Tennis at last

Friday 31st PM here and finally this morning we played and watched some tennis. We had previously been a little thwarted due to tennis tournament last weekend and this morning all geared up for tennis but...rain.... Me and mum a little frustrated by the rain and being optimistic we went to our club at Ecoland to view the scene on the ground, but courts well puddled, no chance but with the sun out, maybe in an hour it would be ok.

So, we beetled off to another club GSIS where my lovely coach Nathan was hosting a childrens tournament and Mum and i had sponsored the tournament by supplying some supplemental prizes for the winners and runners up. The rain had stopped and courts mopped and children were knocking up but there were only few persons about as the rain had delayed everyone. I was kindly asked to play a set by 3 keen guys and we had a lovely set, mixed abilities but 2 of the 4 of us (not me) were good strong players and we had a competitive set, which we won 8-3, i actually held serve 3 times, wow, miracles. They were amazed at some of my running, which caused much comment and admiration from my partner and chagrin to the opponents, as i say here, running is not the problem, tennis is. (tennis ability that is) anyway Mum watched happily and we gave the prizes to a pleased Nathan.

Mum, we still "up for it", so, we bobbed back to Ecoland, where it had dried out and me and Mum had a nock up fr about 20mins, at first the bounce was very tricky for her, but she got into it and improved with consistency, it was very hot but she coped very well. After 20mins i had a further nock with the club coach 'do dong" who is a good player with an exaggerated rolling forehand shot, difficult to control but good to hit against. And finally so did Mum, have a knock for ten mins with do dong, where the eye came in and good rallies were played.

Will Mum play tennis on her 80th birthday, lets see......e mails read and all seems fine at home, Mum sends her love to all...rick (Dad)

Mums Blog thursday am 30th Oct

Morning after "Friends of Mindanao" quiz night held in al's diner. Al runs his diner (American bar and burger) and hands all profits to his own charitable association that buys computers for schools. A jolly quiz with questions as Al said of interesting trivia, eg) a word to rhyme with orange? (there isn't one). Bites have calmed down, hope the nippers stay away. You can see from the pictrures "my apartment" is lovely. the lounge area by the pool, comfy big bed and wee small bathroom and shower. query, my retirem,ent home? only joking rick, glad to hear Dad is coping - bet he's enjoying the extra fuss, watchout for frost bites - don't get those here. Lots of love to everybody. Mum

lazy day and visitors

The pictures are of visitors, auntie wharlita, and cousin, with grandchildren, a beautiful young girl who took a shine to annika (see mum in background) and then Mum emerging from her extension home.

More or less a lazy day on wednesday 29th Oct, i was lacking some energy after previous nights entertainments, anyway...went to shopping centre Victoria plaza with mum and tried to look for tops and shoes for mum, but like me she gets boggled with the vast choice. Mum found some shoes but they were too small and so had to abandon the search, she came away with just 2 packs of white socks. On the way home we popped up to jacks Ridge to make sure it was open for Mum's birthday meal, because lots of places are shut for the weekend , for all sanits day and all souls day, they are taken more seriously here. Anyway it is closed saturday and open sunday, so, that is OK, we managed a couple of cold beers each while we enjoyed the view and the beer.

Then after a snooze Mums "bites" swelled up and we went to the pharmacist for some anti-hystemine tablets...will they work? watch this space.

A violent shower meant i drove to the quiz which was in town at "Al's Diner. We made a 4 with friends Carolynn and Dino and came a creditable 2nd with 22 points out of 40, the winners only 1 ahead with 23, never mind it was good fun. Back home for 9:30, rain stopped, hightcap and there we were, time for bed.....

Deluge and attacking ants

The photos are of Mum in Eden before the rain...of Germaine and Lizelle our 2 lovely girls laughing as they had been trying to avoid the camera and then Ann and her Mum at breakfast, Mum still in her pit in the extension behind.......

On Tuesday 28th Oct Mum and i went to eden nature park, its like a part natural, part cultivated park in mt apo national park, foot hills, quite beautiful really but we chose the wrong day to go, weather looked promissing and had a nice drive through rural areas with increasingly spectacular views getting there. Unfortunately, after a drink and a snack when we were mooching around the place it started to drizzle. At first we toughed it out but it got heavier and worse still. After half an hour of sheltering at a comfortable terrace area we abandoned the visit. Walking back to the car was a soaking experience, we were washed out, i took off my shirt and got wet, mum just got wet all over, no avoiding it at all, the park lost its magic after that and so we set offf home. Half an hour home and at the bottom of the mountain, it was bone dry.

