Chedi Chaiya mangkalaram in Penang

Yesterday was a good visit to the temple to say a prayer and to pay respect to my ancestors. Some days I go in feeling unsettled but I always come out feeling at peace and blessed.

This trip I also want to say a big thank you to the temple for giving me a very special gift which I have been searching for a while now. I am thankful 🙏
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Your work is to discover yours, and then with all your heart to give yourself to it ~ Buddha.

Sketch of the day no 1284 in my moleskine sketchbook is of the chedi Chaiya mangkalaram in Penang. It is part of the oldest Thai temple in Penang.

Walking to work on Friday lunchtime four weeks ago I turned off the main road and was met by the unusual sight of two of the firm’s vans and several cars parked along one side of the lane leading down to the works, something which I’ve never seen in all the years I’ve worked there. In the distance I could hear the noise of some machinery so wondered if maybe the car park was being resurfaced, however when I got round the bend further down the lane I came across something which I certainly didn’t expect to see. A huge tree several yards from the lane had toppled over and completely blocked it and there was no access for vehicles either in or out.

Now I don’t normally take my camera to work unless I know for certain that I’ll be using it so I hadn’t got it with me…

Whenever anyone asks me what my go-to dish is, the answer is always a one-pan wonder.

One-pan wonders are pretty effortless, they result in less dishes to clean after cooking, and they’re incredibly tasty due to all the ingredients infusing their individual flavours into one scrumptious dish.

I always do my one-pan wonders in my big electric frying pan, but if you’ve got a large, deep saucepan, you’re good to go!

Who’s hungry? Vincent and I, and our housemate Roan, too. However this recipe will easily feed a hungry family of 4.

Ingredients

• 4 chicken thighs
• 4 chicken drumsticks
• 1 onion, diced
• 200 g diced bacon
• 4 potatoes, quartered
• 150 g sliced mushrooms
• 4 tomatoes, quartered
• 5 baby marrows, sliced

Another weeknight, another quick and easy dinner. But, by no means does “quick and easy” mean boring.

Thank goodness for my friend Woolworths and their fantastic stir-fry mix combos, because without their help this stir-fry might have required much more effort to get those perfectly tangy Thai flavours just right.

Who’s hungry? Vincent, Roan and I, so this recipe serves 3.

Ingredients

• 4 large chicken breasts, cubed or sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
• 10 peppadews
• 1 pack Asian stir-fry veggies
• 1 sachet fresh Thai sauce (for stir-frying)
• 250 g fresh egg noodles
• 30 ml chicken spice
• 15 ml thyme
• 5 ml sesame oil
• salt & ground black pepper
• coconut oil for frying

Chop the chicken

Once your chicken is chopped to your liking, add it to a mixing bowl and sprinkle with chicken spice, thyme, some salt and pepper. Mix until thoroughly coated in…

 I must have seen Addams Family Values quite a while before I saw the first film. It was kind of disappointing after watching the sequel. It’s one of the few franchises where the second film is better than the first. Looking at the behind the scenes information, it’s clear to see why. The Addams Family was a troubled film. It went massively over-budget; to the sum of $5 million. This was mostly due to rewrites of the script. Many of which were being done as it was being filmed. There were other stressful issues such as health problems and difficulties for director Barry Sonnenfeld. To try and recoup their losses, Orion Pictures sold the film to Paramount. Despite all of this, the film was a commercial success and made way more than it cost to make. Something we should be really thankful for because it’s the only reason that we…

I read Forest of a Thousand Lanterns recently because I am always in the mood for an Evil Queen story. So I was a little surprised by how much I disliked Xifeng and not in a hate to love way either. Or even in a well obviously she’s going to be the evil Queen way.

I think it’s a fine line to walk with unlikeable characters Evil Queen or not. But I have some ideas on what works and what, for me, didn’t work for this particular would be Evil Queen.