Lower Is Slower

Yes, I admit it, I have this fascination for clocks. 

As you may know, back in May 2018, I got a skeleton clock which I truly love.  However the fascination over the clock being able to ring out the hour gets rekindled every time I hear the bells at Town Hall go off.

The Town Hall clock has beautiful Westminster chimes.  They go off every quarter with a melody where the number of chime sets match the number of quarters that have passed and then the clock would strike out the time on the hour. 

Did I mention that I have a window seat on the 24th floor on a building diagonally across Town Hall?  So believe me, I hear it several times a day from Mondays to Fridays.  (Now I feel like one of Ivan Pavlov's dogs.)

Anyway, I checked out clocks online again.  Only the second hand clocks in MarketPlace and Gumtree seem to be within a reasonable price range.  I used the key words 'westminster chime,'  'chiming clock.', 'chime clock,' and 'cuckoo clock.'  After seeing what was popping up with these searches, I added 'mantle clock' to the searches.

At the onset, I was keen on finding one with the Westminster chime.  I had almost been able to get a mantle clock with Westminster chime for $30.  I even brought out the cash and added MacGyver to the conversation with the seller so he could pick it up for me.  However, the next morning, we saw that the ad was tagged as SOLD and the seller didn't reply to any of my messages from the night before.  MacGyver said I probably asked too many questions about the clock.  He said that when he advertises things for sale, he just wants the transaction over and done with.  He doesn't like to get hassled by too many questions form the buyer.  (Oops, that would be me asking about the product before making the commitment to purchase.)

My search continued. 

One Saturday morning, I saw a cuckoo clock get advertised for $50.  The ad had only been posted for 2 minutes and it looked like a real decent clock.  At the time, I was convinced I wanted a clock with Westminster chimes, and a cuckoo clock would not have that, so I did not respond to the ad.  However, after some thought, I figured that the cuckoo clock would provide me with the hourly ring I was looking for, and considering most of the mantle clocks with Westminter chimes being advertised cost more than $50 even if they were not working, perhaps this was the clock for me.   By the time I decided that I would settle for a clock that rang out the hour, the $50 cuckoo clock was no longer available.  (I guess it wasn't for me after all.)

I said to myself, if I am meant to find one, I will find one.

True enough, later in the day, I saw an ad in Gumtree for a mantel clock being sold for $20.  Keeps good time, the ad said, and it was not too far from our place.  I send out a text message keeping in mind MacGyver's "don't ask too many questions" tip.  I limited my message to asking where we could check out the clock and whether it chimes out the hour. I mentioned that if it chimes out the hour number, I would get the clock.  Fortunately, the seller responded promptly and by 4pm we were on our way to Lochinvar Parade.

The seller was working in the garage when we arrived.  They were renovating the place and he said the clock was inside the house. I followed him inside the house to see the clock.  The clock was right by the door.  He turned the minute hand to 12 and let me hear the clock strike.  He showed me the key and wound the clock.  The left keyhole is for the hourly chime, the right keyhole is for the time.  Always wind towards the face of the clock, he reminded me, and stop once it feels tight.  Do not overwind it.  He showed me the pendulum and gave me instructions on how to put it on.  He said it was best to remove the pendulum from the clock while in transit.  He mentioned that the pendulum speed would vary depending on the season and I would have to adjust the knob at the bottom as needed.  And then he gave me these words of wisdom, "Lower is slower".  (I like that.  It makes perfect sense and it is easy to remember.)

I asked him why he was selling such a thing of beauty and he said that his wife said he had too many clocks.  He pointed out the wall beside the door, then added that he had some more clocks inside the house.  I looked at wall and saw that he had two skeleton clocks similar to mine!   (Yes, indeed.  If he had more clocks inside the house in addition to the two skeleton clocks on the wall, he could certainly spare this mantel clock.  Lucky for me!) 

