THANKSGIVING-OCTOBER 12, 2009

every thanksgiving i always see to it that it is celebrated in my house. this is the time that we take our yearly family pictures which will cover our christmas cards.

this year was a lit bit different. i invited the whole barrientos clan in my place with mom and dad as the focus of our picture taking.

the weather was bit a cold. we ended taking pictures inside of my place instead. everybody had a good time as always.

there was a new "paparazzi" who took care of taking pictures with her new loaded nikon camera.

i guess the next stop will be traditional "christmas eve" gathering.

new england/canada cruise-sept.5-12,2009

as i stated on my previous blog, the "neck" and i went for week new england/canada cruise last sept.5-12. peggy's cove, halifax, nova scotia and the bay of fundy, st john, new brunswick are the two places that i want to go back if ever i will be given a chance.

if ever that day will happen, in nova scotia, i wil try and visit sidney and cape breton.

the cruise is highly recommended if you want to see the east coast of usa and canada. when we were planning this trip i was a little bit hesitant. my expectation was not so high. now, i don't regret taking this trip. it opened my eyes that in canada, we have a lot of places to see and explore.

CRUISE FOOD

the commander-in-chief and i went for new england/canada cruise last sept.5-12.

i haven't been to the atlantic side of canada that's why i chose this trip.

one of the things that i enjoyed in a cruise, there is always a night where the main course is LOBSTERS.

lobsters and grilled jumbo shrimps were served during our 5th night sit down dinner. since our dinner doesn't start till 8pm, i went to the buffet part of the ship around 5:30pm and got myself a lobster start. i killed two lobsters. i didn't tell the commander-in-chief until we finished our dinner on that night.

DAD'S 91st b-day

today is my dad's 91st b-day. with that age, mapalad kung ating mararating ang ganoong gulang.

dad used to smoke but quit when he knows that there is nothing to gain. he drinks very very seldom. i think those are some of the ingredients of having a longer life.

i think dad got involved to ballroom dancing when he was in early 50's. that was carried when he arrived here in canada in 1980. alam mong nasa twilight na siya ng kanyang buhay sa madaling kapaguran pagsumasayaw. hindi katulad ng dati na lahat ng itugtog ng dj ay halos walang patid na pinauusok ang tabla sa sayawan.

happy b-day dad. hoping you'll have more b-days to come.

zoe took the "fall"

it was in february when the first death in the family arrived. then death comes every two months after that. there is a saying that " death in the family comes in three's". it is just like a "curse". there is a "supertitious belief and saying" from the elders back home, in order to stop the "spell" , a pet has to pay the "dues" to discontinue the trend.

thats what happened to zoe, she took the "fall".

there was a special mass celebrated by father max at my back yard last thursday, july 2, for the soul of my late brother dick. everybody were there. both cisco and zoe were in full motion, enjoying the presence of my relatives.

the next day, cisco could hardly use his hind left leg. so the "commander-in-chief" brought the big guy to the vet. with cisco's age, we thought that he is going downhill.

saturday night, i took zoe for our usual walk. we did not took cisco with us because of his condition. everything seems to be fine, she pooed 3x. after the walk, zoe was in so much pain.. she could hardly lie down.

sunday, the "commander-in-chief" took zoe to cisco's vet and was given a shot for pain and were advised to see a surgeon for her spinal. so monday am., the "boss" brought zoe to her own vet and was given prescriptions, a steroid for the inflammation and pills for the pain. she was advised to come after a week to see if there is a development.

she never reached that monday, she died in peace last thursday morning, july 9, 2009.

sudden goodbye...

ang puso ko ay umiiyak sa matinding kalungkutan. kakaibang damdamin ang aking nadama. para akong nawalan ng isa sa mga minamahal ko sa buhay. sa anim na taon naming pagsasama, nagdulot siya ng kaligayahan sa aming tahanan at kay seyla.

sa kabila ng aking kalungkutan, i'm still thankful that God took her early so that she will not suffer so much pain. i'm still thankful and guilt free that she died in peace and we don't have to put her to "sleep". i'm still thankful that we were able to give her the best 6 years of her life and never stop loving her until her last day on this earth.

zoe "my tangs", hahanap hanapin kita.

GOODBYE TENGA (big ear)

this picture was taken when i was in the philippines december 2007. his health was up and down, high and low. Last sunday, june 7, 2009, he finally said his final goodbye after years of
sickness.

my unforgetable memories of my late brother dick was the year when they were able to pay my mom and dad for a visit and at the same time, celebrated my dad and mom"s 65th wedding anniversary.

during their short stay here in toronto, we really bonded as siblings.

dick married when he was only 17 years old. i was on my first year in high school when he had his first son. we never really jelled as a brother because he has his family to provide and that time i was up and coming.

when they came over for a visit, i took him and kuya boy to ottawa, montreal and quebec tour. they enjoyed that tour so well and even bragged their experiences when they went back to the philippines. actually, they don't like the idea of going to that tour. they rather keep the money for themselves rather than spending it to the tour. i was the only one who pushed it so hard for them to see the other places in canada. going back, they really acknowledged that without my persistant, they would not see anything except toronto.

everytime i talked to him over the phone to see how he is doing, he always give his best regards to my family and he would individually mentioned every name up to "seyla". we always go back to the days when they were here and very proud of the experiences.

he was finally put to rest last saturday, june 13.

may the Lord's perpetual light shine upon him and may he rest in peace.

lakers/magic match up

just few hours ago, LJ and the cavaliers bowed out to orlando magic.

the nba final will be between the lakers and the magic. i'm sorry to inform the three guys in our basketball pool that 'MAGIC WOK" is again will be doing business for us. the two teams who are going to the finals are the teams that i selected at the draft. so i don't really care who will win. the most important thing is "DEEP FRIED SQUID" will start as an appetizer.

i think this time, i will be having a lobster tail for a change. hopefully it will be soon!!!!

to the three guys, better luck next year.