Another Writing Goal Achieve in My Hubpages Account

I have a writing account on Hubpages.com for a couple of years but had been inactive for the last two years. I have written 32 hubs but only 12 are featured. The 20 hubs are not featured because of low traffic and readership. HubPages is a user generated content, revenue-sharing website founded in 2006. The company acquired its main competitor, Squidoo, in 2014 and moved from a single-site to a multi-site business model in 2016. Last year it was purchased by Maven of Seattle, WA.

I always wanted some of my hubs be included in the vertical network sites recently created by Hubpages to attract more traffic.

Last year Hubpages started hosting articles according to topic. This is good for attracting more traffic as Google does not love general content as much as it used to. In general the more traffic the more Adsense dollars income for the writer.

The other day I received three letters that three of my hubs have been selected for the network site Exemplore (one).* and for LetterPile** (two). The first letter is as follows:

Congratulations, Chateaudumer!

One or more of your articles were selected for a vertical site in the HubPages Network — way to go! Only the highest quality articles are selected for the new sites.

The following articles have been moved to Exemplore*:

Encounters With Aswangs, Witches, Goblins, and Ghosts in the Philippines

Hi David! We loved reading about the Aswangs and we are now genuinely spooked! We only made a few changes to this article, otherwise, you are an excellent writer. We are excited for both the community on Exemplore and people seeking information on Aswangs to read your article. Great work, keep it up! Looking forward to your next submission.

Now is a great time to check that your articles have About the Author biographies added — they are a great way to demonstrate your knowledge and expertise to your readers. We strongly recommend it!

If you have questions, feel free to email us at team@hubpages.com.

Cheers,

The HubPages Team
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

This is the second letter:

Congratulations, Chateaudumer!

One or more of your articles were selected for a vertical site in the HubPages Network — way to go! Only the highest quality articles are selected for the new sites.

The following articles have been moved to LetterPile**:

Our Love Story and 60th Wedding Anniversary

Now is a great time to check that your articles have About the Author biographies added — they are a great way to demonstrate your knowledge and expertise to your readers. We strongly recommend it! If you have questions, feel free to email us at team@hubpages.com.

Cheers,

The HubPages Team

The 3rd hub moved to LetterPile is:

My Bucket List: 101 Things to Do Before I Die

Here's a list of the Hubpages Network Sites:

https://hubpages.com/community/List-of-Hubpages-Network-Sites

*Exemplore is the site for mystics. It covers advanced ancient civilizations, animal guides, astrology, auras, cryptids, dreams, fortune telling and tarot, healing and magic, paranormal, paganism, and UFOs.

** LetterPile is a literary site. The menu lists the following classification and subjects: books, correspondence, creative writing, newspapers/magazines, poetry, quotations and writings

Choosing the Right College/University for Your Child

Choosing the right college/university for your child is not easy and require advance planning. It is essential that your child attends college that he/she likes. Ditas and Carenna visited and toured three of the seven Sisters Colleges last week. They visited Mount Holyoke, Smith and Wellesley Colleges all located in Massachusetts.

Here are the photos taken during their visit. Ditas fell in love with the Smith College campus and wants to do her undergraduate studies again.

Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA

Smith College, Northhampton, MA

Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA ( west of Boston)

The Seven Sisters was a name given to seven liberal arts colleges in the Northeastern United States that are historically women's colleges. Five of the seven institutions continue to offer all-female undergraduate programs: Barnard College, Bryn Mawr College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, and Wellesley College. Vassar College has been co-educational since 1969. Radcliffe College shared common and overlapping history with Harvard College from the time it was founded as "the Harvard Annex" in 1879. Harvard and Radcliffe effectively merged in 1977, but Radcliffe continued to be the sponsoring college for women at Harvard until its dissolution in 1999. Barnard College was Columbia University's women's liberal arts undergraduate college until its all-male coordinate school Columbia College went co-ed in 1983; to this day, Barnard continues to be an all-women's undergraduate college affiliated with Columbia.

All seven schools were founded between 1837 and 1889. Four are in Massachusetts, two are in New York, and one is in Pennsylvania.

There are seven factors to consider when choosing the right fit of college/university for your child: Geography, Size, Setting, Type, Family Input/Recommendation, Costs and Availability of Scholarships and Financial Aid. For more details read the following:

https://www.petersons.com/blog/colleges-and-universities-choosing-the-right-fit/

It is never too early to plan choosing a college/university that will be the right fit for your child. If you are now looking for a college/university for your child, Good Luck and Have Fun in your search!

