Shuttle, WA April 8, 2008

(blogger’s note: it all began one silly morning on AIM with my YD. YD said her bro, my OnlyS, is traveling that week. to which I replied “yes, he’s going to Shuttle.” (my brain said Seattle but my fast fingers typed Shuttle). my YD (ROTFL and LOL) rushed to OnlyS’s bedroom to tell him what had just transpired. the rest is history. and what is one without repeating itself?  that is, until last week.) 

 

 YD and I left early wednesday morning and arrived in Shuttle at 1pm. after getting our rental car, YD drove us to Bellevue where we checked in at the Marriott Courtyard where OnlyS is staying. OnlyS was in Shuttle for work and play…..after work is over, that is. YD and I, on the other hand, were in Shuttle for play, a cruise to Victoria, Canada, more play, a land and water tour, shopping and more, more play.  

once in the room with our luggages lined up against the wall and after having decided which side of the bed goes to whom, we went out and explored downtown Bellevue.  It was a bit chilly outside but a clear day, nonetheless. I was on a personal mission and kept count of Starbucks seen along the way. after eye-brewing 32 of them, I stopped counting. i couldn’t help but wonder how many more of this hang out there are in Shuttle. 

on another thought, how many more are there of this type of hang out where you buy very expensive drinks that come in numerous attractive names and superflous flavors and additives which by the time you have finished ordering your drink you have somehow lost yourself somewhere between saying grande, add two of that, none of those, a little of this and no sweetener, please. or did you say that right after.. or was it before you said to make it extra foamy just before you asked for a triple whisk?  As for me, you ask? I had my fave. Small, Vanilla Latte, unsweetened, please :)

we had thai food for dinner at a restaurant called thai grill which was located next to a waxing salon which was located next to a vietnamese restaurant called what the pho.  (try saying it a few times, really.)  YD and I disgustingly humored ourselves into wondering if the guy stir frying at thai grill was the same guy applying wax at the waxing salon and if, at anytime, did he ever confuse soy sauce with wax? salty or sticky? you decide!!!

we got up early the next day and headed for Shuttle’s most famous landmark, the Space Needle. we rode the elevator up to the observation deck which was about 600+ feet up from the ground. it was breathtakingly beautiful up there..and.. oh.. so… high…I .. hope.. I.. don’t.. get… sick..ohhh

after not getting sick and thanking God for intervening, we went on Ride the Ducks of Seattle ( err.., Shuttle), a land and water tour that was oh sooo silly and oh sooo funny it was simply great! It was a non-stop darn silliness from start to end of tour.

By Friday morning (very early morning, like 530am)  I realized I was breaking my own record getting up as early as I have been the last three days. Under normal circumstances, my body clock registers wake up time at 11:00am, Mondays through Sundays, specially on holidays like I really deserve it!

 

 By 700 Friday morning we were at Pier 69 in downtown Shuttle waiting for the 800am boarding time for a 2-hour cruise to Victoria, Canada, via the Victoria Clipper. A tour of the city and afternoon tea awaits us, Their Majesties, at the Fairmont Empress Hotel. Our afternoon tea included petite sandwiches, soft sconces plated with mini jars of strawberry jam on the side, decadent sweets and

mini tarts that were all so pretty to eat. The Kahalea Pineapple and Orange tea we ordered was just the perfect complement.

YD and I slept-in Saturday morning, tired from the all-day cruise which ended at 800pm the night before. OnlyS had left the hotel very early that morning to catch a 9:00 flight back home. It was  around noon when we headed for Pike Place Market, a public market overlooking the Elliott Bay. After having seen and captured in picture the infamous “flying-fish” tradition at the Pike Place Fish Market, standing in line with other folks at the very first ever Starbucks in Shuttle……………………………….

and snapping a photo of Rachel, a bronze cast piggy bank and the market’s official mascot weighing in at 600 lbs, we headed for other places of interests my YD had highlited on Shuttle printouts she carried in a folder inside her backpack. How so organized! 

There was the Spice House selling spices I’ve never heard of before (adadaba? you heard of that before?). There were racks of different flavors of teas stocked up to the ying yang.

