WHAT to do when you have too much time on your hands? This has been the lament of many for the past two months or so. Fighting boredom is not easy. Finding things to do in the confines of home for an extended period can be very challenging. However, there are those who took up the challenge and found ways to accomplish some things.
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For young, hands-on Mom Christine Misa Coscolluela, she came up with the “Mommy Lockdown Academy” to keep her two restless boys, ages eight and six, happy and occupied. It is home schooling on a regular schedule with Mom just like in school. With the full cooperation of husband, architect Gil Coscolluela, she began to devise lesson plans for the boys. Then came the time when she felt that she should go one step further and have some sort of school atmosphere. She then decided to transform the boys’ playroom to give it a classroom feel. Shelves filled with toys soon turned into book shelves. Toys were set aside in one corner so that the hobby/workshop tables became study tables.
The project kept her occupied. There was always something new she thought of each day to add to her home school. Christine did it step by step and in the end, it was time very well spent.
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For balikbayan couple Tony and Ching (Chan) Lao, they felt restless staying home doing nothing while on lockdown and waiting for their cancelled flight back to the USA to be re-scheduled. How to keep busy was foremost in their minds. It wasn’t long before they decided to give their Cebu residence a “make-over.”
They started off with the garden which is Ching’s favorite place. She is a “gardener” at heart. With Tony’s help, she re-potted and arranged her plants and came up with a lush pocket garden. It was a step-bystep project which kept them happily busy.
Then they did a lot of cleaning and some repainting. Good thing they had some paint and brushes on hand. The result was a “reconditioned” Cebu abode they are proud to call home during their regular visits here.
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Anastacio “ Jun” Muntuerto and wife Nora didn’t have to think twice when the enhanced community quarantine was announced. They decided to spend the time at their Jardin de Muntuerto in Carcar. It is home to their extensive collection of bougainvilleas and many other plants. Jun and Nora are very much at the forefront of the Bougainvillea Cebu group which aims to propagate the bougainvillea culture all over the province “to color Cebu.”
What has kept them from being bored are their plants. They have bougainvilleas of all colors and sizes and have been doing grafting, propagation, topiary and terraces of bougainvilleas. One other diversion for them is landscaping the expansive area.
Aside from these, Jun and Nora are also helping their workers develop a sustainable vegetable garden so the workers can get added income. It is a happy and colorful world out there. There is no time to be idle in an idyllic place like Jardin de Muntuerto.