The festive season

It has been wonderful catching up with all my friends again and although everyone in the area has been complaining about the coolish weather and almost daily drizzle, I am loving it!

Little wonders that I have often taken for granted show up at the most opportune moments and I am reminded how lucky I am to be me!

I forgot how wonderful it is to watch little birds splashing in a bird bath and to hear their joyful singing, mosquito's that warn one of their imminent attack, cool breezes that sneak in the windows at night, the smell of freshly cut grass, being able to sit outside in the dusk without fear of malaria, dewed green grass under ones bare feet, fresh vegetables, crunchy fruit and baked bread, obruni hairdressers, quality workmanship, quality goods, mostly quality service, unfrizzy hair, fresh smelling linen, cool kitchens, reliable electricity and water, the smell of braaing meat, East Coast Radio music, quick internet, companions with a similar sense of humour, tarred roads and my own dependable vehicle but mostly the love, support and condolences of a wonderful family and special friends.  Even the passing on of our country's dear Madiba as well as my darling little Gundi have not tarnished the gratitude I have for being back in this beautiful land of ours. 

Porks has arrived and is so happy to be home.  Andrew arrived on Friday, Tiki and Scruffy are thrilled that we are home, and I am whole again as my little family is safe and together.

From wherever you are reading this blog and are living in this world, my sincere wish for you all is a joyful festive season and a safe and love-filled holiday. 

 

 You all really make a huge positive difference in my life, and for that I am so grateful, thank you.

My little mongoose

 

I am so, so, so sad.  My precious little Gundi has died.  Colin, who had so kindly been looking after him in Ghana while we are away, was letting him walk across his legs to the coffee table and Gundi fell off and died.  Colin thinks he must have broken his neck.  Gundi loved to explore and was good at communicating where he wanted to go, so it could have happened to any of us.  I feel terrible for Colin too, as he got to love Gundi and had to relay the sad news to us.

Here are a few pictures you might have seen before but I needed to share these with you, as well as give a tribute to a little wild animal that brought unbelievable joy and fulfilment to my life in Ghana.  I spent far more time with this dear little creature than I did with my husband and he made living in a strange country bearable for me.

 

 

 

 

The last picture of my Gunds the day that I left to come back to South Africa.

There is a profound quote which ends this impossible tribute to my Gunds.

"Grief is the price we pay for love" and I would rather have loved and lost Gundi, than never have loved him at all. 

My heart is aching and I miss you my sweet little mongoose.

Happy 60th birthday Porks!

Happy, happy 60th birthday My Porkles!

 Porks and six candles.

 Kelly sent up the "Hair" CD that Porks has been looking for for yonks. He was thrilled.

 I managed to sneak a Victorinox to Ghana without him knowing.  Happy Porkles.

The only wrapped gifts we managed to give him in Ghana for such a special birthday.

There is no-one left here with whom to celebrate, only me, and Porks is working part of the day, so it is just another day in Africa for him!

Thank you for all the wonderful messages of love already received!  He is very grateful. We are missing Kelly and Andrew so much today though!

I have a long trip home. I leave here at 8am Monday morning and should get home by 3.30pm on Tuesday afternoon, but thankfully I am going in the right direction and as Tom sang..."Again I'll touch the green green grass of home."

One year down!

I have been in Ghana for a year and Porks has been here for 18 months.  A few of our friends didn't think we would be able to last for this long...and many a time we didn't either!  It has been one of the most challenging things Porks and I have ever faced and it cannot be explained to others who have not experienced these same conditions. On the other hand we are so thankful for the job we have and even more grateful for all the many blessings we have in South Africa.

I opened the chewed refrigerator one morning last week and there it was, sitting on top of the cupboard that encloses the fridge....the culprit! Being the absolute wussy that I am, I called Theresa and asked her to deal with the mouse and then ran out the house so as not to hear what was being done.  She then gave it to Gundi who growled at me when I came near! Growled! Huh!

 

Gundi is trying to escape.  He and I sometimes take a walk outside on the grass but we try and do it when the children are at school otherwise within seconds they have gathered around and are frightening Gunds.   Lately he has tried to get to the grass on his own and has managed to get out twice.  Once through this hole in the mesh that I have had to now block up with stones,



 

and the other time through the gate at the bottom which I have had to seal with an old rubber mat and a piece of metal.

 

 

I have also had to tie up the handles to stop the goats from pushing it open and eating my plants and at the same time leaving it open for Gundi!

 

 

I have to be so vigilant as people walk in through the gate to ask questions and to drop off things and then I have to remember to go out and seal all the holes again before Gundi can get out.  The trouble is that there are dogs around and I am terrified that he does not realise the danger and will get eaten. 

 

The first time I found him outside he was staring at four guinea fowl and they were having a conversation about him with their heads cocked and asking each other what that small brown thing was. 

 

So I  asked Porks to make a 10 metre plank to block off the gate and the hole so that I don't have to worry so much about him getting eaten.  I am leaving for South Africa soon and if this barrier works, at least I know we have tried our best to keep him inside and safe.

