Rough Day With The Grandparents

How was your day, Cyndy?
Oh, just fine.
I won't get into details but it involved 3 loads of laundry, a bucket for scrubbing and another for puking, a shower, and Grandpa in Grandma's undies.
See, that is all you need to know.
I am going up to relax and get ready for bed now.

Rakieta News

Rakieta is very worried about her bleeding gums still. I don't think it is a crisis, but she does. I will have to do more investigating which isn't always easy with the lack of life education they have over there. Some times the conversations are very interesting but not real productive. Dental care is rare and witches are the blame for most things. Mortality is pretty high too from very basic stuff so there is always that scare but from the sounds of things she'll be just fine. I'll keep everyone posted, but I think she truly is just overreacting.
In other news, one of my nieces is going to do a presentation on Rakieta because they are doing presentations on child labor throughout the world. It should be pretty neat.

Penpals

Martha and her granddaughter Marium

Seetah

I promised I would post this for Martha. Martha and Marium are penpals with Seetah in Burkina. Seetah works for Marie Compaore and is one of Rakieta's friends.
The refrigerator behind is typical for the country and is a luxury. Most do not have them. So Seetah makes bags of ice which she sells on the street for extra income. Seetah is now going to night school too.

The audacity of help these days!

See this cat. She doesn't move. She is 14. She is creaky. She is grouchy! She also thinks the best place in the whole house is the bar in the kitchen. The pellet stove happens to blow warm air right to that spot on the counter.
These days we can't even throw her on the floor because she is so arthritic, but as soon as you put her down she creaks her way right back up there again.
Jeesh! Of course she has no problem pushing the papers all over the place.

Good Morning

It is another very sunny morning. Still unusually cold for the area and month, but this too shall pass. 40's by midweek.
I am finding after months of being so busy I just couldn't hardly breathe, that I actually have time to stop and smell the roses a little. I am still waiting for a shoe to drop, but I'll take the short respite while I can.
In spite of all the doom and gloom everywhere and believe me there is doom and gloom everywhere, my own personal corner of the world is cheerful for the moment. Part of it is that we are finishing or completing several very large things that have been unfinished or resolved for years. It feels pretty good.

Adele's birthday was yesterday. She is now 84. However, she is just not feeling well in spite of all the meds from last week. I will be very surprised if we get good news when she goes back in for her scope. But at least she is peaceful and content and again, it is pretty touching to watch her and Lee especially in the evening while they are watching tv.

Rick Santelli is on Frank Beckman on WJR as I write this and he is serious about the Chicago Tea Party. Sign us up!!!!!

Well, Merry is finally wandering in and we need to work on dance stuff. Later everyone.

Friday-The visit with the King in Burkina

The King of fada and I. Note the laundry. Even the king has laundry.

The girls and I. My favorite picture of the whole trip.

Delilah and another cousin serving food. The tray was cut out of the picture, (Thanks Rakieta) but she is carrying a large tray with meat.

After the dinner and celebration, we toured the compound. D and S's uncle made a recording studio in one of the huts. The picture does not show things well, but it is pretty cool. In many places you could see the evidence of the original hut, but yet it also was completely redone to look and handle sound for recording. Looked like something you would see in the US. He is doing a lot of recordings for up and coming Burkinabe musicians.

Grandma and Rakieta

You say "This ought to be good!" It was. Delilah and Stephanie's grandfather is the king of the Fada people. After a very quiet day, we were all whisked off to see the king. We all piled into a jeep of some sort. Picture the commercials where as many people as possible piled into a Volkswagen as humanly possible. I have no idea of the head count but we made it. The grandchildren did not want to go. I thought "Why on earth wouldn't the kids want to see their grandpa?" Well I found out. In Africa, having a king for a grandpa isn't such a good deal. You don't get kisses and hugs and treats like from a normal grandpa. No, it's prostrating-yes really- and serving. Being a royal grandchild means you play the servant role.
So after much complaining from the grandkids, they were told they were going and we all jumped into the vehicle and off we went. We drove only a short distance to the King's home in Ouagadougou. It wasn't anything very fancy. Just a normal compound. The pictures will tell the rest of the story. All in all it was a pleasant day and because of the rain it only was about 70* that day so a very nice break after all my excitement on Thursday.

