Monday, December 31, 2012

Happy New Year!

I haven't downloaded my pictures (what few there are!) onto my computer recently, so no pictures this time, but I wanted people to know that I'm still alive, still enjoying my holiday, that I had a lovely Christmas, and that I'm looking forward to the new year.

On Christmas Eve we had a big dinner with everyone on station. There was lots of good good, some carol singing, and lots of laughter. Christmas day the single ladies had our now traditional progressive breakfast which took 8 hours, but was a very relaxing, special way to spend the day.

Tonight we're going to have a bonfire and some fireworks to see the new year in--several hours before midnight of course! I think Beth and I might be the only ones staying up... I'm looking forward to what 2013 brings, and hope all of you have a blessed year!

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Kitwe and Fruitcake.

I guess as a way to start trying to blog about the madness that was the Kitwe trip, I’m going to do a bullet list, and then expand on some topics. Here goes!

*Two dentist visits

*Lots of shopping

*Kitwe has a new Pick ‘n Pay—so much nicer than Shoprite!

*Lots of visiting the same two bookstores (this is what you get for being both a booklover and a teacher who works at a remote school).

*Lots of hole-in-the-walls with a surprising range of merchandise

*Some visits to Barcello’s complete with lattes—yes, this is part of why I go to town!

*Lots of good Sri Lankan food at our good friend the Fernandos. After a term of kid geared dining hall food, such a treat!

*Lots of fun visiting the Frenandos.

*Lots of texting various people about all sorts of errands from tie rod ends for a land cruiser to books.

*Lots of driving in the meat grinder that is town—no accidents praise the Lord!

*Being interviewed for a sport on ZedMBC—I was on TV today!

Dentist: I got the first half of a root canal, and then after some probing, sticking some scary pins in the offending tooth and x-raying, it was decided that the crown idea wasn’t going to work. So, out it came. The soreness is mostly gone, but I still have to be careful how I chew and use the nasty mouthwash tablets.

Being on TV: I got roped into doing an interview of ‘Today’s Women’ which was both the most hilarious and ridiculous thing in my life. If I had known that I was going to be interviewed for TV that day, I would have worn something a little different, and I would have had MY knitting with me. I ended up working on Beth’s while we pretended that she didn’t know what I was doing. Now my kids are going to come back and be all like, “You were on TV!!!”

In holiday news, today was fruitcake day! They look pretty edible, so I look forward to sharing and enjoying them with my station family.

Saturday, December 15, 2012

It’s Christmas Time!

Well, I just tried something new—candied pineapple for the fruit cake I’m going to make later this month. I remember my grandmother telling me that it takes a lot of sugar, but I wasn’t sure how it would work starting with fresh. After 45 minutes of cooking down on the stove, I’m pretty happy with the results.

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It’s Christmas in the bush, and I’ve been getting my halls decked despite the heat. The last weekend of term I put up my tree, and once again I’m brought back to my childhood and the simple pleasure of waking up and walking into a living room lit only by the tree lights.

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It wouldn’t be Christmas without an Advent wreath, so mine was retrieved from its storage place and carefully set up. The ritual of lighting another candle each week is another one that makes it Christmas for me. While I’m far away from my family, there is something comforting in carrying on a tradition that I know my family is doing back home.

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As a parting shot and a promise that I’ll write about my town trip, here’s a picture of a funeral that we passed just outside Solwezi. There’s always room for one more in Zambia!

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