(We are fairly well adapted to our situation here now; but at 7 a.m. it is already 90- deg. plus outside, so as usual I don't go far from an electric fan. Today, we will have some guests, and a few "American Special" foods in honor of the holiday.)
Time has flown this last month or so. We have been kept really busy trying to stay on top of the cottage- building project; taking the workers to and from the job, and running their break-time and meal food there, and keeping the flow of materials ahead of the job as much as possible. There have been several other items, too - continuing the table-saw project which was barely begun at the last posting, and the usual odds and ends of repairs (broken plumbing valves on a Saturday afternoon late) and generally having to run around for things (vehicle registration process - still not complete, and we've owned it for 9 months now).
MATERIALS: The various retailers/ suppliers in our immediate area are the "orphan cousins" in the supply chain apparently. They get material ONLY after the needs of more populated areas are covered. We have had delays of several days at a time for lack of either cement or concrete blocks. And it has been hard at times to find specific items (electric service panel with 6 spaces instead of 4, and a 15-ampere circuit breaker were two items which proved elusive for a while). We make occasional trips to Culasi (20 km. north) and to San Jose (75 km. south) and we try to get as many items ahead as we can.
Well, enough rambling! This blog has always been mostly about PICTURES - so here comes a real mixture.
We don't do many "family snapshots" here in the blog, but this is a special occasion:
About an hour ago, Timmie managed his FIRST stand-alone.
He will be a year old in a week. No steps-alone yet but
he scampers along pretty well with dad holding the back
of his shirt like a yoke, and he works his way along the
cyclone fence pretty quick, too. Inside, he is a terror-
on- wheels with his lime-green walker.
Now some weeks later, the place has taken on its final shape.
The "kitchen" will be at the left end of the porch, a counter-
top with sink, and we will use a table-top gas burner for
cooking. Probably we will put a little bit more wall to help
screen wind gusts. There's room for a table at the right end
of the porch and we will enjoy dining outside as it is usually
shady and pleasant there.
(Construction process is very heavy-duty and labor- intensive
here. Alternating blog-postings from January, 2013 through
that year, until the TYPHOON in November, discuss the house-
building project which occupied us at that time. NEW READERS,
I encourage you to check out the archive blogs, as many things
I mention currently are more thoroughly reported there. The
"navigation links" to older postings are at upper right and are
pretty easy to use; or, you can scroll down as far as this "page"
takes you, and then hit "older postings" link, and keep scrolling
down, etc. to see all previous postings.)
so this slightly-elevated view is possible. The bamboo house
at left will be for helpers and additional large-scale cooking
space. This front field extends to the right (previous photo)
before running into steep hillside, and is a little over double
what is visible. Behind the houses another field is about 2x the
size of the front part of the property. Plenty of room to garden,
raise a few chickens and goats, and maybe a hog or two.
for our area. I have kidded my sister- in- law that some day
I'll make a sign: "Tres Bato Cafe." (Three Rocks Cafe)
The extremely neat "science fair looking" wiring job in the
bamboo house was required when we arranged to have
the power connected some months ago. This is in marked
contrast to the completely undisciplined look of utility
wiring almost everywhere else here. Around the meter-
racks, the wires will often be a completely tangled maze
running in all directions to various customers' hookups.
(You can see utility wiring among other subjects at "A
Bunch of Stuff" by using archive navigation links upper-
right on this page to go to Aug. 13, 2013.)
The car-jack is used to raise and lower the adjustable blade,
with the electric motor on a swing-arm so its weight can keep
the drive-belt tight. The electric motor can quickly be removed
so that (eventually) a small gas or diesel motor can be placed
for heavier usage, like cutting thick hardwood slabs. There
are several adjustment problems right now but we are getting
them worked out gradually. The critical final project will be
fitting an accurate table-top and guides for sawing.
I get to admire other peoples' projects as I go different places.
This elaborate ceiling with chandelier is at the Culasi Municipal
Building, and was completed in the last year or so.
Stairway railings in that building are all-stainless-steel, which
is a great idea for this area. I have noted other buildings'
wooden railings, which have only the "imagination of a shell"
remaining after several years - because of termites.
For some reason this sign amused me, maybe because of
its use of "Office" and "Officer" at beginning and end of its
text. I did wonder if the Election Officer is an elected office.
several pretty snappy-looking modern buildings nearly com-
pleted. Steel roll-up doors downstairs will likely have retail
space, and upstairs could be either professional offices
or residence.
then sat for about 6 months unopened (permit problems?
who knows?). Opened about 2 weeks ago. Gas price was
at a deep LOW about a month ago, at $3.61/ gal. In just a
few weeks it's halfway to the "usual" price, about $4.47; we
hear that it will soon be back at about $5.10, which is what
it cost for most of this last year. We are pleased to nearly
always get mid-30s mpg or better with the Suzuki.
