Dawda, the mason, started the work on the bath house this morning. We are planning on making 4 bath houses with each bath house having 2 rooms. The bath houses double as urinals. Yes, it is gross but that is the way they like it. Everyone takes a bucket bath and if the Muslims are around they are required to wash 5 times a day hence the need for bath houses. Today we decided to draw a plan as to how we wanted the bath house. It looks sort of like a maze in that it has no doors but still gives privacy because you walk down a short hall; turn the corner and enter the wash room. There are no roofs on these bath houses. The floor is slanted so the used water runs off the floor outside into a soak away. It took a bit of explaining and revamping before we got Dawda to understand exactly what we wanted. Dawda and the masons got about ¾ of the block set today. Everything looks good so far but we are still having a problem about the height of the floor; Dawda likes the building to be up off the ground because he thinks they look grander but we don’t care. We don’t want to have to walk up steps to get into a bath house. They will finish this one tomorrow and then start another one.
Gomda, the mechanic, had to come to the mission house this morning to start the old van. He worked on it the last time he was here but it is doing the same thing it was doing before. He said that he thinks it is an electrical problem. He got it started and drove it to his shop.
The small grey freezer went out at some point while we were gone. It was struggling before we left so I only put stuff in it that would not spoil if it totally died; the dry goods that I like to keep frozen so the mice and bugs don’t get to them. We only lost 2 things, a beef stick and some beef jerky. It has been at the repair shop for the past few days. The owner of the shop went somewhere so his apprentices have been working on it. They called today to tell us that it was ready and that they had replaced the compressor. When we went to pick it up it was not ready; they were still brazing something or the other to it. Steve called the owner and told him that we wanted to leave it there to make sure that the repairs they were doing worked. The mechanic’s name is Boat. Boat said, “Mum, you knows me! I can’t lie to you and tell you it is working when it is not working; feel free to come for it.” I told him that I knew him but I did not know his apprentices and I did not want to bring it to the mission house and find out it was not really fixed and have to take it back! He said he would call his apprentice and tell him to check it overnight to make sure it was really freezing.
It is a new month so we started the odious task of recording receipts and preparing the Withholding taxes.
Take care and enjoy your day!
In HIS Service,
Steve, Kandie and Skeeter
The Monkeyshines
I have hit a growth spurt! Anyway that is what Mom said; she said that I was trying to eat her out of house and home. Really? I don’t want to eat either her house or her home but I have been hungry today. For supper I ate 5 grasshoppers, mind you they were small grasshoppers, 2 tidbits of pineapple, a slice of yellow melon, ½ of a small banana, a few roasted peanuts and a few raw peanuts, a piece of mango, and a small piece of bread. The grasshoppers were my appetizer; when Mom and Dad walked back to the jobsite to pay the workers they caught the grasshoppers for me. Mom is so determined that I am going to learn to catch grasshoppers that today she held it in her hand until I tried to get it then she opened her hand and set it free! I am a fast little guy; I pounced on everyone before it had a chance to make more than one jump! Then I had to kill the little boogers; I did that by rolling them on the ground under my hands! I have decided that I love grasshoppers!
Mom and Dad went to the vets today because it is time for my worm medicine. They have not given it to me yet; I sure hope that it does not taste nasty! You know they lie sometimes and say, “Here take this, it tastes good!” You know they never even tasted it; how do they know it tastes good? Soon it will be time for my rabies and distemper shots; no one is looking forward to that trip!!
THE GREAT GRASSHOPPER KILLER STRIKES AGAIN!
Love, Skeeter
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