Barquillos and Ice Cream for Merienda

Today, Macrine and I had Barquillos( rolled milk wafers) and ice cream for merienda ( afternoon snack). This reminded me of my teenager days in Iloilo. This nostalgic memories reminded me of my Father, Dr David Jamili Javellana K(C)atague from Barotac Viejo, Iloilo, Philippnes. In the late 1940's just after the American-Japanese War in the Philippines, the third class town of Barotac Viejo did not have an ice cream store and bakery. So every week, my Father and I would take a 2 to 3 hour ride by bus to Iloilo City to purchase our monthly supplies of groceries and bakery goods. The roads at that time from Barotac Viejo to Barotac Nuevo were not paved and the bus trip was very bumpy. During the rainy season some parts of the national road is flooded.

However, in the early 2000 when my wife and I visited Barotac Viejo, the roads were paved, so the 60KM auto trip from Iloilo City to the town took us only about 55 minutes.

http://chateaudumer.blogspot.com/2014/12/where-heck-is-barotac-viejo-iloilo.html

If you are not familiar with barquillos: Barquillos are thin rolled cookies of Spanish origin. In the Philippines, Iloilo is particularly known for its barquillos. They are made by pouring a thin batter is onto a wafer iron (barquillera). Once the wafer is cooked to a light brown it is immediately rolled while still hot. It becomes a crisp rolled cookie when it cools. Barquillos are now available in local flavors like ube and pandan. Sometimes they are filled with polvoron powder to make a sweet called barqueron. Here in Nothern California, Barquillos are sold in our local Pilipino grocery store. They are imported from the Philippines. Here's a short video in how to make barquillos or rolled milk wafers.

The Sisters of the Cenacle in Asia and Donald Trump

Cenacle Sisters of the Philippines and Singapore( in Asia). My sister-in-law is in the middle row second from the left.

The other day my Italian-American neighbor who is a very devout and practicing catholic asked me what I knew about the Order of the Cenacle when she found out that I have a sister-in-law who is a Cenacle nun in the Philippines. So I did some Internet search and one of the many things I learned is that the word Cenacle meant the Upper Room.

I also learned that the founder Saint Therese Couderc was known for her humility. This word reminds me of Donald Trump, this year Republican Nominee for US President. Trump is a living example of the opposite meaning of the word humbleness and humility! Heavens forbid if he gets elected! To insure he does not get elected do not forget to vote for Hillary!


Now here's a short information from Wikipedia about the Sisters of the Cenacle.

The Sisters of the Cenacle (full title: Congregation of Our Lady of the Retreat in the Cenacle) is a Roman Catholic Congregation founded in 1826 in the village of Lalouvesc (Ardèche), France. The founders were Saint Thérèse Couderc and diocesan priest Jean-Pierre Etienne Terme. Today this congregation has branches in sixteen countries in the world.

The mission of the Cenacle is threefold: Prayer, Community and Ministry

The first video describes the inspiration and origin of this order of Nuns that I am very proud of. The second video are members of the Cenacle and Male Friends singing What a Wonderful World!




Celebrating 50 years of the Cenacle in the Philippines.

For details about the 2 singing nuns read:
http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/206601/these-nuns-can-sing-and-music-is-their-prayer/

Family Pictures Slide Show

All you Want to Know about Feng Shui but were Afraid to Ask

Our beach house with the Japanese bridge as the focal point in the landscaping design of the property. The bridge was my own design.

A few months ago, I was viewing pictures in Facebook from a relative friend showing pictures of a hotel lobby and the living room of a house being redecorated by his well-known interior decorator spouse. I commented and asked him, if his wife incorporates the principles of Feng Shui in the rearrangement of furniture as well as coordination of colors scheme in her design and renovation projects. I have not received an answer, but those pictures in FB reminded me of my previous posting in my blogs. I titled it "Is Feng Shui a Science or Art", December, 2012.

Please note that I am not a famous interior decorator or a landscape architect, but I have been practicing Feng shui principles in my adult life in the decoration of our homes, beach house and gardens both here in US and in the Philippines.

