Christmas cheer in Kuala Lumpur

Hi friends! Am taking a blog break and will be back after my hols. Have a wonderful Christmas and A Happy New Year. Till January, do take care.

Sunshine Group Christmas cheer at Selangor Cheshire Home. In the company of Hollies and Ivy choir

Harrods Bear - world famous sentinel

KLCC Suria, housed in the world famous KL Twin Towers dressed in snowy flakes

Christmas tree all aglow with the shimmer of cds in KL Plaza

We're happy. I was happy to share Xmas stories with these kids at the Pavilion.

Dressed in grandeur. Poinsettias galore lead you down the Spanish steps of the Pavilion

Star light, star bright I wish upon a star tonight!

Build and build a Lego tree

Reindeer above Christmas shoppers

Creatures big and small at the Bentong Animal Sanctuary

Ee Lynn, my blogging friend initiated this visit to the Bentong Animal Sanctuary. Knowing her circle of friends, rounding them up was not a problem. There was an SOS from Shahrul and Jorg who run the place to say that the food supplies for the animals were running low.What sheer delight it was for them when supplies came.

Hey! this is no way to treat your guests! Bark and get us in!!

Tucked away from the main road in Bentong dwells this sanctuary. It is now in the capable hands of Shahrul and Jorg. It was a day to get to know the animals - dogs, cats, cows, goats, ducks, geese and roosters. And to see first hand how hands can get busy with this big family to take care of.

Have you been in such a big family of dogs ?

I have never been in the company of so many dogs at one time - 57! The jaunt to town in the pickup truck with 5 humans and 3 dogs - Sri Devi, Adik and Dolly was a kinda ' dogs +body' situation !! We struck it creamy rich when we dug in partially hand cranked ice cream for brunch. Later the 3 dogs licked theirs in a most well-behaved manner, etiquette prevailing, in the car.

No rules broken in Bentong! 3 dogs and 5 humans head towards town

This IS the ice cream to have ! Just trust this ad and step right in!!

The smiles say more than words! - Meena and Sasha

We had more company when we got back to the farm. Nancy and her family had arrived with more goodies and it got merrier. Later we trooped to the stream away from the main building. A lovely sunny day was a bonus to play about in the water. Of course,'mama' Shahrul and her dogs just took to their everyday playground without any prompting.

My friend, May enjoyed the sanctuary too. Bet she was eager to tell her own rascally wags at home how her day was spent. May had gone on a buying spree to get food and goodies for the animals. You can always recognise an animal lover as she dipped into her bag for treats as the dogs wagged their tails.

I wolfed down 3 scoops of ice cream - choc, peanut and pandan and a small helping of ice -kacang. That was brunch! Then came lunch outdoors. Where else but under the shady trees. Tree trunks served as high stools and the long benches were just right for company. Food was home-cooked by the farmhands and Nancy. We licked our fingers clean.

What a day! I know Bentong for its fresh, succulent ginger. Friends swear by it for its potency. Now add ice cream and the people, Shahrul and Jorg and their wonderful team of farmhands who make this sanctuary a real home for the animals.

Feeding the stream with a fresh release of catfish

'Country roads take me home...'

A refreshing sight and sound of cascading water

Pat a cow. Learn to moo and avoid the cakes !

My home, my kingdom!

All views are great - just stay in the sun!

Toes cooling off in the heat. Vying for 'Miss FarmHand' - Shahrul, Ee Lynn, May and Keats. LOL!!

Lean on me, friend

Slippery, squishy mud

A balancing act

Let's play, ' I spy!'

Honk away! I'm standing still.

Golden lunch

Jorg gathering the cabbage leaves for the ducks

Yonder trees where we shared home-cooked food which tasted extra delicious. Sorry, no pictures as the camera battery konked off!

Batik Fun Walk 2010

Doesn't it spell FUN? That was the draw for me.

Sunday morning saw my friend Grace and I among participants in the Batik Fun Walk 2010 organised by Yayasan Budi Penyayang. It promised to be different walk - non competitive, fun and to top it all, wear Malaysian batik and do it in your own style! Shout out for Malaysian Batik!

We met at Seri Pacific Hotel to be flagged off. When we arrived, the dressing up had begun in earnest. We were each given a complimentary piece of sarong, a breakfast snack box, a bottle of mineral water, our participant number and a lucky draw number which we dropped into a big box.

Dressing up needs more pairs of hands

Participants loosened up their joints with an aerobics instructress. The music got everyone moving and in the mood. After the walk, entertainers kept the tempo up with songs and guitar playing. The lucky draw was eagerly awaited. So many prizes were given away and the grand prize was an LCD TV. Lucky fella!

Wear Batik the fun way and exercise too

Get into the groove, everyone! I had to laugh when one of the emcees said, 'loose your bones' (!!) when he announced the start of the exercise.

Music, exercise, batik, charity, family fun - all part of the Batik Fun Walk

I wanted to be different, batik-style. The volunteers and I of The Sunshine Group had recently done a session of batik painting of our beloved national flower, the Hibiscus on pieces of cotton squares with the residents of Selangor Cheshire Home. I sewed them on a plain tee-shirt and wore a scarf sporting hibiscus motifs on my head. The sarong was worn like a 'samping'. That was my fashion statement. If only my friends had seen how proudly I displayed their art work.

It's my Hibiscus Day, batik style

Have to say batik made heads turn that morning. Wear it short,long, wrap around the waist, on the head - it was batik fashionistas weaving through the streets of KL as we wound our way past the Open University campus and onwards. A bonus as we pounded the roads was to be closer to nature as the greenery hemmed us on both sides during part of the walk and to hear birds twittering, that is if your heart was not pounding louder than those sweet calls!

Grace tackling batik

2 pretty heads are better than 1!

Spice up - sexy legs do get some roving eyes!!

The long and short of batik - which is your style?

Looking smart from top to toe

Grace and I finished the 3.9 km walk in about 33 mins. Gosh, those leg muscles felt the pull as the gradients started. Little ones were pushed along in their prams/buggies by doting parents.The one who got a generous warm round of applause when the prize for the oldest participant was announced went to 81 year old Tan Chiu Chong. This octogenarian calmly walked to the stage to receive her prizes. Dem lazy bones of mine won't do anymore!!

When you live to enjoy another day, you gotta shout for joy! Mouth big enough to swallow a whale!!

The prize was proudly plastered by the largest group participants - 29 to beat!

Buddy for the batik fun

' I love Malaysian Batik' - Grace from Argentina enjoying celebrity moments.

Jenny Lee won on creativity. Batik walked all over her!!!

The event was a wonderful gathering of friends and families who made the effort to promote Malaysian batik in a fun way. So, take batik to the streets and wear it as casually as you like but batik also finds its way into high fashion. Only a week before the walk, I attended a high tea cafe fashion show themed Batik Delight hosted by Galeri Seri Endon which was to promote Malaysian Batik - Crafted for the World. It too was a lovely afternoon.

Crafted for the World -batik worn by models

Wordless Wednesday

Nature is painting for us, day after day, pictures of infinite beauty
- John Ruskin