Waxy fruits and vegs not a myth

I have been seeing posts on Facebook on how to wash our vegs and fruits to get rid of dirt pesticides before we consume them. Today, I thought I give it a try and bought a bottle of white vinegar from the local supermarket, Lian Hua, that's in my neighbourhood.

I soaked 4 - 6 fruits, mainly oranges, apples and pears in a pot of water mixed with 1 cup of vinegar. And let it soak for a while. After 10 minutes I went back to check and saw oily and white bits floating in the water and small white bits appearing on the skin of the fruits.

1 minute into the soak. Water is still clear and my fruits still look so glossy.

Bits of "dirt" start appearing in 5 minutes.

Can you see the whitish spots on the orange? It's wax. -_-"

Even my apple started to "wax". Imagine I have been eating the skin of this fruit for the last few month. -_-" And the water is cloudy with lots of wax floating around.

It seems that the fruits which we have been buying from a local fruit stall was covered with plenty of wax so it shines, making it look fresh. Sigh. That means we have waxy stomach since I have been eating the skin of the apples and pears.


I am not sure if this only happens to the local fruits in China, as the 2 imported Sunkist lemon did not show any wax on the skin. Will try to make it a practice and soak all vegs and fruits with vinegar before consuming them.

Anyone out of China have tried this method on your fruits and seen any dirt or wax emerging after soaking for half hour? Appreciate some feed backs.

My first road rage in Shanghai

During the weekend, we love to ride around the French Concession in Puxi, Shanghai. And as the weather gets warmer, it is now the perfect time to ride around and experience the sights and scenery.

But my joy ride on Sunday turned into a mini altercation with one of the locals. Although riding a bicycle is very common and deemed "safe" in China, just as long as you stick to the bicycle lanes, it can get a bit nervy as driver and riders of bigger vehicles can get impatient and nasty on us cyclist. Hence you need a lot of guts riding a bicycle on the streets of Shanghai 

My slightly dented bicycle. Now it's officially "China-rised"

At a heavy junction along Changle Lu (长乐路), my path got blocked by an inconsiderate scooterist. He took his bloody time to cross the road, blocking me and other riders. Other vehicles behind me were honking and shoving me, hence I got irritated and spewed a Hokkien vulgarity at him. (I am also human, not a saint, so I do have my good and bad moods). Before I knew it, he chased after me, whacked into my bicycle and shouted at me. I was stunned and immediately called after Mr S. It got the bully's attention and rode away. But I was starting to fume and didn't see that Mr S have stopped in front of me and I rode right smacked into him and fell over.

Fortunately I did not sustained any injuries nor any bruises. Just that my bicycle basket is now slightly dented. I wonder if that bully would have continued to chase me down the road if I have not called for Mr S or for help. 

Although I am a tough cookie and ride like a local in Shanghai, sometimes I do need my knight in shinning armor as there are times I am a damsel in distress. 

Frog Totem a good luck charm

As creepy or slimy as it may look, frog totems known to help with creating Transformation, Cleansing, Healing, New Life, Hidden Beauty, Adaptability, Luck, Power, Peace and user in Good Spirit. Therefor a good luck charm. 

青蛙 = 平安 = 財運亨通
青蛙 - かえる 
化險為夷、財運亨通...
另外也有 : 快樂出門，平安回家的含意 由於『青蛙かえる』在日語發音與『回來 KAELU』相同.
所以日本人門前會擺放ㄧ隻青蛙，希望老公出門，平安回家
日本人也會在錢包裡放進青蛙來招財，也就是出去的錢會回來的意思!
- From Something Magickal

In many cultures the primary symbolic meaning of frogs deals with fertility. This is because Frogs lay enormous quantities of eggs, therefore making it a fertility symbol as well as a symbol of abundance. I did a bit of research online and found more symbolic meanings of frogs. Frogs are also good luck symbols in Japan - especially for travelers. In China it is an emblem of Yin energy and good luck. Feng Shui practices recommend putting an image of a Frog in the east window of your home to encourage child birth and/or happy family life. It is also a symbolism of transition as the frog undergoes incredible transformations to reach the destination of full adulthood.



