Roses

Roses are a perennial flowering plant of the genus Rosa, belonging to the Rosaceae family. Touted as the queen of flowers, roses are by far, the most popular flower in the world. Besides symbolising love and passion, it is also commonly used to represent beauty, politics and war.

There are over 150 species of roses and thousands of hybrids. They come in all colours with each colour symbolising a different emotion. There is no definitive way to categorise roses but they are usually divided into groups according to their history and parentage.

Roses have ‘thorns’, or more accurately, the term should be prickles. The prickles are found on most stems of roses as a defence mechanism to protect them from being eaten by animals. They are also an adaptation for some rose varieties where they act as ‘hooks’ to secure the rose to surrounding taller vegetation or even supporting structures like a trellis.

The fragrance from roses is said to be helpful in reducing stress levels and boosting self-esteem! Roses are also edible. They are commonly used to make jams, syrups and infused water. The popular local beverage, bandung, is made with rose syrup and evaporated milk, and has proven to be a flavourful and refreshing thirst-quencher.

Some photos of roses. The photos turned out better than I expected.

You can click on the picture for a better view.

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Cheeky Humour

Humour has an intellectual as well as emotional element. That is why some people do not share our sense of humour. We are all different. What we find funny, others may find coarse. But that’s okay. It doesn’t matter what kind of humour you like, as long as it makes you laugh.

I hope the following selection of humour will bring on a chuckle, or put a smile on your face.

After marriage, a woman’s sight becomes so keen that she can see right through her husband without looking at him, and a man’s so dull that he can look right through his wife without seeing her. - Helen Rowland

There is only one way to find out if a man is honest – ask him. If he says ‘yes’, you know he is crooked. - Groucho Marx

Anybody who believes that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach flunked geography. - Robert Byrne

Is sloppiness in speech caused by ignorance or apathy? I don’t know and I don’t care. - William Safire

If you can’t blow them away with your brilliance, baffle them with your bullshit. - Unknown

In my house I’m the boss, my wife is just the decision maker. - Woody Allen

Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad. - Unknown

Vegetarians, if you love animals so much then why do you keep eating all their food? - Unknown

I went to an Alcoholics anonymous meeting. Anonymous my ass. I knew everyone there! - Unknown

Don’t tear your hair out over a woman; it’ll be harder to attract the next one if you’re bald. - Evan Esar

Getting old sucks! I used to wake up feeling like a million bucks, now it’s more like a bounced cheque. - Dawn French

Procrastination is totally a good thing. You always have something to do tomorrow, plus you have nothing to do today. - Unknown

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Pyrrosia Piloselloides aka Dragon’s Scale Fern

Pyrrosia Piloselloides also known as Dragon’s Scale Fern is a fern. The fronds of this fern are fleshy, roundish and ovalish in shape, and have a smooth surface. They cling tightly to hard surfaces, or the trunk and branches of the host, making them look like Dragon’s scale, hence the name Dragon’s scale fern. Under the right conditions it will grow to eventually cover any hard surface items, or trees that it successfully attaches to. Fertile fronds have a stalk and are elongated. They are markedly different being very narrow and elongated.

Some websites classified Pyrroisia Piloselloides a parasitic plant while some maintained that they are epiphytic. Another website reported that “Pyrrosia piloselloides has a commensal relationship with its host tree where Pyrrosia piloselloides benefits by having a rooting site without harming the host tree. However, too much growth could lead to smothering of the host tree or create favorable conditions for fungal growth on the host tree." I guess they are epiphytic to begin with, but become parasitic after a while.

Apparently, this plant has medicinal value. The fronds are pounded and mixed with gypsum to make a poultice for skin rashes.

Pyrrosia Piloselloides smothering the host tree.

You can click on the picture for a better view.

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Uplifting Quotes

Life is not a bed of roses. There will be days when you find that life is a drag – when you find inspiration and motivation lacking. This happens to the best of us. All we need is a break from it all for a while, go away, recharge our energies so that we will be as good as new when we come back – and ready to face the world again. Or, we just need to try a little harder to motivate and inspire ourselves.

Motivational and inspirational aphorisms do wonders for me. Going through them is enough to make me feel motivated. I hope the following selection of motivational and inspirational aphorisms will nudge you along life’s journey when you need it most.