Personal Note: The David B Katague Family have chosen the following universities for their four Children based on the above 7 factors:

Dodie-UC Berkeley-BS in Geography; UC Davis-Law Degree
Dinah-Sacramento State U-BS and St Mary's College-Para Legal Studies
David III-UC Davis-BS in Agricultural Economics and Carnegie Mellon U-Master's Degree
Ditas-UC Berkeley-BS in Arts and Communications and USC-Master's Degree in Government Relations

Macrine and I list the following universities for our Education:

Macrine-BS in Commerce(UST-Philippines), AA in Nursing (Contra Costa College, Richmond, Ca) and BS in Nursing/Public Health- Holy Name University, Oakland, CA

Me-BS in Chemistry (UP, Diliman, QC, Philippines), MS and PhD in Pharmaceutical Chemistry, U of Illinois, Chicago and UC Berkeley-Certificate in Business Management

Here are the schools where our five grand Children Graduated:

Ian-BS ( Sacramento State University)
Philip BS in Sociology( UC Santa Cruz)
Elaine BS ( University of Oregon)
Alix BS in Computer Science( Cornell U-New York)
Marina BS in Kinesiology (CA Polytechnic U, San Luis Obispo)

Carenna ???????? We will see and hopefully I will still be alive and kicking when she graduates from college! Carenna is familiar with UC Berkeley and has toured Stanford U in Palo Alto just recently besides the three colleges mentioned in this blog.

Taking Care of Your Aging Parents

When I was growing up in the Philippines in the late 1930's, my yaya (nanny) told me that a child who take care of his(her) aging parents is blessed and will certainly go to Heaven when he( she) dies. I was not able to do this, since I was in the US when my parents were in their senior years. Our youngest sibling was the one who took care of our aging parents and she is blessed!

Today, as I witnessed my younger son takes care of her Mom, reminds of the above paragraph. My heart is full of gratitude of what my son is doing for her Mom. I hope you go directly to Heaven when its your time to say Good Bye in Planet Earth.

The following link discussed the tips on sharing the care of your aging parents.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/youre-sharing-care-aging-parents

The following are tips for those caregivers to their aging parents

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-shore/elderly-parent-caregivers_b_823443.html

https://www.aarp.org/caregiving/local/info-2017/resource-guides.html

Last, but not least is the link for tips if you decide to take care of your aging parents at home.

dailycaring.com/5-top-caregiving-tips-for-keeping-aging-parents-at-home/

This blog is also a call for David's other siblings to help If at all possible in the care( emotionally if not physically) of their Mom. I know you have your own lives with its problems and complications, but a regular telephone call is sometimes what your Mom only wants.

To all our friends and relatives who calls every now and then to inquire on Macrine's Health status, thanks a million again for your concern.

Here's a video that touched my heart and I can really identify on the subject of taking care of your aging parents.

https://youtu.be/0HxL--f7Fsg

Wesley and His Lola Macrine

The latest photo of Wesley Lazarte Chalfin

Wesley is the son of Elaine and Alex Chalfin. Elaine is the oldest daughter of Fe Jambalos, Macrine's younger sister. Wesley has a younger sister, Samantha. ( see video of her feeding the chickens in Amoingon below).

Samantha

This is from Wesley’s kindergarten journal. It says:

In Winter break I went to Folsom and I went out to dinner and I went to Lola Macrine’s. She was so excited.

Wesley and her Lola Macrine's during her 81st Birthday Celebration, Fair Oaks

https://www.facebook.com/lazarte/videos/10214037075576554/?t=0

Lolo David and Lola Macrine sending their hugs and kisses to you Wesley and sister Samantha! Visit us soon!

Photos from a Recent Wedding Reception at Chateau Du Mer

Chateau Du Mer has hosted a number of wedding receptions since it was opened to the public several years ago. The following is a typical example of a romantic and lovely wedding reception both in the beach house and Hall. The photos were taken by Toby Jamilla during the Luzares-Montalban wedding reception at Chateau Du Mer Beach House and Conference Hall just recently.

I have the permission of the bride and groom as well as the photographer to put the following photos in my blogs. Congratulations to the Bride and Groom! What a Romantic and Lovely Wedding Reception.

The Beautiful Bride the Night Before the Wedding in the Bedroom of the Beach House

The Groom's Party in front of the Stairs of the Beach House(Conference Hall in the background)

The Bride's Family in front of the Beach House( Amoingon Beach in the background)

The bride inside the Beach House. Notice the Capiz shells Door.

The next four photos were taken in the Conference Hall during the Wedding Reception Ceremonies

Chateau Du Mer is opened all year round. For more information and rates call:

SIONY JAMBALOS –(Boac) 042-332-1754

DAVID B KATAGUE (US)-916-961-3365

E-mail: tagaboac@comcast.net

Ten Years of Personal Blogging this Summer

Next month will be my 10th year of personal blogging. I can not believe, I have attained this achievement.

