Miss Iggy goes camping and befriends a rooster

Schoolgirl Iggy got busy during the summer break!  She and her friends made the most of the sunny weather to go camping at a farm.  She loves the outdoors and camping was a good opportunity to practice her survival skills.

Time to get up Miss Iggy! Make sure your tent's all zipped up when you leave--you wouldn't want any frogs climbing in while you're gone!

Good morning camp!  She sees her fellow campers getting ready for the new day.

Hohoho, look at that big guy!  The rooster woke up Miss Iggy with a big "Tik-ti-la-ok!"

'This is what we're having for breakfast, Miss Iggy," said her friend.

Fried tuyo (dried fish) smells so good!

Hmm, it's such a beautiful morning, I'll go see what the other campers are doing, thought Miss Iggy.

Not surprisingly, she saw them cooking their breakfast.  The campers were divided into groups, and they help each other out in the cooking, washing up, and keeping the campsite tidy.  City kids learned to cook using firewood.

Time to eat!  "Come have breakfast with us, Miss Iggy!" 

After breakfast Miss Iggy set out to look for her friend the big rooster.  The farm had a mini-zoo of wild animals, and she decided to ask around.

"Did you see my friend the rooster, Mr. Hornbill?" asked Miss Iggy.

"Sorry, child," he said, "he has not visited me yet this morn! When you find him can you tell him to drop by later?"  

"Sure! Thank you anyway!" said Miss Iggy, waving goodbye.  She turned around and immediately saw the...

Miss Iggy gulped.  "M-Miss Phyton, I w-was wondering i-if you've seen the b-big brown r-rooster..." she began.

"Have I sss-seen the big, fat, yummy-looking roossster, little one?  Why, yesss, I sss-saw him running along the other sss-side of the garden.  Go and find him and tell him to visssit me, I quite like looking at hisss plump--"

"Thank you, Miss Phyton!  I'll tell him!" shouted Miss Iggy as she quickly ran off.

Miss Iggy searched around the farm.  Suddenly she was startled by a whirl of feathers from above!

The pigeons came to rest in this pagoda-like birdhouse.

What a lovely house, she thought.  Near the lovely birdhouse was a lovely well.  She walked over to the well to take a closer look.

Coins!  That's a lot of wishes down there.  Miss Iggy flipped a coin, closed her eyes, and wished she could find her rooster friend soon.

When Miss Iggy opened her eyes, she saw:

Many, many roosters!  But her friend was not among them!

"Croo, croo," the pigeons up on the tree said, "our birds' eye-view saw your friend the big brown rooster roosting by the rabbits!"

'Thank you!" said Miss Iggy, "May your feathers never fall!" 

"Mr. Rooster! I've found you at last!"

"Oh, hello Miss Iggy, I was just saying hello to the bunnies. Will you walk with me back to camp?"

And so they did, and they enjoyed every step.  Miss Iggy was careful not to pass by the python corner, though.

Sandy Iggy loves Corniche

Sandy Iggy avoids the outdoors lately because of the occasional sandstorm in the UAE. That's a signos that summer is approaching. While it doesn't hurt that much like in its neighbouring countries, it is best to always be armed by sunglasses and other protection. But Sandy Iggy misses the Corniche already. Gladly, the weather cooperated and granted that one fine day for the photowalk with her sisters.

Corniche is a favorite of those who are fond of solitary and joint walks anytime of the day. At the back is one of the usual informational campaigns about the activities happening in Abu Dhabi. Surprisingly, it has no English translation. We've gotten used to seeing documentation of almost everything in Arabic with an automatic translation, side by side. (Even the subtitles in the cinemas which come in Arabic and French for English movies.)

(That interesting architecture is a restroom.)

There are not too many billboards (yet) in the emirate. They normally pertain to government project announcements and information related to the royal family. That corner as you see in the photo is reserved for the late Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan, the first  president of the UAE. (Even non-Emiratis regard him highly because of  his selfless approach to governance in the past, even before and after the discovery of oil in the UAE.) Lately, the shift to billboard advertising seems to have started and so far being tolerated by the government.

This fountain area is actually a part of the underpass. I haven't tried going down though.

The tourists doing a whirlwind trip in Abu Dhabi frequent this side of the Corniche because it is near to the Heritage Village, Marina Mall, and Emirates Palace.

That's the skyline of downtown Abu Dhabi.

That's a distinct roofing style of the restaurants near the beach.  And ooops, Sandy Iggy had to stop. A young lady wanted to give her a flower.

