Dance & be merry! (Birthday image) :V

I made this image last week, for my youngest sisters birthday card. Originally it had some text, but to make it more general I removed it.

Be happy everyone!

I'll hopefully have some more posts up very soon, but I've had one hell of a month so far!

'Cheeseburger' noodles recipe (ﾐ´ω`ﾐ)

This meal is pretty popular among my family & friends. When I made it for the first time I hadn't intended it to taste like a cheeseburger, but happily that's how it worked out :)
Here's how you do it...

Ingredients:

Method:
1. Finely dice the onion, & coarsely chop the mushroom, & stick them straight into a skillet or any other frying pan, along with 2-3 tbs of olive oil, + a pinch of salt & pepper, with the heat off.
2. Put a large pot of water on to boil, with enough water to easily cook the noodles (don't go overboard & fill the whole thing)
3. Turn the heat on, & gently saute the onion & mushroom, until the onion is slightly transparent & the mushroom has softened a bit. Add the tomato pasta sauce, & mirin, mix well, then cover, & simmer on low heat, stirring occasionally.
4. In the mean time finely dice the pickles, ready to add at the end. Once the water for the noodles has begun to boil, add the noodles & boil gently until tender.
5. Once the noodles are tender, strain them, & rinse with some cool water. (just swish them under a running tap whilst in the strainer) & Allow to drain thoroughly (tilting the strainer side to side can help free up trapped water ;)
6. Once the tomato sauce has reduced & thickened slightly gently stir through the noodles, then the diced pickles. Dish it up, & add on your favourite vegan cheese (I used 'soy free cheezly') & mix it through a little...

Now you have yourself some fine noodles!

I consider this to be a bit of a 'junk food' & I wouldn't recommend eating it too often ':)
Feel free to experiment & add extra veggies, etc, or other ingredients that might make it more 'cheeseburger' like (obviously keeping it vegan & gluten free :p)

I hope you all like this recipe, enjoy, & happy eating everyone ( ﾟ▽ﾟ)/ ~☆

Drawing; 'Happy Birthday Bro' !!!

Drew this one up about a week ago for a friends birthday card :)

Enjoy!

(Drawn from scratch using Photoshop CS3 + Wacom Intuos3)

Hopefully more to come! & if I manage to take a photo of my 'cheeseburger noodles' before I eat it all, I will most definitely post that recipe in the next day or 2 as well! I swears 0_0))...

Otway photos c:

A couple of weeks back myself, & one of my best bro's took a trip out the the Otway region of Victoria (Australia) People may know it because The Great Ocean Road runs though the area, & it's a really popular tourist destination, & rightly so, it's really beautiful! There are amazing beaches everywhere, awesome forests, & the rest is ridiculously scenic farmland, lakes, etc. There's heaps to do out there too, personally I'm not much for touristy stuff, but we did do a couple of things like the Otway fly treetop walk (couldn't afford the zip line tour this time around) but the walk was really fun :D

It was a great trip, & I'd recommend it to anyone, we took our dogs with us, & there are a number of pet friendly accommodation places out that way if you are interested in doing the same :)

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Here are a few pics from our trip...

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Day 1, & Addi (my cavoodle) found herself a place on the couch, & settled in very quickly :)

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Our first visit to the beach, the dogs loved it so much! They ran & yipped like crazy, it was really cute [=v=]~♥

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 'Little Bit', my friends papillon. I was lucky to get this photo, cause this dog never sits still!

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 Bestest doggy buddies :)

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 Otway fly walk. This is looking down from the walkway, pretty!

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My inner child freaked out when I found out there were dinosaurs on one section of the walk. I'm quite sure it's intended for kids, but I had the best time, it was my favourite part :p

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 Part way up the viewing tower on the walk.

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 Photobombed

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 This is the pushiest (fattest) rosella. He wouldn't share the food with the other birds, & he (or she) was the only one not covered in marks from being pecked at. Life as a bird is a bitch! >_>

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 View from our cottage :)

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 We took a walk around the property where we were staying, it was a really pretty place, & great fro dog walks c:

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 12-ish Apostles + Anakie, Eli's little souvenir plushy.

