da tomāto

[image from unsplash.com] This is what I wish my wall and desk are now. Uncluttered. Simple. Minimalist. ... My blood pressure has not been good since the year started. Still, it has been happy new year cuz I spent time with my sister and her family! My to-do list has been growing though: I have to replace the broken a/c before summer creeps in, I want to get together and catch up with my friends, etc... Right now, I'm going to take a bath cuz that alone takes me 2 hours (1 to bathe, 1 to dry and wear clothes cuz of myositis) and then, I'm tired. The dizziness has been coming and going for weeks now too. Sigh.

Been packing clothes vertically ever since I found it's better than rolling them. So efficient this way. You see everything. No rummaging, ever. Hmm. Not too bad for someone who can't raise her arms up very well. As long as I can rest my elbows on something, I can do it.

Shrimp, fish, ampalaya, rice. Delicious. I know I want light, clean, minimal and quiet. We tasted 3 kinds of Quaker Oats instant oats: chocolate drink, original drink and the banana with honey. All were yuck not good. Think "cough syrup" (blech).

I have a new accent pillow. It is a gift. It matches my sheets. I believe it is hand-made. It is so pretty.

We swept behind my work desk and the dust bunnies were... HUGE! Gross. I forgot to take out the big trash bag when the garbage collector came earlier. It's full from when I cleaned out folders from college and what-nots from the cabinets. I'm purging. There are still things to go over and sort (keep, throw away or donate) but I want to get rid of this big trash bag first before I can restart my "cleanup." We can't leave it outside because it will just be messed with.

There is a shortage of Great Taste 3-in-1 sugar-free coffee around here! It rained today. The envelope fund/budget system + my origami envelopes from used paper = XD

It started a few days ago. Folded me an origami box or "origami garbage bin." Before you puff it open, it's a pretty sturdy pouch. Still hooked. Moved on to envelopes. From today... Creative way to recycle paper. Potentially addictive.

Arms and upper back are tired. Went through an old box of stuff from college. Mostly folders, columnar worksheets and journals. The number of worksheets we went through back then was...! And boy, did they drill us, 20 years ago, 10 years ago, the kids now are probably doing the same thing (or they better be!). Feels refreshing to throw these away. Not finished yet but I'm getting there. Somehow I need to do it piece by piece, take out the papers and cut the folders. Cutting cardboard is not easy.

I have a cold. Achoo! Our old fridge used to shut off by itself at random times. A couple of days ago, it just wouldn't come on. Now, they're cramming things in their smaller, personal fridge but it's getting too full, nothing's getting cold. The "new fridge fund" should be ready before the week ends. It was started around the start of the year after someone was especially PO-ed after finding out the fridge was off the whole night. The time has come to use it. Hopefully, it's enough to cover the cost of whatever they find at the store that they like.

spilled on my shirt. i smell of coffee. sana taste central starts shipping outside mm soon. i could use that 20k trolley... in my dreams. local ikea warehouse, are you in the works? a white leaning/ladder bookcase might be purchased if and when. form and function. please do not run a fat blue cable in here. pangit . small victory when i convinced someone to get rid of a big black garbage bag full of very old and funky pillows na we'll never, ever use again. it was ugly and suffocating - it was on a shelf, the first thing you'd see - it sucked the joy and light out of me from the space. so, the room is nice and cool? thanks. it's true because we've been mindfully throwing clutter out; been doing it in small batches. it doesn't look like much but you can feel it. the end goal is to make it look clean, open and even pretty. it's a process. baby steps. diy. good decorating doesn't happen overnight.

last week... someone's tablet froze and they asked me to fix it. "no problem," i said. i held the power button down until it shut off (pressed longer than 10 secs). they were relieved and grabbed the tablet. i said, "no, please wait." a few seconds later, it turned on by itself, good to go. "you can take it now," i said. hard restart. the bidet spray was dripping at the head. i unscrewed the head and squeezed the trigger. water gushed out, pushing rubber out too. so, the rubber was loose. we turned the water valve off. i gingerly patted the parts dry and tightly put it back together. we turned the water on. i held my breath, squeezed the trigger (water ran ok) and then released it (water stopped running). no leaks. high-five.

played with a puppy after brunch. made a toy for her from an old canvass tote. we rolled and tied it up so she'll have something to chew on. she likes to grab things with her teeth and pull. the rainy season has eased up the harsh temps from the past months, though flood and heavy traffic have become problems in many business districts. i was planning on going out soon to a government office. in my case, planning an outing is stressful already, now i have to keep my fingers crossed that it doesn't rain on the intended day. happy to report that the ant problem is going away. a few ants make an appearance from time to time, but the bed has not been swarmed for two days straight. i am getting rid of old accounting textbooks. they have been unopened for more or less a decade so they will have to go. it's one pile (there's more but this is a start) but the bin outside is too small so we're waiting for the garbage truck to come by on collection day so we can just ha

weee... food! moved my things around again. me thinks someone's having a hard time letting go... hence the clutter. let those old things go. nobody used them in half a decade. they're gathering dust. donate what's still good, i said. throw away the bad stuff, i said. let them go! then we can be freeeeeeeeeeee... of clutter! and freeeeeeee of dust! well, we can never really be dust-free here; so annoying how quickly dust collects. but it will be easier to clean when there are fewer things scattered about, and fresh air can get in easier in a more open space. my eyes are puffing up talking about dust.

