bagong ligo ang pakiramdam...

We named him Homer, after a male character in a local drama series. But I thought he looks more like Homer Simpson -- darker kasi ang fur niya sa nguso eh. Hehehe.

ano ang nasa dako pa roon...

My bro and his friends spent a weekend at a resort a few weeks ago. Before heading back home, a friend of his decided to take a picture of his child, with a cluster of trees as the background. He only used a cameraphone, and the picture below was directly taken from the phone.

Ngayon, tingnan niyo mabuti ang background sa litrato. Can you see anything... or anyone?

What can you see in the background? We've all been to the resort before, and have taken pictures of these trees, none of our pictures ever looked like this one.

(Note: As per my bro's friend's request, I've covered his little girl's face to protect their family's privacy.)

chocolat!

Remember this? Its seeds have already been dried and grounded. Kaya ngayon...


Cocoa na! Ate Lydia (a cousin-in-law) painstakingly transformed the seeds into this. Bonggacious!


Final product. Mainit na cocoa para sa mainit na panahon. Hehehe. Malamig naman sa farm so puwede na.


Perfect partner. Ensaymada talaga daw ang dapat kasama ng mainit na cocoa.


It's not the chocolate drink kids are used to having, pero at least sinubukan pa rin nila. A tip from me: isawsaw ang ensaymada sa cocoa. Super sarap, promise.

goodnight, Good Friday

Twilight. After the procession, Dad and I hung out at the river deck. Sobrang bilog ang buwan and super liwanag.


We were all wondering where young Lance was while we were watching the procession. Nasa ilog pala, naglalaro.

prusisyon

Spending Holy Week in the province wouldn't be complete without watching the usual procession of saints.


Pieta. Iconic image used countless times. Still quite haunting whenever I see it.


This one always gives me pause. As a child, I found it quite scary. Pero kapag nakikita ko ito every year, it always reminds me what the Holy Week is really all about.

"wala lang" tour

Bigla kong napag-tripan mag-tour ng farm mag-isa while we had guests at the fishpen. Dahil siguro Good Friday, trip ko lang magkaroon ng "alone time". So I started the tour at the entrance of the fishpen. The buri hat above fell in the water (the kids were playing with it) kaya pinapatuyo near the entrance.


Always loved this cluster of trees. Perfect place to set up the duyan na binili namin a long long long time ago.


I also circled around the main cottage to see if I can capture the changes my dad made. Kaso against the light pala ako. Hehehe. Plus maraming nang nakaharang na foliage so hindi makita masyado ang house from where I was. Maybe next time.


Here's the new grotto. Hindi ko nakunan yung image sa loob kasi medyo madulas paakyat. Maybe next time.


And then I found cousin Wig in the main cottage. Actually, I found him in this pose halos throughout the entire weekend. Yan ang "alone time". Hehehe. His face was so funny when he woke up to find a lot of people -- unfamiliar faces -- roaming around the farm.

Blockbuster Friday

After Chetski and her family left, akala namin walang bisitang darating na since it was Good Friday. However, Lola Nora came an hour after Chetski left. Then 30 minutes later, my mom's friend said her family will be dropping by in the afternoon. 30 minutes after that, my cousin and her family came!


Lola groovy's here! My mom's age-defying Tiya Nora's in the country for a long vacation. Sayang hindi ko nakunan ng pic but she brought puto that was really really really HUGE!


Cousin Lena, her hubby and her son surprised us with a visit in the morning!They haven't been to our Pagsanjan house for over a decade, and they have never been to the farm pala!


While most of the guests were inside the fish pen area, the kids roamed around the farm. Here's a picture of my pamangkins looking at the place where the ducks usually swim.


Mga Bulaklak ng Cavinti Jail. My mom and her friends decided to chat with me while they were inside the "pagcor" area. Took me a few minutes before I realized na parang dinadalaw ko sila sa city jail. Hehehe.

Holy Thursday

Martinez family. Chetski's family spent the night at our house in Pagsanjan before going home the next day. First time ni Chetski to see the farm after all the recent additions have been made.


Discovery #1. Having kids at the farm made us realize a few things. The first is: Remind the kids not to over-feed the fish. Better yet, hide the fishfood. Hehehe.


Halo-halo talaga. May halo-halo na, may kakanin pa. Not to mention may videoke at walang katapusang kuwento ni Tito Bob. Haaay. Sarap tumawa. Even though we shouldn't have kasi Holy Thursday. Hehehe.

Visita Iglesia 2009

Original prayer leader. Chetski's back! After several years of not joining our Visita Iglesia trips, nakasama siya this year, together with her cousin, sister and pamangkin. Since 1999, ngayon lang yata nagkasama most of the original group -- me, mom, Auntie Lea and Chetski!


Pangil (That's the name of the church). No matter how many times I've been inside, the impact of the altar and the ceiling never get old. Umm, I mean, the place is old, pero... heck, you know what I mean. Hehehe.


Mom, Auntie Lea, and some members of our Pagsanjan family.


The Last Supper. I've been going to this church every Holy Week but this is the first time I've seen a replica of the whole Last Supper on display! Too bad walang side na magandang kunan 'coz the disciples surround the whole table.


I've always wondered why there are people-shaped candles being sold outside a church. Para kasing pang-kulam eh. Hehehe.


First time! When we reached the parking lot, we found a huge crowd watching something. Turned out may senakulo pala! Haven't seen one before so I immediately whipped out the digicam.


You need to squint your eyes for this one. There are two guys on the stage na mukhang taong-grasa.


SAPAK! At first, hindi ko naintindihan what in the world they were re-enacting. Hehehe. I mean, the centurions just rushed to the two people na mukhang taong-grasa and started beating them up! Turns out the two guys were playing the two thieves who were crucified alongside Jesus. It was a bit strange though na parang the soldiers were fighting among themselves too. I think the heat made the actors a bit crazy.


KAPOW! Chetski and I were shouting "Totoo na yata yan ah!"


Paete. This was the only picture I took while we were in Paete. There was quite a walk to the church, 'coz they weren't allowing cars to enter the church compound anymore. Too many people in one itsy-bitsy town.


Pagsanjan. The most interesting part of the church this year was that a lot of previously sealed areas became open to the general public. Such as this chapel somewhere on the right side of the church. Turned out mas luma itong part ng simbahan. From that chapel, we went out a door that led to an old courtyard.


On the left side of the old courtyard, meron palang smaller chapel. It looked like something you would see in San Agustin Church. Very very cool.