ang bisaya

I have planted napa cabbage too early that most of the plants bolted. I did not know what bolting was until I saw most of the napa cabbage (bok choys included) start blooming. Apparently, it is a condition that affects this type of plants when it gets too cold, too hot, or the seedlings get “handled” too much (I am thinking about the word trauma while I was reading this information online). More like a built-in defense mechanism, the plant tries to bloom under unfavorable conditions. I had to uproot the greens and gave it to the chickens. I will try again after the ground dries up from the recent rain. Hopefully next time the plants will do better.

When the husband and I talk about the things we would like to do should money is not an issue, his priority is to go to a resort “in the mountains” where there is a luxury spa so he can get all the pampering he needs. I asked why the mountains because he always has been a beach person and he said because it is mostly where a person can find such place. I do not have any idea so I just said that supposing we do have the money and he decides to go, the kids and I will tag along. He looked at me like I should not have thought otherwise. Well, I did not know if he wanted us with him, lol. Truth be told, I don’t think he can have peace and quite with the kids and I around but he said he likes that kind of un-peace (if the word even exists). He said the place we will be going should have amenities for the kids as well or he won’t be going there at all. I do not know if Wisconsin will qualify as “the mountains” but I remember that conversation when I chanced on the best wisconsin dells resort page while browsing online. It sure looks like there are fun things to do there and there is a water park (there could be more) and I have read about luxury spa which would make the husband drool when he knows it. It is not that far from where we live either. Now we have one definite place to check out, and possibly stay if we like it. We just need the money to do it.

My late grandfather used to tell us that rain is a blessing. It is good for the plants and it is good for humans (and animals) as well, he said. He told us to never whine or complain about rain when it comes, be happy instead because that means we are being blessed. It was not easy to understand his logic when he was talking to several kids who were all under eight, whose game of hide seek was interrupted because of the rain. But as we grew older, my cousins and I have come to appreciate rain. Oh, there were times that we whine about not being able to go somewhere because it sometimes flood when it rains where we grew up, but that meant being able to go outside and play with other kids. There are games children can play when it is pouring rain outside, and my cousins and I did just that. We played in the rain as kids, and even when some people might think we were “too old” to do it. We had fun. We remember the old times. We remember our grandfather and his talks about blessings and being grateful. And as I look at my garden with the plants growing beautifully after it rains, I am thankful. And yes, it reminds me of my grandfather and my childhood. Thank You, for the rain.

I have been wanting a swimming pool for the kids since it started getting warm during the days. I think that it will be good for them to swim the warm days away instead of just playing in the yard getting all hot and sweaty. The husband thinks we need to get a swing set. He said once the swing set is in place, it should not need any upkeep unlike a pool where it has to be cleaned daily then the we have to worry about parts wearing out and replacing them. He said he would rather sit and watch the kids play than worry about where to get an intellichlor salt cell, if ever. He is a bit ahead because he has not even said yes to a pool yet, lol. I do understand his concern because I do not know anything about pools but putting water on and getting in it. We can get something that is cheap and easy to maintain but I will have to look for that. I do not want a kiddie pool where the water only gets up to my knees because I want to be in the pool with the kids. I guess I better start looking because summer will be here before long, and hope that he will change his mind and say yes.

A friend got it into his head that he can be good at playing the guitar. It is his first time to try so he does not know where to buy one that he will not only need but will like as well, until somebody at work told him to look at a yamaha fg700s at guitar center. We have not heard from him so we do not know if he bought the said guitar or he found something else. We do hope he is right because the poor thing really thinks he is or will be good.

At least for me, lol. Yesterday, I made a bed and planted napa cabbage and bok choys. I just could not wait for steady warm temperature anymore so I did what I wanted to do even if I know there is a chance that it might frost and kill all the plants that are exposed to the elements. They are all up and perky looking this morning and every plant looks beautiful. I hope that it will not frost anymore and that my plants will survive so I will have greens in about over a month. I will be planting sweet potatoes before long since I have tops ready to be snipped and put in the ground. As always, I dread the work I have to do but it is always worth it in the end that I can partially ignore it. I am excited at what the garden will look like this year. I cannot wait to have long beans and leafy greens. Yay for warm weather!

Even if it is cold outside, it did not stop me from planting seeds in cups and cans. If you can only see my kitchen right now you will think I am crazy because there is a table full of plants that are barely surviving, waiting for the chance to be out in the sun. I stuck five moringa seeds in along with the sweet potatoes in a pot and three of them came up. There they are in cans and a cup on the photo above. The first three from the left are all moringas. The last is a lemon plant that came up from a seed that the little man found in the sink and requested be put in the pot where my calamondin is growing. I was surprised when it came up and actually do not know what to do with it since the husband said lemons do not survive in our climate. I cannot keep a lemon tree inside my house! It will look like a forest, lol. I am happy to see these little plants growing though. I see them every time I am in the kitchen, they are in the window sill where they can get the most sunlight for them to grow. I am just waiting for the weather to get warm and stay warm so I can transfer the moringas (and maybe the lemon) in the garden. So please, Spring, take over already!