McClintock

On Saturday at 11ish a.m., the mister and I left the house going to downtown. He told me about McClintock Distillery's first release of their Bootjack Rye Whiskey.



Hehehehe. Honestly, I have no idea what this was all about, but you know, I always tag along with him on weekends, and he is also with me when I go thrifting or to yard sales.

We arrived there 30 minutes early. There were about 5 people in line and a dog , but we stayed by the railing in the park overlooking the distillery. I told Jay that I think we should go in line. He said it was too early.

Then a guy with tropical printed shirt came. He also went in line.



"JAY, LET'S GO!" That was my nth attempt to convince him for us to go down.

We were given tickets There was a number written at the back, and Jay got the no.7 and I got the no. 8. It was maybe because the bottle was limited for 300 only. That was what I thought.



At exactly 12 noon, we were told to go in. The guy at the door said that all ticket holders from 1 to 10 go in the middle of the distillery. There was an older guy manning a table with 10 pre-packaged brown bags. The rest were told to go to the bar.

There was also free tasting for those that had tickets, and some pork barbecue sample hosted by P.I.G.S. BBQ.



There were huge Ralph Steadman's works hanging in one wall.




It was packed yesterday. The line reached to the street. Thankfully I had convincing powers and that it worked with Jay to fall in line about 20 minutes early. Yay!

I wanted to stop by the Free Poem table, and at the hand rolled tobacco table yesterday but totally forgot when the place became crowded.



I just wanted to smell the tobacco. Hehehe. My grandmother used to grow tobacco in ceramic pots in her balcony for personal use back in the Philippines. The smell of freshly rolled tobacco reminds me of her.



Wow! This was what's inside the bag, and we bought two.

We're going to give away the second bag to a special couple. *wink




McClintock Distilling Co.
35 South Carroll Street
Frederick MD 21701
240-815-5259
 info@mcclintockdistilling.com

The S word

I was listening to an early morning radio program while driving the boy to school today. The lady DJ said something about the S word on Saturday.

When I got home, I told the mister about it.

"I wonder what's the S word on Saturday? Have you heard about it?" I asked him.

He didn't know anything about it either.

"Is it showers? Oh no! It's going to rain on The First Saturday celebration?" I asked out loud.

He just continued doing his morning routine---making lattes.

"...or maybe S because, what else? It is S for Sabado (Saturday)!"

I really don't know what is the S is for!

The mister left about three hours ago and I am still inquisitive of what's the S word. So, I checked the weather because what else could it be!

S is for Snow!



*sigh. Snow was at the back of my mind, but why would there be snow in April? It'll be 2 weeks since S-for spring S-for started already!

On second thought, it snowed in Michaux State Forest in Pennsylvania last Monday.

Beri Gud!

Today, we went to HMart, a Korean grocery store near our home, to buy vegetables for our lunch. Near the entrance, there was an old Korean sales lady calling customers that passes by her small table, and begged them to try sliced fruits.

I didn't pay attention to her, but she kept calling the mister.

"Sir. Sir. Sir. Try dis. It's beri gud!"

And handed him a piece of white fruit on a toothpick.

The mister caught up with me about 2 aisles away where all the bok choys were displayed.

"'lian, try it!" he said and handed me this. (See photo below.)

"What fruit is this?" I asked him.

"It is beri gud! That was the lady said!"

   


P.S. I took a bite of the fruit, and I think it was Asian Pear, and not beri gud. But, it was very good!

The Weekend

Saturday was staying at home in our jammies, except for the mister who went biking with his friends from Analog Cycles at 3 in the afternoon.

I am so glad that the mister stayed in the plant based lifestyle. I teased him if he wanted chicken for dinner. He immediately turned it down. So, I made Paksiw na Gulay of eggplant and bitter melon. For my non-Filipino readers, Paksiw (PAK-seew) is a style of Filipino cooking using vinegar to cook and simmer fish and roasted pork. Gulay is vegetable in English.

Being a herbivore does not mean we only eat green and leafy salad. Hehehe. This dish was probably one of the first Filipino dishes that I tweaked into an all-plant recipe.

Saturday dinner was the first time that the mister tried this plant based paksiw, and he approved it. This is a keeper!

