Groan! I’m so tired after all the weeding! I wonder why my missus would go and plant all those things…and I’ve got somebody to come and cut the grass in my lawn too…and good grief! The day after tomorrow is Chinese New Year’s Eve…and there is still so much to do!
I’m glad that I’ve got some of the usual traditional family favourites. My foster cousin gave me the kuih gunting (scissors biscuit) she made…
I think I have featured these in a post last Chinese New Year…or was it the year before? It is called thus because after making the dough and cutting it into long strips, you use the scissors to cut them into bits to deep fry in the boiling hot oil in the wok.
She also gave me the kuih kereta (engine/car biscuits)…
…and these are thus named because they use some kind of wheel, made of brass, to roll on the thin dough to cut it into pieces and also to cut the lines in each little piece.
My missus bought these very nice kuih bangkit…
…and the pineapple jam tarts…
…the rolled ones, not the open ones type that we used to have when we were kids but as they say, beggars can’t be choosers. She also bought a lot of other types of cookies including those in the photo…and also a couple of cakes as well. I think she may make some more in these two remaining days.
Some of the decorations are up…
…but we’ll leave the cleaning and finishing touches to the last minute or else it will all get messy again by the time the big day arrives.
The money is in the ang pao packets, all ready…
…and here too, like everywhere else throughout the whole country, there are no new RM5.00 notes. I should have asked for RM1.00 notes and prepared the RM1.10 ang paos for everyone instead…like those that I used to get when I was a kid. Too bad it did not cross my mind at the time. LOL!!!
So, how are you are doing? Are you ready for the New Year yet – the Year of the Rabbit, 2011?
Comments on: "Getting ready…" (35)
waaah you give rm10.00 angpau ??? huhuhuh
if only i am in sibu. tsk3. lol
Oops! No lah! Specimen only…for illustration purposes only. But for you, ok lah… For other people, what the banks call “recycled” RM5.00 notes – actually, all OLD notes! Tsk! Tsk! Itu bank2, all mau bankrupt already or what?
Bank punya printer rosak kot? LOL… or the company that’s hired to print our money went out of service?
I hope so…and not a reflection of the economic status of the country. So desperate…traffic fine also can give discount, just as long as people will go and pay. Ever heard of such things before – you buat salah, you kena fine, you pay lah… Where got give discount one?
What’s worst, now tax oso pointing to the sky.
These days beli wud at kedai oso mahal… now have to make do with less…. pening… cuz sometimes, groceries mana boleh jimat so much…at least Rm300 for groceries every mth…jimat more anak tak payah makan la. 
Wah! RM300 a month? Walao eh!!! No wonder all so kurus…
Very true, somemore the discounts applies to all overdued fines, not for those who pays EARLY.
WTF is wrong with the gov?
They’re poor, very poor… Btw, how much have you contributed? Hehehehehe!!!!
I tink my boy is entitled to one of those angpow… hmm… too bad I tarak one more baby, else can korek 2 angpows from u… now that’s an idea….hopefully that Mamakucing does not read this… else she will tease me about being pregnant endlessly again… after all, I did ask her for some salted fish! Hmm… her jeruk oso almost habis liao… time to buat muka kesian again! LMAO!
Ready for Rabbit year? Not quite sure… cuz I’m not even exactly ready for 2011! *faint*
You can borrow your friends’ anak…bring one dozen. Muahahahaha!!! We do have those people here going house to house to collect ang paos, give them cookies or oranges – don’t want…they only want ang paos and at least, half a dozen children tagging along…
*pengsan* anak orang oso can borrow ah? Ish ish ish! I tink I’d rather baham the goodies! LOL!
Then they are smarter than you. Hehehehehe!!!
I think borrow nid to pay commision wan lah… u see… if I borrow that anak mamakucing… sure charge me up to 70% punya! Hahahahahahaha!
70%??? Wah…itu pompuan kuat lihai kah? She Ah Long punya wife kah? Muahahahaha!!!!
