What have I got myself into?

(9th Dec 2011)
I really don’t know why I was lead into this dark valley? I know in my deepest heart that this is a spiritual attack, a tremendous spiritual attack. It seems like I’ve been getting so many obstacles since I made my decision to lead the Christmas combined choir. I have people saying to me that it’s impossible to do, that we don’t have the skill nor time to become a good choir, it’s gonna be a train wreck, and so on. Some said that once I jumped into this, more and more requests will come my way and they won’t stop until I burnt out. I mean, what is it that people afraid of? I honestly don’t understand. I’m trying to do a good thing here but why am I being attacked, being scared off to not do this thing?

And who ever said I don’t have these thoughts myself? All I need is encouragement that everything is going to be okay. Encouragement and support. And what did I get? These comments that weighted me down. I feel like I’m drowning and my foot is tied with this bag of gold and I keep trying to swim to surface but it’s just so hard.

It was really eerie last night as I sat down in front of my TV. I felt I was back in the same spot as I was 5 years ago. The only difference is I have Baron sleeping on my lap :-). Random thoughts started flashing in my mind and these questions popped up in my mind. Questions of, ‘Why?’, ‘What?’, and how am I going to go through all this by myself.

Last night was in fact the first time in 5 years that I felt so alone and so small on earth. Thank God for a friend of mine who lent me this awesome book, Captivating, by John and Staci Eldredge. NOW I know that this is another spiritual attack and not something that is my fault. So, my situation last night was slightly different than what I experienced 5 years ago. Instead of blaming myself and crawled into a dark corner, I actually stop and try to converse with God and asked for direction (and ask Him to save me). And I believed that He answered me, in a strange way I have to say, I had so many questions and I didn’t know what to do, and then I saw ads on TV, the news headline, conversations in movies, that kinda resembled answers or guidance.

And then I remembered a radio talk I heard that very same morning about why people do bad things to other people. The voice on the radio said, most people who do bad things to others don’t really realise that they did a bad thing or say a bad thing or the effect of what they did. Although it’s hard to imagine how someone could do that to you. Remember that, it’s almost certain that they do it with no purpose, that it was just accidental.

So I thought, this is Christmas after all, a very happy but yet stressful time for most of us. Pressure to be on top of things at work, with family and friends, responsibility to church, giving ourselves a break and so on. So, I decided to take a step back and take all of these into consideration. I think it’s best for me to not be affected by non constructive comments and push on to finish what I have started. People may say what they say out of the blue without giving a second thought, and I shouldn't overthink it.

The battle is not yet won, but the fight continues on and I promise that I will be on top of every challenge that will come my way.

So, bring it on non constructive comments!
I dare you!
I dare you to break my spirit!

Apple Road Trip to Bilpin

Anyone know where Bilpin is?

For those who never heard of it. It’s a small town in NSW famous for apples. J

We went to Bilpin in the mid of winter season and gosh it was freeezeeeing!! But, we layered up and with lots of determination off we went to Bilpin.

This is me eating apple right off the tree. They’re green apples but super sweet. Not sour at all.

Oh! And it was drizzling as well that time, but we continued on. They have a few different apples, but I like the granny smith most of all. We saw lemon trees as well and a few of berries plants, but they’re not ready to be harvested yet.

We stopped over at Bilpin Botanical Garden at Mount Tomah and it is probably the smallest botanical garden I’ve ever been to. J But they’re okay I guess. A little bit more maintenance will do more justice to the place.

I particularly love this setting of succulents and dry land area.

Continuing our journey, we visited Leura shopping village and it’s the cutest little town. And it was so foggy, we couldn’t take proper photos of the place. But it was a beautiful place, it’s just our photos don’t do justice.

That night we had dinner at this truly amazing place in Leura, The Garage, or Leura Garage the local call it. The food is really really good. Amazing! We didn’t try the pizza, apparently it’s famous for its pizzas. But the stuffed quail was so delicious.

Next day, it was still foggy. J Really lovely weather…

We walked a little bit up the national park. It was really cold that day. I should’ve brought my gloves with me. We didn’t expect the temperature to drop that low. I think it was 6-8 C degrees that morning.

And then we start our journey back to Sydney. Crawl ourselves in traffic, while remembering the yummy taste of fresh picked apples. Splendid! Can’t wait to go back there!

Funky Baby Sneakers

I didn’t know it’s going to turn out to be this cute!!

This piece is a new pattern I tried a few months ago. The pattern says baby tennis shoes. 

