coldslaw ...

My friend Don McLean made the best coldslaw in the world so I had a cabbage from the market and grated some of it up, added garlic and onion and salad cream and voila ...coldslaw, not quite as good as Don's but close.

Susan, I presume you got home ok and this one is for you... when I find an envelope I will mail it.

Tuesday Tuesday

just watched the highlights from the Antiques Roadshow for 2017 on utube, I have 3 g of data on my phone which I lose if I do not use it and it is finished tomorrow so hotspot on the phone and I watch tv. There are 4 g on my WiFi but the remainder at the end of the month rolls over to the next month so I save it.
It is very interesting to be watching a favourite show, it is almost like being in front of the tv back home for a little while, quite disorientating actually.
I learned how to make an email grouping last year, you know when you put a number of emails under a title and you just need to type the title, I cant remember the formal name,
anyway Joseph Agyemang has a number of emails to be sent so having lists for the various folks would be helpful so I battled to make a list, now it took me a while to remember the process but got there and he went home with one list done :)
- Afia asked for a new broom, she never uses the one I have from Canada, so got new broom in the market, its about three feet long and one needs to bend over to sweep the floor, the upright one works for me.

part two: ordination/lay canons installation

robed lay canons with their wives standing behind them

Moi in the service

Ordination

Presentation of the candidate and asking of the question..is this a suitable candidate?

Laying prostrate during the Litany                               Processing with crucifix on shoulder

Examination of Candidate

                                                              signing with the Chancellor 

                                                    Laying on of hands

Clothed as a priest

Presented as a priest, Rev. Fr. Kingsley Dwamena Asante

the photo op at the end of the service

service ended at 240 pm during which I went home about 1 pm to eat and

 sit in front of my fan for a moment

Sunday

I painfully awoke and decided this was the day I stayed home, tired did not cover the aches. 

It is now near 4pm and ache free life has returned  😇😇😇

ordination to the priesthood and installation of 4 lay canons

I will talk about the service in two parts as I can not get all the pics off the I pad for some reason  ??
for a 9am service, matins started after 10
waiting to line up, 

very prescribe order, verger, thurifer and boat boy acolytes and cross, torch bearers, wardens, MC, the clergy (priests, canons in order of years of service, Priest assisting, Litanist, Deacon an Sub deacon, Cathedral chapter, Archdeacons, Dean;Deacons of Honour, Bishop's Chaplain, Bishop, Chancellor, Registrar, Presenting Archdeacon, Lay Canons designate, Ordinand
(we receive communion in the order of seniority as well)
and we processed in about 1030 am       (guess when the service ended)                                     
                                                                                                     Congregation

Choir in robes and high school choir in white

The lay canons were installed (using the rite from the Diocese of Toronto uses)                           
                                              Lay Canons signing in front of the chancellor

TO BE CONTINUED TOMORROW ....

Compassion Group

attended a workshop this morning  by the Compassion Society (a group that focuses efforts to children in poverty), it was well presented, talked about leadership in the church for the morning and a description about Compassion for the afternoon. using the figures they gave,only 2.5% of donations are used for administration which is very good, they support children through the church, 40 churches in this area are involved and there are over 2000 kids being supported, a very impressive group. the age starts in infancy until age 22 yrs with specific  measurable goals, I will admit a few of the measures were not  ones that I would have at the top of the list (from a North American perspective) but not my program and it seems to be very successful for the kids  and that's what counts

new blouse to go with a skirt I brought with me from Giant Tiger for 10 bucks

157 looked at the blog from Italy today  ??????

unbelievable juxtaposed

walking between tires for sale on the edge of the street, going to buy a coke, 

a speaker loudly spews Elvis Presley singing his heart out, where else would this be found????

cathedral getting spruced up for the ordination on Saturday, painter finishing up on the porch roof

can not believe

arm the teachers, really    we are not going to hell in an hand cart...we have arrived

followers of blog

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this is the outline of who looks at the blog, Interesting eh!

