(Begun Oct. 5) (Finished Oct. 10)
We are relieved the last couple weeks, because it seems like we have finally run out of "rainy season." This year it seemed like we had at least "double" the rain of a typical rainy season; several large-scale typhoons passed north of us, but their activity drew a high amount of moisture towards us from the annual "southwest monsoon" system. This rain respite means that we can finally move forward again with our construction project - replacing a derelict bamboo building between our houses with concrete-and-steel construction.
This posting ended up pretty heavily angled towards the construction, although I tried to lessen the number of photos on that topic.
I have quite a few "random-selection" photos from recent months, not included here; possibly I'll end up doing a "special miscellaneous edition."
I'm still pleased to be able to get out for a while most afternoons and walk the beach. I noticed that around sundown there are often several distinct layers of different clouds, hovering above late-afternoon-shadow light, creating a dramatic effect.
This photo is indeed only 3 minutes later than the above.
The clouds moved from in front of the sun, and I changed
the direction I was pointing, plus I think I was experimenting
some with the "light adjustment" settings on the camera.
I often wonder what combination of volcanic events would
produce stones with so many fracture cracks, all filled in with
contrasting (white) lava at a later date. There are quite
a few of these lying around. I found one a while back
which looked like the layout for a "miniature airport"
runway and taxiway system. Ancient tiny Alien
visitors? Who knows - - -
We spend more time with food preparation than we did in Kentucky, partly because it's a good hobby and partly because various "ready made" items are not in our immediate area. We've been pleased to find a regular, reasonable source for some "luxuries" like American style bacon and California pepper-jack cheese.
I make batches of Hominy-corn as needed, because this
process improves the corn's nutritional quality, to be used
for tortilla-making and several types of casseroles. I had
been using a pre-Columbus method of processing with
wood-ash lye, but I got some pickling lime this time, which
makes it easier and makes the finished product a brighter
yellow. My "hands on" time for doing a large supply is
about an hour, now. The hominy is boiled for 30 minutes
in the lye- solution, then sits and absorbs fluid "overnight."
It just takes a few minutes to spoon it into plastic bags and
toss it in the freezer.
I was pleased with this finished product, a pork-with-veggies
pot- pie. The local food here is all mostly OK, but nothing
beats "down home" USA cooking once in a while.
I think I'd shown "rambutan" here before. A little larger than a golf-ball,
the inside is a white gelatinous flesh containing one large seed - tasting
like seedless green-grapes common in USA. I want to try making
jelly sometime, if I ever get that far.
The same day I was looking at the rambutan photos, this photo
of newly-born porcupines came in e-mail as part of a longer article.
The construction project was approaching the stage shown below, when the most recent BLOG was posted. The "process" photos below that show about 2 weeks' work for a crew of 4 guys, as the walls reached their height and the "temporary floor" and re-bar steel and forms all got put in place for the cement 2nd- floor "deck" to be poured as a unit with the bond-beams which set on top of the walls. All of the plywood and wooden and bamboo reinforcements and posts are temporary - - they will be removed when the cement is poured and set. This link and this one will take you to early-stages of material gathering and construction in our 2013 project; If you navigate through 2013 entries for a few months' worth, every-other (alternating) entry in that year or so was angled towards projects and construction. These can give you an overview of how cement building construction happens here - - a much different process than in the USA! The articles in- between were more about the sights, customs, and occasions of this area, from a "new comer foreigner" point of view. NEARLY EVERYTHING FROM FIVE YEARS AGO got repeated as we pulled this project together. EXCEPTION: this is the first time I tried to get a cement slab poured 8 or 9 feet above the ground.
On a fine Saturday morning, we were ready to do "the big cement pour." We had arranged with 14 workers to come and handle various tasks.
Seven cubic meters of sand-and-gravel mix had been trucked
from the local river-bed and deposited along the road beside
our fence; this, to be carried as-needed to the mixing area.
After the S n G mix is dumped in a long mound, the cement
is sprinkled over the top of the pile, and it is systematically
double- shoveled to ensure a consistent mix. Water from
the well hand-pump is added to a "crater" formed at
the center of the mix and all is mixed to a quite-watery
final consistency. I think the "thin" mix is easier
to carry and will pour without forming air-voids.
Not shown is "making buckets" from 5-gal. plastic
cans, plus some other preparatory work which
all happened at once.
So, all the cement was shoveled into buckets, and handed up
via a "bucket line" to the pour-area on the 2nd floor. The
time-log on the above photo is correct: the "pour" which
began at 8 a.m. was actually completed a little before
12:00 noon - above being the last corner completed.
Just four hours, and a lot got done! I estimated that
a little over four cubic meters of our S n G material
got used, and 20 sacks of cement, in about TEN
"mixings." This would equal a smallest-size "mini
batch" delivery truck in the USA. Cement drum-
trucks are only seen here on government and VERY
large contract projects; a portable cement mixer
might be used for a long term project, but for a one-
day job, "ready? mix!" with shovels is the norm.
"The Larson Foundation" should display
from this link, and it will give another quick-view of
what cement work is like around here.
This photo, from 8 or 9 days later, shows the completed
2nd floor cement deck. This will be allowed to continue
"curing" for another several days, sprayed with water
morning and evening, before the forms and temporary
support posts are all removed, sometime next week.
Our plan is to build low walls around the edge of the
2nd floor, and then roof a modified "A-frame" with
pop-out dormers for additional head-space at the
height where the "A" gets too narrow, around 8- feet.
Most likely, we will try to get the cement floor into the
downstairs and do some finishing there, to make it
a usable structure. But "other priorities" are starting
to clamor for attention, so it seems we will delay the
2nd- floor project for at least a few months. This
sort of "building in spurts" is pretty usual here -
we've watched our neighbors do it, often.
We had several nice rainbows in late afternoons recently. This one was quite
bright so it shows pretty well in the photo. I missed catching a complete double-arch
about a week before I made this photo.
There are several travels planned for the next few weeks: San Jose at least TWICE, and Iloilo with overnight-stays possibly 3 times before December. Conferences, and one wedding. "Errands" attempted around the meeting schedules. So I don't know exactly when I'll get another posting together ;-).
We hope that you all are doing fine, as the end of 2018 approaches, and that the several approaching festivities hold a special joy for you and your loved ones.
TJ and Bernadette Larson
Tibiao, Antique Province, Philippines
No comments:
Post a Comment