After a day of work,we've settled in doing our "Nazareth House" thing. As I type this, James has left to go find some malaria pills - he has come down with a case of it, Kadijah is cooking rice, Ann Marie and Lucy are doing their homework and Father is out walking the streets in prayer. Roo is asleep, taking a much needed nap. He was a bit cranky today.
Father S was especially happy to have said his Noon Day prayers at Pa Barrie's home today.
Cockroaches make cooking here a lot more difficult. First of all, you must remember that you have to wash the dishes BEFORE you put them in the cabinet and AFTER you take them out! That is to clean any germs the cockroaches have left behind as they invade everything at night. I don't see too many during the day, but get up to go to bathroom at night with your flashlight and ...wow... Even if you eat in the fancy restaurants here in town that can afford pest control, it is still not unusual to see a cockroach run across your table. Cockroaches are everywhere and most of them are the size of '53 buicks!
St. Laurence House is probably one the cleanest, if not THE CLEANEST house I've seen around here, and we still get invaded. Morning chores start early with the girls sweeping and mopping the floor before going to school. EVERYDAY! This place is spotless.
Every visit, I try to beat Kadijah to the laundry but she always gets to it first. The girls also give her a hand. I put my day's clothes in the hamper at night and wake up to find them sparkling clean on the line. Dirty shoes are washed immediately and propped up behind the refrigerator to dry them from the heat of the motor. No time lost and shoes are ready for use the next day.
They have allowed me to cook and I do a lot of it. They love the different flavors I add and different way of cooking.
I am sorry if I am spilling out random thoughts on this blog today, but it is very hot, the electricity is off and things I want to tell you are scrambled in my brain. But that is the way Africa is... spontaneous, random. For example, yesterday at the beach as we huddled in the wet thatched cabana waiting for the rain to stop, suddenly James says (totally out of the blue) "Mr. Limpet is dumb, why would any man want to be a fish?"
We wanted to treat our staff and those who help them to a day at the beach. A relaxing, fun day of fellowship. We traveled in two cars on some terrible roads, zig zagging around pot holes for over an hour. We get to the beach just in time for a cloud burst! It rains heavy, but we are content, huddled together in a thatched cabana, enjoying each other's company and eating our picnic lunch. It was a good time.