Yay!

Sunday. I tagged along with the mister in downtown for a hair cut. We went antiquing after. Actually, we went to Cannon Hill Place Antiques to look for books. I meant Jay did. I went looking for old jewelries and knick-knacks.

There are 2 second hand book shops there, one is Night Diary.



...  and another one  is located on the second level near the stairs. I forgot the name of it.



He didn't find the book he was looking for at both book stores, so we drove to another second hand book shop called Wonder Books. The place is huge that books and vinyl records overflowed to the outside.



He was looking for a book written by Haruki Murakami. I think he is one of his favorite authors. We have 5 of his books.

While he was scouring the whole store for a certain book, I spent my time where all kinds of cookbooks were located. I love reading cookbooks, taking notes of recipes, and tweaking it according to my preference---the all plants and preferably no oil recipes.



We left home empty handed. The mister didn't find that certain book that he wanted to read for his book club.

We were hungry so I made a quick Margherita Pizza and Chicken Barbecue Pizza for the boy for our early dinner.

The end. How was your weekend?

At The ER on Christmas

The mister has been in pain since December 13. It was tolerable with over-the-counter pain medication for days. We even attended their company's Christmas Party on the 16th. But by the start of last week, his knee became so swollen that he had to see his knee doctor. She drained the fluid in his knee. It was about 2 1/2 vials of fluid.

Although he said he felt better on Thursday, he went to work in crutches. By Friday, he couldn't even fold his knee. He was on low dose pain medication, a prescription from his knee doctor. It seemed like his meds wasn't really working. I also noticed that he couldn't sleep due to the intense pain especially at night when he's in bed. The pain wasn't concentrated just on his knee by the weekend but on the whole leg this time.

I told him on Christmas day that I really think we need to go to the hospital. The knee doctor's office is close on weekends. I could hear him groaning and moaning in pain day and night. He hadn't been sleeping. There was not one comfortable position. Sit, slouch, lounge, recline and lie down --- all of the above, he was still in pain. Hot and cold compress? Not working.

He was resistant about the idea of going to the ER. He wanted to wait for his one week follow up check-up which was scheduled this coming Wednesday. There was no other way to relieve him of the intense pain but dragged him to the ER, and that was what I did.

6:53 p.m. Done with the patient registration. There were about three patient that was ahead of us in the registration. This was the start of the long waiting game.



7:51 p.m. I wheeled Jay inside the Emergency Department of Frederick Memorial Hospital. We were lead to ER #38

The mister was complaining of the pain already. It was the worst of all. He said it's a 10. There was no one at the nurse's station for awhile.



Then I caught the attention of the nurse with a spiral curled hair, and with red painted long nails.

8:35 p.m. She took Jay's blood pressure and temperature. She asked him of what happened to him. She was sorry that she couldn't give him pain medication because we had to wait for the doctor.



I was starting to get really impatient. It's just hard to see and hear the mister in pain. He rarely gets sick. I even asked him if he couldn't wait and bear the pain anymore because I was willing to get him out of there, and drive him to Shady Grove ER which was about half an hour away. He said we'll just wait. I was starting to get angry when...

9:37 p.m. The doctor came in.

((( HALLELUJAH!!! )))

The almost three hours of waiting to be seen by a doctor is finally over.

Me: THANK YOU GOD!!!

I just blurted that out so loudly when I saw a hand pushing the curtain sideways and the hand behind the curtain was wearing a white coat. I already saw him at the end of the hallway about over an hour ago. I told the mister that maybe the Asian doctor was the emergency doctor for the night, and he was.

Doctor: Hi! I'm Dr. Jay-Jay.
The patient: I'm Jay!

Hehehehe! Jay-Jay was the mister's nickname when he was a kid.

He ordered for the mister's sonogram, Xray and so on and so forth. He wanted to make sure that there is no blood clot in his knee or anywhere in his leg.

9:47 p.m. Daena (or maybe Dina) came to get Jay's insurance and other information. She sang Jingle Bells with the patient and her visitors in the adjacent room. There was no singing in ours. Hehehe. I guess the caroling is for rooms with kids only. There were two young girls in that room. Their mother got accidently wounded on her thumb.

