Visit with the Big Boss

Last week we had a visit from our Big Boss Eric & his wife Marion. I met Marion at this little Irish Pub & said, "was the food good? I've been here before but never to eat?". She said, "what were you doing here then?" I said, "drinking." That has to go down as one of the more obvious foot in the mouth things I've said lately. She laughed though. The funny thing is I don't drink. I had tea that night.

Then we went for lunch with them & I asked them, "have you ever visited Halifax when the weather is good?" They said, "when is the weather good?" I said, "in the Spring, Summer & Fall". It just came out! As Ron & I reflected on it more we realized that really only guaranteed nice weather is in August, September & October.

We came to look at housing in October, 1997. It was gorgeous. The days were sunny, it was warm & the leaves had those beautiful fall colours. When we moved in on November 1st it was gray & rainy. It rained hard for 5 days straight & our house, which is tall & thin, rocked in the wind. A few years ago in May it rained for 28 days straight. All our neighbours eventually just planted our gardens in the rain. Yep. We get lots of rain.

Bike Thievery

Somehow when we were stealing back our bikes I thought of Bono's line about Helter Skelter

"Charles Manson stole this song from the Beatles & we are stealing it back."

Ideal Bikes

You heard from Sarah that her and Marsha's bikes were stolen. Marsha bought her bike at a place called IDEAL BIKES for her 40th birthday so it stung just a little.

Today when I got home I asked her if she wanted to go for a drive through the rougher parts our our neighbourhood in the off chance that the bikes were ditched somewhere. We took a random turn down a side road and saw the bikes in someone's front yard. Instead of calling the police and making a big scene we just put them in our car and took them home. Some minor repairs will be needed. The whole thing was surreal and it felt very clandestine.

An IDEAL bike always finds it's way home. Everyone is happy!!

Well, what to say? I have shop to do every thursday and we are making CO2 cars. They are difficult, but look very very cool when they are done. This car is not exactly like the ones we make because ours have to be a bit thinner and look a lot cooler that that prototype. Anyway, The CO2 cars get to be made as soon as the piggy banks are finished. I finished mine just now, and have designed my car, but haven't gotten to cutting the stock yet. I would like to post a picture of my piggy bank but it is still at the school because the teacher wanted to take a picture of it. Her battery was dead, so I don't have it yet. My car design has been done though, and when I showed it to the teacher, she said "Oh My God", then sat down to look at it better. She said it would work, but she thought that the design was pretty different. I'm not sure if it will work, but it will look cool.

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Nothing To Laugh About

Me and Dan went to the library yesterday on our bikes (boy I love biking season) locked them up with our cheap lock($1). And went to do our studying. We forgot our books so I went back to get them. After we were finished we went outside and guess what we saw......















OUR BIKES WERE GONE and in their place were the too most crappy bikes we had ever seen. You can understand how much $500 bucks is to a kid and worse yet Dan was riding mom's bike and I got mine as my birthday present for last year(it costed$200 so I only got that). we went back inside called the police I was crying and Dan was saying it was OK because the police were going to get them back and I am saying we live in spryfield and the police don't take care of every thing so now I don't have a bike.

I don't do capitals

This is Marsha. I just told Matt that he did a wonderful blog. I explained that at the beginning of sentences you use a capital. He said, "well, I don't DO capitals. They are a little boring."

burp!

we had curry chicken to day, i played a game of monopoly with Sam. (is that how you spell monopoly ) i almost went bankrupt when i got the "free parking" i got red, green, purple, Sam got blue & Orange (poor(he quit in the end) him). hiccup, aaarrrggghhh the hiccups! aaaaarrrrggggghhhh cramp! sorry i need to go! bye } - matt.

