MORGANI*C

Weekending

2025-11-16T21:21:00.001-06:00

This weekend started off nice with my daughter taking me out to dinner at a new Mexican restaurant. We stuffed ourselves and then chilled out at home.

Saturday morning I pruned back the hops, grapevine and tomatoes, then I mowed/mulched the leaves into the lawn. So much better than trying to rake and bag or rake period.

I also foraged for pecans. So far this season we've collected 20 gallon sized bags. We've shared some with friends and will share more as we get into the holiday season.

I cleaned out the coop and the girls gave us some beautiful eggs in return.

I made a leave-in conditioner with geranium essential oil and I also made a "fountain of youth" serum with frankincense and myrrh resins and castor and jojoba oils. Should be ready to use in just 3 short weeks.

It's Fall, Y'all!

2025-10-20T21:08:00.000-05:00

I had a lot of social plans for this weekend but because it was a draining week at work and I had the place to myself for the weekend, I punted all plans in favor of being a homebody. I needed to recharge my batteries, restore my balance and experiment so I...

...sowed some beautyberry seeds harvested from my Beauty Berry Experience Kit from Upendo Estates Farm. I reused a food container for the seeds and a clear nursery pot for the cutting that came in the kit. I already made the organic mosquito repellent using beautyberry leaves before we road tripped to FL.

Wish me luck!

...potted up my air layer propagated fig trees! The first time reusing plastic food containers was a bust so I tried using plastic wrap and aluminum foil for the win over the last month. One of the propagated trees didn't have as many roots so I'm not sure if it will make it.

I added some rooting hormone to its water so hopefully it will rally.

...divided my Ficus Benjamina - I was just going to repot it into a chunky mix when I discovered there were two small plants in the pot I got at Home Depot for $9.88. Score!

...repotted my Alocasia from Trader Joe's. Didn't find any corms to share but maybe next time. I grouped it with my Monstera Deliciosa, Pandan Amaryllifolius and Leaf of Life plant that my sister gave me while I was visiting her in FL. I also started several LoL propagations to share.

I need a disco ball diffuser!

...made pineapple tepache and garden soda (with raisins and rosemary)...well, started them anyway

For when I want something fizzy yet healthy - stoked!

...mowed/mulched the falling leaves into the lawn vice raking this year. (Not sure why I didn't do this previously). I will need to do this a few more times as the leaves amass, but this is so much better than raking and bagging and letting the city have my leaves. It's easier to appreciate the magnolia leaf litter when it is pulverized and returned to the soil.

...made red cabbage sauerkraut. Just shredded cabbage massaged with salt. I didn't have a large jar available to pack so I packed this down in the bowl and placed a plate on top to weigh down the cabbage and then I put the lid on. We'll see how things go over the next few days.

Behind the Scenes in Ilag

2025-06-15T14:33:00.000-05:00

The backyard of the Casera house in Ilag was the most interesting place. That is where the animals live, the fruit grows and most of the cooking and cleaning take place. The room that mom and I slept in was on the backside of the house so our room was often filled with wonderful aromas and smoke. It made it feel that much more like camping out to me.

Perlita cooking up something good, I'm sure!

The pig board on top of the generator. Both used more than once while we were there.

Look at all of the color. This was after the first meal of lechon.

The men folk breaking down the pig and having some drinks.

The roosters sound different than the roosters I am accustomed to hearing in US. When they crow, they seem to stop short.

View from the bottom (back door)

View from the top (gate at the street)

Aunt Gloria working in the back yard

Gloria and Jenefer

Last morning in Ilag

Animal Bite Clinic

2025-05-31T23:38:00.000-05:00

One of the first things that stood out to me when we were traveling around by van in PI is the number of Animal Bite Clinics in every province. I was pretty sure that I was going to get to visit one of those clinics because of the many cats and dogs that I befriended while in Laguna, Ilag, Caohagan, Bohol...