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 Johanna beach (best beach ever!)

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Addi loved every second she was at the beach, but I think she misses it now :/

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Yay for holidays! Life should be more about this kind of thing, but it's hard to escape the system, even just for a week >_>

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Happy beach times everyone! Take care~

A new sketch & (hopefully) more to come! ヽ(。▽°)ノ

Hi everyone!

I've been especially busy lately, which included a four day trip the the Otway region here in Victoria, Australia, with one of my best bro's, & our furry dog friends (best trip ever!) :> I do have a bunch of sweet photos, which come to think of it I should have blogged by now ヽ(。_°)ノ? but I'll get them up real soon!

In the mean time, I got some new kit for my senior (trustworthy) Wacom Intuos3 graphics tablet :) Being an older model, it was difficult to find what I needed, but I got there, & inevitably, drawing has followed! I only have one sketch for the moment, but I feel some more coming on :V

'Starfighter Fan'

Inspired by an online comic that I love, but I wouldn't recommend it if you're under 18, &/or opposed to homosexual relationships <_<... The artists who writes/illustrates the comic is amazing, & you can find some of her (PG-ish) work here > > > Hamlet Machine on dA.

That's the lot for now, photos are coming, as well as a recipe I call 'cheeseburger noodles'. (& one of these days I will get that 'quinoa pizza' recipe up, I SWEAR!)

Later all~

Orange choc chip muffins of extreme deliciousness (ﾉﾟ0ﾟ)ﾉ~

These are really easy to make, so roll right into the kitchen & get baking!

So many FX, your eyes will suffer (╥‿╥)

Equipment:
- A large plastic container with lid for storing the muffins

Ingredients:
Dry -
2 Cups of GF Self-raising Flour
2 heaped tbs of Glutenous rice Flour *(optional)
1 cup of Raw sugar (organic if possible)
2 tsp of Orgran No Egg egg replacer
1 tsp of Baking powder < Check that it is Gluten-free
Zest of 1 (washed & dried) Orange (organic if possible)
1/4 Cup of Vegan, GF Choc chips
Wet -
1 Cup of Water
1/2 Cup of Fresh Orange juice (organic if possible)
1/3 Cup of Canola oil (or any other light flavoured oil)

*Due to the oil in the recipe, greasing the muffin tray should be unnecessary if it is a non-stick tray, if you feel like you need to though, only grease it lightly*

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F) on fan bake. *Do this ahead of time, because the recipe is quite quick to assemble.
2. Combine all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl, & stir until well mixed.
3. Next, add all the wet ingredients to the dry, & stir the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon until a thick, lump free batter is formed. *(If the batter seems overly thick or thin simply adjust with a little extra flour or water as per your requirements)
4. Carefully transfer the mixture to the muffin tray, & place in the oven to bake for 22-25 minutes, or until muffins are golden brown. *(Always avoid opening the oven door if you can, this can spoil baked goods)
5. When the muffins are done, allow them to sit in the oven with the door open for a few minutes before moving the tray to a cooling rack. After 5-10 minutes on the rack, carefully remove the muffins from the tray & place them on the rack to cool.
6. Once cooled completely, move the muffins to a large container with a clip on lid to keep them fresh :) If you don't have a large enough container, you can wrap them in plastic-wrap, but a container is much more eco friendly.
NOW EAT!!!

(Makes 12 awesome muffins)

*!As usual please always check your ingredients to make sure there are no hidden nasties!

These muffins are great for many reasons, light & delicious, but also quite quick & easy to make :D I've shared these muffins with a few friends, & it's always thumbs up all round!
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Just a quick note about Glutenous rice flour, it does not contain gluten! It is just a type of rice that is particularly sticky & stretchy, so it's handy to add to baked goods to add some strength & stretch ;) It can be found in Asian, & Indian grocery stores, as well as online :)

I made this recipe up, & have refined it over a couple of weeks, so I hope it works for everyone, & that you all enjoy it!

