10 pm no electricity

no fan...hot night

Barber shop almost finished

just needs a little paint and the electricity connected

 a mirror hung above the window to see the back of the head on one wall
and the stations with a mirror above the counter on the opposite  side.
 
 there are two stations and two sets of barbering equipment was purchased a couple of years ago  so two men can be learning at the same time.
THANKS TO ST. MATTHEW ON THE PLAINS FOR THEIR SUPPORT FOR THIS PROJECT

3 musketeers

ready for 7 am service that was cancelled at the last moment, ooopsy

interesting data - yesterday 147 views of blog from Italy ??? don't know why

Susan has a new clergy shirt

we are going to be twins as I am getting one made of the same fabric

THIS YEAR'S DRUM

DANIEL (DRUM MAKER) HOLDING THIS YEAR'S DRUM

already spoken for

He will do some carving in the black space at the bottom and I am picking it up on Tuesday.

who is learning what today

at the Women's Learning Centre we discussed briefly how to read a knitting pattern, what some of the letters and symbols mean, then we were off topic, to children, living in Canada, breast feeding, and finally taking photos:

painting continues

the court of our compound is being made spiffy, walls scraped and new paint applied

with Doris in front and the painter is the background

my place looks great

a trader came into the court yard selling smoked fish and smoked Guinea Fowl:
the blackened round on the left are a fish, next to the right is guinea fowl, the big pieces on the right near the woman's shoes are pieces of tilapia (like one piece is the head back to the gills) and the one on the left front are a small fish, her prices were high so none were purchased and I came in and happily ate my chicken.

and the weekend story continues both in Toronto and Ghana

I found out last night about the tragedy in North Toronto, the Primate said that TORONTO WEEPS and that is so true. The developed world is doubly shocked when an event such a this happens in our city as we are lulled into thinking that it happens over there. Folks we are over there to many part of the world and it happens in everyone's backyard, ours included. This event like many is hard to understand 'why' and we may never know but we can be together to support and pray for everyone affected which includes you and me.  

May those who died rest in peace and rise in glory!

AYPA Conference for Anglican church in Ghana.
the space where it was held was an unfinished community centre, concrete pad with uprights including re bars around the edge with the centre having no roof. Trucked in are speakers, big speakers and a PA system, a couple of tables as the head table/altar on Sunday that microphones sat on, big banners around the outside edge telling what the gathering is.

getting the energy up and going

 Mother May helping me talk to the younger kids who were attending

 

Sunday morning crew and Doris (Eramus' daughter)

 cross on the Altar/table with blinking lights at the ends of the arms, about 12 inches high

ride back to the house,  the land has more crops and large herds of cattle and goats and even a few pigs which is not seen further south, passing fields that had been turned over, actually if I did not think, it looked like fields driving up the Hwy 400 and then I would see a palm tree and 

like Alice I knew I was not in Kansas any more

Crazy Monday

lots of comings and goings, WiFi not working for a while but here it is 1030 pm and finally I have pics downloaded to computer so can start to tell about the weekend

It was a Diocesan Youth Conference in Yeji, this town is on the Volta River
I think it is north of Kwadiokrom on the Volta River
Google says 4 1/2 hours to get there 264 km, roads are a challenge with 2 to 5 speed bumps in every
t
town and village to keep the speeding down, it works or you wreck your shocks
great weather so being outside was the way to go

so the town of Yeji, it is a hub for road travel and it is on the river, so the river edge is a hive of activity.  I understand the weekly market is held there on Sunday, there is a boat that cross the river as there is no bridge at this point, it seemed to be full every time with people, goats, motorcycles and large packages of goods

fishing is a busy endeavor, below women are getting the fish off the boat, 

which looks like the dug out variety of boat

then they sort into types: something that looked like our cat fish, maybe 4 inches long, tilapia, and the rest I have no idea

 

 The creativity to make a living here never ceases to amaze me.....
below you see the yellow plastic (formerly containing oil, the cooking variety) there is a business that loads up a van with these containers full of water and the water is sold to a pig farmer as he has no water source.
sourcing water is a common issue as it is costly to put a bore hole in so you see people including kids walking along the road with large pans on their head bring water back from a stream

 below is the main street leading to the beach, this is Sunday when lots of folks are out shopping etc

weekend to be continued tomorrow

back at the house

6 hours to get back, a litte pooped, pictures tomorrow

In a place called Yeji

attending a Diocesan Youth Conference with Frs Erasmus and Kingsley
Travelled most of today as it is in the eastern part of Ghana.
Staying in a hotel and the shower had hot water..... great change
Limited wifi so keeping it short

incoming water solved...I hope

got stuff to make a barrier so water does not come in at the bottom of the windows

silcone calking, nails and vinyl, like for the floor, I bought 18 inches off the roll, it is easy to cut with scissors and is like plastic, actually it was one stop shopping as the first store had everything  
it did look like this at the sill

it now looks like this with the beige strip along the sill 

with lots of silicone calking sticking it to the wood frame along with a few nails

so Adu brought a lad along to help me even though I kept saying I could do it myself, I can not figure out whether it is because of my gender or the fact I am not called a carpenter,
anyway I chased them both away

I had to go out again when I had finished so Adu came back to the house to see my results, I have a brain he says and he will do the same at his house      YES   SUCCESS !!!!!!!!!!!!!