Wah…$10 angpow. You sure strike big,huh? Missing all the decorating and mad rush before CNY. Here,school starts on CNY eve…so sian!!!
No lah…bigger ang pao for special people only, others – just give the RM5 “recycled” notes lah… You believe it or not – that BIG bank in the country tak mampu print new RM5 notes…so all the banks forced to give what they called “recycled” notes to customers – in fact, they were all OLD notes! See, how terrible it is…country about to bankrupt already or what, I also dunno. Never before in my entire life…
Printer must have kapoot lo… either that, or our country is having a problem with the offshore company that’s contracted to print our money… got news lah… got ‘something wrong somewhere’. And one more thing ah… our RM… the value is not exactly what it is now…
The truth is uglier than what the public know.
See! Exactly what I suspected… I can feel it in my bones – never heard before in my whole life, no new notes – not printing this year…
I think I know why ur missus plant things… it’s very soothing, very calming… to see the things grow. Well, at least, for me…it is. I have green fingers, you see… I can plant anything and they’ll just grow…just like my grandfather. My grandpa’s garden is better than mine, though… much bigger, much more varieties of flowers, and i got to love his orchids!
When I was living with my parents…I used to plant roses, bougainvillea, hibiscus and loads of edible plants. My mum got her free sweet potatoes, cili padi, tapioca and sweet corn from MY garden. LOLOL.
And I could still remember…the bougainvillea that I planted have loads of flowers on it… and just a little bit leaves on it… lol… and people used to come and admire it… I like that alot… but I hate it when my sister pluck my roses before it fully blooms… it upsets me terribly! There was even an area where I let dandelions grow wild, and every evening, I would go and blow them and watch them fly around… like flower tempest… very beautiful…
I like gardening, very relaxing and satisfying. But I can’t do it anymore in KL…
live in an apartment… no tanah to do so. Sobsob! No more roses, bougainvillea or even fresh veggies for me. Sob sob!
Not when there are more weeds, all taller than the plants. I would rather see neatly-trimmed green grass. We’re not into gardening – not me, not her…but she always ikut hati, see other people plant…she also wants… Tsk! Tsk! I always say want to plant, plant vegetables or fruits better…at least, can eat…and save money too.
LOL… oh, she’s not the gardening kind kah? Aiya… I kept my garden til very nice last time…and I hate it when ppl go and kacau my plants…can mengamuk and bad mood for days summore, especially when it comes to the roses.
If not into gardening and lazy wanna trim and pluck out weeds, den dun plant… nyamuk oni…but if want oso… plant mango or jambu tree lah…nonid to jaga…and once in a while… will got fruit to eat.
Yalor…exactly what I keep telling her…but fruit trees, tak jaga…cannot survive and even when they survive, cannot bear fruits. Same like pompuan bah – must sayang, jaga baik2…. Muahahahahaha!!!!
Cikgu… u donno kah? Last time itu mamakucing was an Ah Long… her job was work in bank to collect hutang punya department. LOL! Bukan Ah Long punya wife… but a retired legal Ah Long, no joke punya, jangan main main ahhh! Hahahahaha!
Shudders! Hey! Next time, people owe me money lambat bayar, I know who to call liao! If send the hubby,lagi orang takut! Muahahahaha!!!!
my..i hvn’y done any preparation yet! can only make it this wed..
Gosh!!! That’s CNY Eve…pretty rush, don’t you think?
So many cookies…all sooo yum!!! Kuih kereta is the cutest. I’ve never seen/eaten it before.
Angpow done edi..luckily our bank here got $5notes. OH..on a side note..did you know it’s the year of the cat for the vietnamese??? so interesting hor.. I don’t know how the story of the cat fits into the race of the 12 animals..coz I always thought he overslept!
$5??? That’s in Oz, I guess…and that’s equivalent to over RM15.00 *pengsan! So big one angpao! LOL!!!
