quick digest on water snakes

Even then that I was in a Chinese school  (basic till high school  education), I never got seriously  curious about zodiacs or feng shui. In school, blue bloods live and breathe their Chinese divination.  My schoolmates religiously wear their charms and trinkets, which I find cute - especially the pink jade. Although I am a stranger to their practices, that was not a problem with my relationship with them at all. They were a nice happy bunch and very much like everyone else. 

Countless of Chinese new years later, I suddenly heard, read and saw about this water snake. My Chinese besty once told me that I was born in the year of the snake. She didn't say anything about water snakes. The water snake that I saw in an estuary (where fresh water and salt water meet) in Oslob, Cebu came to my mind. I couldn't think of a major differing quality of a water snake from that of a land snake that could alter the chinese horoscope!

Just yesterday, while passing by the Chinese charms stall in SM City (a relatively big mall in Cebu City), this fake Chinese soothsayer sold me charms for P300.00. She asked me for my zodiac then she offered me amulets to guard me against bad luck after I told her I am under the snake sign. She said I should buy the holy gourd charm but they look ugly to me. I was interested instead of these pretty charms that were not necessary for my so called "fate" this year. They make pretty bag charms and they carry with them nice symbolisms too.

 Wish Granting Tree with Charms

 The label on this Wish Granting Tree with Charms reads, "A must for 2013! Brings protection against money loss. Hanging on its branches are mystic knot of abundance & everlasting love, blue bird of opportunity, pink lotus for descendants, wish fulfilling jewel of good fortune, cross thunder bolt of courage, golden ingot of prosperity, and mango seed syllables to keep bad vibes away."

peace and harmony amulet

On this amulet's label, it says, "Apple and Ksitigharbha Fireball will pave way for more peaceful smooth year ahead. This will subdue the argumentative energy, hot clashes and others." If these were true, we wouldn't hear about husband and wife clashes anymore.

And as soon as I opened my email this morning, I was offered a discount coupon for exactly the same charms. But even with the discounts, they ended up being more expensive, I happened to clip it:

So does it mean that buying at the mall can help me save than buying online? Can we say that there is really no "deal" buying online even with discounts? I've given this some thought because I subscribed to an  online seller that gives coupon-based discounts thinking that I could get some steals. Well, that debate would have to be on a different lens.

So anyway, having the time kill, I read some references to know more about this water snake. From what I've gathered,  the chinese horoscope has not been revised after all. 

I'm sharing a quick digest, the matrix below will summarize everything to make it understandable. 

There are still twelve (12) animal signs in the horoscope: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.

Ancient Chinese philosophers tried to understand the universe, so Taoism (pronounced Dowism) was born. It is the philosophy of the balance of nature. Balance was better understood by dividing the cosmos into five (5) elements: fire, earth, metal, water, and wood.

Taoists also believe that all energy is interconnected. This connection, the Tao, is symbolized by the interwoven circle of Yin and Yang. Traditionally, yin is the dark, feminine, and receptive principle. Yang is the light, masculine, and active principle. Together, yin and yang flow endlessly into each other. Each creates and defines the other's opposite.

Meanwhile, Chinese astrologers follow the Luni-solar calendar. It is a sixty (60) year cycle that consists of two separate cycles interacting with each other. The first cycle is the ten (10) heavenly stems or the five elements of Taoism. The second cycle is the twelve Zodiac animal signs. Now there were some mathematics explained about coming up with this calendar. To make it short and sweet, the general rule for the cycle is that years that end in even number are yang, and the odd, yin. Here's a matrix to better understand, all these:

