More on Marley & Me - Feline version

It strikes me that Marley does not necessarily have to be a dog in your life - Marley could also be a hamster, rabbit, horse or even a cat! I live with two cats and they have distinct personalities. Allie, the white female cat is definitely not a Marley. She goes about her business quietly and tries not to be visible - much. She sleeps on the bed, wakes up, stretches and then quietly checks out the rest of the house. She stays as close to walls & furniture (under if possible) as she can so no one (the hyper dog and naughty boy cat) will see her. She might brush up against the leg of a human and give a small meow but that does not mean she wants to be picked up. Just acknowledge her presence.

The other cat in our life is an exact opposite of Allie. Leo wants to be noticed. If we don't notice him, he will do something to attract our attention. At 4 am when we are sleeping, Leo will knock something off the dresser to wake us up. He has taken to sleeping on my feet. But, heaven forbin he would just lay down - No! He has to knead my feet to make a comfortable spot for himself. The Christmas tree was shaking the other day. We do not live in earthquake territory - nope, it was tornadoe Leo trying to climb the middle of the tree.

Leo came to us on a cold winter day - December 17, 2004. We already had a dog and a cat and I had no intention of introducing another animal to our household. My son called me to tell me "A kitten followed me home on the paper route." I instructed him to keep the kitten away from the other animals - just in case he had some foul disease. When I arrived home several hours later, the kitten was sound asleep on my son's lap. "I named her Cleopatra - because she's very demanding," was my son's first words.

"Well, she's not staying!" was my response. I called every shelter in the phone book but there was not room for a tiny kitten anywhere. So, in a moment of weekness I told my son she could stay - until there was room at a shelter. It was too cold to toss the little ball of fur back outside

Monday morning I called the shelters again but the answer was still no room. I called the vet and told them we had a kitten who was not staying but I wanted a well-kitten check up to check for worms or any other disease.

When the vet examined the kitten, she asked us what we named him. "Him???" We thought he was a girl. The vet & my son agreed Cleopatra was not an appropriate name for a little boy. My son named him C. Leo Patrick. My official name for the little 2.8 pounds of fur was (and still is) "Christopher Leonard Patrick You're Not Staying!" But we call him Leo for short

When Leo was four months old, I caught him climbing up the lace curtains. Shortly after that he had his front claws removed. When Leo was six months old, he started showing signs of being a little boy. Shortly after that he had his little nubs chopped off.

It is now four years later. Leo is still living with us. That little ball of fur that "followed" my son home on the paper route (actually my 6'4" son put the kitten in the hood of his sweatshire - that is following, right?) is still living with us. I quit calling the shelters a long time ago. It is a shame because he would make a great pet for someone. In the meantime, he can be our feline version of Marley 'cause at 4 am when things are shoved on the floor, Leo can be the worst cat in the world.

Marley & Me

Several years ago I purchased the book Marley & Me. I couldn't bring myself to read the book because I knew something bad would happen to Marley before the end of the book. I gave the book to my dad. Yes, he read the book but he admits when he got toward the end of the book, he let the book sit for several weeks before he finished reading it.

Many of us of a "Marley" in our lives. For me, I've had three "Marleys". The first one was our dog Duchess. We adopted her when I was in elementary school. She was an English Setter mix and by far the smartest dog I've ever met. Even though we lived on a very busy street, she was never tied up outside. She was shown her boundaries and she stayed within them. Well, except for the path she wore to the Mica's sliding door facing their backyard and then to the Lack's yard. These were the people Duchess visited and checked on everyday. But, she never crossed the street. She was not a mischievious dog like Marley but memories of her flooded back as the movie reached the end - and the end of Marley's life.

The other "Marley" in my life was our dog Palo. Again, Palo did not make trouble like Marley but the memories of Palo's final days were remembered as we saw Marley age. Palo was not a healthy dog and we went through a lot to keep her with us as long as we could. Everytime I hear a thunderstorm, I can't help but hope Palo has some good music to listen to to keep her calm. She feared thunderstorms - but she wasn't destructive like Marley.

