Things were a lot slower around here this morning. Nazo is the only worker that comes on Friday. He was out most of the morning raking up leaves that had blown into pockets around the house and walls from the other day’s wind squaw.
I got out the battery charger and hooked it up to the battery in the old van. I then got some water and started washing off the windows on three of the vehicles. The dust and dirt collect so thick on the glass you can’t see out of them. I also took notice that several of the windshield wipers are in such bad shape I have to buy new ones. I don’t know if they are just made so cheap or maybe it is the heat takings its toll on them. Who knows?
The high temperature for the day was 108 degrees. My body is still trying to acclimate from 40oF in North Alabama to these hot temperatures. It is very easy to dehydrate when it is this hot and not realize it. After living in a cooler climate I don’t think about increasing my water intake until I notice my pulse increasing when I get out into the weather.
Around 11am I tried to start the old van but to no avail. It cranked but there wasn’t a time that it fired so I called Gomda, our mechanic. He is coming in the morning to check it out. I still have the battery charging for the green pickup. I’ll find out in the morning to see if I can successfully crank the engine and start it.
Around 4pm it was cooler so I was about to go up to the market to buy some vegetables when I spotted a boy 9-10 years old gathering cashew fruit near the tall wall between the house and Mr. Oldman’s house. Then I noticed a girl around 12-14 years old lying on top of the wall. They were having fun getting a five finger discount from our cashew fruit until the boy saw me and dropped his shirt tail load and ran. I caught up with him near the front gate. I asked him where he lived so we headed for his house. As we were walking by Mr. Oldman’s house the boy bolted and I went after him. Boy, that was a dumb idea! I grabbed my ankles several times to get my breath. I never did see the boy after that but I am hoping he learned his lesson. It is a strange custom they have here about stealing. It’s not considered stealing if the owner sees you taking it and doesn’t call you on it.
As I was saying, I wanted to and did go to the market. As usual everyone was asking about Kandie and where was she? It is nice to know that people know us and ask about us. I bought a nice big head of cabbage, some fresh tomatoes, dried and green onions, and two small watermelons. On the way back to the house I stopped by Gatto’s hardware store and bought some PVC fittings for hooking up another water tank.
Before I ate my supper I had to wash and rinse the vegetables lest I forget to do so. It sure makes a big difference when it is just me over here. I still have not washed a dish so that will be in my future this weekend.
That is it for now. Hope you have a good day!
In His service,
Stephen Taylor
