Cold Weather & Firewood Deliveries ...

The tractor offloads the firewood collected in one of the nearby villages

It’s cold here at the moment. Eeeesh …….. it’s freezing ! Well, freezing for an African like me, that is. My blood’s just not used to it. (Although I suspect that changing out of my khaki shorts and into a pair of jeans might help !) I have been sitting, huddled, in my office this week with a pashmina draped over my shoulders (It’s navy blue, so goes quite well with the khaki !).

My husband came in from the farm for his early morning coffee/breakfast break the other day and asked “Does that flimsy blue … thing … whateveryoucallit actually help to keep you warm ?” “No” I replied sarcastically, “I’m only wearing it because I’m trying to make a fashion statement”. My husband hastily exited the office and walked through to the kitchen muttering something under his breath along the lines of “I can see that you’ve woken up in one of THOSE moods this morning !”

Justin has been at work all week with a cap on. He only wears a cap to work when it’s really cold (to keep his head warm, I suppose)…. I really can’t bear it (someone wearing a cap inside the house, that is) so once tried to tell him that it brings bad luck if you wear a hat inside the house, to try and discourage him. But he didn’t believe me. Oh, well …. he probably wonders about my navy blue ‘whatveryoucallit’ thing aswell !

As you know, all our hot water for the house is generated via means of our dear old donkey boiler. We also need wood for the fire which burns inside the main lounge at night - which means that we need firewood. Lots of it. We have to be very careful though, that we don’t encourage (or allow our staff to perform) the illegal act of chopping down protected trees, or those in ‘no go’ areas. So this week, my husband approached some people in the local village and asked them if they would sell us some firewood from their own trees. Which they happily agreed to do.

So, we sent one of the farm tractor’s in to the village to collect the wood and I just managed to take a picture of it (above) as it was offloading the wood next to our donkey boiler. (You can just make Lillian out in the photo - she is one of our gardeners - and Zonde, who had great fun barking at the tractor !)

If we are careful, it will last us several weeks and because we have a nice stock pile of it at the moment, our baths lately have been lovely and hot and we’ve not had to worry about scrimping on the hot water. (Ah, the luxury of an abundance of hot water ‘on tap’, eh ?!)

Ironing Day in Africa !

Justin - ironing with a view !

Almost all the homes here in Tanzania are built with verandas – mostly large, wrap-around ones and these are usually an extension of the main living area of the house. I suppose it’s because of the heat (much cooler to be out than in) and also because of the fact that almost everywhere (especially in this area) you have fantastic views out over Kilimanjaro and Mt Meru.

We have a large veranda running the length of part of our kitchen and the dining room, main lounge and TV lounge. We also have a smaller veranda off our main bedroom area – which we never use. The main veranda has a dining table and chairs on the one side along with a serving table (great for entertaining) and on the other side there is an outdoor sofa set, coffee table and a chest freezer. My daughter also has a tricycle, kiddies “castle” tent and plastic ironing board set up here and a play table and blackboard, too. Oh, yes, and I also have cushions and blankets set up here for my stray village dogs who come and sleep here at night.

The veranda is covered and is waterproof and is a lovely place to sit when there is a huge rainstorm going on around you, whilst you sit nice and cozily looking out on it !

Anyway, as usual I am ‘beating around the bush’ … what I really wanted to tell you is that the veranda is where Justin does his ironing. He puts a thick blanket (bought on a previous trip to Nairobi, Kenya – isn’t it nice and colourful ?) on top of the dining table, and irons away in the African heat (mind you, it’s been pretty chilly here lately !) as he looks out over the wheat fields and mountains beyond. (I reckon he has one of the most scenic ironing spots in the world !)

I’m very lucky as I have staff to do all my housework for me, but when we travel overseas and stay with relatives, then I have to do the ironing myself again. Which makes me realize how fortunate I am, having all the ironing done for me at home. When we were in the UK for Christmas, I was ironing one morning at my mother-in-law’s home and my daughter came through, shocked and said to me “Mummy, what ARE you doing ? That’s Justin’s job !” Well of course I had to switch the iron off and sit her down for a little chat !

Please don’t laugh – I know that this is the year 2008 – but I also own a coal iron ! This is for times when the electricity is not forthcoming (or the electric iron is broken). Then Justin has to place hot coals in the base of the iron and iron away. Now THAT is hard work as the coal iron is very heavy. As many people in Tanzania live without electricity, coal irons are not that uncommon.
So, there you have it … my story about just another load of ironing in Africa !

Visitors, Bolognese, Bath Soap and .... Bed !

This photo (taken today) shows the area between our house & the farm workshops - Kilimanjaro lies just behind that cloud !

Walking from the Guest Cottage, through the workshops, to the area in the first photo

It’s been a busy day on the farm today. We had the owner of the company my husband works for out from Europe, along with the General Manager of the Tanzanian operation with his wife and 3 children. We all get along really well though, so it was a lovely day with the kids all playing together and the adults catching up.

After early morning tea, coffee and biscuits, I served lunch out on the veranda for all of us (9 in total). I made Fettuccini with a Bolognese sauce and a second cheese, ham and onion sauce and served that with fresh bread rolls and a large salad. For pudding I made an Apricot crumble with custard, and the kids had ice cream !

After lunch we had tea and coffee again and in the late afternoon we all went for a short walk on the farm, around to the guest cottage and back again before everyone left to go home.

So, I am quite tired now after all the cooking and talking and catching up on town gossip (!!). I was spoiled today with a set of gorgeous Marks & Spencer Vanilla and Cocoa Butter bath soaps, and the latest “Hello” magazine …. so I am now heading off for a nice hot bath (it has been freezing cold here today) and to snuggle in bed and read my “Hello”, so……. goodnight, all - see you tomorrow :)

Dutch Supplies Mean Christmas Came Early In Tanzania This Year - Woo Hoo !

Some of the items which arrived in the container from Holland yesterday - it was like Christmas in June !