Well, we do not have new RM5 notes here… Tsk! Tsk!
Year of the Cat? I shared the Playboy logo on Facebook wishing everyone a Happy Year of the Bunny. Now, what would we call the Cat Year then? Muahahahahaha!!!!
Meoooowwwww! LOL!
Not exactly what I have in mind – put on your thinking cap. What’s the colloquial for cat? LOL!!!
Weird name for a biscuits.
You have scissor and engine biscuits. ^_^
Me? I am not preparing for the Chinese New Year. My family don’t celebrate it. But it is good to visit Chinatown and see their celebration there.
Yup…I guess you celebrate Christmas on a grand scale there.
Yeah! Christmas Season start from September until December.
Gosh! That’s long! Over here, we have the Malays’ Hari Raya and then the Indians’ Deepavali first…
tQ for the RM10.10 angpow shall be expecting it in my mailbox hahaha. Yeah those days RM1.10 is like a lot to us already. GongXiFaCai
These days, RM1.10 is also a lot for me. Muahahaha!!!! That Chai Sern left already…no more windfall.
spare me the 10. here only 1…… good excuse to give 2 hoh!!!!
I actually had a lot of RM5 brand new notes left from last year – as I was stuck in KL, no open house…but towards the end of last year, I took and used all. Tsk! Tsk! Mana tau this year, recycled notes pula!!!
Hi STP,
Oh, so Sibu is also facing a shortage of RM5 notes. I thought only Kuching was facing that problem!! I accompanied my Dad to obtain the new notes two weeks back and was told that all the branches in Kuching have ran out of RM5 notes. We tried four other banks too and was all, too, ran out of RM5 notes. We gave up after the fourth try. But the irony was that our Deputy Finance Minister said that there was no shortage of RM5 notes. http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/1/21/nation/7840059&sec=nation
Anyway, we resorted to using “recycled notes” which still look presentable (no crumples or tear). Some of the notes have that folded line in the middle but we are using it cos it wouldn’t make any difference since we are using the smaller angpow packets for it (so we got to fold the notes into half before putting it in).
Well, have a good time preparing for CNY. Don’t worry, I’m equally tired too.. Perhaps, you may want to treat the spring cleaning as a form of sweating out or calori burning exercise so that your stomach would have more space for Wednesday night’s feast?!!
Here’s wishing you and your family a blessed CNY in advance. Glad that Melissa will be able to spend CNY at home this year, after missing out on last year’s CNY.
Yes, that’s the most consoling part…she’s here to celebrate at home this year. Usually, by dinner time on the eve, so tired from all the cooking and the washing and cleaning, no appetite to eat anymore.
I have the recycled notes – only a few are fairly new…some are really so badly wrinkled. Who asked them to change to these plastic notes? Now can’t afford to print new ones…
Anyway, my Dad is thinking of saving up the remaining new notes (if there would be any remainders) just in case we face another round of shortage of new notes next year…
Yup…that’s a good idea. Not going to get any better, I’m sure.
Kung hei fatt choy to you and your family. all the very best for the Year of the rabbit.
Thank you, thank you…and the same to you and yours.
What a show off! RM10 is very lucrative already!
Most friends I visit dont give angpaos… Since you advertise, so I’ll gladly come & visit you for 1 angpao ah!
hahaha~~
Through the kind courtesy of Sports TOTO… Otherwise, where on earth will I be able to find that kind of money? Muahahahaha!!! Come, come…I’ll reserve one for you.
NICE!! But I’ll visit only on the weekend after CNY.
Dedication & commitment. There are some things I want to get done at school during the first weekend back.
As long as it’s not the Chap Goh Meh weekend… Will be in KL then.
Dank… too bad then… it IS the ChapGoMeh weekend.
Next time la~~
Yup…too bad we will not be around. Never mind, your ex-principal can invite you to join him for Chap Goh Meh dinner…
I’m all ready for the new year!
But i’ll still need to work until tomorrow. Sigh..
