At the vineyard

After the rain.

Thank you, Olympics 2008

Now that the much anticipated Olympics 2008 has come to an end, a gush of emptiness simply sweeps over me...

Singapore managed to clinch its first silver medal since independence! Although this is nothing compared to the achievement of many other countries, I can't help but feeling joyful about it. =D Congratulations Singapore!! Well done!

Anybody watched Synchronized Swimming and Gymnastics Rhythmic? I couldn't take my eyes off the beautiful performance the atheletes presented!! Here, take a look of what I've found from the internet.

Olympics... what a fine and noble way mankind chooses to pit against each other. Apart from the thrill of witnessing the victorious instant, I'm all moved by every countenance found on the atheletes. Their resoluteness built over the 4 years was all evident in their pupils. The sweat and tears shed to relate true tales of defeat or victory... I'm all moved by this real life human drama of effort, breakthrough, and mighty hearts.

Thank you, Olympics 2008. I can't wait to be touched again in 2012.

Watermelon Sherbet Dew 西瓜西米露

Personally, I don't hate summer so long as the heat does not find my skin. =P Summer means I'll get a taste of my tropical homeland! =D

There's watermelon for Summer!! Long live shortlived Summer!

YES! Summer is so short ( read ' short ' quickly! ) in Nagano, it lives like a fly! We have no time to lose, it's like attending a buffet style fruit bar with a specified time limit ( Do you know? Some buffet restaurants in Japan actually impose a time limit like an hour to 90mins? )

（～～；）けち。。。 Stingy...　

Back to watermelon. I was watching TV the other day and suddenly slapped awake of a memory. It featured a recipe of a dessert, that I used to love so much when I was in my teens!


...........

It must have been more than 10 years since I had my last... I was a perfectly slim and ' no sugar ' girl back then, dad often had to crack his head to wheedle me into having some. It took long enough until a star stall began its hot business. It was the stall's 西瓜西米露 that taught me : desserts ARE pleasurable. =)


It's haarrdd to translate from the Chinese expression, I'll let it be called ' Watermelon Sherbet Dew ' (~~;). Anyway, the name tells it all, there's ICY WATERMELON SHERBET!





What I've enjoyed in the past, were mouth-sized balls of icy watermelon sherbet, in cold and sweet milky mixture. There were slippery sagos, some corn toppings, all in a decent bowl size and it was merely for a dollar! My family had their sweeter choices though. I was stuck with this until we moved to our present home, and we patronized the stall no more because of the distance...


I really wonder if the stall still exists now... it was such a popular stall and the talk of the neighbourhood back then...




The recipe suggested milk instead of coconut milk though. We can always decide a different arrangement, can't we? ;) Anyway, I ran the first trial by using soya milk, which is gentle with my tummy. The result was close, or not so close, thanks to the absence of coconut milk. Oh but it's so expensive here, I guess I'll just put up with having none. I would have added some sagos if I have any on hand, next time perhaps. ;) I couldn't care thinking about other likeable toppings, to relive that teenage moment was what's all on my mind...

Go taint the milk with watermelon's juice, it gives a pretty hue of pink. =) The color isn't so obvious in my pictures though.





So, ahhh... here you go, a fragment of what I used to love when I was in Singapore...






Recipe for Watermelon Sherbet Dew


Note : Estimate the required amount, it shouldn't be too difficult. Just be careful with the amount of milk used. There may be an overflow when sherbet is added.



Watermelon

Milk/Soy milk

Coconut milk ( optional )

Condensed milk

Corn

Any other topping that you may like to have. ( eg. sago ) They may be agreeable.


1. Prepare watermelon into mouth-size pieces. Cut them into cubes, or you may prefer shaped cutters. Freeze them for about 2 hours to achieve sherbet state. Know your fridge and determine the required time. You won't like having watermelon hails instead.


2. There must be scraps of watermelon after obtaining the mouth-size pieces. Squash the flesh to get juice out from the fruit. Pour the juice into the milk/soy milk to get a desired nice pink. You may like to squash a little more fruit in order to achieve a deeper pink.