Every year, the Dutch company which my husband works for very kindly sends us a “stock list” of items which we can order from Holland, which they then purchase on our behalf and ship to us on one of the company containers which comes across the ocean to Tanzania on a regular basis containing seed, chemicals and spares.

This stems back to the days when very little could be purchased in the shops here. Even ten years ago, when we first came here, there were simple things you just could not find – items deemed “luxury” such as sauces, mustards, toiletries, chocolate, fabric softener, breakfast cereals, nappies (diapers). Speaking to people who lived here before that time, I have been told that even toilet paper had to be imported at one stage. Imagine !

It’s very easy to forget those times …. it is just a distant memory to me, when we would go on holiday and return with our suitcases loaded with odd “necessities” such as good quality toothpaste. How much we take for granted now !

The things that we bring back home to Tanzania with us now ? Top of the list (but heavy !) are books, then magazines and DVD’s, CD’s. (My husband and I are both avid readers.)

Next would be make-up & hair products (me, of course !) and quality medicines, clothing, shoes, décor items for our home – curtains, loose rugs, bath towels, lamp shades, throws. Lamp shades & cushions ! Those are things we still cannot get here easily. Especially good quality ones. Oh, and picture hooks – of all things !

Low fat, fat free, sugar free, wholegrain items ? Forget it ! I have a special order for Fat Free Yogurt with a local supplier who imports it from Kenya for me. You can find sugar free jam and artificial sweeteners. But that’s about it.

It breaks my heart that we can’t get rye, whole grain or whole wheat flour in this country – only white ! (I wouldn’t risk ordering that from Holland as it could be on the container for months ??) Boo hoo … maybe times will change, as the country is developing at a rapid rate – the economy is booming and there is lots of foreign investment, and more and more new products and services are appearing every day.

My parents own their own courier business in South Africa – which is very handy, as they have sent us countless parcels of “necessities” over the years. There is a company based in the UK which ships luxury items to Expat’s the world over which we order from about twice a year, too. (I’m addicted to Caramel Snack-A-Jack’s although my husband says they taste like polystyrene – ha ha !) Then, of course, there is Amazon.com – a lifesaver ! (Bless them, they even deliver to remotest Africa … well, the bigger cities at least. It takes around 3 months to receive a parcel - but better late than never !)

So, anyway … back to the luxury items we get from Holland each year. A lot of these items we can get here now, but some (like e.g. good quality shampoo) are supplied erratically. So I usually just like to order these in bulk (a case of 12/24 units at a time). Yesterday our annual “order” arrived and as my husband had to go in to the city to collect urgent farm spares (which were also on the container) he collected our order – and here some of it is sitting on my kitchen table above. So .. do you want to know what was in my order, and why ?

Shampoo and Conditioner (as explained above)
Children’s Toothpaste (erratic supply)
Wet Wipes (we get poor quality ones here, that go moldy once opened?!)
Creamed Honey (local honey is great, but this is extra special !)
French Jams (ditto)
Tinned Liver Pate (YUCK - that’s for my husband. Oh, & a treat for the cats but shhhhhh don’t tell a soul !)
Pickles - Onions, Gherkins and Hot Relish (hard to come by quality ones here)
Kechap Manis (I just wrote about this recently ! I got 2 cases of it today - woo hoo !)
Peanut Satay Sauce (1 kg buckets – I usually make my own but it’s a fiddly job !)
Apple Sauce (for healthier baking options & great winter puds !)
Quality Herbal & Flavoured Teas (difficult to get here)

So, think of me the next time you go to buy shampoo and you have a whole aisle of different types to choose from – and if you ever see a woman standing awestruck and open mouthed in the toothpaste aisle, battling to choose between “Fresh Mint” or “Spearmint” and looking as if she’s just seen a ghost – it’s probably me. On holiday in the civilized world somewhere, rejoicing in the sheer delight of different flavoured toothpastes ;)

Our Lazy Sunday Barbecue ... & An Easy Marinade Recipe

Nothing beats the taste of meat cooked on a fire out in the open ....

On Sunday my (workaholic) husband took a break from the farm (i.e. was ‘torn away’ … ha ha) as it is a quiet time now between our planting and havesting seasons. When it is quiet like this, he usually takes Sunday’s off and I treasure these days we can spend together as family with no work interruptions.

It was an unusually hot and sunny day (considering we are entering our Winter season here) and my husband suggested that we have a barbecue - I thought that this was a great idea as it meant I could have a day off from cooking (not that I really mind it, but Sunday’s are usually my really lazy days). Well, it was not a complete break from the kitchen as I wanted to make some nice marinades and things.

First I took out a packet of pork sausages which I cut and threaded onto wooden kebab skewers with some onion, and then I basted these in a mixture of equal amounts of tomato sauce (ketchup) and Worcestershire sauce. We love cooking pork sausages on the barbecue, except they are often tricky and fall through the grill bars – so making ‘kebabs’ out of them is ideal.

My husband wanted a nice steak, and I happened to have some individually portioned Kenyan fillets so I took one of those out for him and my daughter, but left it plain. (We only eat imported Kenyan beef – I’ve mentioned before that the quality of our local Tanzanian fillet is terrible.) I rarely eat red meat and was happy to stick with chicken.

I took out a packet of chicken pieces which were skinless. I automatically remove the skin from all the chicken pieces before I portion and freeze them, but usually for a barbecue I would leave the skins on. I made a lovely lemon, thyme & garlic marinade for these which was quick and easy and even though they only had time to marinade for about an hour, they were still tender and tasty. (The recipe for that is below).

I then made some garlic rolls wrapped in foil to put on the fire, and a quick salad with lettuce, rocket, tomatoes, onions, cucumber and carrots …. and that was lunch !

My husband had one of his farm workers make us a barbecue in the workshop here a few years ago – just out of an old oil drum. It looks pretty professional, just like one you would buy in a shop …. it was all welded together and aside from a few modifications to the grill / grid (the gaps were large enough for all the meat to fall through into the fire !) it was perfect.