Frog symbolism reference from Whats Your Sign. Image and Chinese reference from Something Magickal

A lovely card from my friend in Singapore

The age of internet have changed how we communicate with each other. Thus, killing the good ole snail mail which I fondly remember sending letters to my pen pals in Australia and New Zealand when I was still in Secondary School (equivalent to High Schools). And good friends who were living and studying in Australia and United Kingdom.

Now that I am living in Shanghai and far away from my family and friends, sure I can send them an email, or even Facebook or call them via Skype. But nothing beats sending and receiving a postcard or letter from your friends and love ones.

My dear friend, Ayako Goh, have been sending me postcards from Singapore, and sometimes during her oversea healing trips, she will not forget to send me a postcard or two. Unfortunately sometimes the postman gets lost and looses our mails. So a postcard which was sent from New Zealand earlier this year somehow got lost in mail.

A very hot and green start to Spring

Over the weekend the weather suddenly turned hot and sunny. The temperature on my iPhone indicated 28ºC, but as the day before it was still chilly I was skeptical that the weather is that hot, so I decide to wear my new denim jacket before heading out exploring the streets of Shanghai and checking out an eco fair. But I was wrong, after walking for 15mins under the hot sun, I was already sweating bullets under my clothes.

 

Cute little friend we made before heading to The Eco Design Fair.

We got lost while searching for the Eco Design Fair at The Cool Docks as our cab driver alight us too far away from our destination. But after wandering around we found the fair. You can't miss it as there were rows of white tents at the fair. Being it our first year living in Shanghai, exploring art exhibitions, fairs and bazaars are the highlight of our weekends.

Receive good energy from Artistic hair studio

My friend, Ayako Goh from Something Magikcal helped decorate her friend's new salon in Singapore with plenty of positive energy and vibes.

Artistic Hair Studio is a newly launched hair salon at Fortune Centre at Middle Road, the walls of  the salon was given a touch of friendship, love and positive energy. The symbols looked like lotus and Oms characters. But on another angle the symbols of the walls also look like fairies sprinkling their magic dusts on the customers. Whatever it is, it's definitely magical.

Update: Ayako just told me the motives are Oms and Ganesha symbols with hearts n stars on the wall. So beautiful :-)

 

How's Shanghai dealing with H9N7

It's been a week since the release of H9N7 outbreak which killed 2 last week. Now the latest number has risen to 6 and spread over to Hong Kong via a little girl who paid Shanghai a visit end March.

For us living in Shanghai, live goes on. Nothing much have changed except you see more people wearing face mask on the streets. A friend of mind wanted to buy a pack of disposable masks at a local medical shop last night, but was informed it's all sold out that morning. As for our food, I usually buy our groceries and produces from PINES and CITY SHOPS, two supermarket that caters to expats living in Shanghai. The produces are either imported or organic. And we try to eat in more often than out with the crowd.

 

Mystic Cats website is now live!

Our website is finally up! Thanks to some of readers for voting the url. Do chk out http://www.mysticcats.org/ and please share it with your friends and love ones.

We are now open for Tarot and Numerology reading in Shanghai. Please call us at 131 248 20950 or email us at mysticcats.lady@gmail.com to make an appointment.

And Lady Suzz will be in Singapore from 10 - 20th June. Please email us at mysticcats.lady@gmail.com to book in advance for a reading in Singapore.

An exchange of good energy

Some friends were asking me why do tarot readers charge so much or why do they even need to give me a token in return. I am usually someone who doesn't mind helping my friends for free, but as my mentor pointed out it's for an exchange of good energy, and a good friend who understands reminded me that the readings I give are very draining and I deserve to be paid for my service.

1st Tarot reading done in Mandarin

I finally tested my Mandarin vocabulary and skills last week by giving a Numerology explanation and Tarot reading in 99.99% Mandarin. With just a sprinkle of English. Felt so proud of myself as the seeker totally understood me and was very happy with my readings.

I did the reading for my Gym Sales Manager, who is from Suzhou and been living in Shanghai since she graduated. She's in her late 20s and is currently at a career cross road. I sensed that she was having some issues with her colleagues, so I asked her if she like a reading.

Lovely Mystical Cats video

Love this short video made by mustang0403 on Youtube. Cats are truly magical creatures and there are still so many mystery that surrounds them. That goes for the saying - Cats have nine lives.