Ron's singing practice

Fred, one of the bandmate of Ron, came to our house, to have practice with Ron. They have one more member, Dick but his on vacation now... It's nice music they prepare for the coming BBQ party we're going to attend at.

I haven't mention yet, my husband is also a singer and composer. He had composed songs already for me... He can also play many instruments, including piano, guitar, drum set, beatbox etc.

Pannenkoek (Pancake) for Dinner

Have you tried to eat pannenkoek (pancake) for dinner?

In Manila i eat pancakes only for breakfast in "Jollibee" especially (Breakfast Joys Pancakes from Jollibee as shown in photo) or when my mother will cook pancakes for us on afternoon snacks...

But here in Holland, we eat pancakes for dinner. Ron is good in cooking pancakes, he cooks almost in the same way, how the PANCAKES were cooked and shown in You Tube.

At first, i thought i won't feel full, because my impression with pancake is just light meal... Anyway, Ron can cooked it with combination of ham and also cheese, so it's not really light. But for me I still prefer just plain pancake with syrup... I'm actually a pancake lover :)

Rosarium (Rose Garden)

Near to the house we're living, there you'll found Rosarium (Rose garden).

They say Winschoten has one of the most beautiful rose gardens in The Netherlands. In Rosarium there are more than three hundred varieties of roses in bloom, on summer months. And the Region of Winschoten is one of the largest cultivation center of rose seedings too...

Zomer (Summer)

Zomer (Summer) is here, yesterday it's about 38 degrees... the nice place to cool down is to jump to the zwembad (swimming pool)... Cool!!!

"Reyna ng Hugasan" is back

Oh oh! Our afwasser is kapot (dishwasher was broken)... I have to do the dishwashing now by hands... Now, I've realized how the dishwasher, helps us a lot.... especially it saves more time, just put dirty dishes in the afwasser and a tablet soap then it will be done after few minutes...

Here in Holland, we put all the dirty dishes after everymeal in the afwasser then we turn it ON only in the evening, so we make sure, we have enough tableware for the whole day... Unlike in Manila normally after every meal, dishwashing will follow.

"Reyna ng Hugasan" (Queen of Dishwashing), that's how my friends jokingly call me. Because they knew very well how i like to do the dishwashing... I remember in my college time, there was a professor of Behavioral Science, with the topic about household chores, she asked me, what's my favorite household chore and why? I replied, it's Dishwashing... My reason? Well aside from it's good to clean the dirty dishes right away.... I feel it's good for the stomach, to stand for few minutes after eating, it will give you a good figure, hahaha! I hope i could still justify it with my belly now, hihi!

Beyond the Horizon

On our way back home, after attending Holy Mass today, I took some pictures of the horizon... It's nice, sometimes you'll have a feeling that you're driving IN a Painting.... amazing!

Raam (Window)

In the 1st photo you'll see our grote raam (big window) from the house front view... it's a bit big for me at first, (just half size of the window we have in Manila) then I've realized every window here in Holland are normally with Large size...

Yes, passers-by can clearly see what's and who's inside the house, that's how big they are, bigger than the wall itself...

On my first month here in Holland (Feb 2008), I've asked my husband, "Why is it in every window I've seen here, I've noticed that the color of the curtains are always white?". Then he explained that in every house, there's a double set of curtains, (1) net curtain (vitrage) -usually white and (2) full-length curtains. Like what you can see in the 3rd photo here with curtains, but instead of vitrage we used rolgordijn (roll curtain)...

Some windows here in Holland, have window insurance. And some windows are professionaly cleaned by some window-cleaning companies too... "sosyal!"

Raam (Window)

Slagroom Taart (whipped cream cake)

Mireille, our daughter turn's 1 year & 6 months today... and because we are not with Ron when she turns 1 year old (we are still in Manila then), i told Ron that it would be nice to celebrate it today with special Slagroom Taart (whipped cream cake), lekker!

Dat mag niet! (That's not allowed!)

Popular word ng mga mother dito ang "dat mag niet!" (hindi pwede yan!)... Lumalaki na anak ko.... napapadalas na rin ang pagsabi ko ng "dat mag niet!", minsan ang kulit ng anak ko, ayan pilit na pumasok sa "wasmand" (lalagyan ng labahan)... at sitting pretty pa habang nanonood ng TV, kulit! anyway, syempre kinunan ko muna ng picture bago ko sya inalis sa lalagyan ng labahan.... hehe!

Dank u wel (Thank you) Myk

It's been a week, since ng start ako mg create ng blog. Nais ko lang MAG-PASALAMAT kay Ato also known as Myk, ng motivate sakin para mg create ng sarili kong blog... Nang mabasa ko blog ni Myk (http://mykapalaran.blogspot.com/) dami ko nalaman mga latest sa Manila at ibang bansa, pati na rin mga bagay-bagay na nakakatuwa....

