2018 Week 31 Update

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Nothing much to update this week. Life goes on with the usual household drama, quarrels and issues.

This week will be a shorter week because of Singapore’s National Day mid-week. This means the children only have two days of school proper. Wednesday will be a half day for them where they go to school just for the National Day Observance Ceremony and Friday will be a school holiday.

I’ve been having some really vivid dreams in the past few days, so vivid that at times it’s taken me a couple of minutes after waking up to figure out that I was dreaming and in a few cases, actually check if I had been reading about something connected to the dream before my nap/sleep. Wonder why this happens.

Ah well, here’s hoping that this week is great for all, you and me!

2018 Secondary 3 Week 31 Update

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Another school week and the timeline for GG’s school learning journey is drawing near. She is going to Vietnam for a humanities learning journey next week and is super excited as well as a bit nervous about the whole trip. Earlier in the week, we had a briefing from the school for both parents and students by the vendor who will be taking the children and they gave us travel tips on the country as well as the recommended packing list. Prior to the talk by the vendor and the teachers, the students had a lecture by a former student, who is currently a history lecturer at a local university about the country. GG loved this lecture and this reignited GG’s desire to become a teacher again. She has been going on and off since Primary school about becoming a teacher.

BB has back to back CCA competitions over two Saturdays. This year, since they are in Sec 3, the school only offered one-way transport for the students which is from the school to the SYFC HQ and they had to make their own way back. I was a bit worried since their HQ is quite far from our home, but he was able to come home quite easily. So that’s one bucket list stricken off, and he has become quite independent.

 

In My Hands Today…

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Darshan – Amrit Chima

18493146In 1911 rural India, Baba Singh Toor commits a shocking act of violence to avenge a crippling loss, setting a secret in motion that will haunt—and claim—the Toors for generations.

Hardened by a crime for which he was never caught, Baba’s past casts shadows over his sons, even as the era of British Colonial tyranny and oppression reaches its height. In the distant colony of 1940s Fiji, his son, Manmohan, a virtuoso of enterprise, bears the burden of his father’s sin, plagued by an all-consuming insecurity that suffocates his own children. And twenty-five years later in San Francisco, Darshan—inextricably linked to his grandfather, Baba Singh, by both birth and fate—finds himself dragged to the centre of conflict. Held accountable for the Toors’ dark history, he labours to honour his name—meaning one who is blessed with clarity of sight—attempting to keep the family from irreparably splintering apart.

Recipes: Dried Red Chilli & Raisin Chutney

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I made dosai (a South Indian crepe) earlier this week and wanted a chutney to go with it. I was not in the mood for a coconut based chutney which is what is traditionally made with dosai, so I thought of a dried red chilli one and whipped this up in less than 20 minutes, including prep time. It also has a total of five ingredients, including spices. So let’s go.

Dried Red Chilli and Raisin Chutney

Ingredients:

  • 12-15 dried red Kashmiri chillies
  • 2 tbsp raisins
  • 8-10 cloves garlic
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice (or to taste)
  • Salt to taste

Method:

  • Soak the red chillies and raisins separately in hot water for 10-15 minutes until soft.
  • Drain the water and reserve it to blend.
  • Then blend all the ingredients with reserved water to a fine paste. Check for seasoning (salt and lemon juice) and adjust accordingly.

This was wonderful with the dosai and was also very good as a spicy dip and I have also eaten this with bread and wraps and it was yummy. Enjoy and let me know how you liked it.

In My Hands Today…

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Bone Mountain – Eliot Pattison

435631When disgraced former inspector, Shan Tao Yun joins a group of reverent Tibetans returning a sacred artefact to its home, it seems he has at last found the peace he has struggled for since leaving prison. What starts as a spiritual pilgrimage, however, quickly turns into a desperate flight through the Tibetan wilderness as the outlawed monk who guides them is murdered and Sham discovers that the artefact has recently been stolen from the Chinese army.

But why is the army so desperate to find the artefact entrusted to Shan? Why is an aged medicine lama being stalked by government agents? Why has an American woman, a geologist for an oil company, abandoned the project and fled into the mountains? Shan discovers not answers, but only new mysteries as he is drawn to such unexpected places as the raucous headquarters base of the Western oil venture and a monastery that seems more attuned to the teachings of the party than those of Buddha. And the further he travels into the mountains, the more Shan realises that what is at stake is not only justice but the spiritual survival of those who have joined his strange quest. At the heart of Pattison’s powerful tale is a story of a brave, oppressed people who have learned to endure by drawing strength from their land and their rich spiritual traditions.