 

Lovely Roz, Deon's wife, arrived in Bantama for two nights and they came for supper the first night.  She and I went to Kwame Danso the next day with Joe, the driver and Sarah, the office cook, to see the market which I have shared with you already.

 

The second evening we were invited to their house for supper with the rest of the company men. This is the first time we had everyone who works for the company in one place altogether. A great team building exercise.

 

We sat on the open veranda as a lovely cool breeze was blowing with a storm and lightning in the background.  Having just had some rain it was fabulously refreshing. The South African men, Willem, Porks and Deon braaied chicken, pork and steaks bought from Accra.  Roz made a sauce and a coleslaw and I made a lemon custard pudding.

 

 

 Roz and Arno.

Gordon the commercial manager, Sergio the mechanic and Herman the advising engineer.

 Fernando he no speaka da English but I understood what he was saying here.

See, plenty of space for visitors, as I said,

  except for Jose and Herman who couldn't fit at the table.

Deon and Roz left for South Africa on Thursday morning and he will be back here in about twelve days.  Roz is coming back in the middle of February with Hannah and Emma. 

 

The other fantastic news is that a great man whom we have known for years and who worked well with Porks in the past, Colin Croudace, has been approved to come and help. He should be arriving within the next two weeks!  He and his wife Audrey will join our team.  They will also make a huge difference to the work load and our very sorry social life!  Yippee yippee yay yay!

"You are welcome!"

We divided our R85 lettuce into four meals.  The first meal with the most delicious salad, including rocket, baby basil, mustard and parsley all planted by moi.

The next evening another lovely salad with real potatoes, mashed, and a hamburger.  We are not always able to buy real potatoes and usually have to rely on Smash when we can get it.

Because we managed to buy a 5 kg bag of potatoes, I bought a masher. What a terrible design.  I had my doubts when I bought it but it was this one or this one in plastic. Every time I pushed down, the masher part folded up towards the handle!

 

It is Ghana's "Winter" season and now that the rains have abated, it is getting hotter again.  One knows its hot when even the mice are trying to eat their way into the fridge.

                                                   The cupboard surrounding the fridge.

 We opened the door and saw this inside the fridge!

 

Porks was sad whenever he saw me either standing over the sink sieving the weevils and goggas out of the flour and other dry ingredients or watching over a container with a wet finger, touch-catching them as they crawled up the side to the light. So he bought me a combined Christmas, birthday, Valentine's, Anniversary and just because present. 

This brand new refrigerator arrived with one of its feet missing, so I had to place a piece of polystyrene underneath to keep it balanced.



I filled it chock a block with soup and spice packets, biscuits, all sorts of flours, popcorn, macaroni, spaghetti, oats, bisto and cereals. This has allowed me to free the other fridge for fruit, vegetables and all our cold drinks.

Happy Whatever Day, Me!

 

Before Deon arrived on Saturday afternoon, we went to their house to see if everything was in order.

Their dining room......an abundance of space for visitors!

The open-plan lounge and television room. 

These new houses have air-conditioning in all of the rooms as well as their kitchens so I don't think that they will have the same weevil problem as we do.

 

The master bedroom.  There are three bedrooms in this house all en suite as well as a guest toilet.

                                                                One of the girl's rooms.

The other spare room.  Deon thinks that one of the rooms might have to be turned into a classroom for the girls.  The plan is for Roz to come and spend a few days here in November and then come back with their daughters for the first and third terms of next year.  That means that they are able to spend time with their Dad as well as being able to play sport in South Africa.  She will be home-schooling them with input from their little school in Eston.

 

Arno invited us for tea on Sunday morning as it was a pay weekend and not too much was happening.  He has succeeded in making his home and the office very welcoming.  He and Fernando share a two-bed roomed house.  He has planted seeds from his home village as well as some we brought for him from South Africa.

                                          Arno and Fernando's lounge and television room.

 An extremely happy Porkles.  

Jose`, who has a wicked sense of humour and has always made me feel part of the company.

Fernando, whom I don't know very well as he doesn't speaka da English and I don't speaka da Spanish.  I wanted to ask him if he could hear the drums.

Arno, who brought me that little cactus, is an intelligent scientist.  He is in charge of the cloning and growing of the seedlings at the nursery.  Arno's unassuming and quiet nature compliments his non-complaining and get-on-and-do-the-job attitude.  He has one weak spot though - Cadbury's fruit and nut chocolate! He had gone to the trouble of baking some chocolate muffins and a cake from one of the Pillsbury boxes we had managed to get for him in Accra.

 Porks holding tightly onto two of his favourite things.

Arno's little orchid hot-house.  He is the man who grew Robbie's little tomatoes for me.  He has also planted fruit trees near his house.

 

 

Deon spent his first night with us and then took his luggage and the groceries we had bought for him to spend the second night in his new home.  He is still unaware of what a massive positive difference he is going to make in both our lives.

 

Deon, as the Ghanaians commonly and appropriately say, "You are welcome!"