One year

Next week on the 29th of July it will be one year since I first blogged. Looking back, some things have changed. I am finally working at home . These are some things in my wish list :

T le clerc face powder, Lancome foundations , Roc Multi Correxxion and some Kose products .However I think that it is better for me to spend below my means. At this moment, still things are said I find that I always go back to the natural skin care . I went back to the honey and egg yolk mask, and I find my self pouring the old aromatherapy books that I bought way back in 2003. I bought an Eve Taylor's facial oil no.5 for my mother. It smells very nice , the geranium scent . I thought of buying the geranium essential oil and some others by Biossentials. They have a lovely range sold at the British India store in Bandar Utama. I also discovered Sutra essence which is produced locally. The essential oils are not so expensive compared to the ones by Eve Taylor.

You can find Sutra essentials at http://sutraessential.com/ and it can be bought on line from http://www.kedainiaga.com/ The Eve Taylor essential oil can be bought at the Leonard Drakes stores.

I think I will buy for my self the face oil later when my Olay has finished. And another thing which I realised is that I tend to go back to Olay. I have been reading skin care product reviews . Currently it is my favourite thing to do. I am still using the Esmeria Hydrating face wash. It does not contain SLS or Paraben and I do not feel any tightness after I wash my face . I also stumbled across a local product called Giena skin care where the products do not contain SLS or any harmful chemicals. I called to ask how much is the aromasense serum. Since the cleanser itself cost about RM 100 , I think it is safe to think that the serum will cost more . You can find out about the products here at :

http://www.giena2u.com/flash/home.swf

Lady bird books

I have been surfing for beauty products while working. There are some things which caught my eye. One the Colour Stay revlon foundation. I saw that many women in You tuve loved this foundation. Another is from Kose, a whitening mask which is black . And then I watched old footage of Fauziah Ahmad Daud back in 1983.

Today I talked to my sister Yati about the old fairy tale books by Lady Bird. I especially liked Cinderella. Yati and Saadah thought it is the most beautiful Cinderella book they have ever seen and so do I. Yatie will be off to Dubai to stay for two years. So another sibling is staying elsewhere. When I was surfing I discovered the Ladybird prints and there she is . Cinderella in her pink gown and some other covers which I remembered. I hope one day to get back those nostalgic books.Here is the website for those who remembers http://www.ladybirdprints.com/collection.php?collid=586

Blue berry pie

Yesterday I made my first blueberry pie. The recipe calls for some lemon juice but I did not get those. I have lost the weighing machine but luckily I have written the cup measurements. It gets very soft when I add the egg perhaps I should use cold water instead. I have the recipe from where I don't remember right now and the pie crust is really buttery soft. One can of blue berry the S & W , will yield little blue berry so next time I should add two cans but it is expensive . I do not make a pie like what a pie should look like.

My parents had a shock when they come back to the renovated house . It is really nice. They have a nice time in Seychelles. Yesterday my sister Nas, bought one of those pressure cleaners. I saw the yellow one called Karcher .It does clean the very moldy walls. So my brother Mal, is the D.I.Y man of the day.

My next project is spinach quiche. Another savoury pie apart from the cottage pie.It seems that my baking repertoire is pies. I would like to make tartlets . Then I have to buy the pie tin and a weighing machine. Making this pies is relaxing.

Coming home

My parents will be coming home tomorrow afternoon. My siblings have been renovating the house for the past two weeks. It is a surprise for my mother .

The work I have done, I mean my work is done too. I bought a new white furniture for the bedroom . I have wanted white for some time now. I have thought of painting the walls in my room blue but I decided not to.

Awang is trying to get into the house. He looks thin. I made a cottage pie and an apple pie for my sister Yati the other day. She had bought some potatoes from Jusco . Potatoes would make a

difference .It is very soft . I thought of doing one for my parents tomorrow.

Cottage pie

I have made a cottage pie few days back. The cost is about RM 30. As usual I got the recipe from the net. The difference between a cottage pie and a sheperd's pie is that a cottage pie is made with beef and a a sheperd's pie is made with lamb . I had forgotten the 'Lea and Perrins ' , parsley leaf and beef stock cube was not available at the neighbourhood shop. I add soya sauce and tomato sauce and plain water instead. My sister and brothers said it was nice. They are my loyal supporters. I have taken these recipes for the cottage pie

http://britishfood.about.com/od/recipeindex/r/cottpie.htm

another one from Elise.com

http://elise.com/recipes/archives/000216easy_shepherds_pie.php

and another one from allrecipe for a proper english Cottage pie

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Proper-English-Cottage-Pie/Detail.aspx

My parents have a good time judging from the pictures sent in the Facebook. The reason for trying the pies is that it is simple to do. With Malay cooking , I personally feel that it depends on the cook. You know that it is good when you taste it. With the pies I think I can lookup the recipe , buy the ingredients and I feel it is good enough for me. Another thing is that there is no comparison. With malay food , my mother's cooking is better always. I made an apple pie the next day.

Tompok and her litter photos

Kuntum

Pico

This is Poppy the energetic one

Poppy sleeping

Tompok

The kittens and Tompok sleeping

The kittens nursing

Tompok and Rio

Bella Rose and Kuntum sleeping

These are some of the photos taken of Tompok and her kittens. I will have to say good bye to them tomorrow morning.

The Kittens at two weeks

My parents had safely landed in Seychelles .Happy holidays. There is an incident on the 3rd June which I do not want to write in this blog. The kittens will be two weeks tomorrow. Officially their names are Pico,Rio, Poppy, Bella Rose and Kuntum . The first three are male and the two are ginger colour and are female. Kuntum being the largest, Bella Rose and Rio are very friendly, Pico is sickly and Poppy the most energetic. My sister Nas will be here for two weeks.The cat Tompok has been fed with cat food and chicken. I have been surfing for kitten's progress on the net. So far I haven't tried any new recipe. I should go to baking class but then I have to buy a new oven. I have also left my embroidery hobby. I should start that again.
I am still at work hopefully for another year. I feel very tired these days . I will start working on Monday.