all is well

Mabel made tomato stew  and on mashed yam mmmmmm, 

also got peanut soup with rice balls(sticky rice formed and put in a plastic bag)

 I have to eat as my freezer is packed, you might think that all I think about is food,well food here is always made from scratch, no tv dinners or meat loaf in the store freezer, I loose about a pound a week for a few weeks and then it levels out, minimal sweets and few desserts is the order of the day and more walking, my ankle is behaving very well.
a lot of excitement around with the ordination on Saturday. We have 3 German students here and I had a conversation last Sunday and suggested they come to see the pomp and circumstance, it is quite moving. so they are and Mabel is going to make lunch for them and we will eat at my place, should be fun!

mmmm chocolate

I opened a tub of milk chocolate, labelled for a spread on bread, tasted real good off a spoon
from coco beans grown right here

Its raining, its pouring....

I don't think it has rained since I got here. I love the smell of rain, fresh.
slept in till 930,  catching up on not sleeping Saturday night
- also had a look at the barber shop when I was there, the roof is going on this week, I guess maybe a little late for today's rain

 - worked out an order of Kente with the supervisor of the weaving. he has a face book page if you want to look.  Quality kente and smock from Sunyani central prison  not highlighted but I wanted it to stand out. the fabric is sent even to Europe now, 'brilliant idea' and he started it by buying one loom himself as there was a man there who knew how to weave, then Rotary came in to provide 11 more looms, now they have 12 weavers.   real good news story eh!

I will show the patterns as they are made as they are going to be turned into stoles, for sale of course and if you seen one you like you can let me know and I will put it away for you, not got to the price as of yet.

used this stole for length and design suggestion

my downfall

I love diet coke and it is hard to fine here, I had a coke with dinner last night and did not sleep well at all so only went to early service and came back and went to bed until noon, I think I  have to put coke with coffee and not drink it at night, I guess I have lost my tolerance or something like that.
I have lollipops in the fridge and every so often I offer them to the kids (Eramus and Mavis have four). and when I want a sweet, me too.
Off to the prison tomorrow with Mary to discuss Kente weaving for stoles

no electricity

so I have spaghetti dinner at Gifty's place, the best part is that she has a bath tub and sooooo I take a bath .. so nice  and now that I am home... no fan ugh    temp feels like 37c  a little warm and I am sweating like a rain fall....  thank goodness for batteries

a day of rest

I know its not Sunday but laying around was the order for today.

the demise of my fan :(

fan died but it ran when I am home for five years so does not owe me anything,. new fan in place

new upper kitchen cupboards

remember straight is in the eye of the beholder

Ash Wednesday, Valentine's Day all in one day

it is quieter at 6 am, the sun is not up and it is cooler   but I prefer to sleep past it

Valentine Day not celebrated that I saw

went to see progress of the barber shop today with Mary
my goodness it is moving right along
They are incorporating the barber shop along with a display space for the goods that they make so hence more that one room being built

 

I did not know that they have men learning how to weave Kente cloth. Rotary Club have put in 10 weaving looms  Yea Rotary!    and the are cloth is being sold. I was speaking with the supervisor about weaving cloth to be used for stoles so we are going to discuss colours next week, a sample of cloth on top and sandles which are also made here below

  

samples of sandles

sanding off the rough edge of the sole

 (made from recycle tires)

looms for Kente cloth, the end extends 12 or so feet as they make the clothe in long thin strips and then sew the strips together, about 22 strips will make clothe for a traditional cloth 

for a man to wear somewhat like a toga

LIKE THIS ....it is the best pic I can find on internet at the moment 

I will try an take a photo on Sunday

church at 6 am tomorrow

I hope to get stars in my crown for seeing the day at 6 am :(

a land of chausibles (like a Poncho worn over robes )

