"Caught Short"

(begun Thur., Mar. 1)  (finished Mon. Mar. 5, 2018)   

There's no better reminder that February is the "short month" than having the end of it sneak past while you're still thinking "third week".   Seems like we sure have been  been busy, and gotten little-or-nothing DONE!

I got this nice, picturesque shot of a fairly large vessel as I was looking from a friend's back yard.  Not being the nautical expert, I wasn't quite sure if it was a "sand and gravel" boat of which I have discovered several, who move river-gravel over-sea to places like Boracay Island, a tourism site which has been being enlarged for 20+ years.   Alternate possibility is that it is a fishing vessel. 

 The "picturesque" aspect may be lost on the local small-boat fishermen.  I'm told that in the last generation, the number fish has decreased sharply from what it used to be.

Trawlers that are  able to catch and refrigerate tens-of-tons of fish  pose a threat to the "little guys" who might be able to catch "zero to a couple hundred pounds."   The larger, more profitable fish also seem to go to the trawlers.

The locals put fish into iced styrofoam chests, and later sell it  in "bulk" 3-foot diameter basins, to vendors who take it to customers. I hear numbers like 2,000 pesos ($40) per basin, depending on the variety.    So a good night may "net" (!!) the fisherman  $100 or $200,  but that might only happen a few times in a month (or, not at all) and there is a lot of risk involved.  Smaller, bonier, stronger-flavored fish are of course cheaper than large, meaty, mild-flavored fish, and the retail prices around here seem to be from about $1.00 to $2.50 per pound  in this area where day-wages for various laborers are around $4.00 to $5.00.

(Later, after getting past this section) I decided to try to find the Google-satellite photo of the gravel-ship being loaded.  This photo is only about 3 miles south of our beach on a protruding shoreline created by hills funnelling a river-delta area.

The ship being loaded is quite visible at the left.  The main highway

is about a mile inland at this point, crossing the Dalanes River

at a place somewhat narrower and easier to access from both sides.

This shows  the larger area and gives you some perspective.
If I hadn't seen the Google shot, I wouldn't know about the
gravel mining, as the river delta area is pretty inaccessible.

NOTE that "downtown Tibiao" is just above the sharp turn in

the road, upper left, and NOT where the name on the map is.

I was standing facing away from that curve in "the old bridge

photos" which are below.  

OUR PLACE is just about  under

the "b"  in "Malabor."  The photo area is about 8 x 8 miles.

THIS LINK will let you navigate the photo on-line, so you can

zoom and look at things.  The "street level views" are even

available now, you just keep zooming in and the image

will "flip" to street view just after an area-circle appears.

THINGS I SEE AROUND:

 A certain rock-weighted canvas bag has hung alone and forlorn

under the carport quite a bit recently.  It is my "parking positioner"

which allows precision-parking the car (when the car touches it,

you've parked "just-right!" ).  The car has had a series of minor

repairs recently, and will still be gone for a few days, or a
couple weeks maybe,  as it gets a valve-job.  Such things

happen slowly, here.  

One benefit of the car- repair is that I do more walking, and

I see things which I've been missing. This main-highway bridge

crosses a small stream, near the Tibiao "main road" intersection.

I have driven and ridden over it  hundreds of times.  I  would

usually see this view from the right-hand lane, not hoofing-it

along the left hand shoulder.

So this time I got to see the never-noticed "old bridge" which

is quite ornate with 1930s/ 1940s style ginger-jar shaped

cement balusters supporting its railing. 

BTW, just "behind me" is the curve which toppled the "dinosaur"

just before dawn one morning a couple years ago  (LINK)

You never know what you'll see on the highway, here.  One

afternoon I passed this Suzuki pickup truck, rolling at maybe

15 miles-per-hour, and decided that the huge caribou riding

a tiny truck  would make a great photo.  I easily gained a few 

hundred yards distance, and jumped out to wait with my

camera ready.  Missed the shot, just too hard to frame

and shoot even a slow-moving object with the little pocket

camera.  Another attempt, after passing them a second

time, and I still got mostly a blur.  But by that time, they had

noticed the crazy (Ameri) 'cano racing past them and trying

to photo-shoot, and they very kindly stopped at the next

"wide spot." Not much slowing needed before THAT stop.

You'd have to say that's quite a load of bull.  (Steer, maybe.) 

His weight distribution looks kind of heavy behind the back

axle, which would make the steering seem to "float," which

is probably at least ONE reason they were movin' kinda slow. 

Multi-load motorcycles are an everyday sight, of course. I
have ONLY RECENTLY discovered that there are laws
"on the books" which direct passenger and load situation
on motorcycles, but for all practical purposes they would
be almost impossible to apply here.  Transportation is
livelihood many times, and the people here are used to
making do with what they have.  "Family of 5" can be
4-year-old, "Dad,"  2-year-old, and "Mom" holding an
infant  all riding along perfectly complacent.
(I will get a photo of that eventually.)

"Breaking news from the trenches:" The big drainage

project on "Main Street" of Tibiao (shown last month) is 

mostly finished, and people can get in and out of places

without  walking over makeshift gang-planks.  There is a

nice curb- and- sidewalk finish progressing nicely.  This

has been a VERY fast-moving project, for this area.

KITCHEN STUFF SEGMENT:

Bernadette found the nice medium peppers above (coffee mug for size reference) which are just-above bell-pepper flavor, and we hope to grow more from their seeds.  I am clumsy- fingered and prefer to work with this size and larger, rather than the pencil-shaped varieties.   I recently learned a "new" skinny-pepper prep-trick, though - - slice one edge of the pepper off, then rotate it slightly several times while slicing.  Just a few quick slices this way and you're left with the core and seeds intact and separated from your slices.  Much quicker than slicing in half and trying to scrape out all the seeds ;-). 

