Brunch

We were concerned about the announcement that we won't have electricity yesterday morning. We woke up early so we could leave in case we didn't have electricity. Neighbors complained when it didn't go off as scheduled. I told them Meralco must have pranked us, haha 

Since we were ready to go out, we decided to just have brunch at the nearby mall. Miggy wasn't up for it, so it was just Sweetie and me. I got some tapa. It was made more interesting by the pinakurat vinegar. 

Sweetie surprisingly ordered bacon and eggs! He donated some bacon to me (that's true love!).

We walked around to burn off what we ate. We wondered why there was so many people on a weekday. We didn't know it was a holiday (sorry na). We went home after picking up a couple of books at Booksale and a replacement memory card for one of our cams. 

I'm now recharged to sort again!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Booksale Forever!

To make sure the Booksale near us doesn't go away, we visit it every few weeks to buy something. I'm especially lucky because quilting books are always available and affordable, plus, not many people quilt here.

I've actually ran out of shelf space, so I told myself to hold off buying anything. It's irresistible though and I got 4 books for just PHP120. Two craft books, a home decor guide, and a bird book for Miggy. Not bad huh.

I've managed to hold off buying books for reading because I have a huge reading backlog! I told myself I should make a dent first before buying anything else. :)

#BeKind #StaySafe

Tried "Delimondo Cafe"

For brunch yesterday, we got curious and tried the "Delimondo Cafe". I've tried their corned beef at home and it's tasty. 

I got the classic ranch style corned beef. It was served with scrambled eggs and pickles. Sweetie ordered the adobo corned beef. We paired the meal with coffee from Yardstick. 

The meal is pretty standard silog. It was pricey at PhP350 per plate. Sweetie's adobo corned beef was better than mine. I think next time I'll just try their buns and just cook cornsilog at home.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Watched "My Love Will Make You Disappear"

Took the opportunity to watch "My Love Will Make You Disappear" today. We had to step out for an errand and the showtime worked out. 

Since it was a Monday there was a line of senior citizens lined up to watch for free. They were so excited and very happy when another customer bought tickets. Apparently the cinema only allows SCs to watch if there's a paying customer. We chose a later time, so we were not able to witness how they found the movie. They were so excited though, which I thought was so cute.

Sweetie and I got the theater exclusively. No one watches at noon on a weekday, so we were quite happy about it. It felt like we booked a block screening for ourselves, hahaha. 

We missed the first few minutes of the movie, but we got the gist that Sari (Kim Chiu) experienced trauma of losing loved ones at a young age. Eventually, she met Jolo (Paulo Avelino) who inherited the compound she and her neighbors were renting. 

The story was simple and straightforward. The villains were mostly their inner struggles and trauma. The story unfolded beautifully and had a good mix of fun, drama and, of course, kilig.

Kim Chui has perfected her talent for leading rom-com films. She embodied Sari. She was Sari. I've watched a number of Paulo Avelino's films and series. He's certainly more comfortable doing drama and playing dark characters. Perhaps he should do more rom-com films with Kim so they can make it as flawless as Marvin and Jolina (sorry GenXer here). The definitely have chemistry and TBH I wish they'd end up together (hehe).

Overall, it's a good show to watch. Definitely entertaining and the lines they threw reminded me of the struggles I had before I met Sweetie. :)

#BeKind #StaySafe

Dayrit's Forever!

Finally managed to go out today. Sweetie had some scheduled tests so we accompanied him. We decided to get some takeaway from our all time favorite restaurant, Dayrit's!

I remember I was a young child when my parents would bring me there. I immediately fell in love with their ginormos cheeseburger. And that's been my order for over 40 years!

I was happy to see the resto bustling with activity. We sat by the door and more people arrived waiting to be seated. We also got some local snacks. It's also our go-to place for shingling, merengue and fish crackers. Yum!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Made Four Cheese Mac and Cheese

Another cool day today since it rained. This meant the kitchen was more welcoming than usual for me. I finally got to make some Mac and cheese. This time I used 4 cheeses, gyuyere, mozzarella, cheddar and parmesan.

