Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Old Photo of Cecilia and Lauren


Cecilia and Lauren Brainard


Dear Readers, I have been very busy so please forgive my short blog entries. I promise to do better as soon as my work clears up.

For now, I'm sharing an old photo that I had to dig up and scan.

I hope you enjoy it.

P.S. I'm adding a cropped picture of me and a photo of my mother. Someone said I look like her. I never saw the similarity in the past, but now I do.

 
Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

 Concepcion Cuenco before she married and became Concepcio Cuenco Manguerra 



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Sunday, March 27, 2016

He Has Risen! Happy Easter!

Friday, March 25, 2016

Travel Cambria California - Painting by Clarence Weiss




Things that Surround Me #3

We have an acrylic painting of a peacock on a barn-house by Clarence Weiss who does Plein Air Painting.

We had been admiring his work of local Cambria scenes at the Moonstone Grill. Finally we contacted him to look at his other paintings. We acquired this peacock, which is a depiction of a real peacock and barn in the area.

Whenever I see this painting all of Cambria and the surrounding area of the Central Coast of California come to life.

Thursday, March 24, 2016

Travel, Mexico: Night Cafe, Version by Mexican Ceramic Artist




Things that Surround Me #2

We have this ceramic art that Jessica Vasquez Castro created; it's based on Van Gogh's Starry Starry Night. We got this in San Miguel Allende, Mexico, and every time I see it, I am reminded of the good times we had in San Miguel Allende.

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Getting Ready for Easter 2016!



I'm getting ready for Easter 2016!

Here are some pictures taken last year. Instead of an egg hunt, we had a pinata, and we'll do that again this year.

Monday, March 21, 2016

Travel: Walk in Marina del Rey, Venice, California


Sunday was a a perfect day for a walk at the Marina del Rey in Venice, California.

Spring is here!

Sunday, March 20, 2016

Travel - Masai necklaces from Kenya Africa




Things that Surround Me #1

I have two Masai women's necklaces hanging on a wall in our house. The memories behind these items are rich -- of our 2010 safari to Kenya,when one could still visit Kenya without worrying.

Here are some pictures taken during that safari.  These were taken in a Masai village. I bought the neck decorations at the grounds of a hotel where some Masai were selling their handicraft.

Saturday, March 19, 2016

Guest Blogger: Ralph Semino Galan, Ode to My Mom






Ode to My Mom
(for Annette Semino Galán)

by Ralph Semino Galan
Copyright 2016 by Ralph Semino Galan

Mother, who is pushing seventy,
smiles at me, cracks a joke, laughs. 
She has weathered all sorts 
of tragedies: my grandmother's 
early widowhood and her childhood
deprivation; her college years 
in an industrial city after the quiet
of her hometown's somnolence;
her early and latter career battles 
with principals and superintendents; 
the sudden death of her husband,
my father, after the Great Flood.

I am awed by her cheerfulness 
and her resilience, though sometimes
a chink in her armor shows, a tear
running down her plump cheek 
as she remembers a certain event,
with or without regrets: the death
of a family member, both near 
or far; the births of her six children;
debuts and weddings; her desire
to have a host of grandchildren...
Mother smiles, cracks a joke, laughs,

while I can only gift her with this poem.

BIO- Ralph Semino Galán is Assistant Director at UST Center for Creative Writing and Literary Studies and Associate Professor at UST Faculty of Arts and Letters
Reprinted with permission of the author. Thanks, Ralph!

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      This is all for now,
      Cecilia


Thursday, March 17, 2016

Preparing for the Second Literary Symposium in Jackson, Tennessee





















The Friends of the Jackson-Madison County Public Library in Tennessee have invited me to give a series of talks at their Second Annual Literary Symposium in Jackson Tennessee, in late April.

Sunday, March 13, 2016

Lunch with Linda Nietes and Robert Little of Philippine Expressions






I had lunch with Linda Nietes and Robert Little in San Pedro, California. Linda Nietes owns the iconic bookshop Philippine Expressions, which has been selling Philippine and Philippine American books for over 30 years.

Thursday, March 10, 2016

Easter Bunny Ears for Che and Tesla? #catpics















I was in a pet store and saw these Easter bunny ears for cats. I thought of buying them for Che and Tesla.


Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Cebu, Philippines: Then and Now, Plaza Carlock Hamabar



Photo courtesy of John Allert, great-grandson of Judge Lyman Carlock


My friend, Louie Nacorda, took pictures of the park in front of the Cathedral that used to be dedicated to US American Judge Lyman Carlock Monument - see above.  

The park, which has been renamed, is now called the Plaza Hamabar. The centerpiece is a statue of Datu Hamabar. There is an obelisk in the back, which has a dedication to Hamabar at its base. 

Sunday, March 6, 2016

Cebu, Philippines: Felicidad Climaco, Filipina Suffragette and Nationalist #womensrights





I blogged about the accomplished Cebuana, Ines Villa Gonzalez. Here is another suffragette from Cebu, Felicidad Climaco.

From the Heritage Cards, "Cebuana Trailblazers Sugboanang Tag-Una",  a 2008 Cebu Provincial Government's project. I quote:

Dona Felicidad Climaco, whom some considered "the Tandang Sora of the Revolution in Cebu," continued supporting the cause of nationalism during the American period.

Saturday, March 5, 2016

Che and Tesla Checking Out the World from their Cat Tree - #catpics


Saturday morning and my cats are checking out the world from their cat tree.

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Cebu, Philippines: Ines S. Villa Gonzalez, Filipina Woman Suffragette #womensrights





A researcher, Tichie Carandang, was recently in touch asking for information about Cebuana Ines S. Villa-Gonzalez, a supporter of the women's suffrage movement who had accompanied the 1922 Philippine Commission to the US.

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Cebu Philippines: 1914 Historic Photographs re Judge Lyman Carlock



Here are two more antique historic pictures from the great-grandson of Judge Lyman Carlock, the first American judge in Cebu, Philippines.  

The top picture shows the name of the street on the house: Carlock Street. According to a Freeman April 23, 2014 article, "It is the street where the San Nicolas Elementary School is located within the jurisdiction of Barangay San Nicolas. It intersects at Tres de April St."