Monday, February 25, 2008

Valentine's Day Photos In Reno, Nevada and North Beach

At the Tuscany wing of our hotel in Reno (Peppermill)*
Peppermill Reno



Sunday, February 24, 2008

Seafood Paella For Supper

Click photos to enlarge*

This is what we had for dinner tonight, Spanish "Paella." I bought the safron from Spain at Trader's Joe in North Point. The rest of the ingredients, I purchased them at Chinatown this evening. I cooked and baked this dish with dry white wine and served with lemon wedges. Drinks we had was red wine for lack of Sangria in our little castle. Husband raved about this meal tonight. Wow.

Friday, February 22, 2008

Are You Lactose Intolerant?

I asked because I am. This inability to absorb milk and other dairy products into my intestine makes me sick especially if I am unable to recognize visually beforehand about the presence of this in the food that I desire to eat. Normally, I would pop in the chewable lactase pill (milk enzyme) into my mouth just before having a feast. However, occasionally, I forget- especially when I do not see any evidence of cheese, cream, yogurt or milk in the food. And this was a mistake last night. So I got sick.

On the average, when husband and I eat in restaurants- we sometimes had to call back the waiter to ask the chef if there was any beat of dairy products in the menu. Why so? Because fifteen minutes later after eating, I would have the symptoms of lactose intolerance: stomach cramps, gas, bloated feeling, and diarrhea. Last night was one of those times when my judgement went wrong.

Dear Husband (DH) and I were at Notre Dame and attended the lecture on "WHERE HAVE ALL OUR DEVOTION GONE?" Prior to the lecture, dinner was served at the church hall. Soon, I was there at the banquet; checked out the food; got a disposable saucer and fork; got myself some green salad (with olive oil and cruttons )and at last, my tiny plate had a bunch of healthy greens in it. I thought I was smart in selecting this in synch with my health status. Then, I sat on our seat (at the extreme end of the long table) and started munching my salad. In between snippets of introducing who I am to those strangers around me, I began at last to enjoy my food. I gulped my white wine (dry) after several mouthful of salad so I won't chokewhile enjoying my meal.

Looking back, as I am writing this blog right now, I realized that indeed there were tiny crumbs of feta cheese in the salad and that was the culprit!!! To think that I took my pill just before eating the stuffed shell pasta with spinach and cream...but no wonder it didn't work. It was damn late!

Minutes later, I was on a marathon from my seat to the loo (if only to let loose the gas in my tummy to no avail). Next, I was mentally planning to walk out and go home at once. But the time seemed to move so slow and beyond my control. Tic, tac, tic. The clock went on a rhythm. At last, the lecture was over. By courtesy, husband and I stood up and congratulated the lecturer. Part of me felt guilty so I explained to the lecturer why I had to be up three times at least. He was a good sport and a funny man, too, for an old priest like him. He took it well without batting an eyelash.

After a while, everyone had bid their goodbyes, Fr. Dennis came to me and asked how I was doing and I said I was sick.

"Was it the food?" He asked.

"I don't think so." I replied.

Aware of how I was feeling, he offered to drive husband and I home realizing we came on foot. He insisted and asked me at least three times. On the last minute, I accepted as soon as I started d to feel that excruciating pain again.

"Yes, Father Dennis that would be great if you could drive us home! Thank you!"

Minutes later, we were all aboard his car. And despite the rain, we were home at once. It was a good short drive, in fact. Once in our domain, fast I went upstairs and buried myself in bed, surrounded by my pillows that made my world to be safe again, it seemed. In bed last night, I wondered how bad my evening has turned out to be just because I had eaten accidentally the cheese and cream at dinner. But I am just sensitive and delicate in make up. I have allergies and reactions to so many things.

As of this writing, I am still nursing an upset stomach. Ooh-lah-la!

Thursday, February 21, 2008

The Power Of The Blog And The Power of The Internet

Last November 2007, I was home in MNL for the funeral of my mom. During the wake, held in my ancestral home in Cavite, Bonny my classmate from college came by with her sister Citas. In the process of our conversation, we talked about our college days. Likewise, she mentioned AURORA VILLAMAYOR’s name. Then, Bonny’s blood pressure went up the ceiling of my father’s house. I thought she was going to have a heart attack (sigh)!!!