I just followed the recipe I used for homemade mac and cheese. We got the gyuyere cheese from a shop in Molito and it was so good (but crazy expensive for a small piece!). Anyway, it's just for us, so we can indulge once in a while. Here's the recipe I used.

https://youtu.be/Y1Mgsjfuzfk?si=uZPGP7zhe0T3pNQR

I'm also planning to make some potato salad in the next few days weather permitting!). Good thing it rained because that meant I could use my gardening energy to cook.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Can't Move, Too Full

We've been observing "no meat on Fridays" since the start of Lent. I'm technically exempted, but I still try to follow it since it's better for me to avoid meat. 

Sweetie got a new gadget to make maki, so I got the ingredients for him. After almost two hours, Sweetie managed to make 4 rolls (32 pieces) of salmon maki.

It was delicious and decidedly filling since we used malagkit rice (couldn't find Japanese rice). It's been a few hours since dinner and I still couldn't move, haha.

Yummeeh!

#BeKind #StaySafe 

The Ceramics Slowdown

I have honestly been procrastinating the past week. I've come to the point where I have to sort Mom's collection of ceramic decor. She has a lot and I know how much she valued her collection.

*Tip of the iceberg

It's not that I don't want to finish the task. It's just hard to decide what to keep and what to let go. I still remember when Mom unboxed her collection. She really loved each one that's why it's hard for me to let go of her things.

I know I cannot possibly keep everything and the only ceramics I have are either Yoda, Hello Kitty or my piggy bank collection. So, sorry Mom I'll just probably keep a few and let others appreciate your collection. Your angels will go to your grandchildren. I just need to figure out how to send them across the world.

#BeKind #StaySafe

My Boys

Our boys have been taking turns patrolling the front gate. A delivery rider even said, "Gwardya ah," referring to Bailey who was hanging out on the wall beside the pedestrian gate. They take turns and sometimes there's two who watch over the gate.

In the afternoons, they also take turns watching me water the plants. This afternoon it was Eevee who hang out while I was busy gardening. Bailey and Anakin passed by too. The girls check on me, but they leave whenever I'm waving the hose around.

I haven't gone out for a few weeks now, so my life has been about cats, gardening and sorting Mom's stuff. I haven't even quilted. My doctors said I shouldn't get sick, so limiting outings for now. My kitty cats have been keepinge company whenever I go out to do gardening. Love them so much!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Brown to Green Thumb?

To be honest, a lot of plants did not survive because of me. I was going to give up, but my Mom told me I just have to continue gardening to learn. She sais that's what my Mama Lola also told her because she also had a brown thumb.

It was my Mom who initially forced me to learn how to garden. She'd bring plants to our home. I'd give her the plants back whenever they looked like they were dying. I gave up all my plants when I moved to Singapore.

It was during the pandemic when I started gardening again. I ordered materials online and started where I had previously been successful -- mustard greens (mustasa). After that I tried growing bell peppers and tomatoes. 

Moving back home gave me a bigger "play area". Mom would bring plants for me. That forced me to study the plants she'd bring. And that's what made a difference. Knowing what kind of plant I'm caring for helped me understand what it needs. 

It's basically knowing what kind of soil, fertilizer (nutrients), watering and sunlight it needs. Most of Mom's plants don't need direct sunlight and require soil for succulents. She did prefer ornamental and flowering plants. I haven't even gone through her main garden, so I have lots to learn.

First step is to make Google Lens your best friend 😅 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Mom's Favorite Plants

I'm working on saving Mom's plants and transferred those that were in front of the house to our home. 

When Sweetie pulled the plants out he said most had spikes and I should be careful. I placed the plants on quarantine first to make sure they didn't have pests. I started re-potting them over the weekend.

I was really surprised that Mom was fascinated with bromeliads. I know she liked flowers and had a lot of orchids. I don't know when she started collecting bromeliads. 

I was only able to transfer a few plants because I ran out of pots. Mom liked pairing plants, so each pot had a number of plants. The bromeliads also grew a lot of pups, so I separated them so I can give some away.

Luckily, most of the plants don't like direct sunlight. I don't get good sunlight in our home, so I shouldn't have a problem making sure they live. Now I just need to get more pots so I can continue re-potting the plants. It's immensely therapeutic :)

Is Grey Back?

It's been five months since we last saw Grey. He is the first cat who adopted us. He came with the house when we moved in, so he became part of the family. He was probably still a kitten when we discovered him and from him our cat brood grew to 8.

