Vesak Day and Other Randomness

Today is Vesak Day, (Buddha's birthday) and is a public holiday. I have wiled away the hours reading blogs and doin' the mess-around with my blog template. When I was at Mick's-page, I noticed he had some cool counters by NeoCounter. So, I decided to check it out for myself. I went with the "Current Cities" counter and a message board. Check out my first chat session with WHH.

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Kentucky Girl was kind of enough to leave me a suggestion in the comments for my console. She suggested I get a vase. Now, I had the vase that I have here on one of my Mah-Jongg tables in the living room, but I thought, why not put it on the other end of the console? I think it is a bit too tall, but at least it's red and something is there.

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Thursday evening, I decided to try red snapper in my rockin' wok and bok choy in my new saucepan. I was advised that the reason my sauce sucked last time I tried to make bok choy was because I didn't dilute the oyster sauce. I'm told that all the gourmet chefs use Chinese rice wine to dilute the sauce. I gave it a try, but it was still too salty. I added some water and a tbsp. of cornstarch. It was perfection! Ooh yeah! Go me! It's just that this time I over-steamed the veggies. Whaddya' gonna do, uh?

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Stupid Stuff:

WHH saw this article on MSNBC: " Australian gay bar allowed to ban heterosexuals --Locale can even turn away lesbians to preserve atmosphere, court rules"

Why not make it a private club and be done with it? Because you know, everyone but gay men have been excluded. WTF? This is just wrong.

Then, I came across this one: "Choir director canned for focus on wrong organ -- Catholic priest removes musician from church who sold sex toys on the side"

The woman was an unpaid "employee" who needed money to pay her medical bills. That priest is a stupid pig!

Dark Damian did a diatribe on this stupidity: "The 275 graduates of Dripping Springs High School are not getting their diplomas after district officials say some made Friday night’s ceremony at Shoreline Christian Center a circus by yelling, blowing bubbles and bouncing beach balls through out the crowd"... (click for rest of story)

And finally, I leave you with this one. A few nights ago WHH and I went to to a steak place for dinner. When I was away from the table, he Secret Squirreled a pic of the menu with his phone...

Dancing People in Our House and I Rock With A WOK

My weekend wasn't much different than Avitable's, however, we did leave the house to go to Esther's open house. AND... we bought a beautiful bowl with dancing people on it!

African, Dancing People Bowl

My Beautiful Dancing Annelies and Dancing Bowl

I've got a guy coming this afternoon to hang a few pictures on the walls, and I'm going to have a mirror hung above this table. What should I get for the other end of the table (next month)? Another bowl? I don't want it to look cluttered, but I want it to be balanced.

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For dinner last night I decided to try out my new wok, saucepan, and salad spinner. I went online and Googled "Mongolian Beef" and found this recipe, and my WHH said it was a keeper! I love when he says that. When he does, then I put the recipe in a Word document and print it out on 4 x 6-inch cards for my kitchen. I think you should be able to download it here if you're interested (I'm not sure because I've never tried this before).

One nice thing about cooking here is that I can close the kitchen door to keep the rest of our apartment from being permeated by strong odors. The bad thing? There is no aircon in the kitchen! I have a fan in the "maid's room" and direct the air into the kitchen, then I open the windows completely. I still had to shower because I was soooo hot and sweaty.

I don't know if this recipe tastes like P.F. Chang's or not, but it was delicious. Next time I make it, I'm going to use more onions and a bit less soy sauce because it had too much sodium. I could feel my fingers puffing up after I ate. I also added a bit of crushed red pepper to the sauce.

What should I fix for dinner tonight? Maybe some red snapper? I so rock with my WOK!

Shona sculpture -- "Happy Family"

In case you haven't noticed, I am an art aficianado -- all kinds. It just so happens that my friend, Esther, will be hosting an Open House this coming Friday and Saturday (May 25-26) in honor of Africa Day. Her boutique, Batanai Business & Art is located at:

Tudor Court Gallery

2^nd level, Unit 131F - Tanglin Rd

Singapore 247924

Open House Hours will be: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

She imports all different types of African art. Many of the pieces she's imported are from Zimbabwe as that is her home country. Some of the textiles she has are antique and she can give you the history of the item as well as explain how it was used. She's like a walking encyclopedia of African art.

Esther has filled her shop with beautiful stone sculptures like the one pictured above, handcrafts, wood carvings, paintings, and tribal art. Her collection is varied as is the price range. Buying a beautiful piece of art doesn't necessarily mean that you have spend a fortune.

I hope that those who read my blog in Singapore will stop by and have a look and say hello to Esther. She will make you feel right at home.

Annelies dans

Our "Annielies dans" sculpture by Irenee Duriez arrived yesterday from Art Gallery Artifex, Brugge, Belgium. Mr. Contant built a wood carton specifically for Annelies. His wife, Barbara, kept me informed via email of all of the details of our purchase. They were very helpful and pleasant. I would definitely do business with them again -- wonderful customer service! Annelies arrived in perfect condition along with a book and DVD of Mr. Duriez's work.

This sculpture is so beautiful -- the photos I've taken don't do her justice (the others are on Flickr). Mr. Duriez is a master sculptor, and I am awestruck by the perfection of Annelies. I can almost hear and feel the rhythm of the music to which she dances. I am very happy :D