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Sunday, April 29, 2012

Elephants in Malaysia.

Have you seen the movie "Water for Elephants?" We watched it and really enjoyed it. This reminded us that there is an elephant sanctuary just outside K.L. which would be fun to take Joshua to.
We packed up a picnic lunch and headed of to Kuala Gandah Elephant Orphanage Sanctuary.
Gandah is the Bahasa word for elephant.
It took nearly two hours to get to the sanctuary and we had to time it that we were there before two o'clock as that is when the "show" takes place.
The sanctuary is home to about eight Asian elephants and these elephants are trained to do a couple of tricks and entertain the crowds. One of the main purposes of the sanctuary is to educate the public and to encourage an understanding of these magnificent creatures.

 A few notable differences between the Asian and the Africa elephant is:
The ears....the Asian elephant has small pointed ears and we think it looks like the map of India whereas the African elephant has rather large ears and is more like the map of Africa.
The African elephant.

Asian male elephants grow tusks unlike African elephants where the bull and the cow have tusks.
The African elephant has wrinkled skin whereas the Asian elephant has smoother skin.
The African elephant is much bigger  than the Asian elephant with a shoulder height of 3 to 4 meters whereas the Asian elephant is only 2 to 3'5 meters!
The elephants at the sanctuary are lovely and everyone is encouraged to purchase a packet of shelled peanuts and to feed these friendly creatures. A great experience for the public, especially the children.
Imagine touching the eles in Kruger.


It was a HOT day and standing watching the show was difficult. Joshua was more interested in running around the magic garden and playing with a stick he had picked up. However, for those who did stay, they were able to feed the elephants and play on the elephant's back when they go into the river, to take a bath and cool down. A wonderful opportunity for the public.

 It did not take much encouragement for us to climb  into the air conditioned car and come back to K.L. for a swim and a bit of cooling down ourselves.

 

Time to get quilting!!








Days whiz by and I get that panicky feeling about there being so much to do and not enough time! To an extent, that must indicate that I am in a good space and enjoying life which I really am. I needed to get on with some of the projects that I have taken on. I have caught up on my blog so now it is time to get....Quilting.





Going through the many magazines I have collected I found a delightful pattern and went off to the local fabric store which has miles of fabrics in every colour and shade but just a small selection of "cottons". I played around and auditioned and eventually chose five coordinating fabrics. I was set to go.

My co-ordinating fabrics!



This was the pattern and quilt I set out to make.


what do you do when the ruler, the tape measure and the cutting board all differ in measurement? Who do you believe? Needless to say there was much fiddling and ixing. My unpick is my best friend!!Once the first draft was put together I stood back and thought I had lost my mind...this would NEVER do for a  delicate new born baby. Plus the joining fabric is just too busy.
Back to the drawing board. Now I have my own version of the "Gypsy Rose"!! 
Nothing like the original but I do like it!
Now to quilt it. 
Here is another little quilt I helped put together. Moira had started it and I have just got it ready to quilt. The lovely turquoise fabric is from Indonesia.
While I am at it I thought I should show off some of the lovely pieces I bought in India. I love to take them out, give them a little stroke, ponder over them and then put them away!!
I have LOTS to do but first to find an appropriate pattern for a BABY quilt!!