Overheard conversation

Conversation overheard yesterday morning from two security guards outside (one being in my garden):

Outside guard:  "What's up?"
Inside guard:  "White ants."

'tis the season for white ants, or African termites.  These odd creatures have a ridiculously short life span:  they seem to hatch at night, and are dead by sunup.  They flock to the light, and since I have several security lights around my place, when they come out, they flock there.

They also like to try to come inside, and sometimes succeed.  Then they lose their wings (which are very light and difficult to sweep out) and die, and locals enjoy them as a delicacy.  The officer in my garden was getting them to take home.

Signs o'the times

There are signs everywhere that Uganda is going digital with thr television signal, much like the US did. So, today I bit the bullet.

How we get things for the garden

The other day, Helen decided to make lemon rosemary chicken, and since we didn't have any rosemary, she said she needed to get it.  I went to get some money, and she said, "No - it's just on the ridge.  I'll be back."  My head is screaming "that's theft!" but my mouth just said, "thank you!"

Helen is taking over the compound, which is actually very fine.  She'll come to me and say something like, "Reverend.  Don't you think we should have basil, rosemary, and coriander?"  And I say yes, and the next thing I know, there's a twig of rosemary planted next to the house, waiting to take root so it can be transplanted to the garden proper.

Today I remembered that we had had a delicious lemongrass tea in Soroti, and I had been wondering whether we could grow the lemongrass in the garden.  So I asked Helen about it, and of course we can grow it.  She said that someone had just planted some lemongrass, and we would try it to see if it was the right kind, and if so, then we'd get a root so we could grow our own. 

So, Felix brought back a fistfull of lemongrass, Helen tied it together and boiled it, I added sugar and black tea to the mug, and poured in the boiled water, and it was fabulous.  Now I'm wondering when Felix will plant the root.  Hopefully tomorrow...

It still feels like theft, but somehow, I'm adjusting to this African way of sharing.

Domesticity by Helen

Helen has been wanting to learn to bake, and asked if she could go learn from Florence (who works for the Reid's, another SAMS missionary family).  I said that was fine.  Then Helen brought Florence's recipe for banana bread, which I took to be a serious hint.  There aren't any bread loaf pans in Mukono, so I'll get one in Kampala.

This morning I showed Helen how to use my Pampered Chef measuring tools.  Helen then danced up the hill to the Reid's with all the ingredients for banana bread, and I'm expecting her back soon.  She also knows that I'm having visitors Saturday morning, and I think she wants to have something fresh-baked for them.

Helen also asked about making pizza dough, so I need to find good recipes for that.  And then figure out what ingredients I can find here for pizza.  Oh my.

The upshot of all this is that clearly, the Zumba DVD needs to be a priority.

Domesticity by Helen

Helen has been wanting to learn to bake, and asked if she could go learn from Florence (who works for the Reid's, another SAMS missionary family).  I said that was fine.  Then Helen brought Florence's recipe for banana bread, which I took to be a serious hint.  There aren't any bread loaf pans in Mukono, so I'll get one in Kampala.

This morning I showed Helen how to use my Pampered Chef measuring tools.  Helen then danced up the hill to the Reid's with all the ingredients for banana bread, and I'm expecting her back soon.  She also knows that I'm having visitors Saturday morning, and I think she wants to have something fresh-baked for them.

Helen also asked about making pizza dough, so I need to find good recipes for that.  And then figure out what ingredients I can find here for pizza.  Oh my.

The upshot of all this is that clearly, the Zumba DVD needs to be a priority.

Can you guess what the newest addition to the kitchen is?

I know I'm remiss in posting several changes around the flat, but this one bears mentioning. Friends in the US told me I needed a microwave, but I demurred.  Even though all the missionaries I know here have microwaves (and plenty of other appliances), I think I had some kind of missionary angst that led me to think that I could/needed to suffer with learning how to reheat food the old way.

It wasn't until Mary Jane, another SAMS missionary and my directly behind neighbor, stopped by, surveyed how the kitchen was rearranged, and pronounced, "Oh no.  You need a microwave."  So, Saturday's trip to Kampala found me at Game obtaining one.  And I'm thrilled.

Shameless plug:  in the container is leftover pork chop, marinated in this maple balsamic dressing.  Even with my fake ingredients (like regular syrup for maple syrup), it's divine.

Medical technology - it's beautiful!

UCU's clinic now has a snazzy new computer system, and it's rather impressive. I went to work yesterday, and the dean took one look at me and one listen to my cough and sent me to the clinic.

When I presented myself to the intake guy, it used to be that I'd tell him my name and my program (now, that I'm staff), and he'd find the appropriate binder and pull out my sheets. 

Yesterday, he asked f

or my number. I told him "ExPat 40," he entered it in the computer, then sent me to the doctor in room 7.

I knocked on room 7 and entered, and the doctor looked at me, made a few mouse clicks, and apparently had my record open, because as I listed my ailments, she was typing. She assured me I'd be fine (a typical African thing that I find simultaneously endearing and maddening), and that a bacterial infection was causing the constricted breathing. She then instructed me to go to the dispensing window for my medicine. Without writing anything down.

When I got to the dispensing window, the nurse saw me, made a few mouse clicks, then told me to sit. A few minutes later I had my antibiotics and absolutely vile cough syrup.

How 'bout them apples?! The trainer in me wants to go play with that system. I'm mighty impressed.

Hot water progress

In other news, the hot-spot shower head was attached today. I say attached rather than installed because while the plumber did come and put it on the pipe, it requires an electrician to attach the wires. Robert, the plumber, is not an electrician. He said he would send one, but he didn't come today.

There is a victory here, though: the water had previously come out of the pipe in a big stream, and now it is properly dispersed through the shower head. Cold is cold, but now it's a gentle cold.

Home from Soroti!

Home from Soroti; praising God for His faithfulness! I'm putting the cough and mosquito bites to bed, so a more thoughtful post will come later.

I also came home with a new name - Amunot, or trusted one. My heart is full.