"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