Jessica Lee .ca

Happy Chinese New Year 新年快樂

祝大家福虎生風，虎年行大運！

 

Jag Goes to Rainbow Bridge

Jag passed over the Rainbow Bridge this morning at 3:30am MT.       :'-(

Happy Thanksgiving Long Weekend

Technical Support:

Friday night, Chris was not in the house when I came home from a facial appointment.  Our dogs were loose in the living room and the front door was not locked.  It was very strange.  It turned out that he got summoned to be tech support for the old Chinese ladies next door - setting up their laptop on the Internet.  Our neighbour was on the phone with tech support, but she didn't know enough about computers to understand what he was telling her to do... so she told the tech support guy that she'd get her neighbour to help... and came over.  She had a sense of urgency, so he went straight over.  Once Chris was on the phone with tech support, the guy said he was looking at Google Street View to see how far away this neighbour was while he waited.  :-) 

Our neighbour came over again this afternoon asking for help with her computer/Internet.  She said "You have time now? Come." It was kind of funny - because I was still in my pj's.  She didn't remember how to log in to her new laptop - she typed in the user name and password but didn't know what to do next.  I pretty much just pressed the "Enter" key for her and I was a hero!  Then, she thought since I was there, I could show her how to log into her Gmail account and how to reply to e-mail messages.  Her home page was Google and she'd enter Gmail.com in the search box, but she didn't know how to click the link.  I changed her home page to Gmail.  After 30 minutes or so, I think she got it.  She was taking notes, so I hope her notes will help later.  She's also taking a class.

Technology and the Internet bring people closer for sure - we had hardly ever talked to them in the past 10 years or so.  We usually just wave hi/bye when we see each other as we leave/enter the garage.  Now, we are sure that we are their favourite neighbours on this block!  ;-) 

Turkey Dinner:

We had a big Thanksgiving dinner last night!  Chris spent Saturday night and Sunday cooking - he cooked a juicy 16 lb. turkey, garlic mashed potatoes, Brussels sprouts, fresh cranberry sauce, and crème brûlée with vanilla beans!  6 of us couldn't finish the food.  Where was I when Chris was cooking?  I was watching Vampire Diaries on the PVR. I still prefer Twilight. :-)

After sparkling wine and Bailey's Irish Cream (mint chocolate flavour Bailey's on the rocks with chocolate shavings on top), somehow, we ended up looking up addresses on Google Street View (hooked my laptop to the big screen TV).  Hahaha... strange, eh?  ;-)  It guess it was because Calgary just went on Street View in the middle of last week.  When we looked at our guests' house, it looked like there was somebody in their front window!  We were trying to figure out who it was.  Too bad we don't have CSI-type photo enhancement capabilities.  The party ended past 1 a.m. today.

Photo Shoot:

We had some fun this afternoon.  The Traveling Woofburys - Stella (American/vocal) & Harry (British/guitarist/vocal) - totally rocked the house!

 

Happy Halloween!

My Favourite Memories of Grandma Fang

I got a text message before noon, from my brother Sam in Taiwan, that our favourite grandma just passed away in the hospital - at 1:35 AM on Aug. 25, 2009, Taiwan time.  

I talked to grandma over the phone on Saturday around 6 PM.  She understood it was me.  She called my name.  The last time I saw her was in November 2007.  She was sick in bed but in good spirits.  She was a fighter!

Her health went downhill about 6 years ago.  She underwent a few tough surgeries.  My parents and uncles asked for a lot of favours to get the best doctors in town to help my grandma.  Even one of those doctors said (exact quote) "I have to treat this dead horse as a live horse and see what happens..."  I was so angry at that doctor when I was standing there listening to this cruel comment.  I thought he was an arrogant jerk!

My grandma was a culinary genius!  Her everyday cooking was better than my special occasion cooking.  The best memories of her were either in the kitchen, in the traditional market or in the dining room.  Well... and maybe in the salon, getting a manicure and pedicure too.  She always had perfect nails and hair.  She said to me "女孩子要入得廚房，出得廳堂!"

She was fearless and had a strong personality.  She was born in a rich family and they owned a lot of land.  She saw her dad and uncle get beaten to death by a communist-incited mob during the war.  She escaped and later she married my grandpa, who was in the Nationalist army.  My grandpa had to move to Taiwan with the army and left her and their kids behind.  She single-handedly brought my mom and her siblings to rejoin him in Taiwan from China via Hong Kong.  Many people told her to get rid of the female child (my mom) since it would cost too much for transport and bribes, and it was more dangerous for her to travel with too many children.  Sons were considered more valuable, as they wouldn't "leave the family" when they got married.  She argued and fought to keep my mom with her.  She taught me, "Never give in!"

I remember going to the traditional market with her - picking the freshest ingredients.  I recall that she bought live frogs and skinned them in the kitchen.  She would stretch the frog skin on a steel cup to make a little drum for me to play.  Yeah... that helped me a lot in high school biology class - I was the only girl not afraid of killing a frog for a lab experiment.  

