Fun Hiragana Flashcards

Dear Family & Friends

My two girls have been so diligent with their homeschooling programme, making a mother very proud:) A couple of months ago, the big girl submitted all her two years school work to the UK Education Board for a General Certificate requirement with grades all above 90. This is equivalent to Cambridge O level certificate.

As homeschoolers, we tend to do things together as family unit...including learning. There's non-stop studying a new language in our home. Aside from the ongoing: French, Spanish, German, Bulgarian, and Mandarin, recently we got a 3 months online language package compensation. The big girl decided for a Japanese language programme to add to the growing list.

Three months learning programme is not long...so, to help them with the Japanese hiragana characters, I spent a day making flashcards. These hiragana characters can be learned quicker because it got some picture story-sort of , to help the memory.

I certainly enjoyed making these flash cards, and also managed to learn all the hiragana characters myself! The grey matters up there is still working:)  OK....I ticked the list... and off I go to finish my "forever-on-going" crochet projects. I'll show them to you some other time.

A mother's job is never ending...but we all have this and that to tackle each day... Don't we? Just make sure you tackle them the enjoyable way:) It makes all the difference.

Yours

Vegetable Planner 2014 - Space Filler (part 4/5)

Dear Family & Friends

Perhaps you are blessed with a big space where you can plant as much as you want to...but even with a tiny space...gardening is still a very possible activity. Afterall, it's being resourceful and creative that brings part of the satisfaction in gardening.

Variety of vegetables & flowers grown together in my kitchen garden. 

If you are like me, space is always needed no matter how much you already have...perhaps just part of our human nature. But today, I will be sharing with you about some ideas of space fillers in gardening.

we had no choice but to uproot thisvery old unproductive apple tree:(

Some crops such as Brussels sprouts can be slow to fill their allotted space. Others like sweetcorn, never
completely cover the soil. Use quick-maturing bonus crops to prevent weeds from spreading. Any of the ‘sow little and often’ crops will fit the bill. For example, try turnip, radish or kohl rabi with larger brassicas.

Leafy vegetables such as spinach or lettuce will crop under sweetcorn; early peas should crop before the
runner beans need the space.

some little plants like purslane and pansies I let grow along side the courgette

It might not be appealing to some, but mixing shapes and sizes can be quite interesting too. You could always try this or that to find out what works best for you...afterall, enjoyment is also part of what we want to get out of work.

Yours

Memories of The Great Big Oak

Dear Family & Friends

Here's some beautiful photos I'm sharing with you. My excuse to cover some of winter's misery. Several weeks ago = about two months... the beauty of the trees that surrounded us were tinted with the last remains of their yellowing leaves...

Aren't they beautiful? I've got to hang on to these wonderful memories...because these days, I've literally made myself housebound...no, won't even dare go into the garden....just feeling too whimp to face outside temperature.

My girls still cycles out on a nice sunny day...but they have moved the cycling time much earlier to catch a bit of the warmth sunshine.

In this season, I gave myself the important job title of:  "Keeper of the Roaring Fireplace" in the house....usually armed with some form of needle and thread on hand too... Ah, but I do enjoy this activity!

Wonder what activity you enjoy when weather temperature drops and is still dropping further down?

Yours

Vegetable Planner 2014- Two Crops A Year (part 2/5)

Dear Family & Friends

Last year was the first time I tried planting for autumn and winter harvest. Most of us would think that there's only spring time planting opportunity which gives summer harvesting...but did you know that you can actually have two crops a year? I'm speaking for areas that experience cold winter.

Tomatoes getting bigger in their recycle pots indoor

Use each piece of the plot most efficiently by combining early and late or overwintered crops. Early veg that you can start off under glass, or sow direct under cloches, help extend the season.Choose hardy types of veg like lettuce, carrots and spring onions. Early croppers like overwintered onions, broad beans, new potatoes and early cauliflowers are ready to harvest in late May or June, so allowing a second crop. These can be followed by tender crops such as tomatoes, sweetcorn, French beans and courgettes started early in pots.

Late starters that can be sown or planted later in the summer are useful gap fillers as summer crops are harvested. Leeks, sprouting broccoli and winter cauliflowers are good for July sowing, and Chinese cabbage and other oriental brassicas can be sown into August.

vegetables, flowers and herb seedlings pre-sown indoor for headstart

Having an empty veg plot over winter is inefficient and you’ll miss out on a whole range of fresh vegetables that could supply you through to the following spring. Brussels sprouts, sprouting broccoli, leeks and winter cauliflowers (in milder areas) should be well established by the autumn. They can be joined later by spring cabbage. Autumn-planted onion sets and garlic, as well as autumn sown peas and beans, will give you an earlier crop than spring sowings.

The Sweet peeper plantlets ares now ready to be replant outside

It's good to plan and dream, but it's better to put it into action..see what comes out...whatever it will be, as long as you gave all your best will be considered success.

Be positive and always be with hope.

Yours

All Tucked In For The Winter

Dear Family & Friends

This is my temporary polytunnel in my kitchen garden for the winter season. Mainly to protect and keep a bit of the leafy greens for winter food. By spring time, we will also have a head start to some fresh salads:)

My temporary plastic tunnel needs a reinforcement.

With rain and snow, plus the wind, this plastic tunnel was not secured enough to form a tunnel for my plants.

Clever husband came to the rescue and did the job!