Here are some pictures of the sweet animals that we met while in PI. And no, I did not end up at the clinic. There was one encounter where the dog clearly indicated that she was not playing and for me to stay away, and I did. And while I did get close to a rooster, he was not interested in getting me.

one of the puppers at amun ini resort

Whitey (I think that's what his name is) at Ilag House

Roselyn's dog

Casera Hen

Ilag Beach Dog

Some of the kitties in Laguna

Sweet Snowball

Gecko

Did you know that geckos make sounds? The ones in my house in Oklahoma don't seem to make sounds, but I learned in PI that they make sounds at night. They sound like my dog's squeaker toys.

Caohagan Island pupper that sat on my feet at lunch

Costabella dog pack

Pooch on the supercat to Ormoc

Filipino Food Porn

2025-05-31T23:11:00.004-05:00

On my list of things to try while in PI were sisig, balut (if the opportune opportunity arose, and it did) and pancit (because I needed to be shown proper techniques). I ate many, many other Filipino foods. Pictures of some of the food I ate while in PI below in no particular order.

Breakfast in Ilag

Fried bananas, rice, eggplant and 3 types of longanisa...

My Plate

Bananas, Mangosteen, Star Apple and Watermelon at my cousin's (Roselyn's) house

2nd Lechon meal (dinner) at my cousin's (Roselyn's) house

1st Lechon (lunch) at my Aunt Prudine's (and mom's childhood home in Ilag)

Buko Pie

Shakshuka at amun ini resort

Chicken Liver Pate

Balut

amun ini resort Breakfast Crepes

Arvie's Papaya

Perlita's wonderful peanut rolls!

Breakfast in Ilag

Sisig at the mall in Ilag

Breakfast in Ilag

French Toast and bibingka

Costabella Street Tacos

Sisig

Wonderful Costabella Breakfast

Room Service Hamburger at Costabella

Island Hopping Lunch - Salmon and so much much

Costabella Breakfast

Fresh Mangosteen from Tagaytay

Buko Pie

Lunch at Mr. Kimchi in Tagaytay

Sinigang at Mr. Kimchi

Mushroom Pizza from Domino's and Jollibee Spaghetti

Kamayan Lunch

Ube Ice Cream

Breakfast in Laguna

Have You Tried the Balut?

2025-05-06T23:40:00.060-05:00

On the way back to the resort, our driver pulled over to a roadside stand selling balut.

I think they got about a dozen of the delicacies for us to take back to the resort. We also stopped and got some Red Horse beer for the occasion.

It felt like Spring Break when I joined everyone in my sister's room to try the balut. My cousin explained how to prepare the balut for eating.

I tried to follow along, but I added too much salt and I am sure I was overthinking things. Or maybe finding the solid white chunk surprise (my cousin signed that it was the beak but it didn't seem to be attached) psyched me out.

The balut smelled like boiled eggs, which I really like and the flavor was good enough for me to get a couple of bites, but the feathers kept me from finishing. I didn't gag or anything, We didn't end up using the chicharron that my other cousin recommended. I wonder if that would have helped me to get over the texture. While I would recommend trying balut, I don't know that I need to try it again. I'm glad that we were given the opportunity.

Chocolate Hills of Bohol

2025-05-06T21:59:00.027-05:00

We almost missed this, the Eighth Wonder of the World, the Chocolate Hills (Mga Tsokolateng Burol, or Mga Burol na Tsokolate) because we were too tired from exploring Bohol. Wah! We decided last minute to go for it and I am so glad we did. We made it there in time to trek the 214 steps to enjoy the panoramic views.

The Chocolate Hills are a geological formation in the Philippine province of Bohol made up of over 1,200 cone-shaped karst hills spread over an area of more than 50 square kilometers (20 sq mi). They are covered in green grass that turns a chocolate-brown during the dry season, making them look like chocolate hills. They are recognized as the Philippines’ 3rd National Geological Monument featured on the PHP200 bill.

My virtual postcard...

I made it to the top of the 214 steps, took a few breathtaking snaps, descended back down, and hit the comfort room (CR) before the downpour.

