A Year’s Statis and Coffee Stash; Cotton Weaves and Pine Handicrafts;Baguio - the Shopper’s Paradise

For the whole month of February each year, Baguio is on fever pitch celebrating Panagbenga. They cap off the event with a flower float parade at the end of the month. Lowest recorded temperatures this year were at 7 degrees.
On weekends, the prices of fresh strawberries shoot up from P42.00 to P110.00 per kilo and all [...]

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Three Roads to Quezon: One Old, One New and One Forgotten

Quezon province formerly known as Tayabas, was explored by the Spaniards in 1571 and 1572 when Juan de Salcedo visited and explored upon the order of the first Spanish Governor General of the Philippines, Miguel Lopez de Legaspi. They passed through the central portion of Tayabas in his march across Laguna Province to Paracale. The [...]

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Relax, Read and Weep

There’s another old tree in our garden… (I guess there’s two points I want to make here: one is that you don’t have to go too far to find inspiration to write and two, with all the juicy prime-time news tonight, here in the Philippines, there’s still nothing much to blog about).  
It’s been standing [...]

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Citromint, Natural Bug Repellant for the Home

Aromacology, the scientific study of the effects and uses of scents on the human psyche and the environment, found that citronella essential oil has a bug repellant effect.  
I have a puppy and an 8 year old at home and I’ve read about how chemical disinfectants can have a downside effect on children and pets [...]

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Earth Day Agenda: Biodegradable Plastic & Grocery Liquid Dispensers

If Congress can legislate a ban on trans fat and shut out business of imported cooking oil from our local market, how much further can it go do you think to protect the environment and keep food and other essentials within reach of the poor domestic consumers?
Ask any manufacturer of shampoo, of seasoning, of instant [...]

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How to get to Sandbar Resort, Puerto Gallera (from My T-shirt Collection)

Last summer we called up a friend who works for the local government unit (LGU) of Mindoro and asked him which resort the LGU recommended. He patched us up with the resort called Sandbar which was recommended for having the best of both open sea snorkling and inland bay windsurfing and kayaking plus a small outdoor pool for my son.

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Christmas Shopping; New Year’s Swapping (Part 2)

Let’s see… where were we na nga?  
Luma’t Bago is at the bungad or beginning/opening of the road to White Plains just after the stoplight of Santolan.  It has two floors in one building filled with antiques and a café in an annex where you can chat over lunch or merienda in a Vigan ambience.

Ciudad Fernandina de Vigan and Nueva Segovia marked [...]

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Christmas Shopping; New Year’s Swapping (Part 1)

Let me tell you another one you might like…while I’m still on mother-daughter issues therapeutic mode… but I can’t promise to finish this in one go.
My mom was aching to replace her dining set for the whole, entire, everyday of last year.  In Tagalog, it is called “pag-aasam” or “longing for something; anticipating something pleasant; [...]

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Madeira Dura en las Islas Filipinas

Prologue: Children need something to have faith in.  Young Adults need to act on their well-formed beliefs. And the Old need to guide all of them across  Tribulations and take joy in their Triumphs.   
ONLY IN FAMILY IS THE FUTURE OF THE WORLD SHAPED & HELD SECURE.  
 
There was a piece of wood washed ashore on [...]

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  • A Year’s Statis and Coffee Stash; Cotton Weaves and Pine Handicrafts;Baguio - the Shopper’s Paradise February 25th, 2010 

    For the whole month of February each year, Baguio is on fever pitch celebrating Panagbenga. They cap off the event with a flower float parade at the end of the month. Lowest recorded temperatures this year were at 7 degrees.
    On weekends, the prices of fresh strawberries shoot up from P42.00 to P110.00 per kilo and all [...]

    Posted in Shopping, Travel
  • Artefacts February 19th, 2010 

    I LOVE WIKIPEDIA. And now Wiktionary, to find a peculiar word “artefact”.
    The Wikimedia foundation describes its Wiktionary project thus:
    Wiktionary (a portmanteau of the words wiki and dictionary) is a multilingual, web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 151 languages. Unlike standard dictionaries, it is written collaboratively by volunteers, dubbed “Wiktionarians”, using [...]

    Posted in Arts & Culture
  • Dawn Dreams at Candlemas and La Morenita, Mother of All Peoples February 6th, 2010 

    I woke up late the morning of February 3. It was one of those cold mornings when sleep was deep as nights were longer than days and dreaming was vivid. So my son missed schoolbus.. (sigh) confessions of a single parent. In the car, I explained to my son that I had a fantastic dream [...]

    Posted in Uncategorized
  • The Summer Institute of Linguistics recording of the Menuvu Epic, the Ulehingan February 4th, 2010 

    An old arumanen ne menuvu woman of Central Mindanao named Lingka had, in her youth, assisted Hazel Wrigglesworth of the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) in translating the Bible to Menuvu. More than ten years ago, her family asked me to help them get a copy of a recording that the SIL made in the 60s [...]

    Posted in Arts & Culture
  • Blessed are the Pure of Heart December 28th, 2009 

    Every marriage goes through rocky periods sure.  Dunno if it’s just me but a lot of marriages of my age bracket (late forties) have permanently splintered on rocky reefs.  The kids must feel like they’re drowning and if they haven’t been taught to float yet must quickly learn to cope and heal.
    My Christmas shopping at [...]

    Posted in Uncategorized
  • Spain and the Philippines December 10th, 2009 

    The embassies of Mexico and Spain are revisiting cultural relations with the Philippines via the Galleon Trade project..tracing the roots of our shared ancestry that made the Philippines what it is now…not quite asian and not quite european…unique in the region. Melting Pot of Asia and what a brew!
    The Menuvu and Mehindanew neighboring tribes and [...]

    Posted in Uncategorized
  • Elusive Peace in Mindanao December 1st, 2009 

    Everyone who loves peace must take a stand for peace.  Within one’s capabilities and capacities, one should endeavor to make peace a reality.
    The Ampatuan Massacre has brought to the fore the violence that always seethes just below the surface of Mindanao.  It comes at a time when Peace Talks are scheduled to re-open for the [...]

    Posted in Uncategorized
  • The More, the Merrier…KaSaMa-Nationwide Search for Innovative Human Rights Projects October 14th, 2009 

    KaSaMa - Karapatan sa Malikhaing Paraan
    How do we effectively protect and defend human rights? We have been involved in countless human rights trainings, conferences,education sessions, and mass actions yet human rights violations continue to exist. With the increasing complexities and challenges of our times, ingenious ways to uphold people’s rights must come to the fore. [...]

    Posted in Uncategorized
  • Long Weekend September 7th, 2009 

    Son of the Founder of the Iglesia ni Kristo, Ka “Erdy” Manalo, was buried today and it has been declared a non-working public holiday.  TV footage of the burial rites reveal a solemnity that signifies respect for the depth of grief felt over the loss of a beloved leader.   And the inevitable comparison is [...]

    Posted in Arts & Culture
  • Nicole and U.S. Lance Corporal Daniel Smith, Corazon Aquino and Coup Plotter Rex Robles; and Eco-feminism August 21st, 2009 

    I am instinctively wary of the feminists of my country.
    A Filipina named Nicole (she will fade fast in history by such nameless designation) was vilified as having betrayed the cause of feminists by recanting on her testimony in a successfully prosecuted rape case on appeal setting free the American serviceman Daniel Smith; found guilty of [...]

    Posted in Arts & Culture

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