What Happened in October (2025)

I'm glad I made it this far recording at least a second everyday on my One Second Everyday account. October has been our most productive month this year. It was good we started it by having buffet breakfast in a hotel. It was my belated birthday celebration :)

I've been a bit more mobile this month and having a wheelchair really helps getting around. It's added cardio for the boys (haha). I stretch my knee often when we're out since it still hurts. I start PT next month, but Miggy has started his wellness and nutrition journey. It's the reason why we've been out more often. 

Since I want our home to look more accommodating, we spent a lot of time this month organizing. We got help from Ally Canita and her team. They helped us finish the rest of the boxes from my childhood home. It was a good decision to do that, since we're now ready to decorate for Christmas! Hooray! 

We also got help from a landscaper, Manong Henry, to clean up our front yard. The bamboo trees got so gnarly and I was afraid snakes might start living in it. What pushed me to get help was seeing a very long snake skin on our neighbor's car. It probably shed on the car while we were all asleep! The landscape project is my gold birthday gift for myself. Ahh, seeing pretty plants make me happy. 

Here's my 1sec video for October:

In between all the activity we rested and calmed down with our cats. They calmed down when August (now Gus) and Little Grey moved out. I'm really glad we were able to find the best fur parents for them. I guess the orange energy they had was too much for us and the tabby brood. Things are back to normal and I plan to bust out the new cat tower for them this weekend.

Happy end of October and Happy Halloween!

If you're bored and want to be scared, you may want to read some scary stories here -

https://moonlesstales.blogspot.com/

#BeKind #StaySafe

Halloween 2003

I miss those days we used to get together for Halloween. We'd even dress up in costumes and mainly did it for the kids.

I recently found my Dad's mask. We all giggled when we saw him wear it. It for him well, so he really looked scary. Much more since he wore a vest! Haha. I'm surprised the mask still looks new after 20 years. 

I miss you Dad. I know you are all partying up there! Kisses to Mom, Mama Lola and all my titos and titas.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Decluttering Gets You Going

I've been amiss with my blogs since I've been busy the past two weeks. After we had a decluttering session with Ally Canita and her team, I felt rejuvenated and I managed to putter around the house again.

I read several articles that said, "Women are more affected by clutter than men." I believe is true because I had several mishaps when we moved all the boxes from my childhood home. It filled up our sala and dining room. I got hospitalized and missed a step on the stairs while looking at the boxes.

Two years and sorting my Mom's things seemed never ending and I talked at the last huge batch. I wanted to do other things already, but was held down with a gazillion stuff to sort. I didn't have the stamina and energy to finish it. And that's why we got help from Ally Canita and her team.

In two days, the boxes littering our house dissipated. Boxes for donation was sent out and the rest of the stuff were sorted and organized. Majority of the things were donated and I set aside some stuff that will be given to relatives. 

Seeing our sala and dining room free from clutter felt like a huge thorn was pulled out of me. I've become more productive and have managed to declutter other areas which got gnarly in the last few months. I'm now able to work on crafting and gardening.

I hope we'll be able to set up for Christmas soon!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Gave Up On the Santa Crochet Project

Oh-kay... I usually don't give up on projects, but the Santa Crochet Project got so gnarly. It wasn't giving me any joy and it was giving me pain. 

The issue was both the plastic hook and the yarn. I'm more adept at using steel crochet hooks and smaller yarn. The yarn was also prone to unraveling. I'm no expert with crochet, but I did quite a lot of projects when I was younger. I thoroughly enjoyed it back then 

Anyway, it is what it is, maybe I'll obtain better yarn and use my crochet hook. It's probably in one of my sewing kits. In the meantime, to recuperate from the disappointing turn out, I've started working on a Christmas cover for my KitchenAid mixer. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Happy Black Cat Day!

It's the day to celebrate black cats! I didn't know I needed one until a scraggly black, mouse-like, kitten showed up in our garage. 

The kitten demanded food and kept rubbing our legs. It squirmed it's way into our hearts and never left. That was 16 months ago, when Anakin, stepped in our lives and became part of our pawmily.

Happy Black Cat Day!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Halloween Past vs. Halloween Present

We had a different kind of Sunday this week. We were set to meet up with friends at the park to pick up kutsinta and otap. Leejay also mentioned they will set up their coffee cart, Love & Latte. We didn't know that the annual village Halloween party was also set this afternoon. 

Kids from all over the village trooped to the pergola in costume. They were so cute and were called to parade their costumes in front of all the participants. While they were doing that we got to hang-out with our long-time friends. 

