Africa Part 3

The last night in Zambia we treated ourselves by staying in a beautiful hotel near Victoria Falls. Since it was the end of the dry season, there was very little water going over the falls, but the dependable monkeys were still there!

The hotel had just opened and was on the banks of the Zambezi River. The sign below warned us against crocodiles, hippos, snakes and an electric fence.

Africa Part 2

I took my flute this time and my friend Pat and I did a duet of Amazing Grace at church on Sunday. The service was outside that Sunday with cows wandering through the service.

We worked outside at the hospital cleaning and scraping the walls in preparation for painting.

Africa Part 1

I just returned from several weeks in Zambia at the village of Mwandi with members of my church. This was my third trip to Zambia and this trip was as wonderful and rewarding as all the others. Most days we worked at the orphanage, or the hospital or the AIDS clinic (and sometimes all three). We enjoyed each project, although this visit was in extremely hot weather (120 most days) which made doing anything a little harder. The picture above is of one of the everyday beautiful sunset views from the mission guest house and the picture below is of friends at the mission.

Canning Apples

I have several apples trees in the backyard and one is especially prolific this year so I started canning this past weekend - something I haven't done for several years. I made Apple-Raisin Marmalade which turned out well! I will do applesauce and a few pies next weekend.

The Zoo!

My college roommate, Rebecca (also known as Barney from our college years) and I decided to spend last Thursday at the zoo. The weather was cool so a lot of the animals were out. The bird feeding station was especially active. We even rode the historic merry-go-round - an 1918, hand-crafted carousel that has been beautifully restored.

Japanese Garden

Recently, good friends came to visit - Nobuko-san and her family (husband Brian, children Casey and Alyssa). Casey and Alyssa were dressed in their beautiful Japanese party clothes but were still able to feed the chickens many tomatoes :-). They brought me a beautiful stone Japanese lantern which I am enjoying especially at night with a candle inside. I am trying to create a Asian atmosphere on my deck and the stone lantern has added a lot of the character that I am looking for.

My Team Part 2

My team - acting serious and silly :-)