I started writing when I was 8. My mom got me a journal where I could rant (prob so I won't be an annoying brat). I stopped writing for 8 years until the pen and then later on the keyboard called on me again. I blog because I like writing and that's just about it. Hope you get inspired though... Bite the apple!
What makes you happy? It's probably a question all of us ask ourselves every so often. Keep it simple my doctor told me.
Whenever I feel down, one thing that helps me get back up is counting blessings or things I'm grateful for. This is what taught me to be happy even with simple things.
When I wake up every morning, I thank the Lord for the new day, then I look forward to seeing my boys, our cats and then my plants.
I've changed a lot since I retired. I used to beat myself up for not being "productive". I kept praying for the next "big thing". My condition just got worse and I realized God is telling me I'm on a different path now. I'm meant to be where I am now.
What makes you happy can change over time. I used to chase wins across the region and now I'm chasing what's within a few meters around me. And it's enough.
Things surprisingly went back to normal on our area. I thought we'd have to postpone our appointments today. It proceeded like nothing happened. Praying for those who were severely affected and hope they'll be able to recover as soon as possible.
I fell asleep sitting after we had brunch. We woke up early, plus I feel I still need to rest after the very stressful few days due to the typhoon. The power nap helped and I started sewing after Miggy went to his appointment.
I finished piecing together Santa Yoda. It's based on a grid pattern I found on Pinterest. I know I should have asked advise from Miggy on what background fabric color I should have used, haha. I'll just embroider around Yoda to highlight him.
Anyway, I'll use Santa Yoda for a kitchen cover I'm making. I'm integrating some of my Mom's unfinished pieces, so let's see where this goes.
Thank you Lord for keeping all of us safe from the supertyphoon. It caused a lot of destruction for other areas, but with your provision and blessings we will rebuild.
We overprepared for the typhoon. We previously put sandbags around our doors. Sweetie also reinforced it with boards and additional sandbags to make sure our basement won't get flooded. We were scared that the sewer pipe would backflow to our backyard again.
We went around the house to check for damage. Some plants were toppled over, but most were okay. I discovered St. Fialcre recently and have been praying to him for the success of our garden. Despite the strong wind gusts, everything was intact.
I pray for the quick recovery of areas severely affected by the typhoons. If you have extra please donate to Angat Buhay.
The wind started howling as soon as I finished preparing our food. Miggy helped me and took care of cooking the sausages while I prepped the tapa for marinating. I was washing some dishes when a low howling sound came from the pocket garden. Typhoon Uwan was just around the corner.
I followed Miggy when he went to the front door to check the plants. The tall trees across us was swaying because of the wind. It wasn't as strong yet, the forecast is it will be stronger from 7pm onwards.
We've been preparing the past few days. I asked Sweetie to reinforce the sandbags in our backyard. After going through several typhoons that inundated our childhood homes, it's better to be over prepared.
We've also been glued to watching and monitoring the news for weather updates. The typhoon's track has been changing, so it's better to be well informed.
Praying that the typhoon will not cause harm to anyone. Our kitties are warm and safe too.
To prepare for the coming typhoon, we focused on cutting tall branches and reinforcing plants that can be toppled over by the wind.
I'm just praying that the newly planted trees would stay put. It's just been two weeks since Mang Henry landscaped our front lawn, so hopefully the roots have stabilized a bit already.
To be honest, we're all feeling anxious at home. We've weathered a lot of storms, but I cannot help but remember the time when typhoon Ondoy hit. I don't want to experience that ever again, much more so since Mom and Dad are no longer around. It's just different when your parents are still around.
Let's all pray for safety and for the storm to pass without hurting anyone. 🙏
We've been monitoring the news and weather reports the past few days to be updated about the coming typhoon. The typhoons that been hitting us is nastier now than before. We couldn't help but remember how previous typhoons like Ondoy hit us.
Last July an electric pole fell down a few meters from our place. There was no typhoon, just heavy rains which caused a tree to fall and bring down the electric pole. What that tells me is we need to be better prepared for anything.
