Finding the unexpected ....

Many, many things could count as unexpected pleasures. In this case, I heard this particular Carpenters song for the first time tonight -  it was a Pleasure.

It ain't Coffee, but it's still a little slice of Heaven ...

One good thing about my present home is the easy accessibility to the park below. It's a miniscule park compared to the likes of Central Park in New York or Hyde Park in London, but in developer centric Selangor, it's a pretty big plot of land to set aside as a public space in a housing estate.

In the early evening or weekends, there are people jogging, exercising, playing football and basketball, using the playground - generally being a community. Sometimes carnivals are held, like the one I took Catriona to last weekend. It's a little slab of green space, and it's 3 minutes walk from our home.

I took this photo on my way home early one Sunday morning. The soft sunlight was streaming through the leaves of the trees as I was driving. You could imagine the bracing air and the sound of birds chirping.I didn't really want to imagine it so I parked the car and stepped into the park. It made me wish that I went to the park more often. It made me wish I took the girl there more often.

Contentment

Nat King Cole songs on a Sunday night,

a cup of Tea by my side,

and Family all around.

Contentment.

Life's Great Pleasures #5

Bak Kut Teh.

The wiki :

The name literally translates as "meat bone tea", and, at its simplest, consists of meaty pork ribs simmered in a complex broth of herbs and spices (including star anise, cinnamon, cloves, dang gui, fennel seeds and garlic) for hours.^[1] However, additional ingredients may include offal, varieties of mushroom, choy sum, and pieces of dried tofu or fried tofu puffs. Additional Chinese herbs may include yu zhu (rhizome of Solomon's Seal) and ju zhi (buckthorn fruit), which give the soup a sweeter, slightly stronger flavor. Light and dark soy sauce are also added to the soup during cooking, with varying amounts depending on the variant. Garnishings include chopped coriander or green onions and a sprinkling of fried shallots.

There are many great dishes in the world. Bak kut teh is one of them. There are a few varieties including soups which place more emphasis on the meat flavour, or with additional amounts of pepper. As for me, I prefer the variety commonly found in Penang i.e. a soup with more emphasis on herbs.

In any case, pretty much all of them taste good. And many taste great !

Life's Great Pleasures #4

The smell of a new born baby. Or a 3-month old baby. Or a 6-month old baby.

There must be some reason though I haven't seen any research papers published on this. Somebody would make a fortune if he/she could bottle the scent and sell it.

Life's Great Pleasures #3

Finding a beautiful song.

Any song, any artiste, any how, any where, any time.

Life's Great Pleasures #2

Dancing in the rain.

I intend to do it with the girl before she's 12 years old. Hope that it doesn't freak her mother out.



The flip side ? Hopefully she'll take me out to dance in the rain when I'm 64.

Life's Great Pleasures #1

Thanks to the bowl I just had, I felt inspired to start a series on life's great pleasures.

Entry #1 :

a bowl of Hot Soup on a Cold Night; or Day, for that matter.