Last Hoorah For 2019

Dear Lord, for all that has been, thanks. For all that will be, amen!

It’s the last few hours of 2019  and we will be welcoming another year in our midst. We may look at the fading leaves of 2019 as something we will always remember or something we may want to forget. No matter how it has been for all of us, it has taught us lessons in life. We may choose to ignore them  and start all over again.

I could now hear the occasional boom and bang of firecrackers.  Though there are only allowed firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices, some people are bold enough to use those classified as illegal. Every year, there is an increase of patients being brought to nearby hospitals because of firecracker accidents.  Our dog Noki is scared of fireworks. He cowers in fear when  they light the sky and noise is too loud. Josef gave him a bath last night so he could stay under the dining table  before new year comes. He usually stays at our garage or at the dirty kitchen, a guard dog.  This is Oreo’s second year with us and I am quite surprised that he is not afraid of the noise, he just barks.

All is set for 2020. Forget the New Year’s resolutions. Several years ago, I used to make a list but come February, they are usually ignored. I haven’t made any resolution  the past several years.  All I ask first and foremost is good health for the whole family, peace of mind, enlivened Faith, and being able to face everything that life brings – with courage. Happiness comes naturally when you have all these.

Let’s walk through 2020 with optimism, smiles on our faces  and hope for better and blessed days ahead.  See you all next year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

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Goodbye 2019

Sharing this lovely message before we say goodbye to 2019.

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New Year Countdown

One day, six hours  (Manila time)

May it be a happy, blessed, healthy and fruitful 2020 for all of us. Let us not forget the good memories of the past, live the present with joy, smiles, contentment, and laughter and look forward to the future.

Blessings to my family, friends and relatives and to all my online friends at WordPress.

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My Rosary Collection

This photo is for my friend Elizabeth who is curious about my rosary collection. I took a photo of them early this morning. I forgot to include the other two in my bags which I use when I go to mass.

I made the rose quartz rosary for myself and the St. Therese beads made of Hematite crystals. The two wooden ones are from my two priest friends, one from Rome and one from Jerusalem. The rose rosary is a gift from a friend, she gifted it to me when we had the grotto blessed nine years ago. The orange rose rosary is from Siena, another friend gave it to me. The two white pearls are from the Vatican, one was given by Fr. Lovell. The bracelet and ring rosaries were given by another friend who lives in Rome.  Lately a nun friend gave me another rosary from Jerusalem.

Before Nissa got married eight years ago, the three of us including Josef made rosaries as gifts for friends then Nissa made lots using Swarovski crystals as souvenirs for her secondary sponsors during her wedding. She even made the cord using different beads, she is so good at it. When one of her friends got married, she made a crystal jade cord for her and a matching necklace made of the same material. When her in-laws had their 50th wedding anniversary, she also made one.

Josef is fond of making bigger beads sometimes using wood, those you could display as accent on your bedroom wall.  Those were the days when the three of us were into crafting. We still have lots of materials left here but I got lazy to do more. I always get distracted finding new books to read. One of these days, I’ll make some to give to visiting friends.

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Random Thoughts Over A Cup of Tea

• Ah yes, no more coffee, it’s just a mug of tea.
• We were both in line at the cashier’s counter today, you only have one item in your basket so I said “go ahead”. You smiled and that started a lovely conversation. You talked about how you will celebrate New Year. I told you what I will prepare for Media Noche. We smiled then you said goodbye.
• There was this pretty  little girl at the pew of the Church where I was seated early this morning.  She kept looking at my rosary beads while we were both waiting for the mass to begin.  She smiled shyly and touched the cross of the rosary. If I’ve been carrying another one, I would have given it to her. Next time, I’ll resume making rosaries to give to friends.
• Fr. Lovell caught me on Messenger early this morning. I asked him if he is enjoying the snow in Vancouver. He sent photos instead.
• I changed my cover photo at  Facebook today.  It’s a picture of a lovely rose bloom that I posted here years ago. The caption says:

A single rose can be my garden…. a single friend. my world. – leo buscaglia

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2019 In Retrospect

It’s been a quiet year for me the whole of 2019.  Come to think of it, I haven’t attended any party with friends except for having dinners and lunches with the family.  Mom is getting on in years so I could not just leave the house for long when she is with us.

