days in the life of a
Previous POSTS
March 2010
March 28, 2010
C'MON, GRAMAW!
Gramaw needs to get her act together!
I've been in Minnesota now for 20 hours, and I've only got a handful of good photos of the grandbabies to show you this morning!
It's a shame, a travesty really!
Clearly, Gramaw needs to pick up the pace...and her camera!
But Gramaw's been busy doing other Gramaw things...like listening to Karter say his ABCs and telling me the sounds they make (he knows nearly all of them, and he's only 21 months old!).
And wiping his little sore runny nose. Poor little fella has a bad cold!
And changing 8-week-old (has it really been 8 weeks?!) Kaden's diaper and listening to him coo and talk to Gramaw.
It's not like I haven't wanted to take photos, it's just that I've been too busy snuggling babies and kissing baby necks, reading Dr. Seuss and smelling Kaden's head.
But I promise, Gramaw will get her act together and get busy taking more photos and videos, because what a waste it would be not to take 1000 photos when I have the 2 most precious grandsons on the planet posing for me.
If you can call this "posing"...
But today is a new day, and Emily and I are ready for a fun day with Karter, Kaden, and (yes, I guess we should include them...) Kristoffer and Dana.
I promise I'll take a few more pictures!
click here for older March 2010 posts...
March 29, 2010
ROBANDA
As much as I loved seeing the wild animals on safari, I also loved meeting the people and visiting their homes and villages. One of the villages we visited was Robanda, just outside the western edge of the Serengeti.
I know I've mentioned it before, but it's worth saying again...African women traditionally are the ones who do nearly all the work to keep their families going. They are strong, beautiful, proud women.
Robanda is growing and thriving, a village that is doing well largely because of the creativity and ambition of the women there. They have formed a woman's co-op, where they meet together regularly to weave baskets to sell.
We watched their skillful fingers craft lengths of grasses into gorgeous works of art...
...baskets of many sizes, shapes, and designs.
And while it's always nice to earn some extra money for their families, the women's co-op is so much more!
It's an excuse for Robanda's women to meet together and to talk and share. As they are weaving their baskets, they are also weaving together their lives...sharing their triumphs and struggles, getting advice and help from each other, but mostly just enjoying the love and support of other women.
I can only imagine that most of their conversations revolve around these little ones, their children who play nearby while their mamas are weaving.
What precious little ones they were, many of them dressed in their finest clothes since we were coming to visit.
The children were a little shy at first...
...but quickly warmed up to us...
...and our cameras!
I found this fellow very interesting. He is one of the guards at the nyumba camp where we stay, and he was carrying the quiver of arrows that he uses with his bow to guard the camp.
He proudly showed us his arrows, hand-made from reeds, vulture feathers as stabilizers on the end, and arrowheads made from (get this!) NAILS! He takes regular nails and hammers the nail heads flat and into a point.
It was very comforting to know that if a lion decided to attack our nyumba, we were under the safe protection of a man armed with a bow and arrows!
After we all bought some baskets (of course!), we made a quick stop at the village school. It was a Sunday afternoon so school was not in session, but it was still fun to see what their school looks like.
Here is the school bell in the yard...a rusty old steel rim from a huge truck tire, with an old spring of some kind (laying on top of the rim) that is used as the gong. Apparently the school "bell" is very loud and does its job!
Inside this room for grades 5 through 7, the children's desks...
...and math problems on the blackboard.
My daughter Emily, a high school algebra teacher in Indiana, gave her students story problem #9 as extra-credit over spring break. Our guide Robert translated it for me:
It takes 84 people 24 days to cultivate 3 acres. How many people would it taketo cultivate the same farm in 21 days?Anyone know the correct answer???
These darling little village children were curious about the strange white people meandering around their school, so they came to investigate.
Like much of Africa, it's torn between the ancient traditions and way of life and modern technology. The cell phone tower on the hillside makes a comical contrast with the thatched roof hut homes. Electricity is scarce, but nearly every family has a cell phone. Go figure...
It was fun spending a little time in Robanda!
March 30, 2010
BASEBALL FEVER
After years of planning and building, Minneapolis-St. Paul unveiled the new Twins baseball stadium, Target Field, last Saturday.
