Christmas Shopping

I meant to start my Christmas shopping early this year. I have a spreadsheet with my list. I also list down what I give annually and just easily cross out those who aren't in my current active sphere.

I miss buying gifts for my nephews and nieces. All of them have grown up already and live across the globe. My friends though recently brought their kids in our house, so I found a good excuse to find toys for chikitings.

A fairly new store opened nearby. It's called KKV and I was so happy with this discovery. I was happy to find stuff that can keep your hands busy. They have paint by numbers, crochet kids, wood model kits etc. They also have stickers and stuff for journaling. The other half of the store was full of beauty products which I didn't bother to explore, haha (all my make up has expired and I have no need for it).

Anyway, if you're visiting it, better to go early. The line to the cashier is very long. We also checked out National Bookstore. They have less books now, sad. If you must know, Booksale SM Bicutan gets their supplies on Mondays. It's better to go on a Tuesday since by then they have re-stockedntg the shelves 

Almost done with our list. Yay!

#BeKind #StaySafe

My Tenacious Grandfather

Today is my Papa Lolo's 120th birth anniversary. I found his civil registry document certifying his birth. It said the records were completely damaged or lost during the battle of liberation. 

Aside from the war, Papa Lolo lived through the pandemic and built a family. His branch of the family now has representatives all over the world and is scattered across the Philippines. 

I also found some of Papa Lolo's letters to Mama Lola and a small date book. He was truly tenacious at keeping records of what he did, where he went and always had a list of bilins for Mama Lola. He also wrote down expenses and made budgets. I got that from him.

The world back then was crazy. I cannot imagine how Papa Lolo got through the war. He was part of the Bataan Death March. He walked and even helped up a comrade from being bayoneted when he fell (Mom's recount -- his son eventually became PNB president who produced a well-known telco chairman). Anyway, Papa Lolo survived and his legacy lives on with my nephews and nieces now working on bearing and growing the next generation.

What Happens When You Ignore Your Cacti

I got very busy with other plants and it's been almost a year since I properly tended to my cacti. It started with just a few pieces Ate Rose gave me back in July 2022. They looked like this by August 2023 -

And how they looked in November 2024 -

I re-pot them once a year. I moved them to a sunnier spot almost a year ago and water them once a week. One thing about cacti and succulents is they're very low maintenance. They're best left alone. Just top it up with some perlite once a quarter and they'll be fine. 

I was so busy re-potting Mom's other plants, so this is what happened in a year -

Looks like this will be my year-end project!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Tried the Taco Bell Mix

We chanced upon a pack of Taco Bell taco mix at a grocery store and just had to try it. The nearest Taco Bell store is at least 45 minutes away, so this was a good opportunity to have it at home. 

It was very easy to make. Just saute some beef with minced onion and then add the Taco Bell mix. I let the boys do the slicing and grating of the other ingredients. To be honest, we found it easier to use the taco cups than the regular taco shells. Either way, you can just break it and eat it as a salad. 

Here's how we made it at home:

One thing we added to the taco is homemade pickled onions. My friend makes it, but she lives far from us and rarely delivers in our area, so we just made some. I even got some powdered red beets to complete the pickles. 

Now I want to have this again, soon!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Throwback Thursday: Mom's Last Birthday with Dad

We celebrated Mom's birthday the other day. We did her favorite things to do: go to the bank, eat comfort food and did groceries. I took a look back at how she celebrated it 15 years ago. I realized it was the last time she celebrated when Dad was still around. Little did we know, we'd lose him a month after. 

Mom always loved having friends around. She had a gazillion friends from our neighborhood. I was looking at our photos and realized we also lost some of her friends the past few years. It's sad to also lose the extended titos and titas you grew up with. 

It was also the last Christmas we were complete. Both Ate and Kuya came home to celebrate Christmas together. We were never complete after that and had fragmented Christmas celebrations. Kuya and I would even have Mom celebrate Christmas with me in Singapore and she'd do New Year in Jakarta. Mom always complained she didn't want to leave her plants alone, haha. 

Mom wouldn't want us to mope around especially for celebrations, so we made it a point to celebrate. Aside from eating a good meal, we also did her favorite things. We went to the bank and did groceries. Mom took care of the plants for the day and it rained enough to hydrate the plants properly. Ahh, she would have been pleased. 

Happy birthday Mom! We miss you! Today we'll also celebrate Sweetie's Mom's birthday! We have another excuse to celebrate!

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Leg is Healing

I had my seventh physiotherapy session yesterday. I can now really feel that my knee and ankle are healing faster.

Two-thirds of my PT time is spent on machines. The physiotherapist used electricity in my knee and ankle twice, then she does ultrasound therapy, and I'm not sure what the other machine is called. It compresses my whole leg with air.

A third of my time is allotted for exercise and icing. I was a bit cold yesterday and fell asleep while the physiotherapist was working on my leg. LOL! Next time I'll bring a jacket and not just a shawl. 

Anyway, I'm glad my leg is improving. I'm able to use my right foot now to lift the foot rest of my wheelchair. It used to be so painful before. Now, I'm able to do it. I also tried to walk around the grocery by holding onto my wheelchair. I had to take breaks in between, but I think the issue for that is now my stamina and my listless lung power. I'll go back to pulmo rehab once I'm done with physiotherapy.

Happy healing 🤗

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Making a Snowman

Moving in now to make a new cover for my food processor. I found a cute snowman design on Pinterest and after figuring out the measurements I thought it would be a perfect fit for my food processor.

I like the "autumn" colors used on the Pinterest. It took me awhile to find the perfect fabric for it. I hope I get it right. Gotta improve on my quilting skills!

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