The Dentist & The Last Week Of Autumn

Salam everyone,

Thank you to all my lovelies for all the doas as well as the well wishes showered upon me for my dental torture yesterday ahakkks ;)  Alhamdullilah all went well.  My gums are a little swollen right now but I dont feel any pain and it does feel weird cos I dont have the feeling of an irritating broken tooth in my mouth any more :D

I was given 4 anesthetic shots at first and experienced head rush and shivering.  My dentist, goes by Dr Henry Ang, was a very kind and gentle soul.  I didnt asked where is he from....too shy lah :p  I thought he is a Malaysian but he has that Filipino-American accent....maybe he's half and half.  Dr Ang, to me looks like a teletubby.....hehehez.  His size, his cuteness and he's soft spoken, that's why I pictured him as teletubby :p  His table was filled with colourful pens, cute stickers that he used on his prescription and notes, and one or two copies of NZ Weekly Woman's magazine.  Yes, he has his feminine side :ppp awwwww.  He made sure that I was comfortable on the hot chair all the time and kept on asking if I was alright.  Thank you Dr Ang ;)

I was given my 5th shot bcos I still could feel pain when he tried to pull my tooth out.  After the 5th actually 4th shot, I was numbed from my gums to my tongue and even my left ear.  My lips were pouty like those of Anita Sarawak's hehehez but I couldnt control them, it was lop sided to the left.  I did feel that as if a crowbar was used to push my tooth out but all was well, no stiches required.  I was bleeding for almost 5 hours last night and thought that I will feel the pain kicking in when the anesthetic got worn off but I wasn't in pain at all.  All my doas and prayers to Allah were answered ;) I am blessed.

Hb did volunteer to accompany to the dentist but I decided to go my own instead.  Its located in Otorohanga, a small town abt 25kms from where I live.  Otorohanga is known as a Kiwiana town whereby u can find all sorts of Kiwi Icon there.  The only reason why I drove all the way there bcos I get subsidised dental fee from the government for using our special Community Services Card.  It only cost me $35 to get my wisdom tooth extracted.....cheap right ;)  I planned to rest in the car after the ordeal but I decided not to.  Thank Allah once again, the drive home for me was safe and well.

Otorohanga Town Centre

The Famous Golden Arch

Sir Edmund Hillary Walkway

Otorohanga District Library & Visitor Information Centre

All things Kiwiana.  Edmond's baking products, Buzzy Bee, Silver Ferns, Kiwi Bird, Jandal, Gum Boot, Pavlova, Kiwi Fruits,  Kiwiana Monarch Butterfly, Kiwi Shoe Shine Nuggets....

Right after I reached home, I made dinner.....chicken rice with honey glazed baked chicken, stir fried mix veggies with prawns and the chicken rice chilli of course.  I didnt have dinner until abt 9.30pm.  Only had 2 spoonfuls of rice with a little bit of veggies and a chicken drumstick.  Now......I am so hungry!!  Gonna go and eat the leftover now....hehehez ;)  Gonna feast like a king........yuummmmzzz.

View of the paddock from the front of our house.  I couldnt spot the sheeps and cow at first.

Saw them but can't find the other sheep.

Trees along our drive way.

A Black Out, A Day Out & Visitors From Far Far Away

Salam to all,

Last Sunday, there was a major electrical repair being carried out in our area.  We were given a week notice of the power shut down that lasted almost 8 hours from 8.30am till 4.30pm.  Luckily the black out Sunday falls on hb's off day otherwise I would have gone crazy trying to entertain Jannah as she kept on asking to turn on the tv.  I woke up early that day but only had my shower at abt 8.10am and was lucky again as the power was shut right after I finished my shower.  I couldnt imagine showering with cold water!!  Still managed to prepare breakfast as our stove was running on gas, got Jannah ready and we left the house at abt 10ish am.

We went to Hamilton and did a bit of window shopping and aheemm 'accidentally' bought a few things.  Had a seafood basket lunch which consists of fish, mussels, oysters, crabstick, squid rings, scallops all battered served with a portion of hot chips :p yummz yummz.  We then proceed to Miranda Hot Springs which is about 1.5 hours drive from Hamilton.

Miranda Hot Springs.  The largest thermally heated fresh mineral water pools in the Southern Hemisphere.  Water temperature is between 36-38 deg C depending on season.

I didnt take much photos bcos I packed the wrong lens :(  Jannah couldnt wait around for me to take photos and wanted to jump into the hot pool very quickly.  It was cold standing around but once u dip urself into the hot pool.....it really makes u feel so relax and wanting to drift off to sleep hehehez.  Hb said he wish we can have this kinda luxury at home.  I answered YES and suggested him to buy an outdoor jacuzzi.  Dream on Anie....ZZZzzz :ppp  We were there until the sun sets and it was hard to get Jannah out of the pool....haiizz.  After much coaxing she finally decided to leave and until today, kept on asking for us to take her there again...like right now yikesss.

Barbeque / Covered picnic area.

Gaming Area.

