ANNOUNCEMENT: HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY, MALAYSIA

Wishing all my Malaysian family and friends happy 52 years of independence. Merdeka! Merdeka!


Independence Ceremony, 31 August 1957

ANNOUNCEMENT: MY HOUSEHOLD CAPERS! 500TH POST

OMG…..I cannot believe that I have finally reached my 500th post. Time flies when you are having fun, eh??? I hope you all have enjoyed my jottings as much as I have bringing them to you. So, here’s to the next 500 scribbles…..cheers!

ANNOUNCEMENT: HAPPY BIRTHDAY MISS AG - 15 TODAY!

Happy birthday to a darling, darling girl. We all love you very much. Hope you loved all your presents.

ANNOUNCEMENT: “MY HOUSEHOLD CAPERS!” IS ONE TODAY!

I can’t believe that it has been one year today since I started blogging…..and with a total of 477 posts and 222 different recipes!!! Did I really cook and eat all these different foods? My oh my, I must have. I can’t believe it.

This reminds me of a question a friend once asked me - whether I live to eat or eat to live. My answer….both. I enjoy food and take pride in eating and cooking good food. Imagine how boring life would be without different cuisines. It would be like eating only vanilla ice cream – no chocolate, butterscotch, strawberry etc flavoured ice creams. How palate less. But that does not mean that there can’t be ‘vanilla ice cream’ days? Or even ‘Maggi 2 minute noodle’ or ‘toast and cuppa soup’ days. There has been many a time where I have been guilty of serving or eating this for dinner. But what I don’t think I could survive with is a food roster – Monday is pasta night, Tuesday is bangers and mash, ham steaks for Wednesdays etc, etc. And then there’s those who would only eat the same food. I knew someone that cooked only lentils and chicken curry day in and day out (but had the audacity to complain about the food that they ate elsewhere – Go figure!). It’s bad enough having other aspects of our life regimented without having food and meals succumb to the same fate!!

And, I don’t believe in being a food snob – one that would not experiment or eat food of different cuisines. But what annoys me the most when it comes to food are those who either salt and pepper, or pour tomato sauce or chilli sauce all over their food even before tasting. This to me is the biggest insult ever…..to the food and the cook.

I do however draw the line on eating certain meats and animal parts – this is a personal thing but I don’t begrudge or go all ‘icky’ if someone liked chicken feet or ate beef or lamb liver, ox tail, crumbed brains etc. My parents enjoy chicken feet, Mr G loves his lamb fry and bacon and my S-I-L loves crumbed brains but I don’t carry on and on just because they do. Eating chicken feet does not make one less sophisticated or barbaric….and neither does eating caviar make you cultured….yes, people pay top dollar for caviar….even though all they are eating is fish roe (fish eggs and sperm). And then, there are those who enjoy a snail or two when most of us consider it to be a garden pest! The adage, ‘one man’s meat is another man’s poison’ fits very well here.

Having gone on my high horse on the topic of food, I would also like to acknowledge that it is estimated that 36 million people die of hunger and malnutrition, with 6 million of those being children (source: Wikipedia). So remember, the next time you throw or waste food, there would be 36 million people happy to receive those scraps. Therefore, waste not, want not.

Now back to my blog…..Pity I fell short of the 500 posts mark. Maybe this is something I should aspire to for my second birthday :P

Anyway, thank you so much to all my friends and blogging mates…..without your support, I would not have started and continued to blog…..you have definitely made it an enjoyable year. So, here’s to the next 12 months……Cheers.

ANNOUNCEMENT: HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY 2009

Hundreds of dewdrops to greet the dawn,
Hundreds of bees in the purple clover,
Hundreds of butterflies on the lawn,
But only one mother the wide world over.

~ George Cooper

Happy mother's day to all the great mothers in the world (mine included). Did you get something special? Well, I did....and I ain't sharing....Bwah..ha!ha!

ANNOUNCEMENT: HAPPY BIRTHDAY MS KG - 17 TODAY!

Sing a song of Birthdays
Full of fun and cheer
And may you keep on having them
For many a happy year!

Happy birthday to my darling daughter.

ANNOUNCEMENT: SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE OUT ON DVD ON 1 MAY 2009

The movie SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE will be officially out on DVD in all good music stores in Australia on Friday 1 May 2009. You can however buy it online from overseas distributors and also from Bollywood Quarter now.

