FURNISHINGS

So here we are back in the States.  We are renting a two-bedroom apartment while we figure out where we'll settle down.  It felt like we're newly married, having to start from scratch with furnishings.  Good thing it was the start of garage sale season.  We knew it would not be hard to find "stuff" at little to no cost.  Now the fun begins.  One Saturday morning we were driving around and turned, by mistake on MacVicar Ct., and lo and behold, we saw Matt and Karen Davis having a garage sale.  So we stopped and chatted for a while and before we knew it we were loading the truck with small kitchen necessities.  Matt Davis, bless his heart, told us we can have this and that and those as a housewarming gift from them.  We offered to pay him for all the stuff but he refused.  Then Karen gave me her old rice cooker and added a steamer and a blender and other stuff from the garage sale table saying they are hauling them anyway to God's Storehouse the next day so "you might as well take them" Karen told me so they don't have to haul a lot.  Well, that was a good start!

I budgeted under $1,000.00 for furnishings, let's see if it's doable.  

We moved into the apartment on a Thursday and the next day Pat texted me wanting to know if I would be interested to buy a small dining table with four chairs he saw at a garage sale. It was for $30.00 and it is now in our dining area. I also picked up a metal chair in the same garage sale where the small dining table and chairs came from.

We slept on the floor, padded with a two inch foam, for several nights while we waited for Amazon to deliver our memory foam mattresses.  JJ's mattress came first and then ours came four days later.  These mattresses come in a rectangular box, rolled and vacuum packed.  Once you unpack it it kind of "grow" before your eyes.  We paid $260 for both JJ's and ours.  I bought JJ's headboard from TRM for $7 while I found ours from the Marketplace for $30.00.  We're on the ball.

Unboxing the mattress:

Watch it grow before your eyes:

....and VOILA! we have a bed...

We have one occasional chair in our living room given to JJ by Mom and Dad which is a good start.  We bought a smaller flat screen TV at Best Buy for $240 and found a stand at the Marketplace for $25.  One day Pat messaged me about a couch at Goodwill Store for $50.00.  JJ and I went and looked at it and bought it.  That afternoon, we chanced upon a black six-drawer dresser by MacVicar street.  I got out of the car and asked the owner who happened to be puttering in his garage if I could have it.  Of course he said yes, so we got that and it is now in JJ's bedroom.  The only problem with it is the top drawer pull which is an easy fix.

The wall clock is a clearance from Hobby Lobby and I found the TV stand at The Marketplace:

Lynette, Michael's sister gave us back Grandma Hamme's lingerie chest so we have that in our bedroom plus a chest of drawers that I found, once again, at the Marketplace for $30.00.  It also came with one matching night stand which I am using as my printer stand, and the drawers are perfect for office supplies.  Michael and I found a microwave stand at a church garage sale for $10.00, table lamp for $3.00, and oscillating fan for $5.00.  I also found the oldest vacuum cleaner I've known for $1.00 which still works, heck if I can use this one until we find a house then why not?

Well, how old do you think this vacuum cleaner is?  I could probably sell this on eBay as a vintage, LOL!

On several garage sale haunts I snagged another lamp for Mike's bedside for $5, a small girly lamp for $3 for my side of the bed, a metal plant stand for $6, a torch lamp for $7.  We visited Owl's Nest Antique Store and I found a $30 end table that matches the microwave stand - the microwave was from Mom and Dad's RV which they gave to us.  At the TRM North I found a nice lamp with a very pretty shade that complements the end table. I paid $15 for it.

It looks like I'm finally done......but the walls are bare. I needed a couple of picture frames for our family portrait which I found at Gordman's on clearance.  I also picked up a rustic wall hanging that would go with the frames -  $48.00 total.  And here it is:

Michael bought a sound system for $50 at a garage sale which works great.  It's got surround sound which we can't really use yet since we are on the third floor and the people who live below our unit let us know that it is loud by banging on our floor - which would be their ceiling :).  One weekend we watched Star Wars and we were enjoying the musical scoring and that's when it happened.  Ooops!..sorry.  Sometimes you just forget that you live in a place where there are people living below you and beside you.