The Grumpies

I am very grumpy today. In fact you could say I got up on the wrong side of the bed. Actually I didn't, but it seemed like as soon as I got up things were just not going well. Now at 1:15 I have settled into quite a funk. In fact I am so grouchy I can hardly stand myself. So after lunch I am going upstairs to hide.
I think I may be overtired. So a day of no schedules would do me some good.
This morning someone blamed it on the weather. Could be. I am not one of those folks who enjoys thunder storms. My husband on the other hand........ So the theory of low barometer could be accurate. The whole state is in a winter storm warning.
In cheerful news I found my dining room chairs online and they aren't going to cost a fortune. So.....I am going to try ordering online. I have never ordered something this big before. I'll let everyone know how it goes.

Yup, It Was That Kind of Day

We are home from the doctor. Adele aka Grandma has bronchitis at least. So one shot, a breathing treatment and a new prescription later we are home. However, if she is not remarkably better in a few days we are back in again. He was pretty proactive about it which I appreciate.
In other news, she has lost several more pounds, her memory is getting more and more fuzzy and today her blood sugar was all over the scale. Vitals were pretty ok, which was surprising.
So I am going to assume that the cancer is still in control.
While it is sad work to care for a dying person, I will say this: My granny also went quietly this way and it is a gentle, dignified way to go. In this case, Adele has her husband by her side and they are very touching to listen to as they talk at night while they watch tv together. She had asked me to make sure they stayed together as long as possible so that is what we have tried to do.
Luckily there are all of us and we have a companion hired for him for several hours a day. That way none of us burn out.
I have been watching her little light fade just a little bit at a time for the last several weeks. She is not bedridden or anything yet, but she is doing less and less. As I stated, it is sad to watch, but they have both lived a wonderful life and if you gotta go, this is not a bad way. I hope our children are as good to us.

Life

Today is going to be one of those days. Grandma is not feeling well and in her condition it could be serious so I need to make an appointment. It is cold again. Yippee skippee. At least the cold keeps the mud down so we can handle the dancers. The entire neighborhood seems to be sick with something.
The GM stuff seems to be working through. While nobody wants to hear the changes, at least everybody can start to plan their lives a little bit. Even that little bit of movement may jiggle the economy a little.
Rakieta was having a huge crisis, she thought. Turns out it can be remedied pretty simply once I translated Hydrogen peroxide into French.
Our lives have all settled back into a more normal routine now that chemo and radiation are over.
I'll write about Friday in Burkina a little later. Right now life is calling.

General Motors

Well, we live to see another day. No news yet on the concessions but I'll make a prediction. For the plants it will be reduction of shifts which does mean lay offs. But I don't see them completely leaving buildings behind as some day they will need them back again.
The retiree benefits for salaried and Union are the huge issue. There will be stuff there. We have already lost a lot of the non essential type perks so I think it will probably just be lay offs for doom and gloom. I don't think they are talking pay cuts or loss of insurance for paid employees at this time.
Matt is at the Tech Center. That is where all the action is so I don't see too much more slashing there. It has been downsizing for the last 15 years, but most certainly probably very little overtime or bonuses.
The Dow reacted to all the news yesterday by crashing again. If the geniuses in Washington would pay attention they would realize that half the problem is uncertainty. No one will stimulate the economy because no one knows if they will have a job in a couple months. Big 3 and all the feeder suppliers included and believe me they matter way more than either of the coasts want to understand.

Thursday Conclusion

Paul and I at the restaurant. Note the Fanta orange. I will post on the Coka Cola bottling factory later.

Rakieta and Marie. Rakieta's top is an example of the fitted tops the women wear.

We arrived home and relaxed a little. Kassoum headed back home, Rakieta worked on her knitting which was due in for a grade. We waited for Marie to come home. I was told she wanted to make me chicken.
I was pretty pooped and I think probably into meltdown mode, but since I am a mother and not a child I did not have a temper tantrum and take a nap.
Eventually Paul and Marie arrived home and they had a wonderful surprise for me. They told me they wanted to take me to a restaurant.
I wasn't in much of a position to argue. It was a huge deal for Rakieta. In the US she ate out with us so she had been to a restaurant before. However in Burkina it is just a huge luxury.
So off we go in an air conditioned car even. Paul works for the government and it is supplied to him.
It looked like a little sidewalk cafe. It was owned by Lebanese. I was never so happy to eat a hamburger in my life. I had a burger and fries and it was delicious.
The cost. Each meal was about $2.00 so very reasonable for westerners.
Keep in mind though that it is very out of reach for the average Burkinabe.
After that we headed back to Grandma's house. I was oh so happy to see my bed.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's over a Cliff we go.

