What is rich

Last night my eldest daughter ask me:

" Mama, what you will do when you rich,are you going to do the same thing,wrapping things for people?"

She asked when she saw me so busy wrapping all the customers order for this week.This few weeks are such a chalenging weeks as i have to coop to my paid job, my master degree and my side business(http://www.melur.com).

Rich...is so subjective...when i first graduated and heard some seniors can earn at least 2 to 2.5 k a month..wow ..that's a big money..never think about it.Then when i start work at a pay of 2700/month 2500 seems a very small amoount of money.Life is getting tougher when you have to coop with your marriage,newborn baby , new house, new cars and so many new commitment.Bak kata orang melayu "besar periuk besarlah keraknya"

so what is rich...? Now ten years have passed since the first time i hold my first salary with pride.Money is never enough but The most important thing is to seek for keberkatan of that money we earn.Never think litle about those who is less fortunate than you and always willing to give.For me rich is when you can help people around you and never think yourself as rich.

Gloomy days

I feel so tired. All the energy has flow to my paid job that slowly dragging my attention from other thing. Sometime i wonder what is the priority in life? huh... live to work or work to live? The only good thing that happen last week is another one of the few plants from my husband US seed has bloomed.I think this flower is the prettiest among those which has bloom.So far only 4 out of 6 has bloomed.Have a look on the picture. It is know by the scientific name coreopsis tinctoria. the common name is golden tickseed or some call it calliopsis.The flower last quiet long. It can still beautifully bloom for more than 2 weeks.Seed is produced from the dried flower.It is an annual plant and will flowering between june to september.

below is the wikipedia link for golden tickseed:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coreopsis_tinctoria

I really love the color and shape...savy...:)

God's gift

Gift from god
When i was young, to be exact when i was nine and above after dad's business colapse , life was very hard , we survive mainly
on food from nature. we got the protein from fish that we caught from nearby bendang or taliair.Vegies from nearby bush.
Things that always made mum worried was what if we run out of rice, sugar and salt.The rest , we can always found it somewhere
around.
One of my favorite vegetable was / is pucuk pulut musang as my mother call it.My fathers kampung folk used to call it kerak
nasi or kerak-kerak nasi.It is a small plant, so much resemble to a very popular ornamental plant, chinese evergreen. Infact
, the first time i saw the chinese evergreen i thought it is the pulut musang plant and until now i still wonder, whether the
young shoot of the chinese evergreen can turn into a very delicious and mouth watering vegetable as the pucuk pulut musang
is.Never dare to try, perhaps i should i try it... who knows...:)
the part from the plant that can be cook is the young shoot.My mother used to cook it into a very delicious soup.She pounded
the black paper, grilled fish, shallot and garlic together. While pounding the ingridient, she told us the story when she was
young.My mum is the youngest among her siblings.When she was young she used to follow her father travel from place to place,
open new land, in the jungle.Along her journey she learnt many thing about various kind of plants which she always told
me.That's how i develop my interest in herbs and plant.My mum is like a walking plant library for me.
back to the delicious soup.After pounding the ingridient, she boiled it with water until the vegetable got tender.Any other
sayur kampung cannot challenge the sweetness of the plant.
recently when i visit one of my herbs collector, the pakcik show me this plant which he call pecah kelambu, i've saw a few
plant that is called pecah kelambu befor.Some even call galak tua (stemona tuberosa) as pecah kelambu too. but this one
really rang a bell in me.After more than 15 years i never see this plant , it is really like a deja vu for me. It's like you
see an old good friend...hehehe... too much? but that's how i feel...The pakcik told me ... this plant should be the woman
best companion.. why? because it is very beneficial to increase woman sexual desire ...(hahhhhh alamak , really??? , i have
ate so much of this plant during my young days, is there any side effect?) especially for the elder woman. the effect,
according to him is almost the same as kacip fatimah (No wonder the fruit looks almost the same...any direct relation? dont know...
:P)
Then, a litle chat with dad also gave me knowledge that this plant also can cure hemarrhoid(buasir).According to dad , one of
my aunt recovered from her severe hemarrhoid after drink the soup everyday for a few weeks.HOOOO.... it's so beneficial... i
never know...the only thing that i knew last time is it tasted good.
so i grab a few bags an try to nurture it in my garden.One thing about this plant is you can never expose it to the direct
sunlight.In a few days it will....die.You need to grow it under the shade or under a tree as the original habitat is in the
bush.
The great thing that i should always remember is Allah is great, with HIS Love and guide we (me and my siblings) grow up
healthily and happily during the very hard time in our life.Alhamdulillah.No matter how far we go or how many types of food
we eat, the food that give us life is always the most delicious food ever.
enclose is the picture of the plant botanically know as Terenia polygonaides

