sun-soaked day

A full satisfying sun-soaked day--running errands in town and visiting people. Skin is beginning to bake brown again.

Over dinner, good conversation with the family and dad's PhD student from Liberia who has just successfully defended his dissertation and is working on the revisions in Dad's home office--trying to finish them before his flight back to Monrovia on Sunday. Dad, who is pictured cutting up fruit here, gives me a complete list of the fruit trees/plants in the yard: pitanga cherry, apple, orange, grape, mulberry, pomegranite, avocado, guava, 2 types of lemon, coconut, banana, 4 types of mango, and a new lime tree. Tonight we ate mangos, avocados, pomegranite seeds, and an apple crisp--all from the yard--truly the most organic food you will eat.

Outside, as I shake out the tablecloth, Beauty, our parrot flirts, ruffling feathers and laughing in a low voice, whistling bits and bats of tunes, and shaking her head up and down while saying "work, work, work, work." The new German shepherd, Jamie, noses my knees and slinks through the door when I go inside. Poor dog. My parents got him from an old retiring missionary lady, who worshipped him and used to give him Valium whenever she left him because she thought he'd be depressed. As a result, he is about the saddest-eyed dog I've ever seen. He sighs and slouches around looking depressed and deprived. He also moans miserably whenever we make him go outside.

Now, inside, watching NTA news with my dad, who has fallen asleep. It was thundering and lightening 30 minutes ago and the curtains were floating out into the room. But it seems to have decided to calm down, and now the curtains just breathe in and out softly.

a good day. I'm looking forward to Kano next week.