“She’s the town mayor of ANGONO, RIZAL! Oh, you should see her! She’s s great and doing well! Oh, she is amazing!”

Wow. I was speechless. I always had the admiration for the lady since I was a college freshman. She was a senior at that time and a role model for newbies like moi. She has this soulful soprano voice and was an emerging bud in choral conducting. Then, we all evolved and moved on elsewhere~ graduated, worked/ work, married/remained single~ as we beat the daily grind of survival.
~~~

POST SCRIPT:

Coming back home in North Beach last November from MNL made me think immensely of how time flies when you’re not a spring chicken anymore. So, couple of nights ago, I thought of googling AU’s name. To my delight, google brought me to her website in a fraction of a minute; then I was reading about AU and her hometown as well of ANGONO, RIZAL. Through her website, I learned many things about her. Relatively, I emailed her and watched what happened.

This morning, upon coming back from church (with moi husband) at 8 A.M., I checked out my Microsoft Office Outlook and found an email from her. Neat!

So what do you say? Indeed, the internet works plus Google is splendid! Connection with long lost-souls is not remote anymore as in the days of our fathers. It would take several weeks before we receive snail mails. Not anymore!

AU~ if you are reading this blog, my sincerest congratulations to you for all your accomplishments and more power to your political career! You have a lot to offer in terms of intelligence, creativity, talents, expertise and life experiences. The artist in you and the music in your heart~ will make Angono shine! Iba ang may puso!
Au's website: AURORA VILLAMAYOR

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Reno Photos



This is our hotel, PEPPERMILL, ranked as one of the 10 largest casino hotels in the USA. Here, we had Italian omellete this morning at BISCOTTI, the hotel's new Italian restaurant- located at the Tuscany wing. Last night we had a dozen of bluewave oysters served with fresh horseradish (wasabi), cocktail dip, lemon, tabasco, vinegar and red onions plus a large bunch of baguette. Oops, husband had New York clam chowder soup (in a minestroni-like broth).


Right now is my down time while husband is meeting his clients/services in Carson City. Sad to say, I lost $10.00 at the slots but i was winning for about 4 hours! Well, that's not bad after all. I am not a big gambler...am just there for fun and enjoyment of those animation characters that give me more bonus freebies to strike some more bets. More later!

A Drive To Sierra Nevada

The long road to RENO;

the lake that is snow covered is a delight to see;

pine trees packed with snow is a reminiscent of a white Christmas in February;

the mighty Sierra Nevada from a distance;

a closer vista of the snow and the pine all add up to the thrill and excitement of coming to Reno once more!


We left SFO at almost 12 noon yesterday and arrived at around 4 PM here in Reno, Nevada. If you are not familiar with RENO, RENO is the smaller version of Las Vegas, the gambling capital of America. In Reno, we always stay at the PEPPERMILL Hotel which has become our favorite place for four years now. We have our Mariott Hotel platinum cards benefits and enjoy the perks we have but we just love it in Peppermill for its casino and great restaurants.

Mariott is a bit of a drag and out of the way and you still have a stretch of a drive to go to the casino. BTW, we're not high rollers! I for one, play the penny slots (1 cent)- and I get lonesome when I lose 10-20 bucks! Husband enjoys the craps so that's his gig. truly, we're not gambling addicts, just so you know!

Going to the casino is typical in the USA as a form of entertainment. In the Philippines for instance, casinos have a bad reputation as a place for gambling addicts. Here in the USA, going to the casino is a form of recreation for people 21 and above. Many come in different shapes and sizes, age and make-up from the healthy ones to the sick ones. Others come in wheelchairs, crutches and strollers, and they don't mind. They come to gamble and have fun! In the other Asian countries, people won't go out anymore once they are confined at the wheelchair. Not in America. Well, am just giving my 5 cent's worth of observation.

Some info:

The Sierra Nevada (Spanish for "Snowy Range") is a mountain range located in the U.S. state of California. In a few places, it overlaps into neighboring Nevada. The range is also known informally as the Sierra, the High Sierra, and the Sierras.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Winning In Ebay As A Bidder