We brought the clock home and positioned it on the top shelf.  I installed the pendulum and tried to figure out how to get the chimes to synch with the time.  When the clock chimed nine times, I set the time to nine o'clock then waited until 9PM to restart the pendulum.  When the clock hit 10:00, it rang nine times.  (Huh?  Well that didn't work.)   I moved the hands around again, let the chimes go off several times, and based on my calculations, if I were to restart the pendulum at 12:00, I should be good to go.  I figured it would be easy enough to restart the clock at noon on Sunday.

It just so happened that I was still awake at midnight so I ran downstairs, restarted the pendulum, then went to sleep.

Tick-tock-tick-tock!

Much to my dismay, all throughout Sunday the chimes did not match the time.  In fact, MyGirl reported at 11:01 PM that she could have sworn she heard the clock ring 14 times! At midnight, she said she heard it ring 21 times!  (Could this clock be working on military time?  I thought I was mistaken when I thought I had counted 13 earlier that day but maybe I wasn't.)

On Monday morning, MyGirl sent us a video of the clock.  It rang six times when the clock face clearly showed 8:00.  (Yes, this clock was driving her crazy.)

Check out the exchange of text messages we had on Monday evening at 9:07 PM  

                  MyGirl:    clock rang 6 times

                  RD :         9:07 on the dot

                  me :         To keep everyone on their toes

                  GI :         "It's a feature not a bug"

When I got home, I adjusted the minute hand.  That much I could do.  I had yet to figure out how to get the chimes to call out the right number. 


I listened to the clock chime eight times at 11PM that evening.  The next morning, I heard it ring four times at 7:00, and five times at 8:00. So far so good, it was giving me the right time even and it was consistently ringing T-3.  (At least I could throw out the military time theory.)

I replied to GI's latest text to agree that it was a feature, not a bug. I wrote, "This is the olden version of a world clock. The face shows Sydney time but it chimes Manila time."   (I quickly got an "Okay, Mother" for that lame story.)


I knew it was only a matter of time before I got this clock to work properly. I was committed to this clock.  I had promised its former owner that would take good care of it.


On (Ash) Wednesday, I ended up going home early (well, earlier than usual) because I wasn't feeling well.  I adjusted the hour hand and hoped for the best.  Am happy to report that  by the time MacGyver came home, the clock was ticking away and chiming the right time.


(Addendum and disclaimer : The day after I finalized the draft of this post, my new clock decided to stop at 1AM.  When I attempted to get it up and running again, it opted to provide us with random number of chimes at different times of the day.  Yes, it even rang 15 times a couple of times.  We'll see how it goes.  I'm not giving up on this clock just yet.)

Two Peas from Different Pods

You probably read the article about The Mixed-Up Brothers of Bogota.  Carlos and Jorge Castro and William and Wilbur Velasco, two pairs of identical twins from Columbia that ended up being raised as a pair of fraternal twins because of a mix-up at the hospital in 1988.  It's all over the news.   

RD mentioned the story during lunch and I admitted to the kids that the thought of having one of my babies swapped at the hospital at birth was one of my worst nightmares.  "In fact,"  I told them,  "I cried when I had to leave GI at the hospital when he was born. They would not let us bring him home with us because he still had some jaundice."

My mind ran through their birth stories then it dawned on me, "I also had to leave MyGirl at the hospital.  We were only checked in for a half-day when MyGirl was born.  I went home the next day but she had to stay at the hospital for 24 hours."  And I concluded with, "Oh, but you RD, I brought you home with me the day after you were born.  It was New Year's Eve, the hospital had a very lean staff and we didn't want to stay there.  So we went home."

This bit of information made RD crow, "Yes!  You guys might have been swapped.  I'm legit."

Despite the fact I look so much like my sisters and that MacGyver resemble his brothers (even if he denies it), the three kids don't look like each other at all.  It is understandable that MyGirl doesn't look like her brothers but with the boys not looking like each other, that makes the three of them look like a bag of mixed nuts.

 (BTW, I love mixed nuts, especially if they look like these.)