Can I have an angpao too? Preferably the one with RM50 in it.
Yup, I’m working too – today and tomorrow. You’re not going back to Penang – kind of rush, if you are, isn’t it?
Ang pao for you? Nah! You already registered at ROM, legally married…so disqualified to receive liao. Qualified to give though…so where’s the one for my daughter – preferably the RM50 one? Muahahahahaha!!!!
Wah, so many CNY cookies and snacks, if Juan Juan saw this she will probably ask us to buy all these!>_< Beautiful cherry blossom you have got there… paiseh, since we kept going for vacation and procrastinated our CNY preparation, to date our house still didn't change much leh!=_=
Wishing you and your wonderful family a prosperous CNY!
Still got time…a few days left. Last time, for many years, we used to go off on a holiday during Chinese New Year to avoid all the hassle – but now with my mum bedridden, we would stay home just to be around and hopefully she’ll be happy…and thankfully, my daughter is home, so we can have a small-scale celebration together.
What? So everyone gets RM10 from you? Wow…
No, lucky draw… I hang all of them up – some empty, some RM1, some RM5 and some RM10…and people will have to go and pick one – like what they did at a bank last year. I got an extra 0.1% if I were to open an FD with them… Chesh! These business gimmicks! Tsk! Tsk!
Bigger ang pow for special ppl? Do i entitle? hahahhahah
Looks like you’re well prepare for chinese new year already, so many cookies.
I have not do anything yet, mother in law just decorate some lantern and flower at home, buy some drinks and oranges and little bit cookies, that’s all. Since every year they don’t celebrate chinese new year in town, so not much feel at our home.
No lah, all the same. But I have prepared some with those “recycled” notes for those who go from house to house with half a dozen children asking for ang pao. These days, ok liao… Last time when I was still teaching, the students would come in groups of 20 or more – house not big enough for them to squeeze in even…so how to give big ang paos, like that? Real pok kai – and you know, teacher’s salary not that much some more. But if you bring your twins here, sure I’ll give extra special one.
Aiyor…so sad there, no mood one. Next year, must come to Sibu. Fireworks and firecrackers every night, and today, I saw on Facebook – all grumbling, jam everywhere…everyone’s home, all in the mood to celebrate…
woww….banyak cookies!!! i haven`t buy yet. this year not “balik kampung”… so not feel to celebrate. but cleaning and shopping done
Some more…in sealed tubs, can’t take the photographs. LOL!!!
Wah I love pineapple tarts! Especially the rolled ones.. I am hoping to eat more of those when I balik kampung! And also the peanut candy! Do you have those? Basically just peanuts coated with caramel but it’s so darn good!
You have not made your way back yet? Aiyor…my friend Mandy drove back today and she complained about the jam…jam…jam…on the highway. Have a safe and pleasant trip home.
Peanut candy? Dunno…some of the tubs of cookies not transparent, so dunno what’s inside. I like peanut cookies too!
First of all, I’m happy to read the first paragraph that you exercise….good for you. The garden is a good place. maybe should celebrate Chinese New Year every month…haha. The cookies sure come with cute names. I should call some of my cookies knife cookies cos I use knife to cut
Whah…that’s a lot of angpau you are giving away. Do I have a share? You are older bah 
Nope…you’re married, I’m sure…so disqualified. Otherwise, you can come and collect yours – I’ll spare you one. LOL!!!
Gardening….not my cup of tea, I’m afraid. 
you are generous–RM10 is like P140 pesos here
Hope 2011 is gonna be full of blessings for you
I certainly hope so…and that it will be the same for you too.
Yeah, nowadays all the open pineapple tarts I see are the ones from Taiwan – prepacked and full of preservatives.
w00t! RM 10 ang pow! Can I come and visit several times?
As many times as you like, my door is always open – always welcome. I reckon you’re spending CNY in Sibu? Do drop by…
i want ang pow too preaseeeee…..
Come, come and get it… Hehehehe!!!