Outing

On Wednesday Noni and I went on an outing/excursion to Klang to visit an orphanage. I have never been to one before. About 30 Makciks2 and Datins boarded a tour bas from Taman Darul Ehsan Mosque. In Klang, we were met by an Ustaz from the orphanage led us to Surau Asyukriah Jalan Yadi where the children, all boys were attending their daily school there temporarily, as Al-Hafiz to recite and memorise the Quran. We were told their Madrasah was burnt down last year and they are building a new one for the boys to attend school.

After the speeches and Quran recital from one the boys, our group presented our cash collections for the orphanage. Besides that, we also contributed basic foodstuffs like packets of rice, cooking oil, sugar, ikan bilis, cupcakes, biscuits and karipaps.

The orphanage also brought out their own products like dates, raisins, zam zam water and brooches to sell to us to generate funds for their new building.

Finally we distributed packed nasi lemak and mineral water bottles to the boys and joined them eating their breakfast there. Im sure everyone of us went back that day feeling great that we have contributed something for the poor boys and to make their lives feel better no matter how small our individual contributions.

My bicycle

My new bicycle (well actually not that new) I bought it last month on my way back from Jeram and carried it all the way back in my small car with the back seat down for RM180. Now I feel its a bit expensive. I was thinking that if I bought it from out of town it might be cheaper. But I guess now with the price of steel and everything else has gone up I console myself for buying it at that price.

Why in the world did I buy it? Well it got nothing to do with the price of petrol going up and me thinking going everywhere on a bicycle...oh no..I still need my faithful small car for my outings with Noni and for everything else! I bought it at the spur of the moment, in my cloudy mind, thinking that I might just hop on it and take it for a ride every morning to exercise just like my brother! Hahahaha...when I told it to Noni, she laughed so loudly which certainly a bit unusual for her...hehehe...AS IF IM GOING TO EXERCISE EVERY MORNING! I used to go walking with her at least 3 times a week near Taman TAR but that was 2, 3 months ago? Now Im just too lazy to drive out and pick Noni at her house and go walking!

So by buying a bicycle I thought I might jolt my lazy pear-shaped body, used to be Zsar Zsar Gabo's shape...hahaha...into an exercise freak again! But I guess my not so new bicycle going to stay locked up outside the house for a long time more..since Im doing my sunat puasa and Ramadhan is just around the corner too. Well hopefully I might just shrink myself a bit by then...Insyaallah. In the mean time, Im just going to polish that bicycle every now and then and locked it up good just in case somebody got ideas to cart it away at night!

My backyard my garden

The plants especially apple, pear and kiwi plants looked dry and dehydrated when I reached Jeram today, no rain since Friday maybe and Prof was too buzy to come last weekend and today too. Spent the afternoon watering all plants and planting limau purut plant which I bought extra last month in Sg Buloh with Noni. Picked 2 pumpkins which are smaller than the first harvest probably becoz of the soggy soil. Some of the plants are already rotting on the ground since the rainy season this month. Anyway we are replanting the pumpkins again after this. Sorry the first 2 pics too small taken with my hp (not canggih one)..

2 small pumpkins to make lepat labu

limau purut plant

When I came back home, my son already finished digging the backyard to make my vegetable patch..very ambitious indeed on my part! Dont know whether I have the energy to do it alone but will try my best. Im planning to have a few plots like herbs, chilies, brinjal and lady fingers (my favourites), cucumber, tomatoes..wah! very ambitious...we'll see if its only hot hot chicken shit! (hangat2 tahi ayam la) which Im capable of with all sorts of excuses..

my future vegetable garden

my backyard...tree on the left is mengkudu

Mengkudu tree was planted by my late father so that his 4 daughters and daughters-in-law could use the leaves to wrap the tungku (hot brick) during our confinement...so thoughtful of him hah?

limau purut to make rendang

cashew nut tree planted last week, the top young leaves

can be eaten as ulam or put in laksa asam

my grape plant slowly climbing the pegola

ulam raja

this pegaga can be eaten coz I planted it myself...Noni also wants one pot

not sure whether this pegaga can be eaten

or are they for decoration only

my small pond..wah some of the plants dehydrated

forgot to water them la...

daun kesum for laksa asam ...this is grown on Noni's request

my mulbary plants need pruning again looking like a

secondary jungle already...

unripe fruit tastes sweet sourish

ripe mulbary fruits are very sweet, can be eaten raw or

make jam or fruit juice

the ripe fruit on the plant

Hopefully everything I planted will grow well...thanks to my fren Prof for giving me the grape and mulbary seddlings plus tips now and then about the plants and awaken my interest again on gardening.