I teased RD that if there was anyone that didn't look like anyone in our family, it would be him (although we all know that he does look like Father). GI looks so much like his dad and his paternal cousins. MyGirl looks like me; everyone, including Facebook, thinks so. But RD is really combination of both parents and does not distinctly look like one or the other.  I teased RD but I reassured him that I was 100% certain he was ours.   

So is it nature or nurture?  There will always be a debate.  The reality is that two of these boys were dealt a different set of cards having been "adopted" by accident.  It is comforting to know that although they were not related by blood, Wilber told William, "I don't care who they are.  You're my brother, and you'll be my brother until the day I die."  And in a similar token, to prove how much he cared for his sibling,  Jorge had the face of his fraternal twin Carlos tattooed on his chest.  

For the twins in the NY Times story, their lives will continue but it will never quite be the same.  The movie Big Business, revolving around this theme, was made in 1988, the year these twins were born. But life is not always the same as seen on the big screen.  Let's just hope these Columbian twins also have a happy ending.  

A Loaf of Bread, A Container of Milk and a Stick of Butter

I caught Slash-M on Skype today. He was busy working on something.

It seemed as if he was making a ransom note or something.

He explained that they were refrigerator magnets for their grocery list.

There were Swedish words on the magnets and he was sorting them.

I could not help but laugh.  Is this fridge magnet grocery list a GUY THING?

Check out our grocery list care of MacGyver. 

He printed out the grocery list and glued them on refrgerator magnets

which he later cut up to size.

The theory is stick the grocery items we need onto the blank GROCERY LIST

when supplies run low and move them back to the side once they have been purchased.

And as you can see, GI had his own idea of what should be in the grocery list.  

He has added PIZZA into the grocery list (permanently).

Ten Years

Today is the 10th year death anniversary of MacGyver's dad.

MacGyver shared these pictures today in FB.

He wrote, "One of Daddy's greatest legacy is his passionate love for kids."

That is the truth.  Nobody can deny that.

We miss you, Daddy.

08 November 2004 was a Monday.  Daddy had been hospitalized since the Saturday prior. We had been able to visit him that Saturday evening.  He seemed to be improving and we were happy and hopeful.

Daddy was scheduled for a test on Monday and I don't remember if there was a call to advise that something was amiss but I do recall that MacGyver left to go to the hospital early that morning. MacGyver said I didn't have to go with him, knowing that I had something scheduled at the office at 9AM.

Don't ask me why, but after mass I decided to take a bus to the hospital, instead of taking a jeepney to work.

I will always be thankful that I listened to the voice inside me telling me to go for the longer trip to the hospital instead of a shorter one to the office.  It was the single, most significant bus ride decision I have made in my life.  It is the one ride I will never regret taking.  

I arrived at the hospital and joined other family members at Daddy's bedside.

We prayed the rosary together as we listened to his heart monitor beep.

Daddy was with us until the last mystery.  

At least that is what I thought on that fateful Monday ten years ago.  

I know better now.  Now I know that Daddy is with us everyday.

Going Home

(This is from 11 November 2004.)

"I want to go home on Monday."

This was Daddy's request on Saturday, 6 November 2004, as he lay on his hospital bed at Medical City General Hospital. He had been there since early that morning, when he was rushed to the Emergency Room. He was scheduled for an upper GI examination on Monday morning, which we'd hoped would shed some light on the cause of the deterioration of his health.

He had not been well. We knew he was sick. In 2001, he experienced a swelling in his tongue, which affected his speech and caused difficulty in swallowing. He was diagnosed in April 2002 to have amyloidosis**, which is a very rare disease. Although the disease is not called 'cancer,' the treatment and prognosis are the same. Over the next two years, Daddy underwent chemotherapy which seemed to slow down the progress of the disease.

