Power of Praying

Yesterday I attended a Christmas sing-along at a neighborhood church.  The sing-along featured a soloist for this festive occasion.  His rich tenor voice was very pleasing and melodic despite of the fact the songs he sang for us were totally  new to us.  Us, the enthusiastic attendees, also belt out our best to celebrate  the season of Advent.  Obviously we were all singing from our heart to enjoy this yearly event.

For me, besides the enjoyment from singing Christmas carols,  I also noticed something amazing at this informal gathering.

There were about 25 to 30 attendees.  And most of them, particularly the extended family of the elderly usher, both old and young, looked so stress-free and well.  Their gentle faces without much make-up reflected a state of well-being and calmness that I seldom saw in many other people I met.  While I do not know this community church well, I did hear that the congregations of this church like many other religious people sought healing, love, and harmony through their many steadfast and  earnest prayers.

-  Ayee

Santa's Secret Trove

"Every once in a while something might be for you in here." author unknown

Life,

Separate labels by commas

Business, Education, Health, Life, Pet, Wildlife

Since I gave up my car many years ago, I am on my feet a lot.  For this reason, while I am out,   I got to uncover many different and curious landscapes.  On one of my  frequent routes, a garden ornament sat against the wrought-iron fence always caused me to take a second look of  this rustic structure.
 

Because of its smallish size, this log-cabin look alike woodwork can also be used to store small tools.  But its roadside presence together with the inviting message etched on the top of its slant roof made me think otherwise.

It's possible I have just uncovered some place special.

Maybe this old wooden box is one of the many  unusual places where Santa hides his special gifts. 

A Merry and Peaceful Christmas to all!

-  Ayee 

 

Art of Giving: Bribery or Token of Appreciation

Recently an US company got some unwanted publicity.  It was reported that the company was being investigated by the government for bribery in a foreign country.  It looks like the prosecutors taking the matter seriously.    The items under investigation involved payments as little as $20.

No one likes to see bribery taking place in business.  As much bad taste as we all have on corruption, bribes and favors  will never disappear in the world of commerce.  Venal will only add another layer of obstacle and costs in doing business.  But once a successful business man told me that  bribery is good for business.  The extra creases to the wheels expedite business dealings.  -  Ayee

Happy Things

This is my second installment of the happy things that would bring hearty laughter and smile out of me.  And I am pleased to notice that the author of  The Happy Book* and I have similar inclination on the types of the things we like.  This exercise of jotting down my happy things had led me closer to where my personal happiness lies:

• Scoring an ace on a par-3 golf course*
• spotting a kitty dozing off in the sun on a windowsill*
• witnessing the reunion of a lost pet and its two-legged friend
• feeding ducks, squirrels, birdies in the park*
• watching "60 - Minutes" on Sunday nights*
• Complimenting a total stranger*
• shopping at the Emporium's bargain floor in downtown San Francisco
• Rescuing  an earthworm or a caterpillar from the side walks
• re-visitng James Herriot's animal stories
• knowing Saint Anthony is always on my side when I misplaced some thing important.

-  Ayee

*It indicates there is a similar entry in The Happy Book by Barbara Ann Kipfer, 1990.

"14,000 things to be happy about. The Happy Book" By Barbara A Kipfer, 1990

After I saw this book at the library, I decided to also jot down  the things that I enjoy and am happy about.

It appears food of various kinds is good for our soul too. To most of us, eating is always an enjoyable occasion.  So I will start  my first installment of the things that can make and  had made me  happy in foods.

• a bowl of pipping hot rice congee
• a dish of fluffy scrambled eggs with favorite toasts
• a freshly baked calzone filled with plenty of cheese and chopped up vggies,, the author of "The  Happy Book"  also a fan of this mouth-watering turnover like pizza pie
• a plate of rice with curry toppings
• a piece of juicy watermelon on a scorching hot day
• a milk shake made with ice cream and milk only
• a coke infused with extra syrup
• a bowl of English trifle/or Ambrosia salad with real whipped cream
• and finish today's list with a slice of velvety pumpkin cheese cake

Enjoy and be happy.

