It is October already; imagine that! Zorash called this morning and wanted to know if I was busy. Yesterday she heard me complaining that I had not had any Banku (fermented corn dough ball with okra and goat stew) in almost a month because the “fast food” lady that makes it has gone somewhere and the chop bar is only selling rice. I made the comment that I was going to have to learn to make it myself. Zorash wanted to know if I wanted her to teach me to make it today. Well, of course I did! I picked her up from her house and we headed to the market to buy the necessary ingredients. We cheated a little. We bought the cornmeal and cassava flour that were already fermented; if we had not we would have to wait for a few days for the fermentation process. Once we were back at the mission house we made stew that has a peanut butter base. We put in beef instead of goat. Other ingredients were fresh tomatoes, onion, garlic, bouillon and fresh okra. While we were waiting for the stew to cook we made the Banku. It is cooked like corn meal mush but to a much thicker consistency. It was all ready in time for lunch. It was delicious; Zorash had Banku for her lunch too.
Steve finished the monthly report this morning before he tackled the plumbing projects. We had two sink faucets that were leaking. The last time we were in Tamale we bought the faucets and flex hoses to fix them. Steve got both faucets fixed and so far no leaks! Happy Day! We also moved the bookcase and most of the stuff out of the master bathroom and cleaned the floors. The plumber is coming tomorrow to install a new toilet in the bathroom. That toilet has aggravated us for almost 20 years! It is the worst flushing toilet ever! You have to flush it at least twice to get the toilet paper to go down! We prefer to bucket flush the toilet to insure that everything goes out. This is the only toilet in the house and apartment that has this problem. Guess it is just a poor design.
The old toilet is set in cement and the new toilet is not an exact match to the old one. We are not sure what the plumber will encounter tomorrow when he installs the new one. Steve has changed out many toilets but none that are set on tile in cement; that is why we are hiring someone to do it. Steve feels certain that chiseling of cement will be involved.
While the bookcase was out I washed the shelves and lined them with vinyl that we had left over from another project. They look nice and fresh. Steve is going to have to level the bookcase before we put it back in the bathroom. Over the years it has gotten a little lopsided.
Take care and have a great day! Keep us in your prayers.
In His Service,
Steve and Kandie
