CHURCH'S CHINESE NEW YEAR DECOR

There are 2 Catholic Churches in JB town and mumsie goes to both...cause of the timing...for weekday daily masses mumsie goes to the one opposite the market in Tebrau (Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus) where the daily masses starts @ 6.30 am but on Sundays it starts @ 7.30 am...a bit late for mumsie cos mumsie gotta go to work on Sundays...and it is the buisiest day of the week..As the other church (The Church of Immaculate Conception) starts its Sunday mass @ 6.30 am Mumsie goes there and became one of its 'Readers'..Coincidently on Chinese New Year day (which happens to fall on a Sunday) mumsie was the reader on that day..so mumsie attended two masses on that day...cos traditionally mumsie will take the whole family to church to get 'New Year Blessings' and the Terbrau church is celebrating its 25th anniversary (built 25 yrs ago) @ 8.30 am (a more 'earthly timing' for the family) so after attending the first mass @ CIC mumsie rushed back home to wake up the family to go the Cathedral to attend the Traditon CNY mass.

Both churches usually 'dress up' CNY style on this auspicious day....so that the older generation as well as the younger ones wouldn't say that Christianity belongs to 'Ang mo' See this is the entrace

All these pics are from the Church of Immaculate Conception

Even the ailse is filled with 'CNY blossoms'

Fire crackers and red lanterns!

More CNY 'blossoms' In fact the night before the Cathedral will hold CNY eve mass...where Joss sticks are used and a temporay altar erected for the priests to lead the congregation to pay respects to the 'dead' ancestors..

HAPPY HAPPY MUMSIE

Mumsie's necklace cum belt - birthday from mumsie's staff....and also a chocalate cake....(Thanx everybody!)

'All these pretty girls' in a row came to the clinic for their gardisil injections. See the plasters on their arms?? And David happened to come in to

wish mumsie 'happy birthday'. What a co-incident. Thus they stayed behind to 'celebrate' with mumsie her birthday..By the way all of them are David's friends (his friends' girl-friends and one wife to be exact!!) David got mumsie a beautiful basket of flowers together with a cake...see the one in the middle...The girls rang mumsie just as the clock was about to strike 12 on the 3/3/07...And just as mumsie thought that none of mumsie's boys remembered mumsie's birthday, he walks into the clinic and gave mumsie a big birthday hug...("sob, sob") By the way Danny boy did sms mumsie towards the evening.....(after many hintings and promptings by ??????) Anyway mumsie was very touched.

As usual mumsie's nurses never forget..they got mumsie a cholacake cake and a beutiful necklace/belt....see photo..

David's birthday cake for mumsie and the basket full of flowers..see photo

This other white cake is from Natalie...the 'cord blood' (stem-life) girl...who happened to be around....

Daddy 'gamely' allows mumsie to hang on to him (in full view of his staff and ect) for this photo....(I'm sure Cat will be smilling...)

AND A BIRTHDAY HUG.....(mumsie is 'drunk' with happiness and her cup runneth over) Mumsie must have prayed very very hard!

Had a big crowd to sing 'happy birthday' too!!

A VERY VERY VERY HAPPY HAPPY MUMSIE!

If only mumsie's other 'little ones' are also here....(yeah mumsie missed all of U)

Mumsie's b'day cakes and the basket of flowers!!

MUMSIE'S B'DAY PRESENT FROM DADDY!!

Mumsie's home PC got 'busted' gotta sent it to 'hospital' ..yeah Mr Ch'ng our computer guy cartered it off for almost a week!!!! No news from him yet whether he can salvaged mumsie's prescious photos ect ect from the PC..That's why for the past few days no 'blogging' and no contact with other bloggers...(sorry girls only got to see your b'day messages today...mumsie is very 'touched' (eyes are a bit weepy now)
AND LO AND BEHOLD when mumsie got home there were packages and packages..Daddy got mumsie a brand new computer 'DELL DIMENSION E 520'
So daddy and mummy (like excited children opening christmas presents) spent quite some time undoing the packages and set up the monitor, the pc, the speakers ect ect ect...and then it took mumsie (up to 2 am) to figure out how to operate such a quote from mumsie's little ones 'such a highly technical thingi' Gotta spent much much more time to sort out the programes..so be a bit more patient with mumsie...maybe mumsie may be able to dish out more 'wonders' in mumsie's future blogs.

LION DANCE @ MUMSIE'S HOUSE

Every year on the 2nd day of Chinese New Year
traditionally the 'lion' will come to dance in Mumsie's house...At first only mumsie and the family
(with all mumsie's little ones) were there to welcome the lion..then mumsie brought some staffs from CSM...then mumsie invited her staff...and started 3 yrs ago mumsie invited all her staff and their families...to welcome the lion into mumsie's house.. Coincidently for the past 2 years (and also this year) whenever the lion arrives...daddy is @ CSM delivering babies and the lion gotta to wait for him ..See ...the lion dancers are not complaining cos mumsie invited them in to have lunch...yeah mumsie usually have some 'nice halal food' for her staff...