Daddy increasingly had difficulty in swallowing, so Mommy would lovingly prepare osterized meals. A few months ago, he complained that even if he hadn't finished his food, there was a sensation of being full. He was diagnosed to have liver cancer. There was a 10 cm liver mass exerting pressure on his stomach. He was experiencing a lot of pain. Standing up and lying down required a lot of effort on his part, and careful assistance on the part of his companion.

Over the past few weeks, his health deteriorated rapidly. A peg (a feeding tube straight to the stomach) was inserted to supplement his food intake, which was low, and was worsened by frequent vomiting. When traces of blood were noted as he vomited last Saturday morning, they immediately set for the hospital.

Daddy was able to rest on Saturday and Sunday. Medical City was like a second home to Daddy. His spirits were lifted when Dr. Alran Bengzon visited him on Sunday afternoon. He and Dr. Bengzon were friends from way back.

However, Daddy turned for the worse on Monday morning. He requested for his last rites, and received the Sacrament of Extreme Unction at about 5 a.m. 

Daddy died peacefully at 11:00 a.m., 08 November 2004, in the presence of his family. (God granted him his request.)

Please pray for the eternal repose of the soul of my father-in-law, Antonio. He was 73 years old. He was a simple man, a very kind and caring man. I will miss him a lot.

=================

**Amyloidosis is "a generic term for a collection of diseases that results in the abnormal deposition of amyloid protein throughout the body." In layman terms, the bone marrow produces proteins in the blood that the body is unable to break down and excrete. These proteins get deposited between cells of organs, causing it to swell until it fails. Common organs affected are the tongue, heart, liver and kidneys, although virtually any organ of the body may be affected.

The Force is Strong with This One

There is Star Wars movie coming out?

Oh!  There is a Star Wars movie coming out.

In 2015, Star Wars Episode VII is expected to hit the big screens with some of the original Star Wars trilogy stars being part of the film.  No wonder I have been seeing Star Wars on various store window displays.

First at Peter Alexander (sleepwear store)

then at Vans (shoe store)

 

and at Dymock's (bookstore).

At Dymock's they had a whole set of posters like the one above.   Last week, they had a big poster that said, READING, It's Our Only Hope with Darth Vader on a chair reading a book and young Leia seated on the floor by the chair also reading a book. Too bad Dymock's changed the window display over the weekend and I wasn't able to take more photos.  I particularly liked the one that had young Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader at the breakfast table with the words,  "Use the fork, Luke!"  

I discovered that these were by Jeffrey Brown who has illustrated books with the Star Wars theme.  One is entitled Star Wars: Darth Vader & Son, the next one Star Wars : Vader's Little Princess, and the latest one, Star Wars : Jedi Academy.  I generally pass by Dymock's on my way to work so the bookstore is still closed.  I have to drop by when the store is open and check out these charming books.  

I remember how much we enjoyed Star Wars as kids. We would listen to the music by John Williams.  We had a Star Wars board game. We had a Return of the Jedi cartridge for Atari.   If memory serves me right, Sister Deer went to a party with a Princess Leia hairdo.  This last one I am 100% certain to be true, Slash M teased J incessantly by calling him Jabba the Hut Junior.  

Star Wars was a big thing.  When it first came out, we thought all the special effects were awesome.  I am sure that the Star Wars special effects pale in comparison to today's computer graphics but I still think the movie was ahead of its time. I can't remember how many times I've watched the various movies over they years and I will probably always enjoy Star Wars more than any of my kids ever will.  It doesn't matter, I still look forward to watching the new Star Wars movie next year.

Until then, May the Force be with you!

Smiles Away

I've shifted my work hours starting Friday the 24th in line with our brand name that claims we never sleep.  So now I work from 10AM to 6:15PM (or so I'm told).   I can theoretically catch the M61 or 610X bus at 9AM and still make it to work on time.

They recently installed a traffic light and pedestrian lane about fifty metres from my bus stop.  This means that instead of making a mad dash across the road like a human Frogger, I can now wait for the traffic light to turn red and cross the street in a calm, orderly fashion. Of course this will entail a longer walk because the pedestrian lane is AFTER the bus stop whereas I would previously make a run to cross the street BEFORE the bus stop.  

