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The articles here come from my housekeeping and parenting collection, written between 2012 and 2022, and from personal reflections written since, mostly by me, and from time to time by my adult children. As editor, I share them for information and reference only, and I can't promise they're free of errors or omissions. Please weigh any advice against your own circumstances and use what fits.

The views here are each writer's own and do not reflect any organisation, client, or platform we work with.

The reddotmum.com domain is being retired. This Blogger space is its quiet new home.

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The Maestro and the Orchestra

It has been only a couple of months since the first grandchild was born in the family, but I am sure it has felt like an eternity for the newly minted parents. Even before the inaugural date of conception, the work of raising a human being was already in full gear. Getting through nine months of enabling a healthy foetus to flourish is no walk in the park. It was not just one person’s lifestyle and dietary habits that had to shift - overnight, if you have to be rid of bubble tea and late-night nibbles after an intense day, that is simply another hurdle to jump over. Most significantly, it was about what the bystanders could do. You learn very early on, once your adult children hit their twenties, that they are their own person - and so as a to-be granny, the first thing one does is to seal thy lips and just listen. Listening and observing are both very formidable skills. They make caregivers of any generation emotionally attuned to their recipients of care. Some memories still linger:...

Shepherd's Pie Recipe (Life Review)

Every year, when September rounds the corner, thoughts of Christmas and Chinese New Year preps loom near. Anticipating the coordinated arrangements that will be needed, some preliminary preps begin. I try to prep ahead so that I don’t get all stressed out at year-end. It is a great time after all to sit back in awe and enjoy the festivities all around the world (the Internet is best for this!) Christmas beckons first ~ I have all the usual recipes tucked away in my blog and easily retrieved on the app Pinterest (which also makes it easy for my family to access). The recipe I am ‘reviewing’ is the Shepherd’s Pie. Do you ever wonder why one flinches when another says a particular dish is ‘so easy to do’? I’ve realised that saying a dish “is easy to do” is only ‘so easy to do’ when one has cooked it several times until it becomes ‘automatic’, a bit like preparing for a standard exam when one rehearses the practice of previous years’ exam papers within the given time. Yeah, that sort...

Fried 'Kway Teow' (Flat Rice Noodles with Black Vinegar)

This recipe feeds four. I adapted it from https://www.messyvegancook.com/five-minute-zhenjiang-noodles-recipe/. It’s a keeper. My hubby grew up with black vinegar. I hated black vinegar at the beginning. But we have been married for 29 years, so our dietary habits are beginning to be a lot more alike than different! It makes family cooking easier too! The adult kids like this dish a great deal. Black vinegar always gives that additional punch of flavour. For those with lack-lustre appetite, fry some sliced onions with black vinegar and put them over a fried egg and eat it with rice. This is also an easy way to cook a ‘no-salt’ dish! Ingredients Kway Teow (2 pkts; 420g each – follow the instructions on it to prepare it for frying – mine came in a pack but one can get fresh ones from the wet market) 6 tablespoons of (Chinkiang) black vinegar + 4 tablespoons of soy sauce, mixed together Spring Onion (1 sprig – separate the white from the green (buy the whole pack of spring onion and...

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