Can you recognize the following as sea cucumbers?

Sea cucumbers are marine animals with a leathery skin and an elongated body found on the seafloor worldwide. There are many species of sea cucumbers which are targeted for human consumption, especially the Chinese. Sea cucumbers are said to have excellent healing properties especially in tissue repairing. This is because sea cucumbers contain all the fatty acids necessary in tissue repairing. In Malaysia, extracts from sea cucumbers are made into oil, cream or cosmetics.


One of my favorite dishes is sea cucumber hot soup. Would you like to have one too?
I do not know how I should call this one. It is a steamed bun, but it is not an ordinary steamed bun. It is an offering taken back by my mom after she came back worshipping from the temple this morning. The bun is made into the shape of a tortoise. In case if you do not know, tortoise symbolizes longevity in Chinese culture. She had taken back 2 buns, each having different set of characters written in edible red ink on the back. One set of the characters means safe and sound among family members while another sets means prosperity in business.

Can you see the shape of a tortoise?

Ready to serve!

Hmm... Yummy!
Would you like to have one?
saturday photo scavenger hunt
This week PhotoHunt theme is daily. Well, this is the picture I want to share.

A set of dumbbells
Yes, it is a set of dumbbells, one for each arm so that you can train both your left and right arms at the same time. Weight training is my daily routine. I usually do it after office and before dinner. My dumbbells are of adjustable dumbbells in which several weight plates can be slid onto them. Why weight training? This is because I want to develop strength and size of my arm muscles. Besides, certain set of dumbbell exercises can also help to build abdominal muscles.
Do you love to drink wines? If yes, do you prefer red wines or white wines? I am a social drinker and I love to drink white wines. This is a bottle of chardonnay produced in south eastern Australia. I was about to enjoy a sip of my chardonnay before deciding to take a picture of the wine bottle together with the corkscrew. Cheers! And Bottoms up!

Aperture = F4.7, Shutter Speed = 1/15 sec
Do you know what an abacus is? I would liken it to calculator in ancient China. It is known that the Chinese has started using abacus since the 2nd century BC! Besides, there are also documentations showing abacus has been used since ancient time in other parts of the world.

An abacus
I do not know how to perform calculations using an abacus, but I heard it does require one to have strong mental mathematics ability at the same time. How to use an abacus is certainly different with modern day calculators. Performing calculations using abacus works your brain more. In view of this, there are schools which have started to teach their students how to use an abacus. I too would like to learn abacus calculations one day!