Santa Rosa Sunset February 9, 2014

Santa Rosa, Laguna state of calamity

     I've often said we are in a part of Santa Rosa that is largely unaffected by flooding from rains. We are higher and away from the Laguna de Bay. 

     As I type I am listening to the Mayor Arlene Arcillas speaking on the news about 15 of 18 barangays being submerged. It rained continuously since yesterday.  She says the town proper is submerged. 

     Binan, Laguna is also flooded.

     There was a report of a flash flood in the Southwoods exit on the SLEX (Southern Luzon Expressway).

     Anyway, friends, time to put together goods for donation. The Mayor is saying companies like San Miguel and Asia Brewery who have factories in the city are providing assistance.

     Okay the broadcaster is asking her where exactly she is located. I am curious too. Where is she?  "In the car""...she says. Okay mayor, where exactly is your car now?  Just wondering.

Shrouded in fog...Puting Kahoy, Silang, Cavite

11:00 a.m. After a heavy downpour brought by Typhoon Jolina over Calabarzon...thick fog and cool air in the hills of Puting Kahoy.

Full Moon, Narras Bloom, 36 degrees and Maybe...Hopefully, (a few minutes more)...RAIN

    When it is this HOT and HUMID, and one has a HEADACHE caused by dehydration...it is a struggle to do anything that involves movement.  I woke up to this perfume--it is rich and for some reason (maybe the Gap Guest House's jasminey or honeysuckl-ey air) reminds me of Chiang Mai, Thailand. It has not rained here in weeks; last weekend the forecast thunderstorms quickly reverted to the sunny 36 before Friday even came.



    In the beginning of this blog, I wrote about how the Narra blooms after a brief shower usually in the month of March.  Now, no rain, but just a very full moon, and voila, yellow flowers, heady scent.  I appreciate the scented air, because really...enter a shopping mall these days and you won't escape the air heavy with the scent of mmm....pawis (perspiration).

     So anyway, I need a horticulturist to confirm this.  It seems to me that flowers bloom when I water sporadically. That is, water it well an deep one day, and then the next maybe skip watering, even in the heat.  The sampaguita has sure proven this to be true. It does not want too much watering. And now it has presented us everyday with our daily dose. A fist full of flowers.  
     

Ay nasingit (oh! it got squeezed in)! These are flowers of the MORINGA OLEFEIRA (malunggay)
They emit fragrance too.

Almost the Ides of March

     Wow just one post in February. My excuses are household and child-rearing priorities, a router that needs upgrading, poor time management, and well, maybe the weather?

     It was terribly hot in the daytime last week. Cool still in the night, with no need for any fan nor airconditioner.  This week, it's been cool even on sunny days.  The skies too blue and the breezes too pleasant not to spend the afternoons outdoors.

     Two years ago this month I began to blog.

     Now I get a nice invitation, to write.  With a stranger whose blog reveals so much of her personal family history and her artistic hands.  I can't help but hear an echo in my mind of "...when the student is ready, the teacher will appear".  I know, I know, being a bit dramatic, but you just might understand, if you are like-minded, why I heard that in my head if you read her blog.  You will understand my appreciation even more if you got inside my head, but I remain an anonymous blogger for now. I'm also sure to bore you with my current angst.  And what a coincidence my new friend, that you have been practicing Buddhism for a while.

     Check out http://returnedretiree.blogspot.com  , another 'new to Sta. Rosa' blogger.

Finally, cool nights and a bright moon

The nights have been cooler all around, but the climate, I don't have to tell you, remains inconsistent.  Yesterday, though the sky was sunny, the air was windy cool, by 5pm it was what I would call "chilly", and by evening, my outdoor thermometer read 24 degrees Celsius. It actually felt a bit more like 22.

The moon is halfway on its way to fullness.  It was quite bright out, and for the first time in two years, I looked up again.  Really looked up.

The kid made me do it. I was looking down. Down to where the garbage can was, to toss the food trash in the nabubulok bin. 

Thank goodness for the wonder. She was looking up and urged me to look up at the fast moon too. The clouds were actually the ones floating---no--cruising really quickly past the silver moon.  After a minute or so, "mama please can we sit down and watch the moon go fast".  Bliss, 'no?

current weather in Santa Rosa, Laguna 4:40pm

     Gloomy, rainy, sleepy weather.