Wednesday's Update

I am only halfway through putting together the profiles for my kids at the orphanage. It has been a slow process gathering the information and downloading the pictures. I hope to have it finished by Friday.
In the meantime, I wanted to let you know that things are still going well here. We endured quite a bit of rain for the past month and today the ground is getting close to dry. The wind is blowing quite strong and the sun is in full heat. Our thermostat showed that it was 84 degrees on our front porch at 6:30 this morning. It was hotter inside the house.

This was a typical view from our porch every afternoon and most mornings.

Our front yard (the soccer field) being washed out to the road. The smaller door on the gate was later blown off the hinges for the second time.

The good news is that I finally found my portable fan after two months of looking. The bad news is that the batteries (eight "D" size) did not last long. The good news is that I bought 16 more. The bad news is that the first set lasted four days and the second set is at the end of its energy. The good news is that I will get some more on Saturday. The bad news is that I will probably go broke trying to stay cool this summer or will just have to endure some sleepless nights. Oh the joys of Haiti!

I had the pleasure of sampling one of the first melons that Evaniel grew in his garden. It was not one of the best I ever tasted but it was nice to taste one again. This particular variety has very little meat, a ton of seeds and the fruit inside is a light pink.

On our way back from Port Au Prince last week, we stopped and bought some watermelons. They looked like the one I am holding except that the outside was a dark green and the fruit was a bright red. I brought them home and put them in the ice chest overnight. The kids had never had this kind and they had NEVER tasted a cold watermelon! They were so excited and devoured them in a matter of minutes. I could not cut them fast enough. They really were delicious. Next time I go, perhaps next week, I intend to buy the other kind of watermelon that look like the ones from Texas. Yum! I can't wait!
We have a new housekeeper that is helping out just for the summer and she is also putting in our landscape. I would have liked to have helped her with it since I come from a family of nurserymen and landscapers but she is considered "one of the best" in the area and I did not want to impose on her territory. It seems that her landscape design is suppose to look like a natural habitat or rather, there was not really a "design" or any kind of plan as far as I could tell. I'm sure it will turn out fine. What do I know? I ain't from 'round here.

Just getting started with the layout. Not a very good shot. I will take more pictures when the project is complete. It really is coming along nicely.

On a more personal note, I received an email from my son and he informed me that he has been offered a one month internship as an athletic trainer-trainee for the Oakland Raiders professional football team. He will be in California from July 22nd to August 25th and I will only have one or two days to spend with him when I make my trip home during that time. I am so excited about his new adventure and also very proud of him. God Bless you, Dylan! Be careful and have a great time!

My time here is up and my escort has arrived. The other good news is that today was the first chance I have had to ride my bike since it was returned to me. It works just fine but the rains kept the road too muddy to make the trip. Sure was a joy to be riding again! Hope to have my family blog ready to post on Friday. In the meantime, enjoy the news and enjoy the day! Love to all!