The Wedding Week

The anticipated wedding week  arrived and WE WERE READY!

1016 meatballs were made and in the freezer,     

the flowers were planted and growing,

the lawns were mowed and re-mowed to look perfect

and Command Central was full of "to-do lists."

Our first guests arrived from France on Monday night of the wedding week and the next few days were filled with airport runs and lots of visiting and more wedding details, of course.  

Andrew and Joel did their share of work as well.  With a bit of  exaggerated drama, of course.

Tuesday night was the wiener roast in the ole tree stump turned fire-pit. A first for many.  Seating was straw bales from the barn.

Wednesday  morning several awakened early to make a special appearance in Lindsay's French classroom while others went shopping.  Wednesday evening was the "Farm Tour" with Cousin Jon. What a fun time!

Checking out my brother's hog farm

Learning all about soybeans

  

The beautiful moment when Cousin Jon gave his cousin (the bride) a beautiful bouquet of sunflowers.

Exploring the cattle farm (at another brother's house)

        Thursday night was wedding rehearsal and then a good ole barbecue at our house with 60 friends and family.  The wind calmed down, the yard was beautifully decorated and we celebrated.
My sister and her husband and two daughters grilled the hamburgers, put the food together and decorated the tables.

(Thanks, Nathan, for the photo.)

The Summer of 2015 Part 1

For months I've been anticipating the activities of The Summer of 2015 and now they are mostly history and I'm enjoying the memories.  There have been so many momentous occasions that I will post in segments.

Leaving the heat of Niamey on July 13 was soooo welcome. Leaving Tom there for a couple more weeks was not so nice.  My first stop was in Paris where I met up with Melissa and Joel.  Melissa and I were continuing to the States together but first we got to celebrate Bastille Day in Paris touring the gardens at Versailles.  Lovely. Huge. We walked for hours.  Amazing fountains and sculptures. 

Melissa and I flew together to Kansas, starting the first of many "to-do" lists.

But before too much serious work was done, we had a Girl's Weekend in Kansas City, planned by Lindsay and Erika.  Lots of laughing, talking and other activities made the hours fly by.

The next week Tom arrived and we made a quick trip to Bird City to visit Mom.  It coincided with Bird City's annual Thresher Show, which meant visiting with lots of friends and seeing the old style farming.

Uncle Normie demonstrated the old threshing machine.

Pleasant memories came crowding back when Tom climbed up on this tractor that he used to drive...not that long ago! 

The next weekend found us in Minneapolis for a get-away weekend with Andrew.  Lindsay came along and we were treated to an incredible stay in a lodge in Two Harbors.  It was a bit chilly for these "Africans", but the fresh, cool air was rejuvenating.

Andrew's favorite game from years gone by.  If you've never played it, you are missing out!  

The mornings contest:  "Who can keep their feet in the icy water for 1 minute?"

What was so painfully cold for Tom and Lindsay, was apparently not the same for Ando! 

In between the travels the pre-wedding work was moving right along.  Next post:  Pre-Wedding!

The Market Came to Us!

It's mango season in Niamey and the streets are lined with colorful displays of mangos...different sizes and different varieties.  Some are raised locally and others are imported from neighboring countries.   

We've wondered from time to time how long our lovely, wide sidewalks on Mulberry Street would stay clear for walking before turning into an open market like so many streets in the city.  No need to wonder any more...we now have a mango market right outside our front gate.  The shade tree is a huge plus and from noon to 4 there are always several people snoozing in the shade.  (No, no one asked if they could use our driveway!)

The vendors do a brisk market with people walking or driving by or taxis pulling over to allow their clients to buy up a dishful or two.  

The advantages?   Immediate supply of the yummy fruit.  And, we have more day guards and an occasional free mango.

  

 I love watching how they artistically stack the bowls with mangos of just the right size to fit and to make a perfect pyramid.   

 At the same time as the mango sellers moved in, our neighbors decided to do major house renovation and rebuild their wall.  The easiest place to put the sand and mix the cement in on the nice, wide sidewalk.  

Notice our "drainage" canal in the preceding picture.  Almost full with garbage, trash and sand and....sludge.  This is a years worth of sewage that is supposed to drain but it doesn't.  It gets fuller and fuller until city workers come and dig it all out and carry it off.  A huge nasty job to say the least.  

Nasty job done and the mango merchants were eager to get back in business.  We  loaned the hose and they scrubbed the residue off the sidewalk and set up shop once again.  

The walking "Starbucks" was on hand, in fact, at one time there were 3 of them parked in our yard.  

After mango season,  who knows what will come.