Why Retire in the Philippines/Marinduque Vacations: Ugly Sweater Day- A Colorful and Festive Success

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

Sunday, December 17, 2023

Ugly Sweater Day- A Colorful and Festive Success

Me in my ugly sweater- St Nick, the Champ with Susie Bramson with her 12-Nights Before Christmas Sweater. Susie is my Hongkong and Philippine Mahjong buddy.

LAST Friday, Ugly Sweater Day Here at THD was a colorful and festive success. I would guess about 40 residents and a dozen members of the Staff wore their ugly sweaters. Here are some photos of the occasion from the excellent photographic skills of our own Activity Coordinator, Karen Kopp. Thanks, Karen for these colorful photos.

Resident Ugly Sweater Winner- Linda Moschell-Congratulations!

Non Winners -Jean Kavale and Carol Bradas

Arlene and Earl Goetze and Dean Elias with Mary Fenelon and other Residents

Staff Winners- Andrea Rivas, Estefania Ramirez and Samanta Gaylan -Congratulations

Close-up Photo of Arlene and Earl Goetze

Glenn Mays and Jan Muto

Sandi Green, Gerry Armanino and Dori Scanlin

My Ugly Sweater I purchased from Amazon - last week, St, Nick, the Champ

Again, thank You Karen K for the above colorful photos. Meanwhile here's another Christmas Capiz Shell Parol from the Philippines ( R. Nieva) for your viewing pleasure.

Kudos to Activity Gurus, Galen and Karen for another activity that improves the well-being and quality of life of the Senior Residents here at THD.

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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