Except for that one week vacation in our hometown last July visiting my sick brother and bonding with some relatives, I haven’t gone any place else. It was an eye-opener too  for the family. Nissa was hospitalized twice when she had her thyroidectomy last September and her radiation therapy earlier this month. Thank God, she is feeling okay now although she has to take medications for life. Her oncologist removed her thyroid both left and right.  Thank you too for all your prayers and concern for my brother Alden and for Nissa.

I’ve been calling up friends via Messenger the past few days, getting in touch with those I haven’t seen for quite a while.  It is so nice to be updated with everyone. By the way, you can download the Messenger app on your phone or tab even without signing in to Facebook. How I wish I could talk to some of you too. It is now easier to communicate through this than through Viber. You can easily see who among your friends are online.

Some would probably think what a dull life I am leading. I assure you, I find pleasure in my small garden, so much joy in reading and discovering new books and authors. I am happy playing with Oreo. I find satisfaction in experimenting in the kitchen. Simple life for a simple me.

While I was playing with Nate last Tuesday, he showed me one of his front teeth which is now quite loose.  He will eventually lose it one of these days. Then we talked of the tooth fairy. I told him it is just a myth. He asked me what he would do with it once it comes off. I told him to just give it to his mom.  He doesn’t know where the first tooth  went but he was glad it was replaced by a permanent one.

I am now in my 149th read in Goodreads. I am presently reading a box set of four books. They are all light reads. These are relaxed days before the frenzy of meeting a new year –  new opportunities,  new dreams to uphold. I no longer keep a new year’s resolution since I could not follow it through but I always pray for good health for friends and all members of the family.

I hope 2020 would be a good year for all of us.

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It’s Finally Fixed

via It’s Finally Fixed

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Just Lovely

We had our twice-a-month marketing today. Timely preparation for the coming media noche. Costs of everything has gone up again. While almost every Filipino is struggling with high costs of commodities including basic goods, our rich politicians continue to amass wealth through corruption. Sorry, this is not what I want to blog about.

There is something wonderful about the giving qualities of my favorite vendors/sellers at the wet market. Every Christmas, they would give different gifts. Some gave me sturdy shopping bags, one gave me a recyclable grocery bag with zipper so you can fold into a wallet-sized one when you go out. I also received a hand towel from one of them. They may not be much for some people but it’s the thought that counts, right?

Cost of fruits have gone up again. I just bought two kilos of black seedless grapes and two pieces of honey dew. Come December 31, expect more mark-up on those different round fruits in the market. Filipinos have this tradition of serving twelve kinds of fruits during the new year. It is the only time in the year where you’ll find those fruits which are not necessarily sold during ordinary days.

I just hope 2020 will be a good year for all of us. HAPPY NEW YEAR in advance 🎉🎊💕🌷🍇🍎🍒

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Stat Counts

Yeay for dreams fulfilled, just reached 600,009 on my stats. 🌝💕✌🥰💗

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Closer To The Goal

In our language you call it “nangangapa”. I told you earlier this is a trial and error thing. Sometimes, I couldn’t even see the blog itself except for the latest blog post on my reader.

I need to log in via Google to see the whole thing. The app itself, I think is not enough. Considering that I need to take photos via this tab to be able to post them here, I may not be able to attach other photos taken from my CP. It takes better pictures than this one.

I just took a look at my total stats since I am dreaming of reaching a total of 600,000 by year-end. I need 90 plus more to reach it. I miss my PC, Josef is so busy he hasn’t taken a look yet.

I am closer to the goal, there are four more days to go before the new year.

My youngest brother from Tulsa are comparing notes on what to prepare for our Media Noche. He said prepare something sweet, something long like pancit, just a little of everything. I told him I’m gonna try lechon kawali. We still have embutido here which I cooked before Christmas and we haven’t touched the Christmas ham yet. Maybe a kilo of menudo too which I could prepare in advance.

In a few days, another leaf in the calendar would be lost. Let us all welcome 2020 with hope and prayers for a healthy life 🎊🎉💕🌝

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