There are certain areas around town that as soon as you get out of your car, you will be approached by various vendors wanting to sell you all kinds of fruits, vegetables, etc.. Yesterday Michelle and I did a little shopping to prepare for the week and the vending experience was extreme.. Every stop from the gas station, to the grocery store, to another grocery store, to the stop light... there were people gathered around your car waiting for you to get out of your vehicle. It can upsetting, depressing, funny , etc.. ... as we'd pull up to a spot, we 'd look at each other, prepare ourselves and say ... "you ready??" then we'd step out of the truck and kindly say no thank you.. But we did have some weak moments.. I somehow was talked into buying a laundry basket with a lid, and of course a "Desperate men of Country " Cd.. which included Dolly Parton. Not sure where she fits into the "men" aspect of the CD, nor do I really know the significance of the title. It is basically a mixed CD with Kenny Rogers, Don Williams(the two favorite here, as well as Charlie Pride and a few others..
A nice weekend was had here in Lilongwe.. Michelle had some much needed time off this weekend. We had several friends over friday night for a dinner.. Maura and Frances had a birthday party Saturday afternoon, then we headed to some our other friends home for dinner. They have a beautiful home outside of town with plenty of space for the kids.... plus a pool. It seems like our kids get along very well and had a nice time playing while being totally and completely bombarded by mosquitos..They cooked up some wonderful food and our kids were able to try some chicken hearts.. Matt had also heard me talking about Kentucky Bourbon one day, and was kind enough to pick up a bottle of Knob Creek on his trip back home to the UK. We had a tasting after dinner.. delicious.
Sunday brought tennis lessons for Michelle in the morning and we hit the pool since in the afternoon as it was 90+ degrees outside.. I woke up at 6 am thinking it was about 10 in the morning as the sun was just beating through the window. Time slows down to snails pace here during the weekend..
Missing home during this holiday week, even more so since we won't have a break on Thursday. We still plan on having a thanksgiving day meal (I have ordered 2 turkeys from a specialty shop), but we go right back to school on Friday. Friday is a big day at the school as it is dubbed "International Day".. This is a big deal and kids show off outfits, dances and foods from their home country... It is quite amazing and the food tasting should be great.. Food from Malawi, England, South Africa, Lebanon, India, Italy, Greece.... just to name a few.. There's an American food table as well, just not sure what will be available to taste.. When we lived in Botswana they had an international day and the food was amazing.. but i think the American table consisted of brownies, hot dogs and popcorn.. what a beautiful culture... We may make pigs in a blanket , skyline dip and buffalo wings just to really give everyone a taste of home.. The kids are now picking out the patriotic outfits.. so far Maura is wearing an Aroldis Chapman jersey, Kate is wearing a Louisville Cardinals t-shirt and Frances is wearing a Pancreatic Cancer walkathon tshirt, because it says Cincinnati on it.. Jude might just wear a batman shirt, since American is the home to DC comics..
With the rainy season officially started, there has been noticeable change in the amount of birds that are present in our yard.. It is amazing the amount of different types of birds you can see on a day to day basis.. Ill try to get some photos.. Ok, all for now.. Have a good start to the week. Hope all is well.
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| Franny in the yard |
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| old city center |
