Rice Harvest

We've been busy at home in between daily chores and errands this past week. Also added to our schedule was last Friday, March 18's, rice harvest for the first crop this 2011 cropping calendar.

As I've said last week, the harvest commenced with the harvesters reaping the crops last Tuesday. Then it took 3 more days for the machine thresher's availability. Consider also that the farmer, Mang Juan, had to sleep at the fields for 3 nights to ward off robbers. Oh yes, there has been reports of those lately even in a sleepy baranggay like this.

That's me, I braved enough to go near the threshing machine at the field. Tell you, before this picture, I tripped when I took my first step toward the rice paddies!Ouch, a trip is a great trip if at first I trip! I've got a bad left foot, that's why :)

It's an arduous task of planting rice up to harvest, I realize. I salute these farmers for their patience from planting, cultivating, harvesting and also for drying the crops to make it worth much more. According to the rates, newly harvested rice grains are traded for 15.00/ kilo, on the other hand, when the same rice will be sundried, it will earn more as much as 17.00 kilo. Here below, are the workers shoveling the grains back to the sacks. My hubby helped until he felt the itch which is common in this job, whew!

This season's grains are of great quality this time unlike that of the previous season.



Total rice sacks filled were 87, one-fourth of which, went to us being representatives of the land owner. This season's harvest is by far the lowest despite having had no calamities that could have affected the crops. The farmers attribute the low yield due to the changing weather from humid to cold and back plus the lack of water and, for others, lack of appropriate . A close relative from the same town, in fact, lost 40% of his harvest this year from experimenting with a new kind of fertilizer that not only did not seem to work, but also decreased this year's yield.

The 2 days at the field were so far relaxing for me, away from the hustle and bustle of chores and blogging. Enjoyed the atmosphere, almost sleepy . Took flickr photos, watched egrets flying overhead what we call "tagak", went to and fro from palay-drying to the rice traders and back to the rice mill. Even if the yield is low, still smile, looking forward to next harvest season!

More pictures in this slideshow :)

Call US And Canada With Skype

Just found out Skype isn't just for chatting on the internet but also is another alternative to calling friends and relatives from overseas, just top-up $10.00 from your Paypal and you're all set.

The rates are cheaper compared to the regular phonecard in California $4.50 per hour. And yet sometimes the phone call gets cut-off just reporting "you have 3 minutes left" That's according to my aunt who resides there.

They've got low per minute rates which are considerably cheaper too for calls from the Philippines to overseas. At the rate of .021 cents per minute, I've been calling abroad for less than a dollar for 30 minutes. The advantage too is you can hear the conversation via speaker or headset. You don't miss the important details in your phone conversation.

My personal report: I talked to my aunt in California, called her via their landline phone, using a headset and mic for myself and the speaker for the rest of the family to listen in. It was only for 12 minutes though for that first time because I mistook the rate as .21 cents instead of .021 cents. Whoops!

Then next time I logged on, the report said my credit was still $9.67. And I thought of letting my hubby try Skype in calling his "long-lost" relatives in the US who hardly get access to the internet. They talked for an uninterrupted 30 minutes for less than a dollar. The rates are the same too for calls to mobilephones in the US and Canada.

What's more, I heard they have incredibly cheap and unlimited rates in calling your country of choice. I would highly recommend it, especially because their service is hassle-free.

I hope you try it too and let me know your personal report. Have a nice day!

The Cute Cuppycake Song!

The "CUPPYCAKE" Song (Lyrics and Music by Judianna Castle) is actually the chorus from Amy's version of "You're My Honeybunch" (lyrics and music by Judianna and Buddy Castle) .. The lyrics in blue make up the short version that was first uploaded to the internet in August of 1996. Amy sings the lyrics in red as well in the complete version: . You're my Honeybunch, Sugarplum Pumpy-umpy-umpkin, You're my Sweetie Pie You're my Cuppycake, Gumdrop Snoogums-Boogums, You're the Apple of my Eye And I love you so and I want you to know That I'll always be right here And I love to sing sweet songs to you Because you are so dear  

Readers must have thought I've gone away!

