Woke up one night to your soft voice,  singing an old Filipino Bicol Lullaby “ *Sa Diklom Nin Bangui….”.  Why is my brother crying and restless?  Mama, you are singing to keep him still and calm…..

Oh mama, mama didn’t you you see?  My brother is gasping for lack of air!  If I know then what I know now, oh mama, mama I would declare……

Take him quick to the doctor  near  even in the darkest of nights and dangerous tide; nothing to deter you for your baby, my brother, so dear…..

In your innocent mind, a mother’s love and touch was enough to cure a poor sick child!   So through the night you sing….the baby gasping for lack of air!

I was a child, no knowledge of the world, born only to observe and listen but not to reason….. it was my role to keep silent and passive.  Why?

My baby brother dying in your arms,  I’m sad for you and for him too!  For I’m remembering all these events from long ago.

The daylight comes and then we go to doctor in the nearest town;  the quiet baby seems at rest and mama sigh relief but not for long for we are told….. “too late,” the doctor said…

”Bronchial  Pnemonia,” he proclaims too late for cure at this late hour!  The redness in my father’s eyes spoke of tears and grief withheld. No words spoken….

The silent mourners marched toward the grave of my dear baby brother; finally, my mother said as they lower the baby’s coffin to the watery grave, “my dearest child, you will be cold!”

* Sa diklom nin bangui translates in English as “In the darkness of the night.”

My most recent crocheted work.  I love working this pineapple design.  I used Crochet Cotton Thread from This site

The thread is very nice to work with.  I used crochet hook size 3.75mm.  This specific thread can be searched at Mary Maxim by typing on the search box “1 lb cotton thread” and clicking on the photo of the 1 lb cotton thread to see more color options.    I ordered 2 more 1 lb cones to finish the pineapple design on the sleeves.  I will crochet a skirt to match the tunic.

So Beautiful and so fragile… only last a day or two; each bright bloom reminds me of a passing day, a fleeting moment under the bright sunny sky.  How can I have a bitter and unforgiving heart and at the same time admire these beauties before my eyes?   I will forgive, I will be generous just like these flowers which put forth everything it has to give.  I will Give and forgive and therefore be happy for this is the season of my life!

Advance Happy Mother’s Day to all MOTHERS!

What does Ambidextrouse crochet mean?  The technique of using both right hand and left hand in making crocheted work.  Right handed crocheters hold the hook on the right hand and make the crochet stitches from right to left; at the end of a row, the work is turned and the crocheter makes the next row from right to left again.  Crochet stitches have a right side and a wrong side.  The right side or visually smooth side of a crochet stitch is the one made facing the crocheter and the wrong side or bumpy side of crochet stitch is the one facing away from the crocheter.   By using right hand only to manage the crochet hook, the crochet rows are made up of alternating right side and wrong side of stitches.

The result of the crocheted work done by left handed crocheters is the same as that of the right handed crocheter.   Left handed crocheters hold the hook with the left hand and make crochet stitches from left to right.   But what if one desires crocheted work where the stitches are all facing in the same direction so that the work has a definite right side and wrong side?  This is where the advantage of being an ambidextrouse crocheter comes in.

To be an ambidextrouse crocheter is to be able to crochet using left hand and right hand technique.  This means that if one is a naturally right handed individual, he/she will have to learn to crochet left handed and vice versa for naturally left handed person.

I am in my 2nd month on teaching my left hand how to crochet.  My right hand is functioning at an expert level while my left hand is functioning on beginning level.  What motivated me to learn to crochet left-handed is the desire to teach my left-handed crochet students easily and more efficiently.  By becoming a beginner on left-handed crochet technique,  I can empathize more on their difficulty in learning a new craft.  It takes time and patience, to train the muscles of one’s hands and fingers to work together.  I am learning that my left hand cannot really duplicate or mirror everything that my right hand does, for example, my right hand holds the crochet hook “pencil grip” style while my left hand holds the crochet hook “claw”/”cup hold” style.  To try to teach my left hand to  hold the crochet hook like my right hand does is next to impossible.  To do so is very uncomfortable and creates muscle strain on my wrist.  So in Crochet there is no right way or wrong way to hold the crochet hook.  Hold it in a way that works for each individual crocheter without creating discomfort on fingers or wrists.

My recently finished tunic to wear over bathing suit or over sleeveless blouse.

Pan De Sal is part of traditional Filipino Breakfast.  It is usually eaten in the early part of the morning with coffee or very dark hot chocolate drink.  Most Filipinos dunk their Pan de sal bread  in coffee or hot chocolate drink before biting a mouthful.  I still catch myself doing either.   Pan de sal may be consumed for breakfast with coffee alone or other breakfast food such as fried rice, scrambled eggs, fried vinegar cured baby milkfish and fresh fruits.

It is best to eat Pan de sal bread in very early morning around 4 am. to 5 am. because it is still fresh and warm and just taken out of the oven of local bakers.  I used to get up very early in the morning to buy this bread from the little kid peddling this bread at dawn to town folks.  In my mind, I can still hear the little boy crying in a loud tenor voice,  T- – -I- – -N- – -A- – -P- – -A- – -Y!!!  Tinapay is a Tagalog or Pilipino word for bread.

I am sad to learn that this type of peddling is no longer practiced in the Philippines.  I’m not sure if it is now considered an illegal activity.  I have learned from friends when I visited the Philippines that even side walk peddlers have to apply for business license, no matter how small the quantity of the goods being sold.  I should not be surprised as it is a fact of life that nothing stays the same.

Every time I eat Pan de sal I’ll always remember  that sweet yeasty aroma and that little boy who peddled this bread at wee hour of the morning  who did other household chores, I presume, before going to school.

I found this simple Pan De Sal recipe on this site.  What I like about this recipe is that it does not call for milk or eggs.  Please click here