So, my husband cooked our meat in the garden (with all the dogs begging at his feet !) and my daughter splashed around in her paddling pool, and we ate at the dining table I have on the veranda. It was a really lovely day, and the only thing that would have made it even better, would’ve been if we’d had our extended families (parents, in laws, siblings, nieces and nephews) to join us !

Here is the easy marinade I made for the chicken pieces -:

Lemon, Thyme & Garlic Marinade for Chicken

5 Chicken Pieces (I used skinless)
Juice of 2 large lemons
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Handful of fresh Thyme, roughly chopped
2 tbsp Olive Oil
Salt & pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients together and pour into a glass dish. Add the chicken pieces and turn to coat well. Leave to marinade for a couple of hours, or overnight in the fridge.

A Snake At Sunset

The snake was lying on the low white wall to the right of the photo. The windows above that, are my kitchen windows, where the cats come in for their food. You can see the thick foilage below the windows which the snake disappeared into. Ugh !

On Friday evening my daughter and I were alone at the house. My husband was on his way back from the city (he’d had to go in to collect chemicals and spares earlier on during the day) and all the staff had gone home for the day.

I went into the garden just before sunset, to call my daughter in for her bath. It was as we were on our way back inside and walking on to the veranda that in the blurred light of dusk, I noticed a long, dark snake draped in an “S” shape along the low white wall just to the left of the front door. I stopped, caught my breath and told my daughter (as calmly as I could) that she must keep very still and quiet, and that I was going to pick her up. A million thoughts rushed through my head in a matter of seconds … should I walk up to the workshop to call one of the askari (guards) to help me ? No, I thought - by that time the snake would be gone and either hiding in the thick bougainvillea around the front windows or – perish the thought - slithering in to the house through one of the open windows.

I had to act quickly. I got my daughter and the dogs inside. Now my mind was buzzing, the adrenaline was pumping - a stick, I needed a stick. But not a broom or mop stick. They are cheaply made here and break on impact. I needed something stronger. I ran to the store (pantry), climbed up to a high shelf and found a metal moisture prod ‘thingy’ that you put into the soil to test moisture levels. That should do it. I ordered my daughter to STAY INSIDE AND NOT MOVE and out I went.

The snake had moved – it was now lazily slithering into the bougainvillea, towards the open kitchen windows. Only about one third of it’s body was still on the wall. If I didn’t move quickly, it would be gone – hidden in the dense foliage. I know that the best way to kill a snake is to give it a single, sharp blow to the back of the head. You have to be quick though. If you miss, and depending on what type of snake it is, it could rear up at you, angered and dangerous. But it’s head was not visible – what should I do ? My mouth was dry, my skin prickling - I brought the metal pole down quickly, with all my might, right across it’s back and I felt the jarring vibrate through my body as the metal pole hit the brick wall. The snake slithered away quickly - into the bougainvillea. Had I killed it ? I didn’t think so. Oh, no !

I went back inside, grabbed my daughter, and, keeping her safely to the side of my body, returned outside with a torch (flashlight) which I shone down into the area I’d seen the snake disappear into once I’d hit it. Nothing. I could see nothing. The snake had gone. It was worse than I’d thought - an injured snake, no doubt now aggressive, so close to the house – that’s all I needed. It couldn’t be worse.

I came inside, quickly shut all the windows on that side of the house, made sure the dogs were all still in, locked the front door – and burst into tears from the sheer emotion of it all ! (I gave up smoking 4 years ago but let me tell you, all I wanted at that stage was a cigarette to calm my nerves !)

Living in Africa, I’ve had my fair share of snakes. This is the 3rd snake I’ve had to kill myself. I know that there are many people out there who will disagree with me killing an innocent creature and yes, I do feel bad about it as the snake was probably harmless but as a mother, my first instinct was to protect my child – and my animals. How would I have felt if the next day, my daughter had been playing and had been bitten by the snake ? How would I have felt if one of my cats had died a slow and lingering death from a snake bite ? I just did what I had to at the time, although I am not proud of it, and I do feel bad. But I just couldn’t take a chance.

When my husband finally got home about an hour later, he went out to see if he could find the snake …. we were planning on getting the askari to come and help search for it. I felt quite ill with worry.

You can imagine my surprise then, when a few minutes later I heard my husband say “Well. You got it. I’ve just found half a snake” and I went out to see exactly that – half a snake, neatly chopped in the middle (but with the head section missing). I obviously DID kill it with my first blow. The next thing my husband said, in absolute joy and relief as he picked up the metal pole was …… “Oh my goodness, that’s GREAT where did you find this moisture prodder ? I’ve been looking for it EVERWHERE” and then “Phew, I think I need a beer now !” I mean ….. really ! (Typical male, eh ?!)

I suppose what I’d really like to tell you is that this will be the last snake story I ever relate on the blog. But, this being Africa – well, nothing’s predictable ….. and anything’s possible.

So I guess you’ll just have to watch this space, and in the meantime, I’ll make sure that the metal moisture prod ‘thingy’ is never far from my reach. (But that the cigarettes are …!)

To Market, To Market, To Buy A Fat Pig ...

We laid the pig out on the kitchen counter, chased the dogs outside, got the book open on the "Pork Meat Cuts" page, sharpened the cleaver and got ready to - CUT !

Well, not quite ‘to market’. Rather a knock on the door one night late last week, and 2 large stainless steel cooler boxes glinting in the moonlight, being carried on to our front veranda by staff from another farm. The pig was inside the cooler boxes. Killed just a couple of hours before, skinned, beheaded (thankfully) and neatly chopped into 6 large pieces. A thank you present for me. (Unfortunately, we do not have a chocolate and fresh flower door-to-door delivery service in remotest Africa.)