I won the bid for a 25-piece fat quarter fabric (same set I bought two weeks ago, URBAN INDIGO) but it was from a different vendor, the cost is 2 dollars less than what I paid for earlier. This time it is $50.65 total. The history goes:

Winning bid: US $46.00
Ended: Feb-10-08 13:59:15 PST
Shipping costs: US $4.65
US Postal Service Priority Mail Flat Rate Envelope®
Service to United States
Item location: Providence, RI, United States
History: 14 bids
Winning bidder: *yours truly*( 177)

Apart from this set, I also won a quilting stash builder for 3 fat quarters for $2.99 plus $2.00 shipping.

Despite of these bids, I still have to bid for another set of fat quarters (I need at least 32 pieces) to complete the numbers of block needed to make the 93" X 102" queen size quilt I am hoping to finish. Since my quilt design eats a lot of fabric, I have exhausted 45 fat quarters already and it is only half the size of the bed. A fat quarter is 18" X 22" in size. Over all, the quilt I am making is costing me a fortune! And this is excluding the cost for the backing fabric of at least 8 1/2 yards, likewise with the batting and binding of 2 7/8 yards! But as husband had said earlier, in the American tradition~ the quilt is a family heirloom that is passed on from one generation to another. And to think that I am creating an heirloom is a novelty in itself and a fortune in the pocket and a pain in the b_ _t. Gosh!

My Second Queen Size- Beginner's Quilt Is Here!

But this is just the quilt topping~ meaning, there is no batting and backing yet. Why? Because this is not yet finished! Geez, I ran out of fat quarter fabrics (18" X 22" pre-cut from online suppliers at eBay). So am still shopping and bidding online. So far, this one turned out to be well done. Indeed, I realized how great it is to sew with a pre-cut fat quarter
(1/4 yard on a 44" width) than to manually cut each shape from a yardage of 8 or 9. This time I purchased the real quilt 100% cotton fabric and not the 100% dress fabric (cotton). That was my mistake as a newbie in this field. When cutting the fabric with a roller cutter, quilt fabric does not move whereas the dress fabric wiggles and it was a mess doing it. Still, I finished it and it turned out well.

Related LINK: ARCHIVE, September 2007

Mardi Grass on Fat Tuesday (Day Before Ash Wednesday)


Held at the church hall of NDV, faithful parishioners partied together with the Marist fathers and brothers at Notre Dame. Here we are, the early birds, getting our freebies of masks and beads! We sang some French songs, had steaks and wine and what have you? A good party time with our faith community. In keeping light with our Frenchy milieu, tonight, husband and I bought a DVD lesson instructions to learn the French language. My French friend is arriving in October this year and it would be a surprise to converse with him with a bit of French from our domicile. Au Revoir!

Crunchy Breadsticks and Baked Asparagus



Friday afternoon, I baked these bread sticks and asparagus strips. The two were a good combo, perfect for snacks or hors oeuvres! Once the bread sticks have cooled down, I brushed them with olive oil and Irubbed on the parsley~then, sprinkled them with salt. Ideally, you must use Kosher salt but I ran out of supply so I just used the Morton salt. Tonight, I baked another set but of larger size, longer and rounder. However, they are not as crunchy as these petite breadsticks were! This time, I used Italian spice for breadsticks flavoring plus salt, of course.

Lithuanian Easter Raisin Bread~ Baked On Thursday, February 7th

I used this Raisin Bread Recipe, available at:

Catholic Culture- Lithuanian Bread Recipe

It was a good recipe and the bread was quite tasty. The crust has a deep brown color. It was brushed with egg yolk and water that made it all shiny. I soaked the raisin in rum so that added up to the very tasty flavor of the raisin in the bread. Instead of scalding milk, I used sour cream. I made some short cuts since the reason for scalding milk is to thicken it and to get the "sourly taste." For this, I used 1 cup sour cream and 1 cup water. I mixed and stirred them together then set them to a 1-minute microwave time.

Friday, February 08, 2008

What Is Lent?

LENT denotes the forty days' fast preceding Easter, originally meant no more than the spring season. How Lent is said in other languages:

1. French- carême,
2. Italia- quaresima
3. Spanish- cuaresma
4. Filipino-cuaresma
5. Greek- tessarakoste

It all meant "forty days", or more literally the "fortieth day."

What Is A Labyrinth?