Crispy yummy warm mini donuts which we purchased a dozen of and inhaled a half of in record time. Crispy Kremes, bite me!

The Piroshky place offered ham, cheese, potatoes, raspberries, mushrooms, etc., etc., et. al. store. So many choices.

Array of red, golden and sweet-smelling fruits; green and crisp vegetables everywhere. 

Stalls upon stalls of fresh flowers and foliage ran by foreign speaking females all so vibrant and beautiful… the flowers, they were. 

The cheese market with couple ladies cutting cheese (the room, off to the side, was enclosed in glass, possibly to ward off global warming) with a huge cheese processing machine made of long, jointed robotic arms for everyone to eyeball.

And the best yet, a mini tiangge right smack in the middle of it all! Am I in Greenhills or Shuttle? God help me!

To cap our day we headed to Snoqualmie Falls. After a few hundred photos of the majestic waterfalls, we headed back to the hotel where we ate all our delicious buys from the market: ham and cheese piroshkies,  danishes, fresh fruits and meatball sandwiches from good, ol’ Subway.  

We flew back Sunday morning, arriving in OC in the afternoon. During each flight segment,  I was asleep (and hopefully not snoring) as soon as I got seated, unlike Meg, who was by all account ‘Sleepless in Seattle’? …err, Shuttle! 

   

“A period of travel and relaxation when you take twice the clothes and half the money you need.” ~ Anonymous

 

A- January 27, 2008

My 12 year-old grandson spent last weekend with us. His science project was due Monday and he needed help. Who can, at a moment’s notice, help him carry out such massive undertaking?

Not his mom and sister who were leaving for San Diego the next day, Saturday, for one of his sister’s cheerleading competitions and will not be back until late Sunday night.  There will be no chance getting the project done in time according to my daughter, his mom; not his Dad since he was working the weekend and may be too tired to help him at all; not his aunties and uncles since they had made plans for the weekend already; not Foofee, Bails and Pips. They had made plans to finish all three bags of greenies and nothing was going to stop them.

Guess who’s left? 

We started on his science project just before noon Saturday. My grandson’s project involved determining which popcorn brand will yield the least and most amount of unpopped kernels. His hypothesis named Orville Redenbacher popcorn brand to come out at the top of the popcorn chain with the least amount of unpopped kernels.

After twelve 1/3 cups of unpopped kernels and twelve teaspoons of canola oil into a presto popper that sat cooking in the microwave for three minutes twelve times over, my grandson’s hypothesis proved wrong. Forget that Orville is gourmet and expensive. It did not live up to my grandson’s high expectations and hypothesis. Jolly Time won the unpopping popularity with the least amount of unpopped kernels while Henry’s brand came out last with the most amount of unpopped kernels. 

My grandson went home with computer printouts and photos of the experiment. He was to put them all together on a white demo board and submit it Monday morning.

After he left there were 3 big bowls and one stock pot of popcorn, not counting the popcorn on the kitchen counter and kitchen floor, that had to be dealt with. The neighborhood kids were outside playing on the street and an idea popped in my head. Popcorn for everyone! Come and get them!

It’s been a week since. Last night, my husband and I went out to dinner with MD, her husband, YD, my OS and our grandson. On the way home after dinner my grandson casually mentioned that he got an A- on the science project. Well, did we really expect anything less?

I’m ready to take on another experiment and gloat for another A-. Just call.

“Madam, there’s no such thing as a tough child – if you parboil them first for seven hours, they always come out tender.” ~ W.C.Fields 

Her Inspiration? January 13, 2008

Me.

My OS told me this just the other day. I didn’t even have to twist her arm or any part of her anatomy for that matter.  She simply said it and by the look on her face, she truly meant it. How else could it be?

How did it come about? Well…..

My OS never calls before eleven in the morning unless she wants her call to go on deaf ears. Or sleepy head. Or someone awake and just listening to the answering machine pick up the call.  Or all of the above. It has been so cold lately it’s hard to get up any earlier than 11 o’clock. And then there’s Foofee. She is just as bad when it comes to getting up in the morning. 