	Year	Associated Element	Heavenly Stem	Earthly Branch	Associated Animal	Year
	1924–1983					1984–2043
1	Feb 05 1924–Jan 23 1925	Yang Wood	甲	子	Rat	Feb 02 1984–Feb 19 1985
2	Jan 24 1925–Feb 12 1926	Yin Wood	乙	丑	Ox	Jan 22 1985–Feb 08 1986
3	Feb 13 1926–Feb 01 1927	Yang Fire	丙	寅	Tiger	Feb 09 1986–Jan 28 1987
4	Feb 02 1927–Jan 22 1928	Yin Fire	丁	卯	Rabbit	Jan 29 1987–Feb 16 1988
5	Jan 23 1928–Feb 09 1929	Yang Earth	戊	辰	Dragon	Feb 17 1988–Feb 05 1989
6	Feb 10 1929–Jan 29 1930	Yin Earth	己	巳	Snake	Feb 06 1989–Jan 26 1990
7	Jan 30 1930–Feb 16 1931	Yang Metal	庚	午	Horse	Jan 27 1990–Feb 14 1991
8	Feb 17 1931–Feb 05 1932	Yin Metal	辛	未	Goat	Feb 15 1991–Feb 03 1992
9	Feb 06 1932–Jan 25 1933	Yang Water	壬	申	Monkey	Feb 04 1992–Jan 22 1993
10	Jan 26 1933–Feb 13 1934	Yin Water	癸	酉	Rooster	Jan 23 1993– Feb 09 1994
11	Feb 14 1934–Feb 03 1935	Yang Wood	甲	戌	Dog	Feb 10 1994–Jan 30 1995
12	Feb 04 1935–Jan 23 1936	Yin Wood	乙	亥	Pig	Jan 31 1995–Feb 18 1996
13	Jan 24 1936–Feb 10 1937	Yang Fire	丙	子	Rat	Feb 19 1996–Feb 06 1997
14	Feb 11 1937–Jan 30 1938	Yin Fire	丁	丑	Ox	Feb 07 1997–Jan 27 1998
15	Jan 31 1938–Feb 18 1939	Yang Earth	戊	寅	Tiger	Jan 28 1998–Feb 15 1999
16	Feb 19 1939–Feb 07 1940	Yin Earth	己	卯	Rabbit	Feb 16 1999–Feb 04 2000
17	Feb 08 1940–Jan 26 1941	Yang Metal	庚	辰	Dragon	Feb 05 2000–Jan 23 2001
18	Jan 27 1941–Feb 14 1942	Yin Metal	辛	巳	Snake	Jan 24 2001–Feb 11 2002
19	Feb 15 1942–Feb 04 1943	Yang Water	壬	午	Horse	Feb 12 2002–Jan 31 2003
20	Feb 05 1943–Jan 24 1944	Yin Water	癸	未	Goat	Feb 01 2003–Jan 21 2004
21	Jan 25 1944–Feb 12 1945	Yang Wood	甲	申	Monkey	Jan 22 2004–Feb 08 2005
22	Feb 13 1945–Feb 01 1946	Yin Wood	乙	酉	Rooster	Feb 09 2005–Jan 28 2006
23	Feb 02 1946–Jan 21 1947	Yang Fire	丙	戌	Dog	Jan 29 2006–Feb 17 2007
24	Jan 22 1947–Feb 09 1948	Yin Fire	丁	亥	Pig	Feb 18 2007–Feb 06 2008
25	Feb 10 1948–Jan 28 1949	Yang Earth	戊	子	Rat	Feb 07 2008–Jan 25 2009
26	Jan 29 1949–Feb 16 1950	Yin Earth	己	丑	Ox	Jan 26 2009–Feb 13 2010
27	Feb 17 1950–Feb 05 1951	Yang Metal	庚	寅	Tiger	Feb 14 2010–Feb 02 2011
28	Feb 06 1951–Jan 26 1952	Yin Metal	辛	卯	Rabbit	Feb 03 2011–Jan 22 2012
29	Jan 27 1952–Feb 13 1953	Yang Water	壬	辰	Dragon	Jan 23 2012–Feb 09 2013
