Meet Lawan the welder

Ali brought us a nice surprise today, and he was called Lawan. He'd come to do some repairs on the horse railing which should have been done yesterday, but which wasn't due to communication complications and lost pride. In any case, Lawan the 2nd (as we will have to call him) was kind, patient and hard working. And the best thing about him was that he regularly asked us if we were happy, or just redo his work by himself when he felt that it wasn't straight enough. We were thrilled! The only little minus what the security issue concerning his gear...

I'm glad no animals (except for the dog) were loose and that Tabita was not!

We are so thrilled the work got done though, and will be using him again. Next time hopefully with some good cables!

Ishtar

Painting the pool

The only thing that remains to see is if the pool paint will keep the water from leaking out of our precious little pool! If it does, I'll almost be looking forward to the warm season, lol!

Ishtar

Busy Busy Saturday

Today was probably the busiest weekend day we've had so far!

First of all, an entrepreneur had come with a team to move the horse fence, so that Arwen will finally have a place of her own and not have to fight to dog over his rice or tear down my plants whenever she suffers from a whim of frustration.

The mason and his assistant were there as well, continuing the work on our store which they started with almost three months ago. He does do a fab job and is worthy of all the patience in the world!

Inside, Magagi the plummer was fixing our leaking sinks, and wow, did they turn out well!

The bathrooms just needed a bit of cleaning first...

The entrepreneur was the only thing that didn't work out that day. He complained about not wanting to have to pay for anything that went wrong, so Nettus and I went out of our way to help him measure and make sure things became as straight as one could require in this particular situation... Working with women however did not seem to be his thing, and after a few incidents of miscommunication (where I should have been the one being offended, if anyone), he "threw in the towel" like we say in Swedish and left the job unfinished. So Nettus and I got to do what I have always loved; maconry work! I just need to become a little bit stronger and get some better technique, so I can turn that concrete (for hours) by myself without getting any muscle ache afterwards!

We did get the rest of the job done, and had a lot of fun doing it! And the biggest perk with doing it ourselves was that we were able to place the railing just as straight as we wanted to, without being told how impossible it was.

Ha, I really need to follow in my father's footsteps and learn to do (most) things myself!

Ishtar

Things Fall Apart

Our house as almost as old as I am, and as with all things, they eventually fall apart. What a shame though that both our sinks (and that would be our only sinks, except for the one in the kitchen) decided to break down at the same time! No big surprise though, when we took a good peak and had a look... Yuk! Will be glad to have it fixed, and in the meantime, we will be brushing our teeth in the shower or over the kitchen sink!

Will be glad to get this stuff fixed, and no, I do not mind replacing large parts!

Ishtar

Our terrace lizards are vegetarians

Which is cool, really, except for one thing:

They eat our plants!!!

Ishtar

The perfect siesta!

When I am in Sweden, I talk so warmly about Niger that one might think I romanticize; about the heat, the sunshine, the tasty (fat-free) food, the rides in the bush and the general super slow-slow tempo (which either kills you with frustration or makes you lead a healthier life...). Although we have been spending far too many hours at the office lately, Nettus and I have been prioritizing our siestas - our favorite time of the day.

Vital ingredient number 1: Enough time to enjoy living, a blue sky and good company. I have all of those!

Vital ingredient number 2: Healthy lowfat tasty food! This dish was cooked in the solar oven and is made of mixed vegetables, Eden nuts, sorgo and spices.

Vital ingredient number 3: Never forget your vitamins! (my mom always told me to serve something of every color...)

Vital ingredient number 4: Treat yourself to fruits. Be generous.

Vital ingredient number 5: A good dose of sunshine!

Stick to this recipe, and you're siesta is going to be just fab!

Ishtar

Hurray!

The mango season has begun!!!

There is nothing like a genetically unspoiled super-tasty Nigerien mango! What some mangoes lose in size, they gain in taste. Guess what we will be living off during the coming months!

Hey, I told you we were lucky people!!

Ishtar

Playing ping-pong a Friday night

So my dad is here right now (for a short period of time), and the two of us challenged him in a game of pingpong. I hate to admit it but we both lost! And worst of all, I lost to both of them... But then again, life is about trying, not about winning. So no, you won't find me crying over my loss, hehe! Maybe next time, I'll get it right!

Ishtar

Baking bread in the solar oven

If there is one thing in the world I love, it is food that cooks itself! Now after years in Niger, one of the things we get tired of is eating (only) white bread, but baking in the gas oven and heating up the entire house in the middle of day has never been a favorite of mine. Cooking in the solar oven however is, and since we came up with the bread recipe, we've been enjoying homemade bread after a long and hard day at word! Ah, you want to do it yourself? Well, after having purchased your own solar oven, here is what you do:

HOW TO MAKE BREAD IN THE SOLAR OVEN

3 dl of sorgo or millet flour
3 dl of wheat flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
2,5 dl of water
0,5 dl of peanut oil

Mix all the ingredients together, place in a black pot in the solar oven for a minimum of 5 hours.