The third "Marley" in my life is laying under my feet as I type. When he is hooked to a leash, he is just like Marley - the alpha dog! If (and this never happens) he were let loose outdoors, he would take off like Marley - but Duke would probably not return - he would run and run and run. The Duke rules this house. Although I like to think I'm the alpha dog - he definitely rules. I just picked up some plastic pieces that Duke thought he needed to chew. I'm not sure what the plastic pieces used to be but I'm thankful that's all he chewed. He has never destroyed furniture but our house now has only one room carpeted - because Duke thought he should chew up the carpet.

If you decide to go see Marley & Me, I would recommend a trip out to the bathroom when John takes Marley to the vet the 2nd time. Make sure you stop & refill your pop and popcorn before returning to your seat. That way you won't have to use a half a box of tissues to get through the end of the movie.

Mouse in the House

Today, we put up the Christmas tree. It is possible there was a visitor in the box we store the tree in. Go figure. Anyway, the boys (hubby & son) went out for supper. I didn't feel like going so I am home alone with the dog and two cats. It is nice and quiet until I hear the animals chasing around. One of the animals is growling. Allie, occasionally growls when Duke or Leo are bugging her but they aren't bugging her and upon checking, she isn't the one growling. Hmmm, Duke's not growling either. Leo never growls. But wait, what's in his mouth? Oh, no!!! A mouse. Yes, it's still alive. Yikes, I hate mice. I called hubby's cell phone, they are already seated at the restaurant. Leo drops the mouse while I'm on the phone, Leo catches the mouse. No, don't come home, we will handle this.

There is a bowl of oranges on the table. I should say there was a bowl of oranges on the table. I dumped the oranges on the table and proceed to chase Leo who still has the mouse in his mouth. He leads me to the bathroom where he drops the mouse and quickly captures it again. This time, I'm ready! I corner him by the shower. With the bowl in one hand and the nap of Leo's neck in the other, I shake Leo and order him to drop it. The mouse falls out of his mouth and onto the bath rug. I drop the bowl over the top of the mouse and have him captured.

But, Leo is going crazy, he wants his mouse back. No, he can't have him. I drag the bath mat with the mouse under glass into the laundry room. To be safe, I set a big bucket of cat litter on top of the bowl. Close the laundry room doors.

Now Leo, is pacing back and forth from the bathroom laundry door to the kitchen laundry door. I've checked, the mouse is still under glass. Occasionally Duke & Allie will follow.

I'm proud of Leo for catching the mouse but he needs to understand - mice are dirty, mice are not toys. Give it up. I think I'll give him some catnip. Maybe that will take his mind off it.

Hubby is stopping at the store after dinner. He will pick up some sticky mouse traps. Probably a good thing to have on hand anyway.

Malaria Infected Blood Cells

A thin-film Giemsa stained micrograph of ring-forms, and gametocytes of Plasmodium falciparum. From http://phil.cdc.gov/phil/home.asp

Sick & Tired of Being Sick and Tired

I have not felt well for a long time. I was beginning to feel like a whining hypochondriac! First there was the foot surgery in August and then the foot surgery in October. I've been tired and had occasional bouts of nausea. A few weeks ago I started having lower back pain. The doctor scheduled me for a series of tests to rule out kidney stones. The test results came back with minor problems but definitely not kidney stones. Then, I developed symptoms of a UTI. A routine urinalysis in the doctor's office confirmed a severe bladder infection. While taking the medication for the bladder infection, my nausea changed to occasional vomiting. I was feeling sick & tired one day and and tired but fine the next. Finally, on Monday, November 27, I couldn't suffer anymore. I called the doctor's office again to "complain." She was concerned I was having a reaction to the UTI medication and sent me to the emergency room for tests.

