Face facts

I was told I was a really engaging baby, having a sunny disposition and smiling for everyone. Even as a youngster, I would put on performances for the family and keep those around me entertained. Somewhere along the line, maybe when hormones kicked in, I guess I stopped smiling so much, or at all. You know how some people just have a naturally smiley face - well, I’m not one of them. In fact, friends who have been brave enough to tell me to my face say that my countenance can be described by another body part, a particular lady part. I have to agree with them, my face will definitely not launch a thousand ships but probably sink them all.

Hell hath no (greater) fury than a woman starved

Food. Nothing conjures up more tantalizing images for me. Not clothes, not jewelry, not exotic locations (unless they boast delicious local cuisine!), and certainly not sexy bods. There is a reason they call the spectacular visual presentation of food that arouses the desire to eat it food porn. Actually for me, any dish of carefully prepared and presented food, no matter how simple and humble, can be considered pornography for my taste buds.

RIP My Jeans

Before I hit 50, I used to joke that in my old age I would switch to wearing relaxed fit jeans. In my fifties, I did buy a pair of what I thought were pretty comfortable jeans. They were straight cut, sat nicely on the waist and had some give. I took them along when I traveled because they were nicely worn in, hardy and didn’t require constant washing. I haven’t worn them in a while because here in the tropics, it’s just too hot to wear jeans. To my horror, when I tried them on just the other day, they were very snug!

Comfort food, Teochew style

Feeling a little under the weather over the weekend, I rummaged through my pantry, trying to figure out what I could eat to assuage a scratchy throat and the sniffles. A can of Campbell’s chicken noodle soup beckoned, usually my go-to meal when there’s nothing else to eat. But I realized that I had enough to fix myself Teochew porridge. A plain rice porridge or congee, accompanied by an assortment of side dishes, instantly made me feel better. To westerners, this might seem like an odd combo of food, but generations of Chinese have enjoyed this comfort food for both breakfast and supper.