We just got back from town; it is 7:00 pm. We went to town to buy fruit and toilet paper. While we were in town I asked Steve to stop by Akosu’s chop bar to see if she happened to be cooking Banku (fermented corn dough with slippery okra soup). I was so happy when Steve came out with plastic bags! We have not eaten supper yet; I am saving the Banku for lunch tomorrow. While we were out and about we also stopped and bought a grilled guinea fowl. Steve is making the garlic dipping sauce while I write the notes.
We washed clothes this morning before we went for our walk. We are seriously conserving water right now; we save the water from washing clothes to flush the toilets and mop the dust up off the floors. Today Steve used part of the wash water to power wash Skeeter’s cage and wash the van.
After our walk Steve started building my bookshelf. It will be so nice to have somewhere to put all the little tubs that have office supplies and sewing notions. We took a break from the bookshelf during the hottest part of the day. Steve finished it up this afternoon. We have enough boards left to make another small bookcase. I just have to decide where I want to put it.
Before we went to town we went to the back of the property and picked up mangoes. We got about 5 gallon bucket of mangoes. When we went to town we dropped them off with Gomda, the mechanic. He will share them with the other guys that work at the shop.
Donkey climbed on the roof this morning and cleaned out the cement gutters that surround the mission house roof. The gutters lead to the reservoir. We wanted to be sure they were clean before the rains start. We have a simple filtering system for the cistern. The filter catches leaves and seed pods and most of the larger debris. We told him that we needed it cleaned yesterday; he came early this morning so he could get the job finished before it got too hot. It is a terrible job and he usually ends up getting a cut or two from the sharp roofing sheets.
The swelling in Zimblim’s (Donkey’s son) hand is going down and he has more movement in his fingers; those are good signs. He said that he is still in a lot of pain and Donkey asked for more Ibuprofen for him today.
Thank you for all you do for us and for the work in Ghana.
In HIS Service,
Steve, Kandie and Skeeter
The Monkeyshines
I have had a “trying” day! I have been put upon in every imaginable way! I don’t know what I have done to be so ill-treated! The day started with a bath which I despise and it went downhill from there! After I had my bath I was so aggravated that I went outside and pulled half of the freshly laundered clothes off the line; I got in so much trouble because the parents had to rinse the clothes again and re-hang them. My punishment was that I had to stay on my leash until the clothes were completely dried. There went my morning outdoor time! I took my punishment like a monkey and attacked Donkey when he walked by! I grabbed his pant leg and pretended I was going to tear him apart!
Then I was taken to that hateful vet’s office to get a shot of Ivermectin! Really, do you know how humiliating it is to have a towel thrown over your head and be held down while someone sticks a 10 inch needle in your back? Ok! Maybe it was not 10 inches but it felt like it. There was a new person there that said she was a vet; she is no more a vet than I am a CAT! Mom had to tell her the dosage and she stuck me 2 times before she could get the medicine out of the syringe! When Mom asked if they would sign my pet book they said no! I know they said “No” because she is not really a vet and she did not have the authority to sign anything!
This afternoon while Dad was making the bookshelf for Mom I was playing around outside. Donkey was trying to sleep; I delighted in waiting for him to doze off and then jumping out of the big mango tree and landing on him. Sometimes I landed on his head; sometimes on his stomach.
Everything was going well until Dad started the skill saw! I was on the ground when I got scared; I ran as fast as I could to the nearest tree which happened to be a cashew tree by the front gate that has razor wire wound around it to keep the kids from climbing the tree. I did not know the razor wire was there and I ran right over it! I climbed to the top of the tree and licked the nicks. I was lucky that I did not get tangled up in the razor wire! It could have been so bad for me!
So all in all I have had a ROUGH day!
Next time we go to the Vet’s I want to see a “license”!
Love, Skeeter
