Memory Unload.

This was my favorite house that we stayed in while we were in the Philippines for Christmas. This was where I stayed the first night I was away from my parents. This was where Mom told me that she and Dad needed to go back into the city for surgery. This was the only house that our family was able to spend good, quality time together. We stayed here for a week. We being Mom, Dad, Frances, Kaz, and I. Just us. It's really my grandma's house. Well, at least for a little while it was. It wasn't very big. We only used the bottom floor, but it's built at the top of a hill and my, my, my it's gorgeous in the morning. There's a balcony out back right outside the kitchen. This is in Baguio (I think that's how you spell it), and it's in the mountains so it's nice and chilly. Mom and I would sit on the balcony in the morning and just keep each other company. It was...wonderful.

Ok, this house is in Subic where the old American military base used to be, I think. I don't know, but I'm pretty sure it was. The house that this neighborhood is in looks very American, and it was comforting. This is the first house we stayed at after we got out of Manila. This is where I spent Christmas. This is where I really became close with my grandma before she passed away. She took care of me the whole time I was sick. The night before Christmas eve, I got really sick. Mom had just gotten out of surgery, so she and Dad were still at the hospital. Everyone else in my family were too busy to really take care of me because it was so close to Christmas, but Lola (that's what I call my grandma) took care of me. She even gave me her bed next to the bathroom, because I was throwing up so much. On Christmas Eve, I started getting really shivery (not the happy, excited kind). My bones ached so much, and I kept having to get out of bed to throw up. I hated it. Yes, I did use the word hate. I cried most of the whole time I was sick. I wanted out. I wanted Mom. I wanted home. It was wretched. But Lola took care of me. Even though she was so old and needed her rest, she still made sure I always had water to drink and anything else I needed. She would sit at the foot of my bed and tell me stories-of her life during the war (like WWII), my grandpa, Dad when he was little, her memories of me while we lived in England, things she's learned over the years. It was so special. I think that was one of the biggest reasons that I was so bummed when I found out that Lola had cancer, she was in the ICU...and then she passed away. Broke my heart. I love my grandma. I LOVE my grandma. I'm just so very thankful I can say I'll see her again one day in Heaven. Woot! :)

It's a two-story, obviously, and at the top of the stairs, Tita Vicky (I'm told I look a lot like her, because she and I look very Natividad-like. I don't think I look like her) had a couch in the "hallway" between the bedrooms. I think I read about 20 books on that couch. I don't know what was wrong with me, but I passed up several opportunities to go to the beach and go jet skiing just to read. Wait a minute. I think that's because I LIVE at the beach! Right across from the couch at the top of the stairs was a huge window, and right outside that window was a very large tree. I say it was a very Ruthie house. I loved it. 

This is another house that we stayed in while we were in Baguio. Oh it was the coolest house we stayed in. "Cool" as in awesome, and "cool" as in VERY cold, especially for an island girl like me. I was so cold! But what made up for the chilly temperature was the view! I don't know how we manage to get all these crazy nice houses, but this one was again built on a hill. Actually come to think of it, Baguio is a hill...mountain really, which would explain why everything is on a hill....maybe. Anyway! It's another two-story, and the whole top floor is divided up into two spaces. One side are smaller rooms with doors, and then the rest of the space is one HUGE room with gigantic windows on two sides. The floors were made of wood and everything was lit by natural light. It was so beautiful to look at! And Baguio is famous for their strawberries, so every morning I would go downstairs and see a breathtaking view while eating the sweetest strawberries ever. It was such a neat experience!