my midlife musings


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Orange - Not My Favourite Colour, Until...





First Published - December 2018



As part of the December Reflections 2018, one prompt was Orange. Well I must admit, I was a little worried and unsure what photo to use.





Orange is not a favourite colour of mine, hence I rarely take photos of things because they are orange! It wasn’t until I did a search of all my photos from the past year and discovered a few photos that really stood out.


Orange made me think! What is the meaning of the colour Orange? I wasn’t really too sure. As a fruit, I knew it means good luck as in Malaysia, during Chinese New Year, people exchange oranges as a sign of good fortune and prosperity.



I decided to dig a little deeper and thanks to Jennifer Bourn@Bourn Creative, found this description:


Orange is a mixture of the energy associated with red and the happiness associated with yellow. Orange is associated with meanings of joy, warmth, heat, sunshine, enthusiasm, creativity, success, encouragement, change, determination, health, stimulation, happiness, fun, enjoyment, balance, sexuality, freedom, expression, and fascination. Orange is the color of joy and creativity. Orange promotes a sense of general wellness and emotional energy that should be shared, such as compassion, passion, and warmth. Orange will help a person recover from disappointments, a wounded heart, or a blow to one’s pride.


I was beginning to appreciate orange just a little bit more!


So back to my own photos. Here’s a few of my orange photos from the year and what they mean to me.





I was beginning to appreciate orange just a little bit more!



This has to be my favourite photo of the ones I have as it reminds me of the amazing trip to Cleveland I had with my son this year and we both got to experience the amazing colours of Autumn (or Fall in the US). This may seem a normal season for many but after living in Asia for over 30 years, we don’t get to experience this seasonal change and the colours are just beautiful and vividly amazing!





Continuing on from our visit to the US, what is Fall if for Pumpkins!! I am used to having Pumpkin Soup but using them as a decoration and eventually carving them was not something I’d experienced. I never did get to eat pumpkin pie, and as I also understand the Americans don’t do pumpkin soup either.


This photo was taken outside the local supermarket and I wondered at the variety of shapes and sizes available.





This beauty of a pumpkin we discovered on our travels to Pennsylvania. Standing at 136kg it wasn’t the biggest home-grown pumpkin we saw, the biggest was 602kg!!!





Of course no trip to the US in October could be complete without Halloween!! Celebrated in all its sweet glory, here was a small sampling of the hoard of sweets and candy that the kids picked up! The favourite was the Reese’s Bar, which I have to admit before this trip I had never tried before. I managed to try one before they were all hidden away – not a personal favourite but then that must be lucky for those who love them!!





This orange photo is actually of fried Thailand Sweet Potatoes and was on display at our local market in Setia Alam, Selangor. The market itself has made it to the Malaysian Guinness Book of Records as being the longest street market in Malaysia stretching 2.4km. With hundreds of stalls selling all sorts of food, delicacies, toys, clothes, electronics, fruit, vegetables and meat and fish fresh from the farm and sea.





My sister came to visit us for the first time in Johor since we moved into our new home, and we both decided to be tourist for the day. We headed into Johor Old Town and wandered the streets. This building really caught my eye as it has the old paint and signage but also the new graffiti drawings as well.





Ok, so slightly more yellow than orange – but nonetheless, something to remember in 2018. This is the result of the first time I made a quiche from scratch. And YES, that includes the pastry as well. I was very proud of my accomplishment, so took the photo to remember what I’d done.





My new home in Johor never fails to surprise me. This evening sunset was one I caught whilst cooking dinner. I am so thankful that my kitchen window faces the right way so I can catch the beautiful colours each night. This made me stop and go outside to take a photo and capture the moment.


So I guess there is lots of orange in my life after all. I will always remember that orange is a colour of joy, energy, passion, encouragement and so many other positive things in my life.



My Midlife Musings


Singapore, UAE, Scotland, Thailand, Malaysia
Expat Since 1984