Season of Fruits and Flowers

Bananas and mangoes

Watermelon, rambutan and mangosteen

 

Cattleyas and others 

 

 

 

Santan bushes 

Mini Bougainvillas

Periwinkles and others....

 

Pink cattleya, violet baby's breaths and yellow mums for mine mini Our Lady of Lourdes grotto.

"Forever Young" Celebrating Friendship in Boracay

My husband and I and our Cotabato friends (Saturday dance group) went to Boracay last July 21 to July 24, 2015:

Arriving Boracay Airport, Caticlan via Philippine Airlines. Private transfer from Caticlan to Fairways and Blue Water's private pier.

Private boat transfer

Arriving Boracay shores with my limping friend Siolan Yap. Hahaha!

Stepping on the fine sand and clear water of Station  II.

With Lucas at Fairways and Blue Water's

Dinner at the private beach.

With Remy, our group organizer.

The forever young dancing group! Hahaha!

Swimming at the private beach.

At Puka Beach, with the only thorn among the roses. Haha!

With Lucas at Puka Beach. The water here is colder and cleaner and the shore deeper.

Displaying our shawls and scarves and wraps. Haha!

The brave ones to the banana boat ride.

Ivy, Ledian, Remy and I on the banana boat. Hahaha! Young brave souls! Haha!

Bye bye Boracay! Such a fun and a wonderful friendship trip!

Tagaytay Family Excursion in July

My sister Helen invited us to a family Tagaytay excursion at MH family resort. It was on the occasion of the homecoming of her daughter-in-law Aileen and her granddaughter Summer who came home from Bahrain to the Philippines for a vacation. I had been to the MH family resort twice on the invitation of the Chua's (my sister-in-law Diane) host family. It is a very relaxing family oriented eventful place. This time my sister Helen asked permission to use the place. I went there full force with Lucas and my son Emil and her girl friend Sue and my daughter Martha and our house help Karen. We had an enjoyable long weekend stay.

MH Chua's family estate in Tagaytay

Front porch

Swimming pool

Dining area - Sue, Aileen, Summer, my brother Ollie, and sister Helen on the phone.

Sue, Martha, Emil with Carlo and his black dog

On our way home, passed by a vista view of Taal Volcano. 

Martha, Sue, myself and Karen

Extended Birthday Celebration

Lucas had an extended birthday celebration at Senju ( thousand life ) Japanese restaurant in Manila.

75th Birthday

My husband celebrated his birthday with LCT employees in grateful thanksgiving of their loyalty:

With the manianita group- the early morning serenade and birthday greeters.

Happy birthday and many more to come!!!

Giving red packets to the kids.

Let the dinner begin.....

Guests taking pictures while waiting for their turn.

With friends and relatives

Karaoke and company teasing....

Singing liven up......

Dancing.......Everybody had fun!

Celebrating July 2015

This year July is a month long celebration of birthdays and happy events:
1, My husband 75th birthday celebration with employees and close friends at Connies.
2. Sunday mass offering and blessings from our parish priest. Snacks with friends and church members afterwards.
3. Cheering and following up Roy's successful 2 day bike event from Seattle to Portland through social media. A big and wonderful achievement for a severe asthmatic! Thank you Lord and my blessed Mother for this possible physical feat.
4. My husband and I left for Manila to be with our children.
5. Extended birthday celebration for Lucas at Shangrila Edsa with my children in Manila.
6. Greeting Roy a happy birthday after the bike event on July 15.
7. Send off my daughter Marion on her trip for a conference to Uruguay and a side trip to Brazil.
8. Three day and two night excursion and family bonding on the occasion of Aileen and Summer homecoming from Bahrain (daughter-in-law and granddaughter of my sister Helen) at MH family resort in Tagaytay.
9. First birthday party of Luis, the son of niece Jackie in Manila.
10. Exciting Boracay trip with the Cotabato's Saturday night barkada group. Wonderful sun, sea, shore and beautiful friendship.
11. Trip home from Boracay to Manila. At the same day, Marion's arrival from Latin America too. An unprecedented traffic snarl starting from the airport parking building onward to home. Welcome back to Manila!
12. Despedida party for Aileen and Summer given by my sister Helen in Manila.
13. Dinner with family at Oyazumi Noodle House. Superb food!
14. Back home to Cotabato. Thank God for all the safe trips and all the nice and enjoyable celebrations.

It's no wonder why I wasn't able to blog much this July. I will however follow up with plenty of pictures. Hehehe.

Petty Wishes Do Come True

When I was a little girl, I saw this comedy movie played by Jerry Lewis. In the movie, the actor picked oranges from his kitchen window and ate his fruits inside the house. I was fascinated with the scene and wished how I could do the same one day. Oranges do not grow in the Philippines but two of my favorite fruits which I hope to eat bountifully for free are mangoes and coconuts. When I was studying for college in Manila, I would oftenly buy green mango or young coconut to go with my lunch from the Gallas district street-plying-vendor we called "Suki". A young coconut cost 25 cents then, same price as a small cup of Magnolia ice cream. If I had extra money, I would choose to buy young coconut for my dessert. After meal, I could still fully consume the entire tender flesh and at the same time be satisfied with the very refreshing coconut juice. The green mango which was cheaper, on the other hand served me well as a viand that goes well with rice or simply as a delightful snack any time of the day. Today my wish has come true, although not literally picking them from my kitchen window. Hahaha. At present, I own a lot nearby that is planted with varieties of mango and coconut. I can eat an abundance of them for free any time my heart desires. The mango when in season, are so plentiful, and so, I have just recently given them away for free to friends and relatives and to our store workers too.

Also, another wistful dream when I was young, was to be able to watch movie from my bedroom. I had often wished that my room would be inside a movie theater, so that I could just go to sleep after watching a show, or simply go to sleep in the middle of a boring scene. When my children were growing up, the betamax became a household thing. It was then that my husband had a television set installed in our bedroom. Today, although I seldom watch long and late movie anymore at home, yet I keep my television screen on until I feel like going to slumber. And off it goes with just a click of a finger. Hahaha. Technological advancements these days make wishful dreams come true.

These are just two of the petty pretty little things that do come true :)