This strap is as important...

This photo was taken by a friend, Sidney Snoeck in one of our outreach activities in Tondo. More than me, being in this image, I really liked how he was able to capture my camera strap. He may not know it, but to me this strap is as important (or perhaps more important) than the camera itself. MB gave this strap to me on my birthday. And I have been using it ever since. Crazy as it may sound but it's one of the most important gifts I had ever received that year. He knew I badly needed a strap on my neck. :-p

This tree makes me feel a bit nostalgic

This Christmas Tree has been in the family for as long as I could remember. Prior to that, we've only had the "real" Christmas tree every year. My father is a gardener, and he's been growing some tree that my mother would often ask to cut so that we could have a tree for the season. Then my siblings and I would decorate them for the holidays. Before the New Year, the tree would dry up and would really look ugly. It looked like an old lady with all those heavy, colorful bangles hanging around her hair. When my mother bought this Christmas Tree, things started to change. We grew up, we changed house, my siblings had their own families and the tree is still there. Standing tall every Christmas Eve. :)

[postscript]

MB greeted me on Christmas Day. Two hours before December 26 started. It was a conscious effort not to text him. Usually, I take the initiative to greet him first. I just wanted this year to be different. When he did not greet me on the morning of Christmas day, I thought he'd forgotten. And I felt okay with that. Then at 10 PM, usually, his bed time, he greeted me.