Just read it!

Today was so eventful that it needs a proper description! Let me make a list:
1. Before breakfast, I made a strap for the mandolin. I had started it yesterday, so this morning I just had to stitch it up, put on a few finishing touches, add a lace and then Nick attached it to the mandolin. It looks super and does the job.
2. After breakfast, I cut the boys’ hair, just back and sides. They both look so cute and neat now.
3. After my bath, I cut Nick’s hair which clogged the vacuum cleaner. I had to pull his neatly coiled hair out of the pipe which still didn’t get it all, but blowing into the other end of the hose shot out a 20cm pouffe of hair.
4. Put in a load of washing, did school at last. We read an interesting library book called “The Willow Pattern” or something like it, about the Chinese-style pattern which you find on those blue plates, all about two lovers and the father and an arranged marriage and running away and dying and becoming turtle-doves. Anyway, I got one of our blue plates out of the cupboard, and it was the exact design. Certainly made that library book a whole lot more interesting!
5. Just before 10, Emma came by with the microwave. They are leaving the island today and we have bought their microwave. Yippee, after a few months of ours being broken, we finally have one that works. Definitely makes left-overs less of a chore.
6. At 12, I popped out to town with the boys for bread. Simple enough task. Still no mayonnaise in the shops, and no fresh produce unpacked yet.
7. After lunch, I drew flames (tongues of fire essentially) for the boys to paint. This will be for the fireplace in their bedroom for Christmas. We painted them all together, using red, orange and yellow paints. I showed the boys how to cover the whole flame with paint, using the red in the centre. They didn’t quite turn out the same as the ones I painted, but their efforts were good anyway.
8. Had just finished off with those, when the door bell rang and it was George with some mail for us which he brought from Cape Town. I was so excited to get my hands on the first batch of photos I ordered on-line. So, after sorting the boys out with something to drink, I got busy and finished off a page which was mostly planned to completion.
9. Just before 4 pm, we started walking down to the docks to see some people off on the ship. Nick had been to the school for guitar lessons so had the car, but we didn’t mind walking downhill all the way. Embarkation was set for 4.30, so we got there in plenty of time. I chatted to Wilson for a while, and then Nick arrived, and we wandered off to find Emma and Guy. Found them at the coffee shop and said goodbye and took photos, fortunately not an emotional goodbye, but I will miss Emma. Walking back to the car, I remembered that I had agreed for Nick to take Jean home, so we drove back down for her and took her home. She gave us £10 despite our protestations, so we went out to Half Tree Hollow and got takeaways for supper – a slice of quiche for the boys, and pizza for Nick and me (ever had tuna, sweetcorn and chilli pizza?). We took that to Jacob’s Ladder and sat on the top steps eating, then when it got too cold and drizzly we walked a bit at the top to where we had a good view of the ship, and stayed until 6 pm to watch it actually sail away. I’ve never really seen it start a voyage, so this was fun. It had to first slowly turn around, and then picked up speed when it was pointing in the right direction.
10. Home, bath for the boys, then their bedtime.
11. I then made a strap for Nick’s banjo, although I must confess that it’s not quite as nice as the mandolin strap, despite being made from the same materials. While I was busy with that, Nick was having a bible study with Paul Stroud.

Big lunch

We had lunch at Jean and Joe’s house today, as a farewell for Wilson who goes back to Ascension on Wednesday (Jean and Wilson in the photo). As usual, it was a fantastic spread of food: roast beef, potatoes, mixed vegetables, gammon and pineapple, rice, curry, drumsticks, and salad. It was all delicious and quite plentiful. To drink there was Chamdor (non-alcoholic champagne) in grape and peach flavours. We mostly let the conversation wash over us. Brenda asked me if it’s all double dutch to me or if I understood the conversation, and I said that I understood most of the words, but didn’t know the people they were talking about, so it didn’t mean much. But at least the dialect isn’t so foreign anymore! Pudding was apple crumble, custard, trifle, ice-cream, jelly, and another sort of cream and fruit tart. At about 3.30 the chocolates, chips and peanuts came out, so although we were still so stuffed, we indulged some more! We left before the actual “afternoon tea”, so Jean sent us home with mince pies, coconut fingers and scones, as well as a huge dish of leftover meat and potatoes. Phew! A very nice afternoon, definitely nice to be socializing on a weekend.

