Merry Christmas

It was a quiet Christmas eve. Although there were firecrackers, they were few and far between. Gone are the kids who do carolling at the start of the Advent season shouting with their merry voices accompanied by improvised tin cans.

It used to be when Christmas morning , you will see kids in their finery shouting namamasko po at your door accompanied by non-stop barking of the dogs. Maybe they are also afraid to go out because of the pandemic.

For Noche Buena, we had a simple fare of bibingka, puto bongbong, menudo, bagnet, roasted liempo and potato salad. Nissa, Obet and Nate will be coming over tomorrow to celebrate with us.

Merry, merry CHRISTmas every one.

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Just Counting

Cold nights started about a week ago. The fan now is always set in low. Jovy and Josef seldom switch the air con the past days. Days are sunny though and it’s windy in the afternoon.

We need to trim the carabao grass maybe before Christmas sets in. And I promised myself that I will wrap all those gifts as soon as the additional ones I ordered arrive. Yeay, Christmas is just fourteen days to go. I noticed that there are very few homes now in our street with lanterns and Christmas lights at night. I only have our little Christmas tree and the Christmas light at night for decor. Maybe, the pandemic has lessened the enthusiasm to celebrate the season. Let Christmas be in our hearts no matter how simple the celebration is.

I remember one of Obet’s nephews asking me a long time ago why I said “Happy Birthday Jesus” in my greetings on my wall so I just told him He is the reason that we celebrate Christmas. As I have always said, it’s the time the family gets together, enjoy those moments seeing each other and remembering Christmas past.

If I were to believe the latest reports, we’ll be quite safe to have a small gathering this coming Christmas. There are now very low cases of Covid-19 here in Metro Manila. How I wish I could visit my brother who is sick but the kids have work until the 24th. It is not safe to take a commute on your own. I miss those traditional sweets and recipes we usually cook in the province – binungey, puto bumbong, bibingka, suman, puto and dinuguan.

So many reasons to celebrate, giving thanks and welcoming the days with joy. MERRY CHRISTMAS🌲☃️🎄

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Here Comes November

October is about to end and November is coming.

These are those days where we think of family gatherings, clan reunions, office parties and even Kris Kringle this early. It’s that kind of activity where we exchange names, give gifts to the name we got and every day there is a motif until the reveal. It is always a joyful activity in the office.

These are those days where we start buying gifts for family and close friends. I did mine two weeks ago except for a gift for a godchild who is now in her teens. Not sure what to buy yet for her. Department stores start decorating and playing Christmas carols non-stop.

These are those days where we start thinking of what to prepare for Noche Buena and Media Noche. We do the grocery shopping early to buy those ingredients that appear like magic during the Christmas season. Fruits imported from other countries abound.

I wonder though how Christmas celebration would be like in another pandemic year. Positive cases of Covid are slowly moving downwards according to reports. They even predict that there would just be around 1,000 positive cases in a day. Are we finally winning over the enemy? We must not be complacent. There is no 50% yet of the population who were vaccinated. Others don’t trust the vaccines while other places don’t have enough of it.

Here we go, we have exactly 57 days to go before Christmas. There is this Christmas decor permanently fixed at Josef’s bedroom door. It’s been there for years and we let it stay there all year round…haha. However and whatever we feel about the season, let the Christmas spirit be in our hearts.

Nice touch Josef.

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Amihan

So we are now in the amihan season. Amihan refers to the season which is dominated by trade winds, cold northeast winds! A weather pattern which begins usually sometime in November or December until the month of May or June. It’s early now though being just October. The coldest months are January and February. Longer and colder nights, heaven.

I love the amihan more than the habagat or rainy season. I can garden better during the cold months. The former signals that Advent season is near, a prelude to Christmas.

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Add To Cart

Lazada.

Lazada Philippines is an online shopping site for electronics, fashion, appliances, baby needs, books, groceries and what have you. Even S &R is in Lazada too. Because of this pandemic, almost everyone is trying to avoid going out to shop, online shopping is better. Lazada is joined by several sellers, they have a minimal delivery charge for any item that you buy except cold cuts, meat and poultry which have higher charges because they deliver them on the same day that you ordered.

You can earn points buying at Lazada, for three times, I got three deliveries for free. They will be on sale again this coming September 9 (9-9 sale). Yesterday, I looked at the items that will be on sale come September 9. I m trying to find a gift for Nissa for her birthday this month and gifts for Nate on his 9th birthday in November. I have started listing items for the family to give as gifts come Christmas. You can drop them all at your add to cart then select later which to buy. There is that buy option which you can click.

Early this morning, I received another delivery which I ordered two days ago. I told the messenger, “malapit na September 9″. Really looking forward to it. He answered, “Christmas ma’am, malapit na rin”. We laughed.

Yeah, CHRISTMAS is just around the corner indeed.

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