30	Feb 14 1953–Feb 02 1954	Yin Water	癸	巳	Snake	Feb 10 2013–Jan 30 2014
31	Feb 03 1954–Jan 23 1955	Yang Wood	甲	午	Horse	Jan 31 2014–Feb 18 2015
32	Jan 24 1955–Feb 11 1956	Yin Wood	乙	未	Goat	Feb 19 2015–Feb 07 2016
33	Feb 12 1956–Jan 30 1957	Yang Fire	丙	申	Monkey	Feb 08 2016–Jan 27 2017
34	Jan 31 1957–Feb 17 1958	Yin Fire	丁	酉	Rooster	Jan 28 2017–Feb 18 2018
35	Feb 18 1958–Feb 07 1959	Yang Earth	戊	戌	Dog	Feb 19 2018–Feb 04 2019
36	Feb 08 1959–Jan 27 1960	Yin Earth	己	亥	Pig	Feb 05 2019–Jan 24 2020
37	Jan 28 1960–Feb 14 1961	Yang Metal	庚	子	Rat	Jan 25 2020–Feb. 11 2021
38	Feb 15 1961–Feb 04 1962	Yin Metal	辛	丑	Ox	Feb 12 2021–Jan 31 2022
39	Feb 05 1962–Jan 24 1963	Yang Water	壬	寅	Tiger	Feb 01 2022–Jan 21 2023
40	Jan 25 1963–Feb 12 1964	Yin Water	癸	卯	Rabbit	Jan 22 2023–Feb 09 2024
41	Feb 13 1964–Feb 01 1965	Yang Wood	甲	辰	Dragon	Feb 10 2024–Jan 28 2025
42	Feb 02 1965–Jan 20 1966	Yin Wood	乙	巳	Snake	Jan 29 2025–Feb 16 2026
43	Jan 21 1966–Feb 08 1967	Yang Fire	丙	午	Horse	Feb 17 2026–Feb 05 2027
44	Feb 09 1967–Jan 29 1968	Yin Fire	丁	未	Goat	Feb 06 2027–Jan 25 2028
45	Jan 30 1968–Feb 16 1969	Yang Earth	戊	申	Monkey	Jan 26 2028–Feb 12 2029
46	Feb 17 1969–Feb 05 1970	Yin Earth	己	酉	Rooster	Feb 13 2029–Feb 02 2030
47	Feb 06 1970–Jan 26 1971	Yang Metal	庚	戌	Dog	Feb 03 2030–Jan 22 2031
48	Jan 27 1971–Feb 14 1972	Yin Metal	辛	亥	Pig	Jan 23 2031–Feb 10 2032
49	Feb 15 1972–Feb 02 1973	Yang Water	壬	子	Rat	Feb 11 2032–Jan 30 2033
50	Feb 03 1973–Jan 22 1974	Yin Water	癸	丑	Ox	Jan 31 2033–Feb 18 2034
51	Jan 23 1974–Feb 10 1975	Yang Wood	甲	寅	Tiger	Feb 19 2034–Feb 07 2035
52	Feb 11 1975–Jan 30 1976	Yin Wood	乙	卯	Rabbit	Feb 08 2035–Jan 27 2036
53	Jan 31 1976–Feb 17 1977	Yang Fire	丙	辰	Dragon	Jan 28 2036–Feb 14 2037
54	Feb 18 1977–Feb 06 1978	Yin Fire	丁	巳	Snake	Feb 15 2037–Feb 03 2038
55	Feb 07 1978–Jan 27 1979	Yang Earth	戊	午	Horse	Feb 04 2038–Jan 23 2039
56	Jan 28 1979–Feb 15 1980	Yin Earth	己	未	Goat	Jan 24 2039–Feb 11 2040
57	Feb 16 1980–Feb 04 1981	Yang Metal	庚	申	Monkey	Feb 12 2040–Jan 31 2041
58	Feb 05 1981–Jan 24 1982	Yin Metal	辛	酉	Rooster	Feb 01 2041–Jan 21 2042
59	Jan 25 1982–Feb 12 1983	Yang Water	壬	戌	Dog	Jan 22 2042–Feb 09 2043
60	Feb 13 1983–Feb 01 1984	Yin Water	癸	亥	Pig	Feb 10 2043–Jan 29 2044