-  Ayee

Identity Theft/Income Tax Fraud

It's time again to remind ourselves to be vigilant on safeguarding our personal and private information.

I saw it on a "60 Minutes" program awhile ago that identity theft is a common occurrence in the States.

The particular program I watched told stories of criminals applied income tax refunds with other people's social security numbers that they bought on the street.  Now these days, with computers and debit cards, filing a tax return is just a click away.  It is extremely easy for the unscrupulous individuals to use our  identity once they got hold of our social security number.

But I would never think it could happen so close to home.  Someone had used one of our family members' social security number to file tax return.  An unusual phone message prompted the victim to contact IRS office.  It was confirmed that someone had used her social security number to file tax return.  A this time, this fraudulent return is under the IRS's radar.  I do not know if these two incidents are related.  Before this unsavory incident was being discovered, the victim did return a notice from IRS to confirm her residency.  -  Ayee

"America's Got Talent," an NBC television production

This season audiences of the show will again have a hard time to choose their next million-dollar act.  The acts in this year's lineup, if it's not more exciting, are like the others in the previous nine years:  entertaining, mind-boggling and dangerous.

A couple of nights ago, we saw a daring ladder climber fell from his perch.  Luckily, the slip-up did not prevent this risk taker from competing in the final competition next week.

There is also a brave performer who swallowed and wiggled sharp objects to and from his belly.

Then there is this four-legged sidekick to a magic show.  He is as cute as a button.  Sometime he was so alive and acted just like any of his peers would do.  But sometime he seemed to be ready for a long nap.

Now let's wish.  May the best act win the coveted prizes next week.

-  Ayee

Water Shortage and Recycling

This summer, due to the lack of rainfall, many cities put out a water restriction bylaw.  This prompted many of us to ensure that we would not waste any of this not-renewable resource.   And the responses from the citizens of the bylaw are overwhelming.  Now like our good neighbors in our housing complex, many of us within good hygiene practice are taking shorter showers, flushing the toilets less, and even stopping washing cars.  The lush green lawn used to be a pride and joy of the homeowners.    Now it only attracts stiff fines.  And surprisingly to note, without any rain drops  in sight, it was reported on the news that  the bylaw did help the water level in many reservoirs stay at an acceptable level.  

And I would think garbage and water from our faucet got nothing in common.  But here at where we are, we are required to rinse-clean the recyclable containers before they are destined for the recycling bins.  Based on my personal observation, this rinsing and cleaning business consumes a lot of water.

I suppose for the sake of saving water,  maybe from now on, we should no longer  rinse and clean the garbage that are recyclable.  -  Ayee 

Cecil, A Beloved Lion

Based on what I saw in newspapers and on television, the dire living condition in Africa must be one of the many compelling reasons why Africans continue to kill the near extinct stock of wild animals for money.  But making a living at the expenses of innocent wild animals will never lessen the cruel reality of civil wars, national disasters and medical emergencies.  When we put the humanitarian belief aside, exploiting wildlife for profit can only worsen  an already bad situation.  Poaching wild animals does not make sense economically at all.  It will only drive the limited local fauna to extinction.  To me, a person who has not visited zoos, wildlife parks or circuses for ages, a live wild beast on display in touristy places is worth more than a severed lion head in someone's trophy room

It really does not matter whether it took place during a tour in Africa or in our neighborhood park.  It's save to say shooting animals with a camera nurtures a win-win situation.  But the act of shooting a defenseless lion with bow and arrow for "fun" is not only utterly cruel but also sadistic.

Now these days, African nations are cashing in on eco-tourism in their respective countries.  The on-going poaching activities in Africa made me wonder why anyone in the world would want to kill the goose that lays golden eggs?

