My House

What you actually see is the screened-in room connected to the front of the house. I had that built. I made a bargain with the owner of the property: I'd put up all of the money to a limit of P80,000 ($1,450) to have the screen-room added on. Half of the money would be paid back by charging me no rent, beginning immediately, until it was paid-off. That gave me seven months that I paid nothing to the owners. I told them that they could keep the other half, but that I also wanted the rent lowered by P500 ($9-10) per month. They lowered the rent to the current P4000. Over the last three years I've gotten just about all of my money back, plus I have the use of the screen-room.
It cost P80K to build. When the money ran out, the owners told the carpenter to stop working. It was 99.75% finished except for some cosmetic covering.
Why did I build the screen-room? Mosquitoes. I can sit in the screen-room and feel like I'm outside without worrying about those pesky little critters. Although there's very little evidence of it inside of PPC (Puerto Princesa City), malaria is common, as is dengue fever, though less so. My dining table is also there and that's where Celine and I eat. A breeze blows through the three floor to ceiling screened-in walls in the evenings and it's very pleasant.
In the evenings Celine and I always eat by candlelight. It's very romantic.
The property looks very different now. This picture was taken in December, 2003. There are now many dozens more plants - with lots of orchids - both outside and inside in the screen-room. Celine has a magnificent ability to grow healthy plants. I believe she could make rocks grow.