We've almost completed our go bags. Just need to add clothes. documents + my extra maintenance meds and it should be ready. Mother nature doesn't select where she's hit, she just comes.
Of course, let's all pray that the typhoon would just miraculously dissipate.
Four years ago during the pandemic, Sweetie and I went back home. I just remembered because Google Photos reminded me about it. All I remember is we were very tired since we had to pack up everything in our place and we were still packing until a few hours before our flight. I don't remember what I ate in the plane since I fell asleep even before we took off, haha.
Our quarantine stay was cut short. We just rested and the only highlight of the stay was watching Gabby's wedding online. I cried as soon as I got home because I finally got to hug Miggy. We didn't see him for almost two years and just communicated online.
NAIA 3
For the next week we were home, we ordered everything we missed. There was still a lockdown back then, but things were easing up. As soon as we completed another five days at home without any illness, we went to see my Mom. It was a very happy reunion, since we could only communicate with her via her landline.
Going home during the pandemic was very hard and costly. I'd do it all over again since being with family is important. My doctors were very worried and sent me home with months worth of medication to make sure I'd be okay. I only went to see a doctor when my meds finally ran out.
Miggy started his wellness and nutrition journey last month. All of us are overdue for a lifestyle change since we're not getting any younger, plus prevention is better than finding a cure for issues.
One of the key things we need to work on is with what we eat. It was our first time to work with a nutritionist and dietician. We originally thought we'd re-enroll with our meal plans. We tried for two days, but it had different effects on each of us.
The dietician had a very different view on meal plans. She said, it's best for those who don't have time to prepare their food. She advised it's still better to prepare your own food since you know exactly what's going into it.
We studied closely the plan and food options to see what we can prepare at home. We researched recipes to see what's easy to do at home. We also planned the transition to healthier food since TBH Miggy and I don't really eat that much veggies.
It's been two weeks since we started and we're feeling more energetic. I've also been involving the boys more when we cook. This way I could survive and also teach Miggy how to cook.
Let's see where the changes we'll be doing brings us :)
I gave up on the crochet project last week. Sorry na. I got so impatient and moved onto a quilt project I've been eyeing to do.
Since the design is too small for machine sewing, I decided to do it whenever Miggy has a scheduled exercise session. I couldn't find my "airplane sewing kit," so I just used an old card case. I used to do this a lot when I was traveling for work. It attracted a lot of aunties on the plane and they would excitedly ask me what I was making. Haha.
I also revived an old jewelry display board I used when I was into bead making. I tore off the old felt paper cover and used the leftover felt fabric from the vintage case I refurbished a few months ago. It's been useful to layout the small fabric pieces on it. It helps me from making mistakes.
To be honest, I already wanted to change the bamboo back in 2022. It took several tries to find the right team to do it.
I pushed to do it this time because I was alarmed when I saw a snake skin on my neighbor's car. I messaged our architect and he immediately referred us to a landscaper.
The whole process from inspection, to buying plants, removing the bamboo and planting took four days across two weeks. We told Mang Henry that we wanted something easy to manage. He suggested a tropical resort feels look.
I let him choose the plants, but had some switched since I didn't want any plants related to tobacco plants. We also added two trees to the plan. I'm amazed with how fast they worked on clearing and planting everything.
Ahh, I'm so happy we finally did this landscape project. It's my belated birthday gift for myself. We just need to make sure the newly planted plants and trees adjust well!
It's All Souls Day today. The day to remember our departed loved ones. It's been only two years since I lost my Mom, 14 years since Dad left for heaven. In between that I lost almost all of my titos and titas.
I buried myself in work when my Dad passed away. I went back to work immediately and told myself he wouldn't want me to dwell on losing him. I didn't have that excuse when Mom passed away.
I faced grief in silence while facing issues with my health. Mom was my rock. She'd always tell me I can handle any challenge. What helped me was rescuing her plants and sorting through the belongings she left.
