MOVING ON

In nine days, I am ending the last page of this very first blog that I created in February 2006. STARLIGHT IN HER EYES. This is all about San Francisco. On how enamored I was. And now, the sparkle is gone, fifteen years later. The city is ugly with its crime rate, homelessness and lack of security provided to its residents like me. My husband and I are closing our door and saying good bye to this city that we raved about to friends and family alike. Not anymore. Things change. It's just life. Pretty soon, I will be writing all about TEXAS in a new blog and I will call it TEXTus. See you then!

Life In Transition

THINKING TIME

I haven't slept since last night and it is already the  morning of the next day. Been up and about moving around here in my flat. Do you do this? Like stay awake as if the world is not in slumber at all? It seems quiet but not for me. Right now, I hear the sound wave from the gadgets around me. iPad, Mac, iPhone, PC, printer and many more. I have tinnitus and there are times when it feels like thousands of crickets are blaring their horns inside my ears, echoing their wits like cymbals and timpani because that is what you hear when you suffer from this unbearable disease that no one could see or hear. 

I  am just different, perhaps. I am absolutely made out from a different fiber but I value life and love it.  That is why I am I celebrate it day by day. 

MISSING HIM

Someone is away. Who? Dear husband. My little baby kangaroo! Do you know him? His name starts with the first letter of my maiden name. If you don't know my mother's last name then you won't be able to guess it.

When he is gone, I can't sleep. Therefore, most likely I would fall asleep when he is already on his way back  home. And or come knocking on my door. But by then, I must be dreaming...

OH, THIS BLOG

I know. 

I know...

I know.

I have neglected this again. And? It has been ages since I wrote in here and last year, well... and yes, it was all about baking and cooking. 

I was cloistered here with my husband and like the rest of the world was. 

To survive the nightmare, I baked and cooked. Ate all the poison like carbs and sugar. Gained 35 lbs. It was good and it was bad. The yin and the yang of gluttony and the karma of good appetite makes one unhealthy, ultimately. And yes, it wasn't just me but a multitude of us have been through this, too. Suddenly, we were all baking and cooking at home. That was the impact of being locked down. The pandemic changed us. It hit the world in 2020 and gave us COVID-19 which had us worried us tremendously. We had questions of our existence. Would we live or die?  

VACCINE: TO GET IT OR NOT TO GET IT, THAT IS THE QUESTION

I got my vaccine in late March this year and husband, too though a few weeks ahead of me. Hence, it made us to feel better knowing that our immune system has been boosted with defense to fight off this COVID 19 virus which already has a variant.

I think that I will just write here again next time. Finally my eyes are beginning to get tired and are ready to fall asleep.

Good bye for now.

Bavarian Pretzel by Just One Bite, Please Website

Bavarian   Pretzel

INGREDIENTS:

     2 cups                      454 g.            Water (room temperature)

    4 tsp.                          12 g.            Instant Yeast

    1 Tbsp.                      18 g.             Barley Malt

    2 Tbsp.                      27 g.             Lard (or butter)

    5-¾ cups                 862 g.           Bread Flour (unbleached, unbromated)

    1 Tbsp.                      20 g.             Sea Salt (fine)

 

EQUIPMENT

·         Glass Mixing Bowls

·         Measuring Cups & Spoons/Electronic Bakers Scale

·         Wooden Mixing Spoon or Stiff Rubber Spatula

·         Plastic Bowl Scrape

·         Metal Bench Knife

·         2 each ½-Sheet Parchment Paper

·         2 each ½-Sheet Baking Tray

·         2 each ½-Sheet Cooling Rack

·         Non-Stick Oil Spray or Oil

MIXING & PRE-SHAPING THE DOUGH:

1.       In a large mixing bowl add the water, instant yeast, barley malt, lard, and half of the bread flour and stir and beat together to make a thick batter. 

2.      Add the salt to the batter and beat to incorporate and then add the remaining flour and mix until the mixture becomes a shaggy mass.

