Mostly Photos

In the last blog,I  didn't think to tell you much about the place we're actually living here.  Tibiao (tibby-ow), and almost any place nearby, pulls up easily on Wikipedia.  The municipality seems to cover about 5 or 6 square miles and has a little over 20,000 people.  Quite a number of permanent business are here, mostly street-front convenience stores (seems like about every 50 feet) and the place is large enough to have a 3- day (Tue., Thur., Sat.) "Market" which is a combination of farmers market, flea market, swap meet, food court, butcher, etc. pretty much like you've heard or read about in such partly-rural settings all over the world. Buildings are more and more substantial concrete structures, but still a fair mixture of bamboo-construction is evident. Most people do a mixture of gardening, fishing, larger farming, crafts/ construction, small livestock raising, to make a living however they can.  In the last few years a lot of retirees, both Philipino and foreign, are coming here and building quite large and fancy houses with all conveniences.  OK, OK, I said mostly photos, so here starts the gallery:
                                                                            

I didn't get any coastal/beach scenes in last time.  I see this nearly every day,
looking southwest from Malabor beach to the point at Barbosa, the next settled
 area south of here.

A few steps back, the beach view is more typically framed by trees at the back
or a vacant property, 75 feet from the main road.

This place is medium-fancy; quite a few places are 2-story with balconies, and
multi-room Euro-USA standard,  lots of square footage inside.
 

Meanwhile, the first of several loads of bamboo poles have arrived for building
our "nipa (neepah)" yard-house. We will have something like a "screen-porch"
to relax in the shade or to overnight where it's cooler than the house.

3-foot long palm leaves are folded over slats and stitched in place with long grass-
like fiber, making "nipas" which are tied to the frame for roof- and wall-covering.

Post-hole digger.
 

Upright posts are carefully cut to receive cross-posts (like a post & beam barn).
 

Test fit looks OK.

Pegs split and shaped from large-end bamboo will secure major joints.
 

Detail of upper post and crosspiece corner, pegged together.

Tying sections of nipa onto the rafters.

                                                                            
That's about where the project is for now - roof is a little over half-finished as I type.

I probably won't manade a blog every week - I'm aiming at about one per month, but we'll see how things work out.  I have several ideas for future editions already, but a shortage of photo's (and time) to work on them.  May you each have a blessed day!     Tim Larson,