This is my maternal Grand Ma. She loved making all sorts of Chinese cakes. She made them from scratch, grinding her own flour from rice grains. Dr Mercola would approve.
We called her Wai Po, her real name is Lai Yee.
In this pix, I was visiting her from New Zealand.
She wanted to make some of her special cakes for the water engineer, one of her new grandson in law from West Malaysia. Alas she was too old to turn the stone and she didn't make cakes much any more she needed my muscles to turn the heavy stone. I have good memories of this because she would guide me along, not too fast or not too slow. She would spoon little spoons of rice into a hole in the middle of the stone. If I went too fast, I would knock her with the long pole handle. It was hard work. I forgot what cake she made, but the memories of this grinding rice to flour forever remain in my mind.
Grandma wore her Traditional Chinese pants and top with frog buttons. She wore her long hair in a bun.
When I came back from abroad a second time, to my displeasure, Grandma cut her hair and had it permed,
I went abroad with the image of her etched in my mind. She had a traditional hair bun. She wore traditional back pants and light blush Chinese top, and a jade bangle. When I came back after 11 years, I didn't like her hair, she cut it off and permed it. I asked her, "Why???? "sort of accusing her that she had changed.
She said " Ah Suet, I spent 80 years as a slave of that bun. Now I am emancipated."
" But Wai Po, watching you groom yourself at night, was the best bonding we had."
Now, I am glad she had lopped her hair, free of that feudal slavery. Woman in her generation and those before that were first slaves of her father, then husband, children and grand children.
Grandma, I am glad you were a true blue Hakka woman, an Amazon who matched to war with their husband.
.
" But Wai Po, watching you groom yourself at night, was the best bonding we had."
Now, I am glad she had lopped her hair, free of that feudal slavery. Woman in her generation and those before that were first slaves of her father, then husband, children and grand children.
Grandma, I am glad you were a true blue Hakka woman, an Amazon who matched to war with their husband.
.
***All Chinese women her era wore jade bangles. It is not a cosmetic jewellery The Chinese believe that Jades have protective elements. Tales have been spun that the jade bangles have protected them.***
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