Garden Chef's Needle and Pen

My crocheted scarf blending with the colors of autumn in Nami Island.

Are you fond of garlic-flavored meals? Chili-flavored? How about chicken?

Hubby is on a week-long school break so I had to prepare fish meal for him everyday. Sad to say, I was too tired to cook the night before so I had to use my magic kitchen wand the following morning before running off to work. 😭😢😓😥

Today is our 3rd day in Taipei. We left the hotel early for a stroll along Yongkang Street in Zongzheng District. 

These photos above and below show our itinerary for Day 4.  Taipei 101 and the  Elephant Mountain.

My daughter, Ayana Grace, posted her blog of our Taipei Day 1 itinerary.  She did it so well that I was inspired to work on this. 

I’ve been having a toothache for three days now and couldn’t chew very well. I hate to think that one of my wisdom teeth has erupted and might need to be removed. 😂😭😂😭 Sad to say, I’m not yet ready for a wisdom tooth extraction.

1989. 30 years today. Celebrating God’s faithfulness through all these years. My usual way of expressing thanksgiving is by writing down reflections of the Lord's goodness in our married life, as husband and wife and as a family.

Eve, the mermaid. My first ever mermaid photo.

How sweet, Ma'am Ayette! The gold (?) fish seemed to love that kiss! Are we expecting an invasion of underwater creatures as a result of that kiss? Look!

While preparing for a family trip to Seoul, South Korea in November of 2017, I searched my cabinet for cold weather outfit. Below 10 degrees was the temperature, according to the world weather forecast. Everyone of us kept track of the temperature as we had to decide which type of clothes to bring. We planned our travel wardrobe for a week-long trip. Out came my sweat shirts, scarves, mittens, neck warmers, leggings  and tadah--- the newsboy hat I crocheted four years ago! Wohoho! Seeing this hat after hiding in my closet for years evoked memories of the past--- Zurich!!!! Zurich with its brrrrrrbrrrrry cold weather. It was mid-February then, with a temperature of 5 degrees, if my memory serves me right. See the barren trees behind me? We didn't get to see the snow though. 

It's been months since I made this flower pot cozy. My hands ached to try the pattern the moment I found the design from... hmmm... sorry I couldn't remember if it was from Pinterest or from a link party I attended. Flower Pot Cozy

As promised, here it is--- my second visit to The Ruins, this time, with my family. May 11, 2017.

Last year, Ayana Grace, my eldest daughter, had an opportunity of going on a business trip to India. When she came back she posted very nice shots of the Taj Mahal with stories on how she took efforts at visiting the place— Agra, Uttar Pradesh in India. A white marble mausoleum, the Taj Mahal was built by Mughal emperor Shah Japan in memory of his 3rd wife. I envy her for having visited the place, being one of the wonders of the world.

Tofu again? Yes, tofu again! Why not? There’s still 250 grams left in the ref. Good for one fast and easy-to-cook meal. (I posted a tofu dish I tried recently. Click here to view.)

Two weeks ago, our family grabbed a promo for a staycation to celebrate in advance the birthday of Ayana Grace. It was a nice breather for me to enjoy an overnight out. We had lunch in a Spanish resto so we ordered paella. Well, I guess I craved for more that when we got back home, I still had in my mind a vivid picture of the paella.

In my previous post, I featured a tokwa dish that many readers seem to like. If you are curious to read that post, you may click here . 

A blessed Resurrection Sunday! Hello, how did you celebrate the Holy Week? Did you visit churches or do the Stations of the Cross as many people do? A lot of friends send, using the social media, messages on the significance of Christ’s death on the Cross of Calvary.  Here, I’m also featuring the cross... I mean, the Lacy Cross. That is, the Lacy Cross Crochet Bookmark I made, inspired by the pattern I got from   Petals to Picots .  The Lacy Cross Crochet Bookmark 

For many, the Lenten season is the perfect time to visit churches. I know of friends who go places, join pilgrimage, church tours and visit the Holy Land during the Holy Week.  Several years ago, my husband and I were blessed with a rare opportunity of visiting churches in the city of Zurich. Such a memorable experience, it was! Click  Kirchen in Zurich  if you still haven’t read my post on that. For this post, I’m featuring the three churches I have visited in the northern part of my own country several years ago, not during the Lenten season but on another occasion--- a side trip while doing facility visit in some government hospitals. Paoay Church (St. Augustine Church) The facade and bell tower of Paoay Church

Today is the third day she left and I have yet to verbally condole with the whole family. But I am at a loss for words. I didn't realize she's gone until I read posts of her family from Facebook late Tuesday morning. I’m torn between grieving for the loss and rejoicing at the thought that she is now in the best place, enjoying eternity.

Siete Pecados (Isles of the Seven Sins) is located between the towns of Buenavista in Guimaras and Dumangas in Iloilo.  

This post is an account of our three-day respite from city life--- last year. Waaahhhh! Another late post 😡😢😬😭Another virtual spanking or bullying I'm sure to get, you can bet on that, from my family, of course.

It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince. My mother got sick after Christmas last year. She had abdominal pain that was not relieved by analgesics. I was worried with the persistence of the on and off pain that we brought her to the hospital where she was subsequently admitted, after abdominal CT scan and MRI revealed enlarged and inflamed gall bladder with gall stones. She was subjected to Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy (removal of the gall bladder through four small punctures in her abdomen). Amazing how she was able to survive the surgery at the age of 93! Praises to God! But this post is not about the surgery or how she recovered from the ordeal.

                                    Did you finish watching the video? It’s a bit long, I know, and it's okay if you didn't. I will be featuring some of the photos anyway along with my stories. This is a continuation of our escapade in Day 1. If you haven’t read my post of Day 1 yet, you may view it here . Just make sure you’ll be back to join me today.

I confess tokwa was not a frequent resident in my kitchen a few years ago. Let me say that again. I was not a tokwa lover before. I didn’t usually buy tokwa dishes. Is there any better way of saying that? Well, honestly I didn’t like tokwa very much. But one day, I had a chance of eating fried pork and tokwa (popularly known as tokwa’t baboy) prepared by Cafe 1475 in the hospital where I work. Oh, I hate to admit that I liked it! ;)