Let me explain. I think I’ve mentioned before that we have a small guest house on the farm. It is actually more like a cottage and lies on the other side of the farm workshops (with magnificent views out the back door to Mt Kilimanjaro, and Mt Meru out front). It has a fenced garden, covered veranda, 2 bedrooms, one bathroom, a kitchen and a lounge/dining room. It sits empty almost all year round as if we have guests, they stay with us in the main farm house. People have asked me why I don’t rent it out but honestly, my tourism days are behind me now – I dedicated 11 years of my life (weekends, public holidays, Christmases, late nights, early mornings – you get the picture !) looking after paying guests, and I really don’t want to have to do it now.

“But you could rent the cottage out as a self catering unit” my friends say. Ummmm – yes. Until there is a problem in the middle of the night – a power failure, no hot water, a broken toilet, a snake - and I am needed to help out. No thanks. (I am very lucky that I do not have to work and earn a living but I promise you, even though I’m still young - I’ve earned it ! Maybe one day, I’ll write about that time of my life on the blog. But I’m not quite ready now.)

I’ve wandered off topic again …. where were we ? Oh yes, the guest house. Well, about a year ago, I was approached by a lovely German couple who have a farm some distance away from ours (too far away to be considered “neighbours”in the true sense of the word, but neighbours all the same) who run horseback safari’s. They are also vets (which are like hens teeth here – very rare). They needed a 2 night stop for their mobile safari clients about once a month, every month, and asked if they could use our guest house. It would be perfect, they said, with room in the garden for the horses and staff tents and of course they would come complete with chefs, housekeeping staff, waiting staff etc and I would not have to do a thing. There were a few things we’d have to do first, though – like re-doing the bathroom, tiling, painting and general repairs. (Which we’ve since done).

They wanted to know how much I would charge. Well, I told them that there would be no charge but if they really wanted to repay me in some way, could they rather help me with things like vaccinating, spaying and neutering the stray cats and dogs around the farm ? Yes, they said, we will do that with pleasure ! We will do that AND we will also give you a fresh pig once every 3 months. An organic pig, raised with love and care and lots of good food, and humanely killed.

So whenever I talk about catching a stray dog or cat and taking him/her to the vet for spaying or whatever, now you know which vet’s I am talking about, and how we came to this agreement !

As for the pig – well …. I am not a butcher and the first time I was presented with a whole pig, I must admit that it was pretty daunting having to learn how to cut chops, steaks, fillets, ribs etc. But thanks to a handy cookbook and a very sharp meat cleaver, between Justin and I, we managed okay. I give a lot of the meat to the staff, the rest goes in the freezer, and the scrappy bits and fat get mixed in with food for the stray village dogs. So, not a bit is wasted – and everyone is happy !

My Magical Vegetable Storage Cupboard !

My vegetable storage cupboard which is ... well ... more than just a mere storage cupboard !

This is my vegetable storage cupboard (which I mentioned in a recent post on how I buy and store my vegetables which you can read here). It came with the house, so I’m not sure who built it, but it has been well made out of a solid, untreated wood. It stands in the corner of my pantry (or ‘food store room’ as we call it here) but used to stand in the kitchen. I moved it because the pantry is cooler, darker and the fruit and vegetables last better in it than they did in the kitchen.

The sides are covered with mosquito gauze which keeps insects and flies out. I usually store my potatoes, sweet potatoes and onions on the top shelf and my ginger, garlic, lemons, limes, tomatoes and some fruit on the second shelf and then things like pumpkins and melons below. There is no reason for this other than the fact that my 3 year old loves to open the cupboard and remove items to throw around, chew and play with … and by storing the heavy melons etc on the lower shelves (they’re mostly too heavy for her to pick up) the smaller items like potatoes etc remain “safe”. (Oooooh … do I sound like a terrible mother or what ?!)

She actually loves to get onto the bottom shelf of the cupboard and close the door behind her (“I’m hiding Mummy, and you’ll NEVER find me !”) – this drives Dibble crazy and he thinks it’s a great ‘game’ to bark at her in there. Once she even locked poor Tessa in the bottom shelf (for all of 10 minutes) until I came to rescue her, poor cat !

My husband likes to store slightly wet biltong (a dried meat snack) on the top shelf until it dries out completely (no flies can get to it, so it’s the perfect place) and Justin often leaves a large pot of freshly cooked rice for the dog’s food on a middle shelf until it has cooled enough to put in the fridge.

We keep a crate of soda’s on the top of the cupboard (out of reach of my daughter, once again) as the glass bottles are quite breakable. It’s also a great place to hide things I don’t want her to have. Like the annoying whistle she was blowing on non stop all day last week (“Well YOU bought it for her !” my husband was quick to point out to me when I complained about it). As soon as she forgot about it I hid it on top of the cupboard. Then later, when she asked me where it was I said “Oh no, have you lost it ? How annoying, I wonder where it could be ?” with the most innocent voice I could muster.

So you see, this is not merely a boring old “Vegetable Storage Cupboard” but rather a “Fruit & Vegetable storage/biltong drier/toddler hideout/cat cage/rice cooler/whistle hiding cupboard”. I recommend that you get one for yourself, it’ll provide you with hours of fun and entertainment – who needs TV, eh ? (Or … maybe … just maybe …. I should get off the farm more often ?!)

A Basket Full of Fruit & Vegetables ....

A basket of lovely fresh fruit & vegetables, waiting to be unpacked in my pantry yesterday

I thought it would be interesting to show you how I buy my fruit and vegetables. The photo above is of a basketful (‘kikapu’ as we call them here) that I brought back to the farm with me yesterday.

I buy them from a lady who has a stall on the side of the road in the ‘big city’. No check out lines, plastic carrier bags or receipts here – oh, no ! I stand alongside the busy road and tell her what I’d like. “Your mangoes look good today, Mama” I say “But how fresh are they ?” she will reply “Ah, Mama Lynda. They are very fresh for you. They came up from Mombasa just yesterday”. Or I will say “Please can I have some apples ?” and she may reply “No, no, I won’t sell you apples today, these are not so fresh”. Everything gets weighed on a dodgy old battered scale, and is then placed carefully into the basket. (It takes both my husband and Justin to lift it out of the car, to give you an idea of it’s size/weight !).