Atta, my next door neighbour takes care of the liturgical robes etc for the cathedral, today was 'wash chausible' day, hanging on the wall, on the clothes line, they are all over, here when a festive event takes place, all priest wear the same chausible, the inside out ones right below are made out of diocesan cloth,

for example

Sunday..day of rest

church today started at 7am with the first service and the 2nd service got me home by 2pm. It was Bishop Appreciation Sunday in the diocese when appreciation for the bishop is shown through financial donations.
I am preaching on Ash Wednesday, today found out that means first service at 6am and second service at 5pm. my tag line for early services is when it is dark out...one sleeps and when it is light out...one is up, not work that way here so I am reminded.
so I am sitting this afternoon with my feet in  a basin of water soaking (I take very good care of my feet almost obsessed I will confess)  to rub away the bumps and rough parts, knock on the door and I shout..I have my feet in water but the door is unlocked. If you don't mind my feet in water ...come on in.  Fr. Eramus enters to chat seemingly ignoring my feet.
lights just went out...bye

Gari

gari, something I had never heard of before today. it is plantain dried and ground up, ends up with a consistency like powered milk, it is used as a thickener in soups and stews or can be sprinkled on top of stew when on the plate, no really much taste to me anyway, lots of recipes from Nigeria on line

Gifty a friend, lives an amazing life, not letting anything or anyone to hold her back, last Satuday she was carrying a full kettle of boiling water to add to her bath and it dropped with boiling water on her foot and ankle. NO skin was burned, a miracle to be sure. We have discussed her having a trolley on wheels that she can push while using her crutches. a carpenter I met yesterday and told him the story and today a trolley on wheels arrived, it is so perfect and she is excited to get it, delivery will be Monday then she will be able to move things with less chance of anything falling

country of origin

printer needed a new black cartridge  even though when look at the amount of ink left it looked full

hot dogs and no name mayo from Brazil, Heinz 57 ketchup from Egypt, cream crackers from UK ..... nowhere is too far away in this world any more

got more white radishes today, sliced thin they are very tasty dipped in mayo with salt and pepper

a bit of this and a bit of that

My new printer won't print   ugh         tomorrow back to the store to find out what is wrong

My cat Noah had some surgery today, teeth attended to and a cyst removed from his side
                                                                                 ahhhh poor Noah         a booboo on  his side

                                                            WHITE RADISH

watching tv out of Berlin or Paris

sounds exotic eh!
the German station has more info/documentaries where I can learn something new.
the French channel has constant news like channel 24
both have frequent weather updates
I am soaking beans to substitute for chick peas that I can not find here yet. keep you posted as to what they are used for

Monday Monday the first day of the week

warm, sunny, no rain or snow in sight.
 I was given a root vegetable, white in colour,  looked like a carrot, smelt and tasted like a radish,which I looked up and it is. Mabel said it could go into stews but does not want to use it so hence I have it,  I ate a piece raw and she was very surprised.
Daniel the 'fabric' artist brought me some hand designed fabric  today, they are all lovely
I can not arrange them any better on this page  ugh

Home again

Retreat went very well, speaker was great, Canon Patrick Okaijah-Bortier from Accra Diocese.
Many yesterday went to see the Kintampo Falls. I basked in the A/c of my room instead, quite nice if I do say so. Today we had mass St. Stephen's Kintampo, Canon Patrick preached,

church was plastered block walls maybe 20 x 40, tin roof, all the rafters showing, concrete floor, chairs in rows, altar at one end up on a one step elevation.  glass louvers for windows, outside is hard red soil, with a building next door for Sunday School. Very basic but had the essentials.
They gave Patrick a gift as a thank you gift. called a smock with a hat to match.

Here he is with Bishop and Mother Superior

we got a 'take away' lunch (rice, chicken or fish, salad) in  foam clam box with water to drink. I was asked by the bishop to ride home in his car as there were more people wanting to go in the van.
I was very fortunate as the van broke down again in Techiman. I was home, a little tired and had showered before they rolled
..... good weekend