It seems to me like I use "etc." and "miscellaneous" too often. Guess I should be looking at a thesaurus for some variety. Well, I looked at the last month's worth of photos and there is quite a variety of topics, so whatever word describes THAT, THIS will probably illustrate.
(Brief mental side-trip: "stegosaurus," "brontosaurus," "tyrannosaurus," "thesaurus?!")
I walk nearly every afternoon for a while before sunset. These
youngsters and others are usually at the end or our street,
a few yards before the highway. They have quite a few
games they enjoy; this one was kind of like "hackey sack"
in which a small fabric bag with pebbles or maybe rice is
repeatedly kicked upwards to see how long it can be kept
aloft. I also see badminton and volleyball, both with no-
net and apparently no score-keeping; coin-bouncing (my
name for it) which works like marbles, only coins are forcibly
thrown to move the opponent's coin, and the winner keeps
the coins. Variations of the flip-flop "baseball" (see
earlier posting) also show up from time to time, including
one where the pitcher tries to knock over a "wicket"
of flip flops which are stood up as a target - and if
successful, the pitcher then runs the bases. (Which
isn't quite cricket!)
A couple hundred yards' stroll puts me on the beach beyond
the various family compound-areas which have all sorts of
housing all mixed. The sunsets which I have featured in
other postings are not seen very much during this "rainy
season." Many afternoons are gray and heavily overcast.
In no way does the gloomy sky keep the "meter people"
(their approximate height) from frolicking in the small
waves of Sulu Sea. A lot of card-playing and bingo-ing
is just behind me in bamboo beach-shelters. A few
games show no money on the table; often there are
meager little hoards of peso coins; only occasionally
do I see paper currency. NO game seems to be
taken very seriously, however.
We do not have a "tourist beach" here. I can tell the expected
tidal- height, and the predicted roughness of weather, by
the position of the many boats. This afternoon is going
to be a high-tide plus rough-weather night, as the boats
are dragged as far as they can get from the ocean, and
NONE of them are going "out."
Above the tide-line the entire beach is stones about like
these. There is a noticeable drop- off where the ocean
waves stop, and beyond that point, suddenly, all is sand.
I have seen this "ridge" move inward and outward by
as much as 30 feet in less than a day - - the ocean
is remarkably powerful!
Well, onward! to the topics mentioned in the title.
Biscuits: I like good, light, tasty biscuits. They are nice to have around for meals or munching, just a few every couple weeks. They are not a necessity for me in large quantity or as a daily staple. Quite a few attempts at making biscuits over a several year period had brought poor- to- mediocre results. One "production variable" which my friend Don mentioned to me is the baking powder; I had suspected that the local stuff might not be up to par. Substituting 1/4 tsp. of baking soda +1/4 tsp. of cream of tartar +1/2 tsp of corn starch (as a binder) for each tsp of baking powder, (all of which is a "standard cookbook substitution recipe,") has caused the biscuits to puff up nicely and have no bitter taste.
We are a small household, so 8 or 12 biscuits are 'way far too
many. I used the "new stove oven" to bake a couple small
batches of 4 or 6, which is wasteful of cooking gas and
creates too much excess heat. So I reverted to the "Dutch
Oven" method on stove-top, using an inverted stainless
steel bowl to raise the baking pan so the bottom won't burn.
VERY GOOD results for a first-time test! One of this batch
of four has already been "quality tested," and it was slightly
moist in the middle and only brown on the bottom; so it
moist in the middle and only brown on the bottom; so it
should have been left in a few more minutes. The brown
one has been turned upside down to show off its color.
I need to turn all biscuits over about 10 minutes before
they are done, so both top and bottom will be browned.
I used the toaster oven to brown the remaining biscuits,
and to cook them slightly in the middle. I don't use it for
baking because it has no thermostat, only a timer, and
is useful primarily for re-heating.
Quite likely there will be more "food preparation stuff" in this posting but I'll try not to make it become "Home Economics 101, Philippines Style."