She made delicious house wine... it was sweet.  She would let me try a little bit of it for Chinese New Year dinner and then I'd pretend I was too sleepy to go home so I got to stay at grandma's after the big dinner.

She was super good at mahjong, too.  Even though I never learned how to play mahjong (because my dad disapproved of gambling), I hung around the mahjong table when they played.  She gave me tips when I helped serve tea and snacks while they played.  Mahjong was her favourite thing to do.  She played "mental mahjong" to keep herself mentally alert and sharp.

 

I miss her!

  

Puppies

Puppies got a few visitors on Sunday:

Busy August Long Weekend

We were at the dog show on Saturday and Sunday. It was a pretty big show - pretty noisy and lots of happening. It was hot (32c+) too.  So, there were many stressed people and dogs.  Harry and I were nervous on Saturday and we couldn't stay "focused" to get a qualifying score.  But, after a good night of sleep and playful practice, we are better today (Sunday, Aug. 2, 2009).  Harry earned a qualifying score of 85 in the morning and earned his Rally Novice title.  Bob took some photos for us:

We finally met Shelley & Bob in person today after about 10+ years of friendship over internet! They visited Harry at the show and then came to our house to meet Stella.  We had a good time! :-)  I totally forgot to take photos!!!  

Puppies and Babies

Ellen and Justyn took us to visit puppies this morning. This is the first time we met Stella and her siblings.

In the afternoon, we had a mini high school reunion at Ellen's with Melody, Rebecca, Amy and her three kids. Everyone looks the same - even prettier! We think Amy is slimmer than before she has kids! Rebecca's hubby CAN COOK! Yummy food! Amy's kids had so much fun that they decided to sleep over at Ellen's tonight.

Calgary Stampede 2009

Tiffany, Roy, Chris and I went down to the stampede ground this afternoon. We saw rodeo, Super Dogs and we had chicken fingers, corn dogs, pizza on a stick, deep fried jelly beans and kettle corn - of course! :-)

Some snapshots from Roy's camera:

Stars On Ice 2009 @ Pengrowth Saddledome

Tiffany, Roy, Chris and I went to see Stars On Ice on Friday night.

We had east side floor seats (centre ice)!  They allowed compact camera without flash, so Roy and I took some photos with his Canon G10.

The whole show was awesome!  All skaters were great!  Shawn Sawyer did back flip a few times!

My favourite skaters are still Jamie Salé & David Pelletier!  Jamie was hanging on to David only by her ankles around his neck while they were spinning - no hands!!!

情人節快樂 Happy Valentine's Day

Wishing everyone a happy V-day!

祝媽咪生日快樂

媽咪都是過農曆年的生日。今年六十大壽踫巧和我生日同一天。

柏慶，Tiffany, Chris, 和我在Calgary祝妳生日快樂!

Back in Calgary

We are back!  Chris, Harry and I were in Vancouver for a week - visiting family and friends. We drove. Correction: Chris drove us there and back. :-) I offered my help but he turned it down.

We had a great time with Harry.  We spend most of the time with Harry when we were in Vancouver. He got to go to so many different places with us. He met many people and dogs.  He even went to see Stephie's softball game. He was the lucky charm for her softball team - they started winning when we arrived and they ended up winning the tournament at the end of the day!

On the way home, we saw lots of animals near Highway 1 - a few black bears, 1 wolf, a moose, a couple of deer, a couple of mountain goats.

Harry & Jasper

Harry & Jasper
Originally uploaded by malteserus

We were in Vancouver when Harry met Jasper for the first time! They were playing nicely together.

Jasper and Harry chased each other - Jasper was crawling pretty fast! Harry even didn't mind sharing his toy with Jasper (we didn't like Jasper put it in his mouth - of course). They had lots of fun together!

Harry and Momi

Harry and Momi
Originally uploaded by malteserus

Momi is a 11 years young Pekingnese. He had a tough time trying to catch Harry in the back yard.  Cady and the rest of us thought it was funny.  :-)

At a softball game this afternoon

Stephie and Harry
Originally uploaded by malteserus

Stephie's team started to play better when Harry arrived. They ended up winning the softball tournament. She thinks Harry is their lucky charm!

Amelie and Harry
Originally uploaded by malteserus

Amelie played with Harry in the Sunnyside Park, Surrey, BC.  She adores Harry!

Harry's 1st Birthday

Cake
Originally uploaded by malteserus

We had a Princes and Princesses party. Harry's birthday was a great excuse for us to have fun! Most of us dressed up - check out some of the photos

Prince Harry

Rocking out at Tiffany's

20080120-P1000696
Originally uploaded by malteserus

We finally got to play Rock Band! It was lots of fun! Jag was cheering for the Rock Band as we played.

