So Many Things To Be Thankful For

Sometimes, we are too busy going about our daily business that we forget to be thankful for the things and the people in our lives. When we begin to be thankful, we cease to complain. I am thankful for good health that hubby and I can enjoy our morning walk. Thankful for sight to be able to enjoy the lovely sunrise and to be able to hear the happy chirping of the birds. A thankful person is a happy person.

Sunrise at 6:55 am.

Sunrise at 7:00 am.

Happy to see this hibiscus plant in my garden budding again.

Thankful for the sun that makes my plants happy.

The chives in my garden are also budding.

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Thankful for the beautiful plants in my garden.

This deep red caladium is doing well in my garden.

When exposed to more sunlight, the colour of the leaves get a tinge of green. especially on the underside of the leaves.

When there is less sunlight, the dark red colour of the leaves will deepen.

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Thankful for the fragrant flowers in my garden.

My variegated Gardenia plant is budding.

Can you see the variegated bud?

The bright pure white of the petals of a new Gardenia flower.

It will turn beige on the 2nd or 3rd day.

A wilted Gardenia flower before it drops off.

Thankful for nature's lesson that I have learned since I started my garden.

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Thankful for the paintings in the evening sky. 

Clouds formation in the sky at 5:49 pm.

5:52 pm.

Beautiful display of light and clouds in the sky above the rolling hills.

Linking to Friday Bliss & Skywatch Friday.

The heavens are telling the glory of God;

they are a marvelous display of his craftsmanship.

Day and night they keep on telling about God.

(Psalm 19:1-2, The Living Bible-TLB)

Thursday's Mish Mash

This was Monday morning after we have finished our morning walk and our breakfast at our regular coffee shop. 

Morning sky at 7:35 am.

I took some snapshots of these hibiscus growing by the roadside on our walk home.

This is also our country's national flower.

This baby banana plant given to me by a friend is growing nicely in a big pot. It is grown more for the leaves to be used in cooking. Hopefully, it will also bear fruits.

Chives flower buds.

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Lunch & Dinner

I boiled ABC soup with pork (the "armpit" part that "never see the sky") ABC soup is rich in vitamins A, B, C, and the ingredients used is usually carrot, tomatoes, potatoes, onions, and etc, with some crushed white peppercorns.

Since we had an early and light breakfast, we had steamed rice and ABC soup for lunch with spicy chilly oil as condiment.

The remaining soup was re-heated and we each had a bowl of soup for dinner. There was enough meat and ingredients from the soup to fill our tummy without having to take rice or noodle.

After my son left to go back to work early Sunday morning after spending the weekend with us, it was time to wash the quilt, bed sheet, and etc. This is where I hang out my washing in the garden for quick drying.

Surprisingly, I don't seem to have the time to sew quilts after I retired. 

Linking to Good Fences.

You are free from the law,

but that doesn't mean you are free to do wrong.

Live as those who are free to do only God's will at all times.

(1 Peter 2:16, The Living Bible-TLB)

Savoury Sauce Fried Prawns For Dinner & Stages Of My Yellow Hibiscus

I have 2 packets of sea white shell prawns in my freezer. I took out 1 packet to cook for yesterday's dinner.

Once the prawns were thawed, I seasoned it with some sugar and kept in the fridge before cooking. First, I shallow fried the prawns. With some oil in the wok (frying pan), I fried chopped garlic, ginger strips and 1 big onion cut into wedges until fragrant. Then I add in some oyster and soy sauce and a little water. Once it started to boil, add in the prawns, spring onions and some shaoxing cooking wine, stirred and dish out. The prawns with a little gravy goes well with steamed rice.

I cook the remaining last quarter pumpkin with dried prawns and garlic. I had 2 snake long beans after clearing the old plants, so I just added them to the pumpkin dish.

Sauteed Green Amaranth (yeen choy) with garlic.

I overcooked this dish because in the midst of cooking this dish, the local council people started the mosquitoes spray outside my house. I have to quickly cover the wok (frying pan) and waited till the smell of the spray went off.

Home cooked dinner for 2 people.

Steamed rice for hubby and I ate the pumpkin in place of rice because hubby doesn't like pumpkin.

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My yellow hibiscus - from a bud till it wilted.

A tight bud

Loosening of the tight bud

Unfolding of the petals

Opening up

98% fully opened yellow hibiscus

Lastly, a wilted hibiscus flower

My Water Jasmine plant full of flowers.

The flowers are of single layer petals.

Tiny weed flowers on the left and my Cockscomb flowers on the right.

Tiny red flowers of the Red Cypress Vine by the roadside.

Peregrina flowers by the roadside.

He is like a father to us,

tender and sympathetic to those who reverence him.

For he knows we are but dust and that our days are few and brief,

like grass, like flowers, blown by the wind and gone forever.

(Psalm 103:13-16, The Living Bible-TLB)

Simple Take Away Dinner & Pink Sunset

There was a slight drizzle when we woke up yesterday morning so have to forgo our morning walk. After breakfast, the drizzle stopped and I went out to sweep the driveway. 

White rain lilies blooming in front of my house.

These rain lilies usually appear during rainy seasons.

I was feeling some dryness in my throat and these chilled home made black herbal jelly or gui ling gao is good for soothing dry throat.

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Take away dinner

Yesterday evening, I was feeling lazy and not in the mood to cook. Hubby went out with the stainless steel tiffin carriers or food containers and came back with the following dishes.

Stewed pork ribs with taro or yam in red fermented bean curd or nam yue.

Sweet sour Chinese mustard.

Fried fish.

The above 3 dishes including white rice for 2 persons cost RM16.50

After dinner, I went out to the front of my house and saw this hibiscus. Every day there are new hibiscus blooms but the flowers only last for a day. Took this snapshot in the evening light.

Pink sunset at 7:40 pm.

Hopefully, tomorrow we will have clear sky so that we can go for our morning walk.

Linking to Wordless Wednesday & My Corner of the World.

Don't brag about your plans for tomorrow -

wait and see what happens.

(Proverbs 27:1, The Living Bible-TLB)

Monday's Mish Mash

Yesterday, we woke up to another rainy morning. Hearing the pitter patter of the rain on the awning rood, I went back to sleep and woke up about 7:30 am to prepare breakfast. Initially, I thought of just having bread but later remembered that there were leftover steamed pork ribs and pumpkin from the previous day's dinner.

Breakfast

Noodle with leftover steamed pork rib + Nescafe for hubby

Oat porridge with leftover pumpkin, walnuts and cranberry for me.

Tiny white flowers from a Daikon plant in my garden.

I harvested a pale green bitter gourd from my garden. It is about 6 inches long. Could this be a cross between the green and white bitter gourd plants which I planted side by side? I can see a tinge of yellow, a sign of ripening.

Mid morning sky, on my way out to the grocery store.

When I returned home, my neighbour gave me this papaya.

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Dinner on a rainy day.

I checked the fridge to see what I have to clear. I took out an old cucumber to boil soup.

Old cucumber soup with pork ribs and carrot.

I pan fried half a packet of sweet meat.

Simple dinner with steamed rice, comforting on a cold and wet evening.

My bigger than palm size yellow hibiscus.

I took this snapshots under the midday sun.

He died under God's judgment against our sins so that

he could rescue us from constant falling into sin

and make us his very own people,

with cleansed hearts and real enthusiasm

for doing kind things for others.

(Titus 2:14, The Living Bible-TLB)