Rainy Days

Rainy Season is officially here and I can't be happier. No news of a storm....just rain...falling on my rooftop....lolling me to sleep almost every other night. :-)

It Rained last night!!!

It rained last night.....

I love the rain....even after the disaster that is Ondoy....I still love the rain. For me, rain is a gift from God....the flooding that comes with it, is the fault of man.

A Mushroom Story

It started last December while I was contemplating the coming of a new year and what I want to do next. At around the same time I decided to give vegetable gardening another try. Since I am a true blue computer potato (I am now adopting this nickname!!!) I spent hours doing research online before I actually picked up the spade to start tilling the soil. While I was at it (the online research) I keep on seeing articles and websites regarding mushroom farming. Before I knew it I was spending more and more time researching about it. So, finally a few days after New Year, I went to Manila and bought my very first grow bags. One of them was mature enough that it start fruiting the day after I purchased them.

Taken morning of Day 1






Taken around mid afternoon


Taken before I went to bed

Day 2

Taken in the morning


Mid afternoon


Around midnight


3rd Day

I panicked a little when I saw that my mushrooms barely grew any bigger than it was last night and the stems are turning brown so I decided....it's time...to harvest it now :D

Right after I cut it off from the grow bag. Not pretty to look at and it felt leathery to the touch.


After washing it 3 times in tap water. The browning of the stems kinda disappeared and the color changed to pasty white and its does not feel as leathery.


Cooked it in garlic and butter:


Verdict: It's hard to describe..... there's a hint of sweetness but not like the sweetness of sugar, the texture was soft but not mushy. Do I like it? ..... I LOVE IT!!!! Totally incomparable to canned and store bought mushrooms I've eaten before. It was simply divine!

New Post!!! New Plans!!!

I let go of my internet cafe last February 23 and since then I've been a PMA (pahinga muna anak) LOL!!!

It's not that I don't want to work....actually I want to work...I just don't want to go to work for somebody else. Both my sisters has asked me pointedly what I want to do and since both of them has stable well paying jobs I understand their point of view. If your a well paid employee, its hard to imagine risking the regular income (plus health care and bonuses) for a business that you are not even sure will pay for itself. Well I've been running my own business for 8 years and at some point I myself questioned the sanity of staying in business.

But instead of making a decision on getting into another business or applying for a job, I instead went into total vacation mode....well actually I still dabbled in business here and there when I get bored (or scared that I might end up a BUM for life!). I told one of the sister I needed the time off, after spending the last 8 years working 12 hours a day 7 days a week. I think it paid off, NONE OF MY CLOTHES NO LONGER FITS ME!!! HA!HA!HA!

But since the end of the year is almost here, I think its time for me to start planning for my next venture and adventure!!! I have pinpointed the market, is doing all necessary research, making the necessary number crunching...now all I need is to slowly but surely rewire my body clock, because all the necessary work for the biz SHOULD be done in the morning and not at NIGHT... SIGH!!! I still have lots of prepping to do!!!

(what is it I am planning???? hmmm !!!!)

Veggie Garden 101

My sister owns a small plot of land a few houses away from where we live. Last year after the parents came back from their 6 months vacation with that sister (she lives in New Jersey with her husband and 3 kids) they decided to turn that empty plot of land into a mini vegetable garden. It was a 50% disaster. Meaning only half of what they planted grew into something edible. The other half was OK . Edible but not as pretty as we pictured them to be. My father thinks its the soil, my mother thinks its the insect. I think.....I think we did something wrong...OR we did not do something right :-(

Anyway a year after that disastrous start, I decided I want to give our little veggie garden another try. But since I would be doing it alone this time, I will stick with something doable for me and that is container gardening.

Well, actually my other reason for going container, instead of sticking little seeds and plants on the ground is because the weeds are driving me crazy. I would probably spend a month just clearing them up and I would have nothing to show for my effort so to avoid that I'll go the container way. Saves up on effort and energy, both of which I am too lazy to spend on weeding anyway!

The wrath of Ondoy

Spent the last 2 days helping a grand Aunt from my father's side clean her now inhabitable house. She was born and raised in that house. Now in her middle 60's, she finds herself without a place to call home for the first time in her life. She will be staying with me for the meantime, as she sorts out her life or until her siblings finds a suitable place for her to stay. They would probably buy another house, something smaller, easier to maintain and definitely in an area that is flood free during the typhoon season.

Another set of relatives, this time from my mother's side, also suffered the same fate. But unlike the Aunt I mentioned earlier, they don't have financially capable siblings to help them start over. Right now they are still trapped in Marikina and we don't know when we will get a chance to pay them a visit. The last we heard from her, vehicles are still not allowed in their area due to the flooding and they are taking out dead bodies first. Which makes me wonder, isn't it more important to get help to those that are still alive? After all, dead people won't know the difference right?!

There are many other stories I want to tell....sadly they all share a common denominator... a storm call ONDOY.