3.      Scrape the dough and any dry bits out onto the counter and knead the dry ingredients into the dough. (Note: The dough will be very firm. Use your body weight to knead the dough.)

4.      Knead the dough for 8-10 minutes or until smooth.

5.      Form the dough into a tight round.

6.      Roll and shape the dough into a 12-inch log (30 cm) and cut the dough into 12 equal sized pieces weighing approximately 115 grams.

7.      Form each piece of dough into a tight round and cover with plastic wrap. Rest the rounded pieces of dough for 5 minutes.

8.     Place the cooling rack onto the parchment lined sheet trays and spray the cooling rack with non-stick oil spray.

TRADITIONAL BAVARIAN PRETZEL:

1.       Work with one piece of dough at a time. With the seam side up, degas the rested dough pieces and tightly roll into a cylinder.

2.      Cover the pre-shaped pieces of dough with plastic wrap and let rest for 5 minutes.

3.      Working with one piece of dough at a time. Firmly roll the dough from the center outward into a 16-inch (40 cm) rope with the same thickness throughout.

4.      Create a 4-inch (10 cm) thicker section (the belly) in the center of the rope by firmly rolling and shaping the rope on each side of the belly.

5.      Firmly roll the dough to 30-inch (76 cm) length.

6.      Shape the rope of dough into the classic pretzel shape. (See video time stamp 4:23) Take care to firmly press the two arms into the dough. This will insure the pretzel doesn’t come undone when dipping.

7.      Continue to shape the remaining pieces of dough.

8.     Place the shaped pretzels onto the oil cooling rack lined sheet tray.

9.      Ferment the shaped pretzels for 45 minutes uncovered at room temperature.

10.  After 45 minutes, place the pretzels in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. This allows a skin to form and the pretzels to firm up so they keep their shape when you dip them.

11.   Preheat the oven to 425°F (218°C) 30 minutes prior to baking the pretzels.

 

DIPPING AND BAKING THE PRETZELS:

Equipment

1.       Large Glass Bowl

2.      Rubber Gloves or Latex Gloves

3.      Stainless Steel Whisk

4.      Pretzel Salt or Coarse Sea Salt

 

4% LYE SOLUTION:

    2268 grams   Water

    94 grams   Sodium Hydroxide (Food Grade Lye)

 

 NOTE:  Put on the Rubber or Latex Gloves.

1.       In the large glass bowl add the water. Slowly add the Sodium Hydroxide (lye) to the water while gently whisking. The lye will react with the water and release gases and heat as it dissolves. Gently whisk until the lye is completely dissolved.

2.      Work with one tray of pretzels at a time. Remove a tray from the refrigerator and dip the pretzels into the lye solution making sure to get wet both sides of the pretzel.

3.      Place the dipped pretzel back onto the cooling rack presentation side up.

4.      Sprinkle the pretzels with Pretzel Salt or Coarse Sea Salt and score the belly of the traditional pretzel and score the baguette pretzel down the center 3 times.

5.      Bake the pretzels at 425°F (218°C) for 22 to 24 minutes or until deep brown.

6.      Remove the pretzels from the oven and cool for 15 minutes before eating.

7.      Slather the warm pretzels with butter and pour yourself a tall cold beer.

8.     Enjoy!

 

Note: The pretzels are best enjoyed the same day they are made. If you have pretzels left over store in a paper bag. Day old pretzels can be refreshed in a oven preheated to 375°F, bake for 6 to 8 minutes.

