I Love Sundays

The three are still asleep. I have been awake since 6am, attended an early morning online mass, cleaned the house, watered the plants and did a little grocery shopping at Alfamart just besides the subdivision gate. Sundays are relaxed days, supposedly, right?

My goodness, it’s almost the end of January and I only have thirty five pages of slow reading and reacting to the words written in the book called Ten Poems To Open Your Heart. I am no longer used to small prints since I could enlarge the font of the e-books on my tab. Easier to read and helpful to the eyes. I have two pending e-books since December, one is a thriller and the other is a historical novel. I read around five to ten pages at night then I would feel sleepy. I always wake up early though. Living the phrase early to rise and early to bed. Dull, you might say but I am getting used to it. The comfort of silence. Crowded places no longer work for me except at The Medical City Clinic I visit every week.

I love Sundays. Since it is impractical for me to attend Sunday masses (I truly could not understand since I find the confined space too noisy and loud ), I resort to attending masses online since they are clear to my abnormal sense of hearing. I don’t know how long it would take for me to get well.

I want to share with you a line from my favorite author Mary Oliver culled from her book, Devotions. I have a copy of this one, a lovely compilation of most of her poems. A friend gave it to me as a birthday gift a few years ago. I am always careful to turn the pages, it’s hardbound and thick with a pristine white cover.

Beautiful, isn’t it?

Have a blessed and happy Sunday. May you always find joy in what life brings🥰❤💐

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An Image In The Mirror

Nissa told me that I’ve been through so much before and I am still here. Standing still used to be my favorite words for they connote being brave, not afraid of challenges, relying on a benevolent God to see me through all the problems and adversities in life. Standing still and facing life with all its angst and curve balls it throws my way.

In our main bedroom, we have this floor to ceiling cabinet and the sliding doors are made of mirror. It makes the room appear larger. Before I was so conscious of looking into it but over the years, it is as if it is another wall in the bedroom. Lately though I looked thorougly and what did I see? It was an image of a somehow harassed and afraid woman with white hair at the front of her head, some wrinkles finally appearing on her face and an image of a growing old woman who at 66 is finding life with so much challenge.

I ‘d like to think I could face all these challenges but sometimes I worry about what will happen. Yes, this is another test probably that I have to pass with flying colors. Endurance, faith, courage.

It’s January 15th,the Feast Day of our Señor Sto. Niño, we celebrate it every third Sunday of January as approved by the Holy See. It’s fiesta in Obet’s place and our town in Pangasinan.

Viva Pit Señor Sto. Niño. Ipanalangin mo kami.

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Sunday, Sweet Sunday

Today is the first Sunday of Lent. We renew our baptismal vows and renounce satan. Our godparents did it for us when we were baptized when we were babies.

My goodness, it seems that blogging has temporarily lost its appeal for me. It’s been a while. I have been catching up on my reading. I found new authors, discovered some awesome books too. For the first time I read Blindness by Jose Saramago, an intriguing and interesting story about people who were struck blind in their community and how they struggled to keep alive. It reminds me of the pandemic we have right now. I also found a copy of Robert Frost’s The Road Not Taken. His poems are like short stories complete with dialogue about ordinary things. I have finished 28 books so far this year.

Been busy too uploading our Catholic page and two more private pages of which I am one of the admins.

I took some photos of my garden blooms and trimmed some plants. It is almost summer and my plants are beginning to bloom again. Sometimes I water the garden twice a day because the last few days have been sunny and hot during the day.

We are all observing Lenten abstinence even if mom and I are already exempted from eating meat because we are seniors. One has to give up something too and alms-giving is also recommended.

Happy and blessed Sunday everyone.

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Sunday, Sweet Sunday

Today is the first Sunday of Lent. We renew our baptismal vows and renounce satan. Our godparents did it for us when we were baptized when we were babies.

My goodness, it seems that blogging has temporarily lost its appeal for me. It’s been a while. I have been catching up on my reading. I found new authors, discovered some awesome books too. For the first time I read Blindness by Jose Saramago, an intriguing and interesting story about people who were struck blind in their community and how they struggled to keep alive. It reminds me of the pandemic we have right now. I also found a copy of Robert Frost’s The Road Not Taken. His poems are like short stories complete with dialogue about ordinary things. I have finished 28 books so far this year.

Been busy too uploading posts at our Catholic page and to two more private pages of which I am one of the admins.

I took some photos of my garden blooms and trimmed some plants. It is almost summer and my plants are beginning to bloom again. Sometimes I water the garden twice a day because the last few days have been sunny and hot during the day.

We are all observing Lenten abstinence even if mom and I are already exempted from eating meat because we are seniors. One has to give up something too and alms-giving is also recommended.

Happy and blessed Sunday everyone.

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How’s Your Sunday?

I got engrossed for a while reading two books by Lucinda Riley consecutively in the last five days and before that, another book of hers last October. Read four all in all.  Anyway, I am trying to find more authors to follow. When I get excited with a particular book and a particular author, I  tend to look for more of his/her works.

Yeay, I only just discovered watching music videos on Facebook and those previous episodes of Pilipinas Got Talent. I am not bragging here but when it comes to music, Filipinos are the best. From ages about thirteen to twenties, they’ve got it.  There was even this Filipino shadow artist who had  the stage lit up in gold when he got the Golden Buzzer. So proud of these talented individuals.

