Can’t decide which one/ones to leave behind so I just got all. Set me back more than ₱2K, yup 😩. I’m never stepping inside a Fully Booked (a local bookstore) again…
The WIP that’s been taking all my time after I cast it on this new year
Ever since we came back from Korea, I was determined to knit my husband a new sweater. He’s worn the first (and only) long-sleeved sweater I made for him so much and he consistently remarked he wished it had pockets. Well, far be it for me to disappoint, I’m doggedly making Tea with Bread and Jam by Heidi Kirrmaier while the temps here are not yet oven-levels. As you can probably imagine, the worsted weight sweater will be on my lap as it grows, and at 30 plus Celsius, that spells torture. Ah, the things I do in the name of love.
Pleasantly surprised to see a reminder of home in a subway in Seoul.
It’s the last moon that I will see over Manila. See you again in 10 days.
I’m on a roll… I recently finished Nelson and Alex DeMilles' The Deserter (4.5 stars for me) so I grabbed another book from the pile.
My husband watched this limited series on Netflix and DNF (Did Not Finish). He swore off any work by Harlan Coben since then, that’s how badly he received the first couple of episodes. I’ve read a few of Mr. Coben’s novels before hence I don’t understand Husband’s reaction. (Well, he didn’t like Where the Crawdads Sing film either which I read and totally enjoyed.) I prefer reading books to watching TV and movies so maybe my reception to the story will once again be the opposite of his.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…. This huge brightly lit Christmas tree stands beside a local Starbucks, twinkling the night away.
Korea, we are a go….
The family got our travel visas and we whooped collectively. We are really looking forward to freezing our butts off in the land of kimchi and k-dramas as we count off the last days of 2023.
Applying for a visa (for citizens of third-world countries like ours haha) is always a pain. So many docs to present during the application. And then there’s often that anxiety when the embassy does not return sensitive documents like birth certificates, bank certificates, SEC articles, etc. I hope data privacy law in this country really, truly works. FINGERS FIRMLY CROSSED.
Incidentally, I am equally amused and surprised our visas are just paper copies. There goes my penchant for collecting visa stamps in my passports.
It’s the First of December in my corner of the world.
I picked up this book during a recent trip to National Book Store. It’s my first Nelson DeMille work. Not bad…. It keeps me reading which keeps my hands from knitting. I need my hands off my knitting needles because I can feel some pain already at times. The writing style reminds me of James Patterson. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not. 📖📚
Hot Off The Needles and already I am planning to frog it. 🧶
This is the Little Lace Scarf by Lisa Hannes.
TBVH, I dislike the finished object. The pattern is great, the design is too, but I realized now that my yarn was not ideal for the project. I used Knitting for Olive Pure Silk, which is, as the name suggests, 100% silk. Which means, it is crazy soft and drapey. Not good for something that is long and narrow. I feel like I have draped a basahan (that’s our local word for cleaning rag) around my neck, huhuhu. I have yarn left over because I initially intended to make two tassels for it. Luckily, I still have not gotten around to cutting the yarn.
I’m really sorry I don’t love this scarf at all. I feel like I wasted a lot of time doing it. Maybe I would have been happier had I used a rounder, plumper yarn instead and it’s not as long. (I measured the finished scarf and it’s more than 2.5 meters long tip to tip. Oh, my goodness.)
Once I’m ready, I will frog it and make another Silke by Justyna Lorkowska. I think that design and this yarn should be a better match.
Once in a while I get it in my head that I want to knit socks. 🧶
(On a scale of 1 to 10, I am a 2 as a sock knitter. I just don’t enjoy it. Second Sock Syndrome? I practically invented it.)
Once in a while though I get rewarded with something nice and functional, like this pair.
Owing to the beauty of the self-striping nature of my sock yarn, I knitted myself something that I could wear with my flip flops. It’s basically all vanilla until I reach the toes. I followed the instructions from Sake Socks (a free pattern by Jackie Tabor www.ravelry.com/patterns/…).
Maybe it will take a long time before I knit myself socks again but for now, I will enjoy these and thank the sock gods for holding my hand along the way.
Aren’t they cute?
