A little accident at school

24 July 2008

It's my first day at school today after about six weeks holiday. The weather is quite dull today, it has been raining all day long, and the temperature during the day is around 12 degrees Celsius. However, that doesn't get in may way of having a great time at school! As soon as I arrive at school, I had a blast building train tracks with Miss B, mummy and my friends. Oh, and the happiest for me is when I finally met Claudia.. Hehehe, silly me, I was shy at first when I saw her, but it turned out just fine.

However, my day at school didn't end that well.. Sadly, I had a little accident when a building block fell on my foot. I cried and thankfully my teachers were there to calm me down. When mummy and daddy picked me up in the afternoon, I wasn't excited as usual because of the pain. Once we arrive home, mummy had a look at my foot and I had a bruise ... green in colour. After a massage by mummy (for almost an hour I guess), I feel a lot better and started jumping up and down again with Safiya. Thanks mummy!

And to Miss B and Mrs. Miller, thank you for taking care of me ... It's really appreciated!

At this point, usually when mummy comes to pick me up, I'd jump off the stretcher and run towards her... but not today... Even Safiya was curious!

It was raining outside. Thankfully we have the double pram. I sit at the back while holding an umbrella and we had to cover Safiya's legs with mummy's poncho (raincoat).

I'm not sure if my bruise is visible in this picture... It's that green spot just under my toe.

A massage session with mummy while Safiya looks upon us.

Pear upside down cake

23 July 2008

Basically today, we stayed home. There was no sign of the sun today, and this makes the weather very cold. However, that does not mean that we didn't do anything at home ... instead, our kitchen proved to be useful. Here's why:

For breakfast, mummy prepared delicious fried vermicelli noodles, served with sweet corn and sweet potato fritters. What a way to start the day!

Then, for lunch, nini bini cooked her famously delicious fish head curry. Good thing we bought the mackerels yesterday! Look at this picture, it looks and tastes delicious...

In the afternoon, mummy got busy again and baked a cake.. a Pear Upside-down Cake. It's her first attempt baking the cake, and it was successful. You can check out the recipe below.

Pear Upside-down Cake
(Recipe from Periplus Mini Cookbooks)

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons soft brown sugar
425 g can pear halves in syrup*
2 cups self-raising flour
125 g unsalted butter
3/4 cup caster sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten

*Mummy used two fresh pears and substituted the syrup with a homemade one (water mixed with sugar).

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Brush a loaf tin with melted butter or oil (Mummy used a round cake tin and doubled the recipe). Line base and sides with paper; grease paper. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over base of tin.
2. Drain pears, reserving syrup. Cut pears in half, arrange over base of tin.
3. Sift flour into a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre.
4. Melt butter and sugar in a small pan over low heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved; remove from heat. Combine eggs and reserved syrup.
5. Add butter and egg mixtures to flour. Using a wooden spoon, stir until combined; do not overbeat.
6. Spoon mixture over pears; smooth surface. Bake 50 minutes or until skewer comes out clean when inserted in the centre of cake. Leave cake in tin 15 minutes before turning onto wire rack to cool. This is important or the pears may not adhere to the cake.


Amazingly, after baking her cake, mummy went to her class at 6 pm. We sent her to her class despite the very cold weather!

A long day full of adventure

22 July 2008

It has been 4 days that we're in Brisbane, and it's definitely time to fill up the freezer... so in the morning, mummy and daddy brought me (actually I insisted to come along) to Fortitude Valley. We bought lots of fresh fish and prawns, as well as halal chicken and beef. Mummy says the price here is quite alright, especially some which are quite a bargain, such as chicken wings which costs AU$2.99 per kilogram and a huge packet of beef bones for AU$1.00. Of course, some others are quite expensive, like the large mud crabs that's AU$33.99 per kilogram! Hehe...

Waiting for the bus from the city to Fortitude Valley.

Pictures of us buying fresh seafood in Chinatown.

Heheh.. Playful me.. running after some pigeons. Reminds me of London!

Yup... we bought lots of chicken and beef...

In the afternoon, after lunch and a quick rest at home, it was time for mummy's first day of school this semester. We walked with her to school and we were quite sad to see her go. I guess one month holiday in Brunei that we spent together makes it unusual to say good-bye to her! Can't imagine when daddy leaves us for Brunei! We'll truly be sad!

While waiting for mummy's class to finish, we went around the university grounds, and then we played at Guyatt Park. We had lots of fun and Safiya met with a new friend. We also had a little scare when two huge dogs show up... Not a usual sight in Brunei! And then ... daddy's phone rang ... and not long after that, we saw mummy again! Hehehe... Then, we went home for the night. More adventures tomorrow!

