First experience in chain-sawing...

As usual, weekends equal noodles...
This rice vermicelli was with chicken breast meat, mushrooms, carrots, bean sprouts, green onions, among other goodies...

Bought a pair of safety boots with 'toe guard'...
Don't wish to have my toes accidentally cut when using the chain saw...

Similarly, got hold of a sturdy, safety helmet...
Don't plan to have my head knocked by a falling tree when chain-sawing...

First experience ever, using a chain saw to cut logs...
Fully (almost) equipped with helmet, goggles, multiple layered clothes, leather gloves, safety boots...
Had a neighbor giving me private lessons a day before on how to start the engine, how to engage the saw, and how to stop the engine...
He even taught me know to dismantle the chain for cleaning after use... what a guy...

New toy: chainsaw

Our breakfasts almost always ends with a cup of yoghurt...
Topped with preserves made from for example, homegrown mulberries and wild loquats from this hills...

 This winter, we have the pleasure of adding home-made marmalade preserves...

Lunch this afternoon was a delicous fried noodles with squid...
Umm, my mouth is watering again just thinking about it...

The last few days saw a lot of movements...
I bought a new Makita chainsaw...
I had the Makita professionals set up the chain for me, and they were too kind to fill up the petrol tank as well...
I have yet to begin using it...
Perhaps in a few days' time...

Also, I am buying a used mini truck...
We need it to transport firewood back to our place...
I had never imagine buying a second vehicle as I think it is too much of a luxury...
But... but... forgive me...

Today, the dealer drove the mini truck to our house to show us...
Just what we need...
Daihatsu, 660 cc, light blue, 4 wheel drive, manual transmission, aircon...
Test drove and woah, the truck will be ours in a week's time...

Plus, we finally decided on the exact manufacturer and model for the wood stove...
Dovre 760 it is...
It is the big brother of Dovre 640 but the dimensions are a world of a difference...
We are planning to do a lot of cooking so we need a large top for the pots...
We intend to cook pizzas, bake bread, cookies, and sweet potatoes...
The contract is ready to be signed in a few days...

And, found out that I can source some firewood from a funiture factory owned by a friend of mine...
Apparently, there are a lot of odds and ends coming out from the factory...
These are the so-called by-product waste and they have to pay people to remove them...
Oh, you can take as much as you want, she said...

Woah... in a few weeks' time, I think our lives are going to change...
Towards a better quality, a more fulfilling lifestyle, perhaps?

A gift of firewood from neighbor

Today was very very windy and icy cold...
Gold fish pond was covered with about 2 centimeters of ice...
Poor goldfishes... tried to break the ice but it formed again...
Despite the weather, pruned the 'kaizuka' (Juniperus chinensis)...
And just then, a neighbor came with this truck load of logs...
You want some? he asked...
How kind! as I happily accepted his offer...
Now, I cannot wait for the shop to install the wood stove for us...  

Lunch today was one of favorite noodles, 'somen' (thin, wheat noodles)...
As usual, my missus put in a lot of veggies such as spinach, soybean sprouts, onions, carrots, mushrooms, a little meat, tofu, and plenty of kimchi... ummm... 

Fried rice, oden, apple pie...

Had fried rice for lunch this afternoon...
My missus put in a lot of stuff...
Mushroom, onions, black beans, meat, shrimp, carrot, kimchi...

 Really delicious...

As a side dish, the Japanese 'oden'...
Tofu, 'konyaku', potatoes from the potager...
And no salt added... nice... 

Also had a few slices of garlic...
Garlic that was preserved for about 2 years in soy sauce...
Really full-bodied taste...

And to end the lunch, home-made apple pie...
No excess sugar, no additives...
Just apples and flour...
Waah, lovely...

This evening, the icy winds are blowing...
Snow is forecasted for the night...
Minus 4 degrees? and a high of 4 degrees tomorrow?
Ooh...

On track for wood stove

Considering that we are in the middle of winter, I must say that the sky today was 'bluer' than blue...
The temperature was a chilly 3 degrees, yet I could not resist myself from going outside...
The picture above shows our house on the left, and the Japan Inland Sea on the right...
The foreground is our potager...

The inept and dishonorable Malaysian civil service

I have great respect for Mariam Mokhtar the writer...

I am taking the liberty to use her full article here, appended below...
Go ahead and read what she has to say on the Teoh Beng Hock verdict...

Now, just what the hell is an 'open verdict'?

Ok, it is not suicide nor homocide...

For the love of god then, what in the world is it?

A prayer, a resolution, and fish-head curry for dinner

Took advantage of the sunny morning to visit the local shrine for the first prayer of the year...
Sumiyoshi Jinja (Shrine) is situated in the neighborhood, along the route of our morning walks...

The entrance to the shrine is the 'torii', decorated with bamboo plants for the occasion...

Just beyond the torii-entrance is a place to wash hands...
Dangling above the wash area are some amulets(?) to ward off the evil spirits...

Guarding the shrine are two lion-like beasts...
On the right is the beast with its mouth opened, as if saying the word 'Aah'...
On the left, is the closed-mouth beast, as if it is saying 'Umm'...
Apparently, 'Aah' signifies 'birth' while 'Umm', death...  

The humble Sumiyoshi Jinja, embellished with ropes made from rice stalks, and bamboo plants...

I made a resolution to 'listen to my wife and be a kind husband'... 

Back home, I tried to repair the punctured tire of my mountain bike...
I had repaired it some months ago, but had not done a good job...
It was leaking and I had to pump air twice a day whenever I cycled to work...

In the evening, my missus cooked 'o-den' and fish-head curry for dinner...
Delicious...

Noodle-out, noodle-in

The Japanese have a tradition to spend the last day of the year slurping (soba) noodles...
'Toshi-koshi soba' as the Japanese say...
Noodles are long, so to slurp noodles means 'long life'...

Yours truly has always been fond of noodles...
So, naturally on the last day of 2010, slurping noodles it was...

And if there is such a thing call 'toshi koshi soba', there will be a thing call 'toshi ake udon'...
Udon (thick noodles) unlike soba, and is made from wheat as opposed to buckwheat...
It is the specialty of Kagawa (or Sanuki the old-name), hence, 'year-opening thick noodles' it is...
So, for lunch on the first day of 2011, you could have very well caught us merrily slurping on noodles...
Happy long life to you...