Reused Little Britain Mugs

How to reuse or re-purpose mugs with cracks?
or Where are these mugs made from? They don't last
but they do with succulents.

The cracks may not serve for tea drinkers but the cracks
perfectly fit with succulent plants and its water to drink.

Jelly Bean said "I want that one!" Its wish granted!

Scientific name: Sedum rubrotinctum
Common name: "Jelly Bean Plant" or "Pork and Beans",
Country origin: Mexico
For kids info: This succulent is poisonous and may cause irritation.

Reused Kitchen Kettle

How to reuse kitchen kettle?

At times my ephemeral thought recreate idea, succulent the broken kettle, so here it is!

I don't know about you but I heard from other friend that they also use to break their own

kettle like us. It seemed to be no matter what brand, what price of kettle you buy these 

days it goes broke but my garden pots are not, the succulent plants enjoyed reused

stuffs from our kitchen!

Kalanchoe Blossfeldiana - its origin country is Madagascar

Latin name: Kalanchoe blossfeldiana
Plant group: Succulents
Plant family: Crassulaceae

Idea to Hide Plastic Bins

Honestly I got this idea and photo taken from Tulip Farm in Victoria Australia. Nifty and ideal to hide those plastic bins and decoration. I can't wait to paint my own hiding bin.

A Coffee_Bin (coffee bean)

The Anonymous Giver - “Don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.”

When you have walked and still walking through the valleys of experience in life, you meet wonderful people that are part of your life forever and helped shape your foundational values to shine more light in the dark. This can be a life-experience walk in your past and still be a connection of dots to your future life. Sometimes what has been done to you in the past is a great ingredient for you to keep yourself humble like fruits bearing its magnificent taste to other people who have tasted it before, still wanting to taste it again and wanting to share it around. Things that happen are never a coincidence but for a reason when you look it back with discernment.

As a wife now, I’m connecting the dots of my life as it needed since when I was single person to MARRIAGE LIFE. The “still small voice” reiterates me in January 2012 about reconnecting the dots of my life gearing towards the choices we have made as a couple that we’re both peaceful about it. We’ll be 7 years of marriage without kids yet, but I choose to submit to my husband not to land a job even if it’s tempting when the Lord God took away the job opportunities I have applied rather to stay home and help my husband what we are passionate about even if it may take us years to do it on the “less road travel” by faith in action. An author once said “ANONYMOUS sufferings are actually the best kind --- in fact our Lord Jesus (Yeshua) tells us otherwise, others might recognize us and compliment us and that, will be the reward but what we do in secret God will reward us - Matthew 6:16-18)”. What we believe becomes stronger like a pillar especially when the sign is not everyone is on your side but they are in fact a great springboard for us (a blessing in disguise) because we’re not doing it to glorify ourselves but to glorify Yahweh God who is Faithful and only Truth! We believe that everyone on earth is here for a reason especially if you find your purpose and passion in life and just ACT ON OUR DREAMS and VISION of burden given to us. My urgent job right here, right now is to complete my husband as Father God orchestrated it for us as a couple uniquely or not the same with other couples. Pastor Jack Hyles put it this way. “Always in the Bible the first command is to the follower. In Ephesians 5:22, for example, it says, "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands." Then in verse 25 it says, "Husbands, love your wives." Who's supposed to start it? The wife!  Woman comes to an incomplete man, completes him (Brian), and then receives the benefits of his completeness. Woman comes to an incomplete man and completes him (Brian); that's her job--to be the aggressor, to lead him (Brian) to become a complete man so he can lead her, but he (Brian) needs woman to start him! Then after woman completes man (Brian), she receives the benefits of his completeness!”

Somehow this year 2012 starts, I have personal prompting reminding me back before I went to Bible College after I finished my University degree in Education and had some volunteer jobs which were related to the business industry. For those who knew me and even don’t know me, may ask “how can I be in a job not even related at all to my profession that time” ---I learned nuggets from past experiences and it’s relating now that I’m married to what we’re heading on as a couple. My point is before I entered to Bible College for a short term training that prompted on me; an “ANONYMOUS financial supporter” have already paid my tuition fee for the whole training course in full-term , all I needed to pray about was my allowance then, which the Lord have met in different unexpected ways I can testify & grateful with.

“When someone paid my Bible College tuition fee in full terms ANONYMOUSLY not coincidence because the Lord has its purpose later in my marriage life as one of our foundational values for us to keep growing in our FAITH as a couple when we give; and keep ourselves from pride to what He purposed us to do.” Not only this experience occurred in Bible college but also where I was nurtured young when my parents were pastoring a Church in the Philippines, there were ANONYMOUS givers who just left a big sack of 100 kilograms of Rice in front of the church pulpit when we really had nothing to eat the next day (I’m not exaggerating it) and other things I can testify. That in itself is one of the foundational values I had grown up with to be a blessing to someone anonymously. When we faithfully serve the one who has called us by heart; His provision is in the CALL. It’s all our choice & willingness with patience as one of the fruits of the Spirit of God even if it hurts our guts out to be misjudged; that fruit will bear more fruitage abundantly and exceedingly in due time.

The fact is it’s from the Lord’s Word Himself who says, “When we give, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing like the Pharisees and Sadducees in Jesus’ (Yeshua)’s time who were very religious and proud even when they prayed/fasted in public!”

