A Great Lunch At The Artist Gallery Cafe

Our son who lives abroad said he will bring his family over for a visit but he didn't want me to bother preparing lunch.  So Jim suggested we try the new restaurant that we recently discovered. 

What a wonderful find!

Last week, Jim and I were desperate looking for a venue for a 60th birthday party next month.  We learned that our initial venue had to close shop due to unresolved issues with lessors.  Fortunately our older daughter saved us when she suggested we check out the Artist Gallery Cafe.  

While I was busy with my Sunday chores, Jim couldn't wait to take an initial look, he then drove up to the place and the facade alone gave him a good impression.  He happily told me that it looked great from the outside. 

Late that afternoon we went to see the place and talked to Cynthia, the owner.  We had her block off our party date on their reservation calendar.  I immediately called the celebrant and she readily agreed to have her birthday party there. 

"If you say that it's great, especially that Jim says so, then go ahead and put in a reservation", she replied. 

"Check out their Facebook page: 190 Artist Gallery, and see pics of previous events", I told her.  I believe she was impressed with what she saw.

Our lunch went well today because the food was great and the place amazing.  Because it is a gallery, isn't it fitting to name the items in the menu after an iconic painting and famous painters?  

Who wouldn't love the crunchy Mona Lisa cheeks?  The Raphael's pork barbecue was so tender, but the kare kare de Amorsolo is the favorite of my daughter-in-law, the Monet chicken curry just fell apart from the bone with a touch of my fork.  We ordered the  Da Vinci's spaghetti for my grandchildren.  We didn't have anymore space to try the native sausage ala Juan Luna as well as the rest in the menu. 

The interiors, more than the facade is colorful and tastefully decorated. Cynthia said her inspiration is not only Mexico but a blending of Spain as well;  but her own ingenious creativity and her personal touches were clearly visible.  Every corner is uniquely and interestingly decorated; if it were a photo shoot one just need to move any which way and find that the  background is consistently amazing.   

Check out our pictures today.  I'm not a professional photographer so I hope I gave justice to the beauty of the place.  

My son, his wife and son

Jim and my granddaughter 

My grandchildren

My granddaughter and I 

My granddaughter

My son and family in the function room over coffee. 

In one function room waiting for our lunch to be served. 

We only took pictures on the main room and one function room where they served lunch but the place is so much more, there are other function rooms on the main floor and there's a second floor as well which I plan to see on my next visit. 

On Getting Older And Wiser

Superstitious people believe that we should toast ourselves on our birthdays, otherwise the year ahead will be worse than the previous one.  What have we to lose whether we believe it or not, right? 

So in anticipation to my birthday this month: 

Here's to a happy birthday to me, cheers!"

But come on, why do they come so frequently?  Is there a way to hold back the clock?

Time really flies so fast that oftentimes I can't believe that I'm living my 8th decade.  I understand why Rebecca Bissetonce, editor-in-chief of Expat Living Magazine, Singapore edition said:

"You know you're getting on in life when the really old man in the movie used to be the 'hot dude' you had a crush on".  

 Ahh!  Being old is that time in life when women like me get passed the anxiety over wrinkles and bulges; a time when we no longer get noticed, sometimes we even seem invisible to others.   Well, it's about time to accept all those and make peace with our situation, especially with our faces and bodies and with society in general.  

On the other hand, men get a better deal; even with their expanded beer belly along with their gray hairs, (others may not even have hair anymore) yet they are still dubbed as being accomplished and more distinguished.

If we obsess too much on our looks, we stress ourselves and just gain more wrinkles and white hairs.  I believe that what's important is how we feel, what we do and with whom.  Besides, there are far greater things to focus on other than looks.  

I fathomed that it is not too late to become someone we've always dreamed of if we only try; or do something we've always wanted now that we have the time; something that really matters, like pursuing a pre-occupation, a hobby or even another career; whatever we want to do to make us feel challenged, fulfilled and invigorated. 