This table is copied from Wikipedia.com

Now I was so silly with my funny notion on water snakes. How do they say it? Lmao! 

just a bit over the holidays

If there is a spring fever, is there a holiday fever? Over the holidays, I had set aside my quality time for hobbies, including this blog. There were the commotions of friends and relatives coming over from overseas and everywhere, not to mention the deadlines at work. My niece even saw my unfinished Christmas decor at home and said that I had better finish it because christmas was almost over (it was a week away before the D Day), at four (4) she really is a smart kid. For the next holidays, I better recruit her to help on the decors. And yes, the holidays went by with my unfinished wreath and swags. 

Now she must be up to something, this look

What a relief that the holidays are over. I did some itty-bitty things here and there. Here are some photos of them:

Noodles for the Holidays

 Shrimps, Squid, Pork, Mixed Vegetables and Thai Veg Noodles

I brought this to Christmas lunch at my parents' and I didn't get criticisms for this one, yay! My father is a good cook and I appreciate criticisms from him. Got no name for this dish though, but since this is a mix of almost everything (seafood, pork, vegetables, and noodles), would it be enticing if I call it, Hodge Podge Noodle? or how about All In Noodle? Anyhow, if anyone wants to give it a try, here's a simple recipe:

Shrimps, Squid, Pork, Mixed Vegetables and Thai Veg Noodles

• 2 T           canola oil
• 3 cloves  garlic,minced
• 2 large    onions, chopped
• 1/4 kl      shrimp
• 1/4 kl      squid
• 1/4 kl      pork
• 1    c        carrots, julienned
• 1    c        cabbage, quartered
• 1/2 c       sweet bell peppers, julienned
• 1/4 c       spring onions, cut into half inches
• 5    c        chicken stock
• 1/4 kl      vegetable noodles (egg or rice noodles will also do)
• fish sauce or salt
• white pepper
• black pepper
• sesame oil
• Wok or Deep pan

Heat the canola oil then saute onion and garlic. Once caramelized, remove from pan. In the same pan, saute shrimp. Once it turns orangey-pink, remove. Then, saute squid. Remove from pan once it changes color. Saute the vegetables just until heated through, then remove. Pork comes next, saute it till it turns golden brown, then pour in the stock. Bring to a boil, add in the noodles. (Check package directions for doneness.) Add fish sauce or sprinkle salt and peppers to taste. When noodles are done, turn heat off. Add few drops of sesame oil, too much goes a long way with this one.  In a plate, arrange noodles, top it with the meat and vegetable. 

I use fish sauce for this recipe instead of salt because it adds more flavor to the dish. However, some palate may not be agreeable to this, it is an acquired taste. Some may also consider the sodium level, salt has less sodium than fish sauce.

Contented with my Hooking

Now this is an upload from Instagram, I wish I had a better quality photo for the crocheted neckline, but since I was in a holiday rut, I got satisfied with this. My inspiration came from surfing blogs and pinterest on upcyling old shirts. So I found this old favorite that just needed the right uplift. I started right away with a blanket stitch on the neck edging, good thing that the hem and the neckline were right for my purpose, otherwise I would have done some cuttings to make way for the crochet piece. I continued working on the rounds with double crochet stitches, added  two rows of double crochet clusters to form flowers then I ended with half-double crochet. I just love wearing this shirt.

delights

Every weekend, Mark (my husband) and I make it a point to visit both set of our parents. This past Sunday, we were lucky to squeeze in both set of parents within the jam packed day. At my Mother-in-law's house, I was greeted with these beauties, take a look:

Cattleya Orchids

I brought these orchids to my in-laws over a year ago. The Cattleyas were never a dissapointment, they bloom continually. The Vanda on the other hand has a different temparament. I bought her in an orchid show over a year ago but ever since today, she never bloomed. We placed her under the shade of the Sour Sop Tree before and she only received morning light. My in law did some rearrangements and moved the orchids to an area that receives about  six (6) hours of  filtered light. Viola! It worked because the Vanda finally bloomed, she is just a show stopper, don't you think so too?