We normally fix the dough in the evening, put it in the fridge, go to bed and then first thing in the morning before heading off to work, we place it in the solar oven. On good days (with lots of sunshine), the bread is done at noon but since we like it for supper, we just leave it in the oven and take it out when we come home.

Preferably served with butter&cheese or with Ishtar's personal favorite "The Niger tuna&basil spread".

Enjoy!

Ishtar

Solar cooking recipe

To eat à la Ishtar & Nettus, here is how you do it.

Cook the following in a black casserole in the solar oven:

2 chopped carrots
2 sliced paprikas
1 handful of yellow beans
Yellow curry
Salt
Pepper

When the food is ready, mix with
2 handfuls of fresh spring onions
1 table spoon of peanut butter (locally made if possible!)
1 sachet of Eden nuts (or any other nut you have available)
1 dl of milk
+ cooked sorgho (can be exchanged for rice or pasta)

...And voilà, dinner is served! Our personal preference is in the sunshine on the veranda, looking out on the horses and listening to the birds singing in the trees. Enjoy!!!

Ishtar

New Year's Eve

We celebrated New Year's Eve together with Aïssa, my childhood friend, who came over for dinner and game. We had fun! Aïssa is such an amazing person: warm and generous. She adds to much to the company and I was so happy to see her and Nettus interacting so much, despite not being to speak each other's languages!

As for the food, I made this particular dish for Aïssa (who is a picky eater) I had made a spicy tomato sauce with mixed vegetables which she thought was simply great!

As for Nettus and I, we had one of the best dishes I made during the entire year, with a cream based sauce filled with Swedish mushrooms (dried and sent by Nettus' mom), Eden nuts, sundried tomatoes, the season's vegetables and wild Nigerien herbs (the ones that Western media labels as famine food). It was really, really good and I just hope I can remember how I made it so I can do it again next year!

Last picture of Aïssa 2007

Last picture of Nettus 2007

Last picture of Ishtar 2007

See you again soon though!

Ishtar

Visiting friends on Boxing day

On boxing day, Nettus and I finally got the time to get out of the house/office and go visit some friends!

This little cutie (the daughter of a family friend) and I share the same name, and so I had to have a picture!

Then Dick the Dog showed up because he didn't want to be left out, but Nettus still got to take some fab pictures. Here are some of her other shots:

Warm greetings to everyone, and make sure you remember to pay all your loved ones a visit now and then! Don't wait for Christmas, life's too short for that. (And imagine all the smiles you'd miss if you didn't!)

Ishtar

Chilling on Christmas Day

In Sweden, Christmas Eve is the big Christmas day. Hence Christmas Day must be for recovering after Christmas Eve. We sure took it easy, eating fruits as a contrast to the heavy stuff we had last night. And chilled for half a day, which was grand considering the tempo we've had lately.

But hey, by the way, it's getting cold!!

Ishtar

Fabrics from the market

Today, we went to the market and came back with a whole lot of different fabrics. You'd be amazed at how fast you wear clothes out (you wash them more often here due to the dust and the heat) and Nettus was starting to run out of clothes. Hence, she needed a new wardrobe, and where better to go look for one than at our very own Zinder market? Of course I was not a bad friend, so in true Nigerien spirit, I tagged along and did some co-shopping with her! Here is what we found:

A beautiful colorful African tissue which will make a superb Ishtar skirt or dress one day. Our neighbor liked it so much that when she saw it, she went straight to the market the following day and bought the same tissue before it disappeared.

This was a red bazain that both Nettus and I fell in love with. Still haven't decided what I'm going to do with my share, but I'm pretty sure it will end up as a top.

A new fabric I hadn't seen before: of course I couldn't let this pass me by! Nettus bought the same tissue in a different colour (brown). Once again, I am not exactly sure what I will make out of it, but that's part of the charm isn't it? You find some fabric, buy it, save it (for years sometimes!), only to bring it out for the perfect occasion! Haha, when I listen to myself, I can see just how much I am my mother's daughter at times... :-)

Another bazain with a different pattern. It really wasn't expensive, and the vendor is one of my favourites because he always gives us good prices. No nasara price discussions needed here!

Nettus found her equivalent before I did - but she chose a colder color.

This cool lime green fabric will make Nettus next pants! Will have to post a picture when the tailor is finished making them. Which reminds me that we have to call him and ask him to take her measurements (so he can get started!).

And finally, Nettus found another beautiful deep blue bazain but I don't think she has decided yet on what she is going to make of it. We'll just have to wait and see!

Stay tuned for more fabric shopping at the great market of Zinder!

Ishtar