Garden Chef's Needle and Pen

Hello there! I'm so excited to show you the very first hat I ever crocheted.   For this project, I used the Adult Spring or Easter Hat Shell Stitch Cotton Hat with Spring Blossoms by Cre8tion Crochet . I confess that the first time I saw Lorene's spring hat from All Free Crochet, I went restless in bed thinking of a good substitute since I didn't have a whole skein of white in my stash. Good I had this yarn given by Aunt Marly two months ago!  What a very nice and perfect gift because the color was just an appropriate match to my outfit during our summer outing! I started working on the hat three nights prior but because I would end up sleeping while watching my favorite TV series, I wasn't able to finish the project in time for the event. I traveled to the resort still crocheting the last two rounds of the hat. The place was not very far. We arrived there before I could finish the last round. So instead of exploring and enjoying the place immediately...

It's several weeks past Easter. I remember how I managed to do last minute cramming just to do a few "S" at home... my strategy to appease my husband who was starting to show signs of (okay, you could make your own guess... clue: there were clutters invading his study table which have accumulated through time).  I wasn't able to complete the 5S (the Japanese method of workplace organization: seiri for sort , seiton for set in order, seiso for shine, seiketsu for standardize, and shitsuke for sustain). Completing all 5S's was just not feasible for me at that time :( But then, at least, I was able to fill one XL black trash bag with garbage and I was able to sort out the yarns in my stash boxes!!! What an extraordinary accomplishment! :)) While putting away some dusty old magazines and nursing journals, I found Health and Lifestyle December 2009-January 2010 issue. The cover read "Medical Advancements: Audiology, Cardiology, Gastroenterology and Oph...

I first heard about lentils as I read the Old Testament part of the Bible.   "And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils ; then he ate and drank,  arose, and went his way.  Thus Esau despised his birthright."  (Genesis 25:34) "Now it happened, when David had come to Mahanaim,  that Shobi the son of Nahash from Rabbah of the people of A mmon,   M achir the son of Ammiel from Lo Debar,  and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim, brought beds and basins,  earthen vessels and wheat, barley and flour, parched grain and beans,   lentils and parched seeds, honey and curds, sheep and  cheese of the herd, for David and the people who were with him to eat.    (2 Samuel 17: 27-2 9 ) In my mind, I wondered what lentils were but never really bothered to get to know about it. Just recently, I've seen some recipes with lentils as ingredients and to my surprise, I found some cans in the grocery store. Sti...

Hello there! I have this unexplainable addiction to roses and rosebuds lately and look at what I made last Sunday.  White and blue roses as necklace for my uniform. I used variegated blue and white yarn for the smaller roses.   I've been wanting to make a rose for the bag I'm bringing to the office every Monday and Wednesday because I imagined it would make a perfect match to our uniform. But I suddenly changed my mind. Instead, using the Granny Rose pattern of Apple Blossom Dreams , I used for the rose identifiers of Mae Ann in A Rosy Adieu and Eleanor in A Promise of a New Beginning ,  I decided to make a necklace like what Crochet Dynamite did in the Recycled Rose Necklace which I also featured in my post ( The Crochet Dynamite ) last February. Thank you, Astri, for the pattern! Have a great week ahead, everyone! =========== Linking to

Have you experienced waking up to see a new "you" in the mirror? Well, I just did early this morning!  I remember forcing myself to close my eyes and get some sleep last night with the muscle pain running through my left shoulder blade to the whole upper arm. That really caused me a lot of discomfort the whole night! An offshoot of the Basic Life Support re-training I attended (a must for all healthcare workers especially for a nurse educator like me!) yesterday. Well, I hate to admit it but I've been experiencing pain in some parts of my body for quite some time.This has affected my ability to do the usual household chores in the kitchen, in the bathroom and the garden.  Before the pain worsened last night, I managed to take a photograph of some beauty and body care products Ayana Grace (my eldest daughter) and some friends gave me using my new lightbox (courtesy of Ayana Grace also). These are moisturizing body lotion and shower gel from Bench, Dermatox Eye...

I'm still exploring the October 2012 issue of Appetite Magazine although I have another issue already... from Ana Cristina, yes, my supplier of recipe magazines at home. This is still among the magazines I featured in my post ( One Yummy and Healthy Idea a Week: A Year-ender Resolution ) last year. Click on the link to read how I discovered this magazine that has become one of my kitchen buddies. :)) In this issue, you will find a number of classic Spanish dishes revisited. One of them is Pescado al Horno (Baked Fish) . Here's the recipe. Ingredients for the Marinade: 1/2 kilo Lapu-lapu fillet 1 pc calamansi, squeezed (I used 5 pcs) Salt and pepper Ground paprika Ingredients for the Toppings: 1 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp onion, sliced 1 red bell pepper, sliced 1/4 kilo fresh shrimps, peeled 1 cup tomato sauce Salt and pepper Ground paprika A pinch of sugar 1/4 cup fine bread crumbs 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I used Quickmelt cheese) Procedure: 1. Mari...

Last February, Aunt Marly came to attend our grand alumni homecoming. (It was a very exciting event as we had that very rare opportunity of enjoying the company of nursing colleagues we haven't seen for a long time. I personally enjoyed the event despite the very hectic schedule it gave me during the preparations.) Well, did I say Aunt Marly came? Oh yes, she did! Just look at our faces in the photos, a proof of how we enjoyed the 2-day event.  With former dear colleagues at work I enjoyed the reunion very much, too! Short-lived, it may have been, yet the memories are there to linger until now. Here's why. See these?     A bagful of yarn! Gifts from Aunt Marly All these were given to me by Aunt Marly--- yarn, crochet needle of different sizes, weaving needle and stitch markers. Oh, she may not know it because I still haven't had the chance to tell her how, for the first time in my life, I ever had such treasure in my possession! Thank you...

This is a late post about what I did on Easter Sunday. I prepared three dishes. Three? Yes, you heard me right, three dishes! Fish Fillet Sauteed with Cashews and Mushrooms, Warm Spinach and Orange Salad in Asian Vinaigrette and Jam Tarts... three experimental dishes in a day. So that explains the title of today's post. :) Started the day by making jam tarts. I already made a few the previous night and I liked the result so I made another batch for some friends. Hmmm... I was afraid to ask them how it tasted (because I actually made them my guinea pigs. Sorrryyyyy!) The rest we enjoyed as desert for lunch. I got the recipe from Olive Magazine which I already featured in one of my January 2013 posts entitled, Leek, Mushroom and Spinach Souffle Omelette . The first time I laid my eyes on the jam tart photo in Olive Magazine, for months, I haven't stopped dreaming about giving the recipe a try. I confess this was another trial and error as it was my first time to make tarts...