Moreover, I learned that the happiest people are those who do NOT have problems but those who learn to live with things that are less than perfect. 

It is not easy to accept everything that come into our lives as part of this complex journey,  especially things we can't control, like fading looks, body aches and pains or illness, even though we follow a healthy regimen of diet and exercise.  We get frustrated if our bodies do not always cooperate in spite our best intentions and best efforts.

At my age, we also become forgetful that it takes time to remember facts and issues, but I do not fret.  I read that it is not a memory problem, there's nothing wrong with our brains if we can't recall things straight away.  Experts say that our minds are full because we know a lot of things and therefore taking more time to recall information; pretty much like accessing files from our computer.  So if we can't remember something immediately, we are told to say that  "my disk is full".

As I celebrate my birthday this month, I try to focus only on what's good in my life.  I've gathered great inspiration from my prayerful friend Nina who says: 

"My life is a long journey as I move from one point to the other, growing in faith all the time.  Instead of focusing on the ups and downs of my life, l'll be looking ahead to the longest finish line because I want to reach it well and perfectly ready".

Today I'll set my sight to that unseen finish line as well, thanking The Lord for the love and the blessings in my life no matter how simple and humble it maybe.  Even though I can't have caviar for breakfast, escargot for lunch, foie gras and truffles for dinner;  I am happy with an occasional filet mignon for dinner (which is more often than what is good for my heart);  I believe that it is still a life that some can only dream of.  

I'm referring to my happy and relaxing home life; focusing on my hobbies:  managing the store, gardening, reading, cooking and blogging.  Oh, my husband will be thrilled to read this, for  as they say:  "happy wife, happy life".

And why wouldn't I be happy with a gentle and caring husband with the greenest thumb, (a big bonus really, that we can eat the freshest organic veggies from our garden); responsible, loving and thoughtful children and (that includes their spouses) and our two beautiful grandchildren.  

I've got a loving and thoughtful sister who lives across the oceans but easily accessible via messenger.  There's my big brother who will readily come visit along with his children and grandchildren if I promise to cook his favorite dish.  We bond occasionally during family milestones and when my sister is in town. We are always happy when we get together, we laugh a lot and I feel the love go around.  

On this birthday and forward, I hope to continue being happy and healthy.  I know that I am still the driving force to complete my life story; as I grow older, wiser and learning more about life, I believe that there  are areas I can still improve on.   That aside, I love my life as is.  It may not be much of a life to others, but it is my life and I wouldn't change it even if I could. 

Minimalist Even With Handbags

Are you lagging around stuff that you don't really need?  Maybe some of us are not even aware what we carry around all day.  If someone were to asked what's in that big bag of ours, would we be able to say exactly what's in there?  

I am one who does not want to carry big handbags especially everyday.  It is only when I travel that a bigger one is convenient for it could carry all my immediate needs plus my mini iPad. 

Moreover, I'm not tall enough for a big bag to be proportional to  my height.  Besides, I don't want to carry a heavy bag  that may put pressure on my shoulders and distort my spinal column.

I have avoided carrying heavy bags almost all my life, yet my chiropractor had to make an adjustment because he found my tendency to lean on the left.  My shoulders are not aligned, the left is slightly lower than the right.  The years when I had the habit of carrying my handbag on one shoulder, must have taken its toll.  Since I learned about this I always remind myself to alternately carry my handbag on both shoulders.  

At a luncheon, I used an envelop purse while a friend beside me had a bag way bigger than her hips.  

"How do you use a small purse, I can't seem to learn how?", she asked me when she saw what I brought along. 

I'd say it's because of dependence on some items that makes us feel secure having them along all the time.  But then we could trim that according to the occasion.  Even though it is a hassle to change bags often, it has its advantages since we can review the contents thus giving us a chance to leave behind or discard what's not necessary. 