I don't normally write on politics. That is not what this blog is for. But I didn't sleep again last night. I am tired of this. I am tired of a bunch of lazy idiots controlling our lives. Washington has totally lost it's mind. The jerks just keep thinking it's business as usual on the backs of us middle class working folks and then they pull stunts like creating so many road blocks for the Big 3 that they are literally crumbling under the load. So here is our reality. We have a bunch of lefty socialists who have no clue that it takes production to make the economy work and who think their idealistic fantasy prone ideas are not only better than everyone elses, but that they themselves need to control all the rest of us. Then we have the corrupt politicians who have built fortunes with our money and couldn't do an honest day's work if their life depended on it. Lastly we now have this man child who apparently has no intention of quitting campaigning and who is letting the inmates run the asylum.
Ya know what was said last night? This darn bail out package is going to put so much debt out in the universe that the US is pretty likely not to get it's loans funded properly. In order to make sure they fund all their silly projects they are likely to start printing money willy nilly. How much you want to bet that is exactly what the idiots in Washington are likely to do.
Sigh..................
I need to run away for a little while.

Crazy, Frantic lazy Sunday

I am sitting here procrastinating. I am supposed to be doing paperwork, very necessary paperwork. However, I think my brain cells have all been fried today. it was a bit of a rough morning. I won't get into it.
Suffice it to say the house is finally quiet and I am not one bit lonely. Now to just police myself and get crackalackin on the paperwork.

Thursday pt 3

See me? I feel like I look. Enough said. The big jugs are for water for the kids.

Rakieta, being the good daughter and knowing how interested in farming I am, took pictures of some of the neighborhood goats while I was napping. Most of the livestock there is like this. Roaming free. I said "How do you know whose animal is whose?" Rakieta said in a shocked tone "Mom, everybody knows their animals!"

Yes, what you think is going on in this picture is going on in this picture. This is a potty break. I bet you can see why I was praying I would not need a toilet. Remember what kind of shape I was in.

Now where did I leave off....
Oh yeah. We were in the bus heading back to Ouagadougou. Just as I was getting comfortable, we pulled into a little settlement. I wouldn't call it a village in the text that Americans are used to, but nevertheless it was a settlement of some sort with nothing but dessert/fields around it.
Out of the bus we all went. We walked into a courtyard and set up another picnic. We finished our lunch and the children and teachers all had theirs. Then it was play time. Shortly the group became just a little too unruly so then it became nap time. As you can see from the picture I used it as nap time too.
Eventually we all got back into the bus and headed back to the city. As you can imagine, the kids were hot and restless so finally one of the teachers began to sing with the kids. Whatever it was they loved it. I think it may have been a french version of "100 Bottles of Beer on the Wall" or "100 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed".
Shortly we arrived at our destination, met up with the driver and returned home. At this point most Americans would climb on the couch and veg, but that was not to be in Burkina.

After The Clinic It Was Off To The Zoo or Thursday The Aftermath pt 2

Kassoum while we had our picnic and waited at the gate.

Rakieta eating. She brought us shardines (sardines) and avocado which she made into a guacamole (sp) of sorts.

Our picnic. I always send pictures of American food so it was only fitting that we bring back pictures of Burkina food. Note my plate. It is the one with bananas and croissants.

These are our bus mates. About 30 kindergartners. They thought we were pretty cool.

Remember my description of the driving and note the lack of seat belts or heck even seats. I resorted to the sign of the cross once again.