Bunga Mayang Sari

Here is another snapshop of the white fragrant Flower. Please help me with the name of this flower

The flowers name is mayang sari

White Fragrant Flower

It's quite sometime since my last blog.It's not i'm lazy or busy (since both words are so subjective...:). Perhaps the new layout and interface of the blog make me sick...Hmmm... it takes time to get use to this new look.

so today... here i am again, with new flower. I dont really know the name of this flower but i really love the smell. Wanginye....I try to figure out the name from friends and few other newsgroup. All that i found out is some of them said the flower is from genus Duranta (which i doubt it so much as the leave is totally different) The flower looks alike though....Some of them said it's duranta repens. The only duranta Erecta that bloom in my garden right now is deep purple in color...It's from the hybrid called "Geisha Girl". In contrast with this one, the purple duranta has a very mild smell (almost cannot be detect at all).

So i think this is not Duranta. Some said it is also called Bunga sundal malam... a typical Malay tag for the flower that has a strong fragrant at night.Some said it is called bunga kerak nasi..like bunga kesidang also called bunga kerak nasi.

so until i finish my quest for the real name for this white lady... do enjoy the picture...

greenest regards
Nor

Kesidang (vallaris glabra)

my kesidang (vallaris glabra) is blooming. Every night when i reach home, the rich sweet pandan smell is in the air. Some people who like the pandan smell will really love it.My mother hate the smell, infact she said the smell will trigger her migrain. The smell of the kesidang flower is said to be resemble to the rice smell, describe why in nothern region of Malaysia it is called kerak nasi which literally means rice leftover.The flower also known in western as bread flower, perhaps because of the white color? hahh... just my wild guest.

Kesidang is a climber which make it a very nice companion to your trellis or pergola.It can be easily propagated by layering technic.Layering can be done by pull the branch until it touch the ground or the medium , then put something heavy , like a brick on the branch to make it always touch the ground. after +- 2 weeks, new root will come out for the part that touch the ground. Cut the branch and plant it somewhere else. It can be grown in a pot too...Other way to propagate is grafting. although stem cutting will grow into new plant if you are lucky, by the chance to stem cutting to root is quite low. A little help from root hormone might increase the chances to survive...:)

The leave is quite big, from a far it look like mango leave...:) the leave surface is shiny.Kesidang leave can easily turn yellow and drop if you give not enough water, esp in dry season like now. This the kesidang photo from my garden... Really love the clean white flower with the unique petals and the smellll.....so refereshing....My mother will hate me for this. Next time when she come to visit I'll make sure no buds is allow to bloom....:)

p/s: kesidang is said to be the symbol of malay folks, whic always rich with adab, budi bahasa dan kesopanan.

Do you believe in healing effect of the Gemstones?

I just bought a new bracelet, made from garnet gemstone, the seller claimed that this stone has the healing effect such as it will make you feel healthier and has more evergy.I never believe in this kind of thing. They said scientifically the vibration of the gemstone molecule will make your blood run smoothly. Though never believe in this theory, i bought it because i really like the color. Look at the photos, nice color ...emm??

I've been wearing it for almost a week now, and the funny thing is , every single night after wearing it i never feel tired. I can cook, do laundry , housekeeping , water my plant, monitor my daughters with the homework....etc, etc... I just feel wierd, but i dont want to believe in a thing without a proof. so i start my self-research in the internet ,and this is what i found....

