Snap, Crackle and Pop
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
With termites on our minds these days, when Tim found a soft spot in our living room floor, he starting investigating. Yes, the termites are in at least one floor board in our living room. Sigh. The incredible thing is that you can actually hear the little stinkers chewing away! They make a crackly sound similar to the snap, crackle and pop of Rice Krispies. Emily has her head to the floor for a listen, but actually they are loud enough to hear even if you are sitting on the floor near the spot.
The company that handles the extermination is waiting for a shipment of new chemicals to arrive including some termite baits which we will put under the floor boards. The helpful termites are supposed to carry the chemical back to the nest where it will kill the queen termite and hopefully we will wipe out another termite colony.
Sometime we will have to have a carpenter replace the floor boards and sand it down. It won't be easy to varnish it so the repair isn't obvious. Please pray that we will get to the bottom of the termite problem!
Labels: Daily Life, household
posted by Martha @ 8:34 PM
Ouch!
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Our washing machine has made quite a lot of trips to the repair shop over the last couple of years, so it wasn't a huge surprise to find out this week that it wasn't worth repairing after a recent breakdown.
In Honiara there are not a lot of options for buying appliances. There are some smaller stores that sell imported goods of questionable quality from Asian countries, but there is really only one store where you can buy imported Australian appliances of reputable quality.
This afternoon we went to that store to see what our choices were. There was only one brand available and 2 different models to choose from. We decided on the larger copacity one because we can wash our curtains and larger items and it wasn't a lot more expensive than the slightly smaller one. The store did agree to give us a small discount and deduct what we had paid for the last repair on the old machine because it still didn't work. $821.00 US dollars later we had a new washer. It's not fun spending that much money when you weren't counting on it, but not being able to shop around for a better price or a different choice makes the shopping experience harder!
Yesterday we took our TV into a repair shope to have the wobbly RCA jack resoldered. The TV still worked, but we had to find ways to hold plugs into the jack so they would make a good contact. The repairman said it would probably be ready in the afternoon. When the Tim went to pick it up, the repairman said that now it wasn't working at all and it might not be repairable. Today the news is that it needs a new part and may be repairable. The part will have to be ordered from Australia before we know if the TV can indeed be repaired. In the meantime it's one less distraction. I guess we can go watch the washer spin...
Labels: Daily Life, household
posted by Martha @ 9:18 PM
What the Geico Guy Doesn't Tell You
Monday, January 29, 2007
In the USA we were inundated with commercials with the little green gecko representing Geico insurance. I guess geckos are cute, if you don't have to live with them all the time.
Here in the tropics, geckos live inside the house. They can often be seen scurrying around the walls and heard making a little clicking noise. At night they gather on the outside of screen windows enjoying a feeding frenzy of insects who have been attracted to the light.
When Tim and I lived in Papua New Guinea, we had lots of geckos on the outside of our screens at night. Sometimes we would flick the gecko from the inside of the screen while announcing in our theatrical voices, "Geckos in space..." as they flew off the screen into the dark night. (Missionaries in remote places can be easily entertained.)
The not so nice part of geckos are the little 'poop' they leave around the house. The other less than cute part is the eggs. They love to find very small dark spaces to lay their little eggs.
This afternoon I took down a metal tubular curtain rod to put up a curtain. As I lowered the rod to the floor, I heard the ominous rattle of gecko eggs rolling down the tube and the crunch of them hitting the floor and breaking. Yuck. Another joy of housekeeping in the tropics! : )
Labels: Daily Life, household
posted by Martha @ 3:13 PM
Amazing Story!
Sunday, January 28, 2007
When we were in the USA last year, we had the pleasure of meeting up with Solomon Islands friends in Virginia where we camped together. Alphaeus, Tiani and their kids are in Virginia where Alphaeus is finishing up his PhD. Check out this amazing article about Alphaeus in the Washington Post! http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/26/AR2007012601371.html
Labels: Ministry, Special People
posted by Martha @ 5:14 PM
Sweet Reunion
One thing we have been looking forward to has been reuniting with our friends at our church here in the capital city. I was thrilled to be with my women friends at church. Here we are after church. (Boy, do I feel pale!)