Grief turned into remembering my parents, titos and titas fondly as I went through my Mom's things. It was hard, but I felt my Mom's love as I saw what she kept for me. She even marked some things she wanted me to keep.
It's not easy being an orphan. I realized though, Mom prepared me all my life to be independent. To be strong and face life with deep faith. I know they are all watching us from above.
My Mom had a lot of religious figures. Most of them were Crucifixes, Santo Nino, Mama Mary and some saints. She had a grotto in her garden before and it made me wonder if there's a saint for gardeners and plants. Since it's All Saints day today, I thought I'd do some research about it. I can also start praying to them to help me take care of the plants my Mom left.
St. Fiacre of Breuil's name comes up as the patron saint of gardeners, florists and taxi drivers. He was an Irish monk who moved to France where he established a hermitage. His garden was famous and he was a known herbalist who helped heal with herbs and prayers.
For farmers and rural communities, there's St. Isidore and St. Maria de la Cabeza. St. Ansovinus is known as the patron saint for agriculture and protection of crops. St. Kateri Tekakwitha is an indigenous woman who converted to Catholicism and became the patron saint for ecology. One saint most of us know is St. Francis of Assisi. He's the patron saint of the environment and animals.
Now I know who to pray to, for help when it comes to my garden/plants. I will also pray to St. Francis of Assisi to protect our beloved cats.
I'm glad I made it this far recording at least a second everyday on my One Second Everyday account. October has been our most productive month this year. It was good we started it by having buffet breakfast in a hotel. It was my belated birthday celebration :)
I've been a bit more mobile this month and having a wheelchair really helps getting around. It's added cardio for the boys (haha). I stretch my knee often when we're out since it still hurts. I start PT next month, but Miggy has started his wellness and nutrition journey. It's the reason why we've been out more often.
Since I want our home to look more accommodating, we spent a lot of time this month organizing. We got help from Ally Canita and her team. They helped us finish the rest of the boxes from my childhood home. It was a good decision to do that, since we're now ready to decorate for Christmas! Hooray!
We also got help from a landscaper, Manong Henry, to clean up our front yard. The bamboo trees got so gnarly and I was afraid snakes might start living in it. What pushed me to get help was seeing a very long snake skin on our neighbor's car. It probably shed on the car while we were all asleep! The landscape project is my gold birthday gift for myself. Ahh, seeing pretty plants make me happy.
Here's my 1sec video for October:
In between all the activity we rested and calmed down with our cats. They calmed down when August (now Gus) and Little Grey moved out. I'm really glad we were able to find the best fur parents for them. I guess the orange energy they had was too much for us and the tabby brood. Things are back to normal and I plan to bust out the new cat tower for them this weekend.
Happy end of October and Happy Halloween!
If you're bored and want to be scared, you may want to read some scary stories here -
I miss those days we used to get together for Halloween. We'd even dress up in costumes and mainly did it for the kids.
I recently found my Dad's mask. We all giggled when we saw him wear it. It for him well, so he really looked scary. Much more since he wore a vest! Haha. I'm surprised the mask still looks new after 20 years.
I miss you Dad. I know you are all partying up there! Kisses to Mom, Mama Lola and all my titos and titas.
I've been amiss with my blogs since I've been busy the past two weeks. After we had a decluttering session with Ally Canita and her team, I felt rejuvenated and I managed to putter around the house again.
I read several articles that said, "Women are more affected by clutter than men." I believe is true because I had several mishaps when we moved all the boxes from my childhood home. It filled up our sala and dining room. I got hospitalized and missed a step on the stairs while looking at the boxes.
Two years and sorting my Mom's things seemed never ending and I talked at the last huge batch. I wanted to do other things already, but was held down with a gazillion stuff to sort. I didn't have the stamina and energy to finish it. And that's why we got help from Ally Canita and her team.
In two days, the boxes littering our house dissipated. Boxes for donation was sent out and the rest of the stuff were sorted and organized. Majority of the things were donated and I set aside some stuff that will be given to relatives.
