Update on my plants

This is how the balcony garden looks like now. I moved the two indoor trees to the balcony to line the wall next to the two murrayas. The giant palm was also moved to the middle of the balcony so that I can close the balcony's folding doors. Yup, before, if I want to have air-conditioning switched on in the living room, I have to move the plants out of the way. Too strenuous, which means the air-conditioning is seldom switched on. I need a bigger balcony!

My periwinkles, lantana and hibiscus are no longer blooming as the amount of sunlight they are getting is greatly reduced after I moved the bigger plants to the balcony. The little available place where there is sunlight is reserved for the rosemarys and thai basil.

R's fish pond in the balcony with his lonely gigantic fat fish. I use the water from the container to water my plants once a week. Fish's poo poo water is quite nutritious.

The lipstick plant came back to life and bloomed. Looks like when I am at lost on what to do with a plant that was on the verge of death for the past 6 months, the best solution and care is to ignore it. Volia, it bloomed. The sunbirds came and were very happy.

 

The lipstick plant with the rest of the hanging plants on the rather bare wall. The wall planting project is not going too well. Planting is just not lush.

Perfumed.

 

 

Absolutely fragrant tonight. Murrayas in bloom. They usually bloom one week after I fertilised it with neem oil. New shoots and flowers. : )

What you can't see is your back

Topsy Turvy was fun, fun, fun.

Silence in class while the teacher demonstrated the gravity defying poses. Awesome. Every student tried very hard to remember all the instructions the teacher narrated. No one had time to chat.

Frankly, I have not done an inversions class for months as part of me is still afraid of snapping my neck. I am exaggerating. But it is the truth that no one likes to be inverted, I have to say I can't think straight when I am in that position. Left, right, front, back? Huh!

Scorpion. A position I categorised as more challenging than the headstand, tripod headstand or handstand, Scorpion involves arching the back while the body is inverted and supported by the forearms. My back is really STIFF. This is one awkward position for me. I definitely need help in this position. I usually practise against the wall as I don't want to kill myself. Not a good time to be a hero. It's not funny when you flip over in an inverted position or collapse onto your face.

With my body weight totally supported by my forearms...elbows bent at 90 degrees, body inverted...

"Arch your back. Tighten the knees, core! Point your toes. Lift your body up."

"Don't worry I am holding you."

"Look forward! Move your shoulders backwards!"

Huh, move my shoulders backwards? That's the moment I dropped my feet to the ground. The teacher obviously wasn't very pleased with me. Yup, he had more faith in me than myself. Under his stare, I meekly uttered, "But I can't tell front and back when I am inverted?"

I swear he rolled his eye in his mind but he calmly replied, "What you can see, is front, what you can't see is your back. Now, practise."

Such a simple concept but very hard to grasp when you are inverted. Light at the end of the tunnel. Let's not start on the confusion I have on left and right when I am inverted.

About the chatting in class. I like no-nonsense teachers. During class, someone talked. The teacher turned and said firmly, " You can talk after the class."

Aha, I like his style. You can ask questions but chatting is definitely not allowed.

Life in Topsy Turvy

Moping around at home. I couldn't decide whether I should head for the inversions class at 9pm. Or Topsy-Turvy as the teacher calls it. Still in time to book the class. Recently, joined a new yoga studio, the studio has very good teachers but it comes with the groupies.

What do I mean by groupies?

If you have been to any exercise classes and with keen observation skills, you are bound to notice a select group of folks who talk incessantly at the top of their voice. Be it in the waiting area before the class starts, or at a much louder volume in the locker room. Frankly, I can't stand people harping on every golden word the teacher utters or anyone who talks about their daily stories loudly in the locker room.

Or am I the odd one out? I exercise alone most of the time, a habit since the school days. I don't chat while exercising. Pardon me, if I seems hostile when I go exercising with you, it's not that I don't like your company but I like the silence.

Yup, I don't need to go to the girl's room in pairs nor do I have any problems eating alone. I was perturbed when I saw on RazorTV sometime back about undergrads who rather not be seen dining or anywhere alone. I guessed there are many who are not comfortable with themselves.

... I should head for the mind clearing inversion class. Moreover, it's inversions, something I really suck at. If I keep at it, I will improve. Groupie or no groupie. Thank God, the teacher does not condoned any chatting during class.

Chatterboxes are strictly not allowed.

Daniel Wu Infomercial for "Fresh Air" (Clean Air Network)

Of ants and lizards

"Are you clearing the dead ant's nest?"

"No, why should I? I am instilling fear in their troopers. Leave the dead ants there."

Horrid little buggers are nesting in the cupboard's drawer again. They nested there before but are back again. I wonder which clever ant decided to nest at the same spot again? Totally brainless or they thought the most dangerous place is the safest place? Doesn't the smell of Baygon strike fear in their little hearts?

Die, die, die. DIE!

I am also trying out a new remedy to repel ants in my home. Tea tree oil works but is just too expensive in the long run. A spicy mix of pepper and cloves along their favourite trail is the new but cheaper weapon of choice. Ants apparently do not like strong smelling herbs. Go away. Really, far away please.

Anyway, dead ants release a chemical scent that will alert their fellow friends of danger. In times of attack, they will scatter but will regroup when they sense the danger is over. They will always collect their fallen brethren. They are very loyal friends. Maybe, they will learn to never nest at that spot again.

A different perspective to my Ito holiday pics

Put things in a different perspective...

After watching the disturbing images of the recent tsunami and earthquake in Sendai, Japan on NHK world, it does really put things in a different perspective.

As a Singaporean, I have never seen a tsunami warning sign before till recently, honestly I am rather clueless what to do during a tsunami or an earthquake. Not to mention a Ritcher 8.9 earthquake and 10m-high tsunami? Just numbers to me? But to the victims or survivors, it's a matter of life and death. The Sendai earthquake is a notch lower than the Ritcher 9.2 horrific earthquake in Banda Aceh (2004) but it is equally destructive as seen on the news. The Sendai earthquake is the largest earthquake to hit Japan and the fifth largest in the world since recording began but thankfully not the deadliest. A very frightening thought.

wikipedia

Not just an interesting sign anymore. It's life or death.

Seafood in Ito City 伊東

Fresh seafood is plentiful in Ito 伊東

Part II of my Ito 伊東, shizuoka trip. The food part. Being such a greedy gal, first thing on my mind when I reached a destination after checking in was to look for food. How do we know which restaurant serves good food?

By our sense of smell, long queues snaking round corners, luck or we will ask the hotel/hostel/ryokan's staff for their recommendations. Don't be shy.

We were famished after we checked in at K's House Ito Onsen. The four onigiris, japanese rice balls I ate earlier for breakfast at the train station just wasn't satisfying for me. I was hungry after the 2+ hours train journey from Tokyo. Yup, I ate four...that's a lot for a girl.

Gomiya is a family restaurant in Ito 伊東 that came highly recommended by the hostel's staff. We walked past the restaurant on the way to the hostel from JR Ito station. The grilled fish aroma wafting out of the restaurant was really enticing. The aroma, coupled with the people queuing in the cold stopped me in my tracks then.

Here we were again.

R 's queuing. If there's a queue, we will queue.

Menu. Appetizers, sashimi, various kinds of
seafood set meals, donburi and alcohol.
Don't worry, they have a picture menu
if you can't read this menu