Remembering Ninoy

It happened a week before my birthday. I was only 7 years old, but I felt the tension and anxiety it brought. My parents required everyone to be home before sundown and they always gave reminders about the dangers of being outside. 

It was a chaotic time. I remember going to Fort Bonifacio where we paid our last respects. If I remember correctly, it was near the army hospital. When we went, the former president, Cory Aquino, and Kris were there. My Mom told me to be brave since it was my first time visiting a wake. 

Our family discussed current events everyday when we had dinner. It was through those chats I slowly began to understand what was happening and why we all had to be careful. The former senator, Ninoy Aquino, was the catalyst that helped overthrow the dictatorship. 

It's been 43 years since he died and sadly it looks  like we're back to square one. Corruption has not been eradicated, services for citizens not at par, and things just look really dismal. Are we just going to live this way forever?

#BeKind #StaySafe

One Second Everyday: July 2026

I'm trying to make sure I post my one second a day a week after the start of the month. Good thing I remembered to do it today for Throwback Thursday. 

The highlight of the month was celebrating Mando Laura and Grogu's birthday. They were born on different days, so we celebrated across the week. We even got cake! Haha. I couldn't figure out where to get cake that's safe for cats? The cake I got was devoured by the hoomans...

The rainy season is back, so I got to re-open my kitchen and cook homemade meals. Gardening time reduced a lot because of the rain. I water only when needed to make sure the roots don't rot. It will probably be this way for the next two to three months until the weather changes. 

We also go to see two friends from abroad. One from Australia earlier in July and the other one from Singapore at the end of the month. It's really fun to see friends who come and visit. I must admit, we've been hibernating and only go out when really needed, haha. It's hard to get around when you're on a wheelchair. 

I only finished one measly quilt project. We got busy with other stuff, so I had to de-prioritize sewing for the month. I've been a bit picky also on what I do since I have other ongoing non-sewing projects which take up time. I'm now choosing between three possible projects for the month. I'm having a hard time choosing since it will definitely take more time to make, heh. Here's my 1SE video for the month of July:

I hope the month of August would be a bit more productive. It's been raining like crazy, so we'll see...

How was your month of July?

#BeKind #StaySafe

Plants at Mahogany Market

After three long years, I finally got to visit Mahogany Market again. It was a spur of the moment trip, so I didn't really plan to buy plants. I'm also overwhelmed with caring for what's left of my Moms plants and only got what I could commit to.

Mahogany Market looked the same. No major structure changes. It's better organized now I noticed. Fruits on the ground floor of the market structure. Veggies on the second floor and other items (like souvenirs and dry goods) in a separate building. I noticed though the plant stalls are less than what it used to be. Maybe some of them transferred to Silang? 

Anyway, with Miggy as my buddy, we went back to where I bought my gumamela plants 3 years ago. They're still alive save for one! I skipped buying a lot of herbs since they don't really survive long. It's better to plant from seed. That way they don't get heat shock when you bring them to Manila. 

I was able to "control" myself and just got some "essentials". Three marigolds, 4 gumamela plants, and mint/parsley and basil. Only 10. Haha. My garden space looks like a jungle now and I can't wait to transfer everything back to my Mom's garden. I'm still planning how that will go. It's many months away, so I'm not rushing. 

I enjoyed going to Mahogany Market. We will probably visit the Silang area one of these days. I don't need more plants at the moment and I seriously need to reduce since it's taking us longer to water the plants. You can just imagine how happy we are when it rains, haha. 

*Plant prices seem to have increased a bit. It was also one reason why I didn't buy that much. Next time I want to find out how much they sell fruit bearing trees. I don't have space for it anymore (haha), since I have 5 avocado trees and one mango tree growing. I want them to grow big! 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Road Trip!

I've wanted to go on a roadtrip for awhile now. There's been no good time for it since we're busy with other things. Last Saturday, I asked the boys if they wanted to go out of town. We were undecided since Typhoon Francisco was set to arrive.

We made the decision to proceed on Monday night since the weather forecast showed a low chance of rain. We left around 9 in the morning on Tuesday and took the short trip to Tagaytay. We headed first to eat brunch at Bag of Beans. The usual branch from Twin Lakes we used to visit moved to their own place. It's now called Charito and Antonio Bag of Beans which overlooks the Splendido area. 

After brunch, we headed to Sonya's Garden to buy some bread. We also love eating there, but since it's been 3 years since we last visited Tagaytay we split our time across what we wanted to see. Well, we spent more at Sonya's than for brunch since we got some pasalubong for our friends (haha). We agreed we won't wait long to go back, haha. 

And then we went to our other favorite place, Mahogany Market, to buy fruits, veggies and some plants. We got dragon fruit, banana, avocado and dalandan. I was happy to buy some dalandan so I can make my annual Spanish adobo. Sweetie got some veggies since my kitchen is open again (it's not so hot anymore to cook!). 

I managed to control myself and just got "a few" plants, haha. Just some marigold and Gumamela (hehe). I'll try to re-pot them in the next few days. We're starting to look like a jungle now. Mom would be pleased. 

Going on a road trip felt like a reset. We all needed it since we've been busy with home and health stuff. It's a never ending cycle, so it was a good break. We couldn't do overnight trips anymore since we have 8 fur kids who will get mad at us. A whole day trip to Tagaytay is a good idea. Maybe next month we could go to Binan again to buy some Chef RV goodies! 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Finally! Heavy Rains

I suddenly woke up a little after 4 in the morning. I got up to use the toilet and strangely couldn't go back to sleep. A few minutes later it started to rain. 

I thought it would be short-lived, but it started pouring hard. Really, really hard for the next 3 hours. I checked the CCTV to see if the street was flooded. It wasn't. I was worried that our backyard was flooded. Luckily, our demand for the developer to fix the drainage issue was done. Our neighbor's rainwater and sewage wasn't flowing back to us anymore. Sweetie confirmed it in the morning.

My plants are really happy after getting drenched thoroughly. I was allowed to go out again today, so I was able to check the garden. The rain wiped away the stress from the heat. Everything was still and refreshed when I went around to say hello to the plants.

Thank you Lord for the refreshing rain 🙏

#BeKind #StaySafe

Bataan Day

My Papa Lolo marched across Bataan in 1942. He survived and according to my Mom saved a fellow soldier, carrying him so he wouldn't be struck by a bayonet.

And today we honor all those who were forced to participate in the death march 84 years ago. I cannot imagine the horrors they went through on that day. It also brought a lot of heartbreak for the families of those who perished.

Let us remember them with love and grateful hearts 🙏

#BeKind #StaySafe

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone! 

I'm relieved that Lent is over and we can celebrate Easter! We were planning to have a Christmas-like feast, but Miggy isn't feeling well. We had him rest and will hopefully do our planned feast tomorrow.

We stepped out this afternoon to support our friends' pop-up cafe at the park. I've been missing their coffee so this was a perfect opportunity to try their new product, peppermint mocha coffee. Yum!

May you all have a blessed Easter Sunday!

#BeKind #StaySafe 

Black Saturday 2026

I'm still observing quiet time.

Have a blessed day everyone.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Good Friday 2026

A prayerful Good Friday to everyone 🙏

#BeKind #StaySafe

Holy Thursday 2026

Have a prayerful Holy Thursday 🙏

#BeKind #StaySafe

It's Lent Again

For a few weeks now I've been reflecting on what to sacrifice for Lent. One of the easier things to do is fasting and abstinence. I'm technically exempt since I have chronic conditions, but I'll definitely abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and Fridays. 

Pope Leo mentioned you can do the traditional way of fasting or abstinence. He suggested also, “an unappreciated form of abstinence: that of refraining from words that offend and hurt our neighbor.” With everything that's happening, it's truly hard not to talk back.

Fr. Tito Caluag in his homily today mentioned about working towards conversion. What can you do to change and be a better person for others. 

Both messages talk about being kind. I'll work towards that and I've also set a couple of sacrifices that would lead me towards better chances for healing.

Have a blessed Ash Wednesday everyone!

#BeKind #StaySafe

A Blessed New Year to Everyone!

A new year has finally come! I'm so glad the fireworks last night were less than usual. There were just pockets of it around our neighborhood. We didn't dare go out, plus we wanted to make sure our cats were alright. They all just hid somewhere and allowed us to stroke them more than usual. Well, by 10 in the evening I already had asthma, so I didn't dare go out of our family room.

I'm looking forward to starting new things this year and working on interesting projects. We will continue to work on our health and do things that would enrich our faith and our mind. I skipped writing down goals last year and that got me nowhere, LOL. I'll write some down for this year and maybe make big hairy goals. I think I can do more than what my body allows me (with caution). 

I plan to continue blogging everyday. It keeps my mind busy, plus it pushes me to be productive for the day. I made a promise to Dr. Koo and Dr. Shankar that I will continue to write. They said I have to so my mind doesn't go to waste. I hope, I'll be inspired to write everyday. 

Anyway, a Blessed New Year to you and your family. May you have a fruitful and great year ahead!

#BeKind #StaySafe