In late April I took a trip to Concepcion, a point almost exactly opposite our west-coast location, on the east side of Panay Island. This link should show Tibiao on the west, and Concepcion is on the east coast, out on the "bulby" peninsula between Sara and Ajuy: https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@11.2258582,122.378726,9z?hl=en&hl=en
The distance is about 215 miles, and required 6.5 hours of intense driving.
at BOOST Farm where our church association conducts
livelihood (agriculture) and Bible training.
Sloping Agriculture Land Technique (SALT) is taught here,
and mostly seems to involve creating beds and rows along
and mostly seems to involve creating beds and rows along
the horizontal face of the slope, for irrigation control and
erosion-prevention. A variety of local crops are in this field.
erosion-prevention. A variety of local crops are in this field.
We were told that the crops were mostly left-over from a
class which had graduated a few weeks earlier. Even as
left-over, looks like they did pretty well with the tomatoes.
Several "covered shed" buildings have spacious pens for
goats (no kidding). There appear to be about 30 does
and kids, and a separate shed has 3 pens for bucks. Goats
and cattle here are raised exclusively for meat; there
simply is NO animal-milking as part of the local culture.
However, at this farm there are plans for milking and milk-
products. I am very interested to follow the progress, as
we hope to have milk, yogurt, cheese and such products
here as soon as we can get organized to do so. Lack of
cheese, sour cream, yogurt, fresh milk and cream has been
a dietary challenge for me, as Italian, Mexican and
Scandinavian cuisine are pretty limited without such.
These and other leafy plants are cut and brought to the
goats' feed bins. Around Tibiao, goats are foraged on
"stake out" chains everywhere; I guess that wouldn't be
very practical around a vegetable production farm.
Nearby the farm, this huge electric generation plant is being
built on a point of land south of Concepcion. Its seaside
location allows shiploads of supplies and fuel to be docked
for delivery. We understand that a lot of the electricity
will be sent to Negros Island via a cable under the Guimaras
Strait - which is less than 20 miles wide. Maybe we will
get some of the left over current, as needed.
Off the coast of Concepcion, there is a large group of various- sized smaller islands. (I really hope the above Google Map link works so you can see.) A friend's house, where we had lunch one day, had an amazing view out over the ocean at these islands.
Off the coast of Concepcion, there is a large group of various- sized smaller islands. (I really hope the above Google Map link works so you can see.) A friend's house, where we had lunch one day, had an amazing view out over the ocean at these islands.
My snap- shot camera was frustratingly unable to capture the dramatic panorama.
His beautiful house is located on a sloping property, perhaps 100 or 200 feet above the ocean.
Panning the camera to the right from the above shot, I was able to show the town- area of Concepcion, about 2 km. across a small bay from the house's location.
The hotel/ resort where I stayed one night had made impressive use of natural materials in for decoration various places around the property. I liked the look of the rustic bench in the background, and was even more "taken" by the table-top, which vaguely suggests the shape of a marine animal (squid?).
Bentwood branches creatively arranged formed the railing around this open-air restaurant.
far I have never seen a "Tire Repair" sign anywhere in
our region. Tire repair is always referred to by the older
more formal term of "Vulcanizing."
me for one reason or another. This one reminded me of
the story about a boy who couldn't remember when to
STOP, when spelling words like "banana" and Mississippi."
bought by my in-laws for a land-clearing project will last long
past the end of that job. They are formed by charcoal-firing
and hand-forging metal from heavy-truck frames/ springs.
One particular area in Culasi has a several- generation
reputation for high quality metalworking.
times as many thorns as a typical rosebush. Its foliage
looks like a desert plant. But the root- tubers are quite
close to potato texture and flavor; in fact I grated some
up and baked it with sausage, onion, "processed cheese,"
etc. and had a very satisfactory hash-brown casserole.
By custom, baby boys here do not have their hair cut until
"first birthday." Timmie's hair is often combed and gathered
into a "top plume;" a few days ago we decided to have
some fun, and put a dried-out chicken bone into the hair-do
for a "Flintstone's Accessory" look.
This seems to be a good stopping point for now. We are grateful to be here, and retired, and not having our time tied- down with long hours of employment.
I am beginning to lose the "fresh- eye" look of someone who is new to the Philippines, but I'll keep trying to share some of the oddities and adventures of being in a foreign place with you.
Wishing you a restful and enjoyable Memorial Day!
Tim and Bernadette Larson, Antique Province, Philippines
