inching toward completion

No, the house is not yet ready -- it's still a "work in progress." We just extended our condo rental for another month and hope to be able to move sometime in January [just don't ask what year].

Friday, we moved in our first piece of furniture -- a custom-made dining table that should seat a few of our visiting friends and relatives. The wood is "balayong" and I'll have to find out how that translates into an English tree. It's kind of heavy, to say the least. It took 12 people to carry the tabletop into the house. Prior to the delivery, I had told our contractor to make sure that all groundfloor doors had locks as I did not want anyone to run off with our new table. After seeing them carry it, I no longer am afraid that anyone will still it. Oh yes, the table is a housewarming present from a very, very, very good friend. Once the house is finished, I hope you will come to see and admire it.

The other pictures show some of the rod-iron work at the house, the ceilings with beams, and the house for the pool pump and filter.

we love New York

Manila is really going out of its way to make us feel at home. We can now walk to New York -- it's only a few steps from our Roxas boulevard condo. Look carefully and maybe you can figure out where you are.

It's truly amazing with the movies can do for you.

Then, if you are hungry, you can go to McDonald, BurgerKing, KFC or Shakey's. And, if you need clothes, you can shop at the Gap, GUESS, or Calvin Klein. You name it and it's almost always here.

is there light at the end of the tunnel????

By popular demand, an update of our blog. I did not realize that it had been quite a while since the last posting of pictures. One of the reasons, I guess, is that things are moving along rather slowly and there are no major changes to photograph.

Our house was supposed to be finished by 8/8/08 but, given the pace of things, that has come to pass. The latest word for completion is mid-November. Sure hope so.

The place is really taking shape and should be very nice when it is finished, when it is finished, when it is finished ....... whenever that may be.

patience, patience, patience

It's easy to get frustrated when you build your house and things, well, they get done a little differently from what you expect. You hear a "yes" and that could mean a real "yes" or just mean "maybe." You learn to roll with the punches. The house was supposed to be finished 8/8/08 but, obviously, that deadline done come and gone. I would guess now maybe sometime in October. We'll see. As you can see, though, there is progress. I've been talking to our neighbor across the street and we've been discussing the idea of a book on our construction experiences.

Kitchen and Roof

The roof tiles have been delivered, the struts to hold the tiles are being installed, the slab has been poured for the kitchen/dining room floor, and the kitchen walls are going up ... we're getting there.

a bigger roof over our head

When we visited the site on Monday, June 2, the roof [g.i. sheets] was maybe about 40 percent done and they were digging for the maid’s quarters and ‘dirty kitchen’ – the dining room, next to the living room, and’gourmet kitchen’ will serve as ‘roof’ for that area.. Hopefully, by tomorrow, June 6, when we go back, the digging will be complete and cement work for foundation walls and pillars will have been started.

Tomorrow, we also have to decide on the type and color of roof tiles. Noel has a certain kind he likes but we found out that the price differential is considerable and delivery time (120 days) not acceptable.

We have settled on wood planks, narra, for the bedroom floors and the rest of the hosue will be mostly stone or ceramic tiles. So many little things we have to start worrying about and deciding – door knobs, shower heads, toilets, sinks, faucets, etc. etc.

......our visa trip

Where are we now??

Once a year, our visa requires us to leave the country. It can be for any length of time, just as long as you get out.

We opted to go to a nearby place where we’d feel somewhat at home and see the Wynn casino, Venetian, MGM Grand Hotel, etc. No, it wasn’t Vegas but you certainly would think you were there given the names on the casinos. Right now, Macao has some 30 casinos with many more under construction. Our local tour guide said the government gets about 70 percent of its income from the casinos …. and, at least for now, it’s the only place in China with casinos. We tried our luck .. oh well, next time.

Macao or Macau used to be Portugese territory and in the old part of town you can see the Portugese influence on the architecture. Many restaurants also serve food with a Portugese twist.