Garnet in Mental HealingBecause of the shared similarities in physical and compositional traits, the garnet family of stones (for the most part) also share similar healing properties. In light of the above, the different colors and different chemistries of garnet varieties allow them to have some healing properties exclusive to that particular crystal. Green garnets, such as Tsavorite (a form of grossular garnet), some Andradites and African Jade (also a form of grossular garnet), are associated with bringing peace, pureness of thought, unobscured mental capacity, and creativity. Green garnets are another of the healing crystals that bring aide in meditation and focus. Orange garnets, such as Mandarin, orange Malaya, rare shades of Spessartite, orange Almandites and some Grossulars, are associated with energy of commitment. Orange garnets help an individual to solemnly dedicate themselves to any endeavor that captures the need for awaited attention. Purple-colored garnets like Mozambique and Grape possess the tenacity to make subtle anxieties and stress brought on by worry and unrest. They also make stable a mind that is not otherwise regulated. The most common form of garnets readily available and more commonly known are the various shades of red. Red garnets, like many red crystals are associated with passion. Though many red stones are found to heal the slings and arrows that love throws our way, it is not necessarily the sole healing function of this and other red healing gems. Along with being a gem the ignites and refuels the red fires of passion and romance, it also sets ablaze the inner fires of self-confidence, creativity and reflection. Since anger causes the body's physical temperature to increase, the opposing fire of positive energy from which garnet burns, can be used against tantrums and episodes of angst. Garnet has also been identified by healers as another of the vivid dreaming stones and one of past remembrance. The Garnet family, in general mental healing, is a jewel of life, love and purity enhancing vitality (the life force), commitment in indecisiveness and sexuality. It's regenerating and warming attributes help it not only to cleanse and renew, but also help to comfort, protect and inspire.
Garnet and the ChakrasWith respect to the Chakras, garnet is readily associated with (2nd) Centre and the Base/Root/Spine (1st) Centre. Garnet not only clears the blockage of negative energy from these areas, it also is used in the healing and enhancing of the activities that occur within and via the centre. Within the realm of the 2nd Chakra (that of the Navel/Sexual/Spleen), garnet has many functions. It acts as a vehicle for the passion and spirituality that are involved in emotional character of sexuality to communicate and influence the physical aspects. It aides in administering both healing and romantic energy when levels are low or difficult to obtain. For this reason, garnet is a healing stone for those who desire a spark in an existing or in beginning a relationship. It has also been highly utilized in helping to heal and energize those who feel they have been sexually weakened (by self-consciousness or other means). Physically some have used it to aide in relieving the negative energy that blocks the sexual centre related to infertility. As a stone of sexual power, garnet acts to renew, awaken and heal the sexual centre. For the Base/Root/Spine (1st Chakra), garnet helps by absorbing energy from locations in the body where there exists surplus and filters it into a fresh and positive energy that is very usable and stimulating to the Base. It not only stabilizes the foundation, it also arouses and initiates energies related to peak performance in life.
Physical HealingGarnet's emotional and mental healing associated with purification, regeneration and warmth also carry over to it's qualities of physical healing. As a healer and protector from toxins, garnet is recognized as a remedy in the body's fight against food poisoning and blood toxicity. It is also known for aiding in treatments against infection of the kidney, lung and facial (irritations, inflammation and blemishes) and area. The garnet family is also an aid to therapy for disorders of the heart (including low blood pressure), bones and spine, blood, pulmonary and even sleeping disorders. It has even been noted to provide gallstone relief and also work down to a cellular level. Because of it's warming energies, it is also used therapeutically for frostbite, aching muscles, arthritis and other discomforts relating to the joints. In early history, recordings of garnet use to treat jaundice and yellow fever were made. Today, garnet is still used by healers to treat fever and even balance antibodies and hormones.

from http://www.jewelrysupplier.com/2_garnet/garnet_healing.htm

and somemore .....

GarnetGarnet is a stone of romantic love and passion. It is used in metaphysics to enhance sensuality, sexuality, and intimacy. It is said to bring positive thoughts and boosts energy, and be excellent for manifestation. It can also assist mystically with success in one's career and building one's self-confidence. It is also a protective energy stone which is especially effective for protection from evil, and is used for gentle spiritual healing. Lore says that garnet can heal the blood, heart and lungs. Garnet is associated primarily with the root chakra, but also with other chakras depending on its color.

from: http://www.crystalsandjewelry.com/metaphysicalproperties_g.html

which never really explain it scientifically.

as a muslim, i avoid believing in anything that can be consider 'khurafat'. I just dont know , and want to know whether this thing really work and how it work?

Gaillardia

Haaa....at last i manage to find out the name of the flower that my husband brought back from US.This one is better known as gaillardia(nice name and it suite her...:)) I use to mention flower as her as i feel that 'it' is too harsh.The scientific name is gaillardia aristata. The name is drive from a french botanist name , Gaillard de Marentoneau. This plant is easy to grow in any variety of soil, provided that it is free draining

Nor's Paradise

My kampung life

It is a pleasure for me to talk about my kampung life.As a kid i am a hardcore kampung girl.I was brought up in a small village in kelantan.My house is surrounded by a mini jungle.When i was young , there was a rubber plantation around the house.As the rubber tree was getting old and produced less latex, My father cut it off and sold it to the furniture maker.

