Carpentry

Carpentry is truly a fulfilling past time to pursue. My first attempt to build something out of wood was when I was about twelve. I was into rearing fish at that time and my mum bought me a cement aquarium with a piece of glass build in so that we can see the inside of the aquarium from the side.Those days all glass or plastic aquariums were unheard off. I was really excited about getting that aquarium, it was 18X18X24 inches in dimension and green in colour. Before having an aquarium, I was rearing fishes in a condensed milk boxes lined with plastic sheets. The condensed milk boxes at that time were made of wood.

OK I have an aquarium and I need a stand to put it on to display it. My mum loves to plant orchids and to plant orchid on the ground you will need wooden beams for it to climb. Hehe!!! Guess where I got most of the materials from??? :) OK as a good boy I got permission to make use of the excess beams and my father's tools. After a whole day of struggling and a few cuts on the fingers I can proudly say that I made my very first creation ......... a totally out of proportion highly unstable aquarium stand. Yes I was very disappointed with it and my father had to make the necessary adjustment before it can be used.


When in secondary school, I learned a lot more about carpentry in woodworking classes and I really enjoyed all the Industrial Arts subjects. My carpentry skill improved very much and also learned to make use of the right tool for the right job. It is really important to understand how each tool function and the kind of work it is meant to do ........... after all "A bad carpenter always blames his tools" right??


Talking about tools. almost all my tools - powered or basic - are about 25 years or older. I guess with proper care they can last a life time. Over the years with some of the same tools I have made countless item and most of them are still in use.

Yes it is indeed a fulfilling past time. ;)

E-Sold

Yes the two bicycles that were featured in the E Selling article were sold today....... Yes and I am delighted :) because this is first time I sold something through the net. OK, after the fiasco with the internationally most well known trading site, my son suggested to me a local site where he shops and according to him is hassle free. The word hassle free rekindle my interest in trying my hands in e-commerce again.

So a couple of days ago I went to the website that my son suggested, registered myself and posted those two bicycles for sale ........ yep!! no hassle at all. Now to see what else need to be gotten rid of ..... hehe!!!!! ;)

Green Fingers

"IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT" Yes indeed that is exactly how Snoopy would describe the scenario last night. Then there was a blinding bright flash of light which lit up the dark stormy night followed by an ear piercing cackle KA-BOOOM. Yes it was really an ear piercing and deafening thunder that rocked the bed I was sleeping on. Oh @%&#, the fan stopped, guess the ELCB must have tripped.

While all these were going on, all I can think of are the plants that I have planted especially the Pandan that I have to amputate. The Basil that I just planted the day before is so tender and fragile ............. can they survive this rage of nature ????

It was indeed a joyful sight to see the Basil still standing up when I stepped into the front yard first thing this morning. Yes indeed it is a wonderful sight and upon checking the Pandan, two new shoots were seen sprouting just below the area where it was amputated :) It's growing !!! It's great!!! I can feel the joy inside me knowing that the plants are OK and growing. Yes it is a wonderful morning and I am sure I can hear Louis Armstrong singing "What a Wonderful World" in the background ...... Alright!!!!! I do have GREEN FINGERS !!! Yahoo!! :)
Play the video below it's wonderful ...............................

Cycling

About two years ago ....... I think!!!.... I had a windfall in the golf course while playing golf and decided to buy a bicycle which I have been eyeing. OK it is a Polygon Mecha entry level MTB, made fully from aluminum alloy with Shimano components and also some other branded parts. It has full suspension so it is easy on this bag of old bones :)


I got my first bicycle when I was 12, it was an old used bicycle that my mum bought from a neighbour in the kampong we were staying. Even though it was an old bicycle, I had a lot of great time with it exploring the sites around Malacca and the daily rides to school and back. Yes "HAVE WHEELS WILL TRAVEL"...... hehehe!!!


Initially after getting the new bicycle, I revisited most of the places that I used to explore when I was a kid and it was a real disappointment. Beautiful mud ponds where we spend most of our time during the schools holidays swimming with the buffaloes, favourite fishing holes and padi fields were all gone. Ya, no thanks to development ...... all we get now is just housing estates which is not really occupied or just abandoned.


Nowadays I just use it as a runabout to run errants nearby about within a radius of 5 km. One has to be real careful when cycling in Malacca cause the road and motorist are not bicycle friendly. Cycling in the housing estate is not much fun either cause there is always the never ending numbers of road humps.