I found a mid-century bookshelf from Owl's Nest South for $68.00 and my biggest splurge so far is the Pulaski lighted curio cabinet that I found at Owl's Nest North which I thought I could only dream of having.  The curio was priced at $400.00.  Then one day I found out everything in that booth is 40%.  I needed a display cabinet to put some of my 30- year collections that went and came back with us from the Philippines.

I think I'm done with furnishing our apartment.  We got everything we need to make it feel like home and yes, it does feel like home now that we can see the things that we hold dear, instead of them being in boxes.

Michael misses his recliner and one day we found a perfect one for him at God's Storehouse.  And how he loves it!

So, you ask, did I stay within my $1,000.00 budget?  Well - no.  I went $226.00 over budget...hmmm maybe next time I'll do better.

As always, thank you for following.  I apologize it took me so long to get this blog done.  I learned when you try to work on a project on a budget you have to learn to wait and be patient and not be in a hurry to get the things you need.

Thank you all...God bless and we love all of you!

CAR SHOPPING MICHAEL'S WAY

When we lived in the Philippines, we only had one car and it was Mike who drove us everywhere.  It worked just fine for us.  If I need to go somewhere without using the car there are different ways to commute there.  There's always the tricycle, the jeepneys, buses and vans and habal-habal which is basically a motorcycle that you hire the owner/operator to take you where you need to go.

This one here is a tricycle.  It seats 7 people:

 This is a jeepney and I think it seats 25 or more if the operator places a bench in the middle:

This is the habal-habal which I am not so sure if I would ride:

I admit the first weeks when we got back here in the States I sort of miss the tricycle especially when I need to go somewhere.  We were borrowing my in-laws' truck to go places but when Mike is using it and I'm stuck in the house that's when I wish there were tricycles right around the corner just like in the Philippines.

Before we moved back Mike had been doing some research on vehicles.  He decided we needed a vehicle with all wheel drive or four wheel drive, but not a pickup.  He owned a pickup since the early 80's and can only remember a few times that it was actually used as it was intended, as a truck.    Also, the cost of operating a pickup is more than a small SUV or sedan.  Looking at our finances, he figured out the year and model that we can afford to get.  He made a mental list of what we want in the car like miles to a gallon, the car's mileage, it has to be an AWD and so on.  And, he was very specific in the car's color, yes ma'am, the color is a big thing for him.  According to him it has to be a "tactically neutral color" (thanks John O'Conner) - whatever that means.  Some car salesmen get it, others didn't 😏😁.  But what he really wants is a conservative color, no gaudy gold or purple or neon green, etc..

So off we went car shopping one day and, as expected, as soon as we walked into the car lot we were greeted by a very young gentleman who looks like he's about Zach's age.  He was extremely accommodating and very friendly and, Mike thought, must have just started in this field.  He "borrowed" somebody else's desk and we were seated.  Mike told him what we were looking for and what we needed.  He told him the price range we want and gave the poor salesman a warning: that if he tries to sell us a car that is more than the amount he stated, EVEN IF IT'S ONLY ONE CENT MORE, that we will walk out.  I thought "oh boy, the poor guy."

It turned out there was a 4D AWD Subaru Forester available in our price range.  We test drove it and between Mike, JJ and I we agree we all liked it.  Back at the dealership we made our offer along with the request that a hitch for a trailer be installed in the vehicle.  We agreed on the price without the trailer hitch.  It would add another $1,000 to the price of the car which is more than what we know the installed hitch would cost.  They would need to fix a rattle under the hood and detail the car before delivery, so two days after, we came back with a cashier's check for the amount and after further inspection we drove it home.  We also asked the salesman to keep an eye for us another Subaru in the next week or two in the same price range as we will be buying another one.

Mike's Subaru Forester ("tactically neutral color," according to him):

 

We then found another Subaru sedan which we bought for my use.  It was priced way below our budget so Michael went ahead and have a trailer hitch installed in the Forester.

The Subaru Imprezza rides nicely and smoothly and its a/c cools quickly.  I drove it to Wichita and it did well on I-70.  We also took it to Scranton on country road and did well too.