They’re really really cute. I made them in small size for trial. I think I might make more of these.

They’re so easy and fun to make. The only tricky bit is when you join them together, the neater you work, the nicer they will turn out.

Cute lace:

This project is one of the smallest crochet projects I’ve ever worked on. Very intricate indeed.

(Completed 11^th Nov 2011)

Little Baby Boots

This pattern is one of my favourite baby boots pattern. They resemble ugg boots.

For a very cool looking baby. 

I first came across this pattern in a really old book and I made them once a few years ago. (http://littlemsbusy.blogspot.com/2009/11/knitting-baby-snow-boots.html)

This time, I had a few yarn left and I thought it would be cool to use this for baby boots.

(Completed 9^th Nov 2011)

Little Herbs Garden

I think it's time to share this little gem of mine with all of you.
Having a balcony with full sun exposure is such a joy for me. I love growing herbs, I have always wanted to grow herbs. So, now is my chance :-)

When I first started, I only planted basil, thyme and spring onions.
They grew quite well even during winter season, surprisingly...
Maybe it's me going crazy with seaweed fertiliser. This photo was taken in May 2011.

After my initial success, I came across www.herbcottage.com.au and I bought bay leaves tree, curry leaves tree and chaste tree.
The didn't grow very well during winter. I thought I lost them, but they grew back since 1 month ago, as spring arrived.

 Chaste Tree

 Bay Leaves Tree

 Curry Leaves Tree

And for the potted herbs, I think they have grown wild now, especially the thyme. :-) Photos taken November 2011.

Collection of Herbs - There are 2 new ones, Rosemary and Sage

 Thyme

Thyme's Flowers

Slow Growing Succulents

So, when I moved to my new place at Narwee, the balcony is so full of sun. I thought it's perfect for growing succulents. So I bought a few of them from thesucculentgarden.com.au.

Initially I put some of them in separate vases to decorate my bathroom, study, etc. But they didn't thrive very well.

So I decided to put them all in one pot in the balcony. They got better after that. Even though they're slow growers. The jelly beans and bear paws are doing extremely well.

This photo was taken when I moved them to one pot in September 2011

And as you can see in the next 2 photos, they're growing and recovering. Photos taken in November 2011:

Succulents in pot: Jelly Beans, Tom Thumbs, Sedum Buritto, Crasulla Spring Time, Bear's Paws, Strings of Pearls << I loveeeee this one, so cute, Rabbit's Ears, there is one big flower like succulent in the middle that I can't remember the name.

At the beginning I was planning to make a succulent wreath for Christmas this year. But, I don't think they're ready yet. Maybe next year :-)

First Christmas in Narwee

I thought, what is the best way to celebrate this special Christmas in my new place? I think knowing me, you all should already guessed, that I’m making my decorations this year. And it’s gonna be big!

So, officially, I started my project on 2^nd November. This is the first Christmas thing that I made this year. It’s a caddy for coasters and the coasters. This is my first time working with plastic canvas and long stitch. I have to say I quite enjoy it. They’re not difficult, they’re fast and they’re pretty.

Before:

After:

(Completed in 6^th Nov 2011)

My One and Only White Rose – Pope John Paul II

When I bought a set of roses last time, I came across this white rose. It’s a relatively new breed and it’s the most fragrant white rose in the world. It’s the winner of

I didn’t have enough pots to plant all the roses initially, so this one had to wait a few weeks until it was planted properly in a correct pot size. So, its growth was a bit delayed. I was worried at the beginning that it might die.

However, as Sydney weather got warmer, the plant grew bigger and 3 rose buds appeared. I was so beyond excited because I couldn’t wait to smell it.

Until I woke up one morning and saw one of the rose bud had opened and then I smelled the flower. I have to say, it was the most wonderful fragrant I’ve ever experienced. It’s not pure rose fragrant, there is something else in it. It’s almost vanilla like smell.

Summer Colour Baby Blanket

A fellow blogger (BabyDolphin) and most importantly a great friend of mine is expecting her first child sometime around Christmas. So I made this baby blanket for her baby shower gift. I always want to try making a baby blanket because I think they’re cute and the colour is usually vibrant, like this one.

This blanket is not hard at all to make and look at the result. I can’t wait to see a baby wrap in it. J

The blanket took me 9 days to make. And it’s so worth it. I especially love the colour combination. Again, Garnstudio is marvellous, I salute their design team. They did a good a job and they keep getting better and better every single year.

I hope the baby loves it  J

(Completed 1^st Nov 2011)