Nick and I finished off the tidying of the workshop today. More correctly, Nick wandered in and out at intervals to see how the work was progressing and help here and there, while I did the main sorting and cleaning. I am extremely satisfied with the result! It’s a proper work room now, with a whole counter top of space and lots of floorspace, and everything in its place. We borrowed Steve’s drill, and after some dithering, the brooms and some tools are now hanging neatly on the walls. We found a basketball hoop amidst the junk which Nick put up outside. That was a perilous undertaking and nearly accidental – something (like the handle) wasn’t properly attached to the drill (I think that was my fault) and so the bit (very thick masonry bit) got bent and the drill spun around crazily. But thankfully no one was hurt!! That took up most of the day; the rest was spent on school and other necessary bits like eating.
Nick did school visits on Monday and last Friday, to do talks on “the Baptist religion” and “Succouth”, of all things. The kids always enjoy him and it’s always good to get a foot in at the schools for future ministry.
The boys are in high spirits as usual. I’m still trying to figure Aaron out, to “get into his psyche” and know what makes him tick, because that will help me know how to approach him and deal with him, and encourage him. I’m not sure if he does things (naughty things) because he’s just silly or ignorant or actually naughty, and then says he’s sorry and will try not to do it again because he’s genuinely sorry and will try, or because he just knows the right things to say but actually isn’t sorry, and if he does things because he just thinks they’re fun even though he knows he shouldn’t do them. Caleb presents a fairly uncomplicated scenario; we know that he generally likes to please and do the right thing. But today was a good day with the boys. They played outside a lot, building little shelters from cardboard boxes and chairs and the slide when it started drizzling.
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Junk room tackled, at last
After a quick school session this morning, we set off for tea with a South African lady, whose husband is on contract with Solomon’s. She has an Afrikaans accent and everything, wonderful!! Their house is huge and very grand, and belongs to the company. It was raining in the country so the boys couldn’t play in the garden, which was a pity because it was enormous and the perfect sort of set up for two little boys who enjoy playing hide and seek. It was a good visit though - it’s always great to chat with South Africans and compare notes about struggles with cooking on limited supplies and shortages, and the sad lack of craft and hobby supplies, and that sort of thing.
After lunch, I got started on today’s little project – tidy out the workshop. It’s been on the waiting list for 8 months, although at some point it got transferred from Nick’s list to mine. Made a good dent on the junk, and can now see the three different types of linoleum almost covering the uneven concrete floor. Also discovered a huge slab of marble which is actually the counter top. Perfect for all sorts of DIY activities!
After lunch, I got started on today’s little project – tidy out the workshop. It’s been on the waiting list for 8 months, although at some point it got transferred from Nick’s list to mine. Made a good dent on the junk, and can now see the three different types of linoleum almost covering the uneven concrete floor. Also discovered a huge slab of marble which is actually the counter top. Perfect for all sorts of DIY activities!
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Ho hum...the weather
Not too much to say today…had a mostly quiet day at home, only going out briefly for bread, and then again in the afternoon for petrol! The boys and I spent some time in their room cleaning it and tidying it again, and moving the beds back to their proper positions. We also emptied the toybox and sorted out its contents (much to the boys’ delight – they exclaimed over their toys like long-lost friends, not realizing that all those things usually languish in the box without being touched from day to day).
Um, let’s see, what else…it’s raining at the moment, actually sounds quite heavy (it’s now 21h29). The weather today has been its usual St Helena variety – hot, then a light drizzle and a bit overcast, then some drizzle from an apparently clear sky, then hot, and then suddenly this evening quite a hard downpour. Lovely to have the rain though. It’s still very hot here, although the mornings and evenings are getting crisper. Still short sleeves in the evenings, but my feet tend to be cold when I get into bed! I’m very annoyed that there are still mosquitos at this time of year.
Um, let’s see, what else…it’s raining at the moment, actually sounds quite heavy (it’s now 21h29). The weather today has been its usual St Helena variety – hot, then a light drizzle and a bit overcast, then some drizzle from an apparently clear sky, then hot, and then suddenly this evening quite a hard downpour. Lovely to have the rain though. It’s still very hot here, although the mornings and evenings are getting crisper. Still short sleeves in the evenings, but my feet tend to be cold when I get into bed! I’m very annoyed that there are still mosquitos at this time of year.
Monday, June 12, 2006
Clifford Arboretum Take 2
I went with Nick to church at Sandy Bay this morning, instead of going to Jamestown at 7 pm. It was lovely to be out at church this morning instead of being at home on my own, and although the boys tend to be a bit more of a handful during a daytime service, they were still okay. I had to take Aaron out for a smack during the missions focus though because he started crying because I said he couldn’t sleep! Nick continued in his series from John, with the portion of the Feeding of the Five Thousand. It was such a good sermon, and although he said he struggled with the passage because it’s so well known, he really drew a lot out of it, the application being “am I like a little loaf of barley, yielded to the Lord?”
When Nick returned from Knollcombes this morning, we took a picnic lunch and headed out to the Clifford Arboretum, which we attempted last Sunday but decided not to continue. Today we started out and had our lunch in a shady spot, then tucked the cooler box and blanket away inside a lean-to for later retrieval. Then it was time for the serious walking to begin! Last week we turned back just before a steep downhill, so today we knew what was waiting. It was really steep! Unfortunately it just carried on going down and down with no apparent circular route or ascent; the boys started complaining so eventually we had to turn around and head back. For two little boys though, they did really well. I’m sure we must have walked for more than an hour over very steep up- and downhills. (And the cooler box was still there waiting for us). Then it was home for a sleep, and the rest of the afternoon was very laid back.
Yesterday I did the teaching at the Good News Club, but I don’t think it came across very well. I spoke on jealousy but was ill-prepared. But the rest of the club was good. I find that it’s a blessing if I consider the need of these kids as individuals, and that this is the only place where they can really grow as Christians (for those who are). We went to Ardees for lunch, and Nick had his usual cheeseburger (can’t go wrong with a burger) while I decided to go for soup, having little appetite. It turned out to be some sort of spicy island soup, which would have been delicious if I could have tasted anything after the first spoonful.
When Nick returned from Knollcombes this morning, we took a picnic lunch and headed out to the Clifford Arboretum, which we attempted last Sunday but decided not to continue. Today we started out and had our lunch in a shady spot, then tucked the cooler box and blanket away inside a lean-to for later retrieval. Then it was time for the serious walking to begin! Last week we turned back just before a steep downhill, so today we knew what was waiting. It was really steep! Unfortunately it just carried on going down and down with no apparent circular route or ascent; the boys started complaining so eventually we had to turn around and head back. For two little boys though, they did really well. I’m sure we must have walked for more than an hour over very steep up- and downhills. (And the cooler box was still there waiting for us). Then it was home for a sleep, and the rest of the afternoon was very laid back.
Yesterday I did the teaching at the Good News Club, but I don’t think it came across very well. I spoke on jealousy but was ill-prepared. But the rest of the club was good. I find that it’s a blessing if I consider the need of these kids as individuals, and that this is the only place where they can really grow as Christians (for those who are). We went to Ardees for lunch, and Nick had his usual cheeseburger (can’t go wrong with a burger) while I decided to go for soup, having little appetite. It turned out to be some sort of spicy island soup, which would have been delicious if I could have tasted anything after the first spoonful.
Saturday, June 10, 2006
South Africans party with the Queen
The most (only) exciting thing that happened today, and this is relative to the complete lack of anything else that happened, is that we received an invitation along the lines of “On the Occasion of the Official Celebration of Her Majesty The Queen’s 80th Birthday, the Governor invites Mr and Mrs Nicholas Clevely to a Garden Party at Plantation House.” Nick groaned but I’m quite excited! It’s on Saturday the 17th June in the afternoon, so there’s nothing really stopping us from going.
Thursday, June 08, 2006
No comment
You’d fall asleep or stop reading the blog if I outlined today’s events…truly, I think you’d have more fun looking at coffee beans.
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Boy still sick
Caleb is pretty much the same today as he was yesterday. That is, he’s hardly eaten anything, sounds like a sick cat and is as lethargic as a pregnant sloth. I took him to the hospital again this morning for nebulising, but it doesn’t seem to have any lasting effect. The asthma pump is as good as useless because we can’t get him to inhale as we spray it, so the stuff mostly goes around his mouth. Our only medicinal hope is in the antibiotics!
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Sick boy
Caleb is officially sick. What started off as a runny nose on Sunday got worse through the night, and had developed into a cold yesterday. Today he was coughing and vomiting, and this afternoon was wheezing quite badly and short of breath, so I took him to the hospital and he was examined by Dr Kardam (the surgeon for his belly button) who still had to ask if this was the younger or older boy. Anyway, Caleb was nebulized straight away, and is now on antibiotics and has an asthma pump. Dr Kardam reckons he has asthma. Poor Caleb. We still did school today and the boys are thoroughly enjoying the new curriculum. The daily requirements don’t seem to be enough, so this morning we covered the entire week’s work of one particular book in one sitting, since they were enjoying it so much. Aaron and I went to town during the morning (I was actually trying to buy some sniffly-nose medicine for Caleb but nothing was available in the shop, necessitating the hospital visit later). I was really pleased to buy satsumas, oranges, potatoes, grapefruit and apples all in one day. That made up for the otherwise down morning.
Monday, June 05, 2006
Day at home
Well, I didn’t wallow today. Instead I launched myself into homeschooling, then housework with a vengeance. I got while lazy while mom and dad were here (okay, more while mom was here) because she took over the washing of dishes, mopping of floors, vacuuming, hanging up washing, taking down said washing, folding washing, brushing boys’ teeth, attending to their bath, making them toast, cutting their apples…see, I said it was nice having them here. Anyway, today I started getting annoyed with the house again, so after a very good hour or so of schooling, where the boys concentrated and did all the right things and Caleb hadn’t forgotten his flashcards from last ‘term’, I cleaned…I used the squeegee thing so that was fun, and I cleaned the stove top, and ironed, and peeled and chopped about 14 tomatoes and cooked those up to freeze so they don’t go off, and cleaned the bathroom, and cleaned out the fridge a bit, and tidied in the lounge and diningroom (that’s a horrible daily thing because it keeps getting undone), AND I made toast and cut apples and supplied yoghurt, and blew Caleb’s runny nose about 20 times. So it turned out to be a highly productive day and I’m well satisfied. This morning I went all the way to the top of Jacob’s Ladder from my halfway starting point, so that’s very good. Blimming hard work, I must say. My face was still red after I had bathed. Right now I’m trying to get the next year’s h/s curriculum ordered. It’s quite tricky because there are some things which are included and some which are not which I might need, so I have to be quite sure I know what’s going on. Nick and I are both very impressed with the curriculum we have at the moment, but feel it is a bit too easy for Caleb, so we’ll cover it in 36 weeks instead of spreading it out over the year, and then start with the next level in January. They get quite expensive though – the next one is $700!!
Sunday, June 04, 2006
Nature trail
We picked Dot up without any warning at all at about 3 pm this afternoon, then drove to “Luffkin’s Springs”. I had always wanted to see what exactly was down that path, so we took a drive down there, only to discover that it’s actually just a suburb! Rather disappointed after all those months of anticipation, but successfully laughed it off. Then we went instead to the Clifford Arboretum, which is just around the corner from the George Benjamin Arboretum. That was really lovely; we didn’t go all the way to the end because we suddenly faced a steep downhill and I didn’t have the best choice of footwear, so instead we turned around and left with the intention of going back another day more appropriately attired. There were some donkeys right by the fence across the road from the spring at Bluehill. One has to actually get close up to an eating donkey to know just how loud they are and how crunchy grass apparently is.
Caleb has a very runny nose. We think it may be allergies but can’t be sure yet. His nose streamed all day and so I gave him Allergex after supper. This made him drowsy, so he was asleep before the first hymn in church. Unfortunately his arm was hanging off the bench and it must have died, because he woke up in some pain during the middle of the preaching. I had to take him outside. There is no mother’s room at our church as you know, and I had left my house key on the pew (along with a sleeping Aaron), so I was stuck for options. Had to just wait outside until he stopped crying long enough for me to explain that he had to keep quiet otherwise we just had to stay outside. After a while he said he was going to try be quiet (this between sobs), so we went in for the last few minutes. In the meantime Brenda had moved to my pew to sit next to Aaron in case he rolled off the seat in his sleep. The service was good though, from what I heard…Nick broke away from his series in John for tonight, and rather preached on “Dealing with Disappointments”, using Moses as his example (Deut 3:21-29).
Caleb has a very runny nose. We think it may be allergies but can’t be sure yet. His nose streamed all day and so I gave him Allergex after supper. This made him drowsy, so he was asleep before the first hymn in church. Unfortunately his arm was hanging off the bench and it must have died, because he woke up in some pain during the middle of the preaching. I had to take him outside. There is no mother’s room at our church as you know, and I had left my house key on the pew (along with a sleeping Aaron), so I was stuck for options. Had to just wait outside until he stopped crying long enough for me to explain that he had to keep quiet otherwise we just had to stay outside. After a while he said he was going to try be quiet (this between sobs), so we went in for the last few minutes. In the meantime Brenda had moved to my pew to sit next to Aaron in case he rolled off the seat in his sleep. The service was good though, from what I heard…Nick broke away from his series in John for tonight, and rather preached on “Dealing with Disappointments”, using Moses as his example (Deut 3:21-29).
Friday, June 02, 2006
How not to plumb
An otherwise sad day started off quite comically. I reminded Nick that an outside tap was still dripping and actually worsening, which meant a simple job of putting in a new washer, if you happen to know where the tap is to turn off the main water supply. Unfortunately we didn’t, or thought we didn’t…after having a lovely morning outdoor shower, Nick got a new washer installed and the tap closed, and then we found that the little red handle to shut off the mains just hadn’t been turned properly. But it was terribly funny. I don’t think Nick will ever take up plumbing as a hobby.