So far we are happy with our vehicles.  We plan to drive them until they quit on us hopefully for another ten years, hahaha.  By then we should have saved enough to pay cash on our next purchase.  Debt-free living is the way for us and we like it that way.

Thank you all for following our journey to and back from the Philippines.  We love you all and God bless.

TO SCRANTON, KANSAS WE GO

Last week JJ and Flor where in Walmart and a lady asked JJ what type of candy he liked.  She was participating in a parade in Scranton Kansas and wanted to know what type of candy to throw to the kids.

The parade was on June 23 and since Scranton is only about 25 minutes south of us we decided to go.  I tried to find more information about the parade and found it was in part by the Lions Club of Scranton.  It appeared there was a biscuit and gravy feed from 6:30 to 9:30 with the parade at 10:00.

Our close friends, Pat and Esther, planned to come too but we head there early because Mike wanted to go to the Lions' biscuit and gravy breakfast.  The Lions were not charging for the biscuit and gravy, but were taking donations.  As we sat down for breakfast, both Flor and I thought we could have been in Lebo Kansas 25 years ago at their community center with my grandparents and their neighbors.  In fact there was a lady there that was very similar to Fern from about 25 years ago in look, dress and manner of talk.

After eating, we went to the park where people were setting up various booths.  What was going on after the parade was day long events with fireworks later in the evening.  Bouncy houses were being set up that got JJ's attention.

One gentleman was setting up a home-made ice cream stand.  He had a John Deere stationary engine running an oversized ice cream maker.  He had the boxes of an old John Deere planter as dispensers for toppings.  This was all on a trailer being pulled by an old Minneapolis Moline tractor.   Mike enjoyed the set up because his grandfather Jesse used Minneapolis Moline tractor when he was farming and his grand father Harvey used John Deere.  And Mike does like antique tractors.

About 9:30 Pat and Esther arrived and we walked a block over to the main drag to wait for the parade.  There were the fire trucks, old trucks and cars and tractors.  And there was a contingent of Shriner's in their go-carts.  Of course there was a lot of candy thrown.  The kids loaded up on candy.

After the parade we walked back to the park and bought the wrist band for the bouncy house.  The kids then spent the next hour or so bouncing.

The fire department had a couple of old vehicles in the park that they were letting people beat on with a sledge hammer.  JJ wanted to beat on the vehicles.  He wore a fire helmet and safety goggles and went to town.  He was impressive in throwing the sledge at 9 years old.  After about 20 - 25 hits he did get tired and stopped.  He then announced that he wanted to be a fireman someday.

There was a family there that was smoking ribs to sell for lunch.  We had ribs with beans and cheesy potatoes and that was very good!

After eating JJ went back to beating on the vehicles.  After this time when he got done we headed home.

For something we did not have a lot of information on and unsure what was going on, we had a good time and the weather was perfect too.  The Lions Club does this every year to raise money and do something for the community.  We plan on doing it again next year.

Thank you for following.

THE WAVE EFFECT

In America, we have the “amber waves of grain.” When we settled down in Southern Leyte, I saw a beautiful sight once on our way home from Tacloban. I'll call it the “Pampas waves.” Mike, JJ and I were on our way home from a shopping trip in Tacloban City one afternoon. It was a clear, beautiful day as our vehicle meandered along the scenic mountain highway when I noticed the tall, flowering pampas grass that lines the highway. The white billowy flowers were nodding and swaying in the afternoon breeze as if they were gayley waving at us. I since looked forward to our trips to Tacloban just to watch the pampas flowers nodding and swaying in the breeze.

I missed the amber waves of grain in the Midwest and now that rainy season is almost over, I can't wait for the pampas grass to flower again. In the meantime, I want to tell you a different kind of “wave” that we have experienced while living in the Philippines. Even before we moved here, Mike and I already knew we will create a buzz wherever we go. And why not? Picture a tall American guy with a Filipina wife and a chubby little African/Mexican boy in tow. We knew this “combination” will surely raise eyebrows and from our experience, stares from people wherever we go.  Add to the fact that it is a rare thing that Mike and I are an "age-appropriate" pair.  This is what I learned from my observation: most foreigners that are here in the Philippines have younger wives, and not to put anybody down, most of their husbands are either old fat geezers or scrawny old men.  When we first moved here I noticed people gazing at my husband and even saying out loud "a young Americano," this to them was rare (an age-appropriate pair). Not that we are young, it's just that, compared to other foreigners who are married to Filipinas that these locals have seen, Michael IS younger. Having said that, we knew beforehand that everywhere we go we will stick out like a sore thumb.

