View from outer space

2nd April 2011

I was experimenting with my wife's new iPhone (my present to the lovely Mrs for our 8th wedding anniversary, ahem!) and tried out the application known as MobileMe. It's basically an application that allows owners to search for their iPhone using GPS tracking system.

I was amazed when I see the satellite image shown on my computer. This is the first time that I see our home in a satellite view! All this while, I could only access an outdated version with the land still covered in trees with no home in sight. Thanks to the updated technology, now we know how our home looks like when zoomed in from outer space! Hehehe...

Mini sunflower

24th January 2011

I have mentioned before that during our trip to Australia last October, my wife and I bought some packed seeds, which include herbs and flowers. One of them is called "Dwarf Sensation" which is actually a dwarf version of sunflowers.

We are very amazed at seeing a mini sunflower plant growing healthily at our own home. Sunflowers itself is uncommon in Brunei, and to have even a mini version of it is equally satisfying. My children love to look at the plant every morning when they wake up and in the afternoon before night falls.

So far, my wife only planted 4 for trial and error and we'll definitely plant some more during our spare time soon.

More planting

16th January 2011

With the kindness and favour portrayed by our neighbour in giving us free stones for decorating our yard, my wife and I did some more planting today. We have more saplings of soursop and mangoes that needed to be transferred out of its pots and as such we took opportunity of the cloudy weather to do some hard work.

In addition to that, we also needed to "rescue" a turmeric plant (courtesy of my parents-in-law) that was always overlooked by our garden mowers. We cleared up the plant area and put some stones circling it. My wife harvested some and used it for cooking a delicious lunch for us. You can't get any fresher than that!

These mango saplings were planted directly from seeds. It only took about 2-3 months for it to grow that tall. However, my mother-in-law says that cloned saplings (pokok kahwin) are better since they bear fruits faster and do not normally grow extra tall which makes picking fruits easier. Nevertheless, we are still hoping that we can taste the Australian mangoes in a few years time. We'll just have to wait and see.

Bruneians start the new year with the welcoming of a princess

7th January 2010

~ Photo courtesy of [infofoto] ~

We humbly present our congratulatory message to His Royal Highness Paduka Seri Pengiran Muda Mahkota Pengiran Muda Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah (the Crown Prince) and Her Royal Highness Paduka Seri Pengiran Anak Isteri Pengiran Anak Sarah on the birth of a princess

Her Royal Highness Pengiran Anak Muneerah Madhul Bolkiah
born on Sunday, 2nd January 2011.

We would also like to express sincere congratulations to the family of uncle Pg Hj Salleh Ab Rahaman on this occasion.

New year gardening spirit

2nd January 2011

Yesterday was a wonderful morning and the whole family was in the mood for a bit of hard work under the sun. Our project of decorating the yard is still an ongoing progress as expected ~ taking into consideration the large area to be covered.

Our new year day project was decorating the front yard by planting along the edge of the concrete pathway and enhancing the palm trees. It was also a lucky day for us that our contractor neighbour agreed to give a lot of large to medium sized rocks for free. We delightfully arranged them circling each tree.

By noon, after much sweating (and sun burn), we were done.

Welcome 2011

1st January 2011
(1.1.11)

Especially to family, friends and blog followers / readers
Let's all make this year better than the years before, filled with love, warmth and care towards each other. Together, we can make this world a better place!

Fixing the flag pole

23rd December 2010

A couple of weeks back, the flag that I had put up fell to the ground. It was first noticed by my brother-in-law who was at home at that time to help prepare for my daughter's birthday party. Apparently, the rope fell off from the tip of the pole and the only way to fix it is by calling in some help.

Soursop planting

19th December 2010

I've been doing some more planting lately. I learnt from my mistake about 2 years ago and made sure that from now on, I'll plant the right way. Before putting in the plants, I dug some holes and put in some fertiliser (chicken poo, to be exact). After a week or so, the soil has become more fertile and it will be easy for the small saplings to thrive and grow.

My son however is not fond of the smell and stopped after just one sapling. My daughter, on the other hand, loves to get her hands dirty... just like daddy and mummy, I suppose.

Hope the soursop saplings yield lots of fruits in the future!

Fruits of success

3rd November 2010

Gardening creates a sort of addiction to it. Apart from decorative plants and flowers, my wife and I has developed an interest in growing fruits and vegetables. Some tease us saying that there's no need for us to go down that road since we can easily get our supply from the wholesale market right next door.

However, we see this as a way to be close to nature itself, and it's a way to teach our children not to depend too much on the buying power of money when there's another way available as an alternative.