Loboc River Lunch Cruise

2025-05-06T13:53:00.087-05:00

After seeing the sweet sleepy tarsiers, we decided to grab some lunch, but not any ordinary lunch. We decided to take a river boat cruise lunch.

Da boat

This song made me miss my baby. I messed up on the capture, but I'm leaving this here because ...

Cave?

Cave mouth... expected bats but saw no bats.

Not sure what Deanna was pointing at...

Jenefer dancing with mom

It was hot and muggy but we had a nice relaxing and fun time on the river, listening to good music, eating good food and watching the various activities on the river. Time well spent.

PTF

2025-05-06T12:00:00.066-05:00

Hey there, little guy...

Don't be shy..

I need to see your sweet eyes...

Looks a bit like an obese rat from this angle...

That's a little more like it

Poor baby... go back to sleep...

She Sells Sanctuary

2025-05-06T11:08:00.002-05:00

The fire in your eyes

Keeps me alive

And the fire in your eyes

Keeps me alive

I'm sure in her you'll find

The sanctuary

I'm sure in her you'll find

The sanctuary

My beautiful cousins!

We stopped at the Xzootic Animal Park and Butterfly Garden on the way to see tarsiers and chocolate hills. It didn't feel much like a sanctuary.

Birds!

I'm sure there's someplace else he'd rather be...

Even this pigeon was bored...

The butterfly santuary was pretty cool with the beautiful plants and butterflies.

Soap making plants

Lantana!

Similar to sightings in my back yard.

Duero

2025-05-06T08:05:00.003-05:00

This morning while having coffee, my mom told me that her mom was born and raised in Duero, a town an hour away from where we are currently staying on Bohol. Of course we decided to make visiting that place a priority. Our driver, Leo, made it happen.

My mom didn't really recall anything about where specifically my lola was born, so we stopped at an interesting church in Duero to have a look around.

Immaculate Conception Parish

Next time, Jagna!

Will have to research more about family history before the next visit to Bohol.

“this is ours”

2025-05-05T22:41:00.035-05:00

The name of our resort on the Bohol Sea, Amun Ini, means “this is ours” in the Ilonggo Dialect…

These jackfruit are mine!

Two vans picked us up from the RORO drop and we drove about an hour to the resort, which was tucked away behind a lot of trees and vegetation. For a few short moments, we thought we might be lost. We pulled up to what looked like a closed down building, and then they they opened the doors and greeted us with watermelon cocktails.

Perfectly refreshing

The rooms give the feel of an island paradise in the two cogon thatched roof longhouses.

After we got to our rooms, we ate lunch, showered and enjoyed the solitude to catch up on sleep.

idyllic

also idyllic

Maayong gab-i sa tanan

RORO to Bohol

2025-05-05T21:35:00.112-05:00

Today we drove from Ilag to Hilongos, then hopped on a roll-on/roll-off (RORO) ship to Bohol.

View from a RORO

Waiting to depart

Very welcoming...

Beautiful water and clouds

Ditto

Mabuhay

Landed on Bohol

Heading to the resort

Gorgeous produce everywhere

Late in the Evening (Last night in Ilag)

2025-05-04T23:28:00.033-05:00

Visiting with family at the Ilag house on our last night.

Robert, Uncle Winnie and 2nd cousins

Casera Ladies

Mom reminiscing with her brother

Younger Caseras

Michael, Gabe and Jastine

We caught a few minutes of the Mr. Ilag competion before retiring to bed.

Cock of the Walk

2025-05-04T22:31:00.173-05:00

Partway through the Casera Reunion, a couple of my cousins wanted us to join them at a cockfight. Yeah, cockfighting is right up there with basketball here. So we excused ourselves from the reunion, which was just getting into high gear, it seemed. We passed another cousin bringing another karaoke machine.

Cockfighting is not permitted in Ilag although every house seems to have at least 1 or 2 roosters, so we had to travel over to another barangay where cockfighting is legal.

We stopped at the house to retrieve one manok (rooster).

And then we retrieved the other manok from my cousin's house down the road.

