APAD 66: Ampalaya. Bow.
I have this ambitious goal of growing my food. A lot of my friends scoffed at the idea because not only that it is ambitious but also impossible since my husband and I live in a second floor (that’s the first floor for my Filipino readers) an apartment.
Well, I’m not the one to be dissuaded so easily. I planted seeds in pots. In the last quarter of 2012, I planted bitter gourd seeds in a big pot in our veranda and, well, needless to say, I am now enjoying the fruits of my labour. Pun intended.
See what I mean? In November, the lone ampalaya (bitter gourd) plant that survived amongst how many seeds I buried in the pot started flowering. By December, yellow flowers were blooming where some of them eventually turned into baby ampalayas. Not all of the baby ampalayas matured. A lot turned yellow, must be from the cool weather; but there are more flowers coming out every day.
I’m excited, of course.
Since the first week of 2013, I already picked four pieces of bitter gourd! Two already ended up in my tummy after I cooked them with monggo (mung beans), kalabasa (squash) and pork. The remaining two were picked only this morning 🙂 They’re smaller in size compared to the ones available at the market but they’re ampalaya nonetheless. What’s more, they’re basically organic. No pesticides, no nothing. I regularly water them every afternoon and dump my biodegrable stuff (mostly vegetable peelings) on that pot.
I know it’s not that much and it’s too early to boast but a girl has got to start from somewhere. It dawned on me: if I could grow ampalaya on pots from my apartment’s veranda, how much more if I have a small piece of land? Imagine that. I know, I’m so simple like a country lass, hahaha.
APAD 060: Stamping
My rubber stamps and other stamping materials just arrived and I cannot wait to begin working on my paper craft projects this year!
Let the stamping begin…!
The above rubber stamp was bought from a friend’s shop at Etsy. Pretty neat pattern, isn’t it?
APAD 054: Hobby
This is my second favourite area at the Post Office:
The Philately counter has a friendly and considerate staff.
The staff there knows me already as I regularly come see her to buy postcards and philately stuff. Also, she was nice enough to hand-stamp my postcards last December 12, when the main counter at the PO where you buy stamps refused to do so. You see, the 12-12-12 postmark is an auspicious one and many collectors the world over have been swapping for postcards and covers bearing this. It will never happen again in our lifetime so this is considered valuable.
Oh, and in case you are wondering what’s my most favourite area at the PO, it’s the hallway where all the post boxes are located, including mine 🙂
APAD 031: Crafting with Sreisaat
This is what I’ve been doing lately – carving rubber erasers for stamping and designing cards. I’ve taken it upon myself to make our Christmas cards this year.
I love stamping! And crafting in general.
There’s something special about handmade cards (and other DIY stuff) and I love making them. They’re unique and fun to make. Each card is a product of inspiration, love, time and effort. And it’s something more precious or valuable than cards bought from the stores.
Crafting is so much fun, whether it is scrapbooking, card-making, crocheting, sewing, and others. Don’t you agree with me?
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