Pecans

Straight from my Aunty's tree in QLD. Lucky or unlucky me for not making the trip - almost everyone there were suffering from the effects of winter =p

It flowered - Cattleya Xmesquitae

Sounds like mosquito.

A natural hybrid between the 2 species of Catts from Section Rhizanthe - Cattleya nobilior and Cattleya walkeriana. Registered in SLOH as Cattleya Brazilian Jewel.

Got this cutting from SK for a token sum during 2 CNY ago. Her division dong dong chianged off though. The initial cutting was in a bad shape with scales and was dehydrated. So happy it flowered.

Bud Bud:


Didn't realised that it was in bud until I spotted something odd while watering my plants

Evening when the flowered opened:


Next day flower became more pink


Now let's hope next flowering not so deformed =p

Destemmed LFS

After a day of sitting in front of the computer, I find destemming sphag rather therapeutic although it is sooooo tedious. I hope to pass the whole tinnny bag full to DSB to see whether it's gonna be the next tedious manufactured potting mix or not.

Luckily I had episodes of a manipulative bastard to keep my eyes busy while my fingers are working away stripping the stems.



Better change the name LFS to SFS (stem-full sphag)


I think the resulting stuff can stuff pillow liaoz

Was too busy and tired

the past 3 weeks do update blog regularly, but now a bit more free as I've gathered most of my info for my lit updates.

Things can really get haywire when doing reviews for medicinal herbs specially when you are taxonomically inclined. You have to refute or add on more info based on the current standing of a plant's taxa. Darn all the taxanomists some times. Life would be more easier if we were more naïve.

Manged to sneak a bit of midnight gardening here and there, which will soom be non-existent once I start work at the only hospital here with a MacD's within.

Was tired out yesterday with the trip to the JB orchid show followed by a trip down to WL to get gardening suppliers. Well known instigator me got people spending more $$$ in WL than at the JB show. Anyway my balcony is overfloweth with 2 more slipper flasks to pecah and 4 bags of plants to cut open. Overdid my ordering but who cares? it's graduation present in lieu of an overseas trip =p Was tripping when I popped over to Sim Lim to check prices of the PDAs and Acer seems to be a good buy. *think think think* - some people were wondering what the pakis i was dragging around was for. Said something weird to a pretty prudential gal. Life's upside down.

Beefed up mushroom potage

Very sianz with the daily intake of zhap cai berng so decided to cook something



1 tin mushroom potage ($1.50)
1 pack mixed mushrooms from mycofarm ($4.50) - got 1 portabello, some swiss brown mushroom and button mushroom
200g minced beef ($2.50)
3 cloves garlic

Fry beef in oil
Add garlic
Add sliced up mushrooms
Add potage
Add 1 can of water
stir and boil until mushrooms disintegrate beyond recognition (didn't look after fire - was doing lit search)

Chocolate cake

Receipe sapued from Nigella "SPE" Lawson's show. With a lot of modifications though



1 Cup chopped unsweetened chocolate
1 Cup milk
1 Cup toasted flaked almonds
1 Cup butter
1 Cup Muscadavo sugar
1 Cup chocolate chips
1 Cup self-rising flour
3 eggs
1 tsp Vanilla

Melt chocolate over water
Remove from heat, add butter and melt down
Add milk and stir
Crack eggs and mix with vanilla - add to chocolate mixture
Add sugar
Add almonds
Add chips
Add flour
Leave over night to fluff up flour
Spread over a baking tin lined with baking paper
Bake at 180 degrees C.

An olde fave from jacky wu

so b-z b-z

So busy the past couple of weeks until i can't think properly or post properly. Housebandry is not a very leisurely kind of activity. Had washed clothes, washed bedsheets and blankets (how else to abuse the "lovely" weather?), pick up after the dog, get woken up at 4am by the dog who tells u, "eh, all my peeing spots full liaoz", worry about dad's cough in the middle of the night. Thank goodness my prof allows me to do the lit search and editing from home.

Hardly any chance to maple. Most of the waking hours (even weekends) were spent with my futile and complicating search - darn those people who wrote about chilli but dunno wat chilli they used!!! Had to off MSN at times if not pubmed lags on me.

Did some gardening over the weekend and occasionally at night. Thank goodness I had a "manipulative bastard" to accompany and thank goodness the TV is just next to the balcony. I think I'm plumping up - no time to exercise - just sit in front of computer click click click. So, an RA's pay or health, an RA's pay or health. I think I need to an loan on health for the time being.

Looking around, I'd be soooooo verbally screwed at the state of my room - same before exams. Also had to polish windows before I start work proper - at her age, i dun wan my mom climbing around to clean the windows. Very heart throbbing - like watching cliff-hanger without stunt professionals. perhaps by next weekend I can post all the pics - incl the potting mix mixing process.

Oh yes - YEAH blogger back to normal liaoz.