Working for my merchant girl

Dear Family & Friends

Do you like the cherry crochet I've done? It's so easy and quick to do...I'm making this for my merchant girl's use, to incorporate in her new product range design for this new year! It's nice to work for her, she gives me lots of beautiful smiles!

It's a miserable day here...very cold with a bit of snow and rain too. The forecast for coming week is even colder - we could start going down to -15C. But just like everything - it's all just passing by. Although we're stuck in the house, yet we're very busy, happy and inspired with works we're creating! 

Hope you are finding all the inspiration for your day too. Stay happy.

Yours

Times goes by

Dear Family & Friends

Some weeks ago, in the photo is how our quince tree looks like - so beautiful and it's fragrance fills the garden too. Now of course - all fruits have dropped and leaves turned yellow, just waiting to fall. It's the last of the fruit trees in our garden to go to sleep for winter. You see, time moves on...everything goes by...so, we must use our time wisely. Everyday turns to a new day, so, there's always hope that awaits us. Isn't that wonderful?

All of us get anxious about this and that in life - more so these days. We too have those days despite having each other to talk with - but the most comforting is our faith and trust in God that reassures us all is well and His peace just fills us up.  Praying for that peace to be with you all too.

Yours

Pumpkin time once again

Dear Family & Friends

It's time to enjoy our pumpkins harvest! I have more than enough pumpkins from my garden to eat and keep to last for a long time without rotting - if stored in a cool room. With about 30+ big pumpkins, it will feed us from October last year till Feb/March! 

So, time for pumpkin soup with a crusty bread to keep us fed and warm. We're always happy with pumpkin dish every week, - for who doesn't want sweet, healthy delicious pumpkin?! 

Let me show you some of the pumpkins we got from the garden. These are butternut pumpkins and some of them grew to enormous size! Just one can be a pumpkin dishes for a whole week!! I like growing them because it's a good vegetable and it keeps well too. 

You need a garden space as they like to crawl everywhere and take a long time to mature (7-8 months!) Still worthy to have in the garden! 

Wishing you all the best of the year to come. Life is good.

Yours

On being persistent

Dear Family & Friends

This mushroom photo from our garden puts a big smile on my face, for it got a 'persistent' character. Mushroom usually sprout in moist compost with humidity...but this one shoots out of our building pebble piled in one corner of the garden.

Not everything in life is easy. Always give the best in what we do, to work that is set before us. Don't be easily discouraged - but 'persist' TILL victory comes - Know that God helps when we call. 

Hope you all make today a great new day too!

Yours

Pomagranate pasta salad

 

Dear Family & Friends

The pomagranates are still sitting beautifully in the kitchen.  We tested one pomagranate fruit...the edible seeds inside taste slightly sour but very juicy and refreshing! 

I decided to sprinkle the attractive edible pomagranate seeds onto pasta salad dish. Along with the cooked pasta, I mixed a canned tuna, spring onions, shredded arugula. The dressing is just olive oil, vinegar, mustard, salt & pepper...then sprinkled it with pomagranate seeds - which made the salad dish so beautiful. No pic was taken as everyone was so hungry and everything just disappeared. It was delicious.

Keep well everyone and always rejoice for life is good. Let's all look forward to another good year. Wishing you a happy new year 2021!

Yours

Our first pomagranate fruits

Dear family & friends

Our very first pomagranate fruit harvest! Isn't that exciting?! We only got 3 fruits from this tiny tree! Hopefully, next year it will give us more. I'll talk to the tree and make a negotiation...for we want to try fresh pomagranate juice that is enjoyed in middle-eastern countries. 

Let me show you how beautiful the redness of a pomagranate fruit. It certainly is the color of winter holiday! These days, all we hear is the craziness of whether people are allowed to party or not....We're not into social - so it doesn't bother nor affect us at all. ... and we are all keeping happy for life is constantly exciting over here!

Remember that happiness comes from within, for as long as you don't let outside circumstances to take over you. Have a lovely holiday.

Yours

Another clear job ticked off

Dear Family & Friends

We finally managed to get a schedule for a tractor digger and a dump truck to clear out mounts of rubbles we have in the property. It took a full work day for the guy to finish the task...digging and dumping and we do appreciate all he did for us! 

Just so much to do but we are getting there - one step at a time with God's help and grace. We enjoy working hard and as we tick jobs after jobs out of our long list - we feel accomplished and happy. May God be your daily strength in whatever good your hands finds to do too!  Stay motivated for life is good. <3 Annie

Just so much to do but we are getting there - one step at a time with God's help and grace. With much of the rubbles and mounts of sandy dirt now cleared...we also dug up 2 dead fruit trees. More garden space...Perhaps time to replant more trees!! 

