Josh has gone away on a 2 night overnight… exactly as Judah, Asher and i are coming down with puking stomach aches. blah. I tease Josh sometimes that he gets to go on overnight retreats/vacations without us on a regular basis. This particular time, in fact, he’s going camping with a tent! Doesnt that sound exciting?! Last night after the bible study women left my house i came up and asked whether it was in fact barfing i had heard while we were discussing downstairs. Josh told me that Judah was really sick, as opposed to just pretending like i thought he had been – and then i made the comment ti Josh that he was lucky to be going on a 2 night ‘vacation’ while i was stuck at home sick, with a sick and pukey kid on my hands and another sure to get sick within the day. Josh claimed, however, that he would rather trade places with me. Hm. So perhaps camping in the desert of Madagascar isnt all the fun it sounds like. I think mostly he’s not excited about not washing for 3 days and being hot and sticky the whole time because there’s not easy access to water where he’s going. Anyway, this morning finds me better, but Judah home from school, although i’ve threatened to drive him in a few times already because he seems to act pretty un-sick at times. sigh. Asher also has come down with the stomach flu, alas. I’m just hoping that the bug will have left our house before Judah’s birthday party and certainly before my parents arrive on Sunday night. It would definitely be unfortunate if my family all arrived and immediately fell to the might of the Madagascar stomach flu. yuck.

It was first advent yesterday. I had no idea. No cues outside or at church… <sigh> I suppose it’s past time to get out the advent wreath.

 
This is at the Raphia. Those are the boys and the orchids sitting up in the frangipani tree. One more thing to add to the ‘i love the Christmas season (aka summer!) in Madagascar” is the scent of frangipanis in the air everywhere you go.
 

Below is what i thought would be one of the better photos… but i had the camera on video mode. I have a lot of these “photos” which i think are rather Harry Potter-esque. Moving pictures, you know.

 
 

Friday is Judah’s birthday. I’ve re-hung the birthday banner and was reminded of a simple card idea from a cousin’s blog, and the picture in the book we’ve been quoting every time we see the banner on the deck flip-flapping has such fun flags in it… so i thought i’d whip some up for the party too. I not-so-subtly pointed out to Josh yesterday that i have made so many decorations and whatnot from things we already have or things i could get for free, like the bamboo poles that the gardener cut down for me from the back road. Dont you reckon that’s a reason to be able to spend some money at the Christmas Bazaar? Haha.

I’ve been waiting for this for a long time! ha. Cant wait until we all can sit quietly together and read our own books as an evening’s activity.

I dont know if the previous photo of the agapanthas with Judah in the foreground really conveyed the size of these flowers. Their flower heads are as big as my own and they’re taller than i am!

Asher’s party.

Last Christmas Judah got a harmonica, together with a “Learn to Play Harmonica” book, which came with a CD of audio instruction. The other day i pulled out that book and he was keen to listen to the CD so that he could learn to play. Knowing the kind of kid he is i made sure to clarify to him that listening to the instructions would not make him an expert harmonica player, although the subtitle of the disc does say, “3 Minutes to Blues, Rock, Folk, Country, Classical, and Celtic Harmonica!” Wow! I know that he thinks he can apply himself to any given task for a total of 3 minutes (or less) and if he doesnt get it straight away then he’s bummed and gives up. So i looked him straight in the eye before putting the disc on and told him that learning to play would require a LOT of practice, that he wouldnt know how to play straight away, and that he shouldnt think he would be an expert on the first day. Wouldnt you know it though, after listening to the first 5 tracks with 65% focus he was annoyed at the time his lessons were taking and gave up entirely. bah. But i thought it was great fun, since the disc also supplies background music for the ‘riffs’ that you learn. Maybe seeing his mom tear it up on the stage with his harmonica will inspire him to try again soon.

“iiiiiin, two three, out, in! two, three, four…”

I was thinking of this encounter this morning while i was reading the Word and doing the homework for the Beth Moore study we’re on just now. Often we think that we can become spiritual giants just by asking for wisdom and then sitting back and hoping God will ‘apply it’ to us and then, voila, we are so in tune with the Almighty that we can see with clear spiritual sight, hear with clean spiritual ears and have the insight and wisdom to make amazing decisions and discern mind boggling spiritual truths. Ha. That kind of wisdom and clear sensibility, most assuredly, comes with focused discipline and applying ourselves, alongside the imploring of the Lord for his guidance and blessing and the searching of His word for the direction therein. Seeing others who are further along on the spiritual road than i am, who have experienced God in ways i hadn’t yet imagined, are great incentives for spurring me on in my own study and prayer life.

