“Why are things beautiful? I don´t know. That´s a good question. Isn´t it pleasing when you ask a question of a person, a teacher, or a speaker, and he or she says, That´s a good question? Don´t you feel good when that happens?”
― Nicholson Baker
A Box of Matches
I joined my first ever calligraphy workshop at the start of 2019! K, a photographer friend from Dumaguete has been holding calligraphy workshops in town and I was never around to join them, until last month! I was scheduled to fly off to Manila the day after for law-related stuff, but that didn't stop me from signing up for the workshop and finally getting some sort of expert-assisted training with calligraphy.
It was just the basics but it was fun and it made me realize how important practice and technique are in creating consistent brushstrokes that look pleasing to the eye. I usually wing it with my calligraphy (if one can ever call it that), and following any form of technique has never been my thing so it was a great learning experience.
The workshop was also for a good cause (proceeds were donated to help the family of a local photographer), so I was more than happy to sit in on this and learn.
A few shots from that afternoon.
“Beautiful hours move so quickly.”
― Irene Hunt
Up a Road Slowly
We are three. Here in this huge city of skyscrapers and ribbon roads, hotpot restaurants and river views, we have made our little cocoon and can call ourselves happy. I realized that it's been a year since we got Tomas, and he was so small and so furry then, more fur than muscle or bone, and timid and shy. Now he has grown into his own, his personality big and loud, playfulness, loyalty, love all rolled into one.
Being three has given a new dimension to life here, and it's true what they say, you eventually get bored being a couple, and so many take the next step. For us, that is a furry, short-legged pupper named Tomas.
Pale amber sunlight falls across
The reddening October trees,
That hardly sway before a breeze
As soft as summer: summer's loss
Seems little, dear! on days like these.
Ernest Dowson
The Poems and Prose of Ernest Dowson
I love the sun, how it dances and plays on the tips of leaves and how it bathes footpaths and even shady streets with its warmth and light. This is perhaps the reason why the incoming winter season is particularly hard. I am a sun person, I live for blue skies and vibrant colors, and the scent of the ocean, if you have one of those, please.
This is also the reason why I have a special appreciation for those rare days when the fog parts, the temperature rises just enough and we can walk and enjoy colors and warm weather, even for just a day. These days are made for the big girl camera, for taking in the details as they are recorded for reminiscing when days are less bright and colorful.
I love the sun. And aside from family and love and all good things, the sun is what I'm most thankful for.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
“Hands could be such expressive things.”
― Michael J. Sullivan,
Age of Myth
There's so much that I wanted to go right with the ceremony that we had last August. And although we were so happy with how everything turned out, I'd be lying if I said that I wouldn't change a thing. Because I would have changed SOOOOO many things, including having my Lolo there. But that's DIY weddings for you. The beauty sometimes lies in the imperfections, knowing that it's the people gathered who matter and being thankful for everything else that fit so perfectly according to the script that's in your head.
What I wouldn't change for anything in the world is our decision to make the giveaways ourselves. We wanted something natural and small enough for people to nibble on as they make their way home.
So we picked nuts!
Baking them was a milestone, too, since it was the first time that we used the home oven. Getting the thing to work required more than a few glances at the manual, but pretty soon our tiny house was awash in the comforting smells of baking almonds, walnuts, and peanuts. That's one memory of the days leading to August 18 that will remain with me, because it was just the two of us doing the scooping and filling and it was exactly how I'd imagined us doing it. The decision also made me discover how nuts make the perfect substitute for Pringles for those nights when I get bored and hungry.
This may not be that groundbreaking, couples' decision to be hands-on with certain aspects of their wedding. And I'm sure other couples have done far better jobs than we did with ours. But I'm glad we did, because the memories of choosing and making and stressing over things made the 18th so much more memorable.