less than 8 weeks to christmas

there's only less than 8 weeks to christmas. i am looking forward for the statutory break i get during those time. time to do absolutely nothing or if i feel like doing anything, i would potter about.

work has been super hectic. 'month end' definition has changed for me. clock is ticking and i had to deliver out the results for review. thank god for answered prayers - at some point, i feel like pulling out all of my hair ...*argh.

anyways on happier note it's weekend.. *YAY!!!!

finished reading: Pounding the Pavement by Jennifer Van Der Kwast the ending is left to reader's imagination. i don't really like this sort of ending but it is a very entertaining book.

embarking on : Bad Heir day by Wendy Holden

Gardening updates:

last saturday ,transplanted the crassulas i propagated in autumn into their own pots. they seem to have crowd the propagator bucket. check out my cute bucket. didn't take pic of it a week ago where the mix is al covered with new shoots/growths of the crassula.

70s & 80s party

recently BIL's gf organised a surprise birthday party with 70s and 80s as the theme.
guests were invited and sworn to secrecy but birthday boy knows better. he knew we were doing something for him but he isn't prepared for these!!!!




ppl come dressed as 70s chicks, rockers duo, afro boy


charlie's transformation from rockers to er...spice girl?? pass the ball was played. charlie was lucky enough to get the ball 3 times, hence the 3 different outfit he has to wear on top of his own wig and other stuffs..

everyone with their outfit from the pass the ball..

me in the flowery dress and big sunglass courtesy of jocelyn!

howick annual spring show

on sat, sept 30, the howick orchid society held its annual spring show. the committee took friday afternoon to assemble the hall and on saturday morning, it started at 8am-judges judging the plants and trophies awarded.

i volunteered as the certificate writer, so time past real quick and the show opens to public at 10am. i was also in charged of the door, so me and jim, collect and dish out entry tickets to the public.

show was a success. due to my limited memories in my memory card, i took only some 60 pics..but here are my favourites.

1st row: l to r: numerous trophies, beautiful cymbidium, more cymbidiums in different shades of colour, the most right is called Son of Freak. What a name.

2nd row: white paphiopedilum (Slipper orchid), odonts alliance type orchid -they are really colourful and i am tempted to buy to add to my collection but i didn't, as they can be quite demanding.

3rd row: cattleya/laelias, lycaste, more cattleyas or laelias- they come in all shades of colour, thanks to the work of hybridist.

4th row: Pleoines , they are alpine type plants, heaps of australian dendrobiums, another white/greenish intermediate cymbidiums, and finally, the grand champion, - masdevallia.

distressed

as much as i like spring, i also detest it. it gives much of those 10 sec showers all through the day. today the wind is particularly chilly. heard on the news it's due to the south westerly.

anyways i am distressed because many of my plants have been blown all over the place. the mix is all over the compound. *Grrr and it's too cold and wet for me to clean them. i managed to put some of my plant back to where they were.

and i have moved the zygo out on saturday because i discovered mealy bug on one of the leaf of the zygo. (this is a sign of warmth). but now it's raining so much, i am worried the poor plant will not cope. *ARGH! meanwhile, i have taken in the dendrobium (harrold hirsch x louises rainbow) because the flower's starting to bloom

currently :

reading: dan Brown's angels and demons

snacking: jack link's Beef jerky peppered flavour- i feel like i am chewing plastics. the rougan is so much better!!!!

congrats to the newlywed

on Sept 23, jake and i attended hanford and sarah's wedding. hanford was jake's sch mate, then colleague, now ex-colleague.

their wedding was held at belmont baptist in the north shore. it was a mixed ceremony of english sermon and chinese exchange of vows. i thought it was very sweet. they did a powerpoint of pics of them from when they were newborns to adult. and i find it real interesting, as kids, they have posed at the same spots around HK. (they met in NZ)

at night, the reception was held at a chinese restaurant. here, we took a pic with the newly wed.
the food were yummy... 