I went to the hospital that is about a mile away from home. When I arrived, I had a temperature of 102.8, my blood pressure was high and I felt rotten. The ER staff drew blood, took urine samples and gave me medicine to bring the fever down and stop the vomiting nausea. The blood work & urine tests came back "normal". Since the medication was working they sent me home - diagnosis: viral infection unknown.

Tuesday morning I woke up feeling tired and achy but no fever and no nausea. I stayed home from work and by the end of the day was feeling pretty good. I planned on going to work Wednesday. But, when Wednesday morning came, I was feeling lousy. By the time my husband came home from work, I was in bed with chills, nausea & had been vomiting. I took my temperature and was shocked to see it was around 105 degrees. He insisted I go back to ER. I did not want to go - I could take Tylenol or Motrin & bring the fever down just as well as the ER team & it would be cheaper. After taking the Motrin, my fever seemed to come down but I had an awful pounding in my head. I thought my blood pressure was probably sky high and decided I should follow advice & be seen at ER. But, I would not go back to the same hospital.

Instead I went to Hackley Hospital. When I checked in, my temperature was 102.7 degrees and my blood pressure wasn't very good either. I informed ER personnel I had been seen at the "other" hospital Monday. They asked me why I didn't return there. My response was they couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. I was assured that Hackley Hospital staff would find out what was wrong.

I was poked, prodded, and tests were run - just like on Monday. Then the doctor decided I might have a blood clot (foot surgery was 7 weeks earlier) and wanted to run some more tests. He felt I should be admitted to the hospital so tests could be run.

On the way up to my room, we stopped for a sonogram of my legs - looking for blood clots. After getting settled in my room & taking a sleeping pill, a young man came in my room with a gurney - he was taking me for a sonogram. Hmmmm, was he kidding, I already had a sonogram. Was he trying to kidnap me. Why would anybody want to kidnap sick old me? I was too sick & too tired to care, I scootched over to his gurney and we went for a ride to the 2nd floor for a sonogram of my kidneys.

On the way back to my hospital room, my nurse was standing in the hallway. She seemed pretty excited. She asked me if I had been out of the country. Ok, I'm thinking, have I been gone that long? I went to the 2nd floor for a sonogram. My 2nd thought was I really don't want to talk about my vacation right now. All that came out of my mouth was "Yes". She asked "where?" My response - "Vanuatu.....South Pacific Ocean".

The young man pushed me back to my room & I could hear the nurse relaying my vacation information over the phone. I thought this was strange but didn't give it a 2nd thought. I moved back in my bed and proceeded to go back to sleep.

A short time later, I sensed someone in my room. I opened my eyes to see my admitting doctor standing at the foot of my bed. He was smiling - they found out what was wrong with me. Apparently, down in the lab, the lab techs were looking at my blood work and were very puzzled. They were seeing something they had not seen before. Finally, one of the techs says he knows me and is it possible I picked up something when I was overseas. They started looking and determined I had Malaria. When my admitting doctor called the hospital's infectious disease doctor to tell her they had a "suspected" case of Malaria, the infectious disease doctor's initial response was "at Hackley Hospital? In Michigan? I don't think so. You will have to get that confirmed." The CDC was contacted and they confirmed it - I have Malaria.

There are several different forms of Malaria, some are easier to treat that others. Fortunately, I have the form that is the easiest to treat. Unfortunately, the original dose of medication - which is very strong - can cause some pretty serious side effects. I had the original dose on Thanksgiving day. The following Sunday, I experienced my first side effects. Nothing serious but pretty scary - I'll tell you more about the side effects in another post - another day.

After spending six nights in the hospital, I am home. I'm still tired but for the first time in many months, I can honestly say I feel good. If you are ever sick and visit an emergency room, don't accept a diagnosis of "unknown". If a person is sick, there must be a reason. I feel very lucky somebody knew me and cared enough to dig deep enough to figure out what was wrong with me.

I received excellent care at both hospitals - the difference between them is one cared just enough to cover my symptoms to make me feel better. The other hospital took the time to care and diagnosis what was wrong and make the symptoms go away.