We took time to go to the Tibiao Fish Spa (featured in previous
posting) with our guests on July 4. JoAnn seemed to be
enjoying the ministrations of the tiny fish.
Meantime Don tested a karaoke system which was there
(usually the bane of my existence ANYwhere). He
"Did it His Way" and got fine results with no help from
Frank Sinatra.
July 4, U.S. Independence Day, we also celebrated with several American favorite entrees. This marked the first time I had ever tried to make a green bean casserole without canned condensed soup, or canned french-fried onions - - both of which are actually fairly easy to make, and not too time-consuming. The various barbeque- this-and-that, home-made ice cream, pies, cakes, etc. all came together pretty well and we had a fine time.
Cows: Bernadette found by experience last year, that keeping a young animal for over a year increases its selling price pretty substantially. However, the cost of its "keep" is more than the increase, and ends up being a loss. She has fairly regularly had "offspring for sale" the last couple years.
So, the little guy on the right left his mama at the age of only
a few months. He is not yet a steer; he may grow to be a
bull, or, merely chopped beef. Ironically for Bernadette,
her profit from this venture was absorbed the following
day in another "sudden need" incident. It will be perhaps
two years or so before she has another calf available.
Commerce: Money seems to come rolling in our front gate nearly constantly. Sadly, the value of the money, and its quantity, seldom amount to as much as $3 US funds in a day.
The motorcyclist arrived, wanting a large order of ice, just a
few seconds before the school kids stopped to buy ice- pops
(their power- breakfast?). One of our day-helpers vended the
ice-pops, as the day's work project wasn't started yet.
, Meanwhile, Bernadette was pulling ice from the freezer and
shuttling it to the front gate; 10 ice-bags will usually fit into
one bucket.
Ice- poppers departed, ice-bags being dumped into a large
basin in the side-car, and in a few minutes the disruption
settled town to relative calm again. This order was either
30 or 40 ice-bags, indicating a large catch of fish to be
kept cooled until they can distributed and vended.
It is a constant race in the early part of the morning, to make
enough water-bags to freeze, and stay ahead of the demand
for ice. Later in the day, the drinkable water in the municipal
pipes is all gone. Under very good conditions with a lot of other
ice remaining, it still takes 6 to 8 hours for water to freeze solid
in the bags. If the freezer has been mostly emptied, it can
take 24 hours or more for a large load of 85- degree
water to freeze.
Just on impulse I snapped a photo of the thermometer as
I walked past it that morning, and fairly early in the day it
shows about 86 degrees F. Typical.
Ladder: certain types of word-problem puzzles intended for brighter folks than me, are called "lateral- thinking" puzzles; maybe meaning to "think sideways" sometimes, instead of always in a "straight line."
We have a good sturdy 7- foot aluminum ladder which seems
to be constantly in use around here. It just nicely fits under
the ceilings inside, so we can use it when needed for tasks
there. But we frequently ALSO need to get up about 12- or
18- inches taller than THIS ladder allows us to climb, and
buying another, longer ladder is quite expensive.
So, we did some "ladderal thinking" . . . .
Laying the ladder flat and straight in the saw- shed allowed us to
design and fabricate "stilts" out of hardwood and angle-iron.
design and fabricate "stilts" out of hardwood and angle-iron.
The stilts need to be installed and removed quickly and
easily, preferably without tools, so we had to make 8
"knob-screws" using techniques we have learned over
the past several years.
The first test-fit, before final sanding and finishing, shows
how a knob-screw can hold a strap clamp around the
new stilt, and the ladder brace-leg. The weight is not on
the clamp, it is on the angle-iron braces which put support
under the ladder's cross brace and step pads. So, the
clamps only keep things lined up straight.