Going through last year’s blogs from this time of year i came across my list of “hot diggities” of the Canadian Christmas season, listed no doubt because we were finally enjoying a Canadian Christmas after a few years celebrating in hotter climes.

In order that our readership not think there’s nothing good (other than the warm outdoor temps, which seemingly all Canadians think is the epitome of well-being) about celebrating Christmas on a tropical island i will attempt to make a list of “hot diggities” for this locale… if i can think of any. haha. I will say that i much prefer celebrating Christmas in Canada, and i’m not ashamed to say so either.

Great things about the Christmas season in Madagascar though, include:

- the almost complete absence of Christmas commercialism. It does appear at the grocery store in the form of gaudy over sized tree decorations and hideous garland, but the materialism that is rammed down throats in Canada is almost non existent here. In fact, you can shop for Christmas gifts and whatever else you need the day before and mostly feel like it’s any other day of the year. 
- the lack of hearing the same Christmas songs ad nauseum. (is that a positive?)
- fine, i’ll say it although through gritted teeth: the warm weather. I do confess i prefer white Christmases to hot and green ones. I’m trying to look on the positive side though so… i enjoy sitting outdoors during the day and basking in the perfect 24C on the deck, listening to the tropical birds chirp in the trees while my children play outside without having to don heavy winter clothing.
- outdoor birthday parties for rambunctious birthday boys! using the pool! using water toys!
- the ability to push aside the cultural things that seem to be inseparable to Christmas in Canada: Christmas music, shopping, gifts and parties, decorations, all the ‘fun’ things that have turned over the years into obligations, family gatherings, etc. and really focus on the simplicity of the Gospel message for this time of year.
- the excuse of hot weather to not bake hoards of Christmas baking that wont possibly get eaten. and the fact that i only have a fridge freezer that will soon be full of Manitoban Pork Sausage (Woot, woot!)
- the ability to see first hand how less fortunate people are living and celebrating the season, and the opportunity to bless them abundantly – giving to them directly rather than through an organization.
- the ability to learn first hand how other cultures celebrate Christmas and the freedom to try new things instead of doing this the same every year because it’s always done that way.
- BBQing ‘beer can chicken’ for Christmas dinner. yum.
- fresh fruit (mangoes, litchi, bananas, passion fruit, etc. etc.) for Christmas breakfasts.
- Christmas dinner out on the deck. so nice!
- sitting fireside… outside! with shorts and a t-shirt… eating Christmas cookies.
- Going swimming every day during Christmas holidays. And/or spending a chunk of Christmas holidays at the coast.
- Celebrating God at Christmas with people from many different countries and cultures, united in one faith.
- no icy road driving. no warming up vehicles (although our neighbours both do this for 15 minutes prior to ever going out on the road because apparently it helps the vehicle drive better if it’s warmed up from it’s standing 25C temperature…) no getting stuck in snow drifts in -30C.
- power cuts giving candlelight a whole new significance and meaning. – the excuse therefore to have many candles all around the house.
- the cultural and familial freedom to create our own family traditions for holidays.
- no real tree to remember to water…
- no hockey games to battle for the attention of my husband. haha
- early mornings with glorious sunshine (as opposed to dark mornings and early nights)
- an abundance of fresh flowers outside and in.
- a lack of Christmas events to attend, which means the events that are planned are attended by everyone we know, thereby giving a great excuse for socializing.

Anyway, i know it’s not even December, but since we’ll be lounging at the beach this Christmas holiday and lounging with the lemurs in the rain forest as well i reckon i wont have as much time for Christmassy blogs this year. Besides that fact, i hear in Manitoba these days everyone is already feeling Christmassy since there’s snow and cold weather. Thus, my blog entry wont seem as out of place as i feel currently writing it.

Further to Christmas blogging, however, i’m hoping to arm-wrestle my brothers, their wives and my parents to write guest-blogger entries so you can get a visitor’s perspective of life and Christmas here on the Red Island. I’m wondering whether i’ll need to offer incentives to get them to do so though… any suggestions?

11 more days until Judah wakes up to find his Grandparents in the next room.

