Just Discovering FaceBook Groups

Recently I joined two FaceBook groups associated with our second-home( Boac, Marinduque) in the Philippines with more than 7000 members. In addition I also joined three alumni groups, Universities of the Philippines, Illinois and California, Berkeley. I notice that traffic to my blogs and Hubpages account increased thus also increasing my AdSense Account for a few cents a day. So today I did some Internet search on FB groups and here's the list for your information.

Let me hear from you if you used FB groups to advertise products and events etc...

https://techwebsites.net/facebook-groups-list/

My Story at Boac

The Calesa in Boac

Marinduque International, Inc headed by President Agnes Lardizabal Apeles is now getting ready for the next medical mission to Marinduque, this coming February, 2019. The several fund raising activities prior to this humanitarian project reminded me of an article written by Jorge Bunag (RIP-2013)* in 2008 when he returned to the island to join the medical mission in Boac and in the other 5 towns of the province.

This article is a testament that childhood pleasant memories will never be erased in our minds.

http://marinduqueonmymind.blogspot.com/2008/11/my-story-at-boac.html?showComment=1453058800476#c5476080815569145401

Here's Jorge obituary on October, 2013:

*https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/app/obituary.aspx?n=jorge-l-bunag&pid=167497991&fhid=27080

Sunset and Twilight at Chateau Du Mer, Boac, Marinduque

My favorite time of the day in Marinduque is at sunset and at twilight. During this time and up to midnight, I could show case my more than 50 solar lights of various types around the resort. Besides the solar lights, I have installed spot lights in all of the statuary's and garden sculptures near the Conference Hall and also in the Main House. The three photos( taken at twilight) above focused on the bridge lighting (red and white). The bridge is the focal point of the landscaping design of the beach house.

The creek under the bridge is filled with native fish, crabs and snails during the summer season. Two years ago, I seeded the creek with tilapias in November. By May, it was already about 3 to 5 lbs. I feed the tilapias twice a day with commercial fish food. I told Edwin, my caretaker to harvest them before the rainy season, otherwise they will be flushed into the ocean, when the monsoon rains start around July-August. Edwin was able to harvest more than a dozen for his table. A couple of tilapias that remained in the creek were flushed into the ocean by August.

The second photo from top is one of my favorite sunset picture taken from the balcony of the beach house. Macrine and I hope to see you soon in Marinduque-our island Paradise. I wrote this article originally in 2009.

Quell's Wearable Device for My Back Ache

Two weeks ago I hurt my back lifting Macrine from her wheel chair to the lounging chair. My Back hurts so bad, I could hardly walk. David suggested using his Quell device. Today I can walk and was even able to go to the grocery store. The pain is not completely gone, but I can do normal daily activities, but is really careful and have the proper position when lifting Macrine from her wheel chair either to bed or her Lounging Chair.

The Quell is an FDA-approved wearable device that Velcros around the upper calf and uses electrical stimulation to purportedly offer pain relief without the innate dangers or risks of addiction that come with drugs. The science of the device is fairly complex, but the basic theory is that stimulating specific nerves can activate a natural pain-relief process. "At a molecular level, the pain centers within the brain release endogenous opioids, called enkephalins, that bind to receptors in the spinal cord leading to a reduction of pain signal transmission and therefore pain relief," says Shai Gozani, CEO of NeuroMetrix. For details on how this works read the following:

https://blog.quellrelief.com/science-behind-quell-electrodes/

Is Care Giving the Hardest Job in the World?

If you ask me, the answer is a resounding yes. If you need more details why caregiving is hard please read the following links. If you are a caregiver and reading this blog, I like to hear from you.

https://thecaregiverspace.org/caregivers-get-real-about-what-its-like/

https://www.steadyhealth.com/articles/its-hard-to-be-a-caregiver

And here is 30 inspirational quotes for caregivers:

https://www.agingcare.com/articles/caregivers-quotes-inspiration-141133.htm

In the meantime, I finally was able to hire a Tagalog-speaking Home care aide. She is employed by another agency ( Partners-in-Care) based in Auburn. She is in her mid-30 and has more than 3 years experience in home care. Macrine and I liked her on her first day last Thursday. She even cooked us a Pinoy breakfast( longonisa, scrambled egg and fried rice). She can worked only on Tuesday and Thursday. She resides in Yuba City, about 70 minutes drive. She would not have accepted this job because of the long commute, however currently she is taking a Social Work class here in Sacramento on Tuesday and Thursday Afternoon. I have a feeling we will not see her after her classes ends here in Sacramento State.

