A Perfect Gift

A close relative is tying the knot on the 25th of February, and my wife and I are now contemplating on what to give them as a gift on wedding day. Since they are moving into a new place, my wife mentioned that our gift should be those things that they would really need to start up their new life in their new home together.

Yesterday, we learned that they will be ordering a new queen size bed, so my wife suggests that we may better give them some Down Comforter Sets to complement their new bed.

Now all we have to know is the color motiff of their bedroom so we can choose two or three sets from among the Hotel Bedding Sets that we saw on the Internet yesterday.

Well, anyway, we still have about a month to decide and choose the best colors/designs, but at least we have already found the perfect gift that we can give on their wedding day.

Our Old House

My Dad is a retired teacher. Bust aside from teaching and farming, he also loves doing carpentry and house improvement works. This is why it is no wonder that he always want to watch the show "This Old House"; a television hit that teaches step-by-step procedures related to carpentry, home renovation, among others.

One particular episode that proved to be very useful for our own "Old House" was when they featured about Gutter Protection. The idea of protecting gutters is actually new to us because for all we know, it is the gutter that protects our house from unwanted water leaks.

But as we watched and listened at the program, it became clear to us about the importance and significance of installing gutter protection, because by protecting the gutter, you eliminate the chance of getting leaves, twigs and dirts to be stuck on your gutters. In turn, rain waters can easily flow out. And since the waters do not stand still in the gutters, you also prevent mosquitoes from breeding in it.

The picture below is a fine example of what I am discussing about.


This type of gutter protection is called the Black Magic Filter. It actually looks neat in the gutters because of its color and design; and as you can see, the house gutter is well covered and protected from any foreign objects such as leaves, twigs, etc.

There are other types of gutter protection, like the GutterPiller Gutter Brush which has durable wire bristles that effectively clears out leaves and dirts from the gutter.

Of course, you can save a little bucks and choose not to install gutter protection but this will cost you much time in coming up the roofs and checking on your gutters regularly. You also get worried whenever rain comes, thinking that leaves and dirt will block the flow of water out.

Or, you decide to spend money, have your gutter protected, and let your worries out.

I choose the latter.

After all, we all love to keep our Old House nice and beautiful.

Unique House

No, this is not Titanic.

You are actually looking at one of those uniquely designed houses that will truly captivate anybody's eyes.

For a complete view of the Homes of the Unique and Famous, click here.

Big Is Beautiful

I have been celeberating christmas with my family for over thirty years now. Each year, we return back to our hometown in Nueva Ecija, Philippines at least three days before Christmas day.

One will have to understand, of course, that in the Philippines, Christmas season begins on September 1 (start of the ber months-September, October, November & December) and ends on the first Sunday after New Year (where catholics celebrate the Feast of Three Kings).

This is so because the moment the calendar turns to September, shops and boutiques in the malls start to decorate the establishment with Christmas trees and hang Large Christmas Ornaments on the ceilings, while Christmas carols continuously play on radios and CD players.

Even in the respective houses, the people begin to clean up and hang lanterns and christmas lights on the windows. No matter how festive the celebration is, I have to admit, though, that these types of decorations put in houses become so usual that you can't find any more excitement in seeing them.

Today I am thinking that maybe I should ask my mom if we could somehow change the way we decorate our house. I think that maybe we could get the idea from those malls and decorate our house with Large Christmas Ornaments for a change. But instead of putting those on the ceilings, we can try putting big decorations outside in the garden.

I am sure the idea would be a big hit especially when one would want to impress his neighbors and visitors during Christmas. You could just imagine if you have life-size, Large Christmas Decorations just like what is shown below:

Or maybe a big snowman standing near your frontdoor welcoming your visitors:

Kids will definitely love to hang around with dear old santa:

Let the fun and excitement of Christmas be seen in your house decorations. This year, you can show to your visitors and neighbors that Big is Beautiful on Christmas.

But above all, still the most important thing is, may we always remember that Christ is still the reason why we celebrate Christmas. It is on this day that God our Father has given his begotten Son unto the world to save us and give us eternal life.

Happy Christmas everyone!