3. Sweeten milk/soy milk with condensed milk, check the taste after adding 1 tablespoon each time, until desired sweetness is achieved. As the sherbet hardly increases the sweetness of the milk mixture, go sweeten it to your heart's content. Rememeber, it's a dessert. Get a good chill for the milk mixture. Chill, not freeze.


4. Get corn ready and put aside.


5. To serve : ( Optional : add little coconut milk to mixture to boost the flavour, stir well ). Drop sherbets into mixture and top with corns, ready to go. Serve quickly because the sherbet melts readily within the mixture.


Huh? Did I hear ' What about the remaining watermelon then... '?

Have a great weekend!!

P/S : Anybody staying at Tampines, near the 100 plus market?

Summer fireworks

Summer nights...


I'm not sure about others, but to us, Summer is all about night time pleasures.


During Summer in Japan, fireworks displays are held across the country. At the comfort of our home, we get to watch 2 displays over the east window, and 2 at the north windows. =) The fireworks usually last for 2 hours or so, so they are quite a visual treat during cool nights of Summer.





Sometimes, we'll set off to larger displays, like this one held annually at the largest lake in Nagano, Suwako. On this day, we were truly thankful that it did not rain as forecasted. =D








We caught the display at the opposite bank of the lake, so you know, the water featured in the pictures is actually of Suwako. And if you manage to catch some ' swan ' figures on the lake, they are actually ferries that act as visitor attractions of Suwako.





















In a rather conventional way, the finale in Suwako always end with a blast in mid-air, and other two upon the lake's surface; to form a ' firework trilogy '. It was a breathtaking experience for me when I watched it for the first time.





I didn't take much pictures, enjoying the show was all on my mind. ;P Hope you've enjoyed the fireworks galore anyway. Last but not least, Spot the Heart. ;)

Drum Festival 太鼓祭り

Feel the beat, with the 太鼓祭り, Drum Festival!

It is one of those traditional events held during the Obon Festival ( Ghost Festival ) last week, but don't get me wrong, this is not practised countrywide. Japan has probably countless festivals celebrated at different prefectures, and not necessarily common.

Catch the array of drums, huge ones and small across the stage, a good 500 of them, with kiddy, elderly and in-betweens enthusiastic drummers!




Know what I mean that the stage was h..huge, my lens couldn't cover the entire stage though we were a good distance away from it!



Break the silence of the night... Let the festival begin! Hear the drums from over 2 kilometers away!




Feel the earth move under your feet! These guys set your heart racing and goose bumping!




They shall show you their vigour with their deafening blows! They'll prove that traditional Japanese tunes can sound so unbelievably contemporary!

Give it up for the ardent mass! These are no professionals but mere residents of the neighbourhood who trained hard over months for this festival!

Get skimpy in the summer heat!







Get skimpy and high! Spot the unbashful in red underwear pictured below!





Get rowdy! Spit fire!! More smoke! It's Summer!







I admire these people who stay devoted to their tradition over years. The thousands of spectators roared with performers on stage to make it a big night for Summer.






I wish I could send the rhythmic drums through the post but I can only afford some poorly lit pictures, we were really too far away from the stage. Nevertheless, I wish I've sent some festive delight your way!


YooHoo! Have an upbeat week ahead!! =D

Celebration of a newborn, not mine though... =P

With the close of the Obon Festival in Japan, good R&R times are over. The Bear crawls back to the office, and myself back to the desk. ;)

And what greets me here is the 101st post! Hey, 101 is special, and I'm not too hesitant about what to write. ;)This should very well be a joyous post, I decide... so here it goes, the birth celebration of my friend's baby!




Meet Kaitlyn, the newborn princess of my blogger friend, BP; who arrived on the 13th August 2008. The new babe is surely a beautiful bundle of joy to the family, and I really can't wait to see more of her appearance in days to come! =D

Congratulations BP, on your new blessing from above!! She sure takes after her gorgeous mommy! We rejoice for your family, and pray for God's ever flowing blessing and grace. May everything goes well and smooth at home, and everybody relish the sweet joy of the newborn. Your basket overflows with the Lord's goodness, I pray. =)

You may be too busy to spot this, but hey, this post still celebrates!!

