All posts by Munchkin

Teas For Insomnia.

November 21, 2016 Munchkin 2 Comments

Hello, Munchkin here!! I am feeling a lot better and the serosi (bitter gourd) tea really worked. Mouth ulcers gone in 48 hours. Since, we’re on the subject of herbal teas, Gnome and I have been experimenting with different teas for insomnia. We’ve been drinking each of the different teas every night for about a week. The overall conclusion for each of them is that they help you to get to sleep quicker but then sleep can be interrupted during the night. None of them actually work great by themselves and the effects seem to lessen with subsequent days. We are looking more in depth into this personal study to see if a combination would actually work better…perhaps with a few more additions.

Here is a summary of some of the main effects from the different teas; do remember that this experimentation is completely subjective.

Passionflower (Passiflora sp.) tea.

Preparation: 12 large leaves including flowers (if you can get them) boiled in 500mls (pint) of water for 15 minutes. Then steeped for 1 hour. This makes enough for 2 people.

Effects: Felt sleepy about 30 minutes after ingestion and managed to fall asleep fairly quickly. It was a deep, calming sleep but we both experienced interrupted sleep (Gnome couldn’t get back to sleep for about 4 hours and I had a 2 hour sleepless period). Felt refreshed in the morning on waking up.

White Lily tea:

Preparation: 2 flowers(chopped up) and boiled in 500mls (pint) of water for 15 minutes. Then steeped for 1 hour. This makes enough for 2 people.

Effects: Fell asleep within 1 hour and both us experienced prolonged dreams with “running commentary”…ie. dreams with a constant internal dialogue in the background. The content of the dreams were very mundane like talking about what to prepare for dinner or running through “to do” lists. We would wake up and then fall asleep in a few minutes back into the same dream (over and over again…sounds really bizarre!). Woke up in the morning feeling groggy.

Lotus Flower tea:

Preparation: 20 petals boiled in 500mls (pint) of water for 15 minutes. Then steeped for 1 hour. This makes enough for 2 people.

Effects: Gnome didn’t get anything out of this one! We both felt sleepy on drinking the tea but as soon as we got into bed, 30 minutes later, the sleepiness was wearing off!! Not much information to say about this one!! Do you possibly have to drink this one in bed so that you can take advantage of the effects as they come on?

Anyway, will keep you posted on our insomnia experimentation…watch this space.

Amusing, Belize, Blog, Farming, Food, Plants

Unusual Edible Greens!

November 16, 2016 Munchkin

It’s official: The Blogging Wars have started and Man-Shack Panda is in the lead! If this keeps up, we’ll be making Panda Appreciation Products (PAP) as an off-shoot of Casa Mascia.

Gnome: “Dearest, there are no blogging wars…it’s all in your head!”

Munchkin: “I know…but the mere whiff of competition gets the stats up!”

Anyway, let’s not get waylaid by interpersonal blogging. This blog is about living in the bush and the wonderful things that come with the change in lifestyle. Here are some unusual greens from the farm.

Jute leaves are very nice to eat steamed or stir-fried.

Oooohhh…horse radish leaves…tastes like mustard:

We bought some chia seed from the supermarket and managed to grow them. They have mint-like fragrance and makes a nice tasting tea:

C’mon then, give Munchkin some Likes!! She is sticking to the true essence of the Blog!!

Amusing, Belize, Blog

Needle-Work With Munchkin and Gnome.

November 15, 2016 Munchkin 2 Comments

Together.Pointing

It’s too funny!! Panda is now the official celebrity of our blog!! After the weekend wobbly post, our stats are booming. I guess Munchkin and Gnome have to take a back seat…so what fun and exciting offerings do we have….hmmmm….this post is on needlework. I can hear you all groan and say, “these guys…they are two boring fogies in the bush!”

Well I am dying to tell you that Gnome is crocheting a beautiful blanket:

It’s a basket weave pattern and the picture does not do it justice. It is 8 foot wide so Gnome diligently does one row a day which takes one hour. He is aiming for an 8 foot length blanket so we have calculated that at this rate, he will finish it by dry season (April/May) next year! We definitely won’t be using it at that time so we will have to store it away for next winter. Best things come to those who wait.