I am reading a book called RIFLES FOR WATIE its about a sixteen year old boy(Jeff). who go's to war and all they eat is hard tack Bacon salt horse(I almost threw up at that part)and coffee he's very witty when a general told him to fix bayonets he said my one is not broken. he was made to wash the dishis and peel potatoes. OK this one is funny the general always blocked the person who was bringing the soup to the dining area to have a taste. Now Jeff hated him because he was the one who made him wash and peel so one day Jeff made sure he was bringing the soup and as usual the general blocked his path and dipped his spoon into the mixture and swallowed it choked and spat it out YOU CALL THAT SOUP no sir its dish water and boy was that guy mad.

sarah

Moustache

I have decided that I might have a moustache when I grow up. Should it be a french moustache, should it be big and bristly, should I have it connect to my sideburns? Should I grow my beard all out and shave my head bald so that I look like an Albertan lumberjack? Should I grow it so that I look like a retired ZZ Top member? I need answers. I need the best looking facial hair when I grow up so that I won't look like the kind of guy you want to mess with. Dad says that I will have bad facial hair and that I won't like it (Abarbanel family trait). I sarcastically thanked him for his support, and set off on my epic quest to grow some facial hair. Anyways, I need suggestions for great new beards and moustaches. If you see a hairyfaced man walking down the street with a new hairdo, then tell me about it. I need answers. Lots of them

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OK that grape seed mite just be a grass seed in fact I am all most sure it is a grass seed. You mite wonder why I am so cheerful. Well the fruit man is coming tomorow and he usually brings grapes so I can plant one when he comes.Can you guys comment and just say your reading the blog because no one has commented. I can't think of any thing to say so that's it

sarah

Anxious and Disgusted

Me and my mother are doing a grammar book, and we were told to make a sentence with a synonym for fearful. Mom's sentence was, "Ron was getting more and more anxious... He couldn't find his socks.

Mine was, "Ron was getting more and more disgusted... He had never seen so many snakes and rats.

Now the question is which one is more associated to fear? Dad said that the work anxious is closer to fear than disgusted is. But disgust and fear both do the same thing. They make you cringe. Anxiety doesn't make you cringe. It makes you run around the house punching holes in the wall. Now, I will agree that when the words are alone, then anxious is a better synonym. But in the sentances we wrote, which one was closer to fear?
I need your thoughts, please comment

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My Plant!

OK here's the story one day I went out to get some half frozen mud in a cup because spring was coming and I wanted to get a head start. To see if I could grow some thing I never did before so my hopes were Lo. I let the cup wait a few days to dry a bit then I took a grape from the frig we only get those for a treat. I took there seeds out(there the tiniest things so there very easy to miss) and took one( or too I am not sure) and planted it in the soil not daring to hope it would turn in to a sprout. a few days later I looked at it and guess what I saw to tiny sprouts too of them I can not tell you what joy I felt when I saw them

sarah

7:00wake up Sarah! whaaat whaaat the fruit man came last night! oooooohhhhh great let me go back to sleep please. Aren't you going to watch the movie? Start it and I will be right there OK ugghh yuck I need to brush my teeth I've got bad morning breath buzzzzz buzzzz spit rints. What movie are you watching? the pink panther mom got it for us at the video store last night Oh is it the cartoons? yup then why did you get me out of bed you now I don't like them. Well then go up stairs did you turn on the heat up there? nope mom was going to do it later. em go in back to bed. You see this is a very bad morning for me every thing not in my favor. Did any of you have mornings like this?

101 ways to say hi

هاي,喜, salut, hallo, ciao, 高い, 높은, hi, привет , hola, guess which order the languages are in
1 ,2, 3 , 4 , 5 ,6 ,7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ,












A: 1 = arabic, 2 = chinese, 3 = french, 4 = german, 5 = italian, 6 = japanese, 7 = korean 8 = portuguese, 9 = Russian, 10 = spanish. note: please comennt give A to me.