On Cecil, the beloved lion, we mourn the loss of yet another precious life. We all know that no punishment, large or small, can bring this majestic animal and many like him back.  But I am certain justice will prevail and the poachers who are responsible for Cecil's untimely demise will eventually pay the price for committing such heinous and inhumane act to another living being. -  Ayee

Magnetized Bracelet and Gout

I am not certain if wearing a magnetized wrist band was the reason why I did not suffer much joint pains.  Years ago after I heard that magnet can help relieve arthritic pain, I started to wear bracelets strung with small magnetized beads.  This remedy to get rid of body pain seems to be somewhat unorthodox to me.  But I do find the bracelet helpful in alleviating my suffering when the gout in one of my middle fingers flared up.

As I can see that I suffered a mild case of gout.  The prickly pain used to reside in one of my big toes.  Lately, it moved to the joint of one of my left finger knuckles.  When the needling throbs returned to the mid finger, I would cut down my intakes of proteins like the ones from sardines and stop taking B vitamins for a while*.

In addition to watching what I ate, to make the disabling pain disappear, I also wrapped the  joint with   a home-made magnetized bracelet.

In a recent flare-up, my bracelet worked like magic.  Miraculously, the pain in the finger disappeared almost immediately.

  "Food for Thought - Sardines, Niacin and Gout," November 30, 2013

Food for Thought - Moldy Bread

Recently, we found a bread we like.  The bread from a local bakery tastes good with butter and cheese.  I do not know why the organic sprouted wheat flour would be better for us than the regular whole wheat ones.  But this one made with sprouted whole wheat and other organic goodies pleases our taste buds.  So we were looking forward to enjoying this simple pleasure for a long time to come.

Unfortunately, our relation with this newly found favorite was short-lived.

The other night, when I was ready for a piece of toast, I found green blotches on a fresh loaf that we had just bought a couple of days ago.  The mold on the bread made with organic goodies became very uninviting.  It can also  make me sick if I had ingested any of it with the fungal growth unknowingly.  So, I had no choice but threw the moldy bread into the composting bin.

This bread incident made me wanting to go back living in the old days when no one threw foods away.  -   Ayee

Generous Boss

Over the last few days, there  are a few pieces of encouraging news. As of yesterday, we had another billionaire to join Warren Buffet's club.  The member of the club must pledge to give half of their billionaires to charity.  

And yesterday, I   learned from the Nightly Business Report on PBS that one of American companies is prepared to pay colleague tuition for the kids of their employees.  The young Chieh Huang, CEO  of  Boxed, an online foods distributor, told the reporters that education makes difference in his life. 

Humbly speaking,  I totally agreed with Mr. Huang's thinking on education.  This is why I wanted to include this news in my blog.  As we all know, to most of us,  education is the power that leads to everything.  Let us hope more corporate America will follow the lead of Mr. Huang's good doing.  -  Ayee

     

A Tea for Two

Because it's so easy to make, I decided to include  this simple recipe  for ginger tea in my blog.   This recipe is illustrated  in the Pregnancy section of my reference book*.  It said the tea can help fight nausea.

Ingredients:
- A small chunk of fresh ginger
- Two to three cups of water 

•    Peel the fresh ginger and cut into 3 to 6 slices.
•    Simmer in a small sauce pan with water for 3 to 5 minutes.
•    Strain the liquid into a pitcher.
•    Drink  the liquid as a tea throughout the day.

-  Ayee 

*  Chinese Herbal Secrets, 1999 Edition by Stefan Chmelik

Mother knows the best.

Sometimes last week in Yellowstone National Park, a black bear with her cubs was seen chasing tourists on a bridge in the iconic park.  Maybe it was as the ABC News suggested.  Because her cubs were older, their dear mom did not bother unleashing her motherly instinct to protect the young. In this incident, thanks to that mama bear's good sense, the "chase" ended without anyone got hurt.

