Green bin'd

Things went from looking real bad to worse for the cattleya and now it's official: the cattleya has fallen (both figuratively and literally into the green bin).

I'm sad I wasn't able to save it, but at least I tried. Better luck next time!

Orchids on the brain

I love orchids and I have two orchid plants. One is a phalaenopsis (of the "Just Add Ice" variety - more on that later) and the other is a cattleya. Sadly both were in really rough shape a few months ago so I took it upon myself to try to revive them. Here are the updates:

Phalaenopsis:
We got the phal last November when little K was born. When we first got it, I watered it by putting in 3 ice cubes weekly as per the instructions it came with but then things went downhill from there. First the blooms fell off and the spike dried up (this is normal, you just cut the spike), but then the leaves started getting wrinkly and the plant started looking really pathetic. Not wanting to give up that easily, I started researching orchid care online and realized that the "Just Add Ice" company is delusional - three ice cubes a week is not sufficient for any type of orchid. Case in point, here is how you are supposed to water them:

1/ Fill your pot with water. All the way to the brim.
2/ Soak the bark/medium for a few minutes (optional).
3/ Drain the pot of the water.

Three ice cubes?! Ha.

Anyway, the phal is actually doing pretty good now that I am watering it properly. So far there are two new leaves and new roots popping out everywhere. No shoots yet (so no bloom, boo), but I'm hopeful they will come because things are looking promising. Yes!

Cattelya:
This plant was an offshoot of my late mother-in-laws plant so I really wanted to be able to save it. It sat in our house for about a year and a half with sparse waterings here and there but somehow managed to survive, albeit barely.

Unfortunately I think the day I decided to revive it was the start of its demise. Fast forward to today and it's looking the worst it's ever looked: there are no new roots, no new leaves, and definitely no new shoots. In fact, this plant basically has no roots at all because they have all rotted. As for the leaves, it used to sport two long green ones, but they have since been cut off because they slowly shrivelled up while turning light green, then yellow, then brown.

There was a section of new green roots about a month ago, but I wasn't able to re-pot it quickly enough (kept forgetting to pick up a pot from my father-in-law's house) and now all those green roots are now dead because the plant kept bouncing here there and everywhere in the bigger pot whenever I watered it. All that's left is one TINY little green leaf (which has no roots attached to it anymore so I think it's only a matter of time before that dies off) and a mostly brown stump. I'm still hopeful and trying to water it to give it one last go but it's looking bad, guys. Real bad.

f o u r

Has it really been four years since we said, "I do?"

I guess time flies when you're with the right person.

Happy anniversary, J. :)

Her nose works!

This afternoon we checked out the Asian night market "Night It Up!" and when we passed by the stinky tofu vendors I noticed K furrowed her brows, wrinkled her nose, and had a general look of "I don't like this" meets "I think I'm going to be sick" on her face.  I made J pass by the 'stink zone' a few more times on our walk around the marketplace just to make sure it wasn't a coincidence (poor guy), and each time we passed by her facial expression would go from neutral to "Ughh." Needless to say, we were both thrilled.

Unlike me, we are pretty sure that K can smell, huzzah!

Waiting As Obedience

An excerpt from today's instalment of She Reads Truth's study on Ruth, Waiting As Obedience:

This doesn't mean that things turn out exactly the way we think they should.  Had Boaz come back and told Ruth he wasn't able to marry her, God's plan would have gone ahead of hers.  He woudl have come through, provided for her, remembered His promise.

In your waiting place, cling to the hope that never once has our God left our story unfinished and unredeemed.  It may not look how we expected but, as with Ruth and Naomi, our story is His story -- it was then and it will be in years to come. We are only to wait, to trust, to obey. 

I've always enjoyed reading through Ruth. It's a great story and she is my favourite female Bible character. However, this study has helped me go beyond just reading this book as a story, and extract lessons from text. There are so many things to learn in there and so many things I admire in Ruth - her obedience, trust, faith, patience, humbleness, inner strength, loyalty, and diligence are but a few things that come to mind.

Washed, renewed, and made anew.

"He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit." - Titus 3:5

"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come." - 2 Corinthians 5:17

Though we are broken, You love us and make us whole.
Though our sins are scarlet, You make us white as snow.

Walks with K

I've been taking K out for daily walks (as long as it's not raining) ever since the weather warmed up and summer arrived. (What happened to spring? I feel like we went straight to summer once winter finally finished.)  Anyway, we are generally out and about for about an hour (weather dependent), but lately our walks having been getting longer and farther. I really enjoy the time we have outside together and having her there makes all the difference (even if she generally falls asleep for at least a little bit).

I went for a walk by myself yesterday, but it just wasn't the same without her and I was home within 15 minutes. I got too bored, heh.

The Word. Werd.

I came across a Bible Study website for women today, #SheReadsTruth. According to their site, they been around for around 2 years now, but they are new to me and I'm happy to have found them. They are currently going through the book of Titus and have already completed 6 days of their reading plan. I read the first instalment today and so far so good. I'm behind and will likely remain behind (as opposed to trying to read through 6 days in 1), but I'm okay with that. I'm excited to see where this study of the Word will take me. I just need to keep with it.

I'm also currently trying struggling to keep up with my New Year's resolution of reading through the entire Bible this year. I've tried this before in the past, but have never been able to do it. To help keep myself on track, I've been trying to follow the Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan (hey if John Piper used it, it has got to be good), but in all of the readings except for Psalms, I'm failing miserably. (Have I mentioned I'm struggling?) As per usual it has been hard to find the discipline to be consistent, but I can't let this deter me from continuing on. I just need to keep with it.

Thank goodness for new mercies everyday.

Werd.

Big S, Little S, Sick Sick Sick.

Little K's immune system has had its hands full as of late as she has been battling a cold for the past couple of days. She has become very adept at dodging my attempts to use the nasal aspirator with her and I can tell she has better things to do than sit there patiently while I wipe the snot off her face (she'd rather be playing, thank you very much). The only time she will sit relatively still for is when I am putting vaseline under her nostrils to help alleviate any irritation under there. Smart girl.

This is her first 'real' cold, so it's a rite of passage of sorts for both her and us. Sucks to see her sick, but I know it's good for her in the long run and her immunity system will be stronger for it.

a little haiku from me to you

Today K turns six
Months not years oh me oh my
Time is flying by

Happy six months, Little One. :)