FIRST THERE WAS ONE ....... NOW THERE ARE TWO

FIRST THERE WAS ONE......NOW THERE ARE TWO

This is Orkie.  We don't know its breed.  She wandered into our backyard one afternoon, confused, scared, hungry and tired.  She is so tiny she must have only been three weeks old then, probably haven't been weaned from her momma.  She was crying and moaning obviously looking for her momma, as she came into our yard.  We took her in for the night hoping in the morning someone will claim her.  Three sleepless nights later, nobody claimed her, nobody looked for her so we decided to keep her and named her Orkie.  Michael prepared milk for her to drink and I put on my shopping list a baby bottle so we can keep feeding her milk.  We found out the next morning, however, that she can eat solid food, the poor thing must be really starving she decided to start eating.  That was three weeks ago.

Then last Sunday, our neighbor gave us a three-week old puppy.  Its mommy was run over by a vehicle and died on the spot.  He's furry and chubby, obviously well-fed by the momma.  He is almost 4 weeks old and of course hasn't been weaned yet.  JJ wants to name him “Blackie” but since its momma was named Blackie, I suggested “Brockie” since it has black body with chocolate brown feet.  We end up calling him Brock and Michael calls him Barack (aruy).  Just look at him...isn't he cute?

The funny thing is that when we brought Brock home, Orkie got so jealous she started growling at him, then she climbed on top of Brock and peed on him.  I guess she is “marking” him in a way and letting the newcomer know who's the boss around here.  She might be tiny, but boy she made sure Brock knows she was here first.  She didn't want to have anything to do with Brock so for two days and two nights we took care of separating them apart as Orkie bit Brock twice already.  Poor Brock would wail so pathetically each time he got bit.  I have to use a spray bottle to stop Orkie from attacking Brock.  I filled up a spray bottle with water and everytime Orkie growls or attacks Brock I spray Orkie's face with it and tell him to stop being mean to Brock.  It must have worked because on the third day they decided to be friends – just like that.  Now the two are inseparable.  They play together, sleep together and even share the same dish.  But Orkie still dominates him every now and then and that's alright too.  Someone has to lead, right?

TRAFFIC, not driving 55mph anymore

My brother in law would like driving here.  He is an aggressive driver in the Kansas City area (no offense, Rick :) hehehe).  Here you have to be a defensive and agressive offensive driver.  You have to take your spot on the road and claim it as yours. 

You have to watch out for people, pedalcabs,  motorcycle, trikes, jeepneys, other vehicles, dogs, cats, goats, chickens, ducks, water buffalos and other distractions.  People have a tendency not to pay attention to what they are doing.  We have had children run in front of us.  We have had motorcycles pull out of side streets in front of us.  We have had all sorts of vehicles weave side to side in their lanes.

Motorcycles weaving through Herds of goats on the road                  

Buses are the king of the road here.  They appear to operate under GTR (gross tonage rules).  Tailgating and passing at will.  Using their horn and flashing their lights letting you know they are coming through.

Intersections are rarely marked with control signs.  Street signs are rare as well as highway signs.  Speed limit signs are far and few between.  No pass zones are marked however, they are merely suggestions with what other control signs that are found.

With all of this going on and because of the speed of the various vehicles, you do a lot of passing.  You have to watch oncoming traffic, side traffic, pedestrian traffic, various animals and of course people passing you.  Always check behind you before you try to pass another.

 Construction zones are not like in the United States where construction areas are well marked and controlled.   Here in the Philippines, there is usally a sign at the beginning of the zone, with no warning, saying lane closed.  There is rarely any traffic direction control methods through the zone.  You are on your own to make sure no one is coming towards you before you enter the zone.  Of course, you need to make sure no one is trying to pass you before you enter the zone.  If you get caught in the zone and think you need to back up to give right of way, do not back up.  There is probably somebody on your bumper that you did not see.  Occasionally, there will be a flag man.  Along with the flag man will be kids flagging you through.  Probably the flag man's kids.

School parades, Scouts, funerals and parades for various saints will be on the highway at any given time.

Nighttime driving is worse.  Take all of the above and add no lights to vehicles and pedestrians and you have the worst driving scenario.  And for some reason, some drivers do not like turning on their lights, unless they are flashing them at you for some unknown reason.  I, Flor, thinks there should be an ordinance requiring vehicles, bikes, trikes, motorcycles and the like to turn their lights on at dusk.  Maybe I should present that to the Sanguniang Panlalawigan specially at this time when election is coming up.

With all this said, the view, however, can't be beat anywhere you go.  We found some roads that are less traveled.  There is one road that we use often that runs along the beach.  Any distractions are easily handled since you have to go slow on this road and almost always you are the only one on the road.  And the view is breathtaking.

Since our vehicle is not automatic, I decline to drive it so Michael does all the driving.  I am afraid because of how people drive here and the tons of distractions along the road, I might get confused  with the clutch and gas pedals and will end up in a wreck.  I kind of miss driving so I am hoping we will upgrade or buy another one with an automatic transmission soon.

Michael teases me a lot about how most Americans when they come to the Philippines, they have Filipino drivers.  In our situation it is the other way around, I have an American driver :)

Well, it's time to park for now.  As always, thanks for following and until our next blog, may the Lord richly bless you and yours as He has us.

HI HO THE DAIRY 'O . . . THE FARMER IN THE DELL

OUR “FARM”

We finally found a property that we like, about a mile to the beach, and far from the traffic noise that we despised. We bought it on the 10^th of this month and we are still working on transferring the title to my name. It would only be in my name since Michael is an American citizen. Foreigners are not allowed to acquire real estate properties here in the Philippines. They can acquire a house but not the lot where the house sits. Since I have dual citizenship I can enjoy the rights of being a Filipino, such as being able to buy real estate properties, engage in commerce, etc..

It is almost 3,000 square meters land with coconuts and fruit bearing trees on the west side and an un-irrigated rice field on the east. Because it is un-irrigated, it can only be tilled for rice planting once a year and the rest of the year you can plant it with veggies, corn, etc.. The coconuts are harvested every 3 months.

We hired a couple of guys to clear the brushes one day and Michael and I have been going there everyday after JJ leaves for school. I am doing a lot of burning in order to get rid of the dead brushes. It's a good work-out under the morning sun and it feels good to be out there. Michael bought a can of blue spray paint one day and marked some of the coconut trees with KU. It's funny how people who stop by to chat asks me what KU stands for.

Here's some pictures that I took of the property:

And this is where we will build our 2 storey house once the paperwork goes through. Michael had been working on the house plan for a while now.

He already had layouts for where the hogs will be raised, where the chicken coops is going to be and a pen for the goats. We also have a huge space for pineapples and curry root plants. I need to set aside time to research on curry and whether there is a good market for it like ginger root does around here. From March to December, the rice field will be dry so there's that huge place for Michael to plant what he wants. The north side of the property facing the road is where my cake shop will be built and I already have cleared an area beside it to raise exotic orchids because it has shady spots. I already have starters for the orchids and I am slowly collecting stumps for these.

Slowly and patiently we will accomplish our dream and someday, the Lord willing, we will invite you over for a visit.

I feel the need to share with you our life verse when we got married in October 1987: The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.” And then when we celebrated our 25^th anniversary we claimed this promise from the Lord for another 25 years and this is what that verse says: “I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go...I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” Genesis 28:15

I am just reminded of these promises as we celebrated our 28^th last October 10, the day we signed the papers to buy this property. God is faithful, indeed.

Thank you for following us in this journey. Until our next blog, may the Lord pour out His blessings on you and yours. We love y'all!