Basking In The Sun

Hi everybody

I am into the end of my second week here. When I get back I got stories to share with friends and give excuses over my disappearance for that is what we used to do when anyone of us absents from the tennis courts for many days. We have less and fewer tennis kakis nowadays. Your coming back is always delightfully welcomed. 

Today I woke up early to put the clothes to dry because the weather is changing, I must not miss the morning sun. Rain might come in the afternoon. It is easy if we have a dryer like before, no need to chase after the sunshine. They have left the dryer in their former house which has been rented out. But then the electric dryer consumes a lot of electricity. Better to wait for the sun and save some money :)

Made breakfast for Adelia. She wanted a scrambled egg to put on the bread slice which is then folded the way she wants. Got to follow her whims as she is quite a poor eater. It takes some tricks to make her eat properly. 

Then coax her to have her hair cut. The fringe is getting into her eyes. The back part is long and getting into the collar of her kindergarten uniform and looking untidy and easily makes her feel irritated. It takes me some time to convince her and of course, me her hair stylist has to agree to her terms.

Today she wants to open my laptop to see the pictures there. Okay, here see this bird, the heron basking in the sun.

Captured this picture of a sunning bird in one morning. 

It was resting on a mangrove tree at the edge of the water.  If it hadn't move I would not have realized that it was there.

Suddenly there appeared another bird or was it the same bird?

Sometimes a branch might be mistaken for a creature.

Due to its color, the bird which was resting on the tangled roots of the mangrove appeared blended with the surrounding vegetation and not easily detected if there is no movement at all.

These pictures were taken a few days before me coming here.

Adelia likes this bird picture, hope you like it too.



Cheers.

A Changing Routine A Different Scenerio

Hi friends,

This is about a changing scene for me.

From this

to this

Yes, I am away from home again. And changing routine.

In the morning send Adelia to the kindergarten. At 5 fetch her back. Done this for the last five days and perhaps for many more days to come. Oh, ya. Next week is a school holiday. Looks like this holiday she will have to stay home. 

Adelia on holiday 

Adelia's kindergarten is outside the condo complex itself but it is just a 5-minute walk from the main gate. So it is better to walk than to drive. I feel a little cumbersome at first of locking and unlocking doors and of swiping card at access control, gate or entrance. Hey, I am not very familiar with this place. Looks like Adelia is a little insecure and less confident having me instead of her own mother to chaperone her. She may sense the unsteadiness and blur in me hehe.

Outside the condo complex, the road is congested with traffics and the roadside, every inch of it is occupied by parked cars. This area is so overcrowded. This is definitely not a prime location but then where in this city is not crowded?

After sending Adelia its time for some exercise. Three or four rounds of brisk walking around the multi-storey building are enough to bring out quite a lot of sweat. As I walk a steady flow of cars, one after another whizzed past, the morning rush to the office. By the time I make the third or fourth round the place would be empty and quiet except for some maintenance workers and guards.

The rest of the people here must be holed up in their own units.

Back in our unit, there's nothing much to do. No garden to water. No plants to prune. No dried leaves to rake.

The balcony is empty, Adelia's mini garden has perished. If I have to stay longer here I would start for them a balcony garden.

Nothing much to cook. Here they used to order food for dinner even for lunch on the weekend. So here I cook on the minimum. Yaey!.

Life here is a yawn but it's ok, just a little sacrifice on my part. It is for the sake of a newcomer expected to arrive very soon. 

Of course, I miss my place, my morning walk, my tennis game but then family love surpasses everything else . . .

Ok friends, till next entry.

Do My Bit

Yesterday was quite an interesting Sunday for me. Took part in a charity run organized by the Breast cancer Support Society NS.

My sister and I took part in the 3-kilometer fun run.

I would be boasting if I say it was a no sweat for me. At this age, if you start off running to compete with the youngsters you'll end up panting by the time you reach 50 meters . . . only . . . hehe, need to be calm to run or walk steadily to the finish line. My sister started slow but later overtook me and finished so much earlier. I was left behind :(

My daughter and my niece took part in the no fun 10-kilometer  run. The two were among the early finishers. Kudos to the two high spirited gals.

As the run took place on the home ground and seeing many familiar faces in the crowd I felt comfortable to stay back after my run to join their other program like the aerobics exercise and listen to a short talk on breast cancer by a breast cancer survivor. Then, of course, we waited for the lucky draw. It was worth waiting, one of us was lucky indeed :)

Had a heavy lunch while enjoying the sea breeze at the club. We thought we deserved a big lunch after burning a lot of calories earlier. In such a hot day it was nice to linger on and do nothing and just keep on sitting and talking.

But the reality of life struck. Everyone has a job or work waiting.

By late evening I was on my way to KL for family duty. As I reached the city night was falling and the air was hazy and smoky with traffic fumes. Nobody likes it including me!

How much I like my own quiet place and don't like to be away from home I just can't ignore the "sos" from family members.

Sometimes we wish our time is all for ourselves but it is noble to reserve some of our time and energy for others.

The race kits for us  

After the 10-kilometer run

Garlanded with the medal on arrival at the finish line

A person who needs care, she herself is so caring 

Till next entry, bye.

Just A Pigeon

I fly I walk

 break away from the crowd

no missing of thrill and joy in the flock

nothing is the matter to be here on the outside

A gust of wind

that caused ripples

 but that which left me unruffled

unconcerned

am feeling uncaged in a space

I call freedom

However, 

footprints on the ground

and marks of trampling in the sand

had me shaken

Would my solitude be broken

Would my world be stolen