Babies ! They are adorable. One look and one is a goner, especially one as cute as Baby V !
Born on 29 Mar 2012, the proud daddy message all his friends and family soon as his son decided to come out & greet the world!
Congratulations to mommy & daddy !
Stop !
Life is whizzing us by so fast.. sometimes you need to just STOP ! and learn to Smell the Flowers…
Working more than 12hr work day, skipping meals, missing time spent with your loved ones, having absolutely no time to call your own… That ain’t healthy.. you don’t need an expert to tell you that. Sooner or later, either your body will burn out OR you will find youselves alone in the world..
Recently, I was down again with stomach bug – a fever-causing bacteria infection which literally force me to STOP AND SMELL THE FLOWER ! The up & down fever made sure I slept and remain rested for at least 3 days… of course, the powerful & expensive antibiotics helped too ..It was not a fun experience, having gone through this a 4th time since Dec 2011, it has become quite clear my health is not what it used to me. It maybe age but then again, it’s most likely was due to lifestyle.
Gotta learn to STOP and smell the flowers…what do you think ?
Photos here show Twistie enjoying his flower time ….
One month ago on a bright & sunny Saturday morning, we rescued a little kitty from the neighborhood wet market. Kitty was about a month-old and pretty hyper.
We decided to name the little fella Marche .. that’s French for *market*; Marche got hissing warnings from Raya and her broods but had not even a hint of fear. The new kitty intends to intrude and conquer his new home fast and demanded acceptance ! Soon as he got out the bath ..
That’s where we got into a bit of health issue. Marche infected both Twistie & Forrest with some sort of skin problem and a visit to VET was inevitable. What was to be a vaccination trip turned out to be a antobiotic shot for all 3 cats.
And the vet also informed us Marche was a GIRL and not a boy … YIKES ! Are you sure, Doc ?
Yes Ma’am.
So Marche needed a new name.. Marche was too boyish .. hahaha.. Since the little fella came to us filthy and smelling like the wet market – a new name came to mind … Bella .. short for BELACHAN.. & Marche became BELLA !
In the short time Bella has been with us, she has brought many joys and fun into our home; the 2 older cats tolerate her and patiently play-fight with her at her whim.
Come feeding time, they allow the young princess the extra bite from their plates.. All said, she has managed to become one of the family fairly quickly. Even the Royal Raya has accepted the youngster as one of her brood and gives her daily tongue-bath!
Here’s Bella in her first portrait session….
A visit to Straits Quay over the weekend proved fruitful … we met Helen Lee at the Flea market and her broods of colourful bears … Aside from selling the ready-made (sewn) bear of various sizes, Helen also sells DIY version where you can choose the coloured patterns you like in a complete kit of cotton fillings, threads & ribbons, buttons & of course the pre-sewn cotton fabrics..
All it takes is a little bit of time and voila .. one can complete a bear within a few short hours.. This particular bear was completely by Fan Lin within a couple of hours..She’s already asking for a second Bear
Helen also offers help to those who may need them to complete any bear.. beside an instructional sheet that comes with the kit, she also conducts Bear & Bunny workshop at her shop in Simpang Ampat. Details on her facebook page – Helen’s Handmade Shoppe
Wanna see more of these adorable bears ? check out this FB Page - the Ferringhi Garden Charity Bears … where you can adopt one at RM36.00 each ..Proceeds will go to the Children’s Protection Centre in Penang.. & they ship worldwide !
They’re Engaged !
Yes – Shanan & Kalpana is getting engaged on this beautiful day 2nd Sep 2011 .. Congratulations !
Crossing the bridge to another new chapter in their loving relationship
Shanan – Charming & charismatic young doctor and yet, playful with a wonderful sense of humour.
Kalpana – Beautiful young lady whose contagious laughter can melt the coldest of hearts.. Shanan never stood a chance ! haha!
When Cupid strikes, these 2 lovely souls met and fell in love …
A match made in heaven — they will now begin their journey together ..
We wish you happiness and joy …
Congratulations & Have a wonderful engagement today !
Looking at him now, one would not know that Forrest was born with deformed back legs. At birth, his PAW was facing upwards and he had to drag his backlegs to move around.
Eldest amongst 2 surviving kittens, he could hardly walk & fighting for mommy’s milk was a chore but our little fella was a fighter …
During the initial weeks, we lovingly massaged his back legs daily. It must have been painful because Forrest would meowed loudly in protest but we persisted.. We had expert advise that the massages would help. If not, he may have ended up crawling throughout his life
=
We were so relieved when Forrest finally learnt to walk using all 4 legs.
Our determined little kitty even started to play fight with his brother Twisties. And he’s usually the bully !
By his 3rd month, Forrest was walking and running (zooming) around the house wrecking havoc ! When we got our IPAD2, Forrest was the SMART kitty who had his fair-share of the play time with the new toy.