Whenever the adventurous spirit in me starts to itch, I will still ride a bicycle to explore .................... Join Me :)

It's A Fountain

It has been quite a long while since the day we decided to have some sorts of water thingy in our house. After spending hours and hours staring at the most suitable place in the house and also visiting almost all the gardening shop for available materials I decided on a fountain. Put forward the proposal to the Home Minister and got the approval. She was a little disappointed that it was not going to be a waterfall. (A waterfall would be great, maybe in the front yard, next project??)

Yes it is more practical to have a fountain in the house area than a waterfall. A waterfall would be great but it is almost impossible to build a decent one in the house area unless you have a house like Equatorial Penang. It might not be a great hotel but I love their water thingy.

Last Sunday, my wife and I went round to the gardening shops to look at the things to get a feel of what exactly the fountain is going to be like. It was really interesting and exciting seeing our ideas materialising. We were spoilt for choice so we came back empty handed to further deliberate on the best design to suit the theme.

Monday was a hectic day and it slip by real fast so no physical progress was made, but theoretically we have a conclusion. We decided on having two came kind of jars cause the sauce bowl looks very pale. On Tuesday morning we decided to drop by another shop just to have a look see .......you know it was really fun just looking at these things. Oh my gosh!!!! guess what I found stashed away below the racks, yes the missing link to our design. We were totally elated with the piece of pottery that I found. Yes with that everything just fall into place.

It was really exciting to see our idea materialising piece by piece and we have to go to five places to get all the items needed. Some of the items were sourced from building material shop and for these items some additional work is required. No big deal just some painting and stabilising work.

Currently is doing the cosmetic work to the pond where the fountain will be located in and it might take awhile :) .............

Korean Cusine Nite

My Princess was all excited when she found out about the Korean Food Fair in Isetan in KLCC from the Internet a couple of days ago. Off she went and bought a whole lot off Korean stuff to cook for lucky us when she came home today. She was really all excited and chattered all the way home from the station about the fair when I picked her up.

After lunch, off she goes to get more fresh ingredients which my Queen forgets to get ........... hey!!!! if my eldest daughter is the Princess that makes my wife the Queen and me ..... mu-ah-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!! The KING ... hehe!!! :) OK, she toiled the whole afternoon in the kitchen preparing all the ingredients to perfection so that we can have a real "superlicious" (super delicious) meal. The menu for dinner was Kimchi jigae, Japchae, Bulgogi, Bibimbap and four side dishes. Doesn't that sound exciting!

The Bibimbap is my favourite and it was really good, everything is just yummy!!..yum..yum!!

It was a great meal, we all had more than our fair share .....burrpp...oops. Looks like Princess have inherited cooking capabilities from her mum. Thanks for the the great superlicious meal Princess.

That plant on the right is a present from my Princess, she brought it back all the way from Kuala Lumpur. It is Basil and she wants to make Pesto sauce when the plant is ready to be harvested. She told me that she had been thinking of eating spaghetti with Pesto sauce for the past few years already....wow!! I have to make sure it grows!!!! Spaghetti with Pesto sauce will be on the menu soon......

;)

Cockles

Cockles ....... yes .... either you love it or just hate it. It is such a wonderful delicious morsel and I can't understand why some people just dislike them. Anyway they do not know what they are missing!!!

During my younger days together with my neighbours we would devour kilos of this so ever delicious bivalve mollusks at a go. Just blanched the cockles with boiling hot water until it is easy to open the shells and it is ready be eaten. The cockles are eaten while de-shelling it and are dipped into freshly ground red chilly with garlic, ginger and lime. My mouth is already watering just thinking of it.........WOW!!! that was good, with blood dripping from the side of the mouth just like Dracula having his first meal after a very long sleep .......hehehe!!!!!!

A couples of days ago my wife decided to cook nyonya laksa and this is a dish that must have cockles, without it, it's just not IT. It was quite awhile since we had this dish .....hmmmm!!! the taste is just simply fantastic. My "Only Daughter" had 3 helpings!!!! and my "Princess" is away in Uni ......... sorry dear!!!! My son enjoyed his portion without any after effects - his stomach has a low tolerance for chilly.

