Monthly indulgence

I’ve come up with a new plan to pamper myself once per month. I don’t really know where this idea has come from, but even thinking about it makes me happy! Now it does not have to be a big expense or saga (this month I bought myself two plants for a whopping total of approximately CAD $3.50) and in July I’m thinking of going for my first ever manicure! So the goal is to do something for myself (over & above buying the chocolate bar at the grocery store) just because.

So far so good! Here are my freshly planted lavender & portulaca (replacement for my failed dill & basil). If they do better I’ll send photos when the portulaca is in bloom- wait a minute- let’s be positive here; when the portulaca is blooming- I’ll post more photos!

Diamonds are forever

Forever…forever.

Yes, I haven’t been able to get that song (cue the 1970s Shirley Bassey tune made famous by James Bond II) out of my head since the rock landed on my finger…

I’m thrilled to announce my engagement to Alvin!!

Wedding details to come as the day draws nearer.

Yiipppeeeee.

Technical difficulties

Dear my faithful readers,

I'm experiencing some problems accessing the Internet- updates will be coming soon.

Thanks!

ManU

Well there are no glamour shots for Al's birthday this year. Marilyne & Sarah T aren't around to do my make-up & dress me:-) Nevertheless we enjoyed a quiet weekend. Here he is ready to tuck into his favourite pineapple upsidedown cake. No, it is not burnt- that's the low-cal brown sugar and butter topping*grin*. Thought you'd like the hat Tommy, and don't worry, I did not buy it for him!

Alan Rutkowski

It’s been a couple of years now that my mom has sent me clippings from the Edmonton Journal of Alan Rutkowski’s column “Grammar Gaffes”. My brother & I no longer take offence to my mother’s endless grammar corrections. In fact, Tommy even admitted that he corrects others & thinks of Ma every time*haha*. My mom managed to find his book and send it my way. Admittedly, it’s been on my shelf for some months- not really inviting is it- “Polish your language skills?” Sounds daunting to me. I pulled it off the shelf last weekend, & though I’ve only found time to read a few pages- I’m convinced this guy is a genius. Who knew someone could make learning English grammar interesting?

He starts out with a joke…and from there- things only get better (for real)!

There’s a joke about two women sitting on a plane. One of them, a Texan, turns to the other & asks “Where are you all from?” The woman looks at her & answers disdainfully, “I’m from a place where people don’t end sentences with prepositions.” The Texan smiles and says, “Oh. Well then, where are you all from, Witch?” Who doesn’t side with the Texan? (P.2)

Can someone give this guy an award? Priceless.

And please, don’t all start correcting my grammar up here…I’ve made a quotation from page two, not page 80.

Special aside: Thanks for Al’s birthday card Auntie Nada- it made it early! (That’s got to be a record). And rumour has it you’ll be visiting??!!

Newsbreak

There I was a few days ago boasting about how safe Zambia is compared to the unrest in the surrounding countries. I guess I spoke too soon:

1) Two University of Zambia (UNZA) students shot; one in the chest & one in the shin. Background: students have been rioting because their allowance (from the government) does not take into consideration the inflated prices what with the looming international food crisis. The government refused to increase stipends, students began rioting, and police were brought in to keep innocent passer-bys (motorists) safe. Both injured students are recovering. Neither (apparently) had been involved in rioting; perhaps a situation of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Alvin knew the young man who was shot in the shin as he is a basketball player for the UNZA Pacers. Shame. The government & UNZA certainly need to sort out their issues, if it isn’t an annual riot, it is bi-annual. The investment in post-secondary education does not appear to be serious in light of the recent violence.

2) I’m reading the Zambia Daily Mail Wednesday May 28th & a headline appears “12 Die in accidents”/ while the other daily paper (Times of Zambia) claims “long weekend road accidents claim 13 lives”. One weekend, 12 (or 13) road fatalities; drinking and driving is B-A-D!!! And perhaps not all the fatalities were due to drunk driving, but the rate of intoxicated people driving over the long weekends is shocking to this Canadian girl. We saw one man trying to unearth his Benz from a bus stop as we set out for our early morning run/bike ride on Monday*sigh*

3) Random news: a woman in a shanty compound gave birth to triplets and named them after the two former presidents (Chiluba & Kaunda), and the current president (Levy). She made the front page yesterday; good for her I say, she’s managed to get herself some support from the higher-ups!