Baking, Cooking, Marketing and Eating at Home During the time of Pandemic, 2020

As it has been for most people stuck in the confines of their homes, there have been news world wide on the emergence of people cooking at home and baking breads as well. That is good news! Likewise, people are gaining weight. Why? Because they have nothing else to do but eat. Seriously, some are just bored, depressed, stressed and don’t know what to do because the structure of going to work daily or driving your kids to school suddenly are a thing of the past. Hence, some people are just compulsively eating for lack of better things to do after getting out of bed. It’d just the cycle of eat, sleep, eat and sleep. I for one has ditched my low carb diet several weeks after the pandemic, I felt that my carb diet was restricting me with all the lock down restriction one is aught to go thru. Getting out of that diet and being able to bake again is a way to my freedom path. Hence, I went back to baking cakes, pies, pastries and rustic breads like  ciabatta, French baguettes, pagnota, etc. All these goodness starts from fermenting the flour and water to come up with one's home grown wild yeast that delivers a nice aroma of bread once baked. That is the sourdough starter that does the magic!

Each country has a way of calling it. Fermentation process. Italians, "biga;" French, levain: Brits, bram. The list goes on and on.

Currently. I am making different kinds of sourdough starter. I began two weeks ago but due to the cold weather in San Francisco, mine went dead. I thought I could resurrect them by putting them in my oven with just the pilot light on. But still it didn't work. So there, I flushed them in the sink. Now, just a thing of the past.

Right now, on day three, I have four bottles of sourdough. One, is for the biga, whole wheat flour. 1:1:1 ratio. 1 cup whole wheat flour plus 1 cup filtered water, stir. cover lightly then let loose and ferment. Day 2-5, add the same concoction to the original WWF mix and water. By the fifth day, it should be ripe and ready to use to make a ciabatta. I opted for this new recipe I found online instead of my usual Il Fornaio recipe of not adding any flour or water until the fourth day only. The problem with this mixture is the fact that it has the tendency to dry out the flour to a complete cement. So, now I am observing if my current recipe is a lot better. We'll see. In five days, I'd have the answer!

The next one I have is just the sourdough starter using all purpose flour (APF). Mixture is a bit different. 4 oz of flour or 3/4 cups APF plus 2 tbsp of APF plus 1/2 cup water. The dough is very sticky and the yeast development is slow. I am just seeing it on its third day to be a little softer than the night before. But tomorrow, hopefully I'd smell some acid and see some bubbles signifying the presence oxygen in it. The same formula goes until the fifth day then it is ripe and ready to be used to make a sourdough bread. To feed the formula for maintenance, I just have to diminish the yield.

The last two canning jars are Mild Starter (Mother Formula) by Peter Reinhart from his "Crust and Crumb" book. This recipe is so hard to mix by hand using a big spoon. You need a food processor to make it work. Mixture is 1 c. (4/5 oz) whole wheat flour (WWF) and 1/3 filtered cool water (65*F-7-*F). You make it into a ball then insert in a canning jar. Day 2. You cut the dough of the previous day you made into 6 pieces and dump them in the food processor till it forms a ball. Divide this into a ball and press half of it in a canning jar and the other one, toss (or give it away to someone). For this reason, I kept the other half and make another yield and put this half in a canning jar as well. After which on Day 2, you add  1c. (4/5 oz) unbleached bread flour and 1/3 c. cool water to each of the two batches made. Place this ont the food processor plus and the original ball  consisting of the WWF. Mix well. Cut in half and put each one in the canning jar. Day 3, observe till the yield of each jar doubles. Otherwise, let it grow some more. This is dependent on the temperature of one's kitchen, the weather where you live, the wild bacteria available in your environment. Day 3. repeat Day 2 process. Let it rise for 24 hours or till it triples in volume. Day 4. When the dough has triple i volume, you are ready to make the levain starter or chef. Allow it to ferment ina covered bowl for 4 hours.

(More to follow tomorrow)

How It Was For Us From 10/2019 to 02/2020

It’s a different time. We now all wear masks and gloves when we leave our homes. We shower immediately and change our clothes once we are back from the outside. We are so afraid of the Corona Virus known as COVID-19 that we all try to be hygienic for healthy reasons and survival. The year 2020 has brought global change in economy, health, life style and relationships.

In San Francisco, the lock down began on March 17, 2020. It was one of the very first cities in the USA to do it. And the first to declare it under the "state of emergency.”  Over all, the entire globe is on lock down. In all continents.

