Friday and the end of the first week of August...

Today is Friday, 5 August in the year of 2011. When the alarm went off this morning at 5:58 AM, I awoke and called Nora to chat with her for a few moments before I got ready to go to coffee at McDonald’s. I washed my face and got dressed and then arrived at McDonald’s at about 6:15 AM or 6:20 AM this morning. About 7:15 AM Myron came in and we chatted for a bit and he told me that he wants to come over to mom’s house Monday about 9:30 AM and do the trimming of the hedges for me as a return of the favor of my buying his plane tickets for him. This morning, at about 10 AM I will take the loveseat in my pickup over to Wayne and Maria’s house and from there we will go to Albany to Melba’s apartment and deliver the loveseat to her. I don’t mind giving it to her. It doesn’t fit in with my furniture and I really don’t need it. I sent pictures to Joyce and also to Kenneth showing them what their beds look like and their bedrooms. It is cloudy today and somewhat cooler, it may rain but I don’t know for sure what the forecast is. Nora is so funny she wanted me to write UPS an e-mail asking them to deliver the documents today, I don’t have that kind of control, and I’m certain that there were thousands and thousands of packages delivered to the Philippines by UPS and ours is certainly not going to take a priority. They said they would deliver it by the close of business on Monday and I told her that’s fine that’s good enough. Wayne and Maria came by to pick me up and then we drove to Albany over to Melba’s apartment and carried the loveseat up a flight of stairs and put it in her apartment. She was very happy to get it and actually fed us some noodles and ham for lunch which was nice of her. She seems happy living there by herself and that is a good thing. After that we went to Home Depot and Wayne bought some cedar lumber 6 foot long 1 x 6 boards to complete his fence. I just got home a few minutes ago and it is 5:46 PM. The day turned out to be very beautiful blue skies and moderate temperatures.

Thursday, Myron has tickets and shrubs may get trimmed...

Well good morning to everyone! It is a grand day, let me start this entry by telling you that my wife went to the NBI office in Manila yesterday morning accompanied by her uncle. She was able to contact a relative who works at the NBI and happens to be an officer. I won’t bore you with all The steps that she had to go through but, suffice it to say, by 2 PM she had her clearance in hand and was on the way back home. Had she not had a relative working there, it would’ve taken 30 days or more to get this clearance. So when she called me at about 8 AM this morning, although she had up splitting headache she was very happy and so was I. It is a nice day out today. I went to coffee at about 7:30 AM this morning and Myron came in and was telling me that he had problems getting his ticket to go back to China. I offered to help him and so he came over to the house and I was able to go online and buy him a one-way ticket to Hong Kong for just a hair over $700. Not a bad buy. He is going to have a friend of his, named James, come over and look at the shrubs in front of mom’s house and tell me how much you will charge to cut them back and shape them so they are more presentable. I decided on a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast which is easy to cook in the microwave a minute and 30 seconds and it’s done to perfection a little dusting of brown sugar and a little dash of milk and I was good to go. Right now I am enjoying a cup of hot chocolate. I have no particular plans for today, I am thinking that early this afternoon a nap may be in order. I will continue today’s Journal if anything happens of interest outside of the laundry that I am currently doing. Take care, and enjoy the day. I just emailed some photos of Joyce’s room to her, I hope she enjoys them as much as Kenneth enjoyed seeing his. I just called Barb Alley’s company, I want to talk to her about managing the rental/lease of Mom’s home. Barbara is guy come out and look at mom’s house on Tuesday at about 10 AM. I went over to visit with Wayne and Maria, and stayed there for about an hour and a half and then I came home. One load of laundry in the dryer and the last load is washing now. The guy from Comcast cable was out and buried a new cable from the street to the house. That should take care of the signal loss that the other technician noted. I moved the loveseat out into the garage, and put the organ back where it originally was… house looks more normal now. Clothes are all clean and put away for now… another week done I guess. I just checked the deliver time for the documents I sent to Nora and it is now: Scheduled Delivery Updated To: Monday, 08/08/2011, By End of Day Last Location: Manila, Philippines, Friday, 08/05/2011 That is OK, but I would like to have had it delivered on Saturday as they said… but Monday is still good.

Yet another trip to Manila NBI... hopefully it will be successful.

Today is Wednesday and the people from Allied waste should be here to pick up the dumpster today. Nora sent me a text message this morning about 5:30 AM, she was going to bed. Tomorrow morning she and her uncle will go into Manila to NBI and talk to the relative that said he could help her get her background check completed in about 8 days. I wished her well, then I got up and got dressed and went down to McDonald’s for coffee. As I was sitting there, just before I left, I was talking to Pete, a friend of mine. He was telling me how much he enjoys reading this journal and told me I should become a writer… maybe I already am I don’t know. If people enjoy reading what I write then I’m happy. To me the journal is just a daily recount of my activities and the situations I find myself in. Some of them are interesting some are challenging and others would bring tears to your eyes. All just part of life and they all help shape us into the individual that we are we are in essence a summation of our experiences. I came home, then realized that I needed to go back down to the barbershop and get a haircut. I got it cut pretty short which is okay because it will grow out again but it will be more comfortable in The hotter part of the summer. Back home again now, and just fixed a couple pieces of toast for breakfast and starting out today’s Journal entry. I am finding that Dragon Dictate for Mac is still not up to the par of the full-fledged version that is used in the PC community. But I believe it is better than MacSpeech Dictate was. To each of you who read this I pray you have a good day and that at least some of your dreams come true… always remember we look backwards to gain knowledge from those experiences which put us where we are today. I went to see Laura at Heritage, but she no longer works there so I went to her new place on Airway road. She is coming out this afternoon about 2pm to look at Mom’s house and give me a market appraisal. After I saw her, I went to Wal★mart and got a bed covering set for Kenneth’s room. Looks much better for now. I just sent Ralph an e-mail with 4 pictures of my Harley and a specification sheet showing the improvements that I have made to it. I returned Gareth’s call and while talking to him, Laura called and was waiting for me at 2644 so I walked down there to let her in… she thinks the house is nice and recommended a couple things I could do and will email me a market analysis in the next day of two... Boy, had a corona and I tell you what, first thing up was a nap… dangit if that stuff don’t make a man tired sometimes… About 5:30 I went down to Papa Murphy’s and bought a chicken bacon salad and brought home for dinner. After eating that, Lollie called me and we chatted for awhile and then I talked to Gareth… They are headed over to Eric and Debbie’s condo for dinner tonight.

Tuesday and the documents are on the way...

I woke up this morning at about 4:30 AM and tried to call Nora a couple of times and then sent her a instant message letting her know that I was trying to call her. A few moments later I got a call from her and we chatted for a little bit. I told her I would take care of everything that she needed me to do here and send it off to her today. After we hung up, I attempted to go back to sleep but could not so ended up getting up earlier than I wanted to. I went to coffee at 6 AM Del came in about 6:45 AM and I approached him about going with me to take a couple of pictures of me in various places to satisfy the requirements of the Embassy interviewer. I then went to Walmart and had the pictures printed out, a total of 6 8 x 10 pictures. I then went to the UPS store and had copies made of the utilities bills that I would be sending to Nora. Then I asked him how much it would be to send the package of bills and photos to the Philippines, altogether it cost me $65 at the UPS store and $15 at Walmart. The good thing about this is that she will receive the package by Saturday which should make are quite happy. I then came home and decided to see if I could set up my HP printer. I got it set up as a wireless printer and was able to print from my computer to it and now I’m trying to figure out how to make it scan. I haven’t quite got that one figured out yet. I did go to the HP site and set it up as an E printer which allows me to send anything to the printer’s e-mail address and then it will be printed as long as the prayer is online and my wireless network is online. I will call heritage property management today and also Barbara Allee and see about listing moms house either for rent or lease. I will probably contract with AAA cleaners to have them re-stretched the carpeting and professionally clean it. Chatting with Nora, sent her an email of the photos that I sent to her today using UPS. Nora went to Marilao to get the NBI clearance using her former married name as per the request of the consular at the US Embassy, but was told that it would take 30 days to get it because the NBI computers had been down for a month… She told me that she has a relative that works for NBI in Manila and that he said he might be able to get her the clearance in about 8 days so she and Uncle will go to Manila NBI tomorrow to talk to him. I went down to have dinner and decided to stop at Taco Bell, I had their double cheese Gordita and it also had a soft taco and a beef burrito. That along with the 20 ounce drink was under $6. Not bad, but I cannot afford to do things like that all the time. The rest of the evening was spent basically watching a little TV and relaxing, I told nor I was in a go to bed and that I would not be calling her before she went to sleep.

1st day of August here and Visa day in Manila...

Today is Monday, and I woke up at about 3:30 AM this morning and text with Nora little bit and then she called me about 5:15am or so. She was going through her paperwork that she will take to the US Embassy tomorrow morning. She asked that I call her to wake her up at 3:15 AM Tuesday morning which will be about 12:15 PM today my time. I am apprehensive, hopeful, excited and nervous. This is essentially the last major step to getting her and the children over here. Providing that her visa application is approved at the interview, she will probably take the children Wednesday and go to the CFO seminar so they can have their visas stamped. After that it's just a matter of her going to the travel agency and buying the plane tickets to come here to America. Sometime this evening I expect to hear from her... I’m not sure how soon she will have the interview although I believe it will be sometime Tuesday morning between about 7:30 AM and probably noon. I was talking to some folks at McDonald’s this morning and I started this whole process back in May of 2009 it’s taken a lot longer than I thought it would, but looking back the only things that really slowed the process down was her having to go to DOT treatment for a year and then me not having filed my 2010 taxes. Other than that everything really went pretty well and I’m hoping that it will go well for her at the interview also. In a little while I’m going to go downtown to what used to be floor crafters carpeting and see if they will give me an estimate to have the carpet at mom’s house re-stretched. I hope it won’t be too expensive. It is another beautiful day outside blue sky and nice temperature. I just finished breakfast, I had a bowl of oatmeal with some brown sugar on it and a little dab of milk. It’s supposed to be heart healthy, and that’s the main reason I needed although I truly do like the taste. Well I suppose I had better get going and get my day started there’s a number of things I have to do including going to Walmart and getting some sheets and a comforter and pillows and pillow cases for Kenneth’s bed. I went down to the credit union and gave the reports to Karen and she will give them to the lady who was helping see if they can straighten out my credit report. I’m sure I will hear from them sometime later in the week. From there I went to the floor crafter place to get an idea of what time they can come out and give me an estimate on stretching the carpet at mom’s house. After that I stop by the high school to see what would be required in getting Joyce registered for school. They told me to go to the main office and ask for a packet which I will probably do tomorrow. I got home at about 9:30 AM and called Dawn from AAA cleaning and he is going to call me back and tell me when he can come and look at the carpet at mom’s house for possible cleaning and re-stretching. They should be here around 4pm tomorrow… The guy from AAA cleaning will be here maybe this afternoon, at least he said he would call me this afternoon... Just called Kurt, the plumber that Brian recommended to run the gas line under the house and over to the kitchen for the potential gas stove... I met the carpet guy at about 3 PM.at mom’s house, he looked around and ended up giving me a bid to clean the carpet is $175 for the entire house and into stretch all the carpet in the house and reattach it is $300 for a total of $475. That would put us into the house just shy of $1000 to put it into leasable/rentable condition again. I’ll see what Lollie wants to do about that. It’s another $250 dollars out of my pocket so we would both be out about $500.