Mom and dad had to have their luggage at the docks by 12 noon, and so they spent the morning packing up the last few things and chatting to the boys. Nick and I popped out a few times to check for post, buy a DVD to send home, buy bread, buy a shirt for Nick and so on. So it was fairly eventful in an uneventful way. We took the folks to the docks at 1.15, and after a short wait, during which time we chatted with Steve and Maureen who had come down to say goodbye to them, they boarded the bus which took them to the little boat which then ferried them to the ship. It was pretty awful saying goodbye as we all expected. We left as soon as they were out of sight, and the ship departed some time after 3 pm, which I didn’t see.
Mom and dad had to have their luggage at the docks by 12 noon, and so they spent the morning packing up the last few things and chatting to the boys. Nick and I popped out a few times to check for post, buy a DVD to send home, buy bread, buy a shirt for Nick and so on. So it was fairly eventful in an uneventful way. We took the folks to the docks at 1.15, and after a short wait, during which time we chatted with Steve and Maureen who had come down to say goodbye to them, they boarded the bus which took them to the little boat which then ferried them to the ship. It was pretty awful saying goodbye as we all expected. We left as soon as they were out of sight, and the ship departed some time after 3 pm, which I didn’t see.
Time's up
Mom and dad’s last day today…we are all feeling a little sad about tomorrow. We spent the day at home for the most part, only going out together to the coffee shop at the docks for cappuccinos and carrot cake, and a last meander through town for a few necessities. Then it was getting all the last minute things finalized - we realized that we can’t send St Helenian Pounds home with mom and dad (our savings to be put into our South African account), so we had to go to a few shops to see if they had any British Sterling they could swap (our currency being exactly equivalent to the GBP). That was done, and I had to get some documentation certified at the police station. Unfortunately the first PC I spoke to didn’t know what I was on about, but then a female PC stepped in and hand-wrote all the verification stuff on the copies. Not quite as sophisticated as one would like! Then Lynn the Hairdresser attended to a cut, a trim and a few snips. So it was a pretty busy day, which is good because any prolonged times of sitting and thinking would surface the waterfall we are trying so hard to keep in check.
Thursday, June 01, 2006
Birthday for everyone
My birthday today was a good day. It started off just after midnight when a crazy woman from SA phoned to wish me…she had to get up at 2 am to phone! Good to have friends prepared to make those kinds of sacrifices, and nice to know that we are still missed. A church lady came by during the morning to drop off - wait for it - a present for me, as well as a huge arrangement of roses, a cake for everyone, a bon voyage present for mom and dad, a present for Nick, a present for Caleb, and a present for Aaron. We hardly knew what to say in the face of such generosity. My middle brother phoned from SA and it was great to talk a bit of Afrikaans (just for fun) and jabber a bit of nonsense with family. The rest of the day passed by in a quiet manner, but it was so nice having mom and dad with us for the day, as they had timed their visit to coincide with my birthday. Tonight will be leftovers for supper, yippee!
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Rupert's Bay
The last thing needing doing on mom and dad’s St Helena “To Do” list was to visit Rupert’s Bay. Today was a bright and clear day, perfect weather for the beach. It was the first time we were at a beach where the tide was low enough for there to be sand for the boys to run on, and that was in a sort of protected area which would periodically fill and empty with sea water. We have video footage of them screaming with joy as only children on a beach can do. Rupert’s Bay is where the petrol and diesel get pumped off the tanker and stored, as well as where the electricity generator is located. Dad wanted to see as much of the inner workings of the oil business on the island as possible, having worked for Caltex most of his life, so he did a walking tour and even managed to find himself a tour guide - an employee on the site who graciously showed him around. After a quick tea-picnic, dad then walked to the other side of the bay where he watched bags of ice being loaded onto a barge, to be taken to the nearby fishing vessel, in preparation for their next fishing trip.
A surprise was in store for mom and dad at bible study tonight - the folk had organized a supper (with Nick’s permission) in lieu of an actual study. Dad was puzzled to see a bowl of carrots taken to the diningroom instead of the usual selection of cake, but they were both overwhelmed when the table filled up with all sorts of supper dishes, particularly when it dawned on them that this had been arranged in their honour. Pudding was another whole meal, with four different trifles, two kinds of ice-cream, peaches, custard, cake…we had to very carefully pack the fridge to fit in all the leftovers at the end of the evening.
A surprise was in store for mom and dad at bible study tonight - the folk had organized a supper (with Nick’s permission) in lieu of an actual study. Dad was puzzled to see a bowl of carrots taken to the diningroom instead of the usual selection of cake, but they were both overwhelmed when the table filled up with all sorts of supper dishes, particularly when it dawned on them that this had been arranged in their honour. Pudding was another whole meal, with four different trifles, two kinds of ice-cream, peaches, custard, cake…we had to very carefully pack the fridge to fit in all the leftovers at the end of the evening.
Monday, May 29, 2006
Augustine Bookroom opens
We had a combined church service today, with all four congregations coming together for a service in Jamestown at 14h30. This morning therefore was free, and we used the opportunity to celebrate my birthday a few days early, opening presents just after breakfast. Nick and I set up the books for the booktable - today being the historical opening of the brand new Augustine Bookroom. The table was in operation after the church service (yes, doing business on a Sabbath!), and over half the books were sold within about an hour. It was a very encouraging start to this little ministry! As usual, the fellowship time was characterized by 90% of the people sitting on benches around the perimeter of the schoolroom while the other 10% served tea and cake to them.
Aaron had an accident today, toppling off a chair onto the floor using his head to break the fall. When the usual wails brought us rushing, Nick assessed that something was quite wrong with him, as he seemed to be flopping and unable to keep his head up. We lay him on the floor, and he seemed to pass out briefly, going limp and his eyes rolled around. Thankfully he came to again quickly and continued crying. He didn’t vomit (for any medical people out there reading this who would know to check for signs and symptoms of something serious), but Nick held him for a long time until he was okay. He was pale for a while after that, but seems to be absolutely fine again. We were all shaken and I thought about how fragile a life can be. We can only give thanks to God for watching over him and preventing a more serious accident.
We took mom and dad to the docks at about 17h40 today, and walked about a bit, before capturing the sunset on two digital cameras and a video camera. The sun is setting just after six at the moment; in summer it was about half seven. Out of interest, we’ll go back and watch the sun set on 21 June and record the time!
Aaron had an accident today, toppling off a chair onto the floor using his head to break the fall. When the usual wails brought us rushing, Nick assessed that something was quite wrong with him, as he seemed to be flopping and unable to keep his head up. We lay him on the floor, and he seemed to pass out briefly, going limp and his eyes rolled around. Thankfully he came to again quickly and continued crying. He didn’t vomit (for any medical people out there reading this who would know to check for signs and symptoms of something serious), but Nick held him for a long time until he was okay. He was pale for a while after that, but seems to be absolutely fine again. We were all shaken and I thought about how fragile a life can be. We can only give thanks to God for watching over him and preventing a more serious accident.
We took mom and dad to the docks at about 17h40 today, and walked about a bit, before capturing the sunset on two digital cameras and a video camera. The sun is setting just after six at the moment; in summer it was about half seven. Out of interest, we’ll go back and watch the sun set on 21 June and record the time!
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Diana's Peak
After the Good News Club today, two girls stayed behind because they wanted to become Christians. I was again privileged to explain the gospel to them and pray with them. These girls are best friends with the two girls who committed their lives to the Lord at the Holiday Club, so the original two have been witnessing! We give the Lord praise to see growth, and continue to pray for these young Christians.
The schoolroom reroofing is now complete, so a workparty was undertaken to remove the junk from the schoolroom, and clean and dust everything, which was unbelievably dirty after the two months or so of building operations. The work went quickly, with a group of about 8 people pitching in. We are thankful to the Lord for His provision of finances for this project to be undertaken - it was leaking quite badly. We are also relieved that the Good News Club will no longer be held in our diningroom - furniture shuffling is not one of my favourite ministries.
Dad wanted to do the Diana’s Peak walk, and since Nick is more or less free on a Saturday, we thought it best to tackle it today. Mom was very happy to be at home with the boys, so after lunch we drove out to the entrance of Diana’s Peak National Park. It’s in a particularly beautiful part of the country, with spectacular views of lush green valleys and flax-covered cliffs. We picked the shorter two-hour walk, and when we arrived back at the car we were surprised to discover, that with stopping along the way, we had taken exactly two hours! My dear husband picked a flower for me on the way which was nearly as tall as I - I have never seen such a long arum lily. Some parts of the walk were quite steep, which is to be expected since we were ascending the highest peak on the island, at 823 metres. Diana’s Peak and the National Park surrounding it is almost in the middle of the island, and afforded us an almost 360º degree view of sea, valleys, cliffs and houses. Apparently there is what is known as a Cloud Forest in that area, which we could see. At times we were walking in clouds with 100% humidity, and we could actually see the clouds moving and forming and blowing just beneath us or ahead of us. One has to really experience it in person to appreciate it, but it was a very uplifting time!
The schoolroom reroofing is now complete, so a workparty was undertaken to remove the junk from the schoolroom, and clean and dust everything, which was unbelievably dirty after the two months or so of building operations. The work went quickly, with a group of about 8 people pitching in. We are thankful to the Lord for His provision of finances for this project to be undertaken - it was leaking quite badly. We are also relieved that the Good News Club will no longer be held in our diningroom - furniture shuffling is not one of my favourite ministries.
Dad wanted to do the Diana’s Peak walk, and since Nick is more or less free on a Saturday, we thought it best to tackle it today. Mom was very happy to be at home with the boys, so after lunch we drove out to the entrance of Diana’s Peak National Park. It’s in a particularly beautiful part of the country, with spectacular views of lush green valleys and flax-covered cliffs. We picked the shorter two-hour walk, and when we arrived back at the car we were surprised to discover, that with stopping along the way, we had taken exactly two hours! My dear husband picked a flower for me on the way which was nearly as tall as I - I have never seen such a long arum lily. Some parts of the walk were quite steep, which is to be expected since we were ascending the highest peak on the island, at 823 metres. Diana’s Peak and the National Park surrounding it is almost in the middle of the island, and afforded us an almost 360º degree view of sea, valleys, cliffs and houses. Apparently there is what is known as a Cloud Forest in that area, which we could see. At times we were walking in clouds with 100% humidity, and we could actually see the clouds moving and forming and blowing just beneath us or ahead of us. One has to really experience it in person to appreciate it, but it was a very uplifting time!
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Let's go fly a kite!
On Friday Nick went to the local radio station to do some recordings for “Thought for the Day” which will be aired at 6 am over five weekdays. He did a short series on the Psalms. He tries to do something biblically sound, as most of the other “thoughts” are cute anecdotes and other nonsense. He was rebuked for being a minute over time. Since he had finished his prep for Sunday, he was able to drive us to Horse Pasture, where we had a picnic lunch and flew the kite. The conditions were again ideal for us to launch “Skye-yeye Dragon” and she flew beautifully. Nick had to be back at the prison for his Friday afternoon ministry at 14h00, so we wrapped it up and headed home.
Steve and Maureen had arranged a small party at Ann’s Place for Friday evening, and there were 12 of us in all. It was a super evening. Mom and dad thoroughly enjoyed the island cuisine, and it was certainly an excellent spread of dishes - baked stuffed tuna being the favourite. Spotted Dick for pudding didn’t sound appealing, but actually wasn’t at all bad.
Steve and Maureen had arranged a small party at Ann’s Place for Friday evening, and there were 12 of us in all. It was a super evening. Mom and dad thoroughly enjoyed the island cuisine, and it was certainly an excellent spread of dishes - baked stuffed tuna being the favourite. Spotted Dick for pudding didn’t sound appealing, but actually wasn’t at all bad.
Friday, May 26, 2006
Gardening and Ship Watching
Today we (dad, Caleb and I) went to Knollcombes to dig up some plants, with permission, from the Baptist Chapel grounds. Got quite a bit of stuff, and then drove a bit further out towards Bluehill and dug out some Arums from the side of the road, and even found an agapanthus or two. Came home and planted it all, and Nick also helped with that as he had finished his prep. So at the moment it’s looking great, but Nick and dad don’t hold out much hope for most of it surviving. The soil is quite porous and basically pretty rubbish, and the arums need a lot of watering which we can’t really provide (have to be responsible with the island’s resources). But anyway, it looks nice at the moment. I took a photo so that all posterity may know that at one time the Baptist Manse had a lovely front garden.
The ship came back from its Cape Town voyage this morning. We decided to be at the docks to meet it, just for fun, so I did my Jacob’s Ladder walk, from which vantage point I saw the ship come around the corner to the anchorage, and then descended to join mom, dad, and the boys. We watched the first busload (ex-boatload) of passengers come through the barriers, and then mom and I took the boys to the coffee shop for a milkshake. It was strange to have a milkshake at 8.30 am, outdoors, with rain blowing around, but there we were. There was an umbrella up which protected us from the drizzle, but the boys sat under the table anyway just to be sure.
The ship came back from its Cape Town voyage this morning. We decided to be at the docks to meet it, just for fun, so I did my Jacob’s Ladder walk, from which vantage point I saw the ship come around the corner to the anchorage, and then descended to join mom, dad, and the boys. We watched the first busload (ex-boatload) of passengers come through the barriers, and then mom and I took the boys to the coffee shop for a milkshake. It was strange to have a milkshake at 8.30 am, outdoors, with rain blowing around, but there we were. There was an umbrella up which protected us from the drizzle, but the boys sat under the table anyway just to be sure.
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Mom the Fixer
Today has been a home day because the weather has been inclement, still very windy and grey skies with a little rain in between. Dad and Nick worked in the front garden – they have taken up most of the existing plants (weeds) which had died off, and raised the level of the garden with extra soil lying in the driveway which needed to be used. There was some debate as to what was going to become of the soil, but Nick had plans and those were followed! Mom made soup for supper and actually managed to light the gas cooker by herself. The big joke of the thing was that one of the front plates hadn’t been working for months, and we had been trying to get hold of a new cooker, instead of trying to repair the old one. But lo and behold, mom, without knowing that it wasn’t supposed to be working, lit it and had no problems with it. It’s been working ever since!