So, Gnome is teaching me to crochet. I am a knitter and have had disastrous lessons from Gnome…this was about 15 years ago and I remember getting terribly upset and I telling Gnome he was an awful teacher,

"You're an Awful Teacher!" — “You’re an Awful Teacher!”

This time round, the lessons have been great and I have picked up crochet really quickly. I told Gnome that he wasn’t such a bad teacher after all, and wondered in amazement at what had changed after all these years. This is what he said:

“Dearest…I have not changed in the slightest. You have changed. Before you were rebellious and contumacious. Now you actually listen!”

Gnome.Smiling

Oh. He’s such a smart-arse and the worse thing is, he’s right.

Anyway…next exciting project for two boring fogies in the bush is crocheting pineapple doilies!! They will look great at our camp ground by the pond…Ha-Ha!! Imagine us sipping cups of tea and eating cucumber sandwiches! Doilies are a must!!

Now we have to find some fine mercerised cotton thread in Belize. Hmmm…we may have to take up spinning….

Belize, Construction

Remember Remember The 5th of November.

November 13, 2016 Munchkin

Yes, we did have a Guy Fawkes Night on the 5th of November! Here are some pictures of the day.

Special thanks to Panda for The Guy (made from rice trash and lots of imagination)!

Penny For The Guy:

You really have to have grown up in the UK to realise the significance of Guy Fawkes Night. As children, back in the good old days, we used make an effigy of Guy Fawkes and then take it around town saying “penny for the guy” to get money for the bonfire and fireworks. The 5th of November is a really big day in the UK and is usually marked by spectacular firework displays.

Gnome made a temporary camp, with bamboo, by the pond:

We had all our meals for the day out here. It was really quite lovely with the views of the pond:

Towards the end of the day, the wood was stacked in preparation of the bonfire:

Ooooh…great Bonfire!!

Got to end the post with this…

The Fifth of November
Remember, remember!
The fifth of November,
The Gunpowder treason and plot;
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot!
Guy Fawkes and his companions
Did the scheme contrive,
To blow the King and Parliament
All up alive.
Threescore barrels, laid below,
To prove old England’s overthrow.
But, by God’s providence, him they catch,
With a dark lantern, lighting a match!
A stick and a stake
For King James’s sake!
If you won’t give me one,
I’ll take two,
The better for me,
And the worse for you.
A rope, a rope, to hang the Pope,
A penn’orth of cheese to choke him,
A pint of beer to wash it down,
And a jolly good fire to burn him.
Holloa, boys! holloa, boys! make the bells ring!
Holloa, boys! holloa boys! God save the King!
Hip, hip, hooor-r-r-ray!

Amusing, Belize, Blog, Construction, Farming, Philosophy

Slice Of Life.

November 12, 2016 Munchkin

New.Munchkin.Gnome.Yellow.Boots

I was thinking that the best way to describe our blog is that it is a “Slice of Life.” They are snippets of conversations, ideas, farm life and our way of life. With humour thrown in for extra good measure.

This snippet is a perfect example of the Tao of Munchkin, Gnome and Panda.

The other day, Panda came at 8am in the morning to assist Gnome in the construction of a bamboo shelter for growing potatoes. There was no pre-amble and “let’s have a cup of tea first, mate.” Gnome and Panda went off to the bamboo to cut and haul. Everything was measured to the correct size. Holes were dug in the ground and work was done without the need for idle chit-chat.

The structure was made in 6 hours (separated into two mornings of 3 hours). Panda, still new to the “The Way of Munchkin and Gnome” kinda looked at us funny and asked politely what farm work had to be done for the afternoons.

Munchkin reply:

“Our farming way of life encompasses a way of life. It is not about working like a dog for 8 hours a day…”

munchkin-walking-shops

Gnome added,

“It’s all about doing what you want to do…with focus, discipline and motivation.”

gnome-reaching-out

So Gnome suggested that Panda take the extra cut bamboo home and, “have fun with it…make something cool…maybe some blinds or something.”

