Gouache illustration of two hands kneading bread dough on a floured surface, sleeves pushed back, warm kitchen light from a window, the home economics everyone called soft

Home Economics: The Subject Everyone Called Soft

Mama taught Home Ec for decades in Catbalogan, and I filed it away as a quaint fact about her. It took a career in senior care to work out that she had been…

Sep 27, 2026
Pen-and-ink illustration of a worn nylon-string guitar leaning against a woven rattan chair beside an open window at dusk, for the first song I ever learned

Line to Heaven: The First Song I Ever Learned, and What It Turned Out to Mean

My cousin Myla taught me three chords and a Filipino song from 1993. I had no idea it was written by a man who had just lost both his parents, or that I would…

Sep 20, 2026
Pop-surrealist photograph of a Holland Lop rabbit in Jedi robes holding a lit blue lightsaber in a stone temple courtyard

Colby-Wan Kenobi Jedi Bunny

May the 4th calls for a tribute. Erin has a new bunny named Colby, so naturally he had to be inducted into the Jedi Order.

May 04, 2026
A small Filipino provincial kitchen at late afternoon with a cast-iron frying pan on a simple stove and golden light through an open window, vintage archival photograph in faded Kodachrome tones

Papa

He was just Papa. Always had some house project going on. Always heading to the market after a full day of work. He taught me how to cook, how to show up, and…

Mar 06, 2026
A single tall white birthday candle burning brightly on top of a simple white cake on a worn wooden table in a dim room, the warm candle flame illuminating the immediate surroundings, pop-surrealism dreamlike illustration

Focus, Happiness, and a Birthday

As another birthday arrives, I reflect on the direct correlation between focus and happiness. What we focus on will ultimately become our life.

Mar 13, 2023
Gouache illustration of feathered frost spreading across an old window pane on a January morning, low sun catching the crystal fronds, a bare branch and pale sky beyond the glass, a new year seen from inside the house

A New Year. A Renewed House

With 2023 here, nothing makes a bigger impact than simplifying our home. A guide to decluttering and renewing our living space.

Jan 06, 2023
Interior of a small Filipino provincial home in Catbalogan in the late 1980s, a single empty wooden rocking chair beside an open window with late afternoon golden light streaming in, vintage archival photograph in faded Kodachrome tones

Mama

A tribute to the woman who took me in, who loved me unconditionally, and who changed the course of my life forever.

Aug 09, 2022