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Coffee Plantation
I took mom and dad and the boys to one of the coffee plantations at Rosemary Plain. Unfortunately it’s not the cherry picking season, so all the coffee cherries were green and there was no real action going on, but the owner showed us around and explained the process from planting a bean, to seedling, to planting the young tree, to harvesting, sorting, separating, draining, sorting and roasting and grinding. They package their own coffee and sell it at the St Helena Coffee Co (which they run), so it was very interesting to see the whole process. The trees take about two years of growing as little seedlings in black bags before they’re actually ready to transplant as a tree.
Had to go to town this morning for a couple of things, particularly bread. At 10.00 the bread hadn’t come in yet, so we did the other shopping and then returned shortly before 11, at which time it still hadn’t come in. I and one other lady stood around waiting because rumour had it that the bread was shortly to be delivered…by the time it came about ten minutes later, a crowd of about 25 had gathered. When it was wheeled in through the back doors in trolleys, it was like a feeding frenzy in a shark cage…25+ pairs of hands grabbing loaves out the trolleys. Not much of it actually even made it to the shelves. It was bizarre.
Had to go to town this morning for a couple of things, particularly bread. At 10.00 the bread hadn’t come in yet, so we did the other shopping and then returned shortly before 11, at which time it still hadn’t come in. I and one other lady stood around waiting because rumour had it that the bread was shortly to be delivered…by the time it came about ten minutes later, a crowd of about 25 had gathered. When it was wheeled in through the back doors in trolleys, it was like a feeding frenzy in a shark cage…25+ pairs of hands grabbing loaves out the trolleys. Not much of it actually even made it to the shelves. It was bizarre.
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Wrong doctrines
Today was a windy, rainy, grey, warm day. Not that there was so much rain, but the sun only came out a few times and mostly it was just rather dull outside. So we opted for an indoor day, playing Scrabble, mandolin, mucking about and so on. It was unfortunately a public holiday today and so all the shops were closed – which caught me unawares with no bread in the house, except for two rolls in the freezer! The horrible thing about public holidays here is that everyone takes them very seriously, so absolutely nothing is open. You can’t exactly pop out to the local mall and get take-outs for supper… Dad and I took a walk down to town just to check, and on the way back walked up “The Run”. The Run is a very big gutter which runs from up at the top of town all the way down to the sea, and most of it can be walked. It can be dangerous in sections, and someone recently fell into it in an inebriated state and died. Nick had to go to Vincent’s house this afternoon to collect a box of books, so dad and I went for the drive. He lives extremely far away, about a half an hour drive, but a very scenic drive. Had a pleasant stay, and Vincent played a song on his mandolin to show me how it’s done!
Nick and I attended a funeral recently of a person who, by virtue of birth, belonged to the Church of England. The Bishop took the funeral and boldly proclaimed that we pass from death to life at our baptism as an infant. Of course this is absolute unbiblical heresy, because only faith in Jesus Christ can save us and give us eternal life. It was a false comfort to those who were mourning, and to preach such a thing at a funeral particularly is so dangerous. So Nick, in his sermon last night, made it very clear that the only way to pass from death to life is at salvation, not by works or baptism, but faith alone. The rest of his sermon was about resurrection and judgment, continuing in his series in John, but I unfortunately missed some of it because Aaron was sick and I took him home.
Nick and I attended a funeral recently of a person who, by virtue of birth, belonged to the Church of England. The Bishop took the funeral and boldly proclaimed that we pass from death to life at our baptism as an infant. Of course this is absolute unbiblical heresy, because only faith in Jesus Christ can save us and give us eternal life. It was a false comfort to those who were mourning, and to preach such a thing at a funeral particularly is so dangerous. So Nick, in his sermon last night, made it very clear that the only way to pass from death to life is at salvation, not by works or baptism, but faith alone. The rest of his sermon was about resurrection and judgment, continuing in his series in John, but I unfortunately missed some of it because Aaron was sick and I took him home.
Monday, May 22, 2006
Lunch
Lunch was out in the country today with church folk. We had warned my parents that there would be lots of food, and so there was. It was a braai with about four different types of meats, along with about five or six other dishes of salads and things. It was a superb afternoon of laughter and comfortable chatting.
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Ridge Walk
Good News Club this morning - hopefully the second to last one in our house, since the schoolroom is nearly finished and we are having a work party next Saturday to get it cleaned and ready for next Sunday’s combined service and tea. It will be a relief not to have to shuffle furniture around every Saturday morning, and make sure that 15 or more pairs of dirty feet have been sufficiently wiped! The Club was good though, and the children are asking questions, which is encouraging since the questions are fairly intelligent and indicate an understanding of the teaching.
Nick, dad, Caleb and I went for a walk along the ridge of one of our valley’s mountains (does that sentence make geographical sense?) It was so windy that sometimes we’d lose all momentum for the next step. Fantastic views of Jamestown and Rupert’s Bay from the old battlements where canons are still firmly in place.
Nick, dad, Caleb and I went for a walk along the ridge of one of our valley’s mountains (does that sentence make geographical sense?) It was so windy that sometimes we’d lose all momentum for the next step. Fantastic views of Jamestown and Rupert’s Bay from the old battlements where canons are still firmly in place.
Saturday, May 20, 2006
First Date
For your viewing pleasure, a photo of our finished bedroom is here. We bought two cute paintings at Queen Mary’s, £6.36 each which is good considering they are nicely framed and actually original works of art - you can see the texture of the paint, and they are all unique though similar. I had to rush Nick out to the shops during a 20 minute gap he had for him to okay them!
Mom wanted to go out for tea yesterday morning (I think they are missing Wimpy), so we took ourselves to Ann’s Place in Castle Gardens. I’m not sure whether they are actually open for tea, or if they only do lunches and dinners, but there were no patrons in the restaurant and the only staff member was on the telephone and ignored us, so we left and went to St Helena Coffee Co instead. It was pleasant as always although quite windy outside.
This morning we drove to Prosperous Bay Plain on the eastern side of the island, past Longwood, where the airport will eventually be built. It is always an interesting drive, and dad was quite taken aback with the trees which are so windswept that they now grow at an angle. We drove around for a long time after that looking for a suitable picnic spot since it was drizzling and cold at Longwood. We ended up halfway home before stopping! Lunch at Ardees in the Market after that, and then dad accompanied Nick to his prison ministry.
Nick and I had a long awaited ‘date’ at Ann’s Place for dinner, which had been prebooked. We were the only people there for the first hour, after which two other gentlemen came in. Supper was three huge tuna steaks each, an enormous bowl of chips, and salad, with apple crumble and ice-cream to follow. We surely do miss being able to go to a proper restaurant, without booking in advance, and ordering something off the menu! But it was a good evening nonetheless.
Miss St Helena 2006 took place last night at the Consulate Hotel. 14 young ladies entered, and the winner received £500, with all the runners up receiving consolation prizes.
Mom wanted to go out for tea yesterday morning (I think they are missing Wimpy), so we took ourselves to Ann’s Place in Castle Gardens. I’m not sure whether they are actually open for tea, or if they only do lunches and dinners, but there were no patrons in the restaurant and the only staff member was on the telephone and ignored us, so we left and went to St Helena Coffee Co instead. It was pleasant as always although quite windy outside.
This morning we drove to Prosperous Bay Plain on the eastern side of the island, past Longwood, where the airport will eventually be built. It is always an interesting drive, and dad was quite taken aback with the trees which are so windswept that they now grow at an angle. We drove around for a long time after that looking for a suitable picnic spot since it was drizzling and cold at Longwood. We ended up halfway home before stopping! Lunch at Ardees in the Market after that, and then dad accompanied Nick to his prison ministry.
Nick and I had a long awaited ‘date’ at Ann’s Place for dinner, which had been prebooked. We were the only people there for the first hour, after which two other gentlemen came in. Supper was three huge tuna steaks each, an enormous bowl of chips, and salad, with apple crumble and ice-cream to follow. We surely do miss being able to go to a proper restaurant, without booking in advance, and ordering something off the menu! But it was a good evening nonetheless.
Miss St Helena 2006 took place last night at the Consulate Hotel. 14 young ladies entered, and the winner received £500, with all the runners up receiving consolation prizes.
Friday, May 19, 2006
Last of the Triopses
I played the mandolin for a while tonight – getting much better, I’m learning some new chords every day and my chord changes are getting quicker. I didn’t know how difficult it would be to learn a new instrument – all entirely new chords, it’s nothing at all like playing guitar. So I’m struggling a bit and getting frustrated, but it’s nice to see (hear) progress. Nick, on the other hand, already sounds like he’s been playing it for years, he’s quite good and it’s encouraging to hear that it really can sound lovely.
All the sewing for our bedroom is finished now and I put it in our room this evening, working in the dark a bit though because of two power failures (the first we’ve had since being on the island, at night anyway). Still a few finishing touches to do, so I’ll post a photo when it’s completely done.
The triopses are totally grossing me out now. This afternoon there were five of them left; now there is one last one, with the two huge ones lying motionless at the bottom of the tank. I don’t know what the cause of death was but I can’t say I’m too cut up about it. I spotted a gecko eyeing them out.
All the sewing for our bedroom is finished now and I put it in our room this evening, working in the dark a bit though because of two power failures (the first we’ve had since being on the island, at night anyway). Still a few finishing touches to do, so I’ll post a photo when it’s completely done.
The triopses are totally grossing me out now. This afternoon there were five of them left; now there is one last one, with the two huge ones lying motionless at the bottom of the tank. I don’t know what the cause of death was but I can’t say I’m too cut up about it. I spotted a gecko eyeing them out.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Painter found
Today I set dad to work with a paintbrush. The master bedroom is being redecorated, and the first thing was to trim the carpet where it curled up against the skirting. Then we had to paint the skirtings, windowsill, doors and pelmets to get rid of the last of the “government green”, and it’s now a fresh white. Unfortunately this now highlights how dirty the walls are, but repainting that will wait for another day or month. It took us most of the day to do all the coats of paint, but it’s a relief to have it done. One can’t really have three different tones of green in a room, somehow it’s not too pleasing.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Triops update and dog bite
The triopses are getting interesting. There are two really big ones, about 2cm by now from head to the end of their bodies, not counting the spiked tail at the end. There were about 10 yesterday, and now we can only see about 6. Suspect the big ones are eating the little ones when they are moulting (have seen lots of empty exoskeletons floating about). The big ones are extremely ugly now, with all sorts of pointy bits coming out their sides, and lots and lots and lots of legs, and their scaly backs. It’s kind of like having cockroaches for pets – one doesn’t really know if one should keep feeding them and letting them live. Still, we’ll see how long the experiment lasts.
Aaron got bitten by a dog yesterday on his face. Not very bad, and it was partially his fault because he petted the dog from behind, so the dog twirled around and just caught Aaron on the bridge of his nose and grazed his chin. He was quite upset so I rushed him home and administered sugar granules and antiseptic creams.
Today I took mom and dad to High Knoll Fort, which they both found very interesting, and then to the Knollcombes Baptist Chapel and the Boer Cemetery. It was great to be out with them, and show them the island spots about which we’ve been thinking “mom and dad will love this bit”.
Dad did his “Sweet Hour of Prayer” farmer poem after bible study tonight, and the people thought it was very good. Then we all sang some Sankey hymns after that. Our people are really mom and dad’s kind of people…takes them to way back when they used to sing all those hymns three decades ago.
Aaron got bitten by a dog yesterday on his face. Not very bad, and it was partially his fault because he petted the dog from behind, so the dog twirled around and just caught Aaron on the bridge of his nose and grazed his chin. He was quite upset so I rushed him home and administered sugar granules and antiseptic creams.
Today I took mom and dad to High Knoll Fort, which they both found very interesting, and then to the Knollcombes Baptist Chapel and the Boer Cemetery. It was great to be out with them, and show them the island spots about which we’ve been thinking “mom and dad will love this bit”.
Dad did his “Sweet Hour of Prayer” farmer poem after bible study tonight, and the people thought it was very good. Then we all sang some Sankey hymns after that. Our people are really mom and dad’s kind of people…takes them to way back when they used to sing all those hymns three decades ago.
Monday, May 15, 2006
We're waaaaaalking in the rain
The triopses are growing all the time. The biggest two are about a centimeter head to tail, and the smaller ones are about 7 mm. There must be about 15 of them, in constant motion. I’m sure they only have two eyes though – I can make out two black dots in front of their heads.
Lunch was fishcakes made with Wahoo, and one of my better batches. It always helps when people give you hints and tips - like using raw fish! Mom, dad and Caleb went for a walk after lunch, in what started out as a gentle drizzle. Unfortunately it turned into quite a heavy downpour shortly after they had set off, but it was enjoyable anyway (Caleb didn’t think it was so great since his legs got wet). All part of the fun.
Lunch was fishcakes made with Wahoo, and one of my better batches. It always helps when people give you hints and tips - like using raw fish! Mom, dad and Caleb went for a walk after lunch, in what started out as a gentle drizzle. Unfortunately it turned into quite a heavy downpour shortly after they had set off, but it was enjoyable anyway (Caleb didn’t think it was so great since his legs got wet). All part of the fun.
Sunday, May 14, 2006
...trip
Dolphin trip undertaken today…though technically we couldn’t call it a dolphin trip because we only saw two of them, and swimming very slowly at that. Very disappointing to have dad with us and not see the schools we saw last time. We spotted a few flying fish which were interesting to see - since I’ve never before seen them, I’m going to assume all the blog readers haven’t seen them either and describe them. They are fish, and they fly. Probably that’s why they are called flying fish. Really, they fly for a couple of metres just above the water, and their fins look like wings. We saw plenty of skuas, which are brown terns (those are birds). It was a good morning though, and nice to be out on the boat. We sailed quite a distance from the island looking for the dolphins and the sea was quite rough, but since we were only out for a short time, no one got sea-sick. And no hats were lost this time!
