Fairies live here!

To me, fairy gardens are my childhood thoughts of a world of friendly tiny people and creatures, being happily playing around one another. Whether they are set up at the bottom of a tree or planted in pots, these miniature environments promote imagination, creative play and nurturing behaviours.

This is my basic fairy garden with a fairy door attached to the tree stump. 

After I updated my fairy garden, I took a photo and posted it to my friends. One of them, Antoinette asked, " Have your written about your upgraded garden?" 

I replied, "Not yet". 

She said, " Then you should. Look at the lights and the flowers. They really looked like something fairies would like to frolic in. So you decide, why not turn it into a fairyland. You never know.... You may see a miracle! "

I have never thought of writing about fairy garden before😅 but her words inspired and encouraged me to begin my story. It was through friends' conversations that always gave me ideas and words to start up my stories in my blog. 😅🤭

When I first began my fairy garden, it was mainly to amuse my 6 yrs old grandson.

The idea started when I visited one of my friends,  Jennifer's home.
Her space for a garden was so limited but through her clever and brilliant ideas, she created a very neat and easy to care, garden.

View from the back to the front.

View from the entrance of her home

Different types of Succulents

Varieties of mini catus

Beautiful collections of her Jade plants 

Her "Air plants" blooming under the blazing sun,  turning green to purple. 

A beautiful fake butterfly sitting on the big leaf making it so real.

She has little cute figurines on her plants which made her narrow garden so beautiful and lively.

Cute little monk

This frog which I gave to her as a gift, she brilliantly created a scene of a frog relaxing under the hot sun with a glass of iced lemonade.😁

Cute little Shaolin masters with their Kung Fu stance. 😄

My ex-classmate, Richard gave a nickname to her cute garden, "Japanese garden" because it was such a  cute, clean and tidy little precious area with full of little Bonsai and succulent plants.

Whenever I visited her "Japanese garden" I can capture the essence of nature and inspire quiet reflection.

The name "Japanese garden" fits nicely since Japanese garden is a traditional style of landscaping that captures and idealizes nature in a miniature , symbolic form like the plants, rocks, gravel and figurines of monks.

I was so fascinated by it that I too, started to create a little space in my garden and called it, "My cute corners". Jennifer has given me a few succulents plants as a start up. 

 I started to buy miniature birds, squirrels, frogs, cats, and tortoises.

The beginning of my "Cute Corner" in my garden looked like a tiny magical world. 

This video was created by my neighbour, Connie who was captivated by it. 
Thank You, Connie.💓

One day, my grandson gave me a present, a cute little gnome to place in my cute corner. That's how my idea to turn my little cute corner into a fairy garden began! 

A gnome is a mythical, small humanoid earth spirit from the 16th century Renaissance magic that evolved into modern fantasy lore and popular lawn decorations.

 The garden gnomes are modern lawn figurines started in Germany and Switzerland during the 18th and 19th centuries as symbols of good luck and protection.

Gnome

  I started adding a few fairies, elves, and the gnomes. 
Bit by bit, my grandson and I added new DIY items such as a little well or climbing ladders to this small spot. 

Elf having coffee at the fairy garden! 😄

The fairy garden look more magical and real. It brought pure joy to my grandson.❤️ 

Climbing ladders and a bridge

Rustic bridge made of twigs. 

It was fun when we made this rustic well together. ❤️ 

Miniature birds with their eggs on the nest.

Next, we started to make colourful little doors to attach to the trees, as imaginary fairy houses.
We collected twigs from the trees and bought hot glue gun to make the miniatures easily. Other low cost items like the thin rustic rope, popsicles sticks, etc, we got them from the stationary shops. 

The complete set up spark a childhood wonder as he watched a tiny hidden world came to life.

The advantage of Google and U-tube has taught me a lot on how to build those doors, and giving me ideas of how to add more DIY fairy items such as a balcony, bridges, benches and so on. 

A penguin, tortoise and squirrel enjoying a swing together.😂

Sign post of a Fairy village

This was how my initial fairy garden was born.
Unfortunately, heavy rainfall destroyed some of the miniatures. 😭 

So I relocated my fairy garden to my Chinese Bayan," Feng Sui" tree.🙏 

Relocated fairy's home to a coconut tree trunk😃

This was my grandson's favourite spot, a fairy's home with stairs leading to the bridge.😅

Home of the "Gnomes" at the bottom of the Chinese Bayan Bonsai😄

A gnome caught a fish!😂

Relocated blue fairy sitting between our DIY mushrooms 😂

While yellow fairy was relocated to the branches of the Chinese Bayan Bonsai.

A balcony with table and chairs for tea!😁

 Blogspot page has limited video space. Therefore, I had to break up these video's into 4 parts.😅

As time went by, a fairy wonderland was created.