Hello September! bursting at the seams OK, so I splurged on FOOD last month. We all did. We ate so well. I can say that we were unable to fit leftovers inside the fridge on more than one occasion. Thank goodness this doesn't happen very often. trying to be martha I started using a mix of bleach, water and a few drops of dishwashing liquid in a spray bottle to clean the area around bathroom sink. I spray it on, leave it for at least 5 minutes, rinse the area with water and wipe it dry. Wiping it down afterwards is an important step. I think I can do this regularly; it is easy because I filled the spray bottle almost halfway which is enough for more than a month if I go at it twice a week. I attack the stubborn hard-water stains with an old toothbrush but getting them off will need more elbow grease than I can gather. Oh well, at least I'm trying.

i have the toilet flush repair fund ready right here. now we're waiting for someone to call a plumber - hopefully, they don't forget. we've been having bursts of rain. they don't last very long and it does get very humid before it pours. i notice colors on my specs when light hits it {prism?}. is that normal? the optician i saw didn't really explain the prescription to me. now, i think the specs should have been anti-reflective too but they did not mention that to me at the eyeglasses shop. they were just pushing me to buy up to thinner lenses without talking about it much - only that it won't be heavy and will look better. for what i paid for, i think they should have given me more useful advice than that. then again, the colors in the reflection i'm seeing could be tint from anti-glare coating; but they never mentioned the lens would be coated. i don't know anymore! happy monday!

hello sunday! woke up early to sounds of a busy house: people talking, banging in the kitchen (tenderizing beef for tapa) and a-little-too-loud radio from somewhere. oh, i was also hungry and sweating (temp in mid-30s probably). after a brekkie of lechon paksiw and pineapple juice, my lids were dropping so i went back to bed. sleep did not come quickly because it was too hot; when it did, i think i got over an hour in so that was good. so, i'll have the "toilet flush repair fund" ready this week. should get that ticked off the to-do list before the month ends. hopefully, they'll get a good plumber to take a look at it. can't believe it's already july. where'd the sugar-free kdo go? it's been out-of-stock at our local robinsons since early june. last time we checked, no other store had it around here. have a nice rest-of-your sunday!

sweet longganisa and left-over chicken aftritada So that was a good breakfast. Had a nice catnap and decided to wash my throw pillow which was filthy {cover is not removable}. Did it on the bathroom sink. Not a full wash though {might destroy it, I don't know}; mixed laundry detergent + water, dipped a sponge, squeezed so it was just damp and scrubbed. It took a few dips and squeezes but it was a quick process. After that, I cleaned the sponge so it's not soapy, squeezed excess water and scrubbed again. The sink was icky so I guess that worked. The pillow's drying outside now and I'll get it back inside tomorrow. I'll see if it looks less filthy then.

Hello. Woke up before noon to a blackout. It was VERY hot. Someone said Meralco cut the power off to make repairs and that they'll turn it back on by 2 PM. True enough, electricity came back at 2 PM. I slept through most of it so I wasn't terribly bothered. I heard kids screaming from across the street; they were not happy. toilet flush fund So the planned "new eyeglasses fund" will now be the "toilet flush repair fund." Might need to replace the flapper or maybe the whole mechanism because water is leaking into the bowl; so wasteful. baking soda+hydrogen peroxide Quick update on cleaning old tiles and grout stains {bathroom sink} with baking soda + hydrogen peroxide paste: it's going well. I don't measure. I just sprinkle baking soda on the area, squirt some hydrogen peroxide on it, attack with an old toothbrush and rinse off with water. I see the difference afterwards because it dries white. If I keep doing this {which so far, has been occasion

hello. hello. the days go by so fast. relieved so the heaviness on the chest and shoulders is gone. a day off {ok i took two} from scrubbing stains sorted that out. so pleased. i can 'attack' them again bwahaha {but will probably pace myself and take 2 days off in between scrubs}! snip snip i am seriously thinking of getting a paper shredder; a cheap, small, economical shredder. snipping old docs and junk mail with scissors is taking a toll on my right thumb {besides eating A LOT of time}. i do believe that's a callus forming there eek .

grout on my mind i think i gained weight {which could be a good thing at the moment - as long as it's not too much} so i'll visit the old scale later to see where i'm at. but what's REALLY bothering me lately is this heaviness on my chest and shoulders since i started scrubbing old grout stains. i hope this is just my chest and shoulder muscles working ok, and not a myositis flare or as someone we know would call it a leak . anyway, for me, that means to stop obsessing about grout for now and see how i am in the next day or two. food supplement to try normally, this costs 1,200 pesos {very steep for a box with 30 caps} but someone gave me a box as a freebie 'cause they wanted me to try it - someone said someone claimed their kid took this quite well; and it's free so thanks. the bfad permit number on the pamphlet tells me it should be harmless; i guess i'll find out soon i hope so.