Adventures in Housekeeping: Who ate the soap?

Innocent-looking (possibly soap-eating) Nigerian Dwarf Goats Aponche and Go-At

I just looked out the kitchen window and saw Jeremy’s buff-colored goat, Go-At licking the soap we keep in a mesh bag beside the outside water faucet. The soap is there primarily so we can wash our hands before coming inside, if for instance we’ve been [...]

Grit Storm

Harmattan

Harmattan

Apocalyptic is the word that kept coming to mind as I made my way up the dirt paths between my favorite produce vendors yesterday. Harmattan had returned with unusual gusto.

Between the sands from the Sahara and multiple fires, the sky was thick with smoke and grit. The charcoal plant seemed to be [...]

Amy

Anticipation was palpable in the crowd of Ghanaians awaiting two flights from America at the Accra airport on January 12. Bob and I were in harmony with the others and yet isolated, each heart beating with a different face in mind. We shifted from leg to leg, leaning against the railing and then standing straight [...]

Nwansane’s Swan Song

Jeremy’s goat, Nwansane died in his arms last night. After dinner, I heard a goat crying out in pain or fear. A couple, three times. So I grabbed a flashlight and went outside where I found Jeremy sitting on the top of the third set of stairs with Nwansane on his lap.

She had suffered [...]

Adding Insult to Injury

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In God’s Way – the sequel

One week after our traffic accident on November 7, we were summoned to the police station to close the case involving one big orange truck without brakes and Eric’s unfortunate Twister. Immediately after the accident, the truck owner’s father called upon Eric at his home and pleaded with him [...]

One Chick Shy

Chicks

We had a heavy rain storm late yesterday afternoon which led to a bit of an adventure. As soon as the storm was over, Bob went out and conducted a bird count finding it to be one chick shy of a full flock. Bob searched for the seventh chicken without success. A little later I [...]

In God’s Way

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All things come to those who wait. In this case we were waiting in traffic when an explosion pitched us forward. No warning. No screeching of brakes. Only a sudden impact from a truck coming up behind us, plowing into Eric’s taxi and knocking us silly.

Wednesday is the day we replenish our drinking water [...]

Obruni TV

ObruniTV

I’m pulling weeds and trimming the grass outside our compound wall on a Saturday morning. It’s still cool in the shade of the concrete wall and the birds are singing. The air smells faintly of roasting cocoa beans from the plant.

I’m hacking away with my characteristic early morning vigor, lost in my own little [...]

Eighteen Years

Bob and I threw in together twenty years ago and formalized the agreement on July 31st, 1994. On that day we vowed to share our joys and sorrows forever and today we signed up for another eighteen years. We love each other deeply and this is plain for all to see.

It’s been a wild [...]

My Dumb Phone

Today I’m wondering how much longer I can hold out against the swirling tide of fingertip technology. So far, I’ve resisted peer pressure to buy myself a Smart Phone, choosing instead to cling stubbornly to the slower pace of hand-written directions and desk-top emails.

Most of the folks I interact with have successfully upgraded to [...]