I have been buying my produce from “my veggie Mama” for over 6 years now, and she knows things like the fact that I don’t ever cook with or eat green peppers – so she will never sell them to me, or that I have avocados on my own tree at home, so I will never buy those from her, either. When my daughter had just been born, my order would always come with some complimentary fruit of some sort – a bunch of bananas, a handful of oranges “to give you strength” she told me, smilingly, as she would press them into my hand “no charge for these, they are a zawadi (gift)”. Now my daughter gets a fruit gift whenever she is there with me “for the toto (child)” she will say “so that she grows up to be big and strong” and my daughter will grin back at her “Asante, mama !” ("Thank You, Mama !") as she peels a large, fresh banana or whatever she's been given.

I order a selection of ripe or unripe produce, so that it lasts us. So, for example I will order 3 kg’s of unripe tomatoes and 2 kg’s of ripe tomatoes, so that we have enough fresh tomatoes to see us through to our next town trip. I also order unripe bananas, mangos, paw paws and things like that. I make sure that we eat the very perishable vegetables within days of returning from town … things like spinach and lettuce. Vegetables like pumpkin and butternut last forever, so they go into the pantry.

I store all my veggies in plastic zip up bags – which are like gold in Tanzania, and we use and re-use them and I always stock up on these when I travel – I think they are one of the best inventions ever (!!) When the bags are old and worn and full of holes, the staff ask if they can have them – goodness knows what they do with them, but they are rather coveted here – probably because of the plastic zip thingy ? Goodness knows !

I have a specially built wooden and gauze covered storage cupboard in my pantry where I keep my potatoes, onions, melons, pumpkins and the unripe fruit and veg. The rest goes into my 2 fridges and into the fruit bowls on my dining table and kitchen table.

I have been busy washing, sorting and cleaning the veggies all day. So much so that I had no time to even speak to my brother-in-law in the UK on Skype this afternoon. (Sorry, Chris – you know I wasn’t making excuses – here’s the photo to prove it … and if you don’t believe me, I’ll throw that monstrous water melon that you can see just peeking out of the basket at you, okay ?!!)

A Nice Relaxing Bath, Anyone ?

Yes, this is my bath water BEFORE bathing - I promise you, I'm not THAT dirty after a day on the farm !

Like most women, I particularly enjoy a long, hot soak in a perfumed, bubble filled bath – especially at the end of a tiring day. Another of my requirements for this (which many people take for granted) is to have clean water in which to do it. Yes ! Just take a look at what my bath water looked like last night in the picture above – if you look carefully, you can even see the layer of muck/silt floating below the water egh ! I had to let all the water out and run the taps for ages until the water got a bit cleaner (i.e. to a yellowy brown colour) and add STACKS of perfumed, coloured bubble bath before I could hop in.

When I travel I look forward to the obvious joys of being off the farm and usually, in a more “first world” environment things like …. restaurants, movies, shopping, magazines, decent cappuccinos, book shops, being around lots of people, smooth roads, fresh chocolate, 24/7 mobile ‘phone reception, different food – and clean bath water, too ! There is nothing as nice as relaxing in a hot bath filled with crystal clear water …. and knowing that when you wash your hair (or clothes) they will actually be 100% clean when you are finished !

Our water originates from Mt. Kilimanjaro – from a stream that runs off the mountain and (via pipes) into the farm’s 30 000 litre water reservoir. From here, it is gravity fed (also by pipe) to our 5000 litre water tank which supplies our house. The reason why the water is sometimes so dirty, is because after lots of heavy rain, it stirs everything up and as a result the sediment gets mixed in with the water.

Baths aside, I can NEVER use tap water for cooking. Even when it is “clean” it is never 100% crystal clear (or hygienic enough to drink / use for cooking). I use bottled water (which is really cheap here) for boiling veggies, pasta, rice etc and for making ice and adding to dishes I am cooking. I rinse all my salad ingredients in tap water to clean them, then rinse them with bottled water to finish them off. It’s tricky at first, but you soon get used to it !

But still, I am grateful that at least I have water when many people in Africa have no access to clean, running water and many years ago when my husband and I were building a camp in the Tanzanian bush, we had no running water for many weeks and had to bath out of buckets of water fetched from the river.

So, I won’t complain and maybe next time I’ll follow my husband’s suggestion and have a shower instead of a bath. I suppose it’s better to have muddy brown water cascading over you like rainwater, than actually soaking yourself in it ! (?!)

A Lazy Sunday in Africa

Our house (on a sunny day !) viewed from the bottom of the garden

I’ve had a really lazy Sunday today. My husband got my daughter up, dressed and fed this morning and took her out on to the farm with him for a few hours and I got to lie in – my favourite Sunday treat and as I’m sure many parent’s will understand, a lie-in is an extremely rare (and cherished !) treat with young child/ren in the house ! (Ollie loved it too, as she got to curl up on the bed with me undisturbed for a couple of extra hours ….)

My daughter loves going out on the farm with her Daddy, and I pack her a snack box and water the night before, also a few toys and things to keep her busy but she loves getting out of the vehicle and walking around the fields with him and perhaps having a ride on one of the tractor’s or combine harvesters with him. She then comes home all excited, just bursting to tell me all her “news” … so cute !

It is still raining on the farm so we have been pretty house bound this weekend. I’ve been doing some cooking and baking and this afternoon had homework to do with my daughter – I know, homework for a 3 year old ?! Tomorrow is a school day so we are gearing up for the week ahead, and I am just about to go and start preparing school lunchboxes and food for the road tomorrow as we all eat breakfast and lunch ‘on the road’ due to the fact that we are on the road for around 3 hours.

I hope that you have all had a wonderful weekend wherever you are in the world, and are looking forward to the coming week, too …..

"Puncha" Repair

Living in East Africa, you become a dab hand & changing a tyre in a hurry ...

