SMS message Received Late at Night

Yesterday evening, I busied myself in the kitchen cleaning-up the leftovers. It was rather late but I kept finding things to do whilst normal days, either I would be in bed or asleep in front of the tv. ...as if something awaiting to happen.
It was my hubby who picked up my phone upon the ringing tone of an sms message coming through. Immediately passing the phone to me. It was a mesage from my former colleague from the Tourism Malaysia IT Dept ...a close friend..a former neighbour in Subang Jaya..been working together in TM since 1973 passed on due to cancer of the lungs. At the age of 56 years.

Shocked and unbelieving ..this friend was  a women who always appear happy, active , still able to join netball matches, a mother to 3 lovely daughters (who are almost of the same age with my children and went to the same school in subang) and all in all a happy family.

Managed to pay last respects at the Subang SS15 mosque and met the hubby and eldest daughter, also met a number of friends and colleagues from my former department. All could not not accept the fact that she had succumbed to C A N C E R of the lungs. It was only about  2/3 weeks ago that she was unwell, pale-looking and coughing, immediately warded and informed by the doctors of the serius stage 4 > cancer of the lungs.

.....Cancer is a term used for diseases in which abnormal cells divide without control and are able to invade other tissues. Cancer cells can spread to other parts of the body through the blood and lymph systems....

A lot have been said and written on cancer and yet many, including me , still do not know much and may not be aware of the probability or the risk that we took by not going for our medical check-ups or even ignoring any pain /health symptoms.

"  All cancers begin in cells, the body's basic unit of life. To understand cancer, it's helpful to know what happens when normal cells become cancer cells.

The body is made up of many types of cells. These cells grow and divide in a controlled way to produce more cells as they are needed to keep the body healthy. When cells become old or damaged, they die and are replaced with new cells.
However, sometimes this orderly process goes wrong. The genetic material (DNA) of a cell can become damaged or changed, producing mutations that affect normal cell growth and division. When this happens, cells do not die when they should and new cells form when the body does not need them. The extra cells may form a mass of tissue called a tumor. "
(ref : medical journal)

Relating to the above text (from a medical journal), and in the context of an advice from a noted speaker/motivator >

"a person , who kept and dwelled in his heart all the negative feelings such  hatred, anger, jealousy, intense hostility, dislike and become unforgiving  (kalau kita orang Melayu described perasaan tu sebagai dendam kesumat  /tidak boleh memaafkan dan dimaafkan), within 2 weeks such feelings can cause  deep depressions, stress and may develop cancer cells in the body" 

Taking heed of such advice, we Muslims and all, practise goodwill, positive and healthy relationship, be forgiving, kind and loving and most of all be happy and grateful to Allah SWT the AlMighty. In simple direct understanding > Be A Good Muslim and Practice Islam in True Sense.

The Spirits of My Roses .....Semangat Bunga Rose

There were times when one can really feel like you are thrown into the dragon's dungeon. I could not explain neither justify why should one feel truly lost and frightened and angry and what else could I pen down the words.

Allah the Almighty guided and brought back my own two feet firmly on the ground.  Subhanallah. That was just for a moment.

Now back to earth. My roses and roses and more roses. Am pretty busy doing my flowers for the past two days. Have a look >

a basket of roses

1 - 2 - 3

this is  "my flower-pot garden"

pyramid design  4 feet tall

with pink roselles and yellow tiger lilies

10 Zulhijjah, All Muslims Celebrate Aidil-Adha ~ Festival of Sacrifice ~ Hari Raya Korban

WISHING ALL MUSLIMS SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDIL ADHA

MAAF ZAHIR BATIN

had the first-hand experience preparing the ketupat daun palas

half-cooked/steamed with coconut milk
glutinous rice (pulut) and beans

daun palas ( palm leaves)

~trimmed and unfold the fan-like leaves then

folded cone-shaped as shown above

preparing the palm leaves

stuffing the cone-shaped daun palas

with the glutinous rise

tying a knot with the end of the palm leaf

 tucked into the last fold

now it is ready to be either cooked in

steamer or boiled in coconut santan

Neighbour ~ getting to know

Yesterday i did a hairpiece for  flower-girl hair accessories  using greenish-white dendrobium orchid. It is fun though,  a wee bit messy with the wiring and taping while keeping the orchid pieces fresh loooking.

