Brahms is Sixteen Today

It is hard to believe but it has been sixteen years ago when a 10.4 pound baby was born to us.  Now he is a young man with so much energy and enthusiasm to learn.  As a junior in high school, he is taking five AP (Advance placement) classes and an engineering class.  He is a hard-working student.   When he is not studying, he would be reading, working as a tutor, writing a blog, playing bass in youth band, helping in children's ministry at church,  taking pictures, making YouTube videos, learning to play banjo, reading John Piper's "Think", planning his next trip, mowing the lawn, telling us what he just read, playing MineCraft, writing, making mazes, looking for food from the fridge, and many more.


 Brahms is a kind, considerate, and self-controlled guy. I am very proud to be his mother.  I thank God for He gave us the greatest son we could ever have. 

Tonight we are going to celebrate at his favorite hamburger place - Mels.  (We are just waiting for Tim to arrive from helping the Neff family move from Rescue to their new house in Coloma.) Instead of a cake Brahms requested for homemade apple pie.  I made a ten-inch apple pie and it will be served with vanilla ice cream. 

Time with Sue

 

Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art (for God did not need to create).  It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival.   ~ C.S. Lewis  

Sue and I took the time to catch with each other by getting lunch at Togo's today.  Life does not seem right when we do not get to talk to each other for a week.  We lose track of what's going on in each other's life and that doesn't settle well with either of us.  So we go out and do something together and share.  We talked about the kids, church, why we both do not work,  our spouses, their jobs, and chores we have not finished.  It is always refreshing getting-together with her.  

Speaker at IDF

Tim acknowledges that God is the source of all his great ideas.

As in previous years, Tim was invited to speak at the IDF 2011 in San Francisco this year. He will be presenting with Vincent Zimmer on UEFI - both guys are world-experts on this technology.
Although the conference won't start till tomorrow, Tim had to leave today for technical rehearsal and set-up of his equipment.

Shannon, our daughter who is working as his intern, was a great help.  Unfortunately (for Tim) she will soon go to college to study computer game science.  :)

Great America

We left the house at 7:30 this morning on a mission to have a thrilling experience at Great America.  Brahms asked the family to do this to pre-celebrate his 16th birthday.  It was a brilliant idea. 

It has been a long time since we went there as a family -  Brahms and Shannon remember all their earlier experiences of the place but Miriam was a little girl she could not even remember going there.  Now she's tall enough to be able to go into all the rides.  She had a blast.  During the course of the day, she had thanked us (her father and mother) many times for bringing the family to Great America. 

Shannon and Brahms took the ultimate thrill ride - the 'Xtreme Skyflyer' together.  Bundled and strapped together, they were attached to this thin string.  They told us later that as they were being raised up high into the sky they were telling each other their regrets for dying so soon.  

Shannon:  "I would have loved to have gone to college..."

Brahms:  "I wished that I had turned sixteen before I died." 

Fortunately, they made it down safely. 

This is the first time that we had gone to Great America when I went in almost all the rides.  (I skipped the 'Demon' because I was a bit scared looking at the very twisty tracks.)  All those years, I was with a small child who could only ride the children's ride like the Carousel.  My kids are grown up now.  The rides provided me a chance to let my adrenalines flow in dramatic doses.  I realized that I had not screamed so loud in a long time.  I must have screamed during the whole course of every ride.  Sometime I had my eyes closed because I did not want to see what was coming. 

Unlike me, Tim is always very quiet in all the rides.  He is always doing some daring things like raising his hands up instead of holding on tightly.  He is the expert on all these rides because he has been riding most of these since he was a young boy.  I still remember when we were newly married and we went in the Orbit (back then it was called the New Orleans Orbit).  He tickled me during the whole course of the ride.  I had no time to feel scared of the ride because I was too busy laughing.  From that time on I did not want him to ride with him anymore. 

We had all the fun today but we also lost one thing.  Tim dropped his eyeglasses while we were in the 'FireFall'.  Zippered bags were provided but he refused to put his glasses there.  So down into the water below went his spectacles.  Normally,  my reaction is to worry about them but this time I was suspended upside-down very high up above the water - I was more worried about surviving than anything else.

Overall, it was a very fun day.  We thank God for everything - experience, provision, safety, and lessons learned.  I learned that those thrill rides provide a taste of real life. Life is not always smooth-sailing.  Sometimes it gets scary and it seems that the world is coming to an end but then the direction of life shifts and your original fear is replaced by another one.  Right when you are getting used to and enjoying the sequence of these fearful events, the ride stops and life is over.  I also learned that when the rides are smoothly going, it is time to brace up.  That's what makes life interesting and fun.   :)

Summer Treats

Santa Rosa plums.

