Memorial Day

Memorial Day, May 25, 2013

(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.

In the last blog-posting, the cottage walls were nearly full height.
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.)

The road turns and begins to climb in front of the property,
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.

Local rock scene: The kitchen of the bamboo house is "standard"
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.)

Barely begun at last posting, the table-saw is nearly complete.
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.

Even in  slightly- backward Tibiao (our municipality) there are
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. 

This new gas station took 8 months or more to build.  It 
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.  

The building above is a classroom and dormitory
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

the horizontal face of the slope, for irrigation control and
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.  

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.

One funny little item I remembered on this trip, is that so
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."

 My regular readers already know that signs often amuse
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."

Cutting edge technology:  three "bolos" (machetes) recently
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. 

This "Kaios" plant has inch-thick branches with about four
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

Odds and Ends

I'm not sure if it's a GOOD idea to begin writing this on April 1.

There seems to always be a variety of things all going on at once, here, except for the occasional day when it suddenly seems like there's nothing.  Usually a day like that is just when "everything all at once" has hit snags which keep things from happening.  But there are usually enough things-all-at-once, so that at least one project will still be moving along.  

This week is a good example: the cement-block maker's truck is being repaired, so on Monday afternoon we used the last of the cement-blocks which are going into our "cottage project" at our farm.  We had expected to have 3 days' construction this week (Thursday through Sunday of the week are the "holy days" of Easter week, so no construction on those days).  But until we get another delivery of blocks, nothing much can happen.  So, Tuesday was at least partly taken up with a trip to the window company, and we will have an estimator here soon to place the order for cottage- windows.  And today, Wednesday, worked out for me to have some hired help, so the table-saw frame project is finally moving along.  Seems like it will be next Monday before the cottage project gets back on track.


Meanwhile I have been taking photos - sporadically - of all sorts of things as they occur to me, whenever I have the camera with me. I don't think that his posting is going to be very "topically organized" but we'll see how it goes.

Grandson photo warning: at least  one grandson photo is likely to appear here.

Seems like there was a big influx of civic-project/ highway

improvement/ miscellaneous funds into our area 3 or 4

months ago.  This 3- meter tall (that's 10-feet) all-concrete

sign was recently completed at the border to our municipality.

Also we have seen many new road-marking signs (note the

"<" signpost, one of a series indicating left - curve).  At several

places there are now distance-ahead signs ("Barbaza 12, 

Laua - an 18") which were never seen before.

It amuses me, in an odd way, how many things are either

"the same" or have obviously transferred from one culture

to another.  I see "Vision" and "Mission" signs like these

(from a nearby Community Cooperative) many places here.

"The Four-Way Test" (Rotary International ethics) in a local

language is prominently displayed on an intersection kiosk at

San Jose, directly in front of the Masonic Center building there.

Since I mentioned the table-saw project, I'll show you this

main-shaft assembly which I ordered special-made from a

machinist in San Jose.  The blade is from Lowe's, sent to

me  via "care package" from Kentucky.  The rest of the saw's

metal frame will be hand-cut and welded locally.  I'm beginning

to wonder if April Fool's Day is the right time to begin building

a table-saw.  But, that's how it worked out.  I have NOT seen

a factory-built table-saw here; every one I have seen is

someone's personal fabrication, and mine will be the same.

The following morning from the above photo, a whole day's
production is laid out on the workshop floor.  My "best worker"
needed 8 hours to cut these 24 pieces of angle-iron; for me
to have done the cutting myself the elapsed time would have
been several days, and probably more actual hours.  These
pieces, IF I "got it right,"  will make the main part of the saw-
frame, with a vertical-sliding mounting for the shaft, to allow
the cutting height to be adjustable.  After this part of the saw
is welded together and adjusted, we will add legs and braces
to make the finished table-top a standard 32- inches high.
The final job will be to make and very accurately install a
hardwood table- top, so that we can make precise cuts.
(OOPS - after the table-top will still be buying and installing
the motors and drive components.  This saw will use an
electric motor for small routine projects but will be able to
have a gas or diesel  motor mounted for sawing heavy slabs.)

Meanwhile brother-in-law Alex has been using the "down-

day" from construction to do some tool-making.   A lot of the

morning has gone to cold hammering and grinding on this

"bolo" blade.  "Bolo" is the local word for machete.

He also made the two cement- trowel blades from a piece

of stainless- steel pipe which he cut and flattened.  These

will have the re-bar shanks welded and wooden handles

made sometime later.

He has kept pretty busy with boat-building projects, too; he

shaped the "swan neck" for one end of a boat using the

hand-axe and a bolo (machete, remember?).  Neighbors
soon gathered up all of the wood-scraps into a used
rice-sack to be used for cooking fuel. 

As to the subject of cooking, I've mentioned in the past that we do most of our longer, "heavy-duty" cooking with either charcoal or wood.  Barbecue-type propane fuels our gas-stove and oven, but it's  for "convenience," as it is costly.  We are in the process of replacing BOTH of our outdoor "stoves," which are scarcely more than a year old - bought at separate times.  The terra-cotta pottery stove which has a large opening for wood-burning has gotten a crack which is visible in its main body, between the fire opening and the tab which the pot sits on.

Meanwhile, the cast- cement stove which is designed for charcoal use has had its right-front corner tab break off.  It is still usable but probably not for long.  Below is a 12- inch 
"tall" steel roller - used to run a conveyor belt on rice processing machinery.  If it is correctly cut- down, it makes a nearly perfect solid-fuel burning stove, and lasts a long time. In this first picture it is 'way too tall to be useful.

   

But when I shortened it, I got it so short that the chunks of charcoal often are too big to fit between the grid and the pot- rack.  I still have enough metal left to easily make some "tabs" which can be welded on top to increase the height.  This is now on the "things-to-do list.".