Neglect, that's what I call my blogging. ooh, I'm really sorry for the followers who keep reading at the same blog post of December! My apologies!

I realize my error now of not managing my time wisely as well as my thoughts and plans wisely. I seem to have some hyperactivity of some sort, and I must submit my thoughts and pray for discipline. There were days I planned to work on something but ended up doing another.. could be just cleaning the yard then end up planting papaya trees instead. Or clearing out the attic then end up taking photos of the antiques. It's too much that honestly, leaves me tired and unaccomplished at the end of the day.

Though I have neglected posting, I am always online ... posting items on ebay and other selling sites, facebook, twitter and checking email.

I need to take it slow this week and learn to surrender my thoughts and work habits. I think it has gone all the more awry because of facebook (admit!) but I believe I can get back on track.

Happy Monday, everyone!

Malunggay Propagation - Malunggay Pods

It has been a long while since I spent some time here at the malunggay farm. I was busy with the household chores at home and the usual online things I work on.

The trees did not need that much caring these days, so I opted to just attend to usual daily stuff more than visiting the place. As you may see, these malunggay trees were left to their own devices. Not even an ounce of water except maybe from what they get from the morning dew. Yet, to my amazement, the dry season lately made them produce more flowers and more pods!

Thanks to this November's Top Entrecard Droppers

All my heartfelt thanks to all my new friends I met through this blog and with the great help of entrecard. Thanks likewise to those who regularly visited and dropped on my blog. Will try to keep up and drop back as I just started seriously dropping recently.

To all this month's Top Entrecard Droppers on Reading Homeschooler, here's the linkylove :)


comatised
gobigbluecats
Vainzine
Beaded Tail
Rambling King
Crimsonsparkle.net
scrinkalicious Recipes
Style Up Your Life
In The Eyes Of The Beholder
Reaching Lifelong Goals

Malunggay Farm Update November

Thanks for the visit! Here's an update: we are now selling moringa oleifera seeds / malunggay seeds all year round. Please visit my page here

Just the picture that welcomed me back, after I summoned the courage to visit the field again in November 16. After much research from the farming forums, I went back with all organic sprays and tools to remedy the yellowing of the leaves.

Not much problem anymore since the yellowing has stopped since we've treated them initially with sulfate. What gives me a headache, you might guess, is the weeds that have grown all over the place due to neglect and lack of time when my hubby was busy assisting a family friend during the baranggay elections. Actually, that picture above reads "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Ha-ha! Indeed it's true! I could not imagine how I can get these things done, yet we'll be almost done - fingers crossed and hoping there won't be any rain during the afternoon.

Malunggay Farm After Typhoon Juan October 18-19

3 days after Typhoon Juan I visited the malunggay farm. It seems I lost the key to the gate by my niece's house so I passed by the open fence. I'm glad that somehow these trees survived the storm and the minimal flooding of rainwater - most of them at least.

Yet, as seen below, there are some signs of yellowing from the other trees which could have come from too much rain or slight damage from the winds.

According to what I researched and asked around, yellowing is caused by some plant pests. Thankfully, that is taken cared of already thru organic remedies.

The trees are no longer in a straight row, due to the winds. We cannot move them to straighten as they still need to recover.

From Newspaper Classified Ads to Online Selling Sites

Above, that's the Php1,200.00 a day ad on PDInquirer. I bought an ad space just once to give it a try. The return was 4 inquiries and 2 sales. Not bad.

This one above is from the Buy & Sell Classified Ads. It helped some.

Above, my ad in 2002 at Baguio Midland Courier, a local newspaper in Baguio City. This is the newspaper ad that gave me back my money's worth. Note: bookwagon@yahoo.com is also my email address

(Ad above and below) Lastly, even on the Abante Tabloid, to reach the C-D audience, I gave it a try. Got 10 inquiries, no sales though. Note: my mobile number was 09198242668

I'm featuring these classified ads, as part of my personal "sentimental" clippings of 2001 when I started. I got this idea from a direct marketing guide,however obsolete that was, I still gave it a try as it just might work. Yet, I admit now that I made a mistake of not checking on the trends that year; I'm glad though that what I was looking for (selling via internet) was already with me to begin with! It was a roundabout of sorts for me ^^

Much later, as I mentioned in my previous posts,I learned that in this age of technology selling online is twice better. Here are the online selling sites I've joined and posted in within the span of 8 years.

