"S" is for scarecrows and swallows and strange things that go bump in the night

August is the month of the Hungry Ghost Festival, a time when the gates of hell are believed by the Taoist Chinese to be opened and spirits from the underworld are free to roam our world to seek food and avenge the living who had wronged them in their previous lives for closure. Although I am a non-believer, there have been many strange, paranormal occurrences reported from time to time during this month of the seventh moon - from mysterious inexplicable accidents, to items that go missing uncannily, to strange mysterious fires. Even animals appear spooked. Dogs are said to be restless and howling the entire month.
Growing up, I was witness to a bizarre phenomenon that happened annually in my hometown during the hungry ghost month. There was this street where thousands of swallows would perch nightly on the power lines above, their roisterous chirping and tweeting made quite a racket. But during this ungodly month, the street was weirdly quiet, with not a single bird in sight. Then, as soon as the month was over and the spirits believed to have returned to the nether world, the birds would reappear! This happened every single year during the month of the hungry ghosts until that part of the town was demolished for redevelopement. How do you explain that?

Ha! Who needs scarecrows when you have hungry ghosts!

 I have a previous post with lots of pics to share about the festival  here.

"C" is for cat....and....Colin

My first pet was a Burmese cat. I named her Pussy. Back in the 60s, pussy innocently meant cat. Pussy had the most beautiful golden eyes and hair the colour of a deep, rich sable.
I was seven years old when my dad brought her home. She was from a litter of 8 kitties that Dad's co-worker was giving away.
Pussy and I were inseparable and I remember waiting impatiently everyday for school to be over  so I could be home with her.
One day, many months later, I woke up in the middle of the night when my hand felt something wet and slimy. In the dark, I thought I saw several frogs on my bed. I let out a scream and my parents rushed into my room. Switching on the light, we realised Pussy had just given birth to a litter of 4 kitties on my bed! Not a pretty sight!
Looking back, I should be honored that Pussy had chosen my bed where she felt safe and comfy but when you're seven years old, blood and placenta on your bed is a major "cat"astrophe! Not fun!

In case you're wondering about the title of this post, these cookies were made for my long time bloggy buddy Lin's son, Colin. I couldn't ship them to him 'cos the shipping fee would have cost me a bomb. Lin suggests that I just make the cookies and take a photo of them. Then I can eat them too!

Those kitties are supposed to be their beloved Hobbes -- 47 lbs of Stripey Goodness!

Gilbert Legrand - You Say Toilet Brush, He says Lion

French artist Gilbert Legrand sees faces in ordinary everyday objects and turns them into whimsical, humorous characters. Trouser hangers become fashionable rats, a toilet brush transforms into a lion, a scrubbing brush turns into a native American chief......

Delight in these quirky sculptures we would most likely never envision without his help.

To see more of his work, visit his webpage or facebook page.

Gone But Not Forgotten

It has been five years since Hermie, our beloved hermit crab has gone to crab heaven. He was the boys' first pet among our menagerie of fish, turtles, hamsters and guinea pigs. We still grief for that little guy from time to time especially at the sight of the empty shells that were once worn by him.

Upon the boys' request, I made these cookies in memory of our wee crabby buddy.

We miss you, little fella!

Human Canvases

It's been a while since I've posted anything other than my cookies. Bear with me, pallies.  Cookie decorating is my latest obsession and my sons say it is my one and only purpose in life these days.

So today, instead of a cookie post, I'm sharing these amazing images I stumbled upon while googling..... yes ...cookie ideas!

The following artists use human bodies as canvases, transforming their models into stunning living works of art. Models turn into giant tarantulas, swans, giraffes....

 Enjoy!

Gesine Marwedel

Emma Fay

Johannes Stoetter

Kate Spinks Dean

Happy Birthday Oreo!

Our pet guinea pig turned 4 last week.

Happy Birthday Oreo!