How, when and where were you when all this started?

For one, my husband and I were in the Philippines during the third week of October 2019. We spent Christmas and New Year 2020 there. Our experience this year was far better than the year before. The house I inherited was almost done, repair wise. Painting was done on the interior and exterior of the house, except for the posts in the carport and some minor painting needed on the fence. With that in mind, I left for San Francisco with dear husband feeling better. We packed the house thru the help of our contractor, Ed. We shipped the plastic that contractors use in the USA to pack furniture and appliances to keep them from dust and paint splashes during the painting process.

SURPRISE

When 2020 came by, I was a bit excited because I was turning 62 on January 13th and there was this element of surprise that tickled my funny bones. The night before, it was hot and humid. But on the day of my birthday, there was an “ash fall” in Batangas, Tagaytay, Bacoor, Las Pinas and the hole of National Capital Region. I remember feeling stressed as I looked out the window when it happened. The ashes were getting more and more as seen in the outdoor chairs we set outside the house. I was concerned because the exterior of the house has just been painted prior and I was worried it was going to have ashes all over. Luckily, there was none. My contractor came a few days later and started to clean up the roof. And the yard. He finished all that needed painting and did some repair in the house.

COMING HOME TO THE USA

We left Manila for San Francisco on February 08, 2020 feeling apprehensive. The Corona Virus was already emerging globally starting its point of origin in Wuhan, China.

The night before our flight, it rained so hard but the morning, it stopped. I remember removing the plate under each pots with plants so as not to over flow the water in case it rained again. I was looking forward to seeing them alive upon our return this October 2020 if that is even possible.

My sister Emilie came to see me and husband to say good bye at 7 A.M. Shortly, our GrubHub driver came by and drove us to the airport. From November 2019 to February 08, 2020 many things happened. Family get-together, karaoke time and a visit from my French close friend, Olivier in December. He was happy as well as my family. So it was a good first meeting on both parties.

BEFORE I FORGET

My sisters Emilie and Balloon hosted a dinner for us at Max’s Restaurant not far from our house. All their children and spouses were present. Emilie ordered a good bye cake for me and husband and Balloon made her specialty cakes, banana cake and cinnamon cookies. Or that is what I at least remember. I am old a and I forget things easily! We brought them here in the USA and during our lay-over in Taipei, we ate some of them as desserts.

AT THE AIRPORT IN SAN FRANCISCO

The winds of change were different the moment we arrived at the SFO International Airport. Not a lot of stress about the virus. A few people were wearing masks. Husband and I traveled for over sixteen hours wearing it. It was horrible and hot. But we felt safe having it on our faces so we did try to endure having to travel with the mask.

ARRIVING IN NORTH BEACH

We were just so happy to be back in California. And the first thing we check on is our veranda. "Did our plants survive our absence?"   "Yes." We have a drip system and the plants are watered on schedule by the hour. Oh, before I forget! The mouse we saw just before we left for the airport was trapped in the sticky paper that husband has left on the carpet before we drove to SFO. We were just glad the mouse is gone as it always is a problem when we see one or two.

CHECKING ON THINGS

After we arrived, I unpacked the sweets and desserts meant to be given away as gifts to our landlords who kept and took care of our mails in the span of four months when we were gone. They are nice.  We were happy to see them and to get back our mails. We got to meet the new baby of Tina and Carey whose name is Dylan. He was there looking at me with his chinky eyes, wrapped in the arms of his dad. he is very fair and very adorable. Cutie! Tina was chatty and Ryan, our seven-year old friend, was the same way.

FINALLY BACK IN OUR ABODE

Once we were settled in our domicile, we hopped in our soft bed. We covered everything in our flat with plastic as well so it was very clean. We slept after a few hours of reading our iPads. Thereafter, our sleeping pattern was never the same again since the jet lag has kicked in.