I created a magical glowing fairy garden by installing solar lights through the miniture mushrooms. At night, with the mushroom lights on glow-mode, the fairy garden looked magical and very beautiful in the dark.😊 

Each morning, my grandson would take a peek to see any signs of fairy frolicking in the fairyland. 🤭 
I noticed that creating a "small world" allows children ( including me!😅 ) to engage in open ended pretend play and build endless narrative stories.

Actually, we are never too old or too young to set up a fairy garden. They are great for all ages.😂
For the children, small figurines are fun for playing pretend in the garden  while to the adults like me, it provides a peaceful connection to nature and brings joy to our life.

Ice kacang

 

Once upon a time, there was a machine called "ice kacang" machine. This machine can make children and adults of all age happy just with a simple dessert, shaved ice with syrup, that cost only 5 cents in the 1950's and 60's and those with more ingredients ( jelly, red beans and evaporated milk) was 10 cents per bowl .

Such a simple desert brings pleasurable memories to our generation, and even up to  this new era they still make the younger generation feel good and happy, especially on a hot day like these days where weather temperature is about 32 degrees Celsius, but including the heat factor, it feels more like 42 degrees C. Except nowadays there are more varieties and more expensive compared to our era in the 50's and 60's.

When I saw this machine posted in Heritage SG memories by Kevin Khoo, I remembered my late father used to own one too in his coffee shop. The shop was just right in front of the High Court in town along the walk way from kampong Air to Gaya street. 

When I was young, I used to help my parents look after the shop as early as 11 years old. I recall my father would put a block of ice on the shaver and then he clamped the block of ice tightly at the base plate of the machine before rotating the handle like wheel, which was on the right side of the machine to produce shaved ice, that ice was collected on the base plate. That time the shaver could only be performed manually. 

Due to those fond memories and experiences I had, I decided to buy this toy ice shaver gadget online for Rm23.50 😁

And started to make my DIY (Do it yourself) ice kacang😁

Red beans and jelly like I used to have in my younger days.

And covered with shaved iced made from my toy ice shaver.
Honestly, I was so excited to see the shaved ice coming out from my toy ice shaver😂.
Then I drizzle the shave ice with syrup and evaporated milk and start digging.😋
I finished it within minutes😅 and went for 2nd round😁

Hubby didn't want to be left out, so he created his dessert too, Vanilla Ice cream with chocolate kit kat and biscuits.

When we asked our grandson which would he prefer, he opted for the ice kacang 😂 and hubby's face went ☹️ hahahaha... 🤭 

Ice kacang without shaved ice, just ice cube taste equally yummy but with shaved ice its more  prettier and exciting to dive in for😋😁

Transferring my childhood beloved nostalgic treat of ice kacang to my 6 yrs old grandson 😂 

Even in this high tech era, where the younger generation like my grandson, are still keen to learn some of our old ways and skills. I was surprised that when I bought this toy shaved iced gadget, it lit up the eyes of my grandson, making him so excited and happy and what more, looking forward for another session of ice kacang activity 🤭 

Grandson concentrating seriously on his task to get shaved ice😂

But he preferred ice balls more, which was just shaved ice and red syrup. He too had his 2nd round of ice balls😅

While me, I preferred the original ice kacang that consisted of shaved ice, red beans, jellies and drizzle with red syrup and evaporated milk 😂 

When I posted this to my friends, many started to reminisce about this popular dessert in our era of the 50's and 60's.

One of my friends Peter, reminisced about his fond memories of buying a small bowl of ice kacang in Gaya street market stall for 10 cents in the 60's. A simple ice kacang in a small bowl that has sweetened red beans and jelly,  covered with shaved ice and drizzled with red syrup. 

I shared the same fond memories of these dessert , probably we had bought from the same stall. I remember there was an old lady who sold these sweets helpings in her small stall at the Gaya Street wet market.

Again when i was young, I walked to this market which took me about 7-10 mins. Towards the end of the walkway there was a Cathay cinema of the left side and facing the cinema was the big Gaya Street Market.

Memory map of my morning walks to Gaya Street Wet Market to help my parents do the marketing errands each morning during school holidays😅

Another friend Christine, shared her childhood experiences of buying ice-baĺl for 5 cents from a stall on the street before cycling to her school. It was just a simple impacted shaved ice with additional red syrup all over it.

I was pleasantly surprised that my grandson showed an interest in helping me make the various varieties of this old dessert, he enjoyed eating it as much as I did.

Reference

Ice balls

Ice Kacang

Ice kacang macine

Heritage SG memories

Happiness is the smell of freshly baked bread!

