Tea

I enjoy a cup of tea every now and then, especially on a cold winter night. My favourites are green tea and black tea with milk. Actually, I should say, I like milk tea.

I've made the difference between tea with milk and milk tea :

Tea with milk has more tea than milk. Usually at least a 70% tea, 30% milk.
Milk tea on the other hand, would be, for me, 50% tea to 50% milk.

Heard of arguments that say milk isn't good for tea and that it takes away some of the nutrients in it. What's it called? Catechins, that's right. Then there are others that say drinking tea after a meal is harmful to health as well. Oh dear.. does it matter to me? Not really. I don't drink it aften after a meal anyway.

I loke the fmell of tea, especially when I have plenty of them stashed in a cupboard and when I walk past the cupboard, this light aroma of tea leaves fills the nostrils.

Cooking with tea leaves takes some experimentation too. Sometimes, I'll sprinkle a pinch of green tea leaves into my rice while it cooks in the rice cooker for that light tea taste, or in my meat and vegetable stir-fries. I prefer Longjing tea leaves when I cook because the leaves are edible. They give a light bitter-dry taste when you first chew it, but after you swallow, it has a tinge of dry-sweetness.

My favourite tea dish is the tea egg. I've not successfully done it myself, but everytime I walk past a herbal shop that sells it, I'll surely buy a couple. It's done with some herbs, I think, with tea leaves and soy sauce. Smells good, tastes good!

Then there's green tea ice-cream, green tea jelly, oh and ginger tea! Stumbled upon this website dedicated to tea.. It has recipes for tea. Chai Tea Oatmeal, Chocolate Green Tea Sorbet, Earl Grey Mushroom Risotto with Brown Rice....

Makes my mouth drool just writing about it! Have not tried any of the recipes, but they all sound amazing!

Art and me

Ok, I am no expert at art. Or rather, I can't draw for nuts. Even if you paid me a billion dollars, I still wouldn't be able to give you a decent looking pear. I'm hopeless at drawing, do not have a sense of colour-coordination, not able to see things in 3D, have no appreciation for abstract art and do not like cutting and pasting.

Despite all that, I was born into an artist family. My grandfather was an artist. He specialises in oil paintings. An A4 piece of work can bring in thousands of dollars. No, I'm not kidding, and he was well sought after in South-East Asia while he was alive.

So, what happened to the artistic genes? I don't know. Honestly, I think it went to my other cousins or it skipped generation.

But one thing I can tell is good art from one that is not expressive. I guess, it is as what they say with money? Something about being able to recognise a counterfeit if you've dealt very much with real money. There is just that 'something' missing in a counterfeit dollar.

Now, I'm not saying that I can recognise an imitation. Probably not. But I do appreciate art. Paintings. Sorry, not pottery. I don't understand vases. Can't wash them properly and flowers die in them. That's a different story.

Anyways, back to appreciating art. I love looking at paintings. They fascinate me. And I'm critical about them too. If I have the time and peace of mind, I could stand in front of them, scrutinising every stroke and colour, feel it, absorb it and be part of it. Good art brings the viewer into the art piece. It stands out in a gallery, but blends in with the surroundings that it was painted in. Just like a good story. It leads the reader into the world of imagination and into the story.

I'm probably the last person who is qualified to criticise art, since it can and probably is a full-time job. People are trained in this you know...

Anyway, hubby and I have been frequenting a few local eateries here in Brisbane and they have this trend where artists showcase their artwork on the walls as a decoration and also for people to purchase them if they like. I'm sure the store owners get some commission, but that's beside the point.

Having seen them and some of them at prices higher than I'd buy, I have not come across any that I would truly call a must-have. Sometimes, all it takes is one object in the painting to result in the failure.

Had an art dealer come by a few months back and we spent almost half an hour looking at the students or even professional artwork. Was very impressed by some. There was one London scene that was perfect. In black and white. Depicted a street of solidarity. Absolutely felt the loneliness and stillness in that picture.

There were others that just didn't make the mark. My sympathies to the dealer who had to put up with my comments. Saw one titled "Storm". It felt like it was the end of the storm rather than in the storm. Sky was rather calm, clouds were not full, sea was not raging.

I sure would not have been able to draw anything out, much less something that should look real. I know and understand the difficulties in creating that real-as-life painting. Unfortunately, if that is the point of the painting, then it should look real.

Enough of my criticism and ramblings for now. All the best to all you promising painters!

What I learnt from "The Blind Side"

Watched "The Blind Side" with hubby two nights ago. To be honest, I hardly ever keep up with movies, let alone English movies. This one caught my attention one day while browsing the internet and it came up as an advertisement somewhere.

Did a search on it and read the synopsis from IMDB. Sounded like a great movie and decided to watch it with hubby.

"The Blind Side" is a true story of Michael Oher, an African-American NFL player in the States whose background was not worth anyone's notice. Somehow he was adopted into a white family by the name of Touhy, was accepted and loved by them and was given the opportunity to realise his talent and potential.

I know nothing about NFL, so when it came to scenes where they were discussing the sport, I almost nearly had to run a dictionary, except hubby was next to me explaining.

