What was your day like?

[crisipicada]

Last night at about 8-10pm, was heavy rain. Our church is up to head level water in Batangan, Valencia City, the most affected area. Church piano worn out, Pastor and his family together with the staff stayed at the roof until the water level down.. Groceries and immediate food is needed..

[Edwin]

Wow, Crisi, that was a lot of water! Was that piano already worn out, or did the flood water ruin it? Pianos don't like to get wet! That would be pretty scary staying on the roof until the water level dropped! After that episode I will bet that they were thankful for their safety, and yes, they would be hungry, and the groceries no doubt would be ruined. I am glad that they were able to get on the roof!

[Edwin]

Today after eating breakfast I crawled under the house to the hole going down into the cellar, and I insulated the roof of the cellar! It took me until past the middle of the afternoon to finish that. I then took a shower to wash all the insulation dust off, and threw my insulation dust covered clothes in the dirty clothes hamper. I didn't have the skin reaction with the insulation this time like I had last time. After eating some lunch, I think it might have been supper too it was so late, I went out and shoveled some dirt against the concrete blocks to level it out, and to fill 2 places where the cold, freezing air could come in under the house! I didn't realize how open they were until I looked out from the dark inside to the outside, and saw it was like having a door or window open. Well, its fixed now! Between the 2 jobs it took me all day to do that! Each think I do, that is one more thing that is off my list, of things needing to be finished before the real storms come, freezing, cold wind and drifting snow! One or two more loads of concrete blocks and I will be finished building my wall around the house. Then after that I will need to work on my stairs going down into the cellar, but that is not urgent.

[crisipicada]

Wow, Crisi, that was a lot of water! Was that piano already worn out, or did the flood water ruin it? Pianos don't like to get wet! That would be pretty scary staying on the roof until the water level dropped! After that episode I will bet that they were thankful for their safety, and yes, they would be hungry, and the groceries no doubt would be ruined. I am glad that they were able to get on the roof!

Yes the piano, amplifier and other things at church are destroyed by the flood. Our Pastor and staff went to the roof... Because that is still part of Batangan, one of the bario in Valencia next to City Proper. So sad....

[crisipicada]

"Valencia City, Bukidnon - Super Typhoon Pablo caused damages to infrastrutures and properties estimated almost P1B, according to Valencia City Mayor Leandro Catarata.

This is where ten Negros media practitioners stayed when their flight back to Bacolod scheduled last December 2, 2012 was cancelled due to super typhoon Pablo. The Negros media group stayed at the Valencia Hotel here, fortunately with their wifi functioning despite the typhoon which had also served as a temporary newsroom when they dispatched news to their respective media outfits in Bacolod.

With the Negros media was Negros Press Club president Arman Toga whose conversation with the mayor led to the discovery that they are relatives on the Pelayo side.

Toga’s mother is surnamed Pelayo, the same with that of the mayor who traced his roots to Bago City, Negros Occidental.

Catarata told the Negros media practitioners that this is the first time that Valencia City experienced being lashed by a super typhoon. He said this is the first typhoon that hit Valencia City, in many decades.

He explained that Valencia City is shielded by mountains and usually is not included along any typhoon path in the past.

"It is one hell of an experience," Catarata said.

But he stressed that Valencianons are resilient people and are already working together to help those who were displaced and affected by super typhoon Pablo.

He said that aside from damage to infrastructures and properties, the city incurred one casualty, a kid who died when hit by a fallen coconut tree.

Catarata also said that there was one major bridge damaged by the surging waters of the river in the area.

Catarata conferred with former Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri who arrived here yesterday, December 5, 2012 to inspect the damage super typhoon Pablo caused in this part of Mindanao.

Zubiri has assured to help Valencia City and other areas affected by super typhoon Pablo."* (Dolly Yasa)

[Edwin]

Thank you, Crisi, for all this information about Valencia City's damage from the Super Typhoon, Pablo. One Billion Pesos is a lot of damage! It is sad that coconut tree hit that kid and killed him. Excess water does a lot of damage to roads and bridges. Sometimes even when they appear to be okay, they are weakened, and often where the supports are they are not stable. There was a lot of news coverage, huh, because of those news people in the area. That is nice that help was promised, and I hope they will make good on their promises to give help.