I remember when i was young the bushes around my house was my playground.With my sister(2 years younger, now a doctor in terengganu) and brother(4 years younger, working here in penang in one of the MNC company) we explored every inches of the bushes. Our snack is rather simple...hahaa..we use to chew buah kenerai/cenerai, the small green berries produced by a small tree.The fruit is useful as bullets for our bamboo gun too....Or sometime we just chew pucuk kandis ( yarghhh.... its really sour until you can feel the pulling effect at your jaw...) with pinch of salt.It's like you're chewing a buble gum..... you suck the liquid away and spit out the hampas...:). One thing i really dont like about this pucuk kandis(garcinia spp.) is it will give you a bitter taste that last for quite sometime. other snack are buah mata ayam(ardisia crispa), buah samak(euginia palembanica) and buah kerian.

with a group of friends we used to play police sentry at the bendang there.There were a few time when one of the midwife in my kampung ask us to pick the rumput jarum Emas(striga asiatica) for her as one of the ingridient for the afterbirth medicine. She paid us rm0.40 for every grip of dried jarum mas, which was a big deal for us at that time.So instead of playing police sentry we kept racing for the jarum emas, which sometime turned into fight....:) some have scars to prove that...(grin)

i have sweet memories of catching fish, swimming in the swamp, rolling over the hill of grasses and paddy straw.Sometime when i close my eyes, I still the smell the grass, the paddy field and the mud.There was one time when i catched a snake with my bare hand, mistaken it for a fish.Litle that i know that the snake also in the same mission as me, try to catch the fish for dinner...:)

life was hard...really , really hard, but when i look back, i just remember those old sweet memories.We used to enjoy our sweet time, lying down on the field watching the sky and try to figure out the cloud shape. But watch out!!!...while lying down my mother said you should not let the eagle fly over you or you will be a dead meat.Hahaha... now i know my mothers bluff just not to let us lie on the ground and dirty our shirts, as we dont have many.

I guess that experience brought me up to be what i am today. Even i've been living in the city for more than 10 years, i still crave for the kampung life.My husband is the opposite, he has been brought up in the city and used to stay in city for the whole life.

i'll talk more about my kampung life next time... till then ...bye..

The single layer gardenia

Hi...

it's me again...Last few days was really hectic for me...My eldest first days in school. going back to my hometown on the 2 past weekend and not sure whether have to go back again this weekend...Hmm... it's have been some time since i want to talk about my single layer gardenia. Well... most people know gardenia, the white fragrance flower that resemble the roses. But i bet not many people ever see this single layer gardenia. It's really a gardenia, with the smell and everything except the flower only has single layer.Normally we keep on looking for multi layer flower. but for me, single layer gardenia is even more pretty and unique( i like to use this word to describe it...:))

The behaviour, propagation, sun exposure is the same like multi-layer gardenia. It can keep on crazilly blooming if you expose it to the full sun light. Just don't forget to water it sufficiently. Here's the picture of my single layer gardenia. Enjoy it...!!

San Francisco 2

hi...
Today is my daughters first day at school... thing going quite well for her and i can see that she's quite independent. Perhaps because she was raised up in the day care since she's 1 year.Time fly fast and without you know it,you have to go through the moment and keep on dwelling on how much you have missed. I felt it's just like yesterday when i hold her for the first time and now she's already in school, playing joyfully with her friends.Hehe... dont want to be so sentimental ... it's early in the morning now...:) , just 5 am, everybody is still sleeping.

hmmm.... raising up a kid is like growing a plant. you have to really handle it with good care, nurture and give your love unconditionally.

Actually i want to talk about my san francisco 2 that has bloomed during my raya haji holiday. when i cameback here, i think it's has been blooming for a few days.Looking from the condition, may be the flower can last up to 2 weeks. The petals is very nice, eventhough i do not really like the color.I will search the actual name, and let you now.for te time being may be i will call it bunga alani (my eldest daughter name)... sound quite okay rite...? It's gonna be a tough quest as i dont really have clue for the name, not even the family. and attached here also my san francisco 1, it has been blooming non stop from the last blog till now,

Till some other time.... bye

The Lawn

Haa...remember about my taiwan grass that i start with 2 pieces of grass bought from the pasar malam near my house? It's growing quite well eventhough the growth is kind of slow. This is the picture of my lawn in august, and another picture of my eldest showing off her hoolahoop skill on the lawn one sunny day in December.With the startup cost of RM10, this lawn is something that i can be proud of...:)

Sundal malam

Apparently with razr v3x phone camera, the sundal malam (mistress of the night) is not so enchanted at night, have this first until i manage to capture it during the day time , it means weekend only, as i reach home when the night fall almost every day. Will post you more picture this coming weekend...chao...