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Sandy Bay
Nick finished his sermon prep early today, which left him free to join us for an excursion. Since he was driving, we went to Sandy Bay (I won’t drive those roads myself!). We had a bit of a picnic as usual, but after pouring tea and making sandwiches, we were rained out. We quickly got things into a deserted corrugated tin shanty nearby, after unsuccessfully setting up a makeshift cover with the picnic blanket. But after a few minutes the rain stopped and we could carry on what we had been doing. We rolled up our pants and walked in the black sand, and felt the cold Atlantic water. Sandy Bay is one of the few places you can actually walk on the beach.
Friday, May 12, 2006
Island Style Confidence
I’ve mentioned a few times that security and trust on the island is very different to SA. Let me quote what dad had to say about it:
“Lynn bought something at the Emporium on Tuesday and left it on a shelf at the entrance to the shop. She forgot all about it, and when she just happened to go into the shop again yesterday she recognized the parcel on the shelf and realized that it was her parcel from the day before, so she just picked it up and carried on with her day. As you know I did Jacob’s Ladder on Monday, so I went into the Museum this afternoon to get a certificate to prove that I had done it. No problem, the lady just printed out the certificate. I said “How do you know that I actually did it?” She just said “We trust. If you’re not trustworthy, you are the loser.” OK. She said the certificate would cost £ 2.50. I said I wasn’t sure whether I had enough on me. “No problem, bring it next time you pass this way.” But how about this one: Mom and I went for a walk down town this morning, and Lynn said she would follow later in the car and meet us somewhere in town, so she gave me the walkie talkie. While we were in a shop called London Gift Shop, she called me just to make sure that I could respond. In a moment of absent-mindedness I left the instrument on the counter and continued our walk down town. About an hour later a lady came up to me in another shop and said she was glad to have found me because she wanted to return the walkie talkie. I had not even missed it and thanked her profusely. She said she had phoned the local radio station, and they were sending out a broadcast message every half hour, presumably asking the gentleman who had left a walkie talkie at London Gift Shop to come and collect it. She said she would phone them again to discontinue the broadcast as she had found me.”
“Lynn bought something at the Emporium on Tuesday and left it on a shelf at the entrance to the shop. She forgot all about it, and when she just happened to go into the shop again yesterday she recognized the parcel on the shelf and realized that it was her parcel from the day before, so she just picked it up and carried on with her day. As you know I did Jacob’s Ladder on Monday, so I went into the Museum this afternoon to get a certificate to prove that I had done it. No problem, the lady just printed out the certificate. I said “How do you know that I actually did it?” She just said “We trust. If you’re not trustworthy, you are the loser.” OK. She said the certificate would cost £ 2.50. I said I wasn’t sure whether I had enough on me. “No problem, bring it next time you pass this way.” But how about this one: Mom and I went for a walk down town this morning, and Lynn said she would follow later in the car and meet us somewhere in town, so she gave me the walkie talkie. While we were in a shop called London Gift Shop, she called me just to make sure that I could respond. In a moment of absent-mindedness I left the instrument on the counter and continued our walk down town. About an hour later a lady came up to me in another shop and said she was glad to have found me because she wanted to return the walkie talkie. I had not even missed it and thanked her profusely. She said she had phoned the local radio station, and they were sending out a broadcast message every half hour, presumably asking the gentleman who had left a walkie talkie at London Gift Shop to come and collect it. She said she would phone them again to discontinue the broadcast as she had found me.”
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Our babies hatched!
We’ve played French cricket a few times, with the new set…once at the Good News Club, and once at Rosemary Plain with mom and dad. That was quite fun. Mom’s actually not a bad batslady.
Anticipation heightened today as we anxiously awaited the birthing of our little Triopses. And finally they hatched! There are a number of the little darlings swimming around in their tank on the diningroom windowsill, which is being warmed and lit by our bedroom lamp. The dears are about 1mm long but we expect them to double in size by tomorrow. We started the process yesterday with getting spring water, getting the temperature stabilized, and putting the sand and eggs in, and then today I crushed pellets and fed them. I lay awake last night wondering if their water was warm enough, so today we put the lamp in. I’ll leave them in the kitchen tonight with the lamp on and some foil over part of their tank so they can have a shady place to rest (this is all according to the instructions). The whole thing is really cool! I hope they don’t die off overnight, but I have to restrain myself not to overfeed them. We’ll tell you their names when we’ve worked out their genders.
Mom and dad had a day of Napoleonic history, first visiting the house at the Briars Pavilion where he lived for a few months after arriving on the island, while waiting for the renovations of the Longwood House to be completed. Then they had a conducted tour of the Longwood House, and finally we drove to the site of the tomb in Sane Valley.
Anticipation heightened today as we anxiously awaited the birthing of our little Triopses. And finally they hatched! There are a number of the little darlings swimming around in their tank on the diningroom windowsill, which is being warmed and lit by our bedroom lamp. The dears are about 1mm long but we expect them to double in size by tomorrow. We started the process yesterday with getting spring water, getting the temperature stabilized, and putting the sand and eggs in, and then today I crushed pellets and fed them. I lay awake last night wondering if their water was warm enough, so today we put the lamp in. I’ll leave them in the kitchen tonight with the lamp on and some foil over part of their tank so they can have a shady place to rest (this is all according to the instructions). The whole thing is really cool! I hope they don’t die off overnight, but I have to restrain myself not to overfeed them. We’ll tell you their names when we’ve worked out their genders.
Mom and dad had a day of Napoleonic history, first visiting the house at the Briars Pavilion where he lived for a few months after arriving on the island, while waiting for the renovations of the Longwood House to be completed. Then they had a conducted tour of the Longwood House, and finally we drove to the site of the tomb in Sane Valley.
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Triops...will they work?
Since Aaron loves little creatures so much, Alan and Kate sent over a science experiment kit where you can grow little sea animals called “Triopses”. They are supposedly from the Jurassic age. We had to go to Bluehill to get spring water (it’s literally available on tap, for free, at Bluehill) because they can’t hatch in chlorine water. I’ve followed all the instructions so we wait to see what happens with them.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
What we're up to
Today we celebrated Caleb’s 5th birthday by taking mom and dad to Rosemary Plain for a picnic and cricket. Caleb was happy enough with this small party since he had a cupcake with a candle in it and we sang to him, and there were some more presents for him…what more does a five-year-old need by way of party? The boys are enjoying having their grandparents around, and every morning they creep into the guest room to have a chat with their granny and grandpa.
Dad did Jacob’s Ladder this morning, and for a 70-year-old, his 15 minutes was excellent. He went on a Charabanc tour on Saturday which gave him a good overview of the island.
Dad did Jacob’s Ladder this morning, and for a 70-year-old, his 15 minutes was excellent. He went on a Charabanc tour on Saturday which gave him a good overview of the island.
Monday, May 08, 2006
Saint turtles
Nice to have company on a Sunday instead of the usual lonely blah blah. Dad went with Nick to the Knollcombes Chapel, and I spent some time in the kitchen preparing lunch, which was a braai without braaing (grilled drumsticks and salads – fresh tomato, yummy!) I set up a table outside and it was pretty great. I highlighted my hair this afternoon so I look properly blonde again (didn’t do a very good job of it so my roots are still dark, in true blonde fashion). Steve and Maureen came around for tea, and Steve told lots of interesting island stories. Then it was church, which was great – quite full, there were 31 adults.
Some news on the island – a turtle laid her eggs on Sandy Bay Beach. Now this is a big thing because there are no turtles on St Helena – they are vast in Ascension, but none here. So this turtle must have become disoriented and settled here. The eggs have been settled into an artificial nest by the Agriculture and Natural Resource Development team, and we’re all hoping that they’re going to hatch and do well. It will be pretty awesome if St Helena can have a turtle population! Apparently turtles tend to return to their birthplace for breeding, so it’s unusual that this one is here.
Some news on the island – a turtle laid her eggs on Sandy Bay Beach. Now this is a big thing because there are no turtles on St Helena – they are vast in Ascension, but none here. So this turtle must have become disoriented and settled here. The eggs have been settled into an artificial nest by the Agriculture and Natural Resource Development team, and we’re all hoping that they’re going to hatch and do well. It will be pretty awesome if St Helena can have a turtle population! Apparently turtles tend to return to their birthplace for breeding, so it’s unusual that this one is here.
Sunday, May 07, 2006
First exploration
Yesterday morning we drove out to Plantation House. This was the first proper glimpse of the inland of the island, and mom and dad were suitably impressed. We had a picnic on the field, they saw Jonathan, and then we took a walk through Plantation Forest. Dad got into trouble with the governor’s security people for getting too close to the car. There was quite a long sunny uphill bit and mom had to go slowly, but other than that they really enjoyed it. Stopped off at Half Tree Hollow Spar for bread, and dad was excited to spend some money at last – on Pringles and reduced (outdated) ginger beer! After lunch everyone drifted their own ways and I started fiddling on the mandolin, learning a few chords. It’s way different to guitar, so I have to learn it from scratch.
This morning Nick and I set off on our exercise missions together, since we have live-in babysitters. We both did the Jacob’s Ladder bit, although Nick went all the way to the top and I didn’t, then we came down together and he went off for his swim while I walked home. But we had a good close up view of a fairy tern – two of them, actually, who wanted to see people up close and so hovered about a metre above our heads for a long time. I almost thought they might even land on my outstretched hand, but that’s quite optimistic.
We heard on the news this morning that the ship’s crane had problems yesterday when they were unloading the containers, and they had to stop for a while and fix it. The poor old tub. First the engine, now the crane. If the crane actually breaks and can’t be repaired, we’re pretty much done in as far as supplies go. They would have to open up all the containers onboard and manually unload everything, which would take weeks…definitely wouldn’t work.
This morning Nick and I set off on our exercise missions together, since we have live-in babysitters. We both did the Jacob’s Ladder bit, although Nick went all the way to the top and I didn’t, then we came down together and he went off for his swim while I walked home. But we had a good close up view of a fairy tern – two of them, actually, who wanted to see people up close and so hovered about a metre above our heads for a long time. I almost thought they might even land on my outstretched hand, but that’s quite optimistic.
We heard on the news this morning that the ship’s crane had problems yesterday when they were unloading the containers, and they had to stop for a while and fix it. The poor old tub. First the engine, now the crane. If the crane actually breaks and can’t be repaired, we’re pretty much done in as far as supplies go. They would have to open up all the containers onboard and manually unload everything, which would take weeks…definitely wouldn’t work.
Friday, May 05, 2006
Christmas in May??
Here’s what we’ve been up to today: opening presents! Ha ha, not really all day, but wow, we have been spoiled. We collected the huge suitcase and two togbags from the docks this morning and didn’t have to pay any import customs whatsoever. The mandolin also came through yesterday with no charge. We were a bit concerned about the duties we would be paying, so were relieved to get everything cleared.
After opening everything, and leaving the lounge in a shambles (and the kitchen, and the stairs, and bedrooms, and the spare rooms), we set off to town on foot. We took a slow walk up the hill again (by this time the sun was really hot and mom and Aaron were wilting, but only one of them fell over and hurt a knee), had lunch, and then I took dad out again to sort something else out, and to get his drivers’ license endorsed for driving on the island. He got himself an international license before coming here which was unfortunate, because all he needed to do was go to the police station here, and his SA license is valid for three months! Shame, he also spent a lot of money on their travel insurance policy, but because he paid for the trip on his credit card, travel insurance was automatically included for free. What a bummer.
The ship brought mail today, and at long last the homeschooling curriculum has arrived. Wowee!! There are 29 books, fantastic quality, mostly hardcover, and some workbooks too. We will get started when I’ve gone through a bit of the schedule and familiarize myself with what’s going on. I’m so excited about it though, because it will feel like homeschooling is a bit more official now and I won’t be muddling along wondering if I’m doing enough for or with them. Included in the box was a little gift for the mom, which was a silver pendant bearing the Sonlight logo, and a silver chain. I’m very impressed so far!
Spent some of the afternoon building new Lego with (read for) Caleb, which I had loads of fun doing! Got through some vegetables tonight - had carrots and courgettes with left-over lasagna. The kitchen was stinking today, and after emptying the bin and carefully checking the fridge, we found the source to be a cabbage which hadn’t made its way into the fridge because the fridge was too full…and it had started rotting already. I didn’t know cabbages like to be refrigerated!
After opening everything, and leaving the lounge in a shambles (and the kitchen, and the stairs, and bedrooms, and the spare rooms), we set off to town on foot. We took a slow walk up the hill again (by this time the sun was really hot and mom and Aaron were wilting, but only one of them fell over and hurt a knee), had lunch, and then I took dad out again to sort something else out, and to get his drivers’ license endorsed for driving on the island. He got himself an international license before coming here which was unfortunate, because all he needed to do was go to the police station here, and his SA license is valid for three months! Shame, he also spent a lot of money on their travel insurance policy, but because he paid for the trip on his credit card, travel insurance was automatically included for free. What a bummer.
The ship brought mail today, and at long last the homeschooling curriculum has arrived. Wowee!! There are 29 books, fantastic quality, mostly hardcover, and some workbooks too. We will get started when I’ve gone through a bit of the schedule and familiarize myself with what’s going on. I’m so excited about it though, because it will feel like homeschooling is a bit more official now and I won’t be muddling along wondering if I’m doing enough for or with them. Included in the box was a little gift for the mom, which was a silver pendant bearing the Sonlight logo, and a silver chain. I’m very impressed so far!
Spent some of the afternoon building new Lego with (read for) Caleb, which I had loads of fun doing! Got through some vegetables tonight - had carrots and courgettes with left-over lasagna. The kitchen was stinking today, and after emptying the bin and carefully checking the fridge, we found the source to be a cabbage which hadn’t made its way into the fridge because the fridge was too full…and it had started rotting already. I didn’t know cabbages like to be refrigerated!
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Safe arrival
Hi all,
They’re here!! The ship pulled in at 14h35 this afternoon, but officially docked at 15h15, after making a few runs at the proper anchorage spot, having some difficulty maneuvering with only one engine. Mom and dad disembarked and got to the customs hall at 16h20, and it was a very happy reunion! The boys spotted them and went running off into restricted areas, but of course no one minded. They traveled well, other than the first night where mom thought she might die, but they are here in one piece and doing well! We are all still saying how unreal it all feels, that they are actually here now. They thoroughly enjoyed the ship and say that it exceeded their expectations. Dad has taken many excellent photos, except that his cable is missing, so we can’t view them (déjà vu?)
