Hi my Radiants,

Hope you are doing well. Happy September.

It's been a few weeks since my last post, and honestly, not much has happened. At least, nothing that I thought was important enough to sit down and write about.

But I've been thinking about this blog and what I want to share here, and I've realised that it doesn't always have to be something that happened.

Sometimes it could be something I noticed, I found interesting, or I saw online that made me think, apart from the simple little things that happened in my everyday life that I feel like sharing.

So I'm leaning into that a little more.

And one of the things that has made me particularly happy lately is my little green pepper.

My Green Pepper Finally Grew!

If you've been following my little plant adventures, you might remember this one.

Before I travelled, I had a plant growing in one of my containers and I wasn't even completely sure what it was.

Related: What Happened After We Came Back Home | New Plants, Preserving Food & Settling In

I suspected it was a green pepper, but I wasn't certain.

I had planted some green pepper seeds a while ago and, after waiting for what felt like forever, I eventually forgot about them. I had completely given up on seeing anything grow.

Then one day, this little plant appeared.

When it started growing, I became curious because the leaves looked much bigger than the regular pepper plant I had grown before. The plant's whole structure also looked different.

So I had my suspicions.

Maybe this was actually the green pepper I had been waiting for.

Then I travelled.

Before leaving, I was worried about my plants because I didn't know how long I would be away or how I would keep them watered. I tried to figure out a way to give them a regular supply of water, but it didn't work out the way I had hoped.

So I moved them to the more open part of my balcony where they could at least get some rain if it rained.

When I came back, some of the plants were looking a little weak because it hadn't rained for a while.

Related: Holiday Days, Travel, Family Time Food & Little Things | Life Lately In Cameroon

I watered them and started taking care of them again.

And then, sometime after that, I noticed flowers.

I was excited because I thought, okay, this is it. Now we'll finally know what this plant is.

And eventually, two of the flowers produced fruit.

That's when I knew.

It really was a green pepper!

I was so happy. 😂

There were actually several flowers, but most of them didn't make it. They would appear, start growing, and then turn yellow and fall off.

But these two survived.

And I got to use my very own homegrown green pepper to cook.

The first one I used was fine and tasted just like a green pepper should.

The second one was interesting because it had a surprisingly strong pepper smell. It actually smelled more like the hot pepper we usually use here.

I don't know if that was because it was grown naturally or if that's just how that particular pepper was, but I used it anyway.

I put it in my stew and later used it to make jollof rice.

And honestly, I was just happy that I had grown something that I could actually eat.

I wish the other flowers had survived because I would have had quite a little harvest by now.

But I'm grateful for these two.

Hopefully, the plant will produce more.

The Other Plants

My other plants have been having their own little stories too.

The plants I brought back from my trip have now been planted.

Unfortunately, not all of them survived.

Some tried to germinate but eventually withered and died. Others seem to have settled in quite well, though, so I'm hoping they continue growing.

I also have tomatoes growing.

I didn't even intentionally plant them.

They just appeared.

Now the tomatoes are growing and flowering too, and I'm waiting to see what happens next.

The End of the Holiday

And just like that, the long holiday is coming to an end.

This is actually the last week of the holiday, and school starts next week.

So we're back to preparing for the new school year and putting together the last few things the kids need before school starts.

But honestly, it's been a good holiday.

The kids have had a good time, we've rested, and they've also spent a lot of time at home learning little things along the way.

Sometimes they come into the kitchen while I'm cooking and watch what I'm doing.

They've also been willing to help, which I really enjoy.

There is something nice about watching them learn these little everyday things at home.

So even though the routine is about to start again and we'll soon have to wake up earlier and get everyone ready for school, I'm grateful for the holiday we've had.

It was a chill one.

And I think we needed that.

And Yes, I've Been Drinking More Tea

I've also been drinking a lot more tea lately.

Remember when I took out my teapot again and started making tea?

Well, tea has officially become one of my regular favourite things lately.

I've been having it quite often, sometimes even twice a day.

I travelled with my tea the last time. 😂

And now that I'm back, I've been enjoying different kinds.

I've been making tea from some of the herbs I brought back from the trip, and I've also been making different drinks with the green tea leaves I have.

There's something about having a warm cup of tea that I really enjoy, especially when I'm at home and everything is quiet.

So yes, tea has somehow become part of life again lately.

Hi my Radiants,

Hope you are doing well.

After spending some days away with family, we eventually came back home, and one of the first things I wanted to check was my plants.

Before I left, I had moved most of them from the front of the house to the back where they would be more exposed to rain. I had initially tried to figure out how to keep them watered while I was away, but that wasn't really working out the way I had hoped.

Since I wasn't sure how long I would be away, I thought it was better to leave them somewhere they could at least get some water if it rained.

So when I came back, I was curious to see how they were doing.

Thankfully, they were doing quite well.

My plants when I returned

My plants before I left

Ready to to be frozen

Plants looking tired from the journey and maybe because I didn't plant them immediately

See the soil I was managing. I need more soil

Sorted the plants by type

I really want this flower to grow.

This one too.

I wish I had more soil, I would have given this yam another chance.

It was already evening when I was done planting. I tried o

It looks good now, but figuring out how to plant it was such a task

After all the plant business, I also had some food to deal with.

I came back with some potatoes, and I eventually used some of them to make pomme pilé.

If you're not familiar with it, ponpilé is a Cameroonian dish made with Irish potatoes and beans, which are pounded together.

The kids really enjoyed it.

They ate it so well that I was happy I had made it.

I also really like the way I make mine, so if you'd like to try it, I have shared my recipe for the best pomme pilé here:

Related: Pomme Pilee Recipe 

Yum

So that was life after coming back home. Thanks for reading, and I'll see you in my next one.

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Another little thing that has been making me happy lately is a recipe I accidentally came up with and ended up loving.