According to the article below 95% of bloggers give up between 31 to 33 months. This applies to both Lifestyle Blogging (LB) and Personal Blogging (PB).

For details about Lifestyle and Personal blogging read the following: https://www.writelaughdream.com/the-blog/personal-vs-lifestyle


I have been doing Personal Blogging since the summer of 2008. As of today I have written more than 2000 articles on almost all subjects based on my life experiences. Total page views from my 8 blogs is now over 3 million viewers. I have about 100 viewers daily(total) and more than 500 comments as of today. My most commented blog with over 250 comments is http://lifeinus1960present.blogspot.com/.

In addition to my blogs, I have also a writing account with Hubpages.com ( Owned by Maven). I have written 32 Hubs(long articles) but only 12 are featured as of today. Twenty of my articles are not featured due to low traffic or readers. I will appreciate if you also visit my Hubpages.com account in addition to my blogs.

I do not write about politics, religion or sexual topics except on a few cases. These three subjects are controversial and attract more viewers, readers as well as comments. However, since I do not earn my living on my blogs, the number of viewers/readers is not my primary goal. My goal is to receive comments from my blogs. Knowing that readers like my blogs by clicking LIKE or sharing it in their Face Book page makes me happy. So here is the primary reason why I am still blogging for almost ten years as of this month.

I enjoy writing and blogging exercises my aging brain. Receiving positive comments( i.e., informative and/or inspirational) on my blogs is an ego boost!

For details why 95% of bloggers quit read the following: http://feveredmutterings.com/95-percent-bloggers-give-up

For details on how I started blogging read the following:  

https://davidbkatague.blogspot.com/2014/01/blogging-has-saved-my-life_4.html

I hope you continue reading my blogs. Have a Great Summer wherever you are in this Planet Earth!

Grand Daughter Marina Brewster Katague Graduating Today

My second youngest grand daughter, Marina, youngest daughter of Dodie ( my oldest son) is graduating today with a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology degree from the California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo. Congratulations Marina!

Dodie informed us last week, that Marina has already a job offer at the university and has a contract for three years. So for now her goal of going to medical school is on hold. So Dodie and wife Ruth are free of college expenses. Dodie plans to early retire next year. He and wife Ruth plan on travelling all over the world. Dodie also plans on finishing his second novel, Devil's Mountain during his retirement years. Six months after retirement, he plans on working part time back in his office as a Prosecuting Attorney for Contra Costa County, Martinez, California.

This month I have learned of many families with graduating children. Two weeks ago, one of the CNA's at ManorCare called in sick. In reality he did not go to work, because his oldest son was graduating from high school. Last Saturday, our favorite Pinoy grocery store was closed. Today I asked her why it was closed. She said it was graduation day of her oldest son in college.

Macrine and I have now five grand children with Bachelor Degrees. One more to go. Looking fo ward for that day and hope I will still be kicking and alive when Carenna my youngest grand daughter graduates from college.

Dodie, Sierra and the Wheel Chair Ramp

Sierra, Ditas Dog enjoying the wheel chair ramp built by Dodie and David III yesterday

Last week Dodie and David built a wheel chair ramp from our patio to the garage so we can easily transport Macrine to all her doctor's appointment without hurting our back lifting her. The next day Ditas and Carenna visited us bringing Dimsum goodies from downtown Sacramento. Thank you again, Dodie and David. Also Thank you Ditas and Carenna for the visit prior to your planned summer trips all over the US, Hawaii and Iceland.

The last 22 days had been hectic when Macrine was still in Rehab. Someone has to be with her 24 hours because of the danger of Falling. David and I as well as the caretaker alternated watching Macrine during her stay at Manor Care. Since we paid extra for a private room I was able to sleep in Macrine's room in a recliner chair ( not too comfortable). However, thank you Lord I survived the 22 days without a major back ache.

During my stay at the Rehab, I got to know more than a dozen Filipino-Americans nurses and CNA's( certified nursing assistants). One nurse is working double shift to save money for a down payment for a house. Another nurse is working in another nursing home, so he can save money for his child college education. A CNA Dad's recently died. She had a power struggle with relatives in Northern Cebu of the burial procedure of her Dad. She wanted her Dad cremated here in US which will save her money. Her relatives in Cebu wanted the body shipped to the Philippines. The estimated cost at that time was closed to $8000 versus $2000 for cremation here in US. Of course her relatives in the Philippines expected her to pay for all the expenses. She said her relatives in the Philippines thinks she is rich here in US and money just grow on the trees and ready to be harvested any time. I heard of this a hundred fold before! What a misconception of life here in the US.