Later! ( ﾟ▽ﾟ)/

Delicious snacks; luvju hearts (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

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Just another reason to love Nature's Harvest (my local health food store) :p
I discovered these amazing heart-shaped snacks of joy a couple of weeks ago, & I keep going back for more ': ) Both of the ones I buy are Raw, Organic, Fair trade, Vegan, Gluten-free, & filled with super foods! \[:D/
I love them both, & as you can see from the photo they're very different, one is a solid minty chocolate, & the other is like a chewy fruity seed snack bar. They're both worth a try, so I highly recommend you get your mitts on some!
If you are keen to try them, your best bet is a health food shop, otherwise you can also purchase them online from lovingearth.net, & there are plenty of other amazing products to check out while you're there :)
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Enjoy!
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~Later everyone!~

Photos tell many stories (Yep, photo dump time!)

It's been a little while since I dropped a photo dump here, so here's a fresh steamy one for y'all ;)
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So many :0...
(All taken on meh spanky new-ish iPhone5, some with amazing cheesy effects!)
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 Addi & I bro-ing it up.

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 Addi just doing her thing & being unbelievably adorable 0_0)))

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& here's one of my old boy. He's so blind & mean, but I love him anyway! ':D

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 A cool bug I discovered whilst stuck out in Yarrambat for like 4 hours (long story...)

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 Another cool insect fellow. This dude decided that this was the time, & our screen door was the place... It was a good chance to observe a dragonfly right up close :)

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 Rather huge Vegan meal. So much salad, home fries, Moroccan-style rice, & baked beans with mushroom & silverbeet :)

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 Very beautiful bunch of salad greens growing out in the garden. They're so tasty...

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 The bare-rooted fruit trees I planted several weeks back have all come along really well! These are some blossoms on the nectarine tree.

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My sisters dog, the Nessa monster :I

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 One of the 4 solar lanterns I bought (Orange)

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 Brown pear sapling. Iit's actually doubled in size since I took this picture, undoubtedly due to the help of the 'worm tea' I applied \[:D]/

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 Polly does indeed rock, she can do more tricks than either of my dogs :) What a splendid creature, I hope more people realise just how beautiful, intelligent, & amazing all animals are, so we can move forward & stop exploiting them! (Go Vegan! :p)
I took this photo during the world animal day event at Edgar's Mission, I'd highly recommend checking out their website, & coming along next year, if you can :)

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 Some (very pretty) comfrey flowers. This is the first time I'd ever seen them :)

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 I was eating a muffin, & Addi entered stealth mode, I looked around & there she was...

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 A very busy little pond, the local residents, tadpoles!

Good job finding them Bean-Bean, made my day <3

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 Autumn leaves... or are they? [:I

Maple tree in spring + iPhone = this...

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 Ah yes, Beakless Joe, the most fearsome garden ornament in existence.

Don't look directly at him for too long...

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 Some very cool flowers I noticed at a friends place. I have no idea what they are, but I want some >_>

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 My most beloved avocado sapling. Grew this one from seed, & it really shot off this spring. I hope one day we will have a magnificent, heavy bearing tree!

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Ending on one last photo of our baby bean.

(Sorry I just love her so so much @_@)

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I do love photos :)

Take care everyone!

Going Vegan; the logical & humane choice.

I want to share this video because the speaker takes such a comprehensive, & honest standpoint with regards to Veganism, & why it is the most logical & humane choice you can make in your life.
We all have it in us to make the choice to go vegan, & stand by it, & I hope this video will convince you to do just that.
There are a couple of graphic films shown at points during the lecture, & if you find them as appalling as I do, then please give some serious consideration towards a Vegan lifestyle, it's not as difficult as you may think, & it's well worth it! Vegan Starter Kit, can help get you on the right track.
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Watch the video > > >

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On a lighter note, here are a couple of funtastic Vegan songs (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧
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^ Best Vegan song ever! XD ^

