After reading bedtime stories (yes stories...one book of Zach's choice, three stories from the Bible and  a page from his devotional book, and sometimes a bonus story from the Bible that he must read aloud himself) and a prayer, Steve called me to take my turn shift putting Zachary to sleep. Steve mentioned that he will wait for me at the back. When I finally heard heavy breathing, I snuck out of the room, not necessarily quietly and went out back. (Zach sleeps like a log)

Steve out back is happily esconced with the capiz lights on low contemplating the night, and I guess the occasional stupid  roar of the behemoth AC on top of the neighboring restaurant. Here he is in his solitude waiting for me.

I promptly joined him but not without stopping by the kitchen and getting myself a half slice of a papaya. Hmmm...really sweet and juicy.

---in the Philippines, papayas are a regular part of the priests and soon to be priests' diet in seminaries because it is said to help control the libido.  I wonder how effective it is.

Sunday morning..a beautiful day after yesterday's wind and rain...

We walk to the beach before we prepare to go to church.

We gathered our leftover bread to feed the birds.

We can't bring enough for these birds.

 We chase them away after all the bread is eaten.

But they stay awhile just in case there is more.

Two to five-thirty this afternoon was all mine. The boys had a play date at Atlantic Beach. Zach gets to play with son and Steve  plays (guitar) with the father. Two birds with one stone. So I swept, and laundered and straightened up the place. Picked some basil and tomatoes for tonight's pasta. Sat down with my Bible and devotional book and  had some quiet time with God. After that I sat, and sat in different spots in the house, always looking out the window. Today's weather is windy and (patchy) rainy. (This afternoon, a tornado actually touched down on Breezy Point. Really? Here in New York?)  I love looking at rain through the window. I love looking at trees and their leaves dancing with the wind, through the window. I love looking through windows. Period.

I watched the shadows of leaves dancing with the wind in the afternoon sun

I sat at the kitchen and looked through the French door. I listened to the windchimes play.

tomatoes come in trickles now

I love   to watch the grapevine climb up the fence by my bedroom window. When the soft afternoon sun hits the vine, the leaves turn chartreuse and the leaves' stems get redder.

sitting across the  living room window lets me see my potted fig trees, my neighbor's terrace across the street, and people passing by

The plan was to grill these, but laziness got the better of us, we agreed to fry them instead. Steve's not crazy about the squid so I made for him fried tandoori chicken which he loves. The squid is best eaten with a dip made of lemon, soy sauce and chili and plain rice. Funny how  upon coming to America I find out people love fried calamari but not squid. They only know that calamari are circles of fried crispy food. When  they see how calamari really look like, tentacles and all before they are sliced, they freak out.

I love squid...I love every part of it.

tandoori chicken

Do you ever get a monster craving for food you haven't eaten for some while now? I know you do, and what do you do about it? Run to the nearest restaurant that cooks it?  Or do you cook them yourself?

This morning, my friend Onds called to ask if she could  come with two other friends to hang out, do some karaoke (she will bring her own), and cook some Filipino food she craves (particularly tortang talong and  bulad---that's roasted eggplant fried with eggs and fried dried fish). I acquiesced of course and then she called again to say  that our friends have a previous commitment and therefore the impromptu plan is called off. So I went about doing what I was doing before she called...laundry. No worries. Life moves on. Zach was waiting for me to bring him to the beach, so we agreed to go after the laundry. While the machine was spinning, facebook content was boring and quite stale so I logged out and  started cooking to satisfy THE CravingS of my taste buds. Not long after, I got carried away and made a feast for myself.

Yes, making a feast for one's self is quite fun, and actually most satisfying. You know exactly what you want and how you want it cooked.  There's no one to please but yourself.

So here's a record of the momentary insanity that happened in my kitchen this morning.

escargot to whet the appetite
(when I was a little girl, golden escargots, we call gold kuhol were in season when the rice stalks were green and kneehigh. My Dad would cook them in ginger and coconut milk. The shells were individually cracked  where the point is and you either sucked the  flesh out or pry it with a pin)

anchovies

squash (tops) leaves ala pinakbet
(My mom loves to eat these  squash tops and squash flowers cooked in either ginger and anchovy paste or ginger and coconut milk.  This is a rare commodity here so every time I see this in the Chinese market (which is very rarely), I pounce!

