Kelab Volvo klasik breakfast do...

This Sunday, it was indeed a breakfast of a different kind...We the members of the Kelab Volvo Klasik [Volvo Classic Club] decided to have a breakfast cum get together do for a change.. I thought we should try to arrange a get together at breakfast somewhere in the city, where members could gather with their classic and enjoy breakfast together... It is actually a mean to get together for us members... Otherwise it would be just too difficult to meet...It was my idea to have such a meeting. I told the secretary even if only three cars were present it would already be a crowd... So come this Sunday morning at just before eight we all met at the Dataran Merdeka [Independence Square] in the centre of the city.. Usually it would take time to get from my home in Ampang Jaya to Dataran Merdeka, the roads through the city would be jammed with traffic but today it was an easy ride... I thought that I would be among the first to arrive but on arrival I was surprised to find there are already many cars park along side the road, Volvo 122 in rows...It made me real happy to see so many club members presence...The committee and me never expect such a turn out...Even the President of the club told me he was indeed surprise with such a large attendance, despite a rather short notice...Well We were all happy that this first breakfast meeting were successful....I parked my car behind the cars already parked there and went to meet the others...My spouse were there accompany me and she as usual met the other spouse and it soon became a sorts of a family gathering...We chat along while waiting for the others to arrived and soon the number of Volvo 122 swell to thirteen and the crowd turn bigger..Some come not only with their spouse but their kids as well..A young couples with kids drove all the way from Kuala Kubu Baru to be here today...I am told they left their home at six thirty in the morning...Well that is the way for club members, where there is a will the is always a way...I remember when I first met this couple they had their baby with them and today the baby had grown up to be a lovely young lady...See how time flies..When all had arrived we convoy to the breakfast site, a canteen near the Tangling Heath Centre..In the middle of the Lake Garden, a sprawling green in the middle of the city...Nearby is the Bird Park and the old Lake Club, a reminiscent of the British colonial rule.. We convoy along and park our cars and soon the parking area look like a showroom for Volvo Classic in the colors of the rainbow...What a sight to see...And as usual with such gathering it attract others who were at time amused to see so many old cars in perfect condition...As proud owners of these old beau we were delighted to show them around. We then queue up for the nasi lemak [ one of Malaysian traditional breakfast, rice with the varieties of addies and the special dried anchovies hot and spices sauce]...Since it was a sort of a pronto get together we all sat wherever we could find tables and enjoy the nasi lemak and chat with each other on various subjects that just pop up from our mind...A young couple who I assume are expecting their first child were seen happy chatting with the older member...It bring back memories of my youth when my spouse and me were in, some forty over years ago, when we were expecting our first child ...Now our baby have grown up and now a mother to our grandchildren...With that we are having a great and wonderful of times enjoying the days with the grand's...They obviously have a long time to go but then that is the way it should be for without children how can one have grandchildren. Friends that is how our species thrived and progress this far...As a grandparent we relate to them of the events we have had with our grandchildren that have enriched and color our life as we proceed on our journey of life....I have always advice the young that they should get married early and have children early for when you are at our age, it is only then that we began to understand and appreciate the Wisdom of the Old..That we should have children and more than one...For the presence of children would enriched our life and promote harmony in the family, thus makes the marriage an institution of love. Than in our golden age we may enjoy being surrounded by grandchildren... We continue to yarns and chat and took photos and enjoy the morning in an atmosphere of happiness and promised to make the breakfast do as a permanent feature of our club...I therefore offer to host the next breakfast get together next month somewhere in Ulu Kelang...Well friends We did have a great time this morning and hope to meet again at the next do...Take care. BTW next month the club would make a visit to the National Park

Lest we forget....

Dato Onn Jaafar is indeed a great leader of our country... The country's founder who have a vision of a multi racial Malaysia... He was a person who was beyond his time... A great leader and a statesman... Indeed a sagacious far sighted politician... A great son of this beloved country Malaysia... I am indeed glad that He is been remembered in a grand way in Johor today...

A great day...

