Monday, October 26, 2015

My Other Favorite Season

Leaves are changing their colors now.  Soon they will start dying and fall to the ground. Time for the trees to get some rest from the harsh sunshine. It's autumn.  My other favorite season in Japan (next to spring).

Yellow, gold, rust, dark brown, orange, fiery red - the colors of Autumn. Isn't it amazing that before the world turns cold and gray during winter, God displays these beautiful, breathtaking hues for everyone to see?


this one was taken at Sumiyoshi area

Photos below show how Rokko Island trees look like in Autumn.





Monday, October 19, 2015

More Household Hacks

Ants hate cucumbers.  Keep the skin of cucumbers where they are or at ant holes.

To remove ink from clothes, put toothpaste on the ink spots generously and let it dry completely.  Then wash.

About 90% of heart attacks occur in the morning, and it can be reduced if one takes a glass of water before going to bed at night.

To avoid tears while cutting onions, chew gum.

To get rid of mice or rats, sprinkle black pepper where you find mice or rats.  They will run away.

To avoid smell of cabbage while cooking:  keep a piece of bread on the cabbage in the pot while cooking and put one spoon of milk just before it's done.

To make the mirror shine, clean with Sprite.

To whiten white clothes:  soak white clothes in hot water with a slice of lemon for ten minutes.

To get pure and clean ice:  boil water first before placing in the freezer.

To remove chewing gum from clothes:  keep the cloth in the freezer for one hour, then scrape the gum.

To get maximum juice from lemons:  soak lemons in hot water for one hour and then juice them.

To skin sweet potatoes quickly:  soak in COLD water immediately after boiling.

Importance of Drinking Water:
a. two glasses after waking up = activate internal organs
b. one glass 30 minutes before meals = helps digestion
c. one glass before shower or taking a bath = helps lower blood pressure
d. one glass before sleep = helps avoid stroke or heart attacks.

Sunday, October 18, 2015

Did You Know? very useful household hacks...

I got these from a Facebook post of a friend.  

DID YOU KNOW?
1. Budweiser beer conditions the hair
2. Pam cooking spray will dry finger nail polish
3. Cool whip will condition your hair in 15 minutes
4. Mayonnaise will KILL LICE, it will also condition your hair
5. Elmer's Glue - paint on your face, allow it to dry, peel off and see the dead skin and blackheads if any.
6. Shiny Hair - use brewed Lipton Tea
7. Sunburn - empty a large jar of Nestea into your bath water
8. Minor burn - Colgate or Crest toothpaste
9. Burn your tongue? Put sugar on it!
10. Arthritis? WD-40 Spray and rub in, kill insect stings too
11 Bee stings - meat tenderizer
12. Chigger bite - Preparation H
13. Puffy eyes - Preparation H
14. Paper cut - crazy glue or chap stick (glue is used instead of sutures at most hospitals)
15. Stinky feet - Jello
16. Athletes feet - cornstarch
17. Fungus on toenails or fingernails - Vicks vapor rub
18. Kool aid to clean dishwasher pipes. Just put in the detergent section and run a cycle, it will also clean a toilet. (Wow, and we drink this stuff)
19. Kool Aid can be used as a dye in paint also Kool Aid in Dannon plain yogurt as a finger paint, your kids will love it and it won't hurt them if they eat it!
20. Peanut butter - will get scratches out of CD's! Wipe off with a coffee filter paper
21. Sticking bicycle chain - Pam no-stick cooking spray
22. Pam will also remove paint, and grease from your hands! Keep a can in your garage for your hubby
23. Peanut butter will remove ink from the face of dolls
24. When the doll clothes are hard to put on, sprinkle with corn starch and watch them slide on
25. Heavy dandruff - pour on the vinegar !
26. Body paint - Crisco mixed with food coloring. Heat the Crisco in the microwave, pour in to an empty film container and mix with the food color of your choice!
27 Tie Dye T-shirt - mix a solution of Kool Aid in a container, tie a rubber band around a section of the T-shirt and soak
28. Preserving a newspaper clipping - large bottle of club soda and cup of milk of magnesia , soak for 20 min. and let dry, will last for many years!
29. A Slinky will hold toast and CD's!
30. To keep goggles and glasses from fogging, coat with Colgate toothpaste
31. Wine stains, pour on the Morton salt and watch it absorb into the salt.
32. To remove wax - Take a paper towel and iron it over the wax stain, it will absorb into the towel.
33. Remove labels off glassware etc. rub with Peanut butter!
34. Baked on food - fill container with water, get a Bounce paper softener and the static from the Bounce towel will cause the baked on food to adhere to it. Soak overnight. Also; you can use 2 Efferdent tablets , soak overnight!
35. Crayon on the wall - Colgate toothpaste and brush it!
36.. Dirty grout - Listerine
37. Stains on clothes - Colgate toothpaste
38. Grass stains - Karo Syrup
39. Grease Stains - Coca Cola , it will also remove grease stains from the driveway overnight. We know it will take corrosion from car batteries!
40. Fleas in your carpet? 20 Mule Team Borax- sprinkle and let stand for 24 hours. Maybe this will work if you get them back again.
41. To keep FRESH FLOWERS longer Add a little Clorox , or 2 Bayer aspirin , or just use 7-up instead of water.
42. Gatorade is good for Migraine Headaches (PowerAde won't work)
43. When you go to buy bread in the grocery store, have you ever wondered which is the freshest, so you 'squeeze' for freshness or softness? Did you know that bread is delivered fresh to the stores five days a week? Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Each day has a different color twist tie.
They are:
Monday = Blue,
Tuesday = Green,
Thursday = Red
Friday = White
Saturday = Yellow.
So if today was Thursday, you would want red twist tie; not white which is Fridays (almost a week old)! The colors go alphabetically by color Blue- Green - Red - White - Yellow, Monday through Saturday. Very easy to remember. I thought this was interesting. I looked in the grocery store and the bread wrappers DO have different twist ties, and even the ones with the plastic clips have different colors. You learn something new everyday! Enjoy fresh bread when you buy bread with the right color on the day you are shopping.

