Sketches of Life

Look what has become of the bench that the men made. It has evolved into a small low table!

In order not to waste the other half of the trunk and also the left over trunk, the men make use of them and built a table with the other trunk as benches!

MIL and the maid weaved the young coconut leaves into the Ketupat casing. We are going to have Ketupat and Kuah Kacang soon, minus the Satay.

And the best part of the coconut tree is the shoots. We ate it raw; sorry, I dunno how to describe the taste.

Our neighbour told MIL that we are not to eat the coconut shoots because the coconut tree was truck by lightning. I do not know what’s the rational behind it. The tree looks fine to us…no sign of it being struck by lightning. It is it, sure die already. Anyway, I hope I won’t be needing any medigap when I grow old. You’ll never know the side effects that will emerge once our body grew old.

Today is really a fruitful Sunday. We had fruit feast and some work are done around the house.

The men cut down a coconut tree because it was too near to the durian tree; a bridge for the squirrel to cross over. Then they made a bench using the coconut trunk. Now we have a bench under a rambutan tree for us to sit to enjoy our rambutans in a month time.

The fruit feast started with Watermelon while the men were busy making the bench. Then we had some fresh young coconut from the tree that has just been chopped down.

After some hard labor, their stomach started to growl and we had our durian right under the rambutan tree. While enjoying our durians, one durian dropped. Yay! Fresh from the tree!!! No pix though coz I was busy eating durians too!

In the kitchen, the maid was busy cooking Pengat Durian; durian cooked in coconut milk and gula melaka. We are too full to eat that. We shall savor it before dinner.

The children was not left out…they had so much fun playing with the sawdust!

If you are looking for jobs in Boston, be ready to bid farewell to this kinda life.

In a few days the above Rambutan will rest in peace in my tummy! It is juciy, crunchy and the flesh does not get stuck in between your teeth. That is why I only eat the Yellow rambutan from this tree! We have Red Rambutan too but they are not red yet, till green.

The fruit season is back! We are seeing lotsa of Durians, Rambutans, Binjai, Langsat, Mangosteen, Longan etc. The sore-throat season will also follow after that! Be sure to drink lots and lots of water.

Don’t like durian so put small pix.

As for my house, we only have Durians and Rambutans. So far I have not eaten any of the Durians yet. This year, I don’t crave for durian at all. Fiona, come eat on my behalf.

Even though we have a few durian trees, only one bears fruit. The rest are still younglings. That is why we try to save as many durian possible from being attack by the squirrel.

After witnessing the killings of pest. I noticed one of the durian tree has only ONE durian.

The durian tree is very tall and old if I am not mistaken. I thought it has stopped bearing fruits.

So few leaves!

Here is another pest that lives with us and eat our chicken and fishes in the pond.

The same BIL that shot the squirrel caught him near the pond. When I took the picture, he has not died yet. Just in fainted.

Wondering who is The Chef? The biawak is longer than him!

And NO, we don’t eat Biawak. We used to, long time ago but now, it is too gross for food.

Dead, beheaded and slaughtered.

Eldest BIL came with the shotgun and managed to shoot one squirrel down. I hope the rest of his gang will be terrified and not touch our durians anymore. We only have one tree that bears fruit.

We had Biology class too. BIL took out all the inner parts and telling his nieces which part is which. That’s the beauty of living in a kampung. No need to go to school also can learn Biology.

Oh ya, this poor fellow is going into the frying pan soon.

Squirrels are cute animal but when they started to eat all our durians and left none for us, they are no longer cute; they are a pest!!!

That is what MIL did to scare them away. Hang tins on the branch and shake it when she sees squirrel trying to attack the durians.

It is very fun for my children; making lots of noise. I was in lalaland dreaming about trying out sexy swimsuits when they started shaking will all their might. There goes my afternoon nap!

Look!

Broken kite. The kite did not flew and got stuck there but it was placed there by my MIL. Same with the Chinese clothe scroll.

A mouse trap with one durian flesh on the durian branch that has ripening durians.

The extend that MIL would do so that her children and grandchildren get to enjoy more durians this year.

Those are to frighten away the squirrel and trap them.

I hope one would get caught tonight, then we would have fried squirrel for lunch!

