a mess

so i'm still puttering around
waiting for the house to get finished.
i can't do anything down there.
it is a crazy mess.
there are people,
and paint cans,
and dust,
and drop cloths.
the furniture is all moved around,
and bunched up against each other.
i can't cook,
or clean.
i'm bored.
stella doesn't seem to mind.

she has made fast friends
with all the painters.
she has a white paint spot on her butt,
where she brushed up too close
to a freshly painted section.
she has a light coating of dust
all over her usually shiny black coat.
such a funny little brute.
i wish i could relax like her.

a waste

for the past few days
i have been trapped.
in my studio.
i should be loving this -
and i am, in a way-
but, i feel as though i am wasting my time.
i haven't done anything useful.
because of the painting going on -
on the walls of my house -
i steal away up here from the chaos.
but, everything here is packed away.
i spent yesterday
reading blogs,
reading books,
blogging,
writing down some ideas,
& knitting.
i really want to be doing something concrete.
i realize that this
is my everyday problem -
wasting time,
and somehow i need to get over it.

a handle

we told our kids
that  when we are older -
WAY older -
and they make us grandparents -
we don't
want to be called boring old
'grandma' & 'grandpa'.
everyone uses those names.
we want to be different -

so different

we want to be known as -
'dotty & rambo'.
"c'mon kids -
get in the car -
we're going to dotty & rambos' for supper"
for now they all roll their eyes,
and say that they won't
participate in this foolishness -
that 'grandma & grandpa'
are fine handles for us.
but, i think if we keep at it -
by the time they are ready to have children -
they just might be used to the idea.

a decision

so the last few days
since i've been home -
have been spent
with the paint chip thingys.

in the picture
it looks like a bunch of randomness.
but, some of those colors actually look good together, &
it's what i have chosen -
and i think it is going to look all fine and dandy in the end.
we decided to have the house painted
before we left for africa -
and then had to really get on the ball
when we got back, because
we had just a little over a week
to be ready.
choosing colors,
packing up,
moving furniture.
normally this would be fun for me -
and a way it still kind of is - but,
i hate the pressure &
i worry about making a wrong decision.
it is a minor stress -
when compared with other things.

packing up the studio

i will post pictures -
with my wide angle -
when it is all said and done.

an experience

i have pictures to share.
i didn't take as many as i wanted to.
we were terrific-ly busy in africa.
a lot of my photos are taken
from the window of a van.
i had a wonderful time there -
and wanted to sell everything
and turn around and go back
as soon as i got home.
life here seems so much more -
wasteful.
so here is what will probably be
my longest post ever...
the purpose of our trip was
to build a school.
we travelled to namibia
with a large group - students & adults -
43 of us to be exact.
which really is a LOT of people
for a not so people person.
don't get me wrong - i like people -
but i also need alone time.
i got no alone time.
we worked from sun-up
to sun-down - and beyond.
we cooked,
and cleaned  -
and did laundry for the whole group -
by hand.
i burned my foot - badly,
when i stepped into a village fire.
we spent time with the local children
doing a vbs program,
with songs, crafts, and games.
we did various and asundry trips to town -
local villages, and an orphanage.
i did some nursing -
and i am not a nurse.
it was all very exhausting -
but also very rewarding.
i came home confused about
whether i was helping or hindering.
i saw sad things.
i saw kids with no mamas.
i also saw some wonderous things -
we spent the last two days of our trip travelling.
we went to the beach, and sand dunes.
we drove through a safari type park.
we spent a bit of time in the foothills
of spitzkoppe - a beautiful mountain.
we shopped in a small town -
for local crafts,
and iced coffees,
and biltong, (jerky)
and hand spun wool,
and books,
and art,
and ice cream.

Jacob

Selma

Maria

love the hairdo's

firewood

me with my burnt foot in a bucket of water

baobab tree

Swakopmund

quilt shop

lunch