Today my baby turned one. This last weekend he had a miserable time of it – puking and having high temperatures, but today he woke up well – although rosy cheeked. I reckon the sickness was due to teething. WE had a lovely fety kely on the front drive so that the day guard, who opens the compound gate for cars going in and out, could also come. It was a lovely day but, as is usually the case with outdoor parties at this time of year, the candle wouldnt stay lit long enough to blow out. oh well.

Here, above, is Mme Fanja giving Asher a gift from the three workers (Mms Fanja, Irene, and Mr. Solo the gardener). It was such a touching gesture for them to get something for him, but it was a significant sign of their love for him. They gave him a small handmade wooden car.

I made a birthday banner – whipped it up in an evening – and it was a festive decoration if i do say so myself. Yep. That was my favourite part of the party i think. haha. You can see it at the top of the above photo. Those are from left to right, Mme Fanja, Mme Irene, and Mr. Solo.

We gave Asher the Little People farm set and school bus i had bought off of Rhonda before she left the country. He was thrilled with it and giggled every time someone pressed a button that made a sound. I remember Judah bouncing his bum in baby-dance fashion to that music when he was about Asher’s age.

The adults were also quite enamoured with the toy. It was fun watching them all explore Asher’s gifts.

 

I made the 4 layered “Milk Chocolate Fudge Layer Cake” that i made last year September long weekend to celebrate not being in Student Life anymore. haha. It was very rich though and i still have a sugar headache. 

Here Asher is saying, please can i just skip the cake and go back to playing with my new toys?!

Group Shot. That’s the day guard, Mamonjy, holding Asher, and Jade, the girl next door, on the left of him. (but isnt that banner nice?? haha). Mamonjy asked for a copy of the photo, so we will make it a party favor for everyone.

It’s my party blog so i can post photos of my banner if i want to.

Judah is coming home from school and boys club these days with all manner of Christmas paraphernalia, which of course is appropriate for this time of year, just not really appropriate – in our minds – of this time of season. ha

 

Instead of snow causing mental seasonal cues for the approaching Christmas season we have heavy rainfall and the litchis growing larger.

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This is one of the pics that goes with the last post, where the boys are all inspecting the garden while the rain is falling.

last week i went to the market public in Talatamaty to get some fruit and look for sewing notions. i always forget how great it is to shop at the marche public – all the mounds of fresh produce at a ridiculously low price, great things at the stalls to find and bargain for, and, this time, the opportunity to practice my Malagasy. the vendeurs at the marche public in Talatamaty are much more patient with my Malagasy than the fruit sellers nearer to our house and they helped me out a lot as i attempted to bargain in Malagasy. anyway, i found these brilliant fuchsia flipflops there and got them for 3000Ar/$1.50.

This is our backyard this last week. The beans are growing, as are the spinach, lettuce, tomatoes, dill, summer savory (maybe), grass and flowers… (happy sigh)

i would make the same golf green statements about our front yard lawn if i could. it’s still a shame though that if we sit on the grass everyone can see us. It’s like we live in Canada or something. haha

 
Those are the two farthest developed agapanthas we have in the yard just now. they are, as you can see, taller than Judah by a good foot and a half.

Yesterday we had another heavy downpour, timely in that it was during the day when the gardener was still here, so we could observe the rain where it cut away at the dirt here, or pooled in low places there. We’ve done a pretty good job of the garden though and there arent many places to fix up.

this is the lavender that someone imported illegally into Madagascar from SA. I have since inherited it and used legally imported rooting soil to coax a dozen plants out of the one.

Josh just made home made noodles this afternoon. we just ate them with our second to last link of manitoban farmer sausage. yum. Josh is the master of noodles.

Josh keeps getting phone calls from random people giving updates on the coup or whatever is going on. They are unsettling interruptions in an otherwise relaxing day.

Except that Asher has a high fever and garfed all over me this afternoon right before i was going out to a ladies tea. I do confess that i at times enjoy when my children are so sick that they dont mind sitting with me most of the day while i rock them and cuddle them. But sick kids are not fun in that it causes anxiety and sleepless nights. <sigh> Judah has been a caring older brother though, which is sweet to see. After supper he was singing Asher ‘bull – byes”.

