↧
Alphabe-Thursday letter A for Alpaca
↧
FSO My weakness.
My Weakness
When driving through town where does the car pullyou? Is there someplace you just can't resist
stopping?
A favorite shop, store, house....?
Kings Garden Barns are actually garden centres aka plant nurseries. There are seven of these barns in Auckland, very distinctive by it's yellow colour.
Garden Centres are some of my favourite places. Even if I don't buy anything, I like to do my window shopping the way other people do in shopping malls. I am a country girl at heart. Even when the water engineer was a professor, and I was a faculty wife, I was more comfortable digging with dirt under my nails than spending time doing a manicure.
And coming home with a few pots and potting mix and plants of course.
Except of late, the computer has taken over this weakness and I enjoy the plants on the screen. I still pop in Kings Garden Barn and buy a few plants every now and then. Old habits die hard.
link to Mr Linky at the Friday shoot out link below.
↧
↧
Our World/outdoor wednesday/ Save our world: Recycling
Many of you who read my posts know that I am passionate about recycling, reuse and zero waste. Whilst traveling from Miri to Brunei, my cousin Calvin Kong Chak Wan pointed out this big heap of scrap metal. I fully approve.
He also told me this funny story. The kids of one Miri school were told to bring one bottle of old cooking oil to be recycled. One child's parents didn't cook at home, and the Grandpa went and bought a new bottle of cooking oil for the child.
While the message of recycling is good, it should be explained carefully so that it won't be futile like in this case, where the exercise gets negative results.
http://ourworldtuesdaymeme.blogspot.com/
↧
Alphabe-Thursday Letter B for beetle.
↧
9 to 5 - People at Work in Your Town
link to Mr Linky at the Friday shoot out link below.
↧
↧
Borneo Post write-up of me today.
Jane Moh of Borneo Post wrote this lovely write-up and my dear friend Chang Yi shared it in Facebook. So glad that they are still remembering me though I have been back over a month. Back to the grind of day to day life.
http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/12/01/words-of-healing-from-a-bereaved-mother/
![]()
http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/12/01/words-of-healing-from-a-bereaved-mother/
↧
rotary sun drier
This rotary sun drier will soon be a thing of the
past when sections are subdivided, as we say
farewell to the quarter acre section. I like sun
dried clothes.
http://reducefootprints.blogspot.com/
http://ourworldtuesdaymeme.blogspot.com/
↧
Banning styrofoam boxes,
As a member of the zero waste, one of my pet peeve is the styrofoam takeaway boxes. In New Zealand, they tried an alternative with boxes made of potato.
My home town Sibu has taken the initiative to ban these boxes, and introducing paper boxes. It appears despite the cost, hawkers have accepting before the implimentation day.
Read this article by
Raymond Tan Chok Hui
http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/12/04/food-stall-operators-take-lead-to-shun-styrofoam-boxes/http://reducefootprints.blogspot.com/
↧
Alphabe-Thursday letter Carving
↧
↧
FSO: Rush Hour
Rush hour doesn't deter me from stopping my car to snap this photo.
link to Mr Linky at the Friday shoot out link below.
↧
Alphabe-Thursday. letter C for computers
It was a moment of pride when the Kwong Kouk School principal told us he just got delivery of these computers for his students. It was a prouder moment for all of us Chan Siblingsand Uncle Albert. Our Great Grand Father Chan Kwong Kouk co-founded this school, and it was named after him
http://jennymatlock.blogspot.co.nz/
↧
Save our world: Worm farms
Through Ngarimu Blair, Heritage & Resource Manager of
NGATI WHATUA O ORAKEI CORPORATE LTD, I got to be involved in Zero Waste. Ngarimu had a big worm farm in his Marae in Orakei. He said he would give me some worms.
I have my own little worm farm in my room. The kids love it, searching for the burrows and feeding them with scraps.
We even make our own poem.
Noke our worm.
Noke eats our peels,
Noke eats our scraps.
Noke eats paper.
Noke is good for the garden.
Noke is good for the plants.
Noke likes the dark.
Noke is squirmy,
Noke is wriggly.
Noke tickles my palm.
Noke is Maori for worm.
↧
Alphabe-Thursday. Save the world and Letter D for Dying, a dying tree
I wanted to show the giant Kauri, this may be a Kauri tree.
This is a serious post on Kauri dieback.
At the Hillary trail, they have this cleaning stations, but not many people use it. People accuse me of being a moralist and have not fun. Perhaps I am easily influenced, and I am proud of it, Watching Mad Max stopped me from enjoying burning expensive fuel spotrs, watching No Blade of Grass makes me fear for the future of our earth.
Kauri dieback: a disease that kill the trees.
Kauri dieback: how you can help? The steps are easy, Just don't be lazy.
What would it be when the Kauri dieback kill our Kauri trees? There is a Chinese saying, " You Cry until there is no more tears."
I am a tree lover, hence this post is linked to save the world.
Kauri are among the world's mightiest trees, growing to more than 50 metres tall, with trunk girths of up to 16 metres and living for more than 2000 years. Kauri forests once covered 1.2 million hectares from the Far North of Northland to Te Kauri, near Kawhia and were common when the first people arrived around 1000 years ago.
http://www.arc.govt.nz/environment/biosecurity/kauri-dieback/
This webpage is the home for information on kauri dieback for the whole of New Zealand. It has information on what kauri dieback is, the symptoms of the disease and how you can help stop it spreading. You can also find our fact sheet, technical documents and links to the organisations involved in the management of the disease.
