My 80-year Old Heart

A decade and a half ago, my cardiologist said I have a 70-year old's heart. He said after surgery everything will improve. I had mitral valve repair 13 years ago and I enjoyed it until late 2018 when I had a pulmonary embolism. Things went downhill from there since my lungs were affected. 

And now I'm (over)due for mitral valve replacement. The surgery has been postponed several times and now we have to do it in Singapore since my case is very complicated. 

And I feel I now have an 80 year old's heart. All my activities have to be "calculated" and I cannot overdo things. When I miscalculate, I'm definitely unavailable and unstable the next day. I used to feel bad about it before, but now I just shrug my shoulders and rest as needed. Whatever I had planned, just gets delayed. 

Sometimes it saddens me when I can't do anything especially when I can't be more supportive for my friends. That's the sad reality of having a dysfunctional body. I know not many people understand what it's like to have chronic conditions. On the outside, I look healthy. My insides are like a new car with an ancient engine. 

Life. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Made a Sewing Machine Cover (with a Cat!)

Making a new sewing machine cover has been on my to-do list for 3 years now. We were still in Singapore the last time I made one and I made it by hand. I've learned a few tricks since then and made this one mostly by machine. I embroidered some parts which is why it took longer than I expected. 

Anyway, I did the cat first and made the base really simple. Just huge strips of denim-like fabric. I think I went for monochromatic tone since the sky has been pouring rain for at least two weeks now.  

I think it turned out cute and it matches the covers I made for my kitchen appliances. Here's how it turned out:

And how I made it:

#BeKind #StaySafe

Starting House Construction During the Rainy Season

Our home construction was tackled differently. We thought that the whole house would be demolished and then everything would start from scratch. The construction team treated it differently and demolished parts of the house as they progressed.

After removing the "finishings" (all doors, cabinets, windows, bedroom walls), the team prioritized digging the new foundation. They kept the roof intact so they can work without getting rained in. It was surreal to see a huge part of the house removed.

At street level, you wouldn't actually know that the house was slowly getting demolished. The front door was intact and the debris was kept and picked up from the back. It was a good idea to do this since the movement inside was kept private and it kept the dust going to neighbors to a minimum. 

It's really helpful to work with an experienced team. I was worried at some point about their safety and our architect told me not to worry since they knew which walls to remove. My siblings said seeing the bones of the house reminded them of the time it was still being built (I wasn't born yet at that time). Well, I was able to see (from photos) the structure of the house and it was really surreal. 

Our architect has a video about starting construction during the rainy season. He pointed out some pros and cons. The big plus is the pricing of materials. With lower demand, the prices are more affordable. For us, it helped that a structure was in place and they were able to use the roof while working on the foundation. The new house will be a bit smaller than the old one, so the old foundation will help support the new one. 

Would you start your house construction during the rainy season?

Waterlogged

We finally had a break from constant rains this afternoon. It's been raining everyday for two weeks now and it does a number on you when you don't see the sun shining brightly. The sun peeked this afternoon and it was refreshing. It was short-lived though and it rained again. 

I'm unable to sleep well when it rains, especially when it rains hard. I guess it's PTSD from typhoon Ondoy when I woke up to water rushing in. The past few years I struggled with the issue that the basement in our current home would get flooded. 

Good thing we managed to get help from city hall (Building Official and CENRO) to get it fixed.The flooding was due to the wrong way the contractor of the house beside us did their drainage. It was back-flowing to our backyard. It took two years before the issue was addressed, only resolved when city hall warned the contractor their license would get suspended if they didn't fix it. 

We held our stand and pushed back when the contractor through the HOA wanted to charge to fix the drainage. It wasn't our fault, so we said no. It took them almost two months to fix and it was quite obvious where they went wrong when they dug up the area. The drainage was higher than ours, that's why their sewage would back flow to us. They eventually grudgingly fixed it. 

Our issue is a very small one compared to the countless families affected by the floods the past few days (weeks, months, years...). Our city seems to have been crowned as the most flooded city in the region which is so sad. I hope a solution can be found and done soon. 

Stay safe and dry everyone.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Rain Drenched Garden

It's been raining for 12 straight days now. I've been missing my gardening time. I miss watering my plants one by one. And I miss trimming them when needed. Taking photos of random flowers that bloom. Harvesting bell peppers, tomatoes and papaya. 

It's always a wonder how plants survive non-stop rain, but easily get root rot when you over water them. Everything is so green in the garden now and I'm happy there's still some random flowers blooming despite the rain. 

I'm just afraid there will be a lot of pests again when the rain lets up. I'll just have to be vigilant and make sure they don't multiply like crazy! 

How's your garden doing?

#BeKind #StaySafe

Ravioli with Al Telefono Sauce

I'm honestly not sure if the term I used above is correct. We found ready to eat ravioli at a shop in Molito, Alabang. I immediately bought one because it's been years since I had it at home. When we were in Singapore, I used to buy a pack from Marks & Spencer after my PT (it was in the same building). I would boil it, drain and then mix it with bottled pasta sauce. It was so easy to make!

We got spinach ravioli, but since I couldn't find any ready pasta sauce I liked, I decided to mix it with pasta al telefono (sauce). I wasn't sure if it would work, but trying was worth it! 

Here's how I made it:

Now I want to run back to Alabang to buy some ravioli to make this again, hehe. 

Full recipe: https://recipesformyson.blogspot.com/2026/08/recipes-for-my-son-ravioli-in-pasta-al.html

#BeKind #StaySafe

One Second Everyday: July 2026

I'm trying to make sure I post my one second a day a week after the start of the month. Good thing I remembered to do it today for Throwback Thursday. 

The highlight of the month was celebrating Mando Laura and Grogu's birthday. They were born on different days, so we celebrated across the week. We even got cake! Haha. I couldn't figure out where to get cake that's safe for cats? The cake I got was devoured by the hoomans...

The rainy season is back, so I got to re-open my kitchen and cook homemade meals. Gardening time reduced a lot because of the rain. I water only when needed to make sure the roots don't rot. It will probably be this way for the next two to three months until the weather changes. 

We also go to see two friends from abroad. One from Australia earlier in July and the other one from Singapore at the end of the month. It's really fun to see friends who come and visit. I must admit, we've been hibernating and only go out when really needed, haha. It's hard to get around when you're on a wheelchair. 

I only finished one measly quilt project. We got busy with other stuff, so I had to de-prioritize sewing for the month. I've been a bit picky also on what I do since I have other ongoing non-sewing projects which take up time. I'm now choosing between three possible projects for the month. I'm having a hard time choosing since it will definitely take more time to make, heh. Here's my 1SE video for the month of July:

I hope the month of August would be a bit more productive. It's been raining like crazy, so we'll see...

How was your month of July?

#BeKind #StaySafe