Church this morning was quite well attended. It was nice to have the service at 10, especially because we were going out for lunch. It leaves the rest of the day free, and because it was at 10 there wasn’t tea afterwards. Nick is coming up to the crucifixion in John, and this morning’s text was the Triumphal Entry. It is strange to think that Jesus didn’t ride into Jerusalem in triumph or victory, but that he was sad – he had to set his face like a flint to the events he knew were waiting. When he was hailed as King, it was as a political king – they weren’t giving any thought to his being the Messiah or the Son of God, merely a saviour from the Romans.

Yesterday afternoon we went for a drive around the island – I had told Nick that I would definitely like to be out and about in the car sometime yesterday because it’s going so well. So we took a drive. The weather wasn’t too bad in town, but inland it was really misty and rainy, so we took a more coastal route for our drive, going out to Rosemary Plain and back via New Ground. Nick took the boys swimming after, but I stayed home and did some weeding, then got supper ready. I did some grocery shopping last night after the boys were in bed, since it was a Saturday night and the shops were open, but I don’t think I’ll try that time slot again. There was less availability of parkings in town than there usually is! I thought it would be fairly quiet, but the night-life is quite busy on a Saturday. I only managed to get the Spar shopping done, and then couldn’t find a parking anywhere near Thorpes, so I just came home.

Car going well again

We all went to the pool when Nick got back from prison ministry, but only the boys swam. Nick actually dropped us off at the pool and then took the car up to the garage, and walked back down to the pool. They didn’t give us a replacement car, so we started walking home when we were ready to leave the pool, but on the way Ian found us and gave the car back to us, in excellent working order!! Apparently he found the problem after Teddy had eliminated several easier possibilities, which turned out to be a blocked or loose hose or something. So within an hour, he had the part fixed or replaced or whatever, and now it’s going so well again. The auto-shutoff feature has been disabled.

Early Christmas

This morning Caleb hit on the idea of decorating their room for Christmas. I don’t know what triggered this, apart from their seeing decorations in the shops, but whatever the reason, he decided that today was the day. Initially he cut up bits of paper and stuck them on the walls, and scribbled orange crayon on a huge piece of cardboard and made that the fireplace (our kids have obviously learned that Christmas trees don’t play any role in Christmas J). But I took pity and provided some tinsel and a few scrappy decorations from one of the passage cupboards. Then I thought that it might be fun to really do it properly, even though it’s way too early, so after lunch I went looking for proper things that we could hang on the ceiling. Not too much available though and quite pricey, so instead I bought some Christmas wrapping paper and we made paper chains. I screwed hooks into the ceiling boards and strung the paper chains across them, reminiscent of the decorations at 6 Protea Rd. Well, the boys are all excited about Christmas now.

About the boys

Aaron is still doing so nicely in school and tries hard. His main goal in school is to make me cry, as they’ve witnessed tears of joy when they do something well! Bless their hearts. Caleb brings out bits of information that he remembers from months ago and thinks about it or asks questions about it. He has a very inquisitive mind. Aaron’s favourite thing to do at the moment is to hide. He’s forever tucking himself away in places, usually not very well, but he loves the excitement of the hunt. He also loves when I hide, so in the evenings, after their bed-time story, they both go off for a wee and water and then I have to hide, sometimes in the dark bedroom, other times with the light on. They always complain that I didn’t hide in a good enough place, even though they might have looked in three other places before they find me! We’ve been reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to them (Nick and I have both been reading it), and last night we came to the part where Aslan resurrects after his death, which was the night before. Caleb usually sits and listens quietly, and I know he takes it in, but lately Aaron asks questions about words he’s unfamiliar with, so I know he’s really paying attention too. After last night’s section, Aaron kept laughing to himself and couldn’t stop smiling. He said he was so happy that Aslan was alive again. Caleb discovered for himself that Aslan is like God, in that he could come back to life. Nick finished the story today, and explained how Aslan is like Jesus, taking our (Edmund’s) punishment.

