End of the first quarter

First quarter of the year is always busiest of time for me at work plus it's tax month and a festivity known as Tomb Sweeping  Day - Qingming in Chinese which is like All Souls Day, only we actually go to the tomb to sweep and clean and finished with prayers and offerings.

Times have changed, even the departed ones get a  Gift Box of offerings, like a luggage ?
All the necessities  required for the afterlife are  packed or boxed and sealed with name tags
Before the box came into existence, we used to drag bags and bags of "hell money" and "joss papers" and "paper clothings" and whatever deem necessary, deem necessary today included; can you believed ? mobile phones, besides houses, cars, plastic cards (all paper made and in 3D)  etc..etc...etc...for the dearly departed ones to enjoy in the afterlife .
How do we deliver the stuff ?
To be burnt by their respective graves on this day.
It's a hand-me-down tradition, we just follow no questions asked or bad omen befalls
However, we believed we, those born in the 60's; the baby boomers II and a little in the 70's will be maybe the last generations to follow such rituals. We do doubt the Gen Y 's will ever bothered.

It's the only time of the year where the otherwise eerie looking cemetery, comes to life, so to speak. .  It's also a day where family gathers and believed me or not, it's where an opportunity to spot a long lost neighbor or childhood friend who had moved away but now returns for this customary ritual. In total from hubby's side of the family, we attended eight graves.

Moving on to my Spring Challenge with the All About Smalls from the FB group
I've completed stitching  Quaker Birds, LHN design. It took me three separate nights of stitching to complete. As of March 28, I've selected the backing fabric.

This is what I finished into

Call it a sewing box with a pincushion

Hippity Hop Hop

A little bunny finish from stitching a while back was next

Priaire Schooler Rabbit Run Booklet

A day's tour - I went on a day's tour with mom to our Silver State, a costal town in Setiawan and Sekinchan . Silver State (Perak our Malay lingo)  it is so called because that state is our major tin mining land once a long time ago. The once isolated township is now booming for tourism.

First stop , Tua Pek Kong Temple. Giant rows of white statues, with Tua Pek Kong seated in the center is 48 feet tall greeted us as we entered the grounds

it faces the Straits of Malacca flanked by the Godess of Mercy

One of its attraction is this Large Dragon with it's belly interior walls are lined with illustration  scenes from the Ten Chamber of Hell, the warning of sinners and their gruesome fate in hell for the offenses committed during their earthly life. Have no fear, do more good deeds and earn good merits and you will be saved from hell. So the saying goes.

 The famous deities, The Eight Immortals

A memory shot with mom in front of the Gigantic Laughing Buddha

The grounds are beautifully landscaped with water fountains, ponds filled with carps and path ways lined with the 18 shaolin monks, if I got that correct. I am not very well verse with this Chinese mythology or folklore, so pardon my ignorance.

Our next stop, Sekinchan about two hours drive from Setiawan

The name literally means village suitable for plantation, thus paddy is the main produce and also well known as a fishing village

The paddy fields

had me humming the "Green Green Grass of Home" :D

Crunchy Nutty Rice Cracker produced at the paddy mill

The fishing village

Pick the catch of the day

There was a beach nearby known as Pantai Redang (Redang Beach) This beach is not for swimming or picnic. There are many stalls nearby for a get-to-gether to chat and munch on some prawn or squid fritters and sip on some fresh coconut or cold drinks or cola instead .

 Another pit stopped was the Nan Tian Temple, the temple of the Nine Emperors God situated in the middle of the luscious green paddy fields. With the signature yellow and and red  against a green backdrop it's a sight to behold.

A view from the 3 storey pagoda.

Mom looking happy to have made an incense offering

It was a hot long day for both mom and me . We haven't travelled just the two of us in a very long while and we ended our day with a seafood dinner before we headed home to rest our tired feet, for mom especially. At 84 this year,  well I noticed she is not that enthusiasts with long walks and tires easily. Lucky me it was a three day weekend.

I hope we will have our next adventure soon.

Thank you all for your coming by and for your sweet thoughts on the Teacup/Mug Swap revealed.

I enjoyed visiting and looking and in awe with all the wonderful and fantastic swap received and sent too. It was indeed a brilliant idea by Stephanie.

Wishing all a wonderful Spring and a fantastic month of May and I will be having another three day weekend to start my month of May being the 1st of May is a Labour Day for us here and I will be taking a short break away from the city.