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.