Summer's Bounty

Bountiful fruits this summer. They are all free, either from my lot's backyard or given by friends and relatives. We also have young coconuts and we also raise our own backyard chicken. Is there no wonder why we like living in Cotabato? How much do all of these cost in Manila?
(And I was not able to capture the plentiful golden ripe mangoes given to me by Atty. Ruel and Margie Plando. The mangoes were oh so sweet! I enjoyed eating them so much that I simply forgot to take their pictures)

Piano Playing

Consider that I started my piano lessons late in third year high school. And I spent only a duration of two years of it until I went to Manila for my college education.
Considering too that I never had a piano of my own, not until the late nineties. I used to practice my pieces at my neighbor's (Bebot) house. My children too, they used to have their lessons with their cousins at Luna and Tina's place. We did not have a piano at home until I bought one for I wanted my twin girls to be able to play good.
For I was never good. I had no ear for music. I was slow in reading notes and my fingers and touches were too strong. The only thing that worked for me was my persistentcy. And my husband Lucas was the only person patient enough to listen to my repetitive hard rending piano pieces. Hahaha!
Anyway, Lately I bought a new book - Book I of The Bigger Beginners' Supplementary Book by Priscilla Halili Enriquez. They are very simple but I am extremely happy to be able to play familiar tunes like Moon River, For He's a Jolly Good Fellow, As Time Goes By, If Ever I Would Leave You, The Nearness of You, etc and two Filipino songs..'Minamahal' and 'Dahil sa Isang Bulaklak'. I don't play perfectly well but hehehe.....There is no substitute for self satisfaction. Hahaha!

Dengue Fever

I went to Manila on May 21, 2012 because my son Emil was sick and admitted to the hospital. Emil had the dengue and he suffered from chills every three hours round the clock, an hour before his paracetamol medication. I was hysterically worried in Cotabato hence I flew to Manila as soon as I could. He was feeling very sick when I arrived. I requested further blood examination for malaria and typhoid fever (they came out negative). I was so concerned because Emil had the dengue before when he was younger, but this time, his condition seemed worse despite his age and built.

Accordingly, there were many possible cures for dengue from the many stories I had heard. They were such things like eating durian or 5 pugo eggs or drinking weed water called tawa-tawa.

I did the tawa-tawa concoction by boiling plentiful of tawa-tawa weeds. I let Emil drink the weed-water from the time he was admitted to the hospital and I provided more weeds from Cotabato. I think the tawa-tawa water helped him a lot. His platelets did not drop further after he took the water. He slowly recovered and after 4 days of confinement, he was released from the hospital.

When Emil was feeling better, I was on the other hand experiencing queasy stomach. I went to the toilet in the morning for three succeeding times. I was afraid of getting sick myself and I quickly drank a glass of tawa-tawa water to self medicate. Surprisingly I felt better immediately. My stomach stopped feeling queasy and I was whole again.

The tawa-tawa weed, I tell you, is really good!!!

Yesterday's Funfares

Yesterday was mother's day. "It is a secular celebration but let us spiritualized our intention......." from the homily of Father Joel Baes DCC. I was the commentator during the mass. At the service, I coordinated well with the celebrator, co- lectors, choir and participants. I felt proud to have done the job well. I was very happy to be that close to the altar and doing my small service to the church.
Yesterday was a day well spent because of the many warm-hearted text messages and greetings from friends and family. My children who were either in Quezon City, Zambales, Seattle and Coventry tried to reach me as early as possible. I got Martha's beautiful email Saturday night. She was going to Zambales for an excursion and she sent me a beautiful picture and letter the night before. She also texted me a greeting while in Zambales. Marion in UK, could not be outdone. She sent me a heart warming email, as well as a text message from her roaming phone, even though it was not mother's day in England. Roy in USA contacted me through chat and I was happy to talk to him. I knew Tom and Angel greeted me first thing when they woke up in the morning. And maybe Emil, the first thing he did when he remembered the occasion :) Anyway, even without this promotional day of celebrating. I knew they all love me!!!
In the morning, I had light snacks with Lucas and friends Siolan and James Yap. There were also lots of people with their families celebrating.
Late in the afternoon, after my nap and taichi, my sister Jeannette surprised me by coming over. Friend and neighbor KianHua came too. We had supper together. Aside from the usual Sunday's fare, I served ngo hiong and sweet corn for our meal. After supper, my sister-in-law Tina came over to chat with us. I further served Pinoy sorbetes ice cream for dessert. A really nice day for celebrating.
Most importantly for this occasion, let us not forget the greatest mom of all - the Mother of our Savior and of all humankind too.