We tied some string from one curved metal to the next. These bended metals were simply stuck into the ground to form a tunnel frame. 

At the end of the tunnel, we reinforced it by tying the last metal frame to a post. With that all done, we placed a plastic cover over it and the plants will stay happy in there for the winter.

Unfortunately, some plants did not and cannot come under the cover of the plastic tunnel...so they will have to stay out...so far, with daily heavy frost...these exposed greens are still doing OK. I know it looks so untidy with all the fallen leaves over it...but I think it will give them some form of a covering. (not one of my lame excuse;P)

Plants under cover are pak choi, lettuces, mizuna greens, parsley, garlic...and you can even find brussel sprouts in there! The Brussel Sprouts were too tall for the tunnel, but I didn't have the heart to pull them out...I think it will carry on till spring without a problem.

Well, I'm sure they're happy now they're tucked in. I sometimes feel I like to spend the winter season tucked in under the duvet too....but you know that is not possible...there's other chores in the house to attend to...so with that, I have to leave you and hope you have a nice day today:)

Yours

Vegetable Planner 2014 - Sow Little & Often (part1/5)

Dear Family & Friends

Let's keep our plan working. I'm journaling some of my gardening plans for this year and am happy to share it with you...you might know about this already.

sowing indoors using recycled yogurt pots

From experience, we tend to plant so much every year. It's good if you've got a big family to share with but there's only 4 of us in this country! Friends and neighbours seem to have as much garden harvest as we do if not more! SO what to do?

Sow little and often! This will be the goal this year. This will help to spread the harvest and avoid gluts. Instead of sowing one long row, sow short rows every two weeks. Lettuce, spinach, early carrots, beetroot, dwarf beans, early peas, radish and spring onions are prime candidates to start with. We will also try kale and summer cauliflower.

Leafy greens sown direct...it needs thinning out at some point

If you are like me, I sometimes find some of the seeds so tiny and as I pour them out, I just don't realize that I just have sown quite a lot of a certain veg for that matter...ending up with lots of sprouting seedlings and worst, I don't have the heart  not to give them all a chance to live.

OK, if you've got a lot of spare gardening space...let them grow and share with the chickens if there's no one else...or perhaps, others would welcome some of your seedlings.

radishes sown in rows

Next, we'll talk about the idea of planting two crops a year.

See you next time and enjoy what you put your hands to work.

Yours

How We Get Our Village Milk

Dear Family & Friends,

Let me show you where my children get their milk... yes from a milking cow, of course! But this is being delivered to our house twice a week by our milk supplier... See, how cool is that?!

a milking cow in England...looking so healthy and clean!

We save and ask friends to help recyle drink bottles to give to our milk supplier. We buy milk by the litre and this old couple delivers it to us in recycled bottles, on their horse and cart...yes! That cute! It's OK on nice weather but not so good on a freezing morning or wet days:(

Our precious milk delivery village grandpa/grandma...even on a cold winter morning.

There have been days when we did't have delivery because the horse and cart got stuck on a muddy, dirt road enroute 7-8 kilometres to our village! Life is hard! So, we're grateful for our milk, and for this particular grandpa & grandma who comes from the next village to give us this service.

Milk transaction in action...1 leva (50 pence) for 1litre of fresh milk!

Part of my big girl's job is to be ready to receive and pay the milk that is delivered on a scheduled day...got to wake up early for that! Then, she have to boil the fresh milk to kill all the bacteria. From this point, she either scoop some to turn it to yogurt while it's warm, or completely cool it and store in the fridge for drinking or for other cooking and baking usage... that is until the next milk delivery date.

This horse is part of the special team...Did you notice the frosty whiskers?:(

In the meantime, she have to wash all the milk bottles and the cooking pan too:) Perhaps not all of us have to do it this way, but that's how my girls work to enjoy their glass of milk:)

So grateful for the many people around us who contributes to the growth and well being of my children...our village milk provider is just one of the many. We are very fortunate to have them... a blessing in life!

Blessings to you too:)

Yours

Cyling Around the Village

Dear Family & Friends

My two girls are taking advantage of every opportunity to go out cycling. While news in many parts of the world are gloomy with lots of storm, snow, rain and floods...we seem to have been spared. We had a bit of first winter snow and frost on most mornings...but not much to grumble, although I think snow will come a bit later on.. So, on a beautiful day, the girls set on their bicycle journey!

This big tree in the middle of the big field is such an attraction to the girls. They always take a photo of it whenever they go that way.

Another favourite destination is this nearby big lake. Once they reach this lake, these two girls will not hesistate to carry on cycling further on till they reach the spa town of Hissar! That's about 8 kilometres each way, about 1.5 hrs cycling!!

We are very fortunate to have this opportunity to live here. Still so free and peaceful a place! I don't normally worry about them cycling a long way nor does it worry them at all. Except for the cute barking dogs in the villages which sometimes scare the little girl.  

They love the open nature beauty and the serenity of it all. The exercise they get out of cycling gives them so much pleasure too.

This village man is going back to his home with the pieces of woods and logs he gathered into his cart. Home is calling. The fireplace needs to be lit.

The sun is about to set and soon darkness will arrive, and that's when we know that a nice good day is over. The girls are back home...brought lots of nice photos to share with their mother...and I hope you enjoyed the photos of the beauty that surrounds our village too.

Wishing you a lovely day:)

Yours