The smell of freshly baked bread = Happiness and sweet memories.
 
Peter, a friend said, " Indeed, the smell of freshly baked bread brings back memories from 50 years ago as it spread throughout Gaya Street and we knew that the bread was ready and waiting in the morning". 

My husband also has good memories of running to the Hurst's bakery before school and he could still remember the smell of those freshly baked bread down the road which was only a stone's throw away from his home, Claughton road. 😁

Making bread as a beginner for the 1st time can be frustrating for those who failed due to sticky dough, failed rises and a dense loaf or the other way round, a motivation for those who succeeded in producing an aromatic, tasty, light , bouncy, well risen loaf. Since we are all different, each of us takes failure differently. Those who failed miserably may end up " Never again" to try while others with challenging attitude may keep trying until they succeeded. 

In 2001, I bought a Kenwood bread maker for the first time from Singapore at an offer price, just to satisfy my curiosity of how a bread machine can bake a bread automatically! Though it did bake a bread but the bread was not tasty and appeared very dense and heavy. At that time there was no video to show how to bake a bread or any recipe book where I could turn to, for help except the pamphlet with brief instructions that came with the bread machine.

This bread machine followed me whichever country I resided. I had even tried with "Hovis" bread flour when I was in UK but still not up to the par level of the taste I was looking for. So I gave up and the machine ended in my store as a "White elephant".

As years gone by, due to high tech, our handphones kept updating and by the time I retired, there were so many bread making made easy videos, shown in U-tube. Those bread looked so delicious and tempting. That's the time, I took out the bread machine again to bake a bread. Unfortunately the machine which was kept in the box for years became faulty. 😞

I tried to send for repair at the household  appliances repair shop but was informed that it was not worth the repair as the cost would be almost the price of an updated brand new bread machine.

Hearing this, I decided to leave the machine with the handyman as discard item and never bake bread any more. 

Another few years passed and recently in year 2025, my former classmate Jerry posted me a few photos of his successful sourdough bread and other artisan bread that he had baked. 

The bread looked so good that they inspired me to start making bread again. 🤣

Jerry's big ear bread🤭🤣🤣 baked in January 2025

Jerry's latest bread made of 25% milk and 25% wholemeal flour, 😋

Another friend of mine 👆from Singapore, Antoinette also posted some of her successful home made bread. 

My Singaporean friend's home-made German bread.😋

Making your own bread is a rewarding process and my hubby loves the aroma of freshly baked bread spreading from the kitchen to the whole house. 

My friend, Antoinette shared me this👆 amazing U-tube video of "No Knead Artisan Bread" , a very forgiving dough indeed😂

My 1st attempt with "No knead" Artisan bread 
15th Jan 2026. 

Such successful outcome motivated me to bake more bread especially different types of bread such as Italian, German, European and Poland bread recipes. 

On the 20th Feb 2026, I began to start making the Polish bread using "Faux bread starter".

This is how the faux bread starter looks like☝as shown above by using commercial yeast (Instant yeast).

The U-tube video of this Polish bread recipe must have a protected link because it won't allow me to share their links here but you can still see their recipe in U-tube called "Meisterhaftes". 

To begin with, the faux bread starter 👇 is needed by using commercial yeast:

Pour 200mls warm water in a small bowl.

Add 1 tablespoon sugar+ 5gm dry yeast.

Stir well till fully dissolved. 

Add 150gm flour and mix well.

Cover and let it aside to rest for 20mins.

Prepare a clean bowl of  350flour + 1 teaspoon of salt.
Make a "well" in the center and pour in the prepared "Faux bread starter" over it.
Add 120ml warm water to mix well.

A shaggy dough is what we want. 😂

Cover to rest in warm place for 20 mins

After 20 mins rest, wet hands to perform a few series of the pull and fold on the dough. Cover and rest for  another 20 mins

After 20mins do another series of pull and fold before placing the dough in an oiled bowl. 

Cover and rest for 1 hr.

After 1 hr, lightly dust the counter. Place the dough on the floured counter and shape it in circle.

Cover the dough to rest 15 mins.

After 15mins ,spread out the dough upside down and gently fold into 3 ,then roll up into elongated shape before placing in the floured baking tins
I suggested you watch their video to understand what I am trying to say because visual aids can make you understand better. 

Bread dough at it's final stage of Proofing. 

The dough needs to be in the fridge for at least 2hrs or  it can be left to rest in the fridge overnight and take out the next morning to bake or whenever needed.

Outcome of my successful German/Polish bread!