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Toilet training a new dog - Thoughts Feelings Ideas -

(Image sources > LINK LINK LINK)

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A recent experience with someone toilet training a puppy got me thinking about this subject. The reason it sparked something in my mind is because they were using the old 'rub their nose in it, & scold them' technique. I'm sure that at some stage we've all heard that that's what you're supposed to do, but I have a different line of thinking on the subject...
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Bare in mind that I have plenty of experience with dogs, & I have toilet trained a couple myself, so I'm not just pulling info out of my gluteus maximus here, this combo works beautifully, & in my opinion is far superior to rubbing your dogs nose in it's own filth.
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My thoughts, feelings, & ideas -
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The best way to train your dog to toilet outside it to take them out frequently, especially after they sleep, eat, & soon after they drink. Once you have them outside repeat an appropriate word to help them associate going to the toilet with that word, I've always simply used the word 'toilet'. As they go to the toilet repeat the word & praise them, & when they finish, give them a big pat & tell them how good & clever they are :)
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Of course it's pretty unlikely that you're going to completely avoid any little 'accidents' inside, so what do you do when it happens?
Quite simply, you need to catch your dog in the act, this way they will know what they are in trouble for.
Knowing what I know about dogs, I firmly believe that rubbing your dogs nose in their excrement & scolding them will not be effective because the dog lacks the understanding that going to the toilet inside is a bad thing, & they will only understand what they're being scolded for after they have learned that they are supposed to go outside. So by rubbing a dogs nose in it's 'accident' after it has happened is like saying 'your poo/urine bad', which is pretty confusing :/
Instead you need to catch the dog mid pee or poo, & quickly tell them 'no toilet' (or whatever word you chose) in a firm but calm voice, as you do, quickly grab them & rush them outside, place them down nicely, repeat your chosen toilet word, & praise them. This will build a positive association with going to the toilet outside :)
By scolding the dog as they are doing the incorrect behaviour they have an instant association with what they are doing wrong, then immediately showing them the correct thing to do helps them learn more effectively.
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Some dogs are harder to toilet train than others, but you must always do your best to remain calm & consistent, & repetition really is the only way to help a dog understand something, it's the old 'practice makes perfect' saying at work ;3 & of course positive reinforcement is always much more pleasant for you & your doggy bro :)
Toilet training can be a stressful (& smelly) experience, but stick with it, because once your dog has learned (however long it may take) it's always well worth the effort ;)
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(Image source > LINK)

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Oh! & always remember to clean up after your little (or big) friend when you go for walks, cause no one likes stepping in stinky doggy dookie! & with that I leave you with this image...
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These are all my own thoughts & opinions based on my personal experiences, feel free to try them & leave feedback with your own thoughts :) I hope that it's been helpful!
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Later everyone~ ( ﾟ▽ﾟ)/

Eventful day: amazing new chocolates & solar lanterns :D...

It was a good one for me today, I got heaps done out in the garden, purchased some fancy new chocolate, rescued a galah, & installed our new solar powered lanterns... awesome~ :V
Skipping past the details of the garden work (mostly just general maintenance) I took one of my usual trips to Nature's Harvest to pick up my fancy gluten free bread, & whatever else, & as I was approaching the counter to pay I spotted some incredible looking new chocolates. They are called Pana Chocolates, & as soon as I saw the packet I wanted to buy some ':) I was thrilled to discover that not only are they gluten free & vegan, but also organic, & raw @_@ holy crapola, this stuff just ticks all the boxes for me! Take a look > > >
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(frick yeaaaaah~)

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There are a few different varieties including, mint, cinnamon, & the two I got, coconut+goji, & nuts, but there's more on the pana chocolate website :) They're not cheap ($6.95 each >_>) but totally worth it in my opinion. They're made here in Australia, the details are gorgeous, from the packet, to the wrapping to the chocolate itself, & the taste is incredible, definitely my new addiction right here. Get out there, find yourself some & give it a go, I doubt you'll regret it, in fact you'll probably want to come to my house & shake my hand for having introduced you to this wondrous creation of amazingness. Check out their website here > > > panachocolate.com/. One last thing I need to mention is that thus far these chocolates are only available in Australia (sorry international peeps!) They are sold at a wide variety of places (see website for details) or you can buy them online ;)

