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Our Frangipani Tree, Part 2

13 Sep

The last few days the garden was looking a bit messy with potted plants everywhere and air plants hanging at wherever possible. They had to be relocated when the gardener came to treat the Frangipani tree; we kept the branches intact but the poor tree’s looking pretty bald without any leaves.

During those few days out in the open, the poor plants were burnt by direct sunlight because no other parts of the garden have shades to protect them like the Frangipani tree.

So after the anti-fungal medication settled on the tree, it’s time to move the plants back to their original location and hubby had to improvise to create a temporary shade for the delicate air plants and bromeliads.

This is the end result. I think it works.

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Our Frangipani Tree

7 Sep

We have a lovely garden at the back of the house. And in the corner, facing the garden patio is our lovely Frangipani tree. Over the years, the tree blossomed and is perfect for hubby to hang all his air plants on its branches.

Years passed and the corner thrived. But recently, our tree fell sick, noticeable with most of the leaves having orange splotches – rust fungus. Yikes.

Now all this while, the tree has been treated with organic anti-fungal spray but perhaps it’s not effective enough resulting in its state today. So it was either we chop down the tree as an easy solution to get rid of the fungus or trim it and treat with a super strong poisonous anti-fungal spray to contain the situation.

We opted for the latter because we can’t bear to lose the tree and now it is looking rather bald. Poor tree! But we hope the treatment will do wonders and the tree will regain its full beauty. Only time can tell.

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Looking lush and looking bald

Frangipani leaves

Orange culprit be gone!

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Resistance is Futile, Part 2

20 Aug

I must say my food fancy have changed ever since the discovery of Endometriosis. It’s sad that I have to give up certain food but some things I just cannot give up.

Top on the list of food I avoid these days are dairy, wheat, onions and caffeine or should I say coffee. As for eggs and beef, the less I eat them, the less pain I would have to deal with. And so far, it’s been manageable.

I thought I could still do sunflower seeds after that last ordeal a month ago, dismissing it as an isolated case. I couldn’t be more wrong as I had some recently and suffered the consequences miserably. I guess I have to give this up too. Sigh…

I was at the grocery store over the weekend and the chocolate bar called out to me again and I couldn’t resist because it is one of the two things I can’t give up. I picked it up without hesitation. As I have said before, resistance is futile.

Although chocolate contains dairy, I manage and consume in moderation, so it’s bearable. It doesn’t cause as much pain as cheese or even the sunflower seeds. I would be terribly miserable if I can’t have my chocolate. Shudder…

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Intense Heat

16 Aug

We are experiencing an intense heat wave of late, it’s unbearable. The biting heat certainly makes life uncomfortable and it’s no fun to carve in such weather, what more to do so out in the garden terrace with the sun in the background. When the wind blows, it’s as if we are standing in front of an opened oven with the heat gushing out. Phew.

Several months earlier when it rained, we’d wished for dry weather but we get dry weather now, we wish for the opposite! I guess we have to deal with the situation.

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A New Problem

26 Jul

Besides avoiding dairy and caffeine, these days I also avoid onions, eggs and beef if I can help it. Life as a cow (consuming just greens) sometimes can be very bland and boring. So in between meals, I would munch on seeds and nuts because they are supposedly good for me.

Recently, I discovered I can’t eat sunflower seeds! Oh dear. I like sunflower seeds and have been eating them my whole life but of late, these puny seeds make me bloated and a horrible discomfort would ensue. It looks like food listed as good will not necessarily be good for me. Every Endometriosis sufferer is different and it’s a matter of trial and error, or rather eat and suffer, to discover.

I then checked again the symptoms for Endometriosis and sure enough, bloating is right there after the back pains and cramps. So maybe it’s not the sunflower seeds after all. Somehow this bloating was never so pronounced before and was mistaken for something else at the beginning of the year which then led to the discovery of Infectious Colitis.

Still, this bloating issue is a new problem to deal with. I have to monitor and see if this is cyclical. Sigh…

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Unexpected Harvest

20 Jul

It’s obvious I am not a garden person. I hardly visit our garden and you won’t see me outside especially when the weather has been so darn hot. Sheepishly I can’t tell you what we have except all those air plants, potted plants, the frangipani tree, the hedges, more potted plants, several red palm trees and even more potted plants, and of course the habanero chilli.