Whenever I changed bags early on while I was still working, I often saw a stick of gum, a hard candy that is already sticky, receipts I just dumped in the bag after a purchase, used tissue I couldn't throw anywhere so I put it in the bag as well until I find a receptacle.  Oftentimes I found a toothpick or two in it's wrapper that I must have gotten when I ate at Chinese restaurants; it would be funny though if I found a pair of chopsticks there, ha!

I believe however that things we put in our bags depend on our need.  My daughter-in-law has the most variety of signature bags in almost all colors that she keeps changing to match or compliment her outfit.  But when she had a baby, she got a Big Kate Spade bag so it can accommodate baby things including her wallet and cosmetic kit.  On the other hand, my older daughter used a medium samsonite  backpack for her baby things so it won't be awkward should her husband help her carry it. 

I believe that whatever suits our needs is fine as long as whatever is inside are necessary and convenient to lag along. 

Keepin Our Store Alive

Its been more than two months since the presence of a popular business competitor in the village.  It's opening week alone has affected ours so much that we thought for awhile that  it would topple us and force us to wind up our establishment. 

Recently however, we see our store moving on,  like a baby taking slower steps because it can't walk straight on its own yet.  But it is moving forward, it's getting there for sure, at least to a point where it is worth our while.   It's nowhere near a hundred percent relative to what it used to be but with adequate inventory and a good spin, hopefully it won't backslide before it is up on its toes again. 

 Every week, we observe a different trend but it is never going down to where it started since the competitor.  We do have many customers, the foot traffic is there but definitely not like it used to be.  We did lose some, those that would really make up for the difference.   

On the first week after the competitor opened one loyal customer told our cashier that if we want to stay in the game, we should have an adequate inventory.  She was referring to the items that ran out because I did not stock up.  And we know that too, but as I mentioned earlier, I played it safe.  

 Recently we see customers crawling back occasionally and they account for keeping us afloat.  They tell us about the lack of inventory at the new store, they couldn't get all their requirements there; besides items are not as cheap as they expected.  

As Jim pointed out earlier, one major reason that customers are slowly coming back is vicinity.  Yesterday, a lady was exasperated to walk further to the new store after learning that we run out of gravy powder.  I heard her tell her companion:  "ay naku, mapapalayo tayo" (we have to go further for that).

Regards our store staff, we now have the required number and they are proving capable in more ways than one after they had the proper orientation and training.   They seem to be even better than their predecessors especially attitude-wise.

One of them is a handyman, who is matured and even-tempered, experienced helping in construction and therefore can do minor carpentry work and has a bit of knowledge in electrical system.  This guy is a quiet worker,  what's more, he can cook, how about that?  

The two new cashiers are now up to speed having familiarized themselves on current prices since we are still manual, we don't use the POS system yet.  But I'm thinking about that too, once we get our fair market share. 

In the meantime, I can relax a bit but I continue to monitor inventory closely, making purchase orders and relentless to expedite arrival of goods.  This is an advantage over our major competitor who rely only on what's available in their warehouse since their purchasing is centralized for all their outlets, superstores and junior stores alike. 

Another good news is that I now have my Friday day-off back and my Sundays are free to recharge and enjoy the outdoors;  to garden and to rest, replenish food for the week, try new recipies, read, relax and write my blog under the mango tree.  

But I still manage to monitor the store by remote control on those days.  No problem there since my staff know when to consult me and they can call me anytime. 

 At this point, I'm still up in arms on this crusade until I know I'm beat,  but I don't think this will happen, at least not yet.   The store will run as usual and hopefully with the right focus we can think of better ways to manage it.  Who knows, it may even grow, and  why  not?

My Version Of Granola

I thought I'd make granola today. 

Sometime ago I ran out of these two jumbo packs of dried cranberry and granola that my thoughtful sister from Florida gave me last December.   She knows that I top my oatmeal for breakfast with dried fruits and  crunchy cereal to allay boredom.  

Since then, I've been buying granola and muesli, though they are quite expensive here, most of them, if not all are imported.  Therefore it is more practical to make it myself. 

This is my version of granola partly using local ingredients. 