You may also check out my review of the movie HERE and the movie's oscar wins HERE.

ANNOUNCEMENT: ANZAC DAY 2009

LEST WE FORGET...

ANNOUNCEMENT: HAPPY EASTER 2009 TO ALL

Hope you all have a safe and enjoyable Easter with your family and friends.

Take care on the roads if you are travelling.

ANNOUNCEMENT: HAPPY BIRTHDAY....

Age is a number and mine is unlisted!
~ Anonymous

Well, another year older, that's for sure....but am I any wiser?

ANNOUNCEMENT: HAPPY CANBERRA DAY 2009

The flag of Canberra

Wishing all my fellow Canberrans a very Happy Canberra Day. Hope you have got the barbie fired to enjoy this day with your family and friends. Enjoy the warm weather (I know, it doesn’t look too warm out there at the moment – hopefully the sun will come out soon) while you can. Winter’s just a few months way….sigh.

The Canberra Coat of Arms

For those of you who are wondering, Canberra Day is an annual public holiday held on the second Monday in March in the Australian Capital Territory (or the ACT) to celebrate the official naming of Canberra. Canberra was named at a ceremony on March 12, 1913 by Lady Denman, the wife of the then Governor-General of Australia, Lord Denman.

King O'Malley laying the first foundation 1913

Before European settlement, the area which eventually becomes the Australian Capital Territory was inhabited by the Indigenous Ngambri People. Archaeological evidence suggests human habitation of the area for at least 28,000 years.

The creation of the Australian Capital Territory is rooted in Australia’s constitution. Section 125 of the Constitution specified that the capital must be placed in a Commonwealth territory within New South Wales but at least 100 miles from Sydney. However, in the early 1900s, Melbourne was easily Australia's largest city and the obvious place for the capital. The western colonies—Western Australia, South Australia and Victoria—supported Melbourne.

However, NSW (the largest colony) and (to a lesser extent) Queensland, favoured Sydney—which was older than Melbourne and the only other large city in Australia. Perhaps one or another of the two colonial capitals might have eventually been acceptable to the smaller states, but the Sydney-Melbourne rivalry was such that neither city would ever agree to the other one becoming capital.

Eventually, a compromise was reached: Melbourne would be the capital on a temporary basis while a new capital was built somewhere between Sydney and Melbourne.

After an extensive search, the present site, about 300 kilometres south-west of Sydney in the foothills of the Australian Alps, was chosen in 1908 as a result of survey work done by Government Surveyor Charles Scrivener in that year. Two persons who campaigned strongly for the Federal capital to be in the Canberra area were John Gale, the publisher of The Queanbeyan Age and Federal politician King O'Malley. The choice of site was a disputed one, and narrowly beating Dalgety, a small town near the NSW/Victoria border.

The NSW government ceded the new Australian Capital Territory to the Commonwealth Government on January 1, 1910. In that same year, the ACT became an alcohol-free area as a result of legislation that the Minister for Home Affairs, King O'Malley ran through Federal Parliament in Melbourne (Ironically, a pub named after King O'Malley was established in the city centre of Canberra during the 1990s – We Australians do have a warped sense of humour!!!).

Old Parliament House - then and now

An international competition was held in 1911 by O'Malley to select a design for the layout of the city. An American architect, Walter Burley Griffin, won the competition in 1913. His idea was to divide the city into two parts using a lake as a dividing point. The sections divided into were: the civilisation part and the governmental part.

A variety of names were suggested for the capital, including Olympus, Paradise, Captain Cook, Shakespeare, Kangaremu, Eucalypta and Myola. The name of Canberra was eventually settled upon. At midday on March 12, 1913 the city was officially given this name by Lady Denman, at a ceremony on Kurrajong Hill (now known as Capital Hill) and building officially commenced. The city now commemorates this anniversary as "Canberra Day" each year on the second Monday of March.

The word Canberra is said to be derived from the various renditions into written English of the name of the indigenous people of the area, the Ngambri. Ngambri was anglicised to Kamberri and first officially recorded in 1832. The first non-Aboriginal landowner, Joshua John Moore, named his property "Canberry Station" and it was thus shown on the 1837 survey of the area.