Michael does the driving and he brought with him the Kansas farmers' trait of waving at everybody as we drive by. JJ and I wave too, especially at the children. We got stares from them at first – I think I know what they're thinking. They are thinking “they are waving at ME – oh my goodness” I noticed their expressions – timid, unsure why we waved at her/him, some hide behind their moms and peeks as we passed, others look at each other and then timidly smile back, still others wait until we have passed before they wave back.

And then there's the teenagers. Some will readily wave back, others will ignore us, still others act like the children – unsure why we waved and smiled at them. The other drivers that we passed along the way nod back, others smile and then there are those who ignore our waves. We kept doing the “wave” every time we are out and about for a while now.  One by one the children started waving back at us, at first timidly and not really sure.  Then one day as we were driving, a little boy (about 5 years old) ran across the street and excitedly waved at us.  Then the other kids followed suit and also ran and waved at us and by this time they lined the edge of the street and were all waving at us.  I don't know what made them do it but it felt joyous to me as we waved back at them.  Since then we have children line up the street to wave at us every time they see our car.  There was one incident where these kids were playing hide and seek (I think) and they all had to come out of their hiding place and out into the street just to wave at us then resumed their game once we passed.  That was a treat! 

We  have come to love these kids.  We don't know them personally or their parents.  I would like to someday.  In fact I want to one day get off the car and talk to them to really know them.  Then I'm thinking maybe at Christmas time I would do that with presents but we'll see what we can do.

After our first year in the Philippines, we started our feeding program and then added art sessions before the feeding, a couple of months after that.  I have come to know the kids and some of their parents.  I have come to love them like they are my own.  When we decided to come back to the States after my mom passed on, I asked our church to continue the programs with the promise that I will keep sending money to them to keep it going.  Twenty-five dollars a week is all that's needed to keep the program going.  Perhaps you, my reader, would like to help.

By the way, this article had been in my draft box since 2015.  I kept pushing it in the back burner for some time.  I hesitated to publish this but then I just couldn't delete it so here it is.  I pray you enjoy this VERY, VERY late blog.

Thank you for following.  God bless you all.

SIX 40-LBS. LUGGAGE

Yup that's right!  When the plane that took us to our final destination landed in Kansas City, we claimed six 40-pounds luggage in the Baggage Claim Area.  When we claimed a small part of my in-laws' living room to temporarily store the luggage, Mike and I both said, "here's our 30 years together all condensed into 6 suitcases."  We looked at each other and chuckled.

"It's actually liberating," Mike told Pat one day when Pat and Esther dropped JJ off at mom and dad's where we temporarily stayed.  I remembered that statement when we moved to a condo unit and started unpacking.  Most of what we brought back are what's important to us: family pictures, grandma's quilt, the boys' home school yearbooks, our wedding album and my wedding gown and Mike's barong Tagalog he wore on our wedding, Mike's awards/medals he received from the US Navy, the Precious Moments figurine that the social workers from TFI gave us when JJ's adoption was finalized, our "storied" Christmas ornaments.  And yes, our traveling owl nightlight made it back too.

When I had Joshua, I started collecting the Blue Willow place settings and we brought it with us to the Philippines.  I didn't think it would make it back to the States if we take it and I was willing to leave all of them.  But Michael insisted we take them back.  I let him pack them believing he is just wasting his energy.  Well, surprisingly, all of them made it - not one broken.  Little mementos here and there in our lives' journeys made it back too.

All these are reminders of where we've been, what we've been through in the different seasons of our lives....and where we will be in the next.  When I think about all the "things" we left behind I realized that those are just excess baggage that wear us down in our life's journeys.  They are not really important but only bog us down as we "travel" this road.  So Michael and I decided as we start another milestone in our lives - we will live "small" and "less" so we can focus on what the Lord requires of us. 

