Unfulfilled Promises

Hmm….it seems I could no longer duplicate the things I did back in 2011 when I joined WordPress’ Post A Day Challenge and I did it…..successfully.

Here I am again promising myself to post daily. I wish I could do it again.

Haha, I’ve been waiting for today and here it comes finally and I was not disappointed, I heard Jose Mari Chan belting out  A Perfect Christmas from a friend’s wall on Facebook.  I have always told you in my previous Christmas posts over the years that we have the longest celebration of the season. It might be different this year because of Covid-19, so many people are left jobless but we could still celebrate without much fanfare, right? The simpler,  the better. I don’t wish for expensive gifts this year but I wish for the presence of my family including Nate of course.

I made this out of the photo I took yesterday at the garden. It’s my blooming Bleeding Heart.

Despite this pandemic, we still have something to look forward to…..Christmas!

 

 

 

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Eight Days To Go

Nah, I am not counting the days till  Christmas, I am counting the days till September 1. And that’s eight days till September 1. Curious? I bet.

Our famous singer/composer. Jose Mari Chan would say, “I’m coming, I’m coming”. He is the first voice you’ll hear come September 1 because  music airlanes  somehow conspire to play his songs by then.  Jose Mari Chan is one of the famous faces of Christmas. Among his popular songs which they usually play on radios are Christmas in our Hearts and A Perfect Christmas.

Yes, the start of the BER month is coming. It’s the beginning of Christmas celebration here in the Philippines. Let’s forget Covid for a while.

Remembering those days in grade school.  At the start of December (we had Christmas break then), we would decorate some small tree trunks without the leaves and are usually painted white by our teacher. Back then, Christmas trees as we know now were practically unheard of in our school in  the barangay. Garlands would be crepe papers of red and green (those are the Christmas colors we knew then), stars that  we hung on the tree are from the silky inner wrappings of cigarettes cut into small stars with  ball thread. Art papers in different colors are also used for decors. You can make them into poinsettia flowers, ribbons, wreaths and what have you. Small boxes are wrapped to place on the tree branches while some bigger but empty ones are placed under the tree.

culled from the net just to show you how it was done.

Of course we had exchange gifts too at the last day before Christmas break. We had singing and dancing and sometimes declamation contests too. Usual gifts we received during those times were a pair of  face towel and bath soap, pencils, candies, toothbrush paired with a little box of toothpaste, and small things that a child of 7 to 10 would appreciate. Our teacher would bring a “bilao of bibingka” which we usually share after the program.

Those were the days. A simple way of celebrating Christmas but they were fun days too.

 

 

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The Twelve Days Of Christmas

So I am finally counting, it’s forty three days to go before the big day.

Do you know the meaning  and the symbolism behind the song Twelve Days of Christmas? 

Some of us are not probably aware of it. It is another one of those lovely melodies we play during the Christmas season, right? The 12 days of Christmas is the period that in Christian theology marks the span between the birth of Christ and the coming of the Magi, the three wise men. It begins on December 25 (Christmas) and runs through January 6 (the Epiphany, sometimes also called Three Kings’ Day). 

In our Catholic calendar, the Feast of the Three Kings was moved every first Sunday of the year, not usually January 6 as we previously knew.  So it ends on Sunday, January 5, 2020. Here is the true meaning of the twelve days of Christmas. CHRISTmas with Christ in it.

(Got  this from a post of a friend on FB). I posted something similar two years ago. Just a gentle reminder why we are celebrating Christmas. 

 

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Weekends Are The Best

Went to the mall again yesterday. I  bought some groceries, more ribbons  and  I am finally done with my Christmas shopping.  At last!

The Christmas clock says it’s 43 days  and  13 hours to go before Christmas. SM East Ortigas looks so festive and there was even a show for kids at the lobby of the mall. I enjoyed  looking around and finding those gifts I  would like to give to some friends this Christmas. I love the piped-in Christmas music. I think this is the best time to enjoy the season before  the shopping frenzy. Some are stocking up  on groceries too. If you would look at those families and people from all walks of life enjoying and eating at the many restaurants there, you would not even think that our economy  is going down the drain ( no thanks to the poor management of the present administration). Maybe some of them have already received their Christmas bonuses. Online, there are promos everywhere.