4) Another headline: Zambia’s HIV prevalence drops to 14.3%. This information coming from the long-awaited Demographic Health Survey that has provided plenty of numbers, but little analysis. I’m weary of accepting the information since much of the survey was implemented with questionable methodology…but I suppose any small improvements should be celebrated & motivating.

5) A great late-breaking addition: Smoking is BANNED in public places in Zambia- HOLLA. Apparently smokers caught in public places will be fined, or thrown in jail for under two years. I’ll be curious to hear how it is received, I remember it being such a controversy back in Alberta lo those many years ago. But I’ll admit that I’m looking forward to visiting a couple of yummy indoor restaurants if the smoking ban is upheld! Yiippeee

I miss my girls

Over the Canadian May long weekend the girls got together for Jenni's stagette (of sorts). Thanks for sending the photos girls, & know that I wish I could have joined in!!

Gardening feat

At some point this lily of mine looked worse for wear. Rather than giving up on it, I transplanted it, & promptly forgot about it. To my amazement- it’s blooming! It’s just what I needed what with my dill & Aloe looking so down. So here is my revived lily & some gorgeous holly hocks in the back (well, I think they’re holly hocks- feel free to correct me- Janet, Hol?) I have a theory: we have a new gardener; he actually waters the plants- I think he could be helping:-)




































And I’ll openly admit that I can’t remember the last time I used the abdominal bench. There, it’s out & I feel better. I can happily report that I’m back on running though! Looks like I’ll only manage twice a week for now (as we still don’t have a vehicle…so my 07h30 start doesn’t allow for much running time when I have to leave the house on my bike at 06h45)*sigh*. Can’t have it all, right?! I’ll let ya know when I’m motivated for the abs again. I think I just have to start, I felt so strong while doing them, don’t really know how I fell out of the routine.

That’s all from here for now.

Orbit update

Well, the Maui Melon Mint is a letdown. I was expecting that awful watermelon flavoured "bubbalicious"-esque kick. Not even close, too sweet. Thank goodness it's not my last pack!

I know, the world around me is crumbling & I can find nothing better to write about than chewing gum. Pathetic. South Africa is a disaster right now, it's horrifying to hear of the violence, & it just doesn't make sense. Apparently Zimbabwe is safe, but still under the rule of Mugabe indefinitely. I feel awfully boring (but happily safe) in my little corner of Lusaka:-)

Looking forward to a long weekend- Africa Freedom Day! Holla

Girls players clinic

The Youth Basketball League (YBL) hosted it’s first ever all-girls player’s clinic. There was a poor turnout (we had several more coaches than girls to start out)*hahah*, but we did have fun. The, erm SIX girls who came were really keen to learn something new. Here are some of the girls in action. (None of the girls are my BSA girls- they told me they wouldn’t be able to join in because they had school games. Too bad for me). I should also mention here that earlier in the month the YBL hosted a co-ed players clinic, at which there were 22 players, 3 of whom were girls- & one of them from BSA*smile*.

Boxing out drills with William














Bwalya leading a station on footwork














FUN Bouncing drills with Humphrey!!














Shooting with Alinafe














Some of the coaches (Michael, Alinafe, Humphrey, William)

Any good self-respecting Canadian

We all know that a Canadian doesn't give props to the Yanks unless they've done something extraordinary. Well, I have to humbly admit that the Americans do something right...

My folks got a little carried away when they were in Arizona when they remembered I loved Orbit Bubblemint gum. The appear to have bought every flavour of Orbit minty gums off the rack. I thought after tasting Raspberry Mint that it couldn't get any better- but in my desk drawer I've got Mint Mojito- scrumptious. Here are the other flavours my tastebuds are dying to try!!!! (Think you might have to click on the photo to actually read the flavours?)

Why are the small things in life always highlights? Or is it just me??