It's been awhile since I had a "proper" Halloween. We've just been checking out the kids who go trick or treat around the village every year. I think that's scheduled for Friday in our area. Way back we used to get together in my childhood home every Halloween. We were a huge group with many young kids. The kids have all grown up though and most of my friends live elsewhere now. 

c2011 at my childhood home

I was happy to see Leejay, Denz and their kids, Ate Edith, Matthew and family again. I miss those days we'd have monthly birthday celebrations. I haven't celebrated my 50th yet, so maybe next month when I'm a bit more mobile. 

Happy Sunday everyone!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Growing My Own Kamote

I got two kamote pieces at the grocery and promptly forgot to cook it. I left it in the counter and just opened the container. 

Few weeks later, it started to grow roots and leaves. The boys eventually gave me an ultimatum, plant it or throw it out.

I decided to plant it. My goal was to have leaves in case I want to make sinigang. It been almost three weeks and the tiny leaves have grown. I can actually make sinigang in a few days!

I'm sure the leaves will just continue to grow, so I'll just leave it in the pot. Woohoo!

Kwek-Kwek

Kwek-kwek isn't the healthiest afternoon snack, but it's still enjoyable to have once I'm awhile. I look forward to eating it whenever we drop by the garden nursery.

I buy gardening supplies, bread at Uncle John's, and while Sweetie buya fruits, I get some kwek-kwek for me and Miggy. We split 3 orders between us because one order of 4 quail eggs isn't enough. Two orders is too much, so 3 orders hit the craving perfectly.

I've just had my once a quarter indulgence, I guess I'll have it again next year na.

#BeKins #StaySafe

Throwback Thursday: Scary Incident on Leon Guinto Street

I'm sharing one of two scary memories which popped up when I watched one of the road rage videos that was on the news this week.

Leon Guinto Incident 

It was probably one of the summers before I became a teen. My Mom and I were on our way to my Dad's office to bring food because it was his birthday. Mom was driving and I was on the passenger seat beside her. I remember it was quite hot and we had our windows down. 

We had passed my Alma Mater and were a few blocks away from it when a car blocked the car which was slightly ahead of us. We had to stop because they blocked us too. Men with weeapons jumped out of the car and opened the door of the car. One man grab the hair of the female passenger. She winced in pain and just closed her eyes.

It was then that Mom and I noticed that one of the men had his weapon pointing at us. Mom whispered to me to slowly crawl out of the car. I didn't need to because in just a few seconds they all left. The incident was probably faster than the Louvre Museum heist. No one else noticed because things happened so fast.

After they left, Mom took a deep breath and drove fast to get to my Dad's office. Back then mobile phones were not available for consumers yet. Mom thought also that it would be safer if we got to Dad's office. Whoever they are, they were not interested in us.

I don't recall if it was covered in the news. Mom remembered the incident a couple of times. I don't know what the adults did after. They had me focus on other things and I just remember key moments of the incident. I don't even recall if I cried over it (probably not). I was probably in shock and didn't really register the danger that we were in.

The memory was triggered by the road rage incident. I always prayed that the victim of the incident was saved and lived a long life.

*I don't have a photo of our old car, so had Gemini make one for me.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Choosing Battles

The past week has been riddled with issues! We lost internet over the weekend. Neighbor keeps doing un-neighborly stuff. And I couldn't find a slot to sign-up for the Paranaque Help Card.

Stress is bad for me and to be honest I become unstable whenever there's bad vibes around me. When I get annoyed, I usually want immediate action. I get more annoyed when the issue gets stuck and I think it's worse when you're perimenopausal.

I've since learned not to blow my top in the past two decades. I used to have an awful temper. Sweetie has been my "safety pin". He's such a calm force and I usually let him take the lead in berating people. I can be really sungit, so he obliges.

Choose your battles. You don't need to fight everything. Some you can just let go and you'll be happier. I've been attempting to register for the Paranaque Help Card as a PWD. I've tried a couple of times and it's just not working out. I'm letting that go since I might just get sick running after something that may not be worthwhile. Plus, the registration site has been wonky. I'm not sure if my data will be secure there.

Other things can be resolved through proper processes and being tenatious with following up. I'm retired, so I have time today breathe down the neck of anyone who has to move. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

First Few Days Crocheting

I brought the crochet set I bought to the hospital. Once Miggy went to do his test, I hunkered down and started to work on the project. I told myself I should finish the project in a few days. The manual said to start with the head. 