LABYRINTH is an ancient symbol of life's journey, differs from maze, which has dead ends. A labyrinth has only one path to follow. In the medieval period, the labyrinth became popular among Christians as a way to make a pilgrimage when one could not travel to a holy site. Many cathedrals had labyrinths. Here in San Francisco, the Episcopalian Church of Grace Cathedral has two labyrinths, one outside and one inside.

For details, click this link: Grace Cathedral- Labyrinth

What Are Pretzels?

Living in San Francisco teaches me a lot about world cultures. Known for its liberated views on life and lifestyle in general, San Francisco strikes me as a unique city surrounded by Catholic churches that remind me so much of my Catholic faith, upbringing and way of life. Also, am discovering day by day, about a multitude of things about Catholicism. By attending mass and reading information from my church bulletin do enable me to learn new information about my faith~ things that I never learned during my high school and college days many years ago. But hey, it's never too late to learn them now!

From Sts Peter and Paul Church Bulletin:

PRETZELS made of dough with no fat (forbidden during Lent) were made by Christians as early as the 5th century. The Pretzels's unique shape reminded them of ARMS FOLDED IN PRAYER.

Background information from Catholic Culture (Catholic Culture)

In the old Roman Empire, the faithful kept a very strict fast all through Lent: no milk, no butter, no cheese, no eggs, no cream and no meat. They made small breads of water, flour and salt, to remind themselves that Lent was a time of prayer. They shaped these breads in the form of crossed arms for in those days they crossed their arms over the breast while praying. Therefore they called the breads "little arms" (bracellae). From this Latin word, the Germanic people later coined the term "pretzel."

Thus the pretzel is the most appropriate food symbol in Lent. It still shows the form of arms crossed in prayer, reminding us that Lent is a time of prayer. It consists only of water and flour, thus proclaiming Lent as a time of fasting. The earliest picture and description of a pretzel (from the fifth century) may be found in the manuscript-codex No. 3867, Vatican Library.

There seems to be no reason why our Christian families should not return to this beautiful custom of our ancient Roman fellow- Christian, especially since we still have these breads everywhere. The children will be delighted and greatly impressed when they hear the true story of the pretzel.

Ash Wednesday


Last Wednesday, February 6th was Ash Wednesday in case you didn't know.

AshWednesday in the Roman Rite is the beginning of the forty days of penance marked with the austere symbol of ashes which is used in today's liturgy. The use of ashes is a survival from an ancient rite to impose the blessed ashes as a sign of conversion, penance, fasting and human mortality. Alleluia and Gloria are suppressed until Easter during the mass.

Abstinence from eating meat is to be observed on all Fridays during Lent. This applies to all persons 14 and older. The law of fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday applies to all Catholics from age 18 through age 59.

Thursday, February 07, 2008

My Second Queen Size Quilt

I started doing this project for the new year this week. Last night, I finished up the half of the queen size bed quilt topping. I am continuing the second half today. It is a lot of work but quite rewarding once you see how the blocks are coming together as one piece!

So far, I did well.

However, I have to remove one block on the side since the binding on this particular piece was narrower than the rest. Ayayay! But it should be fine. Really, I want to finish all the "piecing together" and the cutting of fabrics this week before we drive this Monday to RENO, NEVADA. I plan to work inside our hotel room while husband is out on his usal business meetings during the day. In the evening, we could go to the casino and have fun dancing and dining as well. So with this in mind as planned by MOI, it simply means, I am working double time today and tomorrow for this project plus- I will be taking my whole ensemble of quilting gadget (from sewing machine to quilting board, roller cutter, fabric, threads-and lots more)! But who cares? The space in our hotel room should be perfect for me to lay down my quilt to measure it and layer it. Well, I just wish I won't freak out the cleaning lady of PEPPERMILL! Haha! But I look forward to playing some PENNY SLOTS. It's my way of unwinding for the time we are there. I always win. Yipeeeeeee!

Webiste: Peppermill Hotel & Casino

Watch out for these photos: "MARDI GRASS" and "RAISIN BREAD." I will upload then later. Ciao!