Neti

On Friday Heather hosted our last yoga class. It’s been so nice having Friday afternoons for yoga, visiting, & yummy lunches. The girls from work & I will have to find a new way to spend time together. Anyway, for all you people who practice yoga, many of you may have already been introduced to neti. This was only my second week doing it, but it feels so great! Claire forgot her neti pot of Friday so decided to film instead. I got the giggles so hard watching these videos I thought I’d try to load one up here. And Pop, don’t roll your eyes, we used to “candle” our ears, this is another method for clearing out the sinuses. And though it looks like pure comedy, it feels wonderful after (especially since this time of year is incredibly dusty & windy). Oh, for those of you who don’t know, you pour a saline solution into one nostril, and let it come out the other nostril, leaving you clean & sneeze-free:-) See here for more in-depth information: http://www.yogapoint.com/articles/spring_cleaning.htm.

Hope you have a laugh! Me, in action.



My colleagues & yoga partners. Priscilla in the front, then Alison, & Sue hiding in the back.

Just by the hair of my chinny chin chin

Well you’d never guess, but I nearly had my first cycling accident when knocking off yesterday evening. I was concentrating on the traffic- looking left & right & left again- to cross a fairly busy intersection. Just as I made my break I realized that a drunk pedestrian had zoned in on me (directly where I was heading). He was standing in the middle of the road, looking as if he wanted to throw me off my bike. His mumbling was fairly incoherent but I gathered that he didn’t like the fact that I’m white, so at the last minute I veered wildly to the right praying that I wouldn’t face an on-coming car round the bend.
Once I realized I was safe & my heartbeat slowed, I was left only with annoyance. What a jerk! But I’m safe & gearing up for today’s cruise to the courts- wish me luck!*hahaha*

Busted!

I learnt on the weekend that the cat’s out of the bag. Let me explain: Saturday evening I went to watch Alvin’s former basketball team play, and found most of my BSA boys still at the courts. So I sat up with them giggling and joking and making predictions for the game. Then Chichi (one of the boys who has started training with a team in the ZBA, so I suppose he’s a former boy) had mentioned some random story about me. I looked at him completely blank. Then he admitted that he’d come across my blog whilst Googling some information on Zambian basketball. HORRORS! I’ve written stuff up here about drinking etc…I considered editing…but then that would take away from the real me. So Chichi, if you’re reading this: you’re too young to drink! I’ll have to be even more sure of my Zambian facts now too*wicked smile*. It’s also funny to see how random the whole concept of a blog was to him & a couple other boys’. I tried to explain that it’s the best way for me to stay in touch with so many friends back home & scattered around the world- I’m not sure if they thought that was an acceptable reason, but I’ll continue anyway!

As promised photos of the visit with Claire & Kelvin (they’re trundled off to the Copperbelt for a few days), but we’ll look forward to a few more days together before they head back to Namibia & Canada respectively.

Sangria

We had a beautiful day at the pool last weekend

Swimming & beers (well, at least beers for the girls)!

Mojitos! This was Saturday afternoon's bit of heaven. (I think the last mojito I had was in Havana Cuba & I didn't like it)...shame- it couldn't have tasted better than on Saturday:-)

It was also Kolo's birthday on the weekend. We went out for a delicious meal at one of Lusaka's finest restaurants to celebrate (it was also a 'farewell dinner' of sorts to Christine & Emily). Here's Kolo at her finest:-)

Comings & goings

I’ve been inspired to post because of my brother. He recently blogged about nothing, & it made me laugh…so I figured I should also throw something up here. (Which reminds me Tommy, what of your fish)??

Updates:

1. I have only taken 2 days off of that abdominal bench (and that wasn’t on purpose, I just kind of ran out of time). I’m feeling much stronger, though I’m still a lifetime away from a washboard stomach*hahaha*

2. Arrival of packages: Well, hand delivered wins out. Kelvin arrived safely with a massive bag of goodies…photos to come as jerseys get distributed. No sign of the snail mail package*sigh*

3. With the arrival of Kelvin, came Claire! YAY, so they’ve been staying with us for about a week now. I’ve actually felt like I’ve been on holiday. Claire & I open a bottle of red- or mix up some sangria- & sit out on the ‘patio’ overlooking my dead grass (that’s another story & photo), chatting, reading, or eating:-). I’ve taken a few photos of our ‘adventures’ that I’ll post later.