Ok, folks, first of all think about the irony of me in the shape I am in at this point in the week trying to walk around any kind of zoo with Rakieta, the prosthetic wearer. Remember this prosthetic is not like one an American would wear. It is very primitive and not in the best shape. Now that I have set the stage I'll get on with the story.
We waited some more for the driver. Probably 45 minutes or so. It seems I spent my whole entire visit waiting for rides. Africa time, what can I say.
The driver and his friend finally arrived. Then I had my first experience on the highway. Yes, they have at least one and it has a toll booth too. However, we had to share the road with semi's, donkey carts, bicycles, mopeds, walkers and all were loaded up huge. You drive on the right side of the road like the US, but in Burkina if no one is oncoming the preferred way is to drive in the middle. Then when you see someone oncoming you hit the horn and play chicken. The little guy usually moves over. I know, not exactly safe. I was missing my nonexistent seat belts right about now. I settled on making a sign of the cross. Not all my drivers were this reckless, but these guys were insistent on doing about 90 kilometers per hour. Yes, it was as terrifying as it sounds.
Anyway, we arrived at the zoo. We spent quite a while at the gate. This zoo did not seem to be open to the general public. I think you had to be invited. After quite a lengthy dialog it was determined that we were to wait at the gate for the bus. I think Rakieta may have not understood her French as well as one would hoped during this conversation. Either way, we sat down to eat our picnic. We were just getting comfortable when up drove the bus. We had to scramble to get in the bus. Alas the bus was not going back into the zoo. It was heading back to Ouagadougou.
Now Rakieta was grumbling that she missed the zoo. My stomach was talking again and I could not figure out how I was going to handle the upcoming bathroom dilemma. I, in a not so diplomatic motherly tone just had to bring her back to reality. "Rakieta, you could have never walked around the zoo. It is for the best. " Rakieta: "But Mom I wanted to try." I just sighed. Kassoum who had been up since about 4:00 am and who had been such a trooper for our day so far really had my respect.
The pictures do the best job of explaining the bus.
Just when you thought the day couldn't get any more adventurous-Oh but wait there is more. Stay tuned.

Fried Rice

Viola! I have finally made successful fried rice! And it wasn't even all that hard. I just needed the right combination of flavors and texture.
I'll post more about my exciting Thursday in Burkina in my next post.

The Blues

I have the blues today. I shouldn't. The weather is fantastic. Maybe that is part of the problem. I really did not want to do the chores in front of me. It was a day filled with paperwork. I am learning a lot right now, but it is sort of like Algebra or dark green leafy vegis. You kind of have to plug your nose while you do it. Hohum. I think I will go out and do some barn chores to get a respite.

Spring has Sprung at last!

Oh glorious Sunday! I wish I was going to Mass, because if I was this would be the kind of morning where you sing at the top of your lungs just to let your lungs fill with lots of air. fresh warm air. We are finally out of the frozen grip we were in for all of January and part of December. This is definitely a record breaking year for both snow and temps.
But alas I have very serious paperwork I have to do, the girls will be at the horse show, and Matt will be the gopher today since Grandma and Grandpa will do what they always do.
So I will take my deep breaths while doing chores and I will make sure I sit near a window for paperwork.
Now that the snow is almost gone I can find Rakieta's shoes that were lost when we moved the grandparents in. I am sure they are in storage.
Well, folks who live in the beautiful heavy clay soil of the thumb of Michigan, guess what season we are now officially in? That's right MUD!

Thursday, The Aftermath

The Prosthetic Clinic in Ouagadougou. It is the best in the region. It may not be fancy, but they do know what they are doing.

Rakieta and I waiting on our mat after the appointment. The mats are a staple in Burkina. The mat and I were good friends on this day.

So we had to get up at about 5:00am because Marie had made us an appointment at the clinic which was one of the main reasons for my visit. My only complaint about theses lovely people is that they just don't take things seriously. It took me 8 months to get the first appointment made and a trip over to get a plan to build a new prosthetic. Africa time is just not like American time and all that getting impatient does is make them more stubborn and mischievous. But I digress.
Anyhoo, we had to get up really early. I was still using the bathroom but was ok, definitely not feeling super great. Keep in mind the temps were over 100* everyday, No air conditioning anywhere except the 2 bedrooms I slept in, my ear was definitely not feeling well. (I resorted to the antibiotic I had been warned to take.)
I stuck to bananas for breakfast. Poor Kassoum arrived by bicycle at about 6:00. That is at least an hour to 2 hour trip. Shortly thereafter, we left for the clinic. It was already hot. The waiting room was a small corridor with rather comfortable chairs for Burkina and a lot of people already waiting. We waited at least 30 minutes before anyone at all was called. Meanwhile I began to scout for the bathrooom as nature was calling again. I gratefully found another flush toilet. It was something similar to the old gas station bathrooms from many years ago. Complete with the smells and very dirty towel. But I was not going to complain. After 3 or 4 trips in, I decided to join Kassoum outside in the shade on the mat. I napped for at least another 45 minutes. Paul felt terrible sorry for me so he had the driver get me 2 croissants and a Coca-cola. (I will discuss Coca-Cola bottling later)
Eventually they did see us. Everything was fine and a plan was made to build another prosthetic. Total cost for the visit-about $3.00.
This day is very long and eventful so I'll break it up over several posts.

