ABC Wed: Letter G,

The students from Diocesan school for girls to help us build our pizza oven.




This is not a photo shop, I haven't learnt how to do it.

A Sunday outing this afternoon at my favourite Western Springs park got me all excited. Do count, how many goslings there are. I counted 17 or 18. Ka Pai aka good job, Goosey Lucy and Daddy Gander.

In a previous post,http://ann-mythoughtsandphotos.blogspot.com/2009/09/goslings-in-western-springs.html I mentioned there were aunties, and indeed, there was an adult goose tagging along mummy and daddy. They swam a whole stretch of over one hundred meters each way like a fleet of naval boats.

I invite you all to come to New Zealand to witness this marvelous sight.



Sea Gulls are bossy birds. They squawk very loudly, and they monopolise big and best spaces. Once I was at Potters park. The weather was very hot. All the pigoens were outside in the field, the sea gulls were in the rotunda shielded from the hot sun.





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ABC WEd: My Daughter D

D enjoying Disney land.

D loved ducks.

I made this Maori doll for D.

D was brave to feed a riend's dog.

D with her sister, more ducks.







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ABC: Letter B for Jean Batten.

Jean Batten was a record setting female explorer and pioneer aviator who left her mark in aviation history.

A memorial and the Auckland International airport dedicated to Jean Batten.






That's me, trying to walk/fly in Jean's foot steps in a bi-plane , a tiger moth.




Jean Batten - Pioneer Pilot, New Zealand's number one daughter.

Adventurous, glamorous and daring, pilot Jean Batten's record-breaking flights between 1933 and 1937 made her possibly the most famous New Zealander of the decade. In October 1937, aged 28, Batten made her final long distance flight, from Australia to England in 5 days 18 hours. The flight set a solo record for pilots of either sex.

Batten's highly publicised long distance flights earned her international celebrity








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ABC Wednesday: X for Xmas

This is Christmas/Xmas Down Under, in New Zealand, not a speck of snow, because it is summer here.

Christmas in the Park is popular in New Zealand as we are having summer. Kids and adults dress up.

No thick costume for Santa, he is wearing our tanktop or singlet, our farmer's uniform, (usually black) in his black gum boots and rides a quad bike.)


The community comes out in droves, free music, freebies. TV Celebs.

Guess the number of candy canes and win a prize.

children loves it being in a trailer cage.

traditional Christmas plant.

New Zealand Xmas tree, this Pohutukawa tree is crimson red at this time.

a Poem that explains why the candy cane is eaten during Xmas.

"Xmas" is an abbreviation of Christmas found particularly in print, based on the initial letter chi (Χ) in Greek Khrīstos (Χριστός), "Christ", though numerous style guides discourage its use;[24] it has precedent in Middle English Χρ̄es masse (where "Χρ̄" is an abbreviation for Χριστός).[23]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmashttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif


I write Xmas a lot especially these days when we use the email and Facebook a lot. I also sign off with XXX.


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ABC Wed: U for university, Sunday scans

In Sarawak, there was and still has a tradition of placing congratulatory messages to parents and graduates who complete their universities studies or even weddings. I see this notice for the first time in more than 35 years. An ex flat mate Ning put this on facebook. The first name was my Dad, the DEO aka Divisional Education Officer, the second was mine. The third was Ning's, the fourth was Ting's Dad and Ting who became my flat mate when I came to New Zealand, and the last, a teacher on her engagement. This message was placed by the Staff of Kai Chung school where Ning, Ting and I taught.




All my adult life, I am involved with universities. First as a student, and later as faculty wife. A friend said, I will never be rich. In a sense, she is right, monetarily, we are not rich, but I am rich in the vast experience I have had. There was a time when I had friends from all over the world, and with them, I did a charity that raised money for the deaf in Kenya for 16 years and for a life saving operation for a pair of Siamese/conjoined twins from Nepal. These are experiences that money can't buy.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Reader Rainfield commented that Chinese word meaning snow as in my other blog http://annsnowchin.blogspot.com/2011/12/scenic-sunday-fund-raiser-at-pt.html


Snow is my given name, it is pronounced as SUET in my Cantonese pronounciation, and XUE in Mandarin. I did not know it is also a surname.
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http://sundayscans.blogspot.com/

Al http://alsphotographyblog.blogspot.com/.

ABC Wednesday: Letter N

Nanyang means South Seas. In the old days, South East Asia was known to the Chinese as South Seas.












These Chinese structures are icons, and for a long time, Malaysian are not allowed to visit China. Coming to these Yunnan Garden served to kill two birds with one stone. They were in the university they funded, and they got a feel of China. I felt the same too, as I am 4th generations removed from China, and this is the closest I been to China.
Today, in Singapore, they have NTU, Nanyang Technological University. It was originally privately raised by the Chinese people of South East Asia, including my grand parents. When I was growing up in Borneo, my grand parents and parents donated to build the Chinese University outside China. I was told that many of our Chinese ancestors owned a brick. We teased our grand dad if they gave him a number and the coordinates of his brick.

The Nanyang university of Singapore transitioned from a Chinese University to an ultra modern one funded by the Government.

When the Water Engineer went to teach in the University in 1990, it became NTI and then NTU, a fully fledged university. To date, of all the children in the Chan clan, only my daughter D attended the university. I spent sixteen of my adult years here, and the best thing is I made many friends from all over the world.

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ABC Wednesday: Letter M

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Letter M for Mobile Pizza oven and a New Zealand Money plant.

This oven is taken to big festivals when people can have piping hot pizzas.

My friend told me to place a plant at the front door. This plant was already at the front door when I moved to it. The yellow color looks as though the leaves are made of gold.

ABC WEdnesday: Letter L

In most landed properties in Auckland, there are fruiting lemon trees.

Lucky Bamboo or ribbon bamboo.



http://www.tootsietime.com/
The Chinese call this bamboo, Goddess of Mercy Bamboo. Worhippers do what you do, leave them in a vase, and the bamboo will be a permanent fixture. The worshippers believe that she is a vegetarian, so they offer plants and flowers and fruits as an offering. (I should post a photo taken from my sister in law's house.)

http://annkschin.blogspot.com/2008/12/sanderianaribbon-plant.html

When I was in Singapore, it was very artistic to use just cuttings without leaves and put them in a vase as a decor. In time, the new shoot grow. I experimented with this and the photo is the result. I also grew a lot of then in the gardening club allotment. I plant them for fun.

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