ON HAPPY

Posted on October 12, 2022 by hafong

October 12th, a cool sunny and breezy day at 7℃. I’m a happy camper, snug as a bug in the sunroom. It’s toasty warm here even on a cold day if the sun is out. Cutting down the spruce trees made a lot of difference. It created an ideal south facing space for a greenhouse. We didn’t realize how much shade and cool the trees provided until they were gone. Then the yard and the sunroom warmed and it up. In the heat of summer I had to keep the sunroom blinds closed for most of the day. It was still well lit as the 2 topmost windows had no blinds.

I’m a lover of light and space. Having these spaces and the sun today, I’m feeling tres mellow. It’s what happy feels like to me. Such a good sensation. I shall relish this moment and remember what happy feels like. I don’t always have it. Happy is not about having stuff or status because my stuff and status does not fluctuate while my happiness quotient does. So what does that mean?

THANKSGIVING, THIS AND THAT

Posted on October 11, 2022 by hafong

Oh boy! How to start a conversation again. That’s what happens when you are interrupted by life. This time life was Thanksgiving and our family gathering. It’s our first Thanksgiving together in 3 years. The last being in 2019 before Covid. That’s enough to be thankful for and such a nice warm October day is another. Being absent from here for 3 days makes my conversation a little slow and stuttering. I hope I can get warmed up and flow more smoothly.

In my last post, I talked about making scalloped potatoes and Jamie Oliver’s curried squash and chickpeas for our Thanksgiving meal. The potatoes turned out really well. I had trouble with the squash and chickpeas by adding too much water. I doubled the squash and chickpeas as the recipe was for 4 servings and I was feeding 12. I didn’t double the called for coconut milk as I didn’t have any more. I added half the amount in water. I shouldn’t have. I should have waited. But I didn’t. So it was a bit watery but the taste was fine. I had alot left over. They are jarred and in the freezer. No one complained about the food. It was all good. We were together. Conversation and drinks flowed. We had a lovely evening.

I think our fine October days are coming to an end. Time to finish harvesting my 2 Roma Tomatoes and 2 pepper plants. No point in messing around covering them every night. They will not get much bigger or ripen. Best save my energy for other things like finish washing the windows. Yesterday I washed all but 3 in the sunroom. Today I did the bedrooms and bathroom. It felt good getting these jobs done. I feel I got my feet back on firm ground and dealing with life again.

That’s all I’ve got now. Time to close up and go to bed. Tomorrow is another day.

COOKING WITH JAMIE OLIVER

Posted on October 7, 2022 by hafong

Thanksgiving is coming up this weekend. I’m in a bit of a dither about the menu as I am hosting our family supper together. We’re all contributing but I still get into a lather. I am not great at ‘putting something on’. I am not a great cook but I’m not a terrible cook either. I tend to cook by whim – throw everything into a wok and stir the hell out of it. I seldom cook by recipes, not that I lack cookbooks. I have a whole drawful.

I have a whole collection of Company’s Coming, a collection of simple cooking started by Jean Pare in 1981. I haven’t looked at them since about that time. Those are not my oldest. I still have Joy of Cooking by Irma S. Rombauer and Marion Rombauer Becker. I’m not sure how old is but it cost only $1.95. It’s a paperback. The pages are yellowed and the print is mighty small. I have one book from Breast Friends. I’ve used a few recipes for cookies once or twice. Then there’s the Milleton Hall Cook Book, a book of recipes from members of the farming community near where I grew up. I have yet to use it. I could go on and on with my list but my latest acquistion is Jamie Oliver’s Comfort Food a Christmas present a few years ago.

It’s a beautiful book. I want to make those fabulous dishes but then I read the ingredients and instructions. I wonder if anyone goes beyond looking at the beautiful photos. I brought it out a few days ago, thinking I could find something to make for our Thanksgiving table. Jamie Oliver does not make a simple anything. There’s herbs and spices I’ve never heard of. There’s sauces, cheeses and a ton of other stuff. Nothing for potatoes. I went online and found a recipe for scalloped potatoes with ingredients I do have. Not by Jamie Oliver but good enough. Then I searched for a curried squash recipe and behold, one by Jamie! It’s called Pumpkin, chickpea & coconut curry. It looks do-able and I have most of the ingredients. I will make these 2 recipes tomorrow for Sunday. It will give me time to make something else if I fail. I think I shall try one recipe a month from his Comfort Food book to improve my cooking skills as well as my brain. I like to challenge myself.