Open Show at Tri C/V Performance Horses

Well I am working my fingers to the bone selling hot dogs and goodies at the Goodie Bar during an open show today. Today was a special treat because there were several very small children riding. They were so cute. The pics are a little dark so someone is working on brightening them for me. If they are successful, I'll be sure to post them.
The Goodie bar is doing quite well. I am using my share of the money to help pay for Rakieta's new leg.

New Couch

Today Grandpa got me out of bed too early. But I didn't mind. Know why? Because today was "Pick up Couch" day. That's right, that very old decrepit Flexsteel was leaving our home today to be replaced with a beautiful huge Ashley couch. So since it was so early, I ran to do the banking, then once home I sent Matt off to pick it up. Meanwhile the girls and I sent Gram and Grandpa off to their bedroom to watch tv while we dismantled the living room.
By 12 noon we were completely done. Things went really, really well. Whew!!! I'll post a picture tomorrow along with my dining table since I never showed off that.
So I did my civic duty in this terrible economy. I have bought 2 big pieces of furniture. Next I am getting chairs. Now mind you, I am buying everything on layaway, but still we are making major purchases. It feels good to be normal in spite of all the doom and gloom and it feels good to know it is ours-paid for in cash.
I do need to replace the other couch, but not too soon because Grandpa spills his coffee regularly. I am thinking about getting another one just like my new Ashley. The living room is very big and it would look very nice................

Notorious Wednesday in Ouagadougou

Wine from Isreal

Rakieta, Horouna, and Me

Well, Rakieta and our trusty driver took my very sunburned tired body home to Delilah and Stephanie's and I was very happy to hit the sheets.
The next morning I woke, ate and waited for Rakieta to pick me up. We were headed back to her house to have lunch with Marie and then Horouna, Rakieta's and my friend was coming over to visit and then I was to meet Marie's husband, Paul.
I ate a very delicious lunch. I was told that Marie knew how to make white people's food so it would be good and it was.
Horouna arrived right on schedule. We talked and his English wasn't too bad. All of a sudden the room began to spin and I gratefully ran to the indoor toilet and then off to the air conditioned bedroom to lay down and get my act together.
Eventually it did get together and I was able to go back out and visit with this very nice young man. In Burkina, people rise early while it is cool, then work until about 12 or 1 and then everyone has a siesta. Then things liven back up again by 3 or 4 and so people don't get home from work until at least 7 or so. So dinner can easily be at 9.
Once Marie and Paul got home we all went for a walk to the airport which was nearby. Then we had a lovely dinner. While I was ever so grateful to be so near a flush toilet I was ok and even able to share in the wine Paul brought out. It was a small bottle he had gotten in Isreal. While Isreal is a major pilgramage for an American, it is a much shorter jaunt from Africa so a rather common trip for a middle class African to make.
That night I spent the night there and Rakieta and I talked a lot. It was a fun slumber party for us even with me trotting to the toilet.

Warm temps and Paint!

Today I am doing something long overdue. I am painting the wall(s) in my living room. Not that the color is changing much. Still pastel green. But my couch which I have been diligently paying for on layaway is in and ready to come home. So I figure one wall a day I can manage. Then I need to shampoo carpets around the grandparents who seem to be part of the furniture and hopefully at the end of the week we can get it in. I can't wait.
The couch we are replacing is a family heirloom. It is a Flexsteel which tells you how long they last. I think it is from the 50's. It has been recovered several times-I did 3 or 4-and we've replaced the cushions during our proprietorship twice. But all good things must come to an end and I am happy to see it go. My husband on the other hand will shed tears as it goes out the door. Possible Rakieta too. Although she, having a better sence of style than Matt, should be excited about the new one.
In other cheery news it is 45* as we speak. Yahoo! It is amazing what warm temps will do for the soul.
This morning, we called a halt to all other activities-like say church-because we had to stand in line outside Best Buy to then stand in line inside Best Buy to get our great deal on a new laptop. $400 got us a 3 gig Compaq with a mouse and flash drive. Needless to say there were quite a few people in line. So advice to you all: If you see a great deal at Best Buy, plan to be there when the store opens on Sunday (opening day of sale) and plan to wait in line.
Well, off to finish dinner. Tomorrow I will post more African pics.