Cheers To You, Jach!

 Inside every older person is a younger person - wondering what the hell happened? - Cora Harvey Armstrong

Most of my days right now are like this, the air thin and eager, with something in it sad and familiar. I feel a pang - a strange and inexplicable pang of homesickness for old joys and memories. 

Suddenly, I want to go back and be in all the places I'd ever been, every street I'd walked down, every room I'd sat down in. I want to see it all again. 

School Valedictorian, 12 years old.
Quirino Elementary, Quezon City: 1957

That's why when birthdays come around, I go for nostalgia, the lump in the throat, the tear in the eye, the tug in the heart. I try to remember, flipping through old family photos and mementoes that amplify good memories.

Like these ones.

(Left): High School Grad, 16 years old. (Right): High School Diploma, Original Document. UP: 1961

Left: Birthday celebration, Columbus, 2021.
Right: After-lunch drink on Waikiki Beach, 2022

But enough of the past. You can't change it.

Forget about the future. You can't predict it.

Enjoy now, for there is no time like the present.

So, here's to you, Jach.

You're like fine wine. 

Aged.

Indeed.

Sophisticated. 

Not sure.

Full-bodied. 

Alexa is still thinking about that.

Lunch from Olay's Thai Lao Cuisine, DoorDash birthday gift from First Daughter and Son-In-Law, 2022

Chocolate banana bread dessert, Roy's Eating House, Waikiki, 2022

Happy Hour has never been happier. Roy's, 2022

Whatever. However.

May the fleas of a thousand dogs infest the crotch of those who screw your day, and may their arms be too short to scratch.

 Let your especial day be filled with joy... and wine!

Shine On!

Light Up Your Life

Home isn’t where you’re from, it’s where you find light when all grows dark. - Pierce Brown

You already know I'm 'extra.' 

It’s just the way I am.

I like to overdo anything.

My daughters say I'm obsessed. Hubby says I'm over the top. They're right.

If I had my way, I'd serve double entrees, triple desserts, and mac/potato salad/ bread for carbs all at the same time at parties. 

I'd fling open all double doors to create a welcoming gesture to guests. 

And most of all, I like to light up the house at night like there is no tomorrow.

Why? 

To me, pitch darkness is a scene that looks sad. I don't like it when the night sky is dark, with no moon to light the way. Or when only a sliver of moon rises, just enough to cast long shadows across the empty street.

So it is that lighting up my life and every conceivable corner of our house has become a lifelong pursuit.

Marquee lights outline the top of the free-standing partition between the dining room and the kitchen (left).

On the corner of the dining area are potted bamboo stalks and a bush with bright white LED lights (right).

The railway up the stairs and on the balcony of the second floor that overlooks the living room is festooned with a series of tiny bulbs embedded in rope lighting.

When night calls, visible through the glass walls is the full glory of the deck's lighting, casting a nice glow over the shadows blanketing the English ivy. It shines upon the lilac branches leaning in toward the house, I imagine because the house is bright inside and the lilac craves the light, like bugs.

Isn't this such a happy scenery, dreamy and malleable? 

The night may descend around me with flat and complete blankness. The sky outside may be ink black and moonless, but our home will glow.

Radiant.

Filled with vibrance.

And moments that twinkle.

Festival Of Lights

Light Up Your Life

Light up the darkness. - Bob Marley

Have you ever considered how water retains the memory of all that is reflected in its surface and takes it and holds it in its depths? And how the deeper the water, the more it can retain, including your vision, and mirror it back to you?

I know. 

That's deep thought.

Despite my measly understanding, however, I've developed a fascination for that eerie imagery of light reflected on water, or more accurately, of light floating on water.

That was why when I heard about the Shinnyo-en Festival of Lights, I was all ears.

Each summer in Japan, people commemorate the memory of loved ones by releasing lanterns decorated with special names and symbols into local rivers and lakes.

Perhaps one day, I could witness and take this journey of light. 

When I do, I can imagine how beautiful that nocturnal atmosphere could be. 

I can see myself standing at the edge of the water just out of reach of the waves that lap at the shore. 

Above, the stars will be numerous, the sky looking like a navy blue fabric covered in thousands of polka dots.

I'd stare out at the ocean looking like the ship, just over the horizon, that I'd been waiting for all my life.

It would perhaps be a moment of recognition.

A discovery of the light within myself. 

A light that will lead me on the path towards love.

Joy.

And peace.

 

Chiminea

Light Up Your Life

Looking for yet another way to light up your life?

How about a chiminea?

Chimi-what?

I asked myself the same question a few years ago and have learned a bit about it since then. 

Let’s start with a few definitions.

Mirriam-Webster definition

CHIMINEA

chim·​i·​nea | \ ˌchi-mə-ˈnā-ə  , -ˈnē- \ plural chimineas

: a freestanding earthenware or metal fireplace that in its typical form has a bulbous body which is open in the front and is topped by an elongated chimney

Pinterest definition:

: chic firepit

Looking at one, you may understand why I'm hung up on it.

Since our early days in Phoenix, I'd dreamed of having one of those charming, hand-decorated terracotta outdoor fireplaces sold at patio stores and tourist marketplaces.

