Telephone and Door to Door Real Estate Solicitations

The last couple of weeks, I have received three telephone calls and one door to door solicitation from real estate agents asking me if I have intention of selling my house. I said no to the telephone callers. However, the two door to door salesmen from Weichert Realtors left in my door steps a sales brochure describing why one should live in Fair Oaks, California.

I know that the real estate business in our neighborhood is on the up side and booming. The house across the street from us sold within one day after the open House. Two more houses in our development sold two weeks after it was advertised. The real estate values have increased about 6% since last year and the interest rate had remained low. So this is a good time to buy if you can find your dream house in our neighborhood.

I was curious on the sales brochure left by the two good-looking real estate agents. The brochure had a short article titled "Life in Fair Oaks, California". It has three sentences of introduction that I do not know as follows:

"The area we know as Fair Oaks was first developed in 1895 as a Sunset Colony of the Howard and and Wilson Publishing Company of Chicago. We have so many amenities in our community. These are just a few of our favorite attraction.

1. American River Parkway: Enjoy fishing, rafting, and swimming along the American River Parkway. Enjoy the American River Bike Trail for runs, walks, bike rides and enjoy the trees, wildlife and serenity of the flowing river. The aquatic Center offers many day experiences including rowing, rafting, kayaking, paddle boarding and host many events as well as camps for youth.

2. The Village of Fair Oaks: The village offers so many attractions from great antique shopping, day spas, hair salons, restaurants, parks, bars, theaters and more. Annually there are many runs through the village and many events such as Christmas in the Park, Treat or Tricking in the Village, Classic Car Shows and Ethnic Food Festivals. While enjoying time in the village you will see chickens roaming in the streets. The chickens own the village with their friendly demeanor and they have become a fixture in the community.

3. Fair Oaks Park: The town is home of many amazing parks. Some of the popular ones are Fair Oaks Park which has soccer fields, baseball diamonds, sand box, basketball hoops, BBQ pits and play structure for Children. Phoenix Park offers a dog park, play structure, walking trails and soccer fields which are used year round by the Fair Oaks Youth Soccer and Lacrosse Programs. The Northridge Country Club is a great place to golf and relax over lunch with Friends.

The brochure also list 23 popular restaurants in the area serving a variety of food from fast food and gourmet and ethnic restaurants and eateries. I was disappointed however, that there is no Filipino restaurant in the list. One has to drive all the way to Elk Grove ( south of Sacramento- a 30 minute drive in the Freeway) or to North Sacramento( McCleland Air Force Base neighborhood-just a 20 minute drive in local traffic) if one has a longing for Pinoy dishes.

As a conclusion, we moved to Fair Oaks in 2002 after my retirement from USFDA not for the above amenities. We moved here to be close to our children and grand children. However, I now realized, Closeness is not a Place but from the Heart. One consolation at least Fair Oaks is much, much closer compared to Marinduque, Philippines-our second home.

My Sister-in-Law 70th Birthday Celebration

Last September 10, my sister-in-law, Fe(Pepot)Jambalos celebrated her 70th birthday in the Philippines. She was really shockingly surprise when her two daughters and three grandchildren from US just showed up in the airport in Manila the previous week. Evidently this surprise had been planned by her two daughters Elaine Chalfin and Ella Lazarte here in US and Apartment-mate Helen Nunez in the Philippines several months ago. Today, I have reports that the party was a huge and grand success. Over 100 relatives and friends attended the party. For the first time cousins from US meet their cousins raised in the Philippines. Fe is the middle sister(age-wise) of the five hermanas whose picture is shown below.

The Five Nieva-Jambalos Hermanas- From Left to Right: Fe, Jean, Macrine, Sr. Guia( Order of the Cenacle) and Charro, in Fair Oaks, California, 2016.

Here are some photos during the birthday party:

Lazy to Cook? Use the Telephone or your Computer!

In my previous posting, I mentioned that after Macrine ( my spouse of 59 years) was diagnosed with Parkinson Disease in 2013, I was forced by circumstance to take over as the cook in the family. At first, I did not like it, but after one week, I started enjoying it. I even become creative in my recipes. I also based our menu what is on sale, so we save a few dollars in our Food budget. The savings in our Food budget we add to our once a week Dining and Slots machine Escapade in our local Indian Casino. However there are days when I do not feel like cooking. On these days, I have several options where to buy our dinner.

