*this blogpost has a couple of words from the Filipino language (Tagalog).

pambahay: clothing intended to wear around the house

Lolo: grandfather

Lola: grandmother

This cardigan once belonged to my Lolo. My earliest recollection of this classic cardigan was in 1970’s during our childhood visits to the Philippines.

He wore this same cardigan when Lola and Lolo came visit to Canada in the early 80’s. It was his cardigan of choice when going out.

The last time I recall seeing Lolo in this cardigan was in 1983, by then it became his sweater for pambahay only. He was always feeling cold due to his poor circulation.

The garment tag tells me that it’s a Jaegar, All cashmere and made in Scotland. Definitely a natural fibre to keep one warm. Lolo was a connoisseur of fine clothing and accessories.

After, Lolo passed away, my Mum brought this cardigan back from the Philippines.

I really don’t remember how I ended up with this cardigan, however, for the past 30 years or so I’ve always reached for it whenever I got a chill.

On this cool Sunday morning, I went to put on my pambahay cardigan.

I noticed the tiny hole that I’ve been ignoring for months has exponentially increased in size.

One hour later, a mending repair job and sewing on two missing buttons, it good for a couple more decades.