~ here how it look like when done

this flower-girl's hairpiece/accessorie or

flower garland can done with different flowers

such as spray roses, carnations, all type of small

colorful blooms

this sweet girl is the youngest

daughter of the Arab family

next-door

Sanseviera Trifasciata or Mother-in-Law Tounge or Snake Plant (Lidah Emak Mertua/Lidah Jin)

There are a few flower arangements that done recently using the 'Lidah-Emak-Mertua'  leaves to create a form/design or lines such as 'fan' , 'V-shape' and diagonal/slanting lines ` combinations such as these :~

http://cikjahonlineflowers.blogspot.com/

A species of  Sansevieria  , also known as  'mother-in-law tounge'  here in Malaysia is known to originates from Africa. It is so called as 'mother-in-law tounge'  because of its sharp bladelike-shaped leaves. In Africa this plant commonly said to be used as a protective charm against evil spirits of bewitchment.

Previously, these plants grow wild but now they have become popular as ornamental plants and believed to improve indoor air quality by removing harmful gas such as nitrogen oxide and formaldehyde.

Often seen grown as hedges lining the pavement or fence and has become a favorite of landscaping because of easy maintenance  plus easy propagation.

The 'mother-in-law tounge'  dwarf variety (small) plants has also become popular planted in small terracota pot or placed in clear glass vase with water as a decorative element in working/office environment and home shelves.

Sunday Morning Walk Taman Botani Putrajaya

Bromeliad

Oncidium Twinkle ' Fragrance Fantasy'

a miniature plant that produces clouds of light yellow fragrant flowers

of similar shape as the Dancing Lady

on this particular Sunday on our morning walks.....

the Taman Botani of Putrajaya  organised a 3-days Orchid Expo with a colorful display of

Orchids by various orchid growers and associations

I came across this beauty , a dwarf of the dendrobiums orchid being sold at RM70/-,

(dendrobiums often selected for my fresh flowers arrangements re:

http://cikjahonlineflowers.blogspot.com/)

Pandanus

cylinder-shaped fruit tree

~ along the Botanical Garden African Collection Path, came across this tree

which has an unusual cylinder-shaped fruit

Jarak China (French Physic Nut)

this shrub probably may grow taller and bear fruits

 its spider-webbed leaves caught my eye  and my camera

Red Pineapple

its called 'red pineapple' but no pineapple fruits can be seen

Sword Agave ! sharp and pointed bladelike leaves ...

look like the 'mother tounge plant' but it is a different specie

Purple Bell Flower

just called it 'puple bell' coz do not its name

Mickey Mouse

so called 'mickey mouse' coz of its flowers

just thinking out loud

just for a moment this statement flashes in my mind and its worth a try to understand deeply -

~  THINGS  BELONG  TO  THOSE

WHO  TAKE  CARE  OF  THEM  ~

what if one does not love or care for their offsprings

what if your sons or daughters forget all about you

where do you belong

family?
orphanage?

old folks home?

and

what if one does not take pains to maintain a home
what if one does not care to come home
what if one does not keep in touch with members of your home
do you really have a home?
or someone you can call at home?
or in time of needs, a 'place' to call as a home?

Colok Cina/Water Candle ~ Tyhpa Angustifolia

Flower arrangement & design ~ Landscape Design

this piece of flower arrangement was done some time ago.

 ( http://cikjahonlineflowers.blogspot.com )

taken at Putrajaya Floria 09

                                                (ref : wikipedia.org)

PetalFlies~Oxalis Regnelli

More on 'Petalflies'

displayed - Putrajaya Floria 09

                                                    (ref:  wikimedia.org)

Got to know some facts on this particular plant   (posted on September 6, 2009) , it is named as 'Oxalis Regnelli' ...ref: Laman Impiana Edisi 23.pg.085

It attracted my eye and took a shot during the last Putrajaya Floria 09 last August 2009. Then later in the week, I met a Malay lady entreprenuer in Gadek (Alor Gajah) who has a Landscaping company and often sells herbal plants, flowers and other gardening needs at the Friday farmer market in Tampin. She named this plant 'petalflies' and has several potted in her garden.

Oxalis Regnelli - the beautiful purple color of the leave,the long stems for the ground are topped with a cluster of three triangular-shaped leaflets, which folded at the mid-vein and look like purple butterflies. Would be beautiful if planted bordering or edge of flower beds. Its white beautiful blooms creates an attractive outline in any garden.  It is said to originates from Argentina and has over 800 species worldwide.

I believe there could be other uses beside being a garden plant but probably not known here in Malaysia.

Aidilfitri Keluarga Anak-anak Mohd Mayah di Subang Jaya

Ema's birthday together with 7 other September famili members..

Enje Suriani, Along Aqilah, Iwan, Leya, Emi, Alang Rohaya..

Salam Bermaaf-maafan..

Minta Ampun dan Maaf, Halalkan makan minum

semoga Allah SWT berkati segala usaha

eratkan ikatan kekeluargaan

Anak Cucu Menadah Bersama Berdoa

Doa dilafazkan oleh Pak Enje Baharuddin Mohd 

Amin, Ya-Rabbal-Allamin

with thanxs to Diana Natasha Mohd Yusof

Something That Inspires Me > Ideas for my Flowers Arrangement

cabbage - "centerpiece"

Cabbage is a good source of vitaminC  and  contains glutamine plus amino acid. The Malay Midwifery (amalan perbidanan Melayu) often advises mothers with engorged breasts problems

to wrap cabbage leaves so  to reduce discomfort.

Torch Ginger - High and Mighty

Torch Ginger

Torch Ginger (Etlingera Elatior) commonly grown in Malaysia mainly for cooking, especially to flavour 'assam' dishes. Now it is also used  in fresh flower arrangements.

Roselle - Sweet and Fresh

Roselle  or Hibiscus sabdariffa , known to have anti-hypertensive effects and used in traditional medicine as a diuretics or as a mild laxative. Roselle flowers are sometimes use to make herbal tea and believed to help reduce cholesterol . In Malaysia, fresh roselle  calyxes (calyx- a certain part of the roselle flowers) are made into health juice because ot its high vitamin C content. This plant is recently introduced by the farmers association in Malaysia but it has been  known extensively in Thailand, China, US  and Africa.

These pictures of common vegetable plants were taken from my previous visits to the flowers exposition. Browsing the images gave me inspiration to do flower arrangements

http://cikjahonlineflowers.blogspot.com/ 

Solanum Mammosum - Terung Susu/Mackaw Bush/Cow's Udder

Terung Susu - ' Solanum Mammosum" 

Found this shrub in the Putrajaya Garden & Landscape Nursery. Its attractive fruit can be poisonous. Was told that there is an ongoing research done by the government to identify its medicinal properties.

(www.flickrs.com/photos)

A tropical shrub that has thorns on its stem, its small pear-shaped and bright yellow fruit looking like cow's udder (because of its nipple-like ends) often used in flower arrangements,  and has violet colored flowers. If one touches the surface of its green leaves , one can feel fine spikes.  

Its local name ' terung tetek kambing' also known as 'mackaw bush' and its scientific name is ' Solanum Mammosum'. Its fruit can be poisonous and said to originate from South America.

Uses :

*  its fruiting brances often used  in tropical design flower arrangements (which I am particularly interested in at the moment...)

** also  known to be used in traditional Malay medicine to cure hypertension/diabetes/breast cancer but no details on this as yet

A few More Interesting Shots during Putrajaya Floria 2009

Just found these shots taken using my faithful samsung during the recent Putrajaya Flowers Expo and would like to share with all blogger friends.

What caught my attention initially was the chicken coops (reban ayam & arnab), thought that we could do something like it for our kampung chickens and ducks. We have a few left by our late mother. She loves to keep herself busy back then. To get back the chicken and rabbit story...is seemed they were having a tete-a-tete..with the cute chick inviting mr.rabbit to share its meal and mr. rabbit responding a with a peck on the cheek.

Would like to built a home for the kampung chickens

...hmmm

2-storey chicken coop/reban ayam complete with

a staircase going upper level and

partitions for all members of the family

I found an inspiring..interesting webpage :-

http://www.backyardchickens.com/

information here if you're interested to know more on chickens

and building chicken coops

"PetalFlies" - ANY INFO ON THIS INTERESTING PLANT?

Purple colored  'butterfly-shaped' leaves with 5-petals white flowers

- "Petal Flies"-

Pelargonium Radula - (Jeremin- Halau Nyamuk)

Bought this pot of  'Pelargonium Radula' for only RM6 at Tampin Farmers Market recently. Would like to test whether this plant can repels mosquitoes.

This : shot taken at Putrajaya Floria 09

(image at: flickrs.com/photos)

General info on Pelargonium Radula :-
-  is said to originates from South Africa
-  gives somewhat a camphor-rose-lemon scent
-  known locally as 'Jeremin/Pokok Halau Nyamuk'
-  Insect repellant : crushed  leaves emits  a fragrance that acts  insect  repellant
- the leaves can be dried for pot-pourrie and bath frangrance