I guess the proof wil be told in the next rain storm...here is hoping it is resolved

Another Tuesday

the students got real wool today to start knitting, my goodness .....a few have got it, some sorta and a few not at all, it was fun to see them working with real wool, I will be back next Tuesday so I suggested that they make a long sash to wear with a skirt, I am sure there will be at least a couple done.
tomorrow I am going to try to adapt the windows so the water stays out, it should be an adventure there is no Home Depot with all that they usually have. Hopefully Adu does not have a busy day, he usually can find anything, keep you posted......
the last barrel was picked up today to go to the north, a village being supported by Mary's church, she will send pics when the clothes are distributed,
THANKS AGAIN TO ALL WHO CONTRIBUTED TO THE LOAD THAT WAS SHIPPED

rain rain go away

last evening and in the middle of the night the rain was being driven against the windows in the living room and bedroom. all the windows are louvers that do not seal tight and leave gaps around each pane and at the bottom
SO     depending on the direction of the rain,
the water comes in along the sill, down the wall and along the  floor   

see the space at the bottom of the lowest louver, open space for water

I was up half the night mopping up water so I devised a system that slowed done that came in, not smart looking or stylish but serve the purpose

I tucked a plastic bag under the bottom louver and so the water came down the louvers and out on the plastic rather than come in. 

clothes pin fastened the top of the plastic on an upper louver, it looks loose in the pic but when the louvers are closed it tightens up. 

so the plan is to install a plastic strip along the inside of the bottom sill and calk the edge so the water does not come in, barrier so to speak, here's hoping I can find the stuff and then have it work 

New outfit

I used one of the pieces of fabric that Daniel created to have an outfit made, two tops, one skirt
Jemma, Daniel's wife teaches school, grade 2-3 I think and also is a seamstress, a very good seamstress
clergy shirt

blouse

HOT DOG SUCCESS

It is a little strange to have hot dogs on the menu as the main event but that's  today's lunch
buns were made at a bakery, whole wheat, the size of a 12 inch sub

so cut in half to fit, cut a half inch off one side and cut a wedge from centre of bun, it was very good but too much bread for a hot dog, now it will work great!
                                                                         

tata

Relish, never found so, the mother of invention is necessity I have heard, I made cucumber relish . and ... was it good,  yes I could eaten it by the spoon

and lunch was a great success

eating a mango

imagine ......

banging a mango from the tree with a stick, picking up and eating it. This little fellow is eating the results of his mother's efforts. notice the peel on the bottom step...he very carefully shoved all the chewed pieces off the step his feet are on, so he can look at a clean step and ignore the next step.

ps 

my cold is now only the cough

got a cold with a cough...again

Kleenexes, cough syrup Tylenol  the whole ten yards   what do they say about a cold...3 days coming///3 days here and   3 days going, by next week it will be all better
no electricity at the moment so no fan so a little warm weather person say it 26 but feels like 36, its warm for sure

looking for hot dog buns

you have to know that part of the fun here is trying to find something that is everywhere is Canada.

There are 4 German students here on a program for a year, teaching at a variety of schools in one way or an other. a couple of weeks ago Benedict and Joanna dropped in to chat and we talked about the differences between here and back home. in the midst of it I said I have hot dogs. Benedict brightened up and wanted to know...really  .... where can you get them etc, so I said I would have a dinner when hot dogs would be the main feature. I really like relish on my dogs so looking for relish and none to be found,  no one knows what pickles are either, even at the local hotel which has International visitors, So next was to find buns, well they of course don't exist if you don't have hot dogs, Someone has found a baker who will make them, I just sent a picture of a bun for a reference. The two students dropped in yesterday and we decided that lunch on Friday is going to be the hot dog fest, no relish but hey, can't have everything. so a marginally nutritious meal with hot dogs, Pringles potatoes chips, some quiche and spring rolls I got at the hotel and Benedict is bring guacamole and tortilla chips (he brought the spices from home) sodas or juice or water to drink, a crap meal but once in a while its fun. 

forgot VIP ticket price

$14.28 Canadian

VIP BUS SYSTEM

the VIP is the most comfortable bus ride, I can only compare to the local bus which is like the TTC, functional but not the most comfortable for a long trip. Remember 7 1/2 hours to Accra from here so comfort ranks pretty high on my expectation .
Inside of the VIP Bus .....fancy or what, the pkg includes a/c, a movie, adjustable padded seats except the back row where I was, the good news was that the bus departed a few minutes after I bought my ticket, usually it is a 1/2 to 1 hour wait until all the seats are sold

tv with a movie at the front

 I was sitting at the very last row across the back and looked down the aisle

the fringe trim on the valance on the windows
ever so....
                                                                           

water in the house

the front door which is the only door I have, has a gap, about 1 inch between the door and the floor. 

the black line is the gap, big enough for mosquitoes and crawling things and water

last night the winds blew and the rains came and the water flowed under the door. So I did not know what to call the thing that stops it, it is the sill or threshold so google says, anyway called Moses this am and asked if he could install a threshold to keep the water out, I hope he can put a silicone layer between the wood and the tile below to seal the space. He did know what I mean, he was in Kumasi today so hopefully next week sometime he can solve the issue.
fyi
there is only one area code for the whole of Ghana so no matter where you are in the country the call goes through, it means you never know where the caller is when you answer the phone, kinda neat actually as folks are surprised when you are out of town

substitute spinach again

big leaves

 any Indian restaurant has it, called Saag so internet says using spinach 

actually at Baycrest Centtre for Geriatric Care they also have a similar dish, equally good 

I used to have two bowls for lunch with an egg on top

knitting finally

got knitting needles finally, they work but it will be easier with metal or plastic as they will be smoother and less drag on the yarn, so I say again...all contributions gratefully received as I will be searching at garage and church sales. the girls are so keen and eager to learn it is a pleasure to help them. Many have mastered crocheting and now a second skill for the future.