We spent most of Wednesday in Masindi on errands – phone repair, paint, groceries and lunch. We can only transport two gallons of paint at a time and even then the cans are subject to puncture or leakage. So there will be more trips. And once again we cheated the rains. Passy has malaria but still managed to get some green beans for us. The tender young ones in the field next door are obviously unfit for eating so she got us the big ugly one that you shell like peas. I made a bean and pasta soup – very good – and we’ll have it again.
It’s a cloudy, rainy day but we finally finished the base coat (red oxide) on the outside and Connie used up all the green on the windows. It’s just as well – the fumes from the paint are making us sick, and slightly woozy. Back in the banda we were rearranging our clothing on the new, bright blue, wicker shelves we had built for 25.000/=, when the roof started leaking in several places. We now have black plastic hanging strategically from the ceiling. If the rains continue we will have to do the entire thing! For icing on the cake, Connie’s air mattress sprung a leak so we will have to deal with that.
Moses and Ben started painting the mural and it’s looking good. We were able to stop at the carpentry shop at Nybyeye Forest College and order the cabinets so things are on schedule – sort of! Work continues at a hectic pace on the mural. Even Connie has been pressed into service painting leaves and other details. It’s not, nor do I expect it ever will be, desperate enough for me to pitch in. I continue on the gross (take that however you like) work of painting the walls, laying out the “African design” pattern and painting the same. I have covered every wall, inside and out and most twice, with glossy white or red oxide. The vapors are toxic and all except Ben are feeling the effects. Both Connie and Moses are losing their voices, and my ears are clogged. But the work continues from “cain’t see to cain’t see”.
I cooked risotto last night and we had Ben over for some Muzungu food. He had us doubled over laughing with some of his stories. He is a lot like Chris, same attitude towards authority, inability to keep his mouth shut and the same wonderfully warped sense of humor.
We spent the day painting and had visits from Richard and Kara from Kinyara and four Austrian campers. Everyone seems impressed with our progress even the local kids who spend a lot of time at the pump. We’re not sure whether they are doing chores or using it as a piece of playground apparatus. They do a lot of laughing, which we find interesting given their abject poverty.