I have been canning different kinds of fruits from our backyard lately. Plums were made into  plum sauce which we like to put on pancakes.  The grapes (Pinot Noir) that were planted by the patio for shade also give enough fruits to make into jelly.  I can' remember the last time we bought jelly from the store - it has been a long time. 

'Bartlett' Pears were made into pear butter.

Our Bartlett pear was full of fruits this year.  Miriam and I are the only ones eating the fresh fruits.  The rest of the family complains about the texture of the fruit. I discovered later on that they all like pear butter - especially when used as topping for Buttermilk waffles.  Shannon and Miriam also like to eat it alone for dessert or snack.  I know for sure that pear butter is nutritious.  So far I have made two batches of this 'pear delight' but this is probably not the end because there are still a lot of fruits on the tree. 

The kids harvesting grapes.

Grapes are cleaned and washed before they are crushed.

At the Farmers' Market, our friends (Gavy and Bellie Dhillon) gave me a special deal on apricots hence I bought half a box (approximately twenty five pounds).  I made a pie and then the rest were made into delicious jam.  Tim always appreciates good apricot jam or preserves, and now he has enough supply for a year.  In fact we have enough to share.  We like our jam to be on the tangy side of the spectrum - and this is exactly how these apricots are made.  I can just imagine crepes and apricot preserves in our future.

Thank goodness our peaches did not do well this year...we have enough canned fruits already.

Washing grapes - a family activity.

Alone Now

Auntie Alie  (Santa Ana - 2010)

Today is a sad day.  My aunt Arcelie (Alie) lost her dearest husband; and my cousins Joan, Arnel, Maylene and Wilson lost their father. Uncle Roman passed away after a long time of suffering from cancer.  The last time I saw him was when my family went to the Philippines last November.

Uncle Roman and Auntie Alie were teenagers when they got married.  They used to bring me with them when they visited his family in Makirit.  There I I enjoyed playing with one of Uncle Roman's nieces - Linda.  All of his siblings were engaged in commercial squash growing.  It was very fascinating to see tons of squash harvested and piled up on their yards. 

My uncle and aunt on the other hand, decided to focus on rice farming.  They started their family in Santa Filomena.  There they bought a house that was made of all wood.  I was a little girl when they moved the house through bayanihan.  Bayanihan is a process when all the men in the community gather together to move a house - literally.  In its original original location, the house was surrounded with coconut trees.  Several trees had to be chopped down to make way for the house.  I also got to watch a water well dug and built in their backyard.  I had so many fond memories at their house as a kid.

Uncle Roman (2008)

They used to own a big hectarage of rice fields.  They also owned a lot of land, carabaos and horses.  I still remember their kalesa which was painted with a greenish color.  The picture registers in my head in an impressionist style now - I can't see the details anymore.  I think uncle Ninoy Pacis painted it for them since he was the only painter/artist in town. 

Then later when uncle got a job at the saw mill in Lallo the family moved.  He stopped farming and they sold all their carabaos and horses.  Years later, they also sold their house in Santa Filomena which signified their intention to live in Lallo permanently.  At this point, my cousins who used to live a few yards away are now several bus rides away.  The good thing is that they lived near the Cagayan River - they would always bring some ginukan along when they came to visit us.  My aunt loved my mother (her sisiter) that she visited her often.

Almost-complete Galvan Family (2008)

Many years later, I left the Philippines and did not see all the things that happened since then.  However, every time I went back to the Philippines, Uncle Roman and Auntie Alie always made sure to bring my cousins to come see me.  Eventually, it was not only my cousins that they brought but also my cousins' children.  I have a picture of Shannon as a baby with Maylene.  Last year when Tim and I brought our kids to Cagayan, Uncle Roman was already very sick to come and see us at our house in Abulug.  Instead we went to see him in their house in Catayauan, Lallo.  I was very sad to see him so thin.

Now he is gone.  My aunt will be all alone.  The good thing is that her house is surrounded by her children that they share the same yard.  This proximity with her children and grandchildren will, hopefully, ease the transition.