Planting Seeds

Finally got down to planting the seeds yesterday. The potting media is 100% seived top soil and I am making use of those cool little DIY seed pots :)

For a start I decided to plant shrub like plants and they are ball plant, okra, chillies and "5 star bell capsicum"(named by my eldest daughter). The bell capsicum seeds were given to me by my two lovely daughters - the eldest is the "Princess" and the youngest "Only Daughter". They got the seeds from a Chinese restaurant in a 5 star hotel where they do part time work usually on weekends. Thank you dear Princess and Only Daughter ;)

OK first fill the seed pot with the potting media then drop a seed in right in the middle and cover it more potting media. After that I let the whole seed pot sit in water so that it will soaked up the water by itself. Doing it this way is the best cause it will be saturated with water and the placement of the seed will not be disturbed. Having done that they are then transferred into transparent disposable food containers with the lid on. This way the food containers will keep the moisture in and I don't have to worry about the seed pot drying up ...... good idea huh???

Now is the waiting time cause it will take about 7~14 days for the seeds to germinate.

The Old Chariot

As I am tapping away on the keyboard, the mechanic is performing a starter correction surgery on our 1997 Nissan Serena 2.0 SGL. She suffered from a what you might call a "almost cannot start syndrome" this morning. After turning the ignition key almost 10times the starter then only very reluctantly engaged and the engine fired into life.




We had her when she was first introduced into the Malaysian Market and she is one of the first few units to be registered and can be seen cruising around proudly in Malacca. She is very happy to be a part of our family and without fail everyday she would kick into life at a turn of the ignition key raring to go where ever we wanted her to, be it to ferry the children to school or to the market or just for rides.

Yes, she had serve us well daily and on our holiday trips to the East Coast, Cameron Highlands, Lumut, Gentings ............ She really did made our trip really comfortable and enjoyable. She is also great for transporting stuff both local and outstation. When our eldest daughter comes home for her long break from her Uni, the chariot will be summoned to pick her and her excessive luggage back home :) Occasionally she will haul all the recyclables to the recycling center.

Ring...ring...yeap!! just got a call from the mechanic that the old chariot is ready for collection. Be back in a moment.

According to the mechanic she suffered from a "loose starter gear syndrome" which is caused by corrosion, most probably water. Asked how can water get in but he was not able to give an answer. Anyway the diseased part is not available by itself so the whole starter unit have to replaced. The mechanic also mentioned that the Serena's starter is unique in design making it impossible to be replaced just the starter drive gear should it suffer from "loose gear syndrome". "It is a good way for them to make easy money!" he exclaimed. If you are familiar with automotive mechanics you will notice the difference at the driver gear area from the conventional starters.

Now a days the old chariot is more or less in semi-retired state. I wonder how much longer she'll be with us ............................

Mini Farm Progress

Lots of progress was made in the mini farm since it was started. Had lots of exercise from moving the earth here and there. Moved some earth to level the area close to the wall so that it is more presentable looking now. Completed a raised bed which is ready for planting and another is in progress. Already got the seeds and now have to plan how, what and where to plant them. The seeds that I got from the seed supplier are okra, eggplant, kai-lan are hybrid and brassica (choy sum in Cantonese) seeds. Hybrid or normal is recommended by the owner of the shop, Type of plant I decided base on family members request.

The compost pile is coming along real well and it is smelling good. Yes, correctly done compost should smell good according to most web site. I have cleared another patch of ground for a second pile which is at presently acting as the collection center for the ingredients to compost. From the picture on the left you can see the second pile just after the first one, What an ugly sight isn't it? It looks better in real life, trust me.

Time for my afternoon nap ..... yawn .... maybe will plant some weeds oops I mean seeds when I wake up later ...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Seeds

Veggie seeds ...... where to buy huh?? Departmental store? Hypermarket? Friendly neighbourhood hardware store? Supermarket? WOW!!! never knew it could be such a whole lot of trouble to seek out where those farmers got their seeds from.

Check out the gardening section of a departmental store and found a display rack with veggie and flower seeds in a mess. Some seed starters - those brown 50cents size like looking thing - were scattered around the rack from a carelessly open pack like some curious customer poking their fat fingers into the packaging for a feel and dumping the pack back quickly to get away from the scene of the crime. Anyway the condition of the packaging of the few remaining packs of seed is in a real pathetic state. Those found in the hypermarket looks more presentable, maybe it is more saleable because it is 20cents cheaper per pack with more varieties. Something is still not right, they look amateurish like toys maybe because of the way they are displayed. Anyway I am still very much curious where the farmers get their supply from.