We’re going to start all the fun stuff tomorrow, and all looking forward to it very much. Their hold baggage is still on the ship and will be available tomorrow, so we’re going to have Christmas all over again!
They’re here!! The ship pulled in at 14h35 this afternoon, but officially docked at 15h15, after making a few runs at the proper anchorage spot, having some difficulty maneuvering with only one engine. Mom and dad disembarked and got to the customs hall at 16h20, and it was a very happy reunion! The boys spotted them and went running off into restricted areas, but of course no one minded. They traveled well, other than the first night where mom thought she might die, but they are here in one piece and doing well! We are all still saying how unreal it all feels, that they are actually here now. They thoroughly enjoyed the ship and say that it exceeded their expectations. Dad has taken many excellent photos, except that his cable is missing, so we can’t view them (déjà vu?)
We’re going to start all the fun stuff tomorrow, and all looking forward to it very much. Their hold baggage is still on the ship and will be available tomorrow, so we’re going to have Christmas all over again!
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
History in the making
Big day today – the all-important fly-over of the airplane over the island. I went down to the harbour with the boys to wait and watch for it, and after over an hour of waiting, it flew over the harbour. One had to be careful not to blink. Before flying over the harbour, it had done some takes over the proposed airport site, where tyres had been set alight in old oil drums down the centre of the envisaged runway, also serving the purpose of indicating wind direction to the pilot. Very crude, but not a bad plan in light of limited airport resources on the island! The plane came down to a height of about 300 feet. Town was deserted today in light of the historical occasion, with many people off at some of the suggested viewing points. It was really exciting!
Really just trying to kill time now until my mom and dad arrive tomorrow, the time of arrival now 14h30. I drove out to Knollcombes this afternoon to pick wildflowers, which I accomplished. The boys are being very unsuccessful in their attempts to keep the house clean as per my instructions, so I guess I will be having another quick clean-up tomorrow morning!
Really just trying to kill time now until my mom and dad arrive tomorrow, the time of arrival now 14h30. I drove out to Knollcombes this afternoon to pick wildflowers, which I accomplished. The boys are being very unsuccessful in their attempts to keep the house clean as per my instructions, so I guess I will be having another quick clean-up tomorrow morning!
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Nice weather for a visit
It’s been really hot again the last few days, no rain since last week some time, although we expect the weather to change at any moment, given that it’s so unpredictable. Clear skies at present though, it’s lovely.
Monday, May 01, 2006
Street Carnival, some bad news, but we have onions
Yesterday after prayer meeting, Nick dropped a bombshell – “bad news”, he said. “The soil has just been delivered and we need to get it off the road asap. You’ll have to do the Good News Club today.” Which I did, though not without some complaining and panicking first! I had to lead the worship, teach the lesson, run the outdoor activity and suggest the indoor colouring or drawing activity. Thankfully Nick is still in his 10 Commandments series, so I didn’t have to come up with an actual lesson plan (with all of an hour’s notice), I simply taught on the 7th commandment. It went really well, I thought – the 15 kids paid attention, asked the right questions, and were well behaved (except for Aaron who had to be told about 5 times to keep quiet). I digressed a bit and taught about dating and unequal yoking, and looking at paintings in art galleries when you already have your own painting…but they got the point. Spent some more time cleaning the house after that while Nick went for a quick swim with the boys. He and two other men from the church had worked hard for about two hours shoveling dirt off the road and wheeling it into our back yard, where it will stay until we get around to dressing the lawn and deciding where the rest of the soil will go. This soil comes from Steve and Maureen’s country house, where they are doing building operations.
Last night was the St Helena 2006 Street Carnival Parade. Wow. I think about 80% of the country turned up to either be in the parade, or watch from the sidelines. The parade started from the hospital at the top of town and worked its way down to the docks, taking about an hour to get there. Our house is on the main street, so all we had to do was wait on the wall outside until it reached us, then we walked with it so the boys could experience the action. I have never seen such a colourful parade – people dressed themselves up in bright colours, and flowers, feathers, balloons, tinsel and beads…it was awesome. There was the local fire truck decorated with banana and palm leaves and balloons and dancing girls, and pumping out party music. There was a Ninja Turtle, a fire breather, a slinky pink peacock, a fairy or two, along with the general St Helenian public dressed up in odd getups. We stayed with the parade some of the way, and then went ahead to the bottom of town where there was a boerie-roll stand set up, and got our supper before the rush started. We suspect many people were going to patronize the stand, and we wisely beat the crowds. Pudding was soft-serve ice-cream from the adjoining stand, but by then a long queue had already formed. A South African girl and her family are visiting the island on their yacht, and she did a fire-spinning stint. We walked home at about 7, looking in on some shops on the way home – it’s a nice atmosphere on a Saturday night, with most shops open until 8.30 pm.
The service at Head o’Wain this morning was recorded for a radio broadcast. Nick diverted from his series on John to preach a topical sermon on marriage, which he preached at all three chapels today. It was excellent, and we pray that many marriages will be helped as a result. He touched on content from Gary Chapman’s “Five Love Languages” which is a worthy read for any married couple. Today we were blessed with onions, potatoes, tomatoes, eggs, cabbage, carrots, fresh parsley and courgettes, from three different sources! Never underestimate the value of an onion…
We heard today that the RMS St Helena has lost one of her engines, and will be delayed by a day and a half - instead of arriving on Tuesday morning, it should dock on Wednesday at 3 pm. I’m sure my parents are as disappointed as I am.
Last night was the St Helena 2006 Street Carnival Parade. Wow. I think about 80% of the country turned up to either be in the parade, or watch from the sidelines. The parade started from the hospital at the top of town and worked its way down to the docks, taking about an hour to get there. Our house is on the main street, so all we had to do was wait on the wall outside until it reached us, then we walked with it so the boys could experience the action. I have never seen such a colourful parade – people dressed themselves up in bright colours, and flowers, feathers, balloons, tinsel and beads…it was awesome. There was the local fire truck decorated with banana and palm leaves and balloons and dancing girls, and pumping out party music. There was a Ninja Turtle, a fire breather, a slinky pink peacock, a fairy or two, along with the general St Helenian public dressed up in odd getups. We stayed with the parade some of the way, and then went ahead to the bottom of town where there was a boerie-roll stand set up, and got our supper before the rush started. We suspect many people were going to patronize the stand, and we wisely beat the crowds. Pudding was soft-serve ice-cream from the adjoining stand, but by then a long queue had already formed. A South African girl and her family are visiting the island on their yacht, and she did a fire-spinning stint. We walked home at about 7, looking in on some shops on the way home – it’s a nice atmosphere on a Saturday night, with most shops open until 8.30 pm.
The service at Head o’Wain this morning was recorded for a radio broadcast. Nick diverted from his series on John to preach a topical sermon on marriage, which he preached at all three chapels today. It was excellent, and we pray that many marriages will be helped as a result. He touched on content from Gary Chapman’s “Five Love Languages” which is a worthy read for any married couple. Today we were blessed with onions, potatoes, tomatoes, eggs, cabbage, carrots, fresh parsley and courgettes, from three different sources! Never underestimate the value of an onion…
We heard today that the RMS St Helena has lost one of her engines, and will be delayed by a day and a half - instead of arriving on Tuesday morning, it should dock on Wednesday at 3 pm. I’m sure my parents are as disappointed as I am.
Saturday, April 29, 2006
We have milk!
I found milk today in a little shop that sells clothes, shoes, groceries, toys and underwear…all in a bedroom sized room. I only found the shop this week, and so went back today (having been paid) to buy a couple of litres of milk. Yippee! Spent a long time trying to find curtain wire hooks and nail polish remover, but could get neither.
Another fairly busy day, although hardly as productive as yesterday. I had to finish off grocery shopping today, and I must say it’s been one of my more successful grocery shopping experiences. The shops are really well stocked at the moment (other than the essentials) and the reductions shelf at Thorpes is heaven for a bargain hunter. And a lady from our congregation came by today with a huge grocery hamper for us, wanting to bless us and mom and dad. Apparently she is coming back on Monday with a cake (I was out at the time of delivery). So our cupboards, pantry, fridge and freezer are well stocked with all sorts of goodies (just not onions). Somehow I feel like we’re drowning in a sea of chocolates and snacks…they are oozing out of all cupboards, and we just can’t get through them fast enough. Actually, we’ll probably send some stuff back with mom and dad unless they manage to eat their way through everything in a month. Caleb is taking to this whole healthy eating thing, and very crossly tells us the whys and wherefores of what a terrible thing it is that we’re offering him chips and chocolates. Good though, if we can get him into some healthy eating habits at age 5, he’ll live long! Aaron, on the other hand, is a dustbin, and couldn’t care a fig about whether or not his blood is healthy and bones are strong. Thankfully he’s given up his habit of eating toothpaste and eating sugar out the bowl (and the mango trees still have all their leaves).
Not much else going on…we’re really just waiting for time to pass until Tuesday morning. There are 83 passengers aboard the RMS. Tomorrow there is a big street carnival happening, starting at 17h30.
Another fairly busy day, although hardly as productive as yesterday. I had to finish off grocery shopping today, and I must say it’s been one of my more successful grocery shopping experiences. The shops are really well stocked at the moment (other than the essentials) and the reductions shelf at Thorpes is heaven for a bargain hunter. And a lady from our congregation came by today with a huge grocery hamper for us, wanting to bless us and mom and dad. Apparently she is coming back on Monday with a cake (I was out at the time of delivery). So our cupboards, pantry, fridge and freezer are well stocked with all sorts of goodies (just not onions). Somehow I feel like we’re drowning in a sea of chocolates and snacks…they are oozing out of all cupboards, and we just can’t get through them fast enough. Actually, we’ll probably send some stuff back with mom and dad unless they manage to eat their way through everything in a month. Caleb is taking to this whole healthy eating thing, and very crossly tells us the whys and wherefores of what a terrible thing it is that we’re offering him chips and chocolates. Good though, if we can get him into some healthy eating habits at age 5, he’ll live long! Aaron, on the other hand, is a dustbin, and couldn’t care a fig about whether or not his blood is healthy and bones are strong. Thankfully he’s given up his habit of eating toothpaste and eating sugar out the bowl (and the mango trees still have all their leaves).
Not much else going on…we’re really just waiting for time to pass until Tuesday morning. There are 83 passengers aboard the RMS. Tomorrow there is a big street carnival happening, starting at 17h30.
Friday, April 28, 2006
More frantic preparations
Today’s been quite busy so far. With only five days to go, I’m getting all the final housework done and garden sorted out. Today already I’ve cleaned the upstairs windows, dusted, trimmed a tree and a bush, replanted a banana tree, cleaned leaves out of gardens, so that now the back garden is looking as neat as possible. Also a variety of other small things, like re-tidying the bookshelves, tidying the diningroom, washing dishes…the ongoing stuff. This afternoon I have grocery shopping planned (actually I must leave in about 10 minutes – best to do it in the afternoons when the shops are quieter and I can find a parking spot, but can’t go too late because Nick has early Bible Study and I still have to cook). I must also try finish making new net curtains for all the downstairs front windows, which I started yesterday. It’s really just a case of hemming the sides, so not too much effort.
Some sad news on the island …a 7-year-old boy fell off a cliff yesterday (somewhere close to the top of Jacob’s Ladder) and died. Apparently he fell down quite a steep drop, and it took the fire and police services about three or four hours to reach his body. What a tragedy! I hope never to outlive my children.
My parents flew to Cape Town this morning and boarded the RMS St Helena…they will arrive on Tuesday 2 May at 8 am. Much excitement all round!
Some sad news on the island …a 7-year-old boy fell off a cliff yesterday (somewhere close to the top of Jacob’s Ladder) and died. Apparently he fell down quite a steep drop, and it took the fire and police services about three or four hours to reach his body. What a tragedy! I hope never to outlive my children.
My parents flew to Cape Town this morning and boarded the RMS St Helena…they will arrive on Tuesday 2 May at 8 am. Much excitement all round!
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Heads up, air traffic
I’m very busy getting the house all in order for my parents’ arrival on Tuesday. I bought some netting for new lace curtains for the lounge and diningroom today, and have just barely started that. This has been funded by a lady in the church as she thinks the old curtains are very tatty (which they are). Bless her. Did some more work on the bougainvillea in the front, and the work is finished but it looks pretty awful. I think we left it too long before pruning, so it’s gone quite woody. Might have to give it some more attention (like cutting it all down). Also cleaned up leaves out the garden, back and front, and did a bit of weeding. Went to town with the boys for bread and cheese, updated their scrapbooks, made a tent for them, did a tiny bit of homeschool which involved colouring by numbers from a new activity book Caleb got as a birthday present, did a science experiment with them about magnetism, swept the front garden walkway, did my early morning walk, went for a very quick swim….well, I’m pretty tired.
Some very exciting local news – a big step is being taken with the air access project (airport project). On Tuesday, a chartered flight will be leaving from Walvis Bay and flying over the island, just to make sure there are no surprises from the air. I might be wrong in saying this is the first time in the island’s history that air traffic has been overhead, but I think so…unless wartime situations created other scenarios, but this is pretty big all the same. It will fly over Prosperous Bay and Plain, where the proposed airport will be, but I’m sure the whole island will actually see the airplane.
Some very exciting local news – a big step is being taken with the air access project (airport project). On Tuesday, a chartered flight will be leaving from Walvis Bay and flying over the island, just to make sure there are no surprises from the air. I might be wrong in saying this is the first time in the island’s history that air traffic has been overhead, but I think so…unless wartime situations created other scenarios, but this is pretty big all the same. It will fly over Prosperous Bay and Plain, where the proposed airport will be, but I’m sure the whole island will actually see the airplane.
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
50p for a toy?
