An Important Lesson

It was Fr. Rene* who taught me a very important lesson from Pope John Paul II -

#BeKind #StaySafe

Alocasia Update

Last March, I decided to re-pot a plant that grew out of a pot we got from Mom's garden. The leaves looked nice, so I didn't remove it. It grew and I eventually looked up what it was.

Alocasia.

Oh! I remember the plant became popular during the pandemic. I was happy for the free plant. 

It's been 5 months and I have two pots of alocasia now. Three weeks of rain has encouraged it to grow bigger! 

I have to check soon if it needs to be re-potted again :)

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Brunch at Conti's

We had the chance to try Conti's all day breakfast. I usually order the baked salmon and tbh I wanted to order it again, haha.

I told myself to try somewhere new, so I ordered their pork tocino. It's interesting to try this staple sulit across restos. I was surprised since Conti's tocino wasn't red! I even thought it was tapa. It was definitely tocino made even better when you eat it with vinegar and atsara.

Sweetie got boneless bangus.

And Miggy his usual chicken since it's been awhile since we dined at Conti's.

Our unforgettable moment was when the extreme weather alert hit everyone's phone in the restaurant. It was surreal.  

Of course, we got some goodies before we left :)

P.S. I've been tracking rainy days in my planner and we're now on week 3 of rain pouring everyday. Forecast shows we'll have more rain next week! Take care!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Some Forgotten Moments

It's throwback Thursday again. I made time to scan some old photos. I want to finish the album I've been scanning since last month! I think I scanned 60 photos in 2 hours. I have an old printer, so it really takes time.

It was satisfying to scan this batch from the album because it reminded me of that time we were complete (as a family) for Miggy's birthday. Good thing I took photos of the cake because it's the biggest clue on what year the photos were taken. 2002!

We also went to a number of outings. It was one of the last few times we got to visit Pasacao. Life got busy after that and my parents eventually sold the property. My parents loved going there since it's where my Mom grew up. I still remember the scar on her leg which was caused when she fell while playing with her siblings. It was one of the reasons why she was so strict with me!

Fun times from 24 years ago!

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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. 

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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:

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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?