Colombia Part 2: Bogota

The Cathedral at the Plaza de Bolivar

After Medellin, we went to Bogota and did a little bit of sightseeing.  We were so spoiled in Medellin - the Actises were always there making sure that we were safe.   However, Bogota provided us the freedom to go around even to the point of getting lost in the city and making our way back by asking, using the little Spanish that we know.  We took taxis where ever we went.  Most of the time, we would not understand how much we were supposed to pay.  Fortunately, Shannon was there to translate for us. 

Posing on the misty Mount Monserrate.

When we arrived in Bogota, I had the impression that the city looks desolate and frightening.  Buildings that line the streets were closed.  They have the rolled-down doors which made the place appear unfriendly.  Tim and I walked around the hotel which is located in the heart of business area signs of life were missing. The sidewalks were without people.  We could take a taxi but places that we wanted to go see were closed including the Museo Nacional de Colombia (which we visited later in the week).  Well, to explain this phenomenon, we arrived there on a Sunday.  Firstly, Colombia being a Catholic country closes on Sundays as a general rule.  Secondly, Monday (June 27) was a holiday - I think it was Corpus Christi.  Everything was still closed but we got to go eat at one of the two restaurants that were open near the hotel.  We opted to try the Italian Restaurant instead of the Barbeque place.  We must have been the only customers that night.  Tuesday came and the city suddenly looked inhabited as if the people got up from a slumber and began to mill around the city once more.  Suddenly the city exuded with life.  Bogota is alive after all.  Next time that we head to a new city, I would do my research and check the city calendar ahead of time.  This reminds me of a different experience we had as a family.  A few years ago, while traveling in Britain, we decided to take a quick train ride to Wales from Hereford.  As soon as we got into the train, we knew something we didn't know was going on.  There was a huge rugby game at the Millennium Stadium.  It was quite an interesting experience.  We were lucky that none of us was wearing the color of either team (use your imagination). Had we known, we would have chosen a different destination that day. 

View od Bogota from the tramway.

Candellaria - Central District of Bogota.

At the time we were in Colombia, Bogota was under renovation.  Most of the major streets were partly closed due to the construction of the new Bogota Metro.   The people we talked to Bogota were apologetic of the current dust and construction mess all over the city.  The condition did not bother us at all nor did it hinder our tour of the city and our search of unusual Colombian souvenir (i.e. Greca coffee maker).

Casa Santa Clara Restaurant

Station of the Cross at the Montserrate

 As a Spanish colony in its early days, Colombia is a Catholic country.  In Bogota, we visited an old church located on the top of Mount Montserrate (named after the Montserrat Mountain in Spain).  The mountain is so high that when you are up there, you get a panoramic view of the city.  There are two ways to go to the top of this pilgrimage/tourist destination:  Aerial tramway (cable car); or Funicular.  Going up, we opted to take the latter and came down by cable car.  

Bogota rests on an altitude of about 10,300 ft.   In spite of the fact that it rests along the equator, its temperature remains pleasantly cool or cold throughout the year.  The fluctuation in the temperature and daylength in Colombia is negligible.  This is the reason why Colombia is the place to grow flowers.  Eighty percent of the cut flowers sold in the US are grown in Colombia near Bogota.  Flower growers do not have to work around the changing seasons.  If weather conditions were the only consideration for choosing a place to live, Bogota would be on the top of my list of choice cities.  Unfortunately, there are more things to be accounted for before weather conditions.

Tramway

Colombian food is mild.  We expected something like Mexican or Belizean food, but we were wrong.  On the plane I got the chance to sit with a Colombian girl who was going home to visit her folks in Bogota.  She told me to make sure that I'd try Ajiaco, a Bogotano signature dish. Basically, Ajiaco is a soup that is made of five varieties of potatoes. Each variety is supposed to add something different to the taste or texture of the soup.  Chicken cubes are added to the soup and it is served with corn on cobb, cream, capers, salsa, avocado, and rice.   I had Ajiaco Santa Fereno at the Embassy Suites and it was great.   I can understand how it earned its status as a Colombian comfort food.  On a side note, however, Californians might fail to appreciate the soup because they are no potato connoisseurs. 

Feeding the doves can be very entertaining.

Juan Valdez - the Colombian counterpart of Starbucks.

My experience in Colombia defied all my expectations.   I knew that the country is in the tropics  where coffee (Coffea spp.), coca plants (Erythroxylum coca), roses, and other flowers.  And that's about it; everything else came as a pleasant surprise for me. 

Souvenir picture taken from Mount Montserrate.

Next time, I'll write about my observations and interactions with the people of Colombia.