In additional to many other wildlife, we all know Yellowstone is a bear country.  The bears there are known for their keen sense choosing a particular-make car to break in.  Conflict between the beasts and men therefore is not an uncommon occurrence there.  Inconceivably, a few inconsiderate tourists would visit the bear country outside their vehicles.  Many of them  would  not  even follow the park ranger's instruction and risk the life of their own and possibly many others without their thinking cap on

Talking about thinking caps!   During the same time of this bear incident, there was a 15-year-old Taiwanese girl got gored by a wooly bison! Perhaps she was too close to this seemingly docile animal.   -  Ayee

To Question or Not to Question

I may have heard it wrong.

A few days I was at a veterinarian office picking up some medication for our little pussy cat.  While waiting to be waited on, I heard a fellow patron  before me asking why her bill was so high.   Her kitty's night out got  herself a very nasty lick from a neighborhood raccoon.    And it would cost  $282 plus change  to keep the kitty well.

And I cannot  believe what came next.  After the cat owner's questioning, another staff decided to recheck this  higher than expected bill and told the cat owner indeed there was a mistake in the bill.  Instead it should be  around $160 some dollars.  

Normally, I do not always ask or check the bills that were being  presented to me for payment.  But from what I witnessed at the pet hospital that day, perhaps the time has come that I should be more diligent on questioning or checking the bills before I pay them.  -  Ayee

Birds in the Bottle

A few days ago, there was a picture in the news paper* that spoke badly of  the people who involved in this shenanigan for a few bucks.   According to the notes  below the picture, someone got caught at the airport for smuggling 22 endangered white cockatoos from Indonesia.   The smuggler stuffed the live contra bands in plastic water bottles.

I do not know if these beautiful birds had survived the ordeal.  But it is hard to fathom why someone would conceive such heinous and inhumane means to transport these beautiful  birds.    It looks like the smuggler of these exotic beings failed to see there are already thousands of tropical birds for sale in the pet shops around us.  So  there is really no need to bring in more  wild birds to glut the market.

At any rate, I am so pleased to see the culprit got caught for committing such cruelty on animals.  I certainly hope the penalty in this case will be severe enough to deter others to harm innocent wild life. -  Ayee

*The Globe and Mail, page A3,  May 6th, 2015

Aloe Vera and Shingles

The frequent television commercials on shingles vaccines led me to think maybe shingles cases are on the rising.  Fortunately, at this time no one in the family or any of our friends had contracted this chickenpox related ailment.

But years ago, two of our elderly friends got this insidious malaise in their 80s.  To soothe the painful and itchy blisters and the rash, both of them applied a paste made of Aspirin tablets onto the blistered area.  No one knew where they got this remedy for shingles.  But what they used to cure this torturous skin condition seemed to be working for both of them.

Even though we were not there to discuss herbal remedies, at a recent community lunch, aloe vera, a succulent desert plant, briefly became the topic of our causal conversation.  Among us there were a couple of former shingles patients.  Both of them attested to the great relief the lotion made of this spiky cactus had given to them when they were troubled by shingles.

We all know many skin care products, even some foods, are made with aloe vera.  The jelly like flesh of this humble plant has been used on burn victims.  I had also read about a breast cancer patient who included aloe vera lotion in her care package when she was under radiation treatment.  -  Ayee

One More Way to Make Me Lucky!

"You will always be lucky if you know how to make friends with strange cats."*

A Colonial American Proverb

From Catman of Parliament Hill, Great Cat Stories, Roxanne Willems Snopek, 2004

It must be my lucky day when I found this unusual quote from the stacks of books I helped recycled.  Following what it was suggested in this old saying, now I get another excuse to make friends with "strange" or not too "strange" cats.

This old proverb also reminded me of a cat I used to know.