To summarize on MWF I have home care aide help( Helping Hearts) from 9:30AM to 1:30PM as well as on T and Th. However on Sat and Sun David and I have Home Care Aide( a Private Friend) from 9:30AM to 5:30PM. Thank you Lord for giving me financial support( from my savings) and the ability to pay for this expenses that is not covered by my medical insurance and Medicare Benefits.

Boac and Its Historic Heritage Houses

Amoingon Beach, Amoingon, Boac, Marinduque-Front Yard of the Chateau Du Mer Beach House

There are several articles on Boac' heritage houses on the Internet. However, one that attracted my attention because of the fantastic photographs and its perfect and accurate description of the simple life in Boac is from the blog ( 2016) of Bernardo Arellano III, habagatcentral.blogspot.com as follows: I have the permission of the author to repost this in my blogs.

https://habagatcentral.blogspot.com/2016/11/boac-beautiful-turning-back-time-in.html

I have also written articles and devoted several blogs not only to Boac, but also to the whole province of Marinduque-our second home as follows:

https://marinduqueonmymind.blogspot.com/

https://marinduqueawaitsyou.blogspot.com/

https://marinduquemyislandparadise.blogspot.com/ and

https://planningtovisitthephilippines.blogspot.com/

This is one of several heritage houses in downtown Boac. This green house is now owned by my sister-in-law, Mrs Siony Jambalos. It is just across the Boac Hotel-another heritage house in Boac.

Note: This blog is inspired by the recent fire in downtown Boac that destroyed several of these heritage houses and businesses in the first floor of these historic homes. Luckily there was no human fatality from the catastrophe. I am praying for the successful recovery of the owners of the building and businesses that were affected by the fire.

A Message of Gratitude-It is Indeed a Small World

Rena Lathrop and Husband ( From Rena's FaceBook Page).

Some time ago, I received this message( in Ilonggo) via FB messaging. I was surprise of this unexpected message of Gratitude. This message brings back memories of my life in the Philippines and reminds me of the history of the Land Reform Movement in the Philippines in the early 1960's. The Agricultural Land Reform Code (RA 3844) was a major advancement of land reform in the Philippines and was enacted in 1963 under President Diosdado Macapagal. It abolished tenancy and established a leasehold system in which farmers paid fixed rentals to landlords, rather than a percentage of harvest. The 2nd phase of the land reform program (CARP) was instituted under the Cory Aquino Administration(1986-1992). All my 10 hectares of inherited Riceland in Barrio San Geronimo, Barotac Viejo, Iloilo, Philippines were affected.

Hip Avascular Necrosis and Medical Marujuana for Pain Management

A closed relative was just recently diagnosed to have hip avascular necrosis (AVN)- giving her pain every now and then. The orthopedic doctor gives options for treatment ranging from the less risky and invasive to the more risky and higher risk of treatment. Less risky and invasive is pain management, followed by removal of hardware, hemiarthroplasty and the most risky and invasive is total hip replacement. This was discussed by our orthopedic surgeon during our recent visit. The surgeon did not informed us on the stage of my closed relative AVN. According to the link below if the AVN is still in Stage 1, Core Decompression surgery might be a viable option.

Currently my closed relative is still in poor health so total replacement is not an option. For her pain she is just taking Tylenol. However, there will be a time later when Tylenol is not enough to ease her pain. I am thinking pf CBD- a marijuana drug now available at Dispensaries here in the State of California. I am now in the process of talking to our Primary Care Physician on this subject. The links below discussed in detail hip avascular necrosis and medical marijuana for medical use. If you have experience on the use of marijuana for pain control, please let me know. Thank You!

AVN: https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/diseases--conditions/osteonecrosis-of-the-hip/

Medical Marijuana: https://bottomlineinc.com/health/alternative-treatments/cbd-medical-marijuana-without-the-high