There are two large Superman wrapping papered gifts atop the bookshelf nowadays. The new superman decked box appeared this afternoon and was immediately noticed by an insatiably curious almost 5 year old. As we sat down for supper and Josh began the prayer for the meal “Thank you Lord for the beautiful day…” Judah interupted with a note of thanks of his own, “and thank you Lord for the new superman present!” haha.

Ha two blogs in one day and no they are not both Joc’s.

I just thought it might interest some of you what was going on in the rain forest on Wednesday while the rest of the country was either voting or instigating a coup attempt.

After finishing off the desperately needed repairs to the runway in Sahakevo we went back with Heli-Mission to go fetch our two Bobcats.  It was an enjoyable if at the same time very tiring day but was a lot of fun and interesting to say the least.  I am always amazed and impressed how our two missions are able to assist and help each other out in such measurable ways.  Sahakevo is now a fuel storage base for Heli-Mission since we can now bring 3-4 drums of fuel in for them at one time.  On the way down to help our with the sling loading that is exactly what we did.  We’ve also completed some basic living quarters and storage for those who have to overnight there and for the medical teams that will be visiting the village next year.

Anyhow on to the interesting bit.

Here is Remi the designated hooker upper doing just that.  I have to give him credit for standing underneath a hovering helicopter while being dexterous enough to get the hook put on just right.
 
I also have to give huge credit to Beat, the Swiss pilot who has to hover within about 2 feet of someone’s head directly below him while remaining still enough that the guy can hook up the load.  Pretty amazing skills being showed off here.

And then the pilot must follow the directions of a ground guy so that he lifts the load straight up until it’s off the ground to avoid dragging the equipment on the ground and damaging it as well as increasing the potential for the helicopter to have problems.  Really quite extraordinary piloting skills that were a pleasure to watch.

Patrick Keller the other MAF pilot here who also happens to be Swiss, kindly volunteered for the sometimes dusty job of directing Beat from the ground.  Good on you Patrick:)

Below is what I consider a pretty good team that together is enabling the most remote people in Madagascar to be reached by the Gospel.  It’s really a pleasure and honor to work along side these guys.

 

Today we evacuated Judah from school because they told us to. bah. So, one and a half days of school attendance this last week. Great for him, undoubtedly.

Anyway, apart from that we have not much else going on. The hangar was closed down today for the same reason. It’s strange this time around that the crisis is occurring just 2 minutes down the road from us rather than downtown where it didn’t affect us at all last time. It’s also strange how, despite the proximity of ‘danger’ this time i’m feeling way less uptight about it than i did last time. It could be because last time nothing much came of anything on a personal level. Hopefully a similarly unaffected result for the JRPletts this week and those to come because we’ve got parties to host, cake to eat, presents to open and play with… and then family to welcome.

Judah is starting to read these days. It is at the same time thrilling and aggravating.
Asher is starting to give kisses. This is only lovely, not aggravating at all!

We went to Weldom to pick up some shower heads/hoses for our house and #5 and found light fixtures on sale… so we got 2 to replace the hideous chandeliers that the house came with. I will consider it a miracle, however, if they are easily installed and work thereafter. (i confess, i am a pessimistic purchaser when it comes to anything involving electricity/wiring in this country).

The “mango rains” are back again after a few weeks of very dry weather. The rice fields are surely suffering from this lack of rain we’ve had. We’re anyway happy for the rain for the cool down it provides at the end of the day. As i write this i’m hearing the approaching thunder increase in volume as it nears us. I was just outside taking photos of my beautiful garden, and now 5 minutes later the sky is dark and heavy. Loving thunderstorms just now!

I’m quickly going to post this before the rains shut my power (and the internet) down.

So, after yesterday’s ‘issues’ things seem to have settled down quite quickly. Judah went to school today after all, which is great, and everything is open and there arent any burning cars on the road like there were between our house and airport yesterday afternoon. Josh came home yesterday at 4pm from his sling loading trip with Helimission to tell me – after i had had such a relaxing and quiet day, sigh – that there had been another coup attempt, that there were barrages on the road to the airport and that he had had to come home the long way around. This photo was taken, not by me, 3 minutes from our house. That’s Gastro Pizza, for those who are familiar with such locales.

photo nytimes.

I hope nothing will come of this all because even just the flare up yesterday brought me unpleasant memories and feelings that resurfaced from last crisis. yuck. I’d rather not go through that again.