Aches and Pains

After two weeks of various tests, the results have mostly come back negative but also revealed some other problems I already knew about and a new problem that could eventually be a problem. But, after all the tests were done, more symptoms showed up and a diagnosis of a bladder infection was finally reached. The doctor wrote a prescription, I started taking the medication yesterday afternoon and relief has already begun! Amazing! I am already starting to feel better. Next week I get to visit the urologist to discuss what I already know and receive some peace of mind. Bottom line - after spending two weeks being miserable, I finally don't feel like it's time to take me out behind the barn to shoot me!

Cats and Dogs and Cats

Three four legged creatures inhabit this house. Actually, I think they rule this house. Tonight an empty box was left on the dining room table. I heard a noise in the dining room and looked up to see the little black cat (who is not staying) investigating the empty box. I do not like animals walking on tables and counters so I hollered for the cat to get off the table. He looked straight at me, tipped the box on it's side, sat in the box and turned back to stare at me. Next month will mark the 4th anniversary of him coming to live temporarily in this house. Honestly, he is not staying.

Life

Life here has been pretty boring lately. I realized it's been awhile since I've posted so here I am. I've been sick. It's been 4 weeks since my foot surgery and I think I was doing pretty darn good. Then, the pain in the lower back started. It would come and go and when it came - OUCH! Called the doctor and she is running various tests to rule out kidney stones. Today the foot feels good, the back feels pretty good but my stomach is upset. Could it be upset because of all the pain & anti-inflammatory medication I've been taking? That is probably the problem. Getting older does not have it's benefits. I just want to feel better. I don't care how I feel tomorrow, I'm going to work. I hate sitting at home.

I will go see the lovely foot doctor Monday. Part of me is hoping he lets me ditch the ugly boot. Another part of me knows the boot is protecting me from accidents like the three I had the week before surgery. Whatever he says, I will follow his orders. I am looking forward to the day I can put a pair of matching shoes on and have them feel comfortable on both feet.

The Big Reds won their game yesterday. A big pat on the back to the fans that sat through the fowl weather to cheer for the team. I would have liked to go but don't think, in my condition, it would have been wise. Next week we play Lowell - that is going to be the game to see. I hope I'm feeling healthy enough and the weather is better so I can go. I am really hoping I'm healthy enough to see them play at Ford Field!

Lot's of hoping and hopping going on here. Who knows what tomorrow will bring.

I'm trying to make a few changes to the scooter. First, for health & safety, it's kind of gross to be handling the same grips for 8 weeks & I'm not quite sure the proper way to clean them. I-Pod covers fit perfectly (but don't match LOL) over the handlebar grips. They will wash quite easily. The next addition is a small basket on the front. Not too big but big enough for the important things like my flashlight for night time scooting, a can of diet coke, etc. My next step will be something to cover & give extra padding to the knee cushion. Watch here for further updates.

Feet - ugh

My great advice for today. If your feet hurt for a long period of time - see a foot doctor.


If the doctor tells you the pain is in your head find a competent foot doctor! I am under the care of the best foot doctor but have been quite a challenge. Eighteen years of foot pain cannot be fixed overnight.




I had my 4th and hopefully final surgery one week ago. Doctors orders: 8 weeks of absolutely no weight or pressure on the foot. These are some post surgery photos & my lifesaver scooter - which incidentally would be great fun if it were optional.

Swap packages

I received some cool swap packages in the mail recently. Yesterday, I received my shoebox full of goodies from my awesome buddy Breezy. Here's the gifts:




Besides all the nifty loot shown here, she also managed to include a bunch of bubble wrap. I've been driving the boys crazy with the popping. He-he-he. Thanks Breezy.

Test Results

I took a "web" test just now. Total waste of time but it was fun. Here's my results:


Take the 100 Acre Personality Quiz!

Recipezaar News!!!

