Visiting teaching in Yam Piece, Stock Farm, etc.

Wednesday, at high noon, Sister Cooper and Sister Hadlock walked all the way to the top of a steep, very steep, hillside to visit three of four sisters that reside in Yam Piece, Stock Farm and Glassgo. Sister Hadlock hoped when we reached this point that it was half-way. "No, not yet!" Roseau Relief Society "leader," Christabel Cooper, needed a cool drink of water and a little rest along the way.

Beverly Caffe (Coffee) was the third of four sisters visited Wednesday under a very hot and humid midday sun! She lives in this house, that is still under construction, with her husband and three sons. She was formerly employed as a braider of tourists' hair but is currently unemployed. Her husband is a "joiner" (cabinet/furniture maker). The house will be four stories high when/if it is completed. It will probably remain forever behind the typical zinc fence.

Twelve-year-old Emmanuel Caffe, the youngest of two Caffe sons, proudly posed in his graduation cap, which he would wear with his uniform at his school's graduation ceremony later Wednesday afternoon.

Sea-wall scenes, Caribbean sunrise, water crafts

It must be more fun to be a watcher than a fisher! Even simple things like a barge, a fishing boat and a dock are beautiful at sunrise.

. . . and way off to the left on the horizon a large freighter coming into port.

We do not know what sort of water craft this might be??? We do know it is not "built tight like unto a dish."

Pottersville emancipation commemoration parade???

Before the Parade - - - passes by!We think this is some sort of representation of things past--long past. We also think it is part of Pottersville's commemoration of emancipation but do not know for sure. All we're sure of is the little parade marched past our house Sunday afternoon, 27 June 2010.

What the costumes represent we do not know. All we know is we're grateful it was not us wearing all those hot plastic and rag costumes!

Nightime "dancin' in the street"

Honestly, the more I mess with editing and trying to get pictures in order the BIGGER MESS I MAKE!!! Having said that, THIS is the after-dark picture of Friday night's "dancin' in the street"--the one inadvertently deleted from the previous post; the shot of one bass and two snare drummers and Johnny-one-note (One-Note-Joe) tooting on a valveless trumpet; the 'dancin' lady in red; the game of "peppa" behind her. (Thanks for indulging this bungling editor!)

New-arrival missionary, Elder Maldonado, and Elder Jackson pose by map of Dominica which hangs on our kitchen wall to the right of our precious freezer. They were happy to indulge our desires for their picture knowing supper was on the stove. We served them the lastest adaptation of "Dominican Surprise" with garlic breadsticks and gluey brownies.

Scotts Head, Fishermen,Kitchen 'AIDS', B&B

#*%$!!! Please forgive the "blogger." Dialogue of explanation for this picture is somwhere below. It's the first view of a guest house behind our house. Two others associated with it are down the line a ways. Sorry for the inconvenience!!!

Friday morning the "grand stand" sat deserted and quiet after Thursday night's "dancin' in the street." You guessed right! Grandstand is the little white porch in front of the little blue house next door to the little green shop on the corner across the street from our big house.

We took advantage of the "dancin' in the street" Friday night. Picture doesn't show the cooks on the right of the little blue house, and because it was dark outside when we snapped this picture from our veranda, you may have to look very closely, but it does show one bass and two snare drummers and "One-Note-Joe" tooting his long valveless trumpet. . . and one of the ladies "dancin' in the street"! Behind her is an intense game of "peppa" (poker of some sort).

(!#%$&*$#!!!! Inadvertantly deleted this picture! Honestly, blogging is maddening!!!) Will post it somewhere, sometime later. UGH!)

#$%**@!!! Darn this blog! #*&%!!! It will not cooperate! Hence, dialogue for the picture above, and the picture below, follows . . . the picture below, that is: (ha-ha)Some have asked questions about groceries, fruits, vegetables, etc.. What you see here is some produce we purchased at the "market" . . . where farmers come Saturday mornings to sell from backs of vehicles or boxes. We carry all this stuff home weekly in a BIG PINK CANVAS BAG, bought years ago at Old Navy. (See it on the counter in the picture above.) The loaded bag is very heavy! When we get home everything is given a "Clorox bath" before it's put away (good luck with that) in our refrigerator, which is just the right size to go with our little "Easy Bake Oven." What you see in the bleach bath are tomatoes, cucumbers, papaya, cabbage, and plantain. To the left of the sink, a small round melon that cost EC$2 per pound. To the right, the big pink bag, lettuce and carrots, microwave, paper towels, etc.. (Hint: We would make good use of a cheap plastic under-the-counter-mount paper-towel holder, which we've hunted for and cannot find! Need only one, so please don't everyone run to Wal-Mart or Dollar Tree and send it to us. . . but, we do need one!) The three white cylinders behind the bleach jug is the water-filter system the mission president's wife bought in Puerto Rico for missionary apartments. Dominican tap water is OK to drink, just not particularly tasty. May not be true in other Eastern Caribbean islands.

