Hey friends,
I have added a widget that allows you to receive email updates when I post new blogs. Just type your email in the box to the right of this post where it says "follow by email" and click submit! Simple!
Hope all is well with everyone! Matt and I are preparing for the World AIDS Day celebration this Saturday so another post will come soon.
Love, peace, and chicken grease,
Caroline
Monday, November 26, 2012
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Thanksgiving
Matt and I have been married 9 months now and we are spending our first Holiday season as a married couple away from family. Although we are both a little bit homesick we decided to not dwell in the fact that we are away from relatives and give thanks for the friends and family we have in our current community. We hosted Thanksgiving 2012 at our house this year and we had around 20 people over to cook, tell stories, sing and play music, play card games and baseball, etc. It was truly an amazing Thanksgiving. Matt and I are so thankful to have such amazing friends and family here on the island who take such great care of us and are willing to help us without question.
Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays for many reasons, but there was something extra special about this Thanksgiving. It felt as though I was able to celebrate twice but in very different ways. I was very much apart of the traditional Thanksgiving I am used to through phone conversations with my family and picture updates that were sent to me by my Father. Sunday was more of our unconventional Thanksgiving but it held the same meaning because I was surrounding with love and people I am thankful for, especially a husband who is patient, loving and kind to me and everyone else he meets. History aside, the true meaning of Thanksgiving is about surrounding yourself with people you love and feel blessed by. I think our first Thanksgiving as a married couple was a complete success!
The food we prepared consisted of: 4 chickens, chapatis, ugali (sort of like bland corn bread), eggplant ratatouille, kale, ginger tea, mangos, bananas, oranges and avocados. It was quite a feast!
The food we prepared consisted of: 4 chickens, chapatis, ugali (sort of like bland corn bread), eggplant ratatouille, kale, ginger tea, mangos, bananas, oranges and avocados. It was quite a feast!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We are thankful for all of you :)
Fruit basket and freshly grown eggplant! |
Matt with the family and our EK intern Tony |
Our dear friend Gabby starting a fire for the chicken |
Tony and Gabby jammin' out next to the fire |
The serious cooking begins... |
Chapti rollin' and eggplant cookin' |
Servin' up the grub. Elida looks skeptical of the eggplant...it was a hit though :) |
George, Lizzy and baby Mackey playing guitar and singing. Love these kids. |
Da' boyz (Matt, Olambo, Tony, Elijah) |
Da' other boyz ( Moses and Tony) |
Olambo reaaaally likes chicken |
The Funny Farm
Our animals have gone CRAZY! When you have 5 dogs, a cat, 8
hens, 1 rooster and baby chicks things can get a little funny on the farm. Our
young puppy Mario has confidence much bigger than his little body can handle
and he is growing more and more confident as each day passes. Here is our
precious “innocent” looking puppy below with his partner in crime Omwenzi who
is about a year old (also very much a puppy).
This is "Mara Ario" AKA Mario. Mara Ario means my second one. He is a little squirt |
Bonnie and Clyde, AKA Mario and Omwenzi... always playing |
Its hard to stay mad at these dogs because they are so cute! |
Story number 1: A few weeks ago I was going down to the lake
for a swim in my birthday suit when I see a beautiful goose swim by. All of a sudden
Mario lunges at the goose and the other dogs join in! I am standing in the lake
trying to run away from the situation while at the same time yelling at the
dogs to back away from the goose! For those who don’t know, geese are VERY
aggressive and territorial, so I was trying my best to dodge out of the way so
it wouldn’t attack me! Meanwhile all the dogs join in and Mario, the little
mess that he is, initiates the final attack and pins the goose down to the
ground inviting all the other dogs to join in for the final kill. I couldn’t
help but just sit back and watch at that point in order to keep myself safe. It
felt like something out of the Planet Earth series as I stood there naked as a
baby watching nature take its course.
Story number 2: Last week we let the hens out for their
usual nightly roaming routine and we heard a loud tussle behind some bushes on
the backside of the house. I looked out the window and much to my surprise (not
really all THAT surprised) I see Mario attacking one of our chickens with
Omwenzi pacing back and forth in front of the fence. Kelsi and I run out with
sticks (being the cave women that we are) to capture the hen and Mario but the
fence prevented our endeavor from being successful. All of a sudden the hen
takes off with Mario fast behind and Kelsi and I chase after them along the
perimeter of the fence. In the mean time Matt jumps on the other side of the
fence with a machete to hack away at the brush so he could reach Mario and the
hen now resting after the chase. After spotting Mario and the hen further down
the fence line, Kelsi is able to pin the hen between her stick and the fence to
keep Mario from eating it. I am poking Mario with a longer stick in order to
keep him away from the hen and keep him in one spot while Matt continues to
hack away at the brush to reach Mario. We couldn’t help but laugh at the
scenario. As Mario was whining like a damsel in distress, Matt was approaching
with a machete getting closer and closer like something out of a horror film.