In our early walk round eden we were locating a nature trail and were descending a steep flight of steps to a gulley which looked interesting and tropical. There was a handrail and it was drizzling and slippery, so, both me and Mum took the rail for support. I think Mum shouted first but about at the same time we were both attacked by biting ferocious ants, they reallly took some getting rid of, it was as if they had invaded us and got themselves in strategic positions until they sent out "bite" signal...it took a few minutes for each of us to get rid of them (felt longer) and we were left with bitten and stinging hands. When we looked the handrail was infested with the bloody ants, the drop to the gorge looked too steep for Mum to the gorge without support, so, we abandoned that as well and together with the rain, the elements defeated us.

Out to a music bar at night after meeting at roels place, it was his forty something birthday party and it was a good night, plenty of Roels friends there, me and mum a bit tired later so, we ducked out after the 2nd of 3 music sets, that was enough. I bravely got up to sing, but could hear myself singing flat, it was all a bit wierd, wished i hadn't but oops never mind, as they say here next time na lang. and and on that note salamat (goodbye)

Bugs and Bites

Yesterday was another stress free occasion, all very low key and enjoyable.....me, mum, ann, annika and Nika (neice 11 year old) went to a party shop first to choose layout for the big christening party, tables, chairs, balloons, dish servers, tents things like that and then to Coco's in town for lunch. It is like an american diner type of place, very spacious, clean, great food at good prices and large enough to loose annika's complaints later on in the meal when she also became hungry. Anyway it was great, Mum had a few starters for her meal (soup and salad) and a few snacky onion rings...the best she ever had", lovely mustard and honey dip...yep i think they were the best, anyway all happy apart from Nika who had a tough looking fried chicken, but as Nika was in silent running mode and just a coy grin every now and then it was difficult to tell.

Went to the mall to get bits and pieces, then me and mum went to another mall for post cards,....should have been easy, nearly turned into a herculean task, anyway it got done and for mum to look for a blouse or two. the blouse shopping failed dismally, even i could see there were racks and racks of blouses aimed at young girls with a 22inch waist, in style or size, mum didn't fit the bill. For the moment she is making do.

Later, a swim for mum with the kids round, good for the pool to get some use, mums shower didn't work, asked our electrician round, now partially fixed, another 'warranty" guy round tomorrow. And then garden..for eveneing drinks ......see photo's me, mum and annika outside last night, Monday...Mum trying some of my joggers + scarf to ward off the pesky bighters. Second day i think it was she was bitten all over by what...not sure, then from then on despite some dab on stuff and room spraying, still the occasional bite...

Mum wins the most bite award, annika second, me third and ann practically none, me very few, say 1 per week, annika say 1 per day average, mum so far 8 per day average.....................ooops...more soon....rick, dad (are u reading Jim and Lu? come out now its no use hiding)

Sunday tennis, dance competition and jacks Ridge

Rene our Swiss friend phoned for a game of tennis on sunday morning, so, Mum and lorenz came and we picked Rene on the way. Unfortunately there were about 60 kids there and when we found an adult, there was a 3 day competition which ruled out play. We noticed a dance competition was being held in the local supermarket (SM) car park and so we stopped for a look to spy (for me and rene and perhaps lorenz,) any pretty girls...there were a few. Music was too loud, so, didn't stop long, sun was coming out, so, out came the umbrellas which stopped Mums viewing. So, that was the morning, invited Rene and his wife Nilda to Jacks Ridge restaurant, it was very nice, quite busy but not too crowded, great food, just right, everyone happy, lorenz had ribs, we all had tuna belly steak grilled perfectly 400 grams, loved the meaty taste, broccoli with beef and fried rice with veggies, it was all delicious, me and mum 2 san mig pilsens, rene just one, he's just not a drinker.

After Jacks Ridge it was an afternoon kip followed by a lazy day really. Anns mum Cora came from Tagum, with Nika (Anns sister Joys daughter) and they flitted between our house and Karens house which is a couple of blocks away. A nightcap or two, watched liverpool grab an early lead against chelski before retiring to bed. Glad we did coz l'pool strangled the life out of the game i read, not pretty to watch, i think they are a poor team really, glad not to watch them.

