Reflecting on the Month Past
Another whirlwind month. This time filled with poetry as I supported Younger Child’s Singapore Poetry Writing Month efforts in writing/posting a poem each day in April. We continued in our efforts towards a greener & sustainable lifestyle. And we managed a few treats in the kitchen. Brian at Busyboys World and I hope you will join us to recap your month.
✏️ ✏️ ✏️ ✏️ ✏️
April Showers by Princess Catherine is one of poems I helped Younger Child edit – she did so well keeping up the pace of creating: writing & editing to various prompts. One poem for each day in April. Well done, Princess!
✏️ ✏️ ✏️ ✏️ ✏️
We made several efforts towards a greener lifestyle in our household: using less parchment paper for baking (replaced by beeswax wraps & reuseable baking cloths), diligently bringing our own containers for takeaways, and this new addition to our kitchen:
✏️ ✏️ ✏️ ✏️ ✏️
Despite the crazy editing schedule, I managed a few treats in the kitchen:
✏️ ✏️ ✏️ ✏️ ✏️
About The Changing Seasons
The Changing Seasons is a monthly project where bloggers around the world share their thoughts and feelings about the month just gone. We all approach this slightly differently — though generally with an emphasis on the photos we’ve taken during the month.
For many of us, looking back over these photos provides the structure and narrative of our post, so each month is different. Some focus on documenting the changes in a particular project — such as a garden, an art or craft project, or a photographic diary of a familiar landscape.
But in the end, it is your changing season, and you should approach it however works for you.
There are no fixed rules around post length or photo number — just a request that you respect your readers’ time and engagement.
Tags and ping-backs
Tag your photos with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so that others can find them
Create a ping-back to Brian at Bushboys World or this post, so that we can update it with links to all of yours.
Roundup
- Natalie at Natalie the Explorer (first in! thank you for getting us rolling)
- Pauline at Living in Paradise
- Brian, my intrepid co-host, at Bushboys World
- Natalie at Little Pieces of Me
- Julie at Eat, Play, Live
- Donna at Wind Kisses
- Tracy at Reflections of an Untidy Mind (welcome back! we’ve missed you!)
- Sarah at Travel with Me
- Marilyn at Serendipity Seeking Intelligent Life on Earth
- Marsha at Always Write
- Gill at Talking Thailand
✏️ ✏️ ✏️ ✏️ ✏️
This post is also my contribution to What’s On Your Plate challenge hosted by Deb at The Widow Badass & Donna at Retirement Reflections.
Touring My Backyard 
The food you made looks tasty. Here is my April offering:
https://talkingthailand.co.uk/the-changing-seasons-april-2022/
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for your contribution to The Changing Seasons – it is good to have you with us.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Ju-Lyn It looks like you’ve had a busy month. Your herb loaf and apple fritter look delicious. Congratulations to your daughter. It’s hard to write and post every day. I had a wonderful month and I want to thank you for giving us a place to share about our lives each month. https://alwayswrite.blog/2022/05/07/my-coffee-bounced-into-the-street/
LikeLike
So happy to have you at The Changing Seasons – thank you for sharing your April with us in this space!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You are welcome. And in the blink of an eye May draws its final breaths.
LikeLike
All too quick, these passing of months! It seems like one minute I am recapping April, and it’s the end of May already!
LikeLiked by 1 person
How true is that!! I posted most of my recap on Natalie’s Coffee Share last week. I’m saving my Last Snapshot for BB for next Saturday. Thanks for hosting The Changing Seasons. It’s one of my favorites. 🙂
LikeLike
May I include your Coffee Share here at The Changing Seasons?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Of course. Your post wasn’t up when I wrote mine, or I would have included it. Thank you so much, Ju-Lyn. 🙂 Here’s to June! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for sharing a few of Younger Daughter’s poems. Her images are delightful. I particularly like the idea of “baking a celebration” and describing cakes as “bricks of togetherness” and “keys to a locked door.” And her beautiful photo! Joy abounds.
As does amazing cooking. I’m particularly entranced by the tauhu goreng. We eat a lot of tofu, and I’m always looking for new recipes and tips. (The podcast link was very helpful too!) Congratulations on a life-giving and earth-kind April!
LikeLike
Love that not only do you eat well but you are looking at the bigger picture of being more sustainable in your food. Some of your meals look delicious and that lemon cookie one — extra yum! Bernie
LikeLike
We have a small compost bin to stay in our countertop. I reused a container that use to have cookies. Instead of putting it in the recycling bin, it was best to repurpose it to hold our organic scraps. I don’t want to hold our organic scraps too long otherwise it will smell.
LikeLike
It’s a great idea to have a mini-bin on your counter top – makes it convenient to pop scraps in. An old cookie container sounds like a useful container. What do you do with your organic scraps? Do you have a bigger compost bin in the garden?
LikeLike
Hello, Ju-Lyn. What a team you and Catherine make. Congrats to you both. Then to top it off with all those tasty treats! Great month.
LikeLike
Hee hee! There were some days when we didn’t feel very Team at all!!!
