Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas to you all! I pray that your holidays were filled with joy and good community and family.

Family Reunions

In addition to being here for my brother's wedding, we took 'Odom' family pictures. We were all together, for the first time in three years, and with four additions since then. It was a bit chaotic and loud, but if you are only going to have two days together every three years, it seems worthwhile.

Here I am with my five siblings, on the swings of the "fort" that my dad built for us nearly 20 years ago.

I was able to have another family reunion too, one that I honestly didn't expect to have. Back in March I heard that my grandmother was declining in health and might not live much longer. I didn't expect to get to see her again. A few days after my brother's wedding, however, I got the chance to drive down to Texas and see my grandmother and spend a few hours with her.

Even though she didn't recognize me it was truly a blessing to get to visit with her, tell her a little bit about what I've been up to, and give her a gift from Tanzania.

40 Before 40

I am a fairly task oriented person. To do lists are exceptionally effective for me. There are several things that I have wanted to do for a while, things for which I haven't had the time (or money). They, however, deserved to be put on a to do list with a lot of freedom regarding the time frame in which I would like to do them.

I gave myself 8 years and 40 'to do' items and the result was my list of '40 before 40' (because I'll be 40 in 8 years! Oh, and I didn't quite get to 40, so if you have ideas of things that I could add to the list let me know, there are still 3 slots.)

The list includes some tasks that I've simply never gotten around to doing, like making butter from scratch (still to do), or dying a single streak in my hair (done!).

There are many things on the list, however, that will take time and planning to accomplish, like learning a 4th language or doing another half marathon (that one is planned!).

Last night I got to check an item off of the list. One of my favorite musicians happened to be playing in Tulsa and I got to go! I've never, as an adult, been to the concert of a musician that I like, so that was on the list. It's a terrible picture (and that is to be expected in this venue), but I was at a Josh Garrels concert last night and it was lovely!

Thanks to the life that God has given me thus far, there are so many things that I could have added to that list, but didn't need to because I've already done them: living overseas, going skydiving, being a missionary on the African continent, speaking multiple languages...

We'll see what all I will do in the coming years!

A New Sister

Two parents, six children, three in-laws and nine grandchildren all gathered together this past weekend to welcome and initiate a new in-law. It was the first time in three years for the whole compliment to be together.

So, I now have a new sister, Amber. Thank you Wesley for bringing her into the family!

One of my nephews, upon seeing Amber, asked to dance with the princess all night long. He took great care not to step on her dress when he got the chance.

So, that was yesterday. Today we're all exhausted and taking it easy, including letting kids see how many curlers they can load onto your head.

Ah, good family times.

Where Are They Now?

I've been getting pictures from my housemate Sarah showing me my clothes being worn around Musoma by various people. I guess if one has to get rid of most things that they own and leave it behind, it is comforting to see that they are being enjoyed by others.

This skirt was the first article of clothing I had made in Tanzania and it was the skirt that I wore on my lovely "Lord of the Rings" hike (Long Ago I Went on a Hike).

Do you remember the Camelot Hotel near I-44 and Peoria in Tulsa? Well, now Magesa is commemorating that grand hotel by wearing my shirt.

Finally, Sarah herself is helping Zingo live on with my "I rode Zingo" shirt. Apparently I also gave her those jeans.

I hope everyone else is enjoying the items they got from me!

Telling Time

I got a call from a friend in Tanzania last week. One of the guards at the office, the one who named his son Milton because of my dad, called me to say hello and see how I was doing. It was a lovely conversation and I enjoyed the brief chat (including video!)

At one point he asked me what time it was here and it reminded that I've never written about how Tanzanians tell time!

You know how Jesus was crucified at the "third hour" of the morning and that means 9am? Well, Tanzanians tell time the same way.

7am is 1 o'clock, 8am is 2 o'clock, 9am is 3 o'clock, so on and so forth.

My ability to communicate accurately about time was made additionally complicated because all of my clocks are in military time. So, I would see that it was 14:00, know that that means 2pm, and then have to translate that into Swahili 9 o'clock.