Panda, who happens to like working with bamboo (well, he is a Panda after all) was very pleased that this way of life also offered creativity and leisure:

“This is great. I like that! I’m off then!”

He said this as he slung the bamboo poles over his shoulder.

Amusing, Belize, Our Products, Pets

Lime Sulphur Pet Dip is Popular!

November 11, 2016 Munchkin

Presidente.Pet.Sulphur.Lime.Dip

We just delivered a fresh batch of Lime Sulphur XXX Pet Dip For Mange, Fleas, Ticks and Ringworm (wow…what a looooong name). The guys at the Farm Store in Punta Gorda just call it Presidente (the name of beer from which we have recycled the bottle)…for Pets. Brian, the manager at the Farm Store tells us that the Pet Dip is very popular.

Later on I spoke with Gnome and discussed the possible reasons for the popularity of this particular product.

munchkin-buying-food

Munchkin: “Hmmmm, Maybe it’s because we use recycled bottles.”

“Maybe it’s the Triple XXX on the label…makes it look really serious.”

“Maybe it’s because people imagine two doctors in the bush, stirring over a cauldron of sulphur pet dip, and think it’s really cool imagery….”

Gnome, of course had a reply:

Glowing.Gnome

“Maybe it’s because it actually does what it says on the label.”

Oh. Selling something that actually works. What good marketing strategy!

munchkin-amazed

Checkout this product in The Apothecary or check it out at The Farm Store in Punta Gorda, Belize.

Belize, Blog, Philosophy

Munchkin And Gnome Genisys.

November 9, 2016 Munchkin 2 Comments

Well, we’ve been here for 12 years. We came to Belize clueless and naive to be wannabe farmers. So what have we achieved in all this time. We have fulfilled our main goal of reducing our footprint on the earth. We dig in the dirt, grow our own food, eat and cook our own food, live in a very modest wooden shack and catch all our own rain water for all our needs. We can build with sticks, we can start a fire and we can slaughter our own fowl for meat. Our doctoring skills have been put to good use with our practice of medicine without the need for numbers, blood tests and scans to make diagnoses (yes, you just need to know the human body and mind and ask the right questions to arrive at the same, or even more precise, conclusion as a machine). In short, we have become no-nonsense, pragmatic people who tell you what you need (if you ask) and not what you want.

Anyway, what’s next? This is Munchkin and Gnome Part 2:

We have decided to gather forces and find people of like-minded philosophy. In doing this, we have made a recruitment; he goes by the name of The Panda and he has moved onto a piece of our farmland. His goal is to reduce his footprint on the Earth. Our goal now is to impart our experience and knowledge to help him make this transition as positive as possible. The Panda will be posting his experiences on this blog so watch this space!

Our regular WordPress Followers will automatically get these new posts. My FaceBook Followers will have to go into our WP site (or follow) to get these new instalments. Undoubtedly, the Panda will publicize onto to his own FB account.

Amusing, Belize, Blog, Philosophy

Finding The Creativity To Write.

November 8, 2016 Munchkin

munchkin-cute-look

Gnome just saw this title and tells me that I go through a 3 month cycle where I go through very busy times (doing outside farm work, making products, cooking, patients, etc) and then I find that I have no energy to write anything. He says this goes on for a little while until I start going on about finding creativity and then I write a post like this.

Well my response to his observation was,

“I don’t think so…”

munchkin-sexy-back-shot

He’s such a smart-arse!! Unfortunately, he is correct and now I am on the upward cycle where I feel that I need to write more regularly. I have to re-evaluate my reasons for writing; it is to keep a journal and to remind myself of what I do and why I do things. I don’t want to run automatically through my life and do things for no good reason except to keep busy. I think about life a lot, the way that we live it and the way that I can live with significance in my actions. This is deep Munchkin talking…she doesn’t come out much because she’s too busy writing inane blogs to entertain people.

Gnome says in response to this:

“That sounds like the beginning of a thought…are you taking this somewhere?”