9:59 p.m. The curly-haired nurse told us that somebody will take the mister for imaging tests.

10:01 p.m. Will took him to the lab. He was nice and very chatty.

While the mister was away, an Xray technician came by, but it was just me and Jay's birkenstock in the room.


10:25 p.m. Jay was wheeled in back from his imaging tests. Will told him that he was leaving for a Florida trip the next day. Good for him.

10:35 p.m. The curly-haired nurse came back again for his pain medication.

F-I-N-A-L-L-Y!

10:39 p.m. After taking all his vital stat again, the mister was given two caps of strong pain medication.

THANK GOD!!! Four agonizing hours of waiting for that pain medication! Susmaryosep!

11:00 p.m. Dr. Jay-Jay came back to tell us that there is no blood clot in Jay's leg.

11:04 p.m. His meds started to do the work. The pain which was from a worst 10 is now about a 3 or 4.



11:09 p.m. He started to feel drowsy. I guess that was why from the moment we came in at the ER receiving area, I was asked if I'd be the one driving home. The doctor also asked me about it and the nurses as well. I was asked four times last night.

11:17 p.m. Jessica who was wearing a Santa hat trimmed with Leopard print faux fur came for his X-Ray again. I stepped out of the room. I thought that Jay will be wheeled out again to the X-Ray room. But it was done right there at ER #38. It was quickly done too.

11:36 p.m. Curly-haired nurse said buh-bye. She said she's moving to a different unit for the rest of her shift. She said, "Hope you feel better and happy new year!"

12:24 a.m. Dr. Jay-Jay came back again. He came with an imaging machine. I think it's a sonogram. He checked if there was fluid on Jay's knee. Thank God there was none. That also means no needle for the night. He also told us to have a follow up check up early this week with Jay's knee doctor. He said he'd give him pain medication prescription and he'd prepare his discharge papers.



Me: I wonder kung unsa jud 'tang orasa makagawas dinhi? (I wonder what time we would get out of here?)
Jay: Isa ka oras na pod atong paabuton! (Maybe another hour of waiting again!)

Hehehehe.

12:47 a.m. A lady came with the discharge papers. Some papers to read about Jay's knee condition and yada yada yada. She was apologetic of the long wait.

The waiting took sooooooo long especially when you are having the most intense pain of all. Sometimes I wondered if that is always the case for adult emergency. We didn't experience the long wait when we had to take the boy to the ER twice at this hospital.

1:16 a.m. We drove out of the hospital's parking lot. Thank you God. Our children at home were so worried. I couln't send an update to my siblings whom I asked for prayers while we were waiting earlier. There was no signal at that part of the world where we waited for about six hours.

Along with having to endure the worst of the worst leg pain was the waiting. The waiting for when we'd be able to get inside the ER; when the doctor would come in, and when they would give the mister pain medication that'd work. But I had to understand. I was certain there were cases that were worst than what the mister went through. Plus, when we passed by the ER lobby on our way out, the place was packed at past midnight.

*sigh!

I hope your Christmas was wonderful. The mister is not out of the woods yet. If it's not too much to ask, please keep him in your prayers.

I heart you for reading this post.


Update: What the mister had was two torn ligaments on his knee.

FREE is the magic word

The mister and I took the boy to downtown for a haircut. When we arrived at Wastler's Barber Shop at 5:30 p.m., it was closed. Patrice, the boy's favorite barber, is usually there until 7.

Because we were already in downtown, we went to The Record Exchange instead. Every time I am there, I'd always check the International section hoping I'd find a Filipino record.

There was this one time that the mister found one, but it was not in Frederick. It was in Easton, Pennsylvania back in 2014. Bayanihan! The mister got it for $10. It's kind of pricey but you can't find this just anywhere. Everytime we play it, the boy would tell us that the music (tempo and stringed instruments) reminds him of old mafia movies.



Back to yesterday, I didn't find any Filipino records. Again! So, I just looked around the store hoping to find something that will interest me. There were old music magazines in one wall. I was interested with one, a copy of Rolling Stones 1995 with Drew Barrymore on the cover (Like this one.), but the condition was not excellent. The spine of the magazine was damaged. Some pages near the spine were also torn. It was priced for $1.50.

