FSO:Open Theme Friday:

 
I wanted a sand pit in urban Singapore. I got the husband to carry sacks of beautiful pristine white soft sand up three storeys to our balcony. When I saw him carrying these sacks, I realised what a soft heart he had for his son. I told him, there was enough sand.

I was afraid, the sacks would break his back. Not a job for a uni professor.

Open Theme Friday [Friday My Town Shoot Out]

 

 

 

http://mytownshootout.blogspot.co.nz/

Alphabe-Thursday letter F for fungus

xylogenous means growing on wood, so I take it that the Chinese Ear Fungi is xylogenous.

I went for a walk to a park next to Mt Albert Grammar school. I came across this tree stump which has some Chinese Ear Fungi growing. I have never been here, so I walked rather slowly and clicked as I went along.

This fungi is eaten by the Chinese and has a rubbery texture. You can buy them in dry form, soak it to reconstitute and it expands about 5 times its size. Not many people like it as it feels slimy and rubbery. I used to pick them when I was a child in Borneo.

I remember reading how this Chinese man made his fortune in New Zealand by shipping them to China. The Kiwis, Pakehas and Maoris laughed at this China man, but he had the last laugh. He laughed all the way to the bank.

So now, I will be keenly looking at tree stumps and hope to make my millions.

Wood ear fungus

The first commercial sale of edible fungi in New Zealand was in the 1870s, when Taranaki merchant Chew Chong sent bags of dried wood-ear fungus (Auricularia cornea) to his homeland, China. The fungus was in demand for the crunchy, chewy texture it added to food.

Wood ear fungus grows naturally on dead trees in lowland forest. Tonnes were harvested as settlers cleared forest for farming, and exports to China continued until the 1950s. In the 2000s, the fungus is now mostly imported to New Zealand from China, in dry form. Taiwanese growers had started cultivating a closely related fungus on sawdust blocks in the 1960s, and it became uneconomic to harvest it in the wild. A small quantity is now grown in New Zealand for the domestic market.

Alphabe-Thursday letter F
http://jennymatlock.blogspot.co.nz/search/label/Alphabe-Thursday 

our world/outdoor wed. a rainbow colour " flower mill."

A rainbow colourful "flower mill" in a spring garden.
http://ourworldtuesdaymeme.blogspot.com/
 

http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com

Save the world: Refugees.

www.aucklandrefugee.org.nz

 Our family's first involvement with refugees was in the mid 70s, a Vietnamese boat landed at the mouth of the Rejang River. The police presented Father with a letter written in Chinese.

The family was a Chan, and he addressed Father as cousin, claiming that they were the branch of the family who went to Vietnam. He heard that Father had become a big official, and asked if Father could sponsor his family to Sarawak.

Unfortunately, Malaysia's policy was to send the boat people away. Father was unable to help. He gave them some money. We never heard of them again.

When I came to New Zealand, through church, we befriended refugees from Vietnam and Cambodia.

Now I teach students, children and adults. I teach students from Somalia, Afghanistan, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, the latest were 2 men from Tibet.

My life have been enriched through these connections. As long as there are wars, there will be refugees.




http://reducefootprints.blogspot.com/

FSO: Scavanger Hunt:High above, Facing Straight and Down Below

 we had a bad storm, looking up.

 looking forward at the beach

 Looking down and see the fallen branches

http://mytownshootout.blogspot.co.nz/

Jun 13: Scavenger Hunt: High above, Facing Straight and Down Below - Show us these three plains wherever you are. Take a shoot looking up (sky, ceiling, tree branches, etc), then a shot facing straight, and lastly one looking down (earth, grass, floor, etc). Optional: If you know how, you can even post a vertical panorama and stitch all three shots together! (Mersad)

Our world, outdoor wed: Where the car fails to go

http://ourworldtuesdaymeme.blogspot.com/
 

http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com

Alphabe-Thursday letter D for donation drive

Alphabe-Thursday letter D
http://jennymatlock.blogspot.co.nz/search/label/Alphabe-Thursday 
 Amy and Tiffany had some donation drives to fund raise for their trip to Fiji on a mission trip.

Bake sale again this week! come and buy some yum baked goods on Sunday 23rd at Mount Albert Baptist!

Alphabe-Thursday letter c for caterpillar

In New Zealand, people plant the swan plants for caterpillars of the Monarch butterfly

Alphabe-Thursday letter c
http://jennymatlock.blogspot.co.nz/search/label/Alphabe-Thursday 


http://reducefootprints.blogspot.com/