Well, Grey went on an adventure and we haven't seen him since October last year. I've been telling the cats to tell him to come home.

In the past two weeks, a scraggly kitten who looks like Grey has been visiting. It even has Grey's tail. The tabbies haven't been minding it, but Meredith has been chasing it away. I would just say hello to the kitten whenever it visits.

I was able to take a closer look at the kitten today. It hung around while I was re-potting some of Mom's plants. I really believe he/she is one of Grey's kids. It may even be one of Kaley's. We have no way of confirming, but what we can do is bring it to the vet when we can.

I've been pining for Grey, so maybe he sent us this kitten. :)

#BeKind #StaySafe

Made Some Beef Tapa

Since the past few days has been cooler and not horridly warm, I decided to do some cooking. 

I marinated some beef last night and Miggy cooked it today. 

The recipe I used is just like Jollibee's beef tapa. Its really best to marinate it overnight for beat results. Miggy has perfected cooking it and I just do the marinade. Here's the recipe -

https://youtu.be/ra7pXgfEt54?si=efl_KoVxuv63J59H

Yum-yum!

#BeKind #StaySafe

One Second Everyday | February 2025

Oh my! The first quarter of the year is almost over and I completely forgot to upload my one second everyday video for the  month of February! 

I spent most of the month at home sorting through my Mom's stuff (yup it isn't done yet). I did manage to go out at least once a week just to see the outside world. The highlight of the month for me was getting to watch a movie in an actual theater! We watched "Ex Ex Lovers". It was a rare treat! Hopefully I can persuade Sweetie to watch another movie before the month ends.

Here's the video :)

Note to self: don't buy any more books until you figure out how to fix your shelf! Haha. 

I still have so many things to do! I'm exhausted though and have to take things slow to make sure I don't get sick! 

#BeKind #StaySafe

16 Years Since the Proposal

 Sweetie told me when I woke up, "Happy 16th proposal year!" I looked at him in wonder and said, "Wasn't it March 14?" 

Hahaha!

I remember it was the 14th of March because it coincides with the birthday of Tita Pet. Sweetie said, "Oh yeah, I remember it's Pi day!" It's good to remember that day though. It's part of our core happy memories of that fateful day in Davao. 

I used to vlog back then and I managed to unearth the video from my channel. Here's the vid -

How I wish I could go on the zipline again. I'm no longer allowed, so will have to find other adventures my body can withstand (haha). 

Surprising Cats

Have you ever seen your cat drop its jaw and have eyes as big as saucers? Both Sweetie and I did today. 

I was seated on my desk when Sweetie said a cat was about to pass by behind me. I parted the curtain and saw Grogu beside the plant box. I immediately opened the door and said hello. He was so surprised to see me come out from a place where I usually don't appear. His eyes were so big and his jaw dropped. He was so surprised, hahaha. 

We surprised Pikachu and Grogu today, haha.

The same thing happened this morning when Sweetie saw Pikachu resting on the firewall. He opened the window to say hello and she was so shocked to see him. I guess our cats are so used to seeing us in specific areas, they get surprised when we suddenly appear in other areas of the house. 

I played with the cats and gave them some treats when I stepped out. It's been awhile since I played with them in that area. They were still kittens the last time I played with them in the side garden. We usually play in the garage or the pocket garden upstairs. I had been avoiding the area because of the ongoing construction beside us. Now that most of their work is done, it's safer for me to visit them again in the area. 

Thank God and the cat distribution system for sending us our babies.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Cotton's Birthday

I found an old note I probably wrote when I was 11 years old. I wrote a list of birthdays on the note and it included Cotton's birthday.

Cotton was my sister's Japanese spitz. It was a gift to her by Kuya Johnny and she left it with us when she moved to the US. Well, today would've been Cotton's birthday.

Cotton was essentially my first dog. She was with us for a few years and died of pneumonia. I was severely affected when she passed and it took many years before I could replace her. 

It was a good day to remember Cotton. It's one of my wishes to eventually have a dog again. It's a lot of work, but I have my cats and I love them to bits.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Last Stretch of the First Quarter

Oh wow! Did you notice that the first quarter of the year is almost over? I've been feeling exhausted the past few days, so I slowed down a bit.