The first hurdle was to understand how to make the magic ring. We were taught in school to make chain stitches to form a ring. Apparently, that has changed to allow you to pull the string to close the hole. Oh boy, it took me several tries to get it. A senior lady was watching me intently across the room. She was probably trying to see if I knew what I was doing, hahaha. 

I only managed to finish one row when Miggy suddenly showed up. He was done with his test. Both Sweetie and me were so surprised. Sweetie wasn't even able to finish the forward yet, haha. I kept my stuff and off we went.

I've been working on the project for a week now. I finished the head, the hands, the legs, and I'm now stuck with making the body because the legs are noticeably uneven and even with counting the body isn't adding up to the required stitches. Hahahaha. 

I rested during the weekend and have yet to pick up the hook again. I really had a hard time making the legs and I'm waiting to be brave again to finish the project. In the meantime, I've been distracted with organizing my sewing room. It's just hard to work on projects when things are all over the place. Haha.

Wish me luck!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Do Not Block Our Driveway!

Woke up today with internet! PLDT finally sent someone to fix the issue. The repair crew said they know the installer who did a sloppy job on the box. Got back internet shortly after they came, but speed is about 15% of what we're paying for. Sweetie reported it again and they said again there's an outage. I want to believe them, but I'm so jaded already with how everything is below par in our country.

Anyway, another issue cropped up. Neighbor parked their car in front of our property and blocked our gate. Sweetie reported it, but it's not the first time it happened. They had a visitor who once was about to block our gate. Sweetie caught him in the act and sent him away. 

I honestly don't understand why they have at least 6 to 7 cars at any given time. They squeezed 4 cars in their 2-car garage and have been littering the street with the overflow. Our neighbors generally only have 1 to 2 cars. If they could afford 7 luxury cars, surely they could buy a bigger house with a bigger garage. 

It really makes it harder for us to back up our car whenever they block our driveway and because of my condition we sometimes have to rush to the hospital. 

I got a lot of advise from friends on what to do. I'll start with my Mom's strategy and put a huge pot where they tend to block our driveway. I've ordered a "do not block the driveway" sign. If they keep doing it, we'll add it to our barangay complaint.

You really can't buy class noh?

#BeKind #StaySafe

No Internet Weekend

One thing I really don't like is waking up to bad news. Sweetie said there were two PLDT people who dabbled with the post. He discovered we didn't have internet 30 minutes after they left.

I was looking forward to our weekend movie time and catching up on some of the series we watch. We've been truly dependent on having internet at home since it's where we spend majority of our time. I also use it for blogging, editing vids, updating our expense sheet and catching up with people.

It was truly dismal and I know there are other bigger problems, but being let down by a privately run company is really annoying. :'(

Anyway, I ended up spending another day repotting overdue for care plants. I worked on the avocado trees I propagated from seed. It will take years to bear fruit, but it's great to see something grow. In a month or two it will probably be taller than me! 

I did two huge pots and tended to some smaller plants I've neglected like one of Mom's succulents and a couple of the mother of millions that I forgot to water for more than 2 months. They're still surprisingly alive!

Oh well, hope everyone is safe and dry from #RamilPH! Have a blessed Sunday everyone.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Re-potted the Bromeliads

I made a mistake when I re-potted Mom's bromeliads a few months ago. I read that they survive better if you just put them in a pot with coco cubes, peat moss and perlite. I followed that and eventually saw the plants decline. I may have also overwatered it.

Oh well, that's me still learning how to be a good gardener. You have to kill some plants to learn. I managed to save some and re-potted them in cactus soil. Hopefully, they will recover and the red tips will come out. I also need to make sure I don't spray them with Neem oil!

Just keep gardening!

#BeKind #StaySafe

The Box We Can Never Retire

A year ago, I had a brilliant idea. I wanted to make a house for our cats. I got a box and carved out a hole in it. I was planning to paint the sides, but they all scrambled to use it.

The loved it, but ignored the opening. Some tried to stay inside, but they all preferred to lounge on top of the box. 

The cats loves napping on it. They also loved to scratch the top of the box after napping. Eventually, the box started to cave in. We were worried a cat would fall inside the box. We would just add a new cover and did that again today.

Meredith, who was hogging the stool immediately transferred to the box when I added a new cover. She lay there the whole time I was re-potting some plants. It feels nice to have a companion while puttering around my gardening area.

Happy weekend everyone!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Throwback Thursday: My 1983 Pencil Box

My Mom really kept things that were precious to me when I was a child. A few months ago I found the pencil box I used when I was a second grader.

