It's Pink Hijab Day

Someone emailed Mama to remind her that today she's supposed to wear pink hijab (scarf) in support of breast cancer. No sweat, she said. Better than just wearing pink ribbons.

She did more than just wear a pink scarf. Look at her entire ensemble today - pink scarf, pink top and pink pants. She was about to put on a pink coat too but as the weather is quite warm nowadays, decided against it. Phew! Lucky she doesn't have pink sandals or shoes or else...

Hmm...next time add pink brooch, pink handbag and pink mobile phone.

Mama lost her mum (technically my Grandma) to breast cancer 22 years ago, three schoolmates to different kinds of cancer, her best buddy Aunty Ti is suffering from it too. Even Aunty J and Aunty M, both of them work at Mama's office, their mothers suffer from the same ailment.

Mama and Mak Long (Mama's sister) spent some sad teenage years looking after their sick mother. Especially as Mama's Dad had also passed away earlier. Can't write too long about this lest we'll all be crying buckets tonight....

Spring in Her Walk

Aaah...spring! I simply love spring for the colours. Too bad for people who are allergic to pollens though. Spring is also the season for hayfever. Pharmaceutical companies will make heaps of money soon.

Mama loves to walk to work in spring. There's a certain "spring" in her walk too. Instead of taking the straight path, she'll usually take a detour, sort of the longer route when she comes home in the evening.

"Not because I don't look forward to being home with you but I need the exercise," she said. "The crisp spring air will do you good too," she continued.

On occasions when she takes Brad and I on one of her walks, she will point out the "scenery" that she sees on the way to work. What a lovely sight. I'm sure you'll agree with me too.

Ooooh...I feel like singing now.

Sunday morning up with the lark
I wish I could take a walk in the park
Hey hey hey
What a beautiful day....

All the streets in our neighbourhood are lined with flowering bottlebrush trees. Lovely...

This cream rose greets us as we walk out of our building.

Standard rose in front of the neighbour's house across the street.

Bright crimson ones adorn the front yard of the house next to it.

This is my personal favourite - pink and bright rose.

Heady smell of the climbing jasmine livens up the atmosphere.

Yellow climbing roses - tiny clusters that tug at your heart.

Pink geranium.

Purple bauhinia - beautiful but sad as the tree stands alone in front of an abandoned police station.

Party Animals!

We had another party last weekend. No catfood this time around but plenty of human food.

Mama prepared a sort of North-South combo (Aussie BBQ with Malaysian flavours). We had beef and chicken satay with peanut sauce, lamb chops and chicken wings, salad, fried noodles with prawns and fruits.

Dad was good at helping Mama too. "For the first time in my life, I'm skewering bamboo sticks into meat to make satay...," he said. There's always a first time, Dad.

Then there was a drama of sorts when our portable BBQ set wouldn't start. Dad thinks the thermostat has gone kaput. So we had to borrow Uncle Is' portable set. While waiting for him to arrive, Dad grilled some satay using an Ikea pan on a small gas stove. (see pix below)

Yummy....chicken satay for everyone.

Kudos to Dad for his forward thinking or else the early guests - Aunty Ana, Uncle Ron and their daughter Tiyana - would have to starve.

Unfortunately, as more guests arrive, Brad and I were told to stay in the bedroom and not flirt with people. We were allowed some courtesy appearances but that was all. Mama had some heart stopping moments last year when we were allowed to mingle with the guests and some kids (they're not invited this year) chased us around the house until we were exhausted. The "terrible twins" were scary little people, I must say. Hence the curfew.

No worries, we're not complaining. At the end of the day, after everyone else has gone, Dad had some quality "Magnum" time with us. Paw lickin' good! meow!

Come to my party!

Attention: all my feline friends. Especially those that I know by name - Rajoo (my unofficial fiance), Pingu (my official fiance), Ginger, Casper (Pingu's rival), DanDan, Victor the Vampire, Lady Yoda, Momo, Eva, Tabby, Biscuit, Otis, the Three Whisketeers, Bruce, Mr Murphy, Ubi, Pak Malim, PiPi, Lillie, Milo, Tom and family (Nicole, Michael, Nikki). Brad doesn't need an invitation as he's part of the organising committee.

I'm having a cat food party today. Why? Hmm...Mama was shopping for our food (what else) at the Roselands Centro yesterday. I guess the shoppers there must be used to the sight of a woman with a trolley full of cat stuff - dry food, wet food, litter, occasional toys and gadgets. Mama has been doing this for almost three years now.

Anyway, to cut the story short, as she was pushing the shopping cart towards the car park, there was this group of young men and women shouting away, "Free cat food! Anyone for free cat food?"

No way Mama would let such an opportunity pass her by. So she put on her most demure cat face and started meowing at them. No, this is no fib. The group, upon seeing this meowing lady with a shopping cart full of cat stuff, pounced on my Mama. They started asking, how many cats do you have, what kind are they, have they ever tried this type of food before, yadda yadda yadda. With a straight face Mama told them that she has six lovely and adorable kits, and showing them our pix that she has in her mobile phone. Then there were the customary "ooh" and "aah".

Lo and behold! The group gave Mama almost all of their stock. You all should see the glee on Mama's face. So, we have a car-boot-full of Purina Friskies now. There is no way Brad and I will be able to finish the bounty all by ourselves. Hence the invitation. We want to spread the love...

What a single box look like.

Some of the loot in the car boot.

We must have done something good to be getting heaps of free food. Help Mama save some money too. And this comes after receiving the box of Fancy Feast Royale. I'm in seventh heaven!

Come, help me finish this loot! purrr......

Mama's "Guest" Entry

When my Mama said she wants to address an issue through my blog, I can't refuse her, right? Lest the never ending supply of Fancy Feast Royale, Purina Supercoat and YLC Clumping Cat Litter will immediately cease. teeheehee...
So, here goes. Mama's "guest" entry.

Dear All,
I'm appealing to all of you to help the survivors of a number of catastrophe that has besieged our region recently - namely the earthquakes in Indonesia (Java Sept '09and most recent West Sumatra Sept/Oct '09), tsunami and earthquake in the Pacific islands of Samoa and Tonga, as well as typhoon and flood in the Philippines and Vietnam.
As an international humanitarian aid agency, we at Muslim Aid International, are always striving to deliver relief aid to the most deserving and needy people.
As we speak, a team from our Indonesian office is already on site in Padang and has been sending updates periodically. At present, communication with the badly hit areas is still unstable, adding to our frustrations further. Based on feedback from our men on the ground, we will then deploy the best possible method of delivering aid to the survivors. This may include sending back up teams from our offices around the region (Bangladesh, Cambodia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka) as well as partner agencies from Australia, Canada and United Kingdom. This concerted effort has been positively applied in Myanmar (Cyclone Nargis - May '08) and Gaza (Oct '08 - July '09).
To effectively deliver aid, we rely on the generosity of our donors from around the world. Further information about the emergency appeal can be found at our Australian and Malaysian offices' websites. Donations to both offices are tax deductible. Alternatively, donations can also be forwarded to our London office.
For further information about the disasters, please go to MAA Times, our online newsletter that will be updated as information arrives.
Click on either one of the logos below to make online donations.