That was it. Added James and Lucy to my blog list Hi Jim and Lu take care and Love to all

rick and in this instance (Dad) Wow a whole post without mentioning annika....nearly anyway

Second Post today........Roel and Mum

This is Mum with our friend Roel...the place is an eatery near the orphanage, in Calinan, about 15km away from where we live, we are waiting for James the (also) Dutch orphanage James. It is not "fat matts" either it is well, an eatery they call them here, fair description actually, you eat there. We were having a coffee and waiting for James.

After this i forgot about the camera, so, no further photographic record of the days events, see below....wow 2 posts in one morning

Orphanage, Marang and Fat Matts

Sunday morning here, as usual i'm with annika blissfully sleeping, she has been a bit poorly yesterday, hot, bit out of sorts and even a vomit which caught us by surprise coz it was her first puke, not bad after more than 3 months, anyway it was only once and she seems to be better now, sleeping like a baby at the mo.

Just uploaded some photos for this "post" and the Marang has come out the best, this fruit is now in season and is delicious, the outer core can be easily peeled away and inside are delicious what can you call them, segments or something of the fruit, they are juicy mouthfulls with disposable seed at the core, thats the best way i can describe them. Taste like ....marang, fruity and refreshing. Mum is iffy, i think she would rather leave than take, i will finish it off today.

Swiss friend Rene called me for a game of tennis this am, mum may come down for a knock...drizzle at the moment, approaching 5am, lets see later this morning.

Yesterday apart from annika being poorly was dominated by trip to the orphanage, difficult to describe in a few words about the orphanage it was a difficult trip, went with our new dutch friend Roel, had lunch in calinan at a place called "fat matts" that was fine and cheap. At the orphanage we discussed funding, projects and in particular a christmas party for the children donated by the "friends of mindanao" (a foreigners group of which i am a member), also a prospective trip into the mountains to bring back 3 sick children to the orphanage and the hospital and also so they can attend the christmas party. The children have a terminal wasting disease and require a helper each to attend to them, i offered to go with James on the trip to assist in the childrens evacuation...more of this later as the story unfolds.

Night in, watched "no country for old men" as saturday night movie....we had seen it before but worth another watch. Mum watched it a bit non plussed all the way through and then slagged it off at the end, but she agreed it was a well made film. Not her type.

After the film we were flicking and by chance caught "live" coverage of the 2nd half of everton v utd, good tonking for utd, so, all were happy.

Dats it, glad Em is reading, love to all ...rick

Weekend here Saturday morning and all (at the moment) very peaceful. Mum got your comments andy yesterday and looked a bit confused when i said do you want to comment back...she started to flap her hands about to indicate i should do it. I picked a random photo today of me and Annika, this was / is her first shoulder ride, won't be the last, that's for sure.

Its dawn here on Sat morning, me and Annika as usual spending some "quality" time together, well we would be if she weren't sleeping, which she is fast asleep. So is everyone else.
Yesterday it was a take it easy time, me i played tennis am, pretty rubbish i was, getting to be a pattern there.....zipped into town to pay electric bill and visit the bank (the falling exchange rate isn't cheering us up here at all)...back for lunch and a kip. PM, chatting, then a trip round the market and shops for me and mum, bought some exotic fruit for mum to try, marang and mangosteen, even got a jar of home made peanut butter, too sweet for me, back for a swim for mum, few evening gin and tonics and that was it. Report from the orphanage tomorrow.

Todays plans are a trip to the orphanage, will post tomorrow.

"Mums Post",........... First Impressions?

Extremely warm welcomes and smiles everywhere, rick waiting at davao airport, bonny annika and smiling ann, the pad is luxury, the pool a treat, aircon and sun. Some itchy bites, long lie in's and siestas (catching up with the jet lag) delight of annika in her bath. A friendly night in the local bar, meeting an array of diverse mates, another bar tonight. Looking forward to more of the same for the next 6 weeks.

Seeing Bob Martin

Mum and i zipped round a few sundry places, shopping centre for some groceries, money changer for some cash for Mum, bank for some cash and then we went to a restaurant just off Rizal street in Davao called De Bonte Koe, western menu, great service and eaten there 6 or 7 times, great food. Anyway, who should be there (the only other customer was Bob Martin with his neice, to celebrate her 18th birthday. Bob met Mum. I had a great pepper sauce steak and Mum had Satay chicken, both were very happy.

