Creative Happy Tuesdays: The First Quilt Project I Made

We've been slowly going through our boxes and crates. Sweetie moved around some boxes and I caught a glimpse of something familiar. At the bottom of a crate I saw the first quilt project I made. I think I made it when I was a sophomore in high school. 

My first quilt project, circa 1990.

When I dug it out of the crate I was surprised to see it was still intact. It was one of the few things I kept after typhoon Ondoy put everything I owned under water. It was a quilt bag I made by hand. Mom cut it from retaso from Tita Maming's clothing export business. She used to export clothes to Japan and would give retaso to my Mom. It was one of the reasons my Mom had learned to quilt. She learned it by reading a book she got from the US, then she taught me (here's how she taught me). 

If I remember correctly, Mom taught me how to quilt during summer. She started by teaching me how to piece together squares. It eventually grew and I was able to piece together enough to make a bag. Mom bought the handle from Divisoria. I had to much fun making the bag I used it as a school bag. 

My lunch bag, circa 1990 too.

To match the bag, Mom had me make a lunch bag. I used that everyday also and I'm sure my lunchmates would still remember the bag. I also did the whole thing by hand and it even had some lace on it. I'm really surprised it's still intact and useful. If you notice from the bags, it didn't have any binding. Mom was the one who closed it for me (that's why the edges are clean). I only learned how to use binding a few years ago. 

I'm really glad my Mom taught me all these crafts. It was different every summer, crochet, embroidery, making bags from plastic straws, quilting, paper mache, beading etc. It was my Mama Lola though who taught me how to use a sewing machine. I wish though she taught me how to sew clothes. We were taught in sewing class, but I never really figured it out. 

I really enjoy keeping my hands busy. I've actually been spending less time online because I'd rather be busy with my crafts or garden. I'm currently working on making a cover for my oxygen concentrator. Once I finish it, I'll start planning for Christmas since I work so slowly. I wanted to make another quilt blanket, but since the t-shirt memory quilt took up 6 months of my quilting time I won't do one for now. 

It was nice to find the bags. Maybe I'll have it framed and I'll hang it here in my craft room :)

#BeKind #StaySafe

Home on Mondays: Planning for Old Age

Our parents are now in their 80s. Both of them insist to live independently. Both of them still live in the homes where they brought us up. Now that we also live in a house I realized how hard it must be for them. There's a gazillion things to do at home everyday and I'm amazed at how they've kept things in sync. 

Well, my Mom always have helpers. She has people who come to service stuff when needed, i.e. gardeners. From her I learned to have a list of reliable suppliers to come, i.e. pest control. It's lot of work to manage a household and I've been managing Mom's house the past few months too. She's still fiercely independent and she wants to live in her house. 

I realized that one should have an "exit plan" when you grow old. I've been thinking about this a lot since my doctor said I'm trapped in a 70 year old body. There's a lot of things I can't do anymore, so I told Miggy when the time comes when we can't manage to live in a bigger house he should move us to a smaller house or the condo. 

There's many reasons why you should downsize at a certain point in your life. First of all, managing a bigger house requires you to have good financial resources. This is why you should have a good retirement plan so you don't become a burden to your children. Secondly, your nest will probably be empty. Your children will have their own lives and their own homes. 

Third, you won't have the same energy as your younger years. Fourth, your old home will require a lot of repairs. Electrical and plumbing fittings only last up to 50 years and will need a full change. Your old home will also likely require pest control and many things won't be working anymore. Fifth, with your family far away they will likely worry a lot about you. 

Old house being demolished.

I have many elderly neighbors and all of them are empty nesters. They've been a support network to each other which is good. I went back to my old neighborhood precisely for that reason. I wanted to be closer to family and be surrounded by friends. Being in a familiar place also helps me cope in managing our homes better. On the other hand though, the children of some neighbors who have passed on have sold their childhood homes. 

I have seen some homes torn down and replaced with modern homes (I live in one). There's a lot of construction going on at our village. I grew up here and the landscape has definitely changed. A friend observed also that "old guards" are gone and a new generation is managing things. I told him that's the cycle of life that's why it's important to discuss your old age plan with your kids. I've already had it with Miggy so he'll know what to do and he won't have a hard time figuring things out.  

#BeKind #StaySafe

Miracle Sundays: The True Healer

A friend shared an article this morning about a parent who lost her child. The writer said she was regretful about giving all her confidence to the hospital. She thought they would make her child well. A mistake happened though and it eventually led to the death of her child. You can read the whole article here.

I've had a lot of realization of caring for your health. I've been in and out of the hospital the past 5 years. It started with several ER trips. I was eventually managed with asthma meds, but it only gave temporary relief. I had several more episodes where I was told it was only asthma due to GERD. I pushed hard to get a second opinion. The doctor said it was just going to be a waste of time. 

I got lucky because the doctor was relentless at figuring out what was wrong with me. He was trained in Cleveland Clinic and knew what kind of tests I needed. After several tests I was diagnosed with a large blood clot in my lungs. If I waited longer I wouldn't have made it. My other doctors were very surprised over the diagnosis and reviewed the tests. I even had the results also reviewed by a third party reviewer. The reviews concluded the same issue. 

At St. Peter's Square (2018). This was days after I was diagnosed with PE.

I was managed well, until eventually stress wore me down. Went through a series of tests again and then I eventually developed clots again. Several specialists looked at me and made me go through a lot of tests. They were not able to figure out exactly what was causing the clots and eventually just patted me on the back and told me not to go through any procedure because it will be too risky for me. It basically meant, there's no earthly thing they can do to bring me back to what I used to be. 

I've made peace with that a long time ago. There's still so much that science cannot explain about our bodies. They almost lost me also during heart surgery. It never crossed my mind they would. They only told me this before I went home last year. I've had a lot of medical episodes, but I always believe that we live because of His Will. Just accept whatever you go through as your cross and pray. 

I realized that in the wee hours of this morning. I couldn't sleep again because of the challenging past week. I kept asking Papa God, "What's up with the many challenges?" And I realized He was doing corrective measures to keep me on my feet and to answer a prayer. I woke up lightheaded this morning with a low pulse rate and erratic oxygen saturation. I honestly wanted to stay in bed, but remembered what I realized before I finally fell asleep. 

Just keep going and praying and all will be well.

Happy Sunday everyone!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Plantita Saturdays: New Season of Gardening!

I'm declaring a new season of gardening! The past few months have been really challenging (higad infestation!) and I think we've finally turned the corner. I still get caterpillars in my garden, but I think the infestation is under control. The neighbor also did some garden keeping and I hope this would reduce the critters. 

Kitchen Scrap Project

I started the season by planting in soil the ginger and tumeric kitchen scraps I propagated. I propagated the scraps in water in late July and planted them in soil after 4 weeks. I was surprised to see them shoot up so fast after planting them in soil. The secret sauce was using rainwater. My plants love it so I have a drum that collects rainwater in the garage. I haven't watered my plants with Maynilad water since the rainy season started. 

Planted New Seeds

When the air quality this week got better, I took the opportunity to plant new seeds. I have collected quite a lot of seeds. I planted some early this year, but most did not survive the higad infestation. I learned though that if you fail the first time in gardening, just do it again until you succeed. I was able to buy some flower seeds and will try to plant them. I hope I'll be able to give my Mom some since she prefers flowering plants than veggies. I'm going to try planting lettuce again for the third time.

The Survivors

I was able to save my tomato plants and I'm eagerly awaiting for it to flower. I have to vigilant though since caterpillars seem to love eating it. The tomato plants went through a phase where it just kept going longer. I re-planted two stalks since the wind would sometimes accidentally nick it. So I have two separate plants now growing nicely in the garage. It's starting to produce flowers. I'l probably need to help it be pollinated. 

Saved the plants Mom gave me (aglaonema, petunia etc.) and they have grown back the leaves the caterpillars munched on. The plants Ate Rose gave me have all adjusted. I probably need to re-pot the kalanchoe since they've grown so fast. I also re-potted a lily that just grew in the middle of the garden. It's looking good now (see, no need to buy plants haha). 

Crossing my fingers that the next few months will be uneventful for the garden! :)

#BeKind #StaySafe

Lakwatsera Fridays: August Round-up

I was supposed to create one second everyday vids this year. The habit though hasn't stuck and I keep forgetting take videos everyday, haha. I've so far only been able to post for the month of January, so I thought I'd do it for my birthday month. I was able to do it for half the month and just caught up with it yesterday, hahaha. Well, I'll try again this month. 

August was definitely not a lakwatsa month. The boys got out of quarantine only on the second week of August and then I had to rest due to overfatigue. The only thing I have to show for the month was baking apple pie and cheese cupcake. The closest we did to a lakwatsa was cooking Ikea meatballs and ordering food in for my birthday! Well, here's the 1SE video -

I guess I'm not a natural vlogger. I'd rather savor a moment than film it, a.k.a. I'm just lazy haha. It really takes a lot of preparation whenever I make tutorials and that's why I'm not consistent with it. I'm the same when we travel. I was lucky to get some footage when we went to Bohol. I've made peace with myself about it and just make do with whatever I'm able to get. 

Let's hope September would be a better month! Cases have apparently gone down. Or maybe we can do some joyrides around the park, haha. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Throwback Thursday: Christmas Rituals

The first thing I did today was play Christmas songs (around midnight. Of course, I started it with "Christmas in Our Hearts". Miggy woke me up though because there was no electricity. There was a breeze outside, so it wasn't warm. It's probably due to supertyphoon Hinnamnor. I pray it doesn't bring any damage. 

Well, today is the start of the Christmas season. I have friends who have busted out their Christmas decors. I have to hold off decorating since we still have some work to do in our house. While listening to the Christmas songs I couldn't help but remember the rituals our family used to do when all our elders were still around. 

Here's what we normally do during Christmas:

1. Decorate the house - Mom usually started decorating after All Saints Day. She'd bring out all the decors from the boxes. Some were from estate sales in the US and others were projects we made through the years. As far as I remember we always had a huge Christmas tree and it would fill up with gifts towards Christmas.

2. Simbang Gabi - my parents always attended Simbang Gabi. They always had to drag me out of bed to attend when I was a child. Eventually though I learned to love it because of choir service. Of course, eating puto bumbong after mass is imminent.

3. Midnight Christmas Mass - we always attended the midnight mass as a family. It's been years since we've done this. 

4. Noche Buena - we usually ate dinner on the 24th, but always had a huge appetite after hearing mass. We'd eat Noche Buena after hearing mass and then go to sleep in the wee hours of the morning. 

5. Christmas Family Reunion - the 25th was always the day set for our family reunions. Aside from seeing my cousins and Titos and Titas, I looked forward to all the yummy food they would bring. Each family had a specialty and I regret not learning how they cooked it. It's also on Christmas day when my Mom would reveal her specially made homemade ham. This was prepared with much care and science (I always wondered what those huge injections were for). 

6. Gift giving - on Christmas day our tree would be overflowing with gifts. After eating lunch, Tito Tony would distribute the gifts by calling your name and throwing the gift at you. This meant you have to be good at playing catch and you have to be quick at letting him know if the gift is fragile, haha.

7. Leftovers - long before Sharon's song became popular for taking home leftovers, we always had leftovers. Mom and the Titas would always busy themselves to wrap the leftovers to distribute across the families. 

Well, as my cousins grew up and started to marry, the reunions got harder to organize. We also started to lose our elders, so our huge reunions have been downsized to eating out. We haven't done any since early 2020, so we'll play it by ear this year. Eventually though we had our own family reunions when the kids (the "apos") were growing up. It got harder to do when they went off to college and now some of them have gotten married too. Maybe eventually they'll be the ones organizing the reunions. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Wellness Wednesdays: Hugging

I get at least 8 hugs a day from Miggy and more from Sweetie. A friend told me that one should get at least 8 hugs a day. An article from SciHealth said that hugs provide a lot of benefits. It helps reduce stress. It gives your immune system a healthy boost. It may lower heart rate and blood pressure. And it could help with depression. 

I live for hugs and I brought up Miggy to love hugging. The first thing he does in the morning is hug me and it's the last thing he does when he says good night too. It was really difficult for me when we were apart because of the pandemic. The first thing we did when I finally got home was to hug. 

Hugging is good for you! Do it at least 8 times a day. It will help you feel good throughout the day :)

#BeKind #StaySafe