Two days ago, a couple of habanero chillies fell from the plant. Worried that the rest may follow suit, hubby decided to harvest the remaining six. Now this plant, it’s the original plant that yielded all those lovely mini Christmas-ornament looking habanero chillies I mentioned last month. Because I hardly visit the garden, I got it wrong when I wrote that the new plant has sprouted new chillies when in fact, it’s still the old plant! The ones that failed to grow were additional attempts by hubby. My bad.

We decided to give the unexpected harvest to friends who missed out trying them from the previous batch. Hopefully, they can take the level of the heat. But we suspect these green ones may not be as super hot as the red riped ones. Regardless, I am pretty sure we will hear from our friends once they have savored these hot habanero chillies.

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Going Dairy-Free

17 Jul

It is most unfortunate that I have to give up ice cream because dairy is bad for me. I have given up my cheeses (sadly my favorite) and milk but I still do chocolate because temptation is too strong. Occasionally a little morsel of indulgence to appease but not overly to create discomfort.

Hubby and M2 are very aware of my diet change and was thoughtful to buy a dairy-free sorbet for me when they went grocery shopping recently. So nice of them!

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Green Fingers Red Chillies, Part 3

13 Jul

The new habanero chilli plant has finally sprouted after several failed attempts by hubby. He will of course be monitoring its growth until they are ready to be harvested.

For now, they are still green like mini capsicums. I look forward to the moment when they all turn red and look like cute little Christmas ornaments. It will be a lovely picture to capture! Stay tuned…

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What Can I Eat? Part 3

5 Jul

I have never in my wildest dreams thought I would be in a coffee- and alcohol-free situation. I used to live on Coke and Oreos for the caffeine and sugar kick in college and later, thrived on coffee in my professional working life. Then there’s alcohol, a totally different story but not now.

It’s been three months since my laparoscopic surgery and five months since the colonoscopy. Life has resumed with normal activities and recently, I have even gone back to an occasional alcoholic drink or two but not as much as before. Moderation is the key.

Somehow for coffee, I just can’t get back to drinking it on a regular basis. I am not complaining though, I am happy with my decaf Earl Grey.

Health wise, I have maintained my weight which is good but I find I have lost some core strength. Lack of gym sessions to build this back? This is especially very obvious when I play golf because all my distances are off by 10 meters! To compensate this, I have to use a club stronger. Oh well, as long as I can still play golf, I should be thankful.

Initially, within a month from the laparoscopy, I felt fine and pain free. But now, three months later, my pain problems have returned.

One is never cured from Endometriosis unfortunately. I suspect it could be a new round of build up because I have been careful with what I eat. I guess I need to be even more careful all over again if I don’t want to suffer.

The immediate thing to do is to manage the diet by eliminating food that will imbalance the oestrogen. And when the chemical reactions are reduced with a controlled diet, it curtails the Endometriosis the chance to grow and reduces the many symptoms linked to it.

Also I checked again on the list of food to avoid and found out I got my info incorrect on soy products the last time. It’s unfermented soy based foods (like soy milk and soy cheese) that are not good for me, so actually tofu, miso and soy sauce are okay. Thank goodness.

Don’t be surprised if I lose another kilo or two the next few months because it looks like I  shouldn’t be on an in-moderation diet but a restrictive one all over again to manage the pain levels. Sigh…

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Green Fingers Red Chillies, Part 2

29 May

So we harvested the habanero chillies. I must say they are kinda cute and do look like Christmas ornaments. I gave some to Mom and a couple of friends to try, and saved the rest for ourselves.

Hubby said the green one which he had tried previously had a nice oomph and gave me the impression that these red ones would taste the same.

Dang, they don’t! These red ones don’t just give a nice oomph but a fiery burn when we ate them last night. Phew…. hot, hot, hot!

Or could it be my tastebuds have mellowed because of the restrictive diet I was on given my health condition the last few months? I used to be able to eat spicy but sadly, this ability has deserted me. Sigh…

Hubby saved the seeds from the harvested batch to prep them to be planted again. It will be several months from now before we have another batch of hot fiery habanero chillies.

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