Thanks to much practice and "having a head for numbers" I did alright in regards to telling time in Tanzania. It is also something I miss about being there and I thought it would be fun to share the joy of telling time with math.

A New Way of Seeing Things

There are many things about life in Musoma that have influenced and changed me over the years. A couple of those things played a role when I decided to paint a cardboard box for my nephew.

1) We don't generate a lot of trash in Musoma. Food items are not often bought in cardboard boxes and we don't have packages arriving on the doorstep with any frequency. Glass bottles are returned, refilled, and reused. Trash is generated, it is just a lot less than in America.

2) I've lived with an artist for the past couple of years. She has a different way of seeing the world than I do. When we had a small hole in the ceiling and I was worried about bats coming through it, I suggested covering it with duct tape. Sarah responded with "ok, that, or a mermaid?" We ended up going with her idea and had a beautiful mermaid (whom we called "the Green Lady") guarding our house from bats. I never would have seen a hole in the ceiling as an opportunity for an art project.

So, when a small product was delivered in an oddly large brown cardboard box I decided to make a project out of it. I even sketched out my design before free-handing it onto the box. That felt like a really artistic move.

It was fun having a project to work on. It was fun that that project was mildly artistic. It was fun giving my nephew a play house. It was fun seeing trash through new lenses. It was also fun to not be intimidated by arts and crafts (which has historically been the case). And it was fun seeing the finished product.

Who knows how long it will last, but it was well worth the effort to make.

No Longer Waiting

Well, we're no longer waiting for baby.

Thursday last week my newest nephew made his debut! Now I'm working on being super-aunt and helping as much as possible around the house.

Thankfully I do get to squeeze in some times for holding this little one.

Waiting for Baby

When visiting one's sister, waiting for her to have a baby means, well obviously a lot of waiting.

Thankfully I've been able to keep myself a bit busy with running and weight lifting. In Musoma my guards made themselves a barbell with a pole and some cans filled with cement. I'm finding the equipment in the garage here a bit easier to handle J.

I also found a large cardboard box and decided to paint it as a little house for my nephew. I think I'll be finishing that up soon.

But I've also found time to relax with my nephew.

A Multicultural Pavlova

This past week I left Virginia and my older sister's house in order to stay with my younger sister for several weeks. She is due to have a baby any day now, her second. Last time I saw her she didn't even have one kid!!! So, I get to be here to help her and her husband over the coming weeks.

So far I've managed to do a few dishes, play with their son and read books to him, and sweep the floor a few times.

I also introduced them to pavlova (an Australian/New Zealand dessert that I learned about in Tanzania). It was fun using blueberries and strawberries, grocery items that are not available in Musoma. But I couldn't resist adding in some pineapple, something that is seasonally available in Musoma.

What started as a solution to the question "what should we do with the extra egg whites?" turned into a dessert that in some ways speaks to the many different cultures and countries that have influenced me over the past several years. It is an Australian/New Zealand dessert topped with fruits I associate with America and Tanzania, and it was beautiful and delicious.

(Maybe next time I should have a section with hagelslag to make it more complete).

My First Stop in the States

Since being in the States I've been staying with my older sister and her family, in Virginia.

I knew that since it had been well over two years since the kids last saw me, I would need to do some work to usher myself back into the "fun aunt" position. So, that has been my primary job over the past couple of weeks.

We even got to take a trip to the local amusement park; Kings Dominion. I haven't been to this park since my family lived in Richmond 20 years ago!

And on a trip up to DC, I happened across the Tanzanian embassy!!!

And thus my American adventures have begun.

Adjusting to "Cold"

Well, I'm back in the States. I'm spending some time with my sister and her family and I'm starting to adjust to my new environment.

When the temperature averages around 85°F you grow accustomed to that level of warmth. At 75°F you wear a jacket and keep adding layers, possibly at every 5° interval.

So, when it is 65°F and others are sitting by the fire in shorts and a T-shirt, this is what I look like:

That layering includes a cardigan, scarf, leggings and a wrap.

If you have a favorite cold weather item feel free to send me suggestions. Also, if you are getting rid of cold weather clothes let me know! I may find that that was exactly what I was missing.