What, you might ask, do those four things have in common? Well, really, not much, except that they were all part of my day today. Sadly, my camera is in Egypt right now, so I'm not able to take any pictures. So when Devin gets back you'll all see the camel, but not the others. :)
So, fences...our front yard has been in need of a fence, well, really since before we moved in, but I had requested one soon after we got here. Well, it is FINALLY in after 8 months of heart attacks! Our yard is quite small, slants downhill, and at the end of it, there's a 4+ foot drop to a cement sidewalk. Not so kid friendly. Yesterday they came in with this hilariously rusted old falling apart fence, they happily painted it, and so far it's holding up like a charm! Ha! I let all three kids play in the yard today while I sat on the stairs thinking up my menu for the next week! It was fabulous! They each had a beach ball of sorts or a soccer ball, and they were throwing them or kicking them or chasing them down the hill--and I didn't have to stand at the end holding my breath or having too many unhealthy adrenaline rushes! It was great! and they got out a lot of energy, which was very much needed after this lazy Saturday without Dad's enthusiasm for outdoor adventure! ;) I'm afraid I'm not so adventurous on my own. We did vacuum, though, and that's supposed to burn a lot of calories.... But, I am very happy with the new fence, and so are the kids!!
Item number two: The chicken! I had my housekeeper do the market shopping today, and asked her to get, along with the fruits and veggies, a fresh chicken. I have heard that they taste so much better if they're fresh! Well, she comes back with a LIVE chicken! She carries the poor thing onto the porch in a plastic bag, and leaves it out there where the kids discover it (scary theme music here). They were absolutely thrilled with their new pet! :/ The chicken's legs were tied together with string, so it couldn't walk anywhere, but it kept trying to 'fly' away and the kids were just getting a kick out of it! Claire kept trying to feed it seed pods from some plants in the yard, and giving it water in cups. Well, I ended up leaving to do some other grocery shopping with my neighbor, and when I got back, the chicken was killed, plucked, skinned, and ready to cook! Wow, she's fast! BUT--I left Josh and Claire here. They were watching a movie. Apparently, though, Claire decided to go and see what Pascaline was doing. Uh oh. I'm not sure when she came into the grisly scene, but she was fairly traumatized by the whole thing..."Why are you killing the chicken!?!??!? He was my friend!!!! I hate you!!!" Oh dear. I was kind of hoping to avoid having her actually see that for that very reason. I don't think I would have reacted much differently. Makes me think of the movie 'Madeleine', when the cook brings home the fresh chicken, Madeleine names it Fred, and then refuses to eat it at dinner, causing quite a commotion! :) We'll she if she eats 'fred' tomorrow. We had chicken and dumplings for dinner tonight at the neighbors' house, and she didn't complain... :) I felt pretty bad for her, though. My poor sweet sensitive baby!!
Then there's the lizard. This was just a funny thought I had. One of those "Yes, I am in a different country" moments. I was looking out the window of our neighbor's dining room at the little trees in their yard (I have NO idea what kind of trees they are...) and saw a small animal movement in the tree. My brain's first thought was: "squirrel". Then upon reflection and further inspection I realized, "Oh yah. I'm in Africa. There are no squirrels here. Even if there were, they probably would have been eaten long ago (well, they eat cats and rats and they're fine with it. I hear squirrel tastes like chicken, too). So, no, it wasn't a squirrel. It was a lizard. It just hit me as one of those really weird things that you experience when living outside of your native land. Things like lizards in trees instead of squirrels, and deer being a super cool main attraction at the local zoo, but the lions are boring and common, and geckos live in your house with you and you're ok with that, and everyone always looks at you really funny because you definitely don't blend in with the crowd! Devin and I took the kids to one of the main markets last Saturday looking for new shoes for Josh, and we were quite the spectacle! We had a huge crowd around us watching as we had Josh trying on shoe after shoe, while Claire tried to try on shoes, too and while Andrew tried to run away! Ha! Just wait 'till we have four little white babies instead of just three! Ha!! Life sure is interesting!
And, well, then there's the camel. That, of course, is one that Devin will have to tell all about, as it really is his experience for the day. He arrived safely in Cairo last night and spent today sight-seeing. He went and saw the pyramids, rode a camel, went to King Tut's museum and saw some mummies and pharaohs, and basically had a blast. He says he has taken lots of pictures, so I'll post them when he gets back next week. :) I'm looking forward to seeing them!
And now, my friends, it is time to sleep. I went to bed too late last night, and, of course, got up too early this morning. I'm ready to go brush my teeth, take my nightly dose of Tums, read a book for about 10 minutes (I've already done my scripture study, so I've got that going for me), and then drift off to dream world. I find it's easier to sleep if I go to bed overly tired. I miss Devin. :(
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