In my younger days, I used to be an enthusiast of the practice of Feng shui. I have read several books on the subject. The practice is very interesting and to me it is all common sense. So what is Feng Shui?

Feng shui is an ancient art and science developed over 3,000 years ago in China. It is a complex body of knowledge that reveals how to balance the energies of any given space to assure health and good fortune for people inhabiting it.

Feng means wind and shui means water. In Chinese culture wind and water are associated with good health, thus good Feng shui came to mean good fortune, while bad Feng shui means bad luck, or misfortune.

Historically, Feng shui was widely used to orient buildings—often spiritually significant structures such as tombs, but also dwellings and other structures—in an auspicious manner. Depending on the particular style of Feng shui being used, an auspicious site could be determined by reference to local features such as bodies of water, stars, or a compass. Feng shui was suppressed in China during the cultural revolution in the 1960s, but since then has increased in popularity.

Modern reactions to Feng shui are mixed. The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience states that some principles of Feng shui are "quite rational", while noting that "folk remedies and superstitions, that have been incorporated into Feng shui's eclectic mix" borders to a pseudo science.

I have applied the principle of Feng shui in the arrangement of furniture in our house, color scheme in the room decor of our retirement home, the location of the front door of buildings in the Philippines and also the landscaping and orientation of trees and plants in my garden. I have not become a very rich person due to my practice of Feng shui, but I do enjoy practicing the art of Feng shui in all facets of my life.

Try Feng shui and you will feel better, happy and who knows you might win in the lottery and become very rich in the near future. As New Year approaches, this is a good time to start new and fresh and have fun in your Feng shui practices.

Here's a short video on the rearranging furniture with the basics of Feng shui!

A Dangerous Life-Movie on the Final Years of Ferdinand Marcos

Just in case you have not seen this..

A Dangerous Life is a 1988 English-language Australian film about the final years of the Philippines under Ferdinand Marcos' rule, from the assassination of Benigno Aquino, Jr. in 1983 to the People Power EDSA Revolution in 1986 that ousted Marcos. The film focuses on American TV journalist Tony O'Neil (Gary Busey), who finds himself in the middle of key events that lead to the downfall of the Marcos regime. Originally airing on television as a mini-series that ran for a total of six hours, the film was edited to 162 minutes for the home video release.

I am Finally Using Windows 10

For the last four weeks, I have been using Windows 10. I am getting used to it and really getting to like it. Please read my post dated May 19, 2016 on this subject as follows:



" Last month, my son wanted me to try Windows 10. Currently, I am happy with my Windows 7. I tried Windows 10 just for a few hours now. I notice the resolution and speed is better. However, I am not sure if I really need to upgrade since I am not into Gaming. So I did some search on Windows 10 differences with Window 7 and here's what I found in the Web. It is a very informative article. I like to hear from you if you have similar experiences as discussed in the more than 700 comments in the article as follows:

http://www.trustedreviews.com/opinions/windows-10-vs-windows-7

Here's the conclusion from the above article:

There's nothing wrong with sticking with Windows 7, but upgrading to Windows 10 definitely has plenty of benefits, and not too many downsides. Of course the fact that it's a free upgrade right now makes it even more tempting.

Windows 10 has a lot of genuinely useful new features, as well as key improvements to old features, compared to Windows 7. None is enough on its own to make an upgrade necessary, but when combined they do make a compelling case.

You’ve got better search, window management, file management, gaming tools and more. Windows 10 is faster in general use, too, and the new Start Menu is in some ways better than the one in Windows 7.

The only real sticking point is that Microsoft wants you to sign in with a Microsoft account and if you choose not to you lose some features. Features that shouldn't need to be linked to any online account. You certainly can get away with a normal 'offline' version but Microsoft really doesn't want you to, and that's something we're not keen on".

Read more at http://www.trustedreviews.com/opinions/windows-10-vs-windows-7#CE2u7i3UcP40ToSJ.99