A Quiet Day

Hello everyone.....just so you know, I'm emailing my posts to Dennis who is posting them on the blog.   Both brad and I are having trouble posting on blogspot.com so I know it isn't me.

Yesterday I spent the day our guest house in Luweero because I have developed hives from the sun on Monday on both feet.  I started the antibiotic the travel clinic gave me Monday night....4x a day for 7 days.  And I have to stay out of the sun....not easy in Uganda and nothing with calcium so I am taking my tea black until early next week.  Susan and Brad and Jackson were going to Kampala overnight last night.  Because I wasn't feeling well I stayed at the guest house in the shade.  I read and worked on some hand sewing on quilt appliqué blocks I brought with me.  It was a lovely quiet day by myself!  Loved it!  One of our girls, Brenda walked over and kept me company for a couple of hours.  I think it was more to reassure everyone at the house that mousoungo Chris was doing fine and pass the message on to Susan in Kampala.  In the evening I showered and washed out some clothes, and hung them to dry.

The girls did my laundry Monday for me at Susan’s request.  I would have rather that I did it myself in our room at the guest house. Susan insisted I needed to have the girls do it.  I did my own underwear....too personal to have the girls do it.  I found out from Brenda yesterday that because it is the dry season, there water cistern is nearly empty. So Maureen the oldest at the house, woke the girls up at 1am Monday night to fill 15 jerry cans with water at the community well about 15 minute walk each way.  They spent hours taking care of getting water for the house.  This bothered me.  So I will do my own laundry....a little each night with my biodegradable camp soap I brought.  My laundry didn't use up the water but it didn't help. The girls are also cooking for 3 extra mouths to feed (brad, Susan and I) and that takes more water.  So I won't make the situation worse with my laundry.

The guest house staff made me 2 hamburger patties, roast potatoes they call Irish potatoes, cabbage with carrots, and a banana for supper. It was delicious and reminded me of home.  Lunch was stewed meat, Irish potatoes, and brown fried rice with cabbage, banana and a coke. I ate it on the porch in the shade.  I was watching for Brenda to come
and didn't want to miss her.

This morning I had breakfast, omelet, sausage, and a banana with clear black tea.  I'm missing my chai with milk which I cannot have until next week.  I walked on my own to the house, about a 15 minute walk each way....waving to the children who call out "hello mousoungo" and I wave back to them.  The adults just stare and don't wave or say anything.  We are such an oddity for them.

The girls made popcorn from dried corn with clear sweet tea and we ate it in the shade at the house.  I must remember to take pictures of the house to bring home.   Because of the slow internet.....I cannot post them for you.  Internet is high speed in Kampala but we are not there often.

Today we bought 2 cooking pots for the house.  Susan was cross because the vendor was rude.  So rather buy the 3 pots she had planned she bought two and no dishes from them.  This is rather unusual for her. They don't usually treat her that way.  so they lost part of the sale they would have gotten.  Such is price of rudeness.

Brenda is going to buy an umbrella for me so I can stay out of the when I am walking around.  I will give her the money.  I don't go with her because the price goes up high when it is clear it is for the mousosungo lady.  I think I will also buy one of the Ugandan cotton dresses that our girls make.  Been looking for a cotton dress and a skirt as I only brought one cotton sundress with me.  It is cooler to wear.

I'm hoping the girls will give me something to do.  I'm uncomfortable watching them do all the work preparing food.  They have let me cut up vegetables but their knives are not very sharp and it takes me a lot longer to cut them up.  My Lugandan lessons are going slow.  There is so much to remember.  There are 6 ways to say hello depending on the time of day, and whether you are talking to someone you know, a stranger, and whether you are talking to a man or a woman.  they laugh at my accent in Lugandan.  So we all laugh and I say the mousoungo is slow and is still learning.  The girls are patient and keep correcting me when I say things wrong as I have asked them to do...so I will learn.

The shipping container is still in Mombasa and time is marching on. Brad is here only until Feb 3rd before he goes home.  His tools are also on the container so he is limited in what he can do at the house.  He is frustrated with not being able to work.

I don't know when we will be in Kampala again.  Shalan and Madeleine from OttawaU arrive tomorrow in Kampala and Susan, Brad and Jackson will pick them up Friday morning.  I will stay here as there won't be room in the car for 7 and their baggage.  Don’t know if they will just drive in Friday am or leave Thursday night.

Anyway I will end here.  My internet minutes are running low and I want to leave time to post on face book before they run out.  Will try to send Dennis a post tomorrow if I can get in to the internet café here.   Love you all......miss you terribly!  xoxo Chris