Vanda Orchids

Since my sister-in-law is currently working overseas, so we took charge of her bonsai of a Balete tree.  Balete Tree is a close cousin of the Banyan Tree  both are under the genus Ficus. Some variety of the Balete tree are strangler figs wherein they start upon other trees, later entrapping them entirely and finally killing the host tree. While some are also called hemiepiphytes. Initially, they start as epiphytes or air plants and grow several hanging roots that eventually touch the ground, and from then on, encircling and suffocating the host tree. (from the definition of wikipedia)

 Bonsai of the Balete Tree

I made mention of our Balete because lately, she is bearing fruits like little berries. This is not the first time I have seen our bonsai do this but I think it is rare that bonsai of baletes do this.

Balete bearing fruits

But what is most interesting about Baletes Trees here in the Philippines are the myths that our old folks say about these trees. They say that these trees are the dwelling places of supernatural beings.  But its just some local folklore, I guess, that nannies would tell their naughty children, or is it?

Work in Progress

In a previous post, I mentioned about some projects I am working on. I'd like to share where I am exactly at. Here goes...

I saw a pretty shawlette pattern at Interweave Crochet designed by Kristin Omdahl. Not only is it pretty, the diagram looks easy to follow too. The pattern called for some silk yarns but I used a japanese yarn of cotton and white pine fiber blend . My brother got some stashes for me in Singapore.

my unfinished shawl

the stitches

(Note to myself, I should be taking pictures with natural lighting the next time). This pattern uses simple single chains and single crochet stitches only, but what makes it interesting is how the pattern develops like the veins of a leaf as the shawl increases in width and length. Its delicate and sweet.  

A couple more rounds and edging, this shawlette will be done. I spent about  3 hours to get this done. But this might be a work in progress for some time yet because I ran out of yarn. So I sent an SOS to my brother. I'm crossing my fingers, hoping the yarn is not discontinued or the same dye lot is still available since he bought the yarns about a year ago.

Hope to post the final outcome - using the same yarn or probably a substitute which is not an option I would like to take. Otherwise, there's also the option of unraveling  everything.... 

Crochet Blog Finds (Nov. 7, 2012)

 

I love to read books, web pages and blogs! I read about 2 to 3 pages/blogs a day. It doesn't really matter what I read, it depends on what I fancy at that particular moment. 

For today, I found this crochet tutorial blog, Meladora's Creations. Hope you find some inspiration projects too!  I found a lot of interesting projects and there new stitches created by the author of this blog.  Here's a re-post of her stitches:

Meladora's Butterfly Stitch

Meladora's Raspberry Stitch

Meladora's Mesh Stitch

And I'm eyeing on this crocodile stitch shawl. It may be a future project. I still have my hands full on 2 crochet projects. (Yes, I'm crazy like that.)

an inspiration project - crocodile stitch shawl

Is it too late to start a project for Christmas gifts? I think this is so cute for toddlers:

for more crochet tutorials, visit meladoras creations.

taking down notes 10.24.12

Aside from tending to my garden, I also do research to check on things I can do to improve my garden. But really, I just like to read a lot, about gardening and things that interests me in general. Here are some links to blogs and pages that I really enjoyed reading, hope you will find them helpful too:

No to Aphids

lady bug

My tomatoes, pomelo and basil are all attacked with aphids! Everyday, I check and spray them with diluted dishwashing soap. However, monsoon has come and my efforts would just be washed away by rain. So I came across this very helpful blog about lady bugs/beetles. These helpful creatures are voracious aphid eaters... so now, off to finding lady bugs.

Tomatoes and Weight Loss

When I started my edible garden, my first plant was a tomato because I've read that its easy enough for beginner gardeners (still am a beginner, though). But here are more reasons to love tomato and much more reasons to plant more tomatoes. Weight loss, fighting diabetes and cancer, yes to all those, from tomatoes!

