Family news

It's Holy week, so the country is now shutting down so everyone can travel home for the holidays.

Our fiesta is May1, so Florinda is here and I hear Chona will arrive tomorrow. Everyone in the Philippines who work overseas come home when they can at the time of the local fiestas, many of which are now, between the winter harvest and the start of the monsoon when people start the next planting.

Ruby had her friends from the church youth groups over for an all nighter party: I downloaded loads of "Christian" movies, old fashioned Hollywood films, etc. in case they get tired of talking over their troubles with their parents, friends, and school.

They were fairly quiet, so I guess everything went okay. I am happy that she finally has some local friends: she homeschools and up to now mainly socialized with her cousins.

to keep them safe, Chano locked the "white"dogs in the side garden, behind our bedroom (three house dogs, which are smaller than our watch dogs). At midnight, I got tired of them whining so left them out. Maybe the reason for the whining was that the small white dog Sophie was in labour: She had two puppies this morning. One was still born. Alas, she is not a healthy dog, partly because she got pregnant under one year, and partly because her mother steals all her food if we don't watch out. I give her extra food, but she is still very thin.

Sigh. I plan to get her fixed, but we were short money after the typhoon. Now, with my social security etc. finally coming, I am buying stuff left and right that I put off for the last year or two.