Reading Updates

I appreciate that I found the Goodreads app a few years ago. Based on my virtual library there, I have read around 1, 616 books. I’ve participated in their Goodread’s challenge the past six years. I am about 80% done with my challenge this year finishing 120 books so far out of 150 books I committed myself to read.

I just recently read The Tumor by John Grisham. A short take about malignant brain tumor, a far cry from the usual subjects he writes about. It is a fictional account of how a real, new medical technology could revolutionize the future of medicine by curing with sound – a focused ultrasound. I also found a new author in the person of Kathleen Grisson called Glory Over Everything, a historical book when Negros were sold as slaves in America. It’s an e-book that kept me glued. Though some fictions are historical, they are probably based on research about those earlier years.

Think about having wagons instead of cars as means of transportation. I have just started Water for Elephants, a popular book that I keep postponing to read.

There is a Goodreads page on Facebook and that’s where I find titles I am curious to read. Sometimes, there are many short reviews about one particular book that I have read before or some titles that I have seen for the first time.

Reading is such a wonderful hobby, it takes you to places you haven’t been to.

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What Life Is

Good morning blogger friends!

I woke up around 3am and could no longer sleep so I just waited for Josef to leave the house at 5am. He still works from home Thursday and Friday, same with Nissa but on different days.

I know, I am neglecting blogging. It used to be when I miss it when I don ‘t blog at least twìce a week. I told you before that I joined posting a blog a day back in 2011. I lost my badge somewhere. And when you blog every day, even such mundane things like writing about what you had for breakfast, lunch or dinner is worth-sharing. I think I am really growing old, I’ll be turning 66 in a few months. Would that be worth-celebrating? I think so even if my body is beginning to give up on me. Pains, unexpected laboratory results that I worry about. I’ve been through so many things – two major operations, chemotherapy, kidney bypass and the like. Still and all, I am still here standing tall. My kids and I have gone through twenty years without the hubby by our side except for one month every two years for vacation. He worked in KSA. I acted as the tatay con nanay of my two kids. He came home ten years ago only to leave us again for good for another woman. I’d like to think that I was strong enough facing these life’s challenges.

Every day is quite different, sometimes I feel sad, at other times exceedingly happy. I was even more elated when Nate came into our lives. Nowadays though, their monthly visits were cut short because of Covid-19. Nissa and I thrive on daily conversations on Messenger and occassional hi and hellos from Nate and Obet. The last time we saw each other was when my brother Alden died three months ago.

I still enjoy gardening but I could no longer trim the carabao grass because I feel exhausted after a few minutes cutting the grass so Josef is always to the rescue. I am glad though that I was able to transfer some of my plants in new pots. It still rains here every day. I hope September won’t bring too much rain that would cause flooding.

My stash of e-books are filing up. Right now, I am reading some books by James Patterson. Hopefully, I’ll finish the Goodreads’ challenge well and good by December.

Dawn is beginning to show a bright morning. Daily chores are at hand. Bye bye for now.

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Another Weekend

There’s that trigger again reminding me to start another blog post. I feel so lazy. I haven’t visited WordPress in a while.

I had a conversation with a friend from Canada (there were four of us when we were in college). Grace met an accident last Easter Vigil, had multiple pelvic bones fractures surgery which was not successful so she had a hip replacement surgery. Then she got infection in her gall bladder so she went under the knife again. Among the four of us, she is the only one who was not affected by cancer. All three of us had it, the two with breast cancer and me with colon cancer. Three survivors. Grace introduced me to their parish priest who also blogs about all of his homilies. I visited his site and left a few words via e-mail. He answered, how nice.

Last January, Sr. Thea, an FMM nun, told me that she was diagnosed with lung cancer this time after several years of being free from it. I don’t know about Precy since we haven’t gotten in touch for so long now. She changed her cellphone number.

Grace told me to be gentle and allow myself to grieve. Sometimes though, I still feel so low and couldn’t think of something nice to blog about. But I read, I am on my 82nd book this year. I found a book with Japan as the background during the 15th century. Just started so I don’t know yet if it is worth-reading or not.

I was laughing finding this on my newsfeed except that I no longer use a library card. I mostly read e-books nowadays and have my virtual library at Goodreads.

Another image the words of which I find provoking but it’s true. I remember a friend who told me once that the journey to life is not always a straight path.

Have a beautiful and peaceful weekend😘☺💐🌷🎉🎈🎊

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Thank God It’s Friday

Hey friends, I am back after almost a week of not even visiting WordPress until now.

It is summer here now and it is so hot. We are due for some house repairs and supposed repainting but then again I am so lazy to contact a carpenter to do the job.

Alden is in the hospital at the moment. He had colonoscopy yesterday and ultrasound this morning. They will probably go home this afternoon. They are renting a room for my niece who serves as their runner when they need something from outside the hospital. He is in a three-bed ward so only one companion is allowed. He had to have another blood transfusion before his scheduled colonoscopy. I am praying he could recover soon. Please pray for him. Thank you so much.