Watch for Fall PAC 2008 sign up coming soon
in the Contest and Events Forum at
http://www.recipezaar.com/

I received a package in the mail this week from my Zaar Alphabet swap partner. Everything in the box began with either the letter F or G. My swap partner has the best sense of humor. She included green packing peanuts, notes on every item - on green paper with green ink, some items were wrapped in green paper and tied with green yarn. There were a bunch of great items in the box but the funniest were earrings-fake or genuine and also the undies Curious George is modeling in the photos below. The label on the undies was "fruity G-string".

Labor Day Bridge Walk 2008

This was my 6th year, hubby's 2nd year and Tom & Steve's 1st year participating in the annual walk across the Mackinac Bridge. The weekend was perfect! Here's our time-table

7:34 got in line to board bus


8:00 arrived in cattle corral

8:14 purchased our tickets

8:22 boarded bus

8:28 arrived at the south end of the Mackinac Bridge

8:54 arrived at the north end - last potty break for the next couple of hours

9:12 took our first step out to join the Bridge Walk



9:45 arrived at the "grate" part of the Big Mac

9:53 passed under the first "support"

10:03 stepped over the "line" from the upper to lower peninsula



10:11 passed under the 2nd "support"



10:46 stepped on the part of the bridge built over land



10:52 crossed the finish line



We even had matching shirts, the bottom line on the back and the little bit on the front says "No Whining, No Stopping, Just Keep On Walking."


One hour 40 minutes - pretty good time - we actually walked slowly (catering to my foot) and enjoyed the beauty of the scenery around us - with our feet firmly planted on the ground.


I hope you enjoyed our pics.

This is so funny

Doesn't it look like they are going to land on Adam's head?

Para-Sailing

It all started with a brochure about para-sailing. And then a simple question "anybody every want to try this?" "NO WAY," said my husband, Steve. "Not me, said Tom. "Hmm, I might be interested," said Steve N.

That is how Steve & I wound up hooked to the end of a 600 foot skinny yellow rope sailing above Lake Huron last Sunday evening.

I recommend this experience! The feeling of swinging high in the air and viewing the beauty around you is fantastic.

Since I do not like plunging into cold water I was thrilled to find out the sail was done with a dry take-off and a dry landing! Unfortunately, my landing was not completely dry. The seat of my pants landed on the only puddle of water on the landing deck. Oh well, a little uncomfortable for a short period of time.

Labor Day Weekend - Part 1

I am sure we were to topic of conversation at many dinner tables last night. Imagine a bright yellow Jeep, traveling across Michigan with 4 adults, 1 woman & 3 men - the top is down. All right, let me back up. A day or two before we left, I sent our 2 friends an e-mail with reminders of what to bring on our weekend vacation. One of the reminders was to bring a hat. Don't bring just any hat, you will need a hat that doesn't blow off because Jeep rules are we do not stop and go back to pick up hats. Well the two friends brought stocking caps.

So, back to the story. Front seat is my hubby wearing his Tilly and Tom wearing a bright orange stocking camp. In the back seat is me trying to look normal with my short hair blowing every which was and Steve wearing a maroon stocking cap.

Well, the caps weren't so bad except Steve's kept trying to blow off! So, he used a luggage strap to keep it on - and that was probably the topic of conversation.

I will be looking for a front license plate for the drive home Monday!

100 things that give me joy

Too often we focus on the negative. This past summer, while on vacation, I was awestruck by the ni-Vans in my daughter's village. They have so little yet they are so happy! Makes me wonder what makes us happy. Is it a TV in every room? A new car in the driveway? A boat?