While the boy was looking for old games, and the mister was looking for vinyl records to add to his "enviable" record collection (as one blogger called it), my eyes caught a ((( FREE ))) sign in one corner of the store near the entry door.



I was only interested on the sign, and not on what was inside the pink bin. On the other side of the door was the Mario question block box with more free stuff.



The boy bought a pack of old PS2 games, the mister didn't find any, and I took home 7 freebies! Yey!

The Pointer Sisters -Their Greatest Recordings (This is compiled exclusively for military purposes), 1978; Donna Summer - A Love Trilogy (1976)


Andy Williams - Reflections (1977); Perry Como - Hello Young Lovers (1967)


Barbra Streisand's Love Songs (1986); Superman (1977); and Wet (1979).


There were a lot but I only picked those that I liked and were familiar to me. There was also this record Stay With Me by Kiki Dee (1980). I never heard of her, and I only took a photo of it because of her name, Kiki! Hehehe



Kiki is one of the countless Filipino slangs for vagina or its American equivalent, pussy.

Oh. By the way, last night I checked the songs of this record, and they were nice. I should have picked the Kiki one too.

Eats: Sabor de Cuba

The Cuban restaurant in downtown has been opened since early 2012, and we have not tried it until late September of this year. Previously an Ethiopian restaurant, it is across two of our favorite Asian places, Sumittra and Lazy Fish.

There was also another Cuban restaurant in Frederick before until it closed down when one of the owners died in February of 2015, That Cuban Place.

From a Saturday photoshoot by the mister at Gravel & Grind, we planned on going to the last day of the Frederick Fair. We were outside the gates of the Frederick Fairgrounds when I asked the mister if he had enough cash. He had a $5 and I had a dollar which was not even enough for one fair ticket. The mister wanted to eat just a funnel cake, but I said it'll be a bit costly if we pay $8.00 per ticket just to eat one funnel cake. 'di ba?

When we decided to try this Cuban resto for the first time, it was around 5ish already, and just in time for an early dinner.

From the outside, it looked so small with probably about four tables only inside. I didn't know that the interior is big.



The server suggested for us to try their appetizer, shrimp ceviche.

The fried green plantain was surprisingly delicious with it. But the ceviche? It was just too sour for us. I still think the Filipino ceviche (kinilaw) is the best among the many versions of this dish.

I had Beef Enchilado, $17 (Marinated top sirloin, sautted with fresh tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, and jalapeno. Served with white rice and green plantains.)

This was spicy, but it had enough kick for me to enjoy the dish.

The mister had Pernil (Roasted pork leg), $15. (citurs marinated pork shank thinly sliced with garlic and onion. Served with white rice, black beans and fried sweet plantains.)


On the first Saturday of October, the young lady was home for the day. The mister needed to have his haircut done so we went to downtown. The boy was kind of unenthusiastic of trying Cuban, but he had no choice. It was three of us versus him. The children didn't come with us on that previous week we were here.


We were seated by the window. Thank God! I wished for it before we came in.


The first time the mister and I dined in, we were seated in the middle (check photo below, that table against a wall with a server standing up) and it was kind of dark. Taking photos of food in a not well-lit space does not produce a better photo especially that I used my phone camera only.


Milanesa de Pollo. $16 (Lightly breaded chicken breast topped homemade marinara sauce, served with white rice, black beans and sweet plantain)


Masitas de Puerco. $15 (Marinated porsels of pork deep fried until golden brown, served with white rice, black beans and sweet plantain)

This tasted like Filipino fried pork adobo.

The young lady decided to try their Pernil. $15.


Ropa Vieja (pulled flank steak), $16 (pulled and slowly cooked in tomato based sauce with olives and capers, served with white rice, black beans and sweet plantains)


Sabor de Cuba's dishes were good. However, I wasn't impress with my last dish, the Ropa Vieja. It would be better if the sauce was thicker. The best we've tried was the Pernil. It tasted closely to the Filipino lechon or roasted pig.

On a summer trip to Miami, Florida in 2012, our friends treated us to lunch at a Cuban resto near their place, and that was the first time we've tried Cuban oxtail stew. It was sooooo good. I don't know if they do serve it in downtown. It wasn't in their menu.