Well, this time next week I wonder what we will be doing with my parents. I suspect they might be resting and hoping that the house stops rocking soon, or perhaps we’ll go for a bit of a walk around town in the hopes that the fresh air will blow the landlegs right. It’s a funny feeling when one disembarks, although not noticed straight away – but you get so used to the rocking of the ship, that you feel strange again when walking on land. We might also go in search of milk and go check for post. It’s always exciting to check the postbox for anything the ship might have brought, but disappointing if nothing arrives. I’m still waiting for the homeschooling stuff, but doubt it would be coming from the Cape Town direction. If anything, it would come via Ascension.
This morning the boys found 50p in their toybox, and so Caleb wanted to go to The Emporium to buy a toy for Aaron, but I said maybe they should buy chips rather as 50p wasn’t enough for a toy. Of course then they wanted to go immediately, but I wanted to do school first…in the end I compromised and we popped across the road to the corner shop and they bought Smarties (chips out of stock until 2 May). Then we did school, and Caleb read a library book to me (I had prepared flash cards of all the new words, so he had been exposed to them, and therefore did quite well with the book – very slowly and he still forgot the words I had taught him, but he’s making progress all the same). They also painted today. I needed to go to town again later, but by then it had started drizzling and I didn’t feel like going out in that with the boys. We waited a few minutes, and the sun came out and the sky cleared, so we went and stayed dry!
This afternoon, I went through the boys’ clothes, and it was fun. They both patiently tried on almost every item of winter clothing in their drawers, and some new ones from the suitcase of too-big clothes, so now they have some new clothes. It’s wonderful to see that their clothes from last season are too small for them – even little Aaron’s legs and arms have grown. Caleb grew 7 cm in the last year, according to the growth chart we are keeping.
This morning the boys found 50p in their toybox, and so Caleb wanted to go to The Emporium to buy a toy for Aaron, but I said maybe they should buy chips rather as 50p wasn’t enough for a toy. Of course then they wanted to go immediately, but I wanted to do school first…in the end I compromised and we popped across the road to the corner shop and they bought Smarties (chips out of stock until 2 May). Then we did school, and Caleb read a library book to me (I had prepared flash cards of all the new words, so he had been exposed to them, and therefore did quite well with the book – very slowly and he still forgot the words I had taught him, but he’s making progress all the same). They also painted today. I needed to go to town again later, but by then it had started drizzling and I didn’t feel like going out in that with the boys. We waited a few minutes, and the sun came out and the sky cleared, so we went and stayed dry!
This afternoon, I went through the boys’ clothes, and it was fun. They both patiently tried on almost every item of winter clothing in their drawers, and some new ones from the suitcase of too-big clothes, so now they have some new clothes. It’s wonderful to see that their clothes from last season are too small for them – even little Aaron’s legs and arms have grown. Caleb grew 7 cm in the last year, according to the growth chart we are keeping.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Island shortages again
Mondays are usually a bit of a blah day, and today was no exception. I think that the boys are tired from Sunday night’s late night with church, so they are not on their best behaviour on Mondays. And then we’re doing school again, where they’ve had a break over the weekend and they don’t feel like it, so I have to fight them to get them to co-operate. I went to town during the morning (on my own), and walked around all over trying to get what I needed. I was half successful with my purchases, but could only get powdered skim milk. There is no boxed milk until the ship arrives next week (and no onions, potatoes and I’m sure a whole lot of stuff I haven’t realized is in short supply). This makes supper dishes very tricky – can’t make anything with a cheesy sauce (macaroni, lasagna, tuna casserole) or anything requiring onions (mince dishes, tuna bake, lots of others). Bother. I vacuumed the interior of the car, can’t have it dirty next week, and managed to drop the vacuum cleaner off the outside wall onto the road, so now that’s broken. It still switches on, but sounds like it’s spinning too fast and may well take off or explode. There was another dead mouse in the pantry this morning, but the boys sorted it out for me. The babies are getting caught now – mum and dad are gone, so they have to find their own food. One can almost feel sorry for them, particularly when you see their little paws holding onto the nut, unaware of the surprise that awaits… The boys are constantly hungry, but I have little to offer them other than peanuts and raisins, or chocolate easter eggs. They had bananas, but I can’t think what else to give them as a mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack that doesn’t contain sugar, sodium or fat. Nick and I are trying to watch what we eat, so are cutting down on the junk – which doesn’t leave much! Poor kids. Maybe cream crackers with Bovril will satisfy. Last night was one of the windiest nights I think I’ve ever experienced. The wind blew hard and long, such that it was noticeably quiet during the few times it dropped. Lots of rain last night too.
Our water is currently discoloured. It’s brownish. You notice it mostly in the bath, but it’s not a pleasant thought knowing that you’re drinking that dirty water too. It’s perfectly harmless, just gross. I think it has something to do with when we were quite dry and the reservoirs almost empty, that the bottom of the dam has gotten mixed up in the water system. Something like that. Apparently they can flush the lines, but are in no hurry to do so (being St Helena).
Our water is currently discoloured. It’s brownish. You notice it mostly in the bath, but it’s not a pleasant thought knowing that you’re drinking that dirty water too. It’s perfectly harmless, just gross. I think it has something to do with when we were quite dry and the reservoirs almost empty, that the bottom of the dam has gotten mixed up in the water system. Something like that. Apparently they can flush the lines, but are in no hurry to do so (being St Helena).
Monday, April 24, 2006
Head covering becomes necessary
Today’s been the usual quiet Sunday stuff, although the boys and I had a bit of variety this morning by way of visiting Dot. I needed to print out a photo for her from our camera, and she has one of those nifty little photo printers, so we took a chance and walked up the road to her flat. We didn’t stay long, and when I said we should be going, Caleb was out the door like a shot and ran all the way home by himself, without me even realizing that he had left! I spanked him when we got home because he didn’t ask me or tell me he was going, although I was rather proud of him for being so independent.
I started knitting a scarf this morning. I actually wanted to knit a beanie or skull cap (skull cap is a beanie that is smaller) and found a pattern on the internet, but then it seemed a scarf would be easier. I’m going to have to wear these head coverings because Nick has decided a woman should keep her head covered to show her respect. No, not really – it’s just to keep my hair from blowing in my eyes and mouth all the time which is very annoying.
Nick took the boys for a swim this afternoon, and now they are out of the bath and we’re all waiting for supper, which is still a mystery to me. Probably some form or sort of breadie thing. Best I go now and sort us all out.
I started knitting a scarf this morning. I actually wanted to knit a beanie or skull cap (skull cap is a beanie that is smaller) and found a pattern on the internet, but then it seemed a scarf would be easier. I’m going to have to wear these head coverings because Nick has decided a woman should keep her head covered to show her respect. No, not really – it’s just to keep my hair from blowing in my eyes and mouth all the time which is very annoying.
Nick took the boys for a swim this afternoon, and now they are out of the bath and we’re all waiting for supper, which is still a mystery to me. Probably some form or sort of breadie thing. Best I go now and sort us all out.
Sunday, April 23, 2006
And the kite flies...
I didn’t blog anything yesterday because I didn’t really have much to report on – yesterday was very uninteresting. The most fun we had was swimming! The boys still think the pool water is okay, but Nick says it is getting a bit cold now. It’s down to about 27 deg. Aaron grazed his knee quite badly on Wednesday, and then fell and got it in the same spot yesterday, and Caleb also fell and hurt his knee. The mercurochrome has come into good use!
Today has been much more newsworthy. Good News Club this morning saw the highest attendance yet, with 23 kids. Nick is still going on with his 10 commandments, and today’s was the 6th, don’t kill. He spoke about not hating people, and not gossiping, and everything that goes with that commandment, so one boy said, “but that’s impossible!” “Quite right”, Nick said, and proceeded to explain that we need God’s forgiveness – he basically explained the gospel very quickly and simply. After the GNC we had a quick lunch of beef burgers on bread (no onions, no tomato, no cheese…) and then headed out to try find some wind. The boys wanted to see if we could get the kite up. We went first to Plantation House, but there were only a few puffs there, so we drove out to Horse Pasture (between Lemon Valley Bay and Dry Gut Bay) on the west of the island, where the camping grounds are, and there, for the first time, Skye Dragon took to the skies. It was awesome – she stayed up for ages, swooping and flapping. The boys thought it was great, and both had a turn holding the control, as did I. Aaron became quite desperate for a poo, and being a camping ground, there were facilities: one lone long-drop. He said it was stinky and was concerned about falling through the hole, but I’m sure the relief outweighed the inconvenience. After that the winds subsided (hmm) and we went home, with the boys singing “We are Christian soldiers, marching to the wall” in the back of the car. We picked some wild flowers on the way home, some of them Nick got by reaching out his window, and others I got out of the car to pick.
Today has been much more newsworthy. Good News Club this morning saw the highest attendance yet, with 23 kids. Nick is still going on with his 10 commandments, and today’s was the 6th, don’t kill. He spoke about not hating people, and not gossiping, and everything that goes with that commandment, so one boy said, “but that’s impossible!” “Quite right”, Nick said, and proceeded to explain that we need God’s forgiveness – he basically explained the gospel very quickly and simply. After the GNC we had a quick lunch of beef burgers on bread (no onions, no tomato, no cheese…) and then headed out to try find some wind. The boys wanted to see if we could get the kite up. We went first to Plantation House, but there were only a few puffs there, so we drove out to Horse Pasture (between Lemon Valley Bay and Dry Gut Bay) on the west of the island, where the camping grounds are, and there, for the first time, Skye Dragon took to the skies. It was awesome – she stayed up for ages, swooping and flapping. The boys thought it was great, and both had a turn holding the control, as did I. Aaron became quite desperate for a poo, and being a camping ground, there were facilities: one lone long-drop. He said it was stinky and was concerned about falling through the hole, but I’m sure the relief outweighed the inconvenience. After that the winds subsided (hmm) and we went home, with the boys singing “We are Christian soldiers, marching to the wall” in the back of the car. We picked some wild flowers on the way home, some of them Nick got by reaching out his window, and others I got out of the car to pick.
Friday, April 21, 2006
Insurance Matters
Thursday night has rolled around, and I’m really at a bit of a loose end. I have many things that I suppose I could be doing, like making necklaces or reading a book or tidying out the Tupperware cupboard, and I’m sure I’ll get to something just now. We’ve recently caught three or four mice in quick succession (following the initial drowning), so I’m a bit wary of the pantry, though I need to clean that again too.
Today has really been quite a dull day, though at the end of it I feel a great sense of accomplishment. Should I tell what I was up to? Went for a walk, did two loads of washing, made two fitted sheets for the boys’ beds, remade their beds with clean linen, tidied their room, walked to the library with them to select new books, bought bread from Spar and waited for ages to cut it, during which time it rained quite hard and then the sun came out again, read five library books, made rice-krispie marshmallow thingies, ironed a few shirts, cut down more long stems from the bougainvillea, and all the other usual household stuff. Fun hey?
The Atlantic Rose, which lost its moorings and was consequently sunk last week, is being hauled up again and the whole matter investigated. There might be some or other insurance terms which were not met or something like that, and apparently someone wants to use the boat to pump something…I didn’t get the whole story, but I just know that it’s being investigated. Along those lines, there are a lot of car fires on the island – amazingly, for such a small island, that so many of these car fires spontaneously happen. Of course, if your car gets burned, you can just put in a claim and get a new one. Coincidence? We think not…
Today has really been quite a dull day, though at the end of it I feel a great sense of accomplishment. Should I tell what I was up to? Went for a walk, did two loads of washing, made two fitted sheets for the boys’ beds, remade their beds with clean linen, tidied their room, walked to the library with them to select new books, bought bread from Spar and waited for ages to cut it, during which time it rained quite hard and then the sun came out again, read five library books, made rice-krispie marshmallow thingies, ironed a few shirts, cut down more long stems from the bougainvillea, and all the other usual household stuff. Fun hey?
The Atlantic Rose, which lost its moorings and was consequently sunk last week, is being hauled up again and the whole matter investigated. There might be some or other insurance terms which were not met or something like that, and apparently someone wants to use the boat to pump something…I didn’t get the whole story, but I just know that it’s being investigated. Along those lines, there are a lot of car fires on the island – amazingly, for such a small island, that so many of these car fires spontaneously happen. Of course, if your car gets burned, you can just put in a claim and get a new one. Coincidence? We think not…
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Good News Club and HIV Screening
We’re very tired after a day of many children…the Good News Club had an outing today, at the Sandy Bay Community Centre. We had about 19 kids or so, and 6 adults, and it was a great day. The kids were picked up at the Pilling Primary School (across the road from us) in a yellow school bus at 10 am. We had to take our car because we had the guitars and overhead projector, so too much for the bus. The community centre used to be a school, but no longer in use (not enough children). It wasn’t bad, we spent most of the time in a big room with a concrete floor and Christmas decorations strung across the ceiling. There was quite a lot of rain off and on, but when it wasn’t raining the kids ran around outside with a few footballs, or tried to wrestle Nick to the ground. We also played hide and seek, sack races, tug of war…it was super fun. We opened with some singing, but after lugging the OHP and guitars there, discovered that we (I) had left the music file at home, so all we could do were a few songs that the kids knew by heart, and only two of those with accompaniment as we didn’t know the chords for the others. Doh!
There’s been a lot of news lately about the airport and HIV/AIDS and screening of migrant workers. Initially the decision was taken not to screen for HIV, but the island is presently thought to be HIV free, and the people were NOT happy about all and sundry coming to the island for long periods of time. The concern is a real one, because the morality here is, well, not very good, so the risk of infection is high. An airport team came over from the UK to get a feel of things here, and heard the outcry against their decision to not screen. This information has all now been taken back to the UK, so the airport people MIGHT reconsider their decision. If they do, and they screen all workers, it will delay the airport project quite significantly and it will have to be reapproved by the UK. Makes you wonder whether the only reason they didn’t want to screen was to save time and money.
It’s 20h15 now and Nick has just come to say goodnight…he’s even tirederer than I am!