The Last day of July

Well today is Sunday, the final day in the month of July. When Nora wakes up in the morning it will be Monday and she will have one day left before her interview. I spent most of the day yesterday waiting for the 24 inch iMac and a 27 inch iMac to complete their data migration. It took a total of about 10 hours to get everything completed. It appears to be working the way I want to now. I am using DragonDictate on this journal, however I can see that I am going to have to do some more voice training. I just did another voice training session for Dragon and will do another a little later on… seemed to do ok. I tried to start the lawnmower this morning with the intention of going down and mowing mom’s yard, but a combination of year old gasoline and a dirty spark plug made it necessary for me to go down and get some new gas and clean the plug. After that the lawnmower started just fine. So I went down and mowed the back and the front yards, it looks better than the dandelions. When I got back home I took the blade off of the lawnmower and sharpened it, that should make it cut a little bit better. I just installed version 4.2 of sound studio, because the old version I had which was 2.2.4 was not compatible with lion software. I also had to download a program called lame which allows sound studio to create MP3 files. Chatting with my Sweetie, she woke up a little bit later this morning… she is praying for tomorrow to go well, I am also. Fixing some soup for dinner now, Nora is eating and will soon be on her way to SM I believe… Just finished Text'd ing with Lollie on YM and then we did a FaceTime chat, they were in Starbucks and it was really noisy... Just finished my shower and chatting a little with Lollie, they will be going out to dinner in a few minutes... I chatted a little bit with Nora, watched some television and then went to bed.

First post from the new 27" iMac...

Well today was July 30. I finally got both computers to talk each other and ran the migration assistant. It took a little better than 9 hours for the transfer of all the files from the 24 inch to the 27 inch. And even at that there are some compatibility issues with some of the software that I had installed on the 24. I’m not sure how I’m going to do it but I had to start my journal all over again. I spoke with knowledge to little bit ago she went to church this morning and doesn’t have any particular plans for the rest of the day. I was chatting with her just a moment ago and she excused herself from the conversation saying she had something to do. The gentleman from Comcast came out this morning and it took them only about 5 min. to get my computer back online something about the cabling was bad, because he did not have to replace the modem and router so now I have wireless all through the house and all lights on the modems and routers are the correct colors. I drove to Sweet home this afternoon and bought a large vanilla milkshake, the 1st one I’ve had in over a year and I must admit I really enjoyed it. I can see by this entry that I don’t like the background color so I’m going to go into the inspector and change it to the car I had with the old journal I believe and out on the text was black and the background was a sort of an aqua green color. Anyway this is the 1st entry on my new 27 inch iMac I’m sure the days following will prove quite interesting discovering those things that don’t work perhaps there will be some updates I’m not sure.

Thursday and the 2644 place is done...

Today is Thursday it looks like it will be another beautiful day the sky is blue it was a little bit brisk about 53° this morning. Nora called me about 5:30 AM actually I was asleep and it woke me up which was okay because it’s always nice to hear from her. The children at her watching a soccer game on television and they were quite excited because the Filipinos were winning. Tomorrow morning she will go to St. Luke for her vaccinations plus apparently they want her to pay 450 pesos lab fee for urinalysis which I don’t understand why she would need. I think it’s just another gouge I come to believe that St. Luke is nothing but a money maker for the Philippine government. I went to coffee at about 6 AM and return home by about 7:35 AM I just move the dresser from the garage into Kenneth’s room, I will need help to set it up on its legs and I don’t believe we will be able to use the mirror the way it was designed so I will take the brackets off the back of the dresser and then perhaps just hanging a mirror on the wall. At 9 AM Mike is going to be coming from Albany to pick up the remainder of the stuff for moms garage, then I am supposed to meet Fred from Lebanon auto salvage at 10 o’clock but I’m going to change an appointment to next week. I went down to mom’s and proceeded to put things in the dumpster, Mike showed up about 10 minutes after nine and Larry had already come over to pick up his tool belt and he took a few other things that he thought was worth having. The only things left in the garage now are the roaster pan, the organ and seat and the console stereo. After we put everything else in the dumpster, Mike and I pushed it down here to my home where I loaded it up with the stuff from Kenneth’s room that Melissa had left. The dumpster is pretty near full now. It is now 11:37 AM and I am tired. I am going to take a break for an hour or so after which time I’m not sure what my plans are.

Wednesday, another day closer...

Today is Wednesday the 27th day of July in about a half hour it will actually be 28 July in Marilao. I woke up at about 5:30 AM this morning and called Nora they are experiencing the wet weather associated with the typhoon a lot of rain and wind, but hopefully by Friday, the day she wants to go to St. Luke’s and get her vaccinations, the typhoon will have died down to nothing. About 6 AM I left the house to go to McDonald’s for coffee and then returned home at about 7:30 AM. I then made a little journey and took care of some business. When I got home I cleaned out the back of the pickup with a broom and so now it’s nice and clean again. I have something coming today, a delivery, either Dragon dictate or perhaps something from Apple computer I’m not sure which. I’m hoping that Mike, the fellow who picked up stuff from moms garage yesterday will call me and let me know when he would like to come back and complete the job. Yesterday I put an ad on craigslist for the Harley and also an ad for the upright organ that is still at mom’s house. Perhaps later today I will take a picture or of the console radio/record player that is still there and put an ad on craigslist for that also. I’m asking $35 for the organ which is a steal. I need to call Dr. Thayer today and remind them that they need to reorder my toprol medication. Somehow they failed to include that in the order to EzScripts pharmacy. Other than that I have no specific plans for today, at some point this week I had hoped to go to the credit union and see if I can straighten out that little fiasco. Well I had a situation with my iPhone that I was finally able to fix, I had to jailbreak my phone but now I no longer have a restrictions password and I downloaded an application that allows me to run a program without unlocking my phone. The jailbreak only took about 30 seconds and now I can download any Cydia applications I want. And I really like that. I’ve gotten me extended warranty for my new Mac I also got the magic bar to connect the keyboard and the magic trackpad and my printer showed up today. Del just came over for a visit and stayed for about 45 minutes than he had some place to go and other things to do so he left. After that, I went to Larry’s house and asked if they were going to finish the house and they were concerned that Lori was not going to be paid and I told him that I would pay her $100 making a total of 400 labor for them. The dumpster came today and I put it in the garage. They will go down tonight finish the house, and make sure it’s completely empty and everything left will be in the garage.

Tuesday morning and much to do...

Today is Tuesday it is a bright and beautiful day the sun is shining in a nice blue sky. I spoke with Nora this morning I was actually hoping by the alarm on my phone, after which time I called her. She had a good day yesterday but did not go to the movie as Joyce did not want to go so they went back home about 3 PM. She told me that the teachers at Prenza high school would have Joyce’s transcripts ready by Friday. She also wants Kenneth to go to the college and get a copy of his transcripts. I went to coffee this morning at about 6:25 AM and returned home at approximately 8 AM, did the dishes from yesterday and made some oatmeal for breakfast. I also took the accessories use for my exercise machine and put them in the back of my closet. The lady from Creswell should show up before 10 AM this morning to pick up the stuff for moms house and I will let her look through the things that I am going to throw away that Melissa left here. It’s a lady indeed does show up I will call Allied and cancel the dumpster for tomorrow morning drop-off. That will save us $76. I may go to Wal-Mart today and pick up a bedding set for Kenneth’s room. I will also look at some plastic boxes to put all the Apple stuff that is now on the shelves in. Sometimes it amazes me all the stuff a person can collect over the years. Other than that, I don’t have too much planned for today. Well it is 10:00 AM and the skank from Creswell ain’t here so screw her. The Mike guy from Albany is doing a bang up job of getting stuff out of the garage at Mom’s place... I went down and took some of the stuff out of mom’s bedroom and put in the garage basically just trash. I also took four pictures of the organ and then came home and created an ad on craigslist, I’m going to sell it for $35 cash no haggling. I think I also will take a picture of that console music player and put it in craigslist for $25 cash, hell might as well make a few bucks on that stuff. I will still need the dumpster so I cannot save the $76 bucks but that is ok, it will be split between Lollie and I so that is not too bad. I just want to get done with the house and get it rented/leased. Chatted a bit with Nick this afternoon, that was a nice change.

Monday... a shade over a week and the "Interview" is happening...