We took turns playing guitar, drumming, and singing. Roy is the most energetic singer - he even lost voice after a few songs. Tiffany has a natural talent for the drums. Chris is by far the best guitarist among us! :-)

Merry Christmas!!!

Have you been good this year?  Was Santa good to you?  :-)

Santa visited us last night and brought us lots of goodies!

Chris made turkey dinner and we played Wii with friends the whole night.

Christmas Photos

 

Replicon X'mas Party

JessChris-2007Replicon Xmas Party
Originally uploaded by malteserus

This year's (2007) Christmas party is at Banff Centre. We had a great time. Check out the photos.

Happy Halloween!

Whitebeard (a.k.a. CoCo) went to work with me today. We were pirates for the day. He was one sleepy pirate who slept the whole day on my desk:

Then we went home and handed out candy. Whitebeard was very popular with the kids. Some other Halloween photos this year:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jelyea/sets/72157602526719441/

Dinner and Mahjong at Cher's

Each of us brought some food. Most of us played Mahjong for the first time! Sonia and Philippe won at least 4 times!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jelyea/1692940466/in/set-72157602610358850/

CoCo's 14th Birthday Party

We had a party today! A pirate theme party for CoCo's 14th birthday celebration.

This is the email invite we sent out a month ago:

Here are some party photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jelyea/sets/72157601680540343/

Girls' Night at Sonia's

Sonia invited us to her house for a girls night dinner. We went to T&T supermarket selected a live crab and a live lobster for girls' night dinner.

Tiffany had to hold it with both hands! It's very heavy.

Sonia steamed the crab and boiled the lobster.

It was very tough to crack the shell of the lobster claw.

That was a very delicious fancy dinner we had!

Roy's graduation

Roy's offical graduation ceromony was held today at MRC.

Happy Birthday Sonia!

It's Sonia's birthday today! Happy Birthday to you~

Chris' birthday - trip to the museum

For Chris' birthday, we went to the military museum. It's near downtown and we drive by it all the time, but we never went in there to visit until today.

Here's Chris' story:
"It's my birthday and I'm finally old enough to enlist."

"I can take these guys all by myself!"

"Into the trenches!"

"Being a foot soldier is okay, but being mechanized is better..."

"...especially if you get to drive!"

"Getting to shoot is even better than driving! A little target practice with rush hour traffic?"

"Anybody call for *really* close air support?"

"Armour and air support, now we're talking!"

"Make some room in the garage, this is the best birthday present ever!"

"And that's how I won the war!"

Gifts from cats

What kind of gifts would you get from the cats after you visit them for a few days?!

LOVELY Maltese breed French soap - so fancy! It'll be going into my display case. They also gave me cat butt gums and a box of fancy chocolate truffles!!! How can you not like these cats!!!

Thanks to Lafite and Bingley!

Jag's birthday!

Jag turns 10 today! He got another toy and lots of loving attention.

Amelie's birthday party

Roy's birthday party at Let's Bowl was so funny fun. Sonia decided that we'll go to Let's Bowl again for Amelie's birthday.

Easter dinner at Sonia's

Sonia and Philippe invited Tiffany, Roy, Chris and me to their house for Easter dinner on Saturday.

Amelie dressed like a princess.

Roy's birthday celebration

Tomorrow is Roy's birthday. Today, Sonia, Phiippe, Amelie, Tiffany, Roy, Chris and I went bowling (at Let's Bowl). We had lots of fun. The ball was too heavy for her, but Amelie hit her first pin even without the border guard! After two games, we went for a Peking Duck dinner. Later, we came home to have cake.

Welcome 2007!

Wishing you all a healthy, joyful, prosperous and happy new year!

Jeanna, Mei-Mei, Sonia, Amelie, Philippe, Roy, Tiffany, Jag, Chris, CoCo and me were at our home for the count down. We had a big dinner with chocolate cake and Tiramisu. After dinner, we also had ice wine and some sparkling wine for the midnight cheers. We also had some shots of B-52 to welcome 2007.

Turkey dinner and pretty beans!

Philippe made turkey dinner this year. It was delicious as always.

Sonia's mom gave me a big bag of these pretty beans that they grew in their garden. They are so pretty! I'm going to save some to be planted next year.

CoCo is 13 years young!

CoCo turns 13 on Aug. 24 - tomorrow! We had a Luau party for CoCo's birthday last Sunday. Everyone was dressed in Hawaiian style and we had lots of yummy food. Pups had chicken liver cake and people had mango mousse cake.

Cowboy CoCo

On Saturday, we took CoCo downtown to take some photos. Afterwards, we went to Prince's Island Park for a walk. CoCo loves the crowd!

Happy Birthday to Jaguar, Sonia, Chris and Jeana

Grab Life By the Throttle!

I designed and ordered this birthday cake from Cake Works. We had a BBQ dinner on Saturday to celebrate birthdays for Jaguar, Sonia, Chris and Jeana since their birthdays are very close together.