We had church this morning where we sang songs led by Cecile, then Luckner delivered a message about generosity and love being at the heart of Christmas. I had just had the almost identical discussion with Josiah and he was sure I had talked to Luckner and set the whole thing up. I told him that sometimes when there's a lesson to be learned, we get it from all sides.
We visited friends up in Deschapelles today. Our friend Rigaud and his wife welcomed us graciously, then offered us fresh coconut milk from coconuts that a little boy threw down from the SUPER TALL coconut tree in their yard. He shimmied up there in less than a minute!
There's a little boy at the top of this tree.
Rigaud cutting open coconuts for the milk.
The kids didn't love it but were very gracious and grateful.
All the kids tried climbing the tree after that. Ariane got the highest, no surprise there. Josiah barely made it off the ground! I guess basketball skills don't translate to tree climbing.
Go Jos go!
We stopped at the house of another friend who insisted on "diri, sos pwa avek fe" for us (rice, bean sauce, and a dish like spinach). It was delicious and much appreciated.
This evening, Mariah got her hair braided by Cecile and she looks lovely.
Grammy, Josiah, Ariane and I went up to the roof, lay down under the millions of stars and sang some Christmas carols. With my froggy voice I wasn't a very good singer that's for sure.
I decided to make a special dessert for my mom for Christmas and to try and put some meat on her bones. The recipe called for 3 eggs. The first one was rotten- yuck! The second one was ok, but far from fresh. The third, rotten. The fourth, rotten. In a dozen eggs, we found two that were not too bad and ten that were inedible! Eggs have been hard to come by for several months as the chickens here got some infectious disease that affected their ability to lay eggs. It seems the treatment and vaccination program is having an effect and they are starting to lay again, but there is still a scarcity.
These smelled so gross.
It's been a long day and I'm off to bed. Thanks for those who have left comments, it's so fun to hear from you.
I leave you with a photo of three beautiful little girls. The oldest one was pounding "pitimi" a grain that is eaten by those who can't afford rice. They were so sweet.
Liette