Eggsceptional Muffins

Quite a busy day again, though not with anything particular! We did school as usual, and Caleb finished a Maths workbook we had been working through. There was a certificate at the end of it, so I did a little ceremony with him and shook his hand and handed it to him. He didn’t want to participate so I had to threaten him with a smack to get him off the floor. Aaron thought it was great. This morning, after breakfast, Caleb asked if he could help himself to an apple, because he wants to get that second tooth out now. It is so loose and I think it bothers him when he eats on it. He even had a little container ready in case it came out, so he could keep it safe, but alas, the tooth is still stuck in place. After school, I quickly dialed up to find a nice bran muffin recipe as I couldn’t find one in any of my recipe books. I let the boys help me make the muffins. They are not very good at getting the inside of an egg into a bowl. I cracked an egg first, then handed it to Aaron to let him pry it open. Unfortunately he didn’t grasp the concept of “gently break it open”, so he simply crushed it, but not before first dripping egg white all over the counter. I had to fish out quite a lot of shell. Caleb did pretty much the same thing. But beside that, the muffins turned out exceptionally well and the boys and Nick love them (and I do too).

Radio readings

I headed off to the radio station early this morning after selecting two suitable stories. I thought I would get these readings over with early in the week so I don’t have to think about it again. The stories went fine, one about a donkey who finds a magic pebble but accidentally turns himself into a rock, and the other about a steam shovel who eventually became a furnace. Home, put the washing in, school, hung up washing, quickly went to town and bought rolls because I didn’t have time to wait in the queue to slice bread, then off to Lorna to be there at 11.30 – earlier than usual today because she was being picked up by someone for an appointment at 1.40. I showed her how to make a chunky bracelet and she was really thrilled with it. I made three bracelets, but it doesn’t seem that I will be able to sell them here, because a work permit would definitely be needed, but wouldn’t be granted because there are locals who are doing, or can do, the same work.

Gospel Sing

I bought two model car sets made from wood for the boys, so we painted them after school yesterday. Thankfully Nick was hanging around so he could help out too. We ended up repainting most of the bits properly, because I think the boys were going by a theory that if they slopped enough paint on one side, it would eventually seep through to the other side. Once all the painting was done, we sat gluing them together. They turned out really well and look quite cute.

The Gospel Sing last night was lovely. The church and gallery were packed to capacity, with an overflow into the schoolroom even. We’ve never seen it so full! The evening went very well, with the Salvation Army first doing their section on the Humanity of Christ, with their brass band. Then the Seventh Day Adventist Choir came up, led by Charles, and they did very well. Also in the SDA church is Tammy, so she did a duet, and there was another quartet, also excellent. Their theme was the Suffering of Christ. Finally came the Baptists, with the Exaltation of Christ. We just had each chapel doing an item, and then some congregational singing and scripture readings. Nick closed with a very short sermon, preaching the gospel. Everyone was very enthusiastic about the whole evening, and the feedback was good.

Petrol problem

I did my second story readings at the radio station which went better I think, although the stories were only 7 and 9 minutes, but both were missions stories from one of the boys’ homeschool books. Anyone who hears them will hear the gospel! I noticed that the petrol tank was quite empty when I was in town earlier this morning, but didn’t get around to filling up. I made it to the station and back, but when Nick had to go to the high school to do a guitar lesson, which he’s just started again today, the car gave up and fumes didn’t do it. Being as things are on the island, all the shops and garages are closed on a Wednesday afternoon. Nick had to leave the car parked on the road just above the Half Tree Hollow Spar, and walk home. He managed to arrange something with Steve, who had some petrol for the lawnmower at their country house – so Steve fetched him, took him to the house, then went for the car.

Cruise ship, trade fair and beetles

This morning at 5.45 the RMS sounded her horn to let the island know she’s back. It was fun hearing the horn so early in the morning when everything is still quiet, and of course Aaron came rushing in to ask if I’d heard it. It’s amazing how cheerful he is the moment he wakes up. Caleb is slightly different. Another cruise ship, the MS Prinsendam, came in at around 9 am, with 600+ passengers and 400+ crew members. You can imagine what a difference 1000 extra people on the island makes! Town is crawling with camera-laden, be-hatted American tourists. In honour of the tourists, another trade fair had been organized, which I visited with the boys. It was in the mule yard near the swimming pool, so the boys were thoroughly occupied on the swings and slide etc. That left me free to wander about, and I had a short lecture of what happens to a coffee bean, from cherry phase, to pipping, husking, grading and finally roasting. I introduced myself to Sharon Wainwright, who is the Air Access Manager for the island, and also the mother of one of our GNC girls. Since we hadn’t met, she also didn’t know who I was, and was very pleased to meet me (apparently my name is well known in her house – Aunty Lynn this and Aunty Lynn that). She is a Saint, but has lived off the island many years and has a posh English accent. She has a really tough job with the air access.