4. BSA seems to be doing very well on the basketball side. Both the under 18 boys and the under 12 boys won on Saturday (much fun- no photos)! The week before a couple of ‘my’ girls had pitched up, so they were able to join in a friendly game which was eye-opening for them & exciting for me- we’re still working on them!

So really, there’s never a dull moment. My Canadian friend Heather will soon be leaving Lusaka (which is not the good news) but the exciting bit for me is she gave me about six new books & the board game Clue! (Claire & I worked that board game out over a glass of red too)*grin*. Other than missing Heather as a friend…there goes my yoga instructor:-( Guess I’ll need to find a new Friday afternoon activity after she leaves. Boo.

So really, nothing new; I should have a few more photos & stories coming up. For now it’s back to the grind.

Zimbabwe

Well, it's not getting any better in Zim. Mugabe versus Tsvangirai lives on. Mugabe called for a "re-count" before any official results were released. A boat full of arms from China is docked in South Africa & the most Thabo Mbeki mutters is "there is concern". When he was in Lusaka for the big extraordinary SADC meeting, South Africa did not even admit that there is a 'crisis' in Zimbabwe, which is a shame, because the country is in shambles.

But they say if you don't laugh, you'll cry...so here's my fave email of late:

Mugabe was asked when he’s going to bid the Zimbabwean people farewell.
Looking puzzled he answered, “Where are they going??”

The Birthday lives on & on & on (cue Jack Johnson)

Just in! Kolo sent me these photos & I think they're great.

Here we are actually looking photogenic*giggling*

There were men at the party, but the chose not to partake in the photo opp.

That's Kupela, Layla, Christine, Namukolo, Emily, myself & Lauranne

My birthday lives on...

I was really excited on Monday when I received a hand-delivered birthday gift from South Africa! A Canadian former Commonwealth Games Canada intern-friend is based in Cape Town. Turns out she’s also a schoolmate to my workmate…so they meet in Jo’burg for their classwork. Kirstie being the star that she is, sent along these FAB gifts! I’m so spoiled.
My new Namibian bracelet.














A birthday candle:














I was going to say that hand delivering packages is much more effective then sending anything via post (as I’m still awaiting my birthday package from my folks)- when two things happened.
1. I received a package from Aly- holla to receiving a new book! and,
2. My Zambian friend Kelvin, who is now based in Edmonton is supposed to be en route to Lusaka for his first visit in nearly 2 years. My folks- beginning to get worried that the birthday parcel may never arrive- organized another package to be carried by Kel. But imagine this- he was refused to board his flight in the USofA because he didn’t have a transit visa. He was supposed to arrive in the next couple of days & we haven’t heard anything since the hiccup in the States…so that package may be as close as the package sent via snail mail.

Sigh.

But I do feel loved…& what a long birthday- I’m still celebrating:-)

The newest Addition

Well, Alvin came home on Friday with a surprise. (I hope he wasn't hinting anything about my waistline)- a new abdominal bench















It's a beauty. I've never been one of those people who'd do crunches & push ups everyday. Ask me to go running, cycling, roller-blading, play ball- anything, I'm in...but to be all alone & working on abs never really interested me. But, since it's spreading guilt in my living room, I've been on it everyday since he brought it. I'll let you know how long I last*hahaha*!!

Here's proof that's Al's using it:-)

Latest dishes

I had the worst hankering for nachos this weekend. Other than slurpees, I probably miss plain old tortilla chips more than anything...so I dug into the Doritos, even bought some salsa instead of making my own, & enjoyed a nachos & cheese lunch! Not quite like Pete's nachos (with all the company AND drinks to go with it), but I did enjoy.

















On a completely different note, another dish I have recently been hooked on, is "Sampo". Here maize kernels (NOT like our sweet corn from home...this corn is not sweet), are boiled & then mixed with groundnuts (or peanut butter) & sugar to taste. It doesn't look very appetizing, but it is scrumptious!