Old fashioned water pump

Bebe's Birthday

We had dinner at Army Navy which serves burgers and Mexican food. Service was poor but the food was surprisingly good.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Ganache

I baked over 40 cupcakes on Mama's birthday and baked over 120 more on Bebe's birthday. It was a big hit so I showed the process to Andrea, Merinel, Tita ChiChic, and our hardworking and talented helpers Nasing, Goldie and Hilda Mae.

Nido and Alex

Alex Suarez (pink shirt) caught up with us later. We chatted with Kenneth Platon by phone who is currently in Agusan.

Class reunion

University of the Philippines High School Class 77 informal get-together at Laguna Gardens. I had a great time catching up with each of them. From left to right: Nido Berdin, Josefa Jordan-Jimenez, Marijo Montayre-Araneta, Susie Solano Ignacio, Fr. Romulo Creus, Jackie Deen Von Seidlein, Jill, Jucel Ann, and Carmito Santos. Alex Suarez made it later but most of us had left by then.

Mama on her 90th birthday

Still looking great!

Mama's 90th birthday cake

This is a mango cake.

Mama's birthday

The house was all lit up for a family dinner on Mama's birthday. Nonong and Boie and their families left early and the rest of us, including my 90-year old mother, were all up till 1 am just talking and laughing. My mother remembers every single child's birthday. Her mind is still very sharp.

Lola's birthday party

The family went to Marco Polo Hotel to enjoy a buffet dinner. We reserved a room with two long tables.

Grilled mackerel

The fish was wrapped in foil with tomatoes, onions and garlic and then placed on the grill.

Another kind of seaweed salad

Seaweed mixed with vinegar, tomatoes, onions and ginger.

Jackfruit salad

This is boiled unripe langka or jackfruit mixed with coconut milk, bell pepper, onions and tomatoes.

Razor clam soup

This soup was really delicious! I had it for lunch today.

Carmelite Church

July 16th is Mama's birthday which also falls on the feast of the Lady of Mt Carmel. I took Mama here to light a candle and say our special intentions.

Asian fusion

Dinner at an Asian fusion place...Indian, Filipino, Vietnamese, Thai, Korean. The food was very good. Courtesy of Dodong and Marites.

A Filipino cow

Filipino cows are happy cows.

Willie

is 62 years old and plays tennis almost everyday. He tells lots of funny stories and is great company. He is my sister Bebe's husband.

Bye-bye beach house

The family is ready to return to the city.

Rare starfish

This one is probably even more rare. I have never seen a starfish like this before.

Rare starfish

On my last day at the beach house, Edmund the caretaker took me to a deeper part of the water where there are more corals. He is a fisherman and is used to diving. He found this starfish but it is a rare one and needed to be put back in the water.

Lechon

On our last day at the beach house, Nonong and Nang Billie ordered a roast pig. The best parts are the crispy skin and the meat around the ribs.

My kind of beach

These two pictures were taken late in the afternoon. The scenery is so calming. I swam in the morning when it is cloudy but I still managed to get a sunburn.

Great beach

I went swimming everyday I was at the beach house. The water was perfect: calm with a temperature of 85 degrees. The water was superclear.

Mangoes galore

Old beauty

This old woman was so delighted to have her picture taken. I think she used to be very beautiful.

"ungo"

Mama was approached by this woman. The woman touched Mama's arm and Mama touched her back. This is part of Mama's superstitious belief that the woman maybe a witch ("ungo") who is casting her evil powers on her, so Mama rejects it by touching her back!

Catch of the day

Local women selling the catch of the day.

More local produce

Local produce

Local folks selling locally grown produce.

Ginatilan town

Old church at the town of Ginatilan, just 5 minutes away from Samboan where the beach house is located.

Avocados galore

These avocados will take about 5 days to ripen.

Avocado tree

Edmund, the trusted caretaker, harvested 2 sackfuls of avocado from this tree.

Perfect view

One of my most favorite moments is reading a book at this spot. I wished I had more reading time and spent more days at the beach house.

Fresh fish salad

Raw fish marinated in vinegar, peppers, ginger, onions, garlic, salt and pepper. The vinegar cooks the fish.

Grilled parrot fish

We devoured the other fish. We're working on this next.

Chicken soup

With kamungay leaves. Simple but fresh and tasty. Kamungay leaves are used for wounds also. Wounds heal very quickly when treated with kamungay.

Fresh coconut meat

Get a spoon and start scraping. The coconut meat is fresh, luscious and delicious!

Fresh coconut

We enjoyed fresh coconut juice everyday at the beach house. The coconut was harvested from the tree growing in the yard.

Tocino

Doesn't this look good! Tocino is meat cured with soy sauce, sugar, salt, pepper, garlic and some acidic medium like soda, or wine or pineapple juice.

Healthy fresh food

My brothers and sister and thee spouses spent two days at Junie's and Nang Billie's beach house. Everything we ate was delicious and fresh. On the picture is "inun-unan" - fresh fish cooked in vinegar with ginger, bitter melon and eggplant.

Coffee after lunch

Believe it or not, we hung out at this place for at least 4 hours just talking! My brothers like to talk!

Classy Champorado

Fil-Mex fusion

A fusion of Mexican and Filipino food.

Bambam

Is super cute. She looks a lot like her father Bongbong.

Annika

I hope I did not misspell her name. Annika just had her, I'm guessing, her second birthday.

Lunch after Sunday mass

My sister-in-law Billy, my brothers Junie and Jaime at Bigby's.

Boomy and Bambam

These are BongBong and Kristine's kids Boomy and Bbam with their Tita Tata. At first what stuck in my head are Bombay and Bam-I.

Lunch after Sunday mass

Lunch at Bigbys. On the picture from left to right are: Dotdot's and John Fruto's son Marco, my niece Dotdot (Junie's daughter), Dotdot"s and John Fruto's daughter Annika, John Fruto, and my niece Tata (Dotdot's sister)

Sacred Heart Catholic Church

My first Sunday mass with the family.

Skinless sweet longanisa