Burnham in the Sixties

I can't get over this photo saved by my sister, non-Facebook user Evelyn Marie. We are wearing pantsuits, long before they were called such. The camera belonged to one of those itinerant Burnham Park photographers. It could only have been our mother, Gliceria D. Lolarga, who wanted this moment preserved. Who instructed us to put our left foot forward? I think it was part of our upbringing in the Sixties, that if a full-body shot was to be taken, you put your left foot forward for better balance. Thanks, sis, for storing the original of this picture. Happy days! And wasn't the park lovely then? Even if the picture is black and white, the splendor of the flowers and the pergola is captured.

The fight to keep Burnham Park open to people | Vera Files

The fight to keep Burnham Park open to people | Vera Files

April loves

Kimi, my eldest daughter, chided me last month, around the time I was quietly bearing a low mood swing but appearing brave and normal on the outside, that I hadn't gotten around to blogging about her own daughter's latest milestone--second birthday. 

I did take pictures of that Saturday in the small open space near the house where the koi and frogs thrive in a pond that was recently widened. Our Baguio friends and neighbors came to celebrate, including violinist Lolo Guido who played the birthday song and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" to an awestruck Kai. Mira Abaño also brought her guitar and showed us her strumming and singing chops.

First encounter with a violinist

Luchie Maranan captures singing pre-teener Mira on her phone's camera

The April born and her cake

There's nothing like a Kai to help one have a reason to get up and get going, no matter the compulsion to stay like a big lump covered by a woolen blanket and not face the day while wishing for a longer night. Thank heavens for little girls, indeed!

I think what helped me heal little by little was the company of another young 'un, my niece Bianca L. Susi, and forever young at heart, my sister Suzy, who has been a committed preschool teacher for over 20 years. Suzy is also good at organizing a house, that is, separating the unusables from the reusables and recyclables. Good thing she didn't throw me out during an unproductive (writing-wise) period!

One afternoon, family head Rolly treated us to lunch at Sizzling Plate, the Cariño street branch. Kai colored away while awaiting her order of sizzling bangus (as usual, she ate only the belly portion while I consumed the rest of it). It was her first time to try the restaurant's airy sans rival, and she cleaned up her plate. Same with Bianca and Suzy. Rolly got the hint--a couple of days later, he bought an entire cake that lasted less than 48 hours.

Keeping a toddler occupied at a restaurant

Having bangs trimmed

Now for the hair at the back

Quiet and still at the salon

Finishing touch

That same afternoon, I treated Kai to a haircut. She was a cooperative client, bowed her head forward or sideways, following the hairdresser's instructions. We spent the rest of the day at Burnham Park where Kai enjoyed her first boat ride on the lake. She almost refused to leave the boat after the 30-minute ride around the lake. We went around the Orchidarium to pose among the flora on exhibit and for sale.

Beautiful afternoon on the lake

Sunny dispositions

Someone's thrilled to be in a boat.

Little passenger wants another go.

Bianca's thank-you letter, received last week, summarized how we spent April in Baguio:

Dear Aunt Lizzie,

Thank you for allowing Auntie Su and me to have a more than one-week vacation in your cozy house. I really enjoyed it there, especially eating in Mackenzie's kitchen (my ice cream sandwich), playing with Kai, watching at Mayumi Cinema, the beautiful places we went to and most especially Baguio's fine weather. I also enjoyed our 2-day letter writing. Oh! I loved it whenever we would play jokes with each other in funny ways, specifically The British Accent. HAHA! Okay, I guess that's about all of it. Thank you again!

Love,
Bencky

Aunt Lizzie and Bencky were our codes for one another when we went through our British period (speaking with that accent associated with Queen Elizabeth and Dame Judi Dench).

I miss April, but not my brief low point. 

Till summer of 2014!

Just turned 11 Bianca and her niece by a yellow bamboo grove

Big kiss from Auntie Bencky

Photos by Babeth Lolarga and Bianca Susi

Those were the days

My sister Embeng found this little gem of a picture. The actual photo, taken by a Burnham Park photographer, is even smaller than the size of the reproduction above. The year was, in all likelihood, 1961 with our mother, Gliceria Lolarga, the adult in eyeglasses, bent over our brother Dennis and wearing one of her preggy dresses that never seemed to have left her closet for her entire reproductive "career." We, the first five kids out of eight, were all summer residents at our lola's Lower Brookside home in Baguio City. So if anybody asks why Baguio is special to this blogger, the joy on our young faces is all the reason in the world. From left: Embeng, Babeth, Dennis, Suzy and Junic. To the September borns in this pic (Mommy and Junic), happy birthday now and ever. XOXO