Joys of Retirement at Chateau De La Mer (Seaside Garden Paradise): Christmas Party, 2011

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Christmas Party, 2011

My four beautiful granddaughters, Carenna, Marina, Elaine and Alix

Dave and Macrine with the six grandchildren
This year, 2011 Macrine and I delayed our snowbirding trip to Marinduque for next month, so we could spend the Christmas Holidays with the Kids and grand children. We celebrated Christmas with a late lunch on December 24th to give the children also time to spend the holidays with their in-laws and other relatives.

Dodie and his family went to San Diego, CA the next day to spend the Christmas with Ruth's family. Ditas, Nick and Carenna went to Lincoln, CA in the evening of the 24th to share Christmas with Nick's family. Dinah with Ian and Elaine went to Mountain View after the party in our house to spend Christmas with Macrine's sisters ( Pepot and Jean) and her nieces, Elaine Lazarte Chalfin and Ella Lazarte.

As per request by the kids, Macrine prepared her favorite dishes-chicken-macaroni salad, beef broccoli in oysters sauce with mushrooms, pancit, puto and dinugu-an. In addition we have honey-baked ham that I ordered last week, cake and coffee for dessert. I have to wait in line to pick up my pre-ordered honey baked ham for about one hour in the cold, but the ham was worth the wait. Above are some of the photos taken during our Christmas reunion. All the David Balleza Katague clan were present

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Joys of Retirement at Chateau De La Mer, Marinduque, Philippines

I have been retired from USFDA since 2002. At first, I feel I have lost my identity as an individual or have lost my contribution to society. However, within a few weeks all these feelings were gone. It started when my wife and I started baby sitting one of our grandchildren. As some economics professor states: "Your children are your capital investments, but your grandchildren are your profits. That is why you love your grandchildren more than your children". I really agree with the statement. Retirement also gives you lots of time to do things you like to do, such as your hobbies and of course travel. In my case, I turned my hobby of gardening and landscaping into a small business in the Philippines. This endeavor was planned about five years before 2002. That year my wife and I started construction of our retirement home in Boac, Marinduque , Philippines. The next year we built a beach house, followed by a Conference Hall two years later. Needless to say, planning and executing the landscaping was a challenge and very enjoyable. With the help of local labor, I not only enjoy the time gardening and landscaping, but also help improved the economic situation of the province by providing work and jobs to the local residents. With plenty of time, I have engaged into two specific activities as follows: First, I created a website for my small business. By trial and error, I created and design the website, www.chateaudumer.com I have never been a computer nerd or expert. But with plenty of time and patience, the fruits of my labor could be enjoyed if you visit the website above. The second activity, I have not done before was to utilize on-line activities, such as shopping, paying bills ( save you stamps) and playing computer games in the Internet. I really enjoyed playing duplicate bridge on line. You play with players all over the world and can chat in between games. But be careful, you are not spending too much time in the computer. It is very addictive. With a lots of time, my wife and I devoted more time on our favorite humanitarian project. For the last 15 years, we have been involved with medical mission to the province of Marinduque. For details please visit the website: www.marinduqueinternational.org As a summary, the joy one gets on retirement is very specific for an individual. Some enjoy their free time by learning new activities, getting involved with humanitarian projects or spending more time with their grandchildren. Others hate it, since they missed their former jobs and co-workers. Others with no children still enjoy retirement by traveling, turning their hobbies into business or more community involvement. Of course those that retire and hate it, is believe to die earlier than those that enjoy their retirement years. So, plan your retirement as early as you can. The happier you are on retirement, the longer you will live.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Christmas Party, 2011

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