for the one on the left. 

And on top of all that, a surprise - we got in the car and he gave me a present, wrapped in red paper with a bow and everything. (The shop wrapped it for him, he said.) 

It was an Azulejo bracelet - absolutely beautiful, but impossible for me to put on or take off on my own. This requires a second person to work the adjustable bands hahahah. 

And wait, the CHEESES! 

Cured (aged) sheep milk cheese on the left, made in Portugal, and a Very Delicious Camembert - subtle and pungent at the same time. I don't know how else to describe it. I wondered why he would get FRENCH cheese from Portugal, instead of just more Portuegese cheese - turns out it's a lot cheaper there. Less than 2 Euro, he tells me. It'll be about 10 to 12 Euro here for that same size wheel. Cheese is generally expensive in Asia which is why I don't buy a lot of good (or ANY) cheese. But I DO love me my cheeses. And I think I tolerate the 'smelly' cheeses better than most of the people I know. Got that from my Mamma. 

Quick aside - I recently picked up some natural goat cheese at the store cos it was on clearance. (How else am I going to afford it!?!) When I got home I offered some to the caregivers to try - cos they'd never tried it before. BOTH of them immediately made a face and went looking for a beverage to kill the taste. Then popped some candy to try and recover from the "stink" of the cheese. I then turned to mum and popped a little bit from my finger into her mouth. Her eyes widened, she looked at me, and when I offered her more she readily accepted. She had three fingertip-fuls in all. The caregivers looked on in disbelief. 

I am my mother's daughter, I announced.  

I haven't got into the sheep milk cheese yet but I hear it's less pungent than goat cheese. (Also isn't it strange that one is sheep MILK cheese and the other is just GOAT cheese?) I do still have a bunch of other cheese to get through first before I open that one up. 

Right. And now I have to go to bed. It's been a long day and this has been a long post. 

Here's the bag of sotong flavour crackers I've been snacking on while putting this post up.