I realize those material things really don't matter if we don't appreciate the little things God gives us. Then, the other day I signed on to one of my favorite sites, swap-bot.com. One of the new swaps is titled "100 Things That Give Me Joy", it is a letter swap. All I have to do is compile a list of things that give me joy, print it and send it to two swap partners. I sat down and started to compile my list, here is a sample, in no particular order:

1. the sound of a cat's purr
2. the dog's tail thumping on the floor
3. watching a sunset
4. watching the sunrise
5 & 6. early morning coffee outside, listening to birds sing
7. a clean house
8. friends
9. family
10. autumn
11. smiles
12. random acts of kindness
13. e-mail
14. fresh veggies
15. fresh fruit
16. riding in the jeep with the top down
17. clean sheets
18. the sound of pages being softly turned
19. the smell of a new book
20. quiet moments
21. baking (but not cleaning up)
22. walking the Mackinac Bridge on Labor day
23. wandering through Arts/Crafts festivals
24. volunteering
25. participating in swaps on Zaar & Swap-bot
26. sewing
27. quilting
28. crocheting
29. reading
30.1st day of school
31. 1st day of summer vacation
32. learning new things
33. vu.org web site
34. drinking fresh coffee
35. chocolate
36. thoughts about my vacation
37. a pedicure
38 a manicure
39. a new hair cut/color
40. watching a sit-com on TV
41. knowing the answers on Jeopardy
42. knowing the answers on Wheel of Fortune
43. spending time on the internet
44. honesty
45. looking at photos
46. going out to eat (not fast food)
47. Barack Obama & Joe Biden as running mates!
48. the smell of freshly mowed lawn (thanks Cheri for the idea!)
49. watching a hummingbird
50. looking at flowers
51. looking at pictures of my vacation
52. walking barefoot through the grass
53. getting surprises in the mail
54. the smell of cookies baking
55. bookstores
56. libraries
57. the giggle of a child
58. the coo of a baby
59. hugs
60. having people read my blog
61. the farmer's market
62. watching the Olympics
63. when justice prevails
64. petting a dog
64. feeding kangaroos
65. holding a koala
66. hearing children say the Pledge of Allegiance
67. wrapping presents
68. butterflies
69. fresh air
70. continental breakfasts
71. fudge
72. friends




To be continued - anything you want to add to the list, please leave comments.

Countdown

Busy, busy, busy....... and it only gets better.

I need to get my life in order. School starts in ten days. When school starts, I go back to work. This has been the best summer and, using some things I learned this summer, I hope this will be the best school/work year too.

I need to get my calendar updated. I've signed up for a bunch of swaps on recipezaar. I mailed my Used Media Package to Hokies Lady. She received it this past week and yesterday I received the one from her - full of fantastic books, magazines, newspaper & cookbooks. I mailed Tink her craft package. After she receives it, I'll post pictures here.

The rest of the swaps & my partners on Zaar are:
Coffee/Tea - Bblondie
F & G - Blue Rose and DuChick
Cookbook - gertc96
I think that's all the swaps - for now - the shoebox swap, mystery swap, crazy mixed-up swap and fall swap are around the corner.

Plus, there's the swaps on swap-bot.com - I ordered my postcards for the Your Own Photo Postcard Swap. They should be here any day. I'm also signed up for the afghan square swap, I need to crochet 6 afghan squares. Then there is the fun, no expense swap - I need to compile a list of "100 Things that give me joy" and send the list to two swap partners.

Perhaps you, my readers, would like to contribute to this list...

The Five Second Rule Does NOT Apply to Surgery

I went to the doctor today for my post surgery check-up. The foot is healing quite well, no swelling. Unfortunately, the 2nd toe is not 100% in the right direction. The doctor taped it to the big toe, we are hoping during the healing process during the next two weeks will train the toe in the right direction. The big toe appears to look good. The doctor gave me permission to start resuming most of my normal activities - within reason. I can't get the foot wet and I still must wear the surgical boot which will restrict me from running any marathons. I've never ran a marathon before, why start now!

I can drive, sew, walk carefully..... I just have to take it easy & know when to rest.

The doctor had me laughing. He told me about dropping the pin on the floor during my surgery. The pin he put in my foot cost more than his fee to do the surgery. He had the pin in the drill and turned to put it in my foot but the pin fell off the drill and onto the floor. He says "Oh, shhhhhh..." The pin had to be tossed and a new pin was placed in my foot. He said "It's too bad the 5 second rule didn't apply!" This doctor has such a wierd sense of humor. I just thankful I was sleeping during the surgery. Nobody wants to hear their doctor swear while performing surgery - almost like hearing oops!