So it was close to noon and we were on the phone engaged in a conversation that was pretty much about nothing but between sisters was time spent well! For that day we talked about what we’re having for lunch, about the visiting executive at her work from UK, about Brit losing her kids, about the status of her packing for the move to the new apartment, world peace, end to hunger, about school starting next week, my right hand hurting, about her registering so she can vote for Hillary, about her going to Costco and can she get me some balsamic vinegar and cherries.  

When OS showed up at the house later in the evening she was holding a brown box filled with a bottle of balsamic vinegar, a plastic container full of cherries, another plastic container with rotisserie chicken, package of salad , a tub of spinach dip, bag of sourdough bread, biscotti jar and beautiful tulips for the altar. (Going to Costco is like child’s play. You want everything you see. You rationalize. You tell yourself that whatever it is you want might not be there the next time you have the chance to go back, so… what to do? You leave the store after purchasing everything that was not on your list.

During dinner, we started to talk about her move to the new apartment. She said she was practically done packing. There were some small things left to pack. I offered to help her finish packing.

Then she said the magic words.

She looked me in the eye and gave me the sweetest smile, her eyes wide and beaming. She said that she was afraid for my hand to start hurting again. She wants me to be present during the move to simply be her inspiration. Just like that.  No arm twisting. No bribing. No putting words in her mouth. I smiled back, my eyes wide and beaming as well. 

I got up and went to the cupboard to get two Chai tea bags. We’re celibrating. Time to brew some tea and have some chocolate biscotti for sweet inspiration.

“Sisters are for sharing laughter and wiping tears.” – Author unknown  

Maybe I Should Sign Up For Yoga Again January 7, 2008

There it was! The last 10 seconds of 2007………… With a glass of apple cider in hand I counted along…10, 9, sip, 7, 6, sip, 4, sip, sip, 1…  Happy New Year!!!!!!.

Happy 2008!  Happy leap year to that! Another 6 months of dating every check with 2007…or at your worst, the entire year.  Then by the time you get the hang of 2008, it’s 2009! It’s a vicious cycle, but, who’s complaining, really?

Between my husband, my children, MILs, my grandchildren and my OS we have, as of last year, accumulated a total of 377 birthday years! We’re counting…. 

Between the doggies - Foofee, Pips and Booboo - they have 12 years altogether …. or 84 bark years …woof!

MD married her sweetheart. The memorable day was celebrated in pinks and browns. Gerberas and cosmos. Subtle sprays and topiaries. Everything else was like falling head over heels in love. Like icing to a cake, they also moved in to their new condo.  In the summer they announced they were pregnant. We were so excited for them and looked forward to the day. However, our little AM lived only for a short time. I planted some pink and lilac flowers in her memory. She will live in our hearts forever.   

YD announced her company was laying-off people and she might lose her job – her first real job, she called it. Having gone through one myself, I was worried how she will take it.  Well, not bad, it turned out. Armed with her hard-earned severance pay, she booked a 50-day tour of Europe with a renowned tour company! Way to go, Fally! Not long after, in about 2-3 months she announced she was starting on another job. It was a job she enjoyed doing but which did not last very long. Getting laid off for a second time didn’t bother her she said. I thought she was going to tell me she was leaving for Greece that time. Oooo-pah!

OD threw a party for her hubby at their house, turning her garage into a “party place” complete with round tables, bar stools, buffet and candy tables and an array of delicious dishes and cold drinks. Knowing what they have gone through the year before, it was indeed a celebration of life! 

For Christmas 2006 gift we received an all-expense paid trip to Hawaii from OS, MD, MDH and Pips. When it came to actually booking our flight we were presented with a choice. Aloha? Ciao? Last spring MH and I arrived in Rome where we were met by our OS and his GF at the Aeroporto Leonardo da Vinci di Fiumicino. On a day trip to the “City of Water”, Venice, we saw our YD at a McDonald’s of all places! YD said that when she entered the restaurant she heard a familiar voice. She looked back to find out. Well, …. yea-aaah! It’s Mama! That’s amore!

