CKD Stage 3a

The flowers in my corridor garden taken this morning

This morning I went out of the house happy because I can see the beautiful flowers in my garden -- orange flower, pink flower, purple flowers and white flower. There is a bird nest also hanging on the water jasmine plant.  After taking the pictures and video, I left the house heading to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.

X-ray of my teeth, on the left was x-ray taken last year and on the right is x-ray taken today

Dentist said that I need to go back to checkup next year again because the bones are not growing well.  There was not much growth.  Then he booked another appointment for me because he suspected me to be grinding my teeth at night when I sleep.  I told him that I am having teeth pain.  I am very glad that he reaffirmed that my teeth have no decay tooth, its all clean; gums are healthy too.  

My mother sent this picture to the chat group

Later in the afternoon, I got message from my sister.  She said that mum's kidney is no good.  I checked the internet and got to know the meaning of the words above.  Mum is having Chronic Kidney Disease stage 3a now.  It is sad news.  I want to spend more time with her still.  

Today is Holy Thursday, the feast of ascension of the Lord.  I went to church for 8pm mass at St Anthony Church.  I was sad throughout the mass.  After receiving holy communion, the hymn of I am the bread of life was sung.  I was so emotional.  It reminded me of Jesus came to me to save me and I thanked Jesus for that, and yet I am sad that my mother's health is no good...  I don't want to lose my mother...

Happy Mother's Day

 

Photo of St Anthony church on 6 April 2025, 5th Sunday of Lent

I went to church on 6 April 2025, my first step into the church after its renovation.  My official first mass there.  I went to confession and told the priest I am divorce and he told me I had no sin in this.  I am so relieved.  I am able to receive holy communion again.  

Ever since I started going back to church, beautiful things happened.  It must be God feeling happy for me to go back to church.  My garden has sunbirds flying and chirping.  They came to make nest again.  I had a bird nest outside in my garden now.  I feel so happy.

The beautiful bird nest in my garden

I got a cockatiel bird this Mother's Day!

Clara gave me a bouquet of beautiful flowers too

It was a good month of Happy Mother's Day.  I celebrated with my mother too.  I treated her to Pin Wei Seafood Village for a dinner.  This is indeed a blissful life.  

Bye Bye Birdie

 

Final view of birdie in the nest on 30 April 2022, 9.43am

The previous day, I thought that the birdie had flew off already as I saw an empty nest.  Then at night when I was about to water the plants, I saw the birdie on the floor!  I quickly picked up the poor thing. I hold it in my hands and took video of it -- to remember it.  Next, I put it back in the nest.  The nest was very out of shape and not in very good condition, that's why it had fallen down.  (Just like last year, the egg had dropped out from the nest.)

Yesterday the parents were chirping and flying about at my corridor, trying to tell me something.  At first it was both parents chirping and flying outside the corridor.  But when I was about to take video of it, one of the bird flew off.  So only 1 sunbird left in the corridor which I had recorded the loud chirp.  I did not understand what they wanted.  They were chirping loudly at the papaya plant, and then flew towards me, chirping loudly.  I did not know what they want.  Before that, birdie dropped on the ground again.  I picked it up and put back at the out of shape, spoilt nest.  I used my hand to pull the nest a bit, mending the nest for the birds.  Then I went back in to the house.  

The yellow sunbird perching at the papaya tree on 30 April 2022, 16.42pm

Today I walked in the garden, the birdie was gone.  Later in the late morning like 11am, a surprise door bell rang.  I opened the door and it was Richard!  He gave us a surprise visit!  

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Aging and Death

 

Earlier days of me, probably 30 years old

Everyday I walked in the garden.  There were flowers and leaves and fruits, and even bird's nest now.  I saw the flowers withered and yellow leaves too.  The flowers are so transient.  Beauty too are transient.  The rose cactus flowers or the seven stars needle flowers, and most of the flowers, open only for a day and wither the next day!  I saw dead flowers on the floor, how wasted they are.  Yet the flowers dropped, fruits are formed.  

