Misai kucing for our garden

I have been thinking of overhauling our tiny little garden in front of the house. After all, the garden, in its current shape and form, has been around for fifteen years. It is, mainly, a result of ad-hoc plantings. No major design theme, nor systematic planning.

So what do I have in mind for the new garden?

Hmm, I think I'd fancy an English garden this time around.

English gardens are characterised by their "organised-chaos" look. Wild flowers, shrubs and herbs  are the mainstays.

Of course, creating an English garden in hot, tropical Malaysia do present its fair share of headaches. Chief amongst these would be choosing the right plants to create the right look and ambiance of a true English garden.


After much googling, I have managed to come up with a short list (I mean, a very short one) of plants. Problem is, they are quite hard to find at your normal, local plant nurseries. 


But a visit to a recently launched Herbal Garden somewhere in Serdang introduced me to the humble Misai Kucing. I had not realized before that this interestingly named local plant produce delightful looking flowers in hues of purple. 


So, that's another one included to my short list.

Putrajaya the rowing haven

If there is one thing that sets Putrajaya apart from other cities in Malaysia - other than being a new town, is that it has the Putrajaya Lake as a main feature of its urban scape.

About 600 hectares in size, the lake is an ever present feature throughout of the city. Touted as the "jewel in the crown", it puts Putrajaya in a league of its own. A waterfront city like no other in Malaysia, the lake affords easy access to quality amenities. In fact, a part of the lake is made up of wetlands. It is a habitat for numerous flora and fauna and fast becoming a unique attraction in itself.

With such a vast water body, it is no wonder that Putrajaya is fast becoming a premier centre for water sports in the country. The planners for the city has made sure that the lake is designed to incorporate a rowing course suitable for international level competition.

When it is winter in the northern hemisphere, Putrajaya Lake attracts athletes from Europe who come to train in our warm climate while their nation are freezing. 

Wembley, here we come (again!)

Liverpool beat neighbours Everton 2-1 in the FA Cup semi-final last night.

Although we have not won the cup just yet, the significance of this win over Everton is a cause to celebrate in itself. Everton is our local bitter rivals. Drubbing them on the way to another cup finals at Wembley makes it that much more sweeter.

We have been getting much flak lately. But as usual, Liverpool the team and the fans, stick together under pressure and under attack from misguided souls who do not understand the history and the very tradition of this one big family.

No doubt Liverpool's league form leaves much to be desired. But it is, after all, a work in progress. Patience is the key word here. What's important is that the foundations are set in place for us to progress further.

And two cup finals in a season surely says something about our progress.

League performance notwithstanding, I bet many teams would just love to be in our position right now. A cup double beckons.

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MAS Airbus A380: a beauty in blue

I saw the MAS advertisement for its new Airbus A380 in the newspaper today, and it took my breath away.

What a beauty she is in its all-new livery with blue being the dominant new colour. Yup, blue, my favourite colour.

Malaysia Airlines will introduce the A380 onto its KL-London route thrice weekly beginning 1st July 2012. This will increase to daily flights come August. Sydney will be the second destination when the third aircraft is delivered in September.

The MAS A380 will have capacity for 494 passengers compared to 359 on the current Boeing 747-400.

By the way, MAS is the eighth carrier to receive this giant of an aircraft. I am mighty proud to say the least.

Let's go London come July!

Law Kaana Bainana (Andainya KekasihMu Masih Berada Bersama Kami)

Andainya KekasihMu masih berada bersama-sama kami

Akan terlunaslah segala hutang dan semakin hampirlah

Dengan haruman Baginda, sebelum hilangnya 

Rasa yang meronta-ronta untuk berada hampir dengan KekasihMu.

Berada berhampiran Baginda jiwa turut menjadi harum

Dan apa jua yang kalian doakan kepada Allah akan diperkenankan

Cahaya Nabi Muhammad tidak akan pernah sirna

Sempatkanlah kami bertemu dengan Baginda

Wahai Tuhan Yang Maha Memperkenankan doa.

Hidayahmu kepada alam merata meluas

Tanda hampirnya kasih sayang Tuhan pemberi hidayah

Hadith-hadithmu ibarat sungai mengalir jernih

Berada di sisimu bagaikan dahan yang tumbuh segar dan basah.

Kutebus diriku dengan dirimu wahai Kekasihku

Nabi Muhammad yang mulia yang asing

Berada berhampiranmu jiwa menjadi harum

Wahai yang diutuskan membawa RAHMAT kepada seluruh alam...

Lawn mown (at last..)

Our garden lawn has been mown, at long last.

The Mem Besar had been hinting to me, quite a few times, that our little garden is beginning to look like a little jungle. But due to, err...logistical issues and problems with scheduling, I had not been able to undertake the project.

I love mowing the lawn, actually.

Honest!

I love the smell of the freshly cut grass. And I particularly enjoy the view of our small garden once the grass are cut nice and proper. Plus, it also gives me a bit of work out.

But you will understand, of course, due to logistical problems....

"Jogging" in beautiful Putrajaya

This morning I went jogging in Putrajaya with my youngest, Nadiah. Just the two of us.

Nadiah had been nagging. You see, she had just got herself a pair of jogging shoes sometime back. But until today she had not got the opportunity to "test run" it. So, she had been nagging me and her Umi to go for a jog.

So we went jogging. But after such a long lay off from any form of exercise, I was not about to shock my body system with something stressful. So we just brisk-walked. No, in fact the walk wasn't even brisk. It was a santai walk, class 1.

We walked a little and we stopped to take in the waterfront scenery. We walked some more then we took pictures. We walked a bit more and we stopped to admire the flowers.

Ahh. This is the life.