Oh dear!!! Oh dear!!! Time is running out and there are a thousand and one things that have yet to be done, the cleaning and the washing of every nook and cranny in the house, the weeding and trimming in the garden and the putting up of the decorations…and the cooking and so on and so forth. Everything was going well until I fell sick, so so so sick!
I think it was the dabai! In the old days, the fruit season would be around the end of the year, all kinds of fruits – durians, dabai, lenggeng…
*Archive photo*
…mangosteens, rambutans, langsat…and everyone would feast on these and they say that this would be the time when doctors would be laughing all the way to the bank. These fruits are all very heaty and should be consumed in moderation or one will end up with a bad cough and other kinds of ailments.
These days, you may find these fruits at odd times in the year but the end of the year is still the time when they will come out in abundance. Dabai and durians have been out for a few months now – it did not use to last this long – and are cheaper. I guess people are getting tired of the fruits so not many are buying them anymore…but we did buy some dabai last weekend at RM16.00 a kg, very good ones that would probably fetch around RM25.00-30.00 a kg earlier in the season. Despite the drop in prices, I do not usually buy any to eat – even at the lower prices, I still think it is expensive but I would buy on weekends as my girl enjoys eating them.
We had a few on Saturday night for dinner but my missus “forgot” to prepare any for lunch the following day before we sent our girl back to her school in the jungle. She did not want to bring along any with her to eat there so there we were, stuck with the rest of the fruit. That evening, my missus “forgot” AGAIN…so I took the whole lot and prepared all of them to finish them off at one go. We cannot keep this fruit for long as the skin will become wrinkled and thick so it will not be nice anymore. I guess I lived to face the consequence and the very next day, I came down with a terrible cough.
I woke up with a bad cough the next morning but that did not stop me from doing the spring cleaning that had to be done and my t-shirt was a little wet with my sweat, just a little, so I did not bother to change it when I went and had my nap that afternoon…and later that day, I did get caught in a slight drizzle and that did it! I came down with a fever and started sneezing and had a running nose…and I was up all night, every half an hour, to go to the toilet and I was shivering away the whole time. By morning, I was already half dead! I stayed in bed all day the next day, slept a lot and was better the day after, still very weak but no, life goes on – there are things that need to be done. I guess with the little time I have left and since I am not in top form, I would just have to be happy with what I can do…and leave out the rest.
In the meantime, my god-son/ex-student, Andrew and family are home from New Zealand for Chinese New Year and they brought me these…
I guess I’m the only one in the house who can eat the Tim Tams now as it has wheat in its ingredients but I really wonder what this is supposed to mean…
I see this at the back of boxes and packets of a lot of products. Is this just a precautionary warning just in case someone eats it and comes out with some adverse reactions and the company ends up getting sued for it? I am pretty sure they do clean all the machines and their premises as well. I suppose this boils down to one thing – eat at your own risk?
I’ve tried the new Tim Tam, mango flavour…
…but I could hardly detect the mango flavour, maybe just a bit as it was almost completely drowned out by the overwhelming taste of the chocolate. It did come across like fresh mango though, not the horrible mango essence flavour that we may find sometimes in the cream in some of our local-made biscuits.
Nonetheless, it was nice…but like all Tim Tams, it was very sweet so I would have to confine myself to maybe just one a day which obviously means that it would be quite a while before I can get to try the pineapple…or maybe I’ll just keep that to serve to the people who drop by for Chinese New year on a first come, first serve basis – pineapples, very auspicious…ONG LAI!!!
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
Oh no, get well soon Arthur and rest more, the rest such as the houseworks can wait
The fever’s gone and the sneezing and running nose too but still coughing and the thing is I feel very very weak, no energy to do anything but no choice – I’ve started to do a bit here and there already and also in the garden. Yet to do anything about the deco, maybe just a bit sometime next week.
Recently I was also down with a terrible cough, lasted for weeks and did not recover after see many doctors and it was so terrible so I can understand how you feel
I am still coughing, not on-going but when it comes, it comes vigorously and I get so worn out after a bout of coughs. I hope it is not the 100-day cough, after a flu – it will only stop on its own miraculously after exactly 100 days.
Yes, durians & lenggeng are heaty fruits but when the urge is on, you are bound to forget. And also after CNY, doctors will be making brisk business too, haha…so eat in moderation. Hope you are up & above now.
Started to do as much as I could already in the house and also in the garden but not the decoration. Get tired so very easily so I would have to go a little slower, just do whatever I can. Not much feasting and over-eating for us this year, since we are going gluten-free – no baking of cakes and cookies – will just buy a bit for anyone dropping by to eat…if they want.
Sorry to hear, hope u feel better soon!
Thanks, getting a bit better now, still a little weak but quite ok already.
Yikes! Hope you’re feeling well again by the time you read this … and that you’ll stay very well at least until chap goh mei when the final orange is peeled and the last pineapple tart is devoured!
Oranges, oranges, oranges everywhere…and not a single one to eat! Staying away from those as I still have my cough. No, I do not cough much just that when a fearsome bout of violent coughs come, it would go on for a while…and then disappear as quickly as it came. Sighhhh!!!! Thanks for your well-wishes.
Dear Arthur, get some good rest and take care of yourself! I hope you feel better quickly.
Thanks, Linda. I sure hope to be as fit as a fiddle to usher in the Year of the Rooster!
I guess gluten free flour is not easily available or is expansive in Sibu.
Yes, dry cough is an irritant so much so that I hurt my rib cage badly. There is still a touch of soreness in my rib cage.
Hope you are feeling much better.
Yes, better, thank you. My abdominal muscles hurt from the bouts of coughing, have to massage for a bit of relief.
Too much of the fruits huh?? Take care and speedy recovery.
Nice goodies from your godson.
Yes, with two little kids in tow, it sure is a hassle to travel and yet, he brought me a little something. So sweet. Thanks, better now, hopefully will be perfectly ok by next week.
spring cleaning time!, my two kids are down at the moment.. hoping they will get well very soon for CNY
I wonder what’s in the air – lots and lots of families falling sick. 😦 Hope your boys will get well soon.
I hope you are feeling better today. Last night my partner had a bout of sneezing and he thought he would be sick (I think I need to do more dusting hah..hah..). But he seems OK this morning.
Thankfully! Seems there is a virus going round, sneezing, cough, fever all in! 😦
Take care, CNY is around the corner…
Same to you and everybody else.
We are in the same boat, yesterday night, vomited, and feel so tired, thought want to watch the Taiwan show on TV till 10pm and then watched news before going bed, in the end, cannot takan slept at around 9pm…
You too? Oh Dear!!! Everyone’s falling ill. Take care now, New Year is just a few days away.
ohhh dear…I hope you’ve fully recovered.
Not quite. Old man, I guess. Will take a longer time but quite ok now.