Option A: A few months ago I discovered munchery.com. They delivered dishes right in your door steps, cool and just ready for heating. You have to reserve or order your meals in their web site for at least one day ahead or before 9AM for an afternoon delivery. As of today, I have ordered at least a dozen dishes and I am very satisfied with the quality of the food and delivery service. The main dishes costs vary from $7.95 ( vegetable, chicken and pasta dishes) to 11.95 (for steak and salmon and seafood dishes) with $2.95 delivery charge. A tip to the driver from $1 to $4 is listed as an option. If you become a member, there is a $4.00 discount every time you order.

Option #1: If we feel like eating Chinese food- I used the telephone and in 30 minutes, we have food delivered in our door steps. Once in a while if the restaurant is busy, the wait is about 45 minutes but had never exceeded to one hour. For free delivery, there is a minimum of $20. Our favorite dishes are Pan Fried Whole Fish, Walnut Shrimps, Won Ton soup and their Combination Chow Mein.

Option #2: If we feel like eating seafood, The Red Lobster Restaurant is only one mile from our residence. Red Lobster do not deliver so you have to pick it up. To avoid waiting order ahead. The wait is usually from 30 to 45 minutes. Our favorite dishes are The Ultimate Feast, Shrimps Scampi and Crab Cakes. For dessert we order their cheese cake.

Option #3: If we feel like eating Italian dishes, Olive Garden is also one mile from our residence. Olive Garden do not deliver. But again order ahead to avoid waiting and long lines. Our favorite dishes are their shrimp dishes and pasta dishes. Sometimes the restaurant has a buy one get one free promotion on certain dishes.

Option #4: If we feel like eating steaks, Black Angus Steak House is only about half a mile from us. Again they do not deliver, and to avoid waiting order 30 minutes ahead.

Option #5: There are several fast food restaurants within one mile from our residence. We have eaten at Fish and Chips, Panera House, Burgers Houses, Kentucky fried Chicken and for Mexican Dishes, we order at El Tapacio. My favorite Mexican dish is Chile Relleno made from fresh chiles ( not canned). El Tapacio cooked their Chile Relleno using fresh Chile peppers. Other Mexican restaurants used canned peppers.

Option #6: The deli section of Raleigh, Safeway, Trader's Joe and Sprouts Super Markets offers several dishes that we like. The Honey Baked Ham store is also near us. We order Honey bake ham on holidays ( Thanksgiving and Christmas).

Last but not least, Option #7: If we have a longing for Pinoy dishes, the nearest Pinoy Restaurant and Take Out is about 20 minutes drive from our residence in the neighborhood of McCleland Air Force Base. Our favorite dishes are Dinuguan- Barbecue pork, pancit and a tripe dish.

So, above our my eight options if I do not feel like cooking. This feeling occurs at least one or two days day in a week.

The 15th Anniversary of the Bombing of the World Trade Center

Tomorrow will be a decade and five years anniversary of the bombing of the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York. The following article is my tribute to the more than two thousands victims of the most heinous crime of the decade as we remember it-15 years ago.

The following post from my Hubpages account describes my personal contribution in how I helped alleviate the sufferings of the burnt victims because of the terrorist's bombing of WTC.

Again, may I ask you where were you in the morning of September 11, 2001? Remember these four words: WE WILL NOT FORGET!

http://hubpages.com/education/the-day-the-world-trembled

Plantation Bay Resort and Spa, Cebu, Philippines

This week twenty-one members of Macrine's immediate family(sisters, nieces, nephews and their children) spent one week of Fun and Relaxation at the famous Plantation Bay Resort and Spa in Cebu, Philippines( above photo).

From Left to Right: Sister Guia, Jean Jambalos Maeda, Chiqui Jambalos ( only daughter of Siony), Pepot, Ella (Pepot's daughter and son Adrian and Babes( Helen) Nunez.

This is a mini reunion of the Nieva-Jambalos sisters ( Macrine, Sister Guia, Fe, Jean and Charro) and sister-in-law, Siony Pagalunan-Jambalos and her children and grand children as well as Fe's(Pepot) two daughters( Elaine and Ella) and their kids, Wesley, Samantha and Adrian prior to the 70th Birthday Celebration of Fe( Pepot) in Manila, September 10.

Macrine wanted to attend, however because of health reasons, she can not travel and easily gets tired. Charro the youngest of the Jambalos sisters is still in the East Coast enjoying her summer vacation. Pepot's 70th Birthday celebration will be in Manila and about 100 guests are expected.

The following video and photos will speak for itself.














For more information about the resort visit: plantationbay.com