Kiddy Palace

Cards Game

2011-02-04T22:29:00.005+08:00

There was a cosy corner for the residents at the void deck. However, these elderly people sat around a round granite stone table with the same matching stone seats. These were the elderly Chinese, consisting of an old woman and two old men. They were so engrossed in their games of cards. These were not ordinary cards that we can see in modern time. My mother was so surprised to see this unusual sight. She stopped to take photographs of this people, seeking permission from them at first.

Two men and a woman playing Four Colours Cards (四色牌) Game at the void deck of a flat.

This is a stack of cards face down for the players to draw their card and a yellow card was being thrown(discarded) on the table.

This photograph shows the cards on the hand of the old man sitting on the left of the above picture.

I had no idea at all how to play this game. My mother does not know how to play them either. However, it was a game played by the last generations. My mother saw her parents played the games with their relatives. But as for me, that was my first time -- and I have no interest with such a game at all!!! Internet has more fun games than this!

However, playing this game is not easy I supposed. There are Chinese Characters written on the cards. And according to the title of the game, "Four Colours" (四色) you would have guessed correctly that there are basically four different coloured cards in the deck of cards -- white, yellow, green and red. I really have no idea what they are playing and who has invented this game in the olden days when there were no computer games available for them at all. It is a pity that such hobbies is a scene disappearing from our society.

Coincidentally, my paternal great-grandmother loves this game! An information which my mother learned recently from my paternal grandfather, who loves to go Casino! And guess what! It was my father who brought my mum to the Casino, with me in the womb of my mother, when I was barely 4 months old! That made my first 'official' visit to the Casino at Las Vegas...haha :))

So if you want to know the origin of gambling, it is the Chinese, the 'adventurous' Chinese Spirit. A fabulous website about Casino, contains a comprehensive range of Casino games information is none other than Online Casino Edition. From the website, I had learned that the word "Casino" is actually came from the Italian word "casa", which meant a building built on the property of a bigger villa, and which is used for pleasure. This included gambling and other sports. From these, it was inferred that the birthplace of the casinos is Italy. However, as far back as the BC years, China already has records that show the existence of gambling -- though there was no account of casinos. According to Casino history offered by online casino edition, the earliest casinos originated in Europe and later on found its place in the United States and other nations of the world.

Better Bathrooms

2010-12-17T21:13:00.007+08:00

In the early days of Singapore, people do not have proper sanitation at all. As shown in the photograph below, night soil was the term people used to refer to human waste in early Singapore. Back then, buckets were used to collect and dispose of human waste. There were no flushing system at all. Human labour need to be employed. In the photograph below, you can see a man holding on to a bucket. He might be removing the bucket from the toilet for disposal.

Toilets in early Singapore was very unsightly also. I had not seen toilets of early Singapore time. But I had learned about this from the library. The photograph below shows a typical toilet in early Singapore.

Living conditions had improved so much over the decades. Today, there are no need for disposal of night soil and we have so much better toilets. Singapore's sanitation development was such a success now. Every household and every shopping complexes can have modern toilet facilities. Our living condition is so much cleaner and healthier as compared to last time. Back in the early days of Singapore, waste products were collected in buckets daily by manual labour. These buckets would then be transferred by special vehicles to disposal stations where the buckets were washed and reused again the next day!

Today, every families can have betterbathrooms and another 'playland' for children at home. During my younger days, I would 'swim' in the bath tub at our old house. During bath time, I would play in the bath tub. It was such a fun time to play with water. Take a look at Betterbathrooms.com and you can see all the modern toilet furniture and accessories. At my home now, we only have shower enclosures. We do not have any more bath tub. At the website, you can find different types of bath tubs -- some examples as shown below. I like the whirlpool baths!

Cute Babies

2008-01-22T16:59:00.000+08:00

These are not worms, but they are active sperms which are swimming around the human egg, ready for fertilisation. Do you know that during sexual intercourse, about 500 million sperm are introduced into the vagina? Out of these millions of sperm, only one sperm is needed to fertilise the egg. Out of the millions of sperm which are being produced, only the fastest swimming sperm can penetrate the fertilise the waiting egg. This seemingly simple process involves a vast network of chemical controls, and if even one of these becomes disturbed, the chances of fertilisation are reduced.

