What Happens When You Ignore Your Cacti

I got very busy with other plants and it's been almost a year since I properly tended to my cacti. It started with just a few pieces Ate Rose gave me back in July 2022. They looked like this by August 2023 -

And how they looked in November 2024 -

I re-pot them once a year. I moved them to a sunnier spot almost a year ago and water them once a week. One thing about cacti and succulents is they're very low maintenance. They're best left alone. Just top it up with some perlite once a quarter and they'll be fine. 

I was so busy re-potting Mom's other plants, so this is what happened in a year -

Looks like this will be my year-end project!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Tried the Taco Bell Mix

We chanced upon a pack of Taco Bell taco mix at a grocery store and just had to try it. The nearest Taco Bell store is at least 45 minutes away, so this was a good opportunity to have it at home. 

It was very easy to make. Just saute some beef with minced onion and then add the Taco Bell mix. I let the boys do the slicing and grating of the other ingredients. To be honest, we found it easier to use the taco cups than the regular taco shells. Either way, you can just break it and eat it as a salad. 

Here's how we made it at home:

One thing we added to the taco is homemade pickled onions. My friend makes it, but she lives far from us and rarely delivers in our area, so we just made some. I even got some powdered red beets to complete the pickles. 

Now I want to have this again, soon!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Throwback Thursday: Mom's Last Birthday with Dad

We celebrated Mom's birthday the other day. We did her favorite things to do: go to the bank, eat comfort food and did groceries. I took a look back at how she celebrated it 15 years ago. I realized it was the last time she celebrated when Dad was still around. Little did we know, we'd lose him a month after. 

Mom always loved having friends around. She had a gazillion friends from our neighborhood. I was looking at our photos and realized we also lost some of her friends the past few years. It's sad to also lose the extended titos and titas you grew up with. 

It was also the last Christmas we were complete. Both Ate and Kuya came home to celebrate Christmas together. We were never complete after that and had fragmented Christmas celebrations. Kuya and I would even have Mom celebrate Christmas with me in Singapore and she'd do New Year in Jakarta. Mom always complained she didn't want to leave her plants alone, haha. 

Mom wouldn't want us to mope around especially for celebrations, so we made it a point to celebrate. Aside from eating a good meal, we also did her favorite things. We went to the bank and did groceries. Mom took care of the plants for the day and it rained enough to hydrate the plants properly. Ahh, she would have been pleased. 

Happy birthday Mom! We miss you! Today we'll also celebrate Sweetie's Mom's birthday! We have another excuse to celebrate!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Leg is Healing

I had my seventh physiotherapy session yesterday. I can now really feel that my knee and ankle are healing faster.

Two-thirds of my PT time is spent on machines. The physiotherapist used electricity in my knee and ankle twice, then she does ultrasound therapy, and I'm not sure what the other machine is called. It compresses my whole leg with air.

A third of my time is allotted for exercise and icing. I was a bit cold yesterday and fell asleep while the physiotherapist was working on my leg. LOL! Next time I'll bring a jacket and not just a shawl. 

Anyway, I'm glad my leg is improving. I'm able to use my right foot now to lift the foot rest of my wheelchair. It used to be so painful before. Now, I'm able to do it. I also tried to walk around the grocery by holding onto my wheelchair. I had to take breaks in between, but I think the issue for that is now my stamina and my listless lung power. I'll go back to pulmo rehab once I'm done with physiotherapy.

Happy healing 🤗

#BeKind #StaySafe

Making a Snowman

Moving in now to make a new cover for my food processor. I found a cute snowman design on Pinterest and after figuring out the measurements I thought it would be a perfect fit for my food processor.

I like the "autumn" colors used on the Pinterest. It took me awhile to find the perfect fabric for it. I hope I get it right. Gotta improve on my quilting skills!

#BeKind #StaySafe

My Forever Iron

If I remember correctly, Sweetie and I received on our wedding day about 4 or 5 irons. I remember I gave Mom one and shared the others with relatives. We just kept two.

There's one I've been using since I moved to Singapore. I think I got it in late 2011 while I was still in the service apartment. It was heavily used from 2016 onwards when Sweetie and Miggy moved to Singapore. 

And, it moved back with us and I still use it for ironing. Sometimes I wonder if it's time to upgrade. The practical side of me says no since I haven't had any issues. I only had to change the foam on my ironing board when we moved back because it had degraded already.

What's your forever gadget?

#BeKind #StaySafe

Happy Harvest Day

It's my fourth try at growing bell peppers at home. I planted the seeds from a salad I made a few months ago. My other trials failed due to pests. One batch grew big and was suddenly overcome by fungus. Another batch was overtaken by aphids. Ugh.

Since I got some plant stands from my childhood home, I decided to put the pots of bell peppers on it. I also surrounded it with companion plants that help ward off pests. 

It so far worked and a couple of bell peppers have been growing. They're small since the pots are small. I'll have to re-pot them and see if I can get bigger peppers. 