I super loved it because it had extra compartments. Back then you were considered "rich" and special when your pencil case had a gazillion compartments. Mine only had 3, but I was ecstatic about it.

It wasn't the best case in my class, but I was happy with it. I used it for years until I got a nice tin pencil box from Tito Mon and Tita Lydia. I also used that for years.

I kept the pencil box for a few months more. It's nostalgic and gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling. I finally gave it up last week during our decluttering session. I just took photos and made this blog post to preserve the happy memories I had with it.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Leap of Faith

We went to the mall the other to get some supplies. We've been putting together our go bag and I couldn't help but think about how my parents dealt with disasters.

My Mom kept telling me that our house was built to withstand earthquakes. She told me that the structure was meant to sway with the earthquake. True enough, our house never had structural issues save for the areas that were added post-construction 

I realized my parents built a sturdy house because of their experience from the "1968 Ruby Tower earthquake". Mom said they were lucky that their huge aparador did not fall on them. No wonder majority of our cabinets were built in. 

Through the years we experienced a lot of typhoons, flooding, and earthquakes. I don't recall feeling any earthquake in our home. My parents also treated disasters/issues as they came. They just made sure we always had candles and canned goods.

I miss those days when we didn't have si much anxiety over "possibilities ". Back in the day, our parents didn't overthink things and just did what was needed to be done. We can't say whether the dangers back then was less risky compared to now. We just need to take a leap of faith and pray for protection.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Gonna Try Crocheting Again

It's been awhile since I did a crochet project. Last crochet project I made was a Yoda figure. It was hard and I planned to make more to use as Christmas tree decor. I never got around to making any since I got so busy at work.

Anyway, I saw boxes of crochet and felt projects yesterday at SM department store. Miggy parked me in front of it. There were four options for Christmas and a number of animal crochet projects (no cat option though!). I still have a Christmas felt project from Flying Tiger waiting to be done, so I got a crochet project.

I got a Santa crochet box and will try to make it today. I realized belatedly it's an intermediate level project, so let's see how I work this out. Hopefully, it will be easier than the Yoda crochet project I did years ago.

Happy crafting!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Childhood Home Clearing: Done!

After two years, we finally opened the last box of items from my childhood home. I out the kitchen stuff last when we slowly went through all the boxes. I put it last because the boxes were heavy and I had to think about what to do with the many plates and serving dishes Mom left.

We would have finished in July, but I had an accident and my mobility was compromised. We had all the boxes in our living room for more than two months already, so I decided to get help from Ally Canita, our decluttering coach.

For two days last week Ally and her team helped us unbox and sort the leftover items. They matched all the plate sets and segregated the other items (mostly clothes from those who lived in our house). By the end of the second day all the boxes for donation were sent to Goodwill and they found places to keep what I wanted to use.

It's nice to get back out living and dining room. I just need to get it deep cleaned and then we can decorate for Christmas!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Anxious

All of us are probably collectively anxious over the multiple earthquakes the past week. Compared to typhoons, earthquakes are hard to deal with since you don't have any clue when it could happen. With typhoons you can prepare and monitor it's path and possible effect in your area.

As a family, we've been talking about what to do. We're preparing our go bag and reviewing what to do in case an earthquake happens. It helps to be informed from authorized and reliable sources. Stop soon scrolling and consuming content that are probably not true. They were made to make you scared. 

As PHILVOCS head, Dr. Bacolcol, keeps saying in his interviews, there's no way to know when an earthquake is happening, but you can prepare for it. Make your individual go bag, review earthquake drills, and plan where to go if you need to leave. Another thing he mentioned is to check your home through the PHILVOCS "how safe is your home" website. You can also check the hazards of your location through the PHILVOCS hazard map.

I just pray whenever I feel anxious. I pray for safety, for protection and to be kept away from harm. We all can only do so much to prepare, but take comfort in the fact that God loves us all and will take care of us.

A blessed Sunday to everyone 🙏

#BeKind #StaySafe

Plant Stand Upgrade

I've been trying to find an affordable and sturdy plant stand for awhile now. Some I got from online shopping were annoyingly too small and prone to rotting. I want my plant stands to be sturdy and can last a long time.

I found a shop on Lazada which sold plant stands. Reviews were good and the items looked sturdy. The stand cost PhP999, but with coins and vouchers I only paid PhP877.13. Not bad.

Sweetie helped put it together for me and we finally replaced the small stand today. The area is for plants that prefer indirect sunlight. This is where I place decorative plants, most came from Mom's garden and multiplied the past few months.