I love the glitters and the wonderful Christmas decorations in each store. I love the Christmas trees full of twinkling lights. I love the new items  displayed at their windows to lure shoppers. Window shopping is a nice pastime (sometimes).  You don’t have to spend your well-earned money left and right. The best thing is for you to have your shopping or grocery list and stick  to it. There are plenty of days more to check what you lack in your pantry before the big day.

Every Sunday morning before they go to mass, Obet and Nissa take Nate on a bike ride for morning exercise.   Those few hours of bonding and enjoyable moments.  Look at the world with a child’s eyes – the simplicity of things, enjoying the wind on your face, enjoying the ride. How lovely it is to feel free like a child again.

Morning exercise

Happy Sunday all!

 

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Christmas Celebration 2017

Christmas will always be a blessed and beautiful celebration of Jesus’ birthday. I have always said in my previous posts that no matter how commercialized the season has become  the past years. I will always look forward to it, creating more memories with family and friends.

We started it with a pre-Christmas lunch on December 24  since Nissa’s family did not spend the Christmas Eve with us because they had a family reunion (on her husband’s side)  yesterday.  It was a lovely celebration with Nate doing the entertainment dancing on top of the bed with a  beautiful music on Jovy’s  new sound link.  Got a new headphone from Josef and a lovely Casio wrist watch from Nissa.   I also got a lovely BPI planner from Nissa.  Josef gave Nate a simple cellphone  and he was so proud to say “call me”. There is actually no SIM attached but you can load one.  I know it is not practical to have a kid with cellphone at Nate’s age but it’s one of those one can play with. It is not even a touch screen  but there was a low-end camera  in it.

Christmas Eve was a quiet celebration with an occasional firecracker from some neighbors.  We cooked plenty of food and  there are still leftovers in the ref.  We attended Christmas mass early yesterday morning with Mom.  The usual native cakes, sweets, ice cream, salad and desserts were served at the table.  It was a dinner of pancit bihon, baked marble potatoes  and some leftover ham.  Last night, I found myself watching the group Pentatonix on YouTube listening to their Christmas albums with my new set  of headphone. The rendition cuts deep, I guess they were singing from the heart.  So many greetings and videos from friends all over and I haven’t finished answering them all  yet on FB.

 

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Looking Back

I can’t really say 2017 (which is about to end) is a busy year for me.   There were those days when I was able to meet  with friends but compared to the other years, it was kind of silent.  Mostly,  the days and months were spent with family, experimenting in the kitchen, catching up on reading a lot of books and gardening.  Listening to music was set aside for a while but it’s nice to listen now to the Christmas songs and carols. There was a time I would bring out my Christmas DVD collections as early as October every year but now I just listen to YouTube or at Josef’s Bose mini soundlink.  He has a  lovely playlist on his phone that he play every weekend when he is around.  I get to listen to new tunes and old ones as well.

The other day,  Josef asked me to give him a hint on what I want to have as Christmas gift.  I told him that whatever he thinks of giving is okay with me. They always say, it is not the amount of the gift but the thought that counts, right? I’ve always wanted to have a nice headset though that I can use when I am watching a movie or videos  on YouTube or listening to some music.  At the moment, I am using his Sony headset listening to Pentatonix.  Great music, wonderful voices.

I usually don’t post videos here but this is just too good.  I remember my favorite choir,  the  Gunther Kallmann choir. I have their DVD album and a cassette tape too but now I just listen  on  YouTube.

As for blogging, I gained new friends and followers but I reduced the number of bloggers that I follow. Some of them have been inactive for quite sometime and a few marked their blogs  private.