Thank you for enjoying our treats with us, Tracy!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think it is great that you encourage your daughter to write poetry every day. What a great goal for April. And I was thinking how nice a slice of that apple fritter cake sounds right now to go with my coffee, while I write.
I think we can all do better with thinking green. Nice that you are so deliberate.
A productive April for all of you. Have a nice rest of your week Ju-Lyn. Donna
LikeLike
Younger Child has had a poetry practice for a long time now. She writes everyday anyways, but to get a poem ready to publish (even though it’s just Facebook) is quite a challenging discipline. We are very proud of her – to see her work with determination, and to learn new things about writing and editing as the month progressed was very gratifying.
LikeLiked by 1 person
LikeLike
April raced by even faster than March — and THAT was fast. Today, spring arrived for real, this time. It won’t be quite this lovely every day, but all the trees have either little baby leaves or flowers the come before the leafing, so very soon.
You have the only blog I know which makes me hungry. Maybe it’s because I love the kind of food you make, but whatever it is, it looks wonderful and I’m sure it would taste even better — if that’s possible. Great poem from Princess Catherine. Not only is it much better than anything I wrote at her age, it’s better than any poetry I can write now 😊 My post will be up in the morning. Today is already crowded. Thank you for helping keep this challenge going.
LikeLike
So lovely to hear from you … it seems like only yesterday that I was reading your March Changing Seasons post. It is going frightfully quickly!
Appreciate so much the positive energy you bring to my space – for the encouragement, support and perspective you share.
LikeLike
Interesting to see your different cookery treats. I like the sound of the lemon snowball cookies and had a look at the recipe but I have no idea what lemon juice powder is nor if we can get it over here – I will have to investigate!
Meanwhile here’s my regular monthly slideshow: https://www.toonsarah-travels.blog/gallery-an-april-selection/
LikeLike
Congratulations to your daughter on her poetry achievements and your efforts towards a greener lifestyle! Your food photos make me hungry. Thank you for the mention. I hope you have a wonderful May!
LikeLike
What a lovely and creative month both in poetry and in the kitchen. Time really does seem to just be going faster and faster.
LikeLike
I wonder why that is …. why the time flies so much these days. Or has it always been so and I’ve forgotten. Thank you for reflecting on April with The Changing Seasons.
LikeLike
Excellent poems! My goodness, you have creative daughters. To my way of thinking, creativity is an essential part of life. After all, what is life without creativity? (There are other important elements, I know.) The food looks yummy, and yay for taking steps to live more sustainably.
LikeLike
I think my family on all fronts are just creatives. Painters, poets, writers, sculptors … we’ve got them all. So I think our children were just inspired (and perhaps gifted) because of them.
Thank you for the encouragement, Laurie – younger child really enjoyed reading all the responses to her poetry.
LikeLike
Congratulations Princess Catherine on writing a poem a day in April for Singapore Poetry Mont,that is such a challenge.. Enjoyed April Showers and have an eye on the tauhu goreng!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Can you get spice-packets for the sauce? We found a range made in Indonesia and are thoroughly enjoying them!
LikeLike
So much yummyess Ju-Lyn. It is great to see your daughter get published. My Changing Seasons will be up later tonight I hope
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nothing like watching one’s child blossom and delight in creative pursuits – thanks for the encouragement Brian!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ooh, those cookies look good, but I’d like to try the goreng dish too. Fabulous food you make, Ju-Lyn! Have a great May!
LikeLike
Thank you Jo – you are always so encouraging about my kitchen exploits!
LikeLiked by 1 person
How talented your daughter is. What a challenge to produce a poem every day. Wow well done. As usual youe baking/cooking photos make my mouth water. Here’s my monthly happenings. https://retiredfromgypsylife.wordpress.com/2022/04/30/changing-seasons-april-2022/
LikeLike
Thank you for your April offering, Pauline – it is always a delight to visit with you in this space (even though I love following you on IG – I don’t have to wait for a month to see your lovely goings-on!).
It is quite a discipline to come up with 30 poems for April. I did it only once, several years ago – I couldn’t do anything else, my whole attention & energy was occupied.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Congratulations to your daughter in her contributions to the Singapore Poetry Writing Month. I greatly enjoyed the poems that you shared.
Congratulatons also on your steps towards a greener & sustainable lifestyle. My husband and I are currently attempting to do the same (with some steps forward and sadly with other steps backwards).
Your kitchen treats look amazing. I swear that I can smell the wonderful aroma of that herb loaf from here!
LikeLike
Appreciate so much your encouragement Donna! and Younger Child has been delighted to read all your comments …
It really is a journey, isn’t it? to live a more responsible & sustainable lifestyle? I think the challenge for us is to think differently about what is important to us – cost and ease are not always the greener route, and that often requires a rethink in how we prioritise. Every little step forwards, or even backwards, counts. On on!
Thank you for enjoying my kitchen treats with me. The funny thing about the herb loaf is one would think it would be quite strongly herby (especially since I throw in quite a large handful into the dough), but it turns out to be rather gentle and goes with everything savoury as well as sweet!
LikeLike