Yesterday, I posted a photo  at Facebook taken when I got sick several years ago which was also used by my friend ( a producer of GMA 7) in their episode 24 Oras (Magic ng Pasko) four years ago. I know I featured that video here when they had their shoot here at home and included a segment of my plight as a cancer survivor. It earned a lot of hearts and likes.

I remember Doc Julie, one of my medical oncologists At the UST Benavidez  Cancer Institute eleven years ago. Those days when a smile  meant a lot  to me at the lowest ebb of my life.

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Happy Sunday

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Sweet Sunday

It didn’t rain yesterday and the sun is shining brightly this morning. Took advantage of it and gardened for a while. The squash I planted didn’t grow well, the leaves are yellow and have holes in them so I removed the plant this morning. I cultivated the soil, removed some weeds and arranged and replanted some of my prayer plants growing side by side with the squash before.

I have plenty of Crossandra seedlings growing at the back of the house, they are self-propagating. I transferred  some of them to the area where the squash used to be. When they bloom, the orange flowers are lovely.  The rain lilies are flowering too. I only have the pink ones, I wish I have other colors. Wonder of wonders, my lone Kamuning plant is flowering again with that lovely scent close to Gardenia and Jasmine. I am thinking of transferring  some cuttings in a pot then plant them later direct to the soil when they have sturdy roots.

Though I wear gardening gloves,  sometimes I prefer my hands bare. It feels so nice when you can cultivate the soil with bare hands and you can arrange the plants nicely.  There is something incredibly satisfying about getting your hands in the dirt and watching your garden grow as you nurture each plant.  Blisters, scrapes and cuts, not to mention the soil embedded under  your nails.  Gardening is not what it would be without getting your hands dirty. Do you agree?

Starting early and finishing the task before catching up with the 8am Sunday mass online. Happy and blessed Sunday folks.

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Sweet Sunday

I called up two friends last night. One is presently on a holiday with her family somewhere in Portugal and I missed greeting her on her birthday three days ago. Another one is a DJ and a teacher whom I met in some of our gatherings in our Catholic group and during Lovell’s two ordinations to Diaconate and Priesthood. Oh my, our conversations reached more than an hour. When you have something to share, the minutes seem to fly.

Finally found some books by Taylor Caldwell online. She was a British-born American novelist and a prolific author of popular fiction. The very first time I heard of her was when one of her novels, Captains And The Kings was adapted on television many, many years ago. Dad, mom and my brothers were regular viewers back then. I haven’t had the chance to read the latter and I am trying to find a copy until now. It was a mini-series, a rags to riches tale of an Irish immigrant in late 1800s. I am mostly into historical fiction. I started reading Ceremony of the Innocent last night and I like the writing style of the author. She clearly has a way with words. The book was published in 1983.

I’m on my 87th read on the Goodreads Reading Challenge. Thirteen more books to go….hooray!

How’s your Sunday? Keep safe everyone!

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Sunday Blues

In my various foray of those sellers online in our subdivision, I chanced upon someone selling Puto Cassava but it had to be ordered in advance. I didn’t know about this kind of snack until I saw the ad yesterday. We usually make cassava into cakes, suman (steamed in banana leaves) and maruya ( fried and toasted in a bit of sugar).

So cheap for P20 pesos each.  I ordered four and it was delivered here still hot. It was topped with bukayo (grated young coconut cooked in a little sugar). Since the Cassava itself is not sweet, it was perfect.

Paired with this hot mug of Matcha green tea, it was a yummy snack. Mom had a cup of hot choco.

These online sellers are definitely trying to make both ends meet by selling everything from food, make-ups, groceries, appliances like cellphones, electric fans  and even LED lights. You can even contact an online doctor and seek an appointment and they will visit you at home. Beauty parlors are now open too but  it would take you a long time to enter their shoppe.

I read somewhere about the difficulties of some of our fellow Filipinos whose jobs were closed in the middle of this pandemic.  Wayback when Josef and Jovy had their aircon installed last April, they found an all-around carpenter, plumber, electrician all rolled into one. At the start even if he and his assistant only stayed for half a day, Josef and Jovy provided them with free snack and lunch from KFC, paid them more than the usual rate and gave them around six kilos of rice on their way home.  Oliver lives nearby but he has no permanent job so he just rely on what is available. We call him now and then to fix things here. Josef also gave him food during his birthday last week.  At first we asked for his rate but he said it was up to us,  what we can afford to give so giving him a little more is our way of helping a bit. There was one who ventured into the hotel business and loaned from banks but when two of his hotels were about to be opened, quarantine was declared so it’s gone kaput. Now he needs to pay the banks but the establishments are not earning enough to meet the expenses.

One more observation:

I wonder what that aerial survey in Cebu was all about.  Can it cure COVID-19? They’re making it appear like it’s a war between the people and the military. Di po ba COVID ANG KALABAN? Those tanks and several soldiers deployed in Cebu are just making the people afraid. Have they ever thought of our economy?

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Josef’s Birthday Photos

Took these shots a while ago. We had an early dinner, some sort of late lunch too. Another birthday to remember. I just wished that Nissa’s family was here with us.

the birthday boy at 36

Of course, Oreo wouldn’t be left behind.

Siomai

KFC fried chicken sent by Nissa via Grab.

A tray of Lumpiang Shanghai, Lechon Kawali and Embutido

Pancit Malabon

Pusit Sisig

We have a dessert of Carrot cake

and Tiramisu

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