Explanations have been put forward that the name means 'meeting place' in the Walgalu language, with reference to the various transcriptions of Kambera (alternatively spelt Kamberra, Nganbra or Nganbirra). Alternatively the name was apparently used as a reference to corroborees held during the seasonal migration of the Ngambri people to feast on the Bogong moths that pass through the region each summer. Another explanation sometimes given, but less commonly accepted, is that the word comes from an Aboriginal word "Nganbra" meaning "hollow between a woman's breasts", and refers to the plain between Mount Ainslie and Black Mountain in the area.

The Commonwealth of Australia Parliament House

CANBERRA: IN A NUT SHELL

1901

January 1 - 'Federation'- the Commonwealth of Australia was established, assented to by Queen Victoria signing the Constitution Act. A home for the national government must be established and the following conditions governed choice of site:
'The Seat of Government of the Commonwealth shall be determined by the Parliament and shall be within territory granted to, or acquired by the Commonwealth. It shall be within the State of New South Wales and be distant not less than one hundred miles from Sydney.

Such territory shall contain an area of not less than one hundred square miles granted to the Commonwealth without any payment.'

1902 to 1908

The search for a site for the national capital took place. Forty districts were proposed, 23 of these inspected and the choice narrowed to seven. Albury, Bombala, Lake George, Lyndhurst, Tumut, Dalgety and Yass-Canberra were all examined with regard to adequate water supply, climate and landform suitable for the building of a 'garden city'. Finally in 1908 the Yass - Canberra area was selected as it best filled these requirements, and 2368 km2 were set aside as the Australian Capital Territory, with access to the sea at Jervis Bay.

Charles Scrivener, Surveyor-General selected the most suitable area of the territory for construction of the city. He chose the broad flood-plain of the Molonglo River, 550 metres above sea-level with additional land to the north and south including two lines of hills on the north side rising 300 metres above the plain and low undulations adding attractive variety to the southern area.

1911

An international competition for a city plan was launched, attracting 137 entries. First prize was awarded to American landscape architect Walter Burley Griffin from Chicago whose plan established a city for a population of 25 000 which he expected in time would grow to 75 000. The population is now over 350 000.

Griffin's aim was to obtain unity by applying the natural advantages of the landform to the civic necessities. How well he combined the distant mountains, local hills, valleys and waterways can best be viewed from Mount Ainslie Lookout or Telecom Tower on Black Mountain.

Griffin's words make interesting reading:
...The site may be considered an irregular amphitheatre with Mount Anslie at the north-east, flanked by Black Mountain and Mount Pleasant all forming the top galleries; with the slopes to the water, the auditorium - the waterway and flood-basin, the arena; with the southern slopes reflected in the basin, the terraced stage and setting of monumental Government structures sharply defined rising tier on tier to the culminating highest internal hill, Capital Hill; and with Mugga Mugga, Red Hill and the blue distant mountain ranges forming the back scene of the theatrical whole..."

Dominating Griffin's plan was a central artificial lake and a 'parliamentary triangle' in which the most important national buildings were to be placed. The surrounding residential areas had a geometric street pattern, circular and radial in shape, all fitting well into the general topography.

1913

On 12 March, Canberra was formally named at the laying of a foundation stone on Capital Hill. Griffin arrived in October as Federal Director of Design and Construction - development of the city began.

Source: Wikipedia and Tourism Canberra

ANNOUNCEMENT: HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY 2009

Life without love......

is like a tree without blossom and fruit.....
~ Khalil Gibran

Happy Valentine's Day to my darling kids (and doggy), Mr G, TW, J-A R, HK, my family and all my friends and fellow bloggers who have helped fill my 'tree' with abundant blossoms and fruits.

Love ya all.

ANNOUNCEMENT: HAPPY BIRTHDAY MASTER DG - 11 TODAY!

Wishing our darling son a very Happy 11th Birthday. Many Happy Returns for the day. Hope you like your pressies!!!

With lots of love from your sisters, mum and dad and woof! woof! from Buster.

ANNOUNCEMENT: HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY AND WISHING YOU ALL A VERY PROSPEROUS CHINESE NEW YEAR 2009!

