What's New?

The Chinese "Ghost Month" is over. I am repairing my house again although mostly minor ones this time. Yesterday, I had the mezzanine wall checked and laced with Solignum for termites control, also replaced a small portion of the dirty kitchen's bathroom ceiling. Today, the carpenter is working on reenforcing the leaking dirty kitchen roof top and will soon work on the ceiling of my corridor. After which the painters will come to freshen up all those repairs. I will also replace my 40 year old rubber mattress with a new one. My shoulder and back have been aching lately, so I ordered an ortho Uratex foam from Davao. It will be delivered in two to three weeks time. Then when all these are done, I will get ready for a vacation to see my children and attend my class reunion in November. I am pretty excited about the trips already.

In the mean time, I follow Masterchef on tv. When I watch cooking show, I get inspired to do a little cooking myself. I try to do one special viand each day. I was able to cook crabs with misua last Sunday (too salty I think haha). Our cook served embotido on Monday, bihon on Tuesday. I did siomai on Wednesday and fresh lumpia last night. I might do a fish with soy sauce tonight. Hehehe. I just hope I don't get bitten by the lazy bugs. Hahaha! Happy eating everyone!

Updates: I cooked lapu lapu fish soup instead. A little salty again. I have to lessen my dash of salt from now on. Hehe.

My Random Thoughts

It's almost the middle of August, and many schools in the Philippines are going through their first quarter examinations. But I have no test papers to check nor grades to compute; instead I watch my favorite tv shows and stay up late till midnight. Now that I'm retired, I do enjoy the luxury of waking up late in the morning. But watching news about the Philippines, the Middle East conflicts, the Ebola virus epidemic, etc, is so scary and depressing. I am actually such a paranoid, I over imagine and over think things. But despite all the negativity, I shall continue to hope and pray for good things to come:
1. May cures be found soonest for treating cancers and other deadly diseases.
2. May peace be still attainable in the world.
3. May there be peace and order and progress in Cotabato City.
4. May our leaders in the Philippines work for the betterment and welfare of its people.
5. May people turn towards goodness instead of wickedness.
6. May the Lord God have mercy on us all.

Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto

When I was building my own residence, three years after the earthquake in 1976, I had planned for a little grotto to be built before my main entrance. It was my heart's desire to have a mini reminder of the miracles of Our Lady. I have been drawn to her. She will forever protect my home and family, and intercedes for us to her Son. I love my little grotto and  adorn it with flowers.
Today, I have a bunch of violet orchids. These home grown flowers are so pretty. I just want to share a picture. Thank you.

Night Terror

When I was a little girl about 7 or 8 years old, I experienced the onset of my most horrifying night terror episodes. It all began when I was sick with chicken pox. The dreams that came were so vivid and weird. I could even remember clearly the first time it happened. It was so deeply etched  and formed in my brain that I woke up from the first nightmare with a terrifying scream that frightened the whole household. For three succeeding nights, when I woke up, I scarily found myself standing in the middle of the room with family members trying to pacify me. When I awoke, I could not even clear myself from the stupor of being half asleep and half awake trance liked situation. I panicked even more. I jumped up and down, trembled and screamed to come back to reality. It would take awhile for all the distorted senses to fade away. When they were gone, I would calm down until the next episode again. My poor parents were so worried. They did not know what was happening to me.

Now that I am old and have read a few, I learn that most children who have night terrors, have no inkling about their panic behaviors at night. When morning comes, they forget their nightly episodes but subconsciously they somehow know something is amiss. Eventually they outgrow their nightmares and forget about it. Unluckily for me though, I have had good memory. I was consciously aware each time I woke up (which is unsual). I could even recall some of the weird dreams. They were not about people or monsters, more about vast darkness or crumpled spaces, of kaleidoscopic colors and lines, distorted depths and visions, the slow motion of sounds and touches. As I got older, I tried to overcome these eerie occurrences. I pinched my arms and legs, relieved my bladder from its content and drank glasses of water. I prayed. I was scared but I tried my best not to worry or bother anyone else. My night terror lasted on and off until the age of 19 (Which is really unusual).

Nobody knew about these my night time episodes except my family and my close relatives. I just thought of writing it now because maybe somehow, somewhere, somebody can learn a thing or two about my experiences.

P.S. If your child has night terror, do not wake him up, just coach him back to sleep.

From the Backyard

Aside from the variety of mangoes, my backyard also gives me:

Guyabanos 

Coconuts

If only Cotabato has not degenerated into a land of lawlessness and ridden with thieves, kidnappers and murderers, I would have converted my backyard into a school or sport center and/or food establishment. Sadly, it is not so and unfortunately the young ones with potentials have already left this forsaken place. Still I have hope in my heart for with faith, many of us continue to pray for peace. Surely our Immaculate Mother, our patron who watches over us and the city will graciously hear our prayers and recommend our petitions to the Lord.

Hosting Parties

I love hosting parties at home. My gatherings are diverse, from small dancing session to traditional family get-together. I enjoy planning the menu and making my home presentable to the guests. My maids and cook are most indispensable on all occasions. Sometimes I hire caterers for more special celebration. Videoke rental is also popular. Very recently this July, I hosted a birthday party for Lucas, in thanksgiving for the gift of life, for the gift of family and good friends, and for the loyalty and personal kindness of our employees extended to us during our times of needs.

The Preparations:

 The Birthday Party

 

Born in July

July is a good month. The people I know who are born in July are mostly good, kind and lovable persons. :) Examples are my husband Lucas, my son Roy, my best cousin Adele, my sister-in-law Tina, my nephew Apollo, friends Fernando Co, Julie Rivera, Jake Tan and others.......Can you add and name more???