Patti Castillo-De Guzman
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5 Ways to Create a Sustainable Christmas
Christmas is a time for festive celebrations and merriment, but it can also be a time to reflect on the season. Christmas has its challenges: it’s expensive and stressful, many people struggle to afford gifts or decorations, and some find… Continue reading
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Nativity Fast: 40 Days of Preparing the Spirit for Christmas
For many of us in the Philippines, Christmas and fasting don’t go together. After all, this predominantly Christian nation has the longest Christmas in the world, starting from September 1 to well beyond December 25. Even non-Christians have reasons to… Continue reading
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Converting a Shed Into a Tiny House in the Philippines: Part 1 (2022)
Francis and I traveled a lot pre-pandemic and we loved those tiny houses in the coastal areas we visited. These vacations definitely helped us decide that we wanted a tiny house. But these were just fleeting daydreams. In fact, the… Continue reading
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A Very Short Short Story
While as a Catholic I don’t subscribe to the law of attraction, I sometimes think I manifested my daughter. I remember being younger and daydreaming of living in our little fairy tale cottage. In those daydreams, I and my little… Continue reading
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How to Teach Your Child to Be Humble
It takes a village to raise a child, an African proverb goes. But what if I do not trust the village? So I turn to the (rather sexist) Swahili alternative: whomsoever is not taught by the mother will be taught… Continue reading
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13 Shelf-stable Food Items for a Tiny House with No Fridge in the Philippines
Here’s something I realized: you don’t really need a ref. Of course, that’s the clickbait. The reality is that it is on a case-to-case basis. It depends on the kind of food you eat, the frequency you get your produce,… Continue reading
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5 Small Plants for a Tiny House Bathroom in the Philippines
Early in 2020, Francis and I took a five-hour from Nueva Ecija to San Felipe, Zambales to check our chosen venue for our wedding that November. Sadly, that didn’t push through because of the pandemic. But we still took home… Continue reading
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