Hey, what's the green one?  It's called pinipig, or duman or in the Ilocano vernacular, dudumen.  Pinipig is made from immature glutinous rice, burned in open fire rendering the grains partly toasted.  Then it is manually pounded.  

Making dudumen is an event that locals enjoy on summer nights.  They build a bone fire and toast the grains.  For single ladies and guys, this is an opportunity to get together and have fun.  Partners alternately pound the grains in tune with the music, as they sing along. 

The green color, which is sometimes dark green to grayish green is due to the green testa of the young grain;  the color depends on how long the grains are toasted. This is unpolished and therefore more healthy. 

There is another form of pinipig that I added, the white ones looking like Rice Krispies , these are toasted popped pinipig.

After the almonds is pulse-chopped, I mixed this with the grains .  Unfortunately, I only have almonds in my pantry but it would be nice to add walnuts, pistachios or Casey nuts. 

2 1/2 c rolled oats

1 1/2 c green pinipig

1  c almonds

1  tsp sea salt

1/2  c olive oil

1/2. c honey

1       Tsp vanilla

The liquid ingredients are added to the grains and nuts until they are thoroughly coated.

The resulting mixture is evenly spread on my non stick baking sheet and poppep in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  Mid- bake, the product need to be brought out and mixed to ensure that they are evenly  toasted.  I then added the popped pinipig and brought it back in the oven for another 10 minutes.  

The dried fruits are mixed in thoroughly after the baking is done and allowed to cool.  I would have liked to add apricot and dates  but I only have dried cherries that my BFF Lorna from California gave me when she visited.  So I just added raisins for good measure. 

Notice that the baked product is darker brown because it  was toasted. 

The granola should be stored in dry and sealed containers.  If the yield seem too much, half maybe placed in ziplock bags and put in the freezer for longer shelf life. 

Learning To Co-exist With The Business Competitor

"Now you have seen the worst", 

our son said on FaceTime the week after a giant superstore opened a junior outlet in the village.   He wanted an update how it is affecting our convenience store.  Well, we have been feeling the brunt these past weeks and while the sales is low, at least it is a bit better than we expected. 

Like Jim, our son understands how business works, he being a marketing guy himself.  He further said:

"Well, I know that the sales may not go up to the mark as it used to be anytime soon but......".  We are realistic and we believe that too; that's why Jim told him that we are giving this a minimum of three months to observe how it goes. 

"Most people are curious, they like to see what's in the new store",  my older daughter said,  "wait it out, the novelty of shopping there may wear out one of these days".  

Jim knows that in this business and most businesses for that matter, vicinity is important.  He told our son that we are hopeful because we have an edge over our competitors since our location is pretty much the ideal place in the over-all scheme of the village.  

Besides, there is no such thing as a favorite store, like what Filipinos call "suki"  (frequent buyer).   I learned early on in the trade that people buy where it is convenient, where they can find most of their requirements and wherever they find themselves at the moment of need. When they are at the mall, there's always a grocery there; and if not, they would choose the closest,  (not necessarily the dearest).

I held back in purchasing two weeks before the dreaded opening of the new store.  I wanted to observe first how things go because I didn't want to be left with a lot of merchandise that may not move.  I was partly wrong though, because we ran out on some fast-moving items the following weekend. 

As merchandise filled the store again, we noticed a slight increase in sales.   So what is there left to do?  

When our younger daughter abroad asked how things are going, I replied that our primary move is to improve customer assistance, we believe that people are often in a rush, impatient to stand in line, so they should be able to get what they want with ease and go out as swiftly as possible. 

"I am personally doing the stock Inventory and  purchasing since that is crucial.  if we want our store to be a one-stop shop then we must make provisions for the frequently needed merchandise.  At this point, I can't delegate that to anyone."   I further told her. 

Merchandize display is important too.  If it's sausage, customers must see all available brands and sizes in one glance, from big to small or vice versa.  Every item must be clean and should be displayed in such a way that they seem to be calling attention as if to say:  "here I am, buy me".

