Good evening!
All flight reservations cancelled, all hotel reservations cancelled and Wednesday morning we will be transferring the the Kumeh compound for the duration of our stay. The grandchildren are delighted to have us back with them and we will be staying in the little house with three of the grands. It has the best screening and I think we will be fine. Faith wants to learn how to knit and we should be able to pick up some needles (sticks) and yarn at the market down the street. I will be able to get some of the sewing supplies I need and we can have plywood cut right next door in the widths we want for quilt squares. What more could I want other than to be on my way home.
I forgot the mention yesterday about my morning breakfast on the 3rd floor veranda. I asked the amn on duty (I am afraid I am unable to remember his name) if it was all right for me to eat outside rather than in the breakfast room all by myself. His reply "As you wish". I immediately thought of Kelly and her love for the movie Princess Bride. I asked if he had seen it and he just laughed.
This morning as we waited for Jeff to come and pick us up, I was able to take a short nap. I was still weary from the night before. We traveled downtown to my favorite pharmacy to pick up a supply of the medications we are taking. Our pharmacy in Kokomo prepackaged our meds for our time away. So, we were going to run out come Thursday. Fortunately we were able to get them all but one. They were much more expensive and I don't think I will complain again for the price of drugs in the US.
It had rained during the morning (it is now the beginning of rainy season) and they day was overcast and comfortable. How amazing it was to see people in winter coats, jackets and knit caps. It was very cold to them. The traffic was terrible in spite of the fact the the government had issued an order that everything was to close at 11 am. I didn't see much of anything closed but did see a large gathering of city police at the City Building on the way through town. Maybe they were getting their orders but it wasn't much better as we drove back tonight.
Son, Adolphus, works at the port unloading gas from the tankers that come in. I was asking him about it and he said the tankers came in and unloaded. Then the brand name gasoline companies come in and fill their gas delivery vehicles for distribution. There is a set time for each company. The interesting thing was they all get the same gas. I recall when I was here before our guys each had a brand of gas they preferred. Amusing to learn it is all the same gas supply. The supply operates so close if a tanker does not come in on time, there is a gas crisis and the stations run out of gas. We experienced that last week.
Faith made casava greens and rice for our meal today. It was very good, however I did pass on the chicken feet and left them for the children. She also bought me a treat that appeared puffy like the pork rinds but it didn't have much flavor - sort of like puffed up styrofoam. However, I ate it and survived.
It was intersting to watch four boys sharing crayons and a coloring book. They colored on the two open pages and exchanged crayons as they colored. It worked pretty well until they got bored. As I watched the happenings in the yard, I saw a chicken pecking around in the trash area. It had a red ribbon tied to a feather on the wing. Faith told me that is the way the owner knows it is their bird.
The children were gathered at the pump filling buckerts to carry home for washing and drinking. It is a clean well a group in Illinois funded when we came in 2010. It is serving the community and gives them safe water to use in their homes. I understand that during the Eboli crisis, no one in the community got sick due to the safe water. For that I am very grateful!
Soon it was time to return to the hotel for the night. We turned on the airconditioning for a time to cool things down a bit. When they went to change generators ( they have to shut one off and then turn the other one on) There is a gap of darkness and then everything resumes. I had changed to setting on the direction the air was moving. When it AC came back on agian it went to the original setting and I had a second bath in cold water than had collected on the louver. Oh well, I didn't melt and a towel quickly got the rest of the water.
Another interesting observation. News is the order of the day in the evening. The Voice UK and other shows popular shows we would watch in the evening are on during the day. We are watching BBC world news and all the updates all over the world on the virus. Come Wednesday, we will not have access to the news other than the radio.
I will continue to blog each day but I am not sure how often I will be able to post. I will keep you all up to date as best I can. I plan to pick up a flash drive so if I have access to a computer I will be able to download it right onto the blog site.
Our prayers for all of you as you practice your self isolation. We will be doing much of the same here. One day this will all be over and give us something to remember in the future.
Peace and joy,
Anne
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