Hugs and God bless...

A 100th post that rejoices

The counter says it. It's a 100th post for the God-Blessed Box!

When I first started the blog and totally clueless about what to DO with it, the 100th post did not cross my mind and even if it did, I reckoned it should take ages to arrive at. =P

Honestly, a 100th post isn't all great like a milestone to me. It can't be special like the friendship I've found across the blogosphere, and the great blogs that nourish my days. Here, I give thanks to all that I know and going to know better...

However, this 100th post that I don't deem special, is SPECIAL as I didn't see it coming that it'll depict a celebration!

A year ago, it hit us hard when my husband's medical report highlighted a polyp found in his stomach. It so happened when we were in the middle of much huge plans... Another detailed checkup confirmed the growth, and we were forced to abort whatever plans that had meant everything to us.

It was a difficult period... With the odd medical system, and to top with, my husband's frequent travel, the growth was ' left ' as it was. Never a time was I freed from the thought of the growing polyp, and the many ' what ifs '... I was truly scared. Then early this year when my pastor had to get his entire stomach removed due to a malignant tumour, there were questions like; was it what I was supposed to be prepared for... There was no peace.

So many times feelings surged and drove this young wife on bended knees to pray. Together, we have prayed hard, as we remembered to play hard. It was a year of fear, delight, tears and laughter but we kept our faith and hoped that the growth would not get worse, while we quietly prepared our hearts for neccessary treatment.

Then at long last, came the medical report and we examined in disbelief... The polyp is gone!


GOD knows how it's been haunting us and now, in His mercy, the Bear is healed! Overwhelmed, I truly find no words to describe this healing miracle, our gratitude and joy ... and now as I write this, tears flow. The Bear is questioned about positive change in his lifestyle that causes the healing, all we know is it happened as a prayer answered. The Bear is HEALED, we are freed!!

You have no idea how important this is to a young couple like us. We can never thank God enough for His miracle, and all the grace that brought us through a struggling year. We are all consumed by His love, and I just want to shout to the whole world, that GOD is GOOD all the time... He is to be praised!!

It doesn't matter if you believe in Jesus or miracle, rejoice with us for our lives are restored! We're affirmed of our faith, and I know that this will keep us strong all times as we unfold what God has in store for our future. And I pray that our peace be yours too, that all will be blessed in many wonderful ways perceived, or not. May this joyful 100th post, be a blessing to many...


God bless.

Good Bougainvillea

Summer is a good time to catch tropical flowers in cold Nagano. The visual treat being 期間限定 which means ' for a limited period only ', ends once the friendly temperature dips low cold.


On this day when the ever so familiar plant showed up before me, I felt the good old Bougainvillea took away every single tire after a ballet lesson, and I was completely rejuvenated... =)


I miss Bougainvillea... How queer that I've never noticed them back in Singapore even though they flourish proudly everywhere.

In a way, I agree with some that man is strange. I realise that in the past, I used to snub at the good things presented to me unreservedly. Man tends to take things for granted and crave for things that he does not own. Nope?




While Bougainvillea has never appealed to me in the past, it's a wonder how they pluck my heartstrings when I see them in Japan. The coveting bug was acting up, badgering me to get a pot of Bougainvillea, but I stayed composed and decided to check. True enough, Bougainvillea needs to be brought indoor during winter period and only thrives at extremely hot temperature.

I love Hibiscus too, but my pots didn't do well and they withered as soon as winter set in. Rearing tropical flowers in seasonal countries prove to be regretfully tricky indeed, and I'm just not too prepared for a second heartbreak.




So, admiration of Bougainvillea is limited to Summer or when I'm back to Singapore. You who see Bougainvillea all the time, do you not gasp at its beauty?



Japan will be enjoying the ' Obon ' holiday ( ghost festival ) with a stretch from tomorrow to Sunday! Yes, I'm looking forward to a good break though we may not be travelling far. For starters, the Bear is taking me to some secret treat tonight =) I wonder what is he up to this time... =P