Positive thinking isn’t about expecting the best to happen every time but, accepting that whatever happens is the best for this moment. - Unknown

Praise and blame, gain and loss, pleasure and sorrow come and go like the wind. To be happy, rest like a giant tree in the midst of them all. - Buddha

What, then, is to be done? To make the best of what is in our power, and take the rest as it occurs. - Epictetus

Constant practice devoted to one subject often outdoes both intelligence and skill. - Marcus Tullius Cicero

Trying to tear down the past prohibits you from building up your future. - Lil Wayne

When you feel like giving up, remember why you held on for so long. - Unknown

Instead of living in the shadows of yesterday, walk in the light of today. - Ziglar

We are not rich by what we possess but by what we can do without. - Immanuel Kant

There is a time for departure even when there’s no certain place to go. - Tennessee Williams

The question is not why good people have trials, but how shall good people respond when they are tried? - Marion D. Hanks

Sometimes, you find yourself in the middle of nowhere; and sometimes, in the middle of nowhere, you find yourself. - Unknown

At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has a cause to think deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us. - Unknown

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Problems

Problems are part and parcel of life. Everyone has problems – all sorts of problems. It is through solving our problems that we grow – mentally and spiritually.

Most of the problems in life are because of two reasons, we act without thinking or we keep thinking without acting. However your problems come about – whether through your own carelessness, or whether they are caused by others around you, we have to take time to deal with them. The problem is not going to go away. You can ignore it for a while, but it will surface again later on. So, it is better to deal with it and get it over with.

Beset by a difficult problem? Now is your chance to shine. Pick yourself up, get to work and get triumphantly through it. - Ralph Marston

Don’t duck the most difficult problems. That just ensures that the hardest part will be left when you are most tired. Get the big one done – it’s downhill from then on. - Norman Vincent Peale

The best way to escape from a problem is to solve it. - Alan Saporta

A problem clearly stated is a problem half-solved. - Dorthea Brande

Never let a problem become an excuse. - Robert Schuller

Problems do not go away. They must be worked through or else they remain, forever a barrier to the growth and development of the spirit. - M. Scott Peck

The problems we face are human problems and therefore are capable of human solutions. - Frederick Moore Vinson

We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them. - Albert Einstein

Welcome those big, sticky, complicated problems. In them are your most powerful opportunities. - Ralph Marston

If we really understand the problem, the answer will come out of it, because the answer is not separate from the problem. - J. Krishnamurti

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Walking

Walking has many advantages over other exercises. It is free, requires no special equipment or training, and is a safe, low impact workout with a low risk of injuries and accidents. You can walk at any time of the day, at a pace you are comfortable with. You can walk alone or with company.

Here are some photos from my walk.

I have a nice walk route along a canal.

Sometimes, I walk on the other side of the canal, which is more of a cyclist track, to get a different view of the walk route from that side.

When you have worn out your shoes, the strength of the shoe leather has passed into the fiber of your body. I measure your health by the number of shoes and hats and clothes you have worn out. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

You can click on the picture for a better view.

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LIfe's Little Lessons

Aphorisms are life lessons condensed in a few words, or a short sentence. They are also truisms. Take an interest in them. Learn the valuable lessons they impart. This will give you an understanding of what life is about, and also give you a head start in life. If there is any aphorism that you do not understand or make sense to you now, rest assured that one day you will come to know exactly what it meant after you have been through certain situations, or experiences.

Be a busy person. People who are active are often much more at peace with themselves than those who are inactive and inert. - Wayne Dyer

We are each gifted in a unique and important way. It is our privilege and our adventure to discover our own special light. - Mary Dunbar

Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content. - Helen Keller

To bear failure with courage is the best proof of character that anyone can give. - W. Somerset Maugham

Champions know there are no shortcuts to the top. They climb the mountain one step at a time. - Judi Adler

Be bold in what you stand for and careful what you fall for. - Ruth Boorstin

Chaos is inherent in all compounded things. Strive on with diligence. - The Buddha

Between two evils, choose neither; between two goods, choose both. - Tryon Edwards

Conditions are never just right. People who delay action until all factors are favorable, do nothing. - William Feather

To be aware of a single shortcoming within oneself is more useful than to be aware of a thousand in someone else. - Dalai Lama

Sometimes, when you are forced to think very hard and make a choice, you learn a great deal about the kind of person you are. - Unknown

Day is over, night has come. Today is gone, what’s done is done. Embrace your dreams through the night. Tomorrow comes with a whole new light. - Unknown

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Pansy Flowers

The garden pansy is a type of hybrid plant cultivated as a garden flower. A hybrid plant is the result of cross pollinating two different plant varieties and growing the seed the mix produces. The plant that grows from that seed combination is called a hybrid.

