Thanksgiving Present

     As you know, if you read Wednesday’s post, or live pretty much anywhere in the northern half of the US, we woke up to this the day before Thanksgiving.

 Luckily, I had just turned off the water and was drying off after my shower, when the power went out. At first I thought Hubby was goofing with me and had reached in and flipped off the light switch. But it only took me a second to realize that the heavy snow on the power lines, along with the wind, had cut our electricity. Almost everyone living outside the city limits was without electricity all day. As I write this, many are still without.

 Hubby took me to work, as none of the side roads had been plowed. Which means he picked me up after work and I could get a nice picture of these two who have survived both the snow and the deer hunting season. So far. 

 I took a few pictures around the yard, but the light was waning, so most of them aren’t clear. Except this one, of the tree which actually broke off in a storm this past spring. Interesting that I got this last picture of it in this state.

 Around 8:30 Wednesday, while we were huddled under blankets, reading in the living room, thankfully with the generator running and giving us enough power for lights and an electric heater, we heard a crash and a bang. 

 Not sure if this will make it easier or harder to clean up. The problem is that I’m not sure if it will happen before the snow melts now. 

 The snow is pretty though. Even artistic.  

 As Hubby and I were lying awake in bed around three yesterday morning, we were pondering how we were going to cook Thanksgiving dinner for fourteen people with no electricity. We have a gas stove, so we could do some cooking, but we might have to skip the green bean casserole and the baked beans that we heat in crock pots. We were pretty sure that having that many people in the house would generate enough heat to keep everyone warm. But it was just the inconvenience of the whole thing.

 Hubby had just declared that if we didn’t have power by six am that we would start calling people and cancel Thanksgiving. Just like that, the lights came back on. Sent God up a huge thank You.

 Around the table, in a warm house with too much hot, freshly cooked food.

 My brother had already left when we got around to a family photo. My dear friend Julie snapped it for me. Thank you, everyone, for showing up. Wish you would have eaten more! Leftovers!

Thanksgivings Past

     I’ve been planning this year’s Thanksgiving dinner, and I think the current headcount is 15. It depends on the weather though. Remember I live on the edge of the arctic circle, practically, so it’s anybody’s guess. Our power went out at six this morning and there's about six inches of snow on the ground with lots more falling. Might have some trees falling, too, before we're done.

 Anyway, let's think turkey day instead. Before we jump into this year’s fray, I thought I’d share the best of the pictures of Thanksgivings past, ever since Hubby and I acquired Thanksgiving as “our holiday”. 

2010. The first recorded Thanksgiving with all of us around the table in the living room (because who has a dining room big enough for this many people?).

 2011. The table is set, but what I noticed about this picture is the football player on the TV. Man, that was eight years ago!

 2012. Another very nice table set up, ready for food and guests. 

 2013. Battle of the pies, apparently. 

 2014. A shot of the prepping going on in the kitchen. 

 2015. I actually had a lot of good pictures from this year; it was hard to pick just one. But the winner was what looks like Ross pouring gravy in his beer. 

 2016. That year we had our highest headcount. 19. We had always been putting together two tables, but that year we had to make it three!

 2018. The bird resting before his big debut. (Unfortunately, we missed 2017 because Hubby was working.)

Watch for the 2019 pictures as soon as I have digested this year's meal.

Just a bit of catching up

     On Wednesday, I finished telling you about my trip to Kenya the end of September. It took me twenty-one installments, but I knocked it out and thought I might take today off. And then I laughed at myself and said, “yea, right.”

 Just a couple things that have come up since I’ve been home which I’ve been wanting to share.

 First, on the Monday after I returned from Africa, I had the day off, so Hubby and I traded in my cute little Dodge  

 For a Nissan. I am 96% happy with it, especially the heated seats. But I still do feel guilty that having just come back from once again witnessing the poverty of a third-world country, that I go and spend all this money on a new (used) car. Granted, it was about the third cheapest vehicle on the lot, but still, a lot of money.

 The following week, on Friday, I got my long hair chomped off. Yes, I should have taken a before picture, or at least a picture of the pile of hair that was left on the floor. No, not long enough for locks of love, plus the ends still had coloring in it from when I didn’t want all that grey. 

 The day after the haircut, we went to Hubby’s nephew’s wedding. A lot of fun. 

 Two weeks after that we went to his aunt’s ninetieth birthday party. 

 Oh, and then there was Halloween in between.

 Good heavens, no wonder I am tired all the time and have had a cold for two and a half weeks that I can’t quite seem to shake. With Thanksgiving on the horizon and Christmas just beyond, I don’t see much change in speed for another month or two.

