Rain, Rain Go Away…or at least give us a break!

Since my return from Texas on August 29th, we have had rain every single day. (It was also raining daily before I left) Not only have we had rain but some serious thunderstorms as well. The weather forecast predicts more of the same until next Monday. Although it helps to cool things down, it also keeps everything muddy and messy and the mosquitoes seem to have quadrupled in the past week. They are absolutely everywhere, including inside the house. The kids are all sleeping (and roasting) in their long-sleeved, long pant pajamas just to have a bit of protection. We are out of our repellent and there is a constant sound of slapping and whining going on throughout the day as well as the night. It doesn't help to know that there is a serious strain of Dengue fever going around in the Caribbean and that there have been reports of a few deaths in the Dominican Republic. From the mosquitoes that I have managed to squash after biting me, I have seen three different sizes. There is the normal size that I am accustomed to in Texas; there is a slightly larger version, and then there is the pesky little microscopic one that bites the hardest. I really get annoyed with them because you don't know they are there until they bite. The actual wound seems to be bigger than the others are. I also discovered an unusual looking bite on my thigh that appears to be from a spider. I am keeping a close eye on that one. So far, I feel fine.
The other creatures we have been dealing with are the mice that have found their way into the house. Although we have seen evidence of their presence every morning, we have yet to see the actual rodents. I suspect that they are camping in my room since I still have a large number of boxes from the donations and other supplies. Some of them have shredded paper in certain areas and I have seen their droppings in my room and even on my desk. Yuck!!!! One of the critters even munched on my candle. I'll just have to keep trying to get organized so I can find their nest. Not sure what I will do when I find them but at least I will know where they are. It is just too miserably hot to do it during the day and the early mornings and evenings are busy with the kids. The temperature is already in the mid eighties by 8:00 a.m.. I could always wait until winter (?) but by then we will have an epidemic. Our cook says that the market sells the poison so we plan to get some on Thursday.
Speaking of cooks, we have a now have a wonderful woman who started working for us last week. Her name is Madame Ginette and she is the sweetest lady. Very God-centered, loves the kids, and is a terrific cook. Everyone has been very happy to have her here. I will probably gain back all the weight I have lost. Ha!
Our current housekeeper (#4), however, did not work out. She tried but just could not follow directions and could not accomplish the tasks that needed to be done on a daily basis. (The spray bottles did not survive either). She said the work was too hard because she is an old lady. When I asked how old, she said she was fifty. I wanted to say, "Hey! Watch out with that "old" stuff!" I told her that I was also fifty but I don't think she believed me. She received her month's salary; we parted on good terms, so all is well with that.
Our new housekeeper, Madame Meladette, started today. I am hoping that she will be a real "keeper". She is the sister of the House Mother, Madame Rode; we met at the Ebenezer Glenn Orphanage in Dessalines and says that she is very familiar with how an orphanage should be maintained. Meladette is a single mom with a seven-year-old daughter. She loves kids and was a teacher at one time. I loved her energy and she asked several important questions, which pertained to the job, so that was a good sign. We will know very soon.
I guess I should mention that the reason I have not posted in a few days is that our generator broke again last Thursday. We were without power until yesterday. I always feel like a true Haitian when that happens. It is not fun at all to be in the dark, especially for several nights in a row. I was grateful to have the Ecolight but it only lights up a small area. We placed it in the bathroom on top of the dividing wall so that the kids could use the facilities and take their showers. The Watchman uses the $5.00 wind-up generator light I bought more than a year ago during a power outage and little did I know it would become a valuable tool in Haiti. The only other light is a small handheld flashlight. I have to run all over the house with it just to keep up with the kids in separate rooms. The other six that I brought are either broken, missing or out of batteries. That includes the emergency road light that I used to keep in my car.
The kids were not happy about having to go to bed early on Friday and Saturday and especially unhappy about missing movie night. A couple of them cried. I felt like crying, too! Not so much about the movie, but about the real inconvenience for everyone. Even our neighbors count on us to have power so they can charge their cell phones or come over to study on our front porch. We share our electricity with the market across the road so when our lights are out, their livelihood is in the dark as well. It is a real shame that so many live each day without power. I know in the back of my mind that for me, this is only temporary. I will one day go back to my comfortable existence in the U.S. but the rest of the folks here don't have that choice or opportunity. I know that someday all of Haiti will be lit up like the rest of the States (if they are adopted as a State in 2009 as proposed) but it will take a quite a few more years.
Our blessing came in the form of a man name Tigarr. He has a physical defect, which causes him to walk with a serious limp, but he is an excellent mechanic. We were so happy that he knew what the problem was with the generator and repaired it in a matter of hours. (This included a trip to Gonaives to get the parts). I could have kissed him! I think I will try to buy him a pair of shoes instead. His looked pretty beat up. Anyway, we are all back to our (un) usual routine and it feels great.
Thanks for stopping by and checking on me. I want to mention again that I welcome any comments you would like to leave. I get jealous when I read other blogs and can see that they get anywhere from 10 to 20 comments on each of their postings. One or two comments would be nice from time to time. Anyone? Critique? Questions? Encouragement? It's Free!? :)
I will end this posting with some photos of the newest additions to our family. We met them this morning when they were swimming in our small garden pond. (It's really just a big hole that Lucner dug to catch the run-off water from the faucet. Our roads are muddy enough!)

Mama Duck taking the babies for a swim. There were 11 eggs but one did not hatch. In this photo, the tenth duckling fell off the edge of the property and into the muddy road. Someone was retrieving it for us while Mama watched and waited.
The "Ugly Duckling" trying to fit in. It still had a clump of mud on its beak and covered his not-so-pretty down.
Poor Baby, he is almost camouflaged! (center of photo) Looks like a strange porcupine.

The babies are moving in for the shade. The muddy duckling tries to find a way in.

Note to Mama: Still working on trying to upload the video. I can't even get it to work on YouTube. I'll keep trying.
Peace be with you and my love to all!