Monday, October 2 - Still staying with my sister in Tarlac, waiting for good news from my brothers in Cavite and Manila regarding their power, if it has been restored yet or not.

Sunday, October 1 - We attended a mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Manaoag in Pangasinan. Rose, thanks for telling me about this place! Never been there before, and I'm glad you told me about it. As always, the place was crowded. People from all over come to this town just to see the Shrine. It was also "fiesta" there that day, since it was the 1st Sunday of October. Lots of street vendors outside the church, selling all types of native items and "kakanin." Please check out both links above. It is very informative, and the place is historical.

Had a chance to eat the "kakanin" called "topig" (I think that's what it's called). It was delicious! Loved it! Never had that kakanin before. I'll try to make it when I'm home. It is made of shredded young coconut, mixed with sweet rice flour and sugar, wrapped with banana leaves, and then grill it or "inihaw." I think it's Pangasinan's delicacies. (Oh, in Naic, Cavite I had the "puto bong-bong" - the purple one; it was delicious!)

Unfortunately, my digital camera wasn't working at that time (for some reason), so I don't have pictures of the Shrine of Our Lady of Manaoag to be posted here. When I got home that night, I transferred all of the pictures from my camera to my niece's computer and reformatted the camera. Now, it is working again!

Well, I think I need to go now as it is getting late. I'll keep you updated. I have less than two weeks to go here in the Philippines! Bye for now.