Inside the ovary, a tiny pink follicle nurtures the immature egg for two weeks until it is the size of a pea and mature enough to be released. The beginning of Life starts as soon as a sperm gets to penetrate the egg, which is being released from the ovary during ovulation. The mature egg is known to be waiting at the outer part of the Fallopian tube of the woman's womb. Six hours after fertilisation, there is an explosion of life, and the now-human egg begins its four-day journey to the uterus.

At the uterus, cell division takes place and the embryo become visible to the naked eye soon. Inside the woman's womb, the embryo enlarges day by day, obtaining his food or nutrients from his mother, through the placenta and umbilical cord. The placenta acts as the lung, the liver and the kidney of the fetus.

The growth and development of the baby is an astonishing and prodigious event. From a single cell, growth occurs over a mere 266 days. At the end of this time, a new human being has formed, which is 8 million times heavier than the original fertilized cell. The cells have developed and differentiated to form special tissues and organs, all of which are co-ordinated and working, so that the child can breathe, digest food, move its muscles, hear sounds, taste flavours, react to stimuli, and develop further. A most wondrous growth which you can see from the picture below. All babies are just so cute. More pictures of babies can be found at Baby Photo Gallery together with useful information, such as articles, videos and much resources about pregnancy and parenting, as well as babies' health and more at gurgle.com.

Products For Babies

2007-06-13T16:08:00.000+08:00

This is Lester and Lula, a pair of sweet conjoined Sock Monkeys only can be found at Hazel & Melvin's Room. There are many more conjoined sock monkeys at Hazel & Melvin's Room. If you do not like these conjoined sock monkeys, there are single sock monkeys too as shown by this picture below. All these pictures are obtained from Hazel & Melvin's Room. To see more varieties of these monkeys visit their website.

This is Hershel the Monkey, another cute monkey that I found cute at Hazel & Melvin's Room. What is Hazel & Melvin's Room really about? Well, it is a online store all about products for babies. It is all the unique collections for the baby home furnishing market, all done so by Rebecca Yaker. Rebecca has several years of experience in Fashion Designing. She quited her job to pursue her dreams, and that is how the parents can get more shopping products for their babies!

All the products at Hazel & Melvin's Room are handmade and unique. There are many products all specially made by Rebacca. There are Handmade Diaper Bags, Nursing Pillows, Quilts, Crib Beddings and not forgetting the sock monkeys. Rebecca is really wonderful. There are even clothings at her site -- shop for limited edition clothing for your children! Find special bib like White Boxing Monkeys, kissing fish bib or octopus bib. For children who refuse to eat, for children who find meal times boring, a special bib like that can add more fun. Parents can tell their children stories about the cute monkeys, fish or octopus on their bib. Children love stories and pictures. Amuse them and they won't even know they are eating food!

The picture below shows what are the things you can find at their store. There are monkeys on the top shelf and a basket of monkeys on the floor. On the left hand side of the picture are diaper bags. These bags were handmade and they do not look like a diaper bag at all! Parents who are 'shy' to carry a diaper bag can have alternatives now. Of course you can see other things in the picture, the clothes, crib pillows and quilts. In addition to all these, they also take in custom orders. Want anything special to be made? Just send Rebecca an email!

This picture is obtained from the blog of Hazel & Melvin's Room. The blog is another way of communication for customers and the owners. And that is how I get a picture of them. To get unique babies products, do consider Hazel & Melvin's Room. You can even get gift certificates from them! Read customers testimonials of them and find out more about them! You make your own choice!

Kiddy Palace

2007-05-21T11:20:00.000+08:00

This is my favourite cartoons, Spongebob Squarepants.

What is a kiddy palace? To me, kiddy palace is a big, luxurious and entertaining place for kids. It is a place where kids or children can spend their days or time, indulge in their own kingdom. These children can make use of their imagination to explore their world of fantasy through their own play and also with their playmates.

Many parents know the importance of play to children and they know the importance of having their children to grow up in a nice and proper environment. As soon as newly wed couples know that their baby is 'coming' soon, they are all excited about it, getting ready Children's Room, be prepared for their little princess or little prince to 'come'. They want their Children's Room to be their little prince or princess Kiddy Palace.

This is Dora the Explorer which my sister likes.

