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It is the birthday of thy King

Awake, glad heart! Get up and sing! It is the birthday of thy King! Awake, awake! The sun doth shake Light from his locks and all the way Breathing perfumes, doth spice the day. Excerpt from Christ’s Nativity by Henry Vaughan  ****** Image by TravelswithCharie

Conversation with Lilia Hernandez Chung, Ph.D.

Lilia Hernandez Chung, Ph.D. graduated with a degree in Philosophy and Letters  from the University of Santo Tomas where she taught for four years after graduation. In 1958, she won a Fullbright scholarship and received a fellowship for graduate studies from Syracuse University in New York where she earned her doctorate degree in the Humanities. She met her husband, Kai Lai Chung, at said university where he was a Professor of Mathematics. They later moved to Stanford, California where she taught Ethnic Studies at Foothill College for 24 years and also served as one of its directors of Multicultural Affairs. Dr. Chung received the Women of Achievement Award from the League of Friends of Santa Clara County Commission on the Status of Women in 1980. She has three children and four grandchildren. She divides her time between the Philippines and California. Aside from being an educator, Dr. Chung is a published author. Her publications include Peninsular Prose Fiction of the Philippines, J

Pumpkin Season

Pumpkins come in all shapes, sizes and colors!  Pumpkin, pumpkin  Sitting on a wall Pumpkin, pumpkin Tip and fall. Double, double toil and trouble Fire burn and caldron bubble Fillet of a fenny snake In the caldron boil and bake Eye of newt and toe of frog Wool of bat and tongue of dog Adder’s fork and blind-worm’s sting Lizard’s leg and howlet’s wing For a charm of powerful trouble Like a hell-broth boil and bubble. Double, double toil and trouble Fire burn and caldron bubble Cool it with a baboon’s blood Then the charm is firm and good. William Shakespeare, Macbeth I only have pies for you, warts included. “There are three things I’ve learned never to discuss with people: religion, politics, and the Great Pumpkin .” It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown ***** Images by TravelswithCharie

I grew up by the sea

Haystack Rock, Cannon Beach, Oregon It’s been a year since my last trip to the beach. It felt so good to feel the sand at my feet, listen to the roar of the surf and the cry of seagulls and see the expanse of blue sky caress the ocean. White sand stretches all the way to Seaside where we stopped for lunch at a seafood restaurant. Ripples of sand flutter along the shore at the slightest breathe of summer wind.  I grew up by the sea It’s always with me No matter where I go I hear its warm hello. It’s been too long Since I’ve heard her song  Feeling her today Nevermore shall I stray. Charie Albar ***** Images by TravelswithCharie  

Conversation with Aldrean Paul Alogon

Aldrean Paul Alogon graduated with High Honors from Philippine Science High School (PSHS), Western Visayas Campus in 2019. He also received the Excellence Award in Physics. While in high school, he represented the Philippines at the International Olympiad for Astronomy and Astrophysics in India and Thailand. Mr. Alogon won the Freeman Asian Scholarship, a full scholarship for a four-year course of study leading to a bachelor’s degree. He is now enrolled at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, USA. Wesleyan is one of the country’s premier liberal arts institutions. As a child growing up in Sigma, what were your dreams for your future? I grew up wanting to be either a doctor, a lawyer, or a scientist. To tell you the truth, the first two were somehow planted in my head by the people around me, maybe because I had “above” average grades and that those professions are the most profitable if you have the capacity to ace them.     When did you begin to take an interest in science? As a child,

Conversation with Dr. Adolfo B. Bellosillo

Adolfo B. Bellosillo, MD, FACC, FSGC, FPCC, FPCP, FPCCP, FPSE, graduated from the University of the Philippines with a degree in Medicine. He completed his fellowship training in Cardiology from the University of Iowa in Iowa City and his fellowship training in Cardiac Rehabilitation from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. He is the Founder and President of the Foundation for Lay Education on Heart Diseases (FLEHD). He also held the position of President for the following professional organizations: Philippine Heart Association/Philippine College of Cardiology 1990-1991, Philippine Society of Echocardiography 1992-1994, Cardiac Rehabilitation Society of the Philippines 1994-1999, and the  7th World Congress of Cardiac Rehabilitation and Secondary Prevention from 1996-2000. Dr. Bellosillo received numerous prestigious awards throughout his career: Most Distinguished Fellow from the Philippine Heart Association(PHA)/Philippine College of Cardiology in 1998, Dr. Jose P. Rizal Memorial

Sauvie Island Farms

Pick your flowers for 25 cents per stem except for sunflowers which are a dollar each at Topaz Farms. Oversized zucchini. Great for stir fry. How many different types of butter have you tried?  Halloween so soon? Pick your own pumpkin at the Pumpkin Patch Farm which will  open its patch in October. A few handpicked veggies, lots of nuts and chocolates, a blueberry preserve and bacon ketchup. Winner! How to get there:   From Portland, Take Highway 30 to Sauvie Island. About 30 minutes from Portland city center. There are many farms in the area with a variety of offerings. Pick your own berries or veggies. Check to see what each season is offering. ***** Images by TravelswithCharie