"I like your approach on this", my younger daughter replied. "It is also a driver to further improve things; operations and efficiencies". 

Our children's comments are our thoughts exactly, they reflect how we see things and how we feel about them. Moreover, it feels great to be encouraged and inspired by them and to know that we are in this together.  I can say the same with our staff who are vigilant to assist customers.  They regularly fill us in on customer feed back. 

The last three weeks in "limbo" were excruciatingly stressful, but we now see a pattern that we can hold on to; though the cash register reading is still not what we want it to be, at least we can get by for now and hope that things will get better.  Most importantly, we were able to release some of the nerves which have been bubbling inside and around us since the new store opening.

    

"Let us relax now so we don't stress ourselves", Jim told me one night.  "Life is short, we must enjoy it, we've done what needs to be done, let's just hope for the best", he added.  Well,  I just hope that the universe is holding up its end of the bargain. 

I'd like to believe Maya Angelou when she said:

"We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated".

And I keep telling myself:

"Never give up the dream", right?

Learning To Live With Diabetes

Someone said that there is no reset button in life, we can't take anything back, we can't undo anything.  Our actions have consequences, everything that we say or do may have lasting impact for the rest of our lives. 

Well then, if I can't undo diabetes, at least I can control it so I won't suffer serious complications like nerve damage, kidney trouble or blurry eyes and at its worst, blindness.  It is therefore imperative to restrain myself from too much sweets and  carbohydrates. 

If only to know is as easy as to do, then all our resolve will be realized.  Unfortunately that's not the case with me.  I've indulged too much on foods not good for me.   Now I have to double time washing down the traces of sugar in my system. 

I've always loved sweets, it is my food orientation since I was a child.  My mama always baked cakes; my aunts frequently made native cakes and our afternoon snacks were mostly pastries.   

In my childhood, before the advent of chips, (well, maybe there was already plain potato chips then),  we had boiled plantain, sweet potatoes, peanut with shells and other root crops to munch on in between snacks and meals, they simply weren't our real snacks. They were always on the table for anyone to pick and eat. 

Nobody told me that diabetes is in my genes.  I should have known that after seeing my great grandmother eat steamed okra with fish sauce night after night for dinner because she had diabetes. 

But I can't blame anyone, can I ?  This high blood glucose just cropped up in the last two years when I was tagged pre-diabetic.  Had I restrained myself from eating too much sweets, I should still be good, right? 

At the end of January my FBS was 8.13 mmol/L, but my doctor thought that a good part of it was due to holiday food.  Nevertheless, he prescribed medication and cautioned me to go slow on sweets and carbohydrates and do another test after a month.  

Using HbA1c as a diagnostic tool confirmed, to my dismay, that yes, I am diabetic.   Though the result is on the lower bracket it is diabetes just the same. 

Determined to overcome my high FBS, I watched my diet closely and exercised a lot in February anticipating a much lower FBS result by month end.  To my disappointment, I was able to bring it down to a mere  0.03 mmol/L which is negligible.  

I did not lose hope though, I recall what my younger daughter said that traces of bad elements remain in the blood stream for six months even if you stop taking them in; that's how long it will take to flush it down, and maybe not even totally.  To abstain from foods high in sugar the day or even a week before the test won't make a difference as well, no, we can't cheat. 

So I worked up more restraint, I did more exercise and finally I was rewarded.  At the end of March, my FBS went down significantly to 6.99 mmol/L.  My doctor reduced my diamicron to half and told me to have another test in ten days.  

Ten days?  I thought I could have a little reprieve and relax a bit, but NO, apparently I can't do that.  I have to see this through, not only in ten days but until I'll hit normal again;  even if it takes all my will power to get to that finish line, I'm going to do it.  

Finally, I know that even when I bring my FBS down, I have to make a drastic change in my lifestyle diet from here on.  As Chico Xavier said: 

"Though nobody can go back to a new beginning; anyone can start over and make a new ending".