Um Momento, Por Favor (Just a Minute, Please)

I must appease the Blog Monster. I have great photos from Judah's birthday and an impressive video of Shawn's masterpiece of an entrance gate being erected by a team of Mozambicans, some visitors, and Shawn, but I pretty much blacked out after Shawn had been gone for 12 days stuck in South Africa and I was here taking care of 3 kids, running a Visitors' Center, and living in Moz. And then, just as I was about to come out of it, the phone rang and told Shawn to hop back on a plane. This time there's a pretty good chance he'll be back in 2 days, but I told him I would be leaving for America March 2 with or without him. Naturally, I sang that part because Bono and I could be best friends, but Shawn understood the gravity of the situation because I only sang it - I didn't dance expressively.

So, my offering tonight is a prize-winning photo from when Shawn was gone. Some of our friends and fellow volunteers took Judah & Luci to a birthday party so I could run man-to-man coverage with Asher. Apparently, a frosting fight broke out and, well, that's the only way to party, I guess.

Judah & Carlito post-frosting fight

Feliz Natal e Fim do Ano e Mais. Claro. (Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and More. Of Course.)

Here's a merry montage. Some photo credit goes to a recent visitor, Paul Smith, who downloaded all his photos on to the Hospitality computer. Obrigada.

Action shot of Christmas lunch preparation for 6,000 people.

We ushered in groups of kids about 30 at a time to get Christmas lunch.  Always on the edge of chaos :)

When they were done, they were supposed to dip their thumb in ginseng-violet so we knww who had eaten and who hadn't. Some kids were more purple than others and a couple lovely Norwegians who were manning that post had completely purple hands. I told them they were lucky to be going back to where it was winter and they could wear mittens until the purple wore off.

That, there, is a construction paper tree with seashell decorations and LED camping lights.

So far, so good!

We had the most wonderful group of South Africans staying with us over the holidays and they (including American photographer and chef extraordinaire, Paul Smith) invited us to join them for the best New Year's breakfast ever. Party Animal Asher is sucking down some Coke before I can stop him.

What a cute couple! Asher is sharing his Happy New Year melted ice cream with Mario who works with us in the Visitors' Center. If you happen to find yourself in Pemba come get dance lessons from Mario - that boy can move!

If you are facebook friends with Shawn, you've already seen this instant classic.  But I had to share it here, too. This is Raposo who also works with us in the Visitors' Center. For his birthday we helped him get his motorcycle license and when his photo came back instead of seeing the t-shirt he was photographed in they had put him in a suit with Photoshop. We call him President Raposo now.

Asher playing at the park by the Toddler House.

Luci got Princess outfits from Grandma for Christmas. She and Natalia spent the better part of an afternoon playing dress-up.

At first glance, this looks like a fun playground, but take a closer look at at that yellow slide.  Safety first, kids!

Mais e Mais (More and Even More)

In keeping with my theme of random photos this next collection is extra random, but includes a couple of my favorites.

Koo noun/verb/adverb/adjective  \'ku\: The best you can do.
This all-purpose word is generally used with great irony and as the answer to any question having to do with life Mozambique. As in, "The rice & beans taste funny. Why?" Koo.  "What are all these red bumps from?" Koo. "How come it smells like an electrical fire every time I shower?" Koo. "Why does it take 4 months to get a vehicle fixed?" Koo. "Why is Asher wearing only socks?" Trick question - there is no answer for that.
You know that I tore that label off immediately and stuck it right our fridge.

This is why we filter our water.

This was our first rain day. Naturally, that calls for shovels, a trench, and 3 kids trying to pad their resumes with Water Management skills.

This is Rosie (the tiny gray and white kitten in the middle of the green bucket). The short story is, Rosie was abandoned, but the look on Luci's face tells you Rosie has a found a home. Not long after Rosie came into our lives, Luciana announced that she could speak Cat. "When Daddy holds Rosie, she says 'No thank-you.'  But when I hold Rosie she says, 'You're my mom. You're my mom.'" I can't argue with her; I don't speak Cat.

One night, Judah was having a hard time falling asleep so I gave him my phone to have music playing to help him sleep. In the morning he showed me what else he used the phone for. FYI Rasos refers to Russell's, a cafe we occasionally go to.

A more detailed description of what I should accomplish on Judah's birthday.

