Mini picnic

I went to Botanic Garden in the late afternoon to meet Flying Raisin, her hubby, niece and dog. BAM couldn't join us as her sweetie was down with fever.

The sky was quite gloomy and we heard thunder, so we were hanging near the visitor centre.

We ate some of the almond cake FR bought from Ikea, some of my cookies and drank my chill-out tea.

Around 5pm, the sky cleared up a bit and we went to the Symphony Lake to listen to some school bands' performance.


I haven't seen Kippie for about half a year and he looks more handsome.


We parted half an hour later. I felt good after breathing in some fresh air and also doing a bit of catch-up with FR.

My furry companions at home

Pip is not as active as before but he will still squeak loudly when we hold him in our hands and then starts licking us and then wriggling to tell us to put him down.

It's hard to take nice photos of Poofy as he is very fidgety and nervous. So I am very happy to get some good shots of him last night.


Pebble, the only hamster girl is very active and moves very fast. Of all the 4 hamsters, she clearly dislikes us touching her. We used to refrain from touching her as she was quite fierce. But I believe that hamsters will mellow with age and recently, I just quickly grabbed in my hands and she would struggle but she doesn't bite and would tolerate me handling her for a short while before nipping my fingers a little to tell me time's up :)

Peanut used to be just walked in our hands to be carried. But nowadays, he has become more fidgety and doesn't seem to enjoy me holding him.


And what was Angel doing while I was being the hamsters' photographer and cleaner? She was under the table, lazing the chairs. When I was near her, her paw would try to hit me. Hee.


Angel is starting to lose her kitty look but I love her all the same. She is especially adorable when she's purring and wants to be hugged and stroked.

I tried to take photos of her but she's quite attracted to the camera and here she was meowing away while standing on my chest. Luckily she's light and I'm not very ticklish.

I wanted a photo of her and me but it's not as easy as I thought.

I will try again the next time :) or just get sis to take a photo of us when she's at home.

Almost lovely day

It would have been an almost lovely day if not for my on and off headache and stomach cramps. My swollen ankle is not giving me a problem as the ointment I applied last night helps to reduce the pain and swelling. But now as I'm typing this, I feel alright. The panadol I popped before I went down to feed the cats with mum didn't help much. Perhaps it's due to seeing the cats, breathing in the cool air from the drizzle plus the warm honey drink I just downed :)

Let me share with you some highlights of today:

Mango, peach and grass jelly concoction Mum made - it was yummy.


The tail of one of the mice toys came off. I only realised that when I looked at this photo after I took it. See Angel biting the red string/the tail.


Angel also seemed surprised to see the tail separated from the mouse too :)


Angel likes to climb to the top of the sofa and sleep there or even get a good view from there.


For lunch, mum cooked us udon with beancurd, egg, mushroom and fishcake. With some chilli sauce added, mum's creation was delicious.


I also checked the underside and belly of our 4 hamsters for any unusual growth. None :) Some of my hamsters in the past had tumours, so it's good to detect early and visit the vet if I spot any in the hamsters.

Remedies for work frustration

Perhaps it was post Labour day blues or I'm getting jaded with my job. The past few days I was feeling frustrated and stressed over some work issues. My boss seems to appreciate my efforts while our big boss seems to think we should be doing more. This means sometimes when we think we have done our best, our big boss would think it's not enough. It feels a bit confusing at times.

I have been doing this work for almost 7 years. I have questioned whether I should move out of my comfort zone to try something different but I'm still here. Job satisfaction is diminishing, colleagues are generally nice. Maybe I'm just having this 7-year itch. Maybe in 3 years' time, I will still be here to receive my 10 year service award. Haha.

Yesterday, I managed to feel more positive after telling a friend about how I felt. When I was back home, I talked to parents about it over dinner. With good food in my stomach, I felt better too.

Then my heart felt lighter when I was downstairs with mum and the cats. These cats face more challenges (i.e. rainstorm, potential abuser, frightening kids, etc) but they seem carefree and happy in our presence. I always feel at peace when I see them happily eating or resting.

This evening reinforced the positive feelings I got yesterday. Great dinner, parents and cats.

Now 2 of our 4 hamsters are happily running around in the exercise balls. Life is too beautiful for me to feel frustrated and stressed for long :)

Beautiful home

On Sat, Pychedelichic invited her new place. She and her sweetie prepared a feast for us:
fried vegetarian spring rolls

fish patties

honey chicken wings

stir fried veggies

baked pasta

mango sago dessert (with grapefruit and longan)


Interesting decor:

Wallpaper and cheerful colours
Gold curtains and interesting lamps
Red chandelier

Their dog, Grizzly is so adorable.

I have more encounters with cats and smaller dogs. Grizzly reminds me of the dogs that I used to play with when I was a toddler in Uncle's kampong house.

If I can ever have as many animal friends in my house, Grizzly is the kind of dog I like to have (besides cats and hamsters). Hee. A beautiful dream for me.

Peanut on me and the sofa

I will normally start Peanut's exploration by letting him walk on my hands, then my stomach, legs before putting him on the sofa. He would be sticking his head behind the cushion. After a few minutes, I will put him back into his house as he will get a bit wild :)