Walking

hey we started going to the library again.When we were walking here Dan wants me to walk ahead so that no one will think were boyfriend and girlfriend. The problem with this is when we get to a cross walk the person that gets there first has to wait until the other gets there. And there for miss it I am fedup. So what someone thinks were boy friend and girl friend what are they going to do tease us? and I see couples are age (I don't like to but I do) But what ever I say he just won't lisin. Any way to persuade him?

sarah

Well, what to say. The jet lag mixed with daylight savings had destroyed me completely and now I have almost completely recovered. I am glad that I have. All I say to frequent travellers is sleep on the plane, because it helps a lot.

Sam is going to be a good con man when he grows up. Before leaving to go to the library, he started accusing me of stealing his toonie. Of course, that was completely false. After getting mom Sam, opened his pocket and pulled the toonie out. Mom asked Sam why he did that, and he stuttered, "well, uhh.. I wanted to test him to see if he really had my toonie.. anndd..", he didn't get much further than that, because Mom sorted things out. But honestly, he is crazy about his loonies and toonies and $5 bills (occasionally). He is cute that way as well.

Life continues on in the world of the Abarba-house.

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Conjunctivitis, acne, Eczema, Etc.

acne: acne is an inflammatory condition of the skin marked by pimples, whiteheads, & blackheads. it is caused by a problem with the sebaceous glands, the oil-secreting glands that lubricate & moisturize the skin.

I don't have this condition.

conjunctivitis: conjun (my short term) conjunctivitis, also known as pinkeye, is an inflammation of the conjunctiva, or the white of the eye.

I thought that I had this because my eyes hurt. Mom said I didn't have it. She said my eyes hurt because I was rubbing them.

hi guys we made a new film last night I can't tell you what it is but you can look forward to it. Has Dan been changing the theater? I hope he has. To day I got up and thuot I would make dad some eggs he likes his eggs runny and runny is not my favorite subject.(exept for a runny nose) So I made one runny egg. it was hard because you have to crack the egg perfectly(no leaks of yolk). Then you have to put some pepper on then when it looks ready flip it what I failed to see was the the pan was not greased so I could not flip the eggs I used four eggs and got them all wrong(I ate them all). Then I find that there is no grease on the pan uuuuuugghh. I put some bread in the toaster put some grease on the pan and took out an egg cracked it perfectly flipped it perfectly and made it. Then I noticed it was tusday the day dad made EGGS for himself UUUUUUGGGGGHHH
I sat down and ate the eggs (I was full by then)

sarah

BAYWATCH!

Well, where to begin? I was walking with Mom down a path yesterday, and an interesting question popped into my head. I began to wonder, what's the deal with Baywatch?? I asked mom and all she said was, "when I flipped through the channels on the TV, I would see for a split second while flipping, Hasselhoff and Anderson bouncing down the beach with their floaties, going to save another unfortunate victim. Very unfortunate. Anyway, she started to wonder as well, and went up to the first stranger and blurted, "so what's the deal with Baywatch?" Of course then there was a pause... and another pause. Then Mom asked: Like, was there romance and stuff? The stranger said: Ummm, yeah. Yes there was. Then Mom said: And there boobs were just bobbing around in there bathing suits, right? The stranger said yes and gratefully continued on. Mom was content with what she learned from the complete stranger. I was happy that our lives wouldn't be in that lady's hands anytime soon. Because she would have thoughts about what to do with them.

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Dad they don't have any brains

Sam was sitting at the table with a garbage bag at his feet. I went to pick it up & was surprised that his two bears, Al-Ick & Junior were in there. I said, "Sam I might have thrown them away." He said they were hiding in there. He decided to put them in a blue bag instead so we would know they were hiding & wouldn't accidentally throw them out. Ron came home, saw them in the blue bag & said, "Sam! They might suffocate." Sam guffawed, "Dad! They don't have any brains!"

