Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Sea Shower

We’ve just returned from the docks. We were going to have a swim, but we arrived just before six, and they close at six, reopening at 7 until 9 pm. The boys were disappointed, but we had some ice-creams which we’d brought along, and then got out the car to have a look at the sea. The tide was in and it was spectacular – the waves were crashing against the stairs which lead from the sea to the roadside all along the length of the wharf, and splashing up over the road. Nick slyly led the boys along to a spot where the water was coming over quite high, and when the next huge wave came along they all three got thoroughly drenched. Caleb wasn’t impressed but Nick and Aaron thought it was great. Nick said it felt like a heavy blanket being dumped on them.

We need to buy a new stove, but the one we saw which I thought we were going to get, which is what we have the right amount of money for, was less expensive than another we had seen but doesn’t have a grill and is an “Ocean” brand – unknown to us. The next most expensive is a Defy, unfortunately also without a grill, but for a grill we would have to pay an extra £100 for the next best model, not really worth it. We therefore opted for the Defy at £199, but believe it or not, they don’t have any in stock and will have to wait for the next shipment, even then not knowing what will be on the ship. A big annoyance today was having to wait in line AGAIN to slice my bread. There must have been at least 30 loaves in front of me owned by two people, and they don’t seem to realize that there is someone waiting with just one little loaf of bread.

Aaron has had four nights in a row now of not wetting his bed. I am thinking that it might be time to stretch the 4 am waking up, but now Nick wants me to wake him at 4 and he will take Aaron for a wee, and then start his day (with a few cups of coffee), while I stay in bed. I just laughed, but we’ll see how it goes!

I bought some rooting hormone for plants today at Solomon’s DIY. I don’t know if you are familiar with it. You take a cutting of a plant (eg the Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow), dip it in the powder and then plant it. The hormone helps it to grow roots apparently so that you can reproduce almost any kind of plant instead of just things like geraniums which should root in water anyway. I wonder if it would help me to sprinkle some on my feet and stand in the garden? Anyway, I have planted two branches of Y,T,T because it would be nice to have a few of those in the front which is still looking quite bare.

Nick saw the dentist today, very uneventful. It was just the initial consultation, so he was x-rayed, and the dentist says he has very good teeth. He has his next appointment in two weeks’ time, but she seems to think that she won’t be able to do any sort of crown for his missing tooth, only a temporary thing, and he would have to get a permanent arrangement when back in SA. I don’t think he explained in very much detail that we will be here for a few years, and that we can’t afford it in SA! He will discuss it more with her at the next appointment.

We bought some cute hats for the boys. The one I bought for Caleb really is too big, it’s adult size, so we saw these ones in Warren’s. They are kid-sized peaks, and have a flap at the back to protect their necks and ears from the sun as well. The boys are delighted with them, and showed them off to everyone. That was mildly embarrassing, but thankfully Nick was with me!

No rain yet, although it seems to be starting now (it’s 19h22 at the time of this post-script and there is a very light rain falling and a big cloud overhead). Let’s hope for a lot. The fire engines are having to pump water from one part of the island to another, and the water situation is still very bad.

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