I hear Daylight Savings Time has come your way. It’s hard to believe it’s that close to spring! Our time remains unchanged – no need as there is very little fluctuation in our sunrise/sunset.
I had a lovely time Friday night at a sleepover! Several of the teachers got together and had a sleepover at Amanda’s house to celebrate our friend, Claire’s 50th birthday! We enjoyed a beautiful sunset – there is a great view from her deck – and talking late into the night with delicious food. The next morning, we went for a walk on her property. She has 156 acres (bought it, along with the house and cottage, 7 years ago for $50,000 US! Sadly, those days are gone.) We hiked past her donkeys and zebras – they also have impala, but we didn’t see them – down a steep decline to a nice field, where we rested, listened to the birds, and watched her puppy play. The hike back up was more strenuous, but very nice. We stopped to look at her cottage and admire the view from there, then on up to visit her giant warthog! After a wonderful breakfast, we packed up and went back home. (Veronica spent the night with Mary and Bryce – a nice perk, eh?)
Saturday night was MTV Night. We had an entry again this year, but didn’t win any awards. It was very fun anyway. I will try to get a link to the video so you can watch it. (I even have a cameo appearance!) As we arrived we walked the “red carpet” where they interview guests. It’s being played inside the theater, real-time, so it’s fun to watch everyone arrive. There were about 20 videos screened, then a break for voting and snacks, and then back for live acts and award presentations. A very nice night and a fund raiser for hungry children here in Zimbabwe!
The rest of the weekend was uneventful. The kids hung out at home and with friends, I did some shopping . . . We actually had power all weekend long, so that was a real treat!
We are planning on going to Chombo this weekend. We will take less food and fill up with some essentials for chicken coop building instead! They should be harvesting now, so we are trying to wean them while providing more money-making projects for the future. It will be nice to see how well the crop did this year!
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Mary’s eye is mostly better today. The swelling is gone, it wasn’t glued shut this morning, and it’s only a tiny bit red. Hooray! Thanks to all of you who sent me home remedies.
Shadow is also doing well. She is eating and drinking and getting more energetic by the day. Good news for the weekend!
Tonight I am going to a fund-raising dinner to raise money for a school pool. It is a formal affair with entertainment – a band and also a mime – so it should be fun. Right now I think I’d prefer to go home and go to bed!
Went to a neighborhood meeting last night to discuss security (who’s paying for the guards, who’s feeding them, etc.) and found out that a lady just down the street from me is receiving $1000/month ZESA bills – she owes $10,000!!!! She makes me feel like I’m in good shape! She also only has power about 1/2 the time. Crazy!
Enjoy your weekend. It’s hard to believe next week is March – how time is moving on.
We got another antibiotic drop that is being used in conjunction with the antibiotic ointment. Her eye is still red, but less so, and less swollen, too. It was still glued shut this morning, but not as much gunk. I’m hoping this will do the trick . . . we are to go back tomorrow if it doesn’t.
Shadow improved a lot after her shot yesterday, but started throwing up again last night. She is droopy this morning, but not as bad as before . . . in for another shot today.
We just lost our electricity this morning after 3 WHOLE DAYS with power!!!! Four of my neighbors had no power since Sunday, thanks to a blown fuse. ZESA couldn’t get out to fix it until last night (no vehicles) and then it went out this morning. I really feel sorry for them!
It looks like things are taking a turn for the better . . . knock on wood!
Thanks for all the suggestions. I now have more options if this latest round of antibiotics doesn’t do the trick!
We just enjoyed a fabulous long weekend. It was well needed – the break did us all good. We are now on full bore until Easter!
Imiri was beautiful and just what the doctor ordered! It’s a small game lodge about 1 ½ hours outside Harare. They set us up with the kids in their own little cabin (3 boys and 2 girls – the girls had their own room with a bathroom) and then the 3 big girls (moms) had our own cabin as well. That was great for all of us! We had a nice swimming pool, great trees to climb and dinner, breakfast and lunch, along with multiple teas, were included. Also, there were 2 game drives and sundowners one evening. All for $100 per adult and $60 per child! People here think it’s crazy, but that’s because everything used to be so cheap. We really relaxed there! The kids played – we read, visited, ate pomegranates we picked form trees, watched the kids . . . Did I mention that the lodges were surrounded by game, so we saw elephants, Cape buffalo, etc. from our porch?
