Summer Greens

I have been harping about starting my own pocket garden. I am no green thumb yet I have this overwhelming desire to have plants around my house so it can breathe. And with the kind of temperature we have right now, the thing that could beat the summer heat are summer greens. ha ha.

I also like to believe that it helps purify the air. And lessens our carbon footprint. The environment has taken so much beating from us earthlings that I am doing this little effort to provide a liveable place for the next generation. I wish my daughter to see how green the trees are, how lovely flowers are in bloom...

And so here is my first attempt. Baby steps. 

I've had my first attempt a few years back. But then neglect and sporadic care led to the inevitable demise. Sad. But I promise to do better this time. 

Now, my friend Kira, gave me two pretty cacti from The Green House Project which came with a care instruction. Sharing it here for those who share my absolute absence of a green thumb but nevertheless want to grow their own potted friends. 

Succulents Care Instruction

 Sunlight

1. Make sure to give them 4-6 hours of sunlight each day. The ideal time would be sunrise up to 10:30am and late afternoon from 4:00pm onwards.
2. You can place your succulents where there is a good source of light, e.g., by the window, on the porch, balcony, etc
3. On rainy days, you could place your succulents under a lamp with bright lights.

Watering

1. When watering your succulents, first check if the soil is completely dry. You can do this by inserting a wooden stick 4 inches deep or all the way down to the bottom of your pot. If the stick comes out dry then it's time to water. 
2. The ideal amount of water should be 1/4 the size of your pot. Make sure not to water directly above the succulent. Water the soil around the plant.
3. Overwatering will kill your succulents!

Are you a newbie city gardener, too? Please share your stories. 

Xx

Sheng

Big decisions

You think getting married, settling down is already a big decision. In the adult world, I think it's just one of many. The big decisions never stop. It multiplies as you evolve from being in a couple relationship to expanding your basic unit. 

And just like tying the knot, the big decisions in life involve a life-long commitment. Huge commitment. Like everything else that requires sober and sound thinking, we waver, even second guess. But when it is a shared decision, taking the big leap becomes easy to bear. 

The natural progression after marriage is to start a family. Build a house to provide shelter. We've been house hunting for a while now. There's that desire to live in a quaint but pretty house in a nice neighborhood with trees and a lawn with a nice garden.

When you wake up to reality however, you'll be forced to admit that it's nearly impossible to accomplish it in a big city like Manila where real estate prices shoot to the roof. Unless, I married money. Or we are filthy rich. 

We are neither. So, after a long search we chose to buy a unit in a mid-rise condominium development. It's half the size of our dream space but it's as good, as it gets. The price is within our range. And the mortgage payment scheme doesn't break the bank. 

Last weekend, we took the next step after paying off the reservation fee. We signed the form that will enable the developer to issue a buyer's document. We, on one hand, will get to start paying the amortization. 

Needless to say, we are excited but at the same time apprehensive of the unknown and of the future. We are going to have to do a lot of belt-tightening and creative expense planning. As my friend Josette said, "welcome to the club" being a homeowner herself, I find solace in the fact that she has hurdled the five years since she bought her property happy and unscathed.

With our imagination taking an overdrive, I've caught myself dreaming of the final product when it gets turned over to us. And how we will make it our own. It may not be the house of our dreams but it has one feature that am dying to have -- a balcony. Make it two balconies. 
 

Photo Credit: Pinterest

And so with bated breath, I envision that in the next 36 months I will have a nice reading corner, a lounge area and an open space to meditate and smell the roses. It's a long way to go and we're getting ahead of ourselves but who cares dreaming is free :-))

I love how sunny this space is!

Have you found your dream space yet? Tell me about it. 


XX

Sheng

Moving in, Moving out

I am a modern day nomad. For as long as I could remember, I had been moving around. In college, I tried living in two dormitories before finally settling into the last one. I stayed there for a little over two years. 

When I started working, I have tried several types of living arrangements. I lived in an apartment with five of my friends. It was okay and fun. But it offered very little privacy. But what it lacks in comfort totally made up for the much needed savings on cost of living expense. It worked out for almost a year. Then, one by one, my flatmates moved out. One got married, another got assigned to another city, another dropped from university. And so, we had to give up the huge apartment. 

Since then, I have lived in a small house on a hill in a charming village, in a crowded boarding house, in a converted garage, in a pad in an executive village, in the basement of a rich landlady -- this by far was my most memorable because the landlady ensures that the place is cleaned and tidied up by the house help everyday; it's like hotel living. 

In my mid-20s, I was fortunate to live in a compound of several newly-built bachelor's pads. I was among the first tenants. Back then, the owners who were doctors would only accept friends (doctors, also). Lucky for me, I may not be a doctor but I am good friends with the wife's best friend, naturally, a doctor also. ha ha ha. I stayed in the Agnila Pad for over 2 years. It was amazing. My pad was the coziest, my neighbors were the coolest and my landlords were the chummiest. There, I made friends for life. 

My pad in Tacloban at Doc Connie & Deo's beautiful compound. Memories. and. Parties.

In 2007, I moved to Manila. My first condo unit was in a very old condominium. But it was grand in a sense that it's just a block away from my workplace. In less than a year, the owner decided to sell the place. But I wasn't a taker so, I had to move out. Again. 

For three steady years, I lived in a very nice condominium with all the amenities one could ask for: a lap pool, I barely swam in; a gym, I rarely use; a game room, I have not played in; a function room, I have not used. But it was perfect -- proximity- and security-wise. Expensive, too. 

Reality bit me. It's either I move out and find a less pricey home or stay and be forever just barely making ends meet. I chose the former. 

So, I found myself living in the outskirts of the big city. At first, it was uncomfortable. The mind does a lot of tricks, you know. Yet, I found myself loving my community. My building isn't as nice but the neighborhood barangay tanod (citizen police) patrols the night. It makes me feel real safe. And my building guards are alright. 

And then again, I found myself in yet another dilemma, just a year later. My unit's owner wanted to sell it to me. But I wasn't up to it. So, I had to move out. Again! Since, I like my place very much, I didn't look far. I just moved one floor up. 

When you think long and hard, the constant moving takes a toll in one's well-being. I feel that I am not giving myself an opportunity to grow roots so I could truly be part of a community. 

My old condo unit. Just had to take a photo after it got emptied out of 3 years of my life.

However, a friend of mine once told me, "grow where you are planted." So, I've come to terms with my lifestyle. Until such time that I finally find my very own home, I shall make a home of the flats or condos where I temporarily live.