Commercial Messages

And, now for a couple of commercial messages.

The good foot doctor prescribed some pretty powerful pain medication for me. I took it every four hours (well almost) after surgery but the pain wouldn't go away. Last night the pain medication caused me to get sick. Being sick is not fun so I decided I was not going to take that stuff anymore - it didn't seem to be working anyway. I switched to Ibuprofen from my Good Neighbor Pharmacy. This morning I woke up and - poof - the throbbing pain in my foot was gone!

The foot was feeling so good this afternoon I decided to take a quick shower. Hmmm, I am not allowed to get the bandages wet so I used the "Seal-Tight Cast & Bandage Protector" from Brown Medical Industries. It was rather difficult getting the protector over the big boot on my foot but, once it was on, the elastic sealed the protector around my leg. I took a quick shower and feel even better. Of course, standing on my foot (not elevating) has caused a little discomfort. I'll take an Ibuprofen - I'll feel better!

Foot Surgery - part 2

Today is a great day! I woke up around 3 am with minimal throbbing in my foot and major throbbing in my head. I decided not to take the pain medication prescribed by the doctor. Instead, I took two motrin. I fell back asleep, woke around 7 am - feeling great. The only down side of this is now I do not want to sit in a chair with my foot propped up. I know, I know, in order to heal properly I have to stay off the foot. Ugh!

Foot Surgery

Here's a picture of my new shoe. It is so stylish!
Third times a charm - I hope. My third foot surgery was today. My advice for anyone, if you are suffering from foot problems, see a doctor. I think I suffered with foot pain for over 15 years. I probably would not have the problems I've been having if I had seen a doctor sooner. Hopefully the work he did today will take care of my problems. If you look at the picture of my feet on this blog (I think we were at Mt. Coot-tha), you will notice my crooked toes on my right foot.
The toes look like this: \ / | | |.
Now, on a normal foot, all the toes should look like this: | | | | | .
After today all my toes should be facing forward! Let's hope.

Classrooms at Yevali School

School in Vanuatu is quite different from school in America. To begin with, there are no taxes so if a parent wants to send their child to school, they must pay. Therefore, if a parent can't afford tuition, children don't go to school. Education is not a top priority.


The children at Yevali School were so polite and well behaved. I'm sure they can act up but, they know they are there to learn.

We visited in July which is their winter. School was in session almost every day. They get a break around Christmas and through the month of January.

Library

This is the library at Yevali School. I really wanted to stay and straighten the shelves. Many of the books in the library are in English - and very old. I doubt any weeding of the shelves goes on here.

Toothbrushes

Before we left Muskegon, our hygienist gave us 100 toothbrushes for the kids at Yevali School on Epi Island. One morning, Steph and I walked to the school - about a 40 minute walk - to deliver the toothbrushes. The kids all listened to Steph while she gave them a talk-talk about brushing teeth. After we handed out the toothbrushes, every student signed a thank you note. Here's some pictures:




Kindy Students



Grades 1 & 2






Grade 3



Grade 4



Grades 5 & 6






Grade 7




Grade 8




Stephanie in front of her house - THANK YOU TERRY!!!
Translated into Bislama: TANK YU TUMAS!!!

POT OF GOLD UNDER THE RAINBOW

At one point during our visit, Stephanie asked me what my favorite part of Malvasi (the village she is living in) was. Without hesitation my answer was "the people." As you can see from my earlier posts, my pictures while in Vanuatu were mostly people. My second favorite part of Malvasi was the beauty of the area.

When we were swimming in the ocean one afternoon a slight rain started. When I looked up at the sky there was a beautiful rainbow arched completely over Malvasi Village. The rumor that a pot of gold is at the end of the rainbow is false, in Vanuatu, the pot of gold is directly under the rainbow - and this picture is proof.