Yesterday was our 30th wedding anniversary. Time indeed flew. Lately, I have been saying that if I were given a chance to go back 30 years, I would choose not to have children. I am sorry I will be leaving them to deal with the poor state, not just of the Philippines but also of the world in general. Is there still time to turn things around? Things are looking bleak.
I slept too soundly last night so I missed the heavy downpour that went on for half an hour according to my husband. There’s an incoming typhoon (International name Koinu, renamed Jenny when it entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility), that’s why. It’s extra special humid at 8 in the morning and I am sweating buckets, LOL. There’s a local saying, “Pana-panahon lang iyan” to mean whatever is happening is temporary and is likely to change without warning. Because Filipinos are very jolly people, we sometimes say, “Weather weather lang iyan.” It’s funny but accurate. If the weather bureau says it’s going to rain, I’m not leaving home without my rain gear.
Day 30 - TREASURE
A treasure trove of ideas and knowledge that’s visually appealing
📍Fully Booked in BGC, Taguig, now gone
Day 23 - A DAY IN THE LIFE
Because of the poor air quality that hangs over the metro, not to mention the heavy rains and expected flooding, we decided to forego our plans and just stay home today.
Day 10 - Cycle
See what happens when you drive someone up the wall…?
📸📍Mitsuyado Sei-men, Pasay City, Philippines
I meant to walk to the corner store to buy some fresh essentials (and additional food for the cats) but it has been pouring since early this morning. It’s been wet, wet, and more wet the last four days. I guess we shouldn’t complain as water from the heavens represents blessing in more ways than one.
📸 📍 Diosdado Macapagal Blvd, Manila, Philippines
I’ve been in Toronto for a good month already. Most days I am bored, crazy bored especially when my daughter has to go to work on-site. It’s good that my YouTube Premium subscription allows me to watch all sorts of videos without the ads. Frankly, I didn’t think I could use my paid account here where I am far away from my home in Manila. Anyway, I’m not one to complain.
I whipped up a batch of oatmeal cranberry cookies just because. I ate one and whoa, it’s good. Very, very good. It is crunchy around the edges while soft and chewy in the middle. It’s a recipe by John Kanell of the Preppy Kitchen YouTube channel. I subbed raisins with cranberries because they’re what I have available ATM. Here’s the link to the video if you want to try it yourself.
This is the most delicious cookie that I have ever baked. That I used oatmeal makes for guilt-free eating.
During insanely hot summer days, cold drinks offer welcome respite. Let’s stay hydrated, folks.
Cooling Our Heels
Coffee for the boys, tea for me.
CBTL in Robinsons Galleria is very busy today.
Because making and baking your own bread is tiring business, I ate one straight out of the oven. Yikes, the filling burned, hahaha.
My passion for making bread started when the pandemic hit and everything suddenly ground to a halt. Cooped up in the house, I got doomsday feels especially when our mobility was hampered. Thank goodness for the internet, I watched many videos and zeroed in on how to make pandesal. Pandesal is a local bread that is soft and covered with bread crumbs. It is many Filipinos' comfort food.
So I had it in my head that pandesal will be my first-ever bread project. My first attempt wasn’t my best; heck, it wasn’t the best of my worst even. But I did not let that failure stop me. I have always been obsessive, especially when my interest is piqued and I like what I’m doing.
After a yearlong hiatus (Chronic tendonitis sidelined me, that’s another story), I started baking again. Following a spate of savory and sweet bread, I asked the husband what he wanted and he asked for pandesal. I made a batch and, right before the last proofing, divided the portions- half with corned beef filling and the rest just plain pandesal. Most of the time, I like my bread to have filling because it simplifies eating, just heat it up and voila, instant breakfast or snack. How lazy can one get, right?
BTW, I knead my dough by hand 100% of the time. My husband offered several times to buy me a quality mixer (Hello, Kitchen Aid) but I decline. Not yet. My hands are my best tools. Besides, I love the smell of butter and dough on them. Nothing even comes close to the feeling of home.
If anyone is interested, here’s the recipe youtu.be/4RiNlBSRi…
We were pleasantly surprised with this dish which we ordered out of curiosity - Wok-Fried Black Curry Lamb. My picture does not do it justice. @BananaLeaf in Estancia Capitol Commons, Pasig.
