Potpourri News

Hello once again! We have been busy as usual. So much has been going on at once so I decided to just touch on a few different topics and fill you

in on some of the news.

We are currently in the process of adding another classroom to our new addition to the school. The classrooms were just getting too crowded. It will still be a simple structure until we can get more funding to construct a solid building with the ability to add on a second story in the future. For now it will just be wooden posts and a tin roof.

Constructing the third classroom of the new addition outside of the original school building.
Here are a couple of shots of the plants in front of the house. From all the rains we had, they have grown quite a bit. A few have been trampled by the kids while playing soccer but seem to come right back over time. The kids are oblivious to the landscape during the heat of the game. Landscape in front of our home. If you look a little closer you can see a small peanut patch jutting out over the dirt in front of the landscape. (near the center of photo). Someone threw a few out in the yard and they grew. Not the best place but, they are there. We've only seen a couple of shells but the insects are taking over. There still is not any uniformity to the landscape but there is definitely lots of color. Only a nature lover can appreciate this shot. I'm sure the landscapers are shaking their heads. :)
Remember my posting of the scary adventure of coming into Bayonnais? Well, a lot of people had the same experience and it was said that one woman fell during the night. I was unclear as to whether she fell into a hole or off the cliff. Anyway, Actionnel organized a large group of people to go and try to make some repairs. Over two hundred showed up and they did the best they could with what they had to work with. The road is now again considered safe, however, I still have no desire to travel that route. I wish I had some before and after shots but this will give you an idea.Construction began at the base of the incline and continued on up and around the curve. Here are a few of the many who came to help. People at the top of the photo are looking at the higher part of the curve. Actionnel is right behind the arm of the man in the white cap on the lower right. Fortunately for them, the rain did not interfere with their efforts.
Filling in the deep crevices that made driving nearly impossible. A little further up is where we fell in. The cliff is on the left side. It's a long way down.
Chopping into the rocky side of the mountain in order to widen the road and level out the steep hill on the right.
I will have to check with David Nichols (who was visiting here from North Carolina) to see if he was able to get any photos of the completion. If so, I will share them with you.
Next we have a shot of the our bus stuck in the mud. The guys did the shopping and loaded the bus with a month's worth of groceries. It survived the roads from Gonaives to our house but just could not make it into the gate. We had to unload very quickly in the pouring rain and then leave it as it was overnight. (Quickly is an overstatement, considering the fact that it was dark, muddy and we had a number of large 50 pound bags of food as well as cases of water, cokes and other food). The next day it took about a half hour to get the bus out of the mud and back on the road. What a mess!
Below is the aftermath of where the bus made several attempts to get free. Notice the nice shade of green slime in the water? Something we see everywhere after the rain.
Several people have inquired as to how Angeline is doing these days after her accident with the motorcycle. I am very happy to say that her heel has healed! She lost about five of the seven layers of skin but it healed very quickly and she was up and around in about three weeks time. However, the other night we had another scare. She fell off the top bunk of the bed where she sleeps. I heard a loud thump (we have concrete floors)
followed by a very loud and long scream. Then she was calling for me. When I got into the room I found her on the floor holding her leg. I checked her out and determined that it was not broken. Put her back to bed and placed a large pillow next to her. The following morning, she had a very large lump on the outer side of her thigh. It was as hard as a rock. She was walking with a limp. Our watchman called another man who came with some home remedy to help her with her leg. What he actually had was a bar of plain soap. He dipped the soap in water and lathered his hands. He then massaged Angeline's leg starting from the thigh and slowly moved down to her knee, calf, ankle, foot and finally her toes. As I watched, I was thinking: I wish I could get a massage like that! Anyway, it took about ten minutes and he said she would be fine. After breakfast, I checked her leg and the lump was completely gone. Not only that but she was walking without any discomfort or limp. I was pretty impressed. So, here are a couple of pictures of our little darling, Angeline.
Angeline with her sweetest smile.
Here she is demonstrating her recovery by dancing.

Now to give an update on our rodent situation. It seems that my biggest concern has been realized. A couple of nights ago I awoke to a suspicious noise and discovered two baby mice enjoying a few Tootsie Rolls that they managed to steal from the bag in my room. They scampered away as soon as the light hit their eyes. I also discovered a half-eaten Tootsie-Pop that was on my dresser, which I was saving for an emergency craving. :) Since they did not go for the tomato laced with poison that the Haitians suggested, I decided to give them more of the same, (chocolate) only dusting them with rat poison. This morning we found one baby that has gone off to rodent heaven. I am not sure how many more are left but the twins saw one pass them by in the hallway. I've got more chocolate ready and waiting. Hopefully we will be rid of them in a few days. No photos for this story. I am sure you appreciate that.

I would like to end this posting with one of my favorite photos. It is a close up view of what I see every morning. This is one of the blessings of living here. I really love sitting on the porch in the cool mornings and getting lost in thought with this scenery. Enjoy! Hope to write again very soon.