What is life?  We come to the earth and no one teach me what is life.  But we can see and learn from our surroundings.  Jesus wants us to choose spiritual life.  He assures us, "The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing" (John 6:63).  What is the most important thing in life?  What is even more important than food, drink, clothes, and a place to stay?  What is more important than education and a job?  Most of us value these highly.  Yet they help life only during our stay in this fleshly body-- which is all too brief!

Show me, O Lord, my life's end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life.  You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you.  Each man's life is but a breath (Psalm 39:4-5)

Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money."  Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.  What is your life?  You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes (James 4:13,14)

My father 12.10.38-25.1.21

Just like my father.  He too was young before, got married, had children and then aged, got sick and he left my mum and the children and grandchildren.  The living ones will be heartbroken at the loss.  The dead will be gone forever.  "The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it" (Ecclesiastes 12:7)

The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.  (1 John 2:17)

Fleshly life is brief and fading.  God's life is the opposite -- always bright, always whole, always fresh, never ending. Fleshly birth, by its very nature, can never be good enough for God's kingdom.  Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.  (1 Corinthians 15:50)

Believe in Jesus.  Turn to Jesus for forgiveness of sins and Follow Him.

He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die (John 11:25-26)

What others hopelessly call 'death' becomes our doorway into eternal happiness.  

The one who welcome us home is our Creator.  He is our Father .  He invites you and me to become children of God -- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God (John 1:12,13).

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Seven-stars Needle Plant (七星针)

 

Rose cactus blooming in my garden

Went to my garden just now and saw the buds of the rose cactus had fully opened!!  Three beautiful rose cactus flowers!  I quickly grabbed my handphone and capture the beautiful flowers -- photographs and video.  At the same time I took a video of the birds in the bird's nest.  I saw two babies opening their mouth and chirping.  How beautiful that was. 

I saw on Lazada a pot of Pereskia bleo/ Seven stars needle plant or the rose cactus plant cost about $20, just a short plant.  Mine would cost a lot!  I first got the plant from a parent plant found under a tree.  Someone had thrown the plant away.  One man's trash is another man's treasure!  I saw that it was flowering and it was a nice plant.  However the one that was being thrown the plant was not in the perfect shape.  It was like the height of a person so I think no one took it.  I wondered if it can be propagated via stem cutting.  So I tried.  I pluck down 2 branches and I went home to plant it.  

The beginning was hard.  I put the plants in the soil and it survived.  For many years now, about 11 years now, it had prospered well.  It had blooms many times and I had seen its fruits twice -- one rippened (yellow fruit), and one more green fruit (unripe), as can see from the picture below: 

The green unripe fruit of the rose cactus plant

A closer look at the flower of the rose cactus

It is said that this plant is a medicinal plant.  It is known to act against cancer and helps in the gut.  I had never tried the leaves or flowers or fruit even though people said it is edible.  When Ah Wai came to my house and saw the fruit, he loved it so much.  Mum plucked the fruit and gave it to him to eat.  That was a yellow fruit, the one and only one in 10 years of growing the plant.  Now I have another fruit, but it is green for so long.  And it takes time to grow so big!  Good things or good fruit need to wait!

I don't know how the fruit or the whole plant taste like.  But base on hearsay, the plants can be boiled, chewed on and ate it raw.  I never wanted to try as yet.  

This plant is like the cactus because it has many sharp thorns on its stem/branches.  Every time when the plant grew out of shape or get in the way, I would trim the plant, cut it off and replant it again.  That is how I get so many rose cactus plants in my garden.  

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Praise the Lord, Alleluia!!!

 

 You make all things beautiful in your time! 

