The New Hood

It was a b-e-a-utiful day today and we went for a walk through our new neighborhood. Here are some shots depicting some of the intangibles that come with living in Annapolis Roads...


One of the coolest tree houses I have ever seen. This guy is definitely living vicariously through his kids!



This is a fence built around their garden and is made totally from trees and vines (to keep the deer out). We are really looking forward to meeting this family!

An eagle's nest just off the beach. One of the neighbors said they are expecting babies!

This is a portion of the 1,400 feet of private beach that we have access to!

Eileen and Lissa at the private picnic area (complete with playground for our grand children) along the Chesapeake, just above the beach!

Superbowl Sunday

60 degrees in Annapolis on February 1st! To all of my (sailing) friends in the Midwest and Northeast, here is a picture to let you know that the sailing season starts early and ends late here! Don't kid yourself, I was jonsing to be out there! Each Sunday during the winter months, the Annapolis Yacht Club hosts the frostbite series...a very non-competitive regatta. You can click on the picture to enlarge!

Lunch at Aunty Aini's

I went to lunch today with the accounting team at INTI University, Nilai campus. Aunty Aini's is authentic Malay food. It was an outdoor restaurant which seemed like it was in the middle of a jungle. Well, it is in the middle of a jungle!

Left to right is Leslie, Sui Fong, A Ley, and Keri

This was a refreshing coconut drink that was served in a coconut shell. I rate it a 10 for sure

Okay, I ate curry. The large bowl was curried fish with coconut milk. It was very spicy but didn't taste much like curry. Going clockwise from there...I don't know, some greens with super spicy stuff, an omlette with unrecognizable things in it, raw greens with a vinegarette dressing, cucumber looking slices and the stalks of nothing I've ever seen with a red chili pepper sauce that tasted like dead fish, and some fried chicken.

Palm Trees for Bri

We know that Bri's favorate tree is the palm. Since she was on my mind, I thought I would walk outside the hotel and take a few pictures and send some love half way around the globe. Enjoy!

This shot is directly in front of the hotel. I like this picture because it showcases palm trees, which Bri likes, a deciduous tree which Eileen likes, and Louis Vuitton, which Chris likes! Louis Vuitton is the sponsor of the pre-America's cup sailing regattas (The Louis Vuitton Cup) last year, held at Valencia, Spain.

Tennis Anyone?

After church today, I got together with my collegue, Keat (pronounced Key it) to play some tennis at the JW Marriott, the hotel where I am staying. The grass court is on the sixth floor next to the pool. We played two sets and I am proud to say that I am undefeated in Malaysia, winning 6-1, 6-3!! It was good to get some exercise as I have been sitting on my fat butt for 8 days now. The filtered sunshine heated things up into the 90's so two sets was plenty. After our game, I went for a swim.

This pic is after we finished. We were both more tired than either of us cared to admit.

Meet Ashley (pronounced oshlee). This little girl was a pistol. She came onto the court like she owned the place and had the best time chasing the balls. She got in the way...a lot! She was so cute though. She would run right across the court, laughing, and saying i got it...i got it. No clue where her parents were. When Keat asked her where she was from, she said "upstairs!" She was a joy to have around until she went after Keat's wallet, which was sitting on one of the chairs in the picture above. Fortunately, I saw her through the corner of my eye, as did one of the pool attendants. She was escorted off of the court crying, and kicking. She settled down and watched us finish out from outside the fence. She agreed to a picture so here she is!

St. Mary's Cathedral

Sunday morning in Kuala Lumpur. I took a "teksi" to St. Mary's Cathedral, an Anglican church in Dataran Merdeka which means Independence Square. It was good to be in the house of the Lord!

The outside of the church

Hanging out with the ladies in the bookstore! They were so kind and really appreciated my visit. They were very interested in how I found them and were excited that it was via the web.


These kids were fascinated with the candles. The candles were lit and handed to people that were having their kids baptized. Five kids were baptized. Afterwards, everyone that had a candle (me included...don't ask me why) put the candles on a marble step at the base of the baptismal. It was so cool...it was so awesome!

This is John. He was very friendly but difficult to understand. He wanted my address so he could write to me. He doesn't have email. I gave him my business card and he gave me his address and phone numbers too! Not sure where this is going. If this encounter was anywhere but church, I would have deemed it sketchy! He was a gentle soul.

This is Peter. He is from England, but lives here now. He and I walked to the train station together. He was most helpful in terms of getting me to a teksi. We walked along a river to get there and he was explaining some of the history and different buildings and mosques along the way. I am thankful that I got many kisses from God today! Grace and peace to you!

Interesting Food Choices

Prior to arriving in KL, I spent two days in Chengdu, China. This is my first visit to Asia. China is a very interesting place. Tons of people! I flew into Shanghai direct from Chicago and then on to Chengdu, which is 3 hours West of Shanghai by jet. My first meal in China was breakfast, and here it is! I didn't recognize too many things and not sure what I was eating. It was very good though!

For lunch, we went to a Chinese restaurant...imagine that! The Chinese food here is not like American Chinese. Everything is family style in a private dining room. This meal had a soup pot with a burner that boiled the soup. In the middle of the table on a lazy susan, was an assortment of beef, lamb, chicken, liver, some unrecognizable things, veggies, noodles, etc. You just pick up the items you want one or two at a time, cook them, and then enjoy! I am a little clumsy with the chopsticks, but getting better. The meal lasted about two hours.

This is one of the lunch items in Kuala Lumpur. Why cut the heads off when you can cook them? Again, this was family style.