The nicely bloom tuberose

Get the picture my tuberose in action.I keep quite a number of tuberose of better known as pokok sundal malam at my compound as the demand of it is very high. Infact it is the hot cake of my 'nursery' aka garden. The one night, after reached home from work, the smell took over the place, a very nice and sweet smell, it's spooky too.... remind me of the tale of pontianak...hehehe... a few pots of tuberose are blooming and in action.enjoy the picture from my garden.

Jasmine as a climber

last weekend , while wandering in one of the Nursery here i found a very intersting jasmine plant.I know jasmine is a climber but this one is very special ( may be for me only) with a dark green glossy leaves and long crawling stem, ready to grab, and beatiful bunches of very sweet sell flowers. I grab a few bags for my own nursery. It looks easy to propagate.After along search and map of the picture and character of the plant in the net, lastly i found that the botany name of this plant is Jasminum polyanthum. It is a vine and can be nicely groom into shapes that you like.For those who want to enjoy the beauty and fragrance of this plant may order for my product page at: melur.com

Nor's Paradise

my eldest daughter nursery is having a school holiday program and ask me to teach those young fellow how to garden. She's so excited that mama is going to tech her friends so she keep on talking about it the whole week until saturday when my second daughter infected with conjunctivitis. Then , she became so frustated and scare that me and her will get it too. Luckily we are still save when the day came and she's so happy and eagerly help me with all the pots and garden tools....:) Proud of her mum....hehehe...i still remember when she's small when somebody ask what's her mother occupation, she would always said that mama grow plant...:) some even guess that i'm a gardener...:)

I hope that my daughters will enjoy gardening as mush as i do and as much as my mother do.well.... it's a trait in the family i guess....:)

Nor's Paradise

my san francisco 1 keep on producing more and more buds. the growth is quite fast as now we're having a rainy season here in penang. It's raining everyday which ocassionally turns into a very heavy downpour. During rainy season, it's good that you dont have to water the plant everyday , but some plant require a lot of attention and care during this season. My pokok sundal malam (tuberose) have to place under the shade as to much water can make the bulb rotten.

Huargghhhh.... i'm going to sleep now. Today is very tiring, we stuck almost 4 hours in the trafic jam.i left my office at 6.15 and reach home at 11.00. of course we have our dinner first. I really hate penang today.....i wish i can go and stay at some greener place like cameron highland....hmmmm...:)

Cempaka telur / Dwarft magnolia

Today my cempaka telur( dwarf magnolia) is blooming. This is one of the three plants of this kind that i keepin my garden for a year plus.The plant can't grow high 'cause i plant it in a small plastic pot, the pot that i get from the nursery where i bought the plant. Many people call and ask for the flower for come unknown medicinal used, actually i never ask...;) . To know more about this plant you can visit my herbs website at http://melur.com --> cempaka telur.

my cempaka telur, it's really looks like an egg right? but the fragrance is not so strong, indeed you have to get it very close to your nose to smell it...:) some people really looking for the flower for medicinal purpose, something mistic i guess... hehe, who knows?

Flower from San Francisco 1

Hmm... rememember about the seed that my hubby brought back from San Francisco? the flower really bloom already today and i manage to snap the picture this morning, it's still quite dark and the petal is still not fully open, i'll snap another picture tomorrow. Looks like i become obsess with this flower. It took about 3 weeks from the day the bud come out until it bloom. At first i thought it is just a green round flower without the petals.Personally i feel that the flower is really beautiful, the colors is somewhere in the midle between deep red dan brown. it looks like velvet and so rich. Here's the picture of the plants transformation from seed to the sweet bloom. I'm so happy today.....:)

Nor's Paradise

The plant that my hubby brought back from san Fransisco (its san francisco, not texas actually) is going to bloom sooner. I can see the bud is getting bigger now.perhaps it's going to bloom before the weekend. this is the quick snap of the bud.It's quite blur as the day is till dark. 7.00 am in the morning.