(leftover crabs from last night)

bitter gourd (ampalaya) salad
bitter, but delicious

smoked boneless milkfish (tinapang bangus) which must be eaten with tomato and shrimp paste 

the MEAL

I've lived with just one mirror for years until my eldest sister came to visit and  commented how our home has no mirror at all (she means a big or full length mirror). The only mirror we had was that of the bathroom's which was the  medicine cabinet's mirror that allows you to see your reflection from the  chest and up. For her sake, I got a full length one that I attached at the back of our bathroom door. That was not enough, she also suggested that I get a mirror to put on a small space over the kitchen sink. She said that if I should be doing chores in the kitchen, and the doorbell rings, I could first take a look at myself in the mirror before answering the door. That really amused me. Actually, she is a girly-girl, and before she goes out to the world she  makes sure she is all put together. I am exactly the opposite. I can actually jump out of the shower, dress up and go wherever without combing my hair. I always say that by the time I get to where I am going, my very straight fine hair will have dried and hanging in its place.

At this point in my life, I am the owner of five big mirrors (excluding the one already hanging in the batroom door)h. Two, I picked up from the streets which I  stationed in the garden, another two vintage mirrors I  bought from the flea market (pictured below), and one from  Big Lots.

I don't spend a lot of time looking at them...but they do help make our little house look  a little bigger.

Soon I will be painting these vintage mirrors white, thus the tape around the frames

forgive the mismatched jammies

these fans are now in exile at the Poconos. Steve once threatened to cut their wires off as the  encasement  are not safe for  wandering  (little) hands.  They have actually caught two big hands from two different people leaving a nick on each.  But these fans are adorable and they work so well in spite of their age.

Depression Cookie Jars...these have a few chips that's why I got them for a really good bargain

My Zachy and I

I asked my little one to take a picture of me and my sunflower. He's getting pretty good with centering his subject. I thought I was going to get a gigantic sunflower, I guess I planted the wrong seed.

here's my little photographer

He is my blessing from God

he is my miracle

my sidekick....always

He is Isaac too---my laughter....and I thank God for him.

Of Shawlettes and Hand Towels

She loves to knit and make things with her hands. She makes hats for big and little heads, socks and slippers for cold feet,and  shawls and shawlettes for sisters and friends. Down below is what my sister Jenny gave me. A beautiful shawlette that I cannot wait to use. The color is autumn and the design is simply intricate. She actually has a pile of them already made waiting to be wrapped and gifted for Christmas time. Pray you're one of the lucky ones to receive her shawl. And oh, she uses NO cheap material for these.

Isn't this shawlette soooo beautiful?

When she gets tired of  knitting intricately designed shawls and shawlettes, she takes a break from them and she knits these beautiful hand towels using different designs. Again she asked me to take some, and I picked two. She said to pick more and so I got five. 

They are so beautiful, I don't think I can bear to use these.

Now down below is a stepping stone in my garden, which Jenny also made years back. She has a bunch in her own garden with different flowers on them. I remember when the both of us used to live in New Jersey and she first got into making these garden stepping stones, I could hear the whizzing of the machine at 5:00 in the morning!

 Look! she's started a new blue shawlette. That is mine too. It is my order and I insist on paying for it. The material is silky and expensive and the design I chose is delicate. Can't wait to have it.

You will NEVER find her hands idle....Jenny is always making beautiful things!!!

THANKS JENNY!!!!!

So I went to the beach this afternoon primarily to catch a beautiful sunset. Steve and Zach have gone ahead of me since I was busy folding laundry when they were ready to go. Truth is, I needed a 30-minute Me time so, I made myself pre-occupied. ;-)

On my way along the dunes, my unsuspecting eyes rested upon milkweed pods. I got excited and started taking pictures of my future green entree. Shoot! I did not bring a bag---how will I carry my loot back with all the sticky sap that seeps out of its stem?   Love finds a way, you know.

Some mature  milkweed pods that must be  boiled and eaten dipped in  vinegar and  anchovy sauce.   

And young pods to be married with butter and  garlic and a dash each  of salt and pepper

Then I saw some rosehips  that I have been wanting for the longest time to make. Hello rosehip jelly!!!!

I  noticed the sea rockets have  seeded. Can the leaves still qualify to make a crunchy salad? Hmmm...

Then I spotted where the two set camp. Seeing Zachary's wet hair, I knew they already frolicked in the water.

I posed for a remembrance picture (of my forty-some years) ;-)

Here's my loot from nature's bounty. Yes, I left a lot more in there so as the butterflies do not get shortchanged.

I found some other clusters of searockets and I could not  keep myself from picking a little bunch  to go with my salad tomorrow.


Oh, and the sunset I wanted to catch was not much at all. The sun actually hid behind the clouds and that was that!