dust

Have I mentioned that it's dusty here? I have talked, yet, about the dirt? Have I described how it boils under the tires of moving vehicles, and can be so thick at times as to completely block your vision as you drive behind another car? Have I told you how, when the dogs come running to greet us in the morning, the dirt from the driveway billows behind them in clouds that come to settle on you as they jump and lick, which in turn creates more dust clouds which come to settle on you too? Have I told you that despite my love of the morning shower I have for the past 10 months been showering in the evening because I would SO MUCH rather get into bed with clean feet than go out in public with them?

Well, in case I haven't, it's all true. And I offer the following as proof:
-kjd

 Tire tracks in the driveway.

Layers of dirt on coffee leaves, in the middle of the yard.

 My foot, 3 hours outside: 2 spent shopping (!), 1 in the yard.

Less than 24 hours since it's last cleaning, the floor in front of an open window.

Factory seconds

Yesterday afternoon I stopped at the "supermarket" at the end of our road for a short list of goodies which included diapers, pickles, and olives (don't ask). At the counter they bagged everything for me, and carried the bags to the car since my hands were full- trying to stop Eleanor from eating the piece of pickle she had just dropped on the floor. When I got home I went to take the bags from the car and one of the two caught my eye. "Interesting," I thought. "How did they get their hands on this?" And then I picked it up. Of course. God forbid anyone in America should have a bag like that!
-kjd

 The bag.

The reason it's in Africa, not a GAP store near you.

A visit with friends

Nearly two weeks ago now, our dear friends Kelley and David flew all the way from Carrboro, North Carolina to visit us. We were honored and thrilled to have them visit- and to be able to share our Tanzania life with them. We had a great time at Tim's field site, visiting Tarangire National Park (with our favorite driver/guide Jonas), and experiencing the thrills of downtown Arusha. We were sad to see them go, and look forward to our reunion in NC. Here are a few images from our safari with them. Kelley and David- thank you!
-kjd

(Warning: Given the number of animal photos already posted on this blog, I tried to limit images to those that are a little out of the ordinary. Hopefully they work.)

 Eleanor, from above.

Cars stopped for leopard viewing.

Kelley, master photographer.

Giraffe.

Spotting giraffe and lion.

more giraffe.

Watching people watching animals.

Elephant and plams.

Kelley and elephant.

David, master videographer.

Kelley.

Eleanor...oh la la.

"Hey!"

Palm tree.

Wildabeest.

 Mom and Eleanor.

Duty calls.

Zebra.

Giraffe, again.

Ox peckers.

(I'd like to blame the wind, but my hair was actually that stiff and dirty.)

"Bye mom."

"Ha, ha."

 "Oh, wait..."

The famous view from Tarangire Safari Lodge; Tarangire River.

dads and daughters

Sometimes they are going to be on the same page; their experiences aligned. Sometimes, they are not. But of one thing I am certain- they will always love each other. After all, dad's are awesome.

Case in point:
-kjd

incident with a lizard

A few days ago, in the late afternoon, I swung the door open to the porch. Eleanor, just a few feet behind me, stopped at the door as I was saying to her that I needed to check the tiles (they are often too hot for bare feet after baking in the sun all day). As I bent down just in front of the door, facing the tiles, I felt something hit my head and seconds later saw a lizard scurrying toward the opposite side of the chimney. I don't know if he was drunk, dared by his friends, or just lost his footing, but it scared the crap out of me (and rightly so, I think) and I screamed. This, in turn, made Eleanor scared and she started to cry. After a few moments of comforting and reassurance that the lizard was all gone, she stopped. But she still wanted nothing to do with the porch.

The event must have been pretty dramatic, maybe even traumatic, for her; since that day, and several times each day, she seems to relive it. She points to the door and says "Ahhh, ahhh" with rising and falling intonation while using the "all done" sign. She then points to my head, and says all done once again. Sometimes I think that first "ahhh, ahhh" is her imitating my scream, which is equally funny in its own right. Everytime we go to the porch she does the same thing, and now there's an extra pause while she waits for me to tell her that it's safe to come out. There are no lizards falling from the sky.

It's strange to think that in no time this will be a forgotten memory for Eleanor, and all we'll have left is this blog post to remind us of that "incident with a lizard."
-kjd