Last night I did not sleep all that well the house retained a lot of the heat from yesterday at four clock this morning it was still 75° in the house. Having the quilt on top of the bed didn’t make it any easier. I got up at about 5 AM this morning. Chatting with Nora about 5:30 AM she spent a good portion of the day yesterday at the SM Mall in Marilao. She went the globe and also the smart to find out about getting out more affordable plan for a wireless connection for Jenny and from what she told me and what they offer I think staying with the plan we have which is unlimited time is a better idea. After that she went to the photograph place and had some of the pictures printed off of the Sim card from my camera. She also had new passport pictures taken which she is not very happy with she said they make her look fat and washed out with beady little eyes. I told her to go ahead and just get it fixed. After coffee this morning I need to go to the DMV and get new registration for the Mini Cooper and new plates, I am not going to put custom plates on it again, too much money. It is supposed to be a lot cooler today with the temperature in the low 70° or so. I believe I will mow the lawns this afternoon to get that done, of course first I will rake up the dandelions that I pulled out of the front yard. It is now 5:55 AM and I am going ahead down to McDonald’s for coffee perhaps I’ll buy a breakfast sandwich I am not sure yet. Nora told me that today she will go to Prenza high school and get Joyce’s records. Gonna cost me $114 to re-license the Mini Cooper. Dang it is getting expensive to drive. Well I got the credit reports from Experian, Equifax and Trans Union credit bureaus the only negative on any of them is from LinnCo credit union. After the lady comes to pick up the stuff from mom’s garage tomorrow, I will go to the credit union and see what we can do about changing the negative rating. I hired the neighbor guy that Mexican to do my yard weed the front and back and take care of the necessary backbreaking work so that I would have a baseline to start getting the yard in order again. Been chatting with Nora and Lollie… I enjoy talking to both of them, Nora has been telling me that there’s another typhoon working its way through the northwestern part of Luzon so that will probably dump a lot of rain in the Manila area and in the area that she is living. I just finished some chicken rotelle soup with a couple slices of whole wheat bread and a little butter and had comprised dinner, then I washed up the dinner dishes, clean the counter tops and am done for the night. I did not have any lunch today. Well, with the exception of two in butter cookies but that was it. I told Laura to go ahead and move the bed and put some pots down on the floor to catch the water, something we are or were quite used to doing when the rain comes hard. I hope it’s not raining too hard when she goes to Manila.

Sunday morning... the demise of the closet

Sunday morning. The sky is a little bit overcast and I have not checked to see what the forecast will be for today. It is quite doubtful that there will be any rain. I may go back out to the backyard and see if I missed any of the dandelions and if I did all pull them up and then I’ll take the ones that I pulled up yesterday out to the pickup load them up. I just finished speaking with Nora she had left me a message just a moment or two before telling me that she was very tired and going to sleep and that I should just leave her a message. I typed “goodnight honey” to her and a moment later she responded so we chatted for just a little bit then I called her and talk to her for a couple minutes and told her to have a good night sleep well and have nice dreams then we hung up. The fact of the matter is today’s the 24th here in America and soon will be the 25th for her there in the Philippines. The month of July is almost gone and her visa appointment is right around the corner. I pray to God that her visa interview goes well. The only thing that could give her any trouble but I know of would be to security clearance but even I don’t understand how that could really be a problem, but you never know what the counselor will decide. I’ve got the house almost done, I still need to clean out Kenneth’s closet and I have a few things to pick up off the floor in our room. I still need to figure out where to put the organ I’m not sure about that just yet I might put it back in Kenneth’s room for the time being. Well I am thirsty so I think I will go to McDonald’s and have coffee and after that I can come home, change clothes, and get on with the rest of the day. Had coffee, Ralph was there. I left about 7:30 AM to come back home at which time I started cleaning out the bedroom closet in Kenneth’s room. I’ve got that done, I used the filing cabinet as a storage place for some of the laundry accessories such as soft scrub and little paper things you put in the dryer to keep stuff from clinging together. I also stored some paperwork of my own in the second from the bottom drawer. It will serve a better purpose in the garage than it did in the closet. I vacuumed the closet floor so it is ready now for the transfer of clothing from my room or I should say Nora and I’s bedroom closet. But she wants me to wait until she gets here before we make the switch so I will. It’s 11 AM now I think I’m done for a while. I will post this for anyone who cares to read it. I decided to go to the front yard and pull out some of those pesky dandylions, my gosh there were a bunch of ‘em. The tool I use takes a little plug of earth with it when it gets the dandylion so I have all these little holes in the yard... Someday I want to have it tilled up and a new lawn put in. Maybe. Chatting with Lollie on FaceTime now, she is fixing their coffee drinks now and I hear her but cannot see anything of her, just the dining room table... I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with some milk for lunch... It it 4:24 PM and I have been chatting with Nora for about 35 minutes now, she had to go to the CR for a little bit and will call me back when she is finished... She needs to go to Prenza High School and arrange to get all of Joyce’s records and then to SM Mall to check on the debit card for Jenny and also the rates for shipping a box home thru DHL. Just hung up from chatting with Nora, she will call before she goes to SM Mall...

A Beautiful Saturday morning and I have already done good work.

The picture is my Grandson 'denny russel', wonder where that came from?? The sky is blue and it is a beautiful Saturday morning. I have a few minor things to do inside the house a few things I need to put away and I want to put the mattress for Kenneth’s bed outside so that it can air out. It looks to me like I had better get the lawnmower out and mow the grass, and I may get out the machete and trim back to stump it used to be the cherry tree in the backyard. Last night I slept horribly, I don’t know why but since returning from the Philippines my sleep habits have been sporadic and not very restful. I woke this morning at 3 AM and could not go back to sleep, eventually I dozed off for about a half hour and then at 7:30 AM I gave up and got out of bed, took my shower and prepared to greet the day. I had called Nora at 3 AM to chat with her as I couldn’t sleep, but never did get an answer. I sent her a couple of instant messages and she called me at about 4:30 AM. She of course is worried about why I’m not sleeping and I told her that it was because I didn’t have my little brown sleeping pill next to me in bed. I just sent to Kenneth video that shows you how easy it is to enable FaceTime on the iPhone 3GS. I hope all work for him. It would be nice to be able to have that capability when Jenny has only that phone to communicate with us. Went to the back yard and picked up the stuff I pulled up a few days ago and put it in the Toyota then proceeded to hack the new growth out of the cherry tree stump, cleaned up the carport a bit and got a call from Freddy, he will be here in an hour or so for some liquid refreshments.

Thursday... 9 days to go

Well today is actually July 23 of the year 2011 in the Philippine Islands. Nine more days and Nora will appear at the US Embassy for her visa interview. It is my hope that it all goes well and she doesn’t have to do anything else. If it all works out the way it’s supposed to she will be told at the end of the interview that she will get her visa. Then as soon as she receives her Visa package she will be able to take the children and her and attend the CFO seminar which is a two-hour but likely one whole day seminar. Once they are finished with that their visa will be stamped and they will be allowed to board the aircraft when she has bought the tickets. That will be a great day and an even greater day will be when I go to Portland to pick her up. It is overcast outside today and I’m not sure what the weather forecast is, but it may rain or not. My plan for the day is to probably empty the bedroom that Kenneth will occupy and get it cleaned up in preparation for putting in the double bed from mom’s house. Had coffee at McDonald’s I left here about 6 AM and then got back home at about 7:50 AM. Just made some toast and Hot Chocolate for breakfast... hope it warms up soon, I have things to do. Just ordered my new 27” iMac and an HP Printer that is wireless and supports Airprint so we will be able to print from any device, iPad, iPhone or any other device... I just ordered a small bumps or to be placed at 2644 S. 11th St. it will come next Wednesday and each time it’s emptied there is a $76 charge. I have prepaid the first $76 using my debit card. When I get the receipt I will send that to Gareth and he can reimburse me for half of the fee. I just went down and got the Hollywood frame and also the headboard for the bed that will go into Kenneth’s bedroom. In a little while I will start emptying out that bedroom. Well everything except for the bookcase and the shelving has been removed from Kenneth’s room, I have the bed rails and the headboard in there and get a little while I will get out the bolts and nuts and attached a headboard to the rails then I will probably go down to mom’s house and get the mattress and box springs and bring them back up here I can put the box springs on but Nora wants me to air out the mattress. Had a great chat with Gareth and Lollie, they are finally moving and getting things done, Gareth is going to get some housework done now. Chatting with Nora, she seems pretty pre-occupied with baby denny and his antics... I made some chicken noodle soup for dinner accompanied with two pieces of toast w/butter.

Today is maybe "Fix the bedroom" day, I will work on Kenneth's room...

I overslept this morning I didn’t wake up until 7 AM and of course when I signed on to Yahoo messenger I had a ton of messages from Nora as I had not called her at six which I normally would do. She was worried about me, so I immediately called her and told her what had happened that I had drank a couple of beers and then took two Tylenol PMs and that I had just really slept soundly but was okay. She was happy about that and was able at that time to go to bed and go to sleep. She does worry about me a lot and that is greatly appreciated. I went down to McDonald’s at about 7:30 AM and just got home it is now 9:15 AM. I cut some dandelions out of the cracks in the pavement and while I was doing so discovered a nest of ants so I sprayed them with ant poison. I have the ability to eradicate them from around the home I will not put up with ants anymore. It is overcast today and I felt a mist in the air which tells me it probably will rain today, I wouldn’t be at all surprised. I put together a list of a few things that I needed to get and then went out to Wal-Mart to pick them up. While I was there I bought a remote control to let and also bought what I thought was a wireless Hewlett-Packard printer when I got the printer home and went to attach it to the computer I found it was not wireless. I packed everything up including the switch didn’t work and took it back to Wal-Mart and got a refund. On the way home I stopped at Papa Murphy’s pizza and picked up a good chicken salad for dinner tonight. After I got home I took the beer glasses out of the freezer in the refrigerator and the house and put them in the freezer and refrigerator in the garage. I have been talking to lolly and Gareth on face time both computer to computer and also computer to iPhone all seem to be working quite nicely. Earlier today I called Apple to find out if the new iMacs would be shipping with lion or if they would be shipping with snow leopard installed. They did not have an answer for me so I did not order one yet. I may tomorrow, but I’m not sure. Chatted a little bit with Dorothy and also Joyce... she is a good kid.. it’s tough there though.

Wednesday or otherwise known as "Refrigerator" day...