Seeing our sala and dining room free from clutter felt like a huge thorn was pulled out of me. I've become more productive and have managed to declutter other areas which got gnarly in the last few months. I'm now able to work on crafting and gardening.
I hope we'll be able to set up for Christmas soon!
Oh-kay... I usually don't give up on projects, but the Santa Crochet Project got so gnarly. It wasn't giving me any joy and it was giving me pain.
The issue was both the plastic hook and the yarn. I'm more adept at using steel crochet hooks and smaller yarn. The yarn was also prone to unraveling. I'm no expert with crochet, but I did quite a lot of projects when I was younger. I thoroughly enjoyed it back then
Anyway, it is what it is, maybe I'll obtain better yarn and use my crochet hook. It's probably in one of my sewing kits. In the meantime, to recuperate from the disappointing turn out, I've started working on a Christmas cover for my KitchenAid mixer.
It's the day to celebrate black cats! I didn't know I needed one until a scraggly black, mouse-like, kitten showed up in our garage.
The kitten demanded food and kept rubbing our legs. It squirmed it's way into our hearts and never left. That was 16 months ago, when Anakin, stepped in our lives and became part of our pawmily.
We had a different kind of Sunday this week. We were set to meet up with friends at the park to pick up kutsinta and otap. Leejay also mentioned they will set up their coffee cart, Love & Latte. We didn't know that the annual village Halloween party was also set this afternoon.
Kids from all over the village trooped to the pergola in costume. They were so cute and were called to parade their costumes in front of all the participants. While they were doing that we got to hang-out with our long-time friends.
It's been awhile since I had a "proper" Halloween. We've just been checking out the kids who go trick or treat around the village every year. I think that's scheduled for Friday in our area. Way back we used to get together in my childhood home every Halloween. We were a huge group with many young kids. The kids have all grown up though and most of my friends live elsewhere now.
c2011 at my childhood home
I was happy to see Leejay, Denz and their kids, Ate Edith, Matthew and family again. I miss those days we'd have monthly birthday celebrations. I haven't celebrated my 50th yet, so maybe next month when I'm a bit more mobile.
I got two kamote pieces at the grocery and promptly forgot to cook it. I left it in the counter and just opened the container.
Few weeks later, it started to grow roots and leaves. The boys eventually gave me an ultimatum, plant it or throw it out.
I decided to plant it. My goal was to have leaves in case I want to make sinigang. It been almost three weeks and the tiny leaves have grown. I can actually make sinigang in a few days!
I'm sure the leaves will just continue to grow, so I'll just leave it in the pot. Woohoo!
Kwek-kwek isn't the healthiest afternoon snack, but it's still enjoyable to have once I'm awhile. I look forward to eating it whenever we drop by the garden nursery.
I buy gardening supplies, bread at Uncle John's, and while Sweetie buya fruits, I get some kwek-kwek for me and Miggy. We split 3 orders between us because one order of 4 quail eggs isn't enough. Two orders is too much, so 3 orders hit the craving perfectly.
I've just had my once a quarter indulgence, I guess I'll have it again next year na.
I'm sharing one of two scary memories which popped up when I watched one of the road rage videos that was on the news this week.
Leon Guinto Incident
It was probably one of the summers before I became a teen. My Mom and I were on our way to my Dad's office to bring food because it was his birthday. Mom was driving and I was on the passenger seat beside her. I remember it was quite hot and we had our windows down.
We had passed my Alma Mater and were a few blocks away from it when a car blocked the car which was slightly ahead of us. We had to stop because they blocked us too. Men with weeapons jumped out of the car and opened the door of the car. One man grab the hair of the female passenger. She winced in pain and just closed her eyes.
It was then that Mom and I noticed that one of the men had his weapon pointing at us. Mom whispered to me to slowly crawl out of the car. I didn't need to because in just a few seconds they all left. The incident was probably faster than the Louvre Museum heist. No one else noticed because things happened so fast.
