. . . Just Life Along the Way: Happenings, Musings, and Randomness

The happenings:

The trusty old backpack has been set aside for a week. I'm on vacation.

And it's glorious.

My inner bookworm has emerged, and I'll tell you, she has a voracious appetite.

Now, lest you think that I'm throwing French out the window entirely for a week, let me assure you that I've listened to hours worth of old recordings so far.

Besides, I wouldn't be able to throw French out the window because of my newly installed screens. But I'll get to that in a minute.

After weeks and WEEKS of false promises (what else should I expect from the weather forecast, eh?), we finally got rain. Tuesday evening it started sprinkling. I was afraid it would be just a teaser, but no, it drizzled for several hours - not hard, but steady. It smelled like rain. The sand was wet. I had drops running down my arms. :)

There was even one good roll of thunder. I was happy.

Yesterday afternoon it got really dark all of the sudden, and the next thing I knew, it was raining again. More thunder, too. I stood out on my patio and just watched because I could.

It's good to be still.

Really good.

Last week was a week of burning candles (the power was out every evening)...and burning them at both ends...figuratively, of course.

Two weeks of double-session days. By Monday I was like, "One more day. I can totally do this! [Amazing how motivating a nice break can be!] ...But I'm never pulling a stunt like that again."

Lesson learned. We have limits. I have limits. And that's okay. :)

My friend Anna gave me some cockroach bait stuff the other week. It's totally amazing and I love the stuff and Anna, you're awesome. (Not solely for that reason, of course. ;))

I sprinkled it out one evening and came back to find all these cockroaches swarming...

I've never been so excited to see cockroaches in my life. I laughed an evil laugh. (I seriously did. Out loud. I couldn't help myself.)

The next morning when I got up, there were dozens and dozens of dead cockroaches. Not dying, but completely dead.

That was over two weeks ago, and I could count on my hands the number of living cockroaches I've seen in my apartment since. It's amazing. To be able to walk into a room and not have to think about the vermin scurrying around...well...it's just wonderful. I am amazed at how high such a simple thing could lift my spirits. (To borrow a line from my favorite book.)

- - -

The project:

New screens/wooden frames in the windows.

The guys came Saturday and yesterday to work on it.

My apartment was strewn with tools and sawdust.

Actually, though, I really enjoyed the wood smell - it brought back memories of when I was younger and used to sit for hours watching my dad build stuff in the garage.

There's one of the finished windows. Every time I walk past, I can't escape the feeling that I'm inside a rabbit hutch or chicken coop.

But hey, better security. And it will keep the mosquitoes out (mostly).

- - -

The kitchen:

Last weekend I tried my hand at making bissap, a juice from dried hibiscus flowers.

First you soak the flowers in boiling water...

Then strain it...

Then add lots of sugar. (You can also add other flavorings, like mint or orange or pomegranate. I used mint sugar.)

Angèle told me how good bissap is for one's health...and I don't doubt that could be true, but with the amount of sugar needed to make it palatable, I'm not sure how much benefit remains!

Either way, it was fun to try.

There's something satisfying about coming back from a shopping trip with lots of fresh produce.

Ah, glorious mangoes.

Cracked corn porridge: another I-had-it-at-Angèle's-so-now-I-want-to-try-it-myself things. It's super easy. Cook the corn in water (with a pinch of salt) until tender, remove from heat, add a dash of nutmeg, and serve with yogurt. She used sweetened vanilla yogurt. I used plain (because that's what I had) and drizzled in some honey. Voila! A nice, light meal.

Mmm. Homemade salsa is my one weakness.

Yes, that's a really big bowl of salsa. I figured if I was going to be standing there chopping everything by hand, I might as well make it worth my while. And since one can freeze salsa...

There is a happy row of jars in my freezer now. I feel ready to face the world again. (Just kidding.)

- - -

The randomness:

I don't know how it got to be August already, but I love my calendar picture this month. So fun!

Meet Pinky. The day after I discovered Cordelia (outside, above my porch), I discovered a tiny little relative of hers inside. I was delighted.