Prayers for the Sick

It all began last year when one of our employees had a freak accident. He was sucked up and got electrocuted from a misplaced high tension wire. Boyet, our warehouseman survived the horrible accident but he would need months maybe years of medical care and hospitalization. He may even become incapacitated for life.
Aside from the accident, another sad news followed. Abelardo, our top parts man, was diagnosed with a malignant tumor on the upper nape of his head. He must go to Davao City for radio active and chemotherapy treatments. (Abe is still at the prime of his life and his children are all young and needing him.) He asked for leave to be treated in Davao City.
After Abe's sickness, a third unfortunate thing happened. Our family driver Alvin was suddenly stricken with a mild stroke. We got to know later that Alvin lived a very unhealthy after-work life style of drinking, smoking and eating too much salty food.
Although LCT the establishment and my husband and other family members extended financial help and other personal supports, yet with all these unfortunate events occurring and coming too soon one after the other, it made us all feel helpless and sad. Our sympathy and aid may come in handy but I knew I had to do something else. I began to offer prayers. Everyday I offered a decade of rosary for those who were sick. I specially mentioned their names for healing. 
Then there were more:
- Norma Ngo, the sister-in-law of Jean (one of our trusted secretaries) was rushed to Davao for fear of gangrene. Her open wound on the foot was not healing for months despite treatment of antibiotics. Doctors here in Cotabato were dropping hints of amputation.
- Our retired parish priest Father Gerry Tiagga, DDC who had Parkinson disease was becoming very weak.
- The mother of my close friend Anita Go in Manila was bedridden due to a fall.
- My former classmate and volunteer fireman Mike Sy fell from a roof top during a fire duty in Cotabato. His fall caused partial paralysis and he was rushed to Davao and was later airlifted to Manila.
- My former classmate Ernesto T. Lim had reoccurring pains after being discharged from the hospital. He had just undergone a liver operation at St. Luke Hospital, QC.

The list of names included in my prayers were becoming longer and longer..................but I was seeing a good progress from the people I was praying for:

1. Norma Ngo was discharged from Davao Hospital and her wound started to heal.
2. Boyet was transfered to the care of Dr. Leopoldo Lugtu. He was discharged after several months in the hospital. Although his burns were not completely healed yet but his physical condition was now stable. He could continue his medication as an out-patient. He came to the store to visit a month ago in crutches. His worst burns were on the scalp and feet. He was still in pain but he was able to move around.
3. Abelardo finished his treatments in Davao City. He came back with a good fighting spirit and continued to work at the store.
4. Alvin took medication and went through physical therapy and rehabilitation. He came back to the store after 3 months. He was given light duty inside the store. He seemed to have recovered quickly though. He could not wait to be driving again.
5. The ladies of the church visited Father Tiagga at his residence hall in Queen of Peace Church. He was cheerful, lucid and looking good. Everybody commended him for a good physical appearance and aura. I was the first one who jokingly said. "Father nagpogi ka yata ah!"
6. I got to visit the mother of Anita Go while I was in Manila. And according to my friend, her mother was feeling much better after she was fitted with a lighter body and hip brace jacket which they bought at Divisoria Market. At her age (90 plus) she was mentally keen, talkative and in high spirit that day when Imelda, Arthuro and I visited her.
7. Mike Sy, after the fall went into medication and physical rehabilitation program. Although not quite fully recovered but he was up and about. He walked with a limp but or else he could get up and walked. He even attended school functions as a member of the school board.
8. We did not get to hear any more bad new from our classmate Ernesto Lim. He must be recovering I hope.

My prayers are not however over yet. I have to add many more names. I have now included Elena Yu Ekey, Johnny W. Tan, Suan Aie Siao Rosete, Chua Yu Beng and many others.
I may not have done any great things in my life but maybe I can help my neighbors and friends with prayers. (Faintly just like St. Therese of the Child Jesus.) I hope they get relief from their pains, and may they all get well soon.
God, please bless my family and my love ones too. Keep us safe and healthy.

