PhotoHunt - Bags

Every Monday is 'No Plastic Bags Day' in Penang. Over the course to reduce the consumption of plastic bags and encourage the use of eco grocery bags, a 20-sen charge per bag will be imposed on consumers by most major stores. Proceeds will be donated to the state’s Partners Against Poverty (PAP) campaign to help the hardcore poor. With the hysteria surrounding global warming, I think it’s a great move to help protect the planet.


Doing my contribution for the environment, I try to bring my own bags when grocery shopping avoiding plastic bags. But seriously, I think more and more people should practise this initiative more often, if not daily. I keep some reusable bags in the back of my car, but the only problem is that I need to cultivate the habit of remembering to grab them along whenever I go shopping. Imagine if people consistently use reusable bags, eventually there will no longer have tons of plastic bags accumulating at home which are hard to recycle and that people feel sorry about throwing away.

First Commenter - Mei Teng

Wordless Wednesday - I wish it would snow here

Photos courtesy of a good friend of mine, Melissa. These shots were taken during her visit to New Zealand early this year.

First Commenter - Denesa

Today's Flowers - Cat's Whiskers Plant

This is my first participation in Today's Flowers.

While walking on a trail near my house yesterday evening, one of the plants that literally caught my attention was the cat's whiskers with its elongated white flowers. As the name implies, the flower truly resembles the shape of a cat's whiskers and it is also known as Misai Kucing in malay. The scientific name is Orthosiphon aristatus and the plants are found mainly in South East Asia and tropical Australia.

This is a herbal remedy in the mint family which is often used for making Java tea. It is claimed to have anti-inflammatory and magical healing properties and is commonly used to cure ailments of the kidney, bladder stone, hypertension, urinary tract infection, liver and other related disorders. The herbs are also useful in the treatment of diabetes, rheumatism, gout and managing cholestrol levels.

Fresh or dried leaves can be used for making tea. Has anyone heard about it or tried this before? I'm a tea drinker and one of these days I'll need to experiment making tea out of the leaves.


This extraordinary plant is easily propagated by the cut stem. It attracts butterflies and it also provides plenty of nectar for bees and hummingbirds.

First Commenter - Jama

PhotoHunt - Tied

It has been almost a year since my sister tied the knot with the man of her dreams and is enjoying being his wife more than she could ever imagined.


That not only means the marriage of two special people, but a knot tied with God's abundant blessings that will last a lifetime and more.

First Commenter - Carver

Wordless Wednesday - Baby Fever

My precious baby has been feeling under the weather for the last couple of days. She was a bit of feverish and loss of appetite, followed by an abrupt onset of chills and fatigue over the weekend. Despite feeling under the weather, she was in pretty good mood considering she has a nasal congestion, cough and sneezing. I was able to get her into the doctor early afternoon on Saturday. She was prescribed some medication and but it seemed like she hated those medicines as they were way too sweet for her liking.

She hasn't felt too good all weekend, but she seems to be showing signs of recovery although a little cranky. Typically, when kids get sick, it can be a worrisome and stressful time for any parents.

I have a stuffy nose and mild fever too, but I think it's seasonal infections due to the weather change.

Hopefully my baby and I will feel better soon, so we can have fun later this week.

Until then, hope everyone is feeling fabulous and healthy!

First Commenter - Mei Teng