Her ["her" because Mom said that with a name like Pinky, it would be weird to say "he"] antics amuse me greatly. Free entertainment every night!

Oh, and no, I did not come up with that name. :)

My next-door neighbors were having a fight. Biting each other and head-butting and other such nonsense.

There were guys throwing rocks to try to break it up, and when that didn't work, one of them started whacking the horses with boards. (He even broke one!) Apparently it didn't hurt the horses very much...they kept right on fighting.

No, no, I'm not deathly ill with parasites. But I found out that some of the locals take anti-parasitics (or more inelegantly called dewormers) every 3-6 months as a routine...and I've been here nearly a year, so I figured it was probably a good idea if I took them, too. Maybe it'll make me more of a real missionary. ;)

It's always a little scary taking something like that for the first time. (And a side note: although it's certainly convenient not to have to go to a doctor first, it feels weird to just walk into a pharmacy and simply ask for something that's supposed to be "prescription only".) Thankfully I didn't have any major side effects. Let's just say it's a good thing I didn't have to operate any mechanical equipment...

It is impossible to escape from onions. They are everywhere. Everywhere. (This was the roof of my neighbor across the street.)

Cement for bricks...

A flock of finches

I spy on my neighbors sometimes. Not, it's not really spying. When you're out there on the roof where everyone can see you, it's not spying, right?

This still doesn't seem right. Beef ham.

Okay, so I've always rolled my eyes and shook my head at the stupid school-girl thing of scribbling a crush's name all over a notebook or piece of scrap paper. (I mean, seriously? The point in that is what?) But then I realized the above in-class doodling probably isn't a whole lot more mature, is it? ;)

My kitchen after company one evening...

...and then just a bit later, when I was ready to start washing dishes. I left them for the next day, knowing I'd get them cleaner if I didn't have to try to wash them by candlelight.

And while we're under the heading of "randomness"...

There's a tiny new kitty on the street. He's grey and wobbly and cute and he has ears too big for his head. (But I'm one to talk. You should see my baby pictures.) There's just something hilarious about kittens' personalities; they do ridiculous things like trying to tackle their own shadows. I love watching them.

And one more random tidbit for you: The other weekend I wore a tank-top two days in row. That was apparently a bad idea, considering that I was out and about doing my shopping. They say the sun is closer to the equator this time of year so the rays are stronger, blah, blah, blah. All I know is that my poor little shoulders were burnt and peeling. Or rather the skin on them was peeling. The upside is the whiteness has mellowed considerably.

- - -

The musings:

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. About a lot of things.

That's the nice thing about vacation or breaks - you have time and space to think without having some commitment breathing down your neck. Without having the clock snapping its whip menacingly. Without busyness creating an unceasing din in the background of your mind.

Anyway -

You know how people say always say, "If you pray that God will help you learn something, He'll often answer by sending you plenty of opportunities to 'practice'."

The other week I read this article about saying no to good things - without feeling guilty - so you'd be free to say yes to the right things.

('Cause it ain't rocket science that mere human beings with 24-hour days can't possibly say yes to every good or worthwhile opportunity that comes their way, right?)

And I started thinking about how hard it is for me to say no to some things, and how easily I feel guilty over the times I do say no to something I "technically" could have done...

And seriously, within the next few days I was bombarded with chances to say no. One thing after another - they just kept coming! Big things and little things and in-between things.

Okay, Lord, I wasn't exactly asking for all that...

Switching tones a bit here -

Lately, every time I hear of a missionary getting ready to head out to the field for the first time, I find myself getting all teary-eyed.

Maybe because I know it's going to be hard. Maybe because, in the case of people I know, that means one less thing staying home, in its "rightful" (read: familiar) place. Maybe because the size of the task is just plain overwhelming.

I don't know.

But I do know that, near or far, all believers are on the same team. We're all going to meet at the same finish line. We all have the same Hero.

I came across this quote yesterday:

"Tenacity is more than hanging on, which may be but the weakness of being too afraid to fall off. Tenacity is the supreme effort of a man refusing to believe that his hero is going to be conquered." (Oswald Chambers)

It's that unconquerable hero part that I especially love.