Purple Day At Ibarra’s Garden

“If I had a flower for every time I thought of you…I could walk through my garden forever.” – Alfred Tennyson

I can’t believe it’s almost a year now since my daughter’s wedding which we called Purple Day . Time flies certainly and in two months we’ll have our own bundle of joy! Nissa just texted and said she’s playing classical music to Nate and when she does, the baby turns  a lot in her womb and seems to say, “I like the music Mommy”. The wonderful world of the unborn, he probably knows that we are all waiting  to see him and we are praying  for his safety too.

Nissa shared and showed us the pictures they have chosen for their wedding album. And I simply love this shot, the two of them in front of  their wedding reception at Ibarra’s Garden.

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Do Surprises Make You Smile?

The other day, I had another chance to visit Booksale at Metro East mall when I went out to buy Mom’s medicines. Scouring bookstores is one of my favorite “me” times. Never mind that my eyes hurt a little after an hour of staring at so many book titles, it’s the joy of finding something you really don’t expect that puts a big smile on my face. Surprises never end.

I had a list with me because I would like to look for other books of Luanne Rice and Rosamunde Pilcher. Sometimes, in my haste to find a particular author, I always end up buying another copy.  There are authors and there are authors but after a while, you get used to their style of writing and you find yourself looking for more, explore some  of them and to your delight, you find someone whose writings make you want to read more.  And here’s a nice surprise, I found a copy of  The Christmas Box Collection by Richard Paul Evans, my favorite author. It includes the novels The Christmas Box (his earliest work, I think), Timepiece and The Letter. I used to have these three books , hardbound, but lost them all three years ago.  I seldom find his books in local bookstores here, tsamba, mostly. Anyway, I was also able to buy three books by Luanne Rice and a book my Maeve Binchy. I was looking for any copy of a Max Lucado book but I  was told they were  already sold out. Oh well, there will always be other future visits and who knows, another surprise is in store  like this.

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The State Funeral For Sec. Jesse Robredo

I watched this from beginning to end – the requiem mass, the 19 gun salute, Pres. PNoy’s eulogy/tribute  but Leni’s response as recorded in this video is the one I love best. He was an ideal father, an ideal husband, a  man who loved  his family and found time to be with them despite his being busy with his government post as Secretary of DILG. The President conferred  on him a posthumous Philippine Legion of Honor, with the rank of Chief Commander,  and presented it to his wife, Atty. Leni Robredo.

You can never put a good man down. He will always occupy a special place in your heart.

I salute you SEC. ROBREDO for making us so proud that good governance is not lost in our country. May this be a wake-up call to those government officials who only think of their own selfish motives instead of sincerely serving the people. It’s never too late to put into action what they promised to do and serve the Filipino people with sincerity just like you did.

(Thank you ABS CBN for sharing these videos).

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Today’s Quote

Sometimes, I  need only to stand wherever I am to be blessed – Mary Oliver

 

( photo credit goes to my daughter Nissa who took this shot at Capones Island)

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A Simple Prayer

Thank You for the gift of a lovely day!

Thank You for that little girl

who shyly smiled at me during mass today and said,

“Peace be with you”.

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A Prayer For Nathaniel Owen

It is always a welcome thing to see my daughter  and son-in-law during weekends. The few hours that we spend together more than make up for the days that we get in touch just through texts and phone calls. We had an early dinner or shall we call late “merienda”, I prepared spaghetti while Nissa made Panini bread with cheese.  When we are on the dining table, the topic seems to veer on food.  Kev says he hasn’t tasted nor seen a zucchini yet so he suggested to Nissa that it would be their first find on their next trip to the grocery store.  I told them we could try to plant them outside just like what we do with squash or pumpkins. Zucchini belongs to the family of squash, right?  I love zucchini and I always buy some when I chance upon them fresh from the market.

Nissa showed me the much-awaited  sonogram of our baby. At 28 weeks and a few days,  it is so exciting to see him inside Nissa’s womb and our conversation goes this way:

“He has your nose”, I told Obet  (my son-in-law) and he smiled.

“Thank God for that”, Nissa said adding “he has my lips”.

There is this standing  joke in the family that is always retold  with family members and close friends. Nissa was  a premature baby  because I got complications when I was pregnant with her. She was only eight months when my OB-Gynecologist induced her birth and at 3.9  pounds,  she was left at the hospital for about a month before we were able to take her home.  There was this oxygen attached to her and hubby said, “ang tangos ng ilong niya” meaning her nose  was not “pango” or flat as we say in Tagalog. It turned out that it was just the taped nasal cannula to make her breathe.

And I said, “maybe that’s the reason why medyo flat ilong mo”  and we all laughed.

Anyway, it is really so exciting to see baby  Nathaniel Owen and by God’s grace, we will welcome him to the world in two months. Nissa wants to call him Nate. Nice name, I said but we all laughed when we realized that his initials would be N.O.A.I. So how do you pronounce that? Nissa forgot to bring the DVD, we could have seen Nate move inside her womb. It is something more to look forward to, I just hope on their next visit, I would be able to see it.

I am praying hard everything would be okay when she gives birth in two months. We are all excited to see Nathaniel Owen.

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He Was Always Hurrying Home (A Commentary by Conrado de Quiros of PDI)

He was always hurrying home.

You learn the true value of a man when he is gone. This is a very good write-up on DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo  who passed on last August 18, 2012 on a sea mishap. He will be given a State Funeral according  to sources at  Malacanang  Palace.

We salute you Sir, you are a great loss to the nation.

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What Are We But Our Stories?

James Patterson, author of the acclaimed Alex Cross and Women’s Murder Club series writing  a love story? I was quite intrigued.  I was so used reading mysteries and fast-paced action by this author and was quite pleasantly surprised that he could also write a heart-wrenching, touching and emotional love story  like Sam’s Letters to Jennifer. An uplifting tale of friendship (between a grandmother and her granddaughter), love between childhood friends and our own  mortality and that of our  loved ones. This book shows that life is too precious not to live it to the fullest even at its darkest moments. I won’t attempt to write a review here.It is simply one great summer read.

One line in the book says, “what are we but our stories?”

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Rest in Peace Sec. Jesse Robredo

“Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” (Ps 23:6)

The nation mourns, because it lost a commendable and one of the finest servant- leaders it ever had.  You will surely be missed Sir. May our present servant-leaders emulate what you did for our country. Rest in peace and may your family find strength and comfort with the thought that you are one in a million, much-loved not only by your “kababayans” in Naga but all Filipinos as well.

(whoever owns this pic, thank you)

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My F430 Spider

Got my first Ferrari F430 Spider almost four years ago.  I wish……had I known that Shell sells them for a minimum gas purchase of P1,000.00, I would have collected the other Ferrari Models. It would be a good addition to my key chain collections. It is silver-plated, with gleaming wheels and with a Ferrari authentication number that it is an official licensed product. Wow….

Sorry, I was just dreaming…it is only a key chain…! And it is a prized possession in my key chain collections!

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