Harvest/Thanksgiving Tree

I just love my Harvest/Thanksgiving Tree!!!  I just love those Autumn colors!

It was only yesterday when I had a thought of putting up my Christmas Tree, but instead of decorating it with Christmas ornaments I'd use all my Thanksgiving decorations. I trimmed the tree with maple leaf garlands, sunflowers, assorted pumpkins and squashes, scarecrows and a rattan cornucopia. The finished product is just beautiful!  I love it!

As the season change from Autumn to Winter, we are reminded to celebrate and be thankful for the final harvests we have been blessed with.  Giving thanks to the "spirit of the land" which provided much abundance.  Then preparing ourselves to enter into Winter where we spend time in hibernation (contemplation and meditation), preserving and focusing our energies for the coming Spring and Summer seasons.

As we celebrate this season, let us all be mindful to live a life of gratitude and love.  ALOHA!

Wow! It's been 5 years since the last post.  Well, we did some travelling since then however I did not really post about it.  Somehow my posts turned into taking more pictures of our travels and delicious food we've tasted everywhere we went.  Hence, the thousands of pictures in my SD cards.

Anyway, posting has been fun as well as a great tool for me to remember the details of our trips.  For now this blog will go on an indefinite hiatus.

Thanks for checking.

currently blogging at my other blog

Mahalo!

Last night in Manila

Peter and I are packing for our return to Hawaii tomorrow morning. We will be leaving my parent's house at 5 a.m. to get there by 6 a.m. for our 9 a.m. flight. It's a holiday tomorrow so we expect light traffic along the major roads leading to the airport.

The weather has been wet and rainy this past week. Classes were suspended for 3 consecutive days. I was happy about this because I was able to spend some time with my mom who's always busy with school and office work. I also spent time with my dad doing home improvement stuff in their house: installing a new toilet, install a new faucet fixture/replace a pvc connection, put in a shut off valve for the water tank, clean-up after the exterminators did their job (at the cost of their dog, Pepper's life, who accidentally licked the pesticide that day), and other minor jobs around the house.

This morning during the English service my mom and I played together, piano and organ, during the Prelude and Postlude; then I accompanied another visiting UPCYMian, Ruby Agnir, during the offertory. Her husband, the retired Rev. Federico Agnir, delivered message.

My mom, Peter and I along with my brother, Jun and his girlfriend, Heidi, went to the new SM City The Block to have lunch at the Healthy Shabu Shabu place, while my Dad was in a pot luck lunch/meeting with the UPCYM alumni.

All in all, our visit here in the Philippines has been very productive, work-wise. Lots more to do so Peter might return before the end of this year again to continue what he had started.

As always, leaving will be hard because my family are all here. But, knowing that we are all connected eventhough we are apart brings me comfort and assurance that we will all see each other again.

I will definitely return next year for three very important things: my Mom's retirement in July, the UPCYM reunion in August, and the U.P. Centennial celebrations and College of Music homecoming in September 6.

For now, thanks for reading our travel blog. I will resume my daily blogging at my other blog:
http://huakai1969.blogspot.com/

Mahalo!

There were a number of small tools stloen from our beach property shed last night or early this morning. When Peter got to the property he noticed the tools gone. That night he heard Nate's voice as if he were right next to him. He freaked out a bit, but now understood that Nate's voice was a warning that something was happening. Now he has replaced those tools and has asked the neighbor, Elizabeth's Garden, employees to store our tools for the mean time while the shed is being built.

It is truly sad that people would resort to stealing. For what? What is the satisfaction in that? Won't their conscience bother them? I just hope that the people who stole the stuff would have an epiphany: that doing bad things will only bring more bad things into their lives, and that by doing the reverse, will bring more good in their lives.

The positive side to this is that the tools were easily replaceable.

Because of this Peter has hired Manolo to watch over the property for the time being.

Dearest Kawilihan (visayan term for "source of joy"),

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR NIECE! Now you are 10 years old. We pray and hope that you will remain to be the "source of joy" of your family. We love you and miss you a whole lot!!!

God bless you always.
Love,
Auntie Mimi and Uncle Peter

We've been busy working that I haven't been able to post since the beginning of this month. The work at the beach continues despite the rain. Peter has been supervising the boys on their work to build a caretaker's compost toilet, tool/supply shed, and the mounds to cover the roots of the trees. He's also did a lot of leg work to get the electric meter and correct electrical wires connected - he is just too happy to get it done today. Now he'll just have to complete the building of the compost toilet and shed then finish up before returning to Manila before our flight back to Hawaii.