Joyce - The Abarba-drama

Two weeks ago we got word that Ron's sister Joyce was in hospital with malaria. In Khartoum. Which is in the Sudan. She has worked for different NGO's in Africa for a long time ... this was her first posting in Sudan & she had worked for this particular NGO for two weeks. The background is that she figured she had malaria, went to the doctor a few times who said it was a virus. Finally she was so sick that she couldn't move. A friend took her to emergency. The hospital decided that she DID have malaria but used a drug that she did not respond to. After a few days they changed the drug & she started to get marginally better. They also told her that she needed to have her gall bladder removed. The friend taking care of her felt uncomfortable enough with the idea of gall-bladder surgery in Khartoum that she arranged for her to be air-lifted to Nairobi. She didn't need her gall bladder removed but did have complications from malaria - her respiration was quite bad & her hemoglobin was 3 - so she was given 3 blood transfusions (friends had to donate the blood - that's the way they do it there) & oxygen. Ron's older sister Yael flew to Nairobi to take care of her.

She is doing better now - well enough to send an e-mail detailing what happened.

An hour after her e-mail we got an e-mail from Ron's brother Gil saying, "Joyce, if something bad happens can I have the stuff you left at Mom's house?" I almost fell of my chair laughing when I read it. This is very typical extended Abarba family humour ...

I continued failing at sewing when at the perfect moment the sewing michine jammed. We didn't think it was a problem but it kept jaming. We thoute we could fix it and we needed some bobbins. We asked mom to get us some bobbins she was happy two(mean wile no one is using the sewing machine)so a few weeks later she had some things to do at wal mart(or some were around there) and she got them. She brang them home and I got right to fixing the sewing mighine and after a long time I fixed it (with some help from Dan). I won't right it down because it gets confusing. I took it down to my room and some how I learned how to sew right there I made a skirt a small blanket for my teddy bear a few pillow cases(I don't have cotton to stuff them with)
and thats it

sarah

What's the fuss, tell me what's a happening

No one in my family has blogged ALL week? What is wrong with these people?Well ... we've been hiking every day as long as it wasn't pouring rain. Today we hiked twice. The library finally came through with Gilligan's Island Season 2 which Dan & Sarah finished today. The little boys have "SpongeBob Square Pants - the Christmas Special" & have also been very excited because Club Penguin has been celebrating St. Patrick's Day all week.

We also had company over for dinner on Wednesday & Thursday night - lots of fun eating good food & playing UNO and battleship. Our guests told us about two UTube things we needed to watch ... "SpongeBack Mountain" & "BrokeBack to the Future". The creators of that film really created a monster of bad jokes for themselves!

Ron got a new computer & has been trying to get it up and running all day. It looks cool but it isn't acting all that cool so far.

I've been looking on the internet for a comfortable pair of shoes to wear to the grocery store and library. I have very comfy in the house shoes (New Balance 767 - the best shoes ever). But they are very white & I am afraid that I look like Jerry Seinfeld in them. Two of my sporty-marathon running friends told me to get over myself & just wear my white shoes. I keep telling my shoe man that New Balance needs to come up with shoes in dark colours for women like me.

I've been chatting with my friend Eva who is courageously struggling with cancer. Though this cancer will lead to her death she still delights in the little things in life. Whenever we talk she wants to know what the kids are up to, what I'm having for supper & exactly what spices & ingredients I am going to put in. She has opened my eyes to how important good palliative care is - & hers isn't always very good. She remains gracious but feels angry for those who do not have advocates/doctor friends like she does. I call to bless her but she always ends up blessing me much much more.

Tonight we watched the Phantom of the Opera - the movie version from 2004. I thought it would be boring but it was very very good. The casting for the Viscount was a little weak & I felt that Christine was unnecessarily sexualized. But I've never forgot a communications prof I had in university who always talked about "gratuitous violence & sex" - basically sex & violence sell.

Ice Hiking

It was sunny & +3C today so we went hiking. But the trails were very icy. The boys found a patch of grass with ice on it & were sliding down on their pants. We walked back to the van but then Sam was missing. We called & called for him ... he had gone back to the ice hill. He said, "I slid down it three times & then I wondered where you went. Then I saw a nice man with a dog & I told him I didn't know where my family was. He said I could stay with him for awhile." Just then Sarah & I found him. When he got back in the van he said, "by mistakenly I went back to the ice hill."