I don’t think this is funny. VP LENI was interviewed a few days ago and they asked her about her favorite book. She said To Kill A MockingBird then went on to explain why. She was influenced by it on becoming a lawyer. Those detractors who don’t even know the title of the book bashed her again saying that she didn’t answer the question. She did but knowing how they seem to be all-knowing, they probably thought that To Kill A Mockingbird is not the title. It is just so annoying that these pretenders don’t even know a good book. If you are a reader, you remember the story and the title of the book which is your favorite, right? Which reminds, I like to reread that book one of these days. I don’t know where my copy got to.

Talking of being lazy, I finished three books by David Baldacci lately, The Fix, The Fallen and Long Road to Mercy. They are all so captivating. Enjoyed the read. I am doing some spiritual readings too for Lent. Watched a new episode of the Fourteen Stations of the Cross at the Hundred Islands in our province in Pangasinan.

By the way, today is April Fools Day and I am again reminded of the song The April Fools.

In an April dream
Once you came to me
When you smiled I looked into your eyes
And I knew I’d be loving you
And then you touched my hand
And I learned April dreams can come true

Are we just April fools
Who can’t see all the danger around us
If we’re just April fools
I don’t care, true love has found us nowLittle did we know
Where the road would lead
Here we are a million miles away from the past
Travelin’ so fast now
There’s no turning back
If our sweet April dream doesn’t last

Are we just April fools
Who can’t see all the danger around us
If we’re just April fools
I don’t care, we’ll find our way somehow
No need to be afraid
True love has found us now

There you go. HAPPY APRIL 😘🌷💐🛻🌞

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When Monday Comes

Let me see, it’s been almost a week since my last post. Nothing new, just sometimes so lazy to write. I didn’t even visit my reader feed. Sorry about that online friends. I hope you are all doing good.

The weather here is like summer now. It’s hot during the day and still a little cold at night. I have to water the garden twice. The soil gets dry easily. Anyway, there is always joy pointing the water hose on my face and feet in between watering the plants. Our three pups like frolicking in the garden when I am there. There is one more to go this week to another friend and officemate of Jovy. Saddie and Max are all we are keeping, the litters of Lassie. They were the last two to be born.

This is Saddie, a female. Look at her nose, eyes and ears, they are light brown. Could not take a shot of Max, he keeps running.

Another blessing. Got my share of cash dividend from Union Bank credited to my account last week. Good enough for three or four months of grocery, yeay! The wonder of having small investment in blue chips. It is nice to hold it long-term.

I am on my 31st read this year, a true story about child abuse. Third book I read about parents abusing their children, so hard to read actually but I am learning so many kinds of abuses.

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Saturday, Saturday

It’s almost a week now since my last post here. I have to submit to SSS several copies of mom’s photo holding a current newspaper before they were satisfied. Finally yesterday, I received an e-mail that they processed the renewal of Mom’s pension. She is a survivor pensioner so we have to renew it every year just to let them know that she is alive and kicking. She complains about being nervous when she wakes up and this morning she said that her one eye could not see. Otherwise, she is still healthy for her age of 92 going 93 by April. She complains that she could not go out. It’s been three years since she arrived back here. Alden could not fetch her because he is sick. My other brother who lives close by cannot drive yet because he had brain operation a few months ago. I am the only one who could take care of her.

I joined the 2022 Goodreads Reading challenge and committed myself to read 150 books this year. I am done with four. I am never in a hurry though. I choose those new authors and discover what they have to offer. Last year I was able to finish 144 books, an eclectic mix of historical, contemporary, memoirs, one YA book and a couple or three love stories. Here are the books I have rated ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐.

A Winter Beneath The Stars – Jo Thomas

Evergreen – Belva Plain

Redeeming Love – Francine Rivers

What The Wind Knows – Amy Harmon

Knight in Shining Suit – Jerilee Kaye

Long Walk To Freedom – Nelson Mandela ( a memoir)

Cold Mountain – Charles Frazier

The Orphans Of Race Point – Paltry Francis

These are just some of the few titles I enjoyed reading last year.

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It Was A Busy Tuesday

For the fourth time since this pandemic I have to go out again yesterday to get an additional form for mom’s renewal of her Social Security survivor’s pension since it is nearing January 16 which is the date of Dad’s birth.

I was able to contact SSS Cainta branch manager via e-mail. According to him, their branch is already closed since November last year. I have to go to another branch to get the non-remarriage/no co-habitation form, an additional requirement. Mom could no longer write her name so I bought a stampad ink months ago for her thumb marks.

I e-mailed everything, such gargantuan requirements. SSS just want to make sure that the pensioner is still alive.

Speaking of booster shots, I am in a quandary whether to get one. According to a friend whose son lives in Saudi Arabia, they are on their second booster there. Would this be endless meantime that it is in experimental stage? We had about more than 5,000 positive cases yesterday and according to our health department, there are already 7 cases of the Omicron variant. Sometimes, their reports are no longer believable.

Right now, I am on my third book. I joined the 2022 Godreads Reading Challenge. Yeay for 150 books.

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