Mom's favourite flowers were:  flor-everly fragrant!

peace rose (or garden tea rose); peonaeia; gardenia and sampaguita

Life Skilz 101 And A Tribute to ALL Who Have Raised Our Family Since Our Arrival in Canada!

Mom taught us how to swim the dog paddle and ride bikes when we were 4 and 5 years old!

I started washing dishes at age 5; I cooked fried eggs, bacon, toast and coffee at age 7 (I didn't need a play kitchen; my parents had a "teaching kitchen" complete with bar stools overlooking an unobstructed view of the laundry & galley kitchen) - I had perfect beginner's luck with Mom and Dad: chocolate chip and walnut cookies, blueberry lemon pie, split pea and ham soup, orange banana chiffon cake topped with whipped cream and strawberries for Diane Browne's Birthday in Matane, braided challah in honour of our Jewish family friends, vegan chocolate cake in honour of Caroline from Ethiopia, Cabbage Rolls & Borscht, Tuna Sashimi Poke Bowls, 50/50 mushroom/beef patties, fresh homemade wonton soup, and more recently, 30-minute dinner of fresh coriander-garlic "blender chutney" with olive & sesame oil seasoned with a Dash of Vietnamese Fish Sauce & Himalayan Pink Rock Salt tossed with buckwheat soba noodles in a frying pan and garnished with freshly squeezed lime juice and Indonesian Black Pepper! Sesame seeds add a nice aesthetic quality to this dish, but is entirely optional

Yes, I play goodie goodie foodie foodie - Thanks to Mom and Dad - from time to time! :) And I like it!

Dad said, when he was a little boy, he made his own toys and thatched his Mom's roof; most memorable of his "practical toys" was the coconut shredding "horse" he built out of wood and a metal blade; he made a wooden dice game board and a Christmas Tree stand from old pipe, wood scrap, and hardware, and repaired countless items using scrap materials and duct tape from the industrial remnants pile at Nanaimo Forest Products (formerly MacMillan Bloedel & Harmac Pacific); Dad spent all his extra money on his favourite sports machines - fishing boats with fishing tackle and a used pick up truck to tow it with! I spent summer evenings watching the sun setting over the horizon while waiting for some fish to grab a bite! We caught our legal limit very often: wild salmon such as Coho, Chinook, Pink, and Sockeye - four salmon for each fishing partner totalling eight salmon to take home, plus crab traps of legal size male Dungeoness Crabs and numerous rock fish like snapper and cod and lingcod and even dogfish!

Mom said, when she was a little girl, Great Grandma washed little Teresita's hair and rinsed it with fresh lime juice and coconut milk; when she was a little girl, Mom also had a dog named "Brownie"; Mom had special talents: she could carve a pomelo citrus peel with a paring knife to turn out a pomelo citrus peel into a "hat or wig"; Grandma used to donate sacs of rice to locals experiencing food shortages from time to time out of her general hardware & grocery store. Unfortunately, the store was burnt to the ground and left the family destitute; worse, Mom lost her Mom at age 17 to an accidental morphine overdose in hospital, so it became encumbent upon Auntie Ely, Auntie Nita and Mom's older brothers to raise the younger siblings;

Michael said, when he was a little boy, "Mom! That's a monster!" as he pounded out the chaotic notes & dissonant bass keys of our antique piano gifted to us by the Jones' so that we could entertain our parents with our musical "apt etudes" (spelling intended) ; Michael's heart went out to a dog named Max for being handed off to us by its owners for having a terrible skin condition that they were unable or unwilling to pay veterinarian bills for; Besides having a heart of love and hope and good cheer, Michael has always been very creative & imaginative, enjoying communication arts in the fantastic realms, as well as in documentaries - that's why he met Ivette through the film industry in Vancouver, BC and stayed with his own "little family" of three for the sake of Ivette and his second daughter Maya; Michael credits his "Double Happiness" to our most kind, gentle & excellent friend and confidante Rod C for stepfathering Michael's first daughter Jade and her little brother Micah by birth to Rod and Babette: We DO hope that our two little families will become part of one big extended happy unity of related bloodlines interconnected through love and future generations of children. Jade's Mom Babette S is also a very creative, dramatic and expressive person who inspires her children to dynamic movement, creative arts, and exploration in Mother Nature. Babette's Dance Theatre & Arts Collective "Kathara" circulates among expressive arts societies connected by their shared interests in This Land and Its People....

My Auntie Marina is a retired Licensed Practical Nurse; her daughter Angela is married to Han and they have two lovely young children Nova and Shilo; Uncle Tony is always hoping for more and more children in the family! :) Auntie Ailene & Uncle Carlo look to be a very promising match, guesstimating by Nova's enthusiasm and excitement for spending time playing and joking around with Ailene & Uncle Carlo!

My Auntie Hang is retired from Macs Oysters on Vancouver Island; she has five grown adult children who are now multiplying their numbers with prospering our Lovely Auntie Hang with numerous grandchildren, and soon, great grandchildren, too! I will never forget the lovely Chinese New Year Celebration Banquets that she almost single-handedly hosted with the most AMAZINGLY delicious results - we're talking Chef-Inspired Quality Gourmet Chinese-Vietnamese Cuisine! The Tang Family hospitality experience is second-to-none for gracious and loving meals prepared by hand with cooperation from the whole entire family! Auntie Hang is my Mom's closest confidante and most admired and respected family matriarch in our Gutierrez Family realm.

My godparents and close family friends Auntie Marjatta and Uncle Peter hail from Finland and Germany respectively; their two daughters are sisters to me, especially Daphne who is married to Ryan and cares for their son Zander and all the animal members of the family (cats, dogs, horses); Daphne's younger sister Olivia is a midwife and naturopath and researcher while being Mom to Felix, Jasper, and Franz!

Michael's godparents and close family friends Auntie Ruby and Uncle Chuck came to Canada from Hong Kong and have for eons been gracious and caring hosts to many family celebrations - most notable was the warm welcome for Baby Jade at Michael & Babette's Baby Shower hosted also with Uncle Paul and Auntie Anita, The Chan Family, The Fukawas, The Kingsleys, and the summertime birthday parties at Ming's Palace in Williams Lake in the Caribou Interior of BC

Also highly regarded for owing much gratitude for allowing us to harvest seafood from their traditional territories are the Tribal Leadership of the First Nations: Nu'u-Chah-Nulth (Clayoquot Sound), Snuneymuxw (Nanaimo), Tseshaht (Port Alberni), Huu-ay-aht (Port Alberni), and Snaw'naw'as Mustimuxw (Nanoose Bay). Much gratitude also to Uncle Kiyo and Auntie Mary and Naomi; Uncle Lal and Auntie Monica's family; Auntie Margaret and Uncle Marcelo's family; Uncle Reggie and Auntie Joyce's family; Grandma Kay; Sylvia and Ed Freethy; Dolores & Earl Ferstel's Family; the Clarks'; the Mays'; the Blains'; the Woods'; the Bussians; the Jones; the Lanes; the Morris Family; the Vaughan Family; the Vance Family; The Handels; the Karr Family; the Lee Family; the Matsunaga Family; the Hayashi Family; the Sumampong Family; The Haalands; The Hongs; The Chong Family; The Purhar Family; Auntie Remy, Chris and Robin; Auntie Lina, Christopher and Darlene; Patricia Herrera; The Serrano Family; The Valerios'; Auntie Ella and Uncle Phil; the Fuentes'; the Silverio Family; the Espedido Family; Uncle Gus and Auntie Sue Tio and Family; the Strobbe Family; and countless others I cannot mention all at once! Kudos to Princess Anne, Cilaire, Woodlands Secondary Schools and School Districts 68 & 69 Staff, Students, and Parents/Guardians; and the extended Filipino Family Societies of Nanaimo, BC Canada; I also want to thank Father Eugene Trainor; Father Piotr Golinski; and Father Mike O'Connell Of Trinity Catholic Ecumenical Centre and Pastor Barry and Pastor Karen et al of the Maranatha Four Square Gospel Church for their Love and Joyful Wisdom and Welcoming Hearts' Presences Presiding over our Hospitality and Community LIVING Endeavours and Agape Meals (Potlucks) with Gentle Graciousness' Thanksgiving and Praise to God through Mary Magnificat, Jesus, Joseph and Mary the Apostle in the Holy Spirit of Divine Agape & Most Graciously Omniscient and Omnipresent Understanding & Kind & Merciful Love of God - The Highest Power Who Alone Knows Us Intimately and Who Alone May Judge Omnisciently Our Innermost Hearts - the Benevolent and Loving God of Creation; the Alpha and Omega!

           (Namaskarah, Chohtdah, Sugoi Sugoi & Galing Galing)

In Japan, I have so much gratitude for the caring hospitality of the Tsurumi Family, the LSE Society, the 4H Club, and Rotary Club;

In Korea, I have so much gratitude for the Mr Lee and Miss Kim at the National and Taegu YM/YWCAs, the Province of British Columbia's Ministry of Education, the Foster and Fukawa Families, the Brandle Family, the Yoo Family, the Park Family, the Lee Family, Barbara Davies, and Ewha Women's, Seoul National, & Yonsei Universities;

In Eastern Canada & Quebec, I have much gratitude for the hospitality of and loving regards and appreciation for the Legaspi-Zaguirre-Raagas clans; the Normandin-Begin clans; the Giggie-Kinney clans; the Theriault family; the Lamarre family; Pierre Viellieux; the Angers family, La Polyvalente de Matane et La Commission Scolaire des Monts et Marees!