Yesterday, I left the house a little before 9AM and walked towards the bus stop.  I saw my City-bound 610X bus at the bus stop but the light was still green.  I didn't want to cross illegally just to catch the bus so I waited across the street for the lights to turn. By the time the traffic light turned red to allow the pedestrians to cross, the bus had closed its door and moved forward towards the pedestrian lane.   

As I crossed the street, I motioned to the Chinese-looking driver as if to ask whether he would still let me in.  He smiled as he shook his head.  I acknowledged that I knew he could not take me in and waved him good bye. 

The next bus arrived soon after and off to the city I went.

I arrived at the city at about 9:40AM and walked towards the office.  I passed by the side of the Queen Victoria Building where I would normally take my homeward bound bus in the afternoon or evening.  As I approached the bus stop, I saw a 610X pull over and open its door to pick up passengers.  I glanced at the driver as I walked past the bus and saw it was the same driver from earlier that morning, driving the bus I had missed at the bus stop on the way to work.    

I gave him a smile as if to say "I made it, don't worry."  He recognised me immediately and gave me the thumbs up with a big smile.  

Smile at a stranger and get a smile back.   

It was a good way to start the day, a good way to start the year.

Happy Chinese New Year, everyone!  

The More (Coffee) The Merrier (Christmas Planner)

I'm really not a coffee addict.  However, I do drink more coffee these days than I used to when we were back in the home country.  MacGyver and I actually have several containers of instant coffee in the house now.  We would have Nescafe like normal people do, Decaf for the times when we feel like having coffee but know we need to sleep, and the occasional date coffee such as Moccona or Nescafe Gold for the times when we want to share something special.   (We are simple folk.)

I often tell MacGyver that I prefer it when he prepares my coffee.  No, I am not being lazy about boiling water and preparing coffee.  It's just that I feel my coffee doesn't taste as nice when I make it myself. (I think he sprinkles an extra bit of love in there, making my coffee taste better than when I make my own.)

Anyway, I realised that I only really started drinking coffee in 2008 as documented in my blog post Coffee, Coffee, and that since writing Not Just Any Cup of Coffee , I have increased my coffee chain statistics as follows :

Previously ONE, currently two, or possibly even three.  I joined Sunshine and her husband at the Starbucks along Timog Avenue when we went home for Father and Mother's 50th anniversary in 2011.  We had a nice long talk. That one I know for sure.  Then back in 2010, I vaguely recall walking into a Starbucks with some of my officemates. One of them wanted to try the green tea latte.  They were a bunch of coffeeholics so I must have joined them for a cup of coffee that day. Let's call it THREE then.  I actually passed up a possible fourth when we had a mini-reunion last September. I was with two classmates from High School.  We had lunch then we walked around the city.  Before heading home, one of them offered to treat us to Starbucks.  However, since none of us were really THAT into coffee, we opted for bubble tea instead.  (It just shows where Starbucks is in our list of places to frequent.)

I have added Gloria Jean's to my coffee chains sampled. In fact, I believe I have had TWO cups of coffee from here.  The first time was with my sister-in-law when we bumped into each other at the mall and a second time with a friend who works in the same floor as I do and lives nearby.  I often see her at the church in our parish and we went for coffee one Saturday after mass. I had almost gotten a third one when the trader from Tokyo came to visit Sydney.  He wanted to meet us bearing cups of coffee but he had only ordered four.  He regularly deals with three of us and did not realise there were two other members in the team.  One of my colleagues was absent that day and since I knew the trader needed his coffee fix more than I did, I let him have the fourth cup.  

Anyway, since Christmas is fast approaching, the Starbucks Planner is a hot topic once again.  I remember former officemates in Manila going out for coffee and rejoicing when they had earned enough points to redeem a planner.   I suppose some people just really drink a LOT of coffee or some people just really WANT to get a planner.