Mid-autumn 06

yesterday it's the chinese mid-autumn festival. i remembered writing a post last year about mid-autumn. we had steamboat last year. the agenda hasn't changed, we had steamboat again last night. it was just nice as the weather was cooling again yesterday.

about a fortnight before the mid-autumn, aunt SY made us some mooncake. HOMEMADE!!! yum! see pic above. there're a few flavours - red bean paste with pine nut, red bean paste with yolk, lotus with yolk, lotus with pine nuts. Man, we were spoilt. i think her mooncake looked bought too, except it didn't come in those fancy boxes.

was told that to 'set' the mooncake after baking, it has to be laid bottoms up.
i flipped two over to take the pics of the patterns of the mould. 

spectrum 3

recently the health & safety nurse came to access our workstation. when she came to mine, she was happy with the rest of the set up but she was unhappy about my chair. it needs to be re-gased. (chair sinks when I sit) apparently, it costs almost the same to buy a new chair. so my boss gave me the go ahead to order a chair for myself. i studied the catalogue quite intensely and narrow down to 3 choices, spectrum 3 being one of them. i even wanted the fabric to be ruby in colour..

i contacted the supplier who then said our head office indicates all employees to use spectrum 3 in a special fabric called 'wells'. okay ..wells then.. my new chair arrived on wednesday. hehe.. smells nice and it looked like the pic above, but the colour is more grey-ish/navy-ish.

btw, did you know that arm rest are no good for your posture. so i didn't get arm rest attached to the chair although i like them 

gardening update

jake's gone to melbourne @ 0430 this morning (departing @0630) for business and i am left to my own devices again.

decided to weed the flower bed. the weeds have come back with a vengeance after winter. so armed with a mini hoe and two plastic bags, i spent the afternoon pulling and hoeing the bed. feeling extremely pleased to see the flower bed clear of weeds. i also gave my potted plants a check and weeded them. jake's cacti's probably going to bloom in late spring (see bud forming). i transplanted a few succulents here and there while weeding.

checked on the succulent that marnee gave me. was shocked that there were holes on the leaves :( and couldn't see any slugs or snails near it. a check on the gardening book revealed that there could be a caterpillar in the plant. TRUE enough, there was a small one (1.5cm) amidst the leaves of the black rose. needless to say, i killed the caterpillar. it must have been feasting on the leaves for at least 1 week and a half now.

coming projects:

1. improving the soil condition and start a hedge on the flower bed. couldn't decide whether i should have buxus sempervirens (english box) or lonicera nitida (box honeysuckle aka poor man's box). i think final decision rest on the sort of soil condition these two thrive in.
2. transplant crassulae ovata (jade plant) from the propagator bucket to new pot. they seem to outgrown the bucket.
3. start to propagate something since it's spring. (maybe hebe -a type of shrub)
   

update

i have been MIA for a while, reason being the pc was getting reformatted thanks to the malicious stuffs we got while surfing.

anyhow, i have been reading novels this month. So far, have read:
1. Guy Next Door by Meg Cabot or Meggin Cabot (UK edition)
2. The J.A.P. Chronicles by Isabel Rose
3. The School for Husbands by Wendy Holden

funny how all three novels have pink covers ;)

today i went to the garden centre with the intention to get English lavender but i came out with fuchsia instead. 4 of them. i have never planted fuchsia before so they will be an experiment. the ones i bought were: Genii, Celia Smedley, Sunset and Beacon Rosa. They colour of the flower range from shades of purple and red. Genii particularly has very light almost golden colour leaves.

spring is here..

i can't believe spring is here. weather's warmed up, flowers are blooming and daffodil is no exception. i have only come to realise how pretty they are this year. i used to associate them to cancer society flower but last saturday was an eye opener. they are so many varieties out there. see sampler above.
they come in all shades of colors and sizes.. some are huge and some are tiny..
some are fragrant... the big ones look almost like artificial silk flower.

the daffodils above are exhibited by howick horticultural society. marnee's active in the club and invited me to check them out.