It’s been a long day with another school run …. got up just after 5 am …. left the farm at 6.30 am …. got to school at 8.00 am …. the school is short one teacher at the moment so I helped out in the older class (fun !) until midday when school ended and we headed straight back to the farm.

We had to go to school in my husband’s pick-up because he had to collect chemicals for the farm and also because the diff lock on my car is being repaired in the “Big City” at the moment. (‘cause a girl can’t live here without – amongst other things – a diff lock, you know !)

On our way home, we got a puncture ! (Or “Puncha” as the locals call it). You learn to change a tyre pretty quickly here because if you are not fast enough, before you know it you will have about one million local people from the villages/surrounding area appearing from nowhere and standing on the roadside gawking at you ….

Of course you also soon learn to carry 2 spare tyres with you when traveling here because Murphy’s Law dictates you will get 2 “puncha’s” (or a tyre burst) in a row and then you’ll be a bit stuck (we have learnt this lesson the hard way !). It is also wise – especially if you are traveling a long distance – to stop and get the “puncha” repaired at a “Puncha Repair Shop” which is often just a chap on the roadside sitting under a tree with “Puncha Repair” hand painted on a tatty signboard …. (or “Faster Puncha Repair” if there’s any competition around under a nearby tree)

Upon changing the tyre (or should I say, upon my husband changing the tyre whilst I looked on and took photographs, much to the amusement of a slowly gathering crowd of onlookers) we hopped back in to the car and were on our merry way ….. after passing a dead donkey on the road, and then being flagged down by the Police, we finally made it on to the farm … where we found about 100 head of cattle illegally grazing on a newly germinated crop of beans.

But that’ll be a story for another day ….

So much for the monotony of school runs - never a dull moment, eh ?!

School Days ...

My daughter's 'classroom' on the veranda of our farmhouse

Ahhhh. School days. I suppose you either loved or loathed them. I fall into the latter category, I’m afraid. My 12 year school career spanned 2 countries, 7 different schools and one boarding school. I was always the “new girl” and envied my fellow pupils who had started Pre School together … continued through Primary School … and were ending their school careers in High School together. The one thing I did do, was to make sure that I studied as hard as I possibly could so that I never, ever failed a year and had to repeat. (An extra year at school would have been too much to bear !) I rejoiced when I finally finished school in 1989 - I flew out of those school gates and never looked back once !

My husband, on the other hand, loved every minute of his school career and has nothing but fond memories of it. He can’t understand why I didn’t embrace my school days and all the freedom that went with them … ?

Tomorrow, our daughter starts Pre School and I am filled with dread for her. Although, obviously I’m not showing it to her. I am making it out to be exciting, wonderful, a new part of her life … all of which it is, of course. But for me, it just brings back stomach turning, nervous memories. Because tomorrow, she will be the new girl, like I was so many times - and I really feel for her.

Our daughter is 3 years old now, and I have home schooled her since birth. Well, by ‘home schooling’ I mean teaching her what she would have been learning at a Pre School in the “real world”. We have a little desk and chair set up on our veranda, and a blackboard. I have Pre School learning books from the UK and she has been taught what other children her age are learning. We also have fun days where we do painting, make play dough, do crafty things with paper and glue. But of course, the time has come for her to mix with other children her own age, this is really important for her development – and so, she must start school.

So, starting from tomorrow (the first day of term) she will go 2 mornings a week (Tuesdays and Thursdays) to a little Pre School run by an ex Rhodesian lady and her daughter, which has a total of 23 children (aged 3 to 6), set on the edge of a coffee farm about a 3 hour round trip from our farm.

My daughter is unusual here in that she is one of the few expat kids brought up without a nanny. Yes ! She has been brought up by her parents – I feel that it is my job is to care for her, no one can do that better – I don’t work, I stay on the farm all day so why on earth would I need a nanny ? Well, that makes us stand out here ! Can you imagine ?! So when the school advised that her nanny come to school with her for the first few days until she settles in, I said well I am the “nanny” !

So …. I am going back to school tomorrow – wish me luck - at least I won’t be the “new girl”, I’ll be the “new Mummy” ( errrr … Nanny ?) on the block. And I can handle that. I hope !

A Flying Visit

Our 'bush' airstrip here on the farm - with the company 'plane on it. We often have to chase animals & birds off the "runway" before take off & landing.

Tomorrow my husband’s boss is flying out to our farm with a European client. It will be a whirlwind visit, with a tour of the farm followed by tea at the farmhouse before they fly on to another farm. (Watch this space tomorrow for news on what I made for tea !)

Many large companies and individuals here own their own light aircraft. It is one of the best ways of getting around this vast country quickly – especially to parts of the country where roads are in very poor condition (or non existent) and during the rainy season, some places can only be reached by aircraft.

We have our own ‘bush’ airstrip on the farm (i.e. not tarred) and the company owns their own Cessna 182 (Single Engine) 'plane which my husband’s boss flies himself.

I am one of those people who really hates flying – especially on light aircraft. When my husband & I worked in the safari industry here, we had to fly around in light aircraft quite a lot and I swore that I would never fly in a light aircraft again as long as I lived !

Last year I bought raffle tickets to support the local children’s home and we were lucky enough to win 2 return flights to the Tanzanian coast on a light aircraft. I am such a wimp that I refuse to use the prize – I would rather drive ! (I am trying to find out if I can transfer the prize to a fund raising effort for a local charity … it would be a shame for it to go to waste !)

It takes a lot to scare me …. but I have to admit that when it comes to flying I am a complete and utter sissy!!!!

Building A New Donkey Boiler

Out With The Old Donkey Boiler & In With The New ....