Have to remind hubby to stop punching unless he don’t mind eating young durians. And and and if he has a head made of steel.

What I am trying to show is that the above durian is BIG. I am no photographer, so that is the best I can do.

The biggest durian that we have been always eyeing for and praying that the squirrel won’t get to be before it drops.

This time our durian tree comes in batches. Even though some has started to fall; if I’m not mistaken 3 already, there are many others which are still baby durians.

I hope that more big ones will come from the 2nd batch.

In the office just now, one of my colleagues intercom me. “Michelle, did you bring your camera today?” The first thing that came to my mind was , “I wonder what’s the problem now.” Normally they need my camera when they have problem with the packaging materials and ready products.

10 minutes later my colleague handed me a bottle with a beetle in it. “Can you please take photo of it?”

Can you see a face?

I have seen this before; those natives’ mask and on the totem pole. I have seen this kinda beetle too, on National Geographic. So privilege to see one live.

So now I know how the natives got the idea to make their mask.

During my wedding album photo shoot, I was given an option whether to hold roses or calla lilies. I chose calla Lilies because they look so pure and pristine. Like me! hehehehe (don’t puke ok :P) Do you know that Calla Lily symbolize “magnificent beauty”. Suits me so well. hiak hiak hiak.

I wish I know wholesale calla lilies supplier like FiftyFlowers then I will definitely decorate my arch and the wedding tables with them. Not only they are cheaper than the wholesale price, they are fresh from the farm; transported by FedEx, or one of the many other international express shippers, and delivered directly to the doorstep of the bride, event planner or location within 2 or 3 days of being cut.

Before the Tsunami hits this part of the country, many dream of building their dream home by the beach. Now I doubt many would want that. Most are going for the hills. By the way, haven’t they heard of land slide?

If you are planning to make a home in South Carolina by the beach which I think it is Tsunami free zone, then Wilmington NC real estate agent might be of help to you.

Klebang beach is our favorite meeting place when hubby and I first dated. We meet there early in the morning to jog, pray and chat. We meet there after work watching the vessels sail by, listening to sound of the waves, watching fish hopping on the rocks (I can’t remember the name of that fish) and just be with each other.

In the signboard, that’s the beach that we used to jog on. Nice beach eh?

Due to “greediness”, sea is being reclaim and it has caused damage to this part of the beach. There are so much empty land in Malacca, and yet their still want the sea. God has given us dry land to plant and to build. There is a purpose why God put the sea there. Look at the consequences of man’s greediness.

No more beach for the future generation. No more telling my children and my grandchildren. “Look at the beautiful beach, this is where Daddy and Mommy used to date.”

I received a letter from National Geographic few days ago, offering free digital camera if I subscribe to the magazine for a year for only RM94 after discount. The offer is very tempting. Besides getting the colourful magazines with lots of interesting stories and amazing photos, I can get another digital camera.

So I consulted hubby about it. He loves Geography and he doesn’t mind me spending that amount of money for it. So I sent them my cheque yesterday! Actually I subscribed to it a few years ago but stopped doing when we were financially tight. I am sure they still keep my address in their Mailing Lists. That was a good option. See, I subscribe it again.

I spotted the frog on Friday night and he is still there on Saturday morning. Thank God I have another bathroom and 2 more toilets in the house if not, tak mandi and tak berak lar gua!

On Saturday evening and Sunday the frog was not insight anymore so we use the bathroom again.

This morning, I happily sit at the toilet bowl to pee and I got a shock of my life when I notice the same frog staring at me from a small blue stool on the bathroom floor right in front of me.

I did not move a muscle scared he would jump at me and told him, “Please let me use the toilet a lil while, ok?” Once I am done, I quickly run for my life!!!

Eeww, I don’t like frog…so slimy and cold.

Recently I noticed that there are more Magpie birds at home. I love to hear them singing. Too bad there are not that tame. If not, it would be nice to be able to stroke their feathers.

Come to think out it, the biscuit container Mailboxes that hubby nail to the tree works to attract more Magpies to make it as their nest and lay eggs in it.

Since we have many trees at home, we should put more of those biscuit containers on the trees and soon, we might have a Magpie bird farm!