The smell of the bread was so flavourful and they taste delicious.
I ate it with cream cheese. So yummy. 😋

My hubby likes the Polish Bread the most. It's Pull and Fold technique and the use of faux bread starter is very easy to make. This bread is tasty, soft and fluffy . Even the skin of the bread was soft which suits elderly like us😁

Initially I used my medium size oven to bake my bread but as time goes by, I learnt that the air fryer can also bake bread especially small loaf. Air fryer is fast, more convenient and save cost where electricity is concerned. And the bread always turns out nicely.

I also tried using my PYREX ware as "Dutch Oven" 😅 

 And the bread turned out beautifully and tasty from aroma to texture.

After my success with Polish bread, I went on to try a more complicated bread like the Sourdough bread which was never a success despite numerous attempt because I can never get the sourdough starter right. So I gave up trying until I saw in U-tube about the apple water yeast by Stepheno. I was curious to see if they really work and decided to give it another try. 😅 

Bread using Apple water yeast starter

 The steps looked so simple and easy that inspired me to try. 

Apple water yeast. 

1 medium size apple about 150gm
6 teaspoon sugar
500 mls water

Cover and shake twice a day everyday for 6 days

By Day 6, drain the apple and keep the apple water in fridge for 24hrs 

No waste, No discard 

To make the bread starter ( Feeding stage)

 Pour out 124 mls of apple water in a clean jar.

Add 124 gm flour and mixed well.

 Cover the jar and leave for 10 - 12 hrs to raise. 

10 hours later

Look at this beauty. 

It's the power of natural Lactobacilla and yeasts living in the apple skin.

The starter has risen (almost triple)!

 

This is the time to start making bread.

Apple water yeast bread recipe:

166mls warm water

1 teaspoon salt. Mixed well till dissolved.

Add in all the starter and mixed well till dissolved.

Add 276 gm flour.

Mixed well and rest , covered for 2 hrs.

State of the dough after leaving in refrigerator for 12hrs for slow fermentation before baking. 
Looks promising!😜

Outcome of this sourdough bread using apple water yeast.

My Honest Comment?

The smell and taste was good but the texture of the bread seemed doughy and heavy.
Therefore, I declared myself , sourdough bread is not meant for me to try again, period!😅

I followed the instructions exactly from👆 this Utube recipe.

Dates Bread ingredients:

Only need:

2cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon instant yeast

200mls warm water

100gms chopped dates 

My 1st Italian Ciabatta bread🤗 

I followed exactly from utube video by Aroma von Brot. Have a look at their videos but just in case you can't find their link, have a look at any Ciabatta recipes will help. 

I must admit, it's the easiest and lightest bread I ever baked with 100% success. 😂 

 I would recommend any beginners like me to try. 

Yogurt Bread

But later, I found another easier bread making,and it was this👆 yogurt bread recipe. Of all the recipes I have tried, I felt his👆 yogurt bread has the simplest and very forgiving bread recipe which can turn out so well even with flaws😅. It is the best which could guaranteed a successful outcome. Not much kneading and let time do the job.

This was my 1st attempt Yogurt Sandwich bread.
I made into 6 segments😂

My 2nd attempt which I only made 2 segments on it.

I must admit, this is the easiest and lightest bread I ever baked with 100% success. 😂 

 I would recommend any beginners like me to try. 

My conclusion:

To be honest, after my successful first bread of  Simple "Lazy" Artisan bread, I was motivated to try another level of bread recipe such as Polish, European bread. 

Then i moved to the 2nd level of bread making using Faux bread starter.  After that, I went further to the 3rd level, a more complicated bread such as Sourdough bread which I never succeeded, no matter how many times I tried.

From the mistake I had encountered, I would like to share with you some tips given by my friends who had baked their bread successfully,    

- Start from the simplest and less likely to fail bread recipe, to motivate us to make more bread and the "No Knead , No wait " Artisan bread recipe is the best to start with but even the bread turned out beautifully, it was dense inside when I made them. After trying so many types of bread recipes, I like the most is the Italian Ciabatta and Yogurt bread. Unfortunately my hubby prefers the Polish bread more. Since we are all born with different preferences, we are thankful to our Good Lord for allowing us to have choices 🙏 

-  Never use tap water which had chlorine in it can kill the yeast. Use bottled drinking water or mineral water.

- Give time for the dough to rise. Dough rises better in a warm kitchen. When it's so humid especially in our country, the dough will rise faster compared to a rainy cold day. The dough should rise at least double it's size before baking. 

-Use warm water, not hot as it can kill the yeast. Cool water is also not advisable as it will not activate the dough properly, therefore the dough will not rise properly.

Overall, the happiness experienced when my bread turned out well, is really a profound, sensory, deep rewarding feeling. It's like magic, transforming flour, water and yeast into a golden, delicious and fragrant loaf of bread.😂💓🙏

 That's all for my topic of the day...Happy baking!😊