It was humorous but we were all very angry at the situation as well. Matt
finally reached Mario and passed him over the fence to me so I could provide
proper punishment and put him in a cage for the rest of the night. Matt was
then able to hand over the chicken for inspection. We all decided that the
chicken would not survive so we had to finish what Mario started and prepare a late
chicken dinner (which took a LOT of time). Here is a picture of our meal
cooking in the charcoal oven. We spiced up the roasted chicken with some
rosemary growing in the garden and simple salt and pepper. The potatoes and
carrots also had rosemary and thyme. Delicious, yet unexpected, meal.
Story number 3: October 28th, someone had tied a cow to a tree on
our property and upon hearing all of our dogs barking, we rushed to find our
dogs circling the cow and barking. Mario, of course, takes the first leap to
attack the cow followed by our dog Tonjo taking a first bite out of the cow
(not injuring it, thank goodness). The cow began to buck but we were able to
safely swat away all of the dogs and save the cow. The animals were properly
punished… again. Later that day Tonjo and Mario try to attack ANOTHER hen.
Again… punished. We took a vote and decided it is necessary for the health of
our hens to tie Mario up during the chicken’s nightly feeding. Hopefully this
will prevent future disasters.
Tonjo |
Amalay - she is the BEST cat. I hate cats, but I love her. |
Shaka - my favorite dog. He is loyal and super protective |
Story Number 4:
This past Tuesday, November 6th at midnight, I
woke up to the sound of one of our hens squawking really loudly, and all too
familiar sound. Matt went down to the hen house with flashlight in hand and
found a small wild cat inside the hen house!!! The wild cats are smaller than
domestic cats with spots like a leopard. The dogs were all going crazy at this
point! So crazy that they began jumping on top of the chicken coop roof trying
to attack this cat! Kelsi come flying out of her tent with a flashlight to see
what was happening while Matt opens the door to the chicken coop to provide an
exit for the cat, but the dogs are swarming the coop and the baby chick escapes!
Matt goes running after the chick to put it back into the coop when all of a
sudden Tonjo, one of our dogs, bolts into the coop and leaps into the air to
catch the cat who was pacing on one of the branches where the chicken perch at
night. Tonjo shakes the cat vigorously in his mouth and immediately kills the
cat! Sadly… the cat had already killed the mama hen to our newest baby chick.
Here is a picture of the dead wild cat. Sorry for “dead” picture, but this is
life on the farm. Don’t worry we did not cook the cat.
wild cat |
Shaka with wild cat |
Never a dull moment on the farm.
Love, peace and chicken grease,
Caroline
Monday, November 12, 2012
28th year of life
Speaking of empowerment and sustainability I have decided to
set 25 goals which I want to accomplish during my 28th year of life
to empower myself to take on more challenges, which, I think, will sustain
character and a habitual positive attitude, or at least I hope. :) I turned 28 on October 18th and my birthday week was pretty crazy so
I am just getting around to setting these goals. Maybe I should end my long
unhealthy relationship with procrastination this year… mmm… maybe next year.
Here are the goals I have set for myself (Keep in mind I will be in Kenya until
May of 2013 so I will have 5 months in SF before my 29th year of
life where a new goal list will be made).
1.
Summit another Africa mountain
2.
Visit 5 new countries or US states I have never
been to (finances permitting)
3.
Scuba Dive in an ocean I haven’t explored yet
4.
Assist in 30 births as a Doula
5.
Complete requirements to become Doula certified
6.
Join a swim team when I get back to San
Francisco
7.
Learn and practice 5 new hobbies
8.
Learn a new language
9.
Do something crafty/artsy once a month
10. Compete
in my first triathlon
11. Become
more proficient with Microsoft Office (Excel in particular)
12. Live
a more environmentally friendly and economic life (reduce, reuse and recycle)
13. Volunteer
monthly at a clinic or organization that is focused on sustainable farming and
another organization focused on prenatal care.
14. Stay
up to date on current events by reading the news daily
15. Learn
about a new culture each month and apply an aspect of that culture to my life
that month
16. Learn
more about personal finance from Matt and suggested readings :)
17. Become
a better road cyclist by tackling my fear of riding in large cities…safely of
course :)
18. Learn
more about the techniques, benefits and risks of acupressure and herbal
remedies and apply them when necessary during my Doula shifts.
19. Read
a new book each month (any suggestions??)
20. Be
symptom free of Crohn’s through proper diet and exercise
21. Engage
in daily health and wellness activities (i.e. exercise, meditation, yoga, etc)
22. Start
a garden plot in San Francisco and learn to grow herbs indoors
23. Take
monthly classes about gardening in San Francisco at Garden for the Environment
and spend time with my friend Olambo each month here in Kenya to learn more
about agriculture.
24. Take
more pictures to document my life’s adventures and create digital scrapbooks
with journal entries for each adventure
25. Continue
to strive to be the best friend, sister, daughter, wife and individual I can be
by showing patience, love, respect, compassion, kindness, curiosity and
encouragement to myself and those around me.
Love, peace and chicken grease,
Caroline
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