Common English names, such as "pansy", "viola" and "violet" may be used interchangeably. Modern horticulturalists tend to use the term "pansy" for those multi-coloured large-flowered hybrids that are grown for bedding purposes every year, while "viola" is usually reserved for smaller, more delicate annuals and perennials.

The petals of the garden pansy are usually white or yellow, purplish, or blue. They grow well in sunny or partially sunny areas in well-draining soils. They should never be over-watered. Most garden pansies bloom the first year, some in as little as nine weeks after sowing.

These pansies were from the Flower Dome at the Gardens by the Bay.

You can click on the picture for a better view.

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Paraprosdokians

“A paraprosdokian is a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected in a way that causes the reader or listener to reframe or reinterpret the first part. It is frequently used for humorous or dramatic effect, sometimes producing an anti-climax. For this reason, it is extremely popular among comedians and satirists.” - Wikipedia

“Some paraprosdokians not only change the meaning of an early phrase, but also play on the double meaning of a particular word, creating a syllepsis.” - Wikipedia

The best way to keep children home is to make the home atmosphere pleasant – and let the air out of the tires. - Dorothy Parker

It’s always darkest before dawn. So, if you’re going to steal your neighbour’s newspaper, that’s the time to do it. - Unknown

I may not agree with you, but I will defend to the death your right to make an ass of yourself. - Oscar Wilde

You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, for instance. - Franklin P. Jones

It is better to be beautiful than to be good, but it is better to be good than to be ugly. - Oscar Wilde

Every day I hear stupid people say things that are not stupid. - Michel de Montaigne

I finally got eight hours of sleep. It took me four days, but whatever. - Unknown

Laugh and the world laughs with you; cry – and the world laughs harder. - Evan Esar

Many people will laugh at the drop of a hat, especially if the man is still in it. - Evan Esar

It takes a wonderful brain and exquisite senses to produce a few stupid ideas. - George Santayana

He may look like an idiot and talk like an idiot, but don’t let that fool you. He really is an idiot. - Groucho Marx

When my wife gets a little upset, sometimes a simple “calm down’ in a soothing voice is all it takes to get her a lot upset. - Unknown

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Gratitude

There is always something to be grateful for. If you can’t be grateful for things you want but didn’t happen, at least be grateful that the bad things which happened to other people didn’t happen to you.

According to the Law of Attraction, the more gratitute you have, the more positivity you attract. So, cultivate an attitute of gratitude. Be grateful for all the good things in your life, and for the bad things that didn’t happen.

It is impossible to be both grateful and depressed. Those with a grateful mind-set tend to see the message in the mess. And even though life may knock them down, the grateful find reasons, if even small ones, to get up. - Steve Maraboli

If it is a new thought to you that gratitude brings your whole mind into closer harmony with the creative energies of the Universe, consider it well, and you will see that it is true. - Wallace Wattles

Gratitude is a duty which ought to be paid, but which none have a right to expect. - Jacques Rousseau

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. - William A. Ward

Grateful people are like fertile fields, they return what they received ten times over. - Unknown

Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul. - Henry Ward Beecher

None is more impoverished than the one who has no gratitude. Gratitude is a currency that we can mint for ourselves, and spend without fear of bankruptcy. - Fred De Witt Van Amburgh

Profuse expressions of gratitude do not cancel an indebtedness any more than a promissory note settles an account. Gratitude that is extravagant in words is usually economical in all other expression. - William Jordan

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Cloud Spotting

The Earth is constantly recycling water through a process called the water cycle. Water evaporates and becomes water vapour. The water vapour rises to the sky and joins up to form clouds. When the clouds are too heavy, it will release the water (rain), and there will be another water cycle process.

While all this is going on, we are treated to beautiful cloud formations. Together with the play of sunlight, and the wind, some of these formations are quite spectacular. There are enough interests in these formations that people form cloud spotting communities to share photos and information on these natural phenomena.

I don’t belong to a cloud spotting community. However, I do enjoy watching cloud formations. Here are some clouds I spotted.

You can click on the picture for a better view.

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