Wading by with goodies

' No holiday ' the Bear repeated, ' No holiday! '

The 'pleeeaassseee' look is not going to work. With Bear's project accelerating, there's a fat chance to make up for the cancelled trip to Maldives in May. Especially now that Swine flu has spreaded to Nagano, Bear is probably about to tie me to a chair.

During monsoon in Japan, it rains so abruptly and heavy, that the drops can be a little painful to feel. Not a fine time for outdoor at all.

Dreary days indeed... but I've got goodies to help me wade by! ;)





My siblings have sent me a parcel from Singapore!! Stuffed with love, food stuff to ease homesickness and things I love to bits!! Aren't they totally sweet?

Another friend prepared some devotion books for nourishment of my soul. =) Pretty heavy content though. =P

And look, who's nourishing my eyes these days.

Rowndy is fully bloomed! Here's looking at you!

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I wish you hear my place this instant. It rains elephants so suddenly again!!

Whatever. I'm making myself a hot drink and grabbing a book now. ;)

Idiot

A man stole a stranger's bicycle to travel 300km to another prefecture, in order to inform his brother that their father has passed away. Unfortunately, he arrived only to find that his brother has shifted. The man hurried back to turn in 2 days later.



He apologized and explained himself when he returned the bicycle. 10Yen was all he had.

10 Yen can buy you nothing in Japan.

The ordeal was broadcasted, and 'discussed' among the upper class personalities on TV. He was labelled an 'idiot' who could have borrowed a bicycle or a sum of money for train tickets.

I'm not approving the man's action, but I truly sympathize his plight. Given Japan's mountaineous terrain, it would take an hour to cover 50km at an average speed. I couldn't imagine what would have driven a sane man to do that in a cold monsoon season like this. I wish he had gone to seek help from those who named him an 'idiot'.

Who's the bigger idiot? Go figure.

The king will answer them, 'I tell you with certainty, since you did it for one of the least important of these brothers of mine, you did it for me.' Matthew 25:4

One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the LORD, And He will repay him for his good deed. Proverbs 19:17

That time of the year again

It's that time of the year again, when Spring is slipping away and monsoon nearing.

Poppies, the last sweet treat of my favourite season, are popping out merrily everywhere.





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The flaming finale is sure easy on the eyes, on a drizzling morning. =)

So, is monsoon going your place too?

They're here again this year

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Fresh and sweet in the morning.

Love the Bees!

In recent years, beekeepers have been losing 25 percent of their hives each winter.*The Xerces Society, Pollinator Conservation Program
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Albert Einstein speculated that "If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would only have four years of life left."

Please know Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD in short. A severe absence of bees around the world, and best not taken lightly.





In Japan, over 200 kinds of agricultural crops are waiting to be pollinated by bees, and farmers are resorted to purchasing overseas bees at dear prices. In order to sustain the market, tenders are enduring teeth-gritting losses at the present, but the measure may not hold out long enough if the shortage of bees continues to aggravate!





That is to say, the impact of the disappearing bees is about to hit our tables very soon!

Our ever urbanizing environment is seeing the bees to the door. Scientists discover that the bees are sickened by a kind of mite, which enlarge in numbers due to the warming climate. Sadly, to wipe out the pest is proved difficult, for using of pesticide will only kill the bees as well.






To help save the bees, here's how we can do our bits.

Grow plants - Especially flowers rich in pollen with attractive colors. Bees are especially attracted to purple, blue and yellow. Aromatic plants like thyme, oregano, or rosemary are also recommended. Leave wild flowers alone. Dandelions are one of the bees favorite.

Avoid chemicals - Avoid using fungicides or pesticides in order to fight diseases or pests. Compost vegetable peelings in order to maintain a fertile, healthy soil.

Fight global warming - Let's do what we can!

The bees are buzzing for our attention. Let's love the bees.

Entering June

Entering June, we were pretty sure that the prime of Spring is very much over, but a vast field of Chinese milk vetch took us by surprise!

The sight was a little wierd though. Farmers were in the middle of clearing away the flowers to prepare the huge plot for some serious plantation. The friendly owner explained that the flowers were planted purely to enrich the soil, less for pleasurable reasons.

She added too though bees are very attracted to Chinese milk vetch, the field didn't welcome a many, as the bees have been decreasing sharply in numbers over the years. ' If only the bees were here... ' she said.

So, we saw no bees, but look what Bear has found!

Hmm... if you haven't been aware, an environmental issue is creeping under and surfacing sooner than we've expected. I hope to touch on this topic a little later.

Works of 2009, Spring

It's an urn. It's a jar for potpourri. It's ...


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'It' breaks up into 3 pieces of pottery works made this Spring. ;)


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Bear has his nostrils in the air for his masterpiece above. Sensei ( teacher, instructor ) poured profuse praise on the fine finish, and insisted that it should sit on shelf at a pretty price. Bear is keeping his work instead of selling it of course. ;)





My produce is good for side dishes or pickled food. You know, those 小鉢 ( Kobachi, small dish ) that never fail to turn up at a Japanese cuisine. The edges aren't exactly how I wanted them, but I'm surprisingly happy with it.

Lastly, a small vase made by left over clay. It's full of finger-printed indentations over the surface. Love the rustic signa.

Just when I thought we're pretty much done for pottery this year, Bear is planning an attempt on a different type of clay soon! =D I just can't wait!

And I can't wait for the weekend too. Have a great one!

Appreciating the little bits in life

After months of quiet anticipation, Rowndy has finally bloomed! =D

Here's how it looked like yesterday.


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It took many painstaking hours for the petals to pull away and look like this.




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Several weeks to go before Rowndy is full fledged, and I'm already smiling from ear to ear. Heee... =)




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Gotta appreciate the brainchild of blogging. What better way to document the little precious episodes in life, in a humble world crafted as my own. And seeing great people, making friends. Blogging might have already become one of those delicious bits in life. ;)

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And you know what? I've never owned a diary before.