OBOY’S NEW HOUSE AT AFPOVAI

My uncle’s house (formerly inside Fort Bonifacio when he was still in active military service) held numerous memories for us as children…this is where we usually hold our get-togethers like Christmas, New Years, birthdays and other simple salo-salos or even summer vacations. But when he retired and Fort Bonifacio was sold and converted to the Global City, he had to let go of the house…and with it all our happy memories… but of course, it never really gets lost because each one of us have pockets of memories stored inside our hearts. And why am I suddenly taking this trip down memory lane??? Well, actually it’s because this uncle of ours wanted to revive that old tradition – for our families to get-together in one big house – eat our hearts out, drink and chat the whole night, sleep over and then the next day get up and eat again. This is why he built this big house in AFPOVAI to replace the old one that we fondly call Q139 (the house number). And today, we got to see the house for the first time …it is indeed quite huge and equipped with all the modern amenities. It is quite airy too so that one doesn’t really need to turn on the airconditioning just to keep oneself cool inside the house. In fact, the house is quite energy sufficient and environment-friendly too because they had solar panels that would save up on some energy. I was only able to get a few pictures of the house…because I only used my cel…maybe the next time we are there I’ll be able to post some more. The pic on the left is the dining area with French windows that lead to the patio and gardens that surround the entire ground floor. At right is the sala where the main door is located and where a mini bar can be found.

The next pic shows the patio where most of our meals are held… the oldies are the ones who usually eat on the main table while we (cuzins) stay outside where it is much more airy and refreshing to eat. Besides, this is usually where the buffet table is placed and so it would be much easier for us to get our food refills…hehehe!

Then, upstairs there are three bedrooms – one for each of his children – for Dot (although he seldom stays there because he has his own quarters at the PSG), the other is for Dian (who lives in Clark, Pampanga so he uses the room only during weekends that he goes home to Manila) and the last is for Ming (the only daughter who lives in Cebu). There is also a big den or TV room that has a few modern sofa beds scattered about for the benefit of those who want to sleep after a huge meal or even stay for the night. There is also a huge open space to the left of the stairs …they say the Uncle plans to put a gym there, but the equipment ordered hasn’t arrived yet….sayang!

I wasn’t able to get pics of the bedrooms…next time na lang! Even Uncle Boy’s bedroom (which is downstairs was off limits e!) It is located to the right of the sala just before we reach the kitchen. What is unique about the house is their solar panels situated at the roof and which takes care of half their electricity bills. Pretty neat huh! Most of their lighting and water heating needs are already covered by the solar panels so only the TVs, fans and aircon shall be billed by Meralco. But with all the huge windows and open spaces for the wind to pass thru, I don’t think they have much need for it naman e. The one thing more that I liked in this house is their guest bathroom situated opposite Uncle Boy’s bedroom – it had blue tiles and a glass blue bathroom sink! How cool is that??? Next time I promise to take more pics of this very pretty and refreshing house!