The above casseroles were (left) flour-tortilla and "chicken-enchilada filling,"  and (right) a wide-noodle preparation, probably beef stroganoff.

    Spaghetti and macaroni are available close-by; "twist noodles, " lasagna, and a few other pasta shapes are 50 miles away, but I like wide-flat noodles for stroganoff and certain things, so I'm getting fairly efficient with egg-noodles (pretty easy, really) and beginning to think of ravioli stuffed with home-made sausage, etc.  I've found out that noodles simply won't dry in our high-humidity, so beginning to experiment with very-most-minimal oven-drying.  This is tricky - you have to keep constant watch and lowest temperature,  or instead of drying the noodles, you will brown them. I've "been meaning" to put together a simple baking-sheet sized solar dryer, someday soon - - -  Noodles left to dry "at room temperature" here are still gummy-middle after 48 hours, and likely to attract ants.
   I'm also 3 or 4 "batches" into home-made hand-pies (empanadas, or pasties) with pot-pie filling.  Starting to think about expanding this genre into dessert-types with chocolate, coconut-cream, etc. for fillings, in slightly sweetened crust. 
    Playing with cooking enjoyably fills some of my time, though unfortunately filled some of my figure, too. 

FIXIN' TO START FIXING

Our favorite shelf-clock (time-date-day-temperature) started acting quirky, so I took the battery out - - and also removed a couple dozen tiny ants! Opening the case revealed that the entire interior was packed solid with the little creatures "in colony" and with nearly as many eggs as ants.  We had occasionally noticed 1 or 2 ants walking along the edge of the shelf, but nothing to suggest such a numerous residence, certainly thousands in that tiny space, as these ants are the size of the smallest mark possible with the sharpest pencil - 1/32 inch(?).  The acidity of the ants had corroded several components, so the time was up for our little clock.  I had ordered two similar clocks a few months before, which came in our "annual box."

 The bamboo "nipa house" which we built in Dec./ Jan. 2012-2013 was a great asset at the time, as we were as many as 9 people on a property with ONE small house.  It has served many purposes in 5 years' time but this environment has pretty well beaten it up. This is the second roof, mostly weathered away, and we can see and feel that the insects have munched most of the main frame members.  We like the "look" of something organic on the property, as everything else is cement posts & walls  with metal roofing - - so we will soon be trying to re-create something of "the look" with more durable materials.

"The blue house" here was built about 2005 to 2006, and I have never shown its bathroom before - - although this is a very "standard" type of "CR" around here even now, and it was certainly up-to-expectations then.  The 6-foot x 4-foot room has a single water-tap just .beyond-photo- left , filling a "reservoir" container just like the one which is visible (re-purposed margarine or shortening bulk-size container).  There is no sink/ lavatory.  The ceramic toilet is "S"-trap sanitary but is flushed by dumping water from the 1-quart dipper or 8-quart bucket, depending on the amount of "flush" needed. Bathing and handwashing are "dip and splash method," and there is a floor drain which carries  away incidental gray-water from these washings.  A plastic-coated wire-rack shower-organizer shelf is on the wall above the reservoir container   Many, MANY other projects and concerns have occupied us for 5+ years,but we have recently gotten tiles and fixtures which will convert this to a still-small but "western-level" bathroom.  Up until now it has been the room the "real estate agent" would keep you from seeing.   REMINDER, most of the Philippine population lives at-or-below this level of expectation, but things are gradually improving with "our" 7-plus percent annual economic growth  over the last several years. (While we could barely maintain 2%  to 3% in U.S.A.)  We will be pleased to show you how the project turns out, in a month or two.  I guess when it's done we will be "sittin' pretty."

GRANDSON SEGMENT

I kind of avoided putting "family photos" in this BLOG for the first couple years; my "take" on posting  is that the material should mostly show what this PLACE is like  (surroundings, customs, and other material which differs from our U.S.A. life).  But it's hard to resist putting a few "Timmie" photos in.  He's a lot of fun to watch, as he develops. The video arcade is a rare occasion, maybe his first & only time, as it is 50 miles away in San Jose.  The sequence of climbing-over into the pickup bed is within the last week, on the day he learned how to swing-over using body momentum and leverage (quite a "milestone" feat).  Before, he was getting in and out using a step-stool with the tailgate down - he's been doing that for a couple years.  He still can't swing-over to get out, yet - it's too far to the ground and finding the toe-hold on top of the tire is pretty complicated.   He's about 3 yrs. 9 months old now, and beginning to "sound out" simple combinations of letter sounds, and do very simple adding/ subtracting of objects in front of him.  There are thousands of education- cartoons on YouTube, and we have made a lot of use of them.

Timmie has visited here 3 days, so getting this together has been a little complicated.  He likes to sit between me and the keyboard, preferrably watching Shrek or Road-runner.  As usual, there are some things that I left out, but maybe I'll catch up some of them in the next posting.  

We would be happy to exchange some of your left-over winter - anywhere in the U.S.A., for our weather here, even for a few days.  Lately the overnights have been 78+ F. and most daytimes pass 85 F.  with humidity you could squeeze out of the air in your hand.  We do hope that you are beginning to have a fine spring-time and enjoy your contrasting weather. 

Best wishes and hopes to you all!

TJ and Bernadette Larson
Antique Province, Philippines