In school, I read a library book about insects and beetles and things to the boys, and then decided to do a beetle craft. I made it up myself, and it was quite an involved craft with weaving, painting, sticking, cutting etc. It was great and worked really well – I did a lot of it, but the boys did painting and sticking. The beetles have a black body with a green thorax and black head, with pipe-cleaner legs and feelers, wiggly eyes, pompon dots on the thorax, and then the wings were the great part – they painted wings, and I had cut out transparency wings too, so the bugs had two sets of wings like a ladybird. I attached these with brads (split pins), so they open right out like a real beetle. Pretty cool!

While Aaron was resting, I went outside to take a photo of the house, since I thought I needed a nice one which included the golf for the s/book. As I was taking a picture, a tourist was walking up the road (well, there were probably about a hundred tourists walking up the road, but this one was close to me). I laughed and said I looked like a tourist myself, taking a photo of my own house. He was very interested to find out that I am the Baptist Minister’s wife, and promptly video-interviewed me. He is a Reformed Presbyterian, and actually his father was a missionary, so he was very pleased to meet me. He gave me a postcard photo of the ship, which I’m sure will find it’s way into my s/book somewhere. We finished chatting, and I went and told Nick all about him, so Nick went to meet him too and showed him the church, which was also very interesting to him and got appropriate video coverage. Nick was thoroughly interviewed too.

What's Cooking?

Supper tonight is macaroni cheese with real tomatoes, onion and bacon – the real deal. Hopefully I’ve actually got macaroni in the cupboard. Sometimes I’m not too organized! Friday night’s supper with guests was almost a fiasco, because at 5 pm when I came to putting the rice on, I discovered that I only had half a cupful, so had to send Nick to town quickly to get it. Then he got back and I realized that I didn’t have anything suitable for pudding, but God intervened and Jean brought ice-cream. Doh!

Remembrance Day

There was an Armistice Sunday service at the Cenotaph this morning, for Remembrance Day. There was a parade of a marching band first, then the police force, then the various groups like scouts, brownies and so on. I didn’t stay for the Divine Service by His Excellency the Bishop because I couldn’t be bothered with empty religiosity, and the boys would have been bored, so we walked home as soon as the fun part was over. Quite a good turnout by the looks of it though. In the afternoon, we went to the pool. I didn’t swim, since I’ve started reading the third book in the Francine Rivers series and it was far more entertaining than swimming. Nick and the boys were in the water for a good two hours. They were all quite tired in the evening! As usual they fell asleep in church (just the boys, that is, not Nick). The service was good and quite well attended.

Mount Eternity

Yesterday morning, since Nick had finished his sermon prep and everything else urgent for the week and could spend time with us, we decided to go to the museum. There I met up with two ladies here on holiday, who arrived on Monday this last week and will be leaving again on Wednesday. The one lady lives near Corlett Drive in Joburg, and the other lady is German and lives in the Cape. Of course I exchanged some German words with her which is always fun.

Today, being gloriously hot and calm, we packed up a picnic lunch after Good News Club (cheese, tomato AND lettuce on ours, wow), and headed to Rosemary Plain, with the specific intent of climbing Mount Eternity, the foot of which is across the road from the picnic area. It was an easy little walk, a short steep uphill, which afforded a beautiful view. The boys collected pinecones on the way down, which Nick promptly burned when we got home (that was what they were collected for). We went swimming at 3 pm and came home at 5. It was so nice at the pool, and I even swam today. The water was warm. Nick and I played pool volleyball (just us), while the boys swam and played with the other children. There is one little girl, Jessica, who has taken a shine to Aaron, so the two of them hang out together. Jess is about 10, and I suspect she thinks Aaron is still a baby and wants to mother him, but they’re quite happy together. I’m surprised she enjoys his and Caleb’s company so much since they are so much younger, but when they had had enough swimming, the three of them sat chatting and munching chips. We all got a bit too much sun, but oh well. The German lady was at the pool yesterday and today, so we had some more conversation. She doesn’t believe in God, rather going for the evolution and philosophy side of life as many Europeans do. She told me the story of her two marriages, and a bit about her life, which was very interesting.