Good morning everyone. Today is Wednesday, July 20 and I have a cold. I really have no idea where this cold came from I seem to have missed a running nose part and gone right into the hacking cough stage. I may stop after coffee and get some cough medicine or some lozenges. I went to bed last night at about 9:30 PM. I woke up the first time at about 1 AM needing to use the restroom. And the rest of the time in bed was restless. I had a dream actually I had several dreams but in one of them I remember the address of 621 Franklin St. I don’t know why. If this cough would break up and I could expel some mucus it would help, but right now my throat really feels tight. This is probably one of the occasions where I’m glad Nora and the children are not around. If I can get rid of this cough/cold before they arrive it would be nice. I do know that Nora has a cold also she had complained about a runny nose and sore throat so maybe mine is a sympathy cold. At 6 AM I will go down to McDonald’s for coffee in the meantime I will see what kind of mail has come in overnight. After I return home from McDonald’s, I preceded to finish the work on the refrigerator by swapping the door to open on the correct side and installing all the shelving and drawers. It is now plugged in and cooling and this afternoon I will put the food from the other refrigerator into it and possibly move the other refrigerator out to the garage. I just ordered my free annual credit reports from the three reporting bureaus it will take about two weeks for them to arrive. I decided to go down to the substation and have a sandwich so I had a turkey bacon avocado sub, an 8 inch one. Have a glass of water to drink and a small bag of Lays chips. Came back home and emptied the refrigerator that was in the kitchen on the countertops and then put everything in the new refrigerator that I got from mom’s place. I took the old refrigerator out the front door and installed it in the garage and reloaded it lists the various drinks and whatnot that I had in there before. I haven’t seen hide nor hair of Larry or Laurie today, don’t know what they are doing but they are not working at mom’s house today. I saw that Maria was online so I chatted with her for a while and she suggested that I add her daughter Annalisa as a friend on both Facebook and Yahoo messenger which I did. I also saw while I was on Facebook that Donna was online and so I chatted with her for a little bit she is still feeling a lot of pain and hurt and has a long ways to go before her relationship with Hal will be healed if ever. Nora came on at about 6:45 AM her time so we chatted for a little bit and now she’s doing something and will be back a little bit later. She plans to go to SM mall today and check on the BDO debit card for Jenny. I got a lot done today the refrigerator saga is now complete, and the next thing that I need to complete is a cleaning of the room Kenneth will have. I will move the stuff into the garage temporarily then clean the carpet vacuum and really good then I will put together the bed from down at moms for him to use.

First post since returning to the States... It's good to be home...

Well I must admit that last night I slept like a baby, about 8:30 PM I took an Ambien and by the time I had finished my shower I was already sleepy so I went to bed, fell asleep almost immediately and did not awaken until 5:30 AM this morning. I feel very refreshed and wide awake. I went to McDonald’s for coffee this morning, chatted with the usual characters and then, I thought that the city of Lebanon utilities would be open at 8 AM, however they do not open until 9 AM. I then went back to mom’s house, and finished putting the doors on the refrigerator that I took down there yesterday so that it will be ready to go back in its place next to the stove after Larry and Lori finish cleaning the kitchen. While at McDonald’s I had the opportunity to talk to Nora, she was getting ready to go to bed so I told her to have sweet dreams and that I would talk to her when she woke up in the morning. It is now 9 AM and I am here at the house, will catch up on a little computer stuff and then go down to the city utility office and turn on the water at 2644. I just sent in an application to reinstate the water service at 2644, I had to pay a $10 credit search and fill out a long application document. On the way back home from the water company, I stopped at 2644 and finished putting on the doors to the refrigerator that will live there and then brought moms old refrigerator back to the house. I cleaned it up really good inside and out and will reassemble it later and then to make the switch with the one that is in our kitchen now. I just went through another fiasco with smile on my Mac trying to upgrade my PDF pen software to PDF pen pro. What a hassle, but I have it done now. I cleaned up mom’s refrigerator and tomorrow I will probably move it into the house and began reassembling it I will put most of it together in the garage but I want to bring it in-house without the doors attached, which will make it much easier to move. I do believe that Nora will really like this refrigerator I know I do. I will get the serial and model number and takedown to Brian at Kellenberger’s to see if we can order an icemaker for it. Got all the shelves put back together for the new fridge, dried the drawers so now tomorrow, I will prepare to change over the way the doors open and put it all in the house... after which I will swap over the food then take the other refer out into the garage for a cleaning also.

My last day in the Philippines... at least for now.

Jul 10, 2011

This is it... departure day, separation from my lovely bride and children... for at least a month, hopefully they will leave the Philippines on or about the 15th of Aug if all goes well...

Yesterday was a good day, but all day it rained so we stayed at home.

Last night sleep started off really good, but then Nora got up sometime early this morning to use the bathroom and when she returned to bed she couldn't fall asleep so it was tossing and turning and churning and thumping and banging... gosh she is terrible when she cannot sleep... I sometimes think at home maybe we will have to get twin beds so she don't keep me up. Maybe I will just tell her to drag her carcass out to the living room and sleep on the couch... after all, they are comfortable.

Anyway, we missed the 7am mass at the church so now she wants to go to the 8:30 mass... I could miss it but won't.

After we get back home we will see what the afternoon brings... if the weather clears, we might go to SM Mall.

~ Say what you mean
Mean what you say...

My last 'Full day' here... off to Oregon tomorrow

Jul 09, 2011

Saturday morning, 7:55 AM. This is my last Saturday here in the Philippines, tomorrow evening it's off to the airport and then a few minutes after midnight I depart to Seoul for a 10+ hour layover then we go to San Francisco for yet another 10+ hour layover and then finally take off for Portland and the 2 hour drive home... Been a very interesting and happy and frustrating year to say the least.

I bring home with me the fact that I am once again married and a father to grown children and Grandfather to one new grandson... I can honestly say that at 67 years of age this is a remarkable undertaking for me... I cannot say that my life is dull at this time... fading into old age with no pomp or circumstance just was not in my plans... I am young at heart and hopefully the good Lord will have at least another 35 years for me to play the game.

When it is finally time for me to check out of this life hotel, I will take with me many fine memories and hopefully I can leave good memories behind me also... I know my wife and children (present tense) will have a much better chance at a good life because of me having been in their life. I am far from perfect and need tuning up all the time but I ain't a half bad ride... After all, only one perfect man ever walked this earth and he and no-one else is my constant mentor... Thank you God for all you have allowed me to experience, the good and the bad have shaped me and give me reason to continue my quest...

Nora is currently having some of Gareth's famed ailment but she is going to Divine to buy food and will stop at the pharmacy and get some ducolax to take care of that... she is a very regular person so this is a little out of character for her.

Just about 15 minutes ago we had a heavy but short squall run thru, thoroughly dampening everything and causing our ceiling to leak once again... I won't miss that!!!

Sad/Happy I guess is the internal mood that I am experiencing at the moment, but I will be so busy once home that I won't have time to moan and cry about things...

If more happens worth writing about today I will surely let you know...

~ Say what you mean
Mean what you say...

Open an account for Jenny and deposit funds...

Jul 08, 2011

Yesterday was truly a good day, Nora did laundry, I helped her a little and so did Jenny.

We got a chance to talk to Jenny some and tell her the things that she needs to be careful of, especially letting people her know anything about her financial situation... unfortunately, if they know she has a budget, they will all try to borrow from her and that would cause big problems for her. We told her to keep any information about how much she gets and what she has available strictly to herself... no friends or relatives should know anything about her finances.

Today, Nora and I and Jenny will be going to open an account for Jenny at BDO bank so that I can set up a recurring transfer thru what ever means I choose to fund her budget each month... that way she doesn't have to get the entire amount into her hands at one time, rather she can debit the account on a weekly basis which leaves the brunt of her budget safe in the bank... easy to lose money.

I will be putting the abundance of the money I had sent over here in either Jennys account or Nora's. We will discuss that.

We slept good last night, it has remained cooler since the low pressure areas have been around.

Nora told me yesterday that she wants to buy the ingredients to make spaghetti, she knows it is one of my favorite dishes here that she makes. We will likely go to a movie also if there is something good showing. It will be our last one until she is in the States.

Weather looks a little on the hazy side, it seems to go to hell in the afternoons.

••• Went to SM Mall and opened an account for JennyLyn at the BDO bank and deposited 100,000p (we will use a lot of that to buy Nora and kids plane tickets... but safer in the bank than here at home.  She will be able to access her budget funds via a ATM card or going to the counter.

Have a great day everyone...

~ Say what you mean Mean what you say...

Thursday, clothes day, laundry etc... yuk!!!

Jul 07, 2011

Thursday already... Sunday will come quickly now. It is 7:36 AM now, I just finished my morning bath and am updating, as you can see, this daily journal...

Nora just brought me coffee, she woke with a pounding headache this morning, we had no water so I got up and went in the back factory and got a bottle full of water and then returned and gave Nora an excedrin... that usually gets rid of the headaches pretty fast... always works for me, much better than tylenol or asprin.

Today will be a day of laundry as there is really nothing much we can do until it is time for Nora's interview.

I see the neighbor lady building a pile of trash just on the other side of the short cement wall that separates our compound and the open field in front of this apartment. She will soon set it on fire and then the air will stink while it smoulders, trying to burn damp items and plastic bags and containers... The air here, that we breath is in my estimation quite dangerous with all the toxins that are released thru the burning of garbage, exhaust from all the ill-tuned vehicles and 2-cycle motor scooters... it is most of the time so bad that you really need to cover your mouth and nose with a rag to help filter out the smoke.

Yesterday was a pretty up day for everyone, the kids really like the visa page of their passports and Nora is so happy that they have them. Now just waiting for her to get hers and all will be good, I told her that I want her on a plane as quickly as is possible after they attend the CFO seminar for departing Filipinos that she and the kids must attend.

We will go to the Mall on Saturday, I need to print out Nora's confirmation email for her interview appointment and we will go to another movie I would imagine.

Today, Nora and I will set Jenny down and hopefully give her some insight on how to conduct her affairs while she is here, especially those concerning her budget... We plan to warn her from ever talking about how much money she is getting or has and to never loan anyone any money at all... people here have great intentions of repaying, but it never happens and Jenny will not have enough to give to anyone else. Alex and Ana would be on her to borrow just like they did me.

This will be some learning experience for her.

Well so much for this days entries which actually just a summation of yesterday and declaration of intent for today... WoWeeeeeeee !!!

••• A moment ago, just after I penned this days entry, the sky opened up and a Monsoon dumped a ton of water in an exceedingly heavy downpour... now it is stopped but more will come because of a large low pressure area that is passing over this region...

~ Say what you mean Mean what you say...

Hopefully the end at St. Lukes will be today...

Jul 06, 2011

Yesterday was a Great day, starting out with the email that informed us the children had been issued their Visa's... the day progressed pretty good I must say... Nora finally got thru to St. Lukes clinic so she will be going there this morning for her vaccinations and to be released from St. Lukes clinic.