In His Time Lyrics: 

In his time, in his time 

He makes all things beautiful In his time 

Lord please show me everyday 

As you're teaching me your way 

That you do just what you say 

In your time 

In your time, in your time 

You make all things beautiful In your time 

Lord my life to you I bring 

May each song I have to sing 

Be to you a lovely thing 

In your time 

(instrumental) 

Lord please show me everyday 

As you teaching me your way 

That you do just what you say 

In your time 

In your time (in your time), in your time (in your time lord) 

You make all things beautiful In your time 

Lord my life to you I bring 

May each song I have to sing 

Be to you a lovely thing 

In your time 

Be to you a lovely thing 

In your time

What a perfect timing.  Today is the day after Good Friday where Jesus is Risen.  Happy Easter day and on this day, the eggs in the bird nest has hatched!  Last night, after midnight, the eggs were still not hatched.  Just now around noon, when I went to the garden to see the Green Chillies and the nest, I heard sound and it was the birds have hatched!!!  Praise the Lord, Alleluia!!!

In my garden, the seven stars needles flowers buds are plenty.  They were flourishing very well.  I am awaiting for the day to come when all the flowers bloom.  The chillies plants are growing very well too.  I am awaiting to see the chillies plants to grow bigger as well.  

At Woodlands MRT station, the birds build their nest at holes at the control switch

A further view of the control switch where I saw the bird nest at Woodlands MRT Station

I was walking along the pathway between Woodlands MRT Station and Causeway Point.  Then a bird flew by and my eyes followed it.  It flew into the hole at the control switch.  It was the 'modern' bird nest of the birds.  

John 14:23 -- Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.  

Picture of the big green chillies on the chilli plant

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Bird Nest

  

The Sunbird's nest was seen in my corridor garden

When I was in Primary one, I read in the Chinese Textbook about bird nest on the tree.  After school, I looked up on trees to spot bird nest.  Until when I was a teenage, and even older, I never even seen any bird nest on trees. It was until I was 'reborn' and I started to see more birds, more miracles in life.  I also get to see different types of bird nests in real life.  

Last Friday, Isaac came home and he was so excitedly told me that there was a bird nest again!  I quickly went to see.  Indeed there was a bird nest, almost completed by the sunbirds.  A few days ago, there was not any bird nest yet!  How amazing the birds are.  They can build their nest within days only. 

 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”           ~ John 2:19

Last year, we kept looking at the bird nest, so anxious to see the eggs and babies.  In the end, we caused the birds to lost their eggs.  This time we must give them more privacy, more space, to keep their eggs and to see their little babies in time soon.  

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Sunbirds

 

Watch the video on the Sunbird and hatchlings or baby birds, videos and photographs taken on February 2020

  Sunbirds are tropical nectar-sipping birds belonging to the family Nectariniidae. Some members of the family are called "spiderhunters", but all are considered to be "sunbirds".  Like unrelated hummingbirds, they feed primarily on nectar. However, most sunbirds have curved bills and perch to feed rather than hover like hummingbirds. 

 A sunbird dips its curved bill into a flower or else pierces its base and then sips nectar using a long, tubular tongue. Sunbirds also eat fruit, small insects, and spiders. While hummingbirds hover to feed, sunbirds land and perch on flower stalks. 

 Female sunbirds use spiderwebs, leaves, and twigs to build purse-shaped nests and suspend them from branches. However, spiderhunter nests are woven cups attached beneath large leaves. The female lays up to four eggs. Except for spiderhunters, only sunbird females incubate the eggs. Purple sunbird eggs hatch after 15 to 17 days. Male sunbirds help rear the nestlings. Sunbirds live between 16 and 22 years. 

 

Discovered the loose strands of fibres on the branches (25 March 2021), the sunbirds came to build nest again!

29 March 2021 the shape of the bird nest can roughly to be seen now

Nests are constructed by female sunbirds. They are compact, purse-shaped shelters suspended from tree branches with a single central entrance. A variety of fibers are used in nest construction, including bark, twigs, dried grass, leaves, vegetable down, plants stems, feathers, and snakeskin. It is tightly bound with spider’s silk, especially at the entrance and where it is attached to a branch.

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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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