Hark Now Hear The Angels Sing

Long time ago in Bethlehem
So the holy bible say
Mary's boy child Jesus Christ
Was born on Christmas day


Hark now hear the angels sing
A new king born today
And man will live forever more
Because of Christmas day



I had an extra time to shop yesterday in a mall nearby when the famous song "Hark Now Hear The Angels Sing" started to play. Instantly, people beamed with a smile on their faces on the thought of Christmas day, and started singing along.

The store owners also started redecorating their boutiques with christmas decors, lanterns and christmas lights. On one side of the mall, there is a life-size nativity scene on which the shoppers are getting pictures at.

The Department store has also set-up a dedicated space wherein you can purchase christmas trees, christmas balls, christmas lights, lanterns, santa claus figures, and nativity sets. I went looking for the nativity sets because I have long wanted to purchase and give my mother one as a christmas present. This is because when we were children, my mother would always set up a nativity set which is only made up of cardboard or hard paper. That is why I want to surprise her with a beautiful set which is made of plastic or fiberglass. The price, however, is expensive, so I didn't buy. Instead, I thought I'd better go and check for other shops, or I might as well search online in the internet.

There are a couple of online shops that sell nativity sets, but of course, you should go for the one that sells the best products at affordable prices. You can also pick your choice of nativity scene because there are a lot of options to choose from. Sets vary from six, ten, and fourteen pieces. There are life-size pieces, while there are also miniature ones.

I'm considering the life-size pieces because the set would be perfect for the outdoors, and will definitely go well on a garden setting.

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Here's wishing a merry christmas to all of us!



Trumpets sound and angels sing!
Listen to what they say
And man will life forever more
Because of Christmas day!

David Letterman Apologizes

David Letterman apologizes to his wife on Monday's Late Night Show following the recent controversy whereby Letterman revealed on-air that he had sexual involvement with women from his television program.

Letterman says,

"if you hurt a person and it's your responsibility, you try to fix it"


Tom Keaney, Letterman's spokesman, however, noted that those relationships happened before Letterman's marriage with Regina Lasko, to whom he had a son, Harry, born in 2003.

Water Damage Treatment

The nation of the Philippines in South East Asia has never been the same again after a typhoon came and brought so much damage in the whole city of Metro Manila. Hundreds of people died, livelihood crops were devastated, and millions of infrastructures were damaged when the water did rise up unexpectedly and flooded the area.

Right now, many people are having the big problem of repairing their houses which were destroyed by the flood. I am just not so sure in the Philippines, but whenever there is a water damage in Orlando, Florida, residents can readily contact water damage experts that can help restore the place in a very professional manner.

Another big problem that people need to solve whenever there are floods and water damages is in the area of document drying. Because of sudden increase of the water level in houses, the residents tend to panic and save only those materials and possessions they can get. Oftentimes, books and other important documents are neglected and get soaked in water. This is why it is again, important to contact the services of companies who cater to helping with such kinds of problems.

These companies do not only focus on helping clients with their water damage problems in houses. Since they focus in helping restore houses from damages, certain companies extend to help restoring smoke damage in Orlando. When houses, or a part of the house caught fire, the other problem aside from putting off the fire, is putting off the damage caused by the smoke.

In these times of global unrest due to climate changes that happen in our environment, each one needs to be prepared for calamities such as typhoons, floods, etc. Let us be prepared and know who to call in order to restore our houses when damages occur.

Remembering Our Families

We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together.

~Erma Bombeck

(quote from here)

A Touch of Elegance

I got a surprise email from my former boss whom I haven’t heard of for about two years. Her family had migrated in the United States in 2006, and they have not come home in the Philippines since then. She informed me that her family has acquired a decent lot in the United States and they are on the process of building a house of their own. Knowing her, I’m sure the house, including the garden landscapes would be meticulously designed.

As I used to handle the purchasing office on her company, my work extends to finding materials and things for her personal use. Anyway, she has tried to contact me and ask if I will be able to help her in finding and procuring an ideal address plaque for her new house.

I did a research on the internet and found out that there are loads of companies supplying address plaques. Among those, I found that a Whitehall Address Plaque would be the most suitable for my boss’ needs.