There’s been a lot of news lately about the airport and HIV/AIDS and screening of migrant workers. Initially the decision was taken not to screen for HIV, but the island is presently thought to be HIV free, and the people were NOT happy about all and sundry coming to the island for long periods of time. The concern is a real one, because the morality here is, well, not very good, so the risk of infection is high. An airport team came over from the UK to get a feel of things here, and heard the outcry against their decision to not screen. This information has all now been taken back to the UK, so the airport people MIGHT reconsider their decision. If they do, and they screen all workers, it will delay the airport project quite significantly and it will have to be reapproved by the UK. Makes you wonder whether the only reason they didn’t want to screen was to save time and money.
It’s 20h15 now and Nick has just come to say goodnight…he’s even tirederer than I am!
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Caleb turns 5
Caleb’s birthday came and went today in a very quiet sort of way. We did his present-hunt this morning, and he opened and played with everything before breakfast. We went out for lunch at Ardees, and then hired a video for the afternoon, since the weather wasn’t too great anyway. We didn’t know what Svetlana’s plans were going to be during the day, but as it happened she was out for most of the morning, and then came and watched some of the video with us. We saw her off at the docks at 4 pm, but as I write now (18h48), the ship is still in the harbour. It was supposed to have left at 18h00. It will arrive in Walvis on Saturday, and then continue down to Cape Town. Oh yes, I also went to the hospital first thing this morning to get Caleb’s belly button looked at – today was the post-op checkup. The surgeon is very happy with it, and I must say, it does look a lot better even than Sunday. (Ah, the ship’s horn is just sounding now, 19h05).
As I mentioned previously, we saw Svetlana off at the docks. It was good that we did this, because now we know the procedure for when my parents leave in June. Very simple – luggage needs to be dropped off earlier during the day, and then passengers need to be at the docks at a certain time and wait for a bus which comes from the pier to the place where everyone is waiting. That’s how one knows that it’s time to board. It’s an easy little walk, but for some reason (I think safety), they transport RMS passengers by bus.
As I mentioned previously, we saw Svetlana off at the docks. It was good that we did this, because now we know the procedure for when my parents leave in June. Very simple – luggage needs to be dropped off earlier during the day, and then passengers need to be at the docks at a certain time and wait for a bus which comes from the pier to the place where everyone is waiting. That’s how one knows that it’s time to board. It’s an easy little walk, but for some reason (I think safety), they transport RMS passengers by bus.
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Easter
Svetlana, Nick and the boys and I were at the sunrise service yesterday morning. It was truly wonderful to be out there so early in the morning, although very cold and windy. The Salvation Army Band was set up, and played the accompaniment to a few Easter songs, interspersed with a few readings, then Nick delivered his sermonette. What an incredible message it was. He spoke about the fact that the women had gone to the tomb to clean Jesus’ body – he had had a very crude burial, so his body would have not looked good. The woman were probably not at all looking forward to doing this, but out of love and devotion to Him they wanted to do it properly. They saw the tomb empty, and then saw Jesus. When the disciples came running and saw the empty tomb, they didn’t believe that the women had seen Jesus, and it was only later that evening that He appeared to them. So they actually spent the whole day in confusion, not knowing what had happened to the body. It really just opened up the resurrection to me in a new way, and I think also being outside in the early morning brought it home that much more. Got home, and after a quick breakfast, the boys looked for their eggs which had been hidden downstairs (not outside). They found them all pretty quickly (there weren’t that many of them), and then of course wanted to start eating them. We let them have one big egg. I think, though, that most of the Easter eggs must have melted in the containers on the ship coming over and reformed, because the chocolate just tastes weird and looks old. Quite a pity, but just one of those St Helena things you deal with. Nick had to get going for church, and Svetlana and I spent the morning at home, just reading and relaxing. Later in the afternoon, we were all feeling quite bored (except for Nick who was just feeling tired), so we walked down town to Castle Gardens and spent a bit of time there. The boys ran around and looked at the tiny fish in the pond, and it rained a bit so we sat on a bench under a tree. Then we walked home again. Evening church was excellent. Nick preached on the resurrection body, one of my favourite topics, and I even took notes. He clarified some confusion about our heavenly bodies.
Today was a very quiet day – we thought we would go out somewhere, but only got going after lunch, after spending the morning doing this and that. We took a drive to Sandy Bay and walked around a bit at the beach. There were a couple of people there enjoying the public holiday, and some ex-pats who had really gotten themselves nicely set up with a braai and salads and stuff. Their kids were playing in a little stream which ran into the ocean, building a dam or something with lots of mud. Looked like fun.
Aaron was his usual naughty self today. He ate toothpaste, sugar, and tore leaves off the mango plant – the three things which he constantly gets hidings for. I told him that if he wants to he may brush his teeth, but may not just eat the toothpaste. He thought that was a good idea. Caleb is very excited about his birthday tomorrow. I don’t know quite yet what our plans are, but we’re not really having a party – will be postponed until my folks are here. Tomorrow we have to go to the hospital at 9 am for the surgeon to check her work.
Evidence suggested that a mouse had taken up residence in the pantry again, so I asked Nick to set the trap earlier today. I needed to get some tea from the pantry a bit later, and wondered if the mouse had been caught. I carefully opened the door and peeped in, and saw the mousetrap moving around. The poor mouse had been caught but only on its shoulder, so it was wriggling around and probably in lots of pain. Nick had to retrieve it and on Svetlana’s suggestion, drowned it (seemed much cleaner than clubbing it to death). I was completely disgusted but the boys took it all in with interest. We explained to them that it was better to drown it than to let it suffer in the trap.
Today was a very quiet day – we thought we would go out somewhere, but only got going after lunch, after spending the morning doing this and that. We took a drive to Sandy Bay and walked around a bit at the beach. There were a couple of people there enjoying the public holiday, and some ex-pats who had really gotten themselves nicely set up with a braai and salads and stuff. Their kids were playing in a little stream which ran into the ocean, building a dam or something with lots of mud. Looked like fun.
Aaron was his usual naughty self today. He ate toothpaste, sugar, and tore leaves off the mango plant – the three things which he constantly gets hidings for. I told him that if he wants to he may brush his teeth, but may not just eat the toothpaste. He thought that was a good idea. Caleb is very excited about his birthday tomorrow. I don’t know quite yet what our plans are, but we’re not really having a party – will be postponed until my folks are here. Tomorrow we have to go to the hospital at 9 am for the surgeon to check her work.
Evidence suggested that a mouse had taken up residence in the pantry again, so I asked Nick to set the trap earlier today. I needed to get some tea from the pantry a bit later, and wondered if the mouse had been caught. I carefully opened the door and peeped in, and saw the mousetrap moving around. The poor mouse had been caught but only on its shoulder, so it was wriggling around and probably in lots of pain. Nick had to retrieve it and on Svetlana’s suggestion, drowned it (seemed much cleaner than clubbing it to death). I was completely disgusted but the boys took it all in with interest. We explained to them that it was better to drown it than to let it suffer in the trap.
Sunday, April 16, 2006
Hospital visitation
Svetlana came by yesterday morning to drop off her suitcase and some groceries, and then went to the hospital because she was on call. She couldn’t come to the service unfortunately, but we all went off to Knollcombes for the 10.30 combined service. I had invited Steve and Maureen to join us for tea in the afternoon, which they did, and I supplied hot cross buns – so it was a proper Good Friday after all! Very pleasant and relaxed afternoon chatting in the lounge.
This morning we put together a picnic lunch and took it to Plantation House. Svetlana was quite keen on seeing the tortoises. Did a short walk through the forest, but it was very damp and muddy, as it rained a little bit early this morning (the rest of the day was as hot as February!). From there we went straight to the pool, and Nick and the boys and Svetlana had a dip. The boys didn’t stay in too long because the pool was a bit cooler than they are used to – I don’t know how much longer we will be able to swim. Caleb’s bandage, which had been steadily coming off more and more, finally lost its waterproofing, so we took it off altogether. The swelling seems to have gone down a little and his belly button is definitely receding and looking a bit more like a belly button. I was quite pleased to see the improvement, and hopefully Caleb was a bit encouraged. It still looks very bulgy underneath, but we’ll see what Dr Kardam says about that on Tuesday. When we went to the hospital this afternoon for hospital visitation, I asked the nurses for another one, and Svetlana applied it at home. About the hospital visitation, we had it scheduled as part of our Easter services, and a group of about seven of us went. S stayed here and babysat (yippee). Nick and I sang twice, the same song, once upstairs and once downstairs. It was almost heartbreaking to see some of the elderly patients. I have been reading Leota’s Garden, about a very old lady and the events surrounding her life (a Francine Rivers novel), and I just wondered what goes on inside these old people. They have a lifetime of experiences and usefulness, and now here they are, too old to look after themselves, sometimes not able to speak, and I thought it so sad that they have now outlived their apparent usefulness and in some cases, they are just discarded. No one really cares about their wellbeing, although the nurses do look after them very nicely I’m sure. It just made me sad. We invited the visitation people back to our place for tea, since they had all come a distance and it seemed a long way to drive just for half an hour of visiting, and they stayed quite long. That made supper late, but it was chips and fish fingers, so easy enough.
This morning we put together a picnic lunch and took it to Plantation House. Svetlana was quite keen on seeing the tortoises. Did a short walk through the forest, but it was very damp and muddy, as it rained a little bit early this morning (the rest of the day was as hot as February!). From there we went straight to the pool, and Nick and the boys and Svetlana had a dip. The boys didn’t stay in too long because the pool was a bit cooler than they are used to – I don’t know how much longer we will be able to swim. Caleb’s bandage, which had been steadily coming off more and more, finally lost its waterproofing, so we took it off altogether. The swelling seems to have gone down a little and his belly button is definitely receding and looking a bit more like a belly button. I was quite pleased to see the improvement, and hopefully Caleb was a bit encouraged. It still looks very bulgy underneath, but we’ll see what Dr Kardam says about that on Tuesday. When we went to the hospital this afternoon for hospital visitation, I asked the nurses for another one, and Svetlana applied it at home. About the hospital visitation, we had it scheduled as part of our Easter services, and a group of about seven of us went. S stayed here and babysat (yippee). Nick and I sang twice, the same song, once upstairs and once downstairs. It was almost heartbreaking to see some of the elderly patients. I have been reading Leota’s Garden, about a very old lady and the events surrounding her life (a Francine Rivers novel), and I just wondered what goes on inside these old people. They have a lifetime of experiences and usefulness, and now here they are, too old to look after themselves, sometimes not able to speak, and I thought it so sad that they have now outlived their apparent usefulness and in some cases, they are just discarded. No one really cares about their wellbeing, although the nurses do look after them very nicely I’m sure. It just made me sad. We invited the visitation people back to our place for tea, since they had all come a distance and it seemed a long way to drive just for half an hour of visiting, and they stayed quite long. That made supper late, but it was chips and fish fingers, so easy enough.
Friday, April 14, 2006
Needle in a haystack or toy in a container?
We’ve had our Maundy Thursday service at the church. It was a lovely service, Nick preached on Gethsemane. Nick and I sang a duet, which I think went well.
Last night’s dinner with Svetlana was very nice. She will be staying with us from tomorrow until she leaves on Tuesday. I cleaned out the single spare room today, even emptying some cupboard space. It was a good thing to do because it needed a tidy-up anyway!
Had to go to the docks today to see if we could get hold of the package Scilla arranged for us, with the Transformers for Caleb. Now imagine this: there are seven or eight very large containers (each the size of a single garage), each one filled to the top with boxes, furniture, bicycle tyres, etc. You have to try look at every parcel in every container to see if it’s yours! Quite a nightmare? They have a list of everything that is in the containers, with the container number next to it, so you at least have an idea of where to start looking. However, our item wasn’t listed, we couldn’t find it anywhere on their documentation. So I had as much of a look as I could but didn’t spot it. The customs officials and other people are all very sympathetic, and I explained that I needed this package urgently because of Caleb having his birthday on Tuesday, and it being Easter weekend and so on…eventually went to have a look in another place, and the chap there said there was a box for the Baptist Church, which turned out to be one of the boxes of books we were expecting. Nick was thrilled about that! They didn’t charge me any import or wharfage duties on the box, saying that since it’s for the church it’s free. Well, well. Anyway, so then I had the box of books but no birthday present. Had to get some shopping done for the weekend, and pay the telephone bill, and buy a small present for Caleb from Aaron, so I did all that. It started raining, quite hard, while I was in Spar, so I waited a while and then ran for it when it eased a bit. It was quite fun, really, some people were just walking at their normal pace, others were standing in phone booths for cover…and everyone laughing about the rain. Did I tell you that we’ve had enough rain now? The reservoirs are full to overflowing, and we are very thankful to the Lord who sends rain. Had a busy afternoon cleaning the house, and typing out songs and orders of service and things like that for Nick. The boys played outside in the blow-up pool which was FULL of rain water, caught from the gutter. By this time the sun was shining again. I was just about to phone the hospital, wondering if perhaps my package hadn’t gotten mixed up with Scilla’s ophthalmic consignment, when the phone rang and it was one of the chaps from the docks who runs the catalogue shop, who said he’d found my parcel. Can you believe it! We quickly went and collected it, and are so relieved to have it in hand now. That’s one of the lovely things of living in a small place and everyone knowing everyone. He phoned me purely out of the goodness of his heart, and I hadn’t even left my phone number with him or anything. Nick and I had to open both transformers just to be sure that they work, you know, and they do. Very complicated. We’ll give only one to him on Tuesday, and then if I can keep Nick from bursting, we’ll save the other one for his birthday next year, because it’s so tricky.
Oh oh, I bought hot cross buns today, so now it can really be Easter. I was so pleased to find some at Spar. I went there at about 11 and needed enough bread for the weekend, because they probably won’t bake on Saturday, but of course by then it had all sold out already, so all I got was one miserable loaf of Turkestan bread (brown) for 90p. Not bad tasting, but quite dense and expensive! Potatoes have already come and gone in Spar, and eggs are a rare find. Maureen gave me six this evening, yippee, which she had sourced from a special secret agent. They were intended for Jean, but she accidentally dropped them and three broke, so she asked if I wouldn’t mind just doing something with them. The three brokens are in a container in the fridge now waiting to be scrambled or omeletted.