I turned 51 this year. With the family in tow, we went to Salo-Salo where all the tables are never long enough and never wide enough to hold all the big platters of food you order! The only consolation is how every dish is so delicious all the time!

I went back to school in the fall to earn a degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. …..Bite me! Although I  must confess the laboratory segment triggers off the worst of my allergies. What to do? 

When YD turned 26, we all made plans to go to Vegas. However, by the time the weekend came, the rest of us could no longer make it because of the uncertainties of the ongoing canyon fires in the county we live in. YD and her friends went by themselves to Vegas instead. I asked her to keep her eyes open for Barry. Unfortunately, there were no Barry sightings. Darn!! 

The biggest surprise of the year was a surprise party for MDH for his 30th birthday. Boy, was he surrrrrrrrrr-prisssed! Nothing can be more surprising than getting surprised on your surprise birthday party! Yeah!

Of course there was the annual July 4th blast at the house which gets funner, happier and wilder every year. There is always much too much food, more than enough to feed an entire nation with still some left to be able to pack ”to go” bags for the entire clan. 

Our family’s Christmas Eve dinner was, like all years past, magnificently delicious to the last bite. Opening gifts was a riot to the nth. Always!

What else? Well, I took up yoga. I still remember the teacher asking us towards the end of the first class to relax our minds and think of that one thing that makes us very happy and to “inhale” that thought inside our bodies. Well, the first thing that came to mind was Foofee. Sitting inside the car on the drive home triggered some sort of guilt in me because after all there’s my husband, my children, grandchildren to think of first! Getting home, I mentioned to Foofee how my sense of loyalty was put to a test. She looked me in the face with a “get over it” look.  

From Foofee and I, happy new year! She wants me to sign up for another yoga class this year, make amends and start thinking of others!

“A New Year’s resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other.”  ~Author Unknown

Wanna Banana? December 29, 2007

I baked 3 big loaves of banana bread today - one with very ripe bananas, one with very ripe bananas and chunky semi sweet bakers’ chocolate, and one other with very ripe bananas and melted chocolate. They all came out looking pretty and tasting good. The entire house smelled of delicious banana bread.

I just read Ferly’s Tequila Christmas Cake and it was deliciously hilarious! I was LOL it brought tears to my eyes! I’ve read something like that in the past but Ferly’s version was loaded with alcoholic insanity twice the normal level it came out refreshingly funn-Y!

To bananas and tequila’s – muy deliciou-oso y muy funny-oso!

“On a traffic light green means go and yellow means yield, but on a banana it’s just the opposite. Green means hold on, yellow means go ahead, and red means where the hell did you get that banana at…” ~ Mitch Hedberg

Soup-er December 21, 2007

It’s been  a week ( although we feel like it’s longer than that) since Foofee and I have commented on anything and everything.

It’s been so cold we have been sleeping a lot like polar bears hibernating this time of the year. We take a nap just as soon as we wake up at 11am. We wake up, check each other if we’re still breathing, get up, stretch out, check the rest of the house and then walk like zombies to the spare bedroom aka Papa’s computer room to throw ourselves onto the couch for a much needed nap usually lasting 1.5 – 2 hours!   

Today is no different except we managed to remain awake.

Foofee is at the groomers – getting the “works” done.

I, on the other hand, am trying to organize the clutter inside the craft’s room.

Maybe some home made chicken noodle soup will thaw us both out. Betcha Foofee would love to have some after coming back from the groomer’s - to calm her nerves after an encounter with a brand new groomer!       

Fa la la

“Good manners: The noise you don’t make when you’re eating soup.” ~ Bennet Cerf

The Morning After December 13, 2007

Please let it be here already!!! Bio finals tomorrow at 10am and a piano recital at 9am Saturday!  

Then what?

I can organize the spare room where I have all my craft supplies; my gazillion spools of ribbons; boxes full of assorted embellishments; more boxes full of pearls, beads, brads, snaps, eyelets; several mini floral arrangements; favor bags in all shapes, sizes and themes; it is art in suspended form in there!