Last night, I got online and connected to the US Embassy to make the Visa interview appt. for Nora, would you not believe it, the first opening they have now is Aug 2. That means that she will not receive her visa until at least Aug 7, then she has to go to the CFO seminar for departing filipinos (her and the kids) the seminar is only two hours but takes nearly a day to complete and costs an additional 650p per person... She attend the CFO seminar until she has the visa as they need to stamp it with a seal to prove she attended it... it is all tied together here, politics, graft and whatever else can complicate a process they have down to a fine art here.

Nora's latest worry is that her Taiwan police clearance will not be valid because it is from 2009... it should be valid because she has not left the Philippines since getting it but who knows what the consular will say. Her medical is only good for 3 months after the last sputum results were released (June 14) so she has to leave the country before Sept 14 or she will have to do the whole medical process over again... I am praying that all is OK,

Nicholas is back on FaceBook it appears and he sure seems nice. I have missed chatting with him and hope to renew that experience once I get home. I miss the little shit.

Hope that all goes well at St. Lukes clinic for Nora today, having that finished will be wonderful.

A chicken just walked in front of our doorway and took a shit... Gosh, I will really miss these wonderful experiences when I leave (NOT).

~ Say what you mean
Mean what you say...

Tuesday... waiting for St. Luke and the Embassy. Good news would be nice.

Jul 05, 2011

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY AMERICA... Even though here in the Philippines it is actually now the 5th. 15 hours difference in time.

All US government offices were closed yesterday here in the Metro Manila area so the US Embassy was also closed... nothing to get or hear from them... Hope that we hear from them today.

Nora will call St. Lukes clinic again today to see if she can get her vaccinations and finish there so I can hopefully schedule her for her Visa interview for next week.

I also hope that we hear about the childrens Visa's this week, the Embassy has had the paperwork for over two weeks now...

We slept pretty good weatherwise, but Nora is in worry mode now about the visa's so she was having trouble getting her mind to unwind and let her slip into restful sleep... she eventually did after beating the hell out of the sheets with her tossing vocanic little body all over the place...

Hope and pray that we get some positive news today, I want to be able to go to the Airport on Sunday with a positive note...

Yesterday evening, I gave Kenneth 2,000p to take to Marilao and pay the electric bill for last month...

••• Here is the kind of message you like to get from the Government...

We are pleased to inform you that immigrant visas were issued to Mark and Joyce Balisbis on June 30, 2011.  The visa packets will be delivered to the applicants’ designated address by guaranteed courier service.     Immigrant Visa Correspondence Unit Consular Section U.S. Embassy, Manila 1201 Roxas Boulevard 1000 Manila, Philippines Telephone: (632) 301-2000 Fax: (632) 301-2591 /mbp     -----Original Message----- From: ~ denny [mailto:gambuchi@gmail.com] Sent: Monday, July 04, 2011 1:14 PM To: Manila IV Correspondence Unit Subject: Balisbis,Mark Kenneth MNL2011699062 CR-2 pri date N/A -- Balisbis,Joyce Anne MNL 2011699063 CR-2 pri date N/A   Can you please report the current status of these two cases?    Thank you sincerely,   Dennis R Stanley     ~ Say what you mean Mean what you say...

My last Monday here in the philippines...

Jul 04, 2011

Here, it is already 4 July, and also it will be a good day, but the Holiday we Americans celebrate is yet to come in the USA. That my partiotic friends has yet to dawn. But celebrate it we will, as Americans of a Free Country... This is the first one I will have missed in many a year, actually since I was in VietNam so many years ago.

Here, they don't celebrate the fourth of July as we do as it is not Independence day here, they already had theirs...

Today is starting like yesterday, primarily a clear sky but some distant clouds and just a tad hazy...

We slept good considering the weather was cooler.

Alex is being tricky now about money, I told him the other day I don't like him talking to Nora about borrowing money, it is my money and he thinks that he can convince her to get me to loan the money... that is just plain chickenshit and backstabbing as far as I am concerned. Just now Nora asked me if I would loan her 2,000p and when I pressed her for the reason, it was to loan it to Alex... who faithfully promised her he would pay it back tomorrow... but tomorrow doesn't always come in a timely fashion... I don't like people who go behind my back to get something... and then he asked Ana to ask Nora, really manly of him...

I just finished coffee and an egg/toast sandwich for breakfast... just before that, I had a heart to heart talk with Joyce about her displays of stubborness that have been rising lately with Nora... I told her that I would not stand for any of the children disrespecting Nora or I and that even if they are mad there is no excuse for raising their voices to their parents... period. She acknowledged it and I made certain that she knew that I was not going to put up with it. Hopefully that will curb those outbursts... I also need to retrain Nora to not always elevate her voice when talking to her children or me for that matter...

Nora is buying fish for lunch or dinner from one of the walk-thru vendors that frequent the neighborhood on a daily basis...

Nora is to call St. Lukes clinic this morning about 10am to see when she can get her vaccinations and complete the remedical... shots are all she is lacking. Then I can schedule her a Visa interview appt.

I will continue this later should more happen worth penning...

••• Even though it goes against my better judgment, when Ana came to me and asked to borrow 2,000p until tomorrow morning and solemly promised me that it will be repaid tomorrow morning, I finally relented and loaned it to her...

~ Say what you mean Mean what you say...

Next Sunday is my last one here in the philippines...

Jul 03, 2011

Tomorrow is Independence Day, "The Fourth of Juy" in America, the day we celebrate the independence of the United States... a great Holiday that will be celebrated all over the country...

Today starts out with mostly blue skies and at 6:27 AM that is a good way to start out a Sunday morning.

Nora and I went to the Mall yesterday and we saw the movie 'Transformers' which was a well done movie of the Robotic based theme. It was hard for me to follow some of the story lines but I got the gist of it down pretty good... Nora really enjoyed it and we are sending the kids to see it today...

We stopped and had lunch at a Filipino version of Kenny Rodgers restaurant, I have yet to have a meal at the mall that I actually really enjoyed... I endure them as they are the choices available but at each setting I find myself comparing them to the cuisine that is available to me in the United States.. There really is no comparison though. I will soon be back to normal Progresso ingestion and utensils that make sense to me and not seeing people eat with their fingers which sufficed in years gone past but seems a little pre historic to me presently...

'Twill be an interesting transition for my family to make although they do eat with utinsils most of the time it is a fork and spoon with the noticeable absense of a knife... the particulars of a meas are not cut with a knife but rather kitchen shears... effective but different to me.

We slept good last night, the weather having cooled and the oppressive humidity having given us a break.

I finished yet another book, this one called 'Bubba and the Dead Woman', unlike it's title, it really was a descent book.

We will go to early Mass at the church this morning and scoot the kids off right after lunch...

Hoping you have a great day...

~ Say what you mean
Mean what you say...

Time is passing... quicker now as the day approaches...

Jul 02, 2011

Amour is a compelling and driving elixir of the good life, that which clouds the minds of men and women alike (and small dogs and bunnies too). The affection shown by my wife in the last few days has been nothing short of amazing... the reality of the pending separation I am sure is the driving force for this most welcome display. I would love to keep that feeling 24/7/365 to coin a modern but much overused phrase...

Today we shall venture forth once more to the world of overcrowded malls and human masses... a movie and Nora also gave me a list of at least a dozen things she wants to eat... amazing lady she is, but her eyes are always bigger than her tummy. We will eat lunch there, but not quite to the excess she envisions.

Yesterday I received the last of the 3 deliveries of cash from RemitHome, $3,000 total American funds a little over 120,000p in Philippines money... it varies daily, the last delivery was 50p down from the other two...

I wanted to have enough to hopefully pay for the airline tickets and any other fees that will mysteriously appear as we weedle our way thru the remaining hoops to getting my family home...

We did not get anything from the Embassy last week except for when I sent an email query as to the state of Kenneth's visa and was informed that it had been forwarded to a consular for review... I have no idea where it is in the queue as I am sure there are many to be sorted thru... Hopefully we will receive information in the coming week of a positive nature... I also hope to schedule Nora's Visa interview either she gets her vaccinations on hopefully monday or Tuesday at the latest. It will likely be for the 2nd week in July.

In this wonderful endeavor, the only certainty is uncertainty. But with high spirits and a raised blade I go forth to make my way thru the jungles of foreign governmental buearacuracy... sludging most likely in the quicksands that mire the real estate...

Chin up old chap... things ALWAYS could be worse...

~ Say what you mean
Mean what you say...

Life and problems and aging and problems and above all HAPPINESS are all mine...

Jul 01, 2011

Well June is gone, and in 9 days I will be also, from here anyway...

Yesterday finished with us making a trip to Marilao and getting the flooring and also a potty chair for the baby (time for him to learn that the floor or doorway is not a urinal). Anyway, we got some stuff then came back home... I helped Kenneth and Alec (not Alex) install the floor covering it is rubber backed so no glueing required. It is darker than the light blue of the other but nice to see it all in one piece without the patchwork of repairs we had done to the old one.

The color is a tan/brown with white lines forming squares or diagonals... Not bad looking but we could not find anything lighter in color, shopping being somewhat limited here.

In the afternoon, after my RemitHome delivery, we went to Divine and Nora got some things for dinner then we came back home... It rained on and off the evening but then stopped and it is a beautiful day today. I am sure it will be warm though...

I wrote Lollie and Gareth about a medical situation I am experiencing now which will require attention when I get back, involving my eyesight... a situation called 'retinal detachment' which if untreated can and often does result in blindness in the eye/eyes affected.

I have always as long as I can remember, had one or two floaties in my eyes and actually asked doctors about them but was advised that if they didn't grow or more appear not to worry about it and that it was pretty normal... well, situations have changed, now the one or two have grown to colony size and have lightening storms to keep them awake so it is time to advance the treatment and take care of them... It should be covered by my insurance I hope, between Tri-care and Medicare.

'twill be an interesting time when I get home, much to do and many things to address...

~ Say what you mean
Mean what you say...

Last day of JUNE... 10 more days and I am history here... :-(

Jun 30, 2011

10 days left...

The end of June not only brings us to July, it signals to me the end of my extended stay here in the Philippines is near... only a week and a half and I will fly home to Oregon and anxiously await the arrival of my new family. I have much to do when I get back home, there won't be leisure time right away...

