Puteri’s World

The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil Constitution, are worth defending at all hazards; and it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have received them as a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors: they purchased them for us with toil and danger and expense of treasure and blood, and transmitted them to us with care and diligence. It will bring an everlasting mark of infamy on the present generation, enlightened as it is, if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle, or to be cheated out of them by the artifices of false and designing men. ~ Samuel Adams

America is much more than a geographical fact. It is a political and moral fact - the first community in which men set out in principle to institutionalize freedom, responsible government, and human equality. ~Adlai Stevenson

Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed - else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die. ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower

We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it. ~ William Faulkner

Posterity! You will never know how much it cost the present generation to preserve your freedom! I hope you will make good use of it! ~ John Adams, letter to Abigail Adams, April 26, 1777

Happy birthday, America. May God continue to bless you and may you remain that shining light on the hill.

Yesterday was Valentine’s Day. I got a card and a dozen roses. But no romantic dinner.

We have never tried to go out to dinner on Valentine’s Day because I am sure practically every restaurant in town is packed!

And moreover, Doug had to attend a Lions Club meeting, and even if we had planned on going out, it would have to be canceled! Adding to that, we could not get a baby sitter.

We thought maybe tonight or tomorrow night we’d go out for dinner, just the two of us. But so far we have not heard back from our regular baby sitter. We might have to call the back up baby sitter!

Otherwise, like it or not, we’ll have to take the kids with us.

I was at our weekly local market today and I noticed the huge amount of oranges, tangerines and pomelos on sale. There was a large number of Asians shopping at this market because this where you can find a lot of fresh vegetables and fruit like Asians like.

During Chinese New Year, oranges and tangerines have special significance. They are symbols of luck and wealth.

How so, you ask?

It has a lot to do with the sounds of the words. Orange in Chinese sounds a lot like “wealth”. And tangerines in Chinese sounds a lot like “luck”.

I wished I was back in Malaysia during this time of year.

To all my dear friends near and far:

Here’s wishing all of you a Happy New Year!

May the new year bring you joy, good health, fruitfulness and success!

P.S. Have you got your New Year’s resolutions all figured out? Me? Nah, I will skip the resolutions part, again, this year. I just need to stick to my new diet and to exercise more, that is all. While we are on the subject, why not check out my post on New Year’s resolutions on my other blog?

It’s Friday and Christmas is on Tuesday next week. I just walked to my mailbox and dropped off 2 Christmas cards. I hope they’ll arrive at their destinations by Monday at least! Hehe, otherwise my friends, one in Georgia and the other in Utah, will receive their cards after Christmas!

I don’t know how it was that I missed them totally from my Christmas list this year. Doug did all the writing and mailing, and I just gave him my list. Better late than never, eh! I have received many cards after Christmas and some even came after the New Year!

Doug is sending out our Christmas newsletter via email to several friends especially those living overseas. It is a bit late to be sending them any cards right now, and we don’t have the mailing addresses to some of them. That reminds me, I need to email my Christmas newsletter to my friend in Holland! She emailed me some weeks ago informing me that she’ll be expecting her first baby in February.

Looks my Christmas mailing is not done yet!

My birthday is tomorrow, December 3rd. Since I was born in Malaysia and at the time of writing it is already the 3rd in Malaysia, I thought I’d write a little about it today.

This is a card that I received from my friend in Indiana. It arrived yesterday. She is my age, well, actually she is 11 months older since her birthday is in January.

This is what it says inside. Yes, going downhill is a lot of fun! I was sitting in church this morning and I was thinking about what I’d like to do on my 50th birthday. Doug got his big birthday bash hosted by his parents last year and I will have something similar myself.

Since my 50th birthday won’t be till 2010, I will give my friends in Malaysia plenty of notice to make it to my 50th birthday bash! Yes, I want my good friends in Malaysia to be present!

That includes my Malaysian friends in Canada, and the USA! So if you consider yourself my friend, please plan on coming to my birthday party in 2010. God willing we all live to celebrate my 50th birthday!