Our BIL has been kindly looking at our computer this week and marvelling at the fact that, despite undergoing immense destruction and abuse at the hands of the wee ones, it has kept on going! He said that he would recommend it to his clients as a very robust laptop!
Sadly, even robust laptops have their limits. First he fiddled and tugged until eventually he discovered the girls' mini-cinderella disc that had been the cause of the dvd player not working. (I could just imagine one of them slipping it in and then wondering and wondering just why nothing was happening!)
Next we showed him our favourite method for opening the computer with no proper kit at hand - my super duper potato peeler! It is great for peeling too! I would not leave the country without it and if i could, I would post a photo for you!
Once inside, he marvelled at the traces of milk and who knows what else. The inside of our keyboard and the screen were also places of horror for this Computer Man!
In all the turning on and off at the button rather than by the more traditional shut down method, we had destroyed some of the Windows files. Possibly could have been sorted, but then he finally pulled out the hard drive, and almost wept at the damage wreaked by that infamous glass of milk and CassCass last December!
Diagnosis: it will certainly never ever work again and he will do his best to get the stuff off it, but is not holding out much hope. Ahh! I am glad that Sister Evs had the bright idea of transferring all my photos to her hard drive in march so we haven't lost too much.
And for all you dear readers, go save your important files on to disk RIGHT NOW! (And do not let your children near a computer with a glass of milk!)
Friday, 19 June 2009
Thursday, 18 June 2009
Maison De Cacao
3 June
Our neighbour, a childhood friend of Bertie's, has been babysitting her two nieces recently and after an enjoyable trip to Ste Anne with them, the girls clamoured to see them again so we arranged to go over to Basse-Terre.
First stop was La Maison de Cacao. We visited the garden which has various cacao trees - there are three types, used to make luxury, superior and normal chocolate. The girls were most interested in pushing JoJo's buggy! Fine with me!
There is no longer a cacao industry in Guadeloupe, though there used to be a thriving one at the beginning of last century. This seems to be to do with a mixture of destructive hurricanes, a better income from bananas, and all the regulations and fees from being part of France.
After the garden, we were given a very interesting talk about cacao and how it is produced and then made into chocolate. I can't remember the whole process, but the beans are taken out of the shell and you can eat the soft bit surrounding them (delicious!) then they are roasted I think, before being ground down like coffee beans. She explained the whole process and differences between cocoa butter and paste but I will have to look it up again.
Then we did the tasting part, which was great fun, and I can assure you that JoJo really got involved here! He tasted every bit of chocolate that came his way (and we are talking 90% cocoa, the hard stuff here!) and begged for more!
First we tried hot chocolate how it should be - mixed with water and very strong. Next was 90% chocolate on its own, then mixed with sugar cane and you could just smell those sugar cane fields! Then mixed in turn with coffee bean, rum, and pepper. Ouch! I think I am just a plain kind of girl! We went out with our heads pounding!
Off we went to picnic and swim at Bouillante, a black sand beach. Black sand is so strange, it just looks like you are really dirty! The waves were pretty strong there so the kids decided making castles in the dirt, sorry I mean sand, was a better option.
CassCass managed to cut her foot open on something, but a kind lady at one of the many diving places there provided 1st aid. I have started taking a first aid kit with me now, though like an umbrella, I will probably never need it except the day I forget it! It is all healed now and she runs again with her usual grace and gusto.
Our neighbour, a childhood friend of Bertie's, has been babysitting her two nieces recently and after an enjoyable trip to Ste Anne with them, the girls clamoured to see them again so we arranged to go over to Basse-Terre.
First stop was La Maison de Cacao. We visited the garden which has various cacao trees - there are three types, used to make luxury, superior and normal chocolate. The girls were most interested in pushing JoJo's buggy! Fine with me!
There is no longer a cacao industry in Guadeloupe, though there used to be a thriving one at the beginning of last century. This seems to be to do with a mixture of destructive hurricanes, a better income from bananas, and all the regulations and fees from being part of France.
After the garden, we were given a very interesting talk about cacao and how it is produced and then made into chocolate. I can't remember the whole process, but the beans are taken out of the shell and you can eat the soft bit surrounding them (delicious!) then they are roasted I think, before being ground down like coffee beans. She explained the whole process and differences between cocoa butter and paste but I will have to look it up again.
Then we did the tasting part, which was great fun, and I can assure you that JoJo really got involved here! He tasted every bit of chocolate that came his way (and we are talking 90% cocoa, the hard stuff here!) and begged for more!