Then we went to another trail that was even more icy. Sam took hold of my hand & Katelyn's hand & said excitedly, "ooh ... skating mode". I said, "ooh ... break my hip mode". I actually got down on the ground & slid on my bum ... I had visions of doing the splits which isn't really a gymnastic thing at my age.

In the afternoon we went for another hike ... better trail ... not icy, just muddy. Matt started complaining, "I am sick & tired of this trail. We come here every day. The peanut butter from lunch is stuck in my throat. Mom, have you ever had me tested for allergies? I like peanuts but I think I am allergic to peanut butter." I just KNOW this is going to come up the next time he sees a doctor. They will take him very seriously. He won't mention to THEM that he can eat peanuts but not peanut butter!

Uganda Pictures

Dann covered a lot of territory with his Blog about Uganda. There is so much that I can say but I will just put some pictures up for now.


One need that several places had was for good lap tops. I would love to send 3 to 5 down the next time I or someone I know goes. If you know of someone who would not mind parting with theirs, let me know.


Anyhow - the pics:


Greg, in front of a piece of the Berlin Wall outside the War Museum in London.

Dann at the Museum of Natural History in Oxford.

A Marabou Stork - Prolific like our pigeons only BIGGER and UGLIER.

Dorcas was flown to Halifax in November for Heart Surgery. She is 17 and had a hole in her heart that went undetected. The surgeons did the surgery for free and our church flew her up. She is back in Uganda now, but has been hospitalized twice with fluid around her heart. Every doctor I have asked said the prognosis is not good but they cannot do the necessary tests in Uganda.

A market by the side of the road. Just about everything is run down and dirty but it is still a wonderful place.

This is a typical kitchen in Uganda. The pots are sitting on a coal stove. The yellow canister is well water. No one drinks water from the tap (if you have a tap).

A monkey with turquoise nuts. Sorry, but just calling it like it is.

Dorcas' Dad, Dominic, runs an orphanage of 50 and school of 430. All the kids swarmed us when we got there and sang and danced. Nothing I say can capture this experience. I'll never forget it.

These are the orphans. Dominic is front center. This school has been 20 years of his life.

Don't have a cow man. This is just a cow. Harmless ... but don't get them angry.

That's all for now. I may put more up later.

Sam's rash - the cover up

Sam has a cold & always gets a rash around his mouth. He is embarrassed by it & prefers not to go out in public. This morning we were getting ready for church. Sam told me matter of factly, "I'm not going to church". I told him matter of factly that he WAS going to church. After a few moans & groans he said, "then get the neck warmer". So he walks into church, takes off his coat but keeps his neck warmer on. I must point out that while he looks kind of like a bank robber, it is also a fitting disguise his around-the-mouth rash. During the singing his nose was running so he got down low, lifted his neck warmer quickly & wiped his nose on his sleeve. Then the neck warmer was quickly put back in place. After Sunday School I asked his teacher if he had worn it the entire time. She said he had - and that the girls in his class had told him, "it is hard to hear you." I looked over just then & saw him eating a cookie with the neck warmer on - he lifted the bottom enough to clear his mouth & munched away.

