Sometimes I get hung- up starting a blog-post and let something as simple as "not having a title" stop me from beginning. This posting was kind of like that - - but at the same time this past month (May) which had a few "dull, nothing much happening" spaces suddenly got extra- busy right near the end. And, nothing very photogenic seems to have happened this time. And, I am still having computer battles, so my files are scattered among two computers and three external drives, and THIS computer won't read the external drives.
Well, I will try to get focused and set up at least a few photos. May has kept its reputation as being "the hottest month of the year" here. I don't think it EVER got down to 80 F. overnight, and most days were low- to- mid- 90s F. which doesn't sound too awful until you factor in the HUMIDITY here - - so we used a lot more air-conditioning than usual. My check of the electric meter at halfway- through a reading cycle shows that we are running fully 40% above our average usage.
Sooo - Monday morning, June 4 - - -
At 6:30 a.m. we begin to have fairly steady foot- traffic on the street;
it is the First Day of School. School- year here generally runs from
first week of June until end-of March. Our ferocious guard- canine (ha!)
Russell is pleased to see our gate open for a few minutes and joins
the meandering throng.
Malabor Elementary School is at the east end of our roadway,
about 50 yards beyond our gate. This view through the school
gate shows quite a large gathering already - - shadows reveal
that it is less than 1 hour after sunrise.
Neighbors immediately outside the school gate have made a
segment of their wall into a small vending operation, and
several others along the street also provide goods to the
pedestrians. We often vend "Ice Candy", but Bernadette
has often noted that the income is hardly worth the hassle of
constantly having to run to the gate for 4-cent (USA equiv.)
sales, so maybe NOT, this year.
Even with the school yard already looking pretty full, they kept
on coming for about another half- hour. The flag ceremony
actually started a little ahead of usual time, around 7:20 a.m.
UPDATES
Bernadette turned 58 a couple weeks ago, and Thea turned 29
a few days later, and Timmie turned 4 on June 2.
Those who remember Thea from about 15 years ago probably
wouldn't recognize her now without an introduction.
We're pleased that Thea passed the National Education Dept.
teachers examination, so she is now qualified to teach High
School and College levels. This examination had about 76,000
"takers" but only about 23,000 passed, some of them on second
and third attempts. She has some fairly good prospects
at schools where her classmates and some former teachers
are currently teaching, so if not later this school year, maybe
NEXT school year she will change careers.
We're pleased that Thea passed the National Education Dept.
teachers examination, so she is now qualified to teach High
School and College levels. This examination had about 76,000
"takers" but only about 23,000 passed, some of them on second
and third attempts. She has some fairly good prospects
at schools where her classmates and some former teachers
are currently teaching, so if not later this school year, maybe
NEXT school year she will change careers.
Commercially baked cakes are readily available here, now, but without exception they all come from "sponge-cake-mix" which produces a dry, flavorless cake. Timmie can hardly be separated from his dad's cell-phone games, even during his birthday party :-(
The National Highway 4-lane program is moving along much
more quickly than I would usually expect here. This nearly
2-mile section is through relatively "easy" territory. Shown a
couple times before, the utility poles were not moved before
the new lane was finished; but someone found some yellow
and black paint to make them more visible. As we travel
we see many extensive sections being finished. HOWEVER,
UNfinished sections often consist of 2-lane bridges; this section
of the new road is followed by a 2-lane 500-yard-long bridge,
which won't be doubled to 4-lane for many years, I think. Other
of the new road is followed by a 2-lane 500-yard-long bridge,
which won't be doubled to 4-lane for many years, I think. Other
areas, where private properties (in towns, etc.) are already at
the edge of the existing 2-lane highway. may require by-pass
the edge of the existing 2-lane highway. may require by-pass
sections, as going through open fields seems more likely than
taking out neighborhoods.
I don't understand why they are replacing the Kilometer-posts.
I observe this happening here in Antique Province where the
posts are generally in fine condition; other places in nearby
provinces, the posts are deteriorated to the point of being
useless/ unreadable.
The amount spent (guesstimated) on this optional project could
maybe be enough, for example, to FINALLY pave the approaches
to the Tibiao River Bridge. This huge project has been "finished
for two years" after four-years-building, but is not in traffic-use
for lack of 50-yards of cement roadway at each end.
(Locals use it to spread and sun-dry rice after harvest.)
(I can't access my older photo files, or I'd give you a picture;
however, I DID post this about a year ago.)
The completed water-storage at our conference center got
into service for the last encampment of the season. Enough
community-piped water was available in 5 overnights to get
it about 2/3 filled, 1,200 gallons, only enough to "cushion"
the usage rate of 80 people for 5 days. The local fire dept.
brought out an additional 8 drums of water on day 4. The
small pipes at height-intervals are to be capped and used
as indicators (remove each cap to determine if the water
inside is at that level). If I can find some clear tubing or
pipe, I will make a vertical "sight glass" indicator.