After they left, Mom took a deep breath and drove fast to get to my Dad's office. Back then mobile phones were not available for consumers yet. Mom thought also that it would be safer if we got to Dad's office. Whoever they are, they were not interested in us.
I don't recall if it was covered in the news. Mom remembered the incident a couple of times. I don't know what the adults did after. They had me focus on other things and I just remember key moments of the incident. I don't even recall if I cried over it (probably not). I was probably in shock and didn't really register the danger that we were in.
The memory was triggered by the road rage incident. I always prayed that the victim of the incident was saved and lived a long life.
*I don't have a photo of our old car, so had Gemini make one for me.
The past week has been riddled with issues! We lost internet over the weekend. Neighbor keeps doing un-neighborly stuff. And I couldn't find a slot to sign-up for the Paranaque Help Card.
Stress is bad for me and to be honest I become unstable whenever there's bad vibes around me. When I get annoyed, I usually want immediate action. I get more annoyed when the issue gets stuck and I think it's worse when you're perimenopausal.
I've since learned not to blow my top in the past two decades. I used to have an awful temper. Sweetie has been my "safety pin". He's such a calm force and I usually let him take the lead in berating people. I can be really sungit, so he obliges.
Choose your battles. You don't need to fight everything. Some you can just let go and you'll be happier. I've been attempting to register for the Paranaque Help Card as a PWD. I've tried a couple of times and it's just not working out. I'm letting that go since I might just get sick running after something that may not be worthwhile. Plus, the registration site has been wonky. I'm not sure if my data will be secure there.
Other things can be resolved through proper processes and being tenatious with following up. I'm retired, so I have time today breathe down the neck of anyone who has to move.
I brought the crochet set I bought to the hospital. Once Miggy went to do his test, I hunkered down and started to work on the project. I told myself I should finish the project in a few days. The manual said to start with the head.
The first hurdle was to understand how to make the magic ring. We were taught in school to make chain stitches to form a ring. Apparently, that has changed to allow you to pull the string to close the hole. Oh boy, it took me several tries to get it. A senior lady was watching me intently across the room. She was probably trying to see if I knew what I was doing, hahaha.
I only managed to finish one row when Miggy suddenly showed up. He was done with his test. Both Sweetie and me were so surprised. Sweetie wasn't even able to finish the forward yet, haha. I kept my stuff and off we went.
I've been working on the project for a week now. I finished the head, the hands, the legs, and I'm now stuck with making the body because the legs are noticeably uneven and even with counting the body isn't adding up to the required stitches. Hahahaha.
I rested during the weekend and have yet to pick up the hook again. I really had a hard time making the legs and I'm waiting to be brave again to finish the project. In the meantime, I've been distracted with organizing my sewing room. It's just hard to work on projects when things are all over the place. Haha.
Woke up today with internet! PLDT finally sent someone to fix the issue. The repair crew said they know the installer who did a sloppy job on the box. Got back internet shortly after they came, but speed is about 15% of what we're paying for. Sweetie reported it again and they said again there's an outage. I want to believe them, but I'm so jaded already with how everything is below par in our country.
Anyway, another issue cropped up. Neighbor parked their car in front of our property and blocked our gate. Sweetie reported it, but it's not the first time it happened. They had a visitor who once was about to block our gate. Sweetie caught him in the act and sent him away.
I honestly don't understand why they have at least 6 to 7 cars at any given time. They squeezed 4 cars in their 2-car garage and have been littering the street with the overflow. Our neighbors generally only have 1 to 2 cars. If they could afford 7 luxury cars, surely they could buy a bigger house with a bigger garage.
It really makes it harder for us to back up our car whenever they block our driveway and because of my condition we sometimes have to rush to the hospital.
I got a lot of advise from friends on what to do. I'll start with my Mom's strategy and put a huge pot where they tend to block our driveway. I've ordered a "do not block the driveway" sign. If they keep doing it, we'll add it to our barangay complaint.
One thing I really don't like is waking up to bad news. Sweetie said there were two PLDT people who dabbled with the post. He discovered we didn't have internet 30 minutes after they left.