Now, at 5 months, these siblings are now considered teenage boys who loves nothing but to tear the whole house apart.. The aggression is beginning to show … Soon – the spraying will start … MMmmmmm… I think it’s time to consider that important visit to the VET..
What does this little story teach us ? Winners never quit ….. so what if life threw us some hard times ? It’s up to us to never give up but persevere to face the difficulties .. success will come !
Once again, the holy Ramadhan month is upon us .. Our Muslims friends are observing the daily fasting ritual – from dawn to dusk.
Paying a visit to Bandar Perda, we experienced multitude of colours and scents that are known especially this time of year .. This is the only time when some of this dishes are prepared and available.
It’s wonderful to live in a place with so many variety of food and culture!
Young pedlars selling chips
Preparing Roti Johns …
The young man is holding a packed ROTI JOHN …
Saw only a LONE store selling bubur lambuk … Mmmmm …
Frying Pasembor
After deep-frying, the pieces are cut into smaller portion
One cannot missed the colouful drinks store…
Kakaks preparing the Chicken Rice packs
Looks delicious
The Kuih Muih … they get more varied each passing year..
Red Selasih, Yellow orange & Green Kiwi …
Friendly Pakcik & his son
Skewers with Blackpepper … trust me .. they are very tasty …
Sold Out venison … pakcik said we need to come early to get the Gulai Kawah or Rendang Rusa .. Fast Selling !
Anyone fancy a GEARBOX ???
How about a ROLLING CHICKEN ?? hahahha
Personal favourite — the chicken curry
After all that buying – it is SHARE & SHARE ALIKE … going home to BUKA PUASA
To all my Muslim friends .. selamat berpuasa … Am sure enjoying the exceptional dishes along with you for BUKA PUASA !
Straight from CNNGO page, where our Penang laksa came in 7th in World’s 50 most delicious foods.. I, a person who DOES NOT cook .. decided to try to prepare it for the family .. haha .. be warned my darlings Lin & Bryan ..
TalentCook’s Penang Assam Laksa Paste LAKSOUP promises to bring out the *ahem* gourmet cook in anyone .. <wink>
The DIY paste actually eliminates the need to prepare the Laksa Soup base .. however, one will still need to add in the Kembong (mackerel) fish and prepare the veggies to make it authentic ..
Faithfully following the instruction on back of the packaging, off I went to the market to get the onions, cucumbers,mint leaves, ginger flower, pineapple, red chillies & lettuce before going back to the kitchen to cut, sliced, stripped & julienned as necessary …(mmm, dont I talking like a real cook ??)
Of course, no Assam Laksa is complete without dollops of heh ko/prawn paste
The result… not too bad for a first time effort… The premix soupbase from Talentcook is spicy & sour, with the added ingredients, my Laksa was full of flavors.
Mmmm.. accordingly to the website, they also hv the DIY paste for the Curry Mee & Hokkien Mee… perhaps I should experiment again next week ? …
Thank You Steven Lyall for lending me the Canon 85mm f/1.2 ii to try out … first thing I did is to try it out on the kitties at home!
Catching Twisties sleeping in the basket at one dark corner … we gingerly moved him to the bedroom for slightly better lighting.. Setting the camera to f/1.2; it is indeed a revelation ! The lens is amazing !
Although the focusing takes some getting used to.. the sharpness is unbelievable …. Twisties never looked better !
Feeling the movements, the little fella opened his little eye to spy his surroundings…
Hearing the continuous clicking noise, our furry friend decided to sit up and smile for the camera…
what do you think … my cat got the posing moju ??? hahahha
It’s the only way to describe them, GLAMOROUS ! These felines are groomed, trimmed, poised and displayed total DIVA personality. Their humans doted on them & wait on them like royalties. These CATS had it made !
We have never visited a cat show. Ever since our own cat Raya came into our lives, she has shown us that life taking care of a CAT is a privilege. Humans don’t adopt cats, it’s the other way around! People who claims to be dog people or simply don’t care for cats’ existence have simply NOT MET the right cat, yet. 
Back to the Cat show – the CAT Friends of Asia IV, held during the weekend of 19-20 Mar, 2011 at SSTWO Mall in Petaling Jaya, had 159 entries in 6 rings of competitions.
Organised by John Chin of Proventus Cattery and sponsored by Royal Canin, we saw Persians, Maine Coons, Abyssinians, Ragdolls, Birmans, British shorthairs, American Curls, Scottish Folds, Bobtails, Long Hairs, Short Hairs, Local Cats and many many proud breeders ! The 6 judges had a tough time picking out winners and have nothing but positive comments and praises for the kitties on show.
Mesmerizing stare … (breeder : Felis Wonder)