So, na-inspired ako mg create ng sarili kong blog, para ipakita mga bagay-bagay naman dito sa "dutch world" na aking ginagalawan...

Pero di lang blogger ang turing ko kay Myk, matagal din aming pinagsamahan sa Parokya aking pinagmulan (Parish of Holy Family)... naging katuwang ko sya sa PCY, ka-member sa Holy Family Choir at Lectors and Commentators... At higit sa lahat isa siyang Kaibigan....

Thank you Myk and God bless you....

Altar in the house

On my first blog, i showed the place of the altar... This morning, Mama Gea (my mother-in-law) makes a new place for the Altar.... It's in the nice place now, in the center of the house. I remember my husband asked me before why do i like to have an altar?

For me, it's a constant reminder that God is always there to guide us and bless us in all we do. The altar is a symbol to which we give respect, because it reminds us that we have a Loving God... It is in the same way, we respect for the photos of our parents or someone we love....

In our altar, we have the book "Daily Gospel 2008" too, for daily readings and reflections on "Words of God" from the Bible. I always have the feeling that God talks with me in every reading from the Bible...

I believe Faith is a gift that stays in our heart, and should be shared to those who open their heart....

Sprookjeshof (Fairytale Land)

My husband's vakantie (holiday vacation) is over now... Tomorrow, he will be back to work again.... His holiday started June 30, we spent it by visiting some of his relatives. Also last sunday (July 13) we visit the Sprookjeshof (Fairytale Land), nice park especially for the kids. My daughter really had fun there, especially the first time she plays at trampoline...

Sint-Jozefkathedraal

Earlier, we attended Holy Mass (in English language) at Sint-Jozefkathedraal (St. Joseph Cathedral), in City of Groningen (30 minutes drive from Winschoten). If we can't attend for Saturday, then we normally attend Holy Mass on Sunday (in Dutch language).

"eet smakelijk"

I know there's rice shortage in Manila, ahhh i feel for you...
Our menu for today, bread (croissants) and coffee for lunch.
Then avondeten or what i call Dutch Dinner, potatoes with any meat, any vegetable (like brocolli) and appelmoes (apple mousse)... by the way, my husband cooked the dutch dinner in the photo. I still have to learn how to prepare it, especially the meat. Normally, I still cook filipino food pa rin for dinner, kanin at ulam syempre...
There's an etiquette here, before starting to eat your meal, wish your companion(s) enjoy your meal by uttering "eet smakelijk!"

Langestraat (long street)

Langestraat (long street), they call this street here in Winchoten. We call this place also Centrum (center), this is where we go for shopping.

Koffie (Coffee)

1st thing in the morning drinking coffee is always "lekker" (delicious)... for me, this is the way i prepare my coffee, 1st i-ready ang coffee pad, coffeemilk, sugar (in blocks) at syempre coffee maker.... then ilagay ang coffee pad sa coffeemaker.... then push the button lang may coffee ka na... :)

Since i came here, minimum of 5 cups of coffee ini-inom ko everyday... isa pag gising, then after maubos, timpla ulit, then mga 10 am, kape ulit, sa lunch dahil usual bread kape ulit, sa hapon kape ulit, sa gabi after dinner while watching tv kape ulit, hindi pa counted jan kapag ng grocery kami meron din free coffee, tapos if bigla kami dumaan sa house ng friend kape ulit.

Well, part talaga ng dutch culture ang coffee, as in minsan di mo pa ubos coffee mo sa cup mg-o-offer ulit sila to make a new coffee for you... MAPAPAKAPE KA TALAGA :)

Holy Family

Try ko lang mag-create ng blog showing things here in Holland, and maybe something different from my way of living before in Manila....

February 11, 2008, when me and my daughter arrived here in Holland, 1st thing i did is to look where to put my altar, this photo was taken on my birthday (May 22, 2008), bagong dikit yung red wallpaper, it's Mama Gea (my mother -in-law) who bought then put them on the wall ha... Napansin nyo ba altar namin? sobra yata liit ng HOLY FAMILY ko para sa heater as table... lilipat ko sya ng place...

We got the Holy Family from the wedding gifts we received. I brought it here in Holland, because it will also remind me The Parish of the Holy Family, in Karuhatan, Valenzuela City (Philippines). The Parish church where I grew with catholic faith. Holy Family reminds me also of the parishioners i met and serve with, especially the Holy Family Choir, Parish Commission on Youth (PCY), Lectors and Commentators, and the Finance Committee in Holy Family church construction, and closest friends i've got....