This is a short entry to get by so I don’t get to forget what transpired the past four months of our lives as a couple. I will update again once I get the time to not being lazy during this time of Corona Virus.

This is all. But indeed, I need to fill up the gaps of this entry and add some photos for posterity. Until then. Adieu.

When Your Girlfriend Is Lost, Now What Do You Do About it?

What's with women's friendship? It's not like any other. We talk and give each other company. We unload when the world crosses over our direction. We don't need a therapist because we play the therapist and the patient game when needed. A little note that says, "could you come over?" would mean that the ship is sinking. So, we swim to the rescue! But men? They just zip their mouths; have a beer and that's it. Problem solved! A girlfriend of mine not too long ago called from a far away land and related this experience she had with a man she met recently. She was lost, amused, thrilled, and afraid.

. 

What Happened To My Hair? Why Cut? Why Turn It To Grey?

I wrote this randomly to a friend in Facebook. A response to my news feed on why I cut my hair and decided to grow my grey.

My hair caught the heat of fire when my oven exploded last December 30, 2018. I was in the Philippines. Now I remember the exact date. Not the day before Christmas but before the New Year's Eve. I was baking a "Panettone." 

My hair was tied on the side but wasn't tied at the back; but rather on the front (on my left, touching my chest). When I opened the oven, I heard the loud pang of explosion so I closed the oven door quite so fast  almost immediately. However, I was unaware that a portion of my hair melted away. I didn’t know it until I accidentally touched it because I was starting to sweat and needed to fix my hair in a bun. 

As I was touching my hair, it just felt so damn rough and brittle. Then, a stroke of panic did hit me. You can just imagine how my heart felt then? It was beating so fast like a timpani in crescendo! In the aftermath of things, the haircut was inevitable to save the remainder of my healthy hair. I remember feeling sad about it. It was going to be the New Year in a few hours  and there I was with this traumatic experience hovering all over me. From then on, I was seriously thinking if I should remain on coloring my hair and keeping it long or, start over. Cut it short and ditched the dye. And I did.

I had so many questions and insecurities when I first went through this process.

“What to do with this grey hair sprouting?” 

“Will I look old? But I am old!” 

“Shall I conceal the grey? How?” 

“How to deal with the look once they are all out?"

"Will I change my make up style and color?"

The "old me"

Fortunately, serendipity struck me as I bumped into these support groups of women in Facebook who are going through this grey hair journey.  "That’s it." I thought quietly while I was reading the questionaire as I applied to be a member of the group. "This is for me!" So, I joined and participated and shared in my first in put. The response was remarkable. So, it went on and on until we are now more at ease with each other.  It helps, you know. And it keeps me going. I don't mind sharing this experience in FB because it is a teaching medium. I know seeing my grey journey tends to make my family and friends to be reflective of their own journey with age, too. So, I think for that matter,  I am okay on being open about my personal journey with my silver transition.

LASTLY, "WHY CUT MY HAIR?"

I had no choice but to cut off a foot long at least right the after the incident. I remember feeling so sad about it. 

To be easy on me emotionally, I thought it best to cut my hair in small increments. Shoulder length, above the shoulders then finally, just barely touching my nape.I had a total of seven hair cuts and the rest is history. See photos for detail.

On Going Grey, Suddenly Grey

NOTE: I wrote this narrative in my Facebook Account on August 18, 2019. I have been inactive in FB for four years. My family and friends were surprised, of course, when I suddenly reactivated my account and surprised them with my short hair. Plus, on my decision to go grey and show out my natural hair color. It is not easy but I feel liberated in doing so. No more chasing the dye every four weeks of my life. The stress of pretending I had no silver hair is over. I feel great, beautiful and sexy!

As some of my friends and former colleagues have retired, divorced and, or, remarried, I have taken the front seat of taking back my life in terms of my hair color. Yes, I know it sounds stupid and shallow but our hair means the world to us, right? It speaks of who we are: our age, ethnicity, health, beauty, social status and what-not. So why am I suddenly dedicating a time to write about this? Because it is something important to me and perhaps to you, too. And maybe after reading this, it might help you to think, re-consider and peruse if it is really worth your time? Going natural? At least for me, it is.