Matthew 6:2-4 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honoured by men. I tell you the truth; they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

The secret thing is, if we are faithful to do things in small ways faithfully the ONE WHO IS FAITHFUL can trusts us to do things in a big scale in due time. The pity side of it is when someone claiming to be Christians who wants to announce what she/he done or give this or that to other people or to charity they have a long way to understand the ways of God… because if a Christian does it so, how much more the people in the secular world can easily proudly televised it for themselves! I live in Australia and every year, they would occasionally announce a long list in one of the TV programs who gives their charities with their FULL NAME! You know what, even at my husband’s workplace who are not claiming to be Christians, they don’t even want their names to be scrolled on the TV screen how long they have been working there for long years’ service, which was just happened this 2012. My hubby said, because the company is a business, it’s for their marketing strategies and they thought they are doing favour for their employees (although his co-workers can’t see it that way as they questioned why, he said to me). Art Carden, an Assistant Professor of Economics and Business stated “There are, of course, good reasons to be totally open about your giving–when you are trying to honour someone, for example, by naming a building or lecture series or something after them, or when you explicitly want to change people’s incentives.  If you just want to give people stuff, though, then your charity is most effective when it is given in secret.”

When Christians are constantly mentioning what they give or done to others the charitable value losses its true Biblical sense as we’ve heard or read in a sermon but not doers of the Word. Watch out their motives later in life I’m not a prophesying this but there’s something why they say so with pride and to shoot other’s ego immaturely as a babe Christian (Hebrews 6:1-2 speaks of spiritual immaturity, which is another topic). If any of you out there struggling to give/help or intended to do it when you have got something to give, stuffs or even your personal time, don’t be discouraged because when your turn comes, the Lord God has already opened that door for you when you have done it in your heart in secret for a heavenly reward not from men.

I thanked God for His PEACE that passes all understanding as a living testimony. The calamities, challenges, and negating words outside our marriage because of the choice we’ve made thriving us deeply and robustly in the Divine Creator’s hands by faith in action. The pruning is great season to bear so that we shall bear much fruits effectively when that perfect season arrives because He’s our Emmanuel “God is with us” at all times.  When we learned to separate ourselves from the crowd for a season in the wilderness-walk you learn more deep things from our Lord Yahweh God like Jeremiah have himself “set-apart” to be a prophet although not everyone called to be a prophet but we are all unique and our uniqueness is needed in the world when we learn our Heavenly Father’s secret not only in giving!” Jesus said, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross DAILY, and FOLLOW ME," (Luke 9:23).

Harlequin Flower or Sparaxis

At long last, I've finally found the real name of my unknown Spring flowers in our mini garden, which saturates among our tulips together with the Bluebells accumulating competition. It was a shame because my mother in the Philippines has been asking what's the name and I could not tell the name especially her Harlequin bulbs or corms starting to grow for her first time to see them in real ☺☺☺. Good for you mom, you're able to start your bulbs growing!

Here are my digital scrapbook photography:

Harlequin Flower or Sparaxis is one of the Harlequin types (Tricolor) I only have. There are other "fairdinkum" brilliant coloured Harlequin flowers besides these blooming in the garden but I don't see them much around. The green leaves spiky shapes blend and economize the  garden space with other Spring flowers like Tulips, Bluebells and the like.

ABOUT SPARAXIS or HARLEQUIN FLOWER
Harlequin flower or Sparaxis Bulbifera climate is subtropical to cool.

Plant them late Summer to Autumn. 

After they flower just simply leave them on the ground 

and they keep coming every year for you to enjoy!

Fertilize it if you plant them on poor soil during Autumn 

(just before cold season).

Harlequin comes from the Iridaceae family.
Price range is depending on its variety and where you buy them from in Australia:
20-50 pieces from AU$6.50 to AU$13.00
100 pieces can be AU$25.00

Harlequin Flower or Sparaxis with Queen of the Night Tulip, Tulip Ad Rem, and Snowy Tulip

Lavendula or Lavender flowers (although not Spring bulb) but it's also blooming in Spring not in Summer. Bluebell flowers were just perfectly accumulated more in 2011 due to longer beautiful cold Winter.

Blaring sunset shining through our mini garden... Tulip names that you can spot in the garden are: Tulip Strong Gold (Bright Yellow); Tulip Barcelona (Purple Pink); Tulip Ad Rem (Bright Orange); Tulip Gerrit van der Valk (Red with a Yellow Edge); Tulip Striped Bellona (Yellow with striped Red) and others you cannot see in the picture.

Again they are Bluebell flowers, Queen of the Night Tulip, Snowy Tulip and the Harlequin flowers of its kind in the garden - hopefully I can find other Harlequin colours for their long lost friends in Springtime!

Highlighting my QUEEN OF THE NIGHT TULIPS with Tulip Ad Rem, Harlequin Flowers, Bluebell flowers and Tulip Barcelona close up. Both Harlequin and Bluebell are naturalizing.

More view of the Queen of the Night Tulips and the rest of its blooming sisters. The heart-shaped green leaves among those Queentulips are Gotu Kola (Arthritis Herb). The Gotu Kola are already accumulated before I bothered to find its name - I thought it's just a lovely ground cover plants in our frontage house without knowing it's a useful herb (anyway that's another post).

Thanks for watching and your time, this is Queen of the Night Tulip with all my Spring sensational blooming flowers!

What's your favorite flowers? 

You are welcome to write on the comment below this post 

about your passion for flowers like me!


Here's a photo of mixed Sparaxis or Harlequin Flowers,
which I don't have yet only the one I mentioned above.