Around the house and gardens in January, 2013 – from first sunrise to the setting of the full moon and with a tour of our downstairs flat thrown in for good measure.
FIRST SUNRISE OF THE YEAR
Happy News Year’s Day – a sun rise seen through razor wire and palm fronds! Winter in Ghana means dry season and Harmattan, the season in which the wind changes and blows dust down from the Sahara and making for an interesting sunrise on the first day of the year. The sky is hazy much of the time and will be until the wind shifts to blow from the south again.
HOUSEKEEPING, THE ADVENTURE
Harmattan requires a little ingenuity and some extra housekeeping. We placed a piece of cloth printed with Obama’s portrait over our hanging clothes to keep them cleaner. It is a nice feeling knowing that the American president is protecting us. Camille has increased the mopping schedule to three times a week. Window washing is done on a rotational basis so that all 442 reachable panes get cleaned weekly. Justin was away on holiday and just before his return, we took a peek in his room see what five weeks of dust looked like. After the shock wore off, we grabbed a mop and gave it the once over. The contrast between dust-free and dusty was worth a photo.
TWO FLAG ROOM
We spend a lot of our time in the octagonal room, doing yoga, occasionally hanging laundry and working at our desk with Camille’s pet giraffe, Jerome. This month Bob hung a Ghana flag and an Asante Kotoko flag. The Kotoko are Kumasi’s favorite football team and often play the Hearts of Oak, Accra’s favored team. Camille hung four panels of print cloth purchased at Central Market to serve as curtains behind Bob..
NEW DOORS
In anticipation of Amy’s arrival we tied pieces of fabric in our bedroom doorways for privacy that won’t block essential air flow during the hot and dry season. We rent the entire downstairs which includes two bedrooms, full bathroom, kitchen, three ceiling fans, the octagonal room we use as an office, several other large spaces, and comes with its own entrance. The terrazzo floors, ten- foot high ceilings and louvered windows (168 panes) give our home an ambiance Bob remembers from his childhood.
DECORATIONS
We are living temporarily in a massive rented house and always on the lookout for something to ease the monontony of white and beige concrete walls. Sometimes a gecko will pop out after dark and surely they leave some interesting decorations around the bases of our walls. We were very pleased when Amy brought a gift of a bright poster from friend Bobby. We thought it would look great and get seen multiple times per day if we taped it on the bathroom door.
NOTHING TO WRITE HOME ABOUT
We’ve done a few things to make our bathroom work for us. Unpredictable water supply required installation of water reserves for bucket baths and toilet flushes. When neighbors moved in next door and were seen atop the roof at times, Camille added button holes to two kitchen towels for curtains. Bob added a piece of PVC pipe to act as a shower curtain rod. We secured a piece of fabric over the bar using clothes pins. We bought a mirror and keep a bucket under the sink for flushing when the water is out.
DANDELIONS AND BEETS
These photos were taken two and a half weeks apart. The last time we were at Elodie’s place, she and her father dug up some dandelion starts and sent us home with them. Camille planted them and as you can see they are flourishing. We are beginning to eat them, slicing thinly as a garnish for any stew or soup. They can also go into greens, sauces and smoothies.
Chicken pressure called for some inventive beet planting on Bob’s part. He anchored a piece of fence with a broken shovel handle over the newly planted seeds to make it hard for the chickens to dig them up. Chickasaurus is using the handle for a perch.
SLOW FOOD
Amy got her hands dirty right away, harvesting beets to go with mashed potatoes, gravy and Kentucky Fried Tofu just a couple of days after our return to Kumasi from Accra. She has joined Camille in the kitchen. Together they cook dinner for five with leftovers five nights a week. With Bob’s help they shop for fresh produce twice a week and carry it home. Once a week, they buy staples and more produce using a taxi.
SIX CHICKS
It won’t be long before we’ll have to stop calling these birds chicks as they are quickly turning into chickens. Pecking at a handful of rice are (from left) Nugget, Chickasaurus (behind Nugget) Ebeneezer, Amelia, and Harry with Shakori coming through the chicken door in the garden gate.
THE EYES HAVE IT
If you look real hard, you can even see your soul reflected in a goat’s eye. Jeremy’s West African or Nigerian dwarf goats are very sweet little animals.
LEMON GRASS HARVEST
Messing around in Bob’s deck garden, Amy was inspired to harvest the lemon grass.
A BOUNTY
Using her trusty knife, she cut bundles which we hung from the outdoor laundry line to dry. When the grass had dried, Amy cut it up and spread it out to dry some more. We’ve been drinking lemon grass tea ever since.
MR. GREEN THUMB
Bob shows off his beans. His garden includes Kontomire (known as Taro in Hawaii) parsley, the lemon grass, some bean starts, ginger and a bidet full of Caladium for fun.
KONTOMIRE
Amy prepared kontomire greens to go with one meal. She washed them, fried some garlic in butter and added the chopped greens. They were very tasty! The vein pattern on the under side of the leaves seems to flow backwards.
MOON SET, SUN RISE
On January 28, the full moon set as the sun was rising. We did our best to capture images of both.
COOKIE
Striding off into a new day, perhaps to take a picture of the rising sun.
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[Latest] * [Troutsfarm] * [Casa Kumasi] * [Osda House] * [The Big Pineapple] * [Memory Lane, Tema] * [FS2BD January 2013] * [Walking Through the Rice Fields] * [Shopping at Nadville]
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