Why Retire in the Philippines/Marinduque Vacations: A Mini Family Reunion in Mountain View, California

Planning to Retire Soon!

If you are planning to retire in the Philippines soon, I suggest you visit several excellent websites on pro's and cons of retiring in the Philippines. However if you want to retire in the provinces, where life is simple, standard of living cheaper, less traffic congestion and pollution, availability of fresh seafood and vegetables compared to the big cities, my island province is the place for you! If this is your first time in my site, welcome. Some of the photos and videos on this site, I do not own. However, I have no intention on the infringement of your copyrights. The photo above is the front yard of Chateau Du Mer- Our Retirement Home in Boac, Marinduque, Philippines

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

A Mini Family Reunion in Mountain View, California

Thanksgiving and/or Christmas Holidays are still in the horizon. But the Katague and Jambalos clan had an earlier family reunion last September 1. This was during the welcome party for Ella Jambalos Lazarte and her son, Adrian Bernard at her sister's residence (Lanie Jambalos Lazarte-Chalfin) in Mountain View, California.

The David B Katague Family at the Backyard of Alex and Lanie Chalfin of Mountain View, California, September 1, 2013

The Katague and Jambalos Clan

The David B Katague clan with oldest grandson (Ian King) and youngest granddaughter ( Carenna Thompson) Not in the photo are my four other grand children, Elaine King (OSU), Philip Katague (UC Santa Cruz), Alix Katague ( Cornell U) and Marina Katague ( still in high school, but plan on attending medical school). Ian is a junior at Sacramento State University while Carenna is in 5th grade.

In this mini reunion, I learned that health is wealth and that family relationships are things money can not buy. My thanks to Lanie and Alex Chalfin for hosting this reunion. We hope to have a full family reunion this coming Thanksgiving an/or Christmas holidays this year.

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Fruit Trees in the Gardens of Chateau Du Mer

The Mango Tree-I have three varieties in my Garden-The Indian, Guimaras and Carabao Mangoes My caretaker/gardener informed me last month that due to the El Nino drought in Marinduque, two of my Durian trees died in spite of his vigilant watering. One of the tree was attacked by insects that looks like a big fly but yellowish in color that sucks the sap of the seedling. The roots of the other tree was attacked by ants residing in the soil. However, my other fruit trees, the rambutans( 2), the lanzones(2) and the jack fruits ( 2) trees are doing well. The above eight fruit trees were given to me by Retired General Recaredo Sarmiento of Boac and Lucena., about three years ago. General Sarmiento is the “atid” of my wife. “Atid” is the colloquial term for brother. Evidently, Macrine's father, the late Bernardo Jambalos was the Godfather of General Sarmiento during his baptism and comfirmation. Gen Sarmiento's hobby is orchard planting, reforestation and farming. The other fruit trees in my garden are guayabanos, cashew, avocados, starapples, duhats, ates, guavas, mangoes( 3 varieties) and papayas as well as several varieties of bananas . Of the above fruit trees, my favorite is the guayabanos, also known as soursop tree known for its anti-tumor and anti-cancer properties . The following are photos of the fruit trees. The Durian photo is from the web. Note that it almost look like a jack fruit tree, except that the leaves are bigger and shiny. My desire is to have a passion fruit tree in the near future. You are welcome to visit my orchard and flower gardens any time, if perchance you are in the vicinity of The Chateau Du Mer Beach Resort and Conference Center.

The Rambutan Tree and Fruits

The Lanzone Tree and Fruits

The Jack Fruit Tree

The Durian Fruit Tree