I was looking forward to our weekend movie time and catching up on some of the series we watch. We've been truly dependent on having internet at home since it's where we spend majority of our time. I also use it for blogging, editing vids, updating our expense sheet and catching up with people.
It was truly dismal and I know there are other bigger problems, but being let down by a privately run company is really annoying. :'(
Anyway, I ended up spending another day repotting overdue for care plants. I worked on the avocado trees I propagated from seed. It will take years to bear fruit, but it's great to see something grow. In a month or two it will probably be taller than me!
I did two huge pots and tended to some smaller plants I've neglected like one of Mom's succulents and a couple of the mother of millions that I forgot to water for more than 2 months. They're still surprisingly alive!
Oh well, hope everyone is safe and dry from #RamilPH! Have a blessed Sunday everyone.
I made a mistake when I re-potted Mom's bromeliads a few months ago. I read that they survive better if you just put them in a pot with coco cubes, peat moss and perlite. I followed that and eventually saw the plants decline. I may have also overwatered it.
Oh well, that's me still learning how to be a good gardener. You have to kill some plants to learn. I managed to save some and re-potted them in cactus soil. Hopefully, they will recover and the red tips will come out. I also need to make sure I don't spray them with Neem oil!
A year ago, I had a brilliant idea. I wanted to make a house for our cats. I got a box and carved out a hole in it. I was planning to paint the sides, but they all scrambled to use it.
The loved it, but ignored the opening. Some tried to stay inside, but they all preferred to lounge on top of the box.
The cats loves napping on it. They also loved to scratch the top of the box after napping. Eventually, the box started to cave in. We were worried a cat would fall inside the box. We would just add a new cover and did that again today.
Meredith, who was hogging the stool immediately transferred to the box when I added a new cover. She lay there the whole time I was re-potting some plants. It feels nice to have a companion while puttering around my gardening area.
My Mom really kept things that were precious to me when I was a child. A few months ago I found the pencil box I used when I was a second grader.
I super loved it because it had extra compartments. Back then you were considered "rich" and special when your pencil case had a gazillion compartments. Mine only had 3, but I was ecstatic about it.
It wasn't the best case in my class, but I was happy with it. I used it for years until I got a nice tin pencil box from Tito Mon and Tita Lydia. I also used that for years.
I kept the pencil box for a few months more. It's nostalgic and gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling. I finally gave it up last week during our decluttering session. I just took photos and made this blog post to preserve the happy memories I had with it.
We went to the mall the other to get some supplies. We've been putting together our go bag and I couldn't help but think about how my parents dealt with disasters.
My Mom kept telling me that our house was built to withstand earthquakes. She told me that the structure was meant to sway with the earthquake. True enough, our house never had structural issues save for the areas that were added post-construction
I realized my parents built a sturdy house because of their experience from the "1968 Ruby Tower earthquake". Mom said they were lucky that their huge aparador did not fall on them. No wonder majority of our cabinets were built in.
Through the years we experienced a lot of typhoons, flooding, and earthquakes. I don't recall feeling any earthquake in our home. My parents also treated disasters/issues as they came. They just made sure we always had candles and canned goods.
I miss those days when we didn't have si much anxiety over "possibilities ". Back in the day, our parents didn't overthink things and just did what was needed to be done. We can't say whether the dangers back then was less risky compared to now. We just need to take a leap of faith and pray for protection.
It's been awhile since I did a crochet project. Last crochet project I made was a Yoda figure. It was hard and I planned to make more to use as Christmas tree decor. I never got around to making any since I got so busy at work.
Anyway, I saw boxes of crochet and felt projects yesterday at SM department store. Miggy parked me in front of it. There were four options for Christmas and a number of animal crochet projects (no cat option though!). I still have a Christmas felt project from Flying Tiger waiting to be done, so I got a crochet project.
I got a Santa crochet box and will try to make it today. I realized belatedly it's an intermediate level project, so let's see how I work this out. Hopefully, it will be easier than the Yoda crochet project I did years ago.
