Home and Garden

Although I’ve lived in the Philippines for nearly 17 years (off and on), there are some things I’ll never quite understand. Cooking is one of those things. Not just cooking, but everything surrounding it, like all the different words for rice. I understand a lot of the words are inherited from the Spanish language. It’s … Read more

A man’s home is his castle, until a significant other takes over. Once that happens, a man cave will have to do. In my case, I can’t even hang on to one of those. Thanks to my wife, Josie, I rarely have any place I can hide out from the world. When I’m staying with … Read more

Before I tell you why I no longer get haircuts at barbershops, I’ll share some history. It’s hard to find regular barbershops these days, at least in the big cities of the United States. There, you’re lucky if you can find anything other than hair salons. Sure, hair salons cut hair, but they do so … Read more

While some people call them “locusts”, cicadas are definitely not locusts. A locust is one of several species of grasshopper. In fact, I often wonder when and why the confusion started and why some people are still confused. There are cicadas in the Philippines, just like almost every other place with a temperate or tropical … Read more

A dirty kitchen is not necessarily an unclean kitchen, although those obviously exist. The dirty kitchen I’m talking about is a secondary kitchen, separate from the main kitchen. I’ve never heard that term being used in the United States, but I’m sure they exist even if they’re called something else. In the warmer states, people … Read more

I don’t want to go into detail about all the names given to the personal hygiene room in a private residence. This Wikipedia article, as well as this Wikipedia article, goes into great detail about what is essentially the toilet room. The word “toilet” now describes the fixture itself, which also has many names. The … Read more

The tropical climate of the Philippines is famous for all the bugs that exist in the country, and not just in the jungles. There are three kinds of insects that frequently irritate me. The rest are inconsequential. My wife, Josie, and I tolerate them because they don’t seem to matter much. Cockroaches, the Nastiest Bugs … Read more

If I told you I know about all the plants growing in my own backyard, I’d be lying to you. I can only tell you what I’ve been able to see with my own eyes. There are probably some plants I haven’t seen because they’re hidden behind other plants. Most houses in the city have … Read more

There are all kinds of pests in the world, regardless of the habitat. The insect and spider varieties, among other creepy-crawly things, seem to be more pervasive in the tropics. I live in the tropics. Strangely, I don’t see a lot of pigeons in the Philippines. It’s probably because Filipinos aren’t afraid to eat them. … Read more