In memory of our old Donkey Boiler which you can read about here I thought that it would be fitting to introduce you to our new Donkey Boiler (which aside from being smaller than the old one, does the same job and is even more of an eyesore). This was made when I was away in South Africa for 3 weeks and on my return my husband was very pleased to show it to me. (Can’t say that I am as excited about it as he is, but there you go …)

The new Donkey Boiler was designed by my husband and made up here in our farm workshop – from steel which was cut to size, and then welded together by Robert (who is the farm handyman/tractor driver/Jack of all Trades). It has a 200 litre capacity and as you can see in the photograph, the water tank section is fitted to the top of the lower section, which houses the wood. It is different to our old Donkey Boiler in that it is closed, whereas the other one was open.

It sticks out like a sore thumb at the back of our house, and I have suggested that we build a dry stone wall around it to hide it and thought that I could then plant some nice, colourful flowers around the wall to spruce it up a bit ?

Ahhhh … the life of a Donkey Boiler owning farmer’s wife, eh ?! (As my sister would say “Lynda – you really do need to get out more !”)

Keeping Time ... With A Farmhouse Breakfast

A farmhouse breakfast ? Why, that must mean that it's Sunday today !

Here on the farm, one day runs into the next and you tend to forget what day of the week it is. It may sound odd, but I have to check the calendar hanging in my office each morning, to cross off the previous day and take note of what ‘today’ is !

When we first started living in remote areas where days ran into weeks which ran into months with little to differentiate between them (no Friday nights out with friends, no lazy Saturday mornings browsing around the mall with a nice lunch afterwards, no Church on a Sunday) I decided then and there that I would not succumb to poor timekeeping and just get up when I pleased (easy to do, it’s not as if I have to be anywhere at a certain time !), wear what I pleased (easy to do when no one but your husband, daughter and staff see you all day !), eat what I pleased (‘cause no one’s watching!). I decided that I needed to have some sort of control. I suppose, as odd as it sounds, that this is just one small way that I cope with living in near isolation.

So, I get up every morning, work out, then clean up and get dressed, put my make-up on and do my hair. My friends and family think that I am a little crazy doing this, but the ones that live or have lived like I do, understand.

Sometimes it’s controlling the little things that help you to cope when you live in a country where you have absolutely no control over the “big” things that so many people take for granted – good roads, electricity 24 hours a day, clean tap water that is available whenever you need it, smooth roads, decent medical care, phone lines that work, 24 hour shops, friends and family just a short drive away …. when Africa spins out of control around me, I feel like I have some sort of handle on the situation, because I get up at the same time each day and put my make-up on. (Strange, aren’t I ?!)

Anyway, the reason why I started telling you all this is because today is Sunday, and Sunday is the day that we change our routine a little so that we can mark the definite end of one week, and the beginning of the next.

So, on a Sunday I get up a little later (if my husband is not too busy on the farm, he gets our daughter up, dressed and fed and takes her out on to the farm with him so that I can have a lie-in … heavenly !) …. we almost always have a big cooked breakfast late on a Sunday morning, a nice afternoon tea baked treat (like scones) and a roast of some sort on Sunday night. (Just typing that all out made me realize that most of our Sunday routines revolve around food – ha !) Oh yes … I also give myself the day off from exercising on a Sunday, as I usually exercise each morning, 6 days a week. We also look forward to watching a good Sunday night movie on satellite TV. (So you see - it's NOT all food related !)

So, to cut a long story short, today is Sunday and we’ve just had a nice cooked breakfast and are settling down for a relaxing family day at home as it’s pouring with rain and my husband has had to stop all work on the farm as a result. Yay ! I hope that you’re all having a nice, lazy Sunday in your corner of the world, too.

An Awful Cup of Tea

How long until I can enjoy a decent cup of tea again, I wonder ?

Last night, at the end of a tiring day, I settled down to relax with a nice cup of tea – and was dismayed to find that it had rather an odd taste to it, and that I also had an oily layer stuck to the roof of my mouth after drinking it – ugh ! I wondered if it was the water ? Or possibly something disgusting floating in the kettle (again) ? I got up to check and after ruling both the water and the kettle out, I decided to check the milk … a new 1 litre carton of imported UHT Skim milk which I had just opened. (I don’t risk buying local milk here as even boiling it does not kill all the germs/viruses you can get from it, and few people here vaccinate their livestock).

Aha ! It WAS the milk. It had separated and had strange fatty white particles floating on the top of it (but oddly, was not sour) … so I checked the expiry date on the top “06th April 2008” it read. “Must be the very last litre of the old batch I bought before I recently re-stocked in the Big City”, I thought. So I went through to my pantry to get another box off the shelf. That, too, was marked “Expiry 06th April 2008”. Oh no. I checked all the other boxes (all 12 litres of them!) and they all had the same expiry date. So I opened one, two, three boxes and checked the contents of each one … all had separated. I had a ‘dodgy’ batch of milk – the only milk in the house (save a lone litre of Soy milk and half a tin of my daughter’s full cream milk powder) until our next trip to the city which is weeks away !

Now, in 3rd world Africa we do not really bother too much about expiry dates as several imported dry goods found on our shelves here are almost nearing the end of their shelf life anyway, and most Tanzanians know that it is pretty safe to eat certain products waaaay past the marked “expiry date” on the tin/box. In fact, it is very common here to see expiry dates which have been forged and changed. Some of them are very well done, too. (My guess is that consignments of ‘almost near expiry' goods are offered to the retailers at discounted prices – the expiry dates are then changed and they are sold on to the public at the original/full price - hah !)

Anyway, back to the milk ….. It was my fault. I should have checked. Milk is one of the expired products I would never take a chance with. I am an old customer at the shop that I bought it from, and I know that they will have no problem replacing the milk for me, or even refunding me. The problem is, simply, that we are now ‘stuck’ with no ‘decent’ milk in the house for at least the next 2 weeks, until we go in to the City again.

