Monday, July 30, 2012

More on fishing..

Not having any luck fishing at the Jetty with a hook and line, DH invited Auntie C and Emil to lay nets at our beach instead. The tide was going out which was perfect timing.
We got the nets out... 
KC didn't have proper shoes which was essential as parts of the seabed had sharp rocks and corals, so Auntie C secured her slippers with raffia instead.
Rocks were collected as weights to be tied to the bottom end of the nets. The rocks had to be big and heavy enough to anchor the nets or it would drift off by the strong currents. 
Setting the net.
The sea was rather choppy that day and the kids had a fun time with the waves.
I stayed on the beach collecting Cat's Eyes with Ean. The Cat's Eyes were for Auntie C who once bought a Cat's Eye ring. She should have enough to make a necklace now.

The nets were checked when the tide was low once again. We managed to get 2 catfish, 1 black drum, 1 small threadfin, 1 prawn, 2 flower crabs and a couple of claws.  
It was late by the time the fishermen retrieved the nets and there's nothing better than sitting by a campfire to warm up after a dip in the sea. 

Sunday, July 29, 2012

An evening stroll @ Tg Tuan

A basking iguana greeted us as we approached the carpark opposite Ilham Resort.

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 A cheerful Sepetir :D
 
The Sepetir seed pod.
I sent a sample to the families in the Worldwide Cultural Swap programme we participated in without knowing what it was but thanks to a resourceful friend on Facebook, I got to know it was a pod of a common tree found near mangroves and it's a favourite with squirrels.
Here in Tg Tuan, monkeys (couldn't see if they were silver leaf monkeys or long tailed macaques) were munching on them and strewing their leftovers on the road.  
A swirling. twirling flower
The thorny stem of the rattan plant. A member of the palm family, the rattan stem is solid and requires structural support, hence the thorns to grip and attach onto a taller host tree, and reach the sunlight above the canopy roof
 
 I was told to write in a request for a visit into the lighthouse
The lighthouse @ Tg Tuan

Friday, July 20, 2012

Thor fishing at the jetty


Auntie C preparing her prawn bait
 There were enough cans for everyone.  
I got one too.
I was told to pull the line in when I feel a tug. I waited a while and didn't feel anything. After a long wait, I wound the line in and found the bait gone.
We didn't catch anything that day but we had a great time enjoying the breeze and scenery.
  Why I call it Thor fishing here.


Low tide at PD

Our beach at low tide. We check the timing of the tides here.
A tiny lobster that was found under a rock
Eggs of a sea snail
checking our fishing net that had washed up onto the sand bank. The boys found 2 small flower crabs and a  carcass of a catfish.
Han's collection of crabs. They were let go when the tide came up. 
Fai made mud balls.
He said they were of great consistency as they held their shape when thrown and only broke apart upon impact.
Ean requesting for another scoop of mud ice cream
MeMe made discoveries of her own.
At 3 months, she loves grasping objects and it delights her to be able to grab at pebbles and shells.  

Friday, July 13, 2012

KC


They met over a sucker fish
her mom hunted us down
she couldn't believe her luck finding an english speaking family in PD
they are now close friends
one girl and three boys
she loves being the princess, the boys her knights
they dote on her
Fai cuts her apples, peels her oranges
She reads to Ean
Han says she is pretty and bars her mom from taking her home
She doesn't like Lego, insisting it's a boys thing
I told her it was JY's,
She likes pink and sometimes purple
Han would give her pink flowers and say "KC would like this" whenever he sees anything pink.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Thor Fishing

Auntie C loves fishing. She doesn't use a rod or nets, she uses a tin can as a reel and casts her line the way Thor spins his hammer before flinging it. So I call her method of fishing 'Thor fishing'.
Auntie C got Ean interested in fishing.
Ean was responsible for this reel and was told to take it home to get it cleaned to prevent it from rusting.
Auntie C and kids fishing at the jetty

PD Waterfront

A great place for collecting rocks ,
rock lifting
and swaying your arms in the breeze

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Worlwide Cultural Swap - packing the parcel

 We used plastic bags and an electric sealer to organise the items




our pressed national flower beach collection
 Gong Xi Fa Cai
I didn't know parcels had to be wrapped in brown paper and tied with a string. Luckily there was a bookshop next to the post office
Uncle Bookshop said he would wrap it up for us.
After weighing, lots of stamp licking and address writing, the parcels were sent of to the other exchangees.

5 inch

JY has been taking modeling classes. Her take on how she went from cake decorating to catwalking here.
My take? Well, let's just say we were faced with a roadblock and for weeks we lay idle in PD. JY dabbled in jewellery making, painting on canvas, shoes and tshirts. Until one day we came across 'Amber Chia's modeling agency' on a billboard in Seremban, we checked out the academy in JayaOne, signed up for the course and started the very next day.
JY had to learn to sashay down a catwalk on 5inch heels. She was given this pair (pic above) and was told to practice 2 hours daily. She was taught proper posture and different catwalk modeling styles.
In no time JY complained of blisters on her feet caused by the PVC straps cutting into her skin.  She needed new shoes.
 I recalled reading an article on this shop in Tmn Midah that made dancing shoes and what could be more comfortable than shoes made for dancing. And should be able to last longer too!
We made a visit one afternoon. JY tried one out and declared them to be the most comfortable shoes she has ever worn.
DH gave the thumbs up and JY got to have her first custom made shoes.
Choosing leather.
JY chose lamb skin in black.
Then choose the type of heels and design.
JY chose thicker heels for more support and a double strap with a covered back for the same reason. Her heels had to be 5inches and strappy for the runway.
                              
Measuring the width of her feet.
JY was told to come back for fitting in a week.
If JY intends to do catwalk modeling professionally she would need 4 pairs of heels in black, white, silver and gold as well as a pair of boots.

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Fai's Beach Cleanup

Fai initiated his own beach cleanup.
He piled the litter neatly and was really proud of his efforts.
Thanks for cleaning the beach Fai!

Termites!

Look what greeted us one morning when the kitchen light was left on overnight.
A spider having a morning snack
Close up of the moving carpet

We fed the boys' pet scorpion with the live ones.
Spot the remains of its previous meal - a beetle.
The scorpion didn't get to eat the termites though as it sleeps throughout the day and the birds happily made a meal of the termites

Worldwide Cultural Swap

We are participating in a project that requires us to send parcels of stuff that is unique to our country to other familes  around the world.
Our collection from the beach to be packed into parcels for 5 families in our group.

Pressing flowers from the garden with a little help from Han and KISS
Our National Flower was a must
Included in the parcel, besides, shells, corals and pressed flowers, was a RM1 Malaysian flag bought from a bookshop, a bookmark made by weavers from the MahMeri tribe from GeraiOA, Malaysian currency, stamps, AngPao packets, batik cards, keychain from Sarawak, spices (bunga lawang and cinnamon stick) and a bottle of minyak angin.
Our parcels will be heading to Georgia, California, France, South Africa and UK
For more info on this project, click here