Red had one of his workers bring the tower for the Star Link system to the house this afternoon. The guy was very kind and helped Steve hoist it up the stairs onto the flat porch roof. The tower is almost 6 feet tall. Steve got the StarLink system semi-mounted. He said that he did not want to fully lock it down because he might have to move it to get the best signal. By the time he finished hauling cement blocks up the stairs he was pooped! Red made a shelf near the bottom of the tower and he set cement blocks on the shelf to keep the tower from toppling over in a strong wind. The tower looks good and as always Red did a great job.
It has been terribly hot the last couple of days because there is no Harmattan to protect us from the heat!
We had Donkey dig a long shallow trench this morning. We will use the trench to treat the lumber for the round house roofs. We use Dursban to treat the boards; Dursban is very poisonous. Normally the people use a knapsack sprayer to apply it but when they do the air is filled with the Dursban particles and the mist settles on everything. Our dipping method assures even coverage and seems to be a safer way to get the job done. Most of the boards are 16 ft so it is a 2 man job. When we went for our walk we stopped at the pharmacy and bought Donkey the pain killer (Diclofenec) for his back. He was very happy with the medicine. The ground was hard because we have not had any rain since the end of October. We told him to take it slow and rest a lot. We did not expect that he would do anything this afternoon; I would not have! But he swept leaves this afternoon. I told him that he was free to rest; he said that the medicine was very good for his back so he wanted to keep working. That must be a miracle drug; I might have to start taking that myself! Ha!
I was mistaken about what the Ya-Na, Donkey and his group were doing when they went to Damongo a couple days ago. I thought they were enskining a new chief but actually they were visiting the very powerful king/chief of the Gonga tribe. This is the third most important chief in Ghana. The Gonga-Na (king) had paid the Ya-Na a visit some time ago and now the Ya-Na was repaying the favor and going to visit him. It takes several hours to get to Damongo. We pass through there when we visit Mole, the game reserve. Donkey said that they went and came back on the same day.
This afternoon Steve finally finished his continuing education class that he takes online. These classes serve 2 purposes; they give him the credit he needs to renew his nursing license in the states as well as the renewal of his Ghanaian nurse’s licenses.
Thank you for all you do for us! We appreciate you so much!
In HIS Service,
Steve, Kandie and Skeeter
The Monkeyshines
Well, I decided that I could eat that new Sour Sop fruit. Really did I have a choice? Mom kept cutting it up and offering it to me! I finally got fed up and decided to actually try the flesh instead of just picking out the seeds and it was surprisingly good! Another couple days and it would have fermented! Mom can’t stand to waste anything! I am surprised that she did not eat it herself; she probably does not like it!
Mr. Iddrisu was feeding me my afternoon bottle when a strange motor king arrived at the gate; it was carrying a huge white metal thing! I was so frightened that I could not eat any more! It was driven by a strange man! Between the strange man and the strange motor king I was sure that it was the end of me! Mom said she would feed me when I calmed down.
Now Mom has Dad’s cold! You know I will get it next even though Mom keeps sanitizing her hands! Mom and I like to nap together in the afternoon. I was put out when Mom kept pushing me away from her face and shoving me under the cover! I like to snuggle up real close. When she would move me I would throw a tiny fit to let her know I did not approve! She said she was trying not to breathe on me but I was still highly insulted! I may just take my nap with Dad tomorrow!
No more strangers in the compound!
Love, Skeeter
