Hazel Ceej

Never in my life have I worn so much jewelry as I have during my wedding. Strangest sensation. There I was squatting on a wooden floor, hands clasped in prayer wondering what was going on while  nine monks chanted Pali in my clueless face for three straight hours. It was a Buddhist ceremony. The almighty (ex)Mom-in-law orchestrated the entire event. I did nothing but marry her son.  While barefoot the rest of my body was bedecked with 24K gold jewelry. Well, except the silk skirt which was heavy with hundreds of rhinestones sewn around a foot high above the hem. I don't think I will ever go through such wedding garb again. But I'm keeping the rock (ring is studded with six dots of diamond) and this- This pendant is a replica of Phra Buddha Sothorn or Luang Phor Sothorn which is the religious symbol of Chachoengsao, the city where the then husband and his family come from. In Christian countries Phra Buddha Sothorn is like a patron saint of a town or province.  Here's a d

Three cousins wrestle a mountain of clothes in the flea market. An hour or two in they proceed to the food section. It's been awhile since the girls had s omtam , or green papaya salad. So it is high on their list of dishes to have for supper. Joy is finding a vendor whose somtam combo is exactly one's taste.    xxx xxx   This is the state of the coffee table the day after- a mainly fruit breakfast to offset the effects of coke drunk during the somtam supper which cost just $4.50. And this is how fruits in the tropics are enjoyed: ten mangoes for $1.61, a kilo of rambutan for $0.60, two kilos of mangosteen for $1.30, durian for $3.25, a dozen pieces of jackfruit for $0.65. Joy is spending less for healthy food. Somtam is everywhere in Thailand and popular among locals and foreign visitors alike. The Thai variation is no. 46 on CNN Go's World's 50 Most Delicious Foods . Here's a recipe by Maangchi Kim . Visit these sites: Creative Homeacre * Inspire Me * Create it

It helps that the building around where life revolves at work is also a venue for offshore company meetings, seminars, sitcom shootings, press conferences and wedding receptions. Once in awhile I learn something new from the flower world.  Blue chrysanthemums? I thought the arranger sprayed some of them for variation. But I took a step closer and found they were real natural blue. Not trusting my eyes enough, I dashed off to Google.... ah! there are indeed blues of them. And their middle is just what I need for the mellows. Hope we all have a great week.  Visit these sites:  Favorite Things *  Our World * Sally's Blues * Mellow Yellows

As Lewis Carroll's neologism in his Through the Looking Glass , an u nbirthday is "an event that can be celebrated on any day that is not the person's birthday." People who love celebrations may be into unbirthdays regularly. I am. It keeps me counting blessings and looking at life positively. "Statistics prove that you have one birthday, just one birthday every year. But there are three hundred and sixty-four u nbirthdays. And this is a reason to gather and cheer."  An unbirthday is also "when you acknowledge that it is, indeed, the date of your birth, but refuse to acknowledge that you have aged." and to you!   ~ Sally's Blues and Maiylah's Food: sticky rice sweet coconut balls ~ It is also suggested that an u nbirthday is "the day of a sibling's birthday where you also receive presents/money in order to keep the peace."  I didn't know about this before but I have been buying gifts for my fur kid when the biological o

There is tension between Taiwan and the Philippines over the recent shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman by a Philippine coastguard. Taiwan retaliates; rejects apology from the Philippines, impose sanctions , threatens Manila with naval drills in the South China Sea, goes arrogant, eg. compares themselves to a golden retriever, the Philippines a chihuahua in the event of an attack. Wait. I love dogs. My ears are on alert mode, though I didn't have time to find how the shooting took place, there's an identical twin of my wondering through an FB comment by Mike San Agustin Mccrea :  "if a vessel is required to stop for a coastguard inspection in its national (usually 12mile) limit, and refuses to do so the coastguard is entitled to take such action as is necessary to stop the vessel. If it does not stop after a warning [shop], it seems fully justified to fire on the vessel.... If someone gets shot it is the fault of the skipper of the offending vessel.... So if this is t

This whole tea idea was unplanned. Things were hectic at work. Besides, the son is with Grandma in the home country. But a friend was greeting her Mom friends on FB, I was tagged on cards a couple times and it looked like people were bent on making the day something you wouldn't forget easily.  Well, they show me. I love celebrations so it didn't take long for me to decide that I was having tea after all. I picked Coffee Beans by Dao , a posh cafe in a posh mall to celebrate Mother's Day with a girl friend. She's not a Mom but her niece just had a baby and that according to her makes her a Grandma. Sweet. I believe in treating the self from time to time, and of course it is such joy to have a friend to celebrate special occasions with. The Moroccan mint tea (on collage) was a welcome taste as it was my first since 2010. Blueberry cheese cake is the specialty of the house and that's what I had. Yum! Why does food look so inviting right after work? Yeah... work hard,

More formally known as the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene or Saint John the Baptist Parish, Quiapo Church was founded in 1586 by Governor General Santiago de Vera in Quiapo, Manila. As a third grader I would look at a picture of Quaipo church in a Social Studies textbook and would often wonder how true were those 'extra' stories of crowds walking to and fro on a break of pews or right at the doorstep while mass was going on. Finally after thirty-one years two weeks ago I saw the place for myself; people conducted business in front, and not inside as I worried. It was also my first time to set foot on a Roman Catholic church since Grandpa's funeral mass in the mid 1990s.   ABC Wednesday