I'll probably add a few heavy pots in front of the stand. Sometimes the cats do zoomies and tend to hit my plants! They also like to pass behind this area when they're on stealth mode 😅

#BeKind #StaySafe

Story Time: Why We All Ended Up Studying in DLSU

My Dad graduated in Ateneo. He was very much loyal to his Alma Mater since he was also it's basketball superstar in high school (he also played in the college team even when he was still in high school).

Of course, he very much wanted all of us to study at the Ateneo, but our home was more than 20 kilometers away from Katipunan. Staying at a dorm was out of the question. 

I asked my Dad once why we all ended up studying at DLSU. He also vetoed any request to study at UP. It wasn't only the proximity he said and told me it was Fr. Towers who advised them to send us to DLSU. Yes, Fr. Towers, the Jesuit priest who presided over my parents' wedding.

It was a practical advise since my Mom used to work at the HQ of PNB when it was still in Binondo. We all went to elementary and high school in Manila, so it wasn't a huge adjustment for us. Father Towers also said we'd be able to continue to have a Catholic education.

Ah, all's well that ends well. I ended up marrying an Atenean. Dad approved 🤗

#BeKind #StaySafe

Found Mama Lola's Froggy!

We finally wiped out all the boxes from my childhood home. I put all the kitchen stuff last since it's easier to sort. I got help from Ally Canita and her team since I won't be able to physically work on it.

Getting help is probably one of the best decisions I made to manage clearing out my childhood home. With help from Anabelle, Ana Ginalyn, and Rowel, I managed to decide on what to keep, donate and throw. Yasss!

One of the most important things I found was my Mama Lola's black froggy. She had it in her cabinet eversince I could remember. I was fascinated by it and hoped it would someday pass on to me. 

It stayed in her cabinet until we cleared the house one last time and I finally found it today! I washed it immediately and will place it on my dresser so I'd be reminded of Mama Lola. She's one of the strongest, most resilient women I know.

Mama Lola, thanks for sending the black froggy to me!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Ear Check

I had been experiencing ringing on my right ear for a few months now. It's unbearable at times and I had it checked by my ENT. He cleaned my ears and told me to get a hearing test if the issue continues.

Tinnitus happens to a lot of people. It can be extremely uncomfortable and can prevent you from sleeping. I did the hearing test early last week and surprisingly got the results a few minutes after the test. My ears have no issues and normal for my age. They were able to confirm I have tinnitus, but sadly there's really no remedy for it.

My issue is probably due to a number of things. It can be due to my medication, vascular issues in my head, or perimenopause. It can be all of the above. The only thing that helps me is white noise at night. Oh well.

#BeKind #StaySafe

We Were All Robbed

The past few days have been more disturbing for me. I cannot fathom how these unscrupulous individuals still manage to do politicking despite the huge disaster in Cebu. Any sane person with good values would prioritize that instead of what they're doing now.

We all got robbed. All of us are taxpayers in one way or another. Your income is taxed, your property is taxed, your inheritance is taxed, and even that soda you bought at 7-Eleven is taxed. 

That bad feeling at the pit of my stomach returned. It's what I felt when I discovered how my Mom's old helper had been robbing her for a long time. And like those who robbed all of us , she's also still on the run. 

Justice is just truly out of reach for us and at this point the best thing we could also do is pray. 

Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary, pray for us.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Parish Fiesta, Love & Latte

It's the time of the year for our Parish Fiesta and my year isn't complete if I don't go. I wasn't sure if we'd be able to go because of the weather and if it wouldn't be hard to walk around (my leg isn't fully healed yet).

My friends, Denz and Leejay, announced in our group that they set-up a pop-up cafe, Love & Latte. I've been wanting to try their coffee, so I asked the boys if we could go before running errands.

Ahh, we went at around 2:15pm and managed to park. Luckily, their pop-up cafe was just in the kiosk so we were able to hang out for a bit and have coffee. Yay! It was superb! Of course, I was happy to see my friends too. I still owe them a get-together to celebrate my birthday (haha!). 

Happy fiesta everyone!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Big Bad Wolf 2025

I was surprised when the boys easily agreed to my request to go to Big Bad Wolf in Alabang. We went last year and enjoyed being surrounded by a lot of books. I have a short video of our visit last year here.

It was raining hard when we went last year and with typhoon Paolo (Matmo) we weren't sure if it was safe to go. We repeatedly checked the forecast and decided to go since we had other errands to do. 