All put together! The step-side rails are heavy-duty enough
that we could drill through them to put knob-screws directly
into the stilts. But the two lowest ladder-treads plus the
bottom ends of the rails all have their weight borne by
angle-bars, so the screws- through only keep things
aligned. So far, all has tested just fine!
that we could drill through them to put knob-screws directly
into the stilts. But the two lowest ladder-treads plus the
bottom ends of the rails all have their weight borne by
angle-bars, so the screws- through only keep things
aligned. So far, all has tested just fine!
Corn: We can get feed- corn ground into very fine, good tasting corn meal as needed, for kitchen uses such as corn bread and polenta (German-style scrapple, coming one day soon!). BUT for nutritional reasons, and for particular other purposes, the corn must be processed into hominy before use. This is done by soaking and boiling the corn in a lye solution, which makes important nutrients accessible for humans to digest, and also makes it possible to be formed into breads which will not crumble. Historical note: When Europeans brought corn from America to their homelands, some places gradually became heavily dependent on the corn for food. Not understanding the process of making hominy, these communities would often suffer malnutrition and disease from lack of niacin and other nutritional necessities. (link - Wiki Hominy article) The pertinent parts of the Wikipedia article can be read in less than 2 minutes.
The hominy on the left was from the same sack as the
unprocessed corn on the right. The peso coin is about the
same size as an American quarter-dollar coin. The corn
was simmered in a water- and- wood ash solution (lye) for
about 3 hours and then allowed to soak overnight in the
same solution. It gets puffy and softens, and its nutrition
is improved. Several types of lye are readily available in
USA grocery stores, but not HERE, so we resort to ancient
Aztec/Inca methods. Since I "own" the process now (by
use), you might also say that it is "Mayan."
use), you might also say that it is "Mayan."
(Hominy is readily available canned, in USA.)
Hominy is used to make tortillas and other sorts of "native American" breads, but it also makes a tasty direct- substitute for elbow- macaroni in various casseroles and "one-skillet" quick meal preparations. Give it a try, for a little texture/flavor variety in one of your recipes.
Branding iron: The chairs that I brought ,from Iloilo a few weeks ago were donated, replacements for about 24 chairs which "found a new owner" one night, about a week before the youth camp. The chairs are nowadays secured with a padlock and a chain which passes around a concrete post. But they also need to be marked, and "permanent' markers aren't always permanent.
A couple of flawed attempts, and a day- or- so of trial and
error, and Doc-Doc, my best metal fabricator, had taken
scrap stainless-steel and made this branding iron, to my
design. The location of the meeting- site is at Batonan;
so, the ID imprint will show "BAT"SBC, (Southern Baptist
Church) with the outline of the BAT blended from several
sample outlines we found on the internet. (Type into the
search box, "Image" and then anything you want, and
up it comes! Wonderful - - )
up it comes! Wonderful - - )
Using the bottom of a much-repaired chair here at the house
for a test- space, we charcoal-heated the iron and managed
to make a pretty good first impression - which I hope will
show at least somewhat above, in the "published" photo.
The wonders of the internet! I had very little internet while
in the USA, since we were beyond the cable- company
area by 1/4 mile. Now, I've GOT it, at least sometimes.
The above tool from my grandparents came to light
a few days ago, and less than 10 minutes "Googling"
located its "name" and history. It is a box-opener "nail
puller" patented Sept. 29, 1908; I think quite likely
great-grandpa Haman used it in his general-store.
Looks like it would be dandy, opening packing boxes.
My "boss" thinks it might impress a burglar.
I always wonder how I'll fill the page, when I begin a new posting. Then when I get to the end I usually have some "left overs." So I'll save my scratch-list (as usual) and maybe you will see some of the things i left out this time, next time. (Probably no more corn; enough of that this time.)
We hope you are all having a fine summer! We have lots of things- to- do coming at us in the next few weeks, and looks- like three "necessary trips" to Iloilo a little later in the year.
I'm hoping to manage each blog- posting in the last week of a month (give or take) now that I seem to have settled into a "pattern."
Have a fine week!
Tim and Bernadette Larson,
Philippines
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