What I also noticed was that they served their food without fresh garnishes, just like how traditional Filipino food is served too. I really thought only Filipinos do that. I preferably want my plate with the fresh greens, some carrot or beet strings, or a few slices of cucumber. But even without it, I still love their plate because there were sweet plaintains in it. Love bananas!


Sabor de Cuba Restaurant
9 E Patrick St.
Frederick, Maryland
Tel. No. (301) 663-1036

Nangka

I was taking a photo of this fruit at the fresh produce aisle at the grocery store when an old lady with a foreign accent asked me...

What iz dat?

It's a jackfruit!

A what fruit?

Jackfruit!

How big iz da tree?! (showed me her arms, opened them wide to show how big the fruit was.)

It's a tropical fruit.

First time I see this fruit!



She asked me why there was only one for sale, and why there was a pack that was for display only. So, I told her, "I think the staff will cut it for you if you want to purchase a slice."

She was still not able to clearly understand my explanation so I added,

"Ma'am, the fruit has a strong smell. It's not bad, but much more on the sweet side. But since it's too strong, it might be too offensive for shoppers not used to the smell."

I even explained to her how to eat it, and even how to cook the seeds, and then she was more curious of the fruit that she called her daughter on the phone and asked her if she was nearby the fresh produce. She wanted her daughter and granddaughter to see a foreign fruit.

Right when I was about to leave the fresh produce department, she thanked me. She added that this was better than books and Google because, according to her, they can touch and smell the fruit.

I can honestly smell the jackfruit when I went to the bakery. It took me back to the island where I grew up.

This is the first time in my 18 years of living in America that I've seen a jackfruit (aka known in Filipino as Langka, and Nangka in Visayan dialect) in a non-Asian grocery store.

*****

"Ang pag-ibig ko sa 'yo ay parang langka! 

Langka-tapusan!" 

- former Philippine Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago

I love it a Latte!

I tagged along with the mister on Saturday for a photoshoot for Gravel & Grind. It was for the shop's magazine feature. I do not know what publication though. I'll let you know when I do.

I loved coming along with him to this part of town for the antique shops and thrift stores. I was browsing at an antique mall when he called me to hurry up because my latte is getting cold. I ran back to the coffee shop, of course.



I had my latte outside the shop. The weather was perfect last weekend. While lounging in their bathtub-turned-loveseat, I asked the mister to take a photo of me, and told him that I'll take care of the perfect pose.

PAK! Just one take!



Perfected it!

Latte model for Gravel & Grind!

Kidding. Hahahaha!

P.S. Let me take you back to 2009. Listen to Yna and her bestfriend's Sammy's first song composition back when they were 14. It's "I Love You a Latte!"

The Walkathoner

I have been walking (with a little bit of running) more than I used to for the past few months already. It's like I am a walkathoner now, except it's not for a charity or a fundraising event. Since 2014, my goal per week was at least 21 miles. Starting mid of this year, I upped it to 30 miles per week. I think I am doing good. I don't walk around our cul-de-sac anymore, but at the park.

One morning, the other week, I was a bit worried since I was feeling weak, and I had a slight fever. The mister was sick first and then a week later, it was me. I opted to stay in bed most of the day, and recuperate. You know, I had to feel better for the rest of the week because I had a goal---the 30 miles. As I said before, since eating mostly plant based food, recovery is sooooo quick whenever I get sick. Two days later, I was back at the park walking again.

Dear readers, this is my "gym." It's beautiful and  most of all, it is ((( FREE ))).

a man reading a book while smoking a pipe

I see this around the park and in our neighborhood. I hope Diesel finds his way home.

Yesterday, at the park. #frederickmd

A video posted by Hi! I'm Lili. (@missnalupa) on Sep 14, 2016 at 10:19am PDT

It says "FREE PORTRAIT".

Pokestop

For the past months, I have earned from 27 to 40 miles per week. From Sunday to yesterday, it's a total of 21.54 miles already. Goal is 30 miles for this week.

As far as I can remember, I have a sedentary lifestyle. I have never been into sports, but crafts, and arts. I love to stay at home. I do not know exactly what I am now, but I am certain that I am a couch potato no more.

Let's do this, Lili. Rain or shine!