Determining Your Electrical Needs for Your New House

When we visited my Mom when we got home from Singapore, I was surprised with the many extension cords in her room. They were plugged in from other rooms and I was really concerned with what was plugged in the extension cords. It was a jaw-dropping discovery. 

A small refrigerator and the aircon on another extension cord.

What?!?!?

60-year old outlet. It included a 110 volt socket which was common in the 70s

I was just thankful that no untoward incident has happened. They probably did that even during the pandemic. I immediately had a licensed electrician check everything. The house was built in 1970 and it definitely did not take into consideration any newer appliances. 

Modern outlet of a hotel. We're skipping the ones with USB options since that changes quite frequently. We'll stick to traditional ones and just work on keeping them out of sight

Anyway, the shock probably contributed to my heart deteriorating further. We also did an electrical audit for our new home. The house was deemed a fire hazard and so we had to re-wire everything and changed all the cheap lights installed on the renovated house. 

Research on brands. Did you know electricians prefer Panasonic for outlets and switches?

We learned a lot from that experience and we followed this process when we were given the floor layout:

• Listed all appliances per room
• Marked where all the appliances were to be placed per room
• A sheet listing all appliances and gadgets
• A separate sheet listing  air conditioner placement
• CCTV placement (check with your provider if it gets its power from the server or requires it's own plug)
• Network needs (internet is more important nowadays than a phone line)
• Outdoor needs for your laundry area and garage and lights for your garden if you need it
• Noted what kind of outlets we needed, i.e.  universal outlets for kitchen appliances and placement of energy guzzling appliances like the fridge, oven and microwave
• We followed most of the planned lighting and just added some wall mounted lights outdoor. We also decided to use smart lighting sparingly (less fuss = less stuff to think about and replace in the future).

#BeKind #StaySafe

Sunday in Haze

I woke up wheezing today. I had a hard time with the bad air quality yesterday. I skipped watering the plants and playing with the cats.

I thought it would be a better day. It rained a bit, but the bad air came back immediately. We cancelled our plans to go to the park for the parish fiesta.

Apparently, our air purifier wasn't giving the right status. Sweetie changed the filter and it was covered in dust. Ughhhh. We'll probably check all our purifiers to make sure all the filters are still clean.

Happy Sunday everyone!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Eggshells, A Garden Staple

I have been using eggshells for my plants for a few years now. I think it's one of the "ingredients" that helped make my bell pepper plants produce a lot of fruit. 

I read in several sources that you should boil it before using it in the garden. I have a regular supply because we normally use at least 2 dozen eggs every month. After cracking the egg open, we normally wash off the sticky residue and set it aside. When the container of egg shells gets filled that's when I boil it.

After boiling, I set aside the shells to dry for a day or two. I also transfer the water to a bottle to be used when I water the plants. Once the egg shells are dry, I then grind it to make it smaller. Then I put one to two tablespoons per pot.

I read that it takes time for the nutrients to be absorbed in the soil. That's fine, I treat it as a "slow release" fertilizer with the plants. It also helps ward off pests because they don't like the sharp edges of the egg shell. I also use the crushed eggshells when preparing soil for planting seeds and for re-potting growing plants. I basically put it on everything since different kinds of plants need calcium anyway. 

For the more adventurous, you can also brown the shells on a pan or bake it after you boil it. Grind the eggshells and then place them in a bottle. Then add vinegar (sukang paombong) at 1:10 ratio (egg shells:vinegar). Cover the bottle only when it stops bubbling. Let it ferment for a few weeks and then use 1 to 2 tablespoons for every liter of water. You're plant will go crazy over the nutrients, haha.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Made Salmon Lemon Cream Pasta at Home

One of my favorite resto dishes is Nono's salmon lemon cream pasta. It's expensive, so I only enjoy it once in a while. Unfortunately, they removed it from the menu, so I've been experimenting on making it at home. Of course, cost-wise, it's much cheaper since I can share what I cook with the boys. 

I've made it twice and the second attempt was much better. I put a lot of spinach and it kinda freaked out Miggy (haha). I'll probably reduce that next time, but taste-wise, this attempt was much closer to what I usually have at Nono's.

Here's how I made it:

Full recipe: https://recipesformyson.blogspot.com/2026/10/recipes-for-my-son-salmon-lemon-cream.html

Any tips or suggestions are welcome!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Wake Up! September has Ended!

The song "Wake me up when September ends" by Green Day never gets old. It's a song about the grief Billie Joe Armstrong felt when his father passed away. I guess all of us have gone through similar journeys. 

September has ended and what I remember about the past month is the rain was replaced by haze. We were also busy trying to reach our health goals. That keeps us going every week. In between those appointments we were home doing a myriad of things. Tending to the garden, playing with cats, decluttering, and we were able to cook some good food too. 

Here's the one second everyday for the month of September:

I can say it was a pretty mundane month. Boring is good since it was already a struggle to combat the haze and breathe clean air. I hope October will be a better month. We have started to think about how best to survive the super El Nino which is supposed to hit us starting this month. 

Have a great week everyone!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Bad Air Quality (It's Really Bad!)

On our way home yesterday my nose started dripping while we were in the middle of EDSA. I immediately checked the IQ Air app and saw the reading was at 228 violet alert. That means the air quality is very unhealthy for everyone. I immediately wore my mask again even though we were in the car and I had a portable air purifier running. Better to be safe than to get sick.

With no rain, the air quality was worse today. My tonsils have been hurting a bit, so I've been drinking more water. I remember my pulmo told me before that bad air can affect your breathing and your tonsils. Stay hydrated he said and stay in a room with your windows closed and use your air purifier. 

As much as I want to do some gardening, I've just been watering the plants. I also wear a mask to be sure I don't have an asthma attack. There's nothing much you can do when there is haze, just protect yourself by wearing a mask, staying indoors, hydrating and using an air purifier.

Time to wake up tomorrow!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Work in Progress: Baby Yoda Project

I'm still working on my Baby Yoda grid quilt project. Hand quilting is taking longer than I expected since I can't overdo using my wrist. 

I'm planning to frame it when I'm done and I'll also have the Pikachu one framed too.

Happy crafting everyone!

#BeKind #StaySafe