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Archive for October, 2015


Yes, you read it right. I have just updated all my blogs at WordPress. You may click the links and be updated too, if you have the time to visit, that is. I will surely appreciate it very much.

I created another blog sometime last March but I have only updated it after a few months. This morning, I finally finished customizing it using the Mystique theme. I love uncluttered and clean lines in a blog so it took me so long to find a free theme to my liking. It’s still a work in progress.  When I get to consume my remaining free 30% for Dreams and Escapes, I’ll switch to that new blog but will post now and then for updates.

May I invite you to visit Dreams Never End and follow it too? Would love to see you there. Thank you so much.

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59th birthday

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I was watching an early morning show on baking and I was impressed with the quick and easy way they bake desserts. I am for simple recipes that I could make in less than an hour and which does not need too many ingredients. I have a favorite site that I watch when I am not too busy with household chores, they make baking so easy and enjoyable. I checked the pantry and I was lucky to find ingredients for raisin cookies. I hope Nate would love this when they come over tomorrow for a visit.

Raisin cookies1

 

Raisin cookies2

You may find the recipe here at this site.  These are larger than those in the recipe since I used an ice cream scooper instead of a tablespoon.

 

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My cousin posted this on her FB account, a picture of the bridge going to our barangay in the province. The river is overflowing and so many people in some areas and barangays are trapped in their homes needing immediate rescue.  I talked to my brother early this morning and he said that they could not go down  to the town proper and cross this bridge to buy drinking water since their water supply was also cut-off due to the massive and destructive flood which has not yet subsided until now.  I could no longer contact anyone there. Our barangay is high up the mountain so luckily they are free of flood but they need help with food supply and potable water. It’s a good thing the governor has put up a page asking for list of places in the whole province where rescue is needed.  Our town have so many barangays submerged in water.  It reminds me of typhoon Ondoy, the pain and heartaches of losing lives and properties, the hardship of going back to your home which was full of mud and the price of renovating – replacing  cabinets, repainting walls, cleaning everything and disposing appliances and hundreds of books  and mags which were flooded. We have opted for built-in cabinets which won’t topple down in case of flood or earthquakes.

They need help ASAP.

PataR

The bridge is as high as a four-storey  building from the floor of the river so you can just imagine how high the flood water is.

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5am. I woke up to a gentle breeze blowing from my window.  It is so uplifting to feel the wind on your face, no longer threatening, no longer gusty. I am praying for those who were deeply affected by typhoon  Lando – flooded areas, submerged homes and it will take a long time before you can forget something this devastating.  The aftermath is more damaging, it’s like starting all over again but with deep faith, life has to go on. This gives life’s meaning, battling the storms in one’s life and emerging cleansed and victorious. I am reminded of a few lines from a lovely song, walking through the storm and holding your head up high.

♫♫♪When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don’t be afraid of the dark
At the end of the storm
There’s a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark♪♪♫♪

You’ll never walk alone.

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Coming to this

I learned  that

Life ought to be lived

The best you know how.

Just sometimes –

You swim not knowing

when to reach the shore

But flowing with the tide

Has its rewards,

A rich blessing of

Coming to terms with yourself

Once more.

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It’s been some years since I did this. I have planned to do a third part but I didn’t just have enough time to go over my previous blog posts and do it again. WordPress says that my latest entry was my 1,724th post, add that to some random writings that I deleted because they were too long. I must admit, 500 to 600 words are the ideal length which are convenient to read, beyond that, it gets a little boring unless of course you are writing a short story, but that’s just me talking. We each have our own style of writing and our own subjects to write about that you can’t just limit them to short paragraphs.

Four years ago, I painstakingly summarized a line or two of some of my earlier blog entries and posted links for easy access.  This is the third part. Let’s see how this goes. Just click the links to read the full posts.

It’s never too late to dream of something that would lift up your soul. It’s never too late to weave dreams again and make it a reality. Who says you can’t write about your journey towards happiness?  Who says you can’t share the times you felt so low but  still can smile?  We must treasure moments like these, those times when an old dream emerges as something new, dressed in hope and faith, a promise of a new day. Going Back To Old Dreams.

There is something so nice about waking up in the morning to the sound of bird songs and the fresh touch of raindrops barely hanging on the leaves.  It magnifies the soothing color of green all around.  I’ve always dreamed of taking  pictures of raindrops. I love those crystal clear water captured in photographs. Maybe this is how poets see the beauty of a morning after the rain – the sudden burst of color, the green countryside, the fresh dew of the morning.  If I were a poet, I would paint them all in different colors. That’s how we see life sometimes, we associate how we feel with colors. Color me happy for today. I see everything in a bright rainbow shade.It Rained Last Night.