What is Phytophthora taxon Agathis?
Commonly known as PTA, Phytophthora taxon Agathis is a microscopic fungus-like plant pathogen (a disease causing agent) that only affects kauri. Recent research has identified PTA as a distinct and previously undescribed species of Phytophthora.
What does it do to kauri trees?
Symptoms include yellowing of foliage, loss of leaves, canopy thinning and dead branches. Affected trees can also develop lesions that bleed resin, extending to the major roots and sometimes girdling the trunk as a ‘collar rot'. PTA can kill trees and seedlings of all ages.
Kauri are among the world’s mightiest trees, growing to more than 50 metres tall, with trunk girths of up to 16 metres and living for more than 2000 years. Kauri forests once covered 1.2 million hectares from the Far North of Northlanhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifd to Te Kauri, near Kawhia and were common when the first people arrived around 1000 years ago.
http://reducefootprints.blogspot.com/
http://jennymatlock.blogspot.co.nz/
↧
↧
FSO : lights
Lights
What lights up your town?
Spotlights by Peggy
Dec 20: Colorsof theSeason
↧
Alphabe-Thursday Letter E for exit
↧
FSO: Colours of the season
Dec 20: Colorsof theSeason
↧
My Book Launch
I am still having that warm fuzzy feeling. I was very very lucky. I was there at the right place and right time. Friends asked how I got a Government Minister to be my guest of honour.
Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh offered to be my VVIP guest. I wrote to him, as his student if the Government had funding to aspiring writers, and the rest is history. He was proud to be my teacher, and I had done him proud.
Francis Chen very happily helped me with the logistics and my Chinese MC. When my Malay and English MC couldn't make it, John Benet stepped it.
Who could dream that my book launch was such a Ministerial affair and my own clan people organising it. Thank you Mr. Kong Tze Ling.
Proud of you, Ann
With YB Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh at Ann Chin's Book Launch at RH Hotel today.— with Ann Chin.
http://abcwednesday-mrsnesbitt.blogspot.co.nz
![]()
With YB Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh at Ann Chin's Book Launch at RH Hotel today.— with Ann Chin.
http://abcwednesday-mrsnesbitt.blogspot.co.nz
↧
↧
FSO Holiday Traditions
Last week, I gave an introduction to tradition. I have posted this a few years back. This will be an excellent introduction to some Chinese custom.
This is my little brother Henry. But he is now the eldest of the Clan in Sarawak because he is a male. In the Confucius paternalistic society, boys come before girls. Even though Rose is the eldest of us lot, she is considered lower than him. Henry's two older brothers are in Australia, so Henry represents them to be the DAI KO, or big brother.
Here is Henry, seated and inviting everyone to eat. We eat communal style. All the dishes are placed on the table. Everyone help themselves to a little morsel.
The Albert Library celebrated Lunar New year with a fashion parade of traditional Chinese costumes, music, display of Tai Chi sword exercise and a beautiful Chinese Dance. My friend Siong organised this event, a job well done. The ladies twirled them around.
Holiday Traditions
Right now many of our towns are celebrating the Christmas season with traditional foods, decorations, and church services but our Towns also celebrate many holidays throughout the year with traditional music, costumes and even pageantry.
↧
zerowaste.co.nz/auckland-area/auckland/
http://www.zerowaste.co.nz/auckland-area/auckland/
Auckland Community Zero Waste Alliance (ACZWA)
Who are we?
- Individuals from all over the Auckland Region, from Wellsford to Waimauku who REALLY don’t like waste.
- We are working together to change a cultural mindset from one that says “waste is inevitable and necessary” to one that says “we need to redesign our economic system and our way of producing the things we use”.
- We are supporters of the Auckland Plan for a community-based Resource Recovery Network. Look here or here for more information.
- We are members of the national Community Recycling Network.
- We promote information on how not to waste in the first place.
What do we do?
We are pressure group that seeks legislative changes to:
- product stewardship, such as Container Deposit Legislation (we want Bottle Deposits back) and other mandatory schemes
- National Waste Management and Minimisation Act to require business and industry to be responsible for their waste like the EU policy
- Auckland Waste Management and Minimisation Plan so that the Council is responsible for effective management of waste, not just responsible for promoting effective management of waste.
- Changes to require international agreements that require responsibility for “cradle to cradle” life cycling of products.
http://reducefootprints.blogspot.com/
When you drop your rubbish in the bin, have you ever thought what it is doing to the landfill and to our earth.
I have been associated with the Ngati Whatua o Orakei as a Zero Waste volunteer at its annual Waitangi Day Festival at Okahu Bay on February 6. This event averages an 84% recycled/composted rate, the best around.
Volunteers are invited to help and learn how to run a real green event. The volunteers stay on Orakei Marae on the night of February 5 and be welcomed becoming part of the tribe. This is a privilege and you get introduced to the Maori protocol of welcome.
Among the 60 over volunteere were people from all over the world who are environmentally conscious. On the February 5th evening, we listened to Jo Knight and another renowned speaker in culture and conservation.
I am honored to be part of the team educating the public on waste and sorting it while also lapping up great Aotearoa sounds and vibes.
Thank you for your hospitality, Chris and Ivy, and all those who cooked for us.
Thanks also to Nagrimu for inviting us.
The Marae feeds a worm farm which in turn feed the vegetable garden.
↧
Alphabe-Thursday. letter G for Giant Green house
↧