There seems to always be a variety of things all going on at once, here, except for the occasional day when it suddenly seems like there's nothing. Usually a day like that is just when "everything all at once" has hit snags which keep things from happening. But there are usually enough things-all-at-once, so that at least one project will still be moving along.
This week is a good example: the cement-block maker's truck is being repaired, so on Monday afternoon we used the last of the cement-blocks which are going into our "cottage project" at our farm. We had expected to have 3 days' construction this week (Thursday through Sunday of the week are the "holy days" of Easter week, so no construction on those days). But until we get another delivery of blocks, nothing much can happen. So, Tuesday was at least partly taken up with a trip to the window company, and we will have an estimator here soon to place the order for cottage- windows. And today, Wednesday, worked out for me to have some hired help, so the table-saw frame project is finally moving along. Seems like it will be next Monday before the cottage project gets back on track.
Meanwhile I have been taking photos - sporadically - of all sorts of things as they occur to me, whenever I have the camera with me. I don't think that his posting is going to be very "topically organized" but we'll see how it goes.
Grandson photo warning: at least one grandson photo is likely to appear here.
Seems like there was a big influx of civic-project/ highway
improvement/ miscellaneous funds into our area 3 or 4
months ago. This 3- meter tall (that's 10-feet) all-concrete
sign was recently completed at the border to our municipality.
Also we have seen many new road-marking signs (note the
"<" signpost, one of a series indicating left - curve). At several
places there are now distance-ahead signs ("Barbaza 12,
Laua - an 18") which were never seen before.
It amuses me, in an odd way, how many things are either
"the same" or have obviously transferred from one culture
to another. I see "Vision" and "Mission" signs like these
(from a nearby Community Cooperative) many places here.
"The Four-Way Test" (Rotary International ethics) in a local
language is prominently displayed on an intersection kiosk at
San Jose, directly in front of the Masonic Center building there.
Since I mentioned the table-saw project, I'll show you this
main-shaft assembly which I ordered special-made from a
machinist in San Jose. The blade is from Lowe's, sent to
me via "care package" from Kentucky. The rest of the saw's
metal frame will be hand-cut and welded locally. I'm beginning
to wonder if April Fool's Day is the right time to begin building
a table-saw. But, that's how it worked out. I have NOT seen
a factory-built table-saw here; every one I have seen is
someone's personal fabrication, and mine will be the same.
production is laid out on the workshop floor. My "best worker"
needed 8 hours to cut these 24 pieces of angle-iron; for me
to have done the cutting myself the elapsed time would have
been several days, and probably more actual hours. These
pieces, IF I "got it right," will make the main part of the saw-
frame, with a vertical-sliding mounting for the shaft, to allow
the cutting height to be adjustable. After this part of the saw
is welded together and adjusted, we will add legs and braces
to make the finished table-top a standard 32- inches high.
The final job will be to make and very accurately install a
hardwood table- top, so that we can make precise cuts.
(OOPS - after the table-top will still be buying and installing
the motors and drive components. This saw will use an
electric motor for small routine projects but will be able to
have a gas or diesel motor mounted for sawing heavy slabs.)
Meanwhile brother-in-law Alex has been using the "down-
day" from construction to do some tool-making. A lot of the
morning has gone to cold hammering and grinding on this
"bolo" blade. "Bolo" is the local word for machete.
He also made the two cement- trowel blades from a piece
of stainless- steel pipe which he cut and flattened. These
will have the re-bar shanks welded and wooden handles
made sometime later.
He has kept pretty busy with boat-building projects, too; he
shaped the "swan neck" for one end of a boat using the
hand-axe and a bolo (machete, remember?). Neighbors
soon gathered up all of the wood-scraps into a used
rice-sack to be used for cooking fuel.
soon gathered up all of the wood-scraps into a used
rice-sack to be used for cooking fuel.
As to the subject of cooking, I've mentioned in the past that we do most of our longer, "heavy-duty" cooking with either charcoal or wood. Barbecue-type propane fuels our gas-stove and oven, but it's for "convenience," as it is costly. We are in the process of replacing BOTH of our outdoor "stoves," which are scarcely more than a year old - bought at separate times. The terra-cotta pottery stove which has a large opening for wood-burning has gotten a crack which is visible in its main body, between the fire opening and the tab which the pot sits on.
"tall" steel roller - used to run a conveyor belt on rice processing machinery. If it is correctly cut- down, it makes a nearly perfect solid-fuel burning stove, and lasts a long time. In this first picture it is 'way too tall to be useful.
But when I shortened it, I got it so short that the chunks of charcoal often are too big to fit between the grid and the pot- rack. I still have enough metal left to easily make some "tabs" which can be welded on top to increase the height. This is now on the "things-to-do list.".Once the steel-roller stove for charcoal use is completed, I have another roller available to try to make a wood- burning stove. This will also be a little challenge, as the diameter of the roller is a little too small for the size fire, and firewood, which will be needed. I will have to figure out how to flare- out the lower portion of the stove to contain a larger fire.
On a recent afternoon walk I found one of Bernadette's
uncles busy with an improvised shuttle and hand-loom,
making some light weight fishing line into a small net.
This is a pretty fine net, and my guess is that it will be used
to catch the 2- or 3- inch long "minnows" which are often
dried and then added whole to stir-fry type cooking.
