HI GUYS....Some of Nature's Greatest Masterpieces

[Alibangbang]

K-Spy/Insom, et al;

The night we came back, the basement was in an uproar --- a mess!

My favorite Mama Sita (yes, I do use them) seasonings were scattered all over the floor, pieces of leftover chocolates and wrappers on table tops, as well as pieces of ---only God knows where they came from ---plastic foam were all over.

No, THANK GOD. Yes, it could have been worse. Yes, we were invaded.

Despereaux (The Tale of …), Remy, his brother Emile, their father Django and the clan (Ratatouille) decided that since the house is empty, why not move in and have a party? Party they did.

We were too tired, I was too sick to start spring cleaning but it must be done. For the next two days, we cleaned, washed and disinfect.

The next step was very difficult and must be thought of very carefully. In the kids’ eyes, it meant breaking one of the 10 Commandments God handed over to Moses in Mt. Sanai.

Karlo very recently did a report on The Tale of Despereaux. And while in Arizona, they watched Ratatouille. These little "beings" are very dear to them.

But, it must be done.

A big hunk of a guy showed up with his ammunition ready for combat, and reclaim, defend our territory. He did what he had to do, leave us with an exorbitant bill and disappeared into the freezing wintery night.

K-Spy, as you know, Remy does his best to live the life of a gourmet. You also know that his clan not appreciating his talents puts him to work sniffing for rat poison on their food.

The kids and I prayed that Remy will not slack off or be negligent in performing his duties. We prayed that he'll smell death for what it is on the green pellets that the big hunk of a guy left in strategic places, (charged me an arm and a leg for it) warn his clan, and they move out and move on.

It’s been almost 2 weeks and we thought our prayers were answered until last night when I opened and found them dead in the utility closet. They were dead in the garage and behind the desk downstairs. So far, I’ve counted seven!!! It's a big family or, big party of friends!

The kids were wailing in a panic running upstairs (pitiable sight!). My husband, who’s a half PROMDI, can not bear to look at them scattered stiff. Paga ngiluhan. What touched me though was the 2 who were lying side by side dead in the garage. Husband/Wife? GF/BF? Brother/Sister? Sister/Sister? Brother/Brother?

The kids cried, lit a candle, cried some more at the thought that we killed them all, the Despereauxes.

When they (kids) settled down, we gave them (Despereauxes) what we thought was a decent burial. The ground is frozen so we cannot dig a hole deep enough. I gingerly put them in a shoebox, we gathered in the la toilette, we prayed and after we sang “Ave Maria”, we flushed them out one by one into oblivion, infinity and beyond.

Ahhh... it's good to have one's house to one's self again....


Afterthought…..

Dumdum kaw nan diton kami tapos may palaka na gusto mo dungan kanato nan panihapon? Tapos paga pa lugwag ta? Sayang, I should have kissed him first. He may turn out to be a prince!

Tapos may isab helikopter na abtiki kaw gayod imo dayon paga pa --- now you see it, now you don’t”.

Dumduman kon ambaw, then inka dumduman ko dayon si Dobok? How is he doing?

=====================
K-Spy/Insom and you guys hapit na an kodak...

[toyang]

Abb,

Auntie, Sin-o na Dobok?

[Alibangbang]

Hi Yang,

Komusta nakaw yang? Duda ko yag isan kaw pagka siksi. Paga sultihan ako nan taga kalipornia

Yang, si Dobok taga Kambatyag. An ila layat Yang, ambaw.
Inpakila siya kanako ni K-Spy. Ya intriga ako Yang kaniya kay ini na tao dili dali matugkad. Mesteryoso. Paga handom ko da lang siya.

Bagan kila mo isab siya Yang.

Hala ayoayo ngaton Yang.

[kampanaryo_spy]

abb,

so sorry to hear that. must've been traumatic for karlo and alexa.

thanks for the email and the heartbreaking 'breaking news' of heath doing a river doing a marilyn. i wonder how jake feels, now that he's a "widower." the sheep must be mourning up there at brokeback mountain !

sad, sad, sad.

dobok's hibernating; it's spaghetti '88 who's stirring. i've brushed "her" up coz i plan to submit her to Inquirer which now has "Vignette,"a section in the Sunday supplement. Vignette imposes a 500-word or 4,000-character limit. and so i've pared Spaghetti from 600 something to 464 words. but am sad because a friend texted me last night that Vignette is invitational, meaning you have to know personally the editor (ruel s. vera) to get invited. ngek! manila times, perhaps?

actually it was walter, your cousin, who made me look at the story with a new eye. we were at japan's last week (with tata pilapil et al) when he told me he liked it. when i got back to the story, i cringed: some lines were repetitive and there were problems with transition!!!!

i like Spag better now because it has restraint, and yes, the better phraseology of the ending.

if you're interested to read it all over again, i've edited the original post in the PVA thread.

by the way, when will you tell me your story?

