Coleslaw 'n Tomatoes for Breakfast

Today, I had something very different for breakfast-coleslaw (well, actually shredded cabbage) and tomatoes. Sounds funny, I know, but it was actually not bad. I think Deliwe was trying to use some of the cabbage, as we seemed to have accumulated a large amount of it lately. She also made up for all those fresh vegetables by making me some lovely grease-laden, salty "chips" on the side (i.e. "french fries" to you bloody yanks out there...they're very popular here, as well as in Britain, where I believe I never ate them sober... but that's another story for another time...)

That was pretty much the highlight of my day today. It was a relatively uneventful day, though I did buy some interesting wooden carvings from Deliwe's cousin (again). You may remember my story of him last week, appearing suddenly at my door selling wooden candle-holders mysteriously the morning after I'd mentioned a need for some in the middle of a blackout the night before. Again, he appeared as I was coming home for lunch today, actually hanging around in my front yard waiting for my arrival so he could sell me some more stuff. Can you imagine? Back in the good ol' U.S., people have been shot for less. But, not here. It's peaceful, and people aren't so possessive about things like we Americans are. They share everything, walk through each other's yards, feed each other's dogs (especially in my case), and even feed each other's families (as I mentioned yesterday in the case of Sister Anastasia). It's a paradise for a bleeding-heart liberal like myself. Or just the Pollyanna in me that wants everyone to just bloody get along. Is that so wrong?

So, in addition to my other political and social leanings, I'm also a "sucker" for a good or maybe not-so-good bargain, that also allows me to help someone out. The gentleman selling the wooden items got me to buy a few more things than I'd planned on, as it turns out he was in the middle of settling a court case involving a burglary at his house... (o.k., so it's not all that ideallic after all). I didn't get all of the information, but it seems he tried to make a claim against the suspected burglars, but in order to do so, he had to pay a pretty large fee (court costs? I'm not sure). Anyway, he managed to convince me to buy more from him to help him pay the fee. Partially because he is Deliwe's cousin, and partially because I'm a bleeding heart, and in largest part partially because I like his work, I ended up buying about 5 more items than I'd planned to buy, plus paying a "deposit" on a future purchase. All in all, it cost me about $40 U.S., so even if it was more than others might pay for the same items, it's well within my means. For that amount, I bought two beautifully-carved wooden lamp-posts (which he'll assemble with wires, bulbs, and shades later this week), 2 smooth wooden bowls, a set of 2 candle holders with hippos carved into them, and another nicely-carved wooden bowl with a lid. I think it's a decent deal, and if he's taken me for a ride, Deliwe's got my back. She'll give 'im hell.

So, that's about all I have to share for now. If you're on my Christmas gift list (and if you're really nice to me), be sure to let me know what you'd like from Africa (especially if you like hand-carved wooden pieces). It's great, because I can shop from home with the actual artisan, rather than browsing the bloody internet, and having no idea whether what I'm getting is really what I wanted in the first place. Ya, this is definitely a better way to shop--The house call. Just hope I don't go broke!

Well, gotta go help Betsy give medicine to her dog Buster. He's the one who "prefers white people" as his owner puts it. It's a strange phenomenon. I think I mentioned before that this dog is owned by my next-door neighbor Mr. Gadzera, along with the other dog "Trigger," which is the dog I thought I'd adopted when I first came here. The basic difference between the two dogs is that Trigger just comes for a visit once in awhile, and is overall a healthy dog, while Buster is just in lousy shape, as he was staying with the American volunteer who was living in Betsy's house up until July. After he (Jeff) left to visit the U.S., no one fed nor took care of the dog, so he's in really bad shape. It seems he prefers to hang around white people, so if there are no white people around, he starves. He's not a very smart dog. We felt that since he's always hanging around us, and had been adopted previously by Jeff, we should take care of him. So tonight is de-worming and flea-powdering night. Aren't you jealous? Ya, I know. So is Trigger. Maybe he'll come to watch. Twonana mawa! (See ya tomorrow!)