I'm still working on clearing out my childhood home. It's truly exhausting, but I did get a surprise today when I found one of the Christmas decors I bought when I still lived with my parents. Cookie!

They're so cute! I wrapped it carefully and put it in a box. I labelled it so we can use it later this year. The heat though is making it hard to think about Christmas. 

That's it for today :)

#BeKind #StaySafe

When the World is Too Noisy

When the world is too noisy. When things seem too crazy.

Rest.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Double Cuteness

Pikachu and Grogu ❤️ 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Major Sign of Aging

Depleted from today's pulmo rehab and chores, so this is going to be a short post. I found a box of diskettes! Hahaha!

The contents are probably irrelevant now, but Sweetie has been checking all tech related stuff especially those that have private information. He got a reader since we have quite a lot of old data. What we just usually keep are photos :)

I'm sure today's generation won't even know what it is. They probably know it as the "save" button, haha. Well kids, this was how we saved data way back. It's what I used to complete my thesis! 

What about you? What mode of saving data did you use when you were still in high school/college/university?

#BeKind #StaySafe

Don't You Wish?

Don't you wish you could be like our cat, Grogu? He was sleeping so soundly with not a care in the world.

The world has been so noisy this year. It started with uncontrollable fires in LA, followed by aviation crashes almost every week, then the crazy things happening in the US and now, here. I have so many questions running through my head. I've been quieting it by focusing on the tasks I have to do. It doesn't mean I don't care about what's happening. I just cope differently.

I learned in the last few years that you can let the noise around fall in the background. It's not easy, but when you know how to cope, you can be like my cat and rest well. Pray and let God do the rest.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Goodbye D30

We were busy with errands yesterday and only got wind of what was happening at around 5 in the afternoon. The arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte wasn't something I expected would happen. I always hoped justice would be given to the victims of tokhang.

We watched the early evening news to get updates. The late evening news gave more surprising updates. At 11:03pm, it was announced that the flight to bring D30 to The Hague was cleared and was taking off already. 

When the government really puts its mind to making things work, it really does. I was half expecting he'll be able to get out of it again. It was truly a big surprise that he was actually sent to the Netherlands on the same day of his arrest. 

According to former Senator Sonny Trillanes, it was in 2017 that the Magdalo partylist that filed the case*.  Senator Leila Delima also did investigations where she was eventually jailed for no reason. Eight+ years probably feels a lifetime waiting for justice for the families of the victims of EJK. I am grateful that there are still servants who are really there to help. 

As Pope John Paul II said, "No peace without justice, no justice without forgiveness." May the victims finally get justice, and the families have peace.

Here's the statement from Malacañang today - https://youtu.be/iRnJkkXlOuI?si=2VfeD01_2AnlGjVQ

*https://x.com/TrillanesSonny/status/1899299908424786356?t=68NLE0bQmnR2RSoTHBa69w&s=19

What I Got from my Grandfather

The only I ever "saw" my Papa Lolo was when he said hello to me from a window. I was four years old and we were in Tito Mom's house in San Francisco. Kuya and I were fighting about the thermostat and I went to the window by the stairs to feel the cold glass. 

Papa Lolo suddenly appeared by the window and said hello. I responded out loud and said, "Hello Papa Lolo!" After that I was suddenly snatched up by someone (probably my Mom or Dad). And they nervously asked me who I talking to. I told them Papa Lolo was outside.

I still remember that day like it was yesterday and I still remember how cold it was in the house. The same "apparition" only happened once again. This time it was Gabby who saw him in Mama Lola's room in our home. Gabby ran back to where we were in the lanai and said he saw an old man in an all white military uniform. Yup, definitely Papa Lolo.

Anyway, I discovered something about my Papa Lolo. I found letters to Mama Lola and a planner. In 1969, my Papa Lolo wrote daily on the small planner what he did and who he met. In the planner was a raffle ticket, fund computations, and a photo of his brother.  His letters to Mama Lola and children were also very detailed (usually bilins and instructions). 

I also found my old planners from the 90s on the same day. I got curious and looked through the planners to see what kind of person I was back then. Oh boy, I was so OC!!! Aside from daily lists of what I did, I had birthdays of practically everyone I knew written on the planner. I used colored pens to represent where I know them from. 

