The girls had been cooped up for so long that they pestered me about going out today. But first I needed to cook brunch because I was not really sure if the kids can eat at a restaurant even if it’s al fresco.

I was supposed to make this into arroz caldo but I forgot to defrost the chicken so it’s just plain lugaw with boiled eggs. Still good though.

Then I tended to my garden. I had to relocate some plants because the heat at noon is too intense for them.

So some of my roses are again victims of the neighborhood feral cats because they kept digging the soil to poop. I have sprayed the area with perfumed disinfectant so drive them away but it wasn’t enough. I need lemon and orange peels to assault their strong sense of smell. Then I placed the marigolds beside the dying roses to provide protection and shade. I’m still trying to revive them. My humic fertilizers I ordered online will soon be arriving. Roses, please hang on! Meanwhile, my wire mesh from Shopee arrived and attached them to the wall. I’m waiting for my hanging planters to arrive, also from Shopee, that I will hang on the grid and so the feral cats won’t be able to reach the plants that I will be putting there.

I was multitasking today. While doing my hobby, I was doing chores like washing stuffed toys using the mini washing machine because we would be giving those to the orphanage in Manila. I would be sending several kilos of powdered milk and the stuffed toys via Grab tomorrow. The toys now are almost as good as new.

As I thought, the girls were not allowed to enter Bonifacio High Street (they required vaccination cards before entering; of course the girls still don’t have it) so I just ordered Starbucks donuts and a giant cookie with frappucinos to go.

Then we plopped on the grass at Track 30th because that’s the only place where kids are allowed. Twin I was put out that she couldn’t ride a bike around BGC because we didn’t bring any bike. Besides, I couldn’t bike with her because of abdominal cramps (red days). I told her we’ll bring our bikes next week. You see, the only safe places now for them are UP Diliman and BGC and they’re getting tired of UP campus so that leaves BGC as the only option. On top of that, you can’t really stay inside UP campus if you’re not exercising; they’re discouraging people to linger as part of their anti-covid protocols.

We walked around some more for a bit of exercise because we had been sedentary for a loooooooooooong time.

Perhaps when I’m fed up working at home, I’ll just go to BGC and station myself in one coffee shop around the area to work. I have three stories to write and I need to get out of my box to be motivated to write those. I remember that I used to work a lot in BGC–at Starbucks inside Fullybooked in Bonifacio High Street, Starbucks beside Pancake House and at Bo’s Coffee, also at Bonifacio High Street–when I felt a little bit claustrophobic in Ayala in Makati. That was before the pandemic. Since I’ve been stuck here in this room for two years, I think it’s about time I change my venue.

On the way back home, we stopped by Jjangkke to buy the spicy chicken that I’ve been hankering after since last night. Finally, one parking slot was open and I was able to get my chicken!

What to do tomorrow?