I'm happy this batch is so far successful. Let's see if I could grow more!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Kalachuchi (Desert Rose) Seed Pods

Almost a month ago, I noticed my kalachuchi plant produce "antennas". I found it strange since I've never seen any other kalachuchi plant produce antennas.

After some research I found out it's a seed pod. The pod was very firm and it started to dry up after three weeks. I read you're supposed to cover it so you don't lose the seeds to the wind.

When the pod started opening I thought it was time to cover it. It wasn't fully opened yet, so I thought I had time to find a suitable cloth cover.

Nope, the next day the pod was fully open and all the seeds were gone! Whoopsies! I hope they sprout wherever the wind brings them. 

Now I know, next time I have to cover the pods early so I don't lose the seeds.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Proof I've Moved on from My Favorite Boy Band

Last night I got curious when YouTube sent a notification about my annual recap. The recap showed my top interests, top channels I watched and favorite music I listened to.

My top interests truly show how much my life has changed in the past 5 years. It's mostly about cooking, home improvement, cats and the occasional travel videos to see what we can do if we can figure out how to care for our cats while away (we've been stuck at home for a couple of years now, LOL).

I honestly didn't spend much time listening to music. I only get to do that when I'm re-potting plants and remember to tell Google Nest to play me some music. However, this year I started to like SB19. I find their music fascinating and have made the effort to memorize their names! The last time I did that was for Menudo, hahaha. I did for Backstreet Boys when we watched their concert in Singapore, but I don't really watch their videos unless it's suggested.

Well, surprise-surprise! SB19 is my top artist watched for the year. This goes to show that I've truly moved on from Menudo being my favorite boy band. Hahaha. Don't ask me though who I like best among Pablo, Stell, Justin, Ken and Josh. It changes on a daily basis. 😂

Goodbye Menudo, hello SB19!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Missing Taiwan

Ten years ago I started visiting Taiwan frequently for work. It somehow felt like home when I stepped out of the plane. I realized later on it must have been where my paternal grandmother came from. She had eloped with my grandfather, but passed away when my Dad was just a child. 

I showed her photo to some locals and they said she looked like someone from Taiwan. Her maiden last name was common they said. We could have done some more research, but since my grandma eloped we didn't know much about her family.

Anyway, what made it really feel like home was how the food tasted. I sampled a lot of food which was like how my Dad would cook. I can never forget that hole in the wall where I ate with some teachers. The food was heavenly. 

I never had a decent photo at Taipei 101, haha. I loved going to the office there since you get a great view of the city. I also got to experience it being enveloped by clouds. It was a different feeling. I'm just glad I never experienced an earthquake while in the building.

Ahh, someday when I'm better, I hope to visit Taiwan again.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Investing in Health

We've been working on our health the past few months. Since I was scheduled to do physiotherapy, we took the opportunity for the boys to be checked further since they've been taking maintenance meds.

Prevention is better, so the boys both saw an endocrinologist, nutritionist and dietician. It's an overhaul for our lifestyle since we're all not getting any younger. 

Miggy is enrolled in the exercise program and has been required to walk more daily. We decided to invest in a treadmill. It will be more economical than enrolling in a gym, plus both Miggy and Sweetie can use it everyday. The stationary bike is mine, but I'm not allowed to do heavy exercise for now. 

We canvassed across a couple of stores and found a suitable and cost effective one at Olympic Village. The staff was very knowledgeable. They also came the next day to unbox and install the treadmill. 

Cheers to healthier living!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Made a Santa Yoda KitchenAid Stand Mixer Cover

I've been eyeing to use a Santa Yoda grid design I saw on Pinterest for awhile now. I originally planned to make it a throw pillow case, but decided to use it for a new cover for my KitchenAid stand mixer. I decided not to do it by square to save some time. 

I missed sewing by hand, so I prepared to sew it whenever we had waiting time during our appointments. Good thing I did it that way because I realized I couldn't sew by hand continuously. My hand and wrist would hurt. It took me a two weeks to finish Santa Yoda. Completing the rest of the project took a week more.

Here's how I made it:

I realized I should make my kitchen covers "season generic", so I made the other pocket plain. I can just switch it around after Christmas. I'm sure it will take me time to find my other covers to replace it again, haha. I hope to make a pink set for Valentine's. It'll be cute!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Hosting an Impromptu Merienda Party

We were supposed to have a get together for my birthday. I had to postpone it because of my knee injury. My friend pinged me the other day and asked if we were free on Sunday. I said yes and then crammed the preparations.

I didn't worry about preparing since we planned to do potluck. It was just for merienda, so we didn't need to plan a heavy meal. Having home parties gives me the opportunity to get the food locally. Here's where I ordered:

Pasta, lumpia and leche flan from MCP Flavors

Private barista coffee by Love & Latte (ping me if you want to inquire)

Turon from our neighbor who sells everyday 

Other drinks from a small grocery

Also prepare:

Plates

Forks and spoons

Drink ware

Serving spoons

Extra chairs

Mom thought did it better than me. She always had something to offer even when she had surprise guests. In time I'll learn :)

#BeKind #StaySafe