We were smiling in this picture thinking how absurd it was that we left a perfectly good family reunion to go to a cockfight.

We were talking about how much my husband would have enjoyed this adventure.

The van ride with the guys was the polar opposite of rides with the girls. With the girls, there was always incessant talking - tsismis - no quiet spaces. With the guys, it was seriously quiet. Nervously quiet.

Quiet like Is this where we learn about our new lives? quiet. Like Where's our mom to tell us what's going on and to watch out for us? Like we don't even know our cousins and can't communicate with them and What were we thinking? getting into a van with them.

Coming into the arena reminded me of the Farmer's Market, only once we got into the venue, there were no vendors selling veggies or wares, just areas for roosters to prep for their possible last acts.

That bag looked a lot like the bags that held our wonderful lunches during the Island Hopping excursion, no?

No rooster in there (AFAIK!)

As for the venue, the arena was surrounded by plexiglass. I noted that the only women there aside from the 2 serving beer and snacks were me and my sister. It was loud with lots of men greeting each other and out of the crowd we heard a man call for my BIL "Gabe!" A friend of my cousin Robert... or maybe a cousin. IDK. This was becoming a thing, running into Gabe's new friends.

Each match was short lived. The handlers would come out with their roosters, try to antagonize them with each other by putting them into each other's faces, then they would tie "swords" (razors) onto one of each of their legs. When it was their turn to fight, the protective covers came on the knives and the roosters were left to fight each other. In most cases, the fight was over with very quickly with one of the roosters spurring a fatal cut. In one of the fights, both roosters died and in one of the matches, the roosters were not the least bit interested in fighting, they pecked at the ground.

During the fight when things weren't as animated as they should be, the emcee/ref guy would pick up both contestants to see if they still wanted to fight. He also did the final count for the loser.

Before the fight

After each match, someone would come out and sweep up any feathers. Someone else would tally the score on the plexiglass. One cousin's rooster won and the other one's lost. The losers were processed on site so that the "defeated hen" could be taken home and eaten.

Post Processing

Cockfighting was not on the original agenda but we were open. And while it is a sport, the defeated bird is then eaten - Filipinos are uber resourceful - so it wasn't the most horrible thing ever. Not sure I'd need to attend another cockfight ever, but, ya never know.

Casera Reunion at Molopolo Beach

2025-05-04T22:05:00.012-05:00

My cousin Maricel's husband Edgar secured a few cottages at Molopolo Beach in Southern Leyte. I heard it referenced as "white beach". We weren't sure what to expect or who to expect, so there were a lot of confused expressions.

We were the first to arrive so we put our stuff down in a cottage and got right into the water. So refreshing.

Beautiful water .. there was another blue starfish found here...

I tried to keep notes on who was going to be where on my trip, but in the end, I didn't know that we had 3 cottages. My cousin, Maricel was in the 3rd cottage with much more family that I can't even name at the moment. One of the guys in her cottage looked like a younger version of my brother. We were joking that Michael's younger self had time traveled here and that he shouldn't be here. We gave my brother trouble about his "younger self" lighting a cigarette a little later. I still haven't figured out who that guy is...

When my childhood jam (Country Roads) came on the karaoke, I walked around to capture a bit of the reunion.

sari-sari store

I mostly collected sea shells and beach glass and people watched. And ate.

More fresh coconut

Caseras

Cute cousin baby and wonderful food

BBQ on the beach

Not sure if the boats contained cousins

Beautiful family

More beautiful family

Casera Cousins

Hanging in the shade

Men BBQing

Dancing Queens

Cutest baby on the beach!

Dancing Queens

Michaels and Arvie

Caseras

So pretty

Cousin introductions in the first cottage. I should have gotten introductions from the other cottages but I wasn't sure who was family and who wasn't at this point.

Beach dancing happened...