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Moving right along :V... on my way home from the health food store I noticed a rather sad looking galah sitting right on the edge of the road, she didn't move at all as I drove by, so I pulled over to asses the situation. I waited for a safe chance & corralled her away from the road, I could see some blood on her cheek & neck, but she didn't look too bad, but she couldn't run or fly. I spoke to her calmly & slowly approached her holding my jacket open, I threw it onto her as gently as I could, & successfully caught her! :) I then quickly took her to the nearest vet, so I hope she will be ok, I'm going to call the vet tomorrow to get an update.

While I was there I learned that you can tell the gender of a galah by the colour of their eyes, how very cool [:D Girls have pink-red coloured eyes, & boys eyes are yellow :)

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I ended the day by hanging the set of solar-powered lanterns I bought on eBay :) It adds some lovely colour to the veranda area & once they've charged a bit I expect they'll be beautiful at night time, & add some extra light too c:

This is what they look like > > >

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Man I had an awesome day... I hope everyone else did too [: )

Critters & new plants out in the garden!

I'm pushing myself to really try to get out into the back garden every day, no matter what the weather is like, & so far I'm doing ok.
I've cleaned up more areas & made them into beds ready to receive seeds & saplings, dug paths that double as water catching swales, planted out under most of the fruit trees, filled the little greenhouse with trays full of seeds, etc etc etc, & things are looking good so far, much better than last season (when we had next to no hands-on experience gardening) I really feel like we've come a long way since then, & I'm happy to see all the extra knowledge & experience showing out in the garden \[:D/
I took a good bunch of photos this morning of some of the things going on out there, & some of the critters I met while looking around c: ...
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 The very first cherry leaves have opened on the newly planted tree :D

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 The mulberry tree is looking amazing, I'm so exited to try some fresh mulberries when they're ready, I can hardly wait @'_@...

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 I haven't noticed too much happening with the Apple or Nectarine trees, but hopefully as it warms up they'll both get a bit more active... In the mean time, this awesome little champion guards the apple tree for us :) I'm pretty sure she's been chilling on that branch ever since I put the tree in :V

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v Potato, Pohtahto. PO-TAY-TOE! All the taters~ v

 (I think this one is a purple variety...)

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 There I am hanging around in the more established potato plants, & I spotted a few interesting critters while I was there :)

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 A little green leaf hopper type bug,

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 stripy fly dude,

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 & a very cool looking spider :)

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 The often overlooked (& sometimes hated D:) dandelion. The flowers & leaves are edible & nutritious, so don't be hatin' on them! I frequently include both the flowers & leaves in my green smoothies, & they're delicious damnit X)

Eat the dandy & become as resilient as they are \o/<!!!

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 Slug chillin' on... STINGING NETTLE! I refuse to believe that it's comfortable there...

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 Our Vietnamese mint, Lemon balm, & Oregano all looking super <3

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 A peek into the greenhouse =v=... This is a golden zucchini seedling, it's going nuts in there, & soon it'll be ready to plant out :D

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I was so happy to see this, because that tiny spec of little green baby plant that you see in the middle (if it is what I expect) is my first ever tansy plant! WOOOOO!~ 'XO I have tried so many times to get those seeds to germinate, all without success, until now c: I hope more show up, & they grow to be strong & amazing tansy plants that will help ward off unwanted bugs around the yard. Go you glorious bastard, Go!

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So that's some of what's going on out there, I'd really love to get a nice little hand-help video camera so I can make a short video tour so people can get a better idea of how much  has changed, & get a better overall look at the layout, etc.
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I'll try to get around to posting my 'quinoa pizza' recipe later tonight.

Take care everyone! Ja ne :)