"Goofy
Projects
contest
entry"
Meanwhile, "water" we doing with our home projects? The shower hasn't been finished in the renovated blue-bathroom yet. The "good water" which comes in our community water pipes doesn't have enough pressure to reach a showerhead, so we added an extra faucet to our "good water" storage system, so that we can fill a 30-gallon plastic tank via 35- feet of pipe. The tank is about 1- foot higher than the shower-head inside, so it can gravity-feed. "Things taken for granted in the USA Department:" the shiny bezel-plate which surrounds the shower-hose at the wall seems NOT to be available anywhere here. I happened to have this one in some "stuff" from Kentucky.
Bernadette's brother Alex has worked many or OUR projects,
and is quite in demand for other projects as he is handy in all
building trades and cabinet-making. In-between other peoples'
jobs, he was able to squeeze in building a fishing boat for himself
in the late part of April. Seems like it was first week of May that
we went to San Jose and found a first-quality 12hp diesel motor
at a good price, plus other marine-specific hardware which
several places there have in stock. The boat has been finished
for several weeks now, but I haven't got a good photo of it since
this. This link goes to a 2013 posting which gives some details
about boat-building methods, here, beginning photo 5 or so.
Third week of May, we found a "good time" in the rice-cycle
(harvest time vs. higher-demand time between harvests), so
we sold 10 sacks of rice which we had been holding in
our store-room. The tricycle is stuffed full of these sacks,
a total of about 800 pounds. Our income was more than
30% above the price offered around harvest time. This
made the difference between taking a loss (production
costs higher than sale) and having a modest gain. It
hit just when a little extra cash was pretty handy, too. The
"cousin" who owns the tricycle gets a little commission
from the co-op for "brokering" the transaction, without
affecting our price, and THAT's why I don't haul it myself
with the Suzuki multicab!
Diverse Diversions
The youth-camp group of of May 21-25 was the first group served by the new water reservoir tank at Batonan. Mark Moses is quite animated and amusing in many of his presentations; he had the third of three one-hour-long program spaces, all 3 before lunch the same morning - and did a fine job of holding audience attention while getting his points across. Always cheerful, the kitchen crew volunteers work with wood-fire and make-do facilities to prepare 3 meals and 2 "break-times" each day. All part of normal, for them.
At home, one of my gradually-developing skills is working with "immature coconut" which is much softer when grated than "mature coconut" seen in the USA, and requires drying and/or toasting in order to provide flavor and texture. I'm learning how to pan-toast without it burning or sticking. THIS batch went into some coconut-flavor home-made ice cream, part of a recipe I'm working on which can be frozen without "mixing" in an ice-cream maker. It came out pretty good - - - ;-) Its chocolate counterpart worked out OK, too.
This sign was prominently displayed in a nearby hospital where we
had gone for an examination. One mother sat about 5 feet away,
bottle-feeding an 18-month-old child.
I admire fine workmanship, and these benches of hand-crafted
solid mahogany were lined along most of the corridors. Many
places have benches made from cheap plywood and 2 x 2s.
For recent readers: I haven't put up a photo of a "sari-sari"
store lately. Sari-sari seems to mean "this and that," and within
3 minutes walk from me there are at least a couple-dozen
small stores, mixed between houses and larger businesses.
Often their stock consists of only 20 or 30 most-often-needed
household items and groceries, and maybe a few school
supplies and candy. Sometimes there is only a bamboo
4 x 8 foot booth. This long-established store is cement-
structure and has a refrigerator with chilled beverages.
Purchases are handed through a grill- window.
My "love of signs" strikes again! "Solid" motorcycles - - -
(what other kinds are there?) "Ultimate" financing - - - sounds
really FINAL to me, wonder what that means? ("Lay-
away plan" for your memorial service?)
A DIFFERENT SIGN:
(My limited sense of "seemliness" and "decorum"
won the day, this time. The sign in my photo was
4 x 6 feet, advertising "PIG BREEDING SERVICE"
(artificial and natural) and "PIGLETS FOR SALE."
Large photos illustrated all of the offered services(!).
I DON'T THINK you would see such a sign in the
USA, even in "Hooterville," although much less
"seemly" signs are oft-seen in the USA now - - -)
You'll have to envision that sign for yourself! But I can end with this photo which I took a few evenings ago - our sunsets being around 6:20 p.m. recently:
Sunset - with a few fishermen getting ready to go out.
We hope things are going well for all or you. I'm hoping to get the last of the computer problems solved this next month - - time will tell! Thanks for "tuning in" and be sure to drop by if you're ever in the neighborhood - -
TJ and Bernadette Larson
Tibiao, Antique Province, Philippines