The apple did it!

I heard from two separate sources that Queen Mary’s and Victoria’s had unpacked their fruit, so in the middle of a slightly altered morning, I took the boys out to town and we started at Victoria’s. We bought some lovely big apples, red and green, and a few pears and some nectarines. I asked about tomatoes, but they said they had some which had been sold and were waiting for more. I paid for what I had, and then while I was still there, the truck came with more fresh produce, tomatoes included. They were beautiful – red, firm and plump. I bought about 8 of them, very excited. If you are wondering why tomato purchases are so exhilarating, you must remember the story about “the art of buying tomatoes”. It’s a thrilling experience to have a cheese and tomato sandwich after not having them for a few months. The boys were excited about the apples and wanted one each straight away, so they started theirs while they were still in town. Caleb complained about his wiggly tooth and that the apple was hurting it, but persevered anyway. We went to Spar and I left them sitting by the window while I looked for bread and onions (fresh onions). And that’s when it happened. Caleb’s tooth came out. I saw him flick something off his finger in apparent disgust, and it took me a while to find the discarded object on the floor which was of course, the little tooth. It’s safely tucked away in my purse now, for him to put in his slipper later on. He’s sure there’s no such thing as a tooth fairy, so I’m interested to see what his reaction will be tomorrow. Now he’s got this hole in his smile which will take a bit of getting used to.

After lunch, I went to Radio St Helena to record two stories. One was 12 minutes, and one was 9 ½ . It was fine, really, I wasn’t too nervous but made three mistakes in the reading. I don’t think anyone will mind. Those will be broadcast next week Thursday and Friday, and I’m going in again next Wednesday to do another two.

Had a fantastic evening at the barbeque tonight in honour of Tammy’s album. The boys found some friends to play with so we didn’t really see much more of them for the rest of the night. I had a long chat with a Saint lady who is a few months older than me, about all sorts, from babies to crafts and Christianity. I shared the gospel with her, and she said she would think about it and hadn’t thought of it before in the way I explained it. She considers herself a Christian in name but is not a church-goer, and thought she would go to heaven by being ‘good’. The mistake people commonly make. There were about 20 people there, maybe a few more with the kids, so quite a big gathering, and we all sat or stood outside, very casually. The whole evening was very relaxed and a lot of fun, just as good as being in the company of our friends back home! The spread of food was excellent too – braaied chicken, sausages and burgers, and then salads – tomato, peas and corn, potato, pasta, coleslaw, and also garlic bread. Pudding was ice-cream, trifle and fruit salad. They built their house themselves, which was 8 years in the making, and it’s gorgeous - like a little cottage.

Paul and the Wall

The ship came back this morning. I went out for my walk, and then went and sat on a bench at the docks to watch her arrive. It’s always thrilling to see her appearing around the corner! While Nick was out swimming, I had a call from Social Services, and they have reinstated Paul Stroud in community service until they can find meaningful employment for him. Lucky for his, his community service is happening in our back yard! He started with the capping of the knocked-down wall today, and I think tomorrow he will be able to finish it. Nick helped too. They had to go and buy a bag of cement, and mix it up and cart stones from the school yard. Paul knows what he’s doing, thankfully!

A very quiet day otherwise. Yesterday was not at all worthy of an e-mail. We stayed at home all day and did very little memorable. Lunch was more or less of a flop, with fried chicken drumsticks (that was quite nice, though I’m not quite in competition with KFC yet), and fried rice, which was more of a minty pea mush. Even I couldn’t finish it, although inexplicably Nick thought it was nice. The day before, I made another disaster, which was fried steak in bite-sized pieces, with a carrot and tomato accompaniment over pasta. Unfortunately it just didn’t work well together – the carrot and tomato would have worked with mince, but with the bigger pieces of meat it was all wrong. So tonight, to avoid another cooking debacle, I stuck to good old tuna casserole and carrots, which even I can’t muck up. It was delicious!