ON GOING GREY

I went cold turkey and ditched the dye last spring 2019. My last roots retouch was on April 7th and after that, I never looked back; never colored my hair again; and you know what? I feel good, happy, beautiful, sexy, and at ease in my own skin!But let me tell you that this did not start out to be that easy to get into as it is a long process of finding myself and knowing what is my self-worth as a woman going through this journey.It also means me, being humble and honest about who I am. Why so? Because suddenly, I am showing my age to the world through my grey strands. Can you do what I do? I used to wonder if I would ever let my hair to go grey. But for crying out loud, here I am. I am on it! The hardest stage is the first two months when the demarcation line of my hair was so apparent; akin to the fur color of a “skunk.” This is what is known as the “skunk stage” in my circle. After that, it really gets easier. And bearable to look at, carry on, show the world. That's it. I can take a bow now for doing the work. The complete transition process takes two years. For those whose hair grow faster than the norm, it is a shorter route and at just one year, the entire crown is silver, or salt and pepper. On my end, I am just on my fourth month by end of August 2019. It's funny, when I started on with this going grey process, I was almost embarrassed to show it, or to go out. Luckily, I live in San Francisco and for most time of the year, I wear a hat due to the cold weather here. But when I first took off my hat, I was in fact at the Social Security Office here in Kearny, I remember to being flushed, feverish and red. At that time, I had about half an inch length of grey from my roots. And I tell you, it looked really horrific! But as time goes by, it grows bit by bit. 

The color tones change by the month. So the final highlights and color tones are yet to be seen. That part excites me! In terms of length, now my greys are over two-inches long. My colored hair, on the other hand, has been soft and healthier sans hair dye. So, I cannot complain. I am positive that I am doing the right thing and that I am on track. So, behold and hear ye, for I got a lot more to share with you.

My hair was this long and thick until it caught the heat of fire when my oven 

exploded in December 2018 while vacationing in the Philippines. It got so brittle

to about a foot long. So, the cut was really inevitable. Moreover, there was this 
hair loss issue that I've been struggling for years but not realizing until lately
that the chemicals in the dye was the culprit. So you see, the short hair cut was  
essential to keep it healthy again. And I don't mind seeing the grey or silver locks 
growing half an inch each month. It is a natural part of me, aging, as anyone else 
who goes through with it in life.

ON LADY GODIVA’S HAIR
To make it easier for me to see this whole process to take place, I chopped off my waist long hair to a short bob cut. Well, all my adult life my hair was long. It was my identity. My sex appeal if I may say so. Haha! But then, some drastic change had to come to a prelude. And down with the old. Thus, the haircut was inevitable. I got a short bob A cut hair. Looks isometric on the side view yet very lovely to look at on the front view. How I part my hair or where I do it- right, middle or left, would show more or a bit less of the silver, but more on the salt and pepper tones. Whereas, at the back of my crown, it is basically dark. So, there is a lot see and discover once I reach the finish line!

My new hair, "blunt bob cut" done on Friday 

the 13th, September 2019 at Hector Estrada 

Salon in San Francisco.

ON LOVING MY NEW LOOK

As of the past week of August 18th, I had my seventh haircut since May 2019. It’s a different look, I know. However, I am loving it! My hair’s texture has changed dramatically over the years. Can you believe it? So, gone are the freezy and coarse strands cascading in the air. Now, they are fine and straight! Healthy and soft to the touch. Really, I so welcome the magic and essence of my aging process because it favors me to the maxim!

ON BEING WITH MY SILVER SISTERS

Likewise, during the advent of my transition, I discovered several SUPPORT GROUPS here, at FACEBOOK under the banner of SILVER HAIR/GREY/ GRAY/CHEVEUX GRIS. “Support-group-my-butt?” LOL! “Ain't that weird, funny, amazing, and unbelievable?” 