Bye-bye mummy!

Taking some pictures around the university grounds (above) and having fun at Guyatt Park (below).

Yippeee! Mummy's back!

At home after dinner, mummy made us banana mixed with 'sasagun' that we brought from home. It's a traditional Brunei delicacy, a dried mixture of ground rice, grated coconut, sugar and salt. It's eaten with banana, either as a dip or mixed together into a soft dough. Mummy always like to make eating fun, and made small balls instead! Yummy... thanks mummy!

Sasagun ... and the sasagun-banana balls

Waffles for breakfast

21 July 2008

I woke up in the morning today welcomed by a nice smell from the kitchen. I straightly knew, either mummy or nini bini is cooking something delicious for breakfast. When I saw mummy busy with her hand-mixer, there's definitely a special breakfast in the making ... waffles! Apparently mummy had to leave behind her waffle-maker in Brunei the last time we came to Brisbane since we had too much baggage... but not this time! And the treat.. delicious waffles for us to eat! Thanks mummy!

Hehehe... Recipe? Here it is...

Hand-mix these ingredients together to make the batter:
125 gm margarine/butter, 75 gm sugar, 4 eggs, 250 gm flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 200 ml fresh milk, Vanilla essence, Salt

Of course you will need a waffle-maker to make the perfect waffles... Depending on the colour and crispness that you like, it takes roughly around 4 minutes to cook.

We eat our waffles with peanut butter and coconut jam.

Waffles.. full of love from mummy

At noon, we went for a walk to my school. It's not my school day yet, but I can't wait to see my teachers! Miss B was truly happy when she saw us, and so was I! After a quick chat and giving souvenirs from Brunei (sadly nobody remembered to take pictures...), we went to Toowong Village. We went there by bus, had lunch and after a quick shopping, we went home. At night, Safiya and I watch dvds to pass the time. Before we know it, another day has passed!

Waiting for the bus.

My lunch ... tasty chicken kebab and delicious scones.

Safiya fell asleep the whole journey.. You missed a lot, sis!

Heheh.. night activity... dvd watching time!

First outing in Brisbane

20 July 2008

Our first outing in Brisbane. Yesterday after arriving, we stayed home. I guess everyone was tired and sleepy from the midnight journey. Mummy and daddy also needed to settle and unpack our things. Thank goodness that's all over, and today afternoon we had the chance to do some grocery shopping. Lots of things to buy too anyway!

So here goes ... first pictures from Brisbane...!

It's winter.. but it's also sunny.. So, put on sunglasses everyone!

With daddy in the middle of the road in front of our house.

Hehehe... don't be surprised! These are not the things from our grocery shopping.. the shelves are actually full of the things that we brought from Brunei. Our baggage weighed a total of around 140 kilos but thankfully it's all included in our weight entitlement! Definitely enough food to last until December, I hope!

Hey, Brisbane ... we're back!

19th July 2008

Finally, we're back in Australian soil! This time, daddy came along and he will spend more time with us until the end of this month. He'll go back to Brunei on the 30th. I may have already mentioned that the flight was at 1.40 in the morning. Lots of family members sent us to the airport, and it was great of them to stay until we board the plane, despite the fact that everyone was sleepy and tired. Safiya and I slept almost throughout the 7 hour flight (it is our usual bedtime) and we barely even touched the meal provided by the airline.

Enough said ... bye-bye Brunei and here comes Brisbane! I can already imagine my teachers' faces when they see me at school next Thursday! Yippeee!

Hehehe... sorry for not smiling at the camera.. it's way past our bedtime! Hehe, Safiya was still able to smile since she had a quick nap in the car on the way to the airport.

After arrival.. Our baggage stashed away in the maxi-taxi. If you wonder why the boxes look wrecked, it's because the quarantine officers need to inspect every box which all contained food items.. and there were 10 boxes altogether! Hehehe...

Final activities before flying to OZ

18 July 2008

Today is the final day of us in Brunei before going back to Brisbane. At noon, daddy brought me to the Pulaie mosque to perform Friday prayers. I was excited when daddy put on me a 'serban', just like himself. We really look alike! Take a look at these pictures!

In the afternoon, daddy's brother (I call him Wawa) came to visit us and he brought along my cousins Adam and Sasya to play with us. We had a blast playing, and left the living room in quite a mess! Hehehe... Especially for Wawa Jufri, here's our pictures!