I can finish pushing out stuff from under the bed.  I don’t even know anymore what’s under there. It all starts with some stuff I don’t know what to do with. What to do? Push under the bed. I’m hoping to find a backing to a favorite earring that rolled under the bed when I was trying to put the pair on a few weeks ago. Now that one was unintentional. Yeah. I’ll be surprise, but not really surprise, if I find more earrings and more backings I haven’t worn lately because well, I have not seen them lately. Really.

I can finally go through dozens and dozens of socks needing to be paired with their mates. Come to think of it, it is so much easier to just get a package of brand new socks than to start playing matchmaker. Everything is on sale right now. However,  in the spirit of conservation and because apparently our country is on the edge of recession, the economy is not doing too well, gas price continues to climb, I will contribute my share to global integrity. I’ll start pairing socks! There! 

I can organize the pantry finally. Get rid of stuff that’s been there since the last kitchen remodeling we had. Not the one we had 5 years ago. The one before that. 8? 9? The box of 24 bags of microwavable popcorn. Must have been intended for HDTV marathons like “I Love Lucy”, ”CSI: Miami”, “Law & Order’ that really left no one with time to get up and do something as distracting as throwing a bag of popcorn inside the microwave.  The box of Bisquick the size of an engine of a big rig truck. Did we plan to serve the neighborhood breakfast sometime ago?  Packages of dried basil leaves drier than dry. Oh and look at that! 6 jars of mustard. Same brand. Same size. Was there a “buy one get five free!” sale sometime ago? Or did I save them for some rainy day? Let me check on the expiration date.

I can organize my party plates, bowls and platters by color, perhaps by holidays. Festive reds and greens for the Yuletide season. Blues for birthday occasions. Luau inspired for summer parties. Casual reds for July 4th. Chafing dishes for big, all dressed up parties.  Right now they are just everywhere. Where a spot is available, is where a dish goes when it’s time to put it away. The reds with the blues. Greens with the luau platters. Blues with the chafing dishes.  Casuals with the more formal ones. Come to think of it, it’s like they are having a party in their own special way, ceramically speaking. Heck, why even sort them at all?

Foofee agrees. Why ruin a perfect chaos in order? Let them be! Give pizza chance!

“I am thankful for a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home…. I am thankful for the piles of laundry and ironing because it means my loved ones are nearby.”              ~Nancie J. Carmody

     

Little Red Outfit December 11, 2007

an early christmas gift from her Daddy! she was so cute in it. she wore it all night, too!

one of two things foh zzzure! either she really loved the outfit (which I doubt cuz she’s known to be a DQ about everything) or she was too polite to show she didn’t (which I think is the case cuz after all her Dad gave it to her).

a festive red dress today (2 days ago really!) when christmas is still 15 days away! maybe the wrought-iron doggy day bed is next?

Woof woof, Dad!

“A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he(she) loves him(her)self.” ~Billings

would you like some chai tea? December 2, 2007

rainy feelings are here again. it rained all day yesterday. all night last night, too. today light showers and a very cold santa ana wind took over.   

It was recital night last night. Older Sis and I went. It was her birthday, too! I made two of her favorite dishes for dinner. We ate before we left for the faculty piano recital. 

Thank God this one was much organized than the last one we went to. It started late and lasted for over two hours. We didn’t get home until almost 11 o’clock. By then I was tired and sleepy but managed to stay up until way past midnight to finish the report required for this morning’s class. You see, we are required to attend 3 concerts for the semester and with that, a report of the night’s performance with the show’s program and purchased ticket stapled to it - grade and attendance security.     

Class is at 9. I was up at 815. Got to school late – 920. Found out the teacher was not around yet – great! I also found out that the report was not due until next Saturday. Darn! Oh well. One more concert, one more report and fine! Finals is December 15. I don’t know yet which musical piece I will be asked to perform. We find out next Saturday.

We were dismissed earlier today. It was really cold outside. Walking to the parking lot I thought to myself that I am going to have some hot vanilla chai tea when I get home.

Walking up the front door, I heard Lucy bark. Foooofeeee! She was up last night waiting for me when I got home from the concert. She was upset last night. She had that “where are you goin?” look on her face. Older Sis being there upset her even more because it told her we were definitely going somewhere! Ahhh, if only they allow Foofees at concerts! 

