IN THE GARDEN

It is time to garden, to care for the potted plants in the backyard, they need topping up of good soil and some food-fertiliser.  I have been noticing for a while now that these plants are not looing right.  A trip to the garden supply the other day was right, I got what I need, only the time to do I may have to pick the day.
On the day that I will spend time in the garden to work, I had to think about what is for dinner.  We both are going to be tired, the takeaway is not my style, cooking preparation has to be done.  And it was, two hours before working outside in the morning I prepared the dinner. It's wholly cooked, but it allows me to reheat without spoiling the dish.  Smart move.  The plan was resting in the afternoon and relaxed as dinner is always at six.

Cooking a lamb dinner, and these are what I need.
Lovely Lamb (the name of the dis)h

1. A heavy-based pot to braise
2. A saucepan to seal the lamb
3. A small size deboned lamb-1kg, cooking light braised for two.
4. Added fresh herbs, season with salt and two whole onions.
5. Oil to seal the lamb and a splash red wine to deglaze the saucepan
6. Potato to garnish, semi-cooked and finished it off before serving.

The Cooking

Put your apron on, have clean hands and ready to work in the kitchen.

From sealing to braising, it takes about one hour or a little more.

 The Lamb

The Potato

The lamb stays in the pot until the time to reheat, and the potatoes are on a plate.

From my calculation, ten minutes to warm up the lamb and at the same time to baked the potato in a hot oven just finished off the cooking, it should be working well.

The lamb will be dressed in its own juice or gravy.
I know that we both have to save our energy and I know myself not to overdo the thing.  To be organised for the living day today is necessary.  Having a meal of home cooking after working hard is a way to go.

After the cooking was done, changed to the gardening clothe, put the gloves on, and of course, I started first as Rayner had to run an errand. Dealing with garden soil mix, fertiliser and other chemical has to be careful.  A productive time, especially I got the encouragement from Rayner, and this is his greeting: Have Fun! I tell you what, indeed I had.

In the Garden

These plants are sitting in the backyard, from the flowering plants, potted tree to potted vegetables need care and special treatment for improvement.

Potting mix, blood and bone, and potash, the wheelbarrow, and gardening tools were there, and here I was ready to work.

Icy cream and blackberry for a treat,  working during a hot need extra sugar for energy

Story to tell about the berries.

Special tea was brewing while I was working.  No, it is not ginseng. but root parsley

It is excellent to take for nourishment and strength.

One day in the Market.

A market is a place where people do the shopping, and it is the right meeting place.  When I was in the market I took a punnet blackberry, but I was not sure about the taste of it, I remember if it is the one, the taste of the berry has a touch of sourness.  Anyway, I asked a young lady in the market one of the shoppers about it, and she obliged to answer.  She said it is sweet, politely with a smile.  Oh, good, thank you, I said.  😌  It is so, Me, I like to ask questions and to answer hi to people.  However, I did have a very confusing experience in the past, I tried to talk with a friendly greeting "Hi" how are you? To people that I know very well (so I thought), but I got very evasive answers.  Now, I learnt, every place is different. Inside the royal kingdom, you don't talk before you are spoken to. Indeed I am not a right royal subject.  So hard though to behave if you cannot be yourself.  Nowadays, what do I have to do?  Just be good. Live and learn!

Blueberry pleases us.

We enjoyed the blueberry, add them to ice cream, and I realised it tastes slightly sour, not very sweet that works very well with the delicious ice cream.

Two hours worked in the garden was enough, the weather was hot, and watering was an extra job for us.  The plan was in the late afternoon, we could do a little bit more work in the garden, but unfortunately, by five o'clock the hot weather stays, I was expecting a fresh change.

I think the plants are happier now, they are nourished, well looked after and feeling better.
To be fit and healthy is the best way to be, and this time working in the garden is not a chore but enjoying the process and the achievement.


We all know working hard does not hurt; it makes us stronger.  We are lucky that we can look after the place, our garden, our home.

Be Hard Working and be Kind, Be Yourself and Be Best Friend.



Until Next Post
Susy