I found these myManila infographics interesting.   They illustrate the cheapest way to get the planner/s based on the mechanics of the planner promo and the cheapest drinks on the menu. 

In summary : 

2012 -- PHP140 Short Peppermint Mocha; PHP95 Short Brewed Coffee

(Option 1) PHP 2,020 - 9 Christmas Drinks + 8 Core Beverages

(Option 2) PHP 2,185 - 23 Core Beverages

2013 -- PHP140 Short Toffee Nut Latte; PHP 85 Short Brewed Coffee

PHP 1,940 - 9 Christmas Drinks + 8 Core Beverages

2014 - PHP140 Short Gingerbread Latte; PHP 85 - Short Brewed Coffee

PHP 2,025 -  9 Christmas Drinks + 9 Core Beverages

What do we conclude?

1. Short brewed coffee was more expensive in 2012. ( I wonder if the cup was bigger then.)  
2. The selection of cheapest Christmas Drinks have changed over the years.  I don't know enough to make any comments on the popularity,  taste, size, or even the cost of these drinks.
3. Based on the additional information provided in the 2014 version, there is an increased consciousness over the calories that come with the planner.   
4. Regardless of cost, kind, or number of cups, if people want to get a planner, they will.

Bread Company

Remember my last post where I had a recipe for No Knead Bread which I wanted to try?

Well here is the bread, complete with rosemary (from the "garden")!

We baked it yesterday.

Since it needed 4 1/2 cup of flour,

the loaf yield was quite decent.

I sliced the loaf and announced, "Bread!"

GI came over and got a slice.  He topped it with some sliced ham and placed it inside the oven toaster. (The sliced ham is something that GI had purchased from the grocery for his sandwiches. The rest of the family knows it belongs to him.)

I decided to toast a slice for myself so I nudged his slice of bread to the left and placed mine beside his.  When the oven toaster timer rang, GI came over to pick up his bread.

"Oh!  My bread has company!"  he exclaimed as he saw my slice of bread in the toaster.

"It was lonely,"  I explained.   

GI laughed.

Then I added, "My bread is lonely too. It's missing sliced ham."

(GI did not find that funny.)

You Had One Job!

Yesterday, GI introduced me to the whole concept of 'you had one job,'  by giving this example :  

In the Jurassic Park credits, you'll see 'DINOSAUR CONTROL.'
You had one job!

I thought that was funny so MyGirl showed me a couple more Instagram photos. 

I  was genuinely amused at most of the photos,  I was laughing so much.  She said she never laughed as hard as I did when she was looking through the photos under a 'you had one job' account.  

What can I say?  They WERE funny!

Yesterday, I saw this in the seafood store.  You'd think they were selling frog's legs.  

TOADY SPECIAL.  Really?  

You had one job!

Choose Happiness

Bronnie Ware is an Australian nurse who spent several years working in palliative care.  In her http://www.inspirationandchai.com she had written an article on Regrets of the Dying.  

She now has a book (which I have not read) The Top Five Regrets of the Dying - A Life Transformed by the Dearly Departing.

I actually chanced upon these top five regrets when watching Jane McGonigal (a world-renowned designer of alternate reality games — or, games that are designed to improve real lives and solve real problems) in one of her Ted Talks appearances.


Let me share what people on their death beds had consistently expressed as what they regret or wish they had done differently 

1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me
2. I wish I didn't work so hard
3. I wish I had the courage to express my feelings
4.  I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends
5. I wish I had let myself be happier

There you have it folks.  If you are reading this blog post now, then you still have time.


Let us LIVE a FULL LIFE, not a live a life full of regrets.

“The saddest summary of life contains three descriptions: could have, might have, and should have.” ~ Unknown

'I' Before 'E' Except After 'C'

'I' before 'E' except after 'C'?

Not according to some ancient species found in sufficient number in a science society.  They would claim to be among the exceptions.

Plus, a weird Keith out there would either have a counterfeit seizure at some foreign leisure resort or stand at full height just to prove that 'C' is not an integral part of the rule.