Many years ago when I was still in school, I had rent a room near where my school and work place were.  During those trying student years at the rental home, I made friends with my land lord's Siamese cat.  In countless evenings when I was studying at home, Junior, would come to visit.  But this noble cat in a smooth brownish fur coat was never a bother.  All I had to do for him was letting him sleep in one of the drawers of my desk.  So he could make up the beauty sleep he missed when patrolling the "Palace" during the day.  When the study session was over, so was his visit.

Now in retrospect, I think at that time Junior must be my much needed lucky charm that I did not know I had.  Instead of cat furs, Junior's nightly visit brought me a secure and peaceful feeling that I had never sensed before.  With him snoozing in my desk drawer near me, the soft and constant purring sound from that makeshift cat basket made me feel safe and not alone thousands of miles away from my home.  - Ayee

Keep Mr. Alzheimer Away (II)

The following is what the Japanese people do to ward off dementia.*

1.  Start each day with a glass of warm water.
2.  Drink at least three glasses of fresh fruit or vegetable juice each week.
3.  Cook own meals.  Meal planning is a taxing matter that requires extra brain power.
4.  Always have some dark chocolate handy to enjoy during the day.
5.  Walk 30 minutes a day.
6.  Sit in the sun for 15 minutes per day.
7.  Keep body weight down to reduce the possibility of being diabetic or suffering hypertension.
8.  Avoid soda pops and any processed foods.
9.  Do exercises that induce perspiration.
10. Leave the CD player on with music or inspiring speech while taking a short break lying down or sitting.
11.  Include sliced raw onions in salads.
12. Do not have any food after 8/9 PM.

-   Ayee

*This is from an Internet posting in Chinese.  Author unknown.   

MAN ARRESTED FOR FEEDNG CATS!

I do not have all the details on this Internet posting.

According to the photo that came with this piece of the unsettling news, a squeaky clean 76-year old gentleman in the picture was in jail for feeding cats.  And one of the animal welfare groups is helping him fighting the laws.

It looks like this is another case of a good intention turned terribly wrong.  There must be a  good intention behind such a law that forbids citizen taking care of homeless animals, most likely the stray dogs and cats.  To me using the jaws of the laws to thaw the kindness of the other is not the "right"  solution.  Perhaps thousands of dollars needed to enforce the law can be spent on better care of the animals which  are currently  under the government's care.

We all know both private and tax dollar-funded animals shelters are inundated with thousands of lost and sick animals.  Based on what I saw on how some of the strays were handled, I think some of them would be better off remaining in the neighborhood to fend for themselves.  Furthermore, because the animal shelters are so crowed, I see nothing wrong when the public, like this senior citizen, took  the task in his own hands  to care for the neighborhood strays.  -  Ayee

To Keep the Slate Clean

New Year again brought me spring fever. I, like many other years, decided to de-clutter a bit. This year the first item on my bucket list was a used computer that I bought from my former work place. The computer with an operating system dated back to the early 90's did not have the latest bells and whistles. But it continued providing me with reliable services for several years. It also survived our moves to two new neighborhoods. Maybe it is for nostalgic reasons that I did not recycle it right away when I was given a new desk-top. Instead of recycling the old one I had, I stowed it away under my computer desk as a foot-warmer. Since it did not in any way take up extra storage space, I had left the old computer there until just a few days ago.

And there was another personal reason why I was not in the hurry to recycle this dated machine: 

Because I did not know how to empty the thousands of bytes and bits of information that I had saved in my computer’s hard drive.

I also do not know if it had actually happened to people who had given away their old computers or other smart gadgets without the due care, and became victims of identity-theft I did, however, hear someone enlisted a hammer to render their old machines useless. Since I do not like to smash things, and was not able to find help in books, for many years, I had passively waited for my Eureka moment. But that moment never come.

Luckily, once again my dear family members came to my rescue. And with a simple command* and a few strokes, my old computer became squeaky clean and ready to be recycled at our friendly neighborhood store. - Ayee

*In my case, I used "format c: " to do the job.