Timothy called this morning because the mason that is working the bathhouses at Kulkpeni wanted to know if we would hire him and his men to plaster the inside of the bathhouses while he was there working on the job. We told Timothy to get the estimate for the labor and the amount of cement that he would need. A little later he called back and we gave him the go ahead to plaster the rooms; the only problem is that Kwabena, the night watchman, who has a motor king was not around today to haul the local sand (clay). Timothy was going to check with the mason to see if he knew someone that would haul for us. We have not heard anything else so we presume the job is going on.
We got the suitcases packed and weighed; anyway as much as possible. There are a couple that are not to their full weight capacity but I have an idea of how to remedy that; more shopping when we get to Accra! Shopping is my one weakness! Ha!
We spent the afternoon in town buying supplies to keep the work going while we are gone. The truck was loaded with 23 buckets of paint, 3 gallons of turpentine, paint brushes and extra bottle water. We also picked up padlocks for the buildings at Kulkpeni.
Steve worked on the handle to the portable speaker system; he reinforced it with small nails and filled the cavity with epoxy. Hopefully it will hold. If it breaks again we are going to leave it off completely because if the handle is weak it will give way when someone is moving it; I doubt that would be very good for the system!
While we were in town Zorash called and her friend had gotten a new batch of fabric seconds; she wanted us to come and take a look at the fabric. I was looking for something that was red and green and could be used for the holidays but she did not have any. I bought a couple pieces that I thought would make quilt backs; it is hard to imagine what the back will look like when the quilt top is on the other side of the world. Zorash also found a piece that she wanted to make a dress out of. It was a good day for the fabric seller!
We found a new place to buy Tylenol and multivitamins and other medicine for the Child Center. The place is a wholesale warehouse. The prices are considerably cheaper than the pharmacy we presently use. This warehouse actually adds the taxes onto the price of the items; isn’t that a novel idea? If we buy from them it is one less batch of Withholding Tax we have to worry about paying!
Take care and keep us and the work in your prayers.
In HIS Service,
Steve, Kandie and Skeeter
The Monkeyshines
I was locked out of my jail cell for several hours around noon which was fine with me! Any time I get out of that cell on good behavior is a bonus to me. Today I was out because Dad was remodeling my cell. He used the pressure washer to clean the inside and then he used it to wash off the roof. The roof is just a dark metal roof and the parents know that when the leaves start falling off the teak trees around my prison the sun will make the roof very hot. In this heat it did not take long for the roof to dry; Dad painted it white this afternoon so that it will reflect as much heat as possible. Mom has some new toys that she wants to hang in my cell but Dad had finished painting and put away the ladder before Mom was aware that he was working on it. I am not even sure that he knew that she had plans to hang more stuff. Sometimes Dad can’t figure out what is going on inside Mom’s head!
I peeled and ate most of a navy blue crayon this morning while I was helping Mom cut fabric! I sure hope that when she sees blue poop that she remembers I ate the crayon or she will be dragging me off to that vet’s office again!
I tried and loved a new food! They are Bambara beans; they grow under the ground like peanuts. There is only one bean in each pod. A lady that was selling the Bambara beans came to the Child Center and Dad bought some for the worker and some for me too! The best part was peeling the shell off of them. They were boiled with a little salt. The bean is sort of mushy but very tasty! Mom says Bambara beans make you toot! She should know she has eaten more Bambara beans than I have!
Bambara beans are my new favorite food!
Love, Skeeter
