Curly kale

Winter is not very good for harvesting vegetables.  I still have some parnsips and swiss chard kicking around in the garden, but they are not looking so hot these late winter days.

Alison Croggon

I have been really tired lately. It is mainly due to jet lag, the madness at work and… Alison Croggon. I have been reading the Australian author’s unputdownable Pellinor series.

The books were written in the classic spirit of epic fantansy about a young girl who learns that she possesses an uncanny gift and is destined to use it to save her world from a terrifying evil. The books were well narrated and the characters likeable. There are lots of humour injected throughout the books. Denty can verify the sudden burst of giggles flying from the general direction of my lair.

It was so good (or bad, depending on your point of view) that someone (definitely not Muks, no siree) even had to hide in the office loo to read a chapter (or two… well, maybe three) in the middle of the day.

Well, if you can only read one book (or four) this year, this is definitely it.

Religious reactions

Sir Elton John has claimed Jesus was a “super-intelligent gay man”. The singer also told Parade Jesus was “compassionate”, forgiving and “understood human problems”.

The reaction from the Church of England: “Sir Elton’s reflection that Jesus calls us all to love and forgive is one shared by all Christians.”

Can you imagine how the Muslims would have reacted if he had said that their prophet Muhammad was gay?

KFC hot n’ spicy

At last… after months of anticipation, KFC hot n’ spicy chicken! Muks was happy. I managed two KFC meals in a week!

Jogoya in Kuala Lumpur

Before we left Malaysia, anttyk and Mrs anttyk took Denty and I out for dinner. They chose to take us out to a Japanese buffet. It was the largest and best buffet I have ever been in… If you have ever read Enid Blyton’s Faraway Tree books, I hope you remember the Land of Goodies. I think that for me, this is it.

Takeaway dinner in Kota Kinabalu

On the night before leaving Kota Kinabalu, the extended family decided to go into town for bakuteh. The setting was unsuitable for mum, so dad, mum, Denty and I decided to take an easy night in. Dad and I went to the Damai stalls to buy the dinner takeaway. We got dumplings, noodles and the star of the show…

Breakfast in Kota Kinabalu

Nothing soothes a belly extended by a sizeable dinner better than a hearty breakfast.

Kota Kinabalu has seafood

On our Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu flight, my folks were sitting directly in front of me. They were treated with a randomised chant of seafood names at randomised intervals.

Without further ado…

Eating my way around

Yesterday morning, my day began with food. Paddy and I shared a lovely bowl of yong tau foo…

The Malaysian (mini)-odyssey

After 12 hours sitting next to a rib-jabbing, leg space hogging idiot, Denty and I finally landed in Kuala Lumpur.

It is official though… the Muks is no better with the heat than Denty. The Muks has melted.

On the other hand, it didn’t stop me from devouring a bowlful of tom yam and the fishballs from dad’s laksa.

The prawns were excellent. I had a slight pang of guilt for making Denty sit through my session of digging around in the prawns’ heads, apparently rummaging in their (possibly, not very substantial but oh so yummy) brain-like substance…

The fishballs were also excellent.