The subject of groceries, meats, and other associated trivia, will be covered in a future edition of Dominica for Dummies.

(**This is the dialogue for the first out-of-sequence picture for this post.) Snapped these pictures of the little B&B guest house, which is only a stone's throw from our apartment, Friday morning coming home from my walk up the hill. Thought it maybe of interest. Ours is the house with the blue roof, bottom left. Don't know the neighbors to the right of the B&B . . . yet.

Same B&B . . . front view.

Same B&B . . . from our back fence.

Guys gather each and every morning at 6:00 to play "fute-ball" at this park by the round-about where I turn around to go back home. Noticed Friday morning there were not as many participants or the usual BB game on the court behind the soccer players.

Tuesday, 22 June 2010, we drove to what appears in this picture to be an island. In actuality it is the southwestern most tip of Dominica. The cement highway on the left is a little slice of heaven--a small portion of the roads and sea walls currently being financed and constructed by China. Some of the pictures that follow will show more clearly that "Scotts Head" is in reality the last bit of the island of Dominica before the it submerges itself in the Caribbean Sea.

To the left of Scotts Head you can see a little surf blown in from the Atlantic Ocean; to the right, the Caribbean Sea. In our wildest dreams we'd never have thought about standing betwixt the Atlantic and Caribbean!

Oops! This view of Scotts Head is out of order. No problem! Simply another shot--a distant view of Scotts Head, Dive Dominica day-cruiser, empty fishing boat, and two females enjoying one of the all-too-few sandy Dominican beaches and warmth of the Caribbean Sea.

Hidden in this picture you may find a dog, a chicken and a goat. More apparent is the conveyor-like apparatus built and used by fishermen, we surmise for removing boats from the water, elevating them when repairs are needed, or simply to let them dry. ??? We may never know! The zinc 'thing-a-ma-bob' to the right, in the shade of an almond tree, is typically Caribbean--be it warehouse, storage, fence or home.

These four men were the first of many that eventually pulled their fishing net from the sea. The man carrying green fins is one of two divers we observed Tuesday. Divers seem to be an integral part of all fishing crews. Dean was told they release turtles that get tangled in the nets. Along the sea wall where we walk mornings in Roseau, we've most often observed only one diver with each crew.

By the time the fishing net was pulled from the sea, the number of 'retrievers' had increased to many--on this end--and many on the other. Sadly, the picture we'd hoped to capture of all the villagers that arrived to see the day's catch is not among the many we snapped ... without benefit of a camera view-finder. (We're soooooooooo looking forward to receiving the better camera we left at home, which as we understand is now in the proverbial mail!) It's obvious to us that many years ago someone must have taught Dominicans to "fish" for themselves, not to ask others for a "fish"! The few we've observed begging here are street people, most of whom have mental problems.

Two men and a boat. T'would have been nice capture the velocity with which they rowed when they were placing the fishing net where and when it would avail the best catch. This they did at high noon under the searing heat of the Caribbean sun. Perhaps they were comfortable, maybe even a little chilled, with winds blowing off the Atlantic.

This shot is probably too far away to capture the "too-nah" flipping and flopping to get themselves back home to the sea from whence they came. You may note a few white bodies. We assume they belong to cruisers from the Carnival ship docked at Roseau.

Unfortunately we failed to write the artist's name, (Henderson, Anderson, can't remember) or the gallery in Roseau where he sells what he "paints on canvas." Despite our over-sight, we should recognize the name when/if we want to locate the gallery. For now, we're content with this photograph of his painting of the 'cool drink' available everywhere on the island. (The drink, not the eye-catching image or the nicely painted road-side shop. We've seen no others to rival it in our travels . . .yet!)

Wondering about this mess? Sillies! It's our three most treasured items. On the far right is what we use in the evenings, particularly Sunday evenings. We've given up practically every luxury and enjoyment we've ever known, . . . except buttered popcorn! We're not willing! We paid a mighty price for it at Astaphan's but if it lasts, will be both our entertainment and joy for the next 17 months! Oh, how we miss friends, movies, restaurant food and all the other luxuries we took for granted for many years . . .

. . . All other 'things' are merely kitchen counter-top decorations! Those who know the scullery maid know how much she loves clutter . . . especially valuable counter-space clutter! We use, reuse, and re-reuse everything, including plastic bags. The empty plastic bottles become our cool water containers when we take them several times each day from the freezer. The canisters, the ones with the lime-green lids, keep staples, i.e., sugar, flour, milk powder, cornmeal, and whatever else has been in the freezer for at least 24-hours ... to kill whatever varmints that may be living there. We've used the Salad Shooter only once! (The small kitchen appliance I thought we could not live without, which occupied valuable suitcase space.) It's difficult and impossible to clean thoroughly enough to keep the teeny-teeny-tiny ants, the bane of our existence, from making their home in its grooves.