You know what ? What gets to me is not actually the fact that we will be drinking black tea (or herbal - or Soy - or Full Cream - perish the thought !) for the next 2 weeks. What gets to me is the feeling of sheer frustration (and helplessness ?) over a simple thing like milk. Which I have no control over. Which I cannot “fix”. I mean, it’s not like I can pop down to the shops and replace it now, can I ? I’m usually very organized and am annoyed that I have been ‘caught out’ …. just when I thought I’d learnt (almost) every trick in the “making sure you don’t run out of supplies in the middle of nowhere in Africa” book.

Lesson number #4383 of Life In Africa ?

There’s no use crying over expired milk !

Back From The 'Big City' ...

The last stretch of "main" road before the turn off to our farm ... just miles and miles of open land with very few trees

Well, we’re back home from the ‘Big City’ …. exhausted, elated and full re-stocked once again !

I managed to find some nice ingredients today for a few recipes I have up my sleeve and hope to post about soon, as well as a very interesting Tanzanian product which I want to feature on the blog …. so watch this space !

But right now, I’m off to have a nice hot bath and climb into bed ……

Off To The 'Big City'

A previous shopping trip ended in near disaster as my car sank in to the mud on the farm road home as night began to fall !

We’re off to the ‘Big City’ for the day tomorrow. If you could call it that. Because by ‘Big City’ I do not mean a city like London. Or New York. Or even Johannesburg. Oh no ! This is an African city, complete with potholes, people carrying chickens and pulling wooden carts laden with bananas and small herds of cattle wandering in amongst the traffic. Oh, and potholes on the roads filled with water during the rains which usually make a convenient ‘bath’ for scruffy city ducks. (No smart chicks here !)

The city is a vibrant, noisy and busy place with local women wearing their bright kitenge cloths which brighten up the dusty, brown streets. The sizzle of roadside maize cobs being cooked on open fires alerts your senses - the smell of charred goat’s meat fills the air.

I cannot go to just one shop in the city to buy all my groceries. Instead, I must go to one shop for bread, another for meat, another for medicines, yet another for dry goods and to my fruit and vegetable “Mama” who sells produce from an open stand on the roadside.

We will break our day with a nice lunch out at one of our favourite “haunts”. Should we go to the Chinese restaurant in part of the main Post Office ? Or should we go to our favourite Indian restaurant in a ‘dodgy’ part of the city near the central market ? Or maybe, we will settle for the one with a shady outside seating area that boasts “Thai and Inter Continental Cuisine”. (I will probably opt for the latter, as it has the better toilet facilities of all three !)

As my husband has to collect farm supplies, we are going in his Landcruiser Pick-Up. It will be a bumpy ride. Justin is coming with us for the day as he is on annual leave and we need someone to ‘guard’ our goods on the back of the vehicle. (The city is dangerous place, you know !)

We will arrive back on the farm just after sunset tomorrow …. tired, weary, elated. My daughter will feel nauseous from all the “town treats” she has eaten …. sweets, chocolate and ice cream. Even though I will be exhausted, I will then have to quickly unpack all the meat and dairy products and portion out items for the fridge or freezer, as they will have been kept in cooler boxes on the back of the pick-up all day. Then the perishable vegetables will have to be quickly put away. Dry goods will be left to unpack the following day.

Supper will be a quick snack and my husband and I will delight in having the latest local newspapers to read, mail to open and perhaps a special treat of an imported “Snickers” or “Mars” bar to enjoy with tea afterwards.

Yes - these days in the city are exciting but also very exhausting. So I suppose I’d better be off to bed now …………..

Meet Justin - My 'Right Hand Man" !

This is Justin as he is - always happy and joyous with a great sunny smile !

I’d like you to meet Justin, my ‘right hand man’ - as I mentioned previously I was waiting to ask his permission to feature him on my blog, and I wanted to also take a recent photograph of him to share with you all.

Justin first came to work for us in 2001. He started with us as a casual gardener, when we were still working in the tourism industry and living in the town of Arusha. He was then promoted to part-time “Askari” (Night watchman). He then moved with us to a remote farm in the Hanang area of the country where he soon became our assistant Houseman and eventually the main Houseman. He then moved with us from Hanang to West Kilimanjaro in 2005.

Justin started work with us as a 24 year old man. That was over 7 years ago and just this month he will be turning 31.

Justin’s father died when he was a young boy, and he was raised by his mother. As there were 4 children in the family, she could not afford to educate them all, so Justin was forced to leave school before he was able to complete his education. He worked at home on their small subsistence farm, growing and selling bananas, before he came to work for us.

I know that Justin doesn’t want to be a Houseman forever, most Tanzanian’s I know want to better themselves and go further in life – it is part of what creates the spirit of this country. So I try to broaden his horizons as much as possible. When we can, we take him traveling with us. To larger cities which he has never heard about before, or to the Tanzanian coast last year where as part of the deal, he worked in the house we stayed in, and got to go out deep sea fishing with my husband which was a huge life experience for someone who had never seen the sea before. I send him on courses when they are offered … for example he completed a basic First Aid course and as he is off on his annual leave this month, we are paying for him to go to a Driving School and learn how to drive (one of his lifelong dreams).

We help him with medical and school fees for his immediate family, and also employ his sister.

As a houseman Justin is responsible for cleaning, washing & ironing in the house and feeding all the animals (he is wonderful with dogs and cats) – and generally making sure that everything in the house is ship shape.

We have had some trying times with him, including bailing him out of prison, taking him to hospital in the middle of the night when he had part of his ear bitten off in a mugging, and numerous girlfriend troubles (he is not married, but has a 4 year old son whom he supports). But on the whole, the times have been good and he is a wonderful person with a good heart and soul. He is very respectful and never over steps the mark, never misses a day’s work and has a great sense of humour. I couldn’t ask for a better person to have worked alongside me all these years, and I hope that he will be with me for many years to come.

I do not believe in the old fashioned ‘Colonial’ treatment of and attitude towards staff which still – sadly - prevails in certain parts of this country today. People who have no respect for their staff and who mistreat and swear at them disgust me. I believe that one’s staff should be treated with dignity and respect and that as the African spirit of Ubuntu teaches “A person is a person through other human beings”.