The Month of May

The month of May spells "Flores de Mayo" This is my story:

When Roy was about 5 years old, my husband and I agreed to sign in our first born child for the summer catechism class called "Flores de Mayo". But during his first day of attendance at Queen of Peace Church, I was peering down at him from the windows of the City Health Building where my youngest son Emil was confined due to amoebiasis. From the window I saw my husband brought and fetched Roy and his cousin Jocelyn from classes. I was so down and depressed because Emil was sick. I turned to prayers and offered them to the blessed mother. Thankfully, my 6-month-old baby got well. Roy continued his catechism, and my husband and I became attached and supportive of the program ever since. At the end of the month, we proudly attended the culminating activity and fiesta mass where Roy was chosen by the Oblates Sisters as Prince Constantino to Clarissa Barrios who was the Reyna Elena.

When it was time for Tom to participate, I was asked by the MMLC (ladies organization) to enter Tom in the fiesta pageant. I sold tickets to win him a third place in the pageantry. Unluckily Tom had a mishap and sprained his ankle. Emil the younger brother happily took his place. During the coronation, despite Emil being the youngest and smallest  participant; his brave stride and winsome smile captured everybody's heart and attention. I remember Susan Sy fondly calling him "The little prince charming"
 
Few summers later, Tom finally took his place in another pageantry. I sold tickets to land him in another third place in our church fund raising activity. It was a bigger event. The coronation was done inside the CCI gym instead of the church compound. My Tomas was good looking. I was proud of him. He was the most helpful and gentlemanly escort of the group.

Not all summers were spent in Cotabato though. We would be in many other places but every time when May arrived, I would be comforted at the thought that the blessed Mother was with us. Most specially I had entrusted my children to her care.

For during all these random times of May while the children were growing up and I was struggling with my own personal formation, I did not forget to give what I had. For aside from the fund raising affairs, I brought my children (including the twins) to know about their God. They attended catechism classes with mostly many other children from the poorer section of society. Three of them received their first communion at the Queen of Peace Church. And they were also confirmed at different times during the fiesta. As parents, we religiously followed and supported all these church activities, as I quietly offered my children to God as flowers to our blessed Mother. My "Flores de Mayo."

A Day's Activity

A lot of people ask me what do I do these days. Well, I am preoccupied everyday :) Here's my schedule of activities for today:
1. Wake up at 7 AM
2. Breakfast at 7:30 .... two pieces skinless pork longaniza, one egg, two slices of local baguette and two cups of green tea.
3. Check my email at 8:00 o'clock. Nothing much.
4. Prepare ingredients for pinsik (fried dumplings) at 8:15 AM. Find out I need some more wanton wrappers.
5. Call up my bank after 9:00 o'clock and get a call from Siolan.
6. Walk to South Sea's Mall to get wanton wrappers and other grocery needs at 9:30 AM. The walk is good exercise but sun is so hot. I use an umbrella though.
7. Get back home at 10:20 AM to finish preparing my pinsik. The family cook fry my preparation.
8. Use the internet. By the time I am done, it is already 11:00 AM
9. Play the piano to while the time
10. Lunch  with Lucas at 11:45
11. Noon break from 12 to 2PM
12. Do a 15 minute exercise and open the computer.
13. Go to the store office at 3 PM to read the papers and get acquainted with the tsismis (gossips) of the day.
14. Get back to the kitchen to talk to the cook before 4 PM and help prepare one vian (saute diced preserved radish with ground pork and eggs) Divide the food into three sections for distribution: for Lucio & Conchita, for Luna & Tina and for Lucas & Heddy.
15. Do crossword puzzle for the day until the store starts to close at 5 PM
16. Play the piano again while Lucas watches local TV news after 5 PM
17. Supper at 6 o'clock
18. Say my rosary and other prayers after supper
19. Do personal chores
20. Watch American Idol at 8:00 and other tv shows.
21. Write my blog at ten
22. Watch more tv shows, read papers and comic books before going to bed.
That's all folks :)