What hit me was the start of friendship between SJ and Oher in the film. All SJ did was suggested that Oher smile a bit more and he'd not scare little children away. SJ wasn't afraid of Oher, otherwise known as 'Big Mike'. He took the first step and spoke to him with a smile.

For me, starting a conversation with someone I know is really difficult, but a lot of times, all it takes is that first step of smiling and saying, "Hello, how are you?"

Then there was mum Leigh Ann's motherly instinct that led her to take Big Mike into their house for a night out of the cold. They do not know each other, but she was willing to clothe him, give him food and talk to him. What was it about Jesus telling us to receive those who are not as well off as we are? She did it. And when I thought about that first invitation into the car, then into the house, I couldn't help but admit that I probably would not have done it. Yes, there is the element of doing good to others, of sympathy, but I also worry if my daughter would be safe with a total stranger in the house.

The Touhys aren't big strong looking people, but they didn't seem afraid, nor did they reject Big Mike. There is something about being family to those who need it that can be learnt from here.

I'm sure there were many more lessons to be learnt, but I can only remember this much for now. I'll be working on that first step, that first smile to say hello.

SHOPping around

Thinking of a shopfront for my online bookstore, Ling's List. Really thinking hard about it. Not that I have the finances for it, but just somehow, having a shopfront for books is better for customers to browse the books.

Books are not like gadgets where you can just look at the specifications online, read some reviews and decide, "Hey, that's a really good book to read and purchase!" Personally, I do like to read the summary of the book itself, run through a few pages in the first chapter, compare prices with other books then decide whether to purchase it or not.

Does it matter what size the bookstore is? Maybe. Big bookstores give me this tingling excitement that seem to beckon me to spend more money. Smaller cornerstore type of bookstores have this personal feel to it, maybe because they're more neighbourhood situated and the owners know the patrons who enter their shops.

I'd like to be both, I guess, in a sense.

Saw a few shops around my area and came to really like, no, LOVE, one shop space that suits my ideal bookstore space. Rent isn't too high, and it's at a rather good location. Being in Australia, it's ok that the bus stop is not at the door step or that there're no train routes nearby. The most important factor is it's visibility and accessibility. This one has got both.

I can't help dreaming about it. I pray about it. It is really difficult to say, "Lord, please let this be your will and not my own fantasy."

I've been praying, "Lord, I have no money for the space. I don't want to take a loan from the bank. I don't want to mortgage my house. I know money doesn't fall from the sky, but I do need that amount to not be in more debt."

But why look at a shopfront in the first place? To be honest, I am working towards opening a shop. What kind of a shopfront, I do now know. But to even get there, I'll need some concrete figures to work with. Some facts and terms and conditions to understand. Otherwise, I wouldn't have a clue as to how much it'll cost, what kind of negotiations can be done, the type of space I'd want, the location and opening hours to consider.

So there. I'm still running my family day care and working towards a shopfront for Ling's List.

Pre-Easter Thoughts

Two more weeks to Easter. The shops are already filled with chocolates, rabbits, and hot cross buns. Haven't bought any of them and probably will not buy them anytime in the future. If I have it my way.

The reasoning is :
1. I do not eat chocolates.
2. Rabbits and eggs do not go together.
3. The hot cross buns are rarely hot by the time they're eaten.
4. I prefer savoury breads.
5. Everything is doubled in price and not worth it.
6. I take on the Biblical Easter story of Jesus dying for our sins and rose to heaven on the third day.

Sang this song at Sunday School Worship this morning. By Colin Buchanan :
God our Father sent His Son
To die for sinful man.
After three days Jesus Christ
Was raised to life again!
So come to Him confess your sin
And bow before the Lord.
God will honour Jesus' friends
With life forevermore!

Parenting

Saw these two equations on morenewmath.com and thought I'll share these two that are so relevant to me!

Teaching Faith to Children

Had MOPS today. We had a panel discussion on "Teaching Faith to Children". It was a great encouragement to know that good modeling with Biblical teaching guided most mums to Christ.

We all agreed that no matter how much we teach in theory, if we do not do what we teach, or as the saying goes, "Walk the Talk", then chances of children coming to receive Jesus Christ as their personal saviour is slim.

At our discussion tables, we talked about how our parents influenced our faiths and how they did not. Some of us came from Christian families and we had our parents to thank for bringing us up in the Word of God, giving us solid foundation to deal with life's challenges and coming to the realisation that God is so big and great, that He is aware and able of everything and anything.

I remember that when I was in school, there was this popular slogan that says, "Christian - Without CHRIST, I Am Nothing".

It was, to me, a hip thing to say in those days. But, as I grew to know Christ deeper personally, I have also come to appreciate and understand that statement a lot more. And truly, without Christ, I am truly nothing. My life would be absolutely meaningless if not for the hope of eternal life with the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is probably the greatest gift for any Christian parent to see their children grow in the knowledge and grace of God. And I pray too that all my children and yours will also become children of the kingdom of God.

How do you teach faith to your children?