Ilag House

2025-05-04T12:22:00.000-05:00

Fiesta Day 2 in Ilag

2025-05-03T22:16:00.068-05:00

On the second day of Fiesta, my sister, her husband and I went walking through the neighborhood to try to find more family. We were walking towards the red roofed house (which we were told was my Auntie Anita's house) when we heard "Gabe!" as we passed by two guys outside karaoking. Just happened to be my cousin Robert.

Robert and Gabe reuniting from the night before...

Robert, Gabe & Deanna

We walked a bit further to my Aunt Anita's house and found another cousin, Romel there as well.

Romel, Robert, Gabe and Auntie Anita

My Auntie Anita's house was the cleanest place in Ilag...hands down! She even had plastic on the furniture. She was inside with her housekeeper watching TV when we showed up. We stepped outside to take a tour around and see her chickens and flowers.

Gorgeous!

After a brief visit at her house, we asked her to come see our mom and Aunt Prudencia, her sisters.

Mom and Anita

Being Respectful

Arvie's Papaya

Strong beer for strong women...

Aunt Anita, Romel, Gabel, Robert and me

Walking around Ilag

Can I get a refill?

My cousin, Jera at the sari-sari store

With my cousin Robert

My new dancing friends. I wanted to give them ALL of my money!!

Ilag Family

2025-05-02T21:45:00.001-05:00

We walked around Ilag a little after visiting the coconut plantation. I think my mom knew this woman from ages ago.

Michael and my mom in front of her childhood home.

We went up to my cousin Jonna's sari-sari store. "sari-sari" is Tagalog for "variety" or "sundry".

Jonna pointed out our Uncle Winnie across the street, so we thought we would wander over and make introductions.

Uncle Winnie looks so much like my sister's son, Vincent. So wild to meet more family.

Lechon

2025-05-02T21:13:00.003-05:00

The first lechon was at the Casera House in Ilag. 75 lb pig raised by my cousins Arvie and Maricel. Delicious!

2nd lechon was at my cousin's house down the road.

Coco for Coconuts

2025-05-02T18:48:00.000-05:00

We walked through the creeks and marshy areas until we got to where the ripe coconuts were located. My mom says that they harvest the coconuts every 3 months. In this area there were a lot of dragonflies.

I think my mom was pointing to the dude scaling up the coconut trees and hacking down the ripe coconuts for my cousins to open.

In case you were wondering, this guy (not a cousin) charged 200 PHP to do this. That is less than $5 USD!!! (currently$3.59) I can't think of anyone I know that would charge so little for so much!

Then my cousin opened the coconut for my brother to drink. So. Very. Cool.

And then my other cousins scraped the coconuts to save the meat for delicious treats.

My turn!

Fresh coconut juice is the BEST! I could get used to this!

House in the Hills

2025-05-02T18:19:00.000-05:00

My cousins came by to take us to the Casera coconut plantation and to see my cousin's house under construction. We traveled by trike from my mom's backyard.

Until the road ran out and we had to walk ...

End of the road

Rice Paddy, close up

Rice Paddy

Cousin Arvie ate it walking in the mud...he was a good sport about it...

Me loving my cousin's view

Cousin's cool windows... literally cool

I imagine that it's nice and peaceful out here ... can't wait to see the finished house!

May Day in Ilag (Day 1)

2025-05-01T21:39:00.152-05:00

In the house, there is no central A/C or hot water. The upstairs common area is open air, not unlike being in a tree house. The 3 upstairs bedrooms had beautiful, wonderful A/C units. I hate that I am so weak, because I do LOVE the heat, but I was not used to breathing in such wet air. Mom and I shared a room while my siblings each had the other 2 rooms with their spouses. The normal occupants of the rooms - my cousin and his son - slept on a mat in the open air part of the upstairs or in an extra bed in my aunt's master bedroom where there was also A/C.

In the morning, my sister and I walked down to the beach to check things out. It was quite a contrast from the pristine beaches at Costabella, but it was beautiful in its own way.

View of the house from the beach

Me and my Aunt Prude

We wanted to run to the store real quick to grab comfort items (hello, chewing gum!) so my cousin, Perla, drove over to get us to go into town.