First we tried hot chocolate how it should be - mixed with water and very strong. Next was 90% chocolate on its own, then mixed with sugar cane and you could just smell those sugar cane fields! Then mixed in turn with coffee bean, rum, and pepper. Ouch! I think I am just a plain kind of girl! We went out with our heads pounding!
Off we went to picnic and swim at Bouillante, a black sand beach. Black sand is so strange, it just looks like you are really dirty! The waves were pretty strong there so the kids decided making castles in the dirt, sorry I mean sand, was a better option.
CassCass managed to cut her foot open on something, but a kind lady at one of the many diving places there provided 1st aid. I have started taking a first aid kit with me now, though like an umbrella, I will probably never need it except the day I forget it! It is all healed now and she runs again with her usual grace and gusto.
Monday, 1 June 2009
This And That
I have missed recording life here for you all so here are some of the recent highlights for you...
We borrowed our friends' seven seater Zafira and what fun we have been having with it! It zooms up mountain roads, LissaLou loves sitting right at the back on her own with her pile of Choubouloute books to read. Plus we get to take others along, notably Stella.
We have been weekly to the beach (got to make the most of it before we head back!) and I have suffered at the hands of the sun, grr.
For those with a map we have visited Anse Babin which despite its murky waters is renowned for its mud. Bertie covered himself in it and was so so smooth! I was too busy looking after ten children in the water to be able to indulge, one of whom was intent on drowning himself....!
We went for a marvellous walk in Port Louis amongst the mangrove. Such an interesting area that I have never visited up close before. There were so many crabs, funny little things with one huge pincer the size of its body or bigger! It was very wet and muddy even in dry season so must be quite a sight in wet season. This was followed up by a visit to a part of the beach much further up than we usually go, and it has shot to number one in my list! Deep clean blue water, coral beach, ahh! Our friend left us his snorkel kit and we had great fun visiting the fish below the surface. It is an amazing experience snorkling, so calm and peaceful and feels like you are so far away from the real world rather than two inches. Bertie can dive and then emerge blowing out the water from his pipe like a whale! I have not reached such skill yet!
We have gone down to Basse Terre more often recently - I am getting used to the hills there (always helps to have a more reliable car!). We visited a bain chaud on the side of the road near Dole, which is where they bottle water. We love these kind of pools - like a swimming pool with no chlorine! They are lovely and warm too, warmed by the volcano.
Bertie's brother is building a structure at Pika to keep up dry and safe from falling mangos. It is still needing a roof though. Speaking of maangos, they are all gone! Sniff! Back to maracudjas and some guavas and a lovely new fruit I haven't tasted before called pomme malaka.
This weekend has seen Bertie rejoicing as Bordeaux took the French title and in deep sorrow as Nadal went out of the French Open. As long-term readers may be aware, the other half of our couple was somewhat pleased about this and is behind Federer every step of the way, unless of course he faces Murray!! I think there is discrimination on the side of the french sports people here though as they never mention him. Hmph.
It has either been raining horrendously (unusual for may i am told) or very hot recently, no fun either of them!
Bertie has been able to preach a few times which he enjoys. He is particularly in demand for church on the beach (or message sur la plage as I like to call it!) as he has such a loud voice! He got told off by his dentist for talking too loudly the other day!!
Speaking of Bertie getting told off, we were enjoying a pleasant evening in the park with some friends when he got accosted by a random drunk guy and viciously insulted for quite a while about how he has nothing, is nothing, will come to nothing. Bertie was quite taken aback by the tirade until he was called Galette by the man, and it turned out to be a case of mistaken identity! Now his nieces are taking great joy in shouting Galette at him! But I did point out that in my eyes he is the Galette des Rois!
I hear the Scrabble pieces come out, I think I shall stay hidden a bit longer rather than lose atrociously to the Super Scrabble Sister In Laws!
We borrowed our friends' seven seater Zafira and what fun we have been having with it! It zooms up mountain roads, LissaLou loves sitting right at the back on her own with her pile of Choubouloute books to read. Plus we get to take others along, notably Stella.
We have been weekly to the beach (got to make the most of it before we head back!) and I have suffered at the hands of the sun, grr.
For those with a map we have visited Anse Babin which despite its murky waters is renowned for its mud. Bertie covered himself in it and was so so smooth! I was too busy looking after ten children in the water to be able to indulge, one of whom was intent on drowning himself....!