What brought all this about?

Well, everyday, we have transactions with Qantas and I learned something new when I asked around.

All the while I thought maybe they forgot the rule that 'Q' and 'U' go together or that maybe 'qantas' was one of those words that Australians liked to spell differently from the rest of the world.

Did you know that QANTAS is the acronym for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services"?

Well, before I arrived in Australia, I surely didn't know that. 

Yes, I know, I should have known since PAL stands for Philippine Airlines and JAL stands for Japan Airlines.  I suppose it is because QANTAS is not usually in all caps.  It is often seen as 'Qantas' thus the assumption that it is a word rather than an acronym.

Another interesting fact I learned is that aside from the fact that the choice of a kangaroo as the Qantas logo was not only because kangaroos are only found in primarily in Australia but also because kangaroos cannot walk or move backwards (due to the unusual shape of its legs and its bulky tail) thus the 'keep moving forward' implication. 


Interesting!  


You learn something new everyday.

Titanic : 100 Years Past

A hundred years ago today, the RMS Titanic disappeared beneath the surface of the Atlantic Ocean.

Who was to know that the Titanic's maiden voyage would be its last?

The Titanic left Southampton England on 10 April 1912, a Wednesday. It was headed for New York. It is said that there were more than 2,200 people on board the Titanic. There were over 880 crew members and over 1,300 passenger. Of the passengers, there were about 330 in first class, over 280 in second class and over 700 in third class.

At 11:40 PM on the night of 14 April 1912, the Royal Mail Ship Titanic struck an iceberg. It sank less than three hours after, at around 2:20 AM on the morning of 15 April.

Of the 2,200 or so people on board, only about 710 people survived.

There was a documentary on TV the other night which featured letters written by Titanic survivors about their experience. They had descendants of these survivors to read out the letters some of which described what they recalled about the ship itself, and the experience before, during and after the tragedy.

Reportedly, the Titanic had the capacity to carry 64 life boats but there were only sixteen wooden life boats and four collapsible ones. Legally, however, this was four more than the number required for the ship (based on its design, the sixteen watertight compartments, etc.). The Titanic was a passenger line, a luxury ship, and it seems they had stuck to having a lesser number of life boats because the additional life boats were deemed an eyesore on the ship's deck. They had thought the Titanic was unsinkable. I suppose they didn't think they would really need the life boats.

In the documentary, they had quoted the cost one of the first class passengers paid for his ticket at £35 (in comparison, second class and third class tickets were quoted at about £15 and £8, respectively).

It struck me that death is truly the great equalizer. The man who had paid for a first class ticket was in the same sinking ship as the man who was at third class.

Are we not all like Titanic passengers in this life?

We never know when an "iceberg" will come and change our lives.

We sometimes ignore warnings that our sent our way.

Our decisions in times of crisis determine whether we will survive or not.

We know not the time and day when our maker will call us.

When the time comes, it will not matter if we are rich or poor.

In the end, we will leave everything we physically own behind.

Everything I Need to Know, I Learned from the Easter Bunny…

Got this in my mail today. Happy Easter, everyone.

Everything I Need to Know, I Learned from the Easter Bunny ...

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

Walk softly and carry a big carrot.

Everyone needs a friend who is all ears.

There’s no such thing as too much candy.

All work and no play can make you a basket case.

A cute little tail attracts a lot of attention.

Everyone is entitled to a bad hare day.

Let happy thoughts multiply like rabbits.

Some body parts should be floppy.

Keep your paws off other people’s jellybeans.

Good things come in small-sugar coated packages.

The grass is greener in someone else’s basket.

An Easter bonnet can cover the wildest hare.

To show your true colors, you have to come out of your shell.

The best things in life are still sweet and gooey.

Tae-Ho

Last year, I chanced upon Nick Vujicic. This year, it is Tae-Ho.

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=BfL2U0BJ48g&vq=medium#t=81

I find such stories incredibly inspiring.