Just a winged bean

winged bean, after all

Now this one's funny. There is some veggie that my family loves to eat. In Cebuano (a dialect in the Philippines), we call this veg, garabanso. A friend gave me some seeds of this veggie a few weeks back. Tough luck, this friend didn't know a thing about growing the plant but just wanted to pass on the seeds. The seeds are now germinating, the cotyledons are starting to fall off as true leaves started growing. I had to research fast so that I would know how to take care of this plant. But you see, this is a bit frustrating.  Researching, especially on the internet, would mean finding the correct English/American name of the plant. I started with looking at google images of Philippine vegetables. (Because there is no easy Cebuano to English Plant Dictionary yet... hmmm.... now that might be a good idea!) There were some pictures that looked like the garabanso and the label would say bitsuelas. The research didn't end there, because it is not bitsuelas, not Garbanzo beans. I continued looking at images of vegetables, until (finally! thank you!) I found the google image above which lead me to this blog. Sigarilyas in Fipino and it's Winged beans in English. That was it!  Now I can finally get a good night's sleep. 

Here's a little something to enjoy, a foreigner singing a Filipino nursery rhyme about the simplicity of provincial life in our country

Iced and Herbed Tea

We Filipinos have a knack for "pasalubongs". I dont know any exact equivalent English word for it. But the closest I can think of is present or gift. Pasalubongs are given by a person who traveled to a different locality or country and would bring some presents or pasalubong to one's friend or family once he/she comes back home.  The prized pasalubongs are those that are not readily available here in our country or locality. Like my cousin who arived from the USA some months ago, she brought home Bath and Body products - lotions, colognes and hand sanitizers. Thanks, Sheelah for my Berry Twinkle hand gel. It's that hand gel that can be hung like a bag charm. Although these items are available here in the Philippines, they can be a bit pricey. 

I mentioned pasalubongs today because I just got one from my office mate. Her husband works overseas in Abu Dhabi, came back home some months ago and of course brought home a box load of chocolates, coffees and teas. Those goodies have all long gone but only the tea bags are what's left. She's not a big fan of tea after all . Instead of having those fine black tea go to waste, my office mate shared her tea bags with us. 

But I'm afraid that in the next pasalubong box, my office mate might not share her tea  with us anymore. I shared with her some tea recipes that I have tasted in a Thai restaurant, Lemon Grass. Just a disclaimer, this is not the restaurant's exact recipe but here is my own rendition of some tasty iced and herbed tea. After a few tries and mistakes, I got my tea to taste the same with that of the expensive version.  I like them iced but they can be taken hot too, I guess. (I'm using tea bags, adjustments will have to be made if using tea leaves.)

Black Tea (or any tea of preference)

Lemongrass 

Lemon

Honey (optional)

A cup of water (for each tea bag)

Bring water to a rolling boil and turn off heat. Steep together the tea and lemon grass. Cover the pot for a few minutes. This can be taken hot but I like mine iced. So I put some ice cubes (wait for the tea to cool off a bit before adding in ice) and squeeze in some lemon juice. Finish off with honey to sweeten the tea. If I run out honey I just use brown sugar. 

I usually prepare a big batch of this tea and store it in the ref. So that anytime I like to drink something sweet and cold, I take this refreshing tea. 

I use the whole of the lemongrass including the white thick portion near the roots, roots are removed however. To infuse more flavor, I pound the thick white part before using it. 

Lemongrass

There is a way of fitting the whole of the lemongrass to the pot, fold it like so:

how we "fold" the lemongrass

Here in the Philippines, we have a citrus that we often substitute for lemon which we call Calamansi and  Calamondin for the rest of the world. Calamansi is more intense in flavor. For this particular beverage, I think using Lemon gives the tea just the right citrus scent and flavor.

My office mate got excited about trying this concoction. She says lemongrass has healing benefits that may help in her condition (high cholesterol and high blood pressure). Here are more health benefits of lemongrass.

Working on this article, I wanted to make sure that I'm using the right terms: herb and spice. So I did a little research and found some interesting definitions in a blog, fooducate. Just a bit of a recap of what I've read, the term herb is used when talking about ingredients coming from the green and leafy part of the plant while the term spice is used when referring to parts of the plant, other than the leaf like roots, stems, bulbs, barks or seeds. Spices are usually dried before being used. The American Spice Trade Association, however, have a different definition: Spices are defined as "any dried plant product used primarily for seasoning purposes." This really broadens the definition of spices, allowing it to include herbs, dehydrated veggies, spice blends and spice seeds.