We went for a marvellous walk in Port Louis amongst the mangrove. Such an interesting area that I have never visited up close before. There were so many crabs, funny little things with one huge pincer the size of its body or bigger! It was very wet and muddy even in dry season so must be quite a sight in wet season. This was followed up by a visit to a part of the beach much further up than we usually go, and it has shot to number one in my list! Deep clean blue water, coral beach, ahh! Our friend left us his snorkel kit and we had great fun visiting the fish below the surface. It is an amazing experience snorkling, so calm and peaceful and feels like you are so far away from the real world rather than two inches. Bertie can dive and then emerge blowing out the water from his pipe like a whale! I have not reached such skill yet!
We have gone down to Basse Terre more often recently - I am getting used to the hills there (always helps to have a more reliable car!). We visited a bain chaud on the side of the road near Dole, which is where they bottle water. We love these kind of pools - like a swimming pool with no chlorine! They are lovely and warm too, warmed by the volcano.
Bertie's brother is building a structure at Pika to keep up dry and safe from falling mangos. It is still needing a roof though. Speaking of maangos, they are all gone! Sniff! Back to maracudjas and some guavas and a lovely new fruit I haven't tasted before called pomme malaka.
This weekend has seen Bertie rejoicing as Bordeaux took the French title and in deep sorrow as Nadal went out of the French Open. As long-term readers may be aware, the other half of our couple was somewhat pleased about this and is behind Federer every step of the way, unless of course he faces Murray!! I think there is discrimination on the side of the french sports people here though as they never mention him. Hmph.
It has either been raining horrendously (unusual for may i am told) or very hot recently, no fun either of them!
Bertie has been able to preach a few times which he enjoys. He is particularly in demand for church on the beach (or message sur la plage as I like to call it!) as he has such a loud voice! He got told off by his dentist for talking too loudly the other day!!
Speaking of Bertie getting told off, we were enjoying a pleasant evening in the park with some friends when he got accosted by a random drunk guy and viciously insulted for quite a while about how he has nothing, is nothing, will come to nothing. Bertie was quite taken aback by the tirade until he was called Galette by the man, and it turned out to be a case of mistaken identity! Now his nieces are taking great joy in shouting Galette at him! But I did point out that in my eyes he is the Galette des Rois!
I hear the Scrabble pieces come out, I think I shall stay hidden a bit longer rather than lose atrociously to the Super Scrabble Sister In Laws!
Update On The Kids
Sorry I have not worked out how to put photos on here!
The kids are all well. LissaLou has been off school for a few days as it is closed to deal with rats! What really made me laugh was the rumour that they resulted from the grandmother of one of my nephew's cleaning out her house.... She has my sympathy though, we have had an invasion of cockroaches this week after arely one a week all year. I now walk around eyes constantly scanning for any unusual dark shapes and then it is out with the flip flop and....wham! It is really hot now and we wonder if that is causing it. There are certainly far far more mosquitoes. Guadeloupe is far nicer Nov - April, believe me!
Back to LissaLou....she and CassCass spend hours playing together with their Happyland/trains/polly pocket toys and it is lovely to see and hear them creating stories and personalities together as well as discussing and checking with each other for approval. Still fights and disagreements but it is much better now.
LissaLou came home from school and told me 2 + 2 equals 4 and a few other sums so we tried some addition and subtraction and she got the hang of it really well. CassCass and I have been singing the alphabet together and she can do perhaps a third of it now, plus she recognises maybe ten letters and loves writing names.
With all the recent rain I invested in some playdough which has been much enjoyed, by the teenagers in the house as much as the small ones!
Both the girls have lovely new sandals, pink for LissaLou (of course!) and yellow for CassCass. LissaLou also has new trainers for when we go walking. She has improved vastly in her walking, dating back to the 5 hour trek up the Soufriere which I yet to blog about. She didn't moan for four hours of it would you believe!! Since then we have done a few more walks - it really is a beautiful island and lovely to discover this way - and she has been great. I have high hopes for our return home! Now we just have to work on CassCass who is not quite so obliging....
Healthwise CassCass seems to have heat rash poor thing and LissaLou FINALLY got her filling at the dentist. Only for it to come out few days later. So she returned and got another one, brave girl. Only for it to come out a week later. So I think we will see if we can hang on till we return for a better quality dentist...
As for JoJo, he continues to be a delight, and his Mamie is already telling him how sad she will be when he is gone... He went through a horrible teething patch recently and that was no fun for anyone - I have never had teething problems in the girls so it was a real shock. I think it must be because they suck their thumbs and that assuaged the pain. But we didn't see a smile for a good few days and it did not help in the gradual stopping of breastfeeding process!!
