Exciting things, the drive is being block paved. Enough room here for several cars I think. Plus my daughters trampoline, that I seem to use more than she does....

Three weeks until I get home and I'm sincerely hoping all this, and the pool, will be done by then.

Thanks, but we don't need to know about your private life...

I arrived home a couple of days ago, but the pool is still not finished. The Mrs has been building some sort of weird barbeque 'station' with a brick built pizza oven integrated......

Not really a lot been going on with the house, just had the guys finishing off the wife's oddball stair design and a few other details.

Not to everybody taste, but it looks quite cute in the flesh.







I built a workbench in the garage today, out of 3/4" marine ply. Doors will be made tomorrow. it has 3 layers for the top, and needs a couple of inches taking off the back board so it fits under the tool boards. And it might gain some blue paint too, daughters favourite colour.



There is my old faithful workbench, that has crossed the oceans 'twixt UK and Philippines twice with me. I built it about 15 years ago.



And there's a new toy lurking there, that arrived a few days ago.

Bench is nearly finished, and was in action today as I made mounting brackets for the spun alloy fuel tank for the hot rod:



The chaos is slowly getting better.



Pool is getting there, very slowly, as we desperately want to use it. Temp here is 35C most days now.






Wifes pizza oven barbie grill is still 'different'...

Sod the house! More of the motor!

Thank you, kind sir.

I've never shipped a complete car, just the 'glass body shell of the hot rod. Moving a car there would be a nightmare of bureaucracy and taxes, unless you have contacts in the right places.

Great images and story. Well done Sir. This should be a lesson to us all stuck here in Blighty, to put quality of life ahead of the materialistic rat race.

Thanks guys.

This has certainly been the most frustrating, yet incredibly rewarding project I have ever undertaken.

And I seriously don't know where we got the money to do the house from. We (I) just scratted around digging out savings, selling off unpaid holiday leave, sold some shares I'd be saving for retirement, made a small loan off an old American pension.

But stood on the roof garden, cold beer in hand, looking out over the local neighborhood, jungle, trees, with the warm, balmy tropical weather, it sure as hell was worth every cent.

We tried living back in the UK for 8 years, but just got bored eventually. And you know where the grass is greenest.

I head back home in two weeks, and plans are to made a dedicated push to get the hot rod done, for a week, before I start on house stuff again. it is pretty much just the body that needs finishing and painting, and all the bits hooking up.

The wife wants security grills made for all the downstairs windows, plus some sort of window shades, to keep the rain and sun off the windows....

And gates in the garden to keep the right dogs in the right areas....and on and on....