Landscaping Last Christmas, the front and side lawn of my west facing corner block was damaged by the high temperature rarely found in Sydney history. I always wanted a colourful and beautiful front garden with more varieties of plants and less maintenance, so i decided to redo the landscaping myself. After I got rid of all the survived Buffallo grass manually ( for I was afraid the kill-all chemicals might harm my new plants as well later) and dug four 50cm×50cm holes in the ground where I wanted small trees to give some shade in hot summers, I still had no idea what exactly I wanted. As long as I had time, I would walk around the mess and imagine what it would be like if I did this or that. In the end, I had a lifted rose patch by bricks under the front windows, a small pathway with charcoal colored stone steps sorrounded by fine pearl gravels, one lemon tree and three Purple Glory Bush, and a lot of colourful ground covering Gazania plants. It was a unique garden full of designs with stones. Nobody believed that I did all by myself ( sure, my husband had to help with his labor from time to time). I had a strong feeling of accomplishment with the great benefits of lower cholesterol and normal Vitamin D level. I was so proud of my this creative arts work.

What is the meaning of "Quackadoodles" and "plain old snake oil" Below is the context. Studying and changing the microbiome to affect health has become the newest frontier of medicine, both via legitimate, evidenced-base practices and some quackadoodles cashing in on the latest fad. It can be difficult, when perusing one's Instagram or Twitter feed of magical gut modifications, to figure out what is good science and what is plain old snake oil. Thank you!

Papa's meaning Yesterday I watched a movie called " Black or White". The little black girl called her grandpa "Papa". I was so confused. Doesn't Papa refer to " father" ? Thanks

Fair enough In daily conversation, very often we can hear Australian say " That is fair enough." It sounds very confusing to me. What is the exact meaning of this phrase? Thanks

成语"落叶归根" Have you ever heard about this Chinese idiom? Literally, it describes the senario that the fallen leaves would return to the roots after the fall comes and leaves are no long so vividly alive. It is usually used to say old people apt to go back to where they are from and enjoy their late life there. Before, this was very common in Chinese culture. No matter how far you went and how successful you were, when you became old you still would feel you belonged to where you were born and that was the most comfortable place in this world. Do you have such phynomenon in your culture?

what is a universal story? I am confused by universal. Thank you!

What to ask during the 10-minute parent-teacher meeting

My Year 9 daughter's English report is not as good as we expected.

We migrated to Sydney five years ago. Her English reports started from a C, then B, then A , now B again. We found she did struggle last semester, because she had no ideas about creative writings. At home we only speak Chinese. We can't help at all. 

To be honest, both parents do not get involved in her study at all. She managed all by herself. Fortunately, she doesn't have problems with other subjects. What should we do about this situation? What to ask during the 10-minute parent-teacher meeting?

Tolerance If we are unhappy about something, that does not necessarily mean we are better. Sometimes that reveals we are not open enough to the things that we have different ideas about. The more tolerant we are， the more calm and peace we can find within us. Do you agree with this?