"SOMETIMES THE SMALLEST THINGS TAKE UP THE MOST ROOM IN YOUR HEART "
Winnie The Pooh

Julia M. Usher

Meet Julia M. Usher, my cookie guru and idol. She's the founder and host of Cookie Connection and author of the award-winning Cookie Swap and Ultimate Cookies cookbooks.  This celebrated pastry chef and food writer was once a nuclear reactor systems engineer for General Electric prior to beginning her career in food!  Who would have thunk??!!!

I first stumbled upon Julie's cookies while scouring the net for cookie decorating tutorials. I found her on Youtube and spent hours and hours learning and oogling at every single amazing detail of her 3D cookies.

Julia is about the most creative cookier I have ever met. I could go on and on about her jaw-dropping cookies but like they say, a picture paints a thousands words.

I'm sharing just these 10 photos from her website.

Believe it or not -  these are 100 percent cookie and icing!

3-D Cookie Perfume Bottle Duo. Inspired by 50s-vintage filigree perfume bottles

3-D Cookie Wedding Bouquets

3-D Cookie Wedding Cake, Done in the Needlepoint Style

3-D Cookie Bud Vase

Heart Boxes, Bound for Portugal

Ballerina Boxes

A cookie wedding cake!

Another Cookie Wedding Cake

These Christmas ornaments can be eaten or hung!

Fabergé Panorama Eggs

PICTURES BY JULIA USHER

Now, get that bip ready and be prepared to drool over more of her creations here after you've picked  your jaw up from the floor!

Follow Julia on Twitter
Tune into Julia’s YouTube channel
Become Julia’s fan on Facebook

On Nearly Drowning...

I love the beach, the sound of crashing waves, the smell of the salt water, the balmy breeze and the therapeutic feel of sand under my feet. But as much as I love the sea, I have a phobia for going into the deeper waters after encountering a near-drowning experience when I was 12 years-old, 40 years ago.

I was wading in the water together with my cousins, knee-deep one second, waist-deep the next and before I knew it, I was swept away and tumbled like a rag doll in the merciless waves. No matter how hard I swam, I was pulled farther and farther out to sea. The rest is a painful blur.... I remember the burning sting of salt in my eyes and nose....the bursting pain in my chest...a sense of helplessness going down, down, down .....the crippling fear.....thinking, so this is it, this is how it ends... praying hard......then....a strange sense of calm... surrender...

Suddenly, a head bobbed in front of me. It was cousin Li. I grabbed and clung desperately onto him. I don't remember what happened next. Everything seemed so hazy. But I do recall Li yelling furiously at me when we somehow reached the shore. He raved maniacally on and on about how I nearly drowned him when he was grabbed from behind and dragged under. I remember bursting into tears, trembling - not from his fury or the cold but from the shock of what had just happened. Miraculously, cousin Li who was only a year older than I and hardly a strong swimmer, had unwittingly saved my life.

Beached-themed cookies

Drowning is surely, a painful and horrifying way to go.

Have you ever almost drowned?

Pet Therapy

My son, Josh, is always saying that when he gets a place of his own, the first thing he would do is to adopt a dog. Dogs and cats are not allowed in the condo where we are currently staying. Besides, our mere 1208 sq ft unit is too crammed already with the four of us and a guinea pig. It would be impossible to accommodate a larger pet.

An old pic of Josh with my cousin's Japanese Spitz

Growing up, our dogs and cats were my best friends and they gave me the therapy I needed to survive those adolescent years and teen angst.

Sharing these heart-warming pics of kids with their pets from an e-mail forward I received. These are just 10 out of the 25 pics from the site .  More here.

"There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face." Ben Williams

Red, White and Blue

Can you imagine it's July already?!! Where did the time go?

I was looking at my bone shaped cookie cutter and a vision of weiner dogs just flashed in my head. And with the 4th of July just a couple of days away, I was inspired to make these patriotic doggies.

HAPPY JULY 4TH, PALLIES!