Well...The forth of February was our little Adibah's birthday. Her sixth. A day before she call saying that tomorrow is her birthday, reminding us of that special day of hers... Of course we knew, that the forth of February is her birthday... Grandma would never forget her grandchildren birthdays... But Me the Grandpa is something else, often forget all these birthdays.. I guess that it is old age or that it is the male of our species that seem to forget such important events... Sometime I just could not remember, even the birthdays of our children. I sometime forget especially now that they have grown up and are adult and living their own life...But I had never forgot my spouse birthday...That I always remember..I believe that is the good side of me...Always remember her birthday that comes in April...She is a Pisces and I am a Leo...Good combination you say...Well we got along well and have lasted for all these while and last year celebrated our forty three years of marriage...Coming back to the story of our little Abibah's birthday...We all decided to give her a party of a sort, so in the afternoon we went to her home which is nearby and brought all those gifts for her and also for her younger brother, for this little kids always expected gift whenever others got theirs... Well He would grow up some days and understand that one would get gift while the other had to wait for their time to get birthday gift...Her parent had already got the cake and the other gifts for her and her little brother as well...When we arrived She was delighted and wanted to show the new gift she had got...We then present her with the gifts and soon the whole afternoon became such a wonderful events, with the birthday cakes and photo taking...And as usual with such birthday party in a family it was hilarious as well..The image above is some of the memorable moments...Have a nice day...

The Aquaria 2......

This caricature is of our grandson... One thing about this new aquarium, in the middle of the city is that it is not only well situated but to me it is more then a aquarium itself... It is a place of exposure to the underwater world especially for city folks like us. With the facilities for interacting like I had describe before, thus it makes it more interesting and educational as well...So how do this caricature of our grandson got to do with this visit to the aquarium??....Well!!.. With all the talks about caricature that seem to be a sorts of a world phenomena this last few weeks, by luck or coincident as we wonder in this underwater world, we saw at one corner of the walkway a group of cartoonist at a table drawing caricature... With curious crowd around. Together with our grandson We watch the cartoonist doing their work diligently and with pleasure...And confidently producing one caricature after another, each a masterpiece of its own..Our grandson soon got interested and wanted to have a caricature of himself drawn...So I decided to get one done for him...There were three cartoonist at work and there are many kids with their parents waiting to get their caricatures done...So we waited with patience for the cartoonist to do his job creating a caricature of our grandson....The cartoonist ask our grandson what concept he wanted..He replied that he want it to be soccer related or football as it is know in this part of the world...He then sat on the stool patiently, while the artist interact with him and at the same time drew the caricature.... The Cartoonist indeed did a great job, thus the caricature above.....Have a nice day...

The Aquaria.....

Last Sunday we were at the new aquarium, call the AQUARIA at the KLCC in Kuala Lumpur.. We had not been there since it open to the public recently.... So today with three of our grandchild we decided to make a visit. It was indeed a great aquarium, well organized. We wonder in the aquarium watching the wonder of the underwater world. Fascinated with what we saw, especially that of the big fish that was caught by a local aborigine in Pahang and was sold for the table.. Lucky for the fish the good people of this aquarium save it from the pot and nurtured it back and there it now live in peace and harmony in the aquarium..What a great story it made...Than there is a section where one are allow to pick and touch the small underwater creature..I did just that with the watchful eyes of our grandson..I ask him to do the same but on this first visit he seem rather reluctant. Perhaps a bit afraid, being born and brought up in the city unlike me who spend my young life in the village and use to play and swim in river and sea, He is not use to such encounter... Maybe the next time he would be more daring and would venture further at this aquarium.. Visitors are allowed to use camera but without using flash, so with almost everyone having cell phone that have camera nowadays, taking picture were never that easy. Thus the images above...[to be continue]

Nature at its best......