LAMAN 2008....PART 2

Hah! just look at these pictures of landscape done by various states, private companies and also DBKL. They are just beautiful! What ideas these people have...Im quite impressed. But Noni said the last Laman 2006 was much better with more participants and they were placed more closely to each other, so that you hardly noticed when you were walking around the whole day. I guess this year has less participants becoz the landscapes were spaced out from each other...probably becoz of the costs of the booths or the participants didnt get good response for their products the last time around, who knows... Anyway the landscapes done were superb and I loved them all! You can get ideas how to decorate and do your landscaping in your own garden. But there was one booth with only aritificial flowers. It look good for weddings...

Most of the landscaping done had water features, either a fountain, a pond or a waterfall as the focal point which gave the garden a serene and peaceful atmosphere. The theme is tropical, suitable for our country with diverse plants species > flowering plants, decorative trees and herbal plants. Who says Malaysia dont have her own tropical gardens which are equally beautiful and easy to maintain. We should be proud of our own theme instead of having to copy Bali or English gardens, just look at the landscapes showcased at Laman 2008. MALAYSIAN BOLEH!

Oh Labu...

Im feeling a bit under the weather today probably becoz of yesterday's outing in Laman 2008. It was hot an humid and I was complaining a lot to Noni coz it made me sweaty and it bothered me. Noni just said "helooo you are a Malaysian and you are supposed to get used to that esp working in your kebun in Jeram..." But Jeram is always windy and breezy maybe becoz it is near the coastal area Pantai Remis (not the one in Perak but the one in Selangor). Anyway today told Prof I can't go and work at the kebun. Since Im staying at home, decided to puasa sunat and plan my menu to break fast tonite. I still have the pumpkin (labu kuning) I picked from Jeram (my earlier blog) lying on my kitchen table waiting for its fate....So my menu will be sayur lemak labu and pengat labu for dessert!

labu kuning

pengat labu

sayur lemak labu + pucuk labu

Besides those two, I also cooked daging masak kicap and to top it up are sambal belachan and ulam pegaga...ermmm delicious! Looking at the menu my youngest son couldnt resist joining me for dinner...To break fast I make hot apple tea from Turkey (will tell you all about my Turkey trip next time). WALLAAA!

LAMAN 2008...Part 1

HERBAL GARDEN

Today picked my fren Rohani (Noni) about 10 am, had roti jala for breakfast then we headed to Taman Tasik Perdana to have a peek at Laman 2008 (Landscape Fest) which is held every 2 years. Had to park my car at the Birds' Park then hitched a ride in their feeder buggy which cruises whole day around the lake to pick up visitors to the entrance gate. While I had to pay RM3, Noni is exempted cos she is warga emas and got a free mineral water bottle too. We made our rounds from booth to booth. Mostly were showing flowering plants and also herbal plants which I was attracted to since I started on my own little nursery. I was looking for an ulam called selom and bought 1 for RM5 which was more than what I would have paid if I were to buy it from Sg Buloh.

one booth selling different types of herbal plants

this is actually an orchid n vanilla is extracted from the seed pod

selling for RM38!

lemon grass (serai) n pegaga

misai kucing with purple flowers usually white flowers

purple chili padi...VERY HOT!

various kinds of herbs

ulam selom..just the one Im looking for...

haven't heard or seen this type before...

nor this one...

can anyone guess what is this plant for.....

Next part we will see various types of landscaping and other types of plants around Laman 2008 as we made our way around it on tired feet...