Completed Part 2 of Baby Yoda (Pixel Art Project)

As expected, dividing the grid into 3 made piecing the Baby Yoda project easier. I also didn't do it as a grid (1" x 1" pieces). I cut the fabric based on the length of the same colors. 

At the speed I'm going I can probably finish this project in a few weeks. It took me almost a quarter last time when I made the Pikachu project using 1" x 1" pieces. Piecing together small cuts* is painful. It also means you'll have more corners to sewing together. It's really hard that's why it took me two years to work on a "pixel art" project. I took the chance to work on it this way to see if it works. :)

*They call 1" x 1" quilts postage stamp quilting. It's usually made with scrap fabric.

#BeKind #StaySafe

First Month of Demolition

It was surreal for me to see my childhood home be "unwrapped". That's how it felt during the first month of construction/demolition work. My siblings said they got to see the house built from the ground up. I'm witnessing the opposite -- the unraveling. 

Here's what happened in the first month:

Week 1: Removed all the "add-ons" including cabinets and big furniture we were planning to keep. They moved the big items to a hut in the garden. Bedroom walls and the bathroom were also removed. All inner doors were also removed. They worked fast!

Week 2: Started removing the flooring.

Week 3: Removed all the windows. It was during this week that the CCTV and server was relocated to a booth outside.

Week 4: After 4 weeks, the whole house felt decidedly empty. The "second floor" was almost gone. Everything left in the house was either in the hut or moved to our place. Our architect checked the development in-person weekly and kept in touch with the foreman everyday. 

If you noticed, we didn't have the site blessed at this point yet. The foreman suggested doing the blessing after they started to work on the new foundation. From the outside, it didn't look like something was being done to the house.

Mom's trees and plants effectively covered the house and nothing was done yet on the front area. That came months later.

Next week: site blessing!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Rain, Rain Go Away

I think there was only one day this month when it didn't rain. I don't remember experiencing this much rain. Needless to say, I've lost a lot of sleep especially when the rain is intense.

I just hope and pray everyone is safe and coping well. Let's all pray for each other 🙏

#BeKind #StaySafe

Best Birthday Bouquet

It's another very rainy day today and all my plants are soaked. I gave a bit of water to some plants that don't get wet from the rain. I wanted to putter around the garden today, but everything's so wet, so I just checked on all the cats. I need to keep an eye on Meredith since she was coughing. I hope it's just a hairball.

Anyway, I celebrated my birthday yesterday. It was just a family affair -- just me and the boys and Kuya and Ate Joy. The food I ordered was just enough for all of us and we're eating leftovers today. My friends surprised me with a parcel. I thought it was a bouquet of flowers...

It was better than flowers! It was a huge pot of succulents! I super love it and immediately thanked them for choosing a very unique gift! It's another chance for me to prove I could take care of succulents. I also pinged my friend in Cebu to ask for advise. He said I should put it outdoors where it would get a lot of sun, but not get rained on. 

I moved it today beside a window. The intense rainfall we've been getting will ruin the succulents, so I just placed it for now beside a window where it could get sunlight all day. I hope it will adjust well in its new spot. I'll move it outside when it's not raining anymore.

Stay dry and safe everyone!

#BeKind #StaySafe

A New Era

It's my birthday today and I honestly feel like a new chapter of my life has opened. It feels comparably different from when I became a golden girl last year. I didn't celebrate last year because of the accident* and I focused my time on physiotherapy. 

First Birthday

Anyway, we had a brief respite from the southwest monsoon (Habagat) for a few days, but it's back and we received an orange rainfall alert this afternoon. I checked and so far, no flooding in our city and the metro. It's nonetheless still very hard to get around when it's raining. Good thing we just ordered some food and it arrived before things can start going crazy. 

As a child, I never really liked parties. I remember I'd even hide when guests started arriving. I'm an introvert, so the attention was overwhelming. I still feel the same and I just celebrate with smaller groups. I didn't plan any since I wasn't sure about the weather. 

After 5 years, I think I've finally accepted the fact that I'm retired. I had been so anxious about it, but the Nile is not just a river in Egypt. Acceptance is key and now I'm enjoying my time. There are days when I'm unstable and that's just how things are nowadays for me. I just follow my doctor's orders to be stable and be healthy (as healthy as I can be). 

So, what's next for me? I don't have any "grand plans" and I'm just taking things one day at a time. All my "projects" are "home"-based:

• 
  Currently working on a Baby Yoda quilt 
• I have gardening goals which isn't moving much right now because of the weather
• Still blogging everyday and need to do that long overdue mitral valve replacement
• Biggest project to complete in the next six months, move to our forever home. Then, sell our current home (we hope someone buys it sooner than later!)
• And most important for me is to make more happy memories with my boys

All my "projects" depend on God's Will and grace for me. I have accepted my reality that my world will be smaller compared to what it used to be. It's fine, I've had my fun the past three decades. Perhaps it's also time to write the book I started during the pandemic? Hmm... we'll see. 

Happy birthday to me!

#BeKind #StaySafe

*Fell down a step and had a knee contusion

Throwback Thursday: GTD Days

Before I became part of the yellow pages, I handled the local version of Wand.com's trade directory. It was called Global Trade Directory where we encouraged exporters to sign up to find customers abroad.

The work tied up nicely to my previous job of exporting stone craft products (my Mom's company). I learned a lot about marketing a local products through the world wide web which was still a fairly new way to market.

I enjoyed joining trade fairs and getting exporters to sign up for our directory. We did well and even got a visit from Wand.com. That directory is still up and I still get regular updates from them. Ah, that was my first stint collaborating with an international team.

I was in my mid-20s back then and a fresh MBA grad and I definitely learned a lot from that stint. I didn't know back then, but looking back, God put me on the path for bigger things.

Just believe 🙏

#BeKind #StaySafe

Saw a Menopause Specialist

The genX generation are on the same perimenopause/menopause boat. My high school friends and I have been moaning about it on our group chat the past two years. We've all entered a dreadful era where our bodies are changing. 

I think I was 43 when my cardiologist noted in his report that I was perimenopausal. At that time I didn't really feel any different and brushed it aside. He must have seen it from my tests. I was probably having minor symptoms, but it was last year when I started experiencing the awful ones.

It started with hot flashes, then itchy ears, itching all over, and joint issues. The itchy ears went away and was replaced by tinnitus and now that includes pain behind my right ear at night. I've done a lot of adjustments. Changed to lye soap and have been slathering on lotion all over twice a day. I've also seen an ENT and neurologist on top of my regular cardio and pulmo appointments. 

I met a menopause specialist on Threads and thought I'd consult with her. The symptoms are not as bad as it was last year, but I feel I still need help. She spent more than an hour with me to figure out what I could do to ease symptoms. I'm taking various medications and I can't do hormone therapy because of my medical conditions. 

I'll start with some lifestyle changes. I'm now adjusting my sleep hours and will go on a Meditteranean diet, plus eat fermented food everyday. Sounds easy, but adjusting has to take into consideration the medications I drink. She wanted me to try intermittent fasting, but since I can't do it because I have time bound medications that require a full stomach. 

I hope the symptoms will be kinder as I adjust my lifestyle and maybe it will also help bring down my weight. 

#BeKind #StaySafe