Cactus flowers and cactus wine?

When I was up on top of Mangere Mountain listening to Kylie and Anau talk about the Water Care sewage treatment, I remember visiting the sewage treatment plant. My husband is a water resources engineer, and this is the place he takes me to.

I saw these lovely cactus.

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Red: Christmas in July.

Because it is Winter in the Southern Hemisphere, some people like to celebrate Christmas in July. This photo reminds me of the last Christmas I celebrated with my mum in Australia. 

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RUBY TUESDAY TOO

Wellington and my books

The is the Icon of New Zealand, The Beehive , the parliament of New Zealand. All five of my books are circulated in the National Library of New Zealand.

Alexander Turnbull Library - National Library of New Zealand Alexander Turnbull Library - National Library of New Zealand Wellington, New Zealand	b ook	304 miles Map It	Library info Add to favorites
5.	National Library of New Zealand National Library of New Zealand - Wellington Service Centre Wellington, 6011 New Zealand 1. From China to Borneo and beyond by Ann Kit Suet Chin  Print book : Biography Language: English   Publisher: [Auckland, N.Z. : Ann Kit Suet Chin-Chan, 2013] Database: WorldCat 2. Diary of a bereaved mother by Ann Kit Suet Chin  Print book : Biography Language: English   Publisher: [Auckland, N.Z. : A.K.S. Chin, [2011] Database: WorldCat 3. Cry of oppressed women by Ann Kit Suet Chin  Print book : Fiction Language: English   Publisher: Auckland : Ann Kit Suet Chin, 2014. Database: WorldCat 4. Mail order bride by Ann Kit Suet Chin  Print book : Fiction Language: English   Publisher: Auckland : Ann Kit Suet Chin, 2013. Database: WorldCat 5. Hai wai hua ren de Zhong Guo hun = From China to Borneo and beyond by Ann Kit Suet Chin; Kong Sing Ting  Print book Language: Chinese   Publisher: [Auckland] : [Ann Chin], [2015] Database: WorldCat

ABC Wednesday: Letter W for war time food.

This year is the 70th anniversary of the end of the World War 2. I like to show you the food my people had to eat during the Japanese Occupation.

We are not exactly excited about pumpkin because we don't eat pumpkin. Many friends don't understand why.

You see, Mum and Dad grew up as kids and teenagers during the Second World War when the Japanese plundered Borneo. Import of rice and other food ceased, and the poor people depended on root vegetables and pumpkins to survive. Dad said they ate so much of the boiled thing without any salt or oil. They were so scared of them. Hence, they never served it to us.

When I was in primary school, Dad would drive us pass a small river where there were barges laden with pumpkins. Dad told me that the pumpkins were for pigs. This "Pumpkins were for pigs" were so ingrained in me that though I am past half a century, I would still not touch pumpkin.

This is why I don't eat pumpkins no matter how delicious it is. 

I do not like tapioca very much. Manihot esculenta, with common names cassava (/kəˈsɑːvə/), 

It must be properly prepared before consumption. Improper preparation of cassava can leave enough residual cyanide to cause acute cyanide intoxication and goiters, and may even cause ataxia or partial paralysis.^[8]  wiki



Taro or yam is a difficult plant to process and make your hands very itchy.

Kumara/sweet potatoes, both leaves and tuber can be eaten.

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Red: Red checked uniform pants and skirts.

The children of a Mangere school sang their waiata to welcome us to the conference. It was freezing and the poor kids wore their summer uniform.

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Flower : Pyrostegia venusta

Found along the fence in the neighbourhood of Pt Chevalier. It is the season for these beautiful flowers.


With such brilliance in its flaming orange-coloured blossoms, it’s inevitable that Pyrostegia venusta has been reputed as one of the most spectacular flowering vines in cultivation. A vigorous and rambunctious climber with tendrils, Flame Vine will produce abundant clusters of brightly coloured trumpet-shaped flowers practically all year long. Truly a traffic stopper when in full bloom, especially if the vine is draped over a large pergola, fence or espaliered on a trellis or building structures.

Pyrostegia venusta (Flame Vine, Flaming Trumpet, Orange Trumpet Creeper, Golden Shower)


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RED: cherry guava

C
I photographed them with some green grapes to give an idea of how small they are.

Growing up in Borneo, I am more accustomed to the big green guava.
When my friend M. gave me a bag of this tiny marble like fruits she called South American Guavas aka  Chilean Guavas aka New Zealand cranberries. I wasn't impressed by their size, but the red colour is very attractive.
Eaten as is, it is more tangy than sweet and has lots of pith and the end bits cannot be eaten. Hence, it is not very popular. But it is used for its sweet, tangy flavour in deserts, jams and jellies.
Researchers from US Department of Agriculture (USDA) found that they can take their place high up in the list of antioxidant foods.
Guava’s contain large amounts of vitamin C which is a well known antioxidant.

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