And it’s  4 days, 5 hours and 40 minutes to go before Christmas 🙂

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Now I’m Counting

♫♪And the thing that will make them ring is the carol that you sing
Right within your heart♪♪♫

Yes, my favorite time of the year is almost here.  Next Sunday is the start of the Advent season, the beginning of another liturgical calendar, a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the Nativity of Jesus.  I love the ritual of praying and watching the lighting of the first Advent candle, it signals the official start of the most joyous season of the year.

I am glad there is always YouTube to provide the music, I won’t have to take out all the Christmas CDs  which are usually mixed with other DVDs the kids have accumulated through the years. Listening to Christmas carols all day long, singing  along and belting out those familiar tunes and inspiring words. Truly, it warms the heart. I love the Christmas album of the Günter Kallman Choir, the cool voice of Johnny Mathis, the romantic way our very own  Jose Marie Chan sings his Christmas compositions, Jason Mraz’ version of Winter Wonderland and the Pilipino Christmas songs from way back which speak of how we Filipinos celebrate Christmas. The latter would make you dance, stomp your feet and sing the familiar Tagalog lyrics.  Talk of tinolang manok, lechon, salabat, bibingka, puto bungbong, hot tsokolate and such recipes and delicacies that you can only find here. The joys of meeting friends and relatives, the fun of watching little kids singing their versions of Christmas carols and shouts of “namamasko po” and your shouts of “patawad” because there are no more loose coins in your pocket.

Gifts are wrapped finally but I think I would have to make another trip to the mall for those I haven’t marked on my list yet. We have put up some Christmas decorations but don’t have the lights yet anywhere outside the house. And it is this time of year that I am sure Nate would love to celebrate with us. He is three years old now and can appreciate even small gifts that he receives. I love how his eyes light up and his whole face transforms into a smile while uttering a single word “wow”.

Hmmm….now I’m counting! Did I say there are twenty-nine days to go before Christmas?

 

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A Song From The Heart

When music inspires, the soul rejoices and the heart is happy.

Yesterday was one of those days that kept me a little morose. Being alone has its rewards, the interminable silence that keeps your mind wander  but there are times when you feel that you need to do something aside from talking to yourself and your three dogs.  My son called up yesterday and told me that he was really happy to stay in Boracay for a week.  “I know” I said, it is a much-needed break. They will be coming home tomorrow and I am excited to see him again.

Out of boredom (yes, I was really bored) I played Christmas carols on YouTube. Seeing the digitally remastered  Christmas album of Johnny Mathis made me smile. It made me remember my Dad when he was alive. He used to have this LP and it was a family favorite  and we would all look forward to listening to the album in our portable player every time Christmas season comes. It brought back lovely memories  of the past, nostalgic and magical.  I visited Hallmark channel too and checked all the uploaded full movies that you can just click and play. I found A Song From The Heart  which was worth the almost two hours  I was glued to the monitor. It starred Amy Grant, Keith Carradine and D. W. Moffett. Amy Grant is cast as Maryann Lowery, a blind music teacher. New Age pianist Gregory Pavan (D.W. Moffett) became romantically involved with the talented  Maryann and coaxed her to have an eye operation because he knew she had what it takes to be world-renowned concert cellist. Oliver Comstock  (Keith Carradine), is cast as a close neighbor who has always worshipped Maryann  from afar. I had a great time watching and listening to the music. And as if that wasn’t enough, I watched another movie (for the nth time,  I guess).  I read the book  The Promise when I was in college and watched the movie adaptation with my youngest brother during the mid-eighties. That  was back when Danielle Steel was such a very popular romantic novelist and some of her books were made into movies. I was curious if the movie which I loved thirty years back would still hold the same  fascination for me. It did. I  think the latter was the movie where I memorized the name of the characters, aside from another favorite movie Dying Young.  I accidentally found  the book version many years after watching the movie several times too. The movie adaptation was I think better than the book and I loved the music of Kenny G.

The power of music – it makes you smile, it makes you sing too but sometimes it makes you cry. “Music is the wine that fills the cup of silence” so says Robert Fripp. Do you agree? I do.

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