My only disppointment - I didn't get to meet "Martha", my name sake who just turned one last week. Martha stayed home because she has a cold, but I hope to meet her next week and I will be sure to include a photo of the two of us! : )
Labels: Kukum Campus Church, Special People
posted by Martha @ 4:36 PM
Making Pancakes
Saturday, January 27, 2007
After all that, we weren't really psyched up to do any heavy cooking, so we settled on Romanian Pancakes (similar to crepes) which we ate filled with a fresh fruit salad of papaya, pineapple, bananas and grapefruit. Sounds fairly simple, but of course all the fruit had to be cleaned and cut up.
Then there was the flour. The flour sat in our freezer for several days to kill any weevils. Sure enough the flour was loaded with 'extra protein' so it needed to be sifted. To save time later, I sifted a large container of flour.Here is the extra 'protein' I found.
There are 'joys' of living in the Solomon Islands that I had forgotten about when we were in USA...
Labels: food
posted by Martha @ 3:18 PM
A Trip to Town
Yesterday we ventured into town to do some shopping. Honiara has a population of about 40,000 people so it is not a very big place.
First stop was Woodford International School where the girls begin the new school year on Monday. There were lots of familiar faces to welcome us and give us hugs. We found out who the girls will have as teachers. Sarah is thrilled to know that her best buddy, Ela, is in her class. Ela is Australian and her parents are part of the business community here.
Our next stop was to Ela's house so Sarah could spend the day with her. They had a wonderful time reconnecting and playing together. Lucky for Sarah, Ela has a nice pool to swim in and she was able to cool off there.
Tim, Emily and I spent the rest of the day shopping and stopping at various stores to take care of business. In Honiara there is no one-stop shopping. Getting the basics takes visits to numerous places. It was very hot and sticky in town. The air condtioning in the car would just start to feel cool when we would park the car at the next stop.
Everywhere we went, we ran into people we knew. We even managed to have lunch with friends and got our first taste of fish and chips - a family favorite.
One of our stops was to the business that has been treating our house for termites. Unfortunately they need to come up on Monday to spray again as we have found a new trail starting up one of the cement posts under the house. They cartainly are determined to eat us out of house and home! Now that we are back we can deligently watch for any more trails and we should be able to keep them at bay.
Labels: Daily Life, Honiara, Woodford International School
posted by Martha @ 7:33 AM
Bookworms? No, termites!
Thursday, January 25, 2007
As we unpack, we are finding more things that the termites have gotten into. This morning it was paperback books. As you can see, they look a bit like Swiss cheese. I'm thankful they didn't touch my wooden recorder which was sitting on the same shelf. I guess the books were easier to chew.
Many boxes have been unpacked now, but there is still much to be done. We are starting to see some progress and the kitchen is nearly functional, but does anyone know where we packed our glasses and mugs?
Labels: Daily Life, household
posted by Martha @ 10:09 AM
Fuel Prices
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Tim went to town today and put diesel fuel in our new vehicle. The price worked out to $3.22 per gallon.
Labels: Daily Life
posted by Martha @ 5:16 PM
The Cat Came Back
For you cat lovers, our family cat, "Slinky" was found last night. We knew she must be around as our friend had seen her yesterday morning. She must have been in the house the entire time Sarah was looking for her because when we came home last night she was inside the house meowing. Slinky loves to climb up in the attic for some reason and the access door to the attic was left open.
We continue to unpack and clean today. The kitchen is the priority as everything must be washed before it is put back in the drawers and cupboards. Our 2 wooden cutting boards looked like Swiss cheese thanks to the termites! So far we haven't found too much damage to the things we had in storage.
The girls have gone to a hotel in town for a swim in the pool with the other missionary kids.
Much to do...
