Happy birthday Porks.

We had a lovely storm here last night and the night before with gun-shot thunder and pouring rain.  It cooled the atmosphere slightly although in the middle of the night the electricity went off and it was stifling in the room with no movement of air.

Gundi's body mechanisms are amazing...she can urinate on demand.  (I am SUCH a good mother!) I take her outside onto the grass and as I place her, so she stays and relieves herself and most times defecates too.  She is uncomfortable being so exposed though (to the environment!) and as soon as she is finished she screeches to be picked up.  (Okay, maybe not such a good one then!)  So I walk off calling her and she follows, still screaming and when I stop, she stops in between my feet.  By the time she has walked home, she is exhausted and cuddles up around my neck to fall fast asleep.

 

 

 

When I was a little girl I had a "cat" pyjama bag.  We had moved in with my aunt when we transferred to Pietermaritzburg from East London and they had a kitten called "Lighty" that used to sit on my cat, knead its body and suck on its fur.  I found out later that it was weaned too early and to suckle on my pyjama bag was a comfort for it.  Sean is convinced that Gundi is a girl, but she sometimes has a slight protrusion between her back legs that she suckles on when she goes to sleep.  I have tried to google information on this but with no luck.  Her mom was killed before she was weaned so perhaps this is a comforting action or maybe that protrusion is a natural dummy that mongooses all have?  She even purrs when she is doing this. Anyone?


On the way to Atebubu the other day, I think I found our Baobab's pretty younger sister.  Is there anybody out there that can verify this?  Ems, perhaps Orf can found out.  I have no reference books here!

  

These are photos of the office block and nursery which are about 4 kms away from where we live.  I am thinking of buying myself a bicycle so that I can ride there if I need to. Everyone here rides bicycles as this is a very flat country.

 

 

The nursery.

We went to Kwama Danso yesterday to buy petrol - 1.70 GCD (x R5) for 1 litre. We also bought some fairly large onions at 70 peswas each and 3 ply toilet paper for 60 peswas per roll. Kwama Danso is only half an hour a way, but driving in second all the way on a wild-sea road, it does feel like one and a half hours like I lead you to believe before. 

We gave a lift to one of Porks' workers to Kwama Danso who was heading for Atebubu (in the other direction).  He explained that the taxis only leave Kwama Danso when they are full so he cannot get a lift as it comes past Bantama.  We have no idea about how some people have to live!

 

Tony our new best friend and finder of most things, stopped us on the road to see his farm.  One just stops on the road, parts the long grass and there is the farm. (You can see the truck in the background.)  He also grows rice, ground nuts, tomatoes and onions but we haven't been to see those yet.  He brought some fresh milk for us this morning as I am wanting to make maas and cottage cheese and long life milk is no good for that.  After the milk settled there was about 4 cm of cream on the top...how's that Charlie?

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the side of the road, we saw literally hundreds of wooden school desks just lying in the sun.  Some of them look brand new and some look like they have been lying around for some time.    Perhaps its because there is no space in the classrooms.  I will have to find out about these and let you know, how sad.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We can buy bread in Atebubu that only lasts a day before going stale.  This is a teaspoon on top of the bread!

 It is great for melba toast though!

 

 

 

 

 It is Porks' birthday today and I have made him a cake.  I got the bun recipe from Bridgie but do not have a muffin pan so I made it in the brand new heart-shaped pan that I found in the cupboard.  I had to grill the top for the last 5 minutes as this oven only seems to cook from the bottom.   Then I found some of Sean's Nutella in the cupboard.  Porks says I am a 
"bee-you-ty!"

I 

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY PORKS!