THE MORNING AFTER

Posted on October 6, 2022 by hafong

Good news. My tomatoes and peppers survived the minus temperatures overnight. It went down to -5℃ and was -4℃ at 7 am when I got out of bed. The temperature didn’t get above freezing till 10. I waited till noon before uncovering. I was pleased to find the tomatoes and peppers alive and well. They were inside kosy coats with additional covers over the top. I had some eggplants in kosy coats but did not bother throwing extra covers over them as they had no fruit. Or so I thought. Much to my surprise, when I reach inside to check them, I found one white egg in one. The top leaves were a little wilted but the rest was ok. Moral of the story is keep trying even though it looks less likely. I got thoroughly surprised. There were no fruit on any of the eggplants when I put their kosy coats on a few weeks ago.

It is still fairly green elsewhere in the garden. Some things did better than others. I am surprised that the basil in front of the garage survived while the ones in the herb spiral and raised bed did not. The celery and kale are still going strong as well as the petunias on the deck. The sweetpeas are still sweet. Their companion vine, the slipper gourds bit the dust. The marigolds are still colourful amid strawberries. And the New England Aster is more vibrant after the frost. The bees are not so happy with the cold. There’s less buzzing. I hope the grapes are sweeter now. I will pick them soon.

BEING PREPARED

Posted on October 5, 2022 by hafong

All good things, like warm October days, come to an end. It’s the natural order of things. I’m ok with it. I’m prepared. I haven’t hunker down yet. It’s too early. But the most of the garden is prepped for the winter months. The garlic has been planted and mulched. I dug out the rosemary from the herb spiral this afternoon. It’s potted and in the greenhouse along with 4 peppers and a few other plants I want to winter over. They will go inside the house when we close the greenhouse at end of November.There are still 2 Roma Tomatoes inside their Kosy Koats outside as well as 2 pepper plants. They have quite a few fruit on them. They are well covered with extra row covers and table cloths from the Dollar Store. The forecast is for -4C tonight and -3C tomorrow night. I shall see if they can survive those temperatures. It’s worth the sacrifice to find out.

Meanwhile, the greenhouse is still doing very well. It is toasty warm while the high today was only 11℃. I feel so happy stepping into it, seeing all the tomatoes and peppers hanging down. It is our second year and I’ve learned alot being so excited, not being afraid to experiment and try everything. I’ve trimmed off alot of the tomato and cucumber foliage to let in more sun and prevent mildew. I’ve brought in the water buckets as temperatures are dropping below 0 the next 2 days. They will freeze outside whereas in, they will help to moderate the temperature in the greenhouse.

JUST DO IT!

Posted on October 4, 2022 by hafong

I hate it that I’m such a clutter bug. I’m always misplacing things. I waste alot of time and get into such a snit searching for the lost. They eventually are found. I’ve made many vows on doing better, getting organized with a place for everything. I don’t vow any more because so far that hasn’t worked. What I want to do is just DO IT! I can succeed if I do it a little, even just an inch at a time.

I had lost the clipper that I use in the greenhouse 2 days ago. I looked high and low. No success. It’s so annoying but I try to let it go after each search. I do try to figure out why it is so irksome when I have 3 other pairs I could use. I searched again this morning with no success. I tried not to mutter my irritation. No success either. The guy heard. He came back in on his way to his workshop to tell me he found my clippers in the greenhouse. They were under my work gloves. Sometimes we just need a different pair of eyes. Now I wish he could spot my root stimulating powder. But I’m not wasting more time in searching. The plant cuttings will have to root or not in water.

It looks like we are heading into some frosty temperatures in a couple of days. I will have to get my ass in gear and plant my bulbs this afternoon. I have to remind myself not to order any more bulbs next year. They know what they are doing when they send out fall seed catalogues in middle of summer. I am enticed with all those flowering bulbs. It seems like a such good idea when it is warm. Come late September when I get my shipment, I’m disgusted with myself. What was I thinking of? I am tired from all that planting, watering, weeding, harvesting and perserving. Then there’s the cleanup of plant material, chopping them up and throwing them into the compost bins. What I dislike the most is gathering up all the plant containers, trays and pots to put away.

No point in wasting time and energy disliking and procrastinating either. I better save them for doing the jobs at hand. I’ve just harvested my cabbage and the rest of the cayenne peppers. I’m defrosting lunch while I’m sipping my cuppa and finishing up here. Have a good day.

CONVERSATION WITH THE BEES

Posted on October 3, 2022 by hafong

It’s day 3 of this Ultimate Blog Challenge. My enthusiasm and energy is already waning. It is better if I get the challenge bit out of my head and write from the heart and for myself. I love these sunny warm October days. I want to sit on my backstep with my cuppa and talk to the bees all afternoon. They love the colour purple. First it was the chives in spring. Now it is the New England Aster. They’re hopping from purple blossom to purple blossom, like little helicopters. I wonder where they go in winter.

I could sit here all afternoon. Maybe I can show you around a little if you haven’t already seen my photos on FB or Instagram.

