Watched Mandalorian and Grogu

We watched "Mandalorian and Grogu" today at the cinema. I was so excited since it's a Star Wars film and we haven't watched any movie in the theater for awhile now.

We watched the series through Disney+, but watching Star Wars films are better on the big screen. You can see many more elements of the film and nuances of the characters when it's a huge screen.

I enjoyed the movie. It wasn't really connected to the series, so you can enjoy it even if you didn't watch the series. We watched a recap of the series last night since it's been awhile since we watched the series. You don't actually need to do that since the storyline stands on it's own.

I have to be honest though, story-wise I think the last season would have been better as a movie. There were some things I was expecting that didn't happen. It made me feel it was a step back from the story. I still enjoyed it though since I super love Grogu.

Go watch it!

#BeKind #StaySafe

What's the Most "MacGyver" Thing You Did?

I watched a short video about MacGyver this afternoon. My generation grew up with him finding solutions using things you can find at home. The clip mentioned that whenever MacGyver blew up stuff, the producers would always give an incomplete recipe, so that kids at home won't blow up their kitchens. 

I never tried any of the things MacGyver did on the series, but I definitely "MacGyver" (do DIY) on some things. Growing up, I was always excited when we had projects that involved building things. Back then you have to figure out a lot of stuff. I remember making a display box for a stone collection. In 5th grade, we were tasked to use bamboo to make a diorama bahay kubo. 

We had to build a lot of stuff with stuff you can find at home. You're lucky if there's a stash of craft cardboard you can use at home. I normally had to make do with old folders and shoe boxes. Nowadays, I usually experiment in my garden and sewing projects where it's safer to DIY stuff. Sweetie's most favorite tools are cable ties, haha. For me, it's bamboo and garden tie cables. 

Anyway, you can watch the clip about MacGyver, here.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Eat Fermented Food Everyday

Since I had a "relapse", I went through another round of tests last week. My infectious disease doctor was back from her vacation and saw me last Wednesday. Good thing I was feeling better and my pulmo also cleared me from pneumonia even though my chest x-ray was still hazy (more on that later). 

Anyway, I was luckily feeling better by Wednesday because my ID doctor said I may be confined again. Whatever it was that ailed my tummy again was gone from my system. I had slight fever also but paracetamol whisked it away. I wasn't given medication but was told to eat fermented food like atsara or kimchi to help rebuild my tummy's good bacteria. 

Homemade atsara :D

Good thing I like pickled veggies like atsara and I also like kimchi, so it wasn't hard for me to re-align my tummy. I also ate banana everyday to stabilize the potassium level in my blood since it was in low normal level. I actually felt much better after a few days of it and I'm now back to eating more seafood than meat. 

As for my lungs, I remember now why it was clear during my APE. I had been religiously using my spirometer for over a month before I did my APE. I will start doing that again since it's important to save the healthy part of my lungs. In the meantime, I'll keep eating fermented food everyday.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Assembling a Quilted Bag

I'm still working on my yellow bag. It's as big as this quilted tote bag I made back in 2021. I just want something that will bring sunshine when I move around. 

Read to quilt and assemble!

I've been amiss with editing my sewing vids. I've just gotten so lazy with editing and taking videos. One day I'll get to it. In the meantime, we'll celebrate my Dad's birthday today. He would have been 93 years old. 

Happy birthday Dad! We love and miss you!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Red Flags When Choosing an Architect/Contractor

It took us a long time before we finally chose an architect for our home project. We learned a lot in the past few years since we had a lot of stuff fixed in our current home. Here's a list of red flags from our experience:

1. The over eager supplier who blinds you with drawings and lay-outs.

2. The one who promises the moon, but under delivers. 

3. The one who cannot stick to the costings and you end up paying 2x more than the proposed cost. 

4. The one who ghosts you when you discover errors with their work. 

5. The one who cannot produce a proper contract.

6. The one who uses substandard materials that puts your family in peril.

7. The one you have to report to the city building official for not doing things right. 

8. The one who does not provide the right materials for their workers to do their job properly.

9. The one who says they'll set a meeting and then you bump into them in the mall during the supposed meeting date and time.

10. The one who doesn't have reliable contacts. 

These are just a few of what we've experienced the past few years. I probably have more bad experiences at the back of my mind. Next week, I'll write about how we chose our architect. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Rest and Recover

The past week has been really crazy.

Let's all rest, recover and pray for better days.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Finally! Heavy Rains

I suddenly woke up a little after 4 in the morning. I got up to use the toilet and strangely couldn't go back to sleep. A few minutes later it started to rain. 

I thought it would be short-lived, but it started pouring hard. Really, really hard for the next 3 hours. I checked the CCTV to see if the street was flooded. It wasn't. I was worried that our backyard was flooded. Luckily, our demand for the developer to fix the drainage issue was done. Our neighbor's rainwater and sewage wasn't flowing back to us anymore. Sweetie confirmed it in the morning.

