The basil here was a recent addition to my herb garden. Bought a tiny pot from the supermarket, which is meant more for instant consumption than cultivation. The herbs are thriving at the moment, since the disaster when it was attacked by a swarm of bugs that killed my parsley and coriander. Dealt with that spraying garlic juice on them (natural pesticide). Then there was the heat wave while I was away with the plants looking like they had dried to a crisp. After many infusions of water and some fertilizer, the herbs are back to looking their best. The mint shown here is a good indicator of it and I find autumn the best time to grow anything, with all the elements providing the right conditions.

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Keeping pretty busy at work these days. I’m just keen to get on with my job, and perform it to the best of my ability. There are days when I don’t mind things that much, feeling more charitable and quite simply, enjoying myself. Heh, just waiting for the weekend now, a little tired from dealing with the nitty gritty stuff.

Having a long weekend come up due to Labour Day on Monday. Have a satay party planned by my cousin on Sunday. Going to look at more property this weekend. I’d also like to sit down to install Arch Linux on one of my old laptops. It should be an interesting experience. Also plan to do a little cooking this weekend. Bought osso bucco (veal shanks) last weekend and cooked it a few days ago. It’s the kind of meat you braise for a couple of hours and it just becomes soft and melts off the bone. The part I like about osso bucco is the marrow from the bones that become accessible after you cook it long enough. It’s gelatinous and tastes quite good. To cook this dish, I bought celery, something I haven’t bought in long while as I’m not quite sure what uses it has. Lately I’ve been finding more ways to use the vegetable.

Just happy to keep things simple these days.