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In my opinion, a room without flowers is a soulless one. They brighten up any given space and in my case, calm and put a smile on my face after a long and sometimes stressful day at work.

Sadly gone are the days when I have time to indulge my passion in ikebana; these days we rely on cut flowers from the florist to grace the tables and when in blooms, flowering pot plants such as this beautiful red amaryllis is brought in to add colour and warmth to one of the rooms.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and I shall see you again on Malaysian Monday tomorrow with a very special dish!

Pretty against a white painting.

View from the other side of the room.

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The weather is certainly warming up; I spent  quite a few hours in the sun over the weekend, to read and also trying to put on some much needed colour. As I was packing up I saw a cat doing exactly the same (enjoying the sun without her book), that gave me a big smile instantly. 

My friend Sharon will be putting up the latest MMM roundup later today, meanwhile please enjoy a little candid moment with the friendly cat I encountered.

Our feline friend was friendly enough to say hello before going back to her little dream world.

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I spotted a praying mantis outside the front garden, this little national geographic moment lightened up a rather dull moment of a not overly eventful day.

Coincidently I was reading an essay by Anna Krien tittled Us And Them, On The Importance Of Animal (Quarterly Essay QE45). A reflection followed.....

To my surprise there was another one hanging on the jasmine vine... ready to fight or mate? No sure but it was a pleasant surprise indeed. 

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August 17, 2011 - It was dark, wet and glooming all day but the sun appeared briefly just before sunset. It put a big grin on my face when I saw the brilliant display of double rainbows through the bathroom window when I walked into the house.

Seconds later I was in the backyard with my camera and did a few quick snaps, and here are a few of the photos I would like to share with those of you who might have missed the spectacular display the other day.

Another kind of brilliance I encountered in front of the house.

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The last time I did a post on "just a little prettiness" was more than a year ago. So lets forget about cooking and recipes for once but stop and smell the flowers instead.

I can't imagine a room without flowers; they add colours and brighten even the dullest room, they also able to give any given room a fresh look instantly.

Have a wonderful weekend and I will try to fit in a post or two over the next two days!

I love japonica! It says spring is just around the corner!

Rhododendron is one of my all time favourites, another sign of the imminent arrival of spring!

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It has been 3 weeks since the eating arrangement here at the tummies' been abandoned and I am loving the new way of planning and cooking for myself. Sorry I haven't been posting too many recipes but yes! I have been cooking and there are many recipes I can't wait to share. I will spend some time to prepare a few exciting posts over the weekend,  meanwhile lets see what is happening in my much ignored garden in the middle of winter. 

P.S This is a schedule post. All queries and comments will be answered ASAP.

The holiday cactus is in full display this time of the year. This was a rather sad plant when I first took it back 2 years ago.

I still have no idea what is the name of this plant but it brighten up the garden every winter without fail. Do you know the name of this beauty?

All the succulents are doing extremely well at the moment if only I can say the same about my herbs.

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It is an overcast Saturday morning here in Melbourne, sadness and loneliness is surrounding me. I realised I have not posted anything on prettiness for a while, perhaps this might help to shake off some of the dark clouds. Here are a few photos of a plant I have kept for several years, it does the same thing year after year without fail. Does anyone know the name of the plant? Photo above shown when the flower bud first emerged. Enjoy and have a great weekend.

P.S My lovely friend Shaz from Sydney actually did a goggle and found out this plant is named Haemanthus coccineus, thanks darling! To read more about this stunning creature click HERE.

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5, 6, 7

Day 8

Day 14 - this will grow into something quite beautiful, I will put a photo up when they reach full size.

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The sky was changing from pink to mauve then a bright orange before decending into darkness. We managed to capture a few moments of how our normally unremarkable streetscape turned into something quite beautiful. An equally beautiful name is given in Chinese to described the beautiful sky when it is painted in such stunning manners - 晚霞 (wanxia) - roughly translated as the late afterglow.

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Exactly a year ago, Victoria was ravaged by one of the worst natural disasters in history and February the 7th was named Black Saturday. The temparature went up to 46.5 degree C, the hottest on record and the state was burning - and this happened on my birthday. This post really is to remember the people that perished in the disaster and to cherish the people who are rebuilding their lives, not to forget the good people that donated their time and money and the fire fighters that risked their lives fighting the fire.

