Thursday, October 29, 2020

KARCHER WATER JET SPRAY – HOW DO I LOVE THEE?

 LET ME COUNT THE WAYS. I LOVE thee for the sparking tiles you bring.

         OH NO, the porch was in a dirty sticky mess with black oil leaks from the car. It was also in a stinky mess




with Thory peeing and marking territories. Time I trained him, but he has just entered his “Terrible Twos.” 

Does this developmental phase apply to DOGS? 

         It was time to do a massive clean-up. 

     So out came the KARCHER high pressure water jet cleaner again. I got all the equipment out. Then guess who came to supervise and to make sure everything was in place for a good job?  

The very rascal responsible for this stinky mess. 
   Gismo Man taught me how to set it up and get it going. I was hoping he would volunteer and wash the porch too. But alas, NO SUCH LUCK THAT DAY
Ahh, the wonders of a jet spray! 
    It was fantastic as the powerful jets of water really shot off the deeply rooted muck. 
    This dirt blaster blasted all the dirt, sand, moss, fungi and whatever other possible life forms living in the pores, nooks and crannies in the cement and between the tiles. The dirt was so thick that I could even jet spray my name“JAM” on the porch tiles.
       I must be honest and I am a little ashamed to say that it has been many years since I really scrubbed the porch and had never blasted it before.

         After 1 ½ hours of spraying and scrubbing with chlorox bleach and detergents, there was a huge visible difference on the before (bottom section) and after (upper). Stubborn stains BE GONE, GOOD JOB!

        We had the porch “SPARKLING,” 

         except for one small section which stll had a dirty pattern. The extension cord busted (NOT the Karcher) out of “exhaustion,” and I couldn’t finish this last bit. GOOD enough for me, I didn’t mind as we were exhausted too. My right arm was already shaking involuntarily like it had a life of its own, from all that blasting.

         The KARCHER K 4 Basic with water-cooled motor - MY NEW BESTIE. It worked non-stop for 3 hours when Gizmo Man cleaned the drains earlier in the month. 
NO MORE BLACK GREASE STAINS.
         Again, I am not paid to post this. I know bloggers post about flowers, craft, poems and profound issues. This post is about the KARCHER  power spray?           OK, so I admit I am weird but ahh, now that I have come to KNOW KARCHER I won’t be able to LIVE without YOU, my SUPER-DUPER MAN. 
A YES from Bella and Thory too.

Sunday, October 25, 2020

WHAT DO ECOBRICKS AND LEGO SETS HAVE IN COMMON?

Acknowledgement to plasticgeneration.com

   THEY BOTH BUILD HOUSES!

       I am protesting about living in year 2020. I have stayed home so much, I am sprouting roots. Ahh, a selfish me ruminating and hyperventilating about nothing. Yeah, everyone stayed home too and just got on with life, so I shouldn't be chanting and ranting like a sour lemon. 

         So besides training Thory not to mark his territory all over the house, qigong practices and online meetings, I have been getting on with an unusual project - filling 1.5 litre plastic bottles with plastic to make ECOBRICKS.        

  This is a project with LIONS Club Petaling Jaya Metro, a part of LIONS CLUBS INTERNATIONAL GLOBAL CAUSE ON ENVIRONMENT Ecobricks are recycled building blocks from waste that would have otherwise polluted the Earth. Plastics generally biodegrade slowly, sitting around looking dirty. 

        Recycling plastics into “bottle bricks” as building materials? Hmm, I must have fallen behind the times as these "friendly" bricks have already been used in houses, wells and even furniture in Philippines and Indonesia. HOW INGENIOUS! So I have been busy collecting my plastic wastes     instead of adding them to polluting Earth.

   A quick wash of the ones from food packages,     drying 'em with my washing 

          and stuffing them tightly into plastic bottles. I push them in tightly with chopsticks. I am still stuffing this bottle after 4 days. I have learnt that plastics can really be compressed!

