“MGA Kwento Ni Lola Basyang” (MKNLB) or “Grandma Basyang’s Stories” is a collection of short stories told by Lola Basyang.
Lola Basyang was the pen name of the author Severino Reyes, the founder and editor of Liwayway magazine.
These days, however, MKNLB has been loosely used to mean any fairytale anthology. Nevertheless, Lola Basyang tells rather interesting and lesson-filled stories that have enthralled young and old alike.
Lola Basyang recently visited the Visayas to tell a story about a tropical storm named after her. Unfortunately this Basyang brought strong rains and winds.
Many of us may have prepared for this tropical storm casually. However, it is always a good practice to take tropical storms seriously.
“Don’t take possible danger casually,” my aunt Tita Blitte said.
She then shared some rainy day hacks she has been using for years. Here are some of them.
1) Regularly store canned food that can be eaten without further cooking. Choose good brands in canned goods such as sardines or mackerel in tomato sauce, corned beef, squid in its ink and tuna cooked in the style of afritada, kaldereta and paksiw. Place them in a plastic box. Don’t forget to place a note on expiry dates.
Consume the stored food a month before expiry date and replenish the stock immediately.
2) Bottled water can be stored safely. My aunt places a couple of bottled water in a covered pail. Remember to consume the bottled water before its expiry date.
3) Tita Blitte frequently stores up on green onions and garlic.
To preserve the green onions, she simply plants them in decorative pots using good soil.
My aunt also buys garlic in bulk, and she has devised a way to preserve them. She created long pouches made of fine mesh with handles made of ribbons. She hangs these pouches on a nail in the kitchen wall. They keep for a long time.
That’s all for now. I have to catch a taxi home before the streets get flooded.