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!

VISIT / SWIMMING AT AUNTIE JING’S POOL

This year, the family decided to hold the monthly kita-kits/ get-together for birthday participants at Auntie Jing’s new house which she bought just recently. It’s a very big house with (I think) five bedrooms and a driver’s quarters located at the garage. What’s more…the place had a pool! So COOL! The ground floor had a receiving area, a sala where a TV is located, then a dining area and a kitchen with a center island (I like!) From the sala, you can go out thru French doors to the patio and the pool. From the kitchen, you can also go out to the dirty kitchen, pass by the laundry area and to the gazebo that overlooks the pool. This is where we ate lunch since the dining area can only seat up to ten people and so we opted to stay outside where it is a bit cool. Besides, it gave us the opportunity to also look over the kids while they are swimming.

The downstairs bedroom was used as an office/tambakan of some of the stuff they still failed to unpack from their house in Norway…they say the house came with some free furnishings but I found the sofas a bit ostentatious for my taste (it had some carvings kasi e…) I wished they would buy a bit of modern furnishings like leather sofas or soft fluffy ones na lang… Then, going upstairs the first bedroom you will see is the kids bedroom, it’s not yet located on the second floor but more of like a mezzanine. This is because the kids bedroom is actually two floors. It had a big double bed and a double deck where the bed is placed on the top bunk while the lower space is actually a study nook with a small desk/storage area for toys…pretty neat huh? Then beside the wall to wall cabinets is a spiral staircase that leads to a loft…it can be used as another place to store toys or even a place for their yayas or guests to sleep.

Then on the second floor is the master’s bedroom with huge wooden double doors. The floors are wooden parquet and it had a huge bed (well, understandable considering the size of the people who sleep there). There was also a big flat screen TV and a desktop computer inside the room. All the bedrooms had its own toilet but this one is the biggest because it also had a big bathtub! Then outside the master’s bedroom there is a den which can be made into a TV room (but at present contained more unpacked boxes!) then further on is another blue bedroom obviously for a boy and at this time it was occupied by my cousin Mike. At the den, is another spiral staircase leading up to the attic and it is a huge place that the maids use as their bedroom.

Indeed it is such a huge place and quite ideal for gatherings of big families like ours, having the pool is such a bonus because it would surely keep the kids occupied from morning till night! I guess this house would be quite a favorite place for gatherings from now on…I guess our only problem here is accessibility since we have to take another jeep ride from EDSA to go to Pasig and then another trike to go to their subdivision in Greenwoods…truly quite far! Sure hope the hubby always consents to take us here otherwise it would be difficult to commute…But in all, I really like Auntie Jing’s house…with a little redecorating I’m sure it would be even better! Here are a few pics of the kids frolicking in the pool…I guess I was too awed by their house to get any pics e…maybe next time.