Weekend Winter Warrior

H ere we go again. Bakbakan to the max. Snow started to fall Thursday lasting until Friday night. This is AJ's weekend - his 26th birthday. His plan was to come home and spend the weekend with us.

Here are some pictures of the weekend warrior trying to clean up after the snowfall.
This is the main road infront of our house before the snow plowers came in. We had roughly 4 - 6 inches of snow. Kasanno itti aglinissen nay?

This is how the car looked like before I even attempted to sweep off the snow. Since my car is parked outside of the garage, it takes up all of the beating during winter.
Here goes the initial attempt ng tagalinis (si tatay) to clear the windshield. It was 10:am with a temperature of 17 degrees and windchill of single digits. Napakalupit Kuya Eddie.


Sumarunno nga linisin ket dayti pagna-an. Narigat no matinnag ket mapagalis. Narigrigat pay no adda matinnag nga sabali nga tao ket mapagalis - we are bound to face a lawsuit.

The most difficult part here is the "agpala" itti snow. Nasakit itti likod ken siket


Napintas no napintas nga kitaen itti snow. The surroundings can be so pristene. Saan laeng aglinis or to even drive through it (kaya nga ginawa ang all wheel drive ).

These are some of those days I begin to wonder no apay addadtoy kami Missouri.
Won't it be better kung pupunta tayo dito?

Longganisa Update

W e were able to produce two dozen longganisas from our "agpalaran Alaminos longganisa" project last week.
I was able to score hog casings instead of the collagen casing. We were also able to buy the "stuffer". Daytoy itti mang-iduron idiay unneg itti casing dagiti mixture na.
I have some pictures that I will post next. We learned quite a few tricks here and there to make the job a little bit systematic.
Bottomline - dapat mas addo pay itti taba ti baboy nga ila-ok. Saan dapat nga puro nga giniling itti usaren. Dayti timpla itti suka ken asin itti dapat matantiya.
Will we do it again? The next longganisa batch is already being prepared.
Goal - to be able to make a look-alike taste-alike longganisa Alaminos. I am dead serious on this one.

Atty. Lemneo Reyes

It is with sadness that I am informing you all of the passing of Atty. Lemneo Reyes. His mortal remains will be brought to Loyola Guadalupe.

Agpalaran....

T his longganisa thing in me just will not go away. Jim & I will "agpalaran" and venture out into longganisa Alaminos making this weekend.

I chanced upon this recipe of the famous longganisa Alaminos from the www.alaminoscity.gov.ph website. I would consider this as a very reliable source - no mabalin la kuma nga saludsuden kenni Aling Charing, dayti suki ni Mama idiay palengke.
Awan met itti pork casings nga makita idiay Walmart so I ordered collagen casings ( salamat uli Ramil )at Amazon.com for pork casings substitute.

Longganisa Alaminos Recipe

Basic ingredients:
¾ k ground lean pork, ¼ k pork fat, 4 tbsp. sugar, 2tbsp. coarse salt, 2 tsp. ground black pepper, 2 tbsp. vinegar, ¼ tsp. salitre, ½ tbsp. soy sauce, 2 tsp. garlic (chopped), 1 tbsp. rum, atsuete or food coloring Pork casings

1. Mix all ingredients and refrigerate for 5 days.
2. Stuff mixture in pork casings. Tie with strings to desired length.
3. Hang to dry.

We will follow this recipe down to the last tuldok. I will update in five days no ag-angot longganisa Alaminos sen.

Agpalaran ..baka mabalin nga kastoy itti pagbanagan na....

Travelogue: Pangasinan(3)

I am posting some more entries before we leave for Columbia to see AJ. He is not feeling very well & is needing some TLC ( translate: somebody to cook for him, do his laundry & tidy up the house - Super Nanay to the rescue).


We are now entering the town f Agno, Pangasinan. The picture showed the new bridge that connects the main town to the other towns across the big river. Some of the towns would be Sabangan & Bunga. Narakrak nga intiro dayti old Sison Bridge and in its place now stands the new bridge. Saan ko kinita no sinno itti pinanaganan da.

