My 3 Grandmas

Found a rare photo of my 3 grandmother's together today while sorting some old photos. Here's my Mama Lola, Ma Edad and Lola Iyay.

I got to spend time with Mama Lola since she lived with us. She was the one who taught me how to use a manual sewing machine. I would see Lola Iyay whenever we went home to Pasacao. She cried easily, but had the most memorable laugh.

I rarely saw Ma Edad. I don't remember where she used to live and only remember that the three of them had a huge age gap between each other. My titas though said that Ma Edad was really strict. 

I didn't get to meet any of my grandfather's. They were long gone by the time I was born. I had my grandmothers who were all a character on their own :)

#BeKind #StaySafe

Dear Mama Lola, Look! I Did It!

Happy Lunar new year everyone!

I got a huge surprise today! And I think my Mama Lola would be happy for me! I have been trying to grow some peppers for a few years now. I've tried, failed, tried, failed and just kept trying again. 

I have memories of my Mama Lola growing sili plants in my Mom's garden. Mom always grumbled about it because she prefers to keep ornamental plants. Mama Lola's sili plant was what fascinated me about growing vegetables. 

I managed to grow some bell peppers while we were in Singapore, but have been unsuccessful since we got home. I would save sili seeds from delivery food since we rarely eat them. I also save bell pepper seeds from the grocery. It's fairly easy to propagate, but something always goes wrong whenever they start growing.

Anyway, I was surprised today while I was watering the plants. There was one big pepper hanging nicely on the plant. I honestly didn't notice it growing since the avocado plant covered it. I moved it a few days ago and only noticed the pepper today. Yahoo! The plant probably likes the fish water we've been feeding it weekly. 

So happy!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Getting to Know My Mama Lola

As the youngest in my generation, I only got to spend time with my Mama Lola (grandma) whenever she lived with us. Half the time she was in the US and oftentimes in Naga City. I did get to spend time with her since she had her own bedroom in our home. 

I would spend time in her bedroom in the afternoons. I didn't like sleeping in the afternoons, but she made it mandatory before I could play with her helpers. Eventually, she taught me how to use her sewing machine and that's what I remember most about her. I loved her sewing kit and that was eventually passed on to me. Her sewing machine is also with me now. 

A lot of my relatives say I'm a lot like my Mama Lola. I inherited her quirks. I've been scanning old photos my Mom left and today I scanned a lot of my Mama Lola's photos. Some of them were when she was much younger. I discovered a lot about her and I now understand why my relatives say I'm a lot like her.

I always thought it was only my Mom who was part of the CWL (Catholic Women's League). Apparently, my Mama Lola was active in it too. I found some photos where she was inducted as an officer. I always thought she was always just home since she was always just home while I was growing up. My Mom was active in the community, Mama Lola probably encouraged her and my Dad. The bug eventually found me. 

My Mom probably organized my Mama Lola's photos after she passed a way. She had a lot and some even had notes on them. One funny polaroid photo of her in winter clothes said she bundled up but ended up buying food for herself because Tito Butch probably forgot they were supposed to meet. That's so much like my Mama Lola. She never forgets anything and I'm the same, hehe. 

I'm sure I'll discover more about my Mama Lola, Mom, Dad and all my titos and titas who have gone up to heaven. What I like best is seeing their photos when they were much younger. I still have boxes upon boxes of albums to scan. I'll try to scan at least once a week. Let's see where this goes :)

Miss you Mama Lola.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Creative Happy Tuesdays: My Pamana from Mama Lola

I used to hang out in my Mama Lola's room whenever she sewed. She had an old Singer sewing machine in her room. Eventually she taught me how to use it. She also helped me sometimes in my sewing homework. I never learned how to make clothes though or knit. Those were the two things my grandma loved to do. 

One thing I was fond of in her room was her sewing kit. I loved opening it and I would look through the contents. Of course, I always got scolded whenever I did that. What attracted me to it was the colorful pearl pins. I always told my Mama Lola to just give it to me when she got tired of it. 

She did leave it for me when she passed away. She had gone back to Bicol and lived there for a few years. She only came back to Manila when she got sick and was hospitalized. I unfortunately got the call from the hospital when she passed. I was just about to go to school then. I went to school without telling my parents that I already knew. I did not know how to deal with the news. I was on auto-pilot in school that day. 

It's been 33 years since my Mama Lola died. It was her birthday the other day and I completely forgot about it. I only remembered when a huge brown butterfly circled around me while I was watering plants. My Mama Lola loved the color brown. She always told the story that she stared someone down when she saw a lady wearing blue staring at her across a room. She soon realized it was her. She wasn't used to wearing blue and thought it was someone else staring at her. Maybe Mama Lola was color blind. 

I still have the sewing kit. I haven't really used it and kept the original contents in it. I opened it when I took the photo earlier and found some materials I used when I was in high school. I always kept the sewing kit close to me. The only time I didn't have it with me was when I lived in Singapore. It's now here in my craft room and I think I'll go through it soon.

I miss you Mama Lola. Thanks for finally finding me in my new home. 

#BeKind #StaySafe