BIG BREAKFAST TO SENDOFF DOLLY

​Aside from walking, food, glorious food is the center of our enjoyment, a joy that binds our friendship.  While many cool down at Starbucks, that is not our routine since we can do breakfast better in our own homes. 

Once again today, The  Sweet Magnolias and guests husbands gathered for this big breakfast to send off Dolly and Vener.  They will leave for the US this week and will be gone for sometime. 

As we became better friends, we have slowly weaved and blended into each other’s lives. As Mel put it: “we even know when one was not able to sleep last night”. Nowadays too, we mark the comings and goings of each one when we leave town or travel abroad; hence this breakfast. 

Recently, our birthdays too are calendared; looks like Mel set a precedent when she invited us all for breakfast at Palms Country Club to celebrate her birthday last week.

 Juliet and Cheska already set their birthday celebrations for April and May. 

Just like the spectacular dinners given by Tess, this breakfast is beyond compare.  Here we are in front of her kitchen island raring to eat but we need this photo. 

There were fruits galore! If there is a “bahay kubo” folk song for veggies, then we need another one for all these fruits served. Notice that they are all local, nothing imported. 

My fruit plate, yum! 

This breakfast was a big one, the savory arroz caldo is the specialty of Vener served complete with trimmings. The crunching bean curd brought by Cheska was a good pairing. 

Not to be outdone are the Samar delicacies, our breakfast favorite. 

The dried iliw from Allen

And 

The Calbayog tinapa. 

There were two omelets, the rolled Japanese omelet 

And the mushroom-spinach omelet; both so yummy and healthy that I feasted on them. 

Another dish which can go along with the dried fish is the grilled eggplant, peeled and mixed with coconut milk with other trimmings. 

Of course breakfast is never complete without dessert, our fave too which Juliet  brought, the Biko. I consider it my friend and foe for it is temptingly delicious but not good for me. So I had a teaspoon full and it took a lot of resistance not to get another. By the way, this was served with chocolate made from the best tableya from Iloilo. 

Here you see Tess doing the last few stirs of chocolate making it thick and velvety. 

A serving of dessert 

There was also the ginatang plantain (inog oh) in Visaya which was so rich and yummy

Have a pleasant trip Dolly and Vener.  Come back home soon so you can walk with us again. 

Tess sendoff gift for Dolly; the most coveted  (by us) is that native and embroidered  bag from Bicol which is convenient for traveling.  

Happy Landings!  

THE JOY OF FRIENDSHIP

​If you’ve asked me five years back , I’d say that I’ve never been happier with friends than those from college.  They’re amazing but they all went abroad except me and we only see each other when they’re in town. 

Further back in time there are friends from grade school through high school but most of them  live abroad too. We catch up on Facebook and when they come home for vacation. 

I developed enduring friendships from work but we didn’t have enough “adventures” to enjoy each other; the bonding times were too far in between and mostly work related. Nowadays we get together only during milestone celebrations. 

Actually friendships start in kindergarten. One stops crying after Mom leaves when a classmate try to engage us in conversation. If connection is sustained over the years; they become the most enduring friendships ever; otherwise they are the ones we will fondly remember. 

But if you ask me now, my answer would be different;  I enjoy being with my neighbors? My walking buddies who quickly turned to real friends before I could blink an eye. 

Why so and why so fast? Because we see each other everyday while we walk seven kilometers. Moreover, we breakfast together frequently. Imagine the bonding time getting to know each other? 

So yes! I am happy that I found these neighbors; my friends now.  They have diverse personalities. The foremost is generous and inspiring; definitely spreads love while the other is nurturing.  One is cheerful another motherly; one is affable while the last two are emphatic and the other diplomatic. As a whole they are all wonderful, generous, warm hearted, supportive and sympathetic individuals. 

Here is a typical week of walking and bonding. 

Breakfast in Red

By the cypress tree in Orange

In Yellow after breakfast at home 

In White with sunglasses 

Black in the street. 

Lavender friendship chain

Pink bougainvillea 

Green in the garden

Breakfast in Gray

Street Blues 

Engaging with younger friends makes us experience diverse interests; they exude a unique sense of humor. They keep us in touch with the times;  refreshes and updates us with the latest techie lingo, the acronyms and slang commonly used in social media. In other words they make us feel young. 

I thought that in retirement I’d live a slower life. I know it can be liberating; no more playing the corporate game. 

As Kathy Merlino, my fave retirement blogger put it: “ no more go along and get along at work and work, work, work to achieve more in order to gain  higher levels of prestige, money and success”. 

I tried to look for my next big thing when I retired; I wanted to pursue a hobby and turn it into a business. Success only means doing something that would bring revenue right? WRONG! It will never guarantee happiness. 

My younger daughter suggested to get on with my life and just do the ordinary, so I started to walk, did five thousand steps a day that led me to new heights. The exercise and the joy of friendships provided a healthy balance. 

Getting older without friends is a long and lonely road towards the end. After retirement we miss the office camaraderie and the only way to fill the void is to connect more with friends. 

So here’s to friendship! Cheers to my friends, old and new!

A BREAKFAST SEND OFF FOR A FRIEND.

​We had big smiles as we welcomed this beautiful sunny day!  Let me tell you about our breakfast today; a send off for Carol, our walking buddy and her husband Alfred. They are going back to the US for an extended period.  Some of our husbands found the time to join us. We took some photos for posterity.

Below are Carol and Alfred, the guests of honor.   

We always do 7 kilometers first before we gather for breakfast! Let me share our photos wearing yellow shirts today. Fridays you will see us in the streets wearing black; but today should be happy and bright so we chose yellow  representing happiness, joy, energy and friendship. Yellow is also link to the sun that gives life and light. 

We thank Claire and Dr. Kim , the lovely and generous couple and our hosts. 

This photo below shows the couple’s  two sons whom we fondly call the Jacoboys. They are sociable, they entertained us.  Cheska brought along her daughter, Aaryaa, their playmate. 

And there she is, their Mom looking like a princess with her yellow headband of roses  and the  youngest buddy, our host, Claire. 

We appreciate this beautiful table setting 

And this yummy spread prepared for us. 

Earlier while waiting for the guests of honor to arrive we took photos. 

Here below are the youngest in the group, three C’s; Carol, Cheska and Claire. Ain’t they lovely? 

Well, time flies like a breeze when we are having fun and before we knew it, mommy duties call. As they say, all good things must come to an end. That was an amazing breakfast. 

We wish Carol and Alfred a safe trip and happy landings!