Uganda

With a quick drive down to Stanfield Airport by our neighbor friend Mike, we were on our way to an epic adventure. But there is always a dilemma. We arrived at the airport and went through the security, then sat down at our gate. We waited. We were traveling with a student from Dad's university named Greg “we” is Dann and Dad. After a couple delays, we got on the plane and waited for an hour or so on it. After a while the pilot told us that there was too much ice on the runway and we would have to wait until the next morning to take off. Darn! After calling the airlines, we sorted out some new flights, and after staying at Greg’s house, we got on the plane to London. After landing in Heathrow Airport, we stayed overnight, then went back to the airport and made some more calls, then rebooked. We had one less day in Uganda and four extra in England. So we went to St. Paul’s Cathedral. The beauty was so amazing that I started feeling sick. It was weird. After leaving the cathedral, we did some more tourism (Big Ben, River Thames, etc), and then went down to the train station to go to Birmingham to stay with an old friend. While we were there we saw My Super Ex-Girlfriend (dumb), and Greg and I went to see Blood Diamond (heavy, but very moving). We also got a tour of Birmingham and took a trip to Oxford where we ate at the Eagle and Child (or The Bird and Baby) where Tolkien and Lewis and friends (otherwise known as “The Inklings”) hung out and talked about books. Anyways, after leaving with £25 missing from our pockets due to the outrageous bill we were given for the food we devoured, we went to sightsee at Merton college. After that, we went into the Museum of Natural History. Dinosaur bones, the Oxford dodo, elephant bones, you name it. Then we finally went back to Birmingham for the final night. We had fun in England. Then the next morning we went off to the Airport and took our flight down to Uganda. We landed after watching a couple movies. I saw some dumb movies and part of Marie Antoinette, which was dumber than the rest of them put together. We landed, went down the stairs from the aircraft, and after waiting a while, got through customs and then went straight to the place we stayed which was a simple piece of a house with a TV that didn’t work, two sofas (thank God!) two bedrooms, an office, the living room, a nice backyard, a kitchen and a bathroom. It was nice and big, so it wasn’t too crowded. I fell on the sofa and became unconscious for the next 3 hours. I woke up to an Australian talking to Dad. I got up and put my sandals on and went with them to the taxi driver. His name was Esau (pronounced ee-sa). He took us down to a building where we went in to see what work was being done in Uganda involving orphanages and Christianity (which was said to be a mile wide and an inch deep). I didn’t listen. I was asleep on the desk. I woke up and was whisked away to the slums where the projects were under way. After walking around and seeing the little girls, we were back in a house talking to some guy whose name escapes me. I was soon asleep. After that we went back home and relaxed the rest of the day. Then we went to an Indian restaurant where we made a complete fool of ourselves by ordering completely dry foods. The chef came out and persuaded us that he would make us a good meal. And he did. It was amazing. The next day was spent cooling off. Then the day after that, we went on safari. We drove down to Lake Mburo (Em-buru) and after the vans ceiling was converted, we could see out of the van by standing up. Anyways, we saw impala, waterbuck, enkoli cattle (cows with long horns), monkeys, baboons, zebras, warthogs, water buffalos. Then we arrived at our cabin, where monkeys riddled the trees. We heard leopard growls, played our drums and watched the monkeys’ turquoise scrotums gleaming in the sunlight. The next morning we went on a boat and saw many hippos (one time a whole school of them charged us) and one crocodile. After the long drive home, we went to bed. After that, my schedule was thrown off, so now I will relay the highlights of the rest of the trip. We went to see Dorcus Nazziwa (who we met in Canada when she came to have the whole in her heart repaired) Even though she had the surgery, her strength wasn’t up to par and so she was in hospital. She was delightful beyond reckoning for a person who went halfway across the world to get surgery and then have to get stuck back into the doc’s office. We went home. Then we went to the churches on Sunday. We went into the first one, which was loud. Everybody was singing and dancing and as soon as we went in, we were blown away by the sheer joy and happiness of these Africans. Then we went to a second church which was quite rundown. Basically it was four wooden poles with a tarpaulin on top and wooden benches underneath. We saw the children sing a