Perla and Helen helping my mom to the van

Jonna's sari-sari store

My SIL wasn't feeling well, so she and my brother met with a doctor while the rest of us ran errands.

Store I got stuck in looking for gum...super busy

My cousin Helen retrieved me from this store and we ended up at a Solid Gold store again.

And the cough drops were next to the candy... okee...

It was crowded as well and smelled of fabuloso.

Waiting to get checked out...

After that, we decided to check out a mall type area and grab some chow and meet back up with my brother and SIL. Lunch at May Abohan for 6 was less than $18USD: 4 chop suey, 2 sisig, water bottle and mango shake!

Caribao (water buffalo)

Lots of election posters everywhere

And many folks were drying out their rice harvests on the side of the road

Back at the house, there were a couple of hired hands to help out during Fiesta, helping to cook and clean for the family.

Perlita cooking up something delicious

Deliciousness!

Loud House Geckos that I LOVED!! They sound like squeaker toys at night.

Original wood floors, mango wood? Not sure

Pahuway na!

Ormoc to Ilag (van ride)

2025-04-30T10:38:00.080-05:00

We got our luggage from the boat and made it to my cousin in the van. 3 very nice Filipino men loaded and reloaded our luggage until it was just right, tetrised in perfectly. Once we were settled into the van, my cousin passed around some small wrapped treats for us to eat after our long ferry ride. I failed to catch the name of the treat because the natives were speaking in their native tongue and very rapidly, but I thought I heard the word "chocolate". I did not taste chocolate, it was more of a savory taste, and then I thought What if this is the blood dish that Anthony Bourdain ate before he died?

Quick vid from inside the van.

Rainbow sighting on the way...

On the way to Ilag we passed through a few security check points. I don't know what they were checking for, but it was election time in PI so maybe it was related? We passed.

When we arrived in Ilag, it was pouring down rain. The driver pulled onto a basketball court at the top of the road where my mom's house is and we walked through the downpour to my mom's childhood home where my aunt and cousins now live. It seemed really treacherous walking down the lane, but we made it.

My cousin, Arvie

Even though it was dark and rainy, things seemed to be gearing up for fiesta. This was the view from the balcony.

Slow Boat to Ormoc

2025-04-30T08:43:00.009-05:00

Today we took the SuperCat (3.5 hour cruise) from Cebu to Ormoc on the island of Leyte.

Here we are waiting for the ship to Come in...

Leaving Port of Cebu

Seaside Squatters' shanties

Vats of chemicals

I posted this picture because later in the trip, while in Bohol, my cousin Judy introduced me to Efficascent when my mom had a coughing fit.

Lapu-Lapu City bridge

Refreshing beverage on the very humid boat ride

Can you see the flying fish?

We saw some dolphins and a lot of flying fish.

Around this point we started seeing flying fish locally known as Bangsi or Barongoy alongside the boat. Flying fish use their pectoral fins to glide remarkable distances for over 30 seconds with an average speed of 70 km/h. Their tails are ossified and strong enough to propel them and make powerful leaps in the air. They have elongated cylindrical bodies with short heads and small blunt mouths and large eyes. It was amazing to witness and I wish I had gotten better captures.

Beautiful Blues

It was hot and muggy in Ormoc, as per usual, and we were still a couple of hours away from Ilag.

M*O*R*G*A*N*I*C

Weekending

It's Fall, Y'all!

Behind the Scenes in Ilag

Animal Bite Clinic

Filipino Food Porn

Have You Tried the Balut?

Chocolate Hills of Bohol

Loboc River Lunch Cruise

PTF

She Sells Sanctuary

Duero

“this is ours”

RORO to Bohol

Late in the Evening (Last night in Ilag)

Cock of the Walk

Casera Reunion at Molopolo Beach

Ilag House

Fiesta Day 2 in Ilag

Ilag Family

Lechon

Coco for Coconuts

House in the Hills

May Day in Ilag (Day 1)

Ormoc to Ilag (van ride)

Slow Boat to Ormoc

MORGANI*C