besides daffodils, there's plenty to see in the show. check out the camellias (below). i had mistaken some for hibiscus and carnations.



different shades of camellias..

there were also orchids and fruits being exhibited. i don't know how they judge the fruits ..but it's interesting to see.

stace, that big giant spike of little yellow flowers are part of the black rose..(left to right :3rd pic)
i am waiting for mine to give out big spike of flowers like the pic ..kekeke.

this is a flower from the magnolia tree. they are in abundance now..they are as big as my palm.

south auckland orchid society show

i brought my two orchids (one zygo and one cymbidium) to the club meeting on 13/08 for the purposes of club display and to get more advice on how i can better plant them. The people loved the zygo. J Scott who's a very good grower said it was very well grown during the plant commentary. J Duff who grows really good zygo, along with several other people said i should put mine into the coming show at papakura on 19/8 The zygo won the best novice votes ;) at the club meeting. so at the end of the meeting, i left my two orchids with G who will bench them for me. i had to admit, i was a bit hesitant that they were not coming home with me.

on saturday, i was nervous. talked jake into going to the show with me. brought my camera and as i entered the hall, i started looking for my plant.

i found them in the novice section and the zygo's won 1st prize and the cymbidium won 2nd prize in another class. i was and still am over the moon. i entered the competition not expecting to win anything and i bagged two prizes home.

Thai Exotic Fruit Festival

a while ago, (mid july) i went to the Thai Fruit Show and Exhibition @ Auckland City. In fact it's really close to China where I had yum char (read previous post).

It was an eye-opener, and i was really impressed with what's in the exhibition.
I couldn't stop snapping pictures when I was there. there were orchids, fruits, silk, and FOOD ..the festival was to clebrate King Bhumipol's 60th year of becoming the King of the Thai kingdom.

l to r: above: lady making the silky thread, what's produced, yards and yards of the silky thread.
l to r: below: thread in different colour, and some description of thai silk

more silk, in all types of patterns..

i reckon almost the whole auckland thai community is there. the girls were doing the thai performance. i like their head ornaments :)


couldn't resist taking pictures of the colorful silk threads.

saturday morning-yum char @ China

despite its name, this restaurant has contemporary setting but also utilises antique looking stools and tables. the specialty for the dim sum menu is mostly durian flavoured.

i particularly like the presentation of its dim sum dishes. it is much better looking than the regular chicken feet. ie, there's peanut and capsicum with the chicken dish, and the pork ribs.


*the durian flavoured bun.

the price at China is mid-range from $4.00 - $8.00 a basket.
China's located near Britomart in Auckland city.
i will definitely go back again :)

Banana Pinwheel Scones

i made these for an office morning tea about a fortnight ago. the recipe is from a kid's magazine and they smells and tastes good when it's piping hot. of course it would be nicer with a cup of tea.

here's the recipe:

2 cups self-raising flour
1 tbsp sugar
pinch salt
2 tbsp melted butter
1/3 cup milk

Filling
2 mashed bananas
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

1. mix the flour, sugar and salt together in a bowl. Add the melted butter and mix through. Make a well in the centre, add the milk and mix lightly with a table knife.

2. Turn the dough out onto a board and roll lightly but quite thing.

3. Spread the banana mash onto the dough, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar and roll up.

4. cut into 12 small pinwheels and place them onto greased muffin trays.

5. Cook for about 12 to 15 minutes in a 200 degree celcius oven.

update -my birthday

just a couple of updates:

i celebrated my birthday last wednesday. thank you everyone for your card, presents, wishes...*hugs and kisses.

i had a small party on the saturday to celebrate my birthday. here's some photos...


on wednesday, we had another cake :)

zygopetalum in bloom

my mom left me this plant in 2003 before she went back to malaysia. we didn't know what the flowers would look like, we only knew it is a zygopetalum. the plant continues to give out baby years after years. I have repotted it once or twice.. last year, a small spike (i am 90% sure it is a spike, not a baby) came out but due to neglect and inexperience, it didn't grow big or flower. in fact, the spike broke. i was disappointed.