[Alibangbang]

K-Spy,

Spag...ay wuv 8.

[Alibangbang]

Dear All,

Nature’s greatest masterpieces…

Shape by wind and time, its rough, raw, merciless and unforgiving but equally magical and breathtaking. Its beauty fills the senses and feeds the soul.

The Grand Canyon is a colorful steep-sided gorge. This is our 3rd trip, I can’t wait to go back.

It's over 6 million years. It is 277 miles (446 km) long, ranges in width from 4 to 18 miles (6.4 to 29 km) and attains a depth of more than a mile (1.6 km).

We did the Canyon Mule Ride Tour, a two day trip down the bottom. There were 21 of us (Lu’s 4 brothers and their families, his sister and her family), to secure the animals, our reservations were made 8 months in advance. On the extravagant side but, well worth every penny. The kids had a marvelous time. The adults? Well, kids had a wonderful time.

Our nights down the bottom were spent at Phantom Ranch. A rustic oasis nestled deep in the Canyon. Our meals were served in the Indian Reservation Garden.

We mule-ride along the cliffs of the Inner Gorge, across the Colorado River on Suspension Bridge and up Bright Angel Canyon on the north side of the river back to where Phantom Ranch is situated.

We returned via the South Kaibab Trail, which provides different, yet more unforgettable, panoramic views. After reaching the top, we were bused back to Bright Angel Lodge where late lunch was waiting for us.

The trip was a collision of surreal, overwhelming, painful on the behind and phenomenal experience.




The blue streak down there is Colorado River






The cousins. Gatagad kay timbangon isa isa para ma match an timbang sa mule na sakyan.

[Alibangbang]

moved....

[kampanaryo_spy]

kamatayon! grabe gayud inin kinaiyahan mo lilok amo abb?

yaon na kay isab si lu, sali maga puko. haw min-plastar dakan lugar sa bato. hahahaha

[Alibangbang]

K-Spy.

Ini sakaw baya..gapoko kay Hadlok kay basin siya na tikwang

tabang yamat na imageshack paga duwaduwa-an ako. Kadayaw ilambos kay keep freezing on me...

Paga angutan ko ini para sa imo.

[kampanaryo_spy]

breathtaking sites in breathtaking shots! B-R-A-V-O!

[Alibangbang]

K-Spy,

Can you see the entire picture? An ako kit-an kay half da lagi nga sa???

[Alibangbang]

Then off to Flagstaff for some skiing (adults) and snowboarding/sledding (kids).

Flagstaff is 7,000 feet (2,121 m) in elevation. Adjacent to the largest contiguous Ponderosa Pine forest in North America, the area around Flagstaff is considered a high altitude semi-desert. It snowed. The place was teeming with people. The slopes, ideal for skiing, snowboarding and sledding but too crowded. Tapos lahi dasa gayod an mountains sa east cost kanaman we cut our stay for 2 days.

[Alibangbang]

OH MY GOODNESS.......ABB, I'VE EDITED YOUR WORK INSTEAD OF QUOTING IT......THE BEST SHOTS PA GAYUD. GAWD!!!!! SORRY....

K-Spy,

No problem .....amo yadto inin sa ubos?

From Grand Canyon our destination is this speck of a house (family friend's summer home/ranch ---'not mine, Arce's ) in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by expanse ocean of nothingness. Nearest neighbor is 4 miles away.



Beautiful Arizona winter sunset as we approached the house. Lucky for me, this scene was repeated the following evening framed by the huge window in our assigned bedroom.






Minbalik an ako hilanat...kalma da lamang pero baya paga takigan na. But being a guest, I have to adhere to protocol. After I sang ---out of tune ---"Merry Christmas, Darling" I went straight to bed.

[Alibangbang]

The bulk of our days were spent here, in Sedona.

Elevation 4500 ft. Sedona's main attraction is its stunning array of red and orange sandstone formations found only in the Sedona vicinity. The sandstone (The Red Rocks of Sedona) is thought to have been deposited during the Permian period. The formations appear to glow in brilliant orange and red when illuminated by the rising or setting sun which form a breathtaking backdrop for everything from spiritual pursuits to the hundreds of hiking, horseback riding and mountain biking trails.

I love it here. This is a place I’d like to come and visit over and over again. Its unspeakable magnetic beauty is sensed and felt rather than seen.

We welcomed 2008 here, in the wilderness. Devoid of fireworks but the heavens were over flowing with millions of twinkling stars and 1 silverymoon (last quarter). The silence deafening, filled with muffled voices of spirits guarding this ancient land.

This place also for me, reaffirms that God is Alpha and Omega. Omnipotent being, perfect in power, wisdom and goodness. And, should be worshipped as creator and ruler of the universe. The incorporeal divine principle ruling over all...

[Alibangbang]

Hard to imagine that these rugged peaks were once bottom of the ocean.