February Project: Quilted Piano Cover

I only have one top cover for my piano and it's Christmas themed. I got distracted and wasn't able to make one last year. 

My first project for the year would be a new cover for the top of my piano. I'm going to make it funnily redundant and use piano keys for the design, haha. 

I've started making measurements and should start cutting fabric this week. I'm still deciding whether I'll just do the top like last time or make a bigger one to cover the sides and back.

It's that dilly dallying that's delaying the project, haha. I answer to myself and it will get going when I'm done with my other stuff.

Happy creative Tuesday everyone!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Doing Groceries

One of my favorite things to do is grocery shopping. I still have memories of my Mom pushing the cart while I was on the seat. I eventually learned to point to things I like and when I started to walk and grab things, I lost grocery privileges until I was in my teens. By then, my Mom's favorite shopping place was Landmark, haha.

In Singapore though, grocery shopping is an expensive endeavor. Buying dinner at the hawker center was cheaper than cooking. I oftentimes brought some key Pinoy ingredients from Manila since they were expensive even at Lucky Plaza. Anyway, I learned a lot about grocery planning while I was there. 

Since we're trying to eat more nutritious food, I try to plan what dishes I'll cook for the month. We used to drop by a nearby small grocery when needed. I realized though that's an expensive endeavor, so I'm doing the five P's*. Proper planning prevents poor performance which I learned from Ninang Janette.

#BeKind #StaySafe

First Month of the Year

January felt like a very long month. It was really different from the month of December that outpaced the whole year. I decided to continue capturing a second a day using the 1SE app. It pushes me to be productive everyday even on days that I just tend to my plants and play with our fur babies. 

We just rested during the first week of the month. Then we proceeded with our regular routines. What made this month interesting was ticking off two things on my bucket list last year. We squeezed in time to go to Chef RV's cafe to get some cake and dine at Cochi. 

It was also a very "social" month for me because I joined two get-togethers. One with former colleagues and our belated high school friends Christmas get-together. It all happened on one weekend, so I had to regain my energy for the rest of the month after that, haha. 

One of my targets this year is to grow more veggies. I started the year by sowing seeds on a tray. They've grown and are growing steadily. We've been able to harvest bell peppers also weekly and that's what encouraged me to continue growing veggies (they're quite expensive now!). I hope by end of this month we can start harvesting some mustasa. Yay!

Here's my one second everyday for the month of January 2026:

I was busy doing garden work most of the month, so I just finished my last Christmas project. It's the quilt cover for our blender. I'll start again this week and have an idea what I want to make. It's going to be fun! We unfortunately all had stomach issues at the end of January. We think it's the water from the water refill station we shifted to when Aqua King closed. Sigh. We're recovering right now and looking for a new, clean and reliable water refill station. 

Happy February everyone!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Three Weeks Since the Seeds Sprouted

It's been a month since I planted some seeds on a seed tray. I got Ramgo seeds for better chances and I'm happy I did. I was surprised some started sprouting in two days, some took a few more days.

One thing that takes time is transferring the seedlings to a bigger pot. That's what I've been working on the past ten days and I'm not done yet. I planted too many mustasa seeds and if it all grows I guess I can offer them to neighbors, haha.

Here's how it's going -

Cucumber 

Mustasa

Cherry tomato

Carrots

I have to rest today and hope I could continue work in the next few days.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Homemade Bistek Tagalog

I made some bistek Tagalog last night, but used thinner beef strips. I think it's the one they use for samgyup. 

I only marinated it for 15 minutes and it was already very tasty. Cooking didn't take a lot of time. Dinner was sumptuous indeed.

Here's how I usually prepare bistek Tagalog:

https://youtu.be/iS6aHdw_C8o?si=WKqJj4BhlICZI1F0

Nomnomnom!

#BeKind #StaySafe

The 80s: Why I Enjoyed Watching Stranger Things

We decided to watch Stranger Things again from the beginning. We only started watching it in 2021 when we got home. Internet was pretty bad in our old home, so when we watched season 1 and 2 it was like watching on a 2G phone, haha. So, I said, let's watch it from the beginning. 

The characters were just a bit older than me when I was a child. It was a treat to see the era again especially the toys, the food and essentially how they lived without phones, the internet and Google! Back then people went to see other people when they were bored. They were not stuck in front of their TVs/their phones/gaming consoles or computers. 

One of my 80s birthdays

In the 80s, our parents watched us like hawks, but we still went out to see our friends. I remember I'd bike around our village and bike to a friend's house to play. I'm glad I lived through that era minus gory monsters. Well, we had monsters and my childhood was riddled with political upheavals. 

Sweetie in the 80s

Anyway, I enjoyed watching the series from start to end. We got to review the earlier seasons and got to connect the story easier. If you watch it from the beginning, you'll also notice some nuances that you didn't see when you first watched it, like the different crazy 80s hairstyles which reminded us of some movies. The colorful outfits and even the socks they wore reminded me of some that I used to wear, haha. 

Of course, there were some noticeable holes in the story, but it was still enjoyable nonetheless. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Back to Pulmo Rehab

I'm so glad my Ortho doctor allowed me to go back to pulmo rehab instead of re-enrolling in physiotherapy. I feel at this point I can do my knee and ankle exercises on my own several times a week. 

I need to get back on track to save the healthy part of my lungs. My therapist said we'll take it slow. We did and skipped the leg exercises. Ahh, it felt so good to do the breathing exercises and be with the team who's be taking care of me for almost two years now.

#BeKind #StaySafe