Making it Paradise...bits of Bajan life

Hey blogger world. Hey are a few updates https://sweetandsimplebajanlife.wordpress.com

https://sweetandsimplebajanlife.wordpress.com/2017/06/06/food-prepping/ https://sweetandsimplebajanlife.wordpress.com/2017/06/01/call-me-snack-mom/ https://sweetandsimplebajanlife.wordpress.com/2017/05/31/a-plant-for-every-garden/

Find out how easy it is to always have something edible growing in your garden https://sweetandsimplebajanlife.wordpress.com/2017/05/24/a-constant-supply-of-food/

Here's some of what you are missing if you have not joined me yet at wordpress... https://sweetandsimplebajanlife.wordpress.com/2017/05/23/herb-info-time/

check out this awesome cafe on Barbados' south coast. https://sweetandsimplebajanlife.wordpress.com/2017/05/17/its-bliss/

Hey Guys, some of you still haven't made that move. Check out my latest post here in the meantime. https://sweetandsimplebajanlife.wordpress.com/2017/05/09/eating-whats-cheap /

I have moved please follow me here https://sweetandsimplebajanlife.wordpress.com

Hey Guys, was having some technical issue with Blogger so I have decided to move on with WordPress. Follow me here. Please and thanks https://sweetandsimplebajanlife.wordpress.com/2017/05/02/its-alive/

NOOO, not that kind of pot. 😄 Listen, you don't need a big yard to plant a "garden". All you need are some pots. In fact any container will do, they don't even have to be pretty. Don't believe, me? Just watch.... Although I have a little bit of earth to work with, I love to pot certain things. Things like lettuce, kales, well any greens really, and herbs. Over the years I have found that they actually grow better in containers and are super easy to care for.  From the normal plant pots to old recycled tubs to buckets, to even used bath tubs, I think an eclectic blend of pots adds character to any garden! Because of this, I hardy ever purchase pots. I am always on the lookout for items to repurpose. Hope the following pics give you some inspiration to pot something. Pots are a part of the planning stage every time I start a new garden. Washpans, Buckets & Pots   Notice how I even plant in an adorable decorative bl...

Having a garden is so very important, and not just for beautification purposes. Home gardens are such a vital part of the ecosystem in our increasingly populated environments. Could you imagine your street or neighbourhood without any gardens? Exactly! So, here are five great reasons why everyone should have a garden. Number One Plants of all kinds are oxygen producers for our planet. Even seven year olds know that plant use carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and in return produce and release our much needed oxygen. The air quality of a house with an ample supply of plants in and around it is sure to be better than one surrounded by cement. Due to a process called photo-remediation, plants are able to mitigate pollution from the air by absorbing them through their leaves and roots. Here are some houseplants which are purported to improve air quality. Number Two Gardens provide a home for many small animals which would otherwise be displaced by human invasion. When we cons...

Anyone out there who wears prescripton glasses knows oh too well the immense cost associated with them. Every two to three years you can end up spending close to $1000.00 on new glasses. My last pair set me back $900.00 and I was not looking forward to my upcoming trip to the optamologist. But fate stepped in by way of my girl Malin who bought about ten pairs of glasses online at this site zennioptical.com. I mean she got her prescription in every shape and colour! Needless to say I was hyped..lol.....bargain is my middle name. Someone close to me often says that I can spend a fortune on bargains I don't even need...hahaha. Well I hopped online and let me tell you. IF you are a LIBRA like I am and cannot make choices easily when presented with options, you are going to need some time to go through this site. The site itself is extremely easy to navigate and the prices are redonkulous. Seriously, frames start at USD $6.95!!! SHUT THE FRONT DOOR and GET OUT OF HERE! I was overw...

The need to plant and grow some of what you consume is a lesson I learned at a very young age with a father who believed that we children (all 8 of us) should be able to find snacks and food in and around our yard at any given time of year. I grew up on a sizeable plot of land in the heart of the country which was home to at times, sugar canes, ground provisions, herb beds and all manner of fruits. As the years progressed, the land was used up for housing an aging and visually impaired relative and after the death of the gentle man Mr Philip (so many funny stories I have of him) who helped my mother with much of the work on the land, we resorted to just growing fruit trees. And we nurtured a beautiful orchard around us. I recall picking; limes, cherries, gooseberries, shaddocks, soursop, avocado, pomegranate, golden apple, coconuts, ackee (not the Jamaican version), mangoes, plums, bananas and passion fruit, and as the years went by things were added, removed and the cycle continued....

So a few years I purchased a thorny vine from Agrofest and was told it was called Asian gooseberry, however, as with everything I plant,  I was online searching for this plant to find out about its growing requirements, history etc and could find nothing. Well, as is usually the case after Agrofest, I decided on which saplings to keep at my urban home and which to plant on my parents property in the country and the gooseberry went off to my brothers house. After about a year and visit after visit I realised  no-one was eating the fruit, so I dug up the entire thing and returned it to my yard. I recalled having a similar fruit at Champers with my desert and was not about to let this fruit go wasted. So, it's back in my yard and I decide to conduct an image search of gooseberry vines, I finally found my vine and low and behold the Pereskia Aculeata is better known as "Barbados Gooseberry". I swear Barbados never ceases to amaze me but this had me baffled. I have never see...

Better known to most of you as organic or free range eggs, here in Barbados we refer to these delicacies as yard fowl eggs. If you have never had an egg from a chicken that roams freely and feeds on all natural foods, then you are missing out my friends. Since my parents' yard is home to numerous fruit trees, over the years many yard fowls have made our land their home. Life is sweet for them as they stroll the yard daily feasting on mangoes, bananas, pomegranates, plums and soursops, not to mention the constant supply of kitchen scraps from the various family members living on the property. I don't know if many of you are familiar with chicken habits but I have such fond memories of being on vacation from school and hearing the clucking of hens around midday which signaled they had laid eggs. These days, my retired cousin Merlene and I are the only ones who still listen out for this alarm and we have been rewarded handsomely each and every day. I almost like the adventure of...

Two weeks ago, my son developed a major sinus drip. The poor child has apparently inherited the health issues of my lactose intolerant, respiratorily-challenged (is that even a word?) family and had started that annoying snorting noise that all sinus suffers make and which I absolutely detest. I hate to administer medicines (they call me Bush woman for a reason) but had to resort to over the counter meds to stave off any dripage into his lungs. Well, old Bajans have a saying," God don't bring, but he sends " which kinda loosely translates as whatever your needs, they will be met from even unexpected sources, and such was the case with this situation. I stepped out (Bajan parlance meaning I went out for a brief while on an errand!) and on my return I found my partner sitting in the verandah - a custom which many have relegated- but we still like to sit out and people watch, speak to the neighbours and exchange pleasantries with passers-by. Well, my partner was sitting ou...

Remember those trips I have been making to Oistins recently, well fish is not the only marine life I have been checking out! A few years ago, I accompanied some schoolchildren to the Belinda Cox Fish Market on a tour for Social Studies (yeah! field trips are vitally important) and discovered the turtles that have made the jetty their home. Smart turtles I say, what better place to settle than a fish market. They are always certain of a meal since fish vendors and fishermen alike make time daily to feed their fish scraps to these adopted turtles. You can read more about the habits of turtles and the relationships with fishermen here:  http://www.barbados.org/barbados-turtle.htm#.U59ZeJRdVIE  Luckily, the fishermen and vendors have no problem with allowing visitors to help out and are very happy to give you a bag of scraps and send you off along the jetty to feed the turtles. The walk along the jetty as insignificant as it may seem is a pretty impressive one. I just must say...