 
HOORAY, I just started my second ecobrick. 
These packets will all be stuffed into the bottle by next week when the contents are emptied.
Two bottles of mine almost up to weight.
Another three ecobricks from Lion Shirley Koh.

It’s not just squeezing and stuffing, the process follows weight requirements too. 
  Firstly, I am shocked how much of my food is wrapped in plastic – 
all frozen stuff, choc bars, bread. Secondly, I thought I could fill a bottle really quick but it is amazing how much plastic I need to reach the 500 g requirement. So I am still stuffing and pushing daily. My end result – many stuffed ecobricks instead of stuffed turkeys before Christmas!

My little contribution is NOT going to make or shake the world. 
But I'll be happy if my plastic bricks form a corner stone in someone's house.    
 
     Acknowledgement to Mystartr: Crowdfunding in Malaysia for this picture.

Tuesday, October 20, 2020

WHEN THERE'S A NEED, THERE'S A LION

 

 ROAR, ROAR, ROAR. The NATURE LIONS ROAR. THE HUMAN LIONS SERVE THEIR COMMUNITIES.

    I have been with the Lions Club Petaling Jaya Metro for over four years. I was pretty active before - Feeding the Hungry, Cheer up at Children 

and Age Homes, recycling projects, emcee at the International Peace poster Competitions,


Winning entry - 2019

 delivering groceries to homes and other community projects.

     With the onset of the pandemic, I have taken a step back in the activities. But, my fellow LION members continue to serve. 

LIONS CLUBS INTERNATIONAL HAVE FIVE GLOBAL CAUSES - DIABETES, VISION, HUNGER, ENVIRONMENT, and CHILDHOOD CANCERS. 

 The Lions Club PJ Metro are out feeding the hungry every month. Secretary Andy Lau orders  and picks up 100 - 150 food packages each time. Each pack contains rice, one meat and two vegetable portions.Some food packages are given to the Charis Senior Citizens' Club (20 seniors) in Pudu,

others are distributed on the streets in the areas around Pudu Market
President Eric Foong does his bit -  walk the talk.

No questions asked, 
food is given to whoever that needs it.

    Lions Club of Bandar Baru Klang during their CMCO Hunger Relief.
 The food is "halal" (permissible, meat slaughtered from animals in the Muslim way), 
   thus all Malaysian ethnic groups can receive the meals.

  Under the Lions Vision Global Cause, aid is also given to those who cannot afford cataract operations. 
    The Lions Club PJ Metro not only pays for the procedure through our service funds, members also pick the patients up and ensure they are home safely after the procedure. The most recent operation was for Joyce at the Lions Eye Clinic in Mahsa College, Petaling Jaya.

Packing MASKS by Lion Andy and wife.
     With the number of cases escalating as Malaysia moves into the third wave of the pandemic, Lions packed hundreds of masks for distribution to school children in needy communities.

Grocery shopping for food and other daily essentials.
     Homes are constantly in need of supplies - rice, cooking oil, sugar, washing and cleaning detergents, tin food, diapers and instant noodles.
     Past President Patricia Ngiau (far right) shopping at Econsave 
and loading for distribution to the Homes.
   Sincere Care Home Appealed and Lions Delivered. This Home cares for 60+ residents.
Lions in Penang and 
Ipoh still in active service during the pandemic.

     In association with the Global Vision for Childhood Cancer , funds were collected for Shemeerna Roslyn who needed a bone marrow transplant. Together with contributions from other groups and individuals, Shemeerna had her transplant in August and is now on her road to a full recovery.

"LIONS LAWAN COVID" MARATHON 
 LIONS AGAINST COVID 
A virtual run to raise funds to purchase essential items (masks, sanitisers, personal protection equipment) to combat Covid 19.
LIONS CLUBS INTERNATIONAL MOTTO:
WE SERVE. 
LIONS CLUBS INTERNATIONAL SLOGAN:
WHEN THERE'S A NEED, THERE'S A LION


Acknowledgement to Shirley Koh for many of the pictures in this post.