My plants are really happy after getting drenched thoroughly. I was allowed to go out again today, so I was able to check the garden. The rain wiped away the stress from the heat. Everything was still and refreshed when I went around to say hello to the plants.

Thank you Lord for the refreshing rain 🙏

#BeKind #StaySafe

A Memory Triggered by This Week's Hullabaloo

With all the hullabaloo happening in our country this week, I started remembering a lot of childhood memories. It's weird, but the charged political issues happening today are reminiscent of the issues in the 80s. Add the rotating brownouts and it just feels like the 80s again. 

I just realized I'm about my parents' age now in the 80s. They were so protective of us and Tito Ben would always call us to stay put if there were any movements happening. That's why I missed a lot of classes in the mid to the late 80s (EDSA + coup d'etats). 

Late 80s/early 90s? Rockin' 'em teased bangs

Since my mind went back to the 80s, I remembered a few people who were (more or less) part of the off my childhood/memories with my parents. I mentioned to Sweetie that my Dad worked for GSIS for awhile. I remember Mom and I heading there to bring food for Daddy's birthday (that fateful day we experienced a gun pointed at us in Manila). 

I remember meeting Former Speaker Sonny Belmonte on that day. He said I was a very perceptive child because I noticed how rundown the office was (it was the old GSIS building and I was incorrigible even back then). Tito Sonny was my Dad's seatmate in law school (as well as Former Rep. Sergio Apostol). He wasn't successful in convincing my Dad to get into politics (my Mom made sure of it). [This is why I remember my seatmates].

Anyway, I just thought I'd write about this random memory since I'll probably forget about it eventually. My Dad went into government service when I was in elementary school. He always wanted to do that and only went into it when my siblings completed their degrees. His reached his dream to become a judge. He did and eventually moved on to other government agencies. It's probably why I took polsci and legal management. He hoped I'd become a lawyer. But alas, I followed a different path. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

GenX Guide to Surviving Brownouts

As a GenXer, I've experienced long periods of no electricity in the 80s, 90s and during typhoons and crazy flooding incidents. I remember waking up drenched in sweat as a child because there was no electricity. In high school, I finished reading Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo by candle light. By the time I was in college (university), I'd write reports on my Mom's Olympia typewriter by candlelight. 

Not having electricity for hours was just part of life. You just need to go with the flow. The difference now is a lot of gadgets that help you be more comfortable during power outages. We always worried about it because my health condition requires me to be kept at a certain temperature and the air has to be clean. Bad air quality is my kryptonite. 

We lost electricity last night for 3 hours. I was resting on the couch and watching the news when it happened. Here's what we have on hand that made the 3 hours bearable:

Emergency Lights

We have an emergency light that also functions as a radio. It was unfortunately not charged last night, so I instead used a Neewer video light panel. I installed it on a camera stand and focused it on the ceiling. I learned that trick when I was a child. Focus the light on the ceiling because it'll light up the room better. 

We also have other rechargeable lights (bulbs/flashlights), spotlights that can be powered by a power bank, solar lights, and a Firefly rechargeable light with radio. The solar lights we installed around the perimeter of our house proved very useful and our neighbor was surprised it would automatically light up whenever a cat passed by. 

Rechargeable Fans

We invested in Xiaomi rechargeable fans a few years ago. It has saved us a couple of times already. Just make sure you condition the battery so it lasts long. We also have Firefly rechargeable fans. It's smaller, but we each like to have a personal fan (this is Sweetie's favorite fan since he brings it around the house). Miggy and I each have a handheld Tylex fan. I got it three years ago and it's still working well.

Radio

We always have a battery operated radio on hand. Back when CCTVs were expensive, we would leave the radio on at home when we had to step out. Sweetie and I both grew up in households that would tune in to AM radio during power outages. We're both martial law babies, so it was always important to know what was happening. 

Sweetie got a walkman a few months ago from the Australian Surplus Shop in Muntinlupa. He couldn't find our old radio (plus the emergency light was dead), so he brought the walkman out and we listened to DZMM. At that time mobile phone signal was down, so having a radio proved very useful. 

Powerbank

Always have your powerbanks charged. We got an extra powerbanks for our go-bags. Sweetie had to use his go-bag power bank since he was still charging his everyday powerbank (we were at the hospital earlier in the day). I used mine to charge my phone to keep in touch with family/friends.

Portable Air Purifier (useful for those with asthma!)

My lungs are wrecked, so it's important for me to breathe in filtered air. As soon as the power went out I started coughing. The air quality has been bad the past few days. I brought out my portable Tylex Air Purifier and that helped end the asthma attack.

I'm curious to know how other generations deal with power outages?

#BeKind #StaySafe

Feeling Better

Ah, some me only time. The boys are running errands and they "parked" me at a cafe. The past few days was horrendous.

I caught another bug. It was bad enough I lost my appetite likely due to the medications I took, but catching another bug had me lose two kilos in a few days. Ugh.

