The Birthday Gal

Birthday dinner and cake @ BAKERZIN to complete her day"s celebration. Her wish was to have an OREO Cheese Cake. Sang her own birthday song before the traditional blowing of candles and cutting of cake. She is finally 17 !!

Birthday Breakfast

It's her BB (birthday breakfast) with her favorite half boil eggs. Enroute for the part-time work @ BP, pop by the Toast Box to satisfy her craving for the yummy eggs (with some black sauce) & kaya toast. A traditional birthday breakfast, ya !!?

Fun by the Pond

It's a public holiday. Albert & Shawnna popped by with the kids to have a late brunch with the family. Noodles, dumplings and otak-otak with freshly brewed coffee. Didn't seem much though but was somewhat blotted up after the meal. Kind of a heavy brunch !!! (There goes the thoughts for dinner !!!) The kids then amused themselves by the pool, playing with the floating turtle and watching the fishes darting to & fro, in their state of panic !!! Didn't know that a static floating turtle on a lily-pad can be a real source of amusement. Eddie also dropped by to say hello to the fishes and carried out some minor repair works to our tap. A quiet but enjoyable Hari Raya Puasa, by the pond.

My little visitor !!!

Whilst watching the KOIs attacked their food, out came a little mouse who decided that he/she wants a little bit of the action. Happily walking along the edge of the pod, he/she help itself to whatever remains that floated by. It even was able to jump across to the foot slab to have a better view of the pond. After having its fill, it walk around the pond inspecting the sides, without a care of the KOIs popping their heads out of the water. It was like, hey ... I want to share some of your goodies. Was very tempted to give it a scare and see if it would jump into the pond.

Yesterday, watched two dragonflies have IT in mid air. Today, its a little mouse. What's next ? This pond is full of surprises !!!

The Lily Pad

For two days, the head count didn't seem right. There were supposed to be 9 KOIs in the pond but no matter what combinations, we could only account for 8. The 9th had vanished. As the pond is under the direct sun, the fishes took cover in whatever shades there was thus we had difficulties in checking. Finally, when the pump had some problems, we removed the filters in Compartment #1 and behold, 3 small fishes and a KOI was found. Not having sunlight for a while, it took that fish some time to readjust before joining the rest. A water lily plant had to be added to provide some form of shades before they received any unnecessary tan (Not any of the three who didn't get enough votes !!!). More GREENS to the already GREEN pond !!

Two casualities !!!

To complete the garden pond, Eddie provided 9 fishes (koi) for the water feature. Whilst they shy away in the presence on onlookers, they quietly creeps out when no one is looking. Had my first glimpse of them on my return from Bangkok. Nice !!!

At dawn, had a good look at them. Unfortunately, could only account for 6. After several re-counts, found one sunbathing on the newly planted carpet grass. Already terminal !!! No pulse !!!. CRP will not help. Looked under the plants and found a 2nd; also motionless. (Like a scene from CSI ....). Searched for the 3rd but nowhere to be found. Unlikely for the new-comer to stray away for a holiday !!! The sad news was finally extended to Eddie .... 2 down, 1 missing !!! The neighbourhood cat is now the prime suspect !!!

Calm B4 the Storm

Strolled along the Beach Road of Pattaya. Lots of sea activities under a clear sunny sky. Tourists flocked to the sea for jet-ski rides, para-sailing, boat rides or just to lay in the sun. It was the nothing out of the ordinary for a beach resort town, along with the many who stroll along aimlessly, snapping away with their digital cameras. Popped by the Central Festival Mall (a hugh one) where many ice cream palour had my name there (yummy for a hot day !!!). Passing an open entrance, felt some gush of wind and suddenly lots of people rushed in like a sale is about to take place. Popped outside and to my surprise, the bright sunny day has turned to one of dark gloomy skies, strong winds and flying debris. Took a quick decision to pop into a "local" private taxi whilst many others were doing the same. Noticed that the boats and jet skis were heading back to shore and the umbrallas that lined the beach in the morning were either tied down, kept away or blown away. Trees were bowing to the wind as the visibility at sea dropped when the rain (heavy rain !!!) sets in. Was glad that I was already on the way back to the hotel whilst many were scrambling to look for shelter. The 150 baht ride was worth it.

Cannot say NO !!

Had the morning to myself at Pattaya. Haven't been here since 1998 when I was last officially here onboard RSS SEA HAWK for Ex Singsiam. Whilst some of the places had somewhat remained as it was, there were many new developments such as the Central Shopping Mall, where the Hilton Pattaya is located. Whilst walking aimlessly, spotted a "hot joint" which I just couldn't resist .... The "New Zealand Natural" ice-cream. (Yummy !!). Just had to have a scoop (ok, maybe two) before returning to the remote hotel to finish off my slides for my presentation. A scoop of Wild Forest Berry combined with Coffee was simply GOOD !!! Enjoyed it just sitting there and enjoying the creamy goodness. That's life !!! Pattaya is really a "teaser" !! Lots of ice-cream and foot reflex joints everywhere !! Dieting can start tomorrow.

This is Paradise, Sawadee-karp style !!

First BBQ

After weeks/months of renovation which seem unending, we finally had our first BBQ at the front porch. With a simple make-do portable BBQ Pit, some kebab, otak-otak and seasoned meat, we had our round of self-cooked session whilst been entertained by the live telecast of the National Day Parade. What almost fouled-up the evening was our order of KFC which took forever to be delivered. Even to get to the call centre was a challenge. When it finally arrived, it was a quick gobble before the massive pack-up for the next day is still a working day. Happy National Day, Singapore.

Its taking shape

It was difficult to image how the pond is going to look like. It was conceptualized by Eddie but the design and layout was sketched out only in his mind. He could passionately visualise the final outlook with the water feature, fishes swimming around and landscaping in the back ground. It was a painful process, see the ground being dug up for a couple of days and the potential complaints from "the neighbour" ranging from blocking of the road to dust, dirt and noise.
Had to just leave it in the good hands of the designer when we left for a short break to Hong Kong. During our absence, things began to take shape. The pump was fixed, the lighting was in placed and the plants found its new home. The driveway was also tiled up. The scene on our return home was indeed soothing. The sound of water and the lighting to the greenery was simple great. Can't wait for all the boxes to be emptied and the house to be in order.