Now I know where I got that "quirk" from. It wasn't my Mom since what she had is a gazillion address books (I filled a whole box of it!). I also write like Papa Lolo. Detailed and chronological.

*Long before I was born

How I wish I met my Papa Lolo. My Mom always told me happy stories about him. I know he wasn't perfect, but his letters and planners showed how much he cared for his family, especially his children. 

This tiny bit of information about my Papa Lolo makes me happy. I never met him in person since he passed away five years before I was born. Knowing I got my OC-ness from him makes me feel less odd about my quirk. :)

#BeKind #StaySafe

My First Cookbook

I think I've just sorted the last box of books. I was so surprised to find my first cookbook! 

I recall going through it, but I don't remember cooking anything based on the recipes from the book. I learned how to bake first and it was only decades later before I learned how to cook, haha.

Ate taught me how to bake peanut butter cookies and I watched her bake apple pie. I didn't learn how to cook because I was traumatized when our stove malfunctioned. It was like a fire breathing dragon and that was so scary for me. 

I still bake peanut butter cookies and here's how I make it -

https://youtu.be/BPtt63o4CH4?si=WGqIGeJY6wlb5mtD

I eventually learned how to cook (to survive!). Nowadays, Miggy cooks more than me. I've been documenting our favorite home made dishes on "Recipes for My Son". It helps us whenever there's something we want to cook again.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Staycation...

We were forced to go on a staycation ... A literal one once it's just down our hallway 😄 

We were getting settled for bedtime the other night when the airconditioner started leaking! Ackkk! The water that dripped out was like a slightly open faucet.

I got nervous since it was really a lot, so Sweetie turned off the a/c. We tried to sleep with just the fan.  I barely slept and actually considered crashing in Miggy's room. 

The next night we decided to move to the guest room. We had to clear it first since we had a lot of linens on top of the bed. Finally had better sleep, but my mistake was not bringing my CPAP machine. I didn't feel up to par the next day. 

To cope with my medical conditions I have to stay in cooler places. I'm prone to heat exhaustion and I can become an immediately unstable, so I really have to be careful.

The "staycation" was still good nonetheless since we were able to clean up the other room, haha! We'll keep the bed available in case we need it again. 

And oh, the a/c was fixed and the technician found some debris they were not able to get when they cleaned the unit last January. I'm just grateful it was just dirt.

What Made Our Stress Go Away

We left home earlier than usual for our appointment. We wanted to eat a heavy breakfast because of our back to back appointment. The lifts in the building could take so long, so we wanted to avoid rushing to eat lunch.

We made good time from our home to the hospital. One of those lucky days when traffic wasn't horrid. Our well made plans though was messed up. It took us almost an hour to find parking space. The hospital sequestered customer parking space for their staff and additional space had reserve cones for "those who own it" said the guard.

Good thing Miggy came too, so we were able to split up. Sweetie continued to look for parking, while Miggy and I went to buy some food. But, guess what? Sweetie beat us to the cafe because the elevator that kept going to our floor was under maintenance. Gahhh. Of course, it took awhile to go up to the clinic because not all the lifts were working.

I was so stressed and tired by the time we got to the doctor's office. I was lucky I didn't wait long to be called. Ahh, but the wait for Miggy's turn for his doctor took longer and I basically just conked out on his arm. 

When we finished our hospital errands, I requested to eat somewhere else. I just wanted to forget the horrid time we had looking for parking. We headed to One Ayala and dined at Secret Recipe.

We try to visit it once a quarter (we're rarely in the area). We have fond memories of dining at Secret Recipe in Singapore/Malaysia and Indonesia, so it's a family favorite. The boys are following no meat Fridays and got seafood. I got carbonara.

We each tried interesting beverages. Sweetie got kiwi lime tea. I forgot what was mine called but it was berries with black tea and mint. Miggy got a shake.

We just got some cake for takeaway since we didn't want to get stuck in traffic going home. Traffic was heavy but moving past Magallanes Interchange. SLEX was moving so slow, so we used the Skyway. We were home right in time for my plant watering schedule. 

Take care of yourself, your pets and plants! The heat has been really bad. I just hope the hospital realizes they have a really bad parking problem. We heard a lot of people complaining the whole day. I took the initiative to send them a complaint through their website. Oh well.

#BeKins #StaySafe