Quiet Days

January 19, 2012.

Sunday is always a quiet day. The staff have the day off. Leroy and Riza usually go to church and lunch with friends or run errands in town. Dan and I have time to do something or nothing in the neighbourhood. Today the choice is nothing. I read my book, made lunch and watched the world go by.

Lucy is not back yet. Her little boy had broken ribs in addition to the compound fracture of his arm. That will be a big expense for the family and they may have to sell their water buffalo to pay the medical bill. Water buffalo are like money in the bank here. A breeding female is worth a lot so even if you do not work them, having them ensures money in case of emergencies like this. Theft is a problem - though how do you rustle a water buffalo? They are not exactly speedy! They are not silent either. They make a lot of noise when disturbed.

Riza and I cook up a good stir fry for dinner and relax under the trellis. The Fleur de Lune shine white in the night around us. Lynne and I bought some new fabric for Bag Ladies called “Wind Flower” – I think they are the same flower. It would make sense as they hang from the trellis on long stems that blow gently in the breeze. There is a little lightening but no rain. I actually sat up a little later this evening and was sociable!

Monday morning I checked out the garden plot. I would like to make that my project but how to make best use of the area? It is pleasant and shady in the morning, but by noon it is in bright sunshine and very hot. It will stay that way until late afternoon. It has been a compost heap for some time. Now that it is cleaned up the earth below is good from all that was composted. If I dig it over and add sand and silt from below to lighten the earth, it should be good for planting next fall when Riza comes again. Right now it has only a few sad beans, potatoes and taro. Along one wall there are papaya trees and a tiny calamansi (like a key lime). Bitter melon vines are beginning to climb up the tower. They should provide shade for tomatoes and peppers below. While I was thinking about the garden, Anna got busy and moved some things around to leave room for my plans. Now I have to get on with it!

Leroy shipped the pulleys and wire for a clothesline. Laundry here has always been strung on lines winding back and forth in the garden. The staff have been watching as he erected steel poles at either end of the garden. He showed them where the clothesline will go. Anna is wondering how will she reach it? Then he started the men building a cement platform with steps. Now she wondered, how will she move it along the line? Why are they doing this? Even the men did not understand what they were building so explaining was difficult. Finally Alex recognised it as a stage! Right! Now construction was easier. Still Anna is not sure. We are looking forward to their reaction when it is all put together.

Tuesday morning we got up very early and went into Bacolod. Dan and I went to the dentist to get our teeth cleaned. Riza had a doctor’s appointment and Leroy had to get the car fixed. They dropped us off first. Dr. Melinda Solis was very nice – a tiny little Filipino lady, she asked Dan how tall he was. “Never mind, when you get in my chair you will be small and scared!”, she laughed! Here the dentist cleans your teeth and the assistant holds your head, moves the suction as directed or wipes you gently with a towel. A very gentle procedure.

Once we were both done, we took a cab to SM Mall and wandered around for the rest of the morning. It was the first time we had to find our own way anywhere and we did it! We stopped for lunch just before Riza and Leroy arrived to meet us.

We took another cab to St Vincent Street on the route home to pick up the car. It was being fixed by an electrician on the side of the road in front of his house. The street is full of activity. Beside the “repair shop”¸ pedi cab drivers are wagering their fares over a game of coin toss. Throw three coins in the air and bet on the way they fall. Riza scolded the loser on the loss of his family’s rice money for the day. He left the game and sat off by himself – at least while she was there!

There had been a problem with the electrical motor driving the power windows. It appears marginally better. On the way home we discovered a new screaming belt sound under the hood. Were the issues related? Would we get home? Who knows? We got home safely and the noise died away.

By evening, Riza was really ill. I cooked and cleaned up after dinner and we all turned in early. Wednesday we continued to let her rest and the rest of us were happy puttering around at home. We always need a day of rest after a city day!

Thursday the antibiotics had taken effect so we were all able to go for a walk through the village and out to a nearby road Leroy and Riza had not seen before. They were interested in a piece of property they heard may be for sale. It is a good sized piece of property but it is horizontal, stretching down a steep slope to the river. At the moment it is all planted in banana trees. Anna was our tour guide and she walked us up the road toward the highway in the distance. There was some traffic coming toward us – an older man riding his water buffalo leading a young one along behind and a young man on a fancy motor bike, trying not to dump it in the huge slippery ruts left by the sugar cane trucks. Once we could see the highway in the distance we turned off toward the road we usually drive in to Calibago making a circle home again. We passed the steep slope of the cane field that had been burned earlier in the week. It has already been plowed in preparation for another crop. We came to the entry of the village and stopped to look at the herb garden by the church. It is full of natural herbal remedies similar to the “Physic Garden” at UBC Botanical. Unlike the demonstration garden, this one is in use for the people of the village.

Anna invited us to see her house and garden now that it is completely finished. It is much larger than I expected and very well designed. It is split level with two bedrooms upstairs, a living room on a lower level and the kitchen at the back on the ground floor. The neighbours all came around to say hello though only one or two spoke English.

It was only 10:00 AM when we arrived back at the house but it is already over 30 degrees. It felt good to have a shower and dry clothes before sitting once more in the shade of the trellis enjoying the breeze from the river.

Late afternoon it cools again and we spend time watering the flower gardens. Even when I manage to soak myself from the knees down, it feels wonderful. Note to self – don’t wear a long dress to water the garden.

A spectacular sunset and dinner end another day.