Not only do I have to take care of getting my home ready for the new family, I also have to address the issue of Mom's house, getting it clean and perhaps ready to rent or lease, depending on what Sister and I decide to do with it. Selling it seems to be the least attractive of the options we face due to the repressed housing market... 'tis difficult for me to believe it has lost nearly a 1/3rd of it's value... I never thought that could happen but then neither did the millions of folks that have experienced the same thing with their homes...

Cecils passing did open some opportunities though, but I sure wish Lollie and Gareth could come up to help with the distribution of the contents of the house... I am sure there are some things Lollie and Gareth would like to have and if they don't want them perhaps I would make use of them with my new family.

I am bitter/sweet about leaving, I am excited to get home and see all my friends and sad to leave my lovely wife and children here in the Philippines. I can only pray that it is for a very short time, we have waited so long now.

We may go to Marilao this morning to look for new floor covering for the big apartment, maybe not the kitchen, maybe only the living room as that is where the majority of time is spent... and there will just be Jenny and the Baby unless she has some cousin move in with her to help with expenses...

Another pretty day here, better than the rain.. speaking of which about 6pm it sprinkled just a tiny bit then quit... gave me a bit of a scare thinking we might have another storm coming.

Nothing special, we slept good and made happy this morning so life makes one smile at times...

Take care all who read this... I will be there soon.

••• Sending 4,000p to Ate Linda to pay up the rent thru December on the big apartment where Jenny will stay.

••• Gave Nora 6,400p for her first week in July budget... I received the 2nd of 3 cash deliveries from RemitHome today.  Tomorrow will culminate them.

••• Say what you mean Mean what you say •••

Wednesday... half way thru the week and near the end of the month too...

Jun 29, 2011

My goodness, just think tomorrow is the last day of June, 2011. Where did the first half of the year go anyway??? I have been here in this third world country for over a year, this time for almost 10 months straight...

Nothing particularly interesting happened yesterday, mostly stayed home hoping for a phone call or email from the U. S. Embassy. That didn't happen even though Nora should have worried them to death with all the thinking about it she did... I told her not to worry, there is nothing we can do to hurry up the process, like everything else in the Philippines it is hurry up and wait, wait and wait some more... Oh, also give more money too... fortunately I may have come to the temporary end of that.

We went to bed late last night, at least late consdering the time we usually retire... we slept well as the weather was not so hot last night... This morning we awoke to hazy skies, I am sure that it will clear off and be blue sky after awhile... it is now 7:25 AM. and Nora is making some coffee for us.

I am going to see if I can find out anything about the status of Kenneth and Joyce's Visa by checking the internet web sites...

••• Say what you mean
Mean what you say •••

Tuesday morning, no rain and the promise of a hot day...

Jun 28, 2011

No Rain !!! skies are a little hazy, but that will likely clear off as the sun makes it's journey across the sky.

The big plans for today evolve around laundry, specifically the white clothes that have been soaking for 2 days in bleach water... not much bleach.

Joyce came mewing to mom about needing something urgently for school I think and Nora told her according to my friend "Just because you wait too long to tell me does not make it Urgent in my mind so you can just wait until I have time..." I think that is great... Last minute urgencies of children are basically poor planning on their part and not getting what they need is a great lesson for them.

Joyce is smart and a good girl near as I can tell, but she is of the typical filipina mind set that "now, later or tomorrow" is soon enough... that is not the way we accommodate time and requirements in the USA, unless of course you are from the deep south or perhaps El Dorado Hills, Ca. (gotcha good on that one)...

I've no particular plans for this day, I think I will be remaking the bed after Nora strips the bedding though...

Waiting is not something that I am particularly fond of, especially if the time of the event or action has come and gone... I am pretty good up to the time of the execution of the event, but when time overruns the event then my patience tends to go south... Way south.

Baby denny is outside in his Jammies and slippers wandering around and visiting with the people that are loitering around our apt... the boys from the back and the neighbors... He seems happy and joyous this morning, not being sick is good too... but he still has diahrrea almost daily... I believe some intestinal problems still exist with him... putting bandaids on arterial bleeding is not sufficient to cure the problem... they need (the doctors) to go to the root of his problem and as yet that has not occurred.

I am having coffee now and hopefully something for breakfast in a bit.

Sent from my iPad

Monday, Nora's remedical today... hope I can schedule her Visa Interview tonight.

Jun 27, 2011

Good morning from Philippines...

Yesterday, we went to the Mall, no rain at all which was a nice change from the last week for sure.... We bought tickets to see a movie named "Paul"... I highly recommend it even though it is laced with vulgar language... it is a good movie and will keep you laughing.

we bought Joyce's school supply and some medicine for Nora's hands then went to the Movie, afterwards I bought us some chips to take home for snacks for next week... We rode the Jeepster back, past our home and into Divine so Nora could get some stuff for dinner and then back home we went.

Today remains rain free and it is now 6:47 AM and I and Nora are having a cup of coffee after which she will go to St. Lukes clinic to begin her remedical. Hopefully This afternoon after she gets back we will be able to schedule her Visa Interview appt.

I have absolutely nothing planned, maybe put some medicine on my toes but that is all and read some more...

Sent from my iPad

The end of yet another weekend and a week of horrid weather...

Jun 26, 2011

Even though 'Falcon' is leaving the Philippines, in it's wake is a lot of rain and monsoon type weather. The remainder of yesterday was fraught with showers and some of which were heavy but not long in endurance.

The evening seemed quiet, I am reading yet another book, this one is of the SciFi/Paranormal venue and involves a set of twins, brother and sister who will undoubtably be endowed with some powers I am not yet aware of.

Sleep was pretty good, Nora is suffering thru a cold right now, period is almost done so that is good but she said that she slept pretty well last night. There were several small heavy showers that came thru and woke me up but this morning it is dry so far... Nora is proceeding to hang the clothes on the clothesline now... 8:05 AM.

I believe we may go to the Mall and see the movie 'Transformers' this afternoon, depends on how she feels and of course what the weather is doing. She told me the news said that we could expect some drying trends for the next several days and that will be a welcome change but in it's place surely will come the heat and humidity so it is always a tradeoff and not always a good one either.

Lollie it was sure nice hearing your voice yesterday, I was surprised I could get thru to you.

Well the day is just beginning so we shall see to what end it comes and the events that shall form the memories... Bless you all, enjoy your day...

Sent from my iPad

Saturday morning once again... Typhoon/Monsoon and Tornado.... DAMN what a week.

June 25, 2011

Well the trip Nora took to St. Lukes clinic was a waste of her time and efforts as it appears that it was a Manila Holiday and all the business places or rather I should say government or associated places were closed. That would not bother me too much, except it puts us yet another 3 days behind the curve...

The remainder of the day was spent walking to the little bridge on the road leading to the bus stop watching the flooded waters and the people crossing the water covered road, the water came nearly to my knees. A couple of the neighborhood guys had walked down to see the flooding creek and I had traipsed along for lack of anything else to do...

Earlier, while Nora was gone, it really got bad, extra heavy wind driven rain, Monsoon stuff... I put on an old pair of shorts and no shirt and walked around outside in it and down to the end of the lane and back... always wanted to walk in the rain during a Typhoon/monsoon so now I have done that. When I walked back to the apartment I took a bath so I would not get sick from being in the cold rain... cold is a relative term in this sense...

Our apartment that we sleep in is flooded, well, the roof leaks so bad and in so many places that the walls and the floor are constantly wet and Nora mops it up just to have it re-occur again 5 minutes later...

The (normally a creek) behind the apartments had flooded to the point that it was probably about 75 feet wide and had risen to within about a foot of flooding the factory and the apartments... then the rain let up and the water subsided to a more normal (not quite normal) level, but the threat factor had receded considerably.

Slept Ok, Nora wore sweat pants to bed, I know that she will be wearing a sweater most of the time during the fall and winter in Oregon... probably even on some summer days too...

Nothing is planned just yet for today, but the day is young still so who knows what devious little plan she might come up with...

Sent from my iPad

Today is remedical day... flooding and water and rain... Lovely country weather.

Jun 24, 2011

Ah yes, the sweet memories of money departed... Oh well, at least now Nora's interview is paid for now...

Last night, I ordered $3,000.00 worth of pesos, to account for the budget of July, paying the rent thru December, the plane tickets and the costs of the CFO departure seminars for Joyce, Kenneth and Nora. Hopefully that will be the last of the big expenditures.

Nora is getting dressed and ready to go to St. Lukes clinic to start and hopefully finish her remedical and it is 6:43 AM. With any luck, she will be done in a short time and back home.

There is widespread flooding in the metro Manila area, but perhaps not where she will go... I told her to buy a load for her phone so that she can let me know if she gets stranded.

I am staying home as there is nothing I can do while she is in the hospital and she likes to chat with the other patients anyway.

I will append this if there is more to come... I told Nora to Text'd me when she arrives at St. Lukes clinic.

From denny's iPad...

Time to donate to the Embassy for Nora's Visa Interview.

Jun 23, 2011

Another day, nothing at all happened yesterday, except that it stayed wet, but not torrential rain, just drizzle and a showerer or two.

Chatted a little with Lollie but mostly read for the day, moving the bed in and out between the raindrops that fall occasionally from the ceiling as the wood becomes saturated.. the drops follow the wood to the low points then accumulate and when enough gather, some drop in for a visit.

Slept Ok, but the humidity, although not accompanied by the heat at this time, is still evident so the sticky feeling persists just not quite as overbearing.

This morning, 6:34 AM , we are preparing to go to the Embassy to fork over the dough to pay for Nora's impending Visa interview... another $404.00 american worthless rubber dollars... It rained just a bit ago, but hopefully we will be able to make it to the Jeepney station and then the bus before another deluge attacks us.

I just asked her now to make sure she has all the necessary papers she will need today, she is overviewing them now... Our intent is to leave about 7am, but I see that goal slipping a little...

••• Actually, we got out of here about 7:15am so we didn't miss the target time by too much... We went straight to the US Embassy and only had to wait about 15 minutes to get to window 38 where it only took 10 minutes to get the necessary form to take to the 2nd floor pay window where I was extorted to the tune of $404.00 once again and hopefully for the last time. Nora will go tomorrow to St. Lukes clinic to begin and maybe complete the remedical (only took the kids 1 day).  I figure her Visa Interview should be around the 31st or the 1st of July if all goes well and nothing unexpected pops up... Freakin Murphy can stay on vacation for awhile...

From denny's iPad...