Sandy Iggy posed by the Corniche Beach. The flower came in perfect timing.

On her way out, she was startled... ran... and climbed! There was a barker!

Doggie: Sorry, I scared you. I wanted to know if you're human or not.

Sandy Iggy: Have you not met a doll before?

Doggie: I had. But I got confused because you have a baby. I didn't know dolls can have babies. 

Sandy Iggy: Hahahaha! Of course, that's possible. 

After an interesting conversation, she found herself laying on the bed of... flowers. Errr, Sandy Iggy is not sure what kind of flowers are these.

There is an abundance of not so familiar flowers in the UAE. But these are not homegrown.

(That's Emirates Palace at the back where Sandy Iggy must head next. Captured, too, were those fishing and crabbing.)

The government has allocated funds for the maintenance of these plant/flower boxes. It is interesting to note that the flowers being planted change quarterly. Sandy Iggy cannot help but think of the balance in God's provisions. The well of oil and flowers don't come in one place. Life becomes more beautiful because we all need each other.

Sunny With A Chance Of Pink

Miss Iggy joined the Ninth Annual St. Clare's Breast Cancer Awareness Walk last Sunday. Last year was the first time she participated in this pink-themed fundraiser. Here she is at the starting point of the 5K walk near the Hilton Garden Inn in Rockaway, New Jersey.

Miss Iggy spotted a lot of cute pink things and apparel at the event, including pink pets such as this one!

For more photos from the walk, click here.

getting some fresh mountain air

 Schoolgirl Iggy hiked to the mountains of Bamban, Tarlac in Central Luzon, Philippines.

These mountains form part of the Zambales range, and somewhere out there is the big volcano that is Mt. Pinatubo.  See how wonderfully green it is?

oh look!  there's a big (native) pig!  schoolgirl iggy was careful not to wake her up.  even big piggies need their beauty rest, you know.

why hello there little piggy!  you grow big and strong now okay, so you can uh, be bacon provide well for the community!

oink oink, it said in reply, glad to see such a pretty lady.

Miss Iggy Says Happy Easter with (The Real) Winnie The Pooh & Friends!

Ever wondered what the real Winnie The Pooh looks like? Just visit the Children's Center at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building of the New York Public Library on 42nd St. and you'll see the original bear that inspired the works of A.A. Milne! Since 1987, Winnie and his friends have called New York their home.

Winnie the Pooh was a gift by A.A. Milne to his son Christopher on his first birthday on August 21, 1921. He was bought from Harrods department store in London and was originally named "Edward." Later on, more stuffed toys followed which became Winnie's group of friends. Each toy was well-loved and well-played by Christopher throughout his childhood that it shows in the tattered appearance of the bunch.

Can you spot where Piglet is on the display? For more fun facts about the Real Winnie the Pooh, hop on here!

Dumbo-dore

Dum-bo-dore:

1. (v.) To express adoration or fascination for Dumbo, or anything akin to this flying elephant of Disney lore.

2. (n.) "Genetically modified" character from the wildly popular wizard-themed novels by J.K. Rowling.

e.g. "I dumbodore your cute ears!," said Miss Iggy at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida.

durian garden in polomolok

you won't miss durian garden atbp. ("atbp." is short for "at iba pa," meaning "et cetera") at barangay sulit, polomolok, south cotabato in the philippines. there's a giant sliced durian at the entrance!

the place isn't just a garden of exotic flowers such as hibiscus of all colors imaginable and other unique flora you just won't see in manila. there's also a butterfly sanctuary, mini-zoo of animals, some endangered, such as the bird on the painting which miss iggy got to see for real.

and yes, they have ostriches!

and that's not all, there's also a restaurant/gift shop where you can taste durian ice cream (see below) and durian pie! they're both delicious! there were bits of cheese in the ice cream. you can bring home some durian polvoron, too! (goldilocks surely doesn't carry that flavor!)

and what's a gift shop without a souvenir shirt, right? they have it, too! and virtually every local food product such as jams/preserves made from pineapples and guavas. also worth buying is their own version of achara or pickled papaya, sold in jars. since they contain vinegar and are in breakable containers, you must pack them separately in a box or styrofoam container and checked in when flying back to manila.

gorilla in the midst (of SOB)

jersey iggy thinks this giant gorilla at south carolina's "south of the border" is happy to see her. this is a popular photo op statue, and he even appears on an actual SOB postcard. you won't miss this gorilla, he guards a souvenir shop.