Labels: Pets
posted by Martha @ 1:32 PM
Safe and Sound at Home
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
This blog comes to you from our home in Honiara.
The flight to the Solomons was ahead of schedule and as there weren't many people on board, we got off quickly. We stood in line for immigration for a while until a man came and said there weren't any immigration officers at the airport and he didn't know where they were. He promised to keep us posted. A few minutes later we found out that they were on their way and would be there soon. We got through immigration and collected our bags which arrived safe and sound. For the first time we had our luggage carefully checked, but no duty charged for which we are thankful.
We piled our luggage on 3 carts and wheeled it outside expecting to see some faces we knew, but no one was there. Our colleagues had called the airport a number of times to check on the arrival time but were given various answers - ranging from noon to 2 pm! After we waited about 10 minutes our director's wife arrived followed by others and we were on our way home - Tim even drove our new car home!
Our friends have spent a lot of time getting our house ready. They have spent several days cleaning, organizing and even finding our towels and sheets and making our beds. What a blessing. Apparently a week ago the house was quite a mess.
There are many places where we will have to repair the termite damage. Some walls are missing, some that have been replaced need painting. Some of the ceiling has mold spots on it and needs to be repainted. It's a bit discouraging after we spent so much time and energy last year painting the house.
Sarah was very sad to discover the termites had gotten into her doll case for her American Girl. We hope we can clean it up a bit and replace some of the paper lining to improve how it looks. It was all a bit devastating to a 9 year old who has not has a lot of sleep over the past 24 hours or so. She is also disppointed that she hasn't seen our cat yet. But it was seen this morning around the house, so it is sure to show up soon.
It's good to be home, but it's going to take a lot of work to get the house up and running again. It's 90°+ and high humidity. Nothing can ever prepare you for how hot it really is here and how draining it can be.
I hope this all makes sense as I am a bit sleep deprived but hope to start getting on top of that tonight. We will eat dinner at with our director and his wife tonight.
posted by Martha @ 3:39 PM
On to the Solomons
One of the things we love about working in the Solomons is the smallness of the place. We are always running into people we know. It happened in Fiji - sitting in the transit lounge at the airport I saw a Tongan friend whom I had gotten to know from the last time we lived in the Solomon Islands. We were soon catching up with what had happened in Honiara over the past year.
On our way to the Solomons, we had a stopover in Vanuatu. We were asked to stay on the plane while they cleaned it and prepared it for the next leg of the journey. Sarah and I head to the back of the plane to use the restroom when we found our friend, Rex, sitting at the back of the plane. Rex is originally from the village we lived in when we first came to the Solomon Islands. We met him in New York City in 1997 where he was serving at the Solomon Islands Ambassador to the UN, USA and Canada. Rex has a degree in applied linguistics and has always been interested in our translation and literacy work in the Solomons.
At the moment, Rex is the head of a large non-profit organization that works in development around the South Pacific. It was great to catch up with Rex and hear what is happening in the area and to provide him with information about what our group is doing. We exchanged business cards and the networking has begun again - before we even stepped foot on Solomons soil.
Oh, yeah. At the end of the conversation, something came up about our carpenter friend from the village who has helped us a lot with building projects on our house. Rex said he wants our friend to build him a house in their village and will pay him to do the work. Our friend will be thrilled to have a way to make some money in the village.
Labels: travel
posted by Martha @ 3:38 PM
The first leg of the journey - LAX to Fiji
Monday, January 22, 2007
We left for the LAX shortly after 4 pm to insure that we had plenty of time to check in for our 10:30 flight to Fiji. We walked right to the counter of the Air Pacific desk and checked all our pieces in. We have an extra piece and had to pay $75 in excess baggage instead of the $100 we were quoted over the phone.
We passed through security and found a place to 'camp' for a few hours and used our cell phone to call some family and friends to say some final good-byes. When boarding started we got in line and were some of the first passengers on board so we could easily stash our carry-on pieces. The seats seemed narrower and knee room as limited as ever. The girls were thrilled to find their own mini tv screen to watch videos or play computer games.
