Thebarefootfoodie

Life's Little Light-Bulb Moments-Monday. Posted 26 Jul 2011 Monday morning: bleery-eyed, grouchy, ready to snap at the slightest hint of intrusion of private space or any excuse to do so - make that the three of us. It is 6.15 am.  All is quiet and dark around us, save for the sounds of mindless squabbling , AGAIN. Mum is NOT amused by such antics of overgrown children especially when she has to drag herself out of bed at such an unearthly hour to play chauffeur. "Are you guys done yet?" I barked. I waited for the reluctant but obligatory, barely there whispers of "sorry"  before I reluctantly climbed into the driver's seat. ( Someimes, I almost wish they will eye-ball each other at the porch and get into a fist fight, giving me sufficient ammo to leave them there and go back to bed. I will repent for such devious thoughts after I wake up )  Not happening today, anyway. What followed for the next half hour, with a captive audience ...

New Oven I am bursting with anticipation. There is a new addition to the family - not the two-legged or even the four-legged kind. It does not bark, poop, talk back or scratch. It is a state-of-the-art convection oven with turbo-quartz radiation ( haven't figured out what that is all about yet ) and several knobs with different functions. I drool and fantasize while poring over pages after pages of professionally tweaked pictures of bakes,pizzas, pot-roasts and desserts. Oh, the possibilities and promises!  Over the past few months, we have been eating out a lot - out of conveniece, chilling with good friends, trying out new joints, tired of eating the same ole boring stuff...any excuse will work, really. It turns out to  be a bummer when you pay good money for poor food, sometimes accompanied by even poorer service. Every now and then, the thought creeps up - " I could do better than that, and get more bang for the buck." In the end, pride prevailed, and the ti...

Runaway Maid My Mum's maid, R, left home last Saturday, and has not returned since. The scene - a half-made bed, telephone left disconnected, my nephew's piggy bank raided. Mum made a police report on Sunday. R made no attempts to make contact ,and is out there, somewhere. She left without her passport, employment pass and Indonesian identity card,so it would be reasonable to presume R is still in Singapore.  R had been working in Singapore for about a year. When she first arrived, she was too shy to make eye contact, her speech hesitant, her posture stooped. She was a picture of innocence, with a sweet smile and always deferential, to the point of being ingratiating. She did everything at Mum's beck and call, but never once complained or sulked. I couldn't help comparing her with my domestic help, L, who runs my household and can shrink my kids with a withering look or a bark, whenever they are up to any shenenigans. L will speak her mind and voice her views. A...

What's In A Label They all come off anyway... The first thing I do with a new outfit is to snip off the label on the back. It does not matter what it says on the label; I simply do not like the itchy-scratchy sensation which rubs against my skin, so off it goes. Now I can proudly declare that every apparel that hangs in my bursting-at-the-seams wardrobe has earned the right and pride to belong there, on its own merits, not by pedigree. There is a wide assortment - from so-called designer brands ( whew, very rarely ), overruns, sales merchandise ( mostly ), pre-loved, vintage, swops, thrift shop finds, to up-cycled ( current flavour of the day ). I must admit the first time I did the chop on a designer label did bring on mixed feelings. I was actually sorry to see the label go, though I rarely pay guilty money for it - years of serial shopping and wide coverage has brought on a certain savvy in nosing out great bargains online. I will retain some trade secrets, although I can b...

Why it's hard to be a Christian - posted 6 Jul 2011 At first blush, it just doesn't make sense! In one broad stroke - it is too simple, too good to be true - is there a  catch to it all? Here's why 1. It is not about what we do to reach a higher being who is "up there" but what God has done, to become one of us, to reach all of us "down here." 2. In fact, it's not about what any of us do at all - It has all been done. All we need do is to accept that it has been done, or not. The doing is in the believing. Too good to be true? Well, some may say - I live a good life, I don't murder, steal, commit adultery, etc. Therefore, I'm better off than some, and not as good as others.  Actually, there's only one standard, and we all don't cut it. Some others may say - wow, does that mean I can go on doing things that are not quite so right, and still get a straight ticket to heaven? Yes, and no. It goes like this - Supp...

On Work -  From "Simple Truths" by Kent Nerburn On Work "Choose your work carefully." No matter how much you might believe that your work is nothing more than what you do to make money, your work makes you who you are, because it is where you put your time. We are what we do, and the more we do it, the more we become it. By giving a job your time you are giving it your consciousness. Eventually it will fill your life with the reality that it presents. So look beyond the superficial attractions of a particular job or profession. Consider what it will require you to do on a day-to-day, hour-to-hour, minute-to-minute basis. See if that is how you want to spent your time. If it is not, your job will become your prison, rather than the vehicle of your dreams. And a person without dreams is only half alive..."

Oh to be in England, now that Spring is here. ( Part 3 Scotland ) Posted on 29 Jun 2011 Onward to the last leg of our trip - Scotland. Driving across stretches of unspoilt landscape, occupied mainly by sheep and cattle, we coveted stolen moments of oneness with nature, with no one else around.  What a reprieve from the hustle and bustle of city life and from other people. The much touted highland cow, with the long hair and curly horns ( much like the shaggy dog minus the horns ) was surprisingly difficult to spot. We caught a glimpse of them round a bend, blink, and never saw them again. How now brown cow? The trip is not complete without paying a small tribute to good ole Nessie, dead or living - the jury is still out on this. There is comprehensive info to whet your appetitie at the Loch Ness Monster Visitor Centre, located within the Drumnadrochit Hotel. After some hours on the road, we arrived at Pitlessie House, a delectable B & B in a historic hous...