Minus the food area, the whole tent was full of books even at the entrance. Almost half though we're children's books, about 35-40% fiction and the rest were general/nonfiction and Filipino books. The hobby books were negligible. I only found one book on quilting. Oh well, I guess they deemed we're not the market for it.

Nonetheless, it was still enjoyable. Who doesn't enjoy walking around a bookstore. It's like Disneyland for me. We got a couple of books, a few Christmas gifts and some activity books for a little boy we've been supplying books to monthly. 

Big Bad Wolf Alabang runs until October 13, 2025 at the Filinvest Tent. 

PS if you're going around on a wheelchair, just watch out for the big cables taped to the floor. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

How to Successfully Propagate Bougainvillea

My Mom told me you can easily propagate any plant. Just get a cutting and stick it on soil. Mom had magical green hands (not just thumb). She managed to grow anything, even the wheat Tita Rose gave her because she couldn't grow it.

My Mom has huge bougainvillea trees in different colors. She grew it from cuttings and she was so proud of them because they always had flowers. Since I couldn't just dig and move the trees, I've been working on propagating them. 

I cut several branches last summer. I only successful grew two out of the 8 stalks I tried to propagate. I was already happy then, but I want to make sure I get all of the colors Mom has in her garden.

I cut several branches again a few weeks ago. I got thicker branches this time and cut longer sticks to propagate. Aside from using rooting powder, I added more perlite in the soil. I didn't see any new leaf growing yet after two weeks, so I watered it with garlic water. Few days later it started producing leaves! Aha!

More perlite + garlic water will help propagate bougainvillea faster 🥳

#BeKind #StaySafe

September 2025: One Second Everyday

Focused our time to recover from the shenanigans that was the month of August. I pushed to go out at least once a week to get moving and to have my leg checked. Recovery will likely spill over to October since I'm still hopping around. 

We did spend a lot of time at home since we had to keep an eye on the mother and son tandem rascals, Little Grey and August. They certainly got all of us, hoomans and 8 cats, stressed. We decided to find experienced fur parents to adopt them. We had to be careful when we were around the resident cats since they were really territorial and didn't like that Little Grey and August took over their space. 

Here's my one second everyday video for September 2025:

I tried to get back to sewing since my leg can take some pressure already (a.k.a. pressing on the sewing machine pedal). I haven't gotten around  to editing the video. I'll try to squeeze in some time this weekend. Just really busy with other stuff! 

October will be another great month!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Papa Lolo's War Medals

I was surprised to find a frame of medals. I suspect it's from the last cabinet that was packed. It was Mama Lola's cabinet which still housed a few of her things (Mom got rid of most of it way back). I never met my Papa Lolo because he was gone already when I was born. The only time I "met" him was when he appeared to me in SFO when I was a child. 

Here are the medals I found:

I did some research to find out what each medal represented.

World War II 
Philippine Military Merit Medal

Asia Pacific Campaign
World War II

World War II USA Medal

I got a case for Papa Lolo's peaked cap. I'll put them together, so I can put them on display. Papa Lolo survived the Bataan March and helped save others. We wouldn't be around if not for him. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Got Little Grey and August Adopted

We were all so stressed when Little Grey gave birth. She just stayed even though the 8 bonded cats didn't like her, so it was difficult to manage all of them. The cats were very stressed as well. We decided to find Little Grey and kitten/s adopted after she gave birth and weaned them away. 

Little Grey had 3 kittens. Only one made it. We named him Augusten. He was born on August 10 and since it's my golden year, I wanted my birthday patron saint to bless him (St. Augustine). We call him August. 

August and Little Grey

To be honest, it's hard to find people who'd like to adopt. You also have to be careful since there are those who "adopt" because they have bad motives. We had cared for Little Grey and August for a few months and we want them to have a better life. We couldn't let them stay because the other cats didn't want to accept them in their community.

Luckily, my Tito and Tita who moved back here love cats. They also rescued strays when they were abroad. They managed to get all their cats adopted and already rescued a kitten. I asked them if they could possibly adopt both. They will take in August.

August is almost two months old now and we brought him to the vet to check if he's ready for adoption. The vet said he's very independent already since he eats both wet and dry food. I caught Little Grey pushing him away too whenever he wanted to nurse. He's also been a little rascal, wreaking havoc everyday. 

Little Grey has also been spayed and will be adopted by Manong Lito. He said he's a cat whisperer and should be able to domestic Little Grey in no time. Little Grey is a sweet cat. She deserves the love of a proper fur pawmily. It's the best we can do for them at this point.

#BeKind #StaySafe