I picked her up as soon as I opened the door. It was nice to get inside where it’s warm. I told Lucy I’m having some vanilla chai tea. Would she like some? She wagged her tail.

“I cannot sit and chat with you, the way I’d like to do.
So brew yourself a cup of tea, I’ll think of you, you think of me.” ~ source unknown

The Gift December 1, 2007

It was a gift from Lolo and Lola. It was 1933, the 8th of October.  It was her 8th birthday.

The day was beautiful. The sun out from behind blue clouds. Birds, butterflies and bees busily courted every flower and shrubs. The old church bell reverberated all over town.

Inside the house, the kitchen was abuzz with culinary activities in preparation for her birthday party. Pancit (rice noodles) with shredded chicken and vegetables. Morcon (stuffed flank steak simmered in red sauce). Michado (pot roast in savory red sauce with potatoes and sweet red bell peppers). Chicken and pineapple chunks in a buttery and creamy whole milk sauce. Ham with crunchy specks of crystallized sugar on top. Chicken macaroni salad with bits of green apples and served with buttered toasts.

A month earlier everyone was talking about some sweet and cold dessert they called ice cream that was discovered in some far away place called Coney Island in New York City. I wonder if something similar was sold locally. I wonder if Lolo and Lola served some at the party together with the chocolate cake with the buttercream icing, her favorite.  

Aunts and uncles, cousins and friends arrived and shared in the delicious feast laid on the dining table. To the singing of the proverbial song, eight candles were lit and blown right after she made her wish, the cake sliced and served.

Then came the moment everyone was waiting for. There it was. The glossy, dark stained upright piano sitting in the far corner of the room. Lolo Casimiro, rogether with Lola Doring, presented their gift to her and asked if she might delight them by playing a song. 

Sitting on the piano bench in her frilly dress she began to play Baa Baa Black Sheep. Or was it Ode to Joy? Or perhaps Jolly Old St. Nicholas ? The guests were delighted with the impromptu show. It was one of the happiest days in her young life.

Through the years, the piano went where she went, through milestones and celebrations in her adult life. Married with four children and with one more on the way, they moved into their very own bungalow in the outskirts of the city, in a town called Pasig. The subdivision was an open field of grass kissed by a panoramic horizon of peace and serenity welcoming her brood home. In the distance numerous house frames were going up. The long stretch of gravel road just outside her front gate was long, bumpy with stones and dusty with dry sand.

Inside the brand new house, the piano was situated against the wall on the left hand side as you walk in past the double sliding glass doors. Just like her, her children delighted many unexpecting guests with many impromptu shows of timeless pieces she herself once played.    

Years went by. Everyone had grown up and moved on. The gravel road outside is now a long stretch of concrete road. Where fields of grass used to be are now houses standing shoulder to shoulder. Through it all, the piano stood like a precocious child welcoming everyone who entered the house. It had remained silent for a long time. Its ivory keys no longer white but yellowed with time. Its tonal quality definitely needing some major tuning.  

Lolo and Lola have gone to their rest a while back. Their 8-year old daughter, Rosario, my Mom, is no longer with us either. However, her memories, her love, her passion, her music, continue to rule our hearts. Always. Forever.

On a recent trip to Manila about four weeks ago, I saw the piano and imagined how my Mom dressed me up in my frilly dress and how happy I was playing Baa Baa Black Sheep. Or was it Ode to Joy? Or maybe even Jolly Old St. Nicholas?

I remember how my Mom stood behind me as I practiced for an upcoming piano recital. I remember playing for an Aunt who would dole out a peso for my performance. I remember playing for a group of friends on one my birthday parties.

Before I left Manila, discussions about restoring the piano to its glory days earned positive responses and support from Rey and my two Sissies. As I write this blog, I am waiting to hear back from Manila if a professional restorer and tuner has been found.

If Mom was alive today, I know she would be very happy. She might even delight us with a tune or two…for old time’s sake!  

“A mother is the truest friend we have when trials heavy and sullen fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness and cause peace to return to our  hearts.” ~Washington Irving