Saturday, October 17, 2015

Have a Break, Have a Kit Kat


This is the autumn flavor of Kit Kat - the sweet potato flavor.


the pumpkin flavor


yummy souvenirs from a nice and thoughtful friend who had a vacation in Okinawa - purple sweet potato wafers and Kit Kat  (purple sweet potatoes are also grown in the Philippines and they're my favorite variety) 

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Can't Get Enough

Reading has always been my favorite activity.  Whether in a classroom, in a library, at home, anywhere.

So I surfed the internet for photos that I can put here that in a way would tell what reading is like to me.


while having lunch or dinner alone


on the floor

on my bed



by a window on a rainy day


under a tree

on a park

with a flashlight
while waiting for a flight or train ride


in a doctor's waiting room


in a library

in a bookshop


in a plane

in a train


in a kitchen while waiting for something to be cooked


and yes, in a toilet  (rare though)

Friday, October 9, 2015

Bahay Kubo

We have a "bahay kubo" in our backyard.  It was built supposedly for small family & friends gathering because our old house then (which was built by my maternal grandparents way back in the '70s) had a very small living room.  So when we had company for lunch or snacks we entertain them in our quaint bahay kubo.

Amazingly, it was not destroyed during the Typhoon Yolanda.  My parents used the shack as a storage area for all the things left by the devastation.  It took awhile after my mama's passing for me to sort all the things there and move them to a room in the newly built house.

I plan to have the bahay kubo repaired as soon as I can.  I hope it will look nice and welcoming to friends and family who will come for a visit with us.  So I have been looking at photos on the internet of bahay kubos to get an idea of how I want ours to be like.












Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Bathroom Ideas for Seniors

We will soon be renovating the bathroom and toilet of my parents' home.  Necessary fixtures should be added to make it safe from slips or falls, comfortable and pleasant to the senses.  I did some searches on the Internet, and these are my finds.  God willing, we will do the simpler and cheaper versions of these ones.

I like the steel handles, low shower and steel seats to sit on while showering

necessary grab bars



House Plants

I grew up with a lot of plants around me.  Both sets of grandparents were plant lovers and had green thumbs.  So did my mother.  Unfortunately, I didn't carry their green gene. My sister does.  Nevertheless, I always love plants, trees and flowers.

So if I will have my own place one day, these are the plants that I'd love to be in my home and surroundings.





best air filtering plants according to NASA






plants that clean the air


low light house plants





best plants that suit your bathroom