After everything was unpacked, we stripped the suitcases of every tags and labels and donated them to Goodwill.  That, too, felt liberating, like turning a page of "our book" and finding the next chapter.  "For I know the plans I have for you," saith the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you."  What a blessing and what assurance as we begin another chapter of our lives together.

Another of my favorite Bible passage is Psalm 90: 1-2 which reads "Lord, through all the generations you have been our home!  Before the mountains were created, before you made the earth and the world, you are|God, without beginning or end."

He is, indeed, our "home" ever since and we don't want to be anywhere but in Him.

We love y'all.  Thanks for following.

IT'S TIME TO GO BACK

A couple of weeks before our flight back to the States, I happen to watch a Discovery Science feature about UFO sightings by military and commercial air pilots.  On a couple of instances, these "thingy" flew close to the aircraft and another "followed" an American Airlines flight and apparently when the pilot reported it, he was fired from AA.  That got me thinking - what if it's true?  What if there really is such a thing or things?

I remembered years ago when the boys were little and we drove back and forth to Omaha from Andover, Kansas - we lived in Kansas but Mike's job assignment was in Nebraska.  We were a home schooling family so occasionally we loaded up the van with the books and headed to Omaha for the week and then drove back to Andover on Thursday so I can be at work the next day.  I worked 3 12-hour shift at Cessna Aircraft back then.  Mike then came home every Friday night and drove back to Omaha Sunday afternoon.  During that year, Chevy had a commercial of cherubims flying along - one on each side - a van on a highway.  I clung to that image in my heart as I drove to and back from Omaha and for extra measure I asked the Lord to add more angels to go before us, behind us, beside us, over and under our van for added comfort.  And because He is faithful, I believe in my heart that He did just that.

Now back to the Discovery Science show I watched.  If it is really true that some aircraft people saw what they saw then I have to do something on the defense.  I started praying that God would, once again, send His angels to clear the road for us as we travel from our place to Tacloban for our flight to Manila.  Then I prayed that, when it is time for us to fly to the States, He would send His angels to clear the skies for our aircraft to go on to our destination.  Once again, the image of the Chevy commercial years before came back to mind.  And as I settled down for the long flight, I was imagining angels, not cherubims, beside, behind, over, under and before our aircraft to take us safely to America.  No alien aircraft dare fly alongside us.  We have the heavenly hosts guarding us.

We were midway between China and Los Angeles when the aircraft experienced turbulence that lasted for what seemed a long time.  Starting to feel uneasy, I turned to Michael and whispered to him "we are over the vast Pacific Ocean are we?"  He nodded and I got to thinking, there is no other way but down if something happens BUT I know that even in the deepest abyss of the Pacific Ocean, God is there.  So I settled down knowing that God knows where we are or where we will be.  The rest of our journey was smooth, checking through customs in LA was a breeze and we were even ahead of schedule when we landed in Kansas City.  I know our church family -Joy In Christ Hinunangan- prayed for us for months and I thank them with all my heart for that.  And most of all I thank the Lord for sending His angels to go before us, behind us, beside us, over and under us, AND answering our prayers for a safe journey.  He is faithful indeed!

Thanks for following and let us continue to pray for each other.  For God does answer prayer!  Until next time --- God bless you and yours.

MARLON WANTS TO COME TO AMERICA!

Six months after my mother passed on, Michael and I both agreed to come back to the States. Marlon, my youngest brother who has a Downs Syndrome is living with us. Now that mother is gone he is the only one we need to take care of. He always told me he wants to come to America with us. I wonder sometimes if people with Downs Syndrome know how to dream, and here is Marlon letting me know he wants to come to America.

Well, let me tell you a little about Marlon. When he was born mother knows he has a disability. He looked different and had developmental delays. He couldn't do anything by himself, he has to be assisted to roll over or supported to stand up. He was almost like a rag doll – no strength in his muscles whatsoever. I was 11 years old when he was born. After his first birthday I remember us taking him to the beach, dig a hole in the sand deep enough for my little brother to stand up to his lower chest. Then we heap the sand back in the hole.  Watching for his cue that he's not happy about it anymore we would then un-bury him and take him for a swim. That was his “therapy” that we continued to do until his muscles gained strength.  The warmth of the sand acting as cast for his lower extremities probably did his muscles good.  He started to roll and crawl before his second birthday. Then he started to walk and we were elated. He had speech delays as well. He made sounds but never a word as far as I can remember. When I went off to college in 1977 he still didn't talk, he was 6 years old by then.

