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, November 6, 2022

Grand Daughter Carenna Katague Thompson Spotlighted in School Newsletter

Carenna is freshman at the Elliott School of International Affairs at the University of Washington in DC. She a Student staff member and spotlighted on the current issue of their school newspaper-The Elliott Insider. This is a monthly newsletter for the Elliott Staff. In this November issue there is a list of the 2022-2023 Religious Holidays Calendar observed by Christians, Jews, Muslims and other religions of the World. A very informative calendar if you are interested of other cultures in the world besides your own.

I am so proud of her accomplishments. Note that she mentioned in the interview two favorite filipino food- Lumpia and Pancit . I am indeed s very, very proud LOLO Here's the article.

Meet Carenna Thompson
Public Affairs Work Study Student

Favorite Halloween candy?

Reese's, any Reese's product, but the original is the best.

Your best ever Halloween costume and how old were you?

In preschool, I dressed up as Mavis from Thomas the Train.

Favorite Holiday and why?

Thanksgiving. It's the food. We love traditional Thanksgiving food at my house and Filipino food like Lumpia and Pancit, so it's like my two favorite cultures coming together.

What's your opinion on dressing up pets on holidays?

As long as they're comfortable. I have a border collie corgi and sometimes I dress him up.

Now more serious topics. What are you studying?

International Affairs and Geography

What do you hope to do in the future?

Hopefully work for an NGO focused on climate change.

You went to an IB high school in the Netherlands. What was that like compared to your typical American peers?

What I really enjoyed was that I got to pursue my passions early, like Global Politics. It was an international boarding school so I got to live with and grow up with people from all over the world, so I think it broadened my horizons in terms of culture and experiences.

What's the best thing about living in the DMV?

The Mall and Rock Creek Park. I love just walking along the Mall, it's just a few blocks away and it's so spacious and open. Rock Creek is great because it seems like you're deep in the heart of nature even while you are in the middle of the city.

Meanwhile enjoy this photo from my collection.

Where is Carenna in this photo?

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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.