Cockatiel Kumo

 

This is Cockatiel Kumo resting on my shoulder

I never dream that I would have a cockatiel.  I had never even thought of it or seen a bird so beautiful before.  But on 10 May 2025, a Saturday, I had to go to work because the workplace, mft got an event there.  The event was Vesak Day Event, a day of prayers, bathing of buddha and transference of light.  The event will start at 630pm, work starts at 6pm and I began walking there before 530pm.  

As I was walking between the blocks of flats at the linkage shelter, I saw a beautiful bird on the floor.  People were walking and no one seem to care about the bird.  I thought that the bird belongs to somebody.  But it was so beautiful, I did not want to miss the beautiful moment, I quickly take photo of it.  It still stay there.  So I took video of it.  It still never fly off.  Then I stretched out my hand and surprisingly, it hopped onto my hand.  Thereafter, I had a thought of bringing it home.  

On the way home, it never fly off either.  I had the bird put at home and asked Isaac to take good care of it while I went to work.  After work, the bird was still at home.  We searched online on information about this beautiful bird and came to know that it was an expensive bird that cost about $200 and it came from Australia.  

We decided to keep it as a pet after some thoughts.  The next day after church, I went to buy the cage and food for him.  It was so nice to see him able to enjoy eating the food that we gave him.  He was able to drink water and even sing songs too.  What a wonderful bird it was.  Isaac thought of a name for him, which was Kumo, in Japan means cloud.  

Everyday we let him out of the cage to enjoy some freedom.  He loves to go to our shoulders.  However with him around, Taco was too scared, he began to go into hiding and often stay in the kitchen.  When I was at work, I would come back during lunch time to take a look at them.  

Anyway, last week, on 17 May 2025, we lost Kumo.  Isaac was bathing and he put Kumo in the bathroom.  When he sneezed, Kumo was scared and he flew out of the window.  That was the last time we had him.  We went out to search for him but we was not able to find him anymore.  We had him for 7days and it was good.  

Video of Kumo singing and eating 

Taco New House

 

Taco lying inside the new cat teepee

After quitting the full-time job, I have more time to tidy up the house.  Yesterday I cleared the top of the cupboard and cleaned it so as to make space for Taco to go on top of it.  We placed the cat teepee on top of the cupboard and he really loves the new house!  If you have a pet cat or dog at home, you should consider buying the cat or dog teepee for your pets.  It is around $36 and Shoppee will deliver it to your home.  

Taco First day inside the Teepee Tent

Watch Taco's video at YouTube here.

White Rice

                                SongHe Thai Hom Mali Rice 5KG, $15.89 from PandaMart

This is my first time buying this brand of white rice -- SongHe, Noble Pine Crane as shown above.  I ordered it from PandaMart delivery.  Normally I buy white rice from Redmart or NTUC.  But that day I had to buy coconut cream and it was raining.  So I ordered grocery from PandaMart.  If ordered above $50 then is free delivery so I purchased a few items from PandaMart above $50.  

                                  New Moon Jasmine Fragrant Rice 5Kg, $8.95 from Redmart

White rice is said to be beneficial for our body.  It contains carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins that give our body energy.  Rice is an amazing source of a variety of B vitamins. Because rice is so rich in B vitamins, eating it helps to improve the health of your nervous system. Eating rice is a sure way to regulate your digestive system. Consuming high-fiber foods like rice also helps to reduce our chances of getting cancer! There are of course more benefits of eating rice and rice is our staple food.  My family almost eat rice everyday as my children loves rice.  They prefer eating rice to noodles.  You can see photograph of the Chinese New Year Reunion dinner which was rice being served too at this post, The Opportune Time.    

For my own preference, I prefer to eat Japonica Rice and it cost $9.90 at Redmart.  But Clara like to eat Jasmine Rice, so I mostly cook New Moon Jasmine Fragrant Rice as it is cheaper.  So that day I try out SongHe, the more expensive rice with many recognition like Trusted brand 2020 (voted by consumers), Influential Brands/Top Brand in Asia, Brand of Singapore and Department of Foreign Trade (originated in Thailand).  It is 100% whole kernel and after eating I think that the difference from this rice and the other cheap one is that this is much 'softer' when ate in the mouth, something like 'glutinous rice' but is not like glutinous rice as it is not sticky at all.  The cheaper rice tend to be 'siap siap' (in Teochew language, like very dry) and not at all 'fluffy' (SongHe rice is like 'fluffy' but not really that kind of real fluffy, and it smell so nice).  

A plate of SongHe white rice for our lunch on 21.2.2022

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Dogs Cafe

 

Photograph of me playing with the bulldog

In December, Isaac wanted a dog so badly.  He wanted to buy a dog, but we already have a cat!  How will it be like to have a dog?  He did not even touch a dog before.  So Clara suggested that we go to the dogs cafe at Bugis, We are the Furballs.  

On the first trip there, we did not know that we need to book a timing.  So we booked a slot for January to go back again.  Isaac was so disappointed that he was not able to enter that day.  

The day finally came.  Isaac was so excited.  We were finally able to see dogs!

Photograph of Clara and Isaac feeding the Dachshund.

When we reached there, we need to queue up again.  Then we paid the entrance fees and read the rules and regulations.  Then we ordered our drinks.  There were quite a number of rules.   The ones that I can remember is that we are not supposed to carry the dogs.  Something that is not at all fun to do.  So with these restrictions, we only can look at the dogs.  There were not many dogs inside and the place is not too big.  The only fun thing that we can do inside is to feed the dogs, which we need to buy the food from them.  

Photograph of the sick Shih Tzu, Clara trying to feed it.

Not all the dogs are healthy.  This Shih Tzu, shown above was sick.  He was 'bedridden' and was not able to move about.  

So that was a first time experience at the dogs cafe!

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Birds

Remember I told you that I like to catch birds when I was young? Running after them, chasing them. (I love to scare the cats too. This is because they make too much noise at night, scaring me...)  In Singapore, these are the fun things that we could do when I was young...

Growing up, I stopped catching or running after birds.  I hardly even looked at birds.  Soon, it was almost forgotten that I had encounter birds during my working years.  After my graduation, worked and then got married and so on.  I did not encounter any birds at all.  I only had dogs later on.  

8 March 2008 changed my life.  As you can see from the video above,  11 April 2008 I had a special encounter.  I caught hold of a baby bird!  How fun was that!  And after that, that was not the first time I caught a bird.  Over the years, I had encountered more birds.  I saw them on the pathway, I saw them in my corridor garden, at my house and while walking along roadsides.  

5 June 2012, this turtle dove came to my house.  

Something so special and it just made my day.  This is because in Singapore there was hardly any nice view.  We are surrounded by HDB flats.  And that's why this picture's background is the HDB flat, and also my other pictures have background of HDB flats as well.  

On the same day of 5 June 2012, when I went out of the house with Isaac and Richard later on, I had another encounter of another bird.  I was really filled with ecstasy.  It just let me catch hold of it and it never fly off.  

5 June 2012 caught the bird along the roadside.

Just last year, there were sunbirds that came to my garden to build nest.  And I was able to see the young baby birds!!!!

8 February 2020 bird nest done by sunbirds at my garden.

This was the first time I see real bird nest.  In school, I read about bird nest and what the book had drawn the bird nest to be like.  But I never had a chance to see real bird nest in Singapore.  I only see pigeons having their 'nest' under/ in the crevices of MRT tracks/pillars.  So This really made me so proud of my garden.  

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