We stayed behind this morning at the resort so the girls can attend school online while I can have my weekly call with my team and edit some stories. We left at around 12 noon and I decided to have lunch at Twin Lakes Tagaytay because I was hungry.
Taal Volcano. Photo by CallMeCreation.com Lunch at Mary Grace. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
It was windy and the temperature was much lower there. We stayed there for an hour I guess…
And Waze told me to take the Talisay-Tanauan road so it seemed like I took a Taal Loop road trip. The views from Talisay are as pretty, if not prettier than in Tagaytay. The volcano island is much closer to Talisay so you can see how desolate that place is.
From Tanauan, I drove through Sto. Tomas and then Bay, Laguna. We took the MakBan Geothermal route.
Steam from the Mak-Ban Geothermal Power Plant.
Those pipes transport the steam and it runs for several kilometers.
We arrived at my home town after 4 hrs (4:20 pm) because we stopped in Tagaytay for an hour or so. I signed another check to my contractor and looked at the construction progress.
Large windows. Photo by CallMeCreation.com More large windows. Photo by CallMeCreation.comI was told I will have a giant door. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
So far so good. ❤️ I think my father would have been proud of me.
But I think he would have meddled with the construction, just like when he messed around with his brother’s (who is an architect) design. 🤣 Our house turned out differently… And my uncle told me when he first stepped into our house after we moved in, he scratched his head and said, ummm this is not how I drew it. 😱 Since he was 8 years younger than my father, he just didn’t raise an issue and kept his mouth shut forever.
So after my father died and my mom decided to renovate the house to change the layout, my uncle redrew the plans and he put everything to its original position 🤣
After I finished editing the last article for the day, the girls and I went out to have dinner with my sister-in-law and nephew.
With Kuya P. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
We left at 9:30 pm and it took me only 1.5 hrs. to reach the apartment via Skyway 3.
Basicall, I’ve been driving for most of the day. 😑
I got a new brush. Art and photo by CallMeCreation.com
So this Kuretake Gansai Tambi is really for botanicals, the traditional Chinese painting kind, because it requires mostly layering.
More layering…Art and photo by CallMeCreation.comLayers upon layers. Art and Photo by CallMeCreation.com
Lesson learned: 1) Do not use Kuretake for washes; 2) Best for botanicals or traditional Chinese painting; 3) good for illustration that needs opaque colors and doesn’t require the heaviness of gouache. 4) Aside from the size of the palette and the pan, this watercolor is not suitable for urban/plein air sketching because of the said paint quality.
If I finish this palette, I doubt if I will buy it again. I think I’m better off with Holbein. If I become good enough, I can invest in Daniel Smith.
I also tried my new #1 portable brush that I ordered from Shopee. It’s good for detail painting along with my #000 da Vinci brush. At least this latest botanical drawing is no long as messy as my previous attempts when the smallest brush I had was #2
Insert the brush into the hollow of the handle so it can protect the brush and this can be chucked inside a travel palette. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
I think I want to invest in Chinese brushes and attempt a Chinese watercolor drawing again after 25 years. Twin I said among the things I painted, it’s the Chinese-style black and white painting of a bamboo forest that she liked best. The one that hangs above my computer monitors that I made when I was in high school with a difficult Chinese brush.
Gee, I was better when I was in high school even if I was just using cheap brushes and Pentel watercolors. 😂 Oh well, I had a lot of time in my hands then to practice.
My gallery wall close to being filled up. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
My gallery wall is now almost filled up. However, 12 months from now I would have to take them down as we would be transferring to my hometown. I hope I have enough wall space for all of these. Or I will return my sister’s paintings.
I think I need to go home next weekend and talk to another contractor.
I should have gone today since the girls are again with their dad. Oh well, I’ll just bring them along next week.
Taal Volcano erupted again today. Phivolcs raised the alarm again to Alert Level 3 and people had to evacuate again.
I hope the people along low-lying areas of Talisay and Tanauan are safe.
My parents’ hometown will be covered again by ashfall. I hope Anilao is not as affected or else my reservation is in danger of being pushed back again.
In other news, Taylor Hawkins died today. I don’t know if Foo Fighters can still continue…Maybe…since Dave Grohl is still there. But then Led Zeppelin disbanded after the death of John Bonham. 😑
That I lived up to 42 and a single mom to twins. And surviving.
But then at the back of my mind when I was younger, I knew somehow I’ll end up single. I don’t know. Maybe I’m that jaded as early as high school. I knew that men couldn’t be trusted. And every time I let down my guard I always end up with scumbags. Except maybe for that ex who climbed a mountain with me but he really wasn’t into climbing mountains 😂. It was just we were incompatible and it was a mutual decision to break up. Later on he tried to get back with me but I have already moved on. I’m not a fan of recycling. But he was a good guy. It’s just he wouldn’t be able to keep up with me.
The rest…my younger self wouldn’t be that surprised that I am an international news wire reporter. I had always been driven and at the back of my mind I knew that I would be working towards it. It’s not really a goal but it was one of the things I wanted to try. In one way or another I know that I would end up where I am today now.