Can't supply any photographic proof, but here is aphoto of me and Mum taken by Bob and e mailed to me by him, later on that day (yesterday)...didn't do a lot else, had a pm kip, Mum had a swim and we had a few G&T's later, the alternative's were "deal or no deal" and Filipno soap operas, which are beyond the pale. Lizelle went away for a few days, she came back later on and we all went for an early night, a pretty good day....Mums post will follow (maybe?)

Mums second day 21st Oct

Yes we took it fairly easy on mums second day, her first full day. She slept well, and more or less caught up with her sleep and got rid of the jet lag, almost anyway. After breakfast we went for a walk, it was fairly cool, although it warmed up later...anyway, called at neighbour's house, Rene in manila but chatted to Nilda, we then walked to matina palengke (market) via Paul and Yvonne's house and they made us a coffee, in spite of being on the point of going out, we delayed them, our timing was poor but we were made welcome. On to the market and bought our fruit and some snacks for later. A cooling fruit shake drink in the AC to cool down and Gina spotted us, my gym and flickr friend, (flygall) and she came and introduced herself....she had already seen mums photo on flickr and left a welcome comment, so, it was nice for mum to meet another friend.

Lunch at home, karen and Arnel came for lunch, Ann cooked coz Lizelle is away for a few days, their kids kit kat and keisha swam....we then snozzed for an hour, after lunch, it was getting hot...afternoon chats, then mum and i showered and went down to the local bar, very pleasant evening. I invited my dutch friend Roel, who joined us and phoned his friend Roenna to join us and there was live music on from the owner and a jam session band, Roenna joined the band for two numbers as she is a singer here in Davao...sorry no photos coz i forgot the camera, but we are going out again with roel and hearing roenna sing again on thursday, so, will take camera then. Also joined at times by owner Bogs, an interesting chat and local businessman Noley...so, more than a full evening, and in bed by 10:30, Mum a little unstable in the dark and uneven roads, anyway safe and she seems very happy in our extension, which is now her temp home for 6 weeks, all going very fine.

Mum arrives

Not without incident and looking a bit worn out Mum arrives, "no longer waiting for Mum".

the incident part of the journey revolved around the check in where Mum was nearly refused permission to board the flight because her passport although current did not have 6 months validity, and i think most of us experienced travelers know about this 6 month rule. Anyway after phoning the Philippines...and receiving confirmation it was ok to travel, she was accepted on the flight. Seems the rest was pretty much standard flight.

Mum was / is relieved to be here and doing well, we had a swim a cool down, she seemed to be doing fine but then conked out at 7pm, really conked out, hopefully fora long sleep, i guess she will wake in the early hours but anyway lets see. She only mangaed 1 beer, 2 were on offer or a G&T but the offer was refused.

So far, so good, Annika gave mum a smile so that also was a good start lets take it slowly and tomorrow is already another prospect.

night out saturday 18th oct 08

Yes as per title, had a good night out, with friends at a friends 50th birthday party...it went well...there were a mixed bunch there to say the least...my 50th birthday buddy is gay so there were lots of gay friends around, this could have been ott for me but was balanced with friends who i went with, friends who were there and some new friendly people there. The gay guys there were friendly but for me they were happy to be flitting around being in their own company and so this left a mix of the following nationalities straight types only listed:

western guys like me but nationalities, british, dutch, german, american, new zealander (1)
western women, german....thats it i think
asian men and women....Filipino

So, there were a good mix of nationalities and indeed sexualities at the party, which made it interesting, haven't really got a picture to represent the evening, but i think a post is a bit boring without one, so, will pick one from my photos which no doubt will be highly inappropriate, never mind...continuity dots....more

Ecoland tennis club

Played tennis this morning, 2 sets only lost them both 6-8, 6-8, should have won the second one, the first we played against a grade A player and i played above myself to have a great set, second set the grade A guy was replaced with a D grader, should have won but very poor play from myself, led to defeat, ah well, had exercise, fun and good company, so, can't be too greedy

waiting for mum

5am in the morning, me and Annika outside the bedroom letting ann sleep, just normal oct 16th 08, waiting for mum to arrive on 20th oct 08