Garden Chef's Needle and Pen

This post appeared in my Facebook memories today. I'm glad it did! I featured this salad in my FB page a year ago.  Alugbati  (Malabar Spinach)  Salad (Ensaladang Alugbati). This came up when I received for the first time this bouquet of alugbati from Erik, my officemate. He shares with us fruits and veggies fresh from his garden. 

Frankenstein: "Go ahead, kill me, kill me!" It's past my bedtime but I couldn't resist doing this... blogging after almost a year! For a special occasion like today--- errrr... yesterday (I'm already late by almost an hour, I know). Oh, I couldn't seem to believe it, my youngest daughter is now 25 years old. Denial, most of you might say. With my fast graying hair, there's no denying it. I'm really getting older.

Last week, I viewed a video ad from a link posted by a Facebook friend. The  video  featured a new commercial of Lemon Square that  "gives us that warm, fuzzy feeling with an unlikely love story that ends with a twist..."  as written by   Isa Rodriguez . What's so special about this video other than the fact that it has been generating good r eviews ? Well, Mariel, the female endorser is the daughter of my long lost friend, Vicky. That, I discovered after watching the video, and browsing through the thread of comments while stalking (ssshhhh....) the FB friend's timeline (sorry, Willie, I couldn't help it!). Now, that struck my chest point-blank. Viewing the video over and over again suddenly made me miss Mariel's mom.  Memories of the past came alive once more. That's Vicky, my best friend in college. It's been years! But then after all those years, I now realize, I am not the best of friend for her. How could I be, after missing ...

Billy, in his anniversary post in Facebook yesterday said, " Now I know what it is to grow old together with someone!" Well, that inspired me to write this.  This is another late post. Hmmm... not so late though... it's only a day after our 27th anniversary. As usual, I planned to make this two weeks ago but giving priority to caregiving and household duties, especially in the absence of our Manang who has been sick for almost three weeks, has taken its toll once again.  The weekend routine--- late breakfast, preparing and giving nasogastric tube feeding to my 90-year old father, bathing, bringing out the trash bags for the garbage truck to pick up, folding clothes after laundry, preparing for another batch of clothes to wash... Oh, thanks, dear hubby, for attending to the doggies morning and evening, everytime you're home! For helping me with the dishes when my legs seem to crumble and my eyelids are ready to drop at night. Thank you for sweeping awa...

I couldn’t believe how quickly time has passed! It's hard to fathom that an entire year has gone by since my father's hospitalization. The demands of caregiving have taken most of my time, leaving little room fir my pssions, including blogging. How I miss sharing my thoughts and experiences with all of you! This also means it has been that long since my family travelled to Hong Kong. That was July of 2015. The trip was intended as a post-birthday celebration for Ana Cristina, our youngest daughter. While I may not have documented every detail of that adventure at the time, the  memories are still vividly etched in my mind leaving me breathless whenever I think of the breathaking skyline. with me about it but the 5-day vacation still has been taking me breathless as I dream of the skyscrapers forming the skyline of the city. Whether traveling by MTR, bus, or cable car, or simply strolling through the streets, my eyes were constantly drawn upwards to the towering structures th...

I really don't know why I am attracted to any shade of green that when I saw Oombawka Design's Forever Summer Necklace and Bracelet set, deciding to make one was no effort at all. Maybe because in my mind, I imagined having a similar color of thread and beads in my stash. Great! It didn't take long for me to assemble the needed materials. I made two strands of necklace that I immediately gave to a friend before I could take good photos of them. Now I'm preparing this post. Too late for me to realize that. So is there any better idea than making a new one? Thread, plenty. Beads, more than enough. I remember buying additional packs recently. I don't want to run out of green beads ;) Here, take a look... So, how do you like it? Actually, that's just one necklace photographed in three different views. After making the Sweetheart Beaded Choker the first time, I was so inspired that I told myself, "I'm definitely going to ...

This is my own version of the Sweetheart Beaded Choker  by Oombawka Design. I fell in love with this the first time I saw it a couple of months ago. I was able to post this photo in Instagram and Facebook but failed to write about it despite several attempts. While I was doing this, I've been wondering why it was so named. "Sweetheart," intrigued, I read the post a number of times to get an idea as to the story behind it. I gave the photos a scrutiny. Do the beads have anything to do with the name? Hmmm, I don't think so! How about the stitches --- the special stitch. Oh, yes, could it be the shell stitch? Two hdc, ch 2, two hdc. Oh, well, I rest my case to Rhondda to reveal the making of her Sweetheart Beaded Choker. Rhondda is the person behind Oombawka Design.  I liked working on this pattern. It was very easy to follow. Doing the shell stitches was so addicting, I had no difficulty memorizing the steps as I went along. I was able to finish the choker...

This is one of those days when you leave the house, late for work, walk down five blocks to the bus stop under the scorching heat of the sun. For each stride you take, you feel a strong urge to plunge into the tempting waters of the beach or swimming pool. I'm no swimmer so I really don't have any other choice but stand by the gutter of the pool to watch people frolic. At times, I do regret having dropped my swimming lessons in one of the four P.E. subjects required in college.  Seated in the bus, feeling eeewww, a few minutes after finally landing on a vacant seat, I still continue to imagine the blue waters. I close my eyes and for a moment I see myself walking along white sands barefoot. Barefoot! Now, I remember those cute sandals I crocheted the previous year. Where have they all gone? Oh, yes, how could I forget? I have given out several pairs to some friends and colleagues at work. Using blue and light green variegated yarn, here are two pairs I made, inspired...

Credits to Ayana Grace for this photo "Moshi!" Everybody would shout everytime Moshi cries incessantly. Well, we couldn't enjoy watching TV peacefully, that's why. Going 12 years old, Moshi has revealed so much of himself to us  ... to me. He would only cry when nature calls and whenever he would like us to do things for him such as getting his chair and beddings in place. Last and worse of all, he cries when he hears thunder and big bangs like fireworks.  Tonight he won't stop crying again.  Well, didn't I tell you? No use shouting and calling for him to stop. See, he simply saw it coming. The what??? Uhmmm... nothing but the downpour of rain!  Click here Moshi is crying, rain is coming!  and get to know more about our dear Moshi.  The rain has stopped now and Moshi is quiet once more. Oh, what a relief! Moshi, taking a breath of fresh air after the rain

Saturday morning. Late breakfast... again! Not in the mood to go marketing but my hubby asks for fish for lunch. So to the market I must go! I really did. I was fortunate to buy my favorites--- tuna, salmon belly and white pampano.  Next stop, the veggie stall. But wait, my favorite veggie vendor is gone! Her stall is closed! Sad! That meant I really had no other choice but to visit the next stall. Looking at the vegetable display while thinking of a dish to prepare for lunch, a different kind of string beans caught my attention. The lady vendor said it's French beans (haricot vert or filet beans, ooopppsss, the veggie vendor didn't tell me that. I google searched for the term :)) Definitely not green ( Baguio ) beans. This type is longer, thinner and crisp. They look skinny and shorter than the regular long string beans ( sitaw ) commonly seen in the market, I was intrigued all the more when the lady said it's best for salads, though she gave me an...