I love the green of nature, it create that feeling of freshness.. Living in the suburban of a large city, it is not that easy to get that rural look and atmosphere, so to have the best of both world, the rural as well as the urban effect...I created that kind of atmosphere by adding the right kind of floral and fauna to my landscape, thus the images you see... Now I have insects, small animals such as squirrels, birds and bees coming around and interact with the living plants that I had planted in pots and that grows on the wall...Sometime I do see frogs come around too and wished that it stay around but it did not...Anyway it does not matter for the important things is that more and more of these friendly small animals and insects do made my small garden their home or playground as well. It is now normal to see bird chirping and jumping from branch to branch enjoying the freedom and the abundance of food that these little plants provides... Sometime I do put foods like fresh fruits and nuts around and these I believe have help to bring more and more of small insects come and go. Together with the small fish pond that I had built where the water runs and circulate all the time, the whole are of my small garden has become a complete eco system of a sorts... In that it gives us, the family an atmosphere that we otherwise would not get in this suburban setting... That feeling of freshness and the feeling of tranquility and of course that green looks of nature...... Enjoy...

The kitchen.......

When I was growing up in the forties the kitchen was but a small space at the back of the house.. Tuck away in a corner, dark and look dirty... The stove is made of raised platform, sand filled to insulate and then pieces of big stone or brick are place to make a stove of a sort to put the pots and pans on when cooking..At that time there were only the basic utensil, such as clay pot and Chinese wok for cooking...Of course there are plates but not that many as now, just enough for the family...No one really would be at the kitchen unless he or she is doing the cooking or helping with the cooking.. Firewood were used as fuel so you can guess what the color of the surrounding is like, with soot everywhere the color is from gray to dark. Normally there is an open window near the kitchen to let the smoke and the kitchen air to circulate....Really not a place that one would like to be except when cooking need to be done..It is not a place of enjoyment like now where it is a place where the family would whilst the days of rest cooking or just yarning the days away....Since there was no electricity then, there were no other gadgets that you normally find in most kitchens of today...There were also no running water and the water source is the common well.. Fortunately for us the common well is at the back of our house...Our dad had it built and some of our neighbors would come over to get water or take bath there...But now it is different...To me the kitchen is one of the most important part of the house... A very important department indeed... My spouse who love to cook spend a considerable number of hours at this department everyday and to give the family especially her that great feeling atmosphere while doing her cooking and other chore there, we have added color to the whole kitchen space..Recently we did a total renovation of the kitchen giving it a more modern look. Other then the usual kitchen cabinets and all the electrical gadgets for use in making the process of cooking a pleasure is a huge fridge plastered with souvenir magnetic stickers of palaces that we had visited on holidays. The stickers in all sorts of designs,sizes and color turn the door of the fridge into a mosaic of a sorts....The wall as well is not forgotten...Framed photos that shows images of things related to the kitchen hang on the wall, so are other utilities gadgets as shown in the images above..The kitchen now is a space where the family would love to be, enjoying the minutes passes by..I believe the kitchen space is now the most productive area in the whole house...Just in one generation the kitchen have graduated from a just for cooking area to a place where families members not only cook but socialized as well..A place where everyone love to be and have a nice time. At time we even entertained closed relatives and friends in the kitchen... That my friends is the story of the day...Have a nice day...

Fine living...

Inside the condominium in Malacca....

The Pussy Willow...

Comes the Chinese New Year the market would be flooded with Mandarin Oranges and these cuttings that the Chinese call the Pussy Willow... It came cut and bundle in a group of about fifteen to twenty cuttings each and about one and half meters in length each...It look dead but once you put in vase with water it would grows, with green leaves and the buds that look dried when bought would flower for weeks... As usual my spouse bought a bundle when this magnificence plants is on the market...I joke that it must be in her gene.. A Malay who loves this things Chinese...Malaysian as anyone who had visited this country would know that we are a bunch of a mix up people, of culture from the Malay, the Chinese and the Indian world...So it would not be strange to see Malay look more like Chinese...They could have an ancestor of Chinese descendants...Our present Prime Minister, Abdullah Badawi have Chinese ancestry...For that matter I myself is part Indian...So as you can see we Malaysian are really a mix up lots... Coming back to the Pussy Willow...On taking it home we put it in a big Vietnamese clay pot with a vase inside to put water in. It soon became a decorative display at our patio...A few days after that it start to grows green leaves and then the buds start to blooms...The images above is what it look like at our patio....A beauty by itself...A gorgeous sight that lighted the corner of our patio....Enjoy...