Now that it's rainy season we've had a chance to find out where the roof leaks. One of the biggest leaks was right above Judah's bed. Shawn fixed that.

We are happy to be in our new house - one that is not literally falling apart - and we installed an AC unit lovingly and graciously given to us by our friends who have moved on to help rescue people trapped in the sex trafficking industry in Costa Rica. I say, "Good luck and thank you!" But, in order to keep Al Gore from personally coming to our house and making us write "We will not use energy in such an offensive and irresponsible manner thereby contributing to a massive waste of resources and life-threatening climate change." 100 times, Shawn installed windows. Also, please note the fancy shelves in the background. Those shelves are courtesy of the salvaged pieces from the screen door on our other house. Since we don't have any decorations to speak of, Shawn was putting the produce he had just bought on the shelves. We have found a few yummy ways to use that pumpkin.

It's rainy season and Judah wanted a rain coat. So he made one.  See what I'm saying - Koo.

Luciana was playing with her friends who live in the neighborhood next to the base, Zaina and Alima, and they helped her carry their bear local-style.

Judah and Luci built a fort. Asher was napping so that's why it was designated as "4+."

O Melhor Segunda Feira do Tudos (Best Monday Ever)

This post is so belated, but, I tell you what, with the temperamental internet access, unreliable electricity, new and non-stop responsibilities, and all around tiredness I've given myself a pass. A pass to watch Downton Abbey. But, Shawn is in South Africa for the next few days and I am under STRICT instructions not to watch without him so now I can do something productive with my time. And it's time Grandmas get a glimpse of the grandkids - an early Christmas present :)

Let me start with what was the best day of our lives up to that point. We have since had a couple more AMAZING days, but you never forget your first, and I keep forgetting to have my camera around to take pictures. 

Shawn dropped off this box and then immediately had to run an errand. He asked us to wait for him to get back until we opened it and since it was from him mom I thought I better. Never in my life have I used so much self-control.
Please note Asher's sweet excitement :) That box was filled with oatmeal and toys and love and Starbuck Via and candy and love and a new dress and homemade black raspberry jam and love.

Luciana thoroughly enjoying the pancakes that came from Grandma.

Homemade black raspberry jam!!!!!

They are hard at work coloring in their special coloring books.

And, of course, a couple random unrelated pictures. But, when the bandwidth is there to upload, I upload.

This is just a screen shot of my average wake-up time. It's usually Asher crawling in bed announcing, "Not dark. Eat bread." The picture in from last year in Moz - the kids are on Wimbi Beach just across the road from us.

Spaghetti has become a staple dinner around here. The pasta is cheap and we make our own sauce with tomato paste, green peppers, onions, garlic and tomatoes.  I'm probably going to start a food blog next because I have so many awesome recipes.

Something else I make about once a week is chicken. Here Luci is cleaning the carcass.  Oh, my.

Bem Vindo a Nossa Casa (Welcome To Our Home)

Casa Ercoli

Here is our humble abode. Our front yard comes complete with a spot to park a motorcycle and keep an old toilet. They have promised to come pick it up, but I'm not holding my breath.

Here is our main room - the windows and door face the front of the house. Until recently, our stove was under the utensils hanging on the wall, but we moved it into the newly renovated kitchen. This is where we eat, (that's a bowl of rice & beans on the table), the kids do school, and hang out with friends when the kids are in bed. The door near the windows goes to the kitchen and the other door near the table is for the bathroom. Our bedroom is also off this room on to the right.

Previously, this space housed a toilet (please see photo#1 for a visual) and a sink. We tore those out and had an actual sink and countertop installed. Shawn is planning to put up shelves, but that will probably get done after his trip to South Africa. I painted this room in a shade I call "Acunya" which is Makua for white person.

Now this might not be exciting to you, but please notice the faucet under the sink. This makes filling water buckets much easier because I don't have to fill a small bucket to fill the big one. I just turn on the faucet and let it go. Assuming there is water. 

Our stove. It's no small miracle that there is even a stove here, and it's even more miraculous that it hasn't blown up yet. Shawn kindly labeled the knobs for us: Left Rear, Left Front, Oven (Lo, Med, & Hi), Front Right, and Death.