Wednesday, sick baby, nothing to do now but wait... Maybe take baby to doctor... again !!!

Jun 22, 2011

Sweet was the smell of success as we departed the 2go courier services building across from the SM Mall yesterday morning... finally the tax and sponsor documents were on their way to the Embassy. Now I just pray that what we sent them (which was everything they mentioned, not just my Taxes) will appease them and they will grant the visa requests for Joyce and Kenneth. Providing that goes well, there should be no problem with Nora's Visa either.

There were several squalls that came thru yesterday afternoon after we got home, I went down about 7:10 to wait for Joyce and just as she arrived, another squall started, but not so heavy so we only got a little wet before arriving home.

The baby has been running a fever since yesterday again for God only knows what reason, pretty warm and up most of the night last night wailing and crying as he doesn't feel good. I feel sorry for him, I believe there is something wrong intestionally, or perhaps something amiss in his digestive tract (would be the same me thinks...)

I pushed the bed in our sleeper apt. up to the sink to avoid any rain drops from the ceiling should it rain hard after we went to bed... some showers did come thru but nothing like the previous days deluges of water. Copious amounts of water are nice if you are swimming or taking a shower, but while trying to sleep they are not welcome especiall coming from the ceiling of the room you are in...

Thankful that it is Wednesday here and glad that there is nothing that we need to do today... Perhaps tomorrow we will go to the Embassy and pay for Nora's impending interview.

Odd thing about this journal, seems each blog you are reading is about the preceding days events and little is written about the current day... probably because I pen the blog in the morning so nothing of any particular note has occurred as yet... Time is funny... every thing we can think of in our mind is linked to time.

Have a great day, we shall see what unfolds here as the day rolls on.

••• Today, being the 22nd, it is Nora's payday so I gave her her weekly budget of 6,500p... She also told me that tomorrow we will leave about 7am or so for the Embassy to pay for her interview $404.00.

From denny's iPad...

Tuesday, another Mall trip and then hopefully our documents will go to the Embassy.

Jun 21, 2011

2go was closed as it is a holiday in the Philippines to honor Rizal, a person important in the history and independence of the Philippines.

We did get to SM Mall, had a little lunch there and Nora went to Hypermart to buy a few things including much needed Midol.

We will go back to the Mall this morning I think and I will print out the 1099r (like the one Claudine waited for from DFAS) then drop the whole package off at 2go.

It rained some early after we went to bed last night but then no more heavy rain for the rest of the night... The sky this monrning is much like it was yesterday, giving no promise of clearing or sunshine... The cooler weather is nice though, sleeping is easier and even though it is cooler, the humidity is at 95% so the dampness remanins in the air even though one is inside. Yep, yer right, I miss Oregon.

I will need to send for some more money for the month of or part month of July sometime this week also. Hopefully that will be the end of it at least in that large amount.

Nora is in the suffering stages of her monthly and it is always hardest for her the first few days like most women.

If anything else of importance happens, I will write it... Have a good day.

••• Success, 2go is now 2gone and the documents should deliver tomorrow... Now the wait to see what the Consular will do and how soon he will do it... It's now 1:32 PM and the rain is finally coming again... the skies are dark and gray and filled with moisture... should be an interesting afternoon...

From denny's iPad...

Egay Strikes, moisture monsters attack, lives are in peril and flooding is rampant...

Jun 20, 2011

Torrential rain and a bedroom ceiling that leaks like a sieve.. more holes than a slice of vintage swiss cheese... No place to move the bed that wasn't leaked on. Amazing experiences I must admit, though I would gladly pass over if I had the opportunity... The Tropical depression known fondly as "Egay" is dumping copious amounts of water here in Metro Manila and outskirting areas of which Bulacan and Marilao to include the Sta Rosa areas of I and II. Unfortunately, the little Sleeper apartment that I rented for Nora and I has a very poorly constructed roof and so we suffer leakage... Great leakage!!!

My only salvation will be when this depression moves on and leaves us to the less comfortable but much dryer weather pattern... Hopefully all the wood will dry out and we will only have the heat and humidity (which now is hovering slightly over 100%) to complain about...

Nora wants to go to SM again today to see if 2 go courier is open so we can send the tax documents to the Embassy. Getting those off will get the ball rolling for Kenneth and Joyce's Visas. I need to print out my itinerary/ticket for my flight home also and I need to make 2 more copies of the Joint Sponsor package...

We chose not to sleep in the main apartment last night although it may have been the better idea... if it rains hard this afternoon and night I think we will. Memories of this experience will live with me hopefully for the rest of my life, to if nothing else, make me more appreciative of what I have and less envious of what I don't.

Nothing but gray sky... not a hint of clearing or sunshine... I think that Egay is not finished with us quite yet. The great rainfall does seem to clean the concrete outside though so I suppose that is a benefit. As I look out the door, the greenery is amazing, but the reason for it is equallly apparent. MOISTURE in abundance.

Well, Not much more to say, having coffee now and contemplating the impending events of the day... May the force be with you !!!

From denny's iPad...

Saturday 18 June, Taxes are here and Mother nature sucks...

Jun 18, 2011

Well, we waited and waited and waited, but no LBC came yesterday at all. Today is Saturday and Nora wants to have her hair curled, something in the order of a soft wave. I told her that was fine and offered for her and I to have breakfast at the little roadside diner we go to sometimes... dusty but Ok.

I don't know if LBC courier works on Saturday, but somehow think that they do... I imagine that Memorial day having been last weekend it could have thrown things off a little...

Well, they delivered the Tax package before lunchtime so we, after lunch, about 2pm went to SM Mall, I copied some stuff and what not, we watched the movie "The Green Lantern", bought two pizzas for dinner and came home...

From denny's iPad...

God bless you, it is Sunday once again... all is good.

Jun 19, 2011

Yesterday's journal was short and a little cryptic, I was just not in the writing mood I suppose... the evening was uneventful, but I did discover that I had forgotten to print out my flight itinerary but it makes little difference as Nora cannot remedical until her monthly is done and it just started so there is another week gone.

Also, yesterday the 2go courier service was closed so they may indeed be a 5 day a week service too. We may go tomorrow or Tuesday to the Embassy to pay the Visa Appointment fee of $404.00. Graft at all levels of all governments... amazing that God has let us live this long.

There is yet another Typhoon coming up the coast here in the Philippines... I haven't heard yet what it's name is, but we have already experienced the excessive rain from it... currently, 7:12 AM it is not raining, but it did all night long. Little wonder this country is so green.

Nora did want to go to church early this morning, but we got up at 6:30 but didn't get out of bed until 7 so early church is out of the question anyway, besides that it would be held inside the church. I really liked setting outside in the coffee bistro last weekend as opposed to being in the crowded church pews.

Nora will go to the market in Marilao to purchase food this morning sometime, she asked if I want to go, but really I have no desire to set in Mr. dognut for over an hour then ride the Jeepney home again... I will stay here and let her go.

Hope you all have a good day, time is clicking by here and before I know it I will be flying back home.

From denny's iPad...

Another Friday... hopefully LBC will come today.

Jun 17, 2011

Yesterday was mundane, nothing of any significance happened, that is until Nora got the phone call, yep, the one we've waited for!!! St. Lukes clinic called and told her that she could begin her remedical !!! that means that her results came back negative. We will go to St. Lukes clinic after going to the US Embassy and paying for the Visa interview appointment $404.00.

I will make her an appointment for her interview. We first will need to go to window 38 so they can check that we have all the necessary documentation including the I-864, NSO papers, Security check and all the same stuff we had for the children. Then the lady at that window will give us a slip of paper that we take to the cashier where I will depart from my money once again...

Today we anxiously await the LBC delivery of my tax and the Joint sponsorship from Gareth and Lollie.

Slept good. Perhaps more will follow...

From denny's iPad...

Thursday, hoping LBC shows up maybe, Nora will call St. Luke today.

Jun 16, 2011

Well, we went to SM Mall yesterday, not what I thought we were doing but that is OK I suppose. We looked thru SM a little bit for the jogging pants for Joyce but Nora didn't find the yellow ones that were needed. I decided to have some coffee and Nora went to Mecaucayan to look and did find some there. I waited for her at the coffee shop in the mall. She was gone about an hour and when she came back, we went to Jollibee for lunch.

She had a hamburger basket (filipino version) and I tried out a new product, 'Sour crème french fries' which are suprisingly good. She got the biggest burger they had and of course had to bring half of it home cause her eyes are bigger than her tummy. We both had a root beer float for the drink.

Back home early and settled in for the heat of the day, I continued to read this really stupid book about a demon and a girl... I am almost finished now so that is good.

We slept good all night, Nora was in a much appreciated cuddly mood most of the night, although sleeping in close proximity to her is really only comfortable on a chilly night, not the case here in the Philippines, but the emotional part was just fine...

Don't know outside of doing some laundry, of any particular plans that might be coming to fruitation today.

From denny's iPad...

Budget payday... middle of June and still waiting... waiting... waiting

Jun 15, 2011

Nora's first words this morning were "Whad day is this?", I told her it is Wednesday the 15th... she immediately got this cheese eating grin and said "My payday !!! Yeahhhhhh !!", I don't have to wonder what trips her trigger.

Yesterday we went to Marilao to see if we could find yellow jogging pants for Joyce for school, Nora walked around the market area to different vendors and nothing in Yellow... we then went to Divine and repeated the process with no better luck so it appears she will maybe have to either go to SM Mall or wait till she goes back to St. Lukes clinic to get them for her.

I am hoping Nora will get a call from St. Lukes clinic today but who knows when they will call, I want to get her remedical scheduled so we can complete that and get a visa appointment for her.

Nothing special that I am aware of is supposed to happen today so I don't have much in the line of expectations... Thanks to Lollie and Gareths support, we got the plane tickets taken care of.

I will give Nora 6,500p for her weekly allowance today...

••• Ate Linda Text'd Nora again begging for the money, so I gave Nora 5,000p to send her, that will be 3 months (July, Aug and Sept) rent for the big appt. and July rent for the sleeper one.

From denny's iPad...

Flights and changes and times... everything has changed... pay attention...

Jun 14, 2011

Hot yesterday, it was the birthdays of Alex and Alyssa so the music machine was brought here, Oysters were shucked and served along with many other dishes of food. Seemed that everyone had a good time and drinks were abundant of which I could not partake... I don't like Gout and hope to get it under control once I return to the USA.

