Dinner in Gabs

Just got to Gabs from Harare. Spending the night here on my way to Maun. I was too tired to go out to dinner so I made a picnic dinner from South African feta, crackers, an apple, and sparkling wine.

Love Botswana Outreach Mission Bridge

This is the really good bridge that gives me access to the tar road, as opposed to the really bad, dangerous bridge that gives me access in a more roundabout way.  The bridge was built by our local mission (supported by a church in Texas) and once they can get a chain gate up with an "aggressive" guard (I heard it from the woman in charge) they will be collecting a toll from everyone who passes.  It doesn't matter if you are a safari owner, goat farmer, or in a donkey cart. That is their plan anyway unless they feel God's eternal shame beforehand.  

Life Is Good

Power is back.  Roads are flooded but I'm using a newly built bridge now to get into town.  Goats are cute as always.  

Still No Power...

What a tease the BPC gave me last night!  I made a gorgeous fire last night and had just burnt my pizza to smithereens over it when the power came back on.  I poured myself another rose water martini and made pasta instead and took that down to the fire for dinner.  In the morning the power was no more though and even now no one knows what's going on.  My water tanks filled up though and I managed a hot shower this morning but I bought a proper grill today and am prepared to master this pizza-on-a-grill before the weekend is over if BPC continues to fail to do their job properly.  Tonight Hilary is offering up leftovers from the coffee shop (pecan pie, yum!) and I suspect that will be my last proper meal unless I can get the hang of cooking over a fire.  I see a lot of crackers, hard boiled eggs, and wine in my future.  

Update

Good news:  I will not become an island.  I attended a neighborhood meeting last night and we identified a path into town that most likely will not flood.  

Bad news:  I still have no power which means I have no water and no stove as both rely on power.  There is no end in sight to this power failure and certainly no news bulletin from Botswana Power Corporation making us feel any better although I hear whispers of "four more days" and "three more days" which I don't like.  My cell phone operator is also without power so no phone.  I will be fetching water from the river for my toilet, washing, and animals.  I will be cooking on a open fire as well.  I'm thinking that this will be a good time to experiment with making pizza on the grill and enjoying red wine instead of my usual cocktails and white wine.  (I also just bought a bottle of sparkling rose which will be a lovely way to celebrate the power coming back on.)  

Note to my dear friend visiting in August:  This will all be resolved long before you arrive.  Please don't worry.  When you come to stay you will enjoy as modern an experience as Botswana has to offer and that means water, power, phones, and petrol will be available to all.  

I Am An Island

Today I woke up to the sad little ping that means my power just got turned off.  Even in my hazy, pre-dawn half-slumber I knew what that sad little trill meant.  Later I found out most of the country is without power for some mysterious reason.  I also had to battle my way around ever increasing flood waters to reach the tar road.  All my access roads are flooded now save for one.  The flood water creeps up so quickly and because there is a layer of sand and debris on top you don't see it along the road until it actually covers the path you want to drive on.  There's also no petrol, diesel, or propane in the country due to a transport strike in South Africa.  I can't really think of anything I can do but stock up on hay, cat food, and food for myself as well.  I don't worry about my house being flooded but I worry about my house becoming a very small island and I don't have a boat.  

Goats in Cars

I took my goats for a walk on Sunday afternoon.  It took me about half an hour just to get Looloo and Feefee into my Land Rover but once that happened we were off to find a nice place to park and hang out upstream.  I tied up the big ladies in back while I was driving but Emily got to sit in front and stick her nose in my ear and chew on my sleeve the whole way there and back.  I thought I'd have time to relax and read while the goats grazed but they were too hyped up (on grain, that's how I lured them into the car) and wouldn't relax.  Maybe next time.  

Trans-Okavango: A Look Back

I have some friends I'm trying to lure on the next trans-Okavango in August.  Here's a look at what we got up to over the past few years.

catch and release (it's a croc!)

close encounters

Katy caught a fish!

I kissed a fish

our trusty guides

arriving at camp

I caught a nembwe!

relaxing in the sun

bush walk

Flooded Road

My road is totally flooded! This happened literally overnight as Maun is quickly becoming just another island in the Okavango Delta.

Bonfire

I haven't had a dinner party in a long time and with the cold winter weather I didn't really know how I'd lure anyone to my house past sunset.  Then I decided to make a big fire.  Looloo and Feefee got very excited with the arrival of wood and graciously helped me take it out of the car (by trying to eat it) and then got even more excited when I broke up kindling because that was just more snack food.  They thought it was a lot of fun to knock over my smart, little pile of logs.

I'm feeling like a very bad goat-owner because this is the most excited they've had since I struggled to put up my hammock in the front yard last month.

The river is still rising in my yard but for some reason my local hippo whom I used to hear every evening has disappeared.  At least I don't have any crocodiles in my yard because then I'd be upset.

I made my own tonic water for my friends and am very impressed with the results.  This is my little gin and tonic bar that I set up before dinner.  From the left I have gin, water, and tonic.  I'm going to experiment with flavors a little because it's a bit too sweet for my taste and I'd like to play up the bitter and sour flavors.

Here is the gin and homemade tonic with my swanky little hotel cocktail napkins.

For dinner I made lemon and garlic roasted chicken, butternut and spinach gratin, boiled potatoes, and a fennel salad.  For dessert we went outside and sat around the fire eating lemon ricotta cupcakes with tea. Lots of fun.