I made a little advent calendar today to stick on the fridge, which has a countdown to Caleb’s birthday and then to my parents’ arrival on 2 May. Every day we’ll cross of a day. I might make little messages on there for myself too, like “uh oh, better start dusting!” and “yikes, haven’t taken the kite off the top of the cupboard yet, best attend to that today…”. Hee hee.
Last night’s dinner with Svetlana was very nice. She will be staying with us from tomorrow until she leaves on Tuesday. I cleaned out the single spare room today, even emptying some cupboard space. It was a good thing to do because it needed a tidy-up anyway!
Had to go to the docks today to see if we could get hold of the package Scilla arranged for us, with the Transformers for Caleb. Now imagine this: there are seven or eight very large containers (each the size of a single garage), each one filled to the top with boxes, furniture, bicycle tyres, etc. You have to try look at every parcel in every container to see if it’s yours! Quite a nightmare? They have a list of everything that is in the containers, with the container number next to it, so you at least have an idea of where to start looking. However, our item wasn’t listed, we couldn’t find it anywhere on their documentation. So I had as much of a look as I could but didn’t spot it. The customs officials and other people are all very sympathetic, and I explained that I needed this package urgently because of Caleb having his birthday on Tuesday, and it being Easter weekend and so on…eventually went to have a look in another place, and the chap there said there was a box for the Baptist Church, which turned out to be one of the boxes of books we were expecting. Nick was thrilled about that! They didn’t charge me any import or wharfage duties on the box, saying that since it’s for the church it’s free. Well, well. Anyway, so then I had the box of books but no birthday present. Had to get some shopping done for the weekend, and pay the telephone bill, and buy a small present for Caleb from Aaron, so I did all that. It started raining, quite hard, while I was in Spar, so I waited a while and then ran for it when it eased a bit. It was quite fun, really, some people were just walking at their normal pace, others were standing in phone booths for cover…and everyone laughing about the rain. Did I tell you that we’ve had enough rain now? The reservoirs are full to overflowing, and we are very thankful to the Lord who sends rain. Had a busy afternoon cleaning the house, and typing out songs and orders of service and things like that for Nick. The boys played outside in the blow-up pool which was FULL of rain water, caught from the gutter. By this time the sun was shining again. I was just about to phone the hospital, wondering if perhaps my package hadn’t gotten mixed up with Scilla’s ophthalmic consignment, when the phone rang and it was one of the chaps from the docks who runs the catalogue shop, who said he’d found my parcel. Can you believe it! We quickly went and collected it, and are so relieved to have it in hand now. That’s one of the lovely things of living in a small place and everyone knowing everyone. He phoned me purely out of the goodness of his heart, and I hadn’t even left my phone number with him or anything. Nick and I had to open both transformers just to be sure that they work, you know, and they do. Very complicated. We’ll give only one to him on Tuesday, and then if I can keep Nick from bursting, we’ll save the other one for his birthday next year, because it’s so tricky.
Oh oh, I bought hot cross buns today, so now it can really be Easter. I was so pleased to find some at Spar. I went there at about 11 and needed enough bread for the weekend, because they probably won’t bake on Saturday, but of course by then it had all sold out already, so all I got was one miserable loaf of Turkestan bread (brown) for 90p. Not bad tasting, but quite dense and expensive! Potatoes have already come and gone in Spar, and eggs are a rare find. Maureen gave me six this evening, yippee, which she had sourced from a special secret agent. They were intended for Jean, but she accidentally dropped them and three broke, so she asked if I wouldn’t mind just doing something with them. The three brokens are in a container in the fridge now waiting to be scrambled or omeletted.
I made a little advent calendar today to stick on the fridge, which has a countdown to Caleb’s birthday and then to my parents’ arrival on 2 May. Every day we’ll cross of a day. I might make little messages on there for myself too, like “uh oh, better start dusting!” and “yikes, haven’t taken the kite off the top of the cupboard yet, best attend to that today…”. Hee hee.
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Sometimes being a mom is just not nice!
Had a pretty rotten day, fighting with the boys a lot. Caleb has become very disobedient and willful since his op, I think because he knows we’re not supposed to smack him or cause him undue stress to make him cry – so he’s pushing the limits. Aaron’s just full of nonsense. His latest delight is eating toothpaste. Fortunately it’s quite minty, so I can smell it easily…so he busies himself upstairs for a while, then comes down all innocently but gets a smack all the same. I won’t even go into the other annoyances I faced today with island life, because I’ll just get that annoyed feeling again!
We had Svetlana to dinner again this evening, and she may be staying with us for a few days before going back to SA on Tuesday. I think it will be fun. The boys love her, and we could go out for walks and things (leaving Nick to carry on with his stuff). And a change is as good as a holiday, which I badly need! I don’t think I can even hang in another 2 weeks and 6 days for one…
We had Svetlana to dinner again this evening, and she may be staying with us for a few days before going back to SA on Tuesday. I think it will be fun. The boys love her, and we could go out for walks and things (leaving Nick to carry on with his stuff). And a change is as good as a holiday, which I badly need! I don’t think I can even hang in another 2 weeks and 6 days for one…
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Easter Preparation
Nick and I have just finished watching quite a funny movie, and now I’m listening to it again in German – full German audio!
Had a very quiet day other than the docks to get our box from Ascension. It rained most of the day, or at least was gloomy and damp most of the day. I think the sun was out for a little while, but the rain definitely won today. It’s excellent that we’re getting so much, but I still don’t know if it’s falling in the right places. I haven’t heard on the news yet if the hosepipe restriction has been lifted, but of course we haven’t needed to water!
Nick is going well with his prep, still two more messages to prepare, and two more days to do them in. He finished his Good Friday message today. No bible study tonight, because of Maundy Thursday – the Sandy Bay and Head o’Wain people won’t have a study, therefore the others can’t either, otherwise they will be out of sync with the Jamestown and Knollcombes people. Nice little break though, but it’s going to be a heavy weekend. I was saying to Nick earlier that I really miss being in SA at times like these – we would probably have gone to my parents after our Good Friday service at CPBC for hot cross buns, then stayed the day and gone to whatever evening service was on offer at Honeyridge. I also miss April’s weather in Gauteng. There’s a particular feeling in the air, where summer is over but winter’s not quite around the corner yet. We haven’t experienced that here yet, perhaps it will still come. At the moment it’s either blazing hot and humid, or warm and damp and rainy. But at least the washing gets dry!
Had a very quiet day other than the docks to get our box from Ascension. It rained most of the day, or at least was gloomy and damp most of the day. I think the sun was out for a little while, but the rain definitely won today. It’s excellent that we’re getting so much, but I still don’t know if it’s falling in the right places. I haven’t heard on the news yet if the hosepipe restriction has been lifted, but of course we haven’t needed to water!
Nick is going well with his prep, still two more messages to prepare, and two more days to do them in. He finished his Good Friday message today. No bible study tonight, because of Maundy Thursday – the Sandy Bay and Head o’Wain people won’t have a study, therefore the others can’t either, otherwise they will be out of sync with the Jamestown and Knollcombes people. Nice little break though, but it’s going to be a heavy weekend. I was saying to Nick earlier that I really miss being in SA at times like these – we would probably have gone to my parents after our Good Friday service at CPBC for hot cross buns, then stayed the day and gone to whatever evening service was on offer at Honeyridge. I also miss April’s weather in Gauteng. There’s a particular feeling in the air, where summer is over but winter’s not quite around the corner yet. We haven’t experienced that here yet, perhaps it will still come. At the moment it’s either blazing hot and humid, or warm and damp and rainy. But at least the washing gets dry!
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Clevely Island Tours
This afternoon I became a tour guide! I had just realized at about 2.40 pm that Nick had a guitar pupil coming at 3, so I initiated a quick tidy-up, with the boys, of the lounge, which hadn’t recovered yet from being a sick bed room – all of Caleb’s distractions and amusements were still lying all over. We were just into that when the doorbell rang, and the ringer was the chaplain on the Saga Ruby, which docked earlier this afternoon, and sails again this evening. He and his wife are Baptists, so they came to see if the island’s Baptist Minister was home, since they had called at the Anglican church and he advised them to try here. They needed a bit of Baptist fellowship! They have been on board the ship since the beginning of January, literally sailing around the world, and return home to the UK in two weeks’ time. He is newly retired, and was offered this position as ship’s chaplain. It’s fully paid-for, what a marvelous adventure for them! So we chatted a bit and had tea and some coconut fingers which thankfully were left over from yesterday, and then I offered to take them for a quick drive around the island, since they had only seen Jamestown which is very boring compared to the beauty inland. The boys came with, and Nick stayed home to teach guitar. I took them up Ladder Hill to Plantation House, then Knollcombes (Boer Cemetery), and then all the way to Bluehill. Then we turned around and came back, stopping at the top of Jacob’s Ladder for them to get the view down. We saw many of their fellow passengers all over the island, on guided tours mostly. The boys chatted non-stop to Yvonne in the back, and I relayed some bits of island interest to Frank. Since I didn’t have anything particular planned for today, I was very glad that I could help them. Yvonne has two grandsons aged 6 and 4, so related very well to Caleb and Aaron.
This morning I took Caleb’s bandage off, and we were all very disappointed at the result, including Caleb. It’s a huge cut, about 7 cm, from the top of his belly button all the way around and down a bit, and another cut across the top. It looks exactly the same as it did before, absolutely no difference in aesthetics. I tried to take a photo, but Caleb tearfully refused, saying it’s too ugly. We went to the hospital at 11 to get a new bandage put on, and the nurse also commented that it didn’t look much different. We’re hoping that when the wound has healed it will look slightly better, and also that as the swelling goes down and Caleb grows, the skin will be a bit absorbed into the rest of his body! Very disappointing though. We were expecting a small cut, maybe 2 cm or so, definitely not this huge one. But at least the muscles underneath have been pulled together, so there is no risk anymore with the hernia.
This morning I took Caleb’s bandage off, and we were all very disappointed at the result, including Caleb. It’s a huge cut, about 7 cm, from the top of his belly button all the way around and down a bit, and another cut across the top. It looks exactly the same as it did before, absolutely no difference in aesthetics. I tried to take a photo, but Caleb tearfully refused, saying it’s too ugly. We went to the hospital at 11 to get a new bandage put on, and the nurse also commented that it didn’t look much different. We’re hoping that when the wound has healed it will look slightly better, and also that as the swelling goes down and Caleb grows, the skin will be a bit absorbed into the rest of his body! Very disappointing though. We were expecting a small cut, maybe 2 cm or so, definitely not this huge one. But at least the muscles underneath have been pulled together, so there is no risk anymore with the hernia.
Monday, April 10, 2006
Save or Sink?
It’s 17h30 and a half an hour to go before the ship puffs in from the UK. We could see it on the horizon half an hour ago as a dot, so that’s quite exciting. We had a super afternoon at Jean and Joe’s house, with Steve, Maureen and Scilla, and Jean’s daughter, Sharon. We ate! There was roast beef, roast potatoes, gammon, fried drumsticks, chow-chow*, coleslaw, green salad, rice, curry, green beans…and lots of it. We all ate well, even the boys had a good helping. Caleb’s appetite is back to normal. For pudding there was ice-cream, ice-cream roll, jelly, trifle and a cream tart. Then there were also Quality Streets. For afternoon tea, a few hours later, we had roast beef sandwiches, cream crackers and cheese, coconut fingers, fruit cake, marshmallows, biscuits…you couldn’t possibly have had even a little of everything, there was just so much! But it was a lovely afternoon, very relaxed. The boys sort of mucked around, played with some dinky cars I had found on special at the Emporium**, chatted to everyone, ate lots of stuff, and generally were fine.
*Chow-chow is a vegetable which looks like a big green, prickly, pear. Not a prickly-pear, just a prickly pear. It has a texture similar to a pear but tastes more like potato, and is pear-coloured, Rather a vague vegetable really, and somewhat vague in taste. Not bad, just not very good either.
**The reductions shelf should never be missed. I had seen a micro-machine car for £10.33 and thought maybe I’d get it for Caleb’s birthday, if anyone gave him money. It’s a tiny little car which also comes with a pen, and is supposed to be remote controlled by infrared. The one on the reduction shelf wasn’t working, and was marked down to 99p. I thought that’s not bad for a little car and pen anyway, even if it doesn’t do what it’s supposed to. The cashier asked if I didn’t want another one, since she knows I have the two boys, but I said I didn’t have enough money on me. So she said I could have them for 50p each! We’re going to see if we can find new batteries, because perhaps that’s the problem, and then we would have saved ourselves £19.66…
Apparently a fishing vessel has gone into the rocks – its anchor broke and it drifted, and now its hull has been compromised. At the moment its 12-ton bulk is being held up with a crane, so a decision has to be made whether to let it sink, or try patch it up with quick-drying cement. It’s of critical urgency because the RMS is now due in 15 minutes, and the crane is needed for that. Now if the crane breaks…
*Chow-chow is a vegetable which looks like a big green, prickly, pear. Not a prickly-pear, just a prickly pear. It has a texture similar to a pear but tastes more like potato, and is pear-coloured, Rather a vague vegetable really, and somewhat vague in taste. Not bad, just not very good either.
**The reductions shelf should never be missed. I had seen a micro-machine car for £10.33 and thought maybe I’d get it for Caleb’s birthday, if anyone gave him money. It’s a tiny little car which also comes with a pen, and is supposed to be remote controlled by infrared. The one on the reduction shelf wasn’t working, and was marked down to 99p. I thought that’s not bad for a little car and pen anyway, even if it doesn’t do what it’s supposed to. The cashier asked if I didn’t want another one, since she knows I have the two boys, but I said I didn’t have enough money on me. So she said I could have them for 50p each! We’re going to see if we can find new batteries, because perhaps that’s the problem, and then we would have saved ourselves £19.66…
Apparently a fishing vessel has gone into the rocks – its anchor broke and it drifted, and now its hull has been compromised. At the moment its 12-ton bulk is being held up with a crane, so a decision has to be made whether to let it sink, or try patch it up with quick-drying cement. It’s of critical urgency because the RMS is now due in 15 minutes, and the crane is needed for that. Now if the crane breaks…
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