Nothing special outside of that, I finished off the spaghetti for lunch and dinner. Here in the Philippines, people seem to really like the angel hair pasta, I don't care for it as much as other types of pasta but to each his own...

We didn't go anyplace yesterday, got no mail or phone calls from St. Lukes clinic. Sleep was OK.

I am on Messenger with Lollie right now, we are trying to get confirmation for the domestic leg of my return home trip, Nothing available on the 1st so I will have to wait till at least the 2nd to get back home. Oh well, it is the way things seem to go for me lately. I appreciate all Lollie does in my behalf.

I should know shortly when my flight to Portland will commence. I can sit in the airport if need be, sleep on the floor or in a chair I suppose I don't know. But I can do it, so that is that.

Well, the original idea of flying out of here on the 1st went south cause I could not connect with a flight from LA to Portland until after the 5th of July... we actually ended up re-doing the entire journey, so now, I fly out of Manila a little after midnight on the 11th of July, layover in Seoul for 10 hours, then fly to San Francisco and layover there for another 10 hours and arrive in Portland on July 11th at about 8pm at night... the whole thing cost me an additional $100 cause we had to use Alaska Air vs US Airways for the domestic leg. I suppose this will work out better and give us time to finalize the visas here in Manila and get all the US Embassy stuff completed and the CFO seminars out of the way for Nora and the Kids... Gosh, why does it always have to be so complicated...

*********** Lollie, you are my Angel ************ Thanks for all your help!!!

From denny's iPad...

Monday morning, the start of another week and closer to leaving here.

Jun 13, 2011

We went to the 7:30 Mass, which was held in the lower deck on the outside of the church... It was packed and the only place that had any seating was the coffee shop which overlook the lower outdoor sanctuary and had a clear view of the Father performing the mass. I bought a couple of 'Foo Foo' coffes, I had a Black Forest and got Nora a Carmel Latte which she really liked.

It was nice sitting at a table and listening (not understanding mind you) to the Father give the Mass. I have often told Nora that I don't really go to church with her for my benefit because of the fact that it is in Tagalog and I get nothing from it 'cept for being in the holy home of God. I go to support her and her beliefs.

After church, we wandered the market a little and Nora did some shopping for vegetable and a few other items to fix for lunch/dinner and then we took a tricab back home. The remainder of the day was basically spent with me here in the sleeper apt reading with the door open and the fan on and Nora next door with the kids and the baby... I actually avoid him at times as he's gotten into the scrreaming habit and Jenny has not yet figured out that it is something he should not be doing. She has Sooooo much to learn and it would help if she were less distracted by the TV, Cell Phone and her friends...

Nothing special about yesterday, it did manage to cloud up but no rain, did hear some thunder in the distance though.

We slept pretty good, this morning put a smile on my face and that is always nice to wake up to... Joyce is getting ready to go to school and Nora is getting things going in the other apt. I am here, of course writing in the journal so that you can follow the misadventures that seem to occupy much of my life here.

The day is starting out clear and blue skied so that is good, I would imagine the temp will get to the 90˚s today again. We have nothing that I am aware of that needs to be done today, Oh, Nora's eye is fine now so that is a blessing too.

I will add to this if anything of importance manages to happen...

Remember that I think of you... all the time.

••• As I suspected, Alex begged me to let him extend the repayment of the 2,000p he borrowed yesterday to Wednesday... Keeping a commitment is so difficult for these folks... I don't know why though.

From denny's iPad...

Sunday, Sunny and likely to be Warm, Hot or Warmer...

Jun 12, 2011

Good day everyone !! Yesterday proved to be a good day, we did go to the Mall, checked out the movies and Nora was not attracted to either of the ones we hadn't see, "King Foo Panda or Super 8"... I would have enjoyed either but why take her if she would not like them?

We went to Chow King and had Halo Halo and she had some other little dish. From there, she went to the store that she buys her facial wash and personal care items and picked up a few things and then she went to Hypermart to shop groceries, I waited for her at a Coffee cafe and surfed the net a little bit and people watched. She was only gone about 35 minutes then we decided to remain there and rest up and enjoy the AC.

After a while, we decided to come back home. The rest of the afternoon I read some on a new book I downloaded. The afternoon dragged on, Alex came home from the hospital and a 2 day stay that resulted from another bout with high blood pressure... I keep trying to impress on him the need to take better care of his health.

I need to manicure my fingernails today, I have noticed while typing this blog that I can feel the nails hit the keys before the pads of my fingers, a sure indication that they are getting too long. I have always kept my fingernails short, a habit I formed while working as a mechanic where it was easy to catch a long nail and tear it from the bed of the finger... not a pleasant experience at all...

We slept pretty good, I did have to put drops in Nora's eye several times as it bothered her yesterday... seems OK this morning though.

We will go to church this morning, as Nora really misses not going.

The day is starting out clear with blue skies so that is promising and to me threatening (warmer weather).

Have a great day and we will do the same here I hope.

••• Alex is back to his old habits, he just borrowed 2,000p until tomorrow...

From denny's iPad...

Another Saturday, a "Mall" day... quiet here.

Jun 11, 2011

Yesterday was quiet, no rain but no sunshine either. Nothing happened around here except for Nora's getting the laundry finished.

We are having a helluva time getting We Rule, the game, to load on her phone, seems that the App Store sometimes just hangs and does not complete the download of certain programs...

Slept good last night, but sometime lastnight when Nora was over at the other apt, a fly hit her in the eye and it has caused her some discomfort... we have been putting in eye drops in the hope of flushing out anything that might be there, but a visual peek revealed nothing in the eye... she didn't complain of it this morning though so maybe it is healing.

We are going to SM Mall today for awhile... Other than that, there is nothing happening except waiting...

From denny's iPad...

Friday, the 10th of June... weekend is a coming quick now...

Jun 10, 2011

Rain and some damp weather mixed with precipitation makes for a wet day, what we had most of yesterday although it seemed to go away in the evening and is just overcast this morning.

Alex and his family have returned from Basud, that is good, it will add some more flavor to the neighborhood again.

Nora is supposed to do laundry again today, we will see if that happens or if she changes her mind. We slept well last night, the recent rain has cooled the area down, not cold mind you, but tolerable (just barely).

Lollie, I cannot tell you how much fun it is chatting with you and Gareth on an almost daily basis... when I cannot get ahold of you it truly bothers me... that is nice that we've grown so close that we actually miss the daily contact... Remember how Olivia and Mom would talk every day and we wondered what in the world they could find to chat about.. NOW WE KNOW... It is a good time to be close with each other.

Well, I suppose I shall drink some of my coffee, read the recent headlines and think of the trip home without my lovely wife and children... they will come but it may be a few weeks after I am already back in the States...

Nora just came back here and said that she is going to prepare rice cereal, it has become something that I rather enjoy, but nothing compares to a steaming bowl of Quaker Oats in my mind, at least in the cereal genre.

Perhaps I will add to this later, it all depends on how the day unfolds.

For now, look in the mirror and remember to love the person looking back at you then.... pass it on.

From denny's iPad...

Thursday and wet... nothing planned though that I am aware of yet...

Jun 09, 2011

Rain and more... all afternoon yesterday and evening also we had rain... I am not complaining, the rain cooled the air and made the day fairly nice, but still it is rain.

Nothing of importance happened yesterday but then when it rains, nobody wants to go anywhere anyway. Joyce and Jenny did walk to Divine to get Joyce some glue for some little school project then after dinner Joyce borrowed the iPad to do an assignment.

Nora was tired earlier than her usual and went to sleep about a 1/2 hour before I finally gave up reading my newest 'Spinward' series of SciFi stories, I am on the 6th of the series of Galactic excitement with a rogue Captain and his devoted crew aboard the Triton, a Earth produced space craft.

Next week we will go to St. Lukes clinic to hopefully get favorable information regarding the total termination of Nora's DOT stuff, with luck she will be able to remedical within the week, but we will see... I have faith if it can be screwed up St. Lukes clinic will be up to the job.

No plans for today, so I shall continue in my Space journey.

Have a cup of soup... it's good !!!

From denny's iPad...

Wednesday the eighth of June, 2011 and wet.

Jun 08, 2011

Payday for Nora today, I just watched Joyce walk down the lane on her way to school. It started raining sometime late last night, not a hard rain, but a constant light rain. I moved the bed so the leaking ceiling would not get it wet but the rain was never hard enough for the ceiling to rain so that was good.

Yesterday Lollie sent an email that my taxes had arrived so they should get here along with the other forms sometime early next week.

To the best of my knowledge, there is nothing that we have to do today so that will be nice also.

Yesterday I downloaded a bunch more free books from the internet so my reading will be well supplemented...

Hope your day is good.

From denny's iPad...

Have a nice trip Cecil... I wish things had been different ...

Jun 07, 2011

Cecil is gone... passed away according to Lollie's email on the 17th of May. We, neither Lollie, Gareth or I received any notification of his passing and according to Gareth's inquiries, Margaret has already vacated the home but I have no idea of what state it might be in... she did try to keep it up so hopefully when I see it, it won't be too terrible. I am certain the yard will be horrible though. An unmowed yard is open invitation to breakins.

Gareth will have a lot to get done regarding the estate as he is the administrator, I will assist him however I can, but I fully expect that they will be making a trip up to Oregon sooner than they planned. I hope that Gareth will provide me a point of contact to get the keys etc when I get home.

Though I did not like the man, I appreciate that for a time, he did make my mother happy... sadly, when push came to shove he was not up to the task and I had to be the support and care that mom needed in her final days. I hope he died quickly and without pain, nobody should have to suffer in lingering pain.

I feel sorry for Her, now again she is alone, but I feel that she has good family support to hopefully that will help her thru this.

We have no idea what the contents of his will were or what may or may not have been removed from the home. I am in hopes that it was left pretty much intact. Much of the furniture was property of Mom and him but Margaret may have left it there too. I just don't know at this point. Ideally, we can either have the home cleaned or clean it ourselves then Gareth can market it.

He lived to I believe 92... not a bad run for a skinny little old guy... I hope I make it at least that long.

Nora and I slept good last night, it was cooler after the squall came thru, she is going to Marilao today to the BDO bank to send the neighbor's rent money to Ate Linda.

Have a dandy day...

From denny's iPad...