How beautiful is this? This is the beach resort where Scott and his friends stayed in St. Lucia.

Well isn't this a "lovely" photo to share. Someone asked about the Pit Latrine sign earlier so I thought I'd show what a typical one looked like. Note the ratty looking yellow bucket in the corner, used for washing up afterwards....yuck!

Well, I took the job at the liquor store and it seems to be OK. I'll just be part time for now, but it will be enough to enable me to start saving for the next holiday. I haven't decided where to go, maybe back to Africa, maybe to Turkey or maybe to Spain. One of the three. I recently read an article about a woman who was fired because of the things she said on her blog about her co-workers, so I won't be sharing any juicy bits of gossip here, although everyone seems nice and I doubt there will be any gossip to share!

Other than that, nothing new around here. Scott was in St Lucia for 10 days or so and had a fantastic time, hung out with the locals and had a good taste of the non-tourist part of the island. He and his friend were invited to some of the locals homes to meet the family, and to shop at their little local market and they really enjoyed it.

Weather has turned very spring-ish, snow is almost gone and mud is everywhere. The ducks and geese are returning to the lake so I am hoping that winter is OVER.

Happy St Patricks Day to all my fellow Irishmen out there. (My parents didn't name me Shannon for nothing!) Enjoy some beer or some stew or whack someone with your shilleleigh if they annoy you. Erin go Braugh!

Oops! I didn't mean to post this twice and now I can't figure out how to get rid of one of them...but anyhow, here is my "curious giraffe" for those who wondered where the other half of him was!

It never rains but it pours. So they say. When my job at the Railway Museum ended I said to myself one day: "I wish a job would just fall in my lap. I really don't want to go and look for work." Sure enough, I was in KFC one day and the manager came running out (yes! He really ran out) and said: "Hey! Are you looking for work? Would you be interested in being my assistant manager?" Now, to be fair, I have known him for years, it's not like I have this aura around me that screams out: "Look at ME! Assistant Manager material for hire!" I chose to not work there, it just isn't up my alley. I adjusted my wish to:" I wish a job that I knew how to do and enjoyed would fall into my lap." Shortly after that I was in a video store and the manager asked me if I was looking for work, he knew that I had managed a video store for 14 years. *sigh* I turned that one down because...well, I have DONE that for 14 years. I once more changed my wish to: "I wish a job that I was interested in, and that was easy to learn and reasonably mindless and fun as well would fall into my lap." Well, my friend Jan said I could work with her, cleaning and prepping new RV's. Simple, easy, mindless and I like Jan a lot. BUT, it's about 20 miles west of town and I didn't want to drive 40 miles a day. Quick adjustment..."no work west of town." My friend Tanis runs the Budget Car Rental (or is it Hertz? National? whatever) out at the airport. They needed help, simple, mindless easy help. 20 miles East of town. You can guess my new adjustment. I added a few wishes: "Somewhere new would be nice so that all the staff start at the same time and learn together. Somewhere small would be nice too. Part time would be excellent. Somewhere where they supply clothes to wear would be ok; it would save me some $$ on buying new things."

So. This week I was offered 2 jobs. One at the new Starbucks and one at the new liquor store. Both include all above wishes. How many times am I allowed to turn down a job before the wishes are not granted anymore? I think I am at my limit and I am pretty sure I have to choose one of these jobs. I'll keep you informed of my choice, I am leaning towards the liquor store...

School is out for Spring Break and the kids are so excited. In Africa, it's exactly the opposite, the children there are desperate for an education and even at a young age they realize the value of knowledge. These kids were just on their way to (or maybe from) school and they followed us with great curiosity and a little shyness. I brought out some stickers however and the shyness vanished in a second!

Ewww. I was going to write a bit here, but I went in the bathroom and there was a huge spider on the counter, then I came downstairs to use the computer and there was a huge spider on the light switch...and I touched it. Now I am feeling all creepy-crawly and I can't sit here. Here is a creepy-crawly from Haydom, the hospital in Tanzania.

I guess this is a little cuter than just a simple: "Bathrooms" sign.

Meanwhile, here at home, the weather is continuing to be nice, it gets a little drier out everyday, although today I took Gypsy for a walk to Idlewild park and as we were coming down a narrow path I discovered it was sheer ice. Total ice...like an, well, an ice cube. Gypsy's little toenails were scrabbling to get a grip and I had to sit down and hold her on my lap and slide to the bottom of the hill. Of course the ice was wet and I ended up looking like I:
A) Sat in a puddle of water.
B) Could not find a pit latrine in time.

Thank goodness no one was around to see me looking so undignified, but I have to confess to laughing out loud as I skidded down the hill on my backside. I guess we never outgrow some things.

A brightly coloured Tinga-tinga stall at the Mwenge Carvers Market in Dar es Salaam.

March came in like a lamb yesterday...it was so warm and sunny. I love the smell of spring, when the snow disappears and the earth starts to thaw and warm up. As you walk down the street , the melting snow has turned into rivelets of water that race beside the curbs. As a kid we always made tiny paper boats to race in these mini-rivers and we would run beside as they made their way towards the nearest storm drain...a dark and lonely death for the little ships. We'd peek into the drains, trying to see what was down there and as an adult now, I don't think I'd dare peek into a storm drain...not after reading Stephens King's "It." I know what sort of things dwell down there!

Today would have been my mother's 72 birthday. I cannot picture my mom in her 70's. I can't imagine her having white hair and aches and pains. She was so vibrant, with her red hair and vividly patterned clothes, she would have loved the ladies in Tanzania and the wonderful coloured markets. My mother was "bright."