The beach where we took Marlon for his therapy:

 

Mother takes him to church with her on Sundays when he was older. He is a quiet little boy, never bothering anyone during service – he is in his own world. Looking back I would have wanted to be in his “world” to see what it would have been like. Years later mom told me that one day Marlon suddenly raised his hand and said “pisaluk” --pronounced PEA-SUH-LOOK-- in Visayan. And for a while mom didn't understand what he meant or what he wanted. And every time Marlon uttered the word, mom would just repeat it to him. Until one Sunday at church – in the middle of worship and praise songs – Marlon raised his hand mimicking the song leader, who, with eyes closed and right hand raised to heaven was saying “Praise the Lord” and “Hallelujah” in between songs. Mom was watching Marlon who was looking at her with a big smile. Without skipping a beat still with hand raised, he said “Pisaluk” as if telling mom “this is exactly what I mean when I say “pisaluk.” Since then, whenever Marlon says “pisaluk” mom would echo “Praise the Lord” back at him. Marlon was in his twenties when he “talked” where he can be understood....Praise the Lord, indeed!

When my parents came to America in 1994, Marlon was left under the care of my sister and her husband who took really good care of him. Sandy, my brother-in-law, worked at a big school and office supplies store in Pampanga. One day he needed to bring home a box but Marlon laid claim to it. He started cutting and snipping the box into uniformed rectangles. When asked what he's doing he told them he is making checks. When he had a stack he would then tie the “checks” into neat bundles. He would examine the bundles making sure all four sides are uniform and tidy. He is always busy cutting, snipping, and tying his “checks.”

After 8 years Mom and Dad came back from the States and settled again in our hometown. Marlon continued his hobby of check making. Whenever he gets a box, he would carefully examine it, sniff it and touch each corners with his palm and then he goes to work. He would pile all his bundled “checks” and somehow knows when a bundle or two is missing. He brought a lot of “checks” with him when he moved in with us. And here too he continued his hobby of making “checks” so much so that it didn't take long to have stacks of checks in the house. JJ and I did a lot of pleading and coaxing before we can throw some of the bundles away to reduce the clutter.  I provided a large “balikbayan” box for him to put all his checks.


Last Christmas I gave him a box of colorful strings to tie his “checks” and he couldn't be happier:

Marlon, I found out, can be taught to do things. One day I told him that we normally do a lot of baking in America and it would help if he knows how since he wanted to come to America. I asked him if he would like to learn to bake some muffins for breakfast that morning which he eagerly said yes. It was a messy experiment but he did well, and yes, the muffins were tasty.

He loves to be around children. Maybe because mentally they are his level and he also likes to tease them. Well, he teases us adults too. He is very caring and very concerned for everybody's welfare. He loves to tag along with us when we do our Saturday feeding program for the children of Nasa and Talisay. Whenever we go on a trip, he makes sure everybody on the trip are accounted for before we could leave. He'll make a roll call every time.

Marlon loves to swim. He would spend hours on the shore among the waves. He would beach himself and let the waves beat on him. That seems to be his favorite pastime. When he comes home from the beach he would be sporting red eyes and even darker skin. And then he does it again the next day and the next. He seems to know when rain is coming or when there's a bad weather. He'd forecast it and lo and behold here comes the storm the next day or two. Our neighbors would be drying out rice on the street and Marlon would tell them to get ready for it is going to rain. Most of the time he's right. The neighbors wonder at how Marlon could tell...I don't. My brother is a gifted man. Where else can you find a person with Downs Syndrome who can speak Visayan, Tagalog, Kapampangan and understand a bit of English? And yes, even dream of coming to America!

I love you my dear brother, Marlon....and I can't wait for you to come live with us in America!

Thank you all for following.  God bless!