And this? It's our dishwasher! The dishwasher's best friend! . . . about the only thing she brought from home of any real worth here. Without it dishes would not be clean. (We have to settle for reasonably clean. Cold water, very HARD, cold water, does not a good dishwasher make! We hope the Hodges are enjoying the brand new water softener at their current residence!)
And THIS . . . is our combination Bosch and Kitchen Aide! We purchased it here! It serves us well!

Friday morning while Dean was paying bills at the Cambio, I stepped outside to talk with one of the locals who was hoping to find tourists interested in going with him to "the waterfall or some place else with something nice to see." Learned from him the "Dive Dominica" boat was taking cruise-ship patrons to see the whales, about 5 to 10 miles from port. Also that during the off-season, now through September, this cruise line docks every other Friday, another line every Tuesday. Anyone interested in cruising the Eastern Caribbean soon?
Watching fisherman bring in their catch seems always to disrupt our early-morning walks. No matter how determined we are not to be distracted, we simply cannot resist!

If ya' want a job done right, give it to a woman! Right? Couldn't keep ourselves from snapping a picture or two as we were out shopping for a few more fine-quality Chinese household items Friday morning.

Rainbow seemed to drop right into the sea as we were returning home from Portsmouth late Thursday afternoon. It was brilliant--almost breathtaking as we came around the corner. Picture doesn't even come close to actuality!

We always pay attention to signs as we're driving. Thought this one was simply Dominicans' attempt at a little humor.

Found out otherwise!

Sometimes we have to "suck it in" when passing on-coming traffic and parked cars. This place was tight . . . but not nearly as tight others. Just happened this time the camera was handy.

Lucky "stiffs" buried in this cemetery have a great view of the Caribbean Sea through flowering "Flamboyaunt" trees. They are Poinsianna to Jamaicans!

Window washing and laundry day

Monday the queen of the house and her royal subject washed curtains and windows. (Ya may not need to look twice to see we've been livin' in a not-so-clean house. YUCK!) The soot on the "yellow" microfibre cloth is from the second wiping of the window sills and screens; water in the bucket was CLEAN only two rag wringings earlier. And we're breathin' this stuff? While wiping soot from the screens outside we met a little friend on the living-room window ledge. This little lizard was not nearly as talkative as the Geico gecko! Whose DIRTY finger is that anyway?

Her Majesty's clotheslines outside the royal kitchen door are never enough. Needed four times that many to accomodate the curtains she washed Monday. As you can see we won't be havin' many royal yard parties!

Now an inside shot of our regal laundry and comfort facilities--shower to the right; His Magesty's throne to the left.

In answer to questions asked about our neighborhood, we've included this back-side view of our home on 42 Steber Street--the one with the blue roof--not the blue house with the tin roof. The Santa Fe is parked on the south. If you look very, very, very closely, you may be able to see the Caribbean see to the left of the green trees. . . maybe not! (ha-ha)

Santa Fe at 42 Steber Street

Our rental car, a Santa Fe, parked on the street to the south of our home--the lower level, 42A Steber Street.

The little shop directly in front of our apartment is where we purchased some steel wool and matches our second day on the island of Dominica. In case you missed it, the shop is the one in the lower right with the green door. There have been two men working long hours the last two days to improve either it's appearance or functionality. How they do it in the stifling heat and humidity is a mystery to us foreigners!

Results of New "Bosch"

Dean savored the results of Myrtle's first feeble attempt to make bread in her new "Bosch" which was baked at who-knows-what-temperature in the tiny oven without temperatures settings or indicators! Nothin's Easy!

Christabel's Swiss-imported kitchen

DELICIOUS! DELICIOUS! DEEEELICIOUS! ... the Sunday "lunch" Christabel Cooper prepared for us in her Swiss-imported kitchen following Fast & Testimony Meeting--the first of our new adventure. Menu included fresh tuna, salad, carrots w/"string onions for color," boiled plantain, dashine (starchy vegetable), rice, THEEE best-ever "sauce"(intended only for the tuna but which we also put over our rice) and a scoop of vanilla Blue Bunny ice cream for dessert! Words cannot express the flavor of her carrots or sauce. She had marinated the tuna in milk, then dried if with a paper towel, dipped it in flour and fried it slowly in a little oil. She told Sister Hadlock that good fish swims three times--once in water, once in milk and once in oil.

Christabel, a native-born Dominican, joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while living and working in Switzerland. She, a hard-working woman and FABULOUS cook, is Roseau Relief Society Leader. Her son Tony, a returned missionary who built her house, is the Roseau Group Leader. Christabel, her son and his family are the backbone and strength of the Church here!