song (breathtaking), and then we watched Dad do a quick sermon. After his sermon, the pastor (Eliot by the name) took up to the pulpit and gave us a loud, earth-shaking, meaningful traditional African sermon. Beautiful. Then we went to another church that our church paid to put a roof on. We didn’t stay there for long, but I spent the entire time playing with the children. It was quite fun. A day or so after, we went to see Dorcus’ home, which also doubled as a school because Dominic Ssenyonga (Dorcus’ father) was working in a school right next door. When we got out of the truck, all of the children (430 of them) massed right around us and sang a 10 minute welcome song. It was so overwhelming. Every little kid in this school was singing a song for the three mzungu (white guys) that got out of the Land Rover. I felt like a king, but I didn’t want to feel that way. Part of me wanted to sit back and watch, and the other part of me wanted to get down on the floor and lick the dirt off their sandals. Of course, I videotaped them, and shook their hands etc… We went into the auditorium, which was crammed with all 430 children and sat down in the chairs that were put there for us. For the next hour and a half, we watched bible verses, dances, singing, music, plays… After all of this, Dad went up and told them the story about getting here which was a nightmare. He told them about the dinosaur at Oxford (to which then I chased him like a dinosaur out the door), and the hippo that we saw (to which then I loped in on the ground and bit Dad in the leg), and about how God isn’t stupid, he knows what he is doing, and you just need to walk with him sometimes. Let him take you to wherever he wants you to go. For us, it was a couple delays and a complete whack to our plans, but he knows what you don’t. We went and had lunch at Dominic’s which was shared by his son Samuel (very, very, very sweet boy) who is 19, his wife, and a friend of his and of course me, Dad and Greg. I had to go to the toilet, but I decided to wait seeing as the bathroom was a small hole in the ground and nothing much else but a stink. I realized then how the kids must feel when a person with a real house and a real toilet comes waltzing in. Samuel had given us names from the Ugandan tribes and mine is Ssenyonjo Daniel. I still don’t fully understand why they put on that incredible show for us. After lunch, we went out and played games. The first sport was bottle filling, which Greg and I tried, only to be creamed by to five-year-olds. Greg beat me by 5 seconds. It is always better to lose then to come in second, because when you hit second, you almost made it. Anyways, the next race was a three-legged, which Samuel and I competed in, and we won. I still don’t understand it, but we did this interesting bounding leap that took us much further and faster. I have to learn it. The next sport involved four year old people being stripped down to their undies and told to put their clothes on the fastest. Greg and I did not compete. Then there was volleyball, which we had lots of fun playing. And then there were the bota-botas (motorcycles) that picked us up to go home. We caught a bus after squabbling with a pineapple seller, who stuffed 3 pineapples into the van and charged us 1000 shillings , the equivalent to 60 cents Canadian. Nice deal. The pineapple is quite good there as well. We were dropped off at the Thai restaurant that we arranged a date with. We didn’t want to take the pineapples in, so we gave them to the taxi driver who was more than happy to accept. The food was good in the restaurant, and we went home content. The next day, we went to an orphanage where I played soccer with 4 other kids. It was very fun and the weather was very hot, so I welcomed a douse in cold water. The next day we went to another orphanage where I taught a soccer team one of my old soccer coaches drills. I think that my coach will be pretty happy that one of his drills is now stationed at the other end of the world. We went home after that, to which we went to one more restaurant (Korean) where I ate a fish eyeball. It was very funny. I saw a little button, but when I pulled it out, it tripled in size. I still ate it though. The hot peppers there are very hot, so when Greg and Mike (travel mate) ate one, they were drinking water like crazy. They are the hottest peppers I have ever had and that’s for sure. We went back home and packed, then departed the next morning. We went back to England, but our flight was delayed yet again, so we had spent another day there. I had a nice Irish dinner before we got on the flight. When we got on the flight I fell asleep. I woke up to a: “Sir?” “Sir?” “Sir?!” I replied, “Yeah?” To which they said, “you will sleep much better on a full stomach!” Thanks. A lot. Anyway, after finishing as much as I could, I fell asleep again. I woke up to Halifax