Bling!!!! Got an idea .......why not check with the veggie seller in the pasar malam?? When we went to get our weekly supply of greens from our regular pasar malan veggie supplier I asked her where to get veggie seeds ........ the reply was kind of a reluctant like as though I might become her competitor.

Armed with location of the seed supplier, I went to seek it out the very next day. WOW!! Yes I was rather impressed by the amount of seeds available which makes me feel amateurish. OK! ok! yes I am indeed an amateur and have yet to confirm my fingers are green or not hehe!!! Oh ya the chilly seeds are from the dried chillies that my wife is going to transform in yummy sambal. ;)

Seed Pots

After surfing the net for DIY seed pots found this great idea. Err... sorry forgot the wed site name. The seed pots are made from used toilet roll stem which is great cause they decompose real easy and just the right size. the picture on the right show the steps for making the seed pot. It's easy take a toilet roll stem and cut it into halves as shown in 2 in the picture. Then cut four slits about 1.5cm deep and equal distance apart. Fold the four flaps in as you would when securing a paper carton without adhesive tape. To make use just fill it up with top soil or compost and put the seed of your choice in ..... buried of course. When the seed starts to grow you can just plant the whole thing into the ground or pot, cool yeah!! :) After that it is all up to you.

Have to get some seed soon :)

Feeling Good

Today is World Environment Day and for the first time in my life I actually felt I have done my part for Mother Earth even though it is only a tiny weeny bit. Actually I was not aware that today is World Environment Day until I read the newspapers this morning. I was able to associate myself with the articles in the newspaper with what I am doing daily and it just feel great.

So PEOPLE WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR

THE FUTURE OF OUR ONLY HOME IS IN OUR OWN HANDS

IT'S UP TO US TO SAVE IT

LET'S DO IT!!!!!!!

Yeah!!! It Feels Good!!!

New Inhabitants

Got two new plants, lemon grass and pandan from my mother-in-law's backyard and planted them close to the mini farm where the ground is more fertile ...... I guess so because the grass there grow much richer ......"Elementary my dear Watson" I believe this is what Sherlock Holmes would say ......... hehe!!!

Started planting around 5:30pm and only finished around 8:00pm. Didn't know that it would take such a long time ....... I guess you can say that they are planted with love and tender care :) The picture taken here is almost immediately after the planting is done ....... wonder they will grow or not was my last thoughts.

Early next morning took this picture and noticed the pandan is like the Leaning Tower of Telok Anson. How did this happen????? Upon close examination discovered that the main stem is broken and it was held together by the leaves. Could have broken in the process of removing it from its original place. Looks like the only humane thing to do now is to amputate. Oh ya the pineapple was planted about 3 weeks ago from the crown of a very sweet pineapple.

Amputation done with scissors and blade by unqualified surgeon!!!

After trimming ...... will it grow?????

Amputated part shredded and into second compost pile.

Fountain or Waterfall

The sound of water flowing is always very very soothing and peaceful. I always like water be it the sea, river, lake or pond ....... even rain. My wife agreed that it is a good idea to have some kind of water thingy installed somewhere around our house and we are really excited about it.

The location is more or less decided and agreed but a fountain or a waterfall is not decided yet. Since it is my idea and I have to build it, I have to make a proposal to the Home Minister. Looks like there is going to be a lot of work getting ideas from every available source. Raw materials, hope can get all of it in Malacca ....... maybe can improvise if not available here.

OK on with the thinking cap and hope a light bulb will light up soon ... :)

Eating Out

Eating out can be quite a gamble at times especially in new establishments. Recently quite a number of new restaurants serving foreign food were mushrooming around Malacca City. Some foreigner owned and some local owned. Just a couple of weeks ago we went to this place called Good Morning Vietnam for some Vietnamese food and it was disastrous. Yep!! the so called Vietnamese restaurant food taste nothing more than miserable lousy tasting local hawkers food and it was expensive.

Tonight decided to try out another new place near by to our home which is called Korean House. This place is owned and operated by Koreans serving Korean food. The taste is good and the price is reasonable. According to the owner, they started ten days ago.

Dinning Hall (Above picture)

Starter Pumpkin Soup (Above picture)

Side dishes

Some kind of a all in one rice. It is good ...I like it!!

Fried glass noodles

BBQ pork with Korean sweet sauce .....great!!

On the whole it was a satisfying dinner.