A year on, the weather is perfect and the affected areas are started to come back to life. One of the tummies, who happens to be the closest person in my life,  took me out for a very nice lunch and I am so grateful that my birthday can be somehow celebrated without too much guilt.

P.S photograph courtesy of The Age newspaper.

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It is always wonderful to get out into the bush every so often for city dwellers like us, so when our dear friend R invited us to spend the weekend with her at her retreat at Anglesea we jumped at the opportunity. Just a mere hour and a half from Melbourne, gum trees, grass trees and other unknown stunted native plants have replaced all European plants so widely planted in every garden and park. Colourful parrots and other natives birds are all we can see and hear rather than Indian minors, pigeons and sparrows. It is a beauty so strange and foreign for a first time visitor to the bush; for me this is what Australian country side is all about, it is strange, mysterious and very beautiful indeed. Here are a few of the photos I took randomly around the property that I would like to share with everyone here.

Flowering gum trees

A majestic grass tree

The native vegetation behind the property where we stayed

A cockatoo among the many other native visitors to the garden

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This is my National Geographic plus Sir David Attenborough moment happening right inside my little back garden! A pair of common black birds (turdus merula) have decided to build a home in our humble backyard, the two little chicks were very busy exploring the garden and one of them actually came into my studio one morning. These chicks are still learning how to fly and the parents have been rather busy hunting and feeding them non stop. Here are some of the photographs I would like to share with everyone. One of them was hiding underneath the tree fern (photo above)

P.S I miss you mum!

The other was waiting to be fed on the tree branch, my presence was completely ignored.

Still waiting.........

Later I found out daddy bird has been bringing baby bird food when I was not looking, the adults are extremely camera shy.

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I adopted all of G's lily plants in pots when he left for Vietnam for a working holiday a few years back. The lily of the valley and the pineapple lily have had the most wonderful displays this spring. These little beauties that normally only show up in midsummer gave us an early visit this year, global warming perhaps? I simply adore the shape and colour of this beautiful flower and I want to share with you this once a year joy of mine. I can't remember what is the name of this flower, if you do please leave me a note!!

P.S a cool change finally arrived after a rather hot 2 weeks and it has been raining non stop here in Melbourne for the last 24 hours! In fact the heaviest 24 hours of rain in 5 years!!! yay!!!

They last a little longer indoors :)

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Saw these old fashion roses (Kentucky Derby if I'm not wrong) at our local flower shop after our Sunday lunch. One of the tummies was kind enough to buy them for me as a token of his appreciation of my hard work in the kitchen. They perfumed the whole living room with the most familiar scent, for a moment I was transported back to my childhood in Cameron Highlands and I'm most grateful for this little gift!!

I am so glad to see that old breeds of roses that look and smell like roses are starting to reappear in certain florists, just as heirloom tomatoes that taste and smell of tomatoes are becoming easier to source. We do have to pay a little more for them but they are definitely worth every cent of it!!!

I couldn't quite capture the real colour which is a stunning dark crimson!

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I have loved roses (and flowers) since I was very little;

By the time I was 10, I  had 25 different varieties of roses growing in the garden (the gardener at my local school adored me and I was rather good at crafting new ones)

By the age of 12, I was looking for new garden beds for my other passion, chrysanthemum.

By 15, I was making rose syrup and jams

By 17 the local council wanted my collection which by then was a staggering 40 different varieties.

Of course the Cameron Highlands I knew then was really a heaven on earth. The spring all year round weather means roses bloom all year round too. Having to prune roses in winter was a rather strange thing to me when I first arrived in Melbourne.

I was given some roses by our neighbour today and I put them in my holmegaard glassware, they are 2 of my favaourite things! My red wine tasted so much better and my only regret is some of my very dear friends are very far away from me at the moment!

And these are old breeds that do smell like roses. I'm Happy and ready to post the next entry.

P.S Had dinner with the 2 other tummies at a Korean bbq restaurant in Melbourne. Food was good , shoju was wonderful and I'm ready to post my next entry soon!

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Sadly, having flowers in the house is no longer a luxury that I can afford on a regular basis. But one has to indulge oneself from time to time and since I'm not cooking today I decided to spend some money on my other passion, Ikebana. It's a much easier way to bring any season or nature into your living room, and the result is priceless!!!  For my hindu friends, happy deepavali!!

Leftover for my kitchen, blessed!!

P.S to all my friends, do bring me flowers sometime :).