One hello is worth a thousand goodbyes.I Love Sundays

Being alone does not mean that you are lonely, it just gives you ample time to do things at your own pace and leisure. Sometimes, solitude gives us that perfect excuse to just be. Solitude.

Life is good. It is an interesting pathway of several journeys. Christmas In June

I guess writing is sometimes synonymous with befriending silence.  When you write, you are alone in your thoughts. When you write, you are listening to the silence in your heart. Befriending Silence.

Do you think first impressions last? I do believe that a possible friendship begins with the first word you utter. And I do believe that sometimes, just sometimes, first impressions last.Oh Me, Oh My

And when you are presented with life’s choices, just live each day as though it were your last.Life’s Roadblocks.

Last night, I had a long chat with Lovell over the phone and he asked  how I am. I told him I had bouts of urinary tract infection lately. I was struck by what he said that God must love me so much to entrust me with all these  pain and sufferings because He knows I can carry them and I have enough faith to go through life without being bitter about it. My answer was simply this, ” I lift everything to God and I am offering it all to Him.

There are times when tears flow when I think of  the days I went through the past two years. I am lucky and  I am blessed that God gave me a second chance at life.  Everything is grace. Moment of Truth.

How one acts in public speaks so much of one’s personality. Do you agree?Life As I See It.

Do we freely give our time and effort without counting the cost? Because this to me is a perfect example of being generous. A Bit Of Laughter, Here And There.

2011 – the year when I dared to join Post A Day challenge.

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Exactly five years ago I wrote my first post with this title so this makes it part 2. Never mind, this would just be in the same format as the first one I wrote long ago. Remind me of the happy times and my heart jumps with joy, nothing exceptional but just simple things that make me smile.

  • got my first birthday greetings from Bank of PI a week ago and I smiled at the thought of another birthday. Let me see, I’ll be turning 58, 59, 60 in two weeks, though I don’t plan to have a birthday party, I still look forward to the day.
  • Nate’s shouts of  “I love you Nonna” when he is in the mood to talk to me over the phone and I treasure the days that they come over to visit us, when the quiet becomes shouts of laughter and excitement. He loves seeing our three dogs, even calling them by names but when they come near, he is afraid and hides himself behind me.
  • Nate’s urging for us to visit the garden so he could pick  calamansi to bring home. Never mind that he loves to pick those which are still in their buds. He would always say, “ang bango bango” while enjoying the lemony scent of the tiny flowers.
  • the joy of seeing another bloom of my Gardenia though it’s quite a little late for its flowering season.  I usually enjoy the scented flowers during the months of May and June.
  • finding the fifth book of Richard Paul Evans. I have waited so long to read the last series wondering how it would end. It was one joyful ride, love always triumphs in the end.
  • the surprise little gifts from Nissa, she is so thoughtful that way. Lately she gave me a L’Oréal matte pressed powder and two big bottles of body lotion and I was like, “how did you know I need them?”  She simply answered “basta”.
  • enjoying a hot cup of coffee while staying in the garden and waiting for the day to bring another surprise, a bloom maybe or something that I could take a photo of.  I just planted my first blackberry seeds three days ago. Wish me luck that they would grow into seedlings so I could transfer them to a sunny spot in the garden.
  • learning to bake an upside-down cake. This was my favorite when I was in high school and I found a simple recipe on the net that was worth a try.
  • finding more online friends through this blog and enjoying all the blog posts on my reader. Having a steady number of visitors and views a day really make me smile.
  • seeing one of my favorite senators Kiko Pangilinan (I only have three among  the twenty-four) personally yesterday when Josef and I visited the 1st National Pork and Egg Festival  at Megatrade  Hall. He used to be one of our Dept. of Agriculture secretaries but he is now running for another seat in the Senate.  I love his sense of humor and the stories he shared while tending their farm in Cavite.
  • an early e-mail from a friend, another advance birthday greetings.
  • finding new books to read but  of course, that’s a given. Books are my best friends 🙂

Maybe, just maybe when I turn 59, life would give more surprises, something more to smile about, something more to be grateful for and  more blessings for the family.

Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life – Omar Khayyam

This is my 1,724th post. How cool is that?

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Roxas Blvd.

This is Roxas Blvd. after the rain this morning. A moment caught on cam. And you’ll wonder what was that lone runner thinking while traversing the long highway? Where are those ships going to?

Silence is the language of the morning. And that beautiful drawing  up in the sky, it’s nature at its best.

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Did I read the sign right?

Toilet Out of Order, please use floor below.

In A Laundromat: Automatic washing machines, please remove all your clothes when the light goes out.

Message on a Leaflet: If you cannot read, this leaflet will tell you how to get lessons.

On a repair door shop: We can repair anything. (Please knock hard on the door, the bell doesn’t work.)

Smile 🙂

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