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P.S. There is much more to be said about Uganda. Dad will hopefully blog as well

Freezing in Halifax

Yesterday when I woke up it was -30C. That's right folks. In March! Ugh! At that temperature our electric heat just cannot keep up with the cold - the house usually doesn't get warm until evening. I had heavy clothes on, my housecoat over top & was doing some English work with Dan in my bed, under the covers! I contemplated getting a winter hat & putting that on too. But don't worry - on Sunday it is supposed to be +6C.

Pasta making

This morning Sarah asked if we could make pasta together. I had never made it before ... but she produced a recipe from Jamie Oliver's book. You basically mix flour & eggs with the dough hook in your electric mixer. Then you knead it by hand, wrap in plastic wrap & refrigerate for an hour. Then we rolled it out as thin as we could - really I think it would have worked better if we had a pasta maker. Sarah chose to make ravioli so she is downstairs right now finishing up making little dumplings of pasta - with a meat/basil/oregano/onion filling. I am going to make a spaghetti type sauce. Voila. Homemade ravioli. It took a long time & I think it is safe to say that the dried pasta will still hold a place in our cupboard.

While we waited for the pasta to chill I taught Sarah about factoring for prime numbers. She really has a knack for it. Katelyn is doing math that I don't understand - I take solace in at least being able to factor prime numbers.

Next week is March Break! No school for Katelyn! We are going to celebrate by getting our hair cut. I know, I know, it isn't a trip to Florida. Probably if the weather is decent we will go hiking too.

Sewing

I like to sew on the sewing machine.Dan tout me how to thread the bobbin and the machine then I did the rest.Mom got us a LOT of cloth me and Dan were suppose to make a patch work quilt but all the stuff was ether to thin or to thick.so we were going to make small things Dan made a coshon and I made a mess( I was not to good) its a long story I will write it down tomorow

Lifelong Dream Realized

Today I did something I've wanted to do for a long time but never had the courage to do. I got a call from our local newspaper. They wanted to sell me a month's subscription for the low low price of ...

In the middle of her speal I said, "could I interrupt you for a second?" She said yes. Then I asked, "do you have the newspaper in braille?" There was an uncomfortable pause & she said, "I'm sorry ma'am we don't." I said, "well then I'm not interested." We said our goodbyes. I got off the phone & laughed & laughed. Ron has used this line on telemarketers before but I've never had the nerve.

And I thought my illness was over ...

I got a head cold yesterday - they are always worse on the first day. I slept most of the day, went to bed at 8:30 pm & woke up at 8 a.m. (Except that kids kept coming in to spend time with me. Sarah gave me the most wonderful foot massage of my life. I think my delerium only enhanced the massage.) I feel much better today. I read in my book of home remedies that homemade ginger & lemon tea helps a cold. Yuck! It tasted awful. I think I put too much lemon & too little ginger. Sammy has started coughing again. Poor kid. I am rather looking forward to spring!

Katelyn has the day off school tomorrow. She might have a friend over to work on a Chemistry lab. She went to a film night at her house last week with her band/choir friends - they were going to watch the Phantom of the Opera but got sidetracked & watched a cartoon called "the last unicorn" instead.

And Corey Bowles is teaching the kids at Katelyn's school how to dance. When I told Ron he said, "who?" Corey Bowles played a minor role on the Trailer Park Boys a la Corey & Trevor. But he is really a professional dancer - a celebrity in Halifax. Katelyn said he was very nice, very funny & a fantastic dancer. She said she is a terrible dancer.

Sam finally takes a shower!!!!

The other day I was telling Ron about Sam & his refusal to take showers. Ron said, "I don't get the logic." I gave Ron THE LOOK that says, "I don't get it either & who said 6 year olds HAVE logic."

Today I found the proper motivation - no more computer time until he took a bath or shower. He himmed & hawed & called me a tartar. He said, "Mom, if I'm dirty I can just change my clothes". I gave him THE LOOK & then he added, "and wash my face". Finally he said, "OK but I don't want to get my feet wet." I said that would be fine - choosing not to point out the failure of this bit of logic ... I wondered if he was going to shower with his socks on & figure that would keep his feet dry.

So Sam is clean, clean, clean. Hurrah.