We didn't want to be confined again, so I immediately did an e-consult with my infectious disease doctor. I was meant to see her anyway. She ordered some tests which I did yesterday. Most of the results were normal, although the radiologist said not to rule out pneumonia.

I saw both my pulmo and ID doctor today and they were happy with my test results. Pulmo ruled out pneumonia since I'm also up and about and I know how pneumonia feels. I won't be able to get out of bed if I had pneumonia.

I also finally had a full meal today. My doctor advised to eat fermented food so I could rebuild the good stuff in my tummy. I hope my recovery doesn't get waylaid again!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Yellow

Making myself something yellow.

What will it be?

#BeKind #StaySafe

Relapse

It seems I have relapsed :(

Waiting for doctor's orders for the tests.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Ugh

I don't know if it's the humidity or heat, but I don't feel well :(

Here are half of our cats waiting for their favorite person 😄 

Hope y'all had a good weekend.

#BeKind #StaySafe

Rice Water and Orange Peels

I read that you can add orange peels to rice water. It will reduce the smell of the rice water as it ferments and it adds nutrients to the mixture.

I tried it two weeks ago and it worked wonders while I was away. It worked well on the caladiums, bougainvillea plants I was propagating, and the pothos went crazy. 

Next time I'll add some crushed eggshells so it can add calcium to the mixture.

Hot and Humid

The weather last month was better. It's now hotter and more humid, so gardening has been difficult. 

Our cats have also been hiding a lot. Good thing I put some space between pots, that's where they hide to cool off.

My body feels like it's fried... Zzzz

#BeKind #StaySafe

Out of Sorts

I don't know if it's the heat or my body is slow to recover, but I'm feeling out of sorts today. O just rested since my head hurts and the rest of my body is uncooperative.

I watered some plants and the cats were all over me. That was a good reprieve. They always make me feel good. Mando even showed up to say hello. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Recovery

I've been home for a few days now. I got a bit scared the day after when I got home because I kept coughing for a few hours. It eventually stopped and I've been dry eversince. I guess that was my body getting rid of excess fluid in my lungs. 

My strength isn't back yet, but I'm slowly going back into my daily grind of watering my plants. I just do a section I can manage and the boys cover the sections I can't do yet. My appetite though isn't back yet, so I'm trying to eat my favorite food. My stomach was probably traumatized from food poisoning. The only thing it wants are fruits.

Meredith

The cats have been extra affectionate. They give me extra leg rubs and lots of slow blinks. I think about them a lot and they're a driving force to get me outside. We can't keep them indoors, so I go out whenever I want to play with them. They help calm me down. 

I hope my stamina will come back soon. I need energy so I can cook and tend to my garden. 

New Quilting Book

Sweetie surprised me with a quilting book he found at Booksale. It was surprisingly only PhP25! The past few times we went to Booksale, the craft books would usually cost Php65 to 130, so this was a treat!

The book features an interesting design which I've never tried. I'd probably skip making it if I just saw it online. I'm not so keen with designs with curves. It's hard. The only quilt I've made with curves are my cat bags. 

I think I'll try this out since it includes patterns I can trace. It also details how to put the quilt together. It will probably challenge my sewing skills. 

Have you tried this pattern?

#BeKind #StaySafe

May the Fourth

Be with you!

It's Star Wars day again! 

My stamina isn't back yet, but I managed to take photos of my Yoda and Grogu collection. Here it is -

I have a few new ones which I haven't put on display yet. Most recent one are the Grogu and Mandalorian mugs from Burger King. I'm so glad a friend told me about it and I managed to get it on the first day.

Hope y'all had a great Star Wars day!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Restful Sunday

Just rested the whole day, but squeezed in some time to check my plants and say hello to all our cats. I guess even Brimsley was worried. She sniffed me a lot.

Most of my plants were in good shape, but my avocado trees were quite sad since it didn't get watered last Saturday. I hope they'll recover. 

Have a blessed Sunday everyone.

#BeKind #StaySafe

I'm Home!

I really have a strange body. My doctors were baffled about my test results and they were on the fence about discharging me.

I was eventually discharged at 7 in the evening. Whew! I had pneumonia and acute gastroenteritis. I'll continue antibiotics at home. I will also be able to rest more at home since I won't get frequent visits from nurses to check my vital signs.

I'm grateful for the care and would like to thank my doctors, the nurses, phlebotomists, medtechs, housekeepers who took care of me. Of course, I'm thankful for Sweetie and Miggy for taking care of me everyday. And thank you to everyone who prayed for me.

#StaySafe #BeKind

Last Night at the Hospital?

It may be my last night at the hospital. It still depends on a test I have to do tomorrow. Hopefully, I get cleared to go home. 

Sweetie saw this unique view from outside my hospital room window. Can you guess what's the building outlined in yellow?

Here's a closer view -

The lights were only turned on tonight. Maybe because it's a Friday? A holiday? It's pretty though.

Sweetie said I'm getting back to my makulit self. That means I'm recovering well :)

#BeKind #StaySafe