clouds

730 in the morning here and absolutely gorgeous.. Not sure what we have planned for today, but we have a braai to go to , then a night of playing cards with friends.  Having coffee and listening to 89.3 WMKV from home. Talking to Joseph this morning, as he makes a fire in the side yard to make food.. He tells me that him and Kam have been pricing rabbits in the village to replace our two that were lost at the hands of our dog.. They were really upset about the loss of the rabbits. Kam said yesterday, "the children are sad, and so I am sad".. I tried to assure him my kids were ok, but I think he really wants to get a few more rabbits.

Yesterday as we were driving around town we stumbled upon a playground called "MAT".. I pulled in the dirt parking lot and got out to survey the place.. They have just opened up and were trying to market the place.. I met a real schmoozer of a Malawian salesman name Toko... He was telling me to come and watch American football, etc and let the kids run around.. It was actually a pretty novel idea for this city.. There's nowhere for kids to play.. no parks, no nothing.. so, they've developed a mini park full of trampolines, playsets, etc.. and a room with Xbox and games to play as well.. Plus, for the parents the will have a wine bar and a "vast" selection of beer and a "vast" selection of food on the menu.. Now, this all sounds great, but the reality is ...  their selections will not be vast, and the games (such as Xbox) will not work and the playground will have equipment that doesn't work or is dangerous to play on.. Most of the playlets here are makeshift welded sets and have bits of metal sticking out.. Plus, the American Football can be found here three days after the games were actually played.. And, they are usually broadcasted at 4, 6 and 8 am...
But, if it turns out to be somewhat functional, it could be a nice place to go when bored.. I asked Toko about the hours and he said.. "during the weekend, we'll be open until there's no one who can stand anymore".... Seems kind of dangerous..  I didn't get a picture of the place, but think a PUTT PUTT facility, with a bar..

Just around the corner from the playground/ bar was a shop called Gary's.. I've read about it on local chat websites and thought about stopping in to check out what they had to sell.. I thought they were a pet/ fish store and thought maybe that would be a nice alternative to rabbits.. But, they don't sell fish, they only sell aquariums to house fish.. Ahhhh ... Makes total sense right??
 You can't go to a pet store to buy a pet.. You have to go to someplace (mostly on the street) to buy a rabbit, or dog, or cat.. This is true and I don't think I've mentioned this. As you drive through town, you 'll see guys holding rabbits or puppies or kittens up in the air for sale.... And they'll stand there all day with the same animal... The strangest thing about this place is the fact that the hospitals and healthcare for people are so dilapidated and backwards, yet there's a LSPCA center for animals with emergency facilities that is open 24 hours...

Clouds- with the rainy season upon us, the clouds you see rolling in each day are stunning.. I don't think I've ever seen such an amazing array of clouds that in all honestly, can scare the hell out of you.. But we've only really experience 2 or 3 good storms here.. But the clouds are beautiful..
Not much else to say, Michelle went to work for an hour or so to check up on things..Then we'll head out with the kids to enjoy the afternoon.. Maybe buy an aquarium or go to a playground...
Hope all is well back home..

Jude and Franny in the back seat

New Year's celebration