(yes, that is a billboard...very cool, huh?!)
The Minnesota Gray boys were excited to check it out, so when Emily and I arrived on Saturday, we headed into the city for an Open House at the new Target Field.
The youngest Gray boy, Kaden, looks totally excited too!
The Twins Opening Day is still a couple of weeks away, but we were there for the very first baseball game in Target Field, a college game.
We were actually part of the record-setting crowd...the largest (and first!) crowd ever to attend an event at Target Field!
It was cool and overcast for a baseball game, but hey...it's March in Minnesota, what would you expect?!
But never fear, the Twins organization knew how Minnesota weather can be, and installed heat lights for chilly days.
This little Twins fan loved every minute of it!
Kaden had a great view...and a great ride!
This cool sign will light up and feature "Minnie" and "Paul" shaking hands across the Mississippi River every time the Twins score.
A wonderful view of the Minneapolis/St. Paul skyline...
Aunt Emmy had fun with Karter!
My Minnesota Gray gang...
My favorite baseball player, catcher Joe Mauer. Not only is he a hunk, he's an awesome baseball catcher, and...he just signed an 8-year contract for $180 million!!!
Ever since I was in love with Johnny Bench back in the '70s, I've been partial to hunky catchers...
Now I've got a reason to root for the Twins...
...besides the obvious reason that I want to support Target because Target supports my family!
And I have to hand it to Target...not only do they have cool advertisements, they have very VERY COOL billboards!!!
March 31, 2010
TWIN OTTER ACROSS TANZANIA
After 12 amazing days, the safari was over but we still had adventures to come! Torrential rains during our last night in the Serengeti nyumba had badly flooded the road out of the camp, but our trusty drivers were able to maneuver the Land Rovers through the water without incident.
The drivers dropped us off at the Serengeti Airport. I use the term "airport" loosely, as this photo shows you the entire terminal.
Our plane arrived on time...landing on a tiny dirt runway.
Now I've never been a fan of flying in small prop planes, and I don't think I've ever flown in anything quite so small as this one. Except if you count the time when I was a child that Dad took me up with his friend in a little plane, and I don't count that because I was too young to realize how scared I should be!
But it was comforting to know that two of our TseTse Warriors were aircraft experts. Brion (far left) is actually a pilot and has even flown one of these babies before. He walked around the plane, doing his own pre-flight check, talking to the co-pilot, and declaring the Twin Otter in excellent flying condition.
For those of you who know (or care!) about such things, this little plane was called a Twin Otter. It held all 15 of the TseTse Warriors, 3 other tourists that we met at the airport, plus the pilot and co-pilot. It may have held a few more, but it was a pretty tight squeeze as it was.
Brion sat in the front, right behind the cockpit, and kept up a running dialogue with the co-pilot. The other aircraft expert, Norm, sat right behind me and Brion called out the altitude and other navigational numbers to Norm throughout the flight...I felt like I was sitting in the middle of the cockpit!
Brion also pointed out our coordinates on the map so we knew what we were seeing out the window. It was comforting to know that Brion was there and could fly the plane if he had to...just in case...well, you know, just in case!
So we took off from a dirt runway for our 2 1/2 hour flight to Arusha.
While we were driving through it, the vastness of the Serengeti was indescribable. Now, from the air, it was even more incredible!
We soon flew over the Ngorongoro Crater that we had visited just a few days earlier. It was even spectacular to see from an aerial viewpoint.
On the other side of the crater, we were over Maasai country with their circular boma villages and small farm fields.
Although I'm not a fan of the low-flying small planes, they do provide opportunities for some gorgeous aerial photography.
Aaahhh...signs of modern civilization....cell phone towers!
Nearing Arusha...
In Tanzania, like everywhere else, there are the "haves"...
...living next to the "have-nots."
Arusha is known for its coffee plantations.
We landed in Arusha, an upgrade from the Serengeti but still a far cry from the airports we're used to.
But at least this one did have a paved runway!
In Arusha, we sadly bid farewell to our new TseTse Warrior friends. They were all going back home to the US, but Kim and I had another big adventure ahead of us for the next 5 days... Zanzibar!