There are always fish being dried on the Malabor beach,
it seems, on bamboo mats, tarps, pieces of roofing-tin,
and here, an elevated rack made of bamboo slats. Grand-
son Timmie gets a close-up look at some of the product;
the farther ones are 10- to 12- inch fish which have been
and here, an elevated rack made of bamboo slats. Grand-
son Timmie gets a close-up look at some of the product;
the farther ones are 10- to 12- inch fish which have been
filleted before drying. Nearer are some creatures which
put on their brakes too hard - that's why they "squidded."
A lot of small-boat fishing happens at night, here. It seems
to be more productive to go out after dark with spotlights
hanging outside the boat; the light attracts fish, making it
easier to net them. This little rest-house was built recently,
giving the crew of one boat a place to nap before and after
the fishing trips. The side-panels seem to be made by taking
the segment-dividers out of the inside of bamboo, and then
splintering the bamboo outer stalk enough to unroll and
flatten it into a panel. I will try to photo this process soon.
to be more productive to go out after dark with spotlights
hanging outside the boat; the light attracts fish, making it
easier to net them. This little rest-house was built recently,
giving the crew of one boat a place to nap before and after
the fishing trips. The side-panels seem to be made by taking
the segment-dividers out of the inside of bamboo, and then
splintering the bamboo outer stalk enough to unroll and
flatten it into a panel. I will try to photo this process soon.
of what Kentucky looked like for nearly all of February and
most of March this year.
Meanwhile on about Feb. 27, our tomato plant in a bucket
had about 17 fruit well-set, and some additional blossoms
beginning to form.
and, some of our tomatoes had ripened from green to a
pretty shade of red. These are a "Roma" or "Amish Paste"
type tomato, about three inches long when mature.
not been cut up for salads. The "International Coffee" tin
behind them gives an idea of their size. There is talk of
making a small batch of salsa with these and a few others
nearly ripe. The late blossoms have set into another batch
of fruit, which has reached about one- inch in size; if the
plant continues to thrive, we can expect some more ripe
tomatoes in a few weeks.
I mentioned the cottage project in the top-section of this posting. We need a secure (cement) building at our small farm, to store tools and supplies, and to provide restroom, less-primitive cooking, and occasional sleeping facilities. Monday, March 23 was ground-breaking, and the end of Monday, March 30, made a total of 7 working days for our crew. This posting is already getting long, but here are a few photos - and I will probably put more detail into another posting later. ( NEW READERS: use the navigation links, upper right of the page, to scan back at entries in Jan. thru July of 2013 - which give good detail about general construction here; quite different from USA. Here are a few:)
Hel"Lowe's"
Steel Deal
The Larson Foundation
Hel"Lowe's"
Steel Deal
The Larson Foundation
This tree-trunk slab will make a great-looking novelty table-
top. But here, it gives an idea of the shape of the tree that
our lumber came from.
top. But here, it gives an idea of the shape of the tree that
our lumber came from.
Marked with a straight-line string for a guide, the saw-operator
expertly cuts straight slabs from the tree segments, and then
cuts those slabs into the desired dimensions of "stick-lumber."
expertly cuts straight slabs from the tree segments, and then
cuts those slabs into the desired dimensions of "stick-lumber."
The irregular- contoured tree becomes a sizable pile of
material to be used for rafters, porch-joists, etc. There is no
lumber industry here; this is how building lumber is made.
Deeply-dug reinforced piers support hand-fabricated re-bar
frames for the building's posts. These are tied together by
the wall "footings"which also have their re-bar tied into MORE
vertical re-bar, which goes up into the walls as they are built.
4 actual "days a-laying." Additional blocks will arrive when
the block-maker's truck is repaired, and now, AFTER the
Holy Week/ Easter holidays are complete.
The end of the seventh working day had the front walls at
full height and the bathroom about halfway. It is a cottage;
the main room will be 10 x 12 feet. Cooking will be mostly
outside at an equipped area of the porch - a covered, wide
wrap-around porch, where we will also dine "alfresco."
Here he is, a few days before 10- months- old, and it is about
5 minutes before he got his latest "booster" shot at the clinic.
His expression changed for a while after that. Timmie is
our daughter Thea's baby.
I've had requests for more "scenic shots." Being here all the time I sometimes forget just how pretty the place is. But it's wonderful! Even the near-constant heat can be dealt with (I'm a BIG FAN of electric fans); we enjoy being in one of the most beautiful places on earth. I often see sunsets like this one when I'm out walking.
I've mentioned "Holy Week" earlier in this posting. In our area and in most of the Philippines, several days are given to commemorating the events surrounding Jesus Christ's crucifixion and and resurrection. And this is entirely appropriate, as these events are a turning-point in the history of the entire world - no other few days in all of recorded time have had such far-flung influence on places and cultures in all points of time and geography since. And this influence has touched many millions of people personally as individuals came to understand and grasp for themselves the significance of the Creator's Plan for their lives. The facts - the historicity - of the events have been established independent of the Bible many times, by "hard core" skeptics and believers alike. I encourage skeptics and believers who read this to look again, and BE AMAZED!
As to the "holiday" side of the upcoming weekend, we are planning some combination of American and Filipino cuisine, by way of celebration. Right now, there's a batch of ice cream custard cooling in the kitchen, and materials being gathered for a small quantity of salsa to accompany the American-style tortilla chips we've acquired.
Wishing you all a joyous weekend, and the very best outcomes for your pursuits in the next little while.
Have a great day!
Tim and Bernadette Larson, Philippines
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