A typical private room at Manor Care, Citrus Heights, California

Again, I am thanking all friends and relatives who wished for Macrine's rapid recovery via telephone calls, visit, and FB messages. May your tribe increase and hopefully you have a good and cool summer season wherever you are.

Have You Tasted a Macopa Fruit?

When I was growing up in the Philippines (late 1930's), we have a macopa (tambis) tree in our backyard. Here in the US it is called Jambu Wax Apple or Mountain Apple.

I have not tasted the fruit since then. Recently a FB friend posted a picture of the macopa fruit( from her backyard) that aroused my interest and reminded me of the taste of this delicious fruit. The blog below list all of the tropical fruits growing abundantly in my orchard in Boac, Marinbduque. Needless to say, the macopa tree is not in the list.

I did some search and here's what I found: ( see reference).

Macopa – Syzygium samarangense – is a tropical fruit that grows very well in the Philippines. The fruit is bell shaped but the name macopa is from the Spanish word copa which means a goblet or wine glass. If you look at the fruit upside down it resembles a cup. The fruit has light fibers and one seed inside. The color is varied from light green to pink and red to dark maroon coloration. It is often the dark colored one that’s the sweetest of all.

The tree grows up to 12 meters and quite prolific when its time to flower. The flowers are white and keeps flowering even if some fruits are ripe, so you have a continuous supply of macopa all summer long.

The fruit is not so sweet compare to a regular apple, its actually a bit on the bland side. But it is a refreshing fruit and have enough moisture to quench your thirst. Besides, there are healthful benefits (https://drhealthbenefits.com/food-bevarages/fruits/health-benefits-of-macopa-fruits) you can get from this macopa fruit. It contains vitamin C and other antioxidants which are considered cancer-fighters.

There is a fruit called “tambis” in other parts of the country. I’m sure it is in the same family as macopa with a slight difference in size and coloration. Here's also a short video of the fruit for your viewing pleasure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbqabzKaykc

Reference: http://www.maribehlla.com/fruits/macopamountain-apple-2/

*The blog below listed all the fruit trees in my orchard in Amoingon, Boac, Philippines.

planningtovisitthephilippines.blogspot.com/2013/10/tropical-fruits-in-gardens-of-chateau.html

Music for Relaxation and Meditation

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

The last 22 days had been hectic since Macrine had been confined in the rehabilitation hospital. Yesterday she was finally release still with a Poly Catheter because she can not void, But she is on her way to recovery I hope with home health physical therapy. So today, I just feel like relaxing and meditating with the following collection from YouTube.
Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8uvPLsah0s

Track List:

00:00 - Piano Sonata No. 16 in C Major, K. 545
04:08 - Serenade No. 13 in G Major, K. 525, "Eine kleine Nachtmusik": I. Allegro
10:39 - Piano Concerto No. 19 in F Major, K. 459: Allegro
22:55 - Concerto for Flute and Harp in C Major, K. 299: II. Andantino
30:27 - Horn Concerto No. 3 in E-Flat Major, K. 447: III. Allegro
34:02 - Piano Sonata No. 5 in G Major, K. 283
37:53 - German Dance, No. 3, K. 605, "Sleigh Ride"
41:14 - Divertimento in B-Flat Major, K. 137, "Salzburg Symphony No. 2"
43:20 - Symphony No. 25 in G Minor, K. 183: I. Allegro con brio
50:59 - Violin Concerto No. 3 in G Major, K. 216: III. Rondeau: Allegro
57:42 - Divertimento in D Major, K. 136, "Salzburg Symphony No. 1": I. Allegro
1:01:44 - Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K. 550: I. Molto allegro
1:09:14 - Flute Quartet No. 1 in D Major, K. 285
1:13:32 - Piano Sonata No. 6 in D Major, K. 284
1:31:04 - String Quartet No. 19 in C Major, K. 465, "Dissonance"
1:41:49 - Piano Sonata No. 17 in B-Flat Major, K. 570


Some Benefits of Listening to Classical Music:
► Stress-relief and relaxation
► Increases concentration and focus
► Improves memory and mental alertness
► Assists with child brain-development
► Lowers blood pressure
► Helps fight depression
► Improves sleep quality in adults and babies

Photo Memories of the Chateau Du Mer Hall for Wedding Receptions

The month of June reminds me of weddings and wedding receptions. Here in the US June is the most popular month of the year to get married because of the hot weather as well as June is the month in honor of JUNO-God of the newly weds. However, in the Philippines, June is not the most popular time of the year to get married because it is the start of the rainy season. Chateau DU Mer had hosted more than 100 wedding receptions since it opened for the public in 2002. The following photos are mostly from the album of Rosette Pitero Sotta