Once the steel-roller stove for charcoal   use is completed,  I have another roller available to try to make a wood- burning stove.  This will also be a little challenge, as the diameter of the roller is a little too small for the size fire, and firewood, which will be needed. I will have to figure out how to flare- out the lower portion of the stove to contain a larger fire.

 On a recent afternoon walk I found one of Bernadette's

uncles busy with an improvised shuttle and hand-loom,

making some light weight fishing line into a small net.

This is a pretty fine net, and my guess is that it will be used

to catch the 2- or 3- inch long "minnows" which are often

dried and then added whole to stir-fry type cooking.

There are always fish being dried on the Malabor beach,

it seems,  on bamboo mats, tarps, pieces of roofing-tin,
and here, an elevated rack made of bamboo slats.  Grand-
son Timmie gets a close-up look at some of the product;
the farther ones are 10- to 12- inch fish which have been

filleted before drying.  Nearer are some creatures which

put on their brakes too hard - that's why they "squidded."

A lot of small-boat fishing happens at night, here.  It seems
to be more productive to go out after dark with spotlights
hanging outside the boat; the light attracts fish, making it
easier to net them.  This little rest-house was built recently,
giving the crew of one boat a place to nap before and after
the fishing trips.  The side-panels seem to be made by taking
the segment-dividers out of the inside of bamboo, and then 
splintering the bamboo outer stalk enough to unroll and
flatten it into a panel.  I will try to photo this process soon.

Here's a photo sent to me by a friend, from about March 1,
of what Kentucky looked like for nearly all of February and
most of March this year.

 Meanwhile on about Feb. 27, our tomato plant in a bucket

had about 17 fruit well-set, and some additional blossoms

beginning to form.

About March 24, things were beginning to thaw in Kentucky;
and, some of our tomatoes had ripened from green to a
pretty shade of red.  These are a "Roma" or "Amish Paste"
type tomato, about three inches long when mature.

March 31, these are some of the ripe tomatoes which have
not been cut up for salads.  The "International Coffee" tin
behind them gives an idea of their size.  There is talk of
making a small batch of salsa with these and a few others
nearly ripe.  The late blossoms have set into another batch
of fruit, which has reached about one- inch in size; if the
plant continues to thrive, we can expect some more ripe
tomatoes in a few weeks.

I mentioned the cottage project in the top-section of this posting.  We need a secure  (cement) building at our small farm, to store tools and supplies, and to provide restroom, less-primitive cooking, and occasional sleeping facilities.  Monday, March 23 was ground-breaking, and the end of Monday, March 30, made a total of 7 working days for our crew. This posting is already getting long, but here are a few photos - and I will probably put more detail into another posting later. ( NEW READERS: use the navigation links, upper right of the page, to scan back at entries in Jan. thru July of 2013 - which give good detail about general construction here;  quite different from USA.  Here are a few:) 

Hel"Lowe's"
Steel Deal
The Larson Foundation

This tree-trunk slab will make a great-looking novelty table-
top.  But here, it gives an idea of the shape of the tree that
our lumber came from.

Marked with a straight-line string for a guide, the saw-operator
expertly cuts straight slabs from the tree segments, and then
cuts those slabs into the desired dimensions of "stick-lumber."

The irregular- contoured tree becomes a sizable pile of
material to be used for rafters, porch-joists, etc.  There is no
lumber industry here; this is how building lumber is made.


Deeply-dug reinforced piers support hand-fabricated re-bar
frames for the building's posts.  These are tied together by
the wall "footings"which also have their re-bar tied into  MORE
vertical re-bar, which goes up into the walls as they are built.

The initial order of 500 "hollow blocks" was used in about 
4 actual "days a-laying."  Additional blocks will arrive when
the block-maker's truck is repaired, and now, AFTER the
Holy Week/ Easter  holidays are complete.


The end of the seventh working day had the front walls at
full height and the bathroom about halfway.  It is a cottage;
the main room will be 10 x 12 feet.  Cooking will be mostly
outside at an equipped area of the  porch - a covered, wide
wrap-around porch, where we will also dine "alfresco."

Well, I managed to sneak one "Timmie shot" into the mix earlier.
Here he is, a few days before 10- months- old, and it is about
5 minutes before he got his latest "booster" shot at the clinic.
His expression changed for a while after that.  Timmie is
our daughter Thea's baby.

 I've had requests for more "scenic shots."  Being here all the time I sometimes forget just how pretty the place is.  But it's wonderful!  Even the near-constant heat can be dealt with (I'm a BIG FAN of electric fans);  we enjoy being in one of the most beautiful places on earth. I often see sunsets like this one when I'm out walking.

I've mentioned "Holy Week" earlier in this posting.  In our area and in most of the Philippines, several days are given to commemorating the events surrounding Jesus Christ's crucifixion and  and resurrection.  And this is entirely appropriate, as these events are a turning-point in the history of the entire world - no other few days in all of recorded time have had such far-flung influence  on places and cultures in all points of time and geography since.  And this influence has touched many millions of people personally as individuals came to understand and grasp for themselves the significance of the Creator's Plan for their lives.  The facts - the historicity - of the events have been established independent of the Bible many times, by "hard core" skeptics and believers alike.  I encourage skeptics and believers who read this to look again, and BE AMAZED!

As to the "holiday" side of the upcoming weekend, we are planning some combination of American and Filipino cuisine, by way of celebration.  Right now, there's a batch of ice cream custard cooling in the kitchen, and materials being gathered for a small quantity of salsa to accompany the American-style tortilla chips we've acquired.

Wishing you all a joyous weekend, and the very best outcomes for your pursuits in the next little while.

Have a great day!

Tim and Bernadette Larson,   Philippines