We passed the old homes & some of the newer homes. Remember this is post Ondoy. Addo pay met itti saan pay nga naurnos nga balay. Ngem addo metten itti natarimaannen. Again I was not too quick to take the pictures since mayat met itti agbuya ken ag-reminisce.

We passed the Presidencia and the Plaza. Na-akepan metten dayti Plaza. Good - ta uray agtudo no piyesta mabalin da pay latta itti ag-bayle. I remember those lazy summer days I spent in Agno. The plaza was the social venue for halo-halo eatings.



We stopped b y the old church. Naakepan metten itti yero dayti bubong na. I am sure napakainit sa loob during summer. Next post - I might have some pictures of the interior of the church.



In the meantime, I was able to take tnis picture in all of its clarity. I enjoy looking at it from time to time since talaga met nga naimas nga kitaen - naimimas pay nga kanen. This is one of the gigantic Chow King poster that really caters to your subconscious mind - that part of the brain that controls the desire for food ( sa akin, that would be the biggest part of my brain , hehe). Do appreciate the vividness of the ice cream, lech flan, saba, pinipig, the different gelatin, ube, sweet beans and langka. NAPAKASARAP!!!!

Travelogue; Pangasinan(2)

F riends from Rolla had one of those round table discussions last holiday. We talked about how life was then and how "planting rice was never fun."



Only in the Philippines - nga mabalin nga usaren itti kalsada to dry the palay. This picture was and is still is a common site during harvest season. Aglisi amin nga lumabas tapno saan nga mabaddekkan wenno mapilidan dagiti palay nga neatly fixed to be dried.

We have our own version of civility in the Philippines. We will respect this practise even if it might inconvenience us. We do not mind itti aglisi tapno saan nga mapilidan. Look at the road - that is mighty long stretch of Bangan Oda. Adayo nga "one way" kunam man.

Travelogue: Pangasinan

W e are in the middle of a snowstorm/winter advisory watch so we are forced to stay indoors - walang trabaho. I am taking this chance to update manang Biday.

I go back to my Philippine travel and we are on destination Pangasinan. As we enter Alaminos City (naks ang progreso talaga) we stopped by one of my favorite restos for lunch - JOLLIBEE!!!

How I wish I can stay for the whole afternoon & just eat to my heart's delight. Masarap ang spaghetti, chicken joy, halo-halo etcetcetc.


Alaminos City is noted for Hundred Islands and the longganisa Alaminos ( didn't I tell you napakasarap nito ). I remember the market specifically. This was the final "istasyon" before we reach Agno, our destination. Mapan agpalengke itti iawid idiay Agno - pinapaitan, karne para lauya, kankanen and did I say longganisa?
I do not know why it has to be Alaminos for the marketing when in fact Agno has also its own palengke. Siguro nalaklaka wenno ad-ado itti pagpilian? Nevertheless, loss of Agno and gain of Alaminos on revenue.

We travelled through those roads - magudwa magudwa itti ispalto nga madaanan. Nothing has changed in all these years. Magudwa gudwa met itti pondo siguro nga maawat itti municipal government for fixing the main thoroughfares (until now?). I do not understand how these can not be the priorities for programs on improvement. Saan kadi nga nalaklaka itti ag-ibaba itti ilako idiay palengke no nasay-sayaat itti roads and bridges - infrastructure? Where did Agno fail?

The above picture was taken as we make "kil-lo" nga apan Agno town proper. That was me with my ever loyal Fuji.

Happy New Year...Happy New Post

No new year's resolution, for sure - just, maybe, an extra, extra, extra effort to continue posting. It has been a very tiring holiday, albeit work and merry making. Saan ko pay nagudwa dagiti litrato ken istorya of my travel in Manila. In due time, these will be posted. Naimbag A Baro Nga Tawen.