Life is busy over here and it is all very good.

Hope you're all staying happy and safe too.

Yours

Clearing out an outbuilding make-shift roof

Dear Family & Friends

We finally knocked down the make-shift metal sheet extension roof off this out building by the gate. It looks so much improved already - making the area more lighter and bigger! We have a few outbuildings/barns and it's time to think how we can make good use of them. 

It looks like typhoon landed after the small demolition made!! That will be cleaned! Saturday is a day when we have more time to work on home projects together. I might hide some pea seeds in the garden grounds as well...autumn is a good time to do so.

Our little family often find our weekend working together outside enjoyable and fun...and we all get the feeling of accomplishment at the same time too.

Hope you're all enjoying your day too.

Yours

Colour your garden

Dear Family & Friends

This week is just perfectly cool and sunny (as always) fr gardening. I tend to work section by section of our garden space as time permits- otherwise it will be too much for me to tackle. With a jar full of flower seeds collected from the garden, I made a long line indention along every empty space with a hoe and bury the seeds in! By next year, when the weather warms up again, they will bear us hundreds and hundreds of beautiful flowers once again!

  

Right now, the Zinnias and Marigold flowers in the garden look very leggy and tired already, but I still love them to be around till frost arrives. 

Let's always aim to bring happy colors in life... Let's have a happy day today.

Yours

Mushroom rich healthy soil

 Dear Family  Friends

There so many mushrooms sprouting in my garden these days...I don't pick them becoz I'm not sure if they are edible. The presence of fungi is a good thing....it means we have a living soil to grow and produce good food. 

There's a secret technique as to how I always get free healthy food from the garden - It's having healthy soil. To have good soil is easy. Be lazy like me. Do not clean your garden by throwing away your old plants, fallen leaves/weeds in the bin to fill up dump sites. 

Instead, chop and drop your garden waste back in your own garden where it will compost - wet them to compost faster - that's makes free organic fertilizer to feed your plants! As you can see...my soil is full of weeds. Mushrooms sprouts and other plants I never plant -comes up by themselves. Don't be too strict with your garden - it's not all work - it's to be enjoyed too!

Let'es help our ecology and have garden fun at the same time.

Yours

Birds in the garden

Dear Family & Friends

Birds in our garden always brings joy. I don't exactly know where they live, but so many different kinds of night birds and day birds comes each day. Like me, they too pick some food from our garden and I make sure I leave some for them too. There's always plenty for everyone - everyday.

"If God can take care of the birds and be concerned for their lives, then can you imagine how much more He loves you?" Matthew 10:29-31.   

Hope you all have a restful and blessed day today...enjoy each other with kindness.

Yours

Turning sweet pepper harvest to delicious salad

Dear Family & Friends

Our villagers are all harvesting and preserving their sweet pepper at this time... From our garden, I smell the grilling of peppers done outdoors...I'm not good at growing bell peppers - but fortunately our next door neighbor always pass on bagful of his excess peppers to us!! 

Here's what we like to do with our sweet pepper: Grill pepper to burn the skin off and soften the flesh. Then, take the seeds out and wipe charred skin off. Cut into bite size pieces and mix it with minced garlic, spring onions. Marinate with vinegar plus olive oil, a bit of sugar, salt n pepper. This makes a yummy salad!!

Hope you are all keeping safe and healthy too.

Yours

A rain of blessings - walnuts!

 Dear Family & Friends

Our enormous walnut tree is dropping nuts onto the ground everyday now. It's like a rain of blessings! All we have to do is to collect them. We never want to waste anything and so we keep collecting buckets and buckets full for me to keep 'cracking' in my free time! This year we remembered to also collect from the other lonely smaller walnut tree in our abandoned little land. Bonus!

Still no pro

This year we remembered to also collect from the other lonely smaller walnut tree in our abandoned little land. An extra bonus!

With patience and a bit of work - our stash of nuts just keeps on piling up! So I keep 'cracking' - no problem!!

Stay encouraged and keep happy always.

Yours

Sowing more carrots for everyone

Dear Family & Friends

In this garden plot, I made neat lines to sow carrot seeds. There will be a lot of carrots to eat later....not just for us but for others too. I already have customers who wants to have a share....so we will all have bright beautiful eyes! 

I feel happy and privileged - when we get the opportunity to bless others... and never hold back - because that pleases God!  All blessings comes from the LORD, so stay close to Him. That's 'the' secret!!

Have a great day everyone.

Yours

my organic garden video

Dear Family & Friends

I want to share with you a video I made of our organic garden for the first time - I struggled a bit - but my genius girl said 'Mummy you HAVE to learn...'  With a little help, I did!

Hope you will enjoy this, and maybe... be inspired too. Have a great day.

Yours