[Edwin]

Today we went down the hill to town and spent the day there. We needed to get sheet rock screws, and while we were at it we did some other necessary things, and brought a load of 30 concrete blocks home, as well as 10 forty pound bags of pellets for our stove. On the way down the hill it was snowing and I was stressing thinking about having to pull those steep hills on the way home in the slick snow. The thing that always worries me is after losing traction and spinning the tires, sliding backwards down the hill, and it has happened to me on a number of occasions. Usually I am successful at getting it in reverse, and slowly backing down the hill, although it can be very nerve racking, always with the possibility of sliding off the road, but I have been blessed in that it has never happened to me, although it is come close to happening.

We saw our friends in town at a Safeway grocery store, where we went to eat a little. We visited for a short while, and our friend went to Walmart to get his hair cut. We went there after finishing eating, and his filipina wife was over examining the huge boxes of Christmas Chocolate candies. I told her to get away from them, and of course I was kidding. She said that she was checking them out for the after Christmas sales, and then she said that she would really eat lots of chocolate after that! It was funny after our chocolate discussions here!

[Edwin]

Well, the kids got here yesterday mid morning. They went right to work putting up green board on my bathroom walls. By bed time they had the green rock, mold/water resistant gypsum board on the walls, and mostly had the seems taped and mudded! We put a fan in the bathroom, and I left the heat up higher than I usually do to help the mud to dry. This morning we carried the heavy bathtub in the bathroom, and was that ever a project! We about calapsed coming into the house, even for 4 of us, it was still too heavy. So I got my hand truck, uhaul type, and we fastened the tub to that and wheeled it in the bathroom. But first we have to move a lot of stuff out of my bedroom, and then we took my bed apart, which is an old water bed wood frame and beautiful head board with mirrors! Yes, I sleep in style, me and my doggie Rand! We got the bathtub in the bathroom, and one of my son-in-laws worked on the mudding a little more, mudding the seams that is. Then they left mid morning, and I put my bedroom back together, and now it is a tiny bit more organized, which is always nice. I have 15 or so babies, stuffed rabbits, bears, dogs, and mice, and they are my friends. You will love them. I will try to remember to post a picture of them. I have taken the picture, but it is still on the camera, and hasn't made it to the computer yet! I am like some of the filipinas that I have seen pictures of in that I love my stuffed animals! I have loved them ever since I was a baby, well, maybe I still am a baby!!!!

[mystic]

Today I became again a kid In the last 3 days it has been snowing as it rarely happens. Today, I was isolated on the top of the mountain and had to go to work. So... as it happened to me only once when I was a kid to go to school... I descended by feet. At the speed of about 100 meters per minute, I reached work in about 30 minutes.

Now the funny thing will be to climb back in the evening. Only to go down I saw soooooo sweat that I had to invent something to dry in the office, unless I get a pneumonia. Now... to go up....

[Edwin]

Well, today I got up pretty much my normal time. Carol had to sleep until 10 a.m. She doesn't want to sleep like that, but she seems to need to in order to function. I usually play on the internet until she gets up, and then I go to playing the piano until breakfast, after which I usually get busy doing something physical! Our oldest granddaughter came here/home from San Diego California. She is having a week or two off, so she came home for a short visit. She came over here just after we had eaten breakfast, and we visited with her forever! Finally her Dad came over and told her lunch was ready, and they were going for a drive, so that was the end of our visit! I told Carol as soon as I was finished eating dinner/lunch, I would go out and get busy working on the wall. I keep saying, "I am almost finished with the wall I am building around the house, well now for real I am almost finished! I have used a few junk blocks that I need to replace, but yes the wall is finished with the exception of those blocks that need to be replaced and 4 or 5 blocks missing that I am placing on their sides to cover over the hole in the blocks that I have set along the wall. I am picking up 30 more blocks day after tomorrow, and that will replace those junk blocks, and do the missing few. Then I will say, "Guess what? I am finished for real with building my wall around our house!" Then I need 40 blocks beyond that to build another set of steps. Carol loves the way I have built the other two set of steps, and she is asking me to build one more set by the sliding glass door, and so I will. I have a stack of pallets back there for steps, but she says that she would rather have steps like I built in the front and side of the house. So I will build them in the near future! Now our house, our water system, and our water pipes are pretty much safe from freezing damage, and that is a comforting thought!