 How about you? Starting to bite off more than you can chew and longing for a long vacation? But somehow, we always get through it, don’t we?

Sept 30 – Short and Sweet, Bittersweet

     Today’s post will be short and sweet – bittersweet, actually.

 Monday morning, Sept 30, Denise and I packed our bags to head home. We took a quick trip to one of the malls to pick up a few last minute things. As we were on the highway riding there in an Uber, we were slowed down by a herd of cattle being herded through a tunnel. I’ll never stop being amazed by the things I see every time I’m in Kenya.

 We got back to the house, to wait for our ride to the airport. Took what we thought would be the last picture of our gracious hostess Marta.

 Just before we had to leave, Izzo returned home from his safari camp. We were concerned that we wouldn’t be able to say good-bye before we had to leave.

 On the drive to the airport, we were reminded again of the good, the bad  . . .

 And the ugly. But isn’t it the same thing every where in the world. No place is perfect and every place needs some work.

 Jomo Kenyatta International Airport has had a lot of improvements since I first started coming there in 2006, but still can use some work.

 The Zurich airport in Switzerland doesn’t need any improvements with views of the Alps on all sides. 

 But, anyway, on the journey home, through the crazy roads of Nairobi one last time, the Nairobi airport with its dark narrow corridors, the Zurich airport with its wide-open spaces and finally, O’Hare in Chicago. Through that long day way over 24 hours long, one thing became very clear to me.

 On all my other trips to Africa, I came home telling myself that this was my last trip, that I’m getting too old for these travels. This time, however, no matter how old I get, or how rough it will be to keep going some days, when I am tired and hungry and achy, I know that I’ll return to Kenya

Sept 28 - a sad day. Sept 29 - a little happier.

     Saturday morning, September 28, Denise and I were packed and ready to leave the safari camp by 6:30. No one had told us what time we were leaving, but because we are both a little bit OCD, we had our act together.  

 Just as our waiter called us over for breakfast, Dann started up the van. We ate a dozen or so bites of another amazing meal on our plates, even though we’d already eaten enough of the snacks we had in our room, not anticipating breakfast. We grabbed our bags and jumped back in the van.

 The ride back to the city was uneventful. As well as sad. It always is, leaving the wide-open spaces and serenity behind and returning to the noise, dust and chaos of Nairobi.

 Saying “good-bye” to Dann was the hardest part, the hardest part of the entire trip. Though he just turned twenty-two, he is wise beyond his years, reminding me that it wasn’t “good-bye”, it was really a “see you soon”.

 We got back to the house by 12:30, unpacked, reorganized our stuff and visited with our host Marta.  

 Sunday was our last full day in Kenya! How very sad.

 We went with Marta and her two little boys to Karura Forest where we met up with one of her friends from Spain along with the friend’s husband and mother-in-law from Uganda. Yes, it was two Americans, two Spaniards and two Ugandans in Kenya that day, along with the two little Kenyan boys.

 Karura Forest is in a very upscale area of Nairobi, past the embassies and homes of the rich and famous. Actually, throughout our day at the park, I saw more people from other countries than from Kenya. Quite a few Asians and people speaking all kinds of languages other than Swahili.

 I wish I would have gotten pictures of Marta’s friend and her family, but it seemed a bit rude. Of course, a group picture would have been great, but I never thought of that.

 Instead, we spent the day visiting and getting to know each other, discussing everything from education to social wrongs to politics.

 Monkeys in the park. Always.

 Even a pond in the park.

 What little boy doesn't love a day in the park!

 Lastly, I was reminded that being a volunteer is so much more than the projects you work on. Perhaps the most important project is just getting to know the people you are working with.

Sept 25 thru 28 - Animal count

      Saturday, September 28, my friend Denise and I rode away from the Mara, the land of the Maasai, and back to Kikuyu town where we only had a few days remaining of our trip to Kenya. Before I share those last days, I thought I'd show you all the various animals we saw while out there. 

Lots of babies

  Baby Goats . . .

 And Baby Sheep

  And Some Baby Friends 

Some Winged Friends Too

 This Guy Loved to Chatter

 This Guy Liked Strutting Around

 This is the Lilac-Breasted Roller, National Bird of Kenya

 The Egyptian Goose 

 Doves

 A Beauty with a Long Tail 

And a Little Butterfly

 Wildebeest

 Gazelle

 Wildebeest and Gazelle

  A Few Newcomers that I've not seen on Previous Trips. 

The Tortoise 

  And, no, not Hare, but Mongoose (or Mongeese?)

 And on the way back home. 

The Giraffe 

 And the Zebra

What a beautiful country I've had the chance to visit six times! Can't wait for the next trip.