A Gem of a Valentine

I gave in on Valentine's day.  Yes, I accepted the suggestions of my hubby to once more get outside help. 

For a little over a year now, my hubby and I have managed to take care of house chores by ourselves.  When my last helper bid good-bye, we felt that we had had enough.  Although we were grateful for their assistance in running our household, we wanted to experience what it would be like to manage our house by ourselves. 

Not so Easy

It’s one of those rare times when I find myself staying at home for the Holy Week.  Then, those four-day break from work was perfect for getting away with the kids.  Usually to relax at the beaches of Cebu or spend time with the relatives up in the mountains of Leyte.  Since I retired, every day is vacation day for me.

Laguna de Bay: Doing the Loop- part 2

By 2PM, we had reached Paete.  The glare from the sun must had been set to maximum level. Hats and sun glasses did little to make a tour around the Santiago Apostol Parish Church,

Laguna de Bay: Doing the Loop- part 1

It had been in my bucket list for over ten years now. And with not much prodding and planning, V, J and I dropped everything to spend a day of motoring from one quaint town  to the next to visit old churches, savor local delicacies and simply to take in the scenery around Laguna de Bay.   

We drove off while the neighborhood was still asleep.  With nary a care in the world, we were confident with V’s reliable driver, Mang T; we had enough snacks and drinks to last us until the next day (if necessary); and, with child-like trust, we knew our guardian angels would come along with us.

The Potato Reminder

Clean up breakfast dishes. Attend parish meeting. Do grocery. Hurry back home to start preparing lunch.

It was a chore-full morning.  I was now busy peeling potatoes to go with the "bistek" I was serving for lunch.  A million and one things and scenes were going through was mind.  It was pure luck that I did not cut myself with all that thinking.

CDO: City of Delightful Options- Part 2

Nothing like starting our 2nd day in CDO with blue skies and a hearty breakfast spread prepared at Seda. Normally a fruit and oatmeal person,

CDO: City of Delightful Options

I had visited Cagayan de Oro more than ten years ago. But at that time of our visit, my kids and I used CDO as a jump off point for our visit to enchanting Camiguin. We did not find it necessary to explore CDO then as we felt it did not have anything of interest to entice us to stay.

Last week, I was back in CDO with a group of travel buddies.

Crying Business

It’s 8AM on a Saturday morning and I am crying. Tears are streaming down my face and my drippy nose is getting in the way of putting breakfast for my hubby on the table. The crazy thing was there really was no big reason to the drama (as my hubby annoyingly labeled my state of emotions). And what’s crazier than my crying was that I could not stop crying for very long. I silently scolded myself to stop crying and to realize the utter uselessness of drained emotions. But nagging thoughts entered my head and my eyes welled up again and again.

Life Lines

I am done with the dishes. The kitchen floor is swept clean of crumbs and bits of chopped veggies. I now massage some lotion on my knobby fingers and veiny hands. I had let go of my household help for more than a year now, and the ritual of kneading lotion into my tired hands after some house work has become a habit.

The Taxi Cab Chronicles

The cab driver pressed the start button on his meter machine as I settled in at the back of his cab for the ride to the airport. I requesed that the volume of his radio be turned down a bit before I started praying the rosary.

As is usually the case, traffic is heavy and I am done with my prayers even before we are one-forth of the way to the airport. I check my watch and glance at the huge billboards on the side of the road as the cab makes its slow progress.

For the next hour or so, the cab is my world and the driver my silent companion. And is usually the case, something catches my eye that I make an audible comment inside the cab. As is usually the case, the driver responses with his own thoughts.