This entire week has been really stressful to me. I lost my brother, Allah Yerhama, and the pain was unbearable. I felt really bad and the fact that I hadn't seen him for a long time was making the things even worse. My mom and sis are also in a different country and apart from grieving for my brother I was also worried about my mom. I talked to her daily to check up on her but I know it's not the same as being around her. I still find myself weeping at times but I know that it disturbs the souls of those who left this world so I try to control myself, though it's difficult.
I stayed away from the garden for a few days but I knew if I'd stay longer it'd be in a mess, and plus my we'd waste so much produce that is fresh and organic.
Tomatoes are ripening nicely, courgettes are still going strong and pickling cucumbers have taken off. Salads are doing perfect and herbs are good too.
Today I went out and did a proper "harvesting". I got more than 1 kg of courgettes, around a kg of tomatoes, herbs, 2 bunches of lettuce, 2 heads of bok choy, 2 bunches of curly endive, 2 cucumbers (there for pickling, which I already did 2 jars, but today I'll try them fresh), 1 beet, 4 carrots and 4 scarlet radishes. I only harvest what I need, there's so much more Mashallah. Scarlet radishes are interesting thing. I guess you really need to harvest them young cuz some have grown such long roots they almost look like red carrots.
I'm cooking a baked herbed chicken, herbs from the garden of course. Gonna do some potatoes (sadly I didn't grow any this year), and mixed greens as a side. Greens are of course all from the garden. I always use radish and beet leaves. Radish leaves I always cook, except the white radish leaves which we consume fresh cuz they're smooth and yummy. Beet leaves I use cooked if they're old and in salad if they're young.
Some pics are below.
So sorry to read about your brother, Yana.... my sincerest condolences. I lost my husband last year and growing things and tending to my balcony garden really help me feel peaceful. He said that he knew I was happy when the plants were growing and he loved to see the balcony in bloom. Gardening is really a celebration of life.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry for your loss as well Lei and thank you for your encouraging words. Our loved ones maybe gone but they stay in out hearts. I lost my father 6 years ago and my grandma 2 years ago. I still think of them everyday.
ReplyDeleteThank you for stopping by and hope to "see" you here more.
So sorry for your loss ,was reading through the blog and came across this . Lost both my dad and brother around this same time towards mid year and it`s been hard ,still find a tear or two or more flowing randomly at times till now .May almighty god make it easy on all of us .amen.
ReplyDeleteNice read and photos.
Amin. Thank you so much for your words. It was a very difficult time indeed, I still forget at times that he's gone. It took a long time to come to terms with his death. I had lost my grandma (who I was very close with) 2 years prior and my dad a few years before that. I still dream about them being alive as if nothing had happened. Not a day goes by when that I don't think of them. I had also lost other family members in the past 10-12 years and it felt very weird that almost entire family you grew up with was gone in a matter of a few years.
DeleteGardening has helped me a lot. I would work for hours in the garden and it would ease the pain. It's like therapy to me. When in the garden my mind would concentrate on the planting and planning and would keep my mind away from the worries, pain and the stress.