Why do they exist? Because women want to get involved; connect; and support each in order to thrive as humans. Along this school of thought, I also discovered the following: “GOING GREY GRACEFULLY.” “SILVER SISTERS.” “SILVER REVOLUTION” just to name a few. You can check other groups on INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST. They exist and growing by the multitude because they want to be heard. We want to be heard. I want to be heard. The silver revolution is here! Check them out at the search engine of FACEBOOK if you must; so you could have an idea about each of the community’s cause. But be warned in advance that you have to be a “biologically borne woman” to do so, men are not welcome. You aught to register since it is a “closed group.” Meaning? The public has no access to photos, videos and discussions shared by the members. All is taken as a private matter. Confidential. So you are secured that not the entire universe is reading your entry or browsing at your grey hair photos and or video.

Furthermore, each community has about 8K to 20K members supporting each other in this "journey to going grey." Truly, it is more complicated than merely seeing a woman with a streak of grey hair walking down the streets of San Francisco or Manila. So now, you might be asking this question: "Can I join if I am somewhere in Asia or South America?" My answer is, "Oh, you bet you could as we are from all over the world, as in the United Nations! We are from the seven continents of the globe! Thus, you are welcome to join. Come, do it!" There is nothing to be afraid of. And it all starts with one baby step at a time, and the rest of the rhythm follows you. In our community, we call ourselves as the “SILVER SISTERS.” We find solace, inspiration, sisterhood, and synergy with like-minded women aiming with the same goal to grow in wisdom, and to age gracefully. Yet, still have the fierceness and boldness of a blossoming woman!

Although it may sound to be kind of simple to you, this GREY

Demitri, my new found stylist 
@ Hector Estrada Salon is a 
creative and superb one. He 
is a people person who knows 
how to take care of his 
customers.

HAIR or SILVER HAIR MOVEMENT isn't as light as it seems to be; for it touches a congress of things important in our existence: love, life, work and relationships. Some relationships are resurrected, or broken because of the grey hair growth. Some women lost their chances of a new job because the vision of having an employee with a grey hair does not support the company values. Which is? To hire only the young! But isn’t that crazy to think that only the middle aged woman or the “baby boomers” are the only ones wearing this silver crown? What about those women who have, or had, the abnormal whitening/graying of the hair at an early age, say at 15 or 16? Therefore, this subject really embraces a whole new tribe on the thinking process. And not to bore you with detail, at least for me- here, I have found my turf. Indeed, it is quite a liberating feeling to have ditched the dye; and a greater feeling of confidence and connectedness to be in this circle of camaraderie of silver sisters. We are in sync!

OFF TO MY FINALE

Lastly, there is my better half who is my mirror in this journey. He is my anchor in everything that breaths (sigh), feels, sees and lives that is all a part of me. Also, there is the JAVIER matriarch that you’d see in my “FACE STORY” who is my paternal grandma, my "NANAY" (TEODORA KALINISAN JAVIER). She passed away, many moons ago, in September 1968. To her, I dedicate my FACE STORY.

NANAY (grandma in Tagalog) was a remarkable woman who was successful at business; an individual who had just the basic of education during her lifetime. Yet, she evolved beyond her time. Almost like a “Renaissance woman.” Needless to say, I didn't accomplish as much as she did. She made our life today that bountiful. We live with comfort and ease because of her sacrifices to get a better life for her family and for the next generation after her. This gesture of affirmation is not even enough to affirm her mark; one who is almost forgotten by time but not in my heart. NANAY had done tremendously well. She and I look alike. And there is so much to see on our similarities. See how we morph in the vdo, ok? It’s a play up of visuals to remember her. Go and enjoy it. Et merci beacoup pour votre le temps!

Thank you for your time in reading this soliloquy.

Best,

Pizzicatto in North Beach

08/18/201916h38m