They have had serious poaching problems there, so they corral the rhinos and elephants at night. We were able to pet them because they were behind a fence. We also were able to feed them from our jeep the next day. The rhinos have the funniest mouths! I’ll try to get pictures of them on the blog. They never go anywhere without their 24/7 guard, who carries a machine gun. A little less than 2 years ago, poachers killed 5 rhinos, including babies. So sad.
There is also an elephant there that was imported at age 6 months 35 years ago, along with one more little elephant. The second ellie died, so they gave the surviving one to Cape buffalo to raise. She is still with them and thinks she’s a buffalo! She is their leader, and has killed 17 male buffalos over the years when they challenged her matriarchy. I have some great pictures of them, too!
We also saw some wonderful kudu, eland, sable, gemsbok and impala, along with giraffe, zebra and warthog. There were also lions and hyenas, but they were penned. The park is not large enough to support predators. It was beautiful. I came away feeling very relaxed . . . and wishing we’d chosen to stay another night!
We’ve had a lousy week for power. We were out last Monday for 16 hours, only out for 1 ½ on Tuesday, no power for 18 hours on Wednesday, and 16 on Thursday. We left Friday, came back to power on Saturday, but then it was out for about 8 hours on Sunday and from 5 am until midnight yesterday! It’s getting a bit old . . . Happily, there was power when we left this morning. The school is spending a fortune on petrol for the generator here!
The kids are well, I am well – I hope you are all well, too.
Hello Everybody! I hope no one was worried about us since I didn’t post anything last week. Our internet and e-mail went down last Monday and it is all just restored today. The server needed to be rebuilt (whatever that means!) and the provider also had problems. I don’t know what all that entails; I’m just glad to be reconnected to the world. I only had a very few e-mails from last week, so some may have been lost. If you wrote to me and I don’t get back to you, that’s probably what happened.
I was very excited to hear that the tax measures passed in Oregon. Thanks to everyone who voted there! I have no guarantee that I will have a job even so, since budgets are still tight, but my chances are much improved over what they would have been had the measures failed. I won’t know for sure for some time yet. I have resigned my position here in the meantime. The Director needs to recruit for any openings for next year, so I had to make a commitment by last week. He has agreed to hire me back if necessary – and if he still has openings – if nothing works out at home. If that is the case, we will still be doing well. There are so many things that we truly love here, not the least of which is the wonderful friends we’ve made here. We will go where God leads us.
Mary is busy, busy, busy! She not only has her homework load and violin, but she just got a part in the middle school play! She will be rehearsing 2 – 3 times per week until the end of April. It’s exciting but a big commitment. I’m proud of her!
Bryce has one week left in his cast, which has turned a disgusting gray color. He hasn’t slowed down a bit with this arm – mostly all it’s done is keep him dry. Mostly.
I went to Chombo last weekend – January 24. It was wonderful to see the corn growing, and so much more of it than last year! I was also able to see and try out the pump on the well and had a nice drink of the water from it. Delicious! They have cleared a huge plot of land near the pump that has been fallow forever and are now growing tomato plants there along with peanuts and beans. It’s so exciting to see their new prosperity! The difference between this year and last – when they were racing home with the food bags to eat – is heart warming. My plan for the rest of this year is to take food out once a month until harvest time, rent them a bull , provide them with some chicken wire so they can build a coop and buy a few fruit trees. Then it’s up to them. My friends Al and Cindy, who deliver the food with me and have been wonderful about sourcing materials, etc., will be here next year for sure and will help out with seed and fertilizer if needed in the spring (fall in the US.) I feel very optimistic about their future independence! Thanks for all your help with this project! Jeff has to be smiling about this!
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