I thought it would be perfect not only as garden art on the patio but a focal point for a family gathering for warmth.

But it's pricey and perhaps, not a necessity in the desert.

That was ages ago, but dreams do come true. I got one as a Mother's Day from Second Daughter last year.

It has found a home on our deck, with the lilac bush and English ivy and an array of birdhouses for its backdrop. 

The weather may be warm, but not hot yet. Neither is it cold enough to cloister indoors, but it doesn't mean you cannot light a chiminea and enjoy whatever the weather is outdoors for a bit longer. 

All you need is to follow these easy steps and you will have a warm cozy atmosphere that you can enjoy with family and friends.

Loosely crumple up a couple of pieces of newspaper and then place them on top of the fire log grate.

Pile on logs on top of the newspaper.

Remove the chiminea lid and light the newspaper or fuel log with a lighter or matches.

Voila!

If there is ever a magical beauty that can be watched for hours with great admiration, that is the beauty of firelight burning bright into the heart of dimness.

A beautiful moment that shimmers through life.

Especially one that comes from a chiminea.

 

Luminarias

Light Up Your Life 

In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary. - Aaron Rose

In Phoenix where we lived some years ago and in Tlaquepaque, Sedona, I remember walking on cool December nights through the golden glow of twinkling paper lanterns.

Luminarias, they are called.

It is said that these sack adornments date back more than 300 years. The New Mexican tradition began when the Spanish villages along the Rio Grande displayed several of these unique glowing beacons along church and home walkways and on rooftops especially during the holiday season. 

For sure, merchants have made good business out of this holiday decoration.

Electrified luminarias are now readily available for purchase. On the internet, I came across a set that includes six lanterns costing between $18-$31. 

But why spend that much when you can easily DIY and make several in a hot minute? Or maybe two.

It all starts with brown paper bag lunch bags.

Fill each bag with a couple cups of sand.

Set a votive candle on top, and it's done.

Don’t you love a project like that?

It's super affordable.

I buy my supplies from the Dollar Tree (best price). You can adorn an entire walkway for peanuts.

It's super statementable.

One-of-a-kind in its simplicity. Quaint, Charming.

Most of all, it's super inspirational for the message it brings. 

That there is no darkness so dense, so menacing, or so difficult that it cannot be overcome by light.

 

She Lights Up Our Life

If there is ever a magical beauty that can be watched hours with great admiration, that is the beauty of a strong light falling from the everlasting skies into the heart of dimness. - Mehmet Murat Ildan

 

(Left to right): Baby Ali shirt, diaper safety
 pins attached to shirt, hanging crib Igorot
dolls with cardboard ALI letters

I have these small treasures.

Looking at them makes me wish sometimes that I could just rewind back to the old days... 

(Left to right): White
lace graduation dress, green tee with
 hand-painted ALENA name

... and press pause.

Just for a little while. 

Getting Ready For Bed.
Chicago: 1973

To this day, many years ago.

But the great paradox of parenting is that it moves in both slow motion and fast speed.

It was but a short breath before her wings were ready and she had taken flight.

This is today...

Moons and years pass by and are gone forever, but she has been our beautiful moment that has shimmered through life, our ray of light.

On this noteworthy day, we greet you, First Daughter, on your birthday. Let's light the candles and celebrate YOU.

Just remember, you're older today than yesterday,

but younger than tomorrow.

May your day be filled with blessings!

This Little Light Of Mine

Light Up Your Life

Several spots scattered across the mainland can count on plenty of snow each winter. 

That's when all that build-up to Christmas and stockings and snowmen and family and friends and caroling and all the joys of the season leave in their wake inches and inches of ice crystals.

Drifts of snow so big you can’t see the sidewalk.

That is why I'm cheering you and me up, particularly if you inhabit one of those notoriously snowy regions, with thoughts of all that is bright and light all through this month.

January.

A month of new beginnings. 

Birth month of First Daughter. She whose name means light. 

This series, I hope, will bring you warmth as near as if the sun were shining in your hand. 

***************************************************************

There is not enough darkness in all the world to put out the light of even one small candle. - Robert Alden

This Little Light of Mine, a well-loved children's song, was a favorite in the Cherub Choir's repertoire.

I remember how the young singers that included First and Younger Daughters fervently intoned in a voice that exuded a sense of purity and sacredness, This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine.

How the singing brightly built up.

Clearly.

Giving off a sense of optimism.

Lilting and cheerful, promising that this light would shine all the time.

Already, that was enough to distract me from all the darkness as the singing cherubs waved a pretend candlelight. In my mind, each small candle had just lit all corners of the impenetrable shadow of life.

And soon, the entire congregation was singing along. There was nothing like singing a song that people knew and were singing back to you.

Hide it under the bushel. No!

The notes may have faded, the song ended, but listening to that simple message, I thought, Maybe.

Possibilities scratched a thin silver trail across my heart. I hope. Everything seemed to be built upon these two words, these two fragile syllables like the cry of some forlorn bird.

I hope.

For this puny light to guide us through storms ahead.

For the undaunted flickering of a candle to help weather difficulties that life         sometimes puts in our path.

And throughout the months and years and mountains and dreams ahead, that we would hold our candle...

... and let it shine.