Alibaba
Ebay.ph
Sulit.com.ph
Ayosdito.ph
Entrepreneur.com.ph

THANKS TO OUR RECENT CUSTOMERS... B.F. GALVEZ... C.VILLONGCO... O.STA.MARIA... V.GARCIA,JR... M.A.DOMINGUEZ... K.P.FERNANDEZ... J.J.EVANGELISTA... M.LIM... T.MARCELO...Get this Widget

What would you do if you were a victim of piracy

Got this email reported and forwarded to me a few years ago... If this happened to you, what would you do?

And although this issue is still not completely resolved, I would like to post it with the sender's name partially hidden. This email was posted in a parenting group where one of the members posted my ad; within that thread, though, another member replied back:


m*l*an*e*syo**g@******** Date: Sun, 13 May 2007 07:26:53 -0700 From:m*l*an*e*syo**g@******** Subject: Re: reading book
To: ****************************

hello po! P125 lang po. bale 4 files ng ebook (pdf format). i'll send you na rin un powerpoint presentation (3 files) plus 1 file ng nursery rhymes compilation. it will be sent via email.

i can print it all din if you want, in black and white then i'll ship them to you via aboitiz 2g0. p275 po including shipping.

payment is via gcash.you can send gcash even if your not a globe subscriber. just go to any globe centers to cash in. you'll need the following details:

K** A*******
*** real st. e. aldana
las pinas city
0915441**29

thanks! :)


My first reaction was, "Oh my, this is so ridiculous!" Laughed out loud. Yet, I felt my pulse race and I admit I was a bit disturbed. We've worked so hard on this book, including the research and the promotion. We also started small and improvised for our needs when need be.. and now here, someone was selling my e-book without approval!

I know I'm not anybody well-known, in fact I'm just a very very ordinary citizen from the province. But still that is my work, I own the copyright and even the exclusive right to sell it. Sad, that this person doesn't realize the things I have gone through before I sold the material as an ebook. Now here she was selling it at low low price.

So here's what I did then: I wrote her, quoting the forwarded email message. I sent my copyright certificate as attachment. In my letter, I told her that she is not authorized to sell the cd or the material unless she sends me a request and that upon my approval she can do so. I also added to please let whomever she got the ebook from to stop selling without my permission (I know from my directory she is not one of the subscribers)

I admit, it was also my fault for not safe-guarding the ebook from piracy back then and not regulating it's distribution. Though I'm glad that so far since 2001 I've been consistent in listing my customers names and other details. This last bit is a plus for the subscribers of the ebook because when they lose their e-copy they can just call or email me for a replacement at no cost.

Despite what happened, it did not stop me from selling. In fact I've researched how I could protect the ebook from copyright infringement and did exactly that. As subscribers will notice, the ebook is now password-protected with the copy number assigned to each. So I suppose that will do for now. Will keep everyone posted!


Read: How To Protect Your Work From Copyright Violation

My best choices for country clip art and they are free!

Developing a website from scratch is quite easy, thanks to the help of free country clipart.

My first choice then was Lisa's Country Graphics and ClipArt and it gave more appeal to my website in a homely way. Most of Lisa's Cliparts are free, with her permission of course. Adding her badge to your website is best as a way of thanks.

I also got free country backgrounds from Lisa's Country Graphics for my website before at Geocities. My favorites were:

I'm really missing that Geocities website, brings back happy memories of exchange with customers and inquiries.

My second choice of country clipart is Cute Colors, which I used many years later when I wanted to change the layout. The graphics are really cute! From pre-school children, apples, bears, dogs to fairies and flowers. It's quite difficult to choose which one I liked best so I mixed and matched.

Below are just a few of those graphics I used and am still using at the moment. Try them on your pages too!

Happy Easter!

Easter Graphic Comments