Sadly, in the Philippines, I know only a few of my relatives because I was three years old when I first and last saw all of us there in Pagadian. Notably, I have had the privilege of meeting my cousins and aunts and uncles from Manila, Cotabato, Pagadian, & Davao right here in Canada and the USA - usually for weddings (Joy & Richard; Mye & Joe) or Christmas holiday!

South of the border, our family includes the Yap & Chiu & Carney clans; the Walat & Arambulo & Jones & Mathias & Bleile & Gutierrez & Regalado & Yawnick clans - all of whom have magnanimous and generous hearts of love for all the people they meet whenever they have the joy of getting together to express their love and caring regards!

Though I am mostly alone living solo these days, I cherish these here my Family Memories, thoughts and tributes for ALL MY LOVED ONES - especially my dear sweet Sugandh and all our extended Family and Friends

This here tribute is devoted to ALL the Moms (and the Dads who make it all happen! :)) for Our Family this Mother's Day Weekend May 12-15, 2023!

Dads, Thank You for Loving and Cherishing Our Moms with Devotional Love for Your Wives & Your Children BY VIRTUE of YOUR STEADFAST PRESENCE and attention! May Loving Wisdom, Gentle Care, Easy-Going Good Humour, Understanding Compassion and Grace of Patience & Sensitivity Be With You and Yours Always! Lots of fun memories and laughter, too! Love for Life Always And Everywhere - In good times and in bad; in sickness and in health; 'til we must part by force of circumstance! Thank God for Communication Tech! Of course, nothing beats being together both in Spirit And in Physical Presence of Being Close in Togetherness with our most cherished and dearest friends and family members! So, as the Irish Blessing goes: "From this day forward: May God be with you and bless you; May you see your children's children; And may your family be near ya!" And as the Priestly Blessing goes: "God Love Ya, In All Ways and Everywhere":
CAVEAT EMPTOR: BUYER BEWARE of what we buy in the marketplaces and in the world of ideas designed to sell need-less waste of effort of attention, goods, time, energy, resources, and services! Do not fall prey or victim to the device of fraudulent misinformation or falseness or half-truths in a world that worships money and power and prestige that can be designed to take away the very source of your well-being and livelihood! To Thine Own Truth Be the Offering! And yet, knowledge changes and evolves, but Love is Perennial as the Beauty of Earth and the beauty of hearts of LOVE in People and Fellow Creatures!

PEACE OF THE RISEN LORD Jesus/Jesu/Yesu/Essa/Esja/Issa/Yeshua
BE UPON YOU!
And remember, always hope in love and peace and forgiveness - even and especially towards your enemies - for in so doing, you bring peace and justice and even DIVINE LOVE upon the world!
Amen!

~ Czarina Michelle Gutierrez, Saturday May 13, 2023 12:21pm
Vancouver, BC Canada
Unceded Traditional Territories of the Coast Salish
Endowment Lands of First Nations
Indigenous Peoples' Natural & Cultural Heritage:
In Harmony with Science And The Beauty of Nature!

        "Tread Lightly on this Beautiful Gem of a Planet Earth, People!" 
     "It is Our Most Precious Natural Resource And It Will Treat You Kindly"
             "So Just Be Good And Consider One Another's Needs;
                        And Respect The Environment!"

Mom left with the wings of a monarch butterfly that day I spoke with Wen Chuan Kao, my social worker and Christian friend. Mom came back to me in a dream and gave me a hug. She gave me the greatest gift - her undying love and motherly concern, which I cherish forever. She did her best to be the best Mom to Michael and me. She stayed home with us and was our first teacher - we never needed to go to pre-school because she taught us our ABC's and 123's. She was a respected teacher of English and Mathematics in her Muslim hometown, even though she was Catholic. She was a dedicated Mom, sister, wife, friend, confidante, counsellor, teacher, daughter, and grand-daughter. She did everything to the best of her ability and always hoped for the best for everyone. She prayed hard, worked hard, and loved dearly. She always wanted to help her brothers and sisters in the Philippines, some of who were like orphans because she lost her mother when she was only 17. Her heart went out to thousands of people she met along her Way. She was generous and giving, always wanting to do her best for everyone. She was a wonderful hostess, and a gracious lady. She didn't sing perfectly, but she sang with pride and passion, especially the hymns from Mass. Her favourites included "Be Not Afraid", and hymns dedicated to her God and Mama Mary, especially the one in Latin. Her favourite movie was "The Sound of Music". She was not always perfect, but she was excellent in her efforts to strive for perfection. I miss Mom's healing, gentle touch - soothing and calming, especially when I suffered from eczema and shingles. i wish I could be like her and inspire the best in myself and in everyone. Maybe that's why people tell me I look like her. Unfortunately, she also inspired some jealousy at times, but all is forgiven in the end through the Holy Spirit and Christ Jesus and the Loving God He Is...May His Name Be Holy Forever. I entrust my Mom to Your Saving Graces. May she always be surrounded by the Love she shared with others - with the welcoming spirit of God. Amen.