However he is over that and back to his sunny self (except when hungry). Actually, if he is thwarted in his desires or efforts he will scream! He loves wandering around exploring, trying new things, climbing the most dangerous things. But his favourite activity of all is...reading! Ah, he is his mummy's son! He will bring book after book out for us to read to him, but if no one is around he will sit in the corner and leaf through piles of them. So cute! No words yet but if I roar like a lion he copies me!!
The kids are all well. LissaLou has been off school for a few days as it is closed to deal with rats! What really made me laugh was the rumour that they resulted from the grandmother of one of my nephew's cleaning out her house.... She has my sympathy though, we have had an invasion of cockroaches this week after arely one a week all year. I now walk around eyes constantly scanning for any unusual dark shapes and then it is out with the flip flop and....wham! It is really hot now and we wonder if that is causing it. There are certainly far far more mosquitoes. Guadeloupe is far nicer Nov - April, believe me!
Back to LissaLou....she and CassCass spend hours playing together with their Happyland/trains/polly pocket toys and it is lovely to see and hear them creating stories and personalities together as well as discussing and checking with each other for approval. Still fights and disagreements but it is much better now.
LissaLou came home from school and told me 2 + 2 equals 4 and a few other sums so we tried some addition and subtraction and she got the hang of it really well. CassCass and I have been singing the alphabet together and she can do perhaps a third of it now, plus she recognises maybe ten letters and loves writing names.
With all the recent rain I invested in some playdough which has been much enjoyed, by the teenagers in the house as much as the small ones!
Both the girls have lovely new sandals, pink for LissaLou (of course!) and yellow for CassCass. LissaLou also has new trainers for when we go walking. She has improved vastly in her walking, dating back to the 5 hour trek up the Soufriere which I yet to blog about. She didn't moan for four hours of it would you believe!! Since then we have done a few more walks - it really is a beautiful island and lovely to discover this way - and she has been great. I have high hopes for our return home! Now we just have to work on CassCass who is not quite so obliging....
Healthwise CassCass seems to have heat rash poor thing and LissaLou FINALLY got her filling at the dentist. Only for it to come out few days later. So she returned and got another one, brave girl. Only for it to come out a week later. So I think we will see if we can hang on till we return for a better quality dentist...
As for JoJo, he continues to be a delight, and his Mamie is already telling him how sad she will be when he is gone... He went through a horrible teething patch recently and that was no fun for anyone - I have never had teething problems in the girls so it was a real shock. I think it must be because they suck their thumbs and that assuaged the pain. But we didn't see a smile for a good few days and it did not help in the gradual stopping of breastfeeding process!!
However he is over that and back to his sunny self (except when hungry). Actually, if he is thwarted in his desires or efforts he will scream! He loves wandering around exploring, trying new things, climbing the most dangerous things. But his favourite activity of all is...reading! Ah, he is his mummy's son! He will bring book after book out for us to read to him, but if no one is around he will sit in the corner and leaf through piles of them. So cute! No words yet but if I roar like a lion he copies me!!
1st Communion
My kind BIL, knowing my plight, has come over for a family meal with his laptop, all for me!!
Last Sunday was a Big Occasion as our niece Stella went through her 1st communion - this is a massive thing here, accompanied by a huge party and lots of presents etc (they made far more of a fuss of it than of her birthday for example, which passed almost unnoticed). It is the culmination of months of catechism and 50 children went through the occasion at Mamie's church. It will be followed up in years to come by Profession de Faith and then Renonce.
The party was kept for this weekend, as it is bank holiday (yup, yet another one!) which gives plenty of recovery time. Well, more like another opportunity to finish the enormous leftovers in family! And those still left after today will be for the Mother's Day party at Nadia's next Sunday!
Preparation for the party has been going on for weeks, and this week got serious as Wilson painted and spruced up the house, a huge mutton was brought home (it looked like a bag with a corpse!!), we filled baskets with dragees (favours?) - LissaLou was a dab hand at this - and Mamie's sewing room looked more like an off licence! Saturday was spent cleaning cleaning cleaning (or in my case entertaining all the children, including Meddy!) and the place looked great at the end. The mairie lent us some tables and chairs and it looked like a restaurant with Mamie's fine china and glasses out.
Lunchtime was a family meal so there were a mere thirty of us! Then in the evening all the friends and family of Stella's father came so it was a much bigger affair, carrying on into the wee hours. My BIL laughed at me for going to bed early - I took the girls up at 9pm and fell asleep with them! Fortunately there were still some cakes left this morning that we tucked into (note: cakes - there were at least five or six HUGE affairs to begin with!) None of us feel that we should be eating for another week!
