I am setting a new blog using the same product I am used to using for web sites. This is a link to my new site.
If there is nothing much there yet, it means I am still setting it up!
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
Classes are out for the semester
It is a great joy that Joyce Owen has graduated from PIU with her bachelor's degree! She was also the salutatorian and spoke at the Baccalaureate service on May 8th.
Graduation was on Monday the 9th at the PIU Campus. The day started with rehersal.
The Lord arranged everything perfectly. It poured rain and cooled it off and stopped 1/2 hour before the ceremony started. The power went out but before the ceremony started so that everything was run on generator. But, the power came back on just in time for Anne and Steve Stinnette to Skype attend when the graduates received their diplomas. Perfect. More pictures......
We had two Valedictorians this year -- Grateful Nokar and Xuefen Mei.
Other pictures from the after ceremony celebration...
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| Joyce Owen Salutatorian Speech |
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| In the front row taking pictures. Graduates behind. |
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| Bear thought it was great fun. |
The Lord arranged everything perfectly. It poured rain and cooled it off and stopped 1/2 hour before the ceremony started. The power went out but before the ceremony started so that everything was run on generator. But, the power came back on just in time for Anne and Steve Stinnette to Skype attend when the graduates received their diplomas. Perfect. More pictures......
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| Faculty and Staff singing "Holy, Holy, Holy" |
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| Valedictorian Grateful Nokar speaking |
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| An after ceremony picture with Xuefen Mei |
Monday, February 14, 2011
Bike Riding and Grocery Shopping on Guam
Bike Riding
I have been bike riding as often as possible. I have to get home well before 5:30 PM so that it is not dark by the time I return home. I usually ride 5 times around the UOG (University of Guam) campus. I guesstimated that it is 3/4 of a mile from my house and 1 mile around the campus. On each turn around the campus I get to see Pago Bay into the Pacific where the Mariana's trench. I am told Mt. LamLam is the tallest mountain on earth because Guam is the tip of a mountain whose bottom is at the bottom of the Trench,
Here are a couple of pictures from my rides lately.
Below are some sunset and cloud pictures. The clouds are as beautiful as the sunsets!
Grocery Shopping and Refrigeration
Grocery prices are high here on Guam. Shopping is an adventure of looking for markdowns and deals when one is on a limited budget. Trolling the "discount bins" where items are expired or close to it are marked down. Normally I do not pay full price for brick cheese or sliced sandwich meat. I'm almost out of both so I may not have cheese for lunch and I'll have to pay full price for meat. That hurts. One time I checked over the regular shelves of peanut butter and found one a couple days out of date and got a real deal at the cash register. Twice I have scored on Parmesan cheese. The first time I got 5 cans for 1.00 each. Last week I got 2 16 oz cans (full price 10.30) for 2.50 each. They were priced 5.00 but I am not above asking if they can "give me a better price". A loaf of discounted bread of decent quality is to be immediately snatched up.
The reason I can buy outdated or almost outdated foods is that I keep them in the freezer even if they don't need refrigerating. Peanut butter is always in the fridge along with bread, salt, margarine, candles, rice, and anything else that is affected by the warmth and dampness. Stuff I would keep in a cupboard in California where it is dry would either melt (margarine), grow bugs (rice), or grow mold (bread) here.
Some things are hard to get but I keep looking. Last year I had my brother send me the big size can of cinnamon. Then one day as I was about to ask him for another can I found it in our local warehouse type store! It's like hitting gold. I also have a hard time finding Hersey's mini-chocolate chips which I like for the ice cream I make. I had been looking for months and no chips. Just the big ones. Then last weekend I found them in a store and bought 5 bags now residing in my freezer. My last bag from a prior purchase about a year ago is open and being used.
My ice cream mixer calls for 3 cups of heavy cream, 3/4 cup of sugar and vanilla for vanilla ice cream. Ugh..... I use just under one cup of Half & Half. The rest of the 3 cups is low fat milk from a box (it's cheaper to buy it in a box). I add about 1/4 cup of sugar and vanilla (the only thing not changed). The chocolate chips come in when I eat it. Yumm..... Lately I haven't been able to find Half & Half so I got whipping cream and put about half as much as I do of Half & Half which seems equivalent.
There are people that I know here that are better bargain hunters having been here longer but I try to do my part.
I have been bike riding as often as possible. I have to get home well before 5:30 PM so that it is not dark by the time I return home. I usually ride 5 times around the UOG (University of Guam) campus. I guesstimated that it is 3/4 of a mile from my house and 1 mile around the campus. On each turn around the campus I get to see Pago Bay into the Pacific where the Mariana's trench. I am told Mt. LamLam is the tallest mountain on earth because Guam is the tip of a mountain whose bottom is at the bottom of the Trench,
Here are a couple of pictures from my rides lately.
 |
| Me and my Ride. UOG buildings behind |
 |
| Pago Bay looking into the Pacific |
Grocery prices are high here on Guam. Shopping is an adventure of looking for markdowns and deals when one is on a limited budget. Trolling the "discount bins" where items are expired or close to it are marked down. Normally I do not pay full price for brick cheese or sliced sandwich meat. I'm almost out of both so I may not have cheese for lunch and I'll have to pay full price for meat. That hurts. One time I checked over the regular shelves of peanut butter and found one a couple days out of date and got a real deal at the cash register. Twice I have scored on Parmesan cheese. The first time I got 5 cans for 1.00 each. Last week I got 2 16 oz cans (full price 10.30) for 2.50 each. They were priced 5.00 but I am not above asking if they can "give me a better price". A loaf of discounted bread of decent quality is to be immediately snatched up.
The reason I can buy outdated or almost outdated foods is that I keep them in the freezer even if they don't need refrigerating. Peanut butter is always in the fridge along with bread, salt, margarine, candles, rice, and anything else that is affected by the warmth and dampness. Stuff I would keep in a cupboard in California where it is dry would either melt (margarine), grow bugs (rice), or grow mold (bread) here.
Some things are hard to get but I keep looking. Last year I had my brother send me the big size can of cinnamon. Then one day as I was about to ask him for another can I found it in our local warehouse type store! It's like hitting gold. I also have a hard time finding Hersey's mini-chocolate chips which I like for the ice cream I make. I had been looking for months and no chips. Just the big ones. Then last weekend I found them in a store and bought 5 bags now residing in my freezer. My last bag from a prior purchase about a year ago is open and being used.
My ice cream mixer calls for 3 cups of heavy cream, 3/4 cup of sugar and vanilla for vanilla ice cream. Ugh..... I use just under one cup of Half & Half. The rest of the 3 cups is low fat milk from a box (it's cheaper to buy it in a box). I add about 1/4 cup of sugar and vanilla (the only thing not changed). The chocolate chips come in when I eat it. Yumm..... Lately I haven't been able to find Half & Half so I got whipping cream and put about half as much as I do of Half & Half which seems equivalent.
There are people that I know here that are better bargain hunters having been here longer but I try to do my part.
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