Also last Tuesday, 2 of my Malaysian girlfriends that have left NZ after completing their PHDs came back here for a short trip as one of them attended her convocation.  Alhamdullilah we managed to catch up this time as I missed catching up the last time when they were here.  We chilled at Aunty Eton's house and I managed to baked feijoa cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and apam polka dots.  Didnt have time to photo them at home but I managed to snap a few photos.  They have left for Malaysia last Saturday....I wish them all the best for their future endeavours and all the best for their upcoming weddings.

Chocolate feijoa cupcakes with cream cheese frosting that I photoed them in the boot of my car :D

Apam Polka Dot the return ;)

I have a reader that asked me about ovalette.  If there's anyone that can share any information on substitution, I would really appreciate ur kindness.  I have read some where that u can sub it with egg yolks or condensed milk but I am not sure of the quantities.  I tried to google for answer but to no avail :(

Feijoa

Salam to all,

The Feijoa (Feijoa sellowiana, synonym Acca sellowiana), also known as Pineapple Guava or Guavasteen, is an evergreen shrub or small tree, 1-7 m in height. It comes from the highlands of southern Brazil, parts of Colombia, Uruguay, Paraguay and northern Argentina. They are also grown throughout New Zealand.

Description of fruit and plant
The fruit matures in autumn and is green, chicken-egg-sized, and ellipsoid-shaped. It has a sweet, aromatic flavour. The flesh is juicy. The fruit drops when ripe, but can be picked from the tree before to prevent bruising. Feijoa fruit have a distinctive smell. The ester methyl benzoate smells strongly of feijoas and the aroma of the fruit is caused mostly by this and other closely related esters.
Source : Wikipedia

This is how it's eaten.....cut into half and scoop it with a spoon.  You can see the tiny seeds and the 'jelly' like centre, this indicate the fruit is ripe.  The seed has the same texture like a guava.

When hb first introduced this fruit to me, I really didnt like it.  The smell was kinda strong when I first had it.  It was as if I was eating perfume.  Texture wise reminds me of the pink guava and they taste sweet and sourish at the same time.  I sort of can accept the fruit right now but am not really a big fan of it.  I know to choose the ones that has just ripen as these ones doesnt smell too 'perfumey' hehehez and the texture is just right for me too.  The overly ripen ones.....are good for baking.  Just like bananas....the riper they are the better they will be for baking.

The fruit trees.

These trees are located just beside my neighbour's house it belongs to them of course.  We were told to help ourselves to the fruits bcos feijoas have a short season and doesnt have long shelf life.  Once matured, they will fall off the trees or u can pick them from the trees if u think they are ripe.  Once picked they will last abt a week in a fruit basket.  It's in season right now and cost abt $8 a kg at the supermarkets and abt $6 a kg at the fruit shops.

The fruits.

Sometimes hb's work mates will share bags of feijoas with us.  They are yummy when baked into cupcakes, cakes, crumbles or muffins.  I usually used a banana cake/muffin recipe and substitute the bananas with feijoas.  They are yummy as fruit juice and chutneys too.  Most kiwi's home have these fruit trees in their garden.

Have a great weekend.....TTFN ;)

Balloons Over Waikato - ASB Night Glow

Salam to all,

This hot air ballon event is held yearly in the Waikato state of New Zealand.  This year, it was held on the 31st of March *eheemmss* yeah this was overdue.  Just one day before daylight savings ends.  I've been here for 7 yrs now and this was the first time that I went to this event.....hehehez.  I just wasnt motivated to go before but this time I have promised Jannah to take her there.  For the night glow show, the balloons didnt lift off the ground.  Instead, it was an orchestrated Balloon Glow show which ended with a dramatic Fireworks Finale display. The event started at 3.30pm but me and Jannah only reached there at abt 6.30pm ish as the night glow only started at 7.30pm.  During the day part, there were live music shows as well as a carnival there.

I almost missed this event this year bcos I thought the night glow was gonna be held on Sunday.  Lucky that I checked my fb and saw some friends updatating their status saying that they will be going to the event on Saturday.....phew!!!  I only went there with Jannah as hb wasnt feeling well.  I had to leave our car at the special bus pick up as I didnt want to scramble for parking space near the event area.

Jannah really had a great time.....she danced, screamed, hopped, jumped and lurved the fireworks the most.  I've yet to go for the morning/afternoon event where you can go up close to the ballons while they were being inflated and lifted off the ground.  Enjoy these photos.....I am still not good with night photography thus the shaky photos.  I tried to upload some videos......but my attempt failed :( booohoooo!!!

Oooohhhh to add on.....I lost my lens cover cap :(  Lucky it was just a lens cap....have yet to replace it.  Wonders why am I taking my own sweet time lalalalalala........

The carnival.

The coupon prices & the very long queue for the rides @_@

More rides.

Food stalls....

No briyani kambing for us to buy :(  so, we brought our own muchies....hehehez.

Live music by the 'Big Girls'

Dancing nannas and dancing nannas got tired of dancing and so, they sat down ;)

Dancing Jannah......

Still at lying down position.

And so they rose.....

Orchestral glow.....

Shaky picture of Jannah among the crowds....she had to find a spot so she can see the balloons.  I cant keep on carrying her.  Tired hands.......

Boom Boom Pow.....TTFN ;)