40 Years Ago: EDSA People Power Revolution

I was 10 years old when the EDSA Revolution happened. Tito Ben called my parents in the wee hours of the morning and told us to stay home because something was happening. We listened to the news all day. The radio was permanently on an AM station because my parents were monitoring what was happening. 

As for me, I got busy learning how to ride my bike. I was progressing, but I was told to go inside when we started to see a lot of helicopters flying around (we're just a few kilometers from Villamor). Before classes got cancelled, our teachers asked us to compile newspaper clippings. My parents had several newspaper subscriptions, so I collected a huge pile.

Kuya was the only one allowed to go to EDSA. He went with a few neighbors. We celebrated when the dictator President Marcos and his family left. I was just a child, but I remember there was so much tension leading up to those 3 days. 

Things were tumultuous following the EDSA Revolution. The transition wasn't easy. As a child growing up during that time, we experienced a lot of school disruptions due to multiple coup d'etats. We had a lot of blackouts and I had to study by candlelight. 

Our parents fought for the freedom we enjoy today. Gone are the days when we're required to be home before sunset. Gone are the days you had to be careful with what you say. Gone are the days when you always feared for your life and the life of your loved ones. And that's why we should never forget what led to that fateful day that led to our freedom from a dictator. 

It is up to us to keep our democracy alive. It is up to us to push for progress and the best we can do as citizens is to vote for the right people to lead. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Piano Top Quilt Cover Progress

I've been working on this project a few times a week when I have time. I did a big push the past few days.

It's now 70+ inches of rainbow piano keys. I made it that way so it can waterfall on the sides. 

I wrangled with it last night. Sandwiched it with batting and pinned it. I'll work on my favorite part this week. Yay!

Sunsetting My Childhood Home

I dreamt I was back in my childhood home last night. I remember every nook and cranny of it since I lived there for almost 35 years. 

Sunsetting the house was very hard. It took more than two years to clear it. Mom kept telling me before she passed that she wanted us back there. After several consultations with architects and engineers, we decided to demolish the house.

We learned a lot about sunsetting an old home. The house was 55 years old, as much as all the materials used when it was built was still solid, the wires were already tried and there were a lot of leaks. The roof also was leaking even though I had it fixed in early 2022.

It was a long process that involved a number of professionals. We worked with several architects, engineers and a decluttering coach. Sunsetting an old house is something that's not taught at school. It's a long process and you have to make sure you work with people you can trust.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Happy Sunday!

I'm just resting for the last few hours of the day. I'm a bit tired from gardening since I'm preparing to re-pot some plants that are overdue for transferring. 

Have a blessed Sunday!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Front Lawn Landscaping 3 Months After

Three months ago we had our jungle-like front lawn cleaned up and landscaped. I told the landscaper we wanted something easy to maintain and some flowers.

The end result was a simple frontage. I was worried that it was a bit thin? Manong Henry reassured me it would grow and need pruning.

The last time the plants were pruned was in early December. We got busy, so we havent had time to let Manong Henry come over. I've been giving the plants complete fertilizer every six weeks and I spray it with neem oil sometimes.

Sweetie waters the plants everyday (I take care of everything inside) and he told me a lot of new plants have been growing. I fed the plants some complete fertilizer yesterday and was surprised to see a lot of new birds of paradise. The bushes also grew double from the time they were planted. 

We've also been asked several times about the pink flowers. They just keep blooming. They're called Panama rose and have been very easy to maintain. The white one is called pinwheel flower or Tabernaemontana. The birds of paradise have gone crazy. We will try to remove the ones growing in between the bushes...

Happy weekend everyone!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Our No Meat Fridays Meals List

It's Kent again and one of the things we follow is fasting and abstinence on Fridays. More abstinence for me since I'm technically exempt. I still skip meat on Fridays, but eat proper meals since I have maintenance meds I need to take.

We are trying cook more of our meals at home as prescribed by the dietician. I'm still working on my stamina, so one of my Lenten goals is to make sure we only have homecooked meals on Fridays.

Thought I'd make a list of what we can prepare at home. Here's a rundown:

Baked Salmon in Lemon, Butter and Honey 

Baked Salmon Garlic Cream Cheese 

Pink Pasta with Scallops

Pasta al Telefono

Tuna Alfredo

Tuna Spaghetti 

These are just a list of the more recent ones I've made. We also sometimes make cream dory fillets, Juned's baked Mahi-mahi, fried bangus. I'm scared of frying fish, so I rarely do that. 

What do you usually eat for Lenten Fridays?

#BeKind #StaySafe

Cooked Spaghetti to Celebrate Titay's Birthday

Titay is my Mom's older sister. She's my second Mom. My Mom and Titay looked so much a like, I remember getting confused between them when I was a child, haha.

It's Titay's birthday today. I bet they're having a party in heaven right now with Titay's delicious lengua dish. I wish I askes her to teach me, but she did get to teach Miggy how to make her leche flan.

I just cooked spaghetti to celebrate. Here's how I made it: https://youtu.be/pOk2sBNkEp8?si=XK2PdXiksOhjxNwv

Yummeeh!

#BeKind #StaySafe