In devotions, Aaron prayed for Colin (the boys both pray for him regularly, to stop drinking and become a Christian and GROW UP). Tonight Aaron prayed, “please help Colin to stop drinking the bad drinks, and drink good drinks, like juice and water”. It was so cute. Then he rambled on about helping everyone have enough money so they can go to the shops and buy lots of things and be able to pay the person who they have to pay the money to. I think he was trying to fill up a self-imposed quota of prayer time.

German again

The first cruise ship of the season is in anchorage this morning (good thing the two navy ships left yesterday, to make space). Caleb described the ship as “chunky”. You can see why! It’s huge, and a beauty. The ship carried mostly German passengers, so I accosted some of them in the street and practiced my German. I was so excited about it! One couple that I spoke to could speak less English than I could speak German, so I felt very comfortable chatting to them. I could actually make myself understood, and understand and answer their questions. It was really great being able to speak the language again, and particularly hear it spoken. I was very surprised that I could actually speak it enough to converse with genuine German-speakers. At one point there were about five tourists around me, because the one said I could speak German so they all came flocking.

This morning there were kids coming around knocking on the door wanting pennies for their “guy” – it’s Guy Fawkes tomorrow, so today is the day where they go around with their home-made guys in prams or boxes. I’m ignoring them though. I’m not about to hand out money to 100 kids!

After the GNC, we took a drive down to town because we heard that there was a trade fair on the go, which was reasonably uninteresting. On the way down, Tammy stopped us – they had just finished their Sabbath Service – to give us a copy of the CD. Nick put it on as soon as we were home, and we are very impressed with it. She has a beautiful voice. Nick’s guitaring is very good and he’s had a lot of positive feedback.

Real helicopter experience

On the news this morning, it was announced that the helicopter from the Royal Navy ships in harbour would be flying over the island and landing at Francis Plain. Nick, the boys and I were in Warrens when it flew over, so we went dashing outside to have a look. We don’t often see air traffic! Later, in Spar, we heard that it had landed and that we were allowed to go and see it, and get right close to it. It was a great opportunity for the boys to see a helicopter, so I dropped Nick off at home (he had the prison service shortly following), and raced along with the boys. It was as they said – it was “parked” on the school field, with school kids swarming all over it. The personnel were actually permitting the kids to get inside the helicopter. Caleb and Aaron both got in too, and then even into the cockpit section. They were terribly excited as you can well imagine, to be sitting in a helicopter with all the myriad buttons and switches, and the joystick to touch. Definitely an experience not to be forgotten. They both want to be helicopter pilots now!

Windy day and toilet hay

The wind blew gales today, and we had rain too. I wore jeans and a jersey all day! Two military ships arrived this morning, bringing 300+ crew members to the island for the day. It was nice to see them in town – you could spot them with one blind eye and a cataract. It was a Royal Navy ship, with mostly British crew. I had coffee with Emma this afternoon at the Coffee Shop. It was peculiar being at the coffee shop, with its very outdoor set up, in today’s weather. Bill dried off a bench and table for us where we would be the most protected from the weather, which was the table closest to the main entrance, because we were slightly sheltered by some bushes. Still, the table nearly blew over and you had to be sure to spear a piece of cake on your fork, otherwise it would have blown away.

The boys were looking at a library book today about the middle ages, and I haven’t seen the book yet, but there must have been a picture of a toilet, and apparently the person was using hay to clean himself. The boys coined the phrase “toilet hay” which sent them into hysterics every time they said it. I’m not a big one for toilet humour, but this was quite funny. Which reminds me of another little story. I cut my finger the other day on my craft blade, and a spot of blood appeared so I just quickly sucked it off before dabbing some toilet paper (not hay) on it. The boys were appalled and amazed, never having seen someone actually do that with blood. A few days later, we caught a mouse in the pantry, but the poor thing got caught in such a way that it bled (instant death, I’m sure, but there was internal bleeding). There was some blood on the pantry floor, so Caleb, very seriously, offered for me to lick it up. “There you go, there’s some blood for you”. What am I now, a vampire?

Album a sell-out

Tammy’s album was released today, and the 300 copies produced were sold out in 40 minutes. Wow! They will be getting in a new supply of CDs on Monday with the ship, which I’m sure will continue to sell well, unless people decide to pirate the CDs instead of buying them. Would be such a pity. But I’m sure Tammy must be delighted with the sales.