The weekend
Posted By Sika on November 10, 2008
I had a mellow weekend: a nice Saturday where I took 3 naps before noon*, and then rinsed out and hung my laundry which had been soaking overnight because I’ve become too lazy for proper scrubbing and sunlight washing powder takes less color out of clothes than omo did. Very little of it was overrun by the ubiquitous ants that are crawling over everything and inspiring itchy feelings everywhere, and so I only had to rewash my second (!) fitted sheet.
The first big rain of the season hit Saturday afternoon, and after I was able to re-dig the bits of my garden that weren’t in use. I have zucchinis about ready for harvest and my strawberries are flowering again. So I transplanted the peppers and tomatoes I had growing on my kitchen windowsill and planted seeds Tenley left in Blantyre because she brought too many: parsnips, columbine, collard greens, pink banana squash, and some other stuff I can’t remember at the moment.
Just as I was scrubbing off the mud I had scooped onto my sandals while re digging the paths and reforming the beds, someone knocked at my door. Luciano was there with Julia in one arm and a bag of guavas in the other. The fruit from their tree has just started ripening, and Luciano remembered that I adore guafa, and so he brought me some, which is especially nice because apparently some trees bear fruit only every other year and mine is one of them.
When I saw Luciano I had one of those moments, those moments when some piece of information suddenly says, “Hey, over here! You forgot about me!” I had completely forgotten that I had promised the Chinombas that I would visit over the weekend. So we agreed that I would come over at 10am the next day. And then, after Luciano left, I remembered that Stephen was coming over on his way to Camp Sky**. And then I remembered that David and I had planned to go up the plateau for hiking around and lunch at KuChawe. And then I realized that my lazy weekend had suddenly become very busy.
Well, not quite yet. So I watched some movies and knit and pretended I was going to get some work done. The next morning I went furniture shopping for D’Lynn with Derek (forgetting that all the carpentry bwanas were going to be at church), picked up Stephen at the turnoff, and went to the Chinombas. I really had a good time with them. Vik promised me that next time we go dancing at the G String she will come with. Julia was funny because she came and sat in my lap and then refused to look at me or talk to me. Or to get down. Eventually, though, she relaxed and I got to play with her. When we went out to see Twinkle, their puppy, Julia started to play peek-a-boo between Stephen’s legs and I chased her about, spinning her around, and generally acting like a fool.
Luciano wasn’t around, so I asked Dennis to thank Luciano for the guafa and to tell him I had already eaten a few, at which point Dennis insisted on getting the boys to climb the tree and pick more guafa and on giving me and Stephen each a bottle of thobwa***. And then it was almost lunch time.
*Let’s ignore the fact that you have to wake up awfully early in order to have 3 naps before noon.
**The camp for Malawian secondary school kids that the education sector puts on.
***Thobwa is a thickish, traditional African drink. In Malawi it is made from fermented maize or millet or sorghum. Bertha agrees that it tastes something like but not exactly similar to sweetened oatmeal.
You inspired me to go look up thobwa, and I found this nifty picture.
What’s funny is I had written the footnote to that, and then missed it in the copy and pasting. So now it’s fixed.
Why are you up?
I figured that’s what happened, but it did make me powerfully curious and I wanted to see it in action, and, BAM! instant gratification
As to your question…my old friend insomnia has been hanging out with me lately.