Elegantly crafted and designed, Whitehall Address Plaques are made of fine grade, rust-proof materials, so consumers are ensured that their plaques are perfect for use, whether they are mounted on walls, or whether they are put as markers in the garden. Much more, the materials used can survive even the harshest weather conditions.

I have also found out that there are lots of Whitehall Address Plaques that you can choose from. You can select from a wide variety of color combinations that will best suit your house motif and design.

I have downloaded five sample designs and emailed the copies to my boss. She has initially sent a response that she’ll be having a wall mounted address plaque, and is asking if I could check on a good lawn marker as an additional purchase.

Prices vary, of course, depending on the designs, but I think they are very much reasonable. I still got to check, though, concerning shipping fees agreements, and how long we expect to receive the items, but seeing the sample products, I am sure my boss would approve the purchase.

House Made For Wood

House Made For Wood- Is the title incorrect? We oftentimes hear and read the phrase “house made of wood” to refer to those country houses that are made of wood materials. I so love those types of houses which I often see on Hollywood movies whose settings are on the west side of America.

So much for that, because what I am blogging today is not “house made of wood”, but “house made for wood”.

During my most recent trip back to my hometown, I was surprised to see that my father is still using firewood as an alternative for gas in cooking. This is because there are still a couple of big acacia trees surrounding our ancestral house, so naturally we have an ample supply of wood for use.

However, my father is resigned to the fact that it is hard to keep firewood outside the house. The current firewood rack that he himself created about six months ago could not keep the wood from being wet, especially when heavy rains occur in the area. The firewood are being decayed as a result of being wet, especially when rains occur continuously for two to three days.

Also, firewood rack, or log rack, when kept outside the house are prone to bugs and termites; insects that destroy the wood by eating and rigging it. The ideal solution is to keep the firewood inside the house, but this will require a lot of space, and may even make your house to look untidy.

When I reported back for work, a co-employee advised me of what he has just browsed in the internet about a house that is made for wood that could be the answer to my father’s problem. And true enough, as soon as I saw the sample picture, I was awed at how the makers and designers of the firewood rack were able to conceptualize the idea.


The rack is perfect for my father’s need. It can store and endure as much wood because the material is made of metal. Further, it seems that it will not cover much space because of its sleek design. Additionally, there is a good cover that will help keep the wood from being wet.

I am now planning to contact the supplier and ask how about the price, and the shipping terms. This could very well be a very good early Christmas gift for my father. Thanks to my co-employee who let me know about this house made for wood.

Only The Best

Our family always looks forward on Sunday evenings because that is the only available time that we are able to gather together as one and eat together for dinner. Oftentimes, we indulge ourselves in sea foods, vegetable salads and barbecues. The kids, well, they just want hotdogs.

Barbecues, of course, are our favorite, the delicious recipe having been passed from our grandmother to our mother, and now, to us. There is actually no fuss with the recipe, because we just marinate the meat with soy sauce and citrus juice for about two hours before putting it on the grill. For an exceptional taste, a little ketchup is added on the marinate sauce.

We use the conventional-type grill, but later on, I noticed that conventional grills have very limited capacities. While browsing thru the internet one time, I was surprised (and delighted) to see a revolutionary-type Big Green Egg Grill that introduces a three-in-one outdoor cooker.

The Big Green Egg is a grill that can be used as a smoker barbecue, a barbecue grill, and an oven. It seems to me that this Big Green Egg Grill is the best choice during family gatherings because we can actually minimize space for three important functions.

Perfect for outdoors, the Big Green Egg will surely deliver the best-tasting fall off the bone, hot off the grill juicy barbecue that the family always loves. The grill can also be used for cooking our side dish vegetables.

As if that’s all, this ceramic-made Big Green Egg Grill also functions as an oven. Thus, you can also try using it in preparing baked pies, breads and even pizzas.

The grills come in different sizes, so you can choose the most suitable for you. Whether you need to cater for a small or large group, there is always a convenient grill package for you.

Indeed, for families such as ours, the Big Green Egg delivers what’s best, because we deserve only the best.