WHAT’S MY STORY

Posted on October 2, 2022 by hafong

October mornings are so beautiful once the sun has roused and shined her light upon us. I’m feeling at ease, basking in the sun’s warmth, tapping on my keyboard and sipping my second cup of tea. I love this morning ritual. A friend had introduced me to blogging in 2010. I started out at Blogger, posting photos and a few blurbs. It was a struggle as I was a late comer to the computer and the digital world. I was still lugging a camera with film when school kids had cell phones with cameras. It was frustrating but fun learning. I abandoned Blogger and my blog for a couple of years. Then I found WordPress, an easier fit for me.

I’ve created this writing space at the end of May 2012 – 10 years and 4 months ago when blogging was a rage. I’ve been writing, writing and still writing since, falling off now and again. I wrote flash fiction for Friday Fictioneers for a couple of years. It was a great supportive community for learning. I wrote fiction of 100 words. It suited me well. And checking back this morning, I’ve been doing the Ultimate Blog Challenge as early as April, 2014. I can remember missing just one challlenge – this past July. I guess I do have discipline and staying power.

In the beginning I had a lofty goal of writing a thousand words a day, hence the name of my blog. I dream of writing that great Chinese Canadian novel. I joined NaNoWriMo a couple of times. I soon discovered that it was all beyond me. I haven’t ever made the 1000 words at a single write yet. I am not crushed. I’ve come to my senses and just write – a sentence, a paragraph, whatever I am capable at the time. I’ve come back to my first goal – to write for the joy of it. I am not competitive but I can get hooked into it sometimes. I am paying attention, focusing on my first goal, not getting distracted, write, share and read at least the 2 must posts.

WHY AM I DOING THIS

Posted on October 1, 2022 by hafong

Good morning. Happy October 1st. There is no sunshine this morning. I will make my own. Today is the official first day of the Ultimate Blog Challenge. I’ve been warming up the past few days to ensure my success of showing up every day for the next 31 days. I’m no new comer. I’ve been doing the UBC for a number of years. I’ve missed only one, the last one, when I lost the joy and fun of it.

I’ve always written for the pleasure of putting words and pictures together – mostly for myself. I have no products to push. I do not promote my site but it’s such a pleasure and honour when someone finds my words worth reading. I’ve had my writing space since 2012. It’s a place I come to have conversations with myself to explore my inner landscape. It’s restful to tap out the letters, words and sentences. I love to see them marching across the screen. Thoughts without forms are elusive. They go round and round in the head, chasing each other, causing havoc. This way I am mapping out my thoughts. There’s direction. There’s order.

The Ultimate Blog Challenge is a good community to be in. It’s always better to have support and an audience. Even though we are an online community I can feel the presence and energy of the group. It’s always an adventure to meet and read someone new with different interests and slants on things. My goals for this time around is simple – write a post every day, obey the rules by reading the 2 posts before mine if I put mine in the thread, have fun and not get caught up in the itsy, bitsy hiccoughs of the challenge. Good luck to all of us. Happy writing.

MY DISCIPLINE MUSCLE And BLONDE

Posted on September 30, 2022 by hafong

Another gorgeous sunny day to end the month of September. It is a bit breezy. My hanging mandevillas are dancing in the wind. It is 10:08 am. I am a little lazy this morning, sipping on my second cup of tea. I’m exercising and building my discipline muscles of showing up here every day for the month of October. I will take it a month at a time. I’m not trying to win any Pulitzer prizes. I want to just show up and put in a good effort. It is good for my brain and mental health. It is an opportunity and a good outlet to chart on my challenges and results. I have many projects I’m working on. I have never made an effort of charting my progress, results and lessons learned. Now I can and will.

Have you seen the movie Blonde on Netflix? I totally agree with the critics’ reviews that it is “So Sexist,” “Cruel” and “One of the Most Detestable Movies” Ever Made. I felt abused, exploited and traumatized as if I was Marilyn herself. I do not know whether to advise to watch or not. You have to decide for yourself. It was educational in seeing the kind of world we have lived in then and the world of today. Marilyn Monroe died on August 5, 1962. JFK died November 22, 1963. It’s been 60 years and she is still being abused and exploited. I thought it was a very disrespectful way JFK was portrayed even though he was an outrageous womanizer. We live in a very vulgar world.

Though a painful watch, it was educational for me. It brought back memories of those years when times were lean and women didn’t have much recognition or opportunities to work outside the home. It was hard to be independent without a husband. It was hard to be heard and get help. If you were having a difficult time, suffering poor health, you’re apt to get a valium, librium or a hysterectomy if an immediate/obvious cause was found. I’m feeling grateful some things have improved even though there’s probably still Harvey Weinsteins out there.

onethousandandtwo

Looking at Infinity

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