Caroleen’s Treasures

I was hoping I could make this post as short as possible so as not to bore you all. The only thing that could make it possible would be to let pictures talk, so here goes my post about our 10 day vacation to Davao and Kabacan.

We left Trento at 11am last October 27. Donald was dreaming about boarding the King Long bus but we are not so lucky. Read the rest of this entry »

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We are celebrating 71st Araw ng Davao (71st Foundation Day of Davao). We went to see the display of different ornamental plants in the AgroTrade Fair with Donald, Ella, my sister and brother-in-law. Although the boys didn’t seem to enjoy much as we girls did, they somehow manage to patiently go around the booths with us. I was able to get good pictures since Donald bought a new camera. I didn’t agree in buying one before. But good that he  didn’t listen to the reasons why I think we didn’t need one. Now, I could perhaps make my blog look interesting.

Each time I see beautiful flowers, it reminds me of my mother. She loved flowers so much and I grew loving flowers too. She grew euphorbias, anthuriums, vandas, dendrobiums, dancing ladies, bougainvillas, bromeliads, san franciscos and other ornamental plants. We always had fresh flowers in the living room picked from her garden. She always had fresh flowers in her desk at school too. She’d surely enjoy the fair if she was here. But I know for sure, there are a lot more beautiful flowers for her to see in heaven.

When she died, my daughter Ella asked me why did God took her grandmother. Ella seemed to clearly understand the concept of dying after I explained to her in the most simple way I can. She was just turning 3 in a week when my mother died. She knew that my mother died of cancer and she understood that she is with the Lord in heaven and that we will see each other again up there. After the funeral, my nephews who were 8 at that time, were talking about my mother. One said my mother was now under the ground and the other one said she will come back in time. Ella then blurted out “No! Mamang Eling is now in heaven and she is not coming home anymore. She is now teaching little angels up there.” I almost choked upon hearing her say that. It was so comforting to hear that. In a child’s understanding, God needed teachers to teach little angels. And perhaps somebody to tend the garden too.

 Butterfly orchid taken during our monthly visit in Trento, Agusan del Sur last March 7.

Donald and I married when we were 21. We just celebrated our 5th anniversary last February and we had tried different micro businesses over the years. We made longganisa and tocino, puto cheese, kutchinta, polvoron, pastillas and peanut butter. We also tried selling fish, vegetables and ready to wear garments. We did manage a small restaurant in my hometown in Kabacan, Cotabato. We also had a store of ukay-ukay (used garments, household items, bags and shoes) and a small fruitstand. Read the rest of this entry »