Springtime and seedlings

For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over [and] gone; The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing [of birds] is come… 

Songs of Solomon 2:11-12

Yes, spring time has arrived which means growing session has begun in the UK! I'm so excited as this is my first time starting a garden on my own. I know it won't be completely perfect and I will make some mistakes but I know there's going to be lots to learn and experience. 

Starting out

I will be growing some food at home and also at the 7 years plenty allotment nearby. (we've called it that it actually has a completely different name hehe!). This year I will attempt to grow:

Romain lettuce

Spinach 

Swiss Card

Carrots

Potatoes 

Beetroot 

Bell peppers

Tomatoes

Onions 

Garlic

Strawberries 

Coriander 

Mint

Basil 

Rosemary 

Thyme 

It may seem like I'm growing way too much as a first time gardener, but believe me, these are actually my staples! Except Strawberries, I love them but I find they are expensive to buy and spoil very quickly so I want to see if it's more cost effective to grow them. I won't be growing in huge quantities but I want to see what things work and what things don't. 

For those of you who are wondering why I am growing food, I think growing your own food is healthier, cheaper and more rewarding! Gardening itself is very good for your physical health as it is very hands on and our bodies benefit from the physical exercise, fresh air and being in nature.  In addition to the physical benefits, it also has spiritual benefits.  The bible often talks about agriculture and uses it as an illustration of our growth in Christ, our reception of his word etc. He uses the natural to illustrate the spiritual (1 Corinthians 15).I'm excited to see how gardening will impact my walk with God, and I'm looking forward to all the object lessons I will learn as I turn the soil, water plants, weed the garden, plant seeds, harvest crops etc . I'm longing to see how he will break up the fallow ground and cultivate the garden beds of my own heart. 

I hope to keep you updated on how the garden is going and to share some of the different things I am learning, both the natural and spiritual, so please stay tuned.

Please feel free to share any of your gardening tips with this first time gardener :-)

First seedlings tray

Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat…Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places…

Habakkuk 3:17-19

Love, your girl forever

♥ Miss Daisy ♥

New Home

Hi all, just a quick post to share a few photos of my new home.

Getting here was truly a journey of faith, all I can say is *sings* To God be the glory, great things he has done!

I hope to share the story with you soon but until then enjoy the pictures J

My cottage on the far right before the gate.

God does answer prayers!

Love, your girl forever,

♥ Miss Daisy ♥

I’ve moved house by the way…

Sorry! I’ve been so busy I forgot to mention it.

The decision to move house came because I wanted to be closer to work. Though Llangammarch Wells was a dream location (see pictures here http://missdaisyspetals.blogspot.com/2013/03/goodbye-ammanford-hello-llangammarch.html and http://missdaisyspetals.blogspot.com/2013/03/snow-day.html ) my journey to work was 1hour and 20 minutes each way, and as you can imagine doing this 5 days a week was incredibly exhausting and also very costly. I also moved house because I wanted to experience having my own home as a single person and to learn how to build and run a home.

So in September I traded the farm lands of Lllangammarch Wells for the grass lands of Tonna, God has blessed me with a bungalow in this quiet village. Though I live in a bungalow I still have a fair amount of stairs, my house is up on a hill so there are steps leading up to my house (which is great fun when I come home with bags of shopping) and more steps to get to my garden.  I haven’t yet explored the area fully but according to a few maps I’ve looked at there are some amazing walks and beautiful waterfalls close by.

When I get a chance I will upload some pictures of the house/area for you to look at. Till then here’s a little sneak peek.

Side view 

Don’t be a stranger, come visit sometime.

My mum bought me these beautiful flowers for my new home x

Love, your girl forever,

♥ Miss Daisy ♥

Snow Day!

With spring at our doorsteps, I was surprised to wake up yesterday morning to see the whole land covered in snow. The country track that leads from our house to the main road was covered in a few inches of snow which meant that we were practically snowed in. My first thoughts were about us not being able to go to church or go out on the Sunday as planned,  then I began to worry about how long we would be snowed in for and whether I would be able to go to work on Monday.  I started to get upset and panic about the snow but God reminded me of this scripture in Job.

Job 37:5-7 God thundereth marvellously with his voice; great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend. For he saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth; likewise to the small rain, and to the great rain of his strength. He sealeth up the hand of every man; that all men may know his work. 

It made me realise God allowed it to snow, he knew that we had our own plans for the weekend and that we wouldn't be able to go anywhere because of the snow. Maybe he had another plan for our weekend, maybe he just wanted us to stay at home,  relax and ponder on his word. I was comforted by this thought and decided to go for walk and actually enjoy the snow (and take pictures too!).

It’s been nice staying at home for the past two days. Also the farmer and his son offered to tow my car up to the top of the track, so I guess tomorrow it’s back to the real world for me……would it be weird if I wanted it to snow again?

Love, your girl forever,

♥ Miss Daisy ♥

Don't let the smile fool you, I was FREEZING!!!!!

Goodbye Ammanford, Hello Llangammarch Wells

Goodbye Ammanford

Last day at the house

The moving van

Our living room (Didn't manage to get a picture of it before the move but it was beautiful!)

Our Kitchen and dinning area (I'll never forget the delicious meals, talks and laughs we had here)

Taking my bed apart :-(

Children and brethren working together :-) 

Time to say Goodbye :-(

Hello Llangammarch Wells 

The entrance to our house

The front of our new house




















Our new living room, ready for us to make some new memories!

New kitchen and dining area 

  The view from my bedroom window (it will probably look better in the summer, but still love it!)

  More views from our new house

 
Living in Llanagammarch Wells, for the past month has been an interesting and different experience. We live next to a sheep farm so we often get the sheep sneaking into our gate and leaving their mess! We also have to wear Wellington Boots just to go outside, collect wood for the fireplace, use torches outside when it's dark and our nearest supermarket is a 30 minute drive away! Sometimes, I wish I could just close my eyes and be back in our home in Ammanford, but every time I see the beautiful scenery during the day, the stars at night and hear the sound of the river, I realise this is where I need to be.

It is beautiful here in Llanagammarch Wells and it has been a joy living here so far. Come visit me sometime :-)

 Love, your girl forever,

♥ Miss Daisy ♥