The girls were pretty tired yesterday, so we ended up having a quiet evening in the guest house, eating peanut butter and jelly for dinner and getting the kids to bed early at 9:30 PM. 🙂 Early. <sigh>
work on the bridge goes on
Several of the folks here have reported being bitten by insects during the night, so we decided to do a morning wash of all the bed linens. The upper bunks have some sort of poop on them – gecko? – so it’s probably a good idea anyways. The guys headed out early to start on the bridge project, but MonkeyWrench and Picklebee had slept in. After breakfast, a feast from the Rancho kitchen of sweetened milk, rolls, hardboiled eggs, and salty cheese, we got ourselves ready to go down and see how things were going. We were just about to start another load of laundry before heading out, when the power went off. Power outages are pretty common, and I was mistaken in earlier post when I said that the whole Rancho is run off of a generator – the generator is just for the ubiquitous power outages, but it doesn’t seem to kick on automatically. Anyhow, off we went but just outside the front guesthouse door, Picklebee took a tumble on a tree root, skinning her knees and elbows again, so back we went in for some ointment, bandaids, and a couple healing gumdrops. Picklebee is about to almost single-handedly go through all the bandaids I brought. I always put her in pants or leggings under a skirt or shorts so I can try to have something to protect her knees during the inevitable tumble. That’s life! I noticed yesterday that the caretakers for the kids MonkeyWrench and Picklebees age from Casa Suyapa didn’t like them to run on the sidewalks, probably for the same reason.
Picklebee takes a tumble
The bridge project is coming along – the old logs for the center span have been removed, floor boards on the side spans are still being removed, and the logs for the side spans are laying on each bank of the creek. The guys need to be able to use a circular saw, and the Rancho has one in the workshop area, but the only guy with the key is on vacation, and brought the key with him. So they’re trying to decide whether to get permission to break into the workshop area, or find another solution. Always interesting engineering challenges!
MonkeyWrench making a warning sign for the bridge
termite nest next to the bridge
After the girls and I checked out the bridge project, we saw the young kids from Casa Supaya heading down towards the Posa area near the reservoir, so we went over to join them.
Casa Suyapa kids playing at the covered patio at the Posa
One of the girls, Carmen, came up with some chalk, and offered it to MonkeyWrench and Picklebee to use, so they all drew in chalk for a bit. MonkeyWrench spied the CandyLand game going on under the picnic shelter, so she joined on in. I couldn’t figure out the rules, or how they decided whose turn it was, but MonkeyWrench was a good sport and played a couple of times.
Monkeywrench playing CandyLand with Casa Suyapa friends
Picklebee after playing with blue chalk
Picklebee continued to play with the chalk, ending up looking like a performer from Blue Man Group. Sarai was being punished (hanging out, but not allowed to play with other kids) for not having helped with the morning chores, so we didn’t get to play with her this time.
After a bit we said goodbye to the Casa Suyapa kids and walked back towards the guesthouse and stopped to play for a bit at the playground. They playground is fun – with teetertotters, monkey bars, and swings, but I do have to be careful with the girls, since some of the equipment is kind of old. Some of the medium-age girls came by, and they were on their weekly garbage clean up. Another Carmen, this one Sarai’s sister, was carrying a big empty poultry feed bag. We walked around with them for a bit, helping clean up garbage. Honduras in general seems to have a big litter problem, so although I don’t know that the Rancho kids are any better about not littering, it strikes me as a good idea for them to see that someone has to clean it up, or that it will just hang around.
Picklebee examining the slide
We went back to the guesthouse for lunch, enjoying a delicious almuerzo from the Rancho kitchens of rice, chicken (seco – dry, which means not in a soup), and some of the Ranch-made corn tortillas. Betsy had made more guacamole, so that was delicious as well. I am reminded once again by this computer about the oddities of living in another country – somehow the ground in the wiring was set up here so that whenever I touch the USB or headset port on the computer, I get a little shock. You’d think I’d learn. 🙂
Carmen collecting garbage on the Rancho
Picklebee is running a fever – 101.8, so I just gave her some children’s tylenol I brought down with me. I forgot a thermometer, though, but the clinic at the Rancho was kind enough to lend me one. 🙂
We hope all of you are doing well and are in good health.
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