It is a major issue for Evangelical Christians here as to whether or not to attend such parties - many have a clear stance that they don't, and their point of view is known among their Catholic friends so they are not invited. We were happy to attend the party and help out where needed, and have been involved in numerous debates with others as our position was discussed.
I worked furiously on my photo albums over the past days and put them out for the family to browse through. It was nice to hear people remarking that they had never seen this or that photo before, and it is certainly a big improvement on the last. I used up all the acid-free sticky stuff Evs brought me and had to resort to pritt stick to finish, much to my sorrow!!
During the party, upstairs became the kids' hangout, and they were particularly impressed with the flying pig mum brought over for us! LissaLou got her hair done by her tatie and now has little beads for the first time - cute! But a nightmare to sleep with!
Last Sunday was a Big Occasion as our niece Stella went through her 1st communion - this is a massive thing here, accompanied by a huge party and lots of presents etc (they made far more of a fuss of it than of her birthday for example, which passed almost unnoticed). It is the culmination of months of catechism and 50 children went through the occasion at Mamie's church. It will be followed up in years to come by Profession de Faith and then Renonce.
The party was kept for this weekend, as it is bank holiday (yup, yet another one!) which gives plenty of recovery time. Well, more like another opportunity to finish the enormous leftovers in family! And those still left after today will be for the Mother's Day party at Nadia's next Sunday!
Preparation for the party has been going on for weeks, and this week got serious as Wilson painted and spruced up the house, a huge mutton was brought home (it looked like a bag with a corpse!!), we filled baskets with dragees (favours?) - LissaLou was a dab hand at this - and Mamie's sewing room looked more like an off licence! Saturday was spent cleaning cleaning cleaning (or in my case entertaining all the children, including Meddy!) and the place looked great at the end. The mairie lent us some tables and chairs and it looked like a restaurant with Mamie's fine china and glasses out.
Lunchtime was a family meal so there were a mere thirty of us! Then in the evening all the friends and family of Stella's father came so it was a much bigger affair, carrying on into the wee hours. My BIL laughed at me for going to bed early - I took the girls up at 9pm and fell asleep with them! Fortunately there were still some cakes left this morning that we tucked into (note: cakes - there were at least five or six HUGE affairs to begin with!) None of us feel that we should be eating for another week!
It is a major issue for Evangelical Christians here as to whether or not to attend such parties - many have a clear stance that they don't, and their point of view is known among their Catholic friends so they are not invited. We were happy to attend the party and help out where needed, and have been involved in numerous debates with others as our position was discussed.
I worked furiously on my photo albums over the past days and put them out for the family to browse through. It was nice to hear people remarking that they had never seen this or that photo before, and it is certainly a big improvement on the last. I used up all the acid-free sticky stuff Evs brought me and had to resort to pritt stick to finish, much to my sorrow!!
During the party, upstairs became the kids' hangout, and they were particularly impressed with the flying pig mum brought over for us! LissaLou got her hair done by her tatie and now has little beads for the first time - cute! But a nightmare to sleep with!
Wednesday, 27 May 2009
Electrics Are Jinxed?!
Tee hee, not only has our computer gone, but so has my SIL's next-door that I often use and now our tv has burnt out! (The girls are particularly distraught about this as we just nabbed the parents' DVD player and they have been SO enjoying Balamory! Me too! Love the views , the accents and it reminds me of Thursday afternoons at Esther's house!)
Oh, for those who are interested....have just booked our return tickets for 27 July 2009! How exciting! The countdown really is on!
We are squatting on my nephew's laptop, watching Roland Garros and savouring a ti punch, umm! It is a Bank Holiday (fourth in as many weeks...), this time for the Abolition of Slavery.
Hopefully I will pop in on a computer again in the next few weeks!
Oh, for those who are interested....have just booked our return tickets for 27 July 2009! How exciting! The countdown really is on!
We are squatting on my nephew's laptop, watching Roland Garros and savouring a ti punch, umm! It is a Bank Holiday (fourth in as many weeks...), this time for the Abolition of Slavery.
Hopefully I will pop in on a computer again in the next few weeks!
Wednesday, 6 May 2009
Gone Again
And now the computer is more or less a write-off after catching a virus.... (swine flu perhaps?!)
Just under three months till we set off back home, as you can imagine I have started my countdown and begun my lists of things to do, things to take, places to visit etc etc. As you can also imagine, Bertie isn't giving it the slightest thought!
Another strike tomorrow...hold your breath!
Just under three months till we set off back home, as you can imagine I have started my countdown and begun my lists of things to do, things to take, places to visit etc etc. As you can also imagine, Bertie isn't giving it the slightest thought!
Another strike tomorrow...hold your breath!
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