From our recent trip to Brisbane, I came across a nursery which sells saplings. We decided to buy two small pots of strawberries and brought it back to Brunei. We have had three ripe ones so far, and they taste good.

We have also planted chilli, tomatoes, papaya, soursop, kalamansi (limau kasturi) and a few others. The tomatoes are grown from seeds and it doesn't take a long time to grow. Yesterday, we noticed two small tomatoes has popped up and hopefully there will be lots more.

We are also lucky that our maid is interested in gardening as well. In her spare time, she will look after the plants and recently she has planted rows of tomatoes, papaya and chilli.

To ensure that our plants are healthy and free from pests, I spray pesticides once in a while. It proves to be a good work out for me too since the tank is really heavy!

Soon, we will start planting some other types of vegetables. My wife and I have collected seeds from Australia as well as Brunei (imported from Malaysia) and on our list are cucumber, zuchhini, salad, bittergourd, lady fingers (okra), choy sim as well as herbs such as basil, parsley and mint.

Let's hope for more success! Hehehe...

33 and counting

Celebrating 33 years of...

ME!

Hehehe... Yes, I'm 33 years old today
Alhamdulillah!

Bring the rain

31st October 2010

It was raining heavily last night. The news today even report that a few places were hit by flash floods. However, we never thought that the bad weather would have effect on us as well.

The story began when my wife was about to take her shower. She then heard a dripping sound and she began checking for loose taps but to no avail. She looked closer and noticed that the sink counter was wet. She looked up - and to her horror, the dripping sound actually comes from the ceiling!

She immediately called me; I was just about to finish up dinner with the kids downstairs. I ran upstairs and was surprised by what I saw. We began to wonder, is there a hole in the roof? Then my wife went into the study room and saw the water was dripping there as well.

Okay, we thought. Two holes in the roof is unlikely... there must be another reason.

While we were trying to figure out the house plan - trying to check out the plumbing connections, etc. - my maid informed that there was also water dripping downstairs outside the kitchen area.

Then it struck me. Above that is our first floor balcony. I immediately opened the door and was alarmed after seeing a mini pool. Apparently the drain hole was covered by debris (it's amazing how a thin piece of plastic can almost halt the water flow). After clearing it up, I realise something else; the drain hole is the same as the ones installed at our concrete gutter. Our logical conclusion: the gutter is blocked and the heavy rain worsens the problem even more.

To check on the problem, I called my contractor this morning and he sent his "roof man" to the rescue. Our theory was right, the drain pipe was covered with debris. It took the single worker almost 2 hours to finish up cleaning and thankfully the gutter is now good as new.

Check out the before & after picture below. Notice the drain hole?

We learned a lesson. Have the gutter checked, at least twice a year. I'll put that in my reminder, definitely!

Our new garden

30th August 2010

We have been struck with good luck. A close friend of mine, Zahreen, told me that his father decided to give away a couple of old flower stands. I straight away took the offer and hired a pick up truck to transport the flower stands all the way from Berakas.

It took us about a week to beautify them. We painted it black and gold and slowly added flower pots, mostly courtesy of my mother-in-law. I have also recently bought some hanging pots and the end result is really beautiful.

In addition, we have also bought and planted some fruit saplings. What's left now is to find suitable places to plant them permanently.

Lesson well learned

28th August 2010

Sometimes it makes you wonder ~ does practice really make perfect?

Today, something strange and sudden happened. Never in a million years would I have thought that I would have such an experience.

Everyday (I repeat: everyday) when arriving home, I would park my car in reverse. In order to do that, I have to drive towards the pond adjacent to our home and then reverse the car. Unfortunately, I was in a hurry this morning when I arrived home at around 11 am and out of the blue, I find my car stopping a bit awkward.

Apparently I overdid it ~ I drove a bit further than the concrete driveway! My wife noticed as well as she was outside the home waiting for me to arrive. We were a bit shocked but thankfully everything is alright. I had to call in a towing service to assist with the car, and $50 flew away just like that!

I really learned my lesson!

Ramadan Ya Ramadan

1 Ramadan 1431 AH

Wishing all Muslims a blessed month full of Ibadah
Let's take this opportunity to be better in everything that we do especially our prayers (solat), speech and behaviour

From all of us at
syafisafiya.blogspot.com
syafisafiya-house.blogspot.com

Dirgahayu Kebawah Duli Tuan Patik

15th July 2010

The long awaited yearly celebration is here...

Happy Birthday to His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah
The Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei
who turns 64 today

Daulat Kebawah Duli Tuan Patik