It takes time, planning, energy and money to build a kiddy palace for your little ones. You need time to shop around for items to be placed in the room. Driving or traveling around in your estates to shop for kids' items can be very tiring. Online shopping is a preferred method -- relaxing and convenient.

WithCharacterKids is a kiddy palace itself. Any parents who visit withcharacter.com will be amazed by its range of products it has. All their items are organized into various categories such as room decor, beddings, and diaper bags. You can also shop according to your favourite brands.

I love Spongebob SquarePants. My sister loves Dora the explorer. WithCharacterKids has so many cartoon characters that are suitable for both the boys and the girls. I hope I can have my room filled up with Spongebob. I like the Spongebob SquarePants "Under the Sea" Toddler Bedding. But I think it is too small for my bed. I also like Spongebob SquarePants Pop-up Hamper. It is very useful for me as I have a lot of things to store. With the Spongebob SquarePants Pop-up Hamper, hopefully my storage problem would be solved.

My sister likes Dora. I think giving her Dora the explorer lamp with Beads would be a great idea for Children's Day. She can put the lamp beside her dressing table or just beside her bed. She would be most happy to see this gift.

WithCharacterKids is a great place to shop for baby gear and it is your kiddy palace store. Browse through all the categories, transform your room into your own kiddy palace at your home. Welcome your ittle prince and princess with a well-furnished Kiddy Palace!

In addition, WithCharacterKids is just for anybody who loves kids. Whether you are shopping for yourself or your kids, or you are shopping for gifts, WithCharacterKids has all the wonderful kids stuff for you. Shopping for expecting mums, infants, toddlers and even teens can all be done so at WithCharacterKids. Even if you are a grandparent now. You can shop here for your favourite grandchildren. Send your favourite kids, infants, toddlers, even teens kiddy stuff, their favourite TV cartoon characters. Surprise your kids, shop for your kids' favourite cartoon characters home needs such as comforter, pillow and more. Start planning ahead now for your kids' birthday or Children's Day.

Board Games

2007-01-05T20:21:00.000+08:00

A board game is a game played with counters or pieces that are placed on, removed from, or moved across a "board" (a premarked surface, usually specific to that game). Simple board games often make ideal "family entertainment" since they are often appropriate for all ages. Some board games, such as chess, go/weiqi, xiangqi, shogi, or oware, have intense strategic value and have been classics for centuries.

There are many different types of board games. Many games simulate aspects of real life. Popular games of this type include:

Monopoly, which simulates the real estate market

Cluedo/Clue, which simulates a murder mystery

Risk, which simulates warfare

Other games only loosely, or do not at all, attempt to imitate reality. These include:

abstract strategy games like chess, checkers or go

word games, like Scrabble

trivia games, like Trivial Pursuit.

A new genre of board games, DVD games, was introduced into the marketplace in 2002 with the launch of the first edition of Scene It (now distributed in the mass market channel by Mattel), and have spawned their own game category.

Backgammon
Backgammon is a board game for two players in which pieces are moved according to the roll of dice and the winner is the first to remove all his pieces from the board. Many variants have developed throughout the world, but most share the same common elements. It is a member of the tables family of games.

The game is essentially a race, and luck plays a measurable role, but backgammon offers a significant scope for strategy. With each roll of the dice, a player must choose between numerous options for moving the checkers, and plan for possible counter-moves by his or her opponent. Opportunities for raising the stakes of the game introduce more strategic intricacies. Players have developed a vocabulary for common tactics and occurrences.

Backgammon is played by two people with 15 checkers each on a board consisting of 24 spaces or points. The checkers are moved according to rolls of the dice. Each player tries to bring his own checkers home and bear them off before his opponent does, hitting and blocking the enemy checkers along the way.

Backgammon has been around a long time, with origins dating back possibly 5000 years. The ancient Greeks played. So did the Romans. The game we know today was refined in England in the seventeenth century, which is also when it acquired the name backgammon. One significant innovation of the twentieth century was the addition of the doubling cube in the 1920s.

Backgammon enjoyed a huge resurgence in the 1970s, then again in the 1990s with the popularity of the Internet. Today, you can play backgammon online any time of the day or night with people from all over the world.

Power Rangers dino thunder

2005-10-31T10:51:00.000+08:00

Gransazers toys

2005-10-28T11:52:00.000+08:00