I hear the happy sounds of children playing at the dining room table with Judah’s Playmobile horse stable and gas station sets. He rarely plays with it on his own because, i think, he forgets how fun it really is. Nothing like children who dont have Playmobile at home to make your own toys look fantastic again! Fanja’s children are over to play this afternoon because today is the referendum vote for the country of Madagascar, hence a day off for everyone. I like when they come over because our house is full of children speaking a mixture of French, English and Malagasy and our toys all get a good workout.

I will not make any comments about the referendum because my opinions will just get me into trouble. haha.

Yesterday, in addition to giving up Facebook, i decided to also give up commercial shampoo and deodorant. I’ve got the ingredients for the shampoo and rinse, but not for the deodorant yet so… haha. I happened upon a blog i like to visit (it happens to be the one i got the shoulder bag tutorial from and i like her blog also because she lives in the southern hemi and talks about summer when i have summer, you know what i mean) and she wrote about d.i.y. cosmetics. I followed her links and one thing led to another and now i’m using baking soda to wash my hair and apple cider vinegar for a rinse. At first i was skeptical that this idea would work on my hair since its terribly yucky in the morning and i cant go a day without washing it… but upon first day trial i was convinced that i had stumbled upon a great thing! Wowzers. Not only was my hair clean, but shiny, soft and it didnt smell like vinegar at all. Anyway, so now i’m thinking i need to investigate how much these things cost in Mada before i think i’m going to switch 100% because if baking soda is impossible to find in bulk and more expensive than shampoo… well.

I found it funny though that many of the bloggers discussing these d.i.y. cosmetics were worried at being seen as “dirty hippies”. I suppose i can understand that sentiment, but i haven’t any such qualms. (unsurprisingly to those who know me from Canada, heehee) First, because i come from Winnipeg where there are many proud ‘dirty hippies’ haha, because i worked at CMU where smelly commercial products are forbidden due to their scent free policy (http://www.cmu.ca/pdfs/blazer_winter06.pdf), and because i currently live in Madagascar where deodorant is… optional, shall we say. I’m doing this because i can understand the fact that commercial beauty products are potential dangerous to your health and i like the idea of being less ‘chemical’ in my own home. If i could find borax in this country i would also make my own laundry soap. One step at a time i suppose.

Today the photo of the day (haha, as if i do that anymore) was this one:

which i took for my dear old dad who asked me what packing bins we normally use when coming from Canada to Madagascar. They’re planning to use the same ones for when they come in 19 DAYS!! (ok, actually 18 days until they arrive, but 19 until Judah sees them – that’s what the countdown chain is counting down at our house). I look at that photo and think to myself of all the Christmassy goodies that will arrive in it. Chortle, chortle! I am also thinking about the fact that i have 18 days until i have to have the house all ready for 6 extra adults to stay. haha. And before that there are two boys’ birthdays to plan/execute (the parties need to be executed, not the boys) and i’m already stressing about my own expectations for the birthday cakes. ACK! I have only invited the Malagasy people who work in our compound for Asher’s apres-dejeuner cake party. They’re the ones who spend the most time with him anyway… well, i may spur of the moment have some others over, but we’ll see how i’m feeling. Judah’s party, i’m debating, will happen either on his birthday Dec 3, or after my parents arrive sometime during the week of Dec 5. We’ll see. Popular vote now: fondant or no? Any theme suggestions? Judah has no brilliant ideas. I was thinking fish. …i should really steep in some of those party blogs i was on a few weeks ago… although i wonder if that wouldnt heighten my expectation/stress quotient. haha. arent moms of small children silly?

Judah’s puking has stopped (knock on wood). Apparently it could have been due to worms crawling up his esophagus in the night while he lay horizontal, thereby tickling his tummy and causing him to puke. That would explain why he was fine during the day and only puked at night. Anyway, we’ve given him another dose of vermox and hopefully the worms will leave him be. We’ve had enough of sleepless nights.

Anyway, i should go do something that doesnt involve a computer. Watch the children play outside maybe. My supper is simmering in the slowcooker, so i neednt do anything in the kitchen (smug smile).

ttfn

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Since i wrote the above blog entry there has been another coup, or so they say. There was some ‘action’ here on our side of town between our house and the airport – burning cars and whatnot. Josh had to go the long way around to get home from his flight. Apparently now the fuss is all over in our neighbourhood, although we’ll stand by to see what develops as it’s unclear whether there has been a military takeover or only an attempt…