See the lion @ the entrance......daddy took some time to come home so someone suggested that she should dance around the house first...

This year the lion is really putting in a lot of effort and energy (makes mumsie wonder whether next year's angpow should be bigger... they keep on changing 'dancers' and performed very well , maybe the crowd watching was very encouraging....cheering them all the way.

They even have a 'dancing plan' laid out.

This is their 'target' see the angpow...

This year they went round the whole house...gotta to wait for daddy before they start the actual 'dancing'

According to Mr Lee their leader this year's lion is NEW

They come with their muscians!

See even mumsie's gold fish gotta to see them. The lion is standing on the bridge of mumsie's gold fish pond...hope Stone 1 and Stone 2 (mumsie's turtles) won't get a heart attack with the lion 'prancing ' around them

The lion gotta to go upstairs to pay respect to mumsie's altar....Yeah she gotta to bow 3 times at the altar...tradition..she does this yearly

Over heard some of the boys (the lion troupe) said this house AHMEN house (christian God)

Mumsie got the altar all lighted up

Mumse's staff with their family Hawa (our theatre nurse with husband and 2 sons

Mariam and her mummy daddy and sister

This family is not mumsie's staff or family but for the past 5-6 years we only meet once a year...(2 families here brother and sister..Angela)and their wife/husband) and their 'little ones' all boys 7 of them all delivered in CSM.. Yeah mumsie's patients....but without fail they will come and visit daddy and mumsie yearly......There is another family another brother..and his wife...the only one who produce a girl..and another boy. They came late that's why they are not in the photo....

The nurses who are on duty...but managed to come tooooooo!!!

Happy mumsie and her family...mumsie missed all her girls...hope you will be around next year....

This staff Norsiah has resigned but she still comes back when mumsie needs her to help out like when all the staff had to attend annual dinner..She left to help her husband -making kueh to distribute to stalls for selling.

Auntie Hong has retired...to look after her first grandson . She came with her daughter and son-in law

S/N Siti and her children

Azlan our driver and family

Miss Lee our clinic nurse with her family

Sister Yap with her sister's family

Miss Wong brought her father and her sister's family

The happy happy crowd

Yati with her furby

Mu our clinic Ahmah with YATI

And happy happy daddy with all her girl friends..

Soon Ye who came back from Melboune is here too (She is doing her nursing course there.. mumsie had given her your handphone..Cat...SO she might call you one of these days

THE REUNION DINNER

Tradionally, the last day of the old year is called "Duan Yun Fan" All the family members return to theri parents's home to have their 'reunion' dinner...And this year mumsie is happy to have both her sons home..(mumsie will be much more happy if the daughters too can come home for this dinner...well mumsie should be praying harder and harder for this to happen) Last year none of her children were around...NOT EVEN ONE!!! The above dish is Yee Sang...(before it is being attacked by chop-sticks..Cos you are supposed to toss this dish before eating it...the higher the better ...more prosperity for this coming New Lunar Year

According to Feng shui (Lillian Too) it is said to be unlucky to eat out on the night of the reunion dinner. (Mumsie didn't know this , anyway mumsie had been having reunioun dinners at home all the time) All the food served must have auspicious meanings. Mumsie used to slog with the maids in the ktchen cooking and cooking and there was this year when mumsie was frying her auspicious mushroom and fat choy dish....CSM called....emertency caesar!!. Now started about 4 years back mumsie ordered from the restaurant...year the whole set..Mumsie will sent all her beutiful plates and ect ect to the restuarant one day before and will collect them on the night of the reunion dinner..The Yee Sang after being attacked by the chop sticks....

This is the prawn dish...a must have..cos prawns stands for (IN CANTONESE...HEE HA TAI SIEW) happiness...so that through out the year after eating this one will be laughing (happy) throughot the year.

This is the chicken soup dish..with mushrooms which stands for every thing will run smoothly for you throughout the year!

This is called the 'four treasures' dish with suckling pig and and roast chicken and vegi and one mysterious 'wrapped gold nugget'..

This is a also a must...Fish dish...'nien nien u yew' Which means that you are never without food....

This is pi par duck and abalone...sorry forgot the name of this dishes...should have kept the menu....anyway must be something auspicious..too.

Well every year the only outsider that was invited to the reunion dinner is 'uncle Whyner' being an Euraision he doesn't have reunion dinners and more over his family (by the way he is a bachelor) is in Malacca.. and since he is working in the church...mumsie invited him home and this has become tradition...(and he happened to be David's Godpa too) And so a very happy mumsie (with her family) had a very nice reunion dinner that new year eve...Oh we 'cartered' the 'whole table' of food from a nearby restaurant..

ie the newly renovated Chinese Restaurang at the golfing range..after renovation and the new management the whole place looks quite 'posh'