In the midst of our worries and anxiety, we often forget how lucky we are to simply have all our five senses, all our fingers and toes, all our limbs.

I know that I often fail to appreciate these simple, seemingly ordinary blessings. These tiny peeks into other people's lives and challenges remind me how incredibly lucky I am.

I know it is only just March, and it isn't even Autumn yet, but let's count our blessings instead of sheep.

Have a good Holy Week ahead.

Grasshopper Bars

Mint. I love the taste of mint. Mint chocolate, mint ice cream, spearmint, peppermint, after dinner mints, creme de menthe. You name it, I love it.

(I have met a lot of people that don't really like mint flavoured food items. They say it is like eating toothpaste. To each his own ... and btw, if you don't want your share of mint chocolate, I'll take it.)

This love for mint has trickled down to the children. It is entirely possible that my love for mint is something I got from my parents. They would buy Andes Mints for us when they went off on trips abroad and those were ALWAYS special. You can imagine how happy I was when they came out with the Mint Parfait version which was mint-chocolate-mint instead of the more common chocolate-mint-chocolate.

Some time back I spotted some mint extract in the grocery. I hesitated but MyGirl went, "Get it, Mom! Get it!" and so it got added to the grocery cart.

Having mint extract in the spice rack enables us to make some things we'd not normally consider making. One of these out of the ordinary recipes is Grasshopper Bars.

Grasshopper Bars are essentially chocolate brownies with an added mint layer and chocolate topping. Calorie laden but super yummy.

We made a batch of Grasshopper Bars earlier this year and instead of greasing and flouring the baking pan (like the INSTRUCTIONS said), I used the home brand grease-proof baking paper. Although the bars were superb, the baking paper stuck to the brownies. MyGirl was sorely disappointed and made me promise we'd make them again (and not use the substandard baking paper).

When I asked her what she wanted to make on Saturday, she declared she wanted Grasshopper Bars. So that is what we baked yesterday since I did make a promise.

For yesterday's batch, I used the icing we had left over from last week's Texas Sheet Cake and added a few (not enough) drops of mint extract. On a normal basis, I would half the brownie recipe because I don't own a 13x9x2-inch baking pan and would use my trusty 9" square pan. I would also cut down on the powdered sugar and butter on the mint layer. That is self-explanatory. (A moment on your lips, a lifetime on your hips.)

Grasshopper bars? Cool.

GRASSHOPPER BARS

(Better Homes and Garden recipe)

Makes 36 bars

Brownies :

4 squares (4 oz) unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled

1 c margarine or butter, softened

2 c granulated sugar

4 eggs

2 t vanilla

1 c all purpose flour

1 c chopped walnuts or pecans

Mint Layer :

4 T margarine or butter, softened

2 c sifted powdered sugar

1 t peppermint flavoring

4 drops green food coloring

1 to 2 T milk

Topping :

2/3 c semi-sweet chocolate pieces

6 T margarine or butter

2 t vanilla

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour a 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Set aside.

To make brownies : In a large mixing bowl, beat together the melted unsweetened chocolate, 1 c margarine or butter, granulated sugar, eggs and 2 t vanilla with an electric mixer until combined. Stir in flour and walnuts or pecans.

Spread the brownie batter in the prepared baking pan. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until the center is set. Cool the brownies in the pan on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, to make the mint layer : In a small mixing bowl using the electric mixer, beat together the 4 T softened margarine or butter, the powdered sugar, peppermint flavoring and green food coloring. Add enough milk to make the mixture a spreading consistency.

Spread the mint layer over the cooled brownies. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

To make the topping : In the top of a double boiler, melt the semi-sweet chocolate pieces, the 6 T margarine or butter and 2 t vanilla, stirring frequently. Remove the double boiler from the heat and let the topping cool slightly.

Carefully spread the cooled topping over the chilled mint layer. Let the bars stand for 1 hour. Cut into 36 (2 x 1 1/2-inch bars).