This bathroom used to have a broken toilet (now fixed) and a shower with 3 shower heads. That was great for parties, but since there's not enough water for more than one dribbly shower it made more sense to take two out and put in a sink. I purposefully waited to post pictures of the house (especially this bathroom) until we made some improvements. I didn't want a well-meaning/horrified friend or family member calling the UN for an emergency evac. I haven't gotten to go snorkeling yet and it's almost mango season.

The master suite. Shawn turned the bed into a 4 poster so that we wouldn't have a droopy mosquito net. Not pictured is an armoire that holds our clothes, extra sheets and towels, school supplies, shoes, and electronic equipment we rather not have sitting out getting sandy. And under the bed I have some suitcases - one is called Target, one Costco, and the other is stuff we're saving for our return trip through Switzerland that we don't use here. Like pants and socks.

This is the "office." When we first got here, there was a set of bunk beds for one of the kids to use, but we felt that the enormous cracks in the walls and the cracked and sinking floor made it better suited for hammock time and facebook trolling. 

This is where the kiddos sleep. Asher is on the bottom bed in the back. Luciana is on the bottom with the pick pillow and Judah got stuck with the top. So far, it hasn't been too hot for him up there, but it's not summer yet here. I stood on their dresser to take this picture, so they have that and another window on the left.

And just so you don't think I sit around all day drinking out of my American sized coffee cup and sweep, I had a really great meeting with one of the volunteers (Anthony from New Zealand) who has worked for the last 6 months straightening out the well-drilling program. IRIS Relief has just been handed the well-drilling project and since Anthony is leaving in a couple weeks, it's my job to maintain all the hard work he did. I've been going over all of his paperwork to get as familiar as I can with the ins and outs of the admin of the program so that the transition will be as smooth as possible. 

Shawn has also been working on a well project of his own. When we first got here, things were a little slow and I know in Shawn's mind he was thinking, "I did't pay all this money and come all this way to watch Joy sweep." So, true to form, Shawn looked around and made up his own projects. One was to renovate the house, another to clean up all the trash nearly covers every inch of ground here and build a suitable containment solution for it, and the other was to fix a stinky maggoty muddy drainage problem at the well near our house. He drew up a plan, secured funding, bought materials, and found helpers. I have a before photo but I'm still waiting for the after. They should be done today, but

Antes e Depois (Before and After)

So we had a regular door on our house, but it gets pretty hot in these parts and we mostly left that door open to keep some air moving.  As you can imagine, the house was full of flies and mosquitos. Gross. Thankfully, it is Shawn style to take matters in to his own hands. Just a little DIY project Mozambican style.

Here is the door before. We used the door that had been in the "office" but we took it off earlier because it was mostly in the way.

Glamour shot of Shawn sawing through a solid mahogany door.

As a life-long member of Team Eskola I know that "Doing It Is Doing It." I also have a pretty strong resume in hand tools. Then to make it even better, Shawn asked for my help by saying, "Hey, do you want a workout?" Yes, please. 

The finished project. We are soon to post this on Pinterest.

And now, just a few random photos from the week.

This is Luci and Asher playing in what I think is a place formerly used to wash clothes. Now it is used to "store" old toilet parts. They made a fort using said parts, but I wisely did not take a picture of that because it most likely could and would be used against me. 

You might think that this is just a picture of a dirt pile. And you would be right except that it is the 7th dirt pile I had swept up that day. We probably sweep 10x a day and each pile is like this. The window are only screens, the sand is everywhere, and the wind blows constantly. 

Luciana sporting the local 'do. 

And Judah as a Super Hero. It's hard to see in this picture, but he has a screen belt that is holding his beloved Swiss Army knife and a later, post-photo op addition was a cape. 

Multo Fotos (Many Photos)

 A little breakfast of bread and Nutella. So messy and sooooo delicious.

This was supposed to be a video of Luciana squealing with delight, "It's tickling me!" It was a millipede.

 Judah homeschooling.

Luciana learning how to read with Katia and Filito. More importantly, check out that amazing and HUGE coffee cup. It is full of Starbucks Via and sometimes it seems too small :)

 Luciana just can't help herself.

Tub Time! I never call them clean; just less dirty and wet.

 Making it work. It's a glamorous life here on the edge of the world.

That's right. I'm drying out Ziploc bags to reuse them. Super Target is a looooong way away.

It's all day every day in the dirt.

Luci was getting every last bit of the organic olives sent from the States. Here she is enjoying a bowl full of the juice.