Let's Get Classical

What kind of music do I like? Many ..... and one of them is classical music. Nothing complicated but easy-on-the-ears music. If I have to choose a familiar composer, one of my favourites is Johann Sebastian Bach. But I like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,too. Hahaha ... because I learned to play some of their beginner pieces before abandoning my efforts halfway. Hmmmm maybe it is not too late to pick it up again.

Meanwhile, enjoy the music .....

MISSING BLOGGING

Hello everyone. (I hope there are still people dropping by here). I have not been blogging for a while and I kinda miss it. Old habits die hard, and I have been itching to update. I hope I have enough writing juices left to conjure up an entry.

I came across these photos which were taken a few months back. We drove down to Port Dickson on one of those "where to go, what to do" weekends. The intention was to visit the Armed Forces Museum. This was maybe our third attempt to visit ... previous tries were aborted because we went on days that the museum was closed.

There were a variety of things to look at and information to gather at this museum. Of course the boys were more intrigued by the extensive displays of old army vehicles and armaments, including a (Nuri?) helicopter. Whichever vehicle they could climb into, they did.

The 'highlight' for me was the walk thru the replica of the PKM (Parti Komunis Malaya) tunnel. It was quite stifling down there (luckily there was fan and air-conditioning). I can't imagine what living in the real network of tunnels must have been like. It was a complete 'city' down there ..... no wonder the communists thrived.

That visit was made when talks of reviving the PKM was in the news. What a load of unpatriotic BS, if you ask me. A visit to the museum will tell you about the struggles and the fight our people and especially the armed forces put up against the communists and other parties that got in the way of the country in achieving independence. It was indeed a sobering experience.

All gung-ho to enter the tunnel....

A few steps into the tunnel, he got scared. See that petrified look?

More pictures......

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Tomorrow the country celebrates 52 years of independence. SELAMAT HARI KEBANGSAAN.

Just thought I'd add that this year's National Day theme is 1Malaysia, Rakyat Didahulukan, Pencapaian Diutamakan.

Logo berbentuk nombor satu dan berlatarbelakangkan Jalur Gemilang serta tulisan Malaysia ini dinamakan 1 Malaysia.

Logo 1 Malaysia melambangkan visi negara iaitu untuk mewujudkan satu masyarakat yang berpadu dan mempunyai semangat cintakan negara berpandukan Perlembagaan Negara dan Rukun Negara.

Ia juga mencerminkan rakyat Malaysia yang saling bekerjasama, bermuafakat, berdikari, berfikir dan menghayati satu visi untuk membina satu Negara Bangsa.

WHAT'S COOKING ....

Things have been a bit slow here on this blog ..... because a lot of energy has been going into this endeavour here ..... do come by and visit. (And join as a fan of my page if you'd like updates).

Farewell to The King Of Pop

Thank you, Michael, for entertaining so many lives with your songs. And out-of-this-world dance moves.

FLORAL FANCIES

It was a spontaneous decison - to get potted plants, orchids specifically,  for all the mothers in the family (on KOTH's side)  as we had already planned to meet up on Mother's Day (Sunday, May 10).  

We hadn't counted on it being somewhat like a wildgoose chase.  Didn't know orchid plants are not so easily found (at least, reasonably priced ones).  On Saturday, mid-morning, we decided to drive to Sungai Buloh to look for some orchid plants, banking on Sungai Buloh's reputation as the gardening haven.  We got terribly lost in Sungai Buloh, not really knowing which part of the town to head to, but fortunately had the GPS thingy in the car to help us out a bit.  

No orchids in Sungai Buloh, where there were a lot of leafy plants.  Someone at one of the nurseries we stopped at suggested we try the Serendah Orchid Farm.  We drove towards Serendah and after going around in circles found a sign that told us that the "Serendah International Orchid Farm" is "temporarily" closed.  By the look of things, it seemed permanently closed!  So we drove around some more .......

Walked into a few nurseries, where there were also no orchid plants for sale.  Finally, a lady told us to go to Kuala Kubu Baru, and gave us directions to an orchid farm.  Easy, can't miss, as it's just by the main road.

So finally, tummy rumbling and all (we had not had lunch and it was pushing towards tea time) we walked into this vast nursery with thousands of orchid plants, in pots on racks and hanging in pots above our heads.  Finally!!!

Kalai Vaney, the lady who owns the business, was just finishing her lunch and asked us if we had eaten.  No, I told her, not yet because my husband said we won't stop for anything until we get the orchid plants!!   Hahaha, and I thought  I had a late lunch, Vaney said!

Vaney was an accountant who gave up that profession to take up her passion of growing orchids full time.  She has been in the business for 18 years.  No regrets, she said.  I really liked that.

We ended up getting 14 plants, and we got a good price for them.  Really, really good price, actually, because the same plants are being sold in the city for more than twice the price we paid.

So, everyone, next time you're looking for orchids, go to Kuala Kubu Baru!

And by the way, I baked two cakes, and one of them had orchids for decoration, to go with the 'theme'.

Enjoy the pictures!

Credits:  The pictures above are photographed by the husband and the son

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ZOO STORY

Kids generally love going to the zoo, and mine are no exception. A few weeks ago when I was at work, KOTH and the kids headed to the Zoo Negara. Another trip for a great excuse to practise their "shooting" - shooting pictures, that is.

Come join the tour!

Eh, cepat!  Cepat!  Don't be such a tortoise.  The Zoo Express ain't gonna wait for you!

The Flamingo, or Phoenicopterus.  Somehow their necks remind me of the pretzel, all twisted like that!

The Giraffa camelopardalis  is  the tallest of all land-living animal species.  Do you know that male giraffes are prone to  "homosexual"  activities?  Yes, I kid you not.   A study found that  at any given time one in twenty males were engaged in non-combative necking behaviour with another male, where two male giraffes caress and court each other, leading up to mounting and climax.  The females are more decent, 99 percent engaging only in heterosexual coupling.  

This is the Equus, better known as the zebra whose name comes from the Old Portuguese word zevra (wild ass).   Is the zebra white with black stripes, or black with white stripes?  The zebra's closest relatives are the horses and the donkeys, but unlike them, the zebra has never been domesticated.  Zebras are highly social animals, and they live in "harems" consisting of a stallion and up to 6 mares and their foals. 

Is this another Flamingo?  

The one-humped  Dromedary  Camelus  (Arabian camel),  is native to the dry desert areas of Western Asia, while the two-humped Bactrian camel comes from the Central and East Asian regions.  Do you know that camels have 74 chromosomes?  (Humans have 22).

Mr Panthera Leo here certainly looks well-fed!!   Panthera means "the yellowish animal" or "whitish-yellow".

Say, is that a new hairdo, mate?  Our native Orang Utans (Pongo).

Proboscidea Elephantidae.  This is the Asian, or Indian Elephant.   The kids got to see the elephant's proboscis, or trunk, up close.

This guy certainly has the best view from his vantage point.

Bye for now.  Come back soon!!