Loboc River

Many tourists come to Loboc to experience the river cruise, dine with the local folks or with other tourists. Loboc Riverwatch is a floating Restaurant that offers buffet dining. Login to www.lobocriverwatch.com for more information.

seeing green

I'm not into green really but it may seem so because I'm using it a lot on this site.

I believe green is a good color to stare at for a long time. It's restful and relieves your eyes (if you've been looking at the monitor for hours). Now you may be wondering why I'm writing about this color. You see, I've been seeing green lately :-) Just last week, I was in Butuan City together with my nieces and nephews and their kids. From the plane window, I saw the islands below covered with green canopy. As we reached our destination, green again.

Now I'm back home (second home actually) and every time I look outside from my window, I see trees and lots of green foliage.

I told you, I'm seeing green... literally. Now, who was it that named a color “leaf green”? I wonder if he knew how many tints, tones and shades of green there are to identify just by looking outside my window. From a single twig alone of a particular tree, you'd see at least four different greens. And to think I can see about twenty or so different species, not counting the wild shrubs and grasses below.

Before sounding like I'm complaining, I do have a favorite shade of green: moss green in small amounts (ex. Moss green T-shirt or sweatshirt) It looks velvety and rich.

koi

one morning, years ago...

this is a picture of Mount Banat-i as viewed from the Tagbilaran City fishing port (causeway). I took this one morning years ago...when digital camera was unheard of by ordinary folks like me :-)

reading again...

Lately, I've been reading a lot. There are times that I just feel like it and times I don't at all.

But anyway, here's what I've read today from Crystal Waters' Web Concept and Design, New Riders Publishing: On chapter 8, Mood Lighting, page 134, she mentioned a website which she described as funky/fun: the Blender.Web and she wrote( in part): Holy saturated colors, Batman! Umm..remember the contrast stuff we were talking about? Blender.Web is bright, high contrast, and painful to stare at for long periods of time, but also screaming LOOK AT ME, DAMMIT! and you do...

I like this book. Really. But wait, here's another one on page 118, same chapter, this one she described as lush/rich: Sotheby's. She wrote: It's rare for me to find sites that use red backgrounds that are both easy on the eyes and says a lot about the site's image. Sotheby's uses rich red-on-red and green-on-green color schemes that successfully put forth the richness of a velvet backdrop. Like walking into an expensive jewelry store, we are presented with a dark-yet-lush background that allows the product to shine.

Now this reminds me of the first time I walked into a department store in Makati City. I was not expecting to see a very classy interior design that I almost run away. LOL! Rustan's is just like Sotheby's, you know, that as I walked inside, I so felt inappropriately dressed in my denim slacks and T-shirt and dusty sneakers.

rural bohol

I hope you're not fed up with this style of drawing ... yet :-)

nipa hut

Everytime I see a nipa hut (nipa is a kind of palm tree and its fronds are harvested to be made into roofing material), it makes me a bit nostalgic. Rural folks spend late afternoons in the nipa huts just like this...mainly because its shade is cool and it's where friends meet. After the hard work during the day, rural folks unwind here..alone or friends and neighbors. Here, they play chess, sungka, dama, tong-its and chiki-cha (card game). Or they drink tuba (fermented coconut sap). Or they just sit here, telling stories, listening and laughing at old jokes.

painting with watercolor

It's a little tricky, painting with watercolor. For one thing, if you make a mistake, like for example you were planning to make a wash and forgot that you're supposed to wet the paper first, and come up with a blotchy finish or it simply won't look as planned. And if you don't like the color you applied,there's nothing much you can do about it, especially if you're using aquarelle.

Some artists say that painting with watercolor is not as easy as it looks. I agree, but it's a good practice if you start with this medium. It dries quickly, the colors mix easily, and if you're careful with the mixture, you could create beautiful tints, tones and shades. Take note though that you could easily come up with muddy mix. Except when you wanted a color for shadows, avoid mixing a color with its complementary.

Someday, I'm going to post watercolor paintings here...who knows, maybe I could have my own etsy...
For now, I'm enjoying drawing or sketching.

Have a pleasant day ahead everyone.

framed in green

I saw this hummingbird from my window early this morning and it looked rather smaller than it actually is because of the big leaves that framed it.

Afternoon Delight, A Daily Scent by Bench

Yesterday, I went to a mall nearby with no particular plan on what to buy. I always do that. Anyways, remembering I ran out of cologne I went inside the Bench boutique. The fun thing about choosing cologne or perfume is that you get to try all the testers and after a few squirts, you end up smelling good but in the end, you can't make up your mind which one you really want. They all smell good of course but you have to choose. So, the first thing you do is to (now this one really works!) decide how you want yourself to smell. Like flowers? Spicy or oriental? Woody? Musky? Squeaky clean? In fact there are so many to choose from. You can choose any or many, depending on your mood swings and of course your budget.

I came across a poll in the internet. Nothing official of course but it's quite interesting to note that among the young ladies, 30+% of those who voted want to smell fresh and clean. My choice was Afternoon Delight. It's woody and at the time smell fresh and clean but it's just how I think it smells and I really love it. Besides being a Bench product, the price is just right.

Cesar Montano in Bohol

A few months ago, I saw a man who looked like Cesar Montano at the Island City Mall. I looked again and realized that that man was indeed Cesar Montano. He was alone, wearing city shorts and T-shirt and rubber shoes? I can't remember..

Cesar Montano, by the way, is movie actor, director, producer and the Singing Bee (tv show) host. He is often seen here in Bohol. I heard that when he's not doing some taping or whatever they call it in the movie industry, he spends his free time here with his wife and children. Every now and then, his friends from movieland would come and Cesar gladly acts as tour guide or host.

If not for the saleslady asking for a pose with him while her friend took the picture, I wouldn't notice Cesar at all. You see, many Filipino celebrities have come here just to get away from their normally hectic lifestyle. Most of them come back, for here, they have freedom. They're not mugged by fans. For sure, Boholanos recognize them, throw admiring glances and for for a daring few, ask for autographs or picture taking with them. But normally, Boholanos keep their respectful distance. We don't have paparazzis hiding behind shrubs taking pictures of their private moments.

But that's just one of the reasons why celebrities come to Bohol. Most of our tourist destinations here are just as attractive. Our resorts are famous for its natural setting: powdery white sandy beaches, coconut groves, native designs for accommodations (mostly) and again, privacy. Amenities? We have most of what tourists might want to experience and enjoy. And for those who want adventure, we have EAT DANAO- Extreme Adventure Tour in Danao town. and of course, who would miss the famous Loboc River cruise? It was here that Cesar made his Panaghoy sa Suba movie.