I would like to wish all my fellow Aussies a very 'Happy Australia Day'. May your beer be cold (in my case, my Tassie cider) and your barbie fired up for a good time with family and friends. Here's to our lucky country....cheers mate!


Also, I would like to take this opportunity to wish all my good friends and blog mates a 'Prosperous and Happy Chinese New Year 2009'.

In particular, I would like to extend my personal greetings of "Kong Hee Fatt Choy" to:

Yat Lee, Hong Kuan, Eunice, Grace, Gert of Kitchen Snippets, Joanna of Family First, Chris of Pure Glutton, Jen of Tastes of Home, Ching of Little Corner Of Mine, Dora Almond, Beach Lover's Kitchen, Charming of My Humble Kitchen, Tigerfish of Teczcape and Lady Home Chef. My apologies if I have omitted anyone. May the year of the OX bring you prosperity and good tidings!

ANNOUNCEMENT: UPDATE - AN UNFORSEEN 'BREAK' FROM BLOGGING

Thank you so much to all my friends and blog followers, for your well wishes with regards to my recent mishap.

Unfortunately, I have misaligned my spine as a consequence of my ankle. As a result from 'over compensating' for my sore ankle, I have now put my back 'out' by nearly two centimeters. I am however getting better and hope to make a full recovery soon. Once again, thank you all for your concerns and well wishes. I hope to start blogging and visiting your blogs when typing is no longer a chore.

ANNOUNCEMENT: AN UNFORSEEN 'BREAK' FROM BLOGGING

My apologies to all my blog friends for not 'visiting' your blogs in the past week or so and also for not updating my blog.

I have sprained my ankle badly and have to keep it elevated for a few days until the swelling goes down. Thank god I did not fracture or break any bones.

If just a sprain is causing this much trouble, imagine what a break would have caused!!! Just trying to type these few lines is causing me some discomfort and the very hot weather here (36 deg Celsius) is not helping my cause too! We are not happy, Jan.

Sorry...I am just feeling rather miserable at the moment.....Hope to be back on deck next week. Till then me maties.

ANNOUNCEMENT: HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009

I would like to wish all my family, friends and loyal ‘My Household Capers’ readers a very HAPPY NEW YEAR! May all your new wishes and resolutions for 2009 come true.

Also, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate my best friend TW on her recent engagement. All the best for the future, my friend. You deserve it!

ANNOUNCEMENT: MERRY CHRISTMAS 2008

Christmas is forever, not for just one day,
for loving, sharing, giving, are not to put away
like bells and lights and tinsel, in some box upon a shelf.
The good you do for others is good you do yourself...

~Norman Wesley Brooks

Wishing you all a very

from all of us at

"MY HOUSEHOLD CAPERS"

Hugs and Kisses from VG and Family

And remember to keep your Christmas-heart open

all the year round!

ANNOUNCEMENT: MY ARTICLE ON 'ALL RECIPES AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND'

Imagine my astonishment when I was contacted by ‘All Recipes Australia/New Zealand’ to write a feature story for their blog site. I didn’t think that my humble blog merited the attention of the publishers (who also publish ‘Notebook Magazine’, a successful lifestyle magazine in Australia) but obviously it had.

After much deliberation and contemplation, I decided to write about the spice trade and one of my favourite spices, chillies. So, if you are interested in reading my article, please click on All Recipes Blog. Whilst you are there, don't forget to check out their great recipe site. And do let me know what you think about my article!

NATTER: WEEWEECHU......

It's a romantic full moon, when Pedro said, "Hey, Mamacita, let's do Weeweechu."

“Oh no, not now, let's look at the moon!" said Rosita.

“Oh, c'mon baby, let's you and I do Weeweechu. I love you and it's the perfect time," Pedro begged.

"But I wanna just hold your hand and watch the moon." replied Rosita.

“Please, corazoncita, just once, do Weeweechu with me."

Rosita looked at Pedro and said, "OK, one time, we'll do Weeweechu."

Pedro grabbed his guitar and they both sang.....

"Weeweechu a Merry Christmas, Weeweechu a Merry Christmas, Weeweechu a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year."

And we too, at the G Household, ‘WEECHU’ a very MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR …… muah*muah*muah*!

PS: And you thought it was going to be a raunchy joke, didn't you??