Shortly after 10:30 we were winging our way over the Pacific Ocean. Early on the flight we were served a hot meal and then settled down to try and sleep.
We knew we back in the south pacific when about mid-way through the 11 hour flight, there was some movement and noise from the passengers behind us in the middle section of the plane and a number of people were standing in the aisles. The cabin was warm and stuffy and condensation from the air conditioner was dripping from the overhead bins. Flight attendants were scurrying for blankets and plastic bags to try and stop the flow of water with limited success. There must have been some degree of success because things settled down again.
After breakfast was served the plane began its descent into Nadi, Fiji. Suddenly there was excitement on our side of the plane as water from the air conditioner began dripping from the overhead bins above Emily and Sarah who were sitting in the row in front of us. The passengers began grabbing the airline pillows and holding them up to the underside of the overhead bins to keep the water from dripping on their heads. The lights in the cabin had been turned off for the final descent when the flight attendants took Emily and Sarah to the back of the plane where there were dry seats available.
Warm tropical 75° air greeted us as we disembarked from the plane and into the transit lounge. Two Fijian men with guitars serenaded the lines of passengers waiting to clear the security area. We have a 3 hour wait until our flight departs for Vanuatu and on to the Solomons.
posted by Martha @ 6:23 AM
Our last day in the USA
Yesterday (Jan. 20th) was our last full day in the USA. It was also Emily's 14th birthday. Emily opened her presents in the morning. The fun surprise was giving her a certificate for an Ovation guitar which was shipped to the Solomons. She will have to wait until the end of February for the shipment to arrive before she gets her hands on it, but she is excited! She dreamt of owning a guitar, but didn't really think she'd get one.
Sarah and I went to the American Girl Place in LA with a friend. Sarah wanted to use some birthday money to see the live show in the theater. It was really good! The girls were amazing. The American Girl Place was in a swanky part of Los Angeles. As I walked the sidewalks looking at the expensive clothing in the display windows, I couldn't help think about being in the Solomons in a few days in a very very different environment. I guess we all feel more comfortable in the Solomon Islands rather than the extravagant American lifestyle - although it is fun to see it once in a while!
Last night we celebrated Emily's birthday with our friends here. We made 'lumpia' for dinner - Emily's favorite food from the Philippines. Her request for a Boston Cream Pie was honored and she was well celebrated!
This morning is time for laundry, final shopping and packing before we take off at 10:30 tonight for Fiji.
posted by Martha @ 6:23 AM
California - in the "Buffer Zone"
Friday, January 19, 2007
After an almost sleepless night, we flew out of Detroit and into San Diego. Recent changes in airline regulations regarding baggage has resulted in us having 2 checked bags at 50 pounds a piece. Previously bags could weigh up to 72 pounds, and trust me we could easily fill the bags! Keeping the weight down to 50 pounds is a challenge. Our carry-ons are heavily laden with computers and other electronics that we don't want to chance to checked baggage. 
We are staying with friends who we worked with in Papua New Guinea. We always try and stay here for a week when we enter or leave the USA. We call this time in California the "Buffer Zone" as it gives us a chance to recover from our tearful good-byes and prepare to re-enter the USA or Solomon Islands.
On Monday we visited the San Diego Zoo which was wonderful. Yesterday we enjoyed a visit to Sea World. As we walked around and saw the shows, we couldn't help but wonder what our Solomon Island friends would think of the trained sea animals.
Friday we head up to Mission Viejo to spend the weekend with friends there. Saturday we will celebrate Emily's 14th birthday.
Sunday evening we fly out of LAX to Nadi Fiji which should take about 11 hours. We have a brief layover there before taking a flight to the Solomon Islands via Vanuatu (travel time of about 4 hours). We lose Monday to the International time line arriving home in Honiara, the capital city of the Solomon Islands, on Tuesday.
Labels: travel
posted by Martha @ 12:06 PM