this year, somewhere in beginning of autumn, it showed sign of spike again. this time i spent a lot of time observing and watching. before long, not 1 but 4 spikes appeared. I am estactic and anxious.i moved the plant indoor (to jake's displeasure) to ensure that it will bloom and shelter it from the rain/frost. i probably announced to stace about these spikes in May, but the first flower bloomed in 9 July :) I AM SO PLEASED!!!!!!!! 

my not-so-new addition

meet pregnant onions...i got it from michelle, a friend at orchid clubs. it's not edible, and the babies will just grew out as offset.

i googled and find out extra information about the pregnant onion 

howick orchid society- what happens at monthly meetings

i belong to the howick orchid society and have been a member since 2003.
it is through that club that i picked up tips and pointers on how to cultivate orchid. it helps to know how the people around your area grow their orchid.
this year i joined the committee as the money woman aka the treasurer. it's been fun so far.
here's a glimpse on what normally takes place in the meeting.


Top row : members sit and listens to the president/speaker to deliver the topic of the day.
Speaker of the day, Graham Andrews who own a big garden supply shop has come to be speaker of the day. He talks about different products (chemicals, equipments , etc)

Bottom row: prizes for the raffles/ the mobile library with books of all sorts about orchid. i dare say the collection is better than any of the libraries i've been.

there's also tables for popular and novice votes . the plants belong to the club member and there will also be plant commentary on the plants for the popular and novice votes. below is a sampler of members plant:
multitude of colours ..they are so pretty.

this one has really special container made up of punga log (the trunk of big fern plant)

Commercial Grower at Drury -part 3

i don't know why i left out this grower when i blogged about the commercial grower.
this nursery has 3 shade houses-2 orchids and 1 succulents.
this grower, Dave specialises in dendrobium (although you can also find some zygo and cattleyas in the orchid shadehouse).
some of his dendrobiums are huge..i think they are more than 10 years old.
i bought some succulents and home-made clover honey from him.
enjoy the gallery of pics i took of his lovely plants.

believe it or not, both flowers come from the same parent plants/ seedlings but the colours can vary. that's the beauty of hybridisation.

This is a zygopetalum orchid. Notice the intensity of the purple color on the lip from 2 different plants.


this is the gigantic dendrobium orchid. look at its size relative to average dendrobium.

these are some of the complementary plants in the orchid shadehouse. the hanging/cascading ones are spanish moss. they are a type of air plant.

another type of dendrobium orchid.

this is a succulent plant. not sure if it's aeonium or echeveria but i adore its symmetry.

this is my favourite photo. it's also the result of hybridisation. the plant has the same parents as the first two photos you see.

two bromeliad that caught my attention.


two succulents that's filled every inch of the pot. the left one is called the sempervivum aka hen and chicks and the right one is the 'organ pipe' crassula.

my attempt to bake -carrot cake

i finally baked again after a long while ..the last time i baked was in 2003 or earlier.
i am never very good at baking. jake has been asking for carrot cake. so finally i give it another go.the last time i made carrot cake was in 1997 with pinkcocoa at her housemom's house.
this is like walking down memory lane ;)

here's my recipe if anybody's interested.

• 2 cups sugar (i used 1 cup)
• 1½ cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs beaten
• 3 cups self-raising flour
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 cups grated carrot
• 1½ cup chopped pecans& walnuts (i used macademia)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp salt

n.b. I started heating up the oven as I grate the carrot.

1. Grate the carrot.
   
2. Beat eggs and mix sugar, vegetable oil, and the vanilla extract. (i used a combination of hand whisk and the electric whisk)
3. Then add the flour, ground cinnamon, grated carrot, and the chopped nuts into the mixing bowl and give it a good fold. (i am terrible with baking language)
4. Set the mix into a detachable cake tin. (I used 11 inch detachable round cake tin lined with baking paper)
   
5. Next, bake for 1 hour and 10mins at 160 celcius.

p/s: i think the cake is nice especially served with vanilla ice-cream.