Fun Monday

Fun Monday this week is hosted by Hoosier girl.   Her topic is interesting.   Here is what she says:

ANYWAY……here’s my topic: Love and Marriage. I have been married twice, once for 14 years, once for a year (long story, for those of you who don’t know me). And now I am mid-40s, involved with a wonderful man, contemplating marriage for a third time. So what I want to know is: what do you consider important to a good marriage or relationship? Tell us a story of something endearing about your marriage or your parents’ marriage. Include any wedding pictures or images of love that remind you of what a good relationship should be.

 I’II make it short and sweet:
Always forgive!
Don’t let the sun go down on your anger.

P/S Dowry is always a good idea.

Head over to Hoosier Girl to read interesting stories about love and marriage, could come in handy.

Matumbo

Matumbo literally means ‘stomach’. This post is not for those who have a weak stomach. When bulls or cows are slaughtered, the intestines a.k.a. the stomach, too, are cleaned and cooked and that is what we call matumbo. One can also buy ‘matumbo‘ from a butchery. I am usually weary of eating matumbos but this time, I decided, why not! oh boy! just like I expected, I regretted leaving the immodium at home. My friend told me that her dad says, stomachs, should not be eating stomachs…I will pay attention to that next time.

Classifieds

Today marks the demise of our intranet classifieds at work. I am so sad to see it go, people used to sell the most interesting things on that site, from pieces of carpet to pecans to wedding rings. I sold my beloved car, Sati through those classifieds, plus my other wordly possesions like furniture, childrens stuff plus my big old freezer. I bought my Kitchenaid mixer for a throw away price from there and even exchanged coupons. It is sad to see them go, not only will I miss out on the bargains, but what will I do with my break now?

Fun Monday @ Work

Today’s Fun Monday is hosted by my friend Sayre. Here is her assignment:
Take your camera to work and take pictures of the things that inspire you as you work or that inspires your coworkers. Ask them (or yourself) what it is about that particular object or picture that makes the work day seem a little easier.
If you don’t work outside the home, take a picture of the thing that helps you get through the day and inspires you to have the best day you can.

First of all I have to say that my workmates inspire me to come to work.  They have been so kind and supportive especially during this time.     It helps that I love my job too.  Never a dull moment…

We have just moved to a spanking new building, unfortunately, they moved while I was away and so I am still not fully unpacked or settled. I have been there for about a week so everything is still brand new. I have pictures that were taken by my friend before we moved in, as of now, we believe I have the best view in the whole building. I sit at my desk and this is what I see when I look outside, I could watch a game 🙂


Head over to Sayre Smiles and have a Fun Monday at work

Kanda Bongoman

If you love Lingala music, then you have definately heard of Kanda Bongoman, the king of Kwassa Kwassa.   Or if you have travelled from Kisumu to Nairobi in a bus, then they probably played one of his popular songs, Inde moni played from Kisumu to Nakuru and then they hit rewind and it played again from Nakuru to Nairobi.  Please note, it is a 8 hours drive.  I love Lingala music! and Kanda Bongoman and his band are pretty entertataining.  As my 2 siblings and my brother-in-law were with me in the airport on the day I was flying back, Kanda Bongoman himself showed up.  My sister asked him if we could take a photo with him and he said sure!

Mandazi na Chai

The average Kenyan drinks Chai (tea) and bread for breakfast. Once in a while, we would have Mandazis with tea.
You can buy those humongous ones from a restaurant:

Or you can make them at home:

As is said, they are so sweet!

Water!

Rain, Rain, Rain…but no water…water is a rare commodity where I come from. To take a shower, one has to go and fetch water from the river. When we were kids and we went to visit my maternal grandma, we would at times go and fetch water from the river. My paternal grandma had a well in the compound and so we rarely went to the river by her house, but when we went, it was always interesting. why you ask? because people went to fetch water, take their cows to drink water, wash clothes and shower in the river!!! yah! While I was at the village this time, I had to fetch water for our showers, some kind people had already brought it from the river and I had to take it to the bathroom. Next time you go to shower, be thankful. Sorry about the date stamp! wrong date…

Braids

I just came back from Kenya, I had gone to say bye to Mom.  We did give her a good send off and I know she is at peace.  Thank you for your prayers and thoughts, continue to keep us in your prayers and thought. 

While I was there, I did and saw lots of interesting things, I will be posting them every other day. One of them was to get my hair braided.   It is almost a sin to go to kenya and not have your hair braided and even though my hair was very short, I still did get it braided. There is this particular salon that has been there near my parents house for the longest time, so I decided to go and check if it still existed.  I found the owner still running the place, though her daughter (I remember her being a young girl) was the one doing the braiding.   We then talked and my sister told me the hairstyle I wanted is called “Kuongeza” literally meaning “to add”  It’s called that because as she braids, she keeps on adding the hair extensions, you just have to see her doing it to understand what I am talking about.  Well, 3 hours, $5 later, here is the result: