Bougies!

I was baffled when I first encountered the term "bougies". I think I was watching a YouTube videos and the vp gger kept calling bougainvillea, "bougies". I have to be honest, I'd rather call the plant by its proper name, bougainvillea.

Well, the next plant to produce flowers was one of the bougainvillea plants beside the Gumamela (hibiscus) that flowered last week. It really likes the warm, sunny weather and promptly produced flowers. There would have been a lot more, but I trimmed them a lot since I was getting random wounds on my arms and legs. I also want their stems to become sturdier in the next few months. 

That's all for now. Internet connectivity is down, so I'm saving bits in case the issue isn't resolved soon.

Happy Saturday everyone!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Swimming with a Mumu

I like watching scary stuff. I just watched the second installment of ABS-CBN's "Philippines Most Haunted" where they featured a ghost in a pool. It was well narrated by Mr. Joonie Gamboa (he's perfect for this series IMHO). 

This wasn't the pool. It was pre-internet era when I swam with a mumu.

Anyway, the episode this week featured a ghost in a swimming pool. It reminded me of a story I wrote way back (I used to write ghost stories in my blog, "Tales of the Moonless Sky"). I was a student when we went to a resort in Laguna for a team-building activity. 

I'd go for a swim in the mornings and thought the black shadow I saw in the pool was just my eyes doing tricks on me. I found out it wasn't later in the day. An entity was living in the pool. Creepy! Full story is here.

I have forgotten about it already since that happened over 3 decades ago. It was actually featured on Qtube way, way back (post is here). It's been a long time and I haven't had any visits from the other kind. I prefer it that way and I already have a lot of other things on my plate. If ever, I just pray. I have also been wearing a St. Benedict medal for protection.

Tagaytay in 2010

One of our favorite places to go to is Tagaytay. We go at least once a year. Lately, we go just to have brunch, have coffee and buy some plants and veggies at Mahogany.

One reason we go is when we have relatives visiting from abroad. And that was why we went back in 2010. My sister was visiting from the US and we had a day trip.

The Taal volcano back then wasn't active and  was very green. The weather was also cooler back then. The volcano was grey and was releasing some gas when we went last weekend. I didn't need to wear my cardigan at all. 

There's Something Bad in the Air

My pulmo describe my asthma as mild, but it can be easily triggered by a number of things. I noticed I've been having asthma attacks almost everyday for the past week. I even had it twice last Sunday.

Ugh. I abhor it when I have prolonged attacks especially when I'm outside. It easily dissipates when I'm home since all my remedies are within reach. Good thing I bring my inhaler whenever we go out. I've been doing this since the haze from Indonesia has been oddly reaching our shores.

I've been careful with food, avoid areas where people smoke, and I use a mask whenever I'm out (and even while gardening). The one thing unavoidable is heat. It hits me fast. Yup, I need to always be in a cool place since I had heart surgery. 

Oh well, I hope things will be better in the next few days. I had a relatively good days and survived our meeting with architect. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Ughhhh

I've been having asthma attacks almost everyday.

Just resting for now :(

#BeKind #StaySafe

Repair vs. Buying New

After almost 5 years our beds were showing signs of wear and tear. The outer area still looks good, but the area that supports the mattress was broken.

Bed frames are expensive and I remember it took a year of installment payments to finish the bill. It's not in our budget to buy anything new. Luckily, our foreman lent his lead carpenter. 

He visited us and checked the bed frames, made a list of materials to buy. He finished adding support to three bed frames in two hours! Wow! He was fast because he used to be the lead carpenter in a hotel, so fixing beds was probably something he did everyday :)

#BeKind #StaySafe

Rediscovering Sen Lek Thai Noodle

Many years ago, one of our favorite Thai food places was Sen Lek Thai Noodle. They had a restaurant in Dona Soledad. The food was really flavorful and we'd order by phone when we were lazy to go out (no Grab yet back then!).

A few weeks ago, we saw a blog feature it. They opened a place just a stone's throw away from SM Nuvali. We went to Tagaytay today with friends and took the opportunity to get take away from Sen Lek.

We were pleased to discover that it's the same Sen Lek we loved before. The branch is owned by the child of the owner. The original owners now live in Iloilo and have a branch there (if I remember correctly what we were told while waiting for our food). 

With so many of our favorite restos disappearing, this is a great find! 

Happy Sunday everyone!

#BeKind #StaySafe