The Shiny Black Rooster

Mr. Black is finally looks more like an adult rooster. Look how beautiful (or maybe I should say "handsome") he is. This's what he looked like when he was a juvenile.
His comb finally grow huge, making him looks man-ly /rooster-y. The comb is getting larger and larger that it flops on a side; well, not as bad as White's. I wonder how those rooster in the picture can have such big comb yet unfloppy.

This picture below show how beautiful his feathers are... shiny black with a greenish hue.

Free Lotto Cues

It is quite common to get a prank SMS saying "This' Mom, Please send mom top-up-credit for my new phone. The number is xxxxxx".
The message is so ridiculous, I swear nobody will ever fall for such trick, but yet, the prank SMS works well. It even translated into several local languages, say: Minang, Java, or Sunda...

But a few days ago, I received a different kind of SMS: it doesn't ask for top-up-credit, it just asks you to do it willingly out of gratitude.

I'll translate it loosely here:
"LOTTERY INFORMATION" FROM KI ARUNG SGP SATURDAY SHIO; 2.3 EYES;26.86.63.51 GUARANTEED TO WIN. IF YOU WIN PLEASE SEND TOP-UP-CREDIT TO NUMBER xxxxxx

I find it very funny. Though I don't understand how the Saturday, Shio and Eyes come into.
Maybe I should just buy the lotto, if only I know where I can buy it here.

Amaryllis: The Bulb Harvest

I bought the bulbs end of 2010, planted it in front of my house. They bloomed once, and stay bushy until it bloom 2 weeks ago (some other cluster will bloom soon too). And they stayed hidden for years under invading duo: grass and jasmine.
I cleared up the grass and jasmine to find those few bulbs have multiplied  they have little bulblets sticking next to them :), and the mother-bulb (the original one) have grown so huge. I believe they can grow much bigger if  they were not confined with stone fences.

The one in the pic below will bear 2 sticks of flowers soon. So, I won't harvest them. What I did was putting a stick next to it, so it'll help to support the flower once it bloomed.

L-R clockwise:  a cluster: consists of mom and lil' bulblets; a closer look; the waist size of bulb-mommy... 

I harvest some of the cluster, see if I can rest them and later force them to bloom.

Here are some pictures of the harvest:

a cluster: after harvest

see the dint on bottom left is from her bulblets

the whole family after being decapitated. 

 So what happened is (theoretically), after removing all the greenies and cutting the root to manageable length, the bulbs need to be dried in open air, and then kept in paper bag for 1-2 months, so they can rest.
After the resting period, they can be planted and can be expected to bloom.

Never tried this before. Well I have 3 clusters, now I have harvested 1 of them, let see how it goes in a few months. So excited :)

Netherlands' gift for me: Amaryllis Bulbs

can't help it. need to show my pics. haha

One of the compulsory tourist stop in Netherlands is Keukenhof Flower Garden - a super huge flower garden, usually full of the country's trademark flower: Tulips.

I've tried planting Tulips in Indonesia several times, and none succeed. I give up!

So, this time I bought some amaryllis bulbs, the vendor guarantee that it'll grow well in tropics. I was sceptic, thus buying only 4 bulbs.

The bulbs I bought from Keukenhof

Blooming-size Bulb, ready to bloom in 6-8 weeks

 And guess what? Once I returned home, I was greeted with this huge red bloom. I realised that I always have Amaryllis growing in front of my room's window. OMG!

I bought it years ago in Berastagi, it bloomed once and never bloom again until now. Since the sellers in Berastagi don't know the proper name (they simply call it whatever they want, such Trumpet Flower, Red Flower...) I couldn't get information on how to grow it properly. 

Never know such jewel was always in my garden :) until she bloomed

But now that I know it called Amaryllis, I know that they are happy in tropics, although there are some tricks to force them to bloom.

Big big regret that I didn't get more bulbs from Keukenhof. I should have bought a dozen or more.
Officially bitten by Amaryllis-fever bug now. 

Bacon Flavoured Cracker

I am not someone who likes to nibble on idle time, esp. when I was wearing braces. Now that I am wearing my retainer, the appetite for snack is just gone (hopefully forever). I opt of a proper mealtime.
But, a friend recommended this cracker TUC Bacon Flavoured. Bought it somewhere in France, I think...
I didn't buy it because I like it, I bought it cos I know Dad would love it. And I didn't bother to try it at all that time, I just knew he'll like it.
I finally tried it when I arrived in my hotel room after a long long flight home. Was so hungry, but it's already mid-night. You know what, it's very yummy, full of flavour (artificial I bet), and so aromatic (of course artificial).

Bite it, and you'll find a pink layer, as if a real bacon really sandwiched within the cracker, we all know it's not a real bacon there. The label is Bacon flavoured, but no real bacon listed in the ingredients part. So, I dunno if this can be categorised as Halal or not. Whatever it is, it's so yummmmyyyyyy.

Mrs.White's Great Expectation

Mrs. White laid her last egg on 1 April, and started to go broody. She laid total of 12 eggs. Mom took 4 of it, leaving 8 eggs for her to incubate. Apparently, my parents and my staffs worry that Mrs. White is too small to incubate so many eggs. She's so tiny, afterall.

This morning, when I was feeding the chickens (gave something different for a snack: Barley, they love it).
So cute, Mr. White was always guarding her. What a responsible Daddy.
Then, Mrs. White left her nest for feeding and bath, so I got a sneak peek of her babies in progress. So excited to have little chicks running around my yard.
Too bad I won't be here when the chicks hatch :(
Gonna miss out on their growing up stage. Hiks.

Mon Amour, Mon Chéri

I was first introduced to Mon Chéri chocolate by Dj last year, been looking for it, and I finally found it at Düsseldorf Airport. I quickly fell in love with this little darling, they are so yummy. I regret that I bought only a few of them that time. Ever since, on my trips to Europe, I try to look for it, it's so odd that a Ferrero chocolate is so hard to find. I hardly see it at any petrol stop in Italy or France.
On my recent trip, I found some at a petrol station from Paris to Lucerne. And I finally got some more at a supermarket at Lucerne. I carried them as much as my baggage allowance allow me :) Not a good thing, though. A bad bad craving.

So what is Mon Chéri? It's a dark chocolate filled with cherry and brandy :) so yummmmyyyyy!!!

Indonesians, as usual, are clueless-followers; when I bought Mon Chéri at the petrol station, some saw me, and rushed to get the same thing too. I had to gave up a couple of boxes from them. While others also put a radar on any petrol-stops' shops. They didn't have any luck until we reached Lucerne, there, then they bought a few boxes for themselves. Since I bought plenty myself too, I opened up the box and shared it to others, so they could have a taste of it. 
And why it's not surprising that they didn't like it. They kinda "blame" me saying, "Well, you bought so many, we thought it's very nice!!!"
Heheheh... they didn't know it's dark chocolate, they didn't know it contains a bit of alcohol, they didn't even know it has any cherry in it. 
Gee!!! They dunno what they are missing, dude.

Life Lessons: For Me to Remember

1. DO NOT WEAR OLD SHOES

On my recent trip to Europe, I was aware that the weather was kinda cold, so I opted for a low leather boots.My usual travel shoes are: flats, sandals or a light running shoes. My only boots were wore once 3 years ago, and I never wore it ever since then. Not because they are not nice, but simply I have nowhere to wear them. So, this time, I did.
At the airport, before departure, I found out my heel cap has fell off. Lucky they sell power-glue at the airport. It saved my day (well, that day).
The next day, I found out the other heel cap fell off too. It was easily fixed using the left-over power glue.
But then, things got worse, the soles were opening up!!! Now, even the power glue didn't have enough power to save it.
I was quite calm :) hiding my nervousness about the shoes.

Luckily, at Brussel, I found a small shop selling SALE shoes for Euro20. Nice!!! It was soft, flat and comfortable. Though, it maybe not the best shoes to wear on snow at the Alps.
But I survived. Thank you.

2.DO BUY YOUR JEANS ONE-SIZE DOWN
I always love the jeans I bought with Y in Canada, they might be a little expensive, but I've been wearing them for years. Though, it has given up on me, by leaving me a big hole on the knees.
The hole wasn't there in first place, I kept on wearing and washing it until it just get thin and cracked.

On this recent trip, I bought a pair of jeans. Kinda a hectic impulse buying thing. So, once I tried and found it fits. I just grabbed and pay for it.
I should have remember that, years ago, the sales lady in Canada insisted me to get a smaller size. I remember she "forced" me to get size 26, instead of a tight-27, and  a comfy-28.
26 seriously seems impossible, I was stuffing my wobbly tummy in it.
But she was right, as time goes by, the jeans fits perfectly.

Stupid me, my recent buy was a comfy-size 28. After wearing it for 2 days, it just hanging loose on my butt, making my flat-butt  even flatter than a failed-pancake. I could even fit 2 fists on my waist.
I hope I can remember my own preachings for next shopping spree.

3. NEVER EVER SEND ANY IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS TRU ANY HOTEL'S BUSINESS CENTRE
I need to send my passport A.S.A.P once I reached Jkt. So, I thought the easiest way was to send it through my hotel's business centre. They were helpful etc, I paid a premium fee for a Jakarta-to-Jakarta document.
After 4 days, the recipient part was urging me for the passport since they really need it for my next trip's visa, which is in about 10 days time. I called up the hotel, and I got a very odd answer: "We have dropped the package into a mail-box, Mam. Just wait for it"

WTF, I don't even know a mail-box still exists at all. I was so desperate that I called up my back-up: the company that booked me in that hotel!!! It works, the hotel GM handling my case personally.
So what happened next was, they traced my document package from the "mail-box" to "branch-post-office" and to "main-post office". They found it there. I was so relieved. Then the hotel representative delivered my passport personally to the recipient.

I dunno who's to blame: my stupidity for trusting a hotel biz-centre, the lazy bell-boy that just simply dropped whatever into a ancient mail-box, or the biz-centre lady who is ignorant! I packed the passport in front of her, emphasising how important it is; I even get the envelope from her. And she assured me that it'll be delivered the next day. Gosh...
But thank you for finding it back. Now I can get on my next trip :)