October Scavenger Hunt

Yay! I managed to get all photos to join in the fun scavenger hunt this month!

Crunchy leaves.

Easy as there are lots outside my window.

 Golden.

My mother's favourite gold kerongsang, used only for kebaya.

Candle lit.

A special corner to remember my mother.

 Pumpkin.

Also known as labu merah (literally red gourd).

Something eerie.

A boy with a wicked eye posing like this among flowers.  No, this is my nephew who is a good sport and ever willing model.  I will be lost without him.

 A black cat.

I was assigned to take photos of senior citizens jogging around that morning and was I glad I spotted this black cat!  Just when I was scratching my head trying to find one....

A river.

A very old photo.  Those were the days when I didn't have hamsters and dogs and I could go over land, mountain and rivers to take photos.

 Heritage.

Mount Kinabalu - a UNESCO world heritage site.

Mist/Fog

A very, very, very old photo of Aunty Tooki in misty Mt. Kinabalu.

Sunset

Sun setting over the sea near where I live.

Broomstick.

This is a broom for small-sized witches.

Happenings Over The Week

The SPCA team finally came to catch and spay the stray dogs last Sunday.  Here's the first 2 returned with bandages and stitches...poor doggies.  Today they will catch and spay another one.  Look, she's a Muslim and yet she's a volunteer who doesn't mind touching a stray dog.  I found out that she's a lecturer of languages at Universiti Malaysia Sabah.  God bless her and her friends for the thankless job that they are doing!

Mr. Big Bully was (accidentally) caught last Sunday and he made a BIG fuss but a phone call saved him from the knife.  The plan was to spay females only.  However, he showed symptoms of distemper so today the poor fellow will be captured again for treatment.  He must be terrified, poor doggie.

Mrs Big Bully #2 went into the trap accidentally but she was released because she just gave birth to puppies.

She hid her babies (only 2 survived) in this miserable dump where rubbish is burnt.  I had to tell them to stop burning for the time being or puppies will be barbecued.

When her babies were taken away for adoption I caught her going to that place to look for them and I felt so, so, so sad for her.  She looked lost and bereft.  Earlier on when my colleague moved her babies to a safer place she brought them back there.  The poor dog thought I was the one who did it and when I stood there looking at her babies she slowly put my leg in her mouth.  I was startled and backed off and she started growling and barking at me.  It was a gentle warning for me to keep off.  She knew that if she bit me that will be the end of her chicken rice supply.

Mrs. Big Bully #1 has gone over the Rainbow Bridge, together with Wawa's mother.  They both died at around the same time a week or more ago.  I was extremely saddened to learn that this dog which greeted me each morning is gone forever.  She seemed sick after her last batch of puppies came and when they were taken away she must've missed them and maybe lost the will to live.  I take comfort in the fact that she is forever released from her daily misery.  I hope they are happy and well in heaven.  How I wish the Rainbow Bridge story is true and how I dearly wish that all dogs go to heaven.  I never understood why the Bible said the day of death is better than the day of birth.  Now I understand because these dogs are born into a miserable life, if they never get adopted.  No food, no love, nobody to care for them.  Shunned, beaten, poisoned or fed with food that gives them horrible skin diseases.  Indeed, the day of their death is better than the day of their birth....:'(

More Pre-Bedtime Kungfu

What?? You SSS (silly short schnauzer) wants to challenge ME to a duel?!!

Just WHO are you calling ASS, ASS, ASS??  Die!

 Arrrlllfff....humiliation so bitter!  Not possible that I could be floored by a silly, short, schnauzer!!!

 Wawa, you're a mad dog, says Coco after watching him gnaw his (imitation) burberry bed for quite a while.

Urggghhh....leave me alone!

(Oh my, look just how ferocious Coco is!!)

I think I will sleep early tonight.  Tomorrow I will have another duel with that SSS.

Agricultural Exhibition

I went to 2 exhibitions on Saturday.  The first one was a bit lame, showcasing some food products and crafts of Sabah.  Here's one from Sabah, a beaded wrist band from Matunggong, Kudat.  They are made by Rungus, an ethnic tribe of Sabah.

I prefer local Sabah coffee (sorry, bias) over imported ones.  The best ones come from Tenom (about 3-4 hours car ride from city center).  Yit Foh is one of the well-known ones.  If you visit their factory, you get to drink coffee for free and you also get a free tour around their factory.  When in Tenom, don't forget to visit the Agricultural Park.

The 2nd exhibition I went to was definitely more interesting.  It was an agricultural exhibition and there were so many booths displaying their goods, we couldn't finish visiting all.  This is one of the best (in my opinion) by the Agricultural Department of Sabah.

A long display of fruits.  The ones in front are mengkudu (used to make noni juice, purportedly with lots of medicinal properties), followed by guava, star fruit or carambola, red dragon fruit, mangoes and furthest brown ones are called salak.  Salak has an outer layer that resembles snake skin but the flesh is fragrant and sweet with slight sourish taste.  Very tasty.

A variety of tubers.  The green ones at bottom left corner is called bread fruit or susukun and as far as I know, only eaten deep fried in a sweet batter.  Delicious!

One booth chopped off a rubber tree and planted it here, complete with cup to collect the latex.

 A booth just for cats!  None for dogs.........:(

Sabah has 3 universities (I think) and Universiti Malaysia Sabah is one of them.  I can't find its land size but I think 999 acres.  What a shame, no mention of land size in its website!

 Fancy apparatus to extract oils.  This is cinnamon oil, if I am not mistaken.

 How mushrooms are grown in Sabah.

Commercial orchids for sale.  Wild orchids are just as beautiful, if not more, but sale is prohibited (protected species).

Our beloved Borneo Orchid!  Don't know if that's the official name but that's what my mother called them.

We didn't finish our agricultural tour because we had to rush to this place for a farewell hi-tea.  A workmate has just retired so friends decided to come together for a meal to bid farewell to her.  She is very happy that I can no longer pester her on the phone for supplies. 

Love men who look after their wives' handbags when they go to the loo.  And the wonderful thing is he's HAPPY about it!  All of us went to college together, worked in the same ministry and grew old together.  I think we may have fought together, can't remember.  I now pester his wife for supplies.

After all that food and nice, warm feelings I dropped in to see my brother who just got discharged from the hospital not too long ago.  Um..I haven't visited him for ages and this is the first time I've been to this house so I was very happy to find a little pond there.  Lots of animals to qualify this post for petblogville!!

 I'm petrified by your brother!  He's a grouch!

I know, Mr. Frog!  It runs in the family but I am the exception!

Your brother's a grumpy neatness freak!

I know, Miss Egret...that runs in the family too!  But I am not as bad as him...I live with hamsters and dogs and you will always find crap and piss in my house!  And fur!  And urine-stained pawprints!

Wawa's Bad Dream

 Pssst!  Wake up, OOU!
(OOU = Orange Orang Utan)

Huh?  What time is it?  Is everyone asleep already?

 Groan...I am aching all over....darn dogs!

Mmmm?  Whazzat??

(OOU freezes)

Phew!  That was close!

It's not every night I can get into this comfy bed....la di da!

I should throttle this obnoxious dog for all the things he does to me....heh-snort-heh-snort!

Ah, I guess not...lullaby and good night...that big mouth close tight...

 I could've sworn someone was singing.  I had a bad dream and OOU was in it.

No one sleeps in my bed, not even in my dreams.