Why Retire in the Philippines/Marinduque Vacations: A Simple Lunch for My 87th Birthday Party

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

Monday, December 20, 2021

A Simple Lunch for My 87th Birthday Party

Carenna arriving in SFO from the Netherlands for her Christmas Break
( She has to quarantine for a couple of days and be tested negative before she can joined the local crowds- so she did not attend my party, but gave me a call for her BD greetings after her arrival) .

Today, Monday Dec 20 is my 87th birthday, but if people asked how old am I, I will tell them I am 78 years old. We celebrated my birthday yesterday with a simple lunch attended only by 12 adults and 2 kids ( Wesley and Samantha). Carenna has to quarantine for a couple of days and get retested before mixing with the local crowds. Two photos were taken by Lanie at the party as follows:

Our menu:

Pancit for long life, adobo sa gata( cooked by Merlet Perlas) and steamed rice for Pinoys

Honey-Baked Ham, Chicken-Macaroni -salad, Potato salad, Star bread, Hawaiian sweet rolls. salad greens, and cranberry sauce for the Kano

For Dessert: Birthday cakes, Pies and ice cream

Drinks: Soft Drinks and Beer and course bottled water.

This party was arranged by my oldest daughter, Dinah who came all the way from Santa Clara. Thank you, Dinah!

Today is also the official date of the expiration of my driving license. I do not intend to renew it. I have been driving since 1960 with a clean record except for one expensive moving violation last year, one parking ticket and a stop with a broken tail light by a Pinoy policeman. My moving violation cost me a fortune ($500). I was caught by the camera running an orange light. Thus David III forbid me to drive, but last night I convinced Dinah that I drive after our short trip from the grocery store. I told her not to tell David III.

Yesterday Carenna my youngest grand daughter came home from school in the Netherlands for her Christmas break. Ditas and her will wait for a couple of days to visit me to be sure her Covid test is negative ( see photo above).

Today is also the birthday of Alix, my other grand daughter ( Dodie oldest daughter) who is 60 years younger than me. Happy Birthday, Alix.

Thank You Dinah for organizing the party and for all the birthday gifts especially the Doordash gift card ( from Dodie and Ruth).

Special to my relatives and friends who were the early BD greeters:

My sisters Amor and Myrla. My FB friends and relatives Renan del Rosario, Isabel Ball, and Genny Mendoza-Nieva from the Philippines. To Celso Mataac, Aida Hulen and Cugie & Terry de La Santa from Maryland. Last but not least to Violeta Laririt and M Villavicencio from Marinduque.

Meanwhile enjoy this photo of my other Christmas arrangement,

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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