Why Retire in the Philippines/Marinduque Vacations: April 2023

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

Friday, April 28, 2023

Non-Digitally Altered Photographs of My Residence for Sale

The front Yard-not Digitally Altered- My gardener need to trim the bushes soon

In preparation for my residence listing in a few days, a professional photographer took several pictures of the Inside and Outside of my house. I got a copy of the 54 photographs today. I also took a few pictures of the backyard and pool using my cheap cell phone. My realtor informed me that out of the 54 photos only 7 will be digitally altered for the virtual marketing. The digitally altered photos for advertising will not be available until next week. Meanwhile here are a few of the real ( not altered) taken by the professional photographer of both inside and outside of the property. I am also posting my own photos of the backyard I took this morning with my cheap cell phone.

In my disclosure I intend to leave to the buyer a few of my potted plants and ornamentals as well as a few Garden Statuaries and Plaques. I estimate the value of these potted plants and statuaries to be approximately $500. My backyard is a Gardener's delight as shown in the following unaltered photos.

The above three unaltered photos were taken by the professional photographer

The following photos of my backyard I took this morning with my cheap cell phone.

Here are some professionally unaltered photos of the rest of the House.

The Master Bedroom

One of the Guest Rooms with the Trundle Bed

The Kitchen and Breakfast / Family Room Area

The Kitchen- with sliding Pantry shelves

The Living Room and the Picture Window-The Piano is for Sale

The Entrance Foyer and Part of the Family Room

The Main Bathroom-Double Sink

The Family Room

The Formal Dining Room

Another Guest Room-Former Room of David E III with some of his Caps Collection

Looking forward to the Proposed 7 digitally Altered Photos for Virtual Advertising. I will certainly shared them as soon as they are available.

Wednesday, April 26, 2023

Two Current Comparables to My Residence-Sold, April 19, 2023

My Newly Resurfaced and retiled Swimming Pool

My current search for comparables to my residence showed 2 homes in the Fair Oaks Area that may be a comparable. Both homes were sold just last week, indicating that Real Estate Market in the 95628 ( Fair Oaks) is getting and picking up a little bit compared to last month. Here are the 2 homes and their link.

1.9070 La Serena Dr, 3BR, 2BA 1600 sq. ft Remax Listing-625K-Sold 640K

I am not sure if this house has been renovated or has also a renovated pool, but the photo of front yard looked like it was professionally landscape; Here's the link

https://www.coldwellbankerhomes.com/ca/fair-oaks/9070-la-serena-dr/pid_52874611/

2. 7990 via Roma, 4BR, 2BA, 1682 sq ft Century 21 sold-605K

https://www.redfin.com/CA/Fair-Oaks/7990-Via-Roma-Dr-95628/home/19182395

Again, I am not sure if the House or swimming pool have been renovated. The comparables are based on the square footage of the house and the neighborhood.

Monday, April 24, 2023

A Welcome Visit from Yuka, Alex and Family

Alex Jr. with my newly Resurfaced and Tiled Swimming Pool as Background

A visit from a relative is always welcome since I have been living alone( over a year now) except for my 2 cats. Yesterday, Yuka, Alex, Alex Jr and Elena visited me bringing with them Pinoy dishes from the Oriental Market in Roseville.

The two dishes ( Nilaga na Baka- Beef soup with Vegetables and Goat Calderetta) were delicious. However, the Calderetta* was out of this world. The meat was tender ( young/baby goat ribs and some fatty tissue) was super delicious. I planned on ordering this dish on line, but I found out that the Oriental Market is not on Doordash or Grubhub.

A few weeks ago was Elena One-year birthday. I gave her a Snoopy and a Baby Bear Music Boxes from Macrine's Music Boxes collection. It will be a souvenir from her Lola Macrine. Here are some photos from their visit:

Young Alex is no longer scared of me. He gave me several hugs, but when I picked up Elena, she started crying. Alex Jr gave her the bottle to calm her down. I am looking forward to visit them in their big house in Roseville this weekend.

*Here's a link and recipe for the Kambing Calderetta if you want to cook it yourself.

https://panlasangpinoy.com/stew-goat-meat-kalderetang-kambing-recipe/

Saturday, April 22, 2023

My Top Five Most Popular Blogs

I started blogging in 2008. I started with one blog about Marinduque-our second home in the Philippines. Then I started writing my autobiography. The rest is history.

My primary goals for writing is to inform, to entertain and perhaps inspire. My secondary goal was to earn pocket money thru Adsense. The first year I earned about $100 from Adsense. I decided it was not worth it, so I cancelled it on my second year.

Today, I have been blogging for 15 years. I write on any topics/subjects that comes to my mind, my daily activities, families, tourism, gardening, cooking, Filipino culture, life in the US versus life in the Philippines. I write about senior citizen issues and problems, and the accomplishments of my children and relatives. I also blog to advertise our Beach House-Chateau Du Mer ( currently not in operation) for public use. Most of my clients were from abroad and non-Filipinos.

Based on the comments I have received, I realized that my blogs do indeed inform and sometimes entertain. In a few cases I have inspired readers ( see blog on interesting comments on bottom of this page). Writing blogs keep me busy and sharpen my memory and thus making me feel useful and young.

I have 10 blogs but here's the top five, most popular and most commented.

The first column is All Time Views, number of Post and Number of Comments as of today. I will also published a detail analytics of my # 1 Blog, Becoming American ( formerly Life in the United States versus Life in the Philippines).

1. Becoming American-Total Views(897,997),# of Post (2618),# of Comments(308)

2. The Intellectual Migrants-Views(838,082),# of Post(2425), #of Comments(222)

3. Marinduque Awaits You-Views(700,729), #of Post(2619), # of Comments(206)

4. MRQ My Island Paradise-Views(596,032),#of Post(2474),# of Comments( 124)

5. Chateau Du Mer Beach etc-Views(364,432),#of Post(2428),#of Comments(100)

Here are detail analytics of my Number # Blog as of today:

All Time897997

Today22

Yesterday16

This Month542

Last Month1980


www.google.com	14
chateaudumer.blogspot.com	1
marinduqueonmymind.blogspot.com	1
www.google.com.au	1
www.google.com.ph	1
Other	346

Top Referrering URLs

Entry	Pageviews
https://www.google.com	6
https://www.google.com/	5
https://www.google.com/url?q=http://lifeinus1960present.blogspot.com/2016/12/remembering-up-chapel-of-holy-sacrifice.html%3Fm%3D1&sa=U&sqi=2&ved=2ahUKEwiW_8P6p6j-AhWRft4KHQsjBwQQqa4BegQICxAA&usg=AOvVaw2h-cg7EmiomqPOdQ7MwwVO	2
http://marinduqueonmymind.blogspot.com	1
https://chateaudumer.blogspot.com/2019/10/	1
https://www.google.com.au/	1
https://www.google.com.ph/	1
https://www.google.com/url?q=http://lifeinus1960present.blogspot.com/2016/12/remembering-up-chapel-of-holy-sacrifice.html%3Fm%3D1&sa=U&sqi=2&ved=2ahUKEwiW_8P6p6j-AhWRft4KHQsjBwQQFnoECAgQAQ&usg=AOvVaw3Ev6cvxvLG8FehZL-GC4Rv	1
Other	346

Audience

Pageviews by Browsers

Firefox

236

Chrome

Safari

GSA

HeadlessChrome

Opera

SamsungBrowser

MSIE

Pageviews by Operating Systems

Linux

242

Windows

Macintosh

iPhone

Android

Unix

Other

Here are some interesting comments from my blogs:

https://lifeinus1960present.blogspot.com/2021/07/some-interesting-comments-on-my.html

Top Ten Locations of Readers

Hong Kong

205

United States

104

France

South Korea

Philippines

Australia

United Kingdom

Germany

Russia

Other





GSA	5
HeadlessChrome	5
Opera	3
SamsungBrowser	2
MSIE	1

Friday, April 21, 2023

Time to Say Good Bye to Fair Oaks is Near

With today's completion of the resurfacing and tiling of the swimming pool, my realtor is preparing to list my residence for 20 years for Sale. The real estate market here in Fair Oaks is picking up a little speed in spite of the still high mortgage interest rates compared to last year. I took pictures of the backyard with the pool partially filling in. I also took a picture of my side yard, after I spent $300 to have a trash guy dumped all the scraps/woods etc... on the side yard including several boxes of old books/clothes stored in the Shed. What is left in the Shed are dozens of picture frames/mirrors that I have save for 60 years. They will be on sale planned for the first week of June. Here are some photos of my backyard.

Backyard as viewed from the Family Room. Note that Robin is eagerly watching the pool filling in.

Backyard as Viewed from the Master Bedroom Sliding Door. The exercise machine is up for free adoption to anyone who can haul it.

My side yard with the Storage Shed after Clean-Up by the Trash Guy

A view of Some of My Potted Plants and My Parrot Decor from Marinduque

The start of the filling-in process- Contracted to a Professional Pool Service and Repair company near me.

Looking at my beautiful backyard with pool running gave me second thoughts of moving. But life must go on. Its time for a change. Good Bye Fair Oaks. Give me good luck to my move to Walnut Creek this June.

Note: The Estate Sale of my Household Goods is scheduled for the first weekend in June.

Wednesday, April 19, 2023

Some Reviews and Amenities of The Heritage Downtown Walnut Creek, CA

Some Reviews and Amenities of The Heritage Downtown (THD), Walnut Creek

The Gated Entrance-Under Ground Parking Garage-Each Residents have an Assigned Parking Space with a Storage Bin

The Heritage Downtown (THD) is the Bay Area's premier active senior living community. Centrally located in beautiful Downtown Walnut Creek, CA. The Heritage Downtown is nestled in lush green grounds and provides simply the best in 55+ retirement living apartment homes. This resort-style independent senior living community was established in 1986 and offers an array of all-inclusive amenities including daily 5-star dining, health and wellness programs, fitness classes, social activities, assisted living care and elegant surroundings.

**Awarded BEST OF SENIOR LIVING by a Place for Mom – 2023**

The Newton Restaurant and Front Entrance
History -Established in 1986. Originally built as condos, the property become senior shortly thereafter. With the addition of our 5-star restaurant Newton's, no other senior property in the area can compare in quality of dining and living.

Overall rating is 4 out of 5. Of the 14 reviews only 2 were 1 Star. All other ratings were either 4 or 5 Star.
Here are some reviews: I deleted the names of the Reviewers for privacy.
5/20/2018- My parents lived at Heritage for almost 4 years and it was a wonderful experience. The food was excellent, the staff was caring and always went the extra mile. We only moved them away because my parents needed a lot of medical care but if they had maintained their health they would still be living there. If something came up, the staff would call me out of state to let me know. The field trips and speakers are plentiful and lots of variety.

The Lobby and Front Desk Office-Concierge Services- The Wall Street Journal, New York Times and the East Bay Newspapers are available/free in the Lobby every morning

9/30/2021-My wife and I lived in a two-bedroom apartment at The Heritage Downtown for a year -- from October 2020 to September 2021. It was a great place to live with a nice location near downtown Walnut Creek, friendly residents and great food. We moved back to northern Oregon only because we found we missed our old friends and our previous community more than we expected. The residents at The Heritage were older than I expected with an average age probably in the upper 80's. However, our dinner table conversations were almost always interesting and we made many friends.
The Swimming Pool and Jacussi

4/1/2020- I got a tour of this place not too long ago and I was amazed by how clean and nice it is. The staff is so attentive and friendly! As soon as I walked in, the people at the front desk took their time to say hello and see if I needed anything. The restaurant area was sparkling and the food looked really good. The residents looked happy and engaged, which is the most important part. I highly recommend this place for senior living

3/22/2020- A rude staff member- Filipino guy in glasses at front- does not know how to talk to people. He needs re-training asap. ( Just wondering how did she know the guy was Filipino).

One of the Court Yards in the Center of the Apartment Buildings

6/18/2017- My brother and I dined here for Father's Day brunch.....first class service and cruise ship atmosphere! The food was excellent!
The Fully Equipped kitchen with Electric Stove and Microwave.

9/15/2016- The staff is amazing and what I love about the place, is the feel when you walk in the door. Residents are really enjoying themselves and living their lives. A couple of my clients are at The Heritage Point and I recommend this wonderful place to anyone who is interested!

4/15/2015-Professional, caring staff- that goes the extra mile or two if needed. The food is great ! The staff is above and beyond the call of duty...as I see it. My mother has been here two years...and the level of service, communication is great ! I can't see having my mother at any other place. Please feel free to contact me ..and I will tell you...mom is good, the care is good, and the food is GREAT !

The Newton's in the Facility- A 5 Star Rated Restaurant-There is also a Cinema in the Compound

12/21/2017- My mother-in-law lived at The Heritage Downtown for almost 11 years, until she needed the help of an Assisted Living facility at age 95. It was great for her and great for her large extended family. Our family became 'friends' with many of the people who work there, from the Administration to the loving servers and cooks in the Dining Room. The food served in their open-kitchen was always fantastic--like a nice restaurant, always with various selections. She enjoyed the variety of activities and entertainment offered there. We are ending our time with THD, but look back very fondly!
The Open Kitchen using fresh produce from the Facility Vegetable and Herb Garden

9/13/2017- My mother-in-law has lived at The Heritage Downtown for over 10 years now and she loves it. She gets lots of attention there and the meals are wonderful! Some of the staff have become 'friends,' due to the high level of care and attention they give both the resident and the resident's family. Nice quiet location, but handily located near downtown. Five Stars!!

3/3/2015- Great place. Fantastic location. Staff is very friendly and helpful. My father said they treat him like a King.

1/12/2015- DO NOT STAY HERE! BEWARE: This place cheated my mom out of her rightful deposit refund. The marketing department makes promises to get your business and then back- pedal to get out of it. Staff manipulative and facility poorly run. In addition - MANY, MANY safety issues for the elderly. Call the City of Walnut Creek for the long list of complaints. Agree with other reviewer - my mom took a sudden and unplanned turn for the worse and they forced her to give 30 days notice and pay rent, along with meals,

Night Time at The Heritage Downtown, Walnut Creek, Ca-my future home

Personal Notes: Based on my initial observation from our tour last week, I am already rating it as a 4.5 star senior living facility. Jenny Shively, the Community Relations Director, our tour guide was knowledgeable, friendly, patient and just an excellent guide of the Facility. Thank you, Jenny for your work and of course, the complimentary lunch for both Dodie and Me.

The Deal maker of our tour besides the Amenities and the Apartment with fully equipped kitchen was the huge patio that had enough room for Batman & Robin to